(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday amid continued tension with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government.
The meeting with Herzog, whose role as president is largely ceremonial, and Biden’s recent invite to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him in the United States reflected the strength of the U.S-Israeli alliance despite the two nations’ recent, public disagreements over the rightward tilt of Netanyahu’s government and nationwide protests opposing him.
“As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday,” Biden told Herzog at the start of their meeting, “America’s commitment to Israel is firm, and it is ironclad.”
The meeting with Herzog came one day after Biden extended the invitation to Netanyahu to meet on American soil. The offer stalled for months as Biden criticized Netanyahu’s attempts to overhaul Israel’s judicial system and support for building more Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Despite his figurehead status, Herzog has urged compromise in recent months as Netanyahu attempts to weaken Israel’s judiciary, which the prime minister contends has too much power but critics warn is critical to preserving the country’s system of checks and balances.
“Israeli democracy is sound, strong, and resilient,” Herzog said Tuesday. “We are going through pains, we are going through heated debates, [and] we are going through challenging moments, but I truly, truly believe — and I would say this to you, Mr. President, as I’ve said it as head of state to the people of Israel — we should always seek to find amicable consensus, and I agree with you on that, as well.”
Biden, in an interview with CNN earlier this month, called Netanyahu’s government “one of the most extremist” in Israeli history.
But Netanyahu’s office described the Monday call between the two leaders during which Biden extended the invite to Netanyahu as “warm and long.”
Still, Biden “expressed concern about continued settlement growth” and “reiterated in the context of the current debate in Israel about judicial reform the need for the broadest possible consensus, and that shared democratic values have always been and must remain a hallmark of the US-Israel relationship,” the White House said.
Tuesday’s meeting also came after Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Israel a “racist state.” After receiving blowback, the Democrat from Washington state apologized, and the White House said it was “glad” she did so.
But several Democrats said they planned to skip a speech Herzog is scheduled to deliver to Congress on Wednesday to protest the government’s policies.
On Tuesday, House Republicans sought to capitalize on Jayapal’s comments by introducing a resolution to reaffirm Israel is not a racist state and to condemn antisemitism — an attempt by the majority to drive a wedge between Democrats as the party contends with differing stances within its ranks toward Israel.
“It was truly shameful to see so many left-wing Democrats spending time spewing venom and vitriol at our most cherished ally,” former Vice President Mike Pence, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, told a conference of Christian Zionists on Monday.
Lauren Peller and Alexandra Hutzler contributed reporting to this article.
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats are salivating at their prospects to flip the House next year — but even as party operatives boast of having “the full recipe” for success, they acknowledge they’re still gathering all the needed ingredients.
“Republicans are, for one reason or another, holding some seats that are really tenuous, and the math is pretty favorable,” said former Democratic Congressional Campaign Executive Director Tim Persico. “But there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.”
Conservatives won control of the House in 2022 but have only a five-seat majority. In next year’s election, 18 Republicans will be defending seats in districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020, and recent court rulings on redistricting have given hope to Democrats of drawing more advantageous seats in states like Louisiana and New York.
At the same time, Democrats believe Donald Trump’s continued sway over his party’s base will limit the ability of GOP candidates to moderate on the trail.
But, operatives said, winning back the House in 2024 — and potentially winning back unified control of Congress and the laws it writes, or serving as a check on Republicans who could retake the Senate — will mean recruiting serious contenders in each of these races while avoiding potentially ugly primaries.
None of the eight Democratic strategists working on or familiar with House races who spoke to ABC News for this story said they were losing sleep over the work ahead, noting the many months remaining to find strong candidates. All agreed the party shouldn’t rest on its laurels, though.
Democrats’ recruitment push is already underway, setting up several likely rematches between potentially vulnerable Republican incumbents and challengers whom they narrowly beat last year.
Like the strategists who spoke with ABC, aides for the targeted conservatives also projected confidence, with one slamming his possible opponent as “extreme.”
Among the expected do-overs — primaries pending — are Rudy Salas versus Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., who won by about 3 points in 2022 when Biden took his district by 13 points; and Adam Gray versus Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., who won last year by 0.4 percentage points in a district Biden won by nearly 11 points.
