Thread: President Joe Biden

What did the the old man do today

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• US, Japan, SKorea vow unified response to North Korea threat

Biden huddles with Asian allies on NKorea threat, China

President Joe Biden met Sunday with the leaders of Japan and South Korea to coordinate their response to North Korea’s threatening nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as to seek input on managing China’s assertive posture in the Pacific region on the eve of his planned face-to-face with President Xi Jinping.

Biden met separately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The three leaders are scheduled to then sit down together on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

The meetings come as North Korea has fired dozens of missiles in recent weeks, including an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that triggered evacuation alerts in northern Japan, and as the allies warn of a looming risk of the isolated country conducting its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday that Biden aims to use the meetings to strengthen the three countries’ joint response to the dangers posed by North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“What we would really like to see is enhanced trilateral security cooperation where the three countries are all coming together,” he said. “That’s acutely true with respect to the DPRK because of the common threat and challenge we all face, but it’s also true, more broadly, about our capacity to work together to enhance overall peace and stability in the region.”

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have skyrocketed in recent months as the North continues its weapons demonstrations and the U.S. and South Korea launched stepped-up joint defense exercises. Earlier this month, the South Korean military said two B-1B bombers trained with four U.S. F-16 fighter jets and four South Korean F-35 jets during the last day of “Vigilant Storm” joint air force drills. It was the first time since December 2017 that the bombers were deployed to the Korean Peninsula. The exercise involved a total of roughly 240 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets from both countries.

North Korea responded with its own display of force, flying large numbers of warplanes inside its territory.

The Biden administration has said it has sent repeated requests to negotiate with North Korea without preconditions on constraining its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but that Kim Jong Un’s government has not responded.

Biden has said he plans to press Xi to use China’s unique sway over North Korea to curtail its aggressive behavior, as part of what is expected to be a wide-ranging bilateral meeting on the margins of the Group of 20 gathering in Bali, Indonesia.

China “has an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea’s worst tendencies,” Sullivan said Saturday. “Whether they choose to do so or not is, of course, up to them.”

Biden told reporters on Sunday that he’s “always had straightforward discussions” with Xi, and that has prevented either of them from “miscalculations” of their intentions. Their meeting comes weeks after Xi cemented his grip on China’s political system with the conclusion of the Community Party congress in Beijing that gave him a norm-breaking third term as leader.

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• Biden on Dems keeping Senate control: "I am incredibly pleased"

President Biden on Sunday celebrated the news that Democrats had clinched control of the Senate, telling reporters that he was "incredibly pleased" by the result.

Driving the news: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) won her bid for re-election over former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt late Saturday night, officially handing Democrats control of one chamber of Congress.

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• Ranking the Democrats who could run for president in 2024

Here’s a list of the most likely Democrats to run and win the nomination — our first ranking of potential candidates since the midterms.

President Biden

The Democrat with the strongest chance of winning his party’s nomination is clearly Biden.

Old man Biden had an interesting day.

• Joe Biden, Xi Jinping Clash On Taiwan, Find Common Ground On Ukraine

Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping clashed Monday over Taiwan but found areas of common ground during the powers' first in-person summit in three years, including a joint warning against Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Xi and Biden both sought to lower the temperature as they met for more than two hours on the resort island of Bali, with the presidents both saying they wanted to prevent high tensions from spilling over into conflict.

In a sign of headway on working together, the White House announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China -- the most senior US visitor since 2018.

Biden and Xi, who is on only his second overseas trip since the pandemic, shook hands and smiled before the two countries' flags at a hotel in Bali, where the Group of 20 opens a summit on Tuesday.

Biden, sitting across from Xi at facing tables, said that Beijing and Washington "share responsibility" to show the world that they can "manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming conflict".

Xi, China's most powerful leader in decades who is fresh from securing a norm-breaking third term, told Biden that the world has "come to a crossroads".

"The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship," Xi told him.

Xi later told him that China and the United States "share more, not less" in common interests, according to a Chinese statement.

- 'First red line' -

Tensions have risen sharply over Taiwan, with China in August conducting major military exercises after a visit to the self-governing democracy, which it claims, by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Xi told Biden that Taiwan is the "first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations," according to the Chinese foreign ministry statement.

The White House said that Biden told Xi he opposed any changes on Taiwan -- after the US leader repeatedly indicated that Washington was ready to defend the island militarily.

Biden raised US "objections" to China's "coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardise global prosperity," the White House said.

Despite the clash on Taiwan, the White House indicated it had found some common ground with China on Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- a high priority for Biden who is hoping to deprive Moscow of its key potential source of international support.

