President Joe Biden had a rough weekend, committing at least three major gaffes during his public engagements. The president usually spends his weekend at one of his homes in Wilmington or Rehoboth Beach to get a respite from working at the White House. His recent appearances were a reminder as to why.
Biden was the featured speaker at the commencement ceremony for historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta. But his speech was panned by critics who accused him of being divisive and treating the graduates as if they are victims because of their race. He also claimed his White House was filled with Morehouse graduates, telling the crowd, “I got more Morehouse men in the White House telling me what to do than I know what to do! You all think I’m kidding, don’t you?” A cursory search suggests there are one to two Morehouse graduates working at the White House. Biden’s actions during the valedictorian speech that caught even more attention. Deangelo Fletcher called for a “immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” earning applause from Biden, despite the administration he leads not supporting that policy. Based on the president’s hesitation and awkward smile as he clapped, it appeared he was not even listening to the young man’s speech.
During a separate appearance at a NAACP dinner on Sunday night — can you tell Biden is worried about polls showing black voters moving toward Trump? — Biden had two unfortunate moments. Instead of referring to January 6 rioters as “insurrectionists,” the president called them “erectionists.” He went on to suggest that he was vice president during the Covid-19 pandemic, telling dinner attendees, “When I was vice president, things were kinda bad during the pandemic and what happened was, Barack said to me, ‘Go to Detroit and help fix it.’” Some defenders pointed out that Biden was vice president during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009, but the White House edited a transcript from the event to indicate that Biden meant to say “the recession.” However, this still did not explain why Biden referenced working directly with Mayor Mike Duggan, whose hand he shook after his comments, when Duggan did not take office until 2014.
Remember, Biden is supposedly going to debate former president Donald Trump in just over a month on June 27. Sure, there will be no audience and microphones will be turned off between responses. But based on Biden’s weekend, can the campaign really let him on stage?
-Amber Duke
On our radar
INSULTS FOR SALE Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is selling T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Body,” which she used to describe Republican colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene during a nasty spat last week.
ESCAPE HATCH CLOSED The Office of the Special Counsel announced it is closing a “loophole” in the Hatch Act that will allow the law, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity on the job, to be fully enforced against White House staff.
HE DOESN’T EVEN LIVE HERE Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly listed his voting address at a home in Westchester, New York, although he is not the owner of the home, which is in foreclosure. Neighbors said they have never seen him at the property.
Team Trump argues Cohen is a liar and a thief
Michael Cohen’s testimony at his old boss’s ”hush money” trial in New York stretched into a second week Monday.
The cross-examination of Donald Trump’s former attorney was a wild ride last week, with Trump’s defense team, led by Todd Blanche, accusing him of lying and portraying him as a resentful Trump-hater with a personal vendetta.
Though unconventional, the strategy proved quite effective. Even MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin described Blanche’s performance as a “moment of real triumph.” Similarly, CNN’s Anderson Cooper said, “On a cross examination, lawyers want to build a box around the witness and then slam it shut. That’s what Todd Blanche did to Michael Cohen.”
All honest — and even some dishonest — commentators agree on the diagnosis of Cohen’s credibility in front of the jury: critical condition. Today, things haven’t gotten any better for Cohen, as he admitted to having stolen from the Trump Organization.
“You stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asked on what is now the final day of the cross-examination.
“Yes,” Cohen answered.
With Trump’s attorneys having the opportunity to put on a case of their own following Cohen’s testimony, things appear to be going alright, or at least better than expected, for the former president. If Cohen, the most damning witness against Trump that can directly connect the defendant to several crimes, is distrusted by the jury, a conviction may not be in the cards.
The prosecution has now rest its case and the defense is calling its witnesses. The defense’s big play Monday was to call Robert Costello, a lawyer who once advised Michael Cohen and who claims Cohen told him Trump knew nothing about his payments to Stormy Daniels.
-Juan P. Villasmil
Desperate Dems return to border
Democrats appear to be panicking about this fall’s election, to the point that they are feigning doing something about the invasion at our southern border.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Sunday plans to bring “the bipartisan border deal that was negotiated early this year by a group of senators back up on the floor this week for a standalone vote,” per ABC News.
In a letter Schumer sent his colleagues, he acknowledges that the bill is likely to fail again, writing:
We are hopeful this bipartisan proposal will bring serious-minded Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border. I will be honest: I do not expect all Democrats to support this legislation. Many of our colleagues do not support some of the provisions in this legislation, nor do I expect all Republicans to agree to every provision. But that is often how bipartisan legislation must be shaped when dealing with an issue as complex and politically charged as our nation’s immigration laws.
Still, the Hill notes, even if it’s just for show, a vote on the border bill “will allow Democratic leaders to flip the messaging switch on Republicans as the border dominates chatter on the campaign trail.”
–Teresa Mull
