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House Republicans say they aren’t sweating Kamala as possible Biden replacement

House Republicans say they aren’t sweating Kamala as possible Biden replacement

House Republicans are already sharpening their attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris as public discussions swell over whether she will replace President Biden at the top of Democrats’ 2024 ticket. GOP lawmakers — in both safe red seats and swing districts being targeted by the left — dismissed Harris as a political threat to their chances in November, arguing she’s still tied to the same progressive Biden policies they believe are unpopular with voters. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., who served as longtime chair of the New York Republican Party before coming to Congress, told Fox News Digital, “Kamala Harris is just as responsible for this administration’s failures, but she’s more incompetent.” “She will make no difference to the outcome. President Trump will be our 47th,” he said. BIDEN TELLS WHITE HOUSE AUDIENCE HE’S ‘NOT GOING ANYWHERE’ DURING FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION  A swing-seat Republican who asked not to be named told Fox News Digital they were skeptical Harris would do better on the debate stage than Biden.  “I would say she’s the weakest part of the ticket right now, as bad as Biden is,” that GOP lawmaker said. “Whether it’s Joe Biden or [Harris] at the top of the ticket, they’ll have to defend their abysmal, tax-and-spend record,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. “We’re already seeing significant Republican advantages across the board in swing states, especially increase in support from Hispanic voters.” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., a Trump ally from a deep red district, told Fox News Digital that Biden and Harris “both own the same disastrous policies.” It comes as conversations swirl around Harris as one of the most likely successors to Biden if he chooses to withdraw from the race ahead of his November rematch with former President Trump.  WH AIDES, CAMPAIGN STAFF REPORTEDLY ‘MISERABLE’ AS PRESSURE BUILDS ON BIDEN TO DROP OUT Biden and his campaign have insisted he will not bow out of the race, but his weak performance in last month’s presidential debate has left many on the left wondering if he’s the best positioned candidate to beat Trump. Multiple polls have shown Biden modestly trailing Trump since the debate aired. Harris has maintained that she is standing by Biden on multiple occasions when asked about the speculation by reporters. But if she were to take over, Harris would be the only Democratic candidate who could inherit the $240 million Biden-Harris campaign war chest. The House GOP campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), is also aiming its fire at Harris as well, in a telling sign that it sees her as the next top Democratic target. A new advertisement released by the NRCC this week cast Harris as Biden’s “enabler-in-chief” and hits her for her role as Biden’s “border czar.”  HOLLYWOOD MEGADONOR CALLS ON DEMS TO ‘STOP GIVING’ MONEY UNTIL BIDEN DROPS OUT A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) told Axios of the ad, “Republicans are fooling themselves if they think the American public will blame anyone besides Donald Trump and his feckless band of Republican extremists and phony moderates who killed a bipartisan border deal.” A recent CNN/SSRS poll shows Harris performing slightly better than Biden in a matchup against Trump. But when asked about her impact on the November races, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. — a past NRCC chair — would not speak to the vice president specifically, though he was confident in the GOP’s chances to secure the White House. “It doesn’t matter which incompetent failure Democrats have on the ballot in November — voters are ready to abandon the sinking ship that is the Biden-Harris administration,” Emmer said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign and to Harris’ office for comment.