Xi and Biden "reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine," the White House statement said.

China, despite rhetorical support for Russia, has not supplied weapons for the war in Ukraine, with Moscow obliged to rely on Iran and North Korea, according to US officials.

Biden also nudged China to rein in ally North Korea after a record-breaking spate of missile tests has raised fears that Pyongyang will soon carry out its seventh nuclear test.

Biden told Xi that "all members of the international community have an interest in encouraging the DPRK to act responsibly," the White House said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

Xi's last in-person meeting with a US president was in 2019 with Donald Trump, who along with Biden identified China as a top international concern and the only potential challenger to US primacy on the world stage.

Although the meeting was the first time Xi and Biden have met as presidents, the pair have an unusually long history together.

By Biden's estimation, he spent 67 hours as vice president in person with Xi including on a 2011 trip to China aimed at better understanding China's then-leader-in-waiting, and a 2017 meeting in the final days of Barack Obama's administration.

On Tuesday, Xi will hold the first formal sitdown with an Australian leader since 2017, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced, following a concerted pressure campaign by Beijing against the close US ally.

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• US, China agree to work together on climate, says White House

The U.S. and China will once again collaborate on issues related to climate change, according to a White House readout of a meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The readout said that Biden “underscored” that the countries need to work together to address global challenges including climate change.

“The two leaders agreed to empower key senior officials to maintain communication and deepen constructive efforts on these and other issues,” the readout stated.

In a sign of headway on working together, the White House announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China -- the most senior US visitor since 2018.

Best make sure he's up to date with his Covid jabs, the place is riddled with it.

A busy the old man.

• Joe Biden meets Turkish leader Erdogan on sidelines of G20 in Bali

Joe Biden meets with Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on sidelines of G20 in Bali as Zelensky dials into the summit to demand unity in ending Russia's war in Ukraine

President Joe Biden met with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Tuesday, a meeting that was not announced in advance.

It came as Biden sought to build unity among leaders in isolating Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey has posed as a dealmaker between the West and Russia, and on Monday Biden dispatched CIA chief Bill Burns to Ankara for meetings with his Russian counterpart.

Video showed the two leaders deep in conversation. It was confirmed by the Turkish president's office but journalists traveling with Biden were not allowed to cover the meeting.

White House officials initially said the meeting was unplanned, but the video showed the two leaders sitting at a table adorned with a U.S. and a Turkish flag.

It was a potentially sensitive moment, with Turkey sometimes frustrating the U.S. and NATO allies, buying a Russian air defense system and raising objections to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance.

But that has bought it leverage with Moscow.

The White House said Biden offered his sympathy for a weekend bomb attack in Istanbul and thanked Erdogan for his help in negotiating free passage for grain from Ukraine.

'President Biden expressed his deep condolences to President Erdogan and the people of Turkey on the acts of violence in Istanbul and made clear we stand with our NATO ally,' the White House said.

'President Biden expressed his appreciation to President Erdogan for his efforts to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which they both agreed has been critical to improving global food security amid Russia’s war and that the Initiative must continue.'

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• What is the $20 billion green deal that US President Biden has agreed to?

A coalition of countries will mobilise $20 billion of public and private finance to help Indonesia shut coal power plants and bring forward the sector’s peak emissions date by seven years to 2030, the United States, Japan and partners announced on Tuesday.

The Indonesia Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), more than a year in the making, “is probably the single largest climate finance transaction or partnership ever”, a U.S. Treasury official told reporters. The Indonesia JETP is based on last year’s $8.5 billion initiative to help South Africa more quickly decarbonise its power sector that was launched at COP26 in Glasgow by the United States, Britain and European Union.

To access the programme’s $20 billion worth of grants and concessional loans over a three- to five-year period, Indonesia has committed to capping power sector emissions at 290 million tonnes by 2030 - and with a peak that same year. The public and private sectors have pledged about half of the funds each.

Indonesia also has set a goal to reach net-zero emissions in its power sector by 2050, a full decade before its current target set in its national climate plan, and to double the pace of renewable energy deployment so that it accounts for at least 34% of all power generation by 2030.

“We’ve built a platform for cooperation that can truly transform Indonesia’s power sector from coal to renewables and support significant economic growth,” U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry said. “We’ve wrestled with countless issues to arrive at today’s groundbreaking announcement.”

US Treasury on Indonesia’s green energy

The Treasury official said that the peak power emissions for Indonesia in 2030 under the plan would be at a level 25% lower than their currently estimated peak in 2037. Indonesia’s annual emissions reduction over those years would be larger than Britain’s annual power sector emissions, the official said.

