WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview airing Monday that it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to put a “bull’s-eye” on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but argued that the rhetoric coming from his opponent was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.
Those remarks from Biden came during a private call with donors last week as the Democrat had been scrambling to shore up his imperiled candidacy with key party constituencies. During that conversation, Biden declared that he was “done” talking about his poor debate performance and that it was “time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye,” saying Trump has gotten far too little scrutiny on his stances, rhetoric and lack of campaigning.
Insisting “there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda,” Biden told NBC anchor Lester Holt that while he acknowledged his “mistake,” he nonetheless is “not the guy who said I wanted to be a dictator on day one” and that he wanted the focus to be on what Trump was saying. It’s Trump, not Biden, who engages in that kind of rhetoric, Biden said, referring to Trump’s past comments about a “bloodbath” if the Republican loses to Biden in November.
“Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden said. “Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?”
The interview was occurring the same day that his reelection team was preparing to resume full-throttle campaigning after the assassination attempt on Trump, particularly after the GOP nominee announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate — which unleashed a flurry of criticism from the Biden campaign and other Democrats about the young freshman senator’s policy positions.
“He’s a clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base shortly before departing for Nevada for a series of speeches and campaign events. “I don’t see any difference.”
The NBC interview, scheduled before the attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania, had been part of Biden’s broader strategy to prove his fitness for office after angst grew among Democrats because of his disastrous June 27 debate performance.
The Biden campaign recalibrated some of its political plans in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Saturday, pulling advertising off the air and hitting pause on messaging. The White House also scrapped Biden’s planned Monday visit to the Lyndon B. Johnson library, where he had been slated to deliver remarks on civil rights.
It’s still not finalized when Biden’s campaign ads will resume airing. But Biden is pressing on with the Nevada portion of his previously scheduled western swing, which will include remarks to the NAACP and UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights and advocacy group. He’ll also headline what’s been billed as a “campaign community event” on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Hours ahead of the NBC interview, his campaign issued a blistering statement on Trump’s selection of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, saying he picked the freshman senator because he would “bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda.”
“Over the next three and a half months, we will spend every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November,” said Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon. “The Biden-Harris ticket who’s focused on uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs; or Trump-Vance – whose harmful agenda will take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive – all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”
Biden has acknowledged that his candidacy and agenda will be under attack at the Republican National Convention this week, and aides feel no need to put their campaign on complete pause while Biden comes under scrutiny in Milwaukee. But they’ll tread carefully in the aftermath of the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I’ll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and the vision — my vision of the country — our vision,” Biden said during his Oval Office remarks on Sunday night, just the third such address of his presidency. “I’ll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets. That’s how democracy should work.”
Biden’s renewed campaigning this week comes as Democrats have been at an impasse over whether the incumbent president should continue in the race even as he was defiant that he would stay in. Biden has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he remains in the race, and aides have been operating as such.
It was unclear if the attempt on Trump’s life would blunt Democratic efforts to urge Biden to step aside, but it appears to have stalled some of the momentum, for now. No Democrats have called for him to exit the race since the shooting Saturday night.
In the hours before the shooting, Biden was still being confronted by frustration and skepticism from Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Jared Huffman of California said he asked the president during his meeting with the Congressional Progressive Caucus about objectively assessing the trajectory of the race, and if the Lord almighty doesn’t intervene would Biden consider “the best earthly alternative”: meeting with former presidents Obama and Clinton, and the Democratic leadership including Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to seek their advice.”
Huffman said on a social media post that Biden “disagreed with the notion that we are on a losing trajectory.”
And while Biden expressed a “willingness to listen” to other voices, Huffman said he doubted any would be persuasive. “I continue to believe a major course correction is needed, and that the President and his team have yet to fully acknowledge the problem, much less correct it,” he said.
But now, several Democrats who requested anonymity were skeptical that there would be enough drive among lawmakers to successfully try and pressure Biden not to run, especially because they are scattered and away from Washington until next week and because Biden has said he won’t step aside and seized the opportunity to quickly respond to the shooting over the weekend. The people requested anonymity to characterize private conversations.
Many in the Democratic Party had been looking to congressional leaders Jeffries and Schumer to voice concerns directly to the president. Jeffries met with Biden at the White House on Thursday night, while Schumer went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Saturday for his visit with Biden, which occurred just before the assassination attempt on Trump.
There were still deep concerns that Biden is not up to the job and a sense that pressure to try and find another candidate could ramp up again when lawmakers return to Washington. Congressional Democrats were watching the Republican National Convention and Biden’s appearances this week with awareness that the dynamics could change — again.
Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump
https://arab.news/p73qx
Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump
- “Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden said
Pope Francis says migrant workers need ‘a fair wage’
- There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world – about five percent of the global workforce
- Cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore
The 87-year-old pope said “special attention” should be paid to “protecting the dignity of migrant workers,” in an address to local political leaders and dignitaries.
“These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” he said.
There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world — about five percent of the global workforce — according to the International Labour Organization.
Most live in the Americas, Europe and Central Asia.
But cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore.
About 300,000 low-wage migrant workers are estimated to work in Singapore.
Advocates say they lack adequate protection against exploitation and sometimes endure poor living conditions, charges the government denies.
The issue shot to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tens of thousands of migrant workers were forcibly locked down in dormitories.
Many migrants in Singapore come from South Asia and from the Philippines, which has a large and notably devout Catholic majority.
“I’m so happy that the pope has chosen to speak on this topic,” a 34-year-old Filipino domestic helper told AFP, asking not to be named because she did not have permission from her employer.
“Even if they don’t raise my salary, I’m still happy to know that the pope himself is fighting and praying for us” she said.
The woman said she earned $460 a month, in a nation where the median gross income is $3,985, according to Ministry for Manpower statistics for 2023.
Another South Indian worker welcomed the pope’s comments, but said he was happy after five years in the city state.
“Yes, the work is very hard and a higher salary would be better but I’m happy.”
The pope did not refer to workers in Singapore explicitly. But his comments are likely to cause unease inside a government which is fiercely protective of its image.
Still, the Argentine pontiff was otherwise glowing about his hosts, praising the “entrepreneurial spirit” and dynamism that built a “mass of ultra-modern skyscrapers that seem to rise from the sea.”
“Singapore is a mosaic of ethnicities, cultures and religions living together in harmony,” he said, painting the population of almost six million as a shining light for the world.
“I encourage you to continue to work in favor of the unity and fraternity of humanity and the common good of all peoples and all nations,” he said.
About 30 percent of Singaporeans are Buddhist, 20 percent have no religion and the rest are a mix of Catholic, Protestant, Taoist and Hindu.
Singapore is the last stop on the pope’s 12-day, four-nation Asia-Pacific trip aimed at boosting the Catholic Church’s standing in the world’s most populous region.
Francis has defied doubts about his health during a journey that has taken him from a Jakarta grand mosque to a remote jungle of Papua New Guinea.
Despite recently undergoing hernia surgery and dealing with a string of respiratory issues, he has carried out dozens of public engagements, energized congregations and repeatedly sat for hours in the brutal tropical heat.
In East Timor, he held a mass for 600,000 faithful — almost half the nation’s population.
Although the crowds were markedly smaller in Singapore, groups of enthusiasts still lined the main roads trying to get a glimpse of the head of the Catholic Church.
Security was tight, with roads closed and police manning a string of roadblocks.
Welinda Elorde, a 56-year-old cancer survivor traveled from the Philippines for the occasion.
“I think I’m going to cry when I see him. I can feel the emotions now,” she said.
“I’m hoping for complete healing.”
Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon’s aftermath brings flash floods and landslides
- The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam’s Lao Cai province
HANO: Nearly 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and more than 125 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported Thursday.
Vietnam’s VNExpress newspaper reported that 197 people have died and 128 are still missing, while more than 800 have been injured.
The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam’s Lao Cai province Tuesday. Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.
The heavy rains also damaged factories in export-focused northern Vietnam’s industrial hubs.
War in Gaza to top UNGA agenda as 79th session begins on Sept. 24
- 87 heads of state, three VPs, two crown princes, 45 heads of government, eight deputy heads of government, 45 ministers currently due to address
- One of the longest speeches made during General Assembly was by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 who spoke for about four and a half hours
UNITED NATIONS: Every September world leaders travel to New York to address the start of the annual United Nations General Assembly session.
The six days of speeches to mark the beginning of the 79th session will start on Sept. 24.
WHO SPEAKS WHEN?
When the United Nations was formed in 1945 following World War Two, there were originally 51 members. That has since grown to 193 members. Leaders of two non-member observer states — known at the UN as the Holy See and the State of Palestine — and an observer member, the European Union, can also speak.
It is tradition for Brazil to always be the first member state to speak. This is because in the early years of the world body Brazil stepped up to speak first when other countries were reluctant to do so, say UN officials.
As host to the UN headquarters in New York, the United States is the second country to address the General Assembly.
From there the list is then based on hierarchy and generally a first come, first served basis. Heads of state speak first, followed by deputy heads of state and crown princes, heads of government, ministers, and lower-ranked heads of a delegation.
This year some 87 heads of state, three vice presidents, two crown princes, 45 heads of government, eight deputy heads of government, 45 ministers, and four lower-ranked heads of a delegation are currently due to address the General Assembly.