Still, the field remains up in the air in several other districts around the country. Democrats have yet to nab top-tier recruits to take on other Biden-district Republicans like California Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel, Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggins, New York Rep. Nick LaLota and New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean.
“If they had a really good candidate running against them, they should be sweating bullets. But that hasn’t happened yet,” said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish, referencing incumbents like Kim and Steel.
Recruitment efforts are anticipated to ramp up as the calendar narrows, with filing deadlines starting later this year.
“It’s already started. You’re seeing folks announce, you’re seeing folks take meetings in D.C. The motors are working, and I think it’s gonna probably become a bit more heated in the fourth quarter of this year. And we’ll see a lot of announcements happening between the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2024,” said one Democratic strategist involved in House races, who like some others in this story asked not to be quoted by name to discuss internal matters.
Still, Democrats said they can only do so much to shape the primary fields to their liking.
Several operatives voiced worries about candidates who may be too progressive — or merely perceived that way — to win in their districts, even if Biden repeats his victories there.
These strategists said that top of mind for Democrats is Oregon’s Jamie McLeod Skinner, a progressive candidate who unseated then-Rep. Kurt Schrader in last year’s primary and then went on to lose to now-Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer by 2 points in a district Biden won by 9 points.
“In a suburban district … you want a moderate, business-friendly Democrat to run that’s far more in step with the district. Otherwise, Republicans are just going to say, ‘This is a far, far, far to the left candidate,'” Reinish said. “They’ll talk about socialism, etc., and that resonates — and then you’ve taken yourself out of contention.”
In a statement to ABC News, McLeod defended her “pragmatic leadership” on affordable housing and disaster preparedness and accused “Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s MAGA agenda” of “undermining our fundamental freedoms, like banning access to abortion.” A spokesperson for Chavez-DeRemer told ABC News, in part, “The congresswoman remains focused on rising above the partisan noise and delivering results for Oregonians. She is confident that voters will send her back to Congress.”
Crowded nominating contests elsewhere could also pose a risk to Democrats.
The party is fielding several nominees in several primaries in Biden-won districts, including races for the chance to take on Arizona Rep. David Schweikert, New York Rep. Mike Lawler and Chavez-DeRemer.
Candidates in those contests could have to empty significant chunks of their war chests to emerge as their party’s nominee — though strategists insisted that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“Spending money that far out may not help you that much in the general election. But if you spend the money for a primary that’s in August or in July, that can sometimes just bleed into the general election. So it doesn’t necessarily put you behind the eight ball. Not all primaries are created equal,” said J.J. Balaban, a Democratic ad maker.
Party experts said the competition required in contested primaries also presents a double-edged sword, offering hopefuls the chance to cut their teeth ahead of a tough general election — or get punched in the mouth.
Among the Democratic primaries that boast prominent candidates is the one to take on Lawler. It already includes former Rep. Mondaire Jones and Liz Gereghty, the sister of Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer.
Jones, who used to represent the district before running for a different seat in 2022 due to redistricting, is expected to boast broader name ID. Gereghty, though, has won the endorsements of groups like Emily’s List and it’s still unclear if Whitmer’s new PAC, designed to help federal candidates, will weigh in on the race.
Balaban, whose client list includes Jones, said he does not anticipate the race for that nomination to get too ugly — but strategists conceded bruising primaries pose long-term risks.
“Primaries create the opportunity in particular for strong candidates to refine their message, build their donor base early, to become battle-born, ready for tough general elections. It gives them all of those opportunities. Where it gets much more challenging and dicier is when Democrats start to beat each other up,” said former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Executive Director Dan Sena.
Some in the party also recognize that they’re trying to unseat strong Republican candidates who have been able to win at least one term in inhospitable territory, in part by establishing brands separate from that of the national GOP. A House Democratic strategist likened it to a “façade” that the party must pierce with voters.
