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Biden under intense pressure from Democrats to drop out of election against Trump
U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on April 15, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
As President Joe Biden isolated at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware, on Thursday after testing positive for Covid, he faced renewed pressure from leading Democrats to drop out of the 2024 election contest against former President Donald Trump.
Biden, who for weeks has flatly rejected calls to step aside and allow another nominee to take his place, is now said to be more open to listening to top Democrats about the risk of him remaining in the race. He has also reportedly asked advisers in recent days whether they believe his vice president, Kamala Harris, could beat Trump in November.
“We’re close to the end,” a person close to Biden told NBC News.
The pressure on the 81-year-old Biden stems from concerns that after his June 27 debate, if he remains the nominee he will not only cost Democrats the White House, but also cost the party its majority in the Senate and doom its chances of retaking the House.
Former President Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about the viability of Biden’s candidacy, both the Associated Press and The Washington Post reported.
Biden served two terms as Obama’s vice president, and the 44th president still has unrivaled influence within the Democratic party.
The two Democratic leaders in Congress — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York — have told Biden in recent days that his presence on the party ticket could cost them majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told the Reuters news service late Wednesday that Biden is “working towards” a decision that will “put the country first.” Hickenlooper did not explicitly call on Biden to drop out, saying that was “his decision to make.”
“But certainly there’s more and more indications that that would be in the best interests of the country, I think,” the senator said.
Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the Democratic nominee for one of the state’s two Senate seats, openly called for Biden to drop out of the race Wednesday.
Schiff and Hickenlooper joined about 20 other Democrats in Congress who have made similar public calls.
Schiff is close to Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic former House speaker. CNN reported Thursday morning that Pelosi told Biden recently that he cannot beat Trump and that he could doom Democratic chances of winning a House majority if he insists on remaining in the race.
Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat who to date has fully supported Biden’s plan to stay in the race, told NBC News on Thursday he had heard “growing concerns” from voters in his state this week.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people in our state that have concerns ever since the debate,” Casey said. “But I think my position has been very clear, and I think I think the president will do what he’s always done, which is put the best interests of the country first.”
The Biden campaign’s public response to growing concerns has not changed, and top staffers remain dead-set against the president dropping out.
“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket,” Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager told reporters in Milwaukee on Thursday.
“He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” said Fulks.
Later Thursday, a source close to Biden pushed back at the top Democrats pressuring for the president to bow out.
“Can we all just remember for a minute that these same people who are trying to push Joe Biden out are the same people who literally gave us all Donald Trump?” the source told NBC News.
“In 2015, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary; they were wrong then and they are wrong now,” the source said.
That source also noted how polls in 2016 showed the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leading Trump by as much as 9 percentage points.
“How did all this work out for everyone in 2016?” the source said, referring to Trump’s victory that year.
“Perhaps we should learn a few lessons from 2016; one of them is polls are BS, just ask Sec. Clinton. And two, maybe, just maybe, Joe Biden is more in touch with actual Americans than Obama-Pelosi-Schumer?” the source added.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder
A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.
The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.
In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.
Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.
Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.
A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.
Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.
According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.
A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.
When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.
He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.
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Suspect in murder of University of Washington student surrenders to police
SEATTLE (KOMO) — Seattle police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a University of Washington student.
The student, a 19-year-old transgender woman, was found dead with stab wounds in a laundry room at the Nordheim Court Apartments – off-campus housing for UW students – Sunday night.
The arrest comes a day after the Seattle Police Department (SPD) released photos of a suspect described as armed and dangerous. SPD has not yet confirmed whether the man in the images is the suspect.
According to Seattle police Det. Brian Pritchard, a 31-year-old man turned himself in to Bellevue police before being transferred to SPD detectives.
The Bellevue Police Department said the man was arrested at 10:42 p.m. on Wednesday.
The suspect was booked into the King County jail for investigation of murder.
RELATED | UW students raise security concerns after deadly stabbing, report prior break-in
Anyone with more information is asked to call the SPD violent crimes tip line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are welcome.