Last year fewer than 12 percent of those to stand at the lectern were women.
HOW LONG WILL THEY SPEAK?
Leaders are asked to stick to a voluntary 15-minute time limit.
According to UN records, one of the longest speeches made during the opening of a General Assembly was by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 — he spoke for about four and a half hours. More recently, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi spoke for more than one and a half hours in 2009.
WHAT WILL THEY TALK ABOUT?
Each high-level gathering to mark the start of the annual General Assembly session has a theme, which leaders tend to briefly reference before moving on to talking about whatever they want.
This year’s theme is: “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.”
Some other topics likely to be spoken about by leaders include:
THE WAR IN GAZA
With the civilian death toll in Gaza ballooning to more than 41,000 people according to local health officials and the humanitarian situation deteriorating, many leaders are expected to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The conflict started nearly a year ago with the deadly Hamas attack on civilians in Israel on Oct. 7 — two weeks after world leaders had finished meeting at the last UN General Assembly.
After Israel began retaliating against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the General Assembly on Oct. 27 called for an immediate humanitarian truce. It then overwhelming demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in December.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has long accused the UN of being anti-Israel — and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 26.
UKRAINE
Many world leaders are likely to call for an end to Russia’s roughly two-and-a-half year war in Ukraine.
The General Assembly adopted six resolutions on the conflict in the first year — denouncing Moscow and demanding it withdraw all its troops. A resolution in October 2022 — condemning Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four regions in Ukraine — won the greatest support with 143 states voting yes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address the General Assembly on Sept. 25.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually addressed the General Assembly in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has not physically traveled to New York for the event since 2015. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is instead due to speak to the General Assembly on Sept. 28.
CLIMATE
As the world struggles to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, leaders of smaller island nations and other states most affected by climate changes are likely to use their speeches at the General Assembly to again make impassioned pleas for action.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
Many world leaders — particularly from Africa and key powers including Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan — are likely to call for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security.
It is an issue that has long been discussed by the General Assembly, but has gathered steam in recent years after Russia invaded Ukraine and then used its Security Council veto to block any action by the body. The United States has also long been criticized for shielding its ally Israel from council action.
Reform ideas include expanding the council’s membership — through adding more permanent veto powers or short-term elected members — to better reflect the world and limiting the veto, currently held by the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Any changes to the Security Council membership is done by amending the founding UN Charter. This needs the approval and ratification by two-thirds of the General Assembly, including the Security Council’s current five veto powers.
SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE
Before the leaders begin addressing the General Assembly, a two-day Summit of the Future will be held on Sept. 22-23. UN member states are currently negotiating three documents they hope to adopt on Sept. 22 — a pact for the future, a declaration on future generations and a global digital compact.
Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was “absolutely essential” to ambitiously use the summit to come up with “adequate governance for the world of today.”
He argued for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and for global governance of artificial intelligence and other emerging challenges.
9/11 anniversary brings Biden, Harris and Trump together at ground zero
- Image was one of putting politics aside at commemoration of hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001
- Attacks altered US foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans
NEW YORK: With presidential candidates looking on, some 9/11 victims’ relatives appealed to them Wednesday for accountability as the US marked an anniversary laced with election-season politics.
In a remarkable tableau, President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at ground zero just hours after Trump and Harris faced off in their first-ever debate. Trump and Biden — the successor whose inauguration Trump skipped — shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump.
Then the campaign rivals stood only a few feet (meters) apart, Biden and Bloomberg between them, as the hourslong reading of victims’ names began. At Trump’s side was his running mate, Sen. JD Vance.
The image was one of putting politics aside at this year’s solemn commemoration of the hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. But some victims’ relatives, after reading out names, delivered political messages of their own.
“We are pleading for your help, but you ignore us,” Allison Walsh-DiMarzio said, directly challenging Trump and Harris to press Saudi Arabia about any official involvement in the attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers were Saudi, but the kingdom denies it was behind their plot.
“Which one of you will have the courage to be our hero? We deserve better,” Walsh-DiMarzio said. She’s a daughter of 9/11 victim Barbara P. Walsh, an administrative assistant.
Joanne Barbara was one of multiple readers who spoke out against a now-revoked plea deal that military prosecutors struck with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two fellow defendants.
“It has been 23 years, and the families deserve justice and accountability,” said the widow of Assistant Fire Chief Gerard A. Barbara.
Biden, on his last Sept. 11 in office, and Harris paid respects Wednesday at all three 9/11 attack sites: ground zero, the Pentagon and a rural part of Pennsylvania.
The president, vice president — and, separately, Trump — laid wreaths Wednesday afternoon at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris spoke with victims’ relatives and visited the local fire department; Trump and Vance went to a New York City firehouse earlier in the day.