“We’re gonna need to continue what has already been a strong recruitment cycle here in order to match up well against some of these Republicans,” this person said. “I hate complimenting Mike Lawler, but he’s done a really good job of putting on this façade as a moderate while voting as a pretty extreme person. But the façade is maintained for the moment, so you need a strong challenger who can challenge him.”
Lawler’s campaign spokesman Chris Russell pushed back, saying, in part: “The only facade being perpetuated in this race is courtesy of Mondaire Jones, who’s trying to hide his extreme record.” Russell also contended that Lawler was the moderate choice.
Democrats are nonetheless staying upbeat about their chances of flipping the House.
While there are still pending questions like Biden’s strength heading into reelection — given many voters’ continued apathy about his age and concerns over the economy — and ongoing redistricting fights, Republicans in swing districts are being squeezed by tough votes forced by the GOP’s right flank, including on third-rail issues like abortion, and Trump is pushing a controversial agenda that helped Biden win in precisely the same districts Democrats are targeting now.
“I think the Democrats have all of the tools and a battlefield that can deliver the House for them. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Sena said. “There are still multiple X factors that that will ultimately play a significant role in whether the Democrats take the House. However, right now, they seem to have the full recipe to be able to take it back.”
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has actually received more support from Republican rather than Democratic donors, among those who gave him the most money in the first months of his 2024 White House bid, according to an ABC News analysis of his most recent financial filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Kennedy on Friday reported a haul of more than $6.3 million in donations, nearly all of which came from individuals.
Of the 104 donors who gave more than $6,000 to Kennedy — close to the legal maximum donation of $6,600 across the entire cycle — 39% had histories of donating to Republicans and 30% had only ever donated to Republican candidates and causes.
Just 23% of Kennedy’s top donors exclusively gave to Democrats in the past, and 65% had never donated to a Democrat. Only 13% had a history of giving to both parties.
Kennedy — an attorney and activist and nephew of President John F. Kennedy who has repeatedly spouted conspiracy theories and misinformation on public health issues — has seen his support base grow among some far-right figures like InfoWars host Alex Jones and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, both of whom have spread falsehoods about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.
Kennedy has also frequently garnered praise from former President Donald Trump, who over the weekend called him “a very smart guy” who has “hit a little bit of a nerve.” (Previously asked for his thoughts on Trump, Kennedy has said both “I’m proud that … [he] likes me” and “I’m not going to attack other people personally.”)
His campaign is attracting the attention of some prominent Republican donors, the FEC filing shows — at least seven of whom have given more than $100,000 to GOP candidates and causes.
Those people include Ken Fisher, founder and executive co-chair of Fisher Investments, who has donated millions of dollars to Republicans. Fisher’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his support.
Collectively, the seven donors have raised more than $5.4 million for Republicans.
Despite being a member of a famous family and despite being married to actress Cheryl Hines, Kennedy’s campaign appears not to have gotten much traction in Hollywood: The FEC filing shows guitarist Eric Clapton among the donors. (Clapton has criticized COVID-19 vaccines and anti-COVID-19 measures; his $5,000 was refunded because he isn’t a U.S. citizen.)
A representative for Clapton declined to comment to ABC News.
On the campaign trail, Kennedy has frequently argued he has his ability to bring people together. He launched his long shot bid against President Joe Biden in April.
“What I’m trying to do in this race is bring people together, is to try to bridge the divide between Americans,” he said during a NewsNation town hall last month.
Kennedy’s campaign received just $13,200 from two political action committees: American Values 2024 — which is backing him — and Purple Good Government PAC.
The latter, which in 2022 donated $100,000 to a PAC-aligned with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has previously received large donations from venture capitalist David Sacks, who held a fundraiser for Kennedy earlier this year.
In an interview with ABC News, American Values Co-Chairman Mark Gorton said that he believes Kennedy can appeal to a broad swath of Americans. (A Kennedy campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
“Bobby, I think he’s basically, you know, drawing from people who are … outside the system, or at the very least want to see the system seriously reformed,” Gorton said.
According to a spokesperson, American Values has raised $11 million so far from an even split of Republican and Democratic donors.