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This story is developing.
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South Carolina Governor Plans Special Session to Redraw House Maps
Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, a Republican, plans to call the state legislature back for a special session that will be focused on redrawing the state’s congressional maps, lawmakers said on Wednesday evening. The effort could eliminate the state’s sole Democratic district, held by Representative James E. Clyburn.
Mr. McMaster’s decision came one day after five Republican state senators voted with Democrats to block a resolution that would have brought the legislature back to the State Capitol to consider redistricting.
That vote had seemed to close the door on the matter. Republican lawmakers had considered an agreement to extend their session only when it became clear that Mr. McMaster would not immediately call a special session himself.
But Mr. McMaster, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits, now appears willing to thrust South Carolina into the redistricting battles that have reached fever intensity, particularly in the South, ever since the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act last month.
President Trump has been clear about his wish for a G.O.P. sweep of all seven of South Carolina’s congressional districts, pressing Republican officials to draw new district maps before the midterm elections.
Mr. McMaster’s office declined to comment on Wednesday. Recently, he had said that he would let the Republican-controlled General Assembly decide the matter.
If Mr. McMaster calls the special session, lawmakers would face a time crunch. South Carolina’s primaries are on June 9, but early voting begins in two weeks, so Republicans would have to pass new maps before May 26.
The South Carolina House has proposed moving the congressional primaries to August to accommodate new maps.
There are also legal hurdles to consider. Hundreds of overseas voters have already cast ballots, which could prompt lawsuits if their votes are discarded to account for a change of date in congressional elections.
It is still unclear if new maps would pass in a special session, although Republicans control the legislature and would need only a simple majority to approve them.
Davey Hiott, the Republican leader of the South Carolina House, told reporters that his chamber was ready to get things rolling on Friday morning and vote on a map as quickly as possible, ideally next week.
Shane Massey, the Republican leader of the State Senate, who drew national attention for his impassioned speech against redistricting, was much more apprehensive about moving fast. He said public input was important and continued to voice opposition to the redistricting effort.
“I haven’t heard anything that alleviates the concerns, not just for me but for other people that I’ve been talking to,” Mr. Massey said. “The concerns are there. If anything, they’re only heightened.”
He also noted that there were other pressing matters for the legislature to consider in the special session, such as finishing the budget.
Unlike their counterparts in states like Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana, some South Carolina Republicans have been much more lukewarm about the idea of mid-decade redistricting, mostly because they are skeptical that a new map would guarantee one more Republican-leaning congressional district. Instead, they fear that Democrats could be competitive in the newly created districts as Republican strength in some current districts is diluted.
Mr. Massey said in the chamber on Tuesday that changing the maps was “extremely risky” and could allow Democrats to pick up a seat.
“Very candidly, you’re going to motivate Black turnout, and there will be repercussions from that,” including on local races, he said in that speech.
Mr. Massey and Mr. Hiott did agree that the redistricting debates were about to get even messier in Columbia, the capital.
“It’ll be like nothing we’ve ever seen,” Mr. Hiott said. “It’ll be long. It’ll be tedious. At times, hopefully, it’ll be respectful.”
He laughed when asked what he made of the governor’s change of heart on redistricting, adding, “I never thought it was out of the realm of possibility.”
Mr. Massey said Mr. McMaster had argued in a private meeting that calling the legislature back didn’t mean he was telling them what to do.
“My position on that is, if you’re calling us back, you’re telling everybody what you want us to do,” Mr. Massey said.
Mr. Massey described their redistricting dilemma as “a box within a box,” a “maze,” something he didn’t know how to escape. Sooner or later, he added, they would have to vote on new maps.
The debate over redistricting comes in the waning weeks of a crowded Republican primary battle for governor. All of the leading candidates have expressed their support for redistricting to increase Republicans’ chances of retaining control of Congress. Some of the candidates, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Alan Wilson, the state attorney general, have showed up at committee hearings, urging lawmakers to move ahead.
Mr. Trump has not yet endorsed anyone in the governor’s race.
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