Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his campaign rally at Sunset Park on June 09, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case, has just denied one of a series of defense motions to dismiss many of the counts against him, according to a new order issued late Monday afternoon.
Cannon did, however, agree to strike one paragraph from the indictment, though it’s not linked to any particular charge in the indictment.
In her order, Cannon expressed agreement with Trump’s team that “much of the language” in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s speaking indictment of Trump and his two co-defendants “is legally unnecessary.”
She further points to “the risks that can flow from a prosecutor’s decision to include in a charging document an extensive account of his or her view of the facts, especially in cases of public interest.”
Last June, Trump pleaded not guilty to a 37-count indictment related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.
(WASHINGTON) — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was involved in a crash on a Maryland interstate over the weekend, police and his office confirmed on Monday.
The two-vehicle crash occurred on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, according to Maryland State Police.
Fetterman, 54, was driving a Chevrolet Traverse west on I-70 when, “for unknown reasons,” his vehicle struck the rear of a Chevrolet Impala, according to preliminary information from state police.
Fetterman’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman was also in the vehicle, according to the senator’s office. Both were evaluated at a local hospital “out of abundance of caution” and the senator was treated for a bruised shoulder, according to his office. Both were discharged Sunday afternoon.
“They are doing well and happy to be back in Braddock,” Fetterman’s office said in a statement.
The driver of the Impala was also transported via ambulance to a hospital in West Virginia for unspecified injuries, according to state police.
“No citations were issued. The crash investigation remains active and ongoing,” Maryland State Police said in a statement.
Fetterman, D-Pa., was briefly hospitalized last year after checking himself into an inpatient facility while suffering from depression.
He suffered a stroke during his campaign in 2022 that he has said did not cause any physical limitations or issues with memory or language comprehension.
ABC News’ Matt Foster and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — First lady Jill Biden’s support for Hunter Biden during his trial in Delaware continued on Monday, as she appeared at the courthouse for closing arguments before jury deliberations.
The first lady sat with her daughter Ashley Biden, Hunter’s half-sister, and Melissa Cohen, Hunter Biden’s wife. The three women were dressed in all-black.
The entire first three rows and some of the fourth row were full on Monday of Hunter Biden’s friends and family, approximately 25 people in total.
Prosecutor Leo Wise began his closing argument by referencing the many Biden family members packed into the courtroom gallery.
“All of this is not evidence,” Wise said to the jury as he gestured toward the gallery where Jill Biden and other members of the Biden family were jammed together.
“You may recognize them from the news, from the community,” Wise told them. “None of that matters.”
After one of the breaks, Hunter Biden and Jill Biden entered the courtroom hand-in-hand.
Almost every day during the trial, Jill Biden’s been in court watching the proceedings as details of Hunter Biden’s drug addictions, fraught relationships and other dark aspects of his past were brought up by prosecutors.
The first lady’s commitment to attending the trial was evident as she flew back late last Thursday from France, where she accompanied President Joe Biden to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, to attend Friday’s court hearings before flying back overseas to attend a state dinner hosted by the French prime minister on Saturday.
President Joe Biden has not appeared at his son’s trial. In a statement on the first day of proceedings, as jury selection was underway, Biden said he wouldn’t comment on the case but expressed “boundless love” for his son.
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today,” the president said in the statement. “Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us.”
Hunter Biden was indicted in September by special counsel David Weiss on two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm and a third count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty and has denied the charges.
The indictment came after a plea deal with the federal government fell apart at the elventh hour last summer. It marked the first time a child of a sitting president was criminally indicted.
Hunter Biden’s legal issues have put the first family in the spotlight by their critics, particularly among Republicans on the Hill and former President Donald Trump.
The jeers did not appear to deter Jill Biden from showing up in court nearly every day since proceedings began.
The first lady has entered the courtroom with her security detail, sometimes affecting foot traffic in the federal courthouse as the first family has protection needs.
During the first week of the trial, the first lady was attentive and craned her next toward the screen showing exhibits of video, photos or text message data collected by the government.
She was visibly emotional last Tuesday as some of those exhibits included audio excerpts from Hunter’s book — him reading in lurid detail tales of his addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol.
Hunter Biden has been open about his addictions and the effect it had on his entire family, including his parents. In his 2018 memoir, he spoke about how then-Vice President Biden saved his life when he was on a binge and pushed him to get into rehab.
