(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Louisiana’s new law requiring all public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments will not be publicly enforced or endorsed in any way until November 15, 2024, according to a new court filing in the ongoing legal battle over the policy.
Both parties agreed that the Ten Commandments will not be posted in any public school classroom and defendants — including the state’s Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education — and schools will not publicly move forward on the law’s implementation until November.
Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, clarified that the defendants “agreed not to take public-facing compliance measures” until then because it will give time for “briefing, oral arguments and a decision” ahead of the January 2025 date in which schools have to have the Ten Commandments.
The January requirement still stands pending the outcome of the suit.
A multi-faith group of Louisiana families with children in public schools sued to challenge the law, HB 71, which mandates public schools — from kindergarten to the collegiate level — display the Ten Commandments, a religious set of rules from the Old Testament, in every classroom on “a poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches.”
The posters were expected to be paid for by private donations and not state dollars, according to the law, which does not disclose what would happen if a school does not comply with the order.
The suit argues that the law violates a U.S. Supreme Court precedent, pointing to the Stone v. Graham case in which the court overturned a similar state law, holding that the separation of church and state bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The nine families — who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious — also argue the law is religious coercion and violates their First Amendment rights: “Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public school classroom – rendering them unavoidable – unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the complaint reads.
It continues, “It also sends the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments — or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that H.B. 71 requires schools to display — do not belong in their own school community and should refrain from expressing any faith practices or beliefs that are not aligned with the state’s religious preferences.”
The law argues that the Ten Commandments are also historically significant, reflecting “the understanding of the founders of our nation with respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional self-government,” the text reads.
“If you want to respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said during a press conference where he signed a package of education bills.
(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic National Committee’s Rules Committee on Friday made the case for proceeding with President Joe Biden’s virtual nomination while also outlining next steps in the process and how virtual roll call voting would work.
Crucially, the Rules Committee did not take any votes, but just discussed the various proposals it plans to rubber-stamp at its next meeting, which it said will be held by Friday, July 26.
A proposal for the virtual nomination still says the roll call will happen the first week of August.
DNC Chair Jamie Harrison briefly acknowledged accumulating worry around the process of a virtual roll call at the top of the meeting and emphasized, despite some Democrats grumbling, that the party plans on going ahead with a virtual roll call, not one done in-person.
The virtual voting will start no earlier than Aug. 1 and should be wrapped by Aug. 7, Democrats said. The firm start date can be set only once the DNC passes the current rules package. The presidential and vice-presidential acceptance speeches would still be in-person
Democrats critical of the move to proceed with the virtual nomination say that Biden, who is under intense pressure to drop out of the race by virtually every rank of the party, would be confirmed as the official nominee without any real opportunity for opposition when delegates are together in at the DNC convention, set to begin in Chicago Aug. 19.
Reiterating that the DNC is following the process decided on in May, Harrison said, “No part of this process is rushed. The timeline for the virtual roll call process remains on schedule and unchanged. from when the DNC made that decision back in May, and voted to ratify in mid-June.
Harrison also maintained Biden would be on the top of the ticket as the result of this plan.
“Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, will be reelected because of you. Because of you, we can look forward to nominating our president through a virtual roll call and celebrating with fanfare together in Chicago alongside all of our delegates who are supporting the Biden Harris ticket,” he said.
The proposal to move forward with the virtual nomination of Biden ahead of Democrats’ in-person convention comes because of a ballot-access conflict in Ohio that was eventually corrected.
In April, Ohio’s secretary of state alerted Democrats that the state’s ballot certification deadline would come after the party’s convention in August — meaning Biden wouldn’t be the official nominee by their cutoff and thus was ineligible.
The Ohio legislature later rectified the issue, passing legislation that extended their deadline and allowed Biden’s qualification.
Still, the DNC argued that GOP-controlled Ohio leaders are acting in bad faith and that Biden’s qualification is not assured.
“We will not let extremism in Ohio corrupt the democratic process. This election comes down to nothing less than saving our democracy from a man who has said that he wants to be a dictator on day one. So we certainly aren’t going to tempt fate by inviting challenges to policing the Democratic ticket on the ballot throughout this country,” stressed Harrison.
A spokesperson for Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office told ABC News, “The issue is resolved in Ohio, and Democrat proxies know that and should stop trying to scapegoat Ohio for their own party’s disfunction. Remember, they only ran into an issue with the deadline in the first place by scheduling their convention after the well-established deadline under Ohio law. Now that their candidate is clearly floundering, they blame Republicans.”
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge on Friday declined to dismiss criminal charges against former Rep. George Santos for alleged schemes that cost him his seat.
The judge denied Santos’ motion to dismiss certain fraud charges, ruling he failed to meet the legal standards.
The New York Republican who represented parts of Queen’s and Nassau County has pleaded not guilty to a host of charges accusing him of defrauding donors, lying to Congress and using campaign contributions for personal expenses.
Santos dropped his bid for reelection after he was expelled from the House in December.
Santos faces 23 felony charges, including two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission, two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of access device fraud, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.
Two of Santos’ associates, his former campaign finance chief Nancy Marks and fundraiser Sam Miele, have already pleaded guilty to charges.
Santos had represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District since January 2020 before being expelled on Dec. 1, 2023, in a bipartisan vote.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
July 19, 2024, 5:06 PM EDT Israeli soldier who refuses to serve in Gaza speaks out
Yuval Green, a 26-year-old reservist who was called up to fight in southern Gaza, told ABC News he decided to leave the Israel Defense Forces when his unit was asked to set fire to a Palestinian house there.
Green served as a combat medic in Khan Younis, Gaza, last November and December.
Yuval Green, seen here in an undated picture from his time in Gaza served as a combat medic as a combat medic.
“They gave us an order to burn down a house, and I went to my commander and asked him, ‘Why are we doing that?'” Green said. “And the answers he gave me were just not satisfying enough, were not even close to being satisfying enough. And I said, ‘I’m not willing to participate in that. If we’re doing that, I’m leaving.'”
In June, Green cosigned a letter with 40 other reservists, who remained anonymous, refusing to serve in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The IDF told ABC News that its “actions are based on military necessity and in accordance to international law” and there was “no IDF doctrine that aims at causing maximal damage to civilian infrastructure regardless of military necessity.”
Exceptional incidents were investigated by an independent body, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies and Britt Clennett
July 19, 2024, 5:01 PM EDT Biden and Netanyahu to discuss cease-fire and hostage deal next week
President Joe Biden’s focus next week in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be on nailing down the specifics of a ceasefire that could bring the hostages home, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday.
“The overriding focus of the meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to be about the cease-fire and hostage deal,” he said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
Netanyahu will meet with Biden in Washington, D.C., on July 22.
“We are mindful that there remain obstacles in the way, and let’s use next week to try to clear through those obstacles and get to a deal,” Sullivan added.
The details that will be discussed between Biden and Netanyahu include Israel’s military presence in Gaza after a cease-fire, access to humanitarian aid, the “long-term disposition” of Gaza and how to execute the remaining hostage and prisoner swap as part of phase two.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
July 19. 2024, 12:38 PM EDT Top UN court says Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territories is ‘unlawful’
The top U.N. court said Friday that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian occupied territories is “unlawful” and should end.
The International Court of Justice said several policies, including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the use of the area’s natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands and discriminatory policies against Palestinians, violated international law.
The 15-judge panel said Israel’s “abuse of its status as the occupying power” renders its “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.” It says its continued presence was “illegal” and should be ended as “rapidly as possible.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the court’s ruling in a statement.
“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria, our historical homeland. No absurd opinion in The Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestral home,” he said.
-ABC News’ Morgan Windsor, Bruno Nota and Dana Savir
Jul 18, 2024, 11:21 PM EDT 1 killed, 4 injured by shrapnel in Tel Aviv explosion: Officials
A man in Tel Aviv has died after being injured in an explosion resulting from what authorities believe was an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
“During searches of the scene, an unconscious man was found in one of the buildings, with penetrating injuries,” Zachi Heller, a spokesperson for Israel’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom (MDA), confirmed to ABC News.
The man, who Heller said was 50, did not exhibit signs of life and it was determined he had died.
Information is still developing, but the Israel Defense Forces said early Friday morning that the person who died was hit by a fragment of the UAV.
IDF Chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military assessed that the drone was an upgraded Iranian-made Samad-3 model.
“Our estimation is that it arrived from Yemen to Tel Aviv,” he told a briefing with journalists.
Four people were treated for shrapnel injuries at the scene and four were treated by EMS for shock/anxiety. All eight were taken to the Wolfson and Ichilov hospitals, Heller said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 18, 2024, 9:33 PM EDT 2 injured, taken to hospital following blast in Tel Aviv: Officials
Two people were injured in a blast in Tel Aviv early Friday morning local time, Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom (MDA) confirmed.
Emergency services received a report at 3:12 a.m. that an object had exploded in Tel Aviv. After arriving on the scene, medics transported a 37-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman in mild condition to Ichilov Hospital. The victims had “shrapnel injuries to the limbs and shoulder,” MDA spokesman Zachi Heller said. Four additional victims were treated for shock/anxiety.
Following the incident report, five fire crews arrived and extinguished the fire. They are currently conducting searches in the area.
A United States official confirmed to ABC News that the explosion had occurred near the U.S. embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, but the building was not damaged. The official said that the cause of the blast is still being assessed and that the office is advising American citizens in Tel Aviv to shelter in place.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was unaware that an unmanned aerial vehicle infiltrated Israel’s defenses. The IDF is currently reviewing the incident.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Shannon Kingston
Jul 18, 2024, 5:13 PM EDT Poliovirus detected in sewage samples in Gaza, health ministry says
Poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples in the Gaza Strip according to testing conducted in coordination with the United Nations, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced Thursday.
Samples were taken from sewage water that “collects and flows between the tents of the displaced and in the places where residents are located as a result of the destruction of the infrastructure” in war-torn Gaza, according to the ministry.
“The presence of the virus that causes polio … represents a new health disaster,” the ministry said in a statement. “There is severe overcrowding, a scarcity of available water and its contamination with sewage water, the accumulation of tons of garbage and the occupation’s prevention of the entry of hygiene materials, which creates a suitable environment for the spread of various epidemics.”
The ministry called for “an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression, the provision of usable water, the repair of sewage lines and an end to the overcrowding at displacement camps.”
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, which attacks the nervous system and can lead to irreversible paralysis, according to the World Health Organization.
Polio mainly affects children under 5, though the virus can strike at any age. It’s incurable but completely vaccine-preventable. The virus is highly contagious and can live for weeks in an infected person’s feces, which can contaminate food and water in unsanitary conditions and spread to other people. Polio remains endemic in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the WHO.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Jul 18, 2024, 1:47 PM EDT At least 2 people killed in Israeli strike on 9th school in 10 days
At least two people were killed and five others were injured after Israel carried out a strike on Al-Falah School in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, the ninth school the IDF has targeted in the last 10 days, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.
Jul 18, 2024, 1:07 PM EDT Netanyahu shuts down plan to build field hospital for Gazan children
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has scrapped Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s plans to establish a field hospital for Gazans along the border with Gaza.
Netanyahu “announced in writing that he does not approve the establishment of a hospital for Gazans on Israeli territory — therefore it will not be built,” his office said in a statement Thursday.
Gallant had announced Wednesday that he had ordered the establishment of a temporary field hospital in southern Israel along the border with Gaza to treat sick Palestinian children who are unable to leave the war-torn enclave for medical care abroad, amid the extended closure of Gaza’s Rafah crossing into Egypt. Gallant said he had told his American counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, about the plan for the field hospital during a call earlier this week, according to a readout.
The World Health Organization’s representative for Gaza and the West Bank, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, told reporters Wednesday that some 10,000 patients in Gaza still require urgent evacuation for medical treatment.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jul 18, 2024, 11:17 AM EDT Palestinians held in Israeli secret detention describe torture, beatings, starvation
Human rights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of mass incommunicado detention and torture of Palestinian detainees from Gaza, citing the documented cases of 27 Palestinians who were detained for periods of up to four-and-a-half months without access to their lawyers or contact with their families.