(WASHINGTON) — The controversy over Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s comments on Israel will continue Tuesday when the House votes on a Republican-led resolution to reaffirm the U.S. ally is not a racist state and condemn antisemitism — an effort designed to drive a wedge between Democrats as the party contends with differing stances within its ranks toward Israel.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, says “the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state, Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia, and the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.” The measure is expected to pass with strong bipartisan support.
The vote is essentially a rebuke of Jayapal, who has walked back her comments calling Israel a “racist state” and apologized to those she hurt with the remarks made at a political conference over the weekend. Seeking to clarify her remarks, Jayapal said she supported the two-state solution but is opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime and its policies.
Top Democrats issued a statement over the weekend countering Jayapal’s remarks in which they declared, “Israel is not a racist state.”
“Our commitment to a safe and secure Israel as an invaluable partner, ally and beacon of democracy in the Middle East is ironclad,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Reps. Katherine Clark, Pete Aguilar and Ted Lieu said in a statement.
Aguilar further touted the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Israel during a press conference on Tuesday, where he was asked whether the Israel resolution will expose division within the party.
“No, there’s unity in the Democratic caucus,” Aguilar responded. “I think you’ll see that with strong attendance from our colleagues on the House floor to see the president of Israel address us.”
Aguilar said he plans to vote for the resolution and expects “a large number of Democrats to vote for it.”
Republicans are also expected to vote in favor of the resolution, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Calif., applauding the resolution.
“I think you have seen some growing antisemitism over the years and including coming from some members of Congress. And I think it’s always important that we reiterate our strong support with our great ally Israel, and stand up to antisemitism wherever we see it,” Scalise said.
Scalise later said he expected a “strong vote” for Pfluger’s resolution.
Presented with the contrast between his condemnation of antisemitism with House Republicans’ plans for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify before a House subcommittee — despite Kennedy recently being accused of antisemitism for his false claim that COVID-19 was “targeted to” certain ethnicities while Chinese people and Jewish people of European descent were more immune — Scalise criticized Kennedy’s remarks.
“I don’t agree with that,” Scalise said when asked about Kennedy’s recent comments. “But we’re bringing legislation so that every member of Congress can be on record about whether or not they stand up against antisemitism.”
As the House takes up the measure, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will arrive in Washington, D.C., and sit down with President Joe Biden at the White House. The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon. Herzog will deliver remarks to Congress on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel’s statehood.
Some progressive Democrats, including Reps. Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have said they will not attend.
ABC News’ Arthur Jones contributed to this report.
Sen. Joe Manchin and Jon Huntsman Jr. speak with ABC News about the No Labels group in Manchester, N.H, July 17, 2023. — ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Sen. Joe Manchin isn’t running for president on a third-party ticket in 2024, he said on Monday in New Hampshire — and while he played down the possibility of changing his mind, his appearance at No Labels’ Common Sense town hall alongside Jon Huntsman Jr. continued to fuel speculation that the two could be on a future “unity” ticket against Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
That wasn’t what either Manchin and Huntsman wanted to talk about at the event, however.
“I think people are getting ahead of the game, put[ting] the cart before the horse,” Manchin, D-W.Va., said at the town hall when asked if Huntsman, a Republican, might be his 2024 running mate. “We’re here to make sure that the American people have an option, and the option is can you move the political parties off their respective sides. They’ve gone too far right and too far left.”
Monday’s town hall is the first of what No Labels intends to be a yearlong tour, with more speakers to come.
Over the weekend, No Labels also released a policy manual called Common Sense which serves as the group’s platform and includes centrist solutions on a range of issues, from Social Security to the national debt, abortion and guns.
No Labels is openly weighing whether to launch a third-party “unity” ticket in next year’s race that would feature both a Democrat and Republican, arguing that their research shows voters may have an appetite for an outside bid.
That strategy has drawn criticism, particularly from Democrats who say it could “spoil” the outcome.
“I’ve never been in any race I’ve ever spoiled. I’ve been in races to win,” Manchin said at Monday’s town hall. “And if I get in a race, I’m gonna win.”
He and Huntsman, a former governor of Utah whom Manchin called a “dear friend,” were appearing at Saint Anselm College in Manchester — a popular stop in the early-voting state for candidates running for president.