Jill and Ashley Biden sat shoulder-to-shoulder as the clips played out, at times leaning their heads against one another. At one point, as Hunter Biden’s voice was heard describing a raucous 12-day bender in Los Angeles, Jill Biden lifted her left arm and draped it around her daughter’s shoulders.
A person sitting with the family told ABC News they were both “fighting off tears.”
On Friday, Jill and Hunter Biden entered the courtroom arm-in-arm as Naomi Biden, Hunter Biden’s daughter, took the stand for the defense. While she testified, her husband, Peter Neal, sat in the gallery next to the first lady.
Naomi Biden’s testimony included emotional text messages between her and her father from October 2018, around the time he had purchased the gun.
Hunter Biden did not take the stand to testify in his own defense.
The two counts of making false statements carry sentences of up to 10 years and five years, respectively, while the possession charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
President Biden told “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir on Thursday that he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial and would not consider pardoning him.
ABC News’ Olivia Rubin and Lucien Bruggeman contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump was slated to give a virtual keynote address to the Life & Liberty Forum hosted by the Danbury Institute, an organization that says it promotes Judeo-Christian values and wants abortion to be “eradicated entirely” on Monday afternoon — instead, he gave a brief message that lasted less than two minutes where he did not utter the word “abortion.”
Trump’s remarks were focused on defending religious liberty and he suggested Democrats are “against religion.”
“These are difficult times for our nation and your work is so important. We can’t afford to have anyone sit on the sidelines. Now is the time for us to all pull together and to stand up for our values and for our freedoms.”
He continued, “You just can’t vote Democrat. They’re against religion. They’re against your religion in particular … We have to defend religious liberty, free speech and innocent life and the heritage and tradition that built America into the greatest nation in the history of the world.”
After suggesting that the nation is in decline, Trump said he understood where the group is coming from and where they are going. He advocated that he’d be by their sides for the next four years.
The Danbury Institute takes a strong stance against reproductive rights, claiming life begins at conception, and “abortion must be ended. We will not rest until it is eradicated entirely,” according to its website.
The Christian organization says on its website that it believes that the end of Roe v. Wade was just the beginning to their life mission.
“We are grateful to God and to the current slate of Supreme Court Justices for the successful overturning of Roe v. Wade. However, the battle is far from won. In many ways, it is only beginning,” the website says.
Abortion rights are a key issue for many voters as Election Day approaches — with both Trump and President Joe Biden working to highlight their platforms as they face off in what is expected to be a tight race.
Trump said in April that abortion should be decided by the states. He has not said if he personally favors a certain number of weeks into pregnancy at which state-level bans should take effect, though he has publicly criticized a six-week ban in Florida and, more recently, talked privately about the idea of a national 16-week ban with exceptions, sources told ABC News in February.
The Biden campaign blasted Trump’s participation in the Danbury Institute event suggesting that his priority is to fight for those who want to eradicate abortion.
“If you want to know who Trump will fight for in a second term, look at who he’s spending his time speaking to: anti-abortion extremists who call abortion ‘child sacrifice’ and want to ‘eradicate’ abortion ‘entirely,'” Biden’s campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.
Trump takes credit for the for the U.S. Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
“After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone, and for the first time put the Pro Life movement in a strong negotiating position,” Trump wrote on his social media platform last month.
Biden has blamed Trump for the spread of abortion bans since the end of Roe v. Wade, encouraging women voters to back him in November.
“[Trump is] wrong, the Supreme Court was wrong. It should be a constitutional right in the federal Constitution, a federal right, and it shouldn’t matter where in America you live,” Biden said in a speech in April. “This isn’t about states’ rights, this is about women’s rights.”
Organizers of Monday’s event suggested it was hard to schedule Trump’s remarks due to his ongoing court trials, but they were grateful for the video message. The Danbury Institute did not respond to ABC News’ inquiry on the length of Trump’s appearance.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sam Brown campaigns at the Carson Valley Days parade on June 11, 2022 in Gardnerville, Nevada. (Photo by David Calvert/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump endorsed Sam Brown in Nevada’s Republican Senate primary on his social media platform Sunday night, after months of praising multiple candidates running in the race.
“Sam Brown is a FEARLESS AMERICAN PATRIOT, a Purple Heart Recipient, who has proven he has the ‘PURE GRIT and COURAGE to take on our Enemies, both Foreign and Domestic,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Sunday evening.