Those detained included doctors taken into custody at hospitals for refusing to abandon their patients, mothers separated from their infants while trying to cross the so-called “safe corridor” from northern Gaza to the south, human rights defenders, U.N. workers, journalists and other civilians.
The Israeli Prison Service told the Israeli NGO HaMoked that — as of July 1 — 1,402 Palestinians were detained under a law that grants its military sweeping powers to detain anyone from Gaza they suspect of engaging in hostilities against Israel or of posing a threat to state security for indefinitely-renewable periods without having to produce evidence. This count excludes those held for an initial 45-day period without a formal order.
“The Israeli authorities must immediately repeal this law and release those arbitrarily detained under it. Torture and other ill-treatment including sexual violence are war crimes – these allegations must be independently investigated by the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor’s office,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
“The Israeli authorities must also grant immediate and unrestricted access to all places of detention to independent monitors – access that has been denied since 7 October,” Callamard said.
Israel said it holds detainees lawfully and denies allegations of torture and says prisoners are granted their basic rights, according to the Associated Press.
Jul 17, 2024, 4:29 PM EDT Gaza aid pier shut down, aid to flow in through Ashdod
The JLOTS temporary pier system has been shut down, with humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Gaza will now taking place through the civilian port of Ashdod, CENTCOM told reporters.
The pier had successfully delivered close to 20 million pounds of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which USAID estimates provided food for 500,000 people for a month. The pier’s overall cost will come in “well underneath” the $230 million costs currently estimated though he couldn’t say by how much, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the deputy commanding general of CENTCOM, told reporters.
Cooper said that 1 million pounds of aid has already entered Gaza as a “proof of concept” and that there are about 5 million pounds of aid to still deliver from Cyprus.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jul 17, 2024, 3:29 PM EDT Netanyahu ally urges him to accept cease-fire deal
The leader of Israel’s Shas party, Areyeh Deri, is urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a cease-fire deal, publicly adding its voice to the choir of those calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, according to a letter from the Shas party.
“We believe that the conditions created now following the welcomed military pressure and the targeted assassinations create an appropriate time to reach a deal that preserves Israel’s vital security interests and returns the abductees home,” the letter said.
This comes amid reports in Israeli media that Mossad chief David Barnea and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant have pushed Netanyahu to accept the deal. Without Shas, the Netanyahu-coalition would crumble.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 17, 2024, 3:08 PM EDT Group calls on Netanyahu to release journalists, allow access to Gaza ahead of US visit
The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release journalists held without charge and allow free, unimpeded access to Gaza ahead of his planned trip to the U.S.
“From the start of the war, Israel has continuously denied independent access to the media as Palestinian journalists struggle to survive. The loss of local journalists, an almost total ban on media from outside Gaza leaves a vacuum for propaganda, mis and disinformation. Claims and counterclaims remain extraordinarily difficult to verify independently. Facts are easily evaded and truth withers. No credible democracy engages in what is, in effect, a growing censorship regime,” Jodie Ginsburg, the CEO of CPJ, said in a statement Wednesday.
More than 100 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 and others have been arrested, often without charge, according to the CPJ.
“Journalists, like the thousands of civilians in Gaza killed, arrested or displaced continue to pay an astonishing toll,” Ginsburg said.
“An unprecedented number of journalists and media workers have been arrested, often without charge. They have been mistreated and tortured. The number of journalists reporting in Gaza is dwindling, and those who remain are doing so in treacherous conditions, but they cannot do so alone,” Ginsburg said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Jul 17, 2024, 12:20 PM EDT Over 1,000 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza, West Bank since Oct. 7: WHO
The World Health Organization has registered more than 1,000 attacks on health care facilities in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, the agency’s top official in the region said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
There are currently no functional hospitals in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, following Israel’s recent offensive there, according to Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the West Bank and Gaza.
Peeperkorn highlighted the urgency of allowing critically ill patients to leave the war-torn enclave, stating that around 10,000 patients in Gaza still require urgent evacuation –- half of whom are suffering from severe trauma, including spinal injuries and amputations.
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini
Jul 16, 2024, 2:54 PM EDT IDF says it carried out 37,000 airstrikes on Gaza since October
The Israel Defense Forces has carried out 37,000 airstrikes on Gaza and targetted more than 25,000 terrorist infrastructures and launch sites since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the IDF said Tuesday.
The IDF also acknowledged carrying out strikes on hospitals, schools and humanitarian shelters throughout the Gaza Strip, claiming to target “terrorists who are located and based in sensitive sites,” the IDF said in a statement.
Jul 16, 2024, 2:03 PM EDT Dozens killed in Israeli strikes on UNRWA facility, safe zone
At least 23 people were killed and 73 others were injured after Israel struck a UNRWA school in a designated safe zone where displaced people are sheltering. Five UNRWA schools have been hit in the last 10 days, according to the UNRWA.
“UN facilities must be protected at all times. They must never be used for military or fighting purposes. No one is safe in Gaza, wherever they are. The people of #Gaza are children, women & men who have the right to live,” the UNRWA said Tuesday.
In another strike on a safe zone in Mawasi Khan Yunis, at least 17 people were killed and 26 others were injured.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it struck the school, alleging it struck terrorists who were operating in a UNRWA school.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 16, 2024, 11:52 AM EDT Israel strikes Nuseirat refugee camp for second day in a row
Israel has carried out a strike on Nuseirat refugee camp, where internally displaced Palestinians have been told to shelter, for the second day in a row, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
This is the sixth school — a designated safe zone — to be targeted by Israeli Defense Forces’ airstrikes in one week.
Israel has not confirmed whether Saturday’s strike that killed 90 Palestinians killed two Hamas officials, including military chief Mohammed Deif, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference.
“There is still no absolute certainty that the two have been eliminated, but I want to assure you that one way or another we will reach the entire top of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said he was briefed about the type of weapons that would be used and the expected “collateral damage,” as well as confirming Israel did not believe any hostages were held in the area, before giving the go ahead for the strike.
“Why should we risk something leaking out? Suppose something leaked, Deif and his deputy would go underground in a second. We update our American friends when necessary,” Netanyahu said.
Asked about not telling the U.S. about the strike beforehand, Netanyahu said it was to avoid an information leak.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
Jul 13, 2024, 4:14 PM EDT UN Human Rights Office condemns IDF’s strikes in Gaza humanitarian zones
The United Nations Human Rights Office has condemned the Israel Defense Forces’ use of weapons in populated areas of Gaza, including humanitarian zones, hours after an attack killed 90 Palestinians.
“The latest attack and casualty followed right after another massive attack on the north, which lasted for a week, resulting in further destruction and casualties,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement.
The U.N. said the IDF’s use of weapons in densely populated areas “despite the overwhelming evidence that these means and methods have led to disproportionate harm to civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure, suggests a pattern of willful violation of the disregard of [International Humanitarian Law] principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.”
“The use of such weapons in an area to which IDF is ordering people to evacuate demonstrates a rampant disregard for the safety of civilians. Even if Palestinian armed group members were using the presence of civilians in these areas in an attempt to shield themselves from attack, which would violate IHL, this would not remove IDF’s obligations to comply with these fundamental IHL principles of proportionality, distinction and precaution,” the U.N. said.
Jul 13, 2024, 3:14 PM EDT Death toll from Israeli attack on Khan Younis rises to 90
The death toll from Israel’s deadly attack on Al Mawasi, west of the southern city of Khan Younis, has now risen to 90 people killed and 300 injured, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Israel had admitted earlier that the strike was in the expanded humanitarian zone.
Products sold at the deli, especially those sliced or prepared at the deli, can be contaminated with Listeria. Image via CDC.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning Americans about a listeria outbreak that has sickened more than two dozen people across 12 states, possibly linked to deli meat.
As of Friday, 28 people have fallen ill — all of whom have been hospitalized — and two people have died, one from Illinois and one from New Jersey, according to the federal health agency.
New York is the state with the most cases at seven, followed by Maryland with six. States that have also reported cases include Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” the CDC wrote in its update on Friday. “This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.”
The CDC said it and its partners, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), are collecting data to determine the source of the outbreak. Many of the patients in this outbreak reported eating meats sliced at deli counters before falling ill.
There is currently no information indicating that people are getting sick from prepackaged deli meats.
“Of the 18 people able to be interviewed, 16 reported eating meats sliced at a deli, most commonly deli-sliced turkey, liverwurst and ham. Meats were sliced at a variety of supermarket and grocery store delis,” the CDC wrote.
Cases have been reported between May 29 and July 5, CDC data shows. Patients’ ages range from 32 years old to 94 years old with a median age of 75. A total of 72% of patients identify as white with 23% identifying as Black or African American and 5% as Asian.
When people eat food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, it can cause a serious infection known as listeriosis. This can progress to invasive listeriosis, when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of severe illness usually begin one to four weeks after eating the contaminated food but can start as early as the same day or as late as 70 later, the CDC said.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis annually and about 260 people die. Those most at risk include pregnant people and newborns, adults aged 65 or older and people with weakened immune systems.
Those who are not pregnant are likely to experience symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, stiff neck, confusion or loss of balance. Those who are pregnant are likely to experience just a fever and flu-like symptoms.
The CDC recommends those at higher risk of listeriosis to avoid eating meat sliced at deli counters unless heated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit or until steaming hot just before serving. The agency also recommends calling your health care provider if you have symptoms of listeriosis and recently ate meat sliced at a deli counter.
(WASHINGTON) — As the 2024 presidential race intensifies, both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are making their appeal to the growing Black and Hispanic voting blocs.
Hispanics and Latinos are growing at the second-fastest rate of any major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. electorate since the last presidential election, according to Pew Research Center.
They make up roughly 20% of the U.S. population and are projected to account for almost 15% of eligible voters in November, Pew’s research shows.
The Black community makes up almost 14% of the population, and is projected to account for 14% of eligible voters in November, Pew found.
A majority of both voter blocs voted in favor of Biden in 2020 – 92% of single-race Black, non-Hispanic voters and 59% of Hispanics and Latinos, according to Pew.
A majority of each voter bloc plans to vote for him again in 2024 – but the solid hold on the demographics are wavering.
Biden holds the lead with 49% of Hispanic and Latino voters against Trump’s 42%, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. Among Black voters, Biden holds the lead with 77% to Trump’s 17%.
A majority of white voters expect to vote for Trump according to the poll – with 53% in favor of the former president against Biden’s 39%.
This comes amid a growing national debate about race and diversity, with some conservatives aiming to remove diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools, the workplace and government who claim they promote racial division and unfair advantages for marginalized groups. Progressives, who aim to solidify these initiatives, say these programs aim to remedy longstanding forms of inequality and discrimination against such groups.
This escalating battle has sent Biden and Trump around the country courting Black and Hispanic voters on the issues of the economy, education, immigration and more.
The appeal to Black voters
Trump has recently attended events at Black Conservative Federation Gala in South Carolina, 180 Church in Michigan and New York City’s South Bronx to court Black voters and announce his “Black Americans for Trump” coalition.
Trump has centered his appeal to Black voters by equating his criminal prosecutions to the historic discrimination Black Americans have faced.
“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time and a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing,” Trump said in an appearance in the South Bronx, a predominantly Black and Hispanic community.
He continued, asserting that Black people are starting to vote for him because “what’s happening to me, happens to them.”
Trump campaign’s Black media director, Janiyah Thomas, told ABC’s Kyra Phillips that Black voters feel like they’re being taken for granted by the Democratic Party.
“President Trump’s resonating with more people because we’ve had a Black president, we’ve had a Black vice president, and a lot of Black people are saying they have nothing to show for it,” Thomas said.
At the annual NAACP National Convention on July 16, Biden zeroed-in on Trump’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and tax cuts for corporations and wealthier households. He also used the stage to highlight Trump’s past controversial comments on Black figures.
“Black voters haven’t forgotten that this man entered public life calling for the death penalty for the innocent Central Park 5 and entered political life spreading racist conspiracy theories about Barack Obama,” Biden said.
