Category Archives: US elections 2024

‘Full fascist’ Trump condemned after ‘treason’ rant against NBC and MSNBC

Posted on by

Former president vows to investigate TV networks for ‘country-threatening treason’ should he win US election next year

Donald Trump said Comcast, the owner of NBC and MSNBC, “should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason’” and promised to do so should he be re-elected president next year.

In response, one progressive group said the former US president and current overwhelming frontrunner in the Republican 2024 presidential nomination race had “gone full fascist”.

Continue reading...

Poll showing Trump up 10 points over Biden for 2024 election criticized

Posted on by

A Washington Post-ABC poll showed results that diverge from most other surveys, and even the pollers made a caveat

A new Washington Post-ABC poll showing Joe Biden trailing his presidential predecessor Donald Trump by 10 percentage points was excoriated by leading political pollster Larry Sabato.

Noting that the pollsters themselves cautioned that their survey was an outlier, Sabato – the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia – called the decision to release it “ridiculous”.

Continue reading...

Rupert Murdoch thought $787.5m Dominion suit would cost Fox $50m, Michael Wolff book says

Posted on by

Trump tell-all author returns with tale of Fox News strife which also includes prediction Ron DeSantis will be Republican nominee

In winter 2022, at a hideaway in St Barts, Rupert Murdoch directed “sudden fury” at Donald Trump, who he thought would lose the 2024 Republican presidential primary to Ron DeSantis, but who the media mogul also said was likely to cost him “fifty million dollars”, through a lawsuit regarding Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.

The lawsuit was filed by Dominion Voting Systems, over Fox News’s broadcast of Trump’s lies. Settled this April, it cost Murdoch considerably more than he predicted: $787.5m, to be precise.

Continue reading...

House Republicans cancel vote on short-term funding measure amid infighting – live

Posted on by

Kevin McCarthy fights rightwing of Republican party over spending deal; House oversight committee aims for first hearing next Thursday, report says

The House will not vote today on a measure to keep the government open past 30 September, amid a split between the chamber’s Republican leadership and a handful of far-right lawmakers that will cause a government shutdown if it is not resolved in 12 days, Punchbowl News reports:

Lawmakers had been scheduled to today vote to approve the rules of debate for the short-term funding measure, but it was unclear if it would have passed.

Continue reading...

Congressional Biden ally dismisses Republicans’ impeachment strategy

Posted on by

Ro Khanna of California threw cold water on House speaker Kevin McCarthy’s capitulation to the hard right over government funding

One of Joe Biden’s key congressional allies has rejected the notion that Republicans can bait the president’s fellow Democrats into embracing an impeachment inquiry as an opportunity for him to be cleared over questions about his son’s business affairs.

“What the American people want is for us to fund government and solve their issues,” the California congressman Ro Khanna said on Fox News Sunday, referring to how some hard-right Republicans have made a Biden impeachment inquiry a condition for them to support new funding that would avoid at least a partial federal government shutdown after 30 September.

Continue reading...

Trump says Republicans ‘speak very inarticulately’ about abortion

Posted on by

Trump talks about democratic principles, ageing politicians and abortion rights in wide ranging NBC interview

Donald Trump grappled with a wide range of contentious issues in an interview with NBC that generated criticism against the network, including his thoughts on democratic principles, abortion rights and ageing politicians.

He also confirmed his interest in choosing Kristi Noem to be his vice-presidential running mate if he wins the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 as he seeks a second term in the White House.

Continue reading...

Armed man posing as US marshal arrested at Robert Kennedy Jr event

Posted on by

Man was outside a Los Angeles theater where Democratic presidential candidate was scheduled to give a speech

An armed man accused of impersonating a federal officer was arrested outside a Robert F Kennedy Jr campaign event in Los Angeles.

A Los Angeles police department statement said police received a call Friday afternoon that a man with a loaded gun and holster and wearing a US marshals service badge was outside a theater where the Democratic presidential candidate was scheduled to give a speech.

Continue reading...