Trump said Brown, an Army veteran, will secure the border and grow the economy as Nevada’s next Senator.
“Sam has already proven his Love for our Country, being horrifically wounded, and making the Comeback of a Lifetime,” Trump continued on Truth Social. “Sam Brown has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Brown thanked Trump’s endorsement in a statement to ABC News, saying he’s looking forward to working with the former president.
“Thank you, President Trump, for your leadership and your endorsement,” Brown said in his statement. “I look forward to working with you to bring a better future to every Nevadan when we both win in November!!”
Brown was at the Trump rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, handing out water bottles to rally attendees in the extreme heat. His primary rival Jeffrey Gunter, who was Trump’s former U.S. ambassador to Iceland and a longtime fundraiser, was also at the rally, was also vying for Trump’s endorsement in the race.
Brown, who is a leading candidate in the Republican field, would challenge Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in the general election if he wins the Republican primary on June 11.
Responding to Trump’s endorsement of Brown, Gunter, in a statement to ABC News, took a swipe at endorsements Brown has gotten from Senate Republican leadership, saying the American people lose if the Republican establishment’s choice wins.
“Mitch McConnell money wins, the American people lose,” Gunter said. “Rinse and repeat.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Sunset Park in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, June 9, 2024. (Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(LAS VEGAS) — Six people were taken to a hospital, while another two dozen received medical attention on site at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Las Vegas on Sunday amid extreme heat, the Clark County Fire Department said.
The county fire department said “most, if not all calls, were heat-related” — with 97 people utilizing its cooling tents. Temperatures on Sunday topped 100 degrees and the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch.
Prior to the rally at Sunset Park in Las Vegas the Trump campaign stressed its efforts to implement “comfort measures” to ensure the safety of rally goers who usually spend hours waiting in line just to get into Trump rallies and additional hours waiting for Trump to take the stage — including providing water bottles, allowing small umbrellas into the rally, setting up tents and misting stations, and deploying “ample” medical staff in case of emergencies.
Trump’s Las Vegas rally follows a town hall on Thursday in Phoenix, Arizona, when the temperature also hit triple digits, sending 11 to the hospital, ABC News’ Phoenix affiliate KNXV reported.
At Sunday’s Las Vegas rally, Trump was expected to focus on courting Latino voters, emphasizing his campaign rhetoric on border security and undocumented immigrants, but the former president struggled to stick to a topic after his campaign ran into issues with his teleprompter.
Despite hurdles with the teleprompter and the weather, Trump announced his plan to get rid of taxes on tips, an attempt at courting voters in a city that relies heavily on the hospitality industry.
“For those hotel workers and people that get tips — you’re going to be very happy because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips people make,” Trump said, acknowledging that it could be an “unpopular” policy.
“We’re gonna do that right away, first thing in office,” Trump continued. “… And you do a great job of service. You take care of people, and I think it’s going to be something that really is deserved, more important than popular, unpopular. I do some unpopular things too, if it’s right for the country. I do what’s right.”
Appealing to Hispanic voters, Trump railed against Biden’s immigration policies and the economy under the current administration, calling Biden’s new executive order on immigration from last week, “pro invasion, pro child trafficking, pro woman trafficking, pro human trafficking,and pro drug dealers.”
“It’s weak, it’s ineffective, it’s bullsh–, what he signed,” Trump said.
(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic National Committee announced Monday it will give nearly $2 million to state parties in 11 non-battleground states in the months ahead of elections in November — first-of-its-kind investments in on-the-ground organizing, data infrastructure and voter-turnout efforts specifically targeting certain places that aren’t at the heart of the presidential or congressional battlefield.
This spending in Maryland, Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Washington will target high-profile races like the U.S. Senate contest in Maryland, but also do things like get out indigenous voters in places such as South Dakota and mobilize residents of apartment buildings in Minnesota.
According to an announcement shared first with ABC News, the new investments are meant to “strategically” leverage the party’s sizable war chest in order to boost Democratic victories in down-ballot races across the country ahead of November — contests that come in tandem with the 2024 presidential election.
“Everywhere Democrats are on the ballot this November — from the school board to the White House — we’re fighting to win,” said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement.
“As we work hand and hand with the Biden-Harris campaign to hold the White House, we’re investing now to build infrastructure and win big up and down the ballot because we know the stakes couldn’t be higher. This latest investment is a boost to the DNC’s record-setting support for state parties under President Biden, the best Party-builder Democrats have had in decades,” Harrison said.