He continued, “We haven’t forgotten that Black unemployment and uninsured rates skyrocketed when Trump was in the White House. And we sure haven’t forgotten Trump repeatedly cozying up to white supremacists and demonizing Black communities to his political benefit – because that’s exactly what he’ll do if he wins a second term. Black voters sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House in 2020, and they’re ready to make Donald Trump a two-time loser in 2024.”
Biden has since been targeting Trump on the issues that appear to ring the loudest among Black voters. Pew found that these issues are: improving the education system, strengthening the economy and ensuring the financial stability of Social Security.
“He left no room for us to do what we should be doing: investing in things that affect people’s lives, like child care, eldercare, and so much more that grow the economy and help people,” said Biden.
Trump has also repeatedly touted unfounded claims that undocumented immigrants are taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.”
“You know who’s being hurt the most by millions of people pouring into our country? The Black population and the Hispanic population. Because they’re taking the jobs from our Black population, our Hispanic population. ” said Trump at the Republican National Convention. “By the way, you know who’s taking the jobs, the jobs that are created? 107% of those jobs are taken by illegal aliens.”
However, data does not show that immigrants — particularly undocumented immigrants — are taking over the job market. Pew found that 4.6% of U.S. workers in 2021 were unauthorized immigrants, virtually identical to the share in 2017.
It is also unclear what Trump means when referring to “Black” and “Hispanic” jobs.
The appeal to Hispanic voters
Biden has been traveling to states with large Hispanic populations, like Arizona and Nevada, to tout the lowest unemployment rates for Hispanics and the general population seen in decades, his efforts to reduce or cap costs for medication, and the rise in Hispanic entrepreneurship and business ownership under his administration.
He was scheduled to speak on a Spanish-language Univision radio show, as well as a conference for the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, UnidosUS, as well as speaking with local union leaders before he tested positive for COVID-19.
His recent slate of Hispanic-focused outreach comes amid the signing of a new executive order to increase funding to Hispanic-serving institutions to “increase Latinos’ access to educational opportunities,” according to a White House official.
The official also told ABC News that the Education Department has proposed a new rule Wednesday to expand federal programs to “help low-income Americans, and those who would be first in their families to go to college, seek higher education” — increasing access to as many as 50,000 people each year including DACA recipients, according to the official.
“Over the past three years, the administration has taken historic action to expand opportunity for Latino families and communities, including creating more than 15 million jobs – with 5 million created for Latinos, helping Latino entrepreneurs start new businesses at the fastest rate in over 10 years, working to ensure equitable educational opportunity for students, addressing our broken immigration system through new executive actions, and more.
Trump has also set his sights on Hispanics and Latinos, forming a “Latino Americans for Trump” coalition that consist of Latino leaders from across the country, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
“In 2020, we got more votes from Hispanic Americans than any Republican in more than 50 years, and we won the Texas border counties that no Republican candidate had won in more than a century!” the campaign release quoted Trump. “In 2024, we’re going to win an even larger share of the Hispanic American vote, setting all-time records for Republicans up and down the ballot.”
Trump has cited inflation, rising interest rates, and the lack of affordable housing as issues he plans to focus on to turn Latino voters. He’s also doubled down on strict and controversial immigration policies, including plans to deport “millions” as migrant encounters along the southwest border have reached an all-time high in recent months.
His campaign has also touted his criminal indictments, trials and impeachments as alleged “persecution” — aiming to connect with Latinos who may have faced hardships in their home countries.
“Just like the Cuban regime, the Biden regime is trying to put their political opponents in jail, shutting down free speech, taking bribes and kickbacks to enrich themselves,” Trump claimed without evidence at a November 2023 rally in Florida.
Trump has since been convicted of 34 felonies related to the New York hush money trial.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is facing a critical point in his reelection bid as Democratic calls for him to exit the 2024 race continue to mount despite his efforts to shut them down.
A poor debate performance against Donald Trump reignited questions about Biden’s age and fitness to carry out his campaign and serve another four years. Biden has defiantly insisted he is staying the course, telling lawmakers this week he is not going anywhere.
Biden held his first news conference since the debate Thursday evening — taking multiple questions about his political future.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Jul 19, 2024, 1:32 PM EDT 2 more Democratic House members join calls for Biden to end campaign
Ohio Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman released a statement Friday joining the growing calls from House Democrats to Biden to step aside.
Landsman said that he spent “weeks of consideration and hundreds of conversations with constituents,” before coming to his conclusion.
“It is time for President Biden to step aside and allow us to nominate a new leader who can reliably and consistently make the case against Donald Trump and make the case for the future of America,” he said.
Not too long after Landsman released his statement, Rep. Zo Lofgren of California said Biden needed to step aside.
Lofgren, a longtime ally of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said in a letter to Biden that he provided the president with data “indicating that you in all likelihood will lose the race for President.”
“Simply put, your candidacy is on a trajectory to lose the White House and potentially impact crucial House and Senate races down ballot,” she said.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
‘I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week’: Biden
Biden released a statement Friday indicating that he is not ending his campaign anytime soon.
“I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone,” the president said.
Biden, who is self-isolating after contracting COVID-19, also criticized Trump’s Thursday night keynote speech at the RNC, saying the former president “focused on his own grievances, with no plan to unite us and no plan to make life better for working people.”
“Last night the American people saw the same Donald Trump they rejected four years ago,” he said.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
3rd Democratic senator calls on Biden to step aside
Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, became the third sitting Democratic senator to call on Biden to end his reelection bid.
Heinrich said in a statement Friday, “this moment in our nation’s history calls for a focus that is bigger than any one person,” citing a possible Trump victory.
“By passing the torch, [Biden] would secure his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy,” he added.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
4 more Democratic House members call on Biden to step aside
A group of four House Democrats — Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.; Marc Veasey, D-Texas; Chuy Garcia, D-Ill.; and Mark Pocan, D-Wis. — released a joint statement Friday calling on President Biden to step aside and end his campaign.
“Democrats have a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who you have lifted up, empowered, and prepared for this moment,” the group of lawmakers wrote in their letter.
Pocan and Huffman are part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Pocan recently campaigned with Biden in Wisconsin.
Garcia is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Veasey is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and its first member to call on Biden to step aside.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 18, 2024, 9:16 PM EDT Pelosi privately says Biden is more receptive to calls to leave candidacy, sources say
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has privately told some House Democrats she believes President Biden is more receptive to hearing calls for him to step aside and that those conversations could push him to make a decision soon, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Biden, however, has publicly insisted he has already made his decision and it is to stay in the race.
This comes as a slew of top Democratic leaders have come out to publicly ask the President to not run for re-election.
Jul 18, 2024, 9:00 PM EDT Sen. Jon Tester calls on Biden not to seek another term
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., called on President Joe Biden not to seek another term in a statement Thursday, saying, “I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong.”
“While I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term,” Tester said.
Jul 18, 2024, 9:00 PM EDT California Rep. Jim Costa urges Biden to ‘pass the torch’
California Rep. Jim Costa became the 22nd member of Congress on Thursday to publicly call for President Joe Biden to end his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
“For the good of the country, I think it is time for the President to pass the torch to the next generation to carry on the legacy he started,” Costa said in a statement.
“Democrats need to unite and deliver their strongest team to the American people in this election,” he said.
Jul 18, 2024, 8:26 PM EDT Biden campaign targets Project 2025 on final day of RNC
“The manifesto lays out Trump’s plan to ban abortion nationwide, slash Social Security and Medicare, and consolidate power so he can rule as a dictator on day one,” Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said of Project 2025 in a statement.
“His agenda is destructive, drastic, and draconian – and has no place in America. Now, every voter will hear about Trump’s Project 2025 and show up in droves this November to defeat it,” Moussa said.
The 30-second commercial features a QR code that remains on screen for 22 seconds and redirects to a page on the Biden campaign’s website that scrutinized the presidential transition blueprint.
The spot is overlayed with audio of different news personalities reporting on Project 2025, including its proposals concerning civil servants and climate change.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Jul 18, 2024, 6:04 PM EDT
‘It’s done. … Money will keep on drying up’, Dem strategist says
The donors who have hit pause on contributing to Biden’s campaign are going to hit pause for some time, a Democratic strategist close to Biden’s inner circle told ABC News Thursday.
“It’s going to be brutal,” they said. “The headlines are only going to get more intense and money will keep on drying up.”
While the three biggest donors to President Biden are still in, and in fact doubling and tripling down, the source claimed it cannot come close to making up for the massive hole.
“It’s done,” the source said about the Biden campaign’s current strategy. “We will not get the elites back on Biden’s side. The panic has taken over and the stampede is under away.”
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Jul 18, 2024, 5:15 PM EDT 1,400 Black women leaders, allies sign letter in support of Biden-Harris ticket
More than a thousand Black women leaders and allies have signed a letter in support of the Biden-Harris ticket.
In the letter, dated July 17 and addressed to the “Democratic Party leadership,” the signatories say they’re “writing to share our deep concern and dismay at the lack of unity being displayed by some of our elected democrats and Democratic Party leadership, who are not standing firmly and resolutely for the reelection of President Joseph Biden and his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.”
“The Biden-Harris administration is running on a solid record of historic legislative accomplishments and a commitment to finish their agenda to improve the lives of all Americans, protect our rights, freedoms and democracy,” they continue, in part. “Further, we believe it is unfair and disruptive to judge President Biden for having a bad 90-minute debate performance against a serial liar who wants to destroy our democracy and be a dictator-in-chief.”
“History is a great teacher and has taught us that a divided house will fail,” they write. “As Black women, we are uniquely aware of the very real threat a second Trump term poses to our country and especially to our community. But this is not a moment to give in to fear. Instead, we must unify around our deep belief in our values and our ability to effectively engage voters and win up and down the ballot in 2024.”
They end the letter by saying, “Now is the time for democrats to unite and win.”
Some notable signers included actress Vivica A. Fox, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matters.
-ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin
Jul 18, 2024, 4:28 PM EDT Raskin to Biden: ‘There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow’
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin sent Biden a four-page letter on July 6 urging him to reconsider his campaign and speak with Democrats about the path forward.
“There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics,” he wrote in the letter, obtained by ABC News.
“Your situation is tricky because you are both our star pitcher and our Manager. But in democracy, as you have shown us more than any prior president, you are not a Manager acting all alone; you are the co-Manager along with our great team and our great people,” Raskin added.
The letter was first reported by The New York Times on Thursday. Raskin confirmed to ABC News that he sent the letter.
In it, the congressman urged the president to caucus with the team.
“Hear them out. You will make the right decision,” he wrote.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Ben Siegel
Jul 18, 2024, 4:18 PM EDT Biden more receptive to hearing calls to step aside: Senior administration official
While the president’s inner circle and campaign are adamant that he is just as committed as ever, the president has become more receptive to hearing out callsfor him to exit the race, a senior administration official tells ABC News.
Biden has also asked for polling on how Kamala Harris would do, according to the official.
There is no indication that Biden is changing his mind.
When it comes to money, the big donors in New York and California have let the team know they are not saying no, but have hit the pause button for now, the official said.
The official noted that the president is wiped and exhausted, but the COVID-19 diagnosis gives him a chance to bring people together, have conversations and think while he recovers in Delaware.
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce
Top Biden aide: Biden ‘preparing to hit the campaign trail again next week’
As President Biden faces mounting calls from prominent Democrats to drop out of the race, a member of his inner circle flatly denied reports that the president is now more open to the idea of ending his campaign.
“Anyone who has talked to Joe Biden in the last 24 hours can tell you that is not true,” the senior White House official, who has spoken to Biden today, told ABC News.
The official said nothing has changed regarding Biden’s candidacy and the campaign, with the exception that COVID is keeping him home.
“He is going to win the nomination and then the party is going to need to unite,” the official said.
The senior official expressed anger and frustration at the criticism Biden is taking from fellow Democrats, acknowledging that the calls for the president to drop out have taken a toll and will likely cause further erosion in the polls.
This official also told ABC News that reports to the contrary are coming out of Congress, and not from those who truly know the mindset of the president.
