White House repudiates Trump for comment on Democratic Jews
White House spokesman Andrew Bates sharply criticized Donald Trump for his comments that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate” Israel and their religion.
“President Biden has put his foot down when it comes to vile and unhinged antisemitic rhetoric,” he said in a statement. “As antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world – among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust – leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is and bring Americans together against it.”
Here’s more on that, from the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt:
Key events
Trump, Republicans float turning Ukraine aid into loan to break congressional logjam
For months, Congress has been deadlocked over whether to approve more aid to Ukraine, largely due to objections from Republicans over paying for Kyiv’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Now, an idea is gaining traction among some influential lawmakers to break the logjam: turn the aid into a loan.
Lindsey Graham, the Republican South Carolina senator and foreign policy hawk, said that during a recent meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, “I informed him that given the crisis at the United States’ southern border and our overwhelming debt, President Trump’s idea of turning aid from the United States into a no-interest, waivable loan is the most likely path forward.”
“Once Ukraine gets back on its feet, they will be an economic powerhouse because of their access to mass deposits of critical minerals, oil and gas,” Graham added.
Donald Trump, who recently won the delegates necessary to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, has lately proposed that the United States stop giving countries – Ukraine included – aid, and give them loans instead.
Voters in five states are casting ballots in primary races today, and while Joe Biden and Donald Trump have their respective parties’ nominations sewn up, the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports that there’s plenty of intrigue in the down-ballot elections to be decided:
With a rematch set between Joe Biden and Donald Trump after both candidates crossed the delegate threshold needed to clinch their parties’ presidential nominations, suspense around the next wave of Tuesday primaries shifts to a handful of key down-ballot races.
Five states – Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio – will hold their presidential nominating contests on Tuesday. Trump and Biden are expected to sail to victory, growing their delegate counts in a march toward this summer’s conventions, where they will officially secure their parties’ nomination.
Trump’s last Republican challenger, his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, ended her presidential campaign after being routed on Super Tuesday, while the Democratic congressman Dean Phillips dropped his long-shot challenge to Biden after failing to win a single delegate, including in his home state of Minnesota.
In Florida, the state Democratic party decided support for Biden was strong enough and cancelled its presidential primary. Republicans in the one-time swing state can vote for Trump, though his vanquished rivals, including the governor, Ron DeSantis, will still appear on the ballot. The result may reveal clues about the enduring strength of the anti-Trump vote within the Republican party.
Donald Trump’s attack on Jews who vote for Democrats is part of a string of questionable comments the former president has made in recent days. As the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe reports, Trump on Saturday predicted a “bloodbath” if he lost November’s election:
Joe Biden tore into Donald Trump’s mental stability at a dinner in Washington DC on Saturday – just as the former president was making verbal gaffes at a campaign rally in Ohio as well as, during remarks on the economy and auto industry, predicting a “bloodbath” for the country if he met defeat in November’s election.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, confused the crowd at an appearance in Vandalia by insisting that Biden had beaten “Barack Hussein Obama” in elections nationally that never took place.
Freewheeling during a speech in which his teleprompters were seemingly disabled by high winds, Trump – a frequent critic of the 81-year-old Biden’s age and mental acuity – struggled to pronounce the words “bite” and “largest”. And he left the crowd scratching their heads over the reference to Obama, whom Biden served as vice-president from 2009 to 2017 before taking the Oval Office from Trump in 2020.
“You know what’s interesting? Joe Biden won against Barack Hussein Obama. Has anyone ever heard of him? Every swing state, Biden beat Obama but in every other state, he got killed,” Trump said.
Biden joked about Trump’s mental fitness at Saturday night’s Gridiron club dinner, a traditional “roast” attended by politicians and journalists dating to the 1880s.
White House repudiates Trump for comment on Democratic Jews
White House spokesman Andrew Bates sharply criticized Donald Trump for his comments that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate” Israel and their religion.