Wisconsin Republicans vote to fire top election official as denialists tighten grip

Posted on by

State senate moves to oust nonpartisan elections administrator Meagan Wolfe, who became lightning rod for conspiracy theories

Wisconsin’s top elections official suffered another blow on Thursday when the Republican-controlled state senate voted to fire her by a party line vote of 22 to 11. Meagan Wolfe’s status as elections administrator will now likely be determined in court.

Legal experts and the Wisconsin attorney general have disputed the move by Republican senators to remove Wolfe, a respected and accomplished non-partisan leader. Her removal would affect the administration of elections in 2024 and illustrates the increasingly wide reach of election deniers and rightwing conspiracy theorists in Wisconsin politics.

Continue reading...

Nancy Pelosi: Biden thinks Harris is best running mate ‘and that’s what matters’

Posted on by

Former House speaker says people shouldn’t underestimate vice-president and that she will work to get Biden and Harris re-elected

Nancy Pelosi seemed to offer a less-than-ringing endorsement when asked if Kamala Harris was the best running mate for Joe Biden next year, saying: “He thinks so, and that’s what matters.”

But the former US House speaker also had praise for the vice-president, telling CNN: “And, by the way, she’s very politically astute. I don’t think people give her enough credit. She’s … consistent with the president’s values and the rest.”

Continue reading...

Kevin McCarthy endorses Biden impeachment inquiry – live updates

Posted on by

Speaker directs House committees to open formal impeachment inquiry despite Republicans being unable to substantiate wrongdoing

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang remains listed as the co-chair for the Forward Party, which he launched after leaving the Democratic party to become an independent in 2021.

Yang slammed the idea of the 2024 presidential election shaping up to be a Donald Trump vs Joe Biden rematch in the Politico interview, describing the situation as “terribly unrepresentative and borderline ridiculous” and pointing to their ages.

I mean, you’re talking about two guys whose combined age is 160. In a country of 330 million people, you would choose these two gentlemen at this stage? I mean, it makes zero sense.

I’ve had conversations with various folks who are associated with No Labels.

I would not run for president, if I thought that my running would be counterproductive, or if it would increase the chances of someone like Donald Trump becoming president again.

Continue reading...

Andrew Yang has ‘had conversations’ with third-party 2024 election group

Posted on by

Tech entrepreneur and 2020 Democratic hopeful says he has spoken with No Labels, who are considering launching a candidate

The tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, has “had conversations” with No Labels, a group considering launching a third-party candidate in the 2024 election.

“I’ve had conversations with various folks who are associated with No Labels,” Yang told Politico.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris says she’s prepared to serve as president ‘if necessary’

Posted on by

Vice-president dismisses opponents’ attacks that president is too old to seek out a second term and says ‘he’s going to be fine’

Kamala Harris on Sunday declared herself ready to assume the presidency if it ever behooved her to do so – but she also made it a point to dismiss opponents’ political attacks that Joe Biden is too old to seek out a second term in the Oval Office.

Asked on CBS’s Face the Nation whether she was prepared to serve as commander-in-chief in case Biden became unable to carry out his duties, Harris said: “Yes, I am, if necessary.”

Continue reading...

Nancy Pelosi announces 2024 House re-election bid

Posted on by

Democrat, 83, has represented San Francisco since 1987 and served as House speaker twice

The former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will be seeking re-election in 2024. The 83-year-old Democrat representing California’s 11th district announced the news on Wednesday among volunteers and labor allies in San Francisco.

Pelosi went on to tweet about her plans, saying: “Now more than ever our city needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery. Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL. That is why I am running for reelection – and respectfully ask for your vote.”

Continue reading...

Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro found guilty of contempt of Congress – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog has now closed. Read more on this story here:

The latest poll, which shows Donald Trump and Joe Biden virtually tied in a hypothetical 2024 rematch, paints a picture of a pessimistic and divided nation ahead of the most unprecedented election in modern times, according to a CNN report.

