Biden warns Supreme Court’s Trump immunity ruling sets ‘dangerous precedent’ as he deflects from debate: Live

Joe Biden slammed the US Supreme Court for its ruling on Donald Trump’s immunity from criminal prosecution during an address to the nation from the White House on Monday evening.

“For all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do,” the Democrat said.

“This is a fundamentally new principle. And it’s a dangerous precedent.”

Earlier, the court ruled that Trump has protection from prosecution for official acts conducted during his time as president – but not “unofficial” acts.

The ruling could have a huge impact on cases connected to his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and profound consequences for any future attempts to hold American presidents to account over crimes committed from the Oval Office.

The 6-3 majority decision was opposed by all three liberal justices on the bench, with Sonia Sotomayor warning in her dissent: “The president is now a king above the law.”

Meanwhile, Biden is still struggling to instil calm within his party following his disastrous debate performance last week, with Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer reportedly warning he cannot win her swing state in November as things stand.

Key Points

• Supreme Court awards Donald Trump some immunity from prosecution

• Trump says SCOTUS decision should end all cases against him

• Where do the Trump prosecutions stand after Monday’s dramatic ruling?

• Dissenting liberal justice: ‘The president is now a king above the law’

• Congressman promises constitutional amendment to ‘reverse’ immunity ruling

Obama has privately told allies he’s concerned about Biden’s path to re-election

16:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Former president Barack Obama has reportedly privately raised concerns about Joe Biden’s path to re-election after his shaky debate performance, a sharp deviation from his public comments.

Despite boosting his old deputy on social media, Obama has told allies behind closed doors he is worried about Democrats’ ability to defeat Trump in November and has warned Biden in recent months about the challenges ahead, according to The Washington Post.

Ariana Baio reports.

Obama privately told allies that he’s concerned about Biden’s path to re-election

Trump moves ahead of Biden in new CBS post-debate poll

16:15 , Joe Sommerlad

A new poll from CBS News shows that Trump has taken a slight lead against Biden after trailing him last month.

CBS surveyed 2,826 registered voters in the days after Thursday’s Atlanta debate, with its resulting poll concluding that 51 per cent of voters would pick Trump compared to 48 per cent backing Biden.

The numbers are a reversal from June when 50 per cent of voters said that they would pick the Democrat and 49 per cent said they would pick the Republican, which came shortly after a jury in New York found the 45th president guilty on 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to corruptly influence the 2016 election.

Trump led Biden 51 per cent to 48 per cent in battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Biden told ally he is weighing up his campaign’s future, New York Times reports

15:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The NYT is reporting that Joe Biden has told “a key ally” that he may not be able to continue with his 2024 campaign if he cannot change the public’s mind about his health and wellbeing with his next few appearances, the first indication from the president that he understands the seriousness of the damage done by his debate disaster last week.

Biden has an interiew with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News scheduled on Friday and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin upcoming.

“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place,” the newspaper’s source said.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates has wasted no time in rubbishing the story, commenting: “That claim is absolutely false. If The New York Times had provided us with more than seven minutes to comment, we would have told them so.”

Another Biden campaign spokesman has told The Independent simply: “It’s wrong.”

Here’s the very latest from Alex Woodward.

Biden considering whether to end his presidential re-election campaign, report says

Biden campaign raises more money in June than Trump despite disastrous debate

15:35 , Joe Sommerlad

The president’s campaign raised more than Trump in June, despite his disastrous debate performance last week.

The Biden team raised $127m last month, compared to his Republican rival’s $111.8m, according to announcements from the two campaigns on Tuesday.

The president’s June fundraising haul includes $38m in the four days after the Atlanta debate, which is at least encouraging for Democrats.

Martha McHardy reports.

Biden campaign raises more money than Trump in June despite disastrous debate

How Biden’s potential replacements have reacted to rumors they could step in

15:15 , Joe Sommerlad

President Biden’s debate performance on Thursday sent Democrats into a tailspin of panic.

But while the party has an abundance of young talent, any ambitious politician who comes forward to say Biden should step aside immediately risks becoming a pariah.

That may be why, for the time being, only a single sitting Democrat has spoken out about replacing the president at the top of the ticket.

Eric Garcia reports on what his potential successors have been saying instead.

How Biden’s potential replacements have responded to post-debate rumors

‘Enough is enough’: Marianne Williamson volunteers to be Democrats’ saviour

14:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Don’t ever change, Marianne.