The plan will eliminate 300 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions through 2030 and a reduction of well over 2 billion tonnes through 2060, the partners said in their statement.

“Indonesia is committed to using our energy transition to achieve a green economy and drive sustainable development,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in a statement.

“This partnership will generate valuable lessons for the global community and can be replicated in other countries to help meet our shared climate goals,” he added.

United States and Japan lead the way

The United States and Japan are co-leading the effort with Indonesia on behalf of the other G7 democracies Britain, Canada, France, Germany Italy, as well as partners Norway, Denmark and the European Union.

On Monday, Japan announced it would help Indonesia transition away from coal power through public and private institutions, including the state-affiliated Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Indonesia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a private power producer on Monday announced plans to refinance and prematurely retire a 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant in West Java province, the first such deal under the ADB’s groundbreaking new carbon emissions reduction financing programme.

U.S. Treasury and State Department officials said half of the $20 billion would come from the private sector, with seven global banks participating: Bank of America Citigroup Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Macquarie and MUFG. The U.S. officials said that public finance would include concessional lending and equity, as well as some grants.

The United States will work with Indonesia to map out a 90-day plan to set up a secretariat to run the initiative and for Indonesia to reform its policies, such as streamlining permitting and setting up a competitive procurement process to make the targets achievable.

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• Biden meets with new Italian Prime Minister Meloni

President Biden on Tuesday met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the margins of the Group of 20 Summit (G20) in Bali, Indonesia.

The meeting is Biden’s first with Meloni, a far-right politician who is a member of the conservative Brothers of Italy party, which has been tied to neo-facism. Biden in October had expressed concern over Meloni’s election, sharing her victory as a warning to the U.S. of the possibility of far-right leadership.

The president and Meloni met to “coordinate responses to a range of global challenges, including those posed by the People’s Republic of China, the climate crisis, and Russia’s use of energy as a weapon,” according to a readout from the White House.

Additionally, Biden and Meloni discussed the war in Ukraine. Italy is a member of NATO.

“The two leaders also discussed their commitment to continue providing Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself and to holding Russia accountable for its aggression,” according to the White House.

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• Polish president speaks to Biden after deadly "explosion" near Ukraine border

At least two Polish citizens were killed by an explosion on Polish soil near the country's border with Ukraine on Tuesday, a Polish government spokesperson confirmed.

State of play: Poland has not publicly attributed a cause to the explosion, and the Pentagon and White House have said they cannot at this time confirm media reports that Russian missiles crossed into Poland.

The latest: President Biden held a phone call with Polish President Andrzej Duda shortly after being briefed on reports of the explosion.

Duda also spoke to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

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• Biden holds emergency roundtable with world leaders at the G20 Summit after ‘Russian-made missile’ falls on Polish village

US President Joe Biden begins his final day at the Group of 20 Summit dealing with another crisis surrounding Russia’s war in Ukraine – this time involving a NATO ally.

The president is holding an emergency roundtable with world leaders in Bali on Wednesday morning local time, according to the White House website. The talks come after an explosion in Poland that killed two people.

Poland’s foreign ministry said late Tuesday that the “Russian-made missile” fell on the village of Przewodów. The ministry’s statement did not specify the type of missile or where it was fired from. Biden spoke earlier with Poland’s president and the NATO secretary general.

The Russian Defense Ministry has called reports of Russian missiles landing in Poland a “deliberate provocation,” denying that there were strikes made on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/polit...day/index.html

The the old man is back home.

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• Biden meets with new British prime minister

President Biden met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where the two leaders recommitted their support for Ukraine.

The White House said the leaders “discussed Russia’s barbaric missile strikes in Ukraine and underscored their governments’ strong support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression.”

“They also discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland and our full support for Poland’s ongoing investigation,” it said.

Their meeting came hours after a missile struck a grain silo in a village in Poland about 15 miles from the Ukraine border. Polish authorities said the missile was Russian-made, while Russia’s defense ministry has denied firing any missiles near the Ukraine-Poland border

Biden vowed in the meeting to support Ukraine for as long as needed.

Biden and Sunak also coordinated on a range of global issues, “including the challenges posed by China,” according to the White House.

“They discussed the global need to step up ambitions to tackle the climate crisis, as well as the importance of securing sustainable and affordable energy supplies,” the White House said, adding that they “also affirmed their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.”

Biden kicked off the meeting on Wednesday by calling the United Kingdom the “closest ally and closest friend” to the U.S.