“We’re here basically trying to explain to you to the real options, and the options may be new parties who basically haven’t receded to their logical extreme right and extreme left,” Manchin said.
Speaking with ABC News ahead of the town hall, the senator brushed off a question about a possible No Labels candidacy.
Manchin has so far been coy about his plans for the 2024 election cycle. ABC News has reported that he is considering running for reelection in his current Senate seat, retiring or running for president.
“This is not [about] my politics or whatever my future will be,” he said on Monday, of supporting No Labels. “This is about uniting the country.”
Both he and Huntsman also said they do not believe if they were to enter the presidential race that it would help former President Trump’s chances against President Biden.
“I don’t believe it for one second,” Huntsman said. “First of all, it’s the preseason. Second of all, who would argue with the importance of expanding democracy and choices and ideas? That’s what this country is all about.”
At the town hall, Huntsman took a sharper tone, saying that he had gotten fed up with the potential ticket conversation occupying the initial 15 minutes of their time on stage. But he also criticized the potential rematch between Trump and Biden next year, which polls show voters are apathetic about.
“If we end up in 2024 with the same set of nominees that we did in 2020, is that insanity? Is that the definition of insanity or what?” Huntsman said.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu was a notable figure in the audience, with Huntsman joking that he should be on stage with the co-hosts.
Prior to the town hall, Sununu spoke with reporters and said he is unsure if No Labels will be on the ballot in New Hampshire, which historically holds the country’s first primaries, but believes the group has a plan to get there.
He also encouraged the group to continue what they’re doing, saying, “Most Americans don’t want Trump or Biden, so there is going to be a vacuum to fill the void.”
“It’s very interesting that they are launching everything here,” Sununu said. “They know where the conversation is going to be, and they want to be a part of it.”
New Hampshire voters in attendance — who spilled into three overflow rooms — were interested in what the politicians had to say, but most of the conversation was focused on Manchin’s future, not on the newly released Common Sense policy booklet.
He closed the town hall by reiterating he is not currently seeking the White House.
“I’m not here running for president tonight. I’m not,” he said. “I’m here trying to basically save the nation.”
Speaking with ABC News earlier in the day, he declined to say whether he would seek reelection in the Senate instead.
Not dampening speculation is the fact that No Labels’ platform, released over the weekend, bears a striking resemblance to Manchin’s. The “Common Sense” theme is evocative of Manchin in both content and strategy, repeating his stances on several key issues, like energy, abortion and immigration.
Among other similarities, the platform opens with a call to “fix Social Security,” echoing Manchin, and it argues for “a balance” between abortion rights and certain restrictions, as Manchin has advocated.
No Labels also brands its energy strategy with the coal-state senator’s catchphrase on the issue — “all-of-the-above” — in embracing both efforts to help address climate change through encouraging renewable energy production while not, as Manchin contends, too quickly pivoting away from the use of fossil fuels.
Manchin said Monday that No Labels had interviewed him when crafting their platform document but that any similarities beyond that were “maybe a coincidence.”
He and Huntsman said they did not draft the Common Sense booklet themselves.
“I think most people in America have a commonsense approach to how they run their life or how they expect to be governed,” Manchin said. “I gave my input, basically, as one person giving my response.”
A potential No Labels ticket could affect the electoral chances of both major parties — as has happened in some past presidential races. Analysis from FiveThirtyEight suggests that a No Labels candidacy in the 2024 presidential race would marginally harm Biden over Trump.
No Labels’ leadership insists the organization’s main purpose is to push the two major parties towards greater consensus in the center rather than to sway the race to one candidate or the other. No Labels’ founding chair, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that the group would abstain from the 2024 presidential race if they realized they would tip the results.
“If the polling next year shows, after the two parties have chosen their nominees, that, in fact, we will help elect one or another candidate, we’re not going to get involved,” Lieberman said.
Former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who opposes No Labels, appeared with Lieberman on Sunday and was blunt about his assessment: “There is no way on God’s green earth that they can get to 270 electoral votes, which means they will be a spoiler, one way or another.”