“President Biden deserves our respect, and our compassion, and our gratitude,” she says in a new five-minute video statement posted to X.

“But the debate on Thursday night made it very clear that the Democrats need a new nominee on the ballot in November.”

The former self-help guru, 72, is once more throwing her hat in the ring and calling on the party to “recalibrate” and hold an open nomination at its convention in Chicago in August.

RFK Jr confronted with allegations about barbecued dogs and sexual assault

14:35 , Joe Sommerlad

And you thought Joe Biden was having a rough week...

He says the accusations are “garbage” but that he is not a “church boy” (?) and had a “rambunctious youth”.

Trump-backed challenger ousts Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good in revenge for DeSantis support

14:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee has taken his revenge against the chair of the House Freedom Caucus in a primary that proves his endorsement is still a kingmaker within the Republican Party.

The race in Virginia’s 5th district was called Tuesday afternoon, with all 24 localities reporting.

Virginia’s Department of Elections declared that John McGuire, a retired Navy SEAL and state senator, won the primary with 31,209 votes compared to representative Bob Good’s 31,583, creating a margin of just 374 votes.

The results took days to come in as the race remained on a knife edge and Good, who earned Trump’s animosity by backing Florida governor Ron DeSantis in the primaries, has already said that he will ask for a recount.

Here’s more from John Bowden and Eric Garcia.

Trump starts his Revenge Tour by ousting Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good

Trump sneaker line sues over knockoffs

13:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The company behind Trump’s line of vulgar “Never Surrender” high-top sneakers has filed a lawsuit alleging trademark and copyright infringement against a number of retailers it accuses of marketing and selling knockoff versions of the shoes online.

And one of their customers appears to be MAGA favourite Lauren Boebert!

Here’s our story.

Trump sneaker manufacturer sues over knockoffs

Trump on the importance of ratings: ‘You can be evil, horrible, cruel, or elegant'

13:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Ramin Setoodeh, author of the new book Apprentice in Wonderland, is proving a real thorn in Trump’s side and yesterday emerged with fresh audio in which the Republican offers some revealing thoughts on the oxygen of publicity.

Here’s some of our previous reporting on the writer’s other revelations from the six interviews he conducted with the the former reality TV star turned aspiring dictator.

Trump ‘still believed he had foreign policy powers after leaving White House’

Ivanka to attend RNC as she calls Trump’s conviction ‘painful’

13:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump’s daughter plans to attend the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) and witness his formal nomination as the GOP’s presidential candidate, despite maintaining more public distance from his political machine in recent months.

Josh Marcus reports.

Ivanka to attend RNC for her dad’s nomination as she calls his conviction ‘painful’

Democratic congressman says Trump will win election ‘and I’m OK with that’

12:55 , Joe Sommerlad

If the Doggett line weren’t bad enough for Biden, Jared Golden of Maine is also distancing himself from the president in an op-ed in his state’s Bangor Daily News.

Golden writes that Biden’s debate performance “didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

He continues: “There are winners and losers in every election. Democrats’ post-debate hand-wringing is based on the idea that a Trump victory is not just a political loss, but a unique threat to our democracy. I reject the premise.

“Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system.”

Golden argues that the election is about the economy, not democracy and “when it comes to our economy, our Congress matters far more than who occupies the White House”.

First Democratic lawmaker calls for Biden to drop out of 2024 race

12:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas has called for Biden to end his re-election campaign, marking the first time a sitting Democratic member of Congress has supported the president dropping out of the race.

Biden has run “substantially behind” other Democratic candidates in high-stakes races, has trailed Trump in most polls and then “failed” to expose his Republican rival’s lies during the debate, according to Doggett.

“Our overriding consideration must be who has the best hope of saving our democracy from an authoritarian takeover by a criminal and his gang,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Alex Woodward reports.

Texas congressman is first Democratic lawmaker calling for Biden to drop out

Pelosi says voters’ questions about Biden are ‘legitimate’

12:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Former House speaker and party elder Nancy Pelosi spoke fairly frankly about Biden’s plight to MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell last night.

Here’s Ariana Baio on what else she had to say.

Nancy Pelosi says voters’ questions about Biden are ‘legitimate’

Biden’s debate woes hit down-ballot Democrats

11:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The president’s strength has always been his ability to unify the Democratic Party, writes Eric Garcia.

Now, Republicans are using that against vulnerable Democrats.

Biden’s debate woes hit down-ballot Democrats

Biden staffers are ‘scared s***less of him’

11:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Members of Biden’s staff are said to be “scared s***less” of him, prompting advisers to carefully curate their briefings to ensure they don’t “set him off”, according to a senior official.

