Tag: Joe Biden

Trump Says He ‘Aced’ Cognitive Test, but White House Won’t Release Details

New York Times logoPresident Trump has repeatedly ridiculed Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s fitness to be president. Mr. Biden’s campaign has called it a smear that has backfired.

President Trump on Thursday volunteered to Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, that he “very recently” took a test at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center measuring his mental acuity and “aced” it, but the White House would not say when he took it or why.

Mr. Trump boasted that his success on the test surprised his doctors as he continued his attempt to make a campaign issue of whether his presumptive Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was mentally fit.

“I actually took one when I — very recently, when I — when I was — the radical left were saying, is he all there? Is he all there? And I proved I was all there, because I got — I aced it. I aced the test,” Mr. Trump, 74, said in his interview with Mr. Hannity. Continue reading.

Trump Campaign, Fox News Fabricate Lie To Smear Biden

President Donald Trump’s media allies are distorting a quote from presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in order to falsely claim that Biden called police “the enemy.” The lie followed a now well-trod path from Trump’s campaign to his propagandists in Fox News prime time.

Biden has called for police reform following the brutal killing of George Floyd by officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While describing some of his campaign’s proposals during an interview with progressive activist Ady Barkan published by NowThis News on Wednesday morning, Biden highlighted the problem of police militarization and how it impacts public perceptions of law enforcement.

The Defense Department has provided more than $5 billion in free surplus military equipment to local law enforcement since 1996, including at least $760 million after the Trump administration lifted restrictions implemented by President Barack Obama, according to a CNN analysis. Public outcry in response to police usage of military-style equipment against protesters has led to a bipartisan push in Congress to reform or end that program. Continue reading.

In ‘Buy American’ Speech, Biden Challenges Trump on the Economy

New York Times logoJoseph R. Biden Jr. laid out a populist economic vision with the tagline “Build Back Better,” part of an effort to confront President Trump on his strongest issue in polling.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. laid out a populist economic vision to revive and reinvest in American manufacturing on Thursday, calling for major new spending and stricter new rules to “Buy American” as part of an effort to more aggressively challenge President Trumpon two of his signature issues: the economy and nationalism.

In a speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Mr. Bidenlacerated Mr. Trump for a bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic that has deepened the economic crisis and a misplaced focus on the stock market, while framing his own economic agenda around a new campaign tagline, “Build Back Better.”

In some ways, Mr. Biden was seizing the “Buy American” message from Mr. Trump himself, who campaigned on an “America First” agenda in 2016 and wrote on Twitter on his Inauguration Day that “Buy American” and “Hire American” were “two simple rules” that would guide his administration. Continue reading.

Joe Biden Has An Actual Plan To Deal With Covid-19

Joe Biden may be 119 days from being elected president, but that isn’t stopping him from trying to help the nation right now. From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Donald Trump has downplayed the seriousness of the disease, criticized governors who have taken action to save citizens, hawked ineffective snake oil, and bragged about what a great job he’s doing. Through it all, Trump has resisted providing any real national plan. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to run testing stations “in some parking lot.” He doesn’t want states asking for supplies because the federal government “is not a shipping clerk.” And when it comes to anything COVID-19 related, Trump has made it clear that coming to the federal government is “the last resort.”

Oddly enough, Joe Biden believes that a nation should have a national plan. And unlike the Republican alternative to Obamacare—still missing in action after over 8 years—Biden’s COVID-19 plan actually exists. In fact, Biden is offering up the plan right now, and telling Donald Trump he can use it all. Because Biden’s plan would actually save American lives and American incomes.

A quick look at Biden’s plan shows that it’s exactly the kind of thing that healthcare professionals have been asking for since January. Which is absolutely not a bad thing. Rather than leading by his “great instincts,” Biden’s plan shows that he’s willing to listen to experts, act rationally, and use the power of the presidency to make things better for America. It’s almost like … leadership. Continue reading.

Biden criticizes Trump camp for taking aim at Tammy Duckworth

Washington Post logoJoe Biden sharply criticized President Trump’s campaign Tuesday for attacking Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), escalating a conflict between Trump and one of Biden’s potential running mates who is a Purple Heart recipient and a double amputee.

Speaking at a virtual fundraiser that Duckworth also attended, the presumptive Democratic nominee said it was “disgusting, sickening” of Trump’s circle to question her patriotism and that it was a “reflection of the depravity of what’s going on in the White House right now.”

The back-and-forth began Sunday, when Duckworth was asked on CNN about activists’ demands that statues of George Washington be removed because he owned slaves. Duckworth replied that there should be a “national dialogue on it at some point,” and when pressed further, she added, “I think we should listen to everybody. I think we should listen to the argument there.” Continue reading.

They Can’t Stomach Trump. They’re Sufficiently Comfortable With Biden.

New York Times logoSome voters who disliked both nominees in 2016 chose a third-party candidate instead. Now, many of them are shunning President Trump and are ready to back Joe Biden.

In Florida in 2016, J.C. Planas, a former Republican state representative, was uncomfortable with Hillary Clinton but detested Donald Trump, so he wrote in former Gov. Jeb Bush for president.

In New Hampshire that year, Peter J. Spaulding, a longtime Republican official, supported the Libertarian ticket.

And in Arizona, Lorena Burns, 56, also voted third party, seeing the choice between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton as a contest between “two bads.” Continue reading.

Ousting Republicans From Senate Is Vital For Biden

If Joe Biden is elected, he will face the same intransigence from the GOP that Barack Obama did. Just as soon as Biden is sworn in, Republicans will do everything in their power to defeat his policies and hamstring his presidency.

They will suddenly remember long-forgotten conservative principles, such as fiscal restraint. They will refuse to compromise. Even though they ignored mind-boggling corruption for the last four years, they will show a passionate and determined interest in any whiff of scandal among Democrats.

That’s why a Biden administration will need a Democratic Senate. Without it, he will not be able to drag the country out of the mess that it’s in.

This is not the time for complacency, even though polls show Biden leading nationally and in several critical battleground states. It’s the time for Democratic activists to redouble their efforts to boost not only Biden, but also Senate candidates in Colorado, Arizona, Maine, North Carolina and even Georgia. Continue reading.

On the country’s birthday, Biden offers hopeful counterpoint to Trump’s message

Washington Post logoJoe Biden on Saturday offered a counterpoint to the dark and defiant Fourth of July message President Trump delivered at Mount Rushmore, striking notes of unity in a video and op-ed released on the nation’s 244th birthday.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee noted that the Founding Fathers were flawed, pointing out that President Thomas Jefferson owned slaves and that women were not granted the full rights of citizenship until 1920. But he said their ideas still offer hope.

It was a stark contrast with Trump, who focused Friday on the men who built the country, saying they are heroes and that those skeptical of the country’s founders are part of a “radical ideology” and a “left-wing cultural revolution.” Continue reading.