House Republicans say they aren’t sweating Kamala as possible Biden replacement

House Republicans say they aren’t sweating Kamala as possible Biden replacement

House Republicans are already sharpening their attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris as public discussions swell over whether she will replace President Biden at the top of Democrats’ 2024 ticket. GOP lawmakers — in both safe red seats and swing districts being targeted by the left — dismissed Harris as a political threat to their chances in November, arguing she’s still tied to the same progressive Biden policies they believe are unpopular with voters. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., who served as longtime chair of the New York Republican Party before coming to Congress, told Fox News Digital, “Kamala Harris is just as responsible for this administration’s failures, but she’s more incompetent.” “She will make no difference to the outcome. President Trump will be our 47th,” he said. BIDEN TELLS WHITE HOUSE AUDIENCE HE’S ‘NOT GOING ANYWHERE’ DURING FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION  A swing-seat Republican who asked not to be named told Fox News Digital they were skeptical Harris would do better on the debate stage than Biden.  “I would say she’s the weakest part of the ticket right now, as bad as Biden is,” that GOP lawmaker said. “Whether it’s Joe Biden or [Harris] at the top of the ticket, they’ll have to defend their abysmal, tax-and-spend record,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. “We’re already seeing significant Republican advantages across the board in swing states, especially increase in support from Hispanic voters.” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., a Trump ally from a deep red district, told Fox News Digital that Biden and Harris “both own the same disastrous policies.” It comes as conversations swirl around Harris as one of the most likely successors to Biden if he chooses to withdraw from the race ahead of his November rematch with former President Trump.  WH AIDES, CAMPAIGN STAFF REPORTEDLY ‘MISERABLE’ AS PRESSURE BUILDS ON BIDEN TO DROP OUT Biden and his campaign have insisted he will not bow out of the race, but his weak performance in last month’s presidential debate has left many on the left wondering if he’s the best positioned candidate to beat Trump. Multiple polls have shown Biden modestly trailing Trump since the debate aired. Harris has maintained that she is standing by Biden on multiple occasions when asked about the speculation by reporters. But if she were to take over, Harris would be the only Democratic candidate who could inherit the $240 million Biden-Harris campaign war chest. The House GOP campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), is also aiming its fire at Harris as well, in a telling sign that it sees her as the next top Democratic target. A new advertisement released by the NRCC this week cast Harris as Biden’s “enabler-in-chief” and hits her for her role as Biden’s “border czar.”  HOLLYWOOD MEGADONOR CALLS ON DEMS TO ‘STOP GIVING’ MONEY UNTIL BIDEN DROPS OUT A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) told Axios of the ad, “Republicans are fooling themselves if they think the American public will blame anyone besides Donald Trump and his feckless band of Republican extremists and phony moderates who killed a bipartisan border deal.” A recent CNN/SSRS poll shows Harris performing slightly better than Biden in a matchup against Trump. But when asked about her impact on the November races, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. — a past NRCC chair — would not speak to the vice president specifically, though he was confident in the GOP’s chances to secure the White House. “It doesn’t matter which incompetent failure Democrats have on the ballot in November — voters are ready to abandon the sinking ship that is the Biden-Harris administration,” Emmer said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign and to Harris’ office for comment.

Trump eyes a state no Republican has carried in a quarter century amid Biden post-debate turmoil

Trump eyes a state no Republican has carried in a quarter century amid Biden post-debate turmoil