The survey’s findings pose the question of whether an 80-year-old Biden with a 39% approval rating is really the Democratic party’s strongest bet for next year’s election, the report says. But the president’s grip on his own party remains unshaken.

By definition in a 50-50 nation, a president facing majority disapproval across a slate of issues must be alienating independents. Those voters break for Biden over Trump, but the president gets poor marks from the cohort. Such vulnerability might encourage anyone mulling a third-party bid for the presidency – like strategists with No Labels, who held an event featuring West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin over the summer. The group says it will only field a candidate if there’s a chance of victory. But analysts warn that a third-party candidate could doom a weakened Biden and help Trump win a non-consecutive second term if he is the Republican nominee.

Continue reading...

Twitter allows US political candidates and parties to advertise in policy switch

Posted on by

Announcement by the Elon Musk-owned social media platform has experts concerned over misinformation ahead of 2024 election

The social media company formerly known as Twitter said Tuesday it would now allow political advertising in the US from candidates and political parties, reversing previous policies and raising concerns over misinformation and hate speech ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Before billionaire Elon Musk acquired the company, now called X, in October 2022, Twitter had banned all political ads globally since 2019. In January, the platform lifted the ban and began allowing “cause-based ads” in the US that raise awareness of issues such as voter registration, stating that it planned to expand the types of political ads it would allow on the platform.

Continue reading...

Biden privately admitted feeling ‘tired’ amid concerns about his age, book says

Posted on by

Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician, also says experience and calming presence make US president ‘a man for his age’

Amid relentless debate about whether at 80 Joe Biden is too old to be president or to complete an effective second term, an eagerly awaited book on his time in the White House reports that Biden has privately admitted to feeling “tired”, even as it describes his vast political experience as a vital asset.

“His advanced years were a hindrance, depriving him of the energy to cast a robust public presence or the ability to easily conjure a name,” Franklin Foer writes in The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.

Continue reading...

Eminem demands Vivek Ramaswamy cease using his music on campaign trail

Posted on by

Rapper sends letter to Republican presidential hopeful objecting to candidate’s use of his song

The rapper Eminem has demanded that Vivek Ramaswamy cease using his music.

In a letter reported by the Daily Mail, a representative for the rapper’s publisher told counsel for the Republican presidential hopeful that Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, objected to Ramaswamy’s use of his compositions and was revoking a license to use them.

Continue reading...

Trump legal team claims trial dates ‘by design’ clash with election campaign

Posted on by

Alina Habba said trials’ schedules would cause them to overlap and clash with voting, preventing the ex-president from campaigning

Donald Trump’s legal spokesperson has predicted that forthcoming early trial dates in the former president’s four criminal cases will not hold, and that his multiple cases could clash with the final stages of the 2024 presidential election campaign and voting.

Alina Habba told the Fox News Sunday show that prosecutors’ plans for fast turnarounds in Trump’s two federal criminal cases and the state indictments in New York and Georgia amounted to “unrealistic theatrics”. She said that each of the trials would last from four to six weeks, raising the threat of overlapping schedules.

Continue reading...

Vivek Ramaswamy says he wants Elon Musk to be his presidential adviser

Posted on by

Republican candidate and biotech entrepreneur names Twitter CEO when asked about potential advisers should he win election

The Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said that he wants Elon Musk as an adviser if he becomes president.

The billionaire biotech entrepreneur was in Newton, Iowa, campaigning at a town hall on Friday when he was asked about whom he would want as advisers for his potential presidency.

Continue reading...

Rich Men North of Richmond singer condemns Republicans after song used in debate

Posted on by

Oliver Anthony responds after politicians discuss his No 1 hit on stage: ‘I wrote that song about those people’

Oliver Anthony, the writer and singer of the mega-hit Rich Men North of Richmond, hit out at Republican candidates for president who discussed his song in the debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday.

“It was funny seeing my song at that presidential debate. Because I wrote that song about those people, you know, so for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. It was funny kind of seeing the response to it,” the Virginian said in a statement on Friday.

Continue reading...