“He is preparing to hit the campaign trail again next week,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Jonathan Karl
Biden tells BET he would leave 2nd term if forced by ‘medical condition’
President Joe Biden in an interview with BET said he would be open to relinquishing the presidency during his second term if health reasons dictated it, though he dismissed the possibility as unlikely.
“Only if I was told that there was some medical condition that I had, and that’s not the case,” the president said when asked if he would turn over power to Vice President Kamala Harris if he couldn’t complete a second term.
In the pre-taped interview, which aired in full Wednesday night, Biden told BET’s Ed Gordon that he would keep serving as long as the effects of his increasing age don’t impact his ability to do the job.
He also acknowledged he would be willing to evaluate his capabilities on a year-to-year basis.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Gariella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Farrow
Pelosi went to Biden with concerns over his candidacy: Source
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi spoke with President Joe Biden a week ago, telling the president that she and other members of the Democratic Party are concerned about him staying in the race, a source confirms to ABC News.
Pelosi told the president that the calls for him to step down from the ticket would grow, sources said.
It is possible that Pelosi could suggest Biden should step down publicly, a source said.
The news about Pelosi’s behind-the-scenes moves comes as associate Rep. Adam Schiff, who is running for Senate, spoke out publicly earlier Wednesday, saying Biden should “pass the torch.”
Biden tests positive for COVID
The president tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday afternoon, the White House said.
Biden is experiencing “mild symptoms,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Biden was campaigning in Las Vegas and attended one event earlier in the day, according to Jean-Pierre.
“He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” she said.
The White House doctor provided more details, stating Biden had a runny nose, “and non-productive cough, with general malaise.” The president’s temperature was 97.8 degrees and he had taken his first dose of Paxlovid, the doctor said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the co-chair of the DNC Rules Committee, called Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Tuesday to push for the delay of the virtual roll call that would officially nominate Biden, two people with direct knowledge of the call told ABC News.
Walz co-wrote the letter sent this morning to rules committee members, which set the proposal for an early August virtual nomination of Biden. The roll call could previously have been held as early as Sunday.
Walz told O’Malley Dillon that he has been hearing from other governors who want the roll call to be pushed back. The Biden campaign made the concession to push it back, one source said, and even helped to propose the solution.
Walz’s efforts were separate from those of House Minority Leader Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Schumer, the source said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the co-chair of the DNC Rules Committee, called Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Tuesday to push for the delay of the virtual roll call that would officially nominate Biden, two people with direct knowledge of the call told ABC News.
Walz co-wrote the letter sent this morning to rules committee members, which set the proposal for an early August virtual nomination of Biden. The roll call could previously have been held as early as Sunday.
Walz told O’Malley Dillon that he has been hearing from other governors who want the roll call to be pushed back. The Biden campaign made the concession to push it back, one source said, and even helped to propose the solution.
Walz’s efforts were separate from those of House Minority Leader Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Schumer, the source said.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Schumer, Jeffries pushed party to delay official Biden nomination vote: Sources
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed the party to delay its nominating process, multiple sources tell ABC News.
This comes after Schumer met privately with President Biden on Saturday in Rehoboth, Delaware. Following the meeting, Schumer only described it as a “good meeting.”
This is the biggest indication so far that Schumer is keeping an open mind about Biden’s future.
Schumer and Jeffries spoke and both agreed to make the push, according to the sources.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Allison Pecorin
Harris accepts 3rd date option offered by CBS for VP debate
Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday accepted a third date option proposed by CBS News for a vice-presidential debate, a Biden campaign official said.
The new proposed date is for Monday, Aug. 12, according to the Biden campaign.
“Now that the Trump campaign has selected a running mate, we encourage them to agree to a debate between Vice President Harris and Senator Vance,” the campaign official said.
On May 16, CBS News offered two debate date options on either July 23 (the week after the RNC) or Aug. 13 (the week before the DNC), which Harris accepted at the time.
The next day Trump accepted a Fox News proposal for his eventual running mate — who we now know is Vance.
“On behalf of the future Vice President of the United States, who I have not yet chosen, we hereby accept the Fox Vice Presidential Debate, hopefully at Virginia State University, the first Historically Black College or University to host a Debate – Date to be determined,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time. “I urge Vice President Kamala Harris to agree to this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Fox News’ VP debate offer was for the same dates CBS News originally offered.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Rep. Adam Schiff calls on Biden to drop out of the race
Rep. Adam Schiff is calling on President Joe Biden to drop out of the race and “pass the torch.”
“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election,” Schiff said Wednesday in a statement released by his office.
Schiff is running for California Senate, and he led the first impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
“Joe Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better,” his statement read.
“But our nation is at a crossroads. A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he continued, then calling on the president to “pass the torch.”
“But make no mistake, whoever our party ends up nominating, or if the nomination remains with the president, I will do everything I can to help them succeed. There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high,” he added.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 13, 2024, 5:53 PM EDT
Biden gets into heated conversation with New Democrat Coalition: Source
A call between Biden and the New Democrat Coalition, a group of center-left congressional Democrats, got heated, a source with knowledge of the conversation told ABC News.
Biden got angry with the group, yelled at one, Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, and then got off the call before other members could confront him about stepping aside, according to the source.
“It was bad,” one member on the call said, according to the source. “No plan.”
When members pressed him on how he would turn the campaign around, Biden just listed policy achievements and insisted his polls look better, the source said.
Biden got off the call before Rep. Mike Quigley, who has called on him to step aside from his campaign, could ask a question, according to the source.
-ABC News’ Rachel Bade
Jul 13, 2024, 5:05 PM EDT
Biden met with Congressional Progressive Caucus
Biden spoke with the Congressional Progressive Caucus members Saturday to discuss his plan moving forward with his campaign.
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the caucus’ chair, said in a statement that the conversation was “productive and engaging.”
“We spoke frankly to the President about our concerns and asked tough questions about the path forward. We appreciate his willingness to thoughtfully answer and address our Members,” she said in her statement.
Saturday’s meeting came a day after the president met with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s political arm, BOLD PAC, Friday.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow and Lauren Peller
Jul 13, 2024, 1:40 PM EDT
Bernie Sanders reaffirms support for Biden
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a firm backing for Biden’s re-election bid in a guest essay published in the New York Times Saturday.
Sanders, who previously challenged Biden in the 2020 primary, acknowledged his differences with the president on several issues and concerns over Biden’s age. However, he chastised Democrats who have come out calling for Biden to step aside.
“Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate. And with an effective campaign that speaks to the needs of working families, he will not only defeat Mr. Trump but beat him badly. It’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking.”
Among the Democrats who have called for Biden to end his bid is fellow Vermont Sen. Peter Welch.
Sanders did not directly mention Welch, who is currently the only senator to openly call on Biden to bow out, in the essay.
Instead, he focused on the dangers of Trump’s policies and rhetoric and played up Biden’s accomplishments in several areas including income inequality.
“This election offers a stark choice on issue after issue. If Mr. Biden and his supporters focus on these issues — and refuse to be divided and distracted — the president will rally working families to his side in the industrial Midwest swing states and elsewhere and win the November election. And let me say this as emphatically as I can: For the sake of our kids and future generations, he must win,” Sanders said.
Jul 12, 2024, 9:46 PM EDT
Congresswoman voices support for Biden after Michigan rally
Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, said after President Biden’s Detroit rally that Biden “is the only candidate with a proven ability to beat Donald Trump.”
Amid concerns from some who have witnessed the president behind closed doors about his ability to serve four more years, Stevens’ pledge of support comes after she spent the morning with the president on Air Force One, where, she said, “he demonstrated his leadership and wisdom, yet again.”
“Now is the time to stay the course, work hard, ensure we beat Donald Trump, and protect our democracy for generations to come,” she said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Jul 12, 2024, 8:50 PM EDT
Biden delivers rousing defense of his candidacy at Michigan event
President Biden took the stage in this key battleground state intent on proving his critics wrong.
Before an amped-up crowd of 2,000 in Detroit, a fired-up President Biden railed against Donald Trump in pointed attacks, challenged the press, outlined his first 100 days in office and tried to make clear to his doubters, he isn’t going anywhere.
“Folks, I’m the nominee!” Biden roared as the crowd erupted.
“I’m the nominee as part because 14 million Democrats like you voted for me in the primaries. You made me the nominee. No one else, not the press, not the pundits, not the insiders, not donors. You the voters, you decided, no one else. And I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said.
The president also framed his agenda by announcing his plan for his “first 100 days in office.”
Biden pledged to codify Roe v. Wade, passing an assault weapons ban, passing the John Lewis Voting rights act and to make sure the rich pay their “fair share in taxes.”
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce, Molly Nagle and Will McDuffie
Jul 12, 2024, 8:15 PM EDT
Biden addresses ‘confusing names,’ says Trump gets a ‘free pass’
President Joe Biden came out strong against Donald Trump at his campaign event in Detroit, Michigan Friday.
Addressing his gaffes during the NATO conference Thursday, Biden said, “They’ve been hammering me because I sometimes confuse names. I say, that’s Charlie, instead of Bill.”
On Thursday, Biden referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During his press conference Thursday, Biden referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as Donald Trump.
Drawing attention to Trump’s history of name gaffes Biden said, “Donald Trump has gotten a free pass.”
“I guess they don’t remember that Trump called Nikki Haley Nancy Pelosi,” Biden said.
“Donald, no more free passes,” Biden continued, adding, “Today, we’re going to shine a spotlight on Donald Trump.”
Jul 12, 2024, 7:48 PM EDT
Biden at Michigan campaign event: ‘I am running’
During a campaign event in Michigan Friday night, Biden reiterated his commitment to the race.
“As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a lot of speculation lately: What’s Joe Biden going to do?” he told the crowd. “Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out?”
“I am running and we’re going to win,” he continued.
Biden said he’s going to beat Trump again.
“I know him. Donald Trump is a loser,” he said.
Jul 12, 2024, 7:48 PM EDT
Some progressive say they’re sticking with Biden, but do express concerns
Progressive-leaning Democratic voters who attended the Netroots Convention in Baltimore Maryland Friday told ABC News they still plan to vote for Biden in November amid calls for the president to step aside.
First-time voter Emily Kolonder, 19, from New York says she believes Biden is the candidate who best aligns with her views on abortion access and climate change.
“Knowing both candidates’ policies, I will still be voting for Biden. But do I think someone of that age and that mental ability should be able to be President? No. But, when you have these two options, I think he [Biden] is the better of the two candidates,” Kolonder said.
Kolonder said that while she would support a different Democratic candidate if Biden were to pull out of the race. However, she is not confident Kamala Harris can beat Donald Trump.
“I don’t think she can get enough votes. I would personally support her, but I don’t think she can win,” she said.
Davonna Williams, a 30-year-old voter from Kansas City, Missouri said that while she believes in Biden’s abilities as president, she thinks he’s a “hard sell” to disenchanted voters following his most recent gaffes.
“I think what should have happened is that there should have been some planning, like a year, two years out, because we knew this point was coming. We knew it was happening. And I just feel like there was a lack of planning on the Democratic side,” Williams said.
Williams said she worries the calls for Biden to step aside may result in low voter turnout as infighting continues to grow.
“I certainly don’t think it helps. I think if anything, it’ll make folks just say ‘I’m just not going to vote,” she added.
-ABC News’ Briana Stewart and Emily Chang
Jul 12, 2024, 5:57 PM EDT
Biden call with Congressional Hispanic Caucus went ‘off the rails,’ member says
Biden’s talk with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus did not go smoothly, according to multiple sources who had knowledge of the meeting.
One member who was on the call with the president told ABC News it was “frustrating,” saying it went “off the rails” at one point.
The president was an hour late to the call, three sources said.
When it finally started, Bold PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign arm, who organized the virtual meeting said only two members would be allowed to ask questions, but Biden ended up taking three questions.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who strongly implied Biden should resign in a statement released Thursday, and Rep. Gabe Vasquez both tried to ask questions by using the raise-hand feature on Zoom but it kept being taken down, according to a source.
This source blamed campaign staff who the source felt were trying to control the call.
Rep. Mike Levin was not on the list of ‘pre-selected’ members to ask questions, but when Biden opened it up the call to others, Levin told him it was time to step aside and allow someone else to lead the Democratic ticket.
