WASHINGTON: American philanthropist Melinda French Gates, the ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, endorsed President Joe Biden on Thursday for November’s US election, arguing that he is the best candidate for women.
“I’ve never endorsed a presidential candidate before. But this year’s election stands to be so enormously consequential for women and families that, this time, I can’t stay quiet,” she said on X.
“Women deserve a leader who cares about the issues they face and is committed to protecting their safety, their health, their economic power, their reproductive rights, and their ability to freely and fully participate in a functioning democracy.”
French Gates, who recently stepped down as president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said the contrast between Biden and his Republican opponent Donald Trump “couldn’t be greater, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.”
“I will be voting for President Biden,” she concluded.
Reproductive rights have been an effective political cudgel for Democrats in the two years since the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion a constitutionally protected right.
A comfortable majority of Americans think abortion should be legal in most cases, according to extensive polling, and around half of states have measures in place to protect access.
The issue has been a major theme of the election campaign, with Biden supporting women’s right to choose and Trump failing to stake out a clear-cut position beyond pride in appointing three of the justices who struck down Roe v Wade.
French Gates announced in May that she would be using her $12.5 billion fortune to help “women and families,” making a first payment of $1 billion.
She said the Supreme Court ruling on abortion had prompted her to devote herself to defending women’s rights.
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US philanthropist Melinda French Gates endorses Biden
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US philanthropist Melinda French Gates endorses Biden
- French Gates announced in May that she would be using her $12.5 billion fortune to help “women and families,” making a first payment of $1 billion
US ambassador accuses Poland parliament speaker of insulting Trump
Tom Rose said the decision was made because of speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty’s “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against the US leader
“We will not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations, nor disrespect (Trump),” Rose wrote on X
WARSAW: The United States embassy will have “no further dealings” with the speaker of the Polish parliament after claims he insulted President Donald Trump, its ambassador said on Thursday.
Tom Rose said the decision was made because of speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty’s “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against the US leader.
“We will not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations, nor disrespect (Trump), who has done so much for Poland and the Polish people,” Rose wrote on X.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded the same day, writing on X: “Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture each other.”
“At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership.”
On Monday, Czarzasty criticized a joint US-Israeli proposal to support Donald Trump’s candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I will not support the motion for a Nobel Peace Prize for President Trump, because he doesn’t deserve it,” he told journalists.
Czarzasty said that rather than allying itself more closely with Trump’s White House, Poland should “strengthen existing alliances” such as NATO, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
He criticized Trump’s leadership, including the imposition of tariffs on European countries, threats to annex Greenland, and, most recently, his claims that NATO allies had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
He accused Trump of “a breach of the politics of principles and values, often a breach of international law.”
After Rose’s reaction, Czarzasty told local news site Onet: “I maintain my position” on the issue of the peace prize.
“I consistently respect the USA as Poland’s key partner,” he added later on X.
“That is why I regretfully accept the statement by Ambassador Tom Rose, but I will not change my position on these fundamental issues for Polish women and men.”
The speaker heads Poland’s New Left party, which is part of Tusk’s pro-European governing coalition, with which the US ambassador said he has “excellent relations.”
It is currently governing under conservative-nationalist President Karol Nawrocki, a vocal Trump supporter.
In late January, Czarzasty, along with several other high-ranking Polish politicians, denounced Trump’s claim that the United States “never needed” NATO allies.
The parliamentary leader called the claims “scandalous” and said they should be “absolutely condemned.”
Forty-three Polish soldiers and one civil servant died as part of the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan.
“We will not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations, nor disrespect (Trump),” Rose wrote on X
WARSAW: The United States embassy will have “no further dealings” with the speaker of the Polish parliament after claims he insulted President Donald Trump, its ambassador said on Thursday.
Tom Rose said the decision was made because of speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty’s “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against the US leader.
“We will not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations, nor disrespect (Trump), who has done so much for Poland and the Polish people,” Rose wrote on X.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded the same day, writing on X: “Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture each other.”
“At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership.”
On Monday, Czarzasty criticized a joint US-Israeli proposal to support Donald Trump’s candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I will not support the motion for a Nobel Peace Prize for President Trump, because he doesn’t deserve it,” he told journalists.
Czarzasty said that rather than allying itself more closely with Trump’s White House, Poland should “strengthen existing alliances” such as NATO, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
He criticized Trump’s leadership, including the imposition of tariffs on European countries, threats to annex Greenland, and, most recently, his claims that NATO allies had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
He accused Trump of “a breach of the politics of principles and values, often a breach of international law.”
After Rose’s reaction, Czarzasty told local news site Onet: “I maintain my position” on the issue of the peace prize.
“I consistently respect the USA as Poland’s key partner,” he added later on X.
“That is why I regretfully accept the statement by Ambassador Tom Rose, but I will not change my position on these fundamental issues for Polish women and men.”
The speaker heads Poland’s New Left party, which is part of Tusk’s pro-European governing coalition, with which the US ambassador said he has “excellent relations.”
It is currently governing under conservative-nationalist President Karol Nawrocki, a vocal Trump supporter.
In late January, Czarzasty, along with several other high-ranking Polish politicians, denounced Trump’s claim that the United States “never needed” NATO allies.
The parliamentary leader called the claims “scandalous” and said they should be “absolutely condemned.”
Forty-three Polish soldiers and one civil servant died as part of the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan.
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