NEWFIELDS, N.H. — It’s been 24 years since a Republican carried the swing state of New Hampshire in a presidential election. You have to go back to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 2000. Four years later, as he won re-election, then-President Bush was narrowly edged in the Granite State, kicking off a losing streak that has extended to the present day. But in the wake of two recent polls that indicated a margin-of-error race in New Hampshire and following President Biden’s extremely rough debate performance nine days ago in his first primetime face-to-face showdown with former President Trump, Republicans are increasingly hopeful they can bring an end to the losing streak. BIDEN FACES THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL STRETCH OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER “I firmly believe that New Hampshire is very much in play,” Steve Stepanek, the senior Trump adviser in the state, told Fox News. Former longtime state party chair and former Democratic National Committee member Kathy Sullivan disagreed, spotlighting that “New Hampshire is not Trump-friendly territory” and that “there’s nothing changing the dynamic now in terms of Biden versus Trump in New Hampshire.”  BIDEN RAMPS UP SPENDING IN BID TO STEADY HIS FALTERING CAMPAIGN Since the start of the general election rematch between Biden and Trump four months ago, much of the campaign spotlight has shined on the seven key battlegrounds that decided the 2020 election. Those states include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada — which Biden narrowly carried four years ago — and North Carolina, which Trump won by a razor-thin margin. Starting in May, Trump’s campaign started eyeing Minnesota and Virginia, two blue-leaning states in presidential contests, with his top advisers saying they were “clearly in play.” Trump headlined a Minnesota GOP fundraising gala later that month, and last week, on the day after his debate with Biden, Trump held a large rally in Virginia. The debate was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history. His halting delivery and stumbling answers at the showdown in Atlanta sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and sparked a rising tide of calls from within his own party for him to step aside as its 2024 standard-bearer. Fighting back, Biden is now aiming to show Americans that he still has the stamina and acuity to handle the toughest and most demanding job in the world and prove that he has the energy and fortitude to defeat Trump. TOP NON-PARTISAN POLITICAL HANDICAPPER SHIFTS TWO STATES TOWARDS TRUMP Earlier this week, well-known non-partisan political handicapper Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted two key states towards Trump in the wake of the debate. Michigan was shifted from “Leans Democrat” to “Toss-up” and Minnesota was moved from “Likely Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.” In New Hampshire, a poll conducted after the debate by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center suggested that Trump was edging Biden by two points, which was within the survey’s sampling error. The poll followed a survey conducted in late May by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center which indicated Biden with a lower single-digit edge. “I do think we are now in a battleground,” said Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. “You are likely to see states that are similar to ours that show it’s tied up or Trump has the lead.” But pointing to the new poll, Levesque told Fox News that “the good news for Biden is he’s weak with the people who self-describe as very liberal. Just 67% support. That means, in the end, most likely many of those people are going to vote for Biden even if they don’t want to admit it right now.” New England College president Wayne Lesperance, a veteran New Hampshire-based political science professor, also said that the state “is in play.” “Biden’s performance at the most recent debate has pushed Democrats to question his ability to campaign, win and govern. Recent polls in New Hampshire point to continued rock-solid support by Republicans for Trump. Democratic support seems to be faltering with some looking at independent candidates,” Lesperance noted. “As long as questions remain about Biden’s ability to go forward, the President will continue to bleed support, putting the Granite State in play.” TRUMP GETS BOOST IN POST-DEBATE POLLS AFTER BIDEN’S BOTCHED PERFORMANCE While the polls indicate a close contest in a state Biden carried by seven points over Trump four years ago, the Democrats currently hold a very large organizational advantage over the GOP when it comes to ground-game operations. The Biden re-election team and the state Democratic coordinated campaign have 14 field offices across New Hampshire, with boots on the ground since January. Meanwhile, the Trump team and the GOP currently have one field office in addition to the campaign’s state headquarters. “New Hampshire Democrats will continue to use our robust, grassroots campaign infrastructure to reach Granite Staters in every corner of New Hampshire to ensure we come together and re-elect President Biden and Vice President Harris in November — the stakes could not be higher,” longtime state Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley emphasized in a statement. But Stepanek, who chaired Trump’s 2016 campaign in New Hampshire before later serving as state GOP chair, touted that “there’s an army of Trump supporters out there, and they’re all coming out.” “It’s going to be a turnout situation, and we feel we have a very significant ground game that’s going to turnout not only all the Trump supporters but all the Republicans and independents leaning Republican in spite of all the things the Democrats have on the ground here in New Hampshire,” Stepanek predicted. And he argued that the Democrats “have a significant enthusiasm gap that they are contending with, and we don’t have that.” As for specifics on how the Trump campaign will build out its ground game in New Hampshire, Stepanek answered, “My game plan I can’t tell you because it’s confidential.” Sullivan, a top Biden surrogate in New Hampshire, shot