He added that the “ongoing investments will drive Democratic wins so that we can safeguard our fundamental freedoms, be it in red, purple, or blue states across America.”
The DNC said that under the leadership of Harrison and President Joe Biden, Democrats have prioritized their support for state parties, increasing yearly investment by 25%. Total funding to Democratic state parties now reaches more than $20 million for this election cycle.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic Party together raised more than $187 million in the first three months of this year, according to Federal Elections Commissions filings, with the party touting the figure as the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate in history by that point in the cycle.
Entering the second quarter of this year, the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party had a nearly $100 million cash-on-hand advantage over former President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party, but the GOP has been out-raising the Democrats in recent weeks.
Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party raised $141 million in the month of May, the campaign claimed last week, following a big fundraising boost immediately after the former president’s guilty verdict in the New York hush-money trial.
The Trump campaign confirmed to ABC News that the $141 million includes money going to Trump’s Save America PAC, which has been covering much of Trump’s legal bills, however.
The Republican National Committee, which was overhauled earlier this year at Trump’s direction, has also put a renewed focus on state-level investment. In a memo to members obtained by ABC News, Chair Michael Whatley in March said the party was focusing on “reorganizing the field program so that our strategy is determined on a state-by-state basis.”
The RNC also hired a “liaison” in their data department “who will work with our sister committees and state parties, even in non-battleground states,” Whatley wrote in the memo.
“We will cater to individual states, realizing that each state is different, and that we must evolve to more neighbor-to-neighbor, precinct-level organizing, as the Trump campaign successfully did for the Iowa caucuses,” Whatley wrote, noting that the party would also focus on organizing in communities that are not traditionally Republican, and dispelling reports that they would shutter community centers nationwide.
State-specific investments across the eleven states
A portion of the new DNC spending will be in traditionally blue states with federal races. In Maryland, $250,000 will help fund a coordinated campaign staff and organizers for Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks, who is competing in a critical U.S. Senate race centered around abortion messaging.
In New Mexico, the DNC is putting more than $70,000 toward organizing staff for Rep. Gabe Vasquez’s reelection rematch against Republican candidate Yvette Herrell in the 2nd congressional district.
But the majority of the money will go toward supporting Democrats in red states where there are somewhat attainable objectives. For example, the party said it’s attempting to help its candidates gain in the Texas Senate race by hiring organizers who will register voters and drive up turnout among younger and more diverse portions of the electorate. The DNC is spending $140,000 to mobilize communities in “diverse Texas regions.”
In Kansas, Democrats are attempting to break up the state’s legislative supermajority — a goal they are one seat away from in both chambers. The DNC is spending $55,000 to also hire new organizing staff for those efforts, while also boosting the reelection campaign of Rep. Sharice Davis.
In deeply red Indiana, the party is contributing five figures to help support “legislative races in the central part of the state, where Democrats are fighting to hold the seats of three incumbent state legislators and targeting five Republican seats,” according to the DNC. Four seats allow Democrats to break the GOP supermajority for the first time in 12 years, the DNC highlights.
Utah Democrats are planning to run their first coordinated campaign since 2016, with the DNC boosting the efforts by investing $45,000. In Nebraska, the party is putting forth $40,000 to fund rural organizers in the state’s 2nd congressional district — one of the most competitive as it encompasses Omaha and Council Bluffs, some of the more purple parts of the state.
Six-figure investments will also be provided to hire AAPI, youth and Native American organizers in Washington, Colorado and South Dakota, respectively.
In South Dakota, efforts to increase voter participation among Native Americans come as voter registration within the population has declined in the state, according to the DNC. The party is investing $70,000 to fund a statewide “ride to the poll” voter registration program for Native communities, to support candidates from West River — a portion of the state located west of the Missouri River, and to hire new staff.
In Minnesota, a state with one of the highest apartment renting rates in the country, the DNC is contributing more than six figures to fund the salaries of two full-time staff members dedicated to getting accurate data, and communicating with and organizing people who live in apartments in Minneapolis.
“The Democratic Party is committed to supporting the critical work state parties lead in building real trust and relationships with voters on the ground and the partnership between the DNC and state parties remains strong. Today’s announced funding, tailor made to meet the individual needs of state parties — whether in rural or urban, red or blue states — will strengthen and expand Democrats’ organizing programs for years to come as we continue our commitment to defend Americans’ interests and fundamental rights in all fifty-seven states and territories,” Association of State Democratic Committees President Ken Martin said in a statement.
