Dems begin to dogpile on Biden’s reelection campaign

Support for President Joe Biden continuing his reelection campaign is polarizing his own party. The Hill reported yesterday that discontent was growing among Democrats, and the publication offered live updates all day from the Democratic National Committee headquarters, where Dem leadership gathered to discuss Biden’s future as their nominee.

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer have both expressed their continued support for Biden. They were joined yesterday by Representatives Ami Bera, Jim Clyburn, Lou Correa, Veronica Escobar, Adriano Espaillat, Steny Hoyer, Stephen Lynch, Jerry Nadler, Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Over the weekend, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she spoke at length to Biden and that she supports him. Senator John Fetterman, himself no stranger to questions about cognitive abilities, has also repeatedly backed Biden, saying on CNN yesterday, “That’s our guy. Joe Biden has been a great president … and I’m not going to chuck him for a rough debate.”

Representatives Lloyd Doggett and Seth Moulton were the only lawmakers reported to have dissented from what the Hill labeled a “lopsided internal debate” at the DNC. On X, however, the impressions were less positive, with Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba writing, “One member who attended today’s Dem Caucus meeting tells me, ‘The morale of the caucus is at historic lows.’ When I asked if they’d compare it to a funeral like others have, they said, ‘That is an insult to funerals.’”

James Carville has weighed in on the situation, saying “it’s inevitable” Biden will drop out. Former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi withheld her endorsement, saying on Morning Joe today, “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”

Hollywood star George Clooney, whom the Hill reminds us “just last month hosted a star-studded fundraiser for President Biden’s campaign,” has penned an opinion piece for the New York Times declaring, “I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee.”

Clooney’s mutiny comes following Endeavour CEO Ari Emanuel’s revelation at the Aspen Ideas Festival last week that, “I talked to a bunch of big donors, and they’re moving all their money to Congress and the Senate. It’s a legal issue now. Maybe there’s some wiggle room, but I haven’t seen it. I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer, but we’re in fuck city!”

-Teresa Mull

On our radar

PICK ME FOR VP As the time for Donald Trump to pick a vice president is quickly approaching, some commentators are convinced he hasn’t actually decided yet. Those who were with Trump after his rally last night believe his staff has genuinely no idea who he will pick and just wants him to pick someone. Options seem to have narrowed down to Senators J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, as Trump says North Dakota governor Doug Burgum’s signing of a strict abortion ban is a “little bit of an issue.” And in case you were wondering, which we know you were, Vance’s beard is not too big of a problem for Trump, as 45 says the US senator from Ohio “looks like young Abraham Lincoln.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE CNN will cut about 100 jobs as part of a plan to consolidate news operations and bolster its digital business, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. “We are building a billon dollar+ digital business of the future,” CEO Mark Thompson told (remaining) staff in a memo.

NOEMWHERE TO BE SEEN South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has reportedly deleted her professional X account and Facebook and Instagram pages, and so far, no one has announced why. Noem’s personal social media pages, as well as her governor’s YouTube channel, remain in place.

RNC party platforms questioned

It seems some disillusionment with the Grand Old Party is attempting to be solved by mixing up the platform. Either that or the party is reworking its key tenets to fit exactly in line with Trump’s talking points — which seems to be the general consensus among certainmediaoutlets. The Republican National Committee (RNC) Platform Committee has made some controversial decisions regarding abortion, gun rights and religion.

In 2020, Republicans chose not to write a new party platform and instead chose to keep the one from 2016, which was a much longer document than the one currently on the table.

Abortion has traditionally been a strong issue, with the platform specifically emphasizing the need to seek a federal abortion ban. The new platform, though, gives the choice largely to the states, voicing opposition to “late-term abortion,” but little else. The GOP is now taking a much softer approach to life issues, as the platform expresses support for access to birth control and in vitro fertilization. 

Many Republicans, including former vice president Mike Pence, have expressed displeasure at these changes. Pence posted on X yesterday: “The RNC platform is a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life.”

The entire platform discusses gun rights just once (a simple head nod to “the right to bear arms”) and omits any discussion of tangible gun policy ideas. The 2016 document addressed specific gun policies, stating: “We support firearm reciprocity legislation to recognize the right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms to protect themselves and their families in all fifty states. We support constitutional carry statutes and salute the states that have passed them.” The old platform continues to oppose laws that restrict magazine capacity or the sale of rifles, federal licensing, registration of ammunition and so on. Compared to this earlier stance, the new platform is virtually silent on gun policies.

When it comes to God and religion, the theme remains the same — the updated platform takes a more even-keeled approach. God is mentioned twice in the new document, religion once, and “Christian” three times — compared to the 2016 version that mentions God sixteen times, religion six times and “Christian” eight times. 

The RNC’s platform committee approved the platform on July 8, but there’s still time to amend it before it’s formally adopted at the national convention next Monday. Time will tell how important these controversial issues will become.

-Ella Johnson