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• Biden praises Senate vote to advance same-sex marriage bill

President Biden on Wednesday celebrated a Senate vote to advance legislation that would codify same-sex marriage protections, and he urged Congress to send the final bill to his desk for his signature.

“Love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” Biden said in a statement. “Today’s bipartisan vote brings the United States one step closer to protecting that right in law.”

The Senate on Wednesday voted 62-37 to advance the Respect for Marriage Act, with 12 Republicans joining with every Democrat in support. Lawmakers are expected to vote again on Thursday to invoke cloture, potentially setting up a final vote by the end of the week.

Biden argued passage of the bill will ensure protections for LGBTQ and interracial couples under federal law. Democrats had expressed concern in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that reversed abortion protections under Roe v. Wade that the court would next look to overturn decisions that guaranteed the right to same-sex or interracial marriage.

“I want to thank the Members of Congress whose leadership has sent a strong message that Republicans and Democrats can work together to secure the fundamental right of Americans to marry the person they love,” Biden said. “I urge Congress to quickly send this bill to my desk where I will promptly sign it into law.”

• Biden honors Pelosi’s career: ‘Most consequential’ speaker ‘in our history’

President Biden on Thursday honored the career of outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saying that his fellow Democrat and ally is a person of dignity.

“She might be stepping down from her leadership role in the House Democratic Caucus, but she will never waiver in protecting our sacred democracy,” the president said in a statement.

“As a nation, we owe her a deep debt of gratitude for her service, her patriotism, and above all, her absolute dignity.”

Pelosi took to the House floor Thursday afternoon to announce she will step down next year from her spot at the top of the party after leading Democrats for the last two decades, but she will remain in Congress.

Biden spoke personally with Pelosi earlier on Thursday morning over the phone and “congratulated her on her historic tenure as Speaker of the House,” according to the White House.

Her departure from leadership came shortly after late midterm results had officially flipped House control to the Republicans.

“There are countless examples of how she embodies the obligation of elected officials to uphold their oath to God and country to ensure our democracy delivers and remains a beacon to the world. In everything she does, she reflects a dignity in her actions and a dignity she sees in the lives of the people of this nation,” Biden said in his statement.

Biden argued that Pelosi “is the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history” and said that he watched her “in action” during his career from senator to vice president to president.

“With Nancy, you see a father’s daughter who learned by his side how to win and govern. With her leading the way, you never worry about whether a bill will pass. If she says she has the votes, she has the votes. Every time,” he said.

The president reportedly told Pelosi on a phone call last week, following the House Democrats better-than-expected performance in the midterm elections, “I hope you stick.”

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• Biden administration to make it easier for student loan borrowers to discharge debt in bankruptcy

The Biden administration announced on Thursday updated guidelines that will make it easier for those struggling with their student debt to discharge it in bankruptcy.

The new bankruptcy policy comes from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, and allows federal student loan borrowers to prove that they’re experiencing financial distress requiring a fresh start. Under the rules, the agencies may recommend that a bankruptcy judge discharge a borrower’s student debt if they find their case warrants it.

Currently, it’s difficult, if not impossible, for someone to walk away from their federal student debt in a normal bankruptcy proceeding.

“Today’s guidance outlines a better, fairer, more transparent process for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy,” said Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general of the U.S.

The announcement comes as the White House is battling to defend its sweeping student loan forgiveness plan in the courts. The Biden administration stopped accepting applications for its program, which would cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans, last week after Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas called the policy “unconstitutional” and struck it down.

The DOJ has appealed.

I hope to fuck Pelosi realises it's time for younger blood.

The Dems are starting to look like a geriatric meet up.

^So, you won’t be sending a BD card

Biden granddaughter's wedding offers youthful spin for president turning 80

President Joe Biden is turning 80 this weekend, but the big bash at the White House will be for an entirely different and more youthful occasion. Naomi Biden, Biden’s oldest granddaughter, is set to marry Peter Neal on the White House South Lawn on Saturday.

One day following the nuptials, Biden will mark his spot in American history as the only octogenarian president, a numerical milestone that shines a spotlight on a primary issue plaguing Biden with his opponents: his age. Despite a spate of recent wins – better-than-projected midterm elections for Democrats, a relatively gaffe-less trip to Egypt and Asia, and a lackluster presidential announcement from his old rival, Donald Trump – Biden cannot shake being the oldest commander-in-chief America has ever had.

But a glossy wedding of two twenty-somethings, kicking off a fresh life chapter with music and dancing and revelry, could put a youthful spin on the 80th birthday weekend. Two people familiar with the planning of the wedding say it was not a coincidence Naomi Biden’s wedding weekend coincides with the president’s day – noting the “age issue” is never something Biden wants to highlight.