ABC News’ SooRin Kim and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden administration’s new asylum restrictions and consequences for migrants who cross the border illegally in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
“Our intent is to really change the risk calculus of individuals before they leave their countries of origin and incentivize them to use lawful pathways that we have made available to them and keep them out of the hands of exploitative smugglers,” Mayorkas told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
The number of people in processing for expedited removal from the border has more than doubled since President Joe Biden issued the proclamation to significantly curb asylum for illegal border crossers in the southwest, administration officials said Friday.
The new executive actions announced last week establish a rule that will turn away migrants who cross illegally between ports of entry and try to claim asylum after seven consecutive days averaging 2,500 encounters or more. That limit can only be lifted if the seven-day average drops to 1,500 or less, according to administration officials.
Previously, about 900 people were put in expedited removal proceedings on average per day, administration officials said — already at a record-setting level. One administration official said it may take time for the number of illegal crossings to reduce, but Mayorkas told Raddatz that so far, “the signs are positive.”
Raddatz pressed the secretary on why this executive action came in June, four months after Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan border and immigration bill the president endorsed.
Mayorkas stood by the timeline, pointing to May 2023 when the administration implemented a new asylum policy following the end of COVID-19 migrant restrictions known as Title 42.
“We implemented a regulation that restricted asylum, and then we pressed Congress to resource our department in August with a supplemental funding bill. That did not succeed. Then in October, we sought congressional action,” he said. “Martha, the bipartisan deal was rejected once. We pressed forward again. It was rejected a second time. And then we developed this and have implemented it and we are at an early stage. And let’s not minimize the significance of this move and the significance of operationalizing it.”
“Let’s recall what everyone expected when Title 42 was lifted in May of 2023,” Mayorkas said. “People expected pandemonium. Our model worked. We drove the numbers down.”
But the number of Border Patrol apprehensions had risen again by December, hitting a record of nearly a quarter million.
“What we need is Congressional action,” Mayorkas said.
With the new restrictions rolled out, the Department of Homeland Security has placed signage in processing facilities and have videos playing in certain areas to inform migrants of their rights to report victimization or a fear of persecution. Authorities are trained to identify symptoms or signals of distress in individuals they encounter and are prepared to intervene if needed, but migrants will be required to express their fear of persecution on their own.
Administration officials have said the new measures would “significantly speed up” the current process for individuals who do not manifest a credible fear, which is the threshold for establishing an asylum claim in the United States.
Mexico continues to agree to take back migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. However, one official said U.S. authorities always aim to prioritize repatriation to home countries when possible.
Praise, but some trepidation, among Democrats after Biden’s border actions When he was running for president during the 2020 campaign, Biden repeatedly criticized then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict the asylum process.
In July 2019, Biden tweeted: “Trump is fighting tooth and nail to deny those fleeing dangerous situations their right to seek asylum in our nation. We should uphold our moral responsibility and enforce our immigration laws with dignity, not turn away those fleeing violence, war and poverty.”
Mayorkas rejected that that stance was at odds with the administration’s current policy.
“What the president said then is what we are living today. We are allowing individuals to access asylum through the ports of entry pursuant to a program that we developed,” Mayorkas said. “We are allowing people to access asylum if they come from countries like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela through a parole program.”
Raddatz pushed back, noting the American Civil Liberties Union, which has said it will sue the administration, has said the policy “will put thousands of lives at risk.” With limits on how many people can schedule appointments at ports of entry, immigrant advocates remain concerned that those with valid claims to remain in the United States will be turned away.
“I respectfully disagree with the ACLU. I anticipate they will sue us. We stand by the legality of what we have done. We stand by the value proposition,” Mayorkas said.
There are narrow exceptions to the new rules. Individuals who cross illegally will “generally be considered ineligible for asylum” unless they are victims of severe human trafficking, are experiencing a medical emergency, or are facing “an imminent and extreme” safety threat, according to the executive action.
(WASHINGTON) — White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Peter Lerner separately praised a recent Israeli hostage rescue operation that freed four Israeli captives in Gaza amid fierce fighting against Hamas.
Sullivan said the Biden administration has been “working for months” with Israel to help it recover the remaining hostages from Gaza, some of whom are believed to be dead, while pressing for precautions to be taken to avoid civilian casualties as rescue efforts continue.