Biden responded at length, according to two sources, with, “That’s why I’m going out and letting people touch me, poke me, ask me questions. I think I know what I’m doing because the truth of the matter is I’m going to say something outrageous: No president in three years has done what we have in three years other than Franklin Roosevelt, because of your help.”
“That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact. No president. And so, that doesn’t answer the question,” Biden added, according to the sources.
“That was great when you were feeling good, ‘Biden, are you OK now?'” Biden continued, talking in the third person, the sources said. “That’s what’s underlying. That’s what people are worried about. ‘I’ve got a grandfather who’s 85 years old, and he can’t walk.’ It’s a legitimate concern for people, but that’s why I think it’s important I get out and show people everything from how well I move to how much I know and that I’m still in good charge.”
Biden tried to take another question and then the meeting ended abruptly, according to one person on the call and another person who was briefed after the 30-minute call.
Two congressional members who were on the call, however, described a more cordial call.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar D-Tex said in a post on X “It was a great conversation.”
“I am focused on what we need to do to win in November. Donald Trump is an existential threat, especially to our Latino communities. And I remain proud to be #RidingWithBidenHarris2024,” she said in her post.
Sen. Alex Padilla said in a post on X that “POTUS engaged with us on strategy and demonstrated once again that he is clear-eyed on the path forward to defeating Trump and MAGA extremism.”
“He’s had our communities’ backs over the last three years and we’ll have his this November,” the senator said in his post.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Mariam Khan and MaryAlice Parks
Jul 12, 2024, 6:12 PM EDT
Biden to Detroit crowd ‘I promise you, I’m OK’
Speaking to supporters at a grill in Detroit before his rally Friday evening, Biden tried to allay fears about his age.
“For the longest time I was too young, because I was the second youngest man ever elected to the United States Senate, and anyway, and now I’m too old, but I know hopefully with a little bit of age comes a little bit of wisdom,” he said.
He made the contrast with Donald Trump stating, “And hopefully that in this in this moment, I think the alternative is not much of an alternative. And I do think ethics matter. I do think decency matters.”
Biden ended by assuring the crowd, “I promise you, I’m okay. Thank you.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Farrow
Jul 12, 2024, 4:55 PM EDT
Whitmer won’t attend Biden Detroit rally
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will not attend Biden’s campaign event in Detroit on Friday, her spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
Whitmer, who is the Biden campaign co-chair, is in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the annual Sun Valley Conference, an exclusive, private retreat of tech and media power players.
She’s had that travel planned for several weeks, the spokesperson said. Biden officially announced his Michigan rally this week.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who is running for the state’s open Senate seat, will also skip the rally, according to her spokesperson.
“The congresswoman had previous commitments outside Michigan today,” a spokesperson told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Jul 12, 2024, 2:45 PM EDT
19th House Democrat calls on Biden to bow out of race
California House Democratic Rep. Mike Levin released a statement Friday calling on Biden to stand aside and not run for reelection.
“It is time to move forward. With a new leader. Together,” he said.
Levin is the 19th House Democrat to call on Biden to leave the race.
Levin said he has been vocal about his views with his colleagues and has heard from “several hundred” of his constituents who expressed worry about the election.
“We must prevail against the incalculable threat Donald Trump poses to the American institutions of freedom and democracy,” he said.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 12, 2024, 4:17 PM EDT
2 Iowa Democratic House candidates join call for Biden to step aside
Two Democrats looking to flip red seats in Iowa said Friday that Biden needed to end his reelection bid.
Sarah Corkery, who is running for the state’s 2nd District seat which represents 22 counties in the state including Cedar Rapids, told the Des Moines Register that “now is the time for him to pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“She will continue the fight to keep our democracy alive,” Corkery told the paper.
Fellow Democrat Christina Bohannan, who is vying to flip the state’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Iowa City, echoed the call for Biden to bow out.
Bohannan said in a statement posted on X that she’s heard from a lot of voters who are concerned about Biden’s viability.
The district is being heavily targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which lists it among 33 Republican-held or open seats it considers in play this November.
“It is time for President Biden to withdraw from this campaign and pass the torch to a new generation of leadership,” Bohannan said.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Jul 12, 2024, 2:21 PM EDT
Biden to speak with progressive, moderate Democrats this weekend: Sources
President Biden is expected to speak with members of the New Democrat Coalition, a large group of self-styled moderates in the House, over the weekend, multiple Democratic sources told ABC News.
The group includes several Democrats who have called for him to withdraw from the race, including Reps. Adam Smith, Pat Ryan, Mikie Sherrill, Mike Quigley, and Jim Himes.
It’s not clear how many of those members will join the call. But it could be an opportunity for some of them to make their case directly to Biden.
The president plans to also meet with members of the Progressive Caucus on Saturday, according to sources.
-ABC News’ Ben Siegel and Rachel Scott
Jul 12, 2024, 12:29 PM EDT
Biden to speak with Congressional Hispanic Caucus: Sources
Biden will be speaking with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday, two sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.
The meeting was technically set up through the BOLD PAC, which supports Hispanic and progressive candidates and includes members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to sources.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott
Jul 12, 2024, 11:00 AM EDT
Ron Klain says Biden news conference a ‘more typical’ performance than debate
Ron Klain, a senior adviser to Biden and former White House chief of staff joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday to discuss Biden’s high-stakes news conference.
Klain framed the debate as a “bad night” and said the preparations were better than the real-time showing. Klain also said that what Americans saw on Thursday is more representative of Biden’s abilities.
“Last night, the press conference we saw … was much more typical to what we saw in the debate preparations,” Klain said, adding: “And I think that the president showed showed what he’s capable of last night in this press conference, and voters see it every day as he governs and leads the country and campaigns around the country.”
-ABC News’ Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim
Jul 12, 2024, 11:03 AM EDT
Jeffries, Schumer privately sympathetic to view that Biden on path to lose to Trump, source says
According to a senior Democratic source, at the Biden campaign briefing on Thursday with Democratic senators, only three senators spoke up to say Biden should stay in the race. The senators also asked for Anita Dunn (a senior adviser to Biden) to be at the briefing and she did not come.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are both sympathetic to the view Biden is on a path to lose to Trump and it would be best if he moved on, the source said. But, the source said, “This is a private play, not a public one.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also spoken to Barack Obama about this — although it is important to say, they talk regularly.
-ABC News’ Jonathan Karl
Jul 12, 2024, 10:45 AM EDT
Another House Democrat calls on Biden to step aside as candidate
“Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again,” Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen said in a statement.
The congresswoman urged Biden to “pass the torch” to “one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump.”
There are now 18 congressional Democrats calling on Biden to step aside as the party’s candidate.
Jul 12, 2024, 10:36 AM EDT
Hakeem Jeffries met with Biden on Thursday to discuss the path forward
The House Democratic leader, in a letter to colleagues on Friday, said he met with President Biden privately on Thursday evening.
“Over the past several days, House Democrats have engaged in a thoughtful and extensive discussion about the future of our country, during a time when freedom, democracy and the economic well-being of everyday Americans are on the line,” Jeffries wrote. “Our discourse has been candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive.”
“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together,” Jeffries added.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
9:23 AM EDT Clyburn ‘all in’ for Biden but notes there’s still time before convention for president to change his mind
“I am all in. I’m ridin’ with Biden no which direction he goes, no matter what method he takes. I’m with Joe Biden,” Rep. Jim Clyburn said on NBC News in his first post-press conference interview.
“And if he were to change his mind … I would be all in for the vice president,” Clyburn said.
The congressman, whose endorsement was key to saving Biden’s primary campaign in 2020, said Biden has “earned” the right to make his own determination on his political future.
“I am going to give him that much respect,” Clyburn said. “If he decides to change his mind later on, then we would respond to that. We have until the 19th of August to open our convention and so I would hope we spend our time now focusing on the record that we would lay out for the American people, remind the American people what is in store if Project 2025 were to become the law in any form. That is where our focus ought to be.”
1:21 AM EDT President to visit Detroit following heavily scrutinized press conference
In his first public event since taking questions from reporters in an open presser on Thursday night, President Joe Biden is heading to the Motor City.
Biden will head to Detroit, Michigan, for campaign-related activities on Friday.
After a day of events, Biden will then travel to the Dover, Delaware, airport as he makes his way to his home in Rehoboth Beach.
11:22 PM EDT Fmr. Rep. Harman says ‘chaos’ in the party ‘plays right into Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s playbooks’
Former Democratic House Rep. Jane Harman called President Biden’s press conference Thursday night a “solid” performance.
“I thought Biden’s performance tonight was solid. Yes, there was one gaffe and there was a gaffe earlier today. I don’t think it’s been a secret for 40 years that he is gaffe prone, so I wouldn’t judge him that way. I thought his answers on China and on Ukraine were nuanced and thoughtful and proved what experience he has and what a nuanced mind he has,” Harman told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis. “Having said that, I’m not going to pretend that the poll numbers are great, and I’m not going to pretend that some of the concerns are invalid, but … I think we have to be pretty practical here.”
Harman then pointed out Biden’s desire to stay in the race, his record, which she called “excellent,” and the uncertainty of what would happen with the Democrats if he left the race.
“Chaos plays right into Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s playbooks. And let’s not forget, there could be malign influence going on here,” she told Davis. “And a lot of the information out there could be domestically driven, or it could be foreign, malign influence.”
Regardless, Harman said she thinks Democrats will have a “private conversation soon.”
“I’m guessing Nancy Pelosi will be in the room, and she’s a highly respected vote counter,” Harman continued. “I give her a lot of credit. I served with her for a long time, and we’re still in active touch. And we’ll see; I mean, he said if he can’t win, he will leave the race. If he can’t win, he has to be persuaded of that. But if he can’t win, who can win? This is not a conversation about Biden leaving. It’s a conversation about the Democratic ticket winning.”
10:54 PM EDT First Dem. Rep. to call for Biden to step aside unchanged in opinion after presser
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, the first sitting House member to call for President Biden to step aside, told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis that following Thursday’s press conference, his opinion hasn’t changed.
“I thought the president did a good job. I think he clearly is the most qualified person to handle our international relations. But the question before us — is he the most qualified person to turn around the undecided and the independents who have refused to join him over the past year and now complicated by the setback when we needed a surge that he had during the debate,” Doggett said. “Every time there’s a slip, a Vice President Trump instead of Harris, a Putin instead of Zelensky, people will focus on something that might not have even been noticed at past times. And to the extent over the coming months that all the attention is on whether he is fit and able to do this job instead of on Trump’s lies, we will be set back.”
Doggett, directing his comments to Biden, said the polls don’t support a top-of-the-ticket win.
“And, Mr. President, just as you deal with the reality of conflict around the world, deal with the reality of the numbers here. And when you look at those numbers, we don’t see a path forward for a Democratic Congress and a White House that is occupied by someone of President Biden’s skill, but is instead occupied by a criminal and his gang.”
10:37 PM EDT Biden campaign staffers fired up by press conference: Source
A source familiar with the thinking at the Biden campaign Thursday night told ABC News that following the president’s presser in front of the media, staffers were reminded why they moved to Wilmington, Delaware, to work on his campaign. They believe no one will fight harder for the American people than Biden. Those at the campaign believe the press conference showed off Biden’s deep policy experience, going above and beyond expectations, the source expressed.
Jul 11, 2024, 10:26 PM EDT ‘One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon’: Biden corrects calling VP Harris ‘Trump’
President Joe Biden addressed saying “Vice President Trump” instead of “Vice President Harris” at his post-NATO press conference in a post on X late Thursday night.
“By the way: Yes, I know the difference,” read the post on the president’s account. “One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon.”
Jul 11, 2024, 10:26 PM EDT Rep. Eric Sorensen joins chorus of Dems calling for Biden to ‘step aside’
Adding to the list of Democratic representatives calling for Biden to exit the presidential race, Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois released a statement following the NATO press conference Thursday.
“In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again,” Sorensen said.
“I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President,” he said.
Rep. Sorensen becomes the 17th House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside and the third to do so following the NATO press conference.