Biden’s close-knit group of advisors and spin doctors have worked tirelessly to portray a positive public image for the oldest president in US history but that appears to be unravelling as his campaign remains mired in crisis.

James Liddell has the story.

Biden staffers are ‘scared s***less of him’ and ‘worry about setting him off’

Stormy Daniels: ‘All you had to do was hear my very PG-rated version on the stand. I had to relive it!’

11:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The adult film actress, who starred at Trump’s hush money trial, gave an interview to Rachel Maddow on MSNBC last night in which she expressed a fear the Republican would “try to make even more of an example out of me” if he returns to the White House and said of the prospect of a second term: “Shouldn’t we all be worried about that?”

She was certainly on rare old form.

Biden support nosedives in swing states after Trump debate disaster

10:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The president’s polling numbers have begun to fall in key swing states following his dismal debate performance last week.

That’s according to a confidential polling memo obtained by Puck News.

It reveals that states where Biden was clearly ahead, such as New Mexico, Virginia, and New Hampshire, may now be winnable for Trump.

Biden is now behind other possible candidates in the polls looking at possible matchups with Trump, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, the memo from OpenLabs shows.

Gustaf Kilander has more.

Biden support nosedives in swing states after disastrous debate against Trump

Democratic governors demand meeting with White House over Biden’s debate

10:35 , Joe Sommerlad

A group of Democratic governors has demanded a meeting at the White House to get reassurances from Biden and advisers in the wake of that disastrous first debate.

The group, which contains some of the president’s most ardent supporters and some potential successors, has been startled by their lack of contact with the president following the debacle, according to The New York Times.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Democratic governors demand meeting with White House over Biden’s disastrous debate

White House denies Biden has ‘any form of dementia’

10:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday her boss does not have Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia or any another degenerative illness that would explain his rambling, meandering performance during last week’s presidential debate against Trump.

Jean-Pierre was asked directly by The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg if the president’s reported lapses in memory and struggles during public events was the result of such an illness during the daily White House press briefing, the first since Biden turned in a shockingly dismal performance in his first face-to-face meeting with Trump since they last debated during the 2020 election.

Here’s our report.

White House denies Biden has ‘any form of dementia’ at tense press conference

Biden blames jet lag for debate debacle: 'I almost fell asleep on stage’

09:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The president, 81, is continuing to struggle to convince the Democratic Party that he is in good health and remains the right man to lead his side into November’s election following his disastrous debate performance last week, blaming his lacklustre showing on jet lag and exhaustion yesterday.

“I decided to travel around the world a couple of times... shortly before the debate... I didn’t listen to my staff... and then I almost fell asleep on stage,” he said on Tuesday.

Not everyone is buying it, however...

Mike Bedigan reports on Biden’s not-exactly-reassuring remarks.

Biden blames jet lag for debate debacle: ‘I almost fell asleep on stage’

Trump’s hush money sentencing delayed to September

09:35 , Joe Sommerlad

The judge presiding over Trump’s hush money trial is postponing the former president’s sentencing to September 18 after Manhattan prosecutors said they would not oppose the convicted felon’s request to delay in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision granting him “absolute” immunity from criminal prosecution for “official” acts.

In a letter to Justice Juan Merchan on Tuesday, prosecutors with the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said Trump’s arguments are “without merit” but they do not oppose his request to push back the sentencing date as he files his legal arguments.

Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.

Alex Woodward has the details.

Trump’s hush money sentencing delayed to September

Truth Social: Trump claims ‘total exoneration’ after Supreme Court’s immunity ruling

09:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Just as he did with the Mueller report, Trump is crowing that the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s partial immunity ruling in his favour this week counts as a “total exoneration” of his crooked conduct.

Now, as then, it very much doesn’t.

Meanwhile, he’s been flooding his social media feed with favourable polling numbers and mocking Biden over, get this, spray tan.

I know, I know...

This is the picture he posted of the president from Monday, alleging he’s been hitting the bronzer since looking pale and ill on the CNN debate stage in Atlanta last Thursday.

You sure you want to go there Don?

Biden staffers have witnessed at least 15 incidents like ‘horror show’ debate in last two years, reporter says

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Staffers for Joe Biden have witnessed at least 15 incidents in the last year and a half “where the president has appeared like he did at that horror show” of a debate, Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein said this week.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Biden staffers have witnessed 15 incidents like ‘horror show’ debate: reporter

‘My pick would be Gavin Newsom’: Bill Maher calls on Biden to step aside

07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Comedian Bill Maher has urged Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic candidate for president amid his disastrous debate performance last week.