“President Biden has put his foot down when it comes to vile and unhinged antisemitic rhetoric,” he said in a statement. “As antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world – among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust – leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is and bring Americans together against it.”
Here’s more on that, from the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt:
The government shutdown threat won’t be neutralized until Congress passes the final funding bill, and if you know Congress, you know they are capable of anything. From the Guardian’s Joan E Greve, here’s more on the sprint to head off a partial shutdown that will begin if the funding is not approved by Friday:
Congress faces its third shutdown deadline of the month this week, as much of the federal government is expected to run out of funding by Friday at midnight.
Both chambers of Congress must approve six appropriations bills before Saturday to get the legislation to Joe Biden’s desk and avert a partial shutdown. Although the current fiscal year started more than five months ago, House Republicans have struggled to pass appropriations bills due to demands from hard-right members to include controversial provisions in the legislation.
As a result, Congress has been forced to pass four stopgap bills since the fiscal year began in October, and members hope they can finally conclude the appropriations process this week.
But disputes over the Department of Homeland Security’s budget have hampered the negotiations so far, raising serious doubts about whether members will be able to pass a spending package in time to prevent a funding lapse.
Punchbowl News reported on Monday evening that negotiators had reached a deal on homeland security funding, but it remains unclear whether Congress will have enough time to pass the proposal before Saturday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the shutdown threat:
Congressional leaders announce deal on government funding, averting partial shutdown
Congress’s top Democrats and Republicans say they have reached a final agreement on government funding, and will move to enact legislation before the end of the day Friday that will prevent a partial shutdown.
The sticking point was funding for the Department of Homeland Security, with Democrats over the weekend accusing Republicans of turning down their attempts to channel funds to the department to help it deal with migrant arrivals at the southern border, according to Politico.
The two sides appear to have worked out their disagreement. Here’s what Republican House speaker Mike Johnson had to say:
An agreement has been reached for DHS appropriations, which will allow completion of the FY24 appropriations process. House and Senate committees have begun drafting bill text to be prepared for release and consideration by the full House and Senate as soon as possible.
It was much the same tone from Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer:
Senate and House leaders and the White House have reached an agreement to finish the final set of full year appropriations bills. The Senate and House Appropriations Committees are in the process of finalizing text and reports for Congress to closely review and consider as soon as possible.
Funding for a chunk of Washington’s departments, including homeland security, defense and state, expires at midnight on Friday. Congress passed legislation to fund the other half of the US government earlier this month.
Outrage after Trump alleges Jews who vote for Democrats ‘hate’ their religion and Israel
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Campaigning for the November election is in full swing, and true to form, Donald Trump is saying things that people find outrageous and offensive. The latest: his comments on Monday that Jews who voted for Democrats “hate” their religion and Israel. America’s relationship with Israel is a major political issue, with Congress deadlocked over approving aid to the country as well as Ukraine and Taiwan despite months of negotiations, and Joe Biden showing signs of exasperation with Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of its invasion of Gaza. Democrats pilloried Trump for his comments, with a party spokesman saying the former president “should be ashamed of himself”.
Perhaps. But Democrats are also grappling with the uncomfortable reality that Biden is stubbornly unpopular, and that Trump has a track record of saying offensive things and yet maintaining Republicans’ loyalty. But Biden’s not Hillary Clinton, it’s not 2016 any more, and we’ll see if this comment lands among voters any differently. Trump is also dealing with his own problems, namely the bond he is so far unable to secure to cover New York’s $454m civil fraud judgment against him.
Here’s what else is going on today:
-
The supreme court will issue opinions at 10am ET. We don’t know what they’ll decide, but one case pending will determine whether South Carolina’s congressional map was an illegal racial gerrymander.
-
Biden heads to Nevada and Arizona, two swing states that will be important to his re-election prospects. In the latter, he’ll launch Latinos con Biden-Harris to attract voters from the demographic that’s well represented in both states.
-
Republicans have an idea for breaking the logjam on Ukraine aid: make it a loan. We’ll see if any Democrats think that’s a good idea.