“The United States will support Israel and taking steps to try to rescue hostages who are currently being held in harm, held by Hamas, and we will continue to work with Israel to do that. We will also continue to reinforce the point that all of their military operations, including hostage rescue operations, should take every precaution to minimize the amount of civilian harm or civilian casualties,” Sullivan told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
The comments come after an expansive operation in central Gaza to free hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.
At least 274 people were killed in central Gaza on Saturday as the Israeli military moved into the Nuseirat camp to rescue the four hostages, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday. Another 698 people were injured as Israeli forces entered the refugee camp, the ministry said.
Israel’s military said no more than 100 civilians were killed in the operation.
When pressed by Raddatz on Sunday on the disparity, Sullivan said the administration is “looking into it” while highlighting a three-tiered cease-fire proposal President Joe Biden said came from the Israelis that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tweaked in recent days and Hamas has not yet agreed to.
“We see individual instances that we have spoken out about where we would like to see them operate differently, where we would like them to be more precise, more targeted in their operations. And we will continue to speak out on those issues,” Sullivan told Raddatz. “If Hamas came and said yes to the deal on the table, there would be an end to the need for these kinds of operations, because the hostages would be coming out peacefully and not through military actions.”
Biden has become increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, while remaining steadfastly supportive of efforts to recover hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack that killed more than 1,200 people. The death toll in Gaza since the war broke out climbed on Saturday to 37,084 people, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said. More than 84,000 others have been injured since Oct. 7, the ministry said.
Lerner on Sunday blamed Hamas for the high death toll in Gaza, accusing the group of putting civilians in harm’s way.
“Every civilian life lost in this war is a result of how Hamas has operated,” he told Raddatz. “Let’s think about, just for a moment, where they were holding the hostages. Within civilian houses. Within people’s apartments. In the same apartment they were being held [were] the families that owned the apartments. This exemplifies specifically how Hamas are operating.”
Lerner said the Israeli military could conduct similar operations to recover hostages — but that Israel is also open to negotiations for their return.
“The 120 hostages remain in the clutches of Hamas. There can be a rescue mission like what happened yesterday,” he said. “But there could also have been negotiations that create the opportunity. Our role is to create the conditions either way, that Hamas realizes that they should give back the hostages, they should set the hostages free.”
(PARIS) — President Joe Biden on Sunday visited a World War I cemetery outside Paris where American troops are buried as his last stop on his trip to France.
The visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery was notable, as it draws a contrast with former President Donald Trump, who in 2018 declined to visit the same cemetery, citing bad weather. Later reports, however, claimed Trump described those buried there as “suckers” and “losers.”
Trump adamantly denies ever saying that, but Biden has often repeated the story as an example of why he feels Trump is unfit to be commander in chief.
When asked why he wanted to visit this cemetery in particular, Biden appeared to make a dig at Trump.
“The idea that I come to Normandy and not make the short trip here to pay tribute?” Biden responded.
“And it’s the same story, think about it. America showed up. America showed up to stop the Germans. America showed up to make sure that they did not prevail. And America shows up when we need it, just like our allies show up for us,” the president added.
Biden declined to go after Trump directly when asked specifically about his criticism of Trump for not visiting the cemetery, saying only “any other questions?” before explaining the personal impact visits to military cemeteries have on him.
“You know, I don’t want to make this personal. Every time I show up at a military site where veterans are buried brings back memories, and my grandfather and my mother talked about the loss of their son and brother in the South Pacific. And I think my son Beau. And so, you know, I think it is a measure of a country’s support for democratic values, and they honor those who have risked their life and lost their life,” he said.
Reflecting on the trip, the president said the most poignant moment of the visit was to Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, and that he hoped what Americans took away from his trip was “the knowledge that the best way to avoid these types of battles in the future is to stand strong with our allies.”
“The idea that we’ve become semi-isolationist now, which some are talking about. I mean, the idea we had to wait all those months just to get the money for Iraq, that we because we’re waiting, I mean, it’s just — it’s just it’s not who we are. It’s not who America is,” Biden said, appearing to mistake Iraq for Ukraine and rebuking the rising hesitancy in the GOP to have a muscular presence abroad.
Before taking questions, the president stood for a moment before a memorial wreath, crossed himself and solemnly bowed his head before walking back to first lady Jill Biden to listen to a rendition of “Taps,” saluting the memorial as it played.
The president will now head back to the United States.