“The wedding gives some cover,” says one of the people.

The wedding, which CNN is told includes the extended Biden clan on the guest list, as well as friends and family of the couple, will also mark a kickoff of sorts for the tight-knit Bidens to begin earnest discussions over whether Joe Biden should run for a second term.

Shortly after the wedding, Jill Biden and Joe Biden will travel to Nantucket, Massachusetts, for the Thanksgiving holiday; Christmas follows quickly on its heels, as the clock ticks toward Biden’s need to say whether he will be in for 2024, or out. Both the president and the first lady have said they will weigh the pros and cons of a second run, something Biden has previously said he “intends” to undertake.

The wedding itself will consist of three parts, a person familiar with the planning tells CNN. The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. ET on the South Lawn – a location that in the history of White House weddings has never before been used. There will be no tent, the source confirms, which could make for a chilly outdoor morning; temperatures for Saturday are forecast in the mid-40s. Following the exchange of vows, a smaller, family-and-wedding-party-only luncheon will take place in the White House, and later, in the evening, guests will return for an evening reception of dessert and dancing, also to be held indoors.

The grandchild closest – literally – to her grandfather

In a way, Naomi Biden, 28, is experiencing a White House wedding thanks in large part to her own gumption. Biden, an associate at the Washington, DC, law firm Arnold & Porter, pushed her grandfather to run the first time.

Though the patriarch, Joe Biden has always included his larger family circle, including his five oldest grandchildren when weighing life choices. His sensitivity to their feelings, and the invasive nature of a nasty political battle weigh heavy on his mind.

“I don’t think there’s been any decision, no matter how big or small, that we haven’t decided as a family,” said Naomi Biden in a video interview played at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Though typically called by the elder Biden family members, it was Naomi Biden who convened the most critical, in-person, all-hands-on-deck family meeting, the one that would have the most impact on Joe Biden’s future. Biden was concerned – they, however, were not.

“He thought we were calling a meeting sort of to discuss whether or not we wanted him to [run,] but really were calling it to be like,
"Get in that race! Hurry up!’ said Naomi Biden. In the years since, it has been Naomi who has been most publicly vocal on her social media channels about Democratic issues, and championing her grandfather. On November 12, she tweeted, “Democracy wins in the Senate. Never think your vote doesn’t matter.”

Naomi is also the grandchild closest – literally – to her grandparents. She and Neal, 25, a recent University of Pennsylvania Law School graduate who works at Georgetown University Law Center on National Security, moved into the White House last August, a person familiar with the living arrangements tells CNN.

The close proximity to the couple’s wedding site has only increased their involvement in the planning. The wedding planner is Bryan Rafanelli, founder of Rafanelli Events, the source familiar with the details tells CNN. Rafanelli is no stranger to whipping up fantastical parties at the White House; he oversaw seven State Dinners during Barack Obama’s presidency, including the final of the administration for Italy, which included a tent with a glass ceiling on the South Lawn and a performance by Gwen Stefani.

He also planned and orchestrated the wedding of Chelsea Clinton in 2010.

Inside the White House's months of prep-work for a GOP investigative onslaught

A Rafanelli-produced wedding is not an inexpensive endeavor. The price tag for many of his events starts at around $300,000 and can go into the millions of dollars. “Consistent with other private events hosted by the First Family and following the traditions of previous White House wedding festivities in prior Administrations, the Biden family will be paying for the wedding activities that occur at the White House,” Jill Biden’s communications director Elizabeth Alexander told CNN.

Naomi’s father is Hunter Biden. Her mother is Kathleen Buhle. Her parents, who divorced in 2017, have each written memoirs about struggles in their relationship, many of which involved Hunter Biden’s yearslong struggle with addiction.

Neal’s family is from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the couple was engaged in September 2021. (The engagement ring includes the band of Neal’s grandmother’s engagement ring and was designed by a DC jeweler, a person with knowledge of its construction tells CNN.)

The social event of the White House this year

Naomi Biden’s wedding gown designer has not yet been revealed, though several fashion insiders contacted by CNN speculate the job went to Ralph Lauren, perhaps the most iconic American fashion designer alive today. Joe Biden is partial to Lauren’s suits, having worn one on Inauguration Day, and Jill Biden has also been photographed wearing the label. In March, Naomi and her sister, Finnegan, 23, and Neal, attended Ralph Lauren’s Fall 2022 fashion show in New York City, which sparked most of the chatter that she will wear the designer for at least one of her wedding looks. The White House did not comment on the dress speculation.