The problem wasn’t No Labels, Lieberman said then. “The problem is the American people are not buying what the two parties are selling anymore. And I think the parties would be wiser to think about that.”
(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel Jack Smith has informed former President Donald Trump by letter that he is a target in his investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Trump also confirmed the development in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The letter, which sources said was transmitted to Trump’s attorneys in recent days, indicates that yet another indictment of the former president could be imminent — though it is not immediately clear what kind of charges he could ultimately face.
Target letters are typically given to subjects in a criminal investigation to put them on notice that they are facing the prospect of indictment.
Trump similarly received a target letter from Smith before he was indicted by a grand jury in Florida for his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged efforts to obstruct the government’s investigation.
Smith took control of the sprawling Justice Department investigation into the failed efforts by Trump and his allies to thwart his election loss upon his appointment as special counsel in November of last year, and in recent months dozens of witnesses have appeared to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C.
According to sources, prosecutors have questioned witnesses specifically about the efforts to put forward false slates of so-called false electors that were to have cast electoral college votes during the certification for Trump in key swing states that he lost to President Joe Biden.
Investigators have also sought information on Trump’s actions and his state of mind in the days leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, temporarily disrupting the certification and causing lawmakers and former Vice President Pence to flee the building.
Trump was indicted last month on 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after Smith’s 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. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The former president has also pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment from the Manhattan district attorney charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican presidential candidate and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s climbed in the polls thanks in part to his strategy of embracing and defending former President Donald Trump, made headlines over the weekend when he blamed “pervasive censorship” for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol — but he had a different message in the days following the riot.
“You want to know what caused Jan. 6?” Ramaswamy told moderator Tucker Carlson Friday at The Family Leadership Summit, a GOP forum held at the site of the upcoming Iowa caucuses. “There’s such a temptation to say that there’s one man whose name is unspeakable,” he said, before blaming the attack on “pervasive censorship in this country in the lead-up” to the attack.
“You tell people in this country they cannot speak, that is when they scream,” Ramaswamy said. “You tell people they cannot scream, that is when they tear things down.”
But in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol attack, Ramaswamy, 37, forcefully condemned the attack and blasted the former president, who’s now the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
“What Trump did last week was wrong,” Ramaswamy wrote on Twitter in the days following the riot. “Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple. I’ve said it before.”
In another tweet, the biotech entrepreneur said, “Trump’s egregious behavior last week blinds us from seeing that Big Tech’s cure is worse. Makes for a winning game for China in the long run.”
And after social media companies banned some accounts in the aftermath of Jan. 6, Ramaswamy co-authored a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece in which he called the Capitol riot “disgraceful” while arguing against “big-tech” censorship.
“Hard cases make bad law, and Mr. Trump presented America with a hard case last week,” Ramaswamy wrote in the January 2021 Journal opinion piece. “The breach of the Capitol is a stain on American history, and Silicon Valley seized on the attack to do what Congress couldn’t by suppressing the kind of political speech the First Amendment was designed to protect.”
In a brief interview with ABC News, Ramaswamy said he would have handled Jan. 6 differently from Trump — but said he does not blame the former president for the riot.
“It is false and it is a mistake to blame Jan. 6 on Donald Trump,” he said.
Ramaswamy said his comments condemning Trump in the days after the riot were about how he handled Jan. 6, telling ABC News, “What I would have done? … Starting that day under the same circumstances, I would have said, as soon as there are people violently approaching the Capitol, ‘Stand down.'”
“Standing by while protesters turned violent, I think was a bad mistake of leadership,” he said, while reiterating, “I don’t think Donald Trump was the cause of Jan. 6.”
However in his 2022 book, “Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence,” Ramaswamy sharply criticized the former president for not conceding the election.
“It was a dark day for democracy. The loser of the last election refused to concede the race, claimed the election was stolen, raised hundreds of millions of dollars from loyal supporters, and is considering running for executive office again.” Ramaswamy wrote. “I’m referring, of course, to Donald Trump.”