Israel continues Gaza attacks, says ‘gaps’ remain in renewed truce talks

Israel continues Gaza attacks, says ‘gaps’ remain in renewed truce talks

An Israeli delegation has travelled to Qatar after a new Hamas proposal earlier this week generated renewed hope for a truce agreement, as fighting continues to rage across Gaza. The Israeli negotiators, led by spy chief David Barnea, met mediators in Doha on Friday, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The talks were set to resume next week, the office said, when another negotiating team would be deployed to Qatar. The office added there were still “gaps between the parties” in their positions. The latest development came after Hamas on Wednesday said it had presented new “ideas” to Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators on how to reach a ceasefire and captive-exchange deal to halt the nine-month-long conflict. At least 38,011 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, which began following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics. While details of Hamas’s latest proposal were not immediately clear, a US official said Thursday they contained a substantial shift in the group’s previous position. The official, in a call with reporters, described the update as a “breakthrough”, while cautioning that obstacles remained. On Friday, Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha said the group’s latest proposals “have been met with a positive response by the mediators”, while adding “the official Israeli position has not yet become clear”, according to The Associated Press news agency. Both Israel and Hamas have come under increased pressure to reach a deal, but talks surrounding a United Nations-backed plan outlined by US President Joe Biden in May have stalled in recent weeks. A major sticking point for Hamas has been whether Israel would resume fighting after the dozens of Israeli captives still held by the group were released. Meanwhile, despite repeated US claims that Israel supported the plan, Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war would not end until Hamas is “eradicated”. In a call with Biden on Thursday, Netanyahu again said the war would only end with Israel “achieving all its objectives”. Fighting continues in Gaza Despite the latest diplomatic flurry, fighting continued to rage in Gaza on Friday, with Israeli forces focusing their attacks on the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah and northern Gaza City. At least 10 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital following attacks on the two southern cities, hospital officials told Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum. He also reported “unrelenting” attacks in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood where he said the Israeli military has been “demolishing entire blocks”. Meanwhile, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed its fighters had killed 10 Israeli soldiers in an ambush in Shujayea. Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the claim. Tensions remained high around the Lebanon-Israel border, where increased fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military has continued to stoke concerns over a wider escalation. The Lebanese group said it targeted several Israeli military positions near the border on Friday. Hezbollah later said in a statement that leader Hassan Nasrallah had met a Hamas delegation to discuss “the latest developments in the negotiations” and “security and political developments” in Gaza and the region. The fighting in Gaza has uprooted about 90 percent of Gaza’s population, forcing many to live in unsanitary conditions with little access to healthcare or other aid. Nearly 500,000 people face “catastrophic” hunger in the enclave, according to the United Nations. On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic warned that Israeli army orders this week for more than 250,000 Palestinians to evacuate from eastern Khan Younis would only further inflame the humanitarian catastrophe. “This evacuation decision is certain to worsen overcrowding, and cause severe shortages in the already overwhelmed remaining hospitals, at a time when access to emergency medical care is critical,” the two wrote in a joint statement, adding that forced evacuations are creating “a humanitarian crisis within the crisis”. “A ceasefire is all the more important now, and would make possible a surge of humanitarian assistance to Gaza as well as the release of all hostages,” they said. Adblock test (Why?)