Photographs of the wedding are set to be released to the press on Saturday afternoon, at some point between the morning ceremony and the evening reception, the person familiar with the planning says.

Ashley Biden finds her voice: 'I know my worth'

Without question, the wedding will be the social event of the White House this year, perhaps of the entire Biden administration. It is only the 19th wedding to ever take place at the White House, the last one was for Obama’s chief photographer, Pete Souza, who in 2013 was married in the Rose Garden. The last presidential daughter to celebrate a wedding at the White House was Jenna Bush in June 2008. Bush held her wedding and reception months prior at the Bush family’s Texas ranch, but her father, George W. Bush, hosted approximately 600 guests at the White House for his daughter’s second reception.

But the scope and scale of the Biden wedding most correlates with that of Luci Johnson, who held her reception in the East Room after marrying Patrick Nugent, and Lynda Johnson, who in 1967 married Charles Robb in the East Room of the White House. Tricia Nixon in June 1971 married Edward Finch Cox under a flower-laden white gazebo erected in the Rose Garden. All of these weddings were media catnip, with newspapers printing the recipes for the 6-feet tall wedding cakes.

Pieces of the Johnson daughters’ and Nixon’s cakes were sent to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (Nixon’s hardened to a 2-inch by 2-inch piece that now looks like a dried sponge, according to the White House Historical Association.)

No word yet on Biden’s cake flavor, or whether like the aforementioned White House weddings, guests will take home a slice as a party favor at the end of the evening.

• Biden turns 80 as election talk swirls

Questions about Joe Biden’s age have loomed over his presidency ever since he entered the White House.

On Sunday, Biden will reach a major milestone when he is expected to spend his 80th birthday quietly with his family, many of whom will be at the White House to mark another occasion: His granddaughter Naomi’s wedding.

Biden allies say they know the day will be used by his rivals, who want to cast the president as lacking the energy and mental acuity needed for the job.

The question is increasingly relevant, critics say, as Biden considers reelection, though the president’s supports say the age-based attacks are markedly unfair.

“I’m sure Republicans will use the day to remind everyone that he’s some out-of-it octogenarian, which couldn’t be farther from the truth,” one Biden ally said.

Michael Eric Dyson, the renowned scholar who met with Biden last year as part of a small group of historians, said this of the GOP criticism: “Joe Biden has proven time and again that it’s, as he would call it, malarky.”

“When we see LeBron James and Tom Brady performing 20 years into their careers, that’s the indication that 80 may be the new 60, and I’m all for it,” Dyson said.

“The reason he can fall off his bicycle is because he was on it in the first damn place,” he added.

During a news conference last week, when he was asked about whether he had it in him to run for reelection, Biden replied “Watch me.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday that the Biden family typically celebrates the president’s birthday on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This year, however, the family will celebrate it on Biden’s real birthday, since his family already will be together in Washington.

“The first lady is going to be having a brunch on Sunday for the president, to celebrate the president’s birthday … with his family,” Jean-Pierre said.

Both the birthday brunch and wedding will be closed to the media, so any images or information from either event will come from the White House after the fact.

Biden had a very busy lead-up to the big family weekend.

He saw Democrats glide to a stronger-than-expected finish to the midterm elections, as the party held the Senate and kept the GOP to a slim majority in the House.

The Senate victory in particular is important to Biden, as it ensures Democrats will have control of the chamber for his nominees. They hope to add a 51st vote in Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) if he can win a runoff election next month.

There is also change coming for the party with the departure of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), who announced on Thursday that she will not seek another term as a Democratic leader, even though she will remain in Congress. It means Biden is likely to work with a younger generation of party leaders in the House.

Biden also just returned from a foreign trip that included stops for the Group of 20 meetings in Indonesia, as well as stops in Cambodia and Egypt.

Some say Biden should celebrate the birthday and a successful November.

“On the heels of holding the Senate, a White House wedding and success at the G-20, no particular media strategy matters for the Big 8-0,” said Bruce Mehlman, a former assistant secretary at the Commerce Department under former President George W. Bush.

“For crying out loud, the President’s age is no secret. Go ahead and celebrate!” said former Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.), a Biden ally. “Does being 80 make a person unable to govern? I don’t know, let’s ask Chuck Grassley.”

The remark is a nod by the Democrat to other aging politicians who continue to exert power.

While Biden takes flack for his age from the GOP, former President Trump is only four years younger and has announced a bid for reelection. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), mentioned by Carney, is 89.

Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, said former President Reagan also dealt with criticism about his age during his reelection campaign against his rival, Democrat Walter Mondale.

But Reagan, who was 69 years old when he was sworn into his first term, “used it to his advantage, didn’t hide from it but embraced it.”

During one of the presidential debates with Mondale, Reagan said “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

While Zelizer said Biden has tried to handle it by “ignoring frenzies over gaffes, focusing on governing and output and sticking it to his political opponents … there might be room for a Reagan moment” to use the question of age to his advantage.

“But overall, his age is what it is,” Zelizer said. “He can’t change that. So the best strategy is not to double down and define himself through that.”

When Biden met with the group of historians at the White House last year, he “engaged in extensive questioning, reflection and curiosity,” for nearly three hours, Dyson said.

“His energy, his insight, his capacity and his mental acuity were all unquestioned,” he said.

Biden said he will formally announce if he plans to run for another term in the new year, after months of insisting that he intends to run. He has characterized it as a family decision, largely between one he’ll make with his spouse.

Allies though say that if he is up for the job, even at 80, he will do it.

“I have every confidence that if President Biden deemed his age is an impediment to serving, he would not seek reelection,” said Carney.

___________

• Biden's granddaughter Naomi ties knot in White House wedding

• Germany mulls breaking subsidy taboo to avoid trade war with Biden

With only six weeks to avoid a transatlantic trade showdown over green industries, the Germans are frustrated that Washington isn't offering a peace deal and are increasingly considering a taboo-breaking response: European subsidies.

Europe's fears hinge on America's $369 billion package of subsidies and tax breaks to bolster U.S. green businesses, which comes into force on January 1. The bugbear for the Europeans is that Washington's scheme will encourage companies to shift investments from Europe and incentivize customers to "Buy American" when it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle — something that infuriates the big EU carmaking nations like France and Germany.

The timing of this protectionist measure could hardly be worse as Germany is in open panic that several of its top companies — partly spurred by energy cost spikes after Russia's invasion of Ukraine — are shuttering domestic operations to invest elsewhere. The last thing Berlin needs is even more encouragement for businesses to quit Europe, and the EU wants the U.S. to cut a deal in which its companies can enjoy the American perks.

A truce seems unlikely, however. If this spat now spirals out of control, it will lead to a trade war, something that terrifies the beleaguered Europeans. While the first step would be a largely symbolic protest at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the clash could easily slide precipitously back toward the tit-for-tat tariff battles of the era of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

This means that momentum is growing in Berlin for a radical Plan B. Instead of open tariff war with America, the increasingly discussed option is to rip up the classic free-trade rulebook and to play Washington at its own game by funneling state funds into European industry to rear homegrown green champions in sectors such as solar panels, batteries and hydrogen.

France has long been the leading advocate of strengthening European industry with state largesse but, up until now, the more economically liberal Germans have not wanted to launch a subsidy race against America. The sands are now shifting, however. Senior officials in Berlin say they are increasingly leaning toward the French thinking, should the talks with the U.S. not lead to an unexpected last-minute solution.

Berlin is the 27-nation bloc's economic powerhouse, so it will be a decisive moment if Berlin ultimately decides to throw its might behind the state-led subsidy approach to an industrial race with the U.S.

Running out of time

The clock is ticking for a truce with Biden that looks increasingly unlikely.

Recent attempts by a special EU-U.S. task force to address EU concerns have met little enthusiasm on the American side to amend the controversial legislation, the European Commission told EU countries this week.

"There are only a few weeks left," warned Bernd Lange, the chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, adding that "once the act is implemented, it will be too late for us to achieve any changes."

Lange said that the failure to reach a deal would likely trigger a WTO lawsuit by the EU against the U.S., and Brussels could also strike back against what it sees as the discriminatory U.S. subsidies by imposing punitive tariffs. Warnings of a trade war are already overshadowing the runup to a high-level EU-U.S. meeting in Washington on December 5.

It's precisely the kind of spat that the German government wants to avoid, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes to forge unity among like-minded democracies amid Russia's war and the the increasing challenges posed by China. Earlier this month, Scholz's government made an overture to Washington by suggesting that a new EU-U.S. trade deal could be negotiated to resolve differences, but that proposal was quickly rejected.

There are sympathizers for the subsidies approach in Brussels, with officials at the EU's executive saying powerful Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is a leading proponent. Breton is already advocating for a "European Solidarity Fund" to help "mobilizing the necessary funding" to strengthen European autonomy in key sectors like batteries, semiconductors or hydrogen. Support from Germany could help Breton win the upper hand in internal EU strategy discussions over the more cautious Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

Breton will travel to Berlin on November 29 to discuss the consequences of the Inflation Reduction Act as well as industrial policy and energy measures with Scholz's government.