Jul 11, 2024, 9:39 PM EDT Post-press conference, House Dem Rep. Scott Peters calls on Biden to step aside
Not long after the conclusion of President Joe Biden’s first solo press conference in eight months, California’s House Dem Rep. Scott Peters is calling for Biden to leave the race.
After praising the president for “saving us from a second term of a Trump Presidency in 2020 and for leading with his huge heart and a steady hand in challenging times,” Peters said he does not believe that Biden’s record would “translate into similar success in his reelection campaign.”
Peters said the Democrats were already down in the polls before the debate, and Biden’s performance during the event, “raised real concern among elected leaders, supporters, and voters that the President will not be able to wage a winning campaign. This was not a blip. And while the Biden campaign claims the post-debate national polls remain relatively unchanged, polling in the swing states has worsened alarmingly.
“Today I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign,” Peters continued. “The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course. My conscience requires me to speak up and put loyalty to the country and to democracy ahead of my great affection for, and loyalty to, the President and those around him.”
Jul 11, 2024, 9:08 PM EDT Democratic Rep. Jim Himes calls on Biden to ‘step away’ after NATO press conference
Following Biden’s press conference, Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes released a statement calling on Biden to “step away from the presidential campaign.”
Himes serves as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
“The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s MAGA authoritarianism,” Himes said.
Jul 11, 2024, 9:06 PM EDT Biden ends 50-minute q and a with a shot at Trump
Biden ended his unscripted q and a portion of his news conference, which lasted 50 minutes, taking a question about a Truth Social post made by Trump during the press conference.
The former president mocked Biden’s age and memory for a gaffe early on where he said Vice President Trump instead of Harris.
When asked how he would combat that criticism, Biden smiled and said “Listen to him,” before walking off the stage.
Later, Biden’s campaign posted a screenshot of Trump’s post on X and with the statement “By the way: Yes, I know the difference. One’s a prosecutor, and the other’s a felon.”
Jul 11, 2024, 9:04 PM EDT Biden: No poll says there’s ‘no way’ he can win
Toward the end of the presser, when asked if he would reconsider staying in the race if his team showed him data that showed Vice President Kamala Harris would fare better against Trump, Biden said: “No, unless they came back and said, There is no way you could win.”
He continued in a whisper, “No one’s saying that. No poll says that.”
Jul 11, 2024, 8:33 PM EDT Biden cedes ‘others could beat Trump’ but believes he’s most qualified
“I think I am the best qualified to win,” Biden said as his news conference neared an end. “But there are other people who could beat Trump, too.”
“But it would be hard to start from scratch,” he quickly added. “We talk about money raised. We are not doing bad. We’ve got about $220 million in the bank. We are doing well.”
Jul 11, 2024, 8:31 PM EDT Biden on cognitive test: ‘No matter what I did, not everyone is going to be satisfied’
Asked if he is going to take a cognitive test before the election amid questions about his mental fitness in the wake of the debate, Biden said that if his doctor told him he needed to, he would.
Biden said he has taken three “significant” neurological exams during his presidency, most recently in February.
“They say I am in good shape,” he said, reiterating that he is tested “every single day” on his neurological capacity in his job.
The president added, “No matter what I did, not everyone is going to be satisfied.”
Biden said he is going to make the case to the American people that there are things his administration needs to finish, and the dangers posed by a Trump presidency.
“Do you think our democracy is under siege based on this [Supreme] Court? Do you think democracy is under siege based on Project 2025? Do you think he means what he says when he says he is going to do away with the civil service and eliminate the Department Education?”
“I mean, we’ve never been here before … I’ve gotta finish this job because there’s so much at stake,” he said.
Jul 11, 2024, 8:21 PM EDT Biden on Israel-Hamas conflict ‘It’s time to end this war’
Biden addressed his administration’s response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and reiterated that he wants a cease-fire and ultimately a two-state solution.
The president touted his multiple talks with the Israeli government and Arab leaders but acknowledged that more work needs to be done.
“I have been disappointed that some of the things that I have put forward have not succeeded, like the port in Cyprus. I was hoping that would be more successful,” he said.
Biden reiterated that he has pushed Israeli leaders not to make the same mistake America did in its hunt for Osama bin Laden and occupy a territory.
“Don’t think that’s what you should be doing. We will help you find the bad guys,” he said.
Jul 11, 2024, 8:19 PM EDT Biden pressed on past comment he saw himself as ‘bridge’ to next generation of leaders
A reporter noted Biden made a statement during his 2020 campaign that he wanted to be a “bridge” candidate to help usher in a younger generation of Democratic leaders.
“I wanted to know –what changed?” she asked.
“What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited, in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and domestic division,” Biden responded.
“What I realized was my long time in the Senate equipped me to have the wisdom to how to deal with Congress and get things done,” he continued. “We got more major legislation passed that no one thought would happen and I want to get that finished.”
Jul 11, 2024, 8:16 PM EDT Biden on strategy to interrupt partnership between China and Russia
Asked what his strategy is to interrupt the partnership between China and Russia and if he would be able to negotiate with Xi and Putin, Biden said he has “spent more time with Xi Jinping than any world leader has.”
“We have to make it clear and China has to understand that if they are supplying Russia with information and capacity, along with working with North Korea and others to help Russia, that they are not going to benefit economically as a consequence of that by getting the kind of investment they are looking for,” he said.
Biden added that after the Chinese “spy balloon” incident the U.S. and Chinese militaries have “direct access” to one other and “we contact one another.”
Jul 11, 2024, 8:08 PM EDT Biden ready to deal with Putin, Xi ‘now and three years from now’
Biden was asked if he will be able to deal with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping in two or three years from now, should he be reelected.
“I’m ready to deal with them now and three years from now,” he said.
He said he is dealing with Xi right now and that he has “no good reason” to speak with Putin right now.
“There isn’t any world leader I’m not prepared to deal with,” Biden said.
Jul 11, 2024, 8:01 PM EDT ‘I’m not hearing my European allies say ‘Joe don’t run,” Biden says
The president responded to a question about whether European allies should prepare for U.S. disengagement if Trump wins by contending that he has their support in the U.S. election.
“I’m not hearing my European allies coming up to me and saying, ‘Joe, don’t run,'” he said. “What I hear them saying is, ‘You’ve got to win. Don’t let this guy — it would be a disaster.'”
Biden pointed out Trump has an “affinity to people who are authoritarian.”
“That worries Europe. That worries Poland,” he said.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:56 PM EDT Biden says he needs to ‘pace’ himself when asked about schedule
Biden said he needs to “pace himself” when pressed on how he is up to the 24/7 nature of the presidency — while taking a crack at Trump’s schedule compared to his own.
“Where has Trump been? Riding on his golf cart and filling out his scorecard?” Biden said. “He has done virtually nothing. I’ve had roughly 20 major events, some with thousands of people showing up.”
Biden said he has always had an inclination to “keep going” but “I just have to pace myself a little more.”
“In the next debate, I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones the week before,” he said.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:50 PM EDT Biden touts Harris is ‘qualified to be president’
Biden addressed his previous statements that Vice President Kamala Harris “would be ready on Day One.”
The president touted Harris’ work with women’s reproductive health issues and her time in the Senate.
“I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president. From the very beginning, I made no bones about that. She is qualified to be president. That’s why I picked her,” he said.
Biden was asked to address his gaffe earlier Thursday in which he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting about the Ukraine Compact at the NATO summit as Russia’s President Putin, and if other world leaders needing to step in and make excuses is “damaging” to America’s standing in the world.
“Do you see any damage by me leading this conference?” Biden responded. “Have you seen a more successful conference? I was talking about Putin and at the very end I said, I’m sorry, Zelenskyy.”
“I thought it was the most successful conference I’ve attended in a long time,” he later said.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:44 PM EDT Biden: ‘I’m not in this for my legacy’
One reporter asked the president, “Have you spent time thinking about what it would mean for your legacy, which you’ve worked decades to build, if you stay in the race, despite the concerns that voters say they have, and you lose to someone who yourself have argued is unfit to return to the Oval Office?”
Biden replied, “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started.”
Jul 11, 2024, 7:43 PM EDT Biden says he will ‘keep moving’ despite criticisms
Biden began his question and answer session by responding to a question about the growing calls for him to step aside from his campaign.
The president said there was “a long way to go in this campaign.”
“So, I am just going to keep moving, keep moving, because look, I’ve got more work to do, more work to finish,” he said.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:40 PM EDT Biden mixes up Trump and Harris when asked about his VP’s viability
Asked about what concerns he had about Vice President Kamala Harris’ ability to beat Donald Trump, if she were ever to appear on the top of the ticket, Biden confused her with Donald Trump.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was not qualified to be president. So I’ll start there,” Biden said.
“The fact is that the consideration is that I think I’m the most well-qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again,” he added.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:36 PM EDT Biden says ‘future’ of America’s foreign policy up to the people
“Now, the future of American policy is up to the American people,” Biden said. “This is much more than a political question. It’s more than that. It’s a national security issue. Don’t reduce this to the usual testament that people talk about, issues of being a political campaign.”
“It is far too important,” he continued. “It’s about the world we live in for decades to come. Every American must ask himself or herself. Is the world safer with NATO? Are you safer? Is your family safer?”
Jul 11, 2024, 7:35 PM EDT Biden, giving remarks on NATO, makes reference to Trump
With the NATO banner and American flags displayed behind him, Biden recounted this week’s NATO summit in Washington and touted the strength of the alliance in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While he didn’t use Donald Trump’s name, he invoked him during the remarks.
“Meanwhile, my predecessor, has made it clear he has no commitment to NATO,” Biden said. “He has made it clear that he would feel no obligation to honor Article Five. He’s already told Putin, I quote, ‘Do whatever the hell you want.'”
“In fact, the day after Putin invaded Ukraine, here’s what he said: It was genius. It was wonderful. Some of you have forgotten that, but that’s exactly what he said. Well, I made it clear, a strong nato is essential to American I believe the obligation of Article Five is sacred,” Biden added.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:28 PM EDT Biden takes the stage
Biden is at the podium to answer reporter questions in his first solo press conference since November 2023, a critical moment for him as he faces growing Democratic pressure to step aside from his campaign.
Jul 11, 2024, 7:23 PM EDT Top officials in the room for Biden’s press conference
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby are in the room as are Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National security adviser Jake Sullivan.
This is Biden’s first solo press conference since the APEC Summit in California eight months ago.
Jul 11, 2024, 6:42 PM EDT Biden soon to take reporter questions in high-stakes moment
Biden, facing a political crisis as Democrats question the viability of his campaign, is minutes away from holding his first solo press conference of the year — and since the debate two weeks ago.
It’s an opportunity for Biden to change the narrative after his poor performance that night triggered a drumbeat of concerns in his own party that he might be too weakened to win against Donald Trump this November.
But any stumbles in the unscripted setting will only add fuel to the fire, despite Biden’s repeated attempts to rebuff his critics and his insistence that he is staying in the race.
Jul 11, 2024, 6:20 PM EDT ‘It would be a big mistake to underestimate the president,’ German chancellor says
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed Biden’s viability and future during an interview Thursday on the PBS NewsHour, saying, “it would be a big mistake to underestimate the president.”
“I just can tell you from my perspective, as someone that is speaking with Biden, he is very focused and he is very, intensely doing what the president of the United States has to do for leading [NATO],” Scholz said.
Scholz said that had not seen moments in his most recent interactions with Biden that indicated the president is not up for another four years.
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel and Will Gretsky
Jul 11, 2024, 6:28 PM EDT Biden introduces Zelenskyy as Putin at NATO summit
Biden introduced Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as President Putin at a meeting about the Ukraine Compact at the NATO summit Thursday evening.
Biden quickly corrected himself, saying that he was “so focused on beating Putin.”
Zelenskyy laughed off the gaffe.
“I’m better,” Zelenskyy said.
“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden replied.
The exchange came shortly before Biden was scheduled to hold his first solo news conference since the presidential debate.
President Joe Biden accidentally called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by the name of his rival, President Vladimir Putin, when introducing him at the NATO summit.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Jul 11, 2024, 5:26 PM EDT 14th House Democrat pushes Biden to step aside, questions ‘fitness to do the job’
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., has become the 14th House Democrat to call for Biden to end his campaign and even questioned if he should remain in office.