In an op-ed for The New York Times, Maher said that the first debate between Biden and Trump was like the “worst episode of The Golden Bachelor ever.”

He added that following the debate, he and others can no longer “ignore the obvious” about Biden’s age.

Martha McHardy has the story.

Bill Maher calls on Biden to step aside: ‘My pick would be Gavin Newsom’

President is ‘probably in better health than most of us’ says Biden campaign chair

06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Biden Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said on a Zoom call with around 500 donors on Monday that President Joe Biden is “probably in better health than most of us” as the campaign tried to quash concerns about the 81-year-old’s age and fitness following his terrible debate performance.

O’Malley Dillon told members of the Biden campaign’s National Finance Committee that the team is “clear-eyed, not pollyannish” regarding the less than stellar debate performance, according to CNN.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Biden campaign chair tells donors president is ‘in better health than most of us’

Trump inches past Biden in crucial swing state

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is leading Joe Biden by two points in the crucial swing state of New Hampshire, according to a survey conducted days after the president’s disastrous debate performance.

The new poll, from Saint Anselm College, found that 44 percent of voters in the Granite State would vote for Trump over Biden if the election were held today.

It constitutes a massive 12-point boost for Trump after a nearly-identical poll in December gave Biden a 10-point lead in the state.

Ariana Baio reports.

Trump inches past Biden in crucial swing state after debate flop

A Supreme Court victory and a Democrat meltdown — why is Trump still complaining?

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Former president Donald Trump got almost everything he could have wanted in the past week and a half.

Not only did President Joe Biden’s performance at the debate on Thursday evening in Atlanta send the Democratic Party into a collective panic — with some even speculating that the party would need to replace the president — but Trump has received legal rulings that have benefited him and his political movement.

Nevertheless, because he is who he is, he can’t help but continue to air his grievances.

Continue reading...

A Supreme Court victory and a Democrat meltdown — yet Trump is still complaining

ICYMI: Biden slams Supreme Court immunity ruling, says it lets presidents ignore the law

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden blasted the Supreme Court’s decision granting former and future presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts saying it gives the executive office, and possibly Donald Trump, the power “to do whatever he pleases, whenever he wants to do it.”

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Biden slams Supreme Court immunity ruling calling it ‘a terrible disservice’

Liz Cheney fires back at Trump after he calls for ‘televised military tribunals’

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney fired back at Donald Trump after the former president shared an image on his Truth Social page saying she was guilty of treason and should be tried during “televised military tribunals.”

“Donald – This is the type of thing that demonstrates yet again that you are not a stable adult,” she wrote on X, “and are not fit for office.”

The former Wyoming congresswoman was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president after the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Read on...

Liz Cheney fires back at Trump after he calls for ‘televised military tribunals’

How did Clarence Thomas help Trump in his classified documents case?

00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Justice Clarence Thomas joined the Supreme Court’s five other conservatives to grant Donald Trump and other presidents unprecedented immunity from criminal prosecution.

But he also wrote his own opinion taking aim at the special counsel handling the election interference case at the center of the ruling – days after Trump’s attorneys made the same arguments in a Florida courtroom.

Thomas went so far as to say that the federal judge overseeing Trump’s election interference case should reconsider whether Jack Smith was even lawfully appointed to the job, giving Trump and the judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case more legal ammunition in his favor.

Alex Woodward reports.

Clarence Thomas just gave Trump ammunition in his classified documents case

Felon Hunter Biden joins White House meetings after debate flop

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Convicted felon Hunter Biden has joined White House meetings with his father Joe Biden and top aides in the wake of the president’s panic-fuelling appearance during last week’s debate against Donald Trump.

The president’s son, who was convicted on gun-related charges in federal court last month, has attended meetings with the president and his staff to prepare for Biden’s speech in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity.

Hunter traveled back to the White House with his father after the family’s visit to Camp David over the weekend and then joined a meeting to prepare for the speech, and “he ended up spending time with his dad and his family that night,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed on Tuesday.

Alex Woodward reports.

