Donald Trump’s request to delay sentencing in his hush money trial has been granted after the Supreme Court ruled that the former president has “absolute” immunity from criminal prosecution for “official” acts as president.
Sentencing is now set for September 18.
Joe Biden slammed the Supreme Court ruling during an address to the nation from the White House on Monday evening, saying it set a “dangerous precedent”.
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.”
Biden is still struggling to calm Democrats following his disastrous debate performance last week amid concerns within the party about his electability and impact on down-ballot candidates.
New polling paints a dire picture, showing Biden down as much as 10 per cent in key swing states that he won in 2020 with 75 per cent of registered voters saying the party would do better without him on the ticket.
Potential replacements for the president — Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Gretchen Whitmer, and Gavin Newsom — poll markedly better. There is no indication Biden will withdraw.
White House confirms Biden travel to key swing states
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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 22:32
Watch: Congressman warns silence could lead to more calls for Biden to drop out
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 22:25
New poll: Most voters think Democratic Party has better 2024 chance without Biden
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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 22:15
White House denies Biden has ‘any form of dementia’
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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 22:08
Freedom Caucus chair ousted by Trump-backed challenger in revenge for DeSantis support
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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 21:45
Trump claims total exoneration after Supreme Court immunity ruling
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!
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 21:30
Democratic governors demand meeting with White House over Biden’s disastrous 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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 21:20
Democrat congressman says Trump will win election
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”.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 21:10
White House chief of staff to hold all-staff call
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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 21:06
Down-ballot Democrats hit by BIden debate woes
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.
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.
Oliver O’Connell2 July 2024 21:00