The German considerations even echo calls from top officials of the Biden administration, including U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who are urging the EU to not engage in a transatlantic trade dispute and instead roll out their own industrial subsidies; a strategy that Washington also sees as way to reduce dependence on China.

Plan B

Scholz first indicated late last month that the EU might have to respond to the U.S. law with its own tax cuts and state support if the negotiations with Washington fail to reach a solution, lending support to similar plans articulated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who will meet Biden on December 1 in Washington.

Although Scholz does not endorse Macron’s framing of the initiative as a "Buy European Act" (which sounds too protectionist for the Germans), the chancellor agrees that the EU cannot stand by idly if it faces unfair competition or lost investments, people familiar with his thinking said late last month.

Negative economic news, such as carmaker Tesla putting plans for a new battery factory in Germany on hold and instead investing in the U.S., or steelmaker ArcelorMittal partly closing operations in Germany, have increased calls in Berlin to consider more state support to counter a negative trend caused by both the U.S. scheme and high energy prices.

Although the official government line remains that Berlin is still holding out hope for a negotiated solution with Washington, officials in Berlin say that it could be possible to increase incentives for industries to locate the production of green technologies in Europe.

A spokesperson for the German Economy Ministry said that faced with the challenges stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act, “we will have to come up with our own European response that puts our strengths first … The aim is to competitively relocate green value creation in Europe and strengthen our own production capacities.”

The spokesperson warned, however, that both the U.S. and EU “must be careful that there is no subsidy race that prevents the best ideas from prevailing in the market,” and added: "Green technologies in particular thrive best in fair competition; protectionism cripples innovation."

One important condition that could help Germany and the EU to safeguard said fair competition and to avoid the global free trade system descending into protectionist tendencies would be to ensure that any EU state subsidies remain in line with WTO rules. That means, in contrast to the U.S. law, that those subsidies would not discriminate between local and foreign producers.

Crucially, support is also coming from German industry.

"In the area of industrial policy and subsidies, we could look at measures that are compatible with WTO rules — as the EU is already doing in the chip sector," said Volker Treier, the head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Commerce.

Treier also stressed that "there must be no discrimination" against foreign investors, but added: "This explicitly does not rule out the possibility of settlement bonuses, which in turn should be available to investors from all countries who would be interested in such investment commitments in Europe."

In Brussels, the Commission's competition department has also made clear that it's looking with an open mind at upcoming proposals.

"There are no instruments excluded a priori" when it comes to the EU's response to the U.S. subsidies, the department's state aid Deputy Director General Ben Smulders said Thursday.

_____________

• Biden admin sends student debt relief updates amid legal fight

The Education Department began sending out emails this weekend to update applicants seeking student loan relief about the program as it drags though the courts.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the department began sending emails on Saturday and would continue to send them out to applicants over the coming days.

“We remain confident in our legal authority to carry out the Student Loan Debt Relief program
@POTUS & I announced in August,” Cardona tweeted. “Borrowers, remember, we will not stop fighting for you.”

Emails are being sent to applicants who have been approved by the Education Department, according to screenshots shared on Twitter and in various news reports.

“Your application is complete and approved, and we will discharge your approved debt if and when we prevail in court,” the email to approved borrowers reads.

President Biden’s relief program would forgive up to $10,000 in student loans for those making under $125,000 annually and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The program is estimated to cost about $40 billion over 30 years.

The Biden administration is fending off several challenges to the program, including two lawsuits that have effectively halted the debt forgiveness after millions of borrowers applied for relief.

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to lift one of the orders blocking the program from taking effect. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit granted an injunction in response to a challenge from six conservative-led states.

A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas also invalidated the relief program this month. The Biden administration is appealing that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

In the email to approved applicants, the Biden administration told borrowers they “believe strongly that the lawsuits are meritless.”

“Unfortunately, a number of lawsuits have been filed challenging the program, which have blocked our ability to discharge your debt at present,” the email reads. “The Department of Justice has appealed on our behalf.”

______________

• Jill Biden - A perfect birthday celebration filled with so much love — and Joe’s favorite coconut cake! https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/1594457430922088448

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

That's just silly.

There are a number of people who the Republicans have yet to character assassinate who could choose to run.

Who expected Obama to win? Clinton didn't.

I keep hearing the "he’s the only one who can defeat trump" mantra and I don't get it.
Repeat something long enough and it is believed to be true
Other that he did once before, why is he the only one?

