(New York, NY-AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is joining a crowded field in the Democratic race for the White House.
On ABC’s “Good Morning America” he said what sets him apart from the other candidates is that he’s proven he can improve the lives of working Americans because he’s done it in the Big Apple with universal pre-K, paid sick leave and guaranteed health care for all.
De Blasio also coined a new nickname for President Trump, calling him “Con Don.” President Trump later responded to the mayor’s 2020 announcement via Twitter calling de Blasio a “joke” and claiming “NYC hates him.”
(Washington, DC-AP) — President Trump insists that China is paying the tariffs that he has imposed in the trade war with Beijing, but Goldman Sachs disagrees. The U.S. bank claims the costs of U.S. tariffs are falling entirely on American businesses and households.
Goldman warns that the impacts on U.S. consumer prices will get worse if the dispute is not resolved. Stocks have tumbled in recent days amid fears that the trade war is growing, with no end in sight.
The U.S. and China have the world’s two biggest economies.
(AP) — Former VP Joe Biden is answering criticism from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The New York Democrat accused Biden of looking for “middle ground” options to fight climate change.
Biden said he’s never been “middle of the road” when it comes to the environment. He also advised the freshman congresswoman to look at his record. Biden added — “I don’t think she was talking about me.”
Ocasio-Cortez is one of the principle authors of the so-called Green New Deal proposal, which has been criticized by Republicans.
(Atlanta, GA-AP) — A Hollywood director and producer are protesting Georgia’s controversial heartbeat abortion law. J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele are headed to the state to begin shooting a new HBO show called Lovecraft Country.
The Hollywood Reporter says they’ll give a major donation to the ACLU and Fair Fight Georgia in an effort to fight the legislation. They said in a joint statement that the law is an attack aimed squarely at women. Governor Brian Kemp signed the law last week that bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks.
(Panama City Beach, FL-AP) — President Trump is getting a kick out of one of his supporters joking about migrants getting shot at the border. During his rally last night in the Florida Panhandle, the President was making his case for a border wall and said their are “hundreds and hundreds” of migrants and only two or three border security people.
Trump said, we don’t let border security use weapons and “I would never do that,” and then asked, “how do you stop these people?” Someone in the audience yelled “shoot them.”
Trump laughed at the remark and said, “only in the Panhandle” could you get away with that statement, which in turn got a laugh from the audience.
(Washington, DC-AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is worried that President Trump would not voluntarily step down if he loses re-election by a small margin. Pelosi told the New York Times that Trump may not accept the election results if they are less than overwhelming.
She said, “We have to inoculate against that, we have to be prepared for that.” Trump has previously warned about massive voter fraud in the U.S., though scant evidence exists to support that claim.
Meanwhile, many Democrats are pushing to do away with the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote after Hillary Clinton and Al Gore won the popular vote but ended up losing to a Republican.
(Washington, DC-AP) — In his opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Barr is planning to say he did exactly what he told Senators he would do during his confirmation hearing.
Barr does not mention in his prepared remarks the Robert Mueller letter that was disclosed Tuesday in which the Special Counsel criticizes the way he characterized the report. He does say that he promised not to interfere with the investigation, and that he kept that promise.
He also said he would release as much of the report as he could, and pointed out only eight percent was redacted in the public version, and less than two percent in the version Congressional leaders could read. He admits he allowed the White House Counsel and President Trump’s personal attorneys to see the public redacted report prior to its release.
He claims it was so the Counsel could advise the president on executive privilege. He concludes by saying it is vital that the Department of Justice stand apart from the political process.
(Hamden, CT) — New poll numbers show former Vice President Joe Biden surging to the lead among Democratic presidential hopefuls. Quinnipiac University released findings that have Biden with 38-percent of the vote among Democrat-leaning voters.
Rounding out the field is Massachussets Senator Elizabeth Warren at 12-percent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 11-percent, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg at ten-percent. Over half the respondents say Biden has the best chance to beat President Trump.
Part of the surge is due to Biden is calling for a 15-dollar federal minimum wage, a public option for Medicare and more taxes for the rich. Speaking at his first official campaign rally in Pittsburgh Monday, the former Vice President said the fleshed out specifics of his policy proposals would be available in a few weeks. But basically, he said that all Americans should have the option to buy into Medicare, not just those age 65 and older.
He’s also firing back at President Trump over labor unions. Biden tweeted yesterday that he is sick of Trump “badmouthing unions.” Biden officially unveiled his presidential bid last week. His comment followed a Trump tweet that the heads of labor unions “rip off their membership with ridiculously high dues, medical and other expenses while being paid a fortune.” He also insisted that rank-and-file union members “love Trump.”
Biden argued that organized labor built the middle class in the U.S.
(Pittsburgh, PA-AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden says he is running for president to help restore the soul of the nation. During a rally in Pittsburgh today, the Democratic presidential candidate called the middle class the backbone of America. Biden said the middle class built the U.S. The former VP chose a union hall to hold his first rally since announcing his White House bid last week. He called himself a union man and said union busting must stop. He said many workers feel powerless.
Biden noted that the stock market is roaring but said many hard working people are just not feeling it. Biden was President Obama’s VP for eight years. He decided against a White House run in 2016 after the death of his son Beau, who lost a long struggle with brain cancer.
(AP) – Former Vice President Joe Biden is cementing his status as a top candidate for president after bringing in six-point-three million dollars in fundraising in his first 24 hours as a candidate.
That’s the biggest one-day take for any of the 20 Democratic candidates so far. Biden’s campaign claims more than 96-thousand people contributed to his campaign.
Beto O’Rourke had raised six-point-one million and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders brought in five-point-nine million in their first 24 hours after announcing.