The Flight 93 memorial stands where one of the hijacked planes crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit. Trump described the site as an “incredible place” in brief remarks from afar to reporters.
The attacks killed 2,977 people and left thousands of bereaved relatives and scarred survivors. The planes took down the World Trade Center’s twin towers and carved a gash in the Pentagon, the US military headquarters, where Biden and Harris laid a red, white and blue wreath Wednesday afternoon.
While many Americans may not observe 9/11 anniversaries anymore, “the men and women of the Department of Defense remember,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier in the day.
The attacks altered US foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans who had not previously felt vulnerable to foreign extremists.
Effects rippled around the world. Victims came from more than 90 different countries, and the US responded to the attacks with a ” Global War on Terrorism.” US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops.
Communities around the country hold events on the anniversary, which Congress has titled both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Thousands of Americans commemorate it with volunteer work — among them Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. He packed meals in St. Paul for people in need.
During early anniversaries at ground zero, presidents and other officeholders read poems, parts of the Declaration of Independence and other texts.
But the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012 to limit the ceremony to relatives reading victims’ names.
If politicians “care about what’s actually going on, great. Be here,” said Korryn Bishop, who attended Wednesday to remember her cousin John F. McDowell Jr., who worked in finance. “If they’re just here for political clout, that upsets me.”
Brandon Jones was glad politicians weren’t on the podium.
“This should be a site for coming together to find feasible solutions and peace. This should not be a place to score political points to get brownie points to round up your base,” said Jones. He’s a cousin of victim Jon Richard Grabowski, an insurance firm technology executive.
In 2008, then-senators and presidential campaign rivals John McCain and Barack Obama jointly paid their respects at ground zero.
Eight years later, the Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, abruptly left the trade center ceremony, stumbled while awaiting her motorcade and later disclosed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia. The episode stirred fresh attention to her health, which her Republican opponent — Trump, who was also at that observance — had been questioning for months.
Over the years, some victims’ relatives have used the forum to exhort leaders to prioritize national security, acknowledge the casualties of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing 9/11 and even criticize individual officeholders. Others bemoan Americans’ divisions or decry violence.
“It’s my prayer that this wicked act called terrorism will never occur again,” Jacob Afuakwah said Wednesday. He lost his brother, Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, a restaurant worker.
But many family members stick to tributes and personal reflections. Increasingly they come from children and young adults born after the attacks killed one of their relatives.
Thirteen-year-old twins Brady and Emily Henry read names to honor their uncle, firefighter Joseph Patrick Henry.
“We promise to continue telling your stories,” Emily Henry said, “and we’ll never let anyone forget all those lost on Sept. 11.”
Malaysian police rescue 400 minors from suspected sexual abuse at charity homes
- Police arrested 171 adults, including religious teachers, during coordinated raids on 20 premises across two Malaysian states
- The homes were all run by GISB, which had been linked to the banned Al-Arqam religious sect, says a top police official
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities rescued more than 400 children on Wednesday suspected of being sexually abused at charity homes run by a prominent business organization with links to a banned religious sect, the top police official said.
Police arrested 171 adults, including ‘ustazs’ or Islamic religious teachers, during coordinated raids on 20 premises across two Malaysian states, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said.
Those rescued included 201 boys and 201 girls, aged between one and 17, after reports were filed this month that alleged neglect, abuse, sexual harassment and molestation, Razarudin told a press conference. He did not say who wrote the reports.
The homes were all run by Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB), Razarudin said.
In a statement late Wednesday, GISB denied the sexual abuse allegations and said it did not manage the charity homes. “It is not in our policy to plan and carry out actions that are against Islamic and national laws,” the company said, adding that it would file a police report and demand an investigation.
GISB, involved in businesses ranging from supermarkets to laundromats, operates in many countries, according to its website.
Razarudin said preliminary police investigations had found that the rescued minors were children of Malaysian GISB employees, who were sent to the homes shortly after they were born, before being subjected to multiple forms of abuse.
The victims were allegedly sexually abused by adult guardians and later taught to do the same to other children at the homes, he said.
GISB has been linked to the now-defunct Malaysia-based Al-Arqam religious sect, which was banned by the government in 1994. GISB has acknowledged the link but now describes itself as an Islamic conglomerate based on Muslim practices.
The firm previously made headlines for establishing the controversial Obedient Wives’ Club, a group that had called on women to submit to their husbands “like prostitutes.”
The children will be sent for health screening and documentation, Razarudin said, adding that the case was being investigated under laws covering sexual offenses against children and human trafficking.
“The children and religious sentiments were also used to gain public sympathy and raise funds for the organization,” he said. “What we have seen is the indoctrination of children using religious tools in a harmful way.”