Gluesenkamp Perez, who flipped a district in 2022, said in her statement Thursday she had spoken with constituents in the last two weeks and they expressed worry about Biden’s age and health.
“Like most people, I represent in Southwest Washington, I doubt the President’s judgment about his health, his fitness to do the job, and whether he is the one making important decisions about our country, rather than [an] unelected advisors,” she said.
“The crisis of confidence in the President’s leadership needs to come to an end,” the congresswoman added.
Senate Democrats met with top Biden campaign officials behind closed doors Thursday for about two hours trying to lay out the path to victory for the president.
One senator said the meeting was ‘tense’ at times.
A number of senators expressed concerns about the president being shielded by his advisers, two sources with knowledge of the meeting told ABC News.
Some senators stated they were being put in “difficult,” “impossible” or “untenable” positions by having to defend the president to constituents back home after the debate, especially for those senators in tough races, according to the sources.
No Biden campaign polling was shared with senators but instead Biden’s advisers laid out a strategy, including showcasing the president’s record, going after Trump, campaigning on a second-term agenda and building out the coalition of voters, sources said.
One senator who spoke to ABC News said, “I needed to see hard data that showed a path to success in November and we did not get that.”
“I continue to have concerns that only Joe Biden can address, not his campaign staff,” the senator said.
Senate Democrats met with top Biden campaign officials behind closed doors Thursday for about two hours trying to lay out the path to victory for the president.
One senator said the meeting was ‘tense’ at times.
A number of senators expressed concerns about the president being shielded by his advisers, two sources with knowledge of the meeting told ABC News.
Some senators stated they were being put in “difficult,” “impossible” or “untenable” positions by having to defend the president to constituents back home after the debate, especially for those senators in tough races, according to the sources.
No Biden campaign polling was shared with senators but instead Biden’s advisers laid out a strategy, including showcasing the president’s record, going after Trump, campaigning on a second-term agenda and building out the coalition of voters, sources said.
One senator who spoke to ABC News said, “I needed to see hard data that showed a path to success in November and we did not get that.”
“I continue to have concerns that only Joe Biden can address, not his campaign staff,” the senator said.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Allison Pecorin
Jul 11, 4:40 PM EDT 13th House Democrat calls on Biden to bow out
Arizona Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton became the 13th House member to openly call on Biden to leave the race Thursday.
Stanton touted Biden’s years of work in his statement but said the president’s “most defining legacy, though, is as a fierce defender of American democracy.
“The Democratic Party must have a nominee who can effectively make the case against Trump, and have the confidence of the American people to handle the rigors of the hardest job on the planet for the next four years,” Stanton said.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 11, 4:17 PM EDT 12th House Democrat joins calls for Biden to step aside
Democratic Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii became the latest House member to call on the president to cease his reelection run.
Case released a statement Thursday saying, “Difficult times and realities require difficult decisions.”
“This has nothing to do with his character and record. If it did, there would be no decision to make,” he said. “This is solely about the future, about the President’s ability to continue in the most difficult job in the world for another four-year term.”
-ABC News’ John Parkinson
Jul 11, 3:38 PM EDT Macron says he’s ‘happy’ to have Biden as president
A foreign pool reporter at the third working session at the NATO summit taking place in Washington asked French President Emmanuel Macron what his impression of Biden was.
“I don’t understand your question about President Biden. He is my counterpart, he is the President of the United States, and we are happy to have him as the president of the United States,” Macron replied.
Macron spent ample time with Biden just a month ago during his visit to France.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Jul 11, 3:34 PM EDT Wisconsin radio station admits it edited Biden interview at request of campaign
The Wisconsin radio station that hosted Biden last week for an interview edited the conversation at the request of the campaign, cutting out two of Biden’s soundbites, the station said in a statement Thursday.
“On Monday, July 8th, it was reported to Civic Media management that immediately after the phone interview was recorded, the Biden campaign called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired. Civic Media management immediately undertook an investigation and determined that the production team at the time viewed the edits as non-substantive and broadcast and published the interview with two short segments removed,” Civic Media said.
Specifically a line from the interview “… and in addition to that, I have more Blacks in my administration than any other president, all other presidents combined, and in major positions, Cabinet positions,” was removed.
A piece of dialogue referencing Donald Trump’s call for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, “I don’t know if they even call for their hanging or not, but he—but they said […] convicted of murder,” was also removed.
The station acknowledged that the moves fell short of “journalistic interview standards,” but the station said it stands by host Earl Ingram, who conducted the interview.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin, Will McDuffie, Fritz Farrow and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Jul 11, 1:57 PM EDT Jeffries refuses to comment on Biden’s candidacy, says House Democrats’ conversations ongoing
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries remained tight-lipped on Biden’s candidacy as he continued to take the temperature of the House Democratic caucus.
“Throughout this week, as House Democrats, we have engaged in a process of talking to each other. Those conversations have been candid, comprehensive, and clear eyed and they continue until that process concluded,” Jeffries said during a news conference Thursday.
“House Democrats, Senate Democrats and President Biden are unified on the affirmative agenda that we have for the American people,” the New York congressman added.
Jeffries responded “no” when asked if Biden is a liability for vulnerable House Democrats.
Jul 11, 12:56 PM EDT More House Democrats signal doubt on Biden
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres posted a statement on X Thursday expressing more doubts about Biden’s viability on the presidential ticket.
Torres, who represents the Bronx, said the president “simply had one bad debate performance reflects a continuing pattern of denial and self-delusion
“The notion that the President is going to be saved by this interview or that press conference misses the forest for trees,” he said.
Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman said he is inching “close and closer” to calling on Biden to step aside in an interview Thursday on CNN.
“It’s becoming increasingly likely that this is, this may be just too high of a hill for him to climb,” he said.
Landsman said Biden’s letter to congressional Democrats on Monday did not help.
“The question is about the future of the country,” he added.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 11, 12:55 PM EDT Biden campaign lays out path forward in new internal memo
The Biden campaign is laying out what it sees as its path forward to Joe Biden winning reelection in a new memo shared internally with campaign staff on Thursday by Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a source familiar with the campaign told ABC News.
The memo, first reported by the AP, acknowledges anxieties but claims they still have “multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes.”
The memo was revealed after Democrats had demanded Biden and his campaign show how it planned to win despite Biden’s poor poll numbers.
The campaign said it will focus on winning the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, and believes that the “sunbelt states are not out of reach.”
The memo states the race remains a margin-of-error race in key battleground states, despite calls for Biden to step down citing internal data.
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
Jul 11, 12:31 PM EDT Senators discuss upcoming briefing by top Biden campaign officials
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. spoke with ABC News Thursday morning about Thursday’s scheduled lunch between Democratic senators and top Biden campaign officials.
Welch, who is, so far, the only Democratic senator to call for Biden to step aside, said the path forward involved the president persuading voters, not advisers persuading senators.
“It’s a show me not tell me issue. I think for Americans it’s not so much about individual senators or members of Congress,” Welch said. “It’s really about the challenge of everyday campaign.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., told ABC News he’s putting a bit more weight into Thursday’s meeting with the Biden officials.
“We are very interested to hear how they make their case,” he said.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Allison Pecorin
Jul 11, 11:29 AM EDT 10th House Democrat calls on Biden to step aside
Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten has added her name to the growing list of House Democrats who are calling on Biden to end his presidential election bid.
The congresswoman said in a statement posted on X Thursday that it “is essential that we have the strongest possible candidate leading the top of the ticket — not just to win, but to govern.”
“The people of Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District elected me to represent them with integrity. They elected a Congresswoman they trust to speak the truth, even when it’s hard. They voted for someone who would put America’s future first and stand up for what is right. That’s what I am doing now,” Scholten, who represents Grand Rapids, said.
She is the 10th sitting House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside.
Scholten noted that if Biden stayed in the race, she would “respect his decision,” and still vote for him.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 11, 10:07 AM EDT Biden press conference slides back an hour
The White House announced Thursday morning that the much-anticipated Biden’s press conference will now start at 6:30 p.m. local time in Washington, instead of the previous 5:30 p.m. start time.
Biden has a busy day of meetings tied to the NATO summit ahead of the press conference, including a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The presser will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and is his first solo press conference in eight months.
Jul 10, 9:39 PM EDT White House confirms time Biden will speak to media Thursday
President Joe Biden will take questions from the media on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET, his first press conference since the controversy over his candidacy erupted following his debate performance.
Biden has had fewer pressers with the media than his predecessors and the last time he took questions solo was back in November 2023.
The upcoming press briefing is being held at the Washington Convention Center, where Biden will spend a third day at the 2024 NATO Summit.
Jul 10, 2024, 7:35 PM EDT First senator joins growing calls for Biden to drop out
Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race in a Washington Post op-ed published Wednesday evening.
Welch is the first Senate Democrat to officially call for Biden to step aside.
“I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not,” Welch wrote.
“I deliver this assessment with sadness. Vermont loves Joe Biden. President Biden and Vice President Harris received a larger vote percentage here than in any other state. But regular Vermonters are worried that he can’t win this time, and they’re terrified of another Trump presidency,” he said.
Jul 10, 2024, 6:47 PM EDT Ninth Democrat calls for Biden to withdraw from the race
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., became the ninth Democrat to call on Biden to end his reelection bid.
Blumenauer, a senior member of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees, commended the president for his accomplishments, claiming in a statement released Wednesday that Biden “will be recorded in history as the most successful president in the last 50 years.”
However, the congressmen added that, in his mind, “We will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee and manages a transition under his terms.”
“The next six months will be critical in the implementation of President Biden’s landmark accomplishments that will define his legacy for generations to come. He should devote his energy and undivided attention to issues of war and peace, the climate crisis, and rebuilding and renewing America,” Blumenauer said, in part.
Jul 10, 2024, 6:39 PM EDT AFL-CIO calls on Democrats to unite behind Biden
The AFL-CIO for the second time in a week put out a statement in support of President Joe Biden after unanimously voting to reaffirm their support for the Biden-Harris ticket, saying that they are the “most pro-union administration in our lifetimes.”
The union, which endorsed the Biden-Harris campaign in June 2023, urged Democrats to support Biden saying, “The labor movement is united behind President Biden and Vice President Harris. We urge his party and the American people to join us.”
“The message from today’s meeting couldn’t have been clearer: Right now, it’s time to come together around a vision of a country where everyone has a fair shot with a living wage, affordable health care, retirement security, and time to do the things we love like spending time with family and friends and pursuing our interests and passions. These are fundamental to, as the president reiterated to our meeting, building the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down,” the AFL-CIO Executive Council said in a statement.
Jul 10, 5:46 PM EDT Newsom says he won’t challenge Harris, reiterates support for Biden
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was again asked about the future of President Biden’s campaign and whether he’d challenge Vice President Kamala Harris if she took the ticket during a news conference on the ongoing wildfires Wednesday.
Newsom stood by comments he made in 2023 when he said he would not run against Harris.
The governor reiterated that he is still backing Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I think I’ve had 100 media outlets asking the same question, and I think that I’ve amply answered my support for the president and the support I saw on the ground was demonstrable,” he said.
Newsom said he didn’t read the full comments that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave on MSNBC where she said, “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run.”
He also said he had not read George Clooney’s New York Times op-ed that called on Biden to bow out.
Jul 10,4:48 PM EDT Morale ‘very low’ at White House as staff frustrated by Clooney op-ed: Source
Morale “is very low in the building,” a person who works regularly with senior level White House staff told ABC News Wednesday.
Some in President Joe Biden’s inner circle, including senior adviser Anita Dunn and chief of staff Jeff Zients, are said to be very frustrated and upset by George Clooney’s op-ed in the New York Times in which he calls on Biden to step aside, the source said.
The donor class is also deeply divided, a Democratic adviser told ABC News.
Although small donations continue to pour in and the very largest donors are doubling down, the huge swath of donors in the middle are holding back, according to the adviser. That group of donors, which gives anywhere from five to eight figures, are on pause, which is very damaging since they’re a major part of the donor ecosystem, the adviser said.
