WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden was back out on the campaign trail Sunday, desperate to salvage his reelection bid as senior Democrats meet to discuss growing calls that he quit the White House race.
The 81-year-old Democrat kicks off a grueling week with two campaign events in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, before hosting the NATO leaders’ summit in Washington.
He will do so under an increasingly unforgiving spotlight, as pressure mounts for him to drop out after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump last month ignited panic over his age and fitness to serve another four years.
Biden has remained defiant, unequivocally declaring — at a rally, to reporters and on social media — that he is fit to serve, the only one who can defeat Trump, and staying in the race.
“I beat Trump in 2020. I’m going to beat him again in 2024,” his campaign social media account posted Saturday.
But a televised interview with ABC News on Friday has failed to quell concerns. His next major test in the public eye after Sunday’s forays will be a press conference scheduled for Thursday, during the NATO summit.
So far, five Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to drop out, with the drumbeat of dissent slowly rising.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, a close Biden ally, stressed he believes Biden can still recover and win. But he said “the president needs to do more,” including unscripted events like town hall gatherings, to reassure voters he has the mental acuity and physical fitness for a second term.
“I think this week is going to be absolutely critical,” Murphy told CNN’s Sunday talk show “State of the Union,” adding he believes there are many voters who need to be convinced of Biden’s capabilities.
“If he can’t do that, then of course he’s going to have to make a decision about what’s best for the country.”
Those comments came as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has scheduled a virtual meeting of senior Democratic representatives for Sunday to discuss the best way forward, and Democratic Senator Mark Warner is reportedly working to convene a similar forum in the upper chamber.
First Lady Jill Biden, who — according to some US media reports — is urging her husband to stay in the race, is scheduled to campaign for him Monday in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.
But after Sunday’s stops in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, the president will have to step away from the trail for the NATO summit beginning Tuesday.
Here, too, he will find himself having to reassure allies at a time when many European countries fear a Trump victory in November.
The 78-year-old Republican has long criticized the transatlantic defense alliance as an unfair burden on the United States, voiced admiration for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, and insisted he could bring about a quick end to the fighting in Ukraine, where Moscow’s invasion is in its third year.
For now, Democratic heavyweights are largely keeping a lid on any simmering discontent with their leader — at least in public.
But with election day just four months away, any move to replace Biden as the nominee would need to be made sooner rather than later, and the party will be scrutinized for any signs of more open rebellion.
Meanwhile, for Biden and his team, the strategy seems to be to ride it out.
The campaign has unveiled an intense battle plan for July, including an avalanche of TV spots and trips to all the key states.
That includes a visit to the US Southwest during the Republican convention July 15-18, at which Trump is set to be anointed the party’s official presidential nominee.
In what had been billed as a make-or-break Friday interview with ABC News, Biden flatly dismissed his falling poll numbers and concerns over his fitness triggered by his dismal June 27 performance against Trump.
But some of his answers were tentative or meandering, even as he deflected questions about his mental acuity and dismissed the notion his party would consider replacing him.
“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” he said.
“But the Lord Almighty is not coming down.”
Biden back on campaign trail as pressure mounts
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Biden back on campaign trail as pressure mounts
- “I beat Trump in 2020. I’m going to beat him again in 2024,” his campaign social media account posted Saturday
- So far, five Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to drop out, with the drumbeat of dissent slowly rising
Proposals on immigration enforcement flood into state legislatures, heightened by Minnesota action
- Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal officers for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: As Democrats across the country propose state law changes to restrict federal immigration officers after the shooting death of a protester in Minneapolis, Tennessee Republicans introduced a package of bills Thursday backed by the White House that would enlist the full force of the state to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Momentum in Democratic-led states for the measures, some of them proposed for years, is growing as legislatures return to work following the killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. But Republicans are pushing back, blaming protesters for impeding the enforcement of immigration laws.
Democratic bills seek to limit ICE
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wants New York to allow people to sue federal officers alleging violations of their constitutional rights. Another measure aims to keep immigration officers lacking judicial warrants out of schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal officers for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.
New Jersey’s Democrat-led Legislature passed three bills Monday that immigrant rights groups have long pushed for, including a measure prohibiting state law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has until his last day in office Tuesday to sign or veto them.
California lawmakers are proposing to ban local and state law enforcement from taking second jobs with the Department of Homeland Security and make it a violation of state law when ICE officers make “indiscriminate” arrests around court appearances. Other measures are pending.
“Where you have government actions with no accountability, that is not true democracy,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco said at a news conference.
Democrats also push bills in red states
Democrats in Georgia introduced four Senate bills designed to limit immigration enforcement — a package unlikely to become law because Georgia’s conservative upper chamber is led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally. Democrats said it is still important to take a stand.
“Donald Trump has unleashed brutal aggression on our families and our communities across our country,” said state Sen. Sheikh Rahman, an immigrant from Bangladesh whose district in suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County is home to many immigrants.
Democrats in New Hampshire have proposed numerous measures seeking to limit federal immigration enforcement, but the state’s Republican majorities passed a new law taking effect this month that bans “sanctuary cities.”
Tennessee GOP works with White House on a response
The bills Tennessee Republicans are introducing appear to require government agencies to check the legal status of all residents before they can obtain public benefits; secure licenses for teaching, nursing and other professions; and get driver’s licenses or register their cars.
They also would include verifying K-12 students’ legal status, which appears to conflict with a US Supreme Court precedent. And they propose criminalizing illegal entry as a misdemeanor, a measure similar to several other states’ requirements, some of which are blocked in court.
“We’re going to do what we can to make sure that if you’re here illegally, we will have the data, we’ll have the transparency, and we’re not spending taxpayer dollars on you unless you’re in jail,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said at a news conference Thursday.
Trump administration sues to stop laws
The Trump administration has opposed any effort to blunt ICE, including suing local governments whose “sanctuary” policies limit police interactions with federal officers.
States have broad power to regulate within their borders unless the US Constitution bars it, but many of these laws raise novel issues that courts will have to sort out, said Harrison Stark, senior counsel with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
“There’s not a super clear, concrete legal answer to a lot of these questions,” he said. “It’s almost guaranteed there will be federal litigation over a lot of these policies.”
That is already happening.
California in September was the first to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration officers, from covering their faces on duty. The Justice Department said its officers won’t comply and sued California, arguing that the laws threaten the safety of officers who are facing “unprecedented” harassment, doxing and violence.
The Justice Department also sued Illinois last month, challenging a law that bars federal civil arrests near courthouses, protects medical records and regulates how universities and day care centers manage information about immigration status. The Justice Department claims the law is unconstitutional and threatens federal officers’ safety.
Targeted states push back
Minnesota and Illinois, joined by their largest cities, sued the Trump administration this week. Minneapolis and Minnesota accuse the Republican administration of violating free speech rights by punishing a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants. Illinois and Chicago claim “Operation Midway Blitz” made residents afraid to leave their homes.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety and called the Illinois lawsuit “baseless.”