‘What the hell is happening?’: Hunter joins White House meetings after debate flop

Some Biden donors demand their money back

23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Top contributors to President Joe Biden’s re-election bid are inquiring about having their campaign donations refunded after the 81-year-old chief executive delivered a meandering and tottering performance at his first 2024 election debate with Donald Trump last week.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Biden donors demand their money back after president’s debate performance

Melania ‘cuts deal with Trump’ about her future role if he wins in November

23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Melania Trump is unlikely to take up the role of full-time first lady if her husband wins a second term as president, according to a report.

A Trumpworld insider told Page Six that the Slovenian former model has cut a deal with Donald Trump that if he takes back the White House in November she would not have to be on first lady duty 24/7.

Ultimately, Melania believes she can be “hands-on mother and first lady at the same time,” the insider told Page Six.

Martha McHardy reports.

Melania ‘cuts deal with Trump’ about her future role if he wins the White House

Watch: Buttigieg says Biden is ‘focused and disciplined leader'

23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

ICYMI: Liberal justices denounce ‘nightmare’ immunity ruling

22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices have warned that their conservative colleagues have turned the president into “a king above the law” after they granted Donald Trump some immunity from criminal prosecution.

Monday’s decision radically and dangerously reshapes the presidency and “makes a mockery” of the Constitution and the idea that “no man is above the law,” according to a furious dissenting opinion from Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Alex Woodward reports.

Supreme Court liberal justices denounce ‘nightmare’ immunity ruling

White House confirms Biden travel to key swing states

22:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Per the White House:

President Joe Biden to Travel to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania

On Friday, July 5th, the President will travel to Madison, Wisconsin.

On Sunday, July 7th, the President and the First Lady will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Additional details to follow.

Watch: Congressman warns silence could lead to more calls for Biden to drop out

22:25 , Oliver O'Connell

New poll: Most voters think Democratic Party has better 2024 chance without Biden

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A new CNN/SSRS poll shows that most US voters believe the Democratic Party would have a better chance of holding on to the presidency in 2024 without President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.

In the first poll conducted by the network since Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the president’s approval rating also hit a new low of 36 per cent, with 45 per cent saying they strongly disapprove of his performance.

Voters nationwide prefer Donald Trump over Biden 49 per cent to 43 per cent — though this has not changed since the last poll in April.

Kamala Harris fares better against Trump in a head-to-head match-up with the former president getting the support of 47 per cent of registered voters to the vice president’s 45 per cent. Harris has stronger support among women and independents than Biden does according to the poll.

Other Democrats mentioned as possible replacements for Biden have similar levels of support to the president with Trump leading. These include California Governor Gavin Newsom (48:43 per cent), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (47:43 per cent), and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (47:42 per cent).

Most Democrats and Democratic-leaning registered voters (56 per cent) say the party has a better shot at the presidency with someone other than Biden, while 43 per cent say the party stands a better chance with him.

When all registered voters are considered, 75 per cent think the party would do better without Biden atop the ticket.

White House denies Biden has ‘any form of dementia’

22:08 , Oliver O'Connell

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said President Biden does not have Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, or another degenerative illness that would explain his rambling, meandering performance during last week’s presidential debate against former president Donald Trump.

Jean-Pierre was asked directly by The Independent if Biden’s reported lapses in memory and struggles during public events was the result of such an illness during the daily White House press briefing, the first since Biden turned in a shockingly dismal performance in his first face-to-face meeting with Trump since they last debated during the 2020 election.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

White House denies Biden has ‘any form of dementia’ at tense press conference

Freedom Caucus chair ousted by Trump-backed challenger in revenge for DeSantis support

21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has taken his revenge against the chair of the House Freedom Caucus in a primary that proves his endorsement is still a kingmaker within the Republican Party.

The race in Virginia’s 5th district was called around on Tuesday afternoon, with all 24 localities reporting. Bob Good, who has chaired the House’s most conservative caucus since January, became a target of the former president’s ire when he endorsed Trump’s primary challenger Ron DeSantis in May of 2023.

Virginia’s Department of Elections declared that McGuire won the primary with 31,209 votes compared to Good’s 31,583, creating a margin of 374 votes.

John Bowden reports.

Trump just started his Revenge Tour in Virginia with a significant win

Trump claims total exoneration after Supreme Court immunity ruling

21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is still celebrating the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and the move of his hush money sentencing to September.