He wrote that Trump “filed scores of lawsuits over various claims of fraud … but they came nowhere close to changing the outcome in a single state, let alone the several swing states whose results he needed to overturn.”
“In many cases, judges the president himself had nominated ruled against him, a sign of health in our nation’s institutions,” Ramaswamy wrote. “Accepting the outcomes of elections and having a peaceful transition of power is part of what it means to be a constitutional republic: Sometimes your team loses, but if you accept the result and prepare for the next election, eventually the scales will tip your way again.”
“We fought, we lost, and I accepted the result,” he wrote.
When asked about his comments in “Nation of Victims” condemning Trump’s election claims, Ramaswamy said he stands by his words, but also said, “I think the 2020 election was stolen in a limited sense.” The entrepreneur claimed the “2020 election would have been different if the Hunter Biden laptop story had not been suppressed.”
On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy has largely rallied to Trump’s side. He made headlines last month when he held a press conference in Miami in which he defended the former president after Trump was indicted over his handling classified documents — vowing to pardon Trump and calling on other candidates to promise to do so as well.
The former president himself seems to have taken notice, shouting out Ramaswamy during his remarks in Florida this weekend at the conservative Turning Point USA conference.
“[Gov. Ron DeSantis] is dropping so quickly, he’s probably not going to be in second place much longer. I wonder who is going to be? Maybe it’s Vivek? … he’s doing well,” Trump told the crowd.
Ramaswamy’s campaign has proven effective, boosting the political novice to fourth in the polls just behind former Vice President Mike Pence and leapfrogging several current and former governors.
Ramaswamy raised more than $7.7 million in the second quarter of the year, including lending his campaign $5 million from his own personal fortune. He finished the quarter with more than $9 million on hand.
(WASHINGTON) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to the U.S. this week is causing some controversy — with House Speak Kevin McCarthy as well as Democratic leaders and the White House strongly criticizing recent remarks from progressive Democrats.
Herzog will meet with President Joe Biden on Tuesday and address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel’s statehood.
Several progressive Democrats signaled they plan to boycott the address, though Herzog’s otherwise expected to receive a largely bipartisan welcome. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said last week there was “no way in hell” she would be in attendance.
The rifts in the Democratic Party when it comes to Israel became apparent this weekend after Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Israel a “racist state.”
“I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state,” Jayapal said on Saturday at the Netroots Nation political conference in Chicago. “That the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy. That the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us. That it does not even feel possible.”
The comment prompted pushback from both sides of the aisle, including House Democratic leaders, who countered “Israel is not a racist state” and said they were “determined to make sure support for Israel in the Congress remains strongly bipartisan.”
“Our commitment to a safe and secure Israel as an invaluable partner, ally and beacon of democracy in the Middle East is ironclad,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Reps. Katherine Clark, Pete Aguilar and Ted Lieu said in a statement.
Jayapal walked the remark back in a lengthy statement on Sunday, in which she said she’s long supported the two-state solution but is opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to expand West Bank settlements.
“Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement,” Jayapal said, stating the remark was an attempt to “defuse a tense situation” during the panel on which she participated.
“I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” Jayapal said. “I do, however, believe that Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”
The White House said Monday it was “glad” she apologized for the comment.
“We think an apology was the right thing to do for those comments,” spokesman John Kirby told reporters as he previewed Herzog’s visit.
But McCarthy said Monday he believed Democrats should do more to address those within their ranks he said were making “antisemitic” remarks. He specifically singled out past statements from Jayapal and Omar as examples.
“It has got to stop,” McCarthy said. “These are all individuals in the Democratic conference, do they think Israel is an evil state? Well if they believe differently, they should take action against their own for the comments coming from their leadership within their own Democratic Party and that’s wrong.”
McCarthy, who led a bipartisan trip to Israel in May, called the nation our “closest ally.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Republican-led House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on UFOs, officially called unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), next week.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., announced on Twitter that the session is scheduled for July 26.
The hearing comes after Republican lawmakers have promised to look deeper into UAPs following unconfirmed claims from a former intelligence official that the U.S. military had allegedly found crashed alien spacecraft. The Pentagon has said it hasn’t discovered any information to substantiate this claim.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was asked Monday if he believes in extraterrestrial life, in light of Burchett’s announcement of the hearing.
“I will continue to see,” McCarthy told reporters with a grin. “But I think if we had found a UFO, I think the Department of Defense would tell us because they would probably want to request more money.”
“I’d love to see whatever facts and information we have,” McCarthy continued. “I’m very supportive of letting the American people see what we have, where we go.”
Burchett, who is leading the panel’s inquiry into UAPs with fellow GOP hard-liner Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, had previewed the hearing last week.
“We’re going to have professionals in here and we’re getting blowback from some of the alphabet agencies,” he claimed to reporters without elaborating further.
“I’m sick of government … that does not trust the people,” he said when pushed by the press for more detail.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon office tasked with reviewing UAPs said it had look at more than 800 cases dating back decades but hadn’t identified any that could be attributed to alien origin.
Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, told a Senate subcommittee in April “only a very small percentage” of UAP reports could be described as “anomalous.”
“The majority of unidentified objects reported to AARO demonstrate mundane characteristics of balloons, unmanned aerial systems, clutter, natural phenomena, or other readily explainable sources,” he said at the time.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Mike Pence’s latest fundraising totals suggest a rocky road ahead for the former vice president as he fights both for support from voters in the Republican Party he once helped lead — and a spot on next month’s primary debate stage.
Pence raised just $1.2 million for his campaign since formally entering the race in early June, while a pro-Pence super PAC, Committed to America, took in $2.7 million during the second quarter of 2023.
Those totals trailed several of Pence’s rivals, including second-quarter hauls of $15.3 million for former President Donald Trump, $20 million for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, $5.8 million for South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and $5.3 million for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Pence also financially lagged much lesser-known candidates like entrepreneur and commentator Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
To be sure, Pence did not have a full quarter to fundraise himself, getting into the race later than many of his rivals, and he does not have a joint-fundraising committee like many of his competitors do.
Still, the haul means that Pence will have significantly less money at his disposal than other GOP primary contenders, in turn impacting his ability to advertise and gin up further support as the 2024 cycle gets underway in earnest.
More tangibly, the haul could portend difficulties for Pence to make it on stage for the first primary debate, on Aug. 23.
Under the Republican National Committee’s qualifications, Pence and other contenders will have to attract at least 40,000 unique donors, along with meeting polling criteria and signing a loyalty pledge to support the GOP’s eventual nominee.
Pence appears far from winning all the needed donors, though he has expressed confidence that he’ll end up debating next month nonetheless.
“We’ll make the debate stage. We’re working around the clock to make sure that we reach that threshold of 40,000,” he told ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks last week. “I’m confident we’ll be there come Aug. 23.”
“I just announced a month ago,” he later added to another reporter. “Give me some time.”
Pence formally launched his campaign in early June. In a speech from Iowa at the time, he sought to stress his own conservative bona fides, including his longtime support of abortion restrictions, religious liberty principles and shrinking the federal government — and he also rebuked former President Trump over Trump’s actions around Jan. 6 and the push to overturn the 2020 election.
“We can defend our liberties and give America a new beginning for life. But it will require new leadership — in the White House and the Republican Party,” he said then.
Early polling shows he has gained only some traction in the crowded primary field: According to FiveThirtyEight, Pence is averaging about 7% in national surveys, compared to DeSantis’ 20% and Trump’s 50%.
Fissures have also emerged between the former vice president and a grassroots that remains largely enthusiastic about Pence’s old boss. Last week at a multi-candidate event in Iowa, whose heavily evangelical caucus electorate should theoretically align with Pence’s own background, he was booed over his support for Ukraine in defending against Russia’s invasion.
Pence has projected confidence about his chances — not just to make it to the debate, but in facing off against Trump.
“Sometimes people ask me what I think about debating Donald Trump. I tell people I’ve debated Donald Trump a thousand times, just not with the cameras on,” he said last week. “I look forward to seeing him on the stage.”
ABC News’ Libby Cathey contributed to this report.