New PM Starmer names ministerial team after landslide UK election win

New PM Starmer names ministerial team after landslide UK election win

Rachel Reeves becomes the UK’s first female finance minister while David Lammy is appointed as foreign secretary. The United Kingdom’s newly elected Keir Starmer has announced key members of his ministerial team after his centre-left Labour Party’s landslide general election victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Starmer on Friday appointed Rachel Reeves as finance minister, the first woman to hold the post in UK history. The former child chess champion and Bank of England economist has pledged to grow the nation’s economy while showing strong fiscal discipline. “It is the honour of my life to have been appointed chancellor of the exchequer,” Reeves wrote on social media platform X. “To every young girl and woman reading this, let today show that there should be no limits on your ambitions.” British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves react during a campaign event at a farm in Oxfordshire, UK, July 1, 2024 [Phil Noble/Reuters] Starmer appointed David Lammy, a trailblazing lawmaker, as foreign secretary. Born to Guyanese immigrants, Lammy grew up in Tottenham, an area of north London, where he has represented in Parliament since 2000. Lammy became the youngest member of parliament (MP) when he was first elected at age 27. He soon gained ministerial experience, serving in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Lammy on Friday reiterated his support for international efforts to secure an “immediate ceasefire” in Israel’s war on Gaza and for the release of remaining hostages after he was named foreign secretary. The 51-year-old said he would “get to work with tireless diplomacy” towards those twin aims. “All of us recognise the agony of communities who have seen the scenes coming out of Israel and Gaza,” Lammy said from the Foreign Office. “But the job now is to get to work with tireless diplomacy to support an immediate ceasefire and move towards getting those hostages out”. Incoming Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy leaves Downing Street in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 [Thomas Krych/AP Photo] Rayner named as Starmer’s deputy Angela Rayner, elected as deputy leader in 2020 – chosen independently of the actual leader by party members – will be Starmer’s deputy prime minister and retain the levelling up, housing, and communities brief. The 44-year-old has often spoken about her tough background, growing up in a deprived public housing block and leaving school early as a young mother. She started her career as a trade union official before embarking on a career as a lawmaker. Yvette Cooper, who served in former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet between 2008 and 2010 as chief secretary to the treasury and work and pensions secretary, has been named home secretary. The first surprise in the assembly of the Labour leader’s top team was Lisa Nandy’s promotion to culture secretary after Thangam Debbonaire, who held the brief in the shadow cabinet, lost her seat to the Green Party. Otherwise, the Cabinet mirrors Starmer’s shadow team, including Pat McFadden, who played a central role in shaping Labour’s election campaign, being named chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. John Healey was named defence secretary and Shabana Mahmood was named justice secretary. Wes Streeting was named health secretary and Bridget Phillipson was named education secretary. Ed Miliband, former leader of the Labour Party and opposition leader between 2010 and 2015, was named energy secretary. Lucy Powell will be the leader of the House of Commons. Adblock test (Why?)

Defiant Biden says no intention to exit presidential race in TV interview

Defiant Biden says no intention to exit presidential race in TV interview

US president says his recent debacle in a televised debate with Donald Trump was due to ‘exhaustion’ and a ‘bad cold’. United States President Joe Biden used a much-anticipated interview with ABC News to reiterate that he is the candidate to beat Donald Trump in November’s presidential election and again called his recent disastrous debate against Trump “a bad episode”. Biden, 81, told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in a taped interview that “I have a cognitive test every single day”, referring to the tasks he faces daily as president. “Every day, I’ve had tests. Everything I do,” he said. “I just had a bad night. I don’t know why.” Stephanopoulos asked whether the debate debacle “was a bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition” and whether Biden was being realistic in his belief that he could beat Trump, 78, given the gap opening in opinion polls between the two candidates and growing concern among Democrats that Biden should step aside. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that one in three Democrats want Biden to quit the race. “I don’t think anyone is more qualified,” Biden said in the interview, blaming his debate performance on exhaustion and a “really bad cold”. The polls, Biden said, were inaccurate. Asked whether he was more frail, Biden said, “No”. Asked also whether he would drop out if fellow Democrats in Congress said he was hurting their re-election chances in November, Biden said: “If the Lord Almighty comes out and tells me that, I might do that.” The 22-minute interview, which ABC said was not cut or edited, was being closely watched by Democrats concerned about the president’s ability to serve another four years, or beat Trump. A republican, in the election, after his faltering debate performance on June 27. The interview, even before it aired in full, seemed to do little to assuage viewers about Biden’s age and fitness to stand for election. A handful of Democratic Party donors and business leaders are making their displeasure with Biden’s candidacy known loudly, halting funding or looking at possible alternative candidates.  Some of Biden’s closest political allies, including former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have raised questions about his health. “It hard to imagine this good man beating Trump and serving four more years in the most demanding job on earth,” Ron Fournier, a former White House correspondent, said on social media alongside a clip of the ABC interview. I’ve seen enough: It hard to imagine this good man beating Trump and serving four more years in the most demanding job on earth. You see it too, Biden Dems. You’ve seen it for months. You’re doing your boss and your country a grave disservice. https://t.co/E2UN4Fvgl4 — Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) July 5, 2024 Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued a statement on Friday asking Biden to weigh his decision to run carefully, the rare Democratic governor not to issue a statement of support to the president in recent days. “President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years,” she said. “The best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” Adblock test (Why?)