He wrote on Truth Social this afternoon:

TOTAL EXONERATION! It is clear that the Supreme Court’s Brilliantly Written and Historic Decision ENDS all of Crooked Joe Biden’s Witch Hunts against me, including the WHITE HOUSE AND DOJ INSPIRED CIVIL HOAXES in New York. All of these Unfair Charges represent the WORST level of Election Interference ever seen in our Country’s long and storied History. It must be understood, that I was Totally and Completely Innocent from the beginning of this Giant and Highly Illegal Scam, long before the Supreme Court’s Decision was released. The impact of the Immunity Ruling is a loud and clear signal for Justice in the United States. I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

Democratic governors demand meeting with White House over Biden’s disastrous debate

21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

A group of Democratic governors has demanded a meeting at the White House to get reassurances from Joe Biden and advisers in the wake of his disastrous first debate.

The group, which contains some of Joe Biden’s most ardent supporters and some potential successors, has been startled by their lack of contact with the president following the debacle, according to The New York Times.

Biden, 81, received stinging criticism after he stumbled through the first televised debate of the 2024 election against Republican rival Donald Trump.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Democratic governors demand meeting with White House over Biden’s disastrous debate

Democrat congressman says Trump will win election

21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Democratic congressman Jared Golden of Maine is distancing himself from Joe Biden in an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News.

He writes that Biden's debate performance “didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

“There are winners and losers in every election. Democrats’ post-debate hand-wringing is based on the idea that a Trump victory is not just a political loss, but a unique threat to our democracy. I reject the premise. Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system.”

Golden argues that the election is about the economy, not democracy, and “when it comes to our economy, our Congress matters far more than who occupies the White House”.

White House chief of staff to hold all-staff call

21:06 , Oliver O'Connell

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients is holding an all-staff call tomorrow at 12.30pm, per an email that just went out, Tyler Page of The Washington Post reports.

It is expected that the call will be to try and quell reported concerns among West Wing staff about Joe Biden’s debate performance and the response and, per Axios, “a lack of candor from Biden’s senior aides”.

"It's the first topic of every conversation," one White House official said. "Senior leadership has given us nothing. To act like it's business as usual is delusional."

Another official put it more bluntly: "Everyone is freaking the f*** out."

"The uncertainty after Thursday is palpable and anxiety is only increasing," a third White House official told Axios.

Down-ballot Democrats hit by BIden debate woes

21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Senator Bob Casey is one of President Joe Biden’s oldest friends in politics. The two were neighbors when the Bidens lived in Scranton and Biden knew his father Bob Casey Sr, the governor of Pennsylvania. Indeed, the president calls the younger Casey “Bobby.”

Now David McCormick, the Republican challenging the longtime Democratic senator for the seat he’s held since 2007, has begun to hit Casey for his close ties to Biden. Specifically, the McCormick campaign hopes to capitalize off of Biden’s poor performance at the debate in Atlanta.

McCormick’s latest ad highlights Biden’s disastrous debate performance on Thursday and contrasts it with previous statements by Casey saying there was “no question” that Biden was prepared for a second term in the presidency.

The attacks are not just reserved for Casey. The National Republican Congressional Committee is circling around endangered incumbent Democrats, asking them about Biden and whether they think he is fit for office.

Continue reading...

Biden’s debate woes hit down-ballot Democrats

Watch: White House quizzed on Biden’s mental acuity and whether he has degenerative condition

20:53 , Oliver O'Connell

How have Biden’s potential replacements responded to post-debate rumors?

20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden’s debate performance on Thursday sent Democrats into a tailspin.

The 81-year-old president’s raspy voice, trailing thoughts, and nonsensical statements launched immediate speculation about whether he could — and should — be replaced at the top of the ticket. On Tuesday, Texas Democrat Lloyd Doggett became the first sitting lawmaker to publicly urge Biden to drop out of the race, saying that he did not come to that decision “lightly.”

But while the Democratic Party has an abundance of young talent, any ambitious politician who comes forward to say Biden should step aside immediately risks ostracization. That may be why, for the time being, only a single sitting Democrat has spoken out about replacing the president at the top of the ticket.

Eric Garcia looks at what they’ve been saying instead.

How Biden’s potential replacements have responded to post-debate rumors

Trump sneaker line sues over knockoffs

20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

The company behind Donald Trump’s line of gold high-top sneakers has filed a lawsuit alleging trademark and copyright infringement against a number of retailers it accuses of marketing and selling knockoff versions of the shoes online.

Attorneys for 45Footwear LLC filed the suit in Arizona on Monday but declined to name the defendants, saying they would do so in a forthcoming filing, according to NBC News.

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

Trump sneaker manufacturer sues over knockoffs

Watch: White House says Biden knows how to come back after calls to step-aside

20:15 , Oliver O'Connell