This adviser adds that the hand-wringing in the meantime has been very harmful to the campaign.
Another Democratic fundraiser says while a strong performance at the solo press conference Thursday could help the situation, many donors believe the crisis around Biden just won’t go away.
The doubts raised by members of Congress, the comments from Nancy Pelosi, and the op-ed from George Clooney are all fueling a flurry of discussions among donors about what to do if Biden drops out.
-ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang
Jul 10, 3:33 PM EDT Biden to hold one-on-one interview with NBC’s Lester Holt
President Joe Biden will hold a one-on-one interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt Monday, the network announced.
This will mark the second TV interview Biden has held since last month’s presidential debate.
Holt will interview Biden earlier in the day while he’s in Austin, Texas, and the full interview will air at 9 p.m. ET, the network announced.
Jul 10, 3:24 PM EDT Republican presses top officials on Biden’s mental fitness
In back-to-back House Financial Services Committee hearings with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, both regular, annual hearings on their agency’s policies, Republican Mike Lawler of New York redirected from questions about inflation and tariffs on Russia to ask each official about their personal interactions with the president.
Yellen said she wouldn’t describe the content of her meetings with the president or say when she last met with him because it was “private,” but she called Biden “extremely effective.”
“The president is extremely effective in the meetings that I’ve been in with him, that includes many international meetings that are multi hour, like his meetings with President Xi [Jinping of China],” she said.
“Madam secretary, have there been any discussions among Cabinet secretaries about invoking the 25th Amendment?” Lawler asked.
“No,” Yellen said resolutely. The 25th Amendment states that the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet can together remove power from the president if he or she is incapacitated.
Powell, asked by Lawler if he’s “noticed any mental or cognitive decline” in meetings with the president, said “no.”
But Powell noted that he’d only interacted with the president twice in the last two years — once for a meeting and once to shake his hand at a state dinner, which Powell said was normal for presidents and Federal Reserve chairs, given the independence of the agency.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Jul 10, 3:23 PM EDT Concern over Biden’s future grows among Democratic senators
Multiple Senate Democrats spoke candidly with ABC News about concerns they have about Biden’s viability and said they want to continue discussions about the best path forward.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he is worried about “an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins,” and added “every day is critical” as Biden weighs his path forward.
“I have confidence in Joe Biden doing what’s right for America. What he believes is right for America is to defeat Donald Trump and he’ll be a pretty good judge of whether that will be possible,” Blumenthal said. “We can all advise him we can raise concerns ultimately the decision is his and I am going to continue to raise concerns but I do think we need to ultimately unify because the existential threat here is Donald Trump.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, associated himself with the comments of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi made on MSNBC Wednesday, in which she appeared to leave the door open for the president to step aside.
“I thought Speaker Pelosi nailed it pretty well this morning,” Whitehouse told ABC News. He repeatedly avoided answering additional questions about whether Biden should resign before reiterating his support for Pelosi’s comments.
Although Sen. Dick Durbin told ABC News Durbin he was “very concerned” about Biden’s chances, he added that he’s always known the race would be close.
“I believe we wage the right campaign and make a point of what we’ve achieved under this president we will see him reelected,” Durbin said.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who expressed worries about Biden’s future during a closed-door meeting among Senate Democrats Tuesday, told ABC News he was hearing legitimate concerns from voters.
“My job is to listen to them my job is to go to hearings like this to fight for lower drug prices to fight for Ohio workers,” Brown said.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Rachel Scott
Jul 10, 2:07 PM EDT 8th House Democrat calls on Biden to step aside
New York Rep. Pat Ryan, a moderate Democrat, is now calling on Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee.
“Trump is an existential threat to American democracy; it is our duty to put forward the strongest candidate against him,” Ryan wrote on X. “Joe Biden is a patriot but is no longer the best candidate to defeat Trump. For the good of our country, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside — to deliver on his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders.”
Ryan is the eighth House Democrat to publicly call on Biden to step aside.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 10, 2:03 PM EDT Biden gives a fist pump when asked about Pelosi’s comments
Despite her remarks, Biden suggested he still has Pelosi’s support to continue his reelection campaign.
“Is Nancy Pelosi still behind you?” Biden was asked after taking a family photo with NATO leaders.
The president didn’t say anything, but flexed his arm and fist in the air.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Jul 10, 1:58 PM EDT Debate over future of Biden’s candidacy continues
After a day of closed-door Democratic meetings where lawmakers appeared to be absorbing the sober reality that Biden would stay as the party’s presumptive nominee, new comments on Wednesday stirred fresh debate on Biden’s viability and path forward.
First, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was noncommittal on whether she wanted Biden to continue to run despite Biden insisting repeatedly that he had decided to stay in the race.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi said on MSNBC. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
Then, George Clooney, in a stinging New York Times op-ed, said Biden should step aside.
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
(NEW YORK) — Friday’s wave of global IT outages, which affected CrowdStrike customers who use Windows products, has led to more than 1,100 flight cancelations and hundreds of delays in the U.S., leaving travelers to navigate uncharted next steps as major airlines deploy workarounds and slowly come back online.
With interim efforts underway at American Airlines, United and Delta, Nick Ewen, a travel expert and senior editorial director of The Points Guy, told ABC News that there’s a potential lengthier domino effect as they get back to fully operational.
“There may be knock-on effects with the impacted airlines throughout the day and even into the weekend,” he said. “This is because planes and crew members get stranded when a flight is cancelled, and if that plane and/or crew are scheduled to operate two more flights later in the day, and then another four the next day, all of those are at risk of being disrupted.”
Tips to navigate flight, travel delays and reimbursements this weekend amid CrowdStrike outages
For anyone traveling this weekend, Ewen suggested people “make sure they’re proactively keeping an eye on their flights to learn about delays or cancellations as soon as possible.”
“Download your airline’s app, which may allow you to track where your inbound plane is coming from. If not, an app like FlightRadar24 allows you to see the registration number of the plane scheduled to operate your flight,” he said. “If you’re waiting to depart from New York in two hours and your plane is still sitting in Texas, you’re not leaving on time — even if the airline’s system is saying your flight is on schedule.”
For anyone experiencing significant delays, especially if it forces travelers to stay overnight at an airport, Ewen said to “inquire with your airline about hotel and food vouchers.”
“If they are unable — or unwilling — to provide them, investigate any trip delay protection you may have on the credit card you used for the flight,” he added. “In some cases, you may be eligible for reimbursement for extra expenses incurred — though you’d still need to submit a claim with the benefits provider. So save your receipts.”
Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, a claims management company, echoed Ewen’s advice for travelers to retain receipts for any incurred expenses during the delays, telling ABC News “it’s crucial for passengers to understand their rights and know their options during disruptions.”
“Although this incident is beyond the control of airlines and airports, passengers still have certain rights under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations,” he said. “The passengers are entitled to assistance from the airline. This can include rebooking on the next available flight and, in some cases, meal vouchers and accommodation if the delay extends overnight.”
Pawliszyn said that later this year, there will be some updated rules in place.
“The new refund rules apply when the airline has rescheduled the flight for either an earlier or later time with a margin of 3-4 hours, depending on whether it is a domestic or international flight,” he explained. “When this happens, if the passenger rejects the reschedule, the passenger has a right to obtain a cash refund as opposed to a voucher. “
He added that the new rules “will not apply until after the summer.”
(NEW YORK) — The stock price of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike plummeted in early trading on Friday amid a global IT outage that has affected clients worldwide.
Shares fell nearly 15% on Friday morning, dropping the price to its lowest level since May.
“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said in a post on X.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The home of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump is cornered off with crime scene tape and guarded by law enforcement, investigators are also converging on the home again to search for clues and evidence with many road closures in the area in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania on July 18, 2024. The United States Secret Service killed the gunman. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(BUTLER, Pa.) — New details have emerged about the suspected shooter at former President Donald Trump’s rally over the weekend, including what first brought Thomas Matthew Crooks under suspicion.
Multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News that suspicions about the suspect were first aroused at the site by other attendees when they spotted him with a range finder and duffel bag.
Attendees then notified law enforcement, according to sources.
The suspect, who was 20, had two cell phones — one on him and a second one found at his home, sources said.
Sources also told ABC News that Crooks came to the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the morning of the shooting, stayed there for an hour, left and then came back sometime in the early 5 p.m. ET hour.
Additionally, a source told ABC News that an individual using the name of the suspect signed up online to attend the Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump rally on July 6, a week before the shooting.
Meanwhile, the FBI told lawmakers they’ve conducted 200 interviews as part of the investigation, a source said.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General opened its third probe into the security that led to the assassination attempt.
The agency said the third probe will investigate the U.S. Secret Service’s planning and implementation activities for protective operations.
“Our objective is to determine the extent to which the Secret Service plans and implements protective activities to ensure the safety and security of designated protectees,” the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General said.
The announcement follows two prior probes, opened on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively that examined the U.S. Secret Service’s process to secure the campaign event and a review of the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team’s preparedness and operations.
Investigators working to determine a motive behind the assassination attempt are also examining a message left on a gaming platform site purported to have been authored by the suspect, according to multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the probe.
Investigators, according to multiple law enforcement sources, found a post on the gaming platform Steam that is credited to the suspected gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The post reads “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.” Investigators are working to determine whether the post is legitimate.
Investigators also found internet searches for both Trump and President Joe Biden on the phone belonging to Crooks, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News. Crooks had searched for the dates of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and for those of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the sources said.
The suspect’s phone was one of several devices that law enforcement investigators had collected as they worked to piece together a timeline of the assassination attempt against the former president during a Saturday rally.
“What is beginning to emerge is a portrait of a troubled young person who turned to violence,” said John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and former head of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security.
Cohen, who specializes in the phenomenon of mass shooters, added that investigators may never determine a single or precise motive for the attack. Sources familiar with the investigation have told ABC News that a search of the suspect’s phone history has revealed no indication of Crooks’ political views or his motive for the shooting. Investigators have also found no digital footprint from the suspect suggesting any affiliations with international or domestic terrorist groups. They have also been unable to identify any ideological nexus to Trump and/or Biden, according to sources.
“Likely, it was a combination of mental health issues, ideological beliefs and a sense of personal grievance, the same combination of factors present in almost every school shooting and mass casualty attack over the past several years. As with those incidents, the warning signs were there, they were just not recognized,” Cohen said. “The threat was real but people around him did not understand what they were witnessing or how it would play out last Saturday.”
The FBI early on Sunday had identified Crooks as the suspect. The U.S. Secret Service said snipers had killed Crooks at the scene. Firefighter Corey Comperatore, a dad who was attending the rally, was killed, and two other bystanders injured, officials said.
The searches compounded the questions that were swirling as investigators searched for a reason for the shooting, including a possible political motive. Crooks had been registered as a Republican voter, according to state records. But a $15 donation to a progressive group was also recorded under “Thomas Crooks” in January 2021, according to FEC records.
As investigators analyzed the suspect’s phone, they looked at his search history, which included the queries for Trump and Biden. But that search history didn’t immediately appear to reveal Crooks’ political views, sources told ABC News.
Law enforcement officials investigating the assassination attempt told lawmakers on Wednesday that 20 minutes had passed between the time Secret Service snipers first spotted Crooks on a rooftop and the time the first shots were fired, according to several law enforcement officials and lawmakers briefed on the matter.
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday requesting more information on the Trump rally shooting — a preview of what GOP members on the committee may ask Wray when he appears at a hearing on Wednesday, July 24.
Jordan alleges that “whistleblowers have disclosed to the Committee that the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) did not have proper resources for President Trump’s campaign event in Butler because of staffing shortages” due to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, which ran from July 9 to July 11 in Washington, D.C., and an event attended first lady Jill Biden in Pittsburgh on the same day as the Trump rally.
“The information provided to this Committee raises serious questions about the thoroughness of the security planning by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in support of President Trump’s campaign rally,” Jordan said. “Law enforcement overlooked a number of vulnerabilities prior to and during the event.”
Editor’s note: The story has been updated based on additional information from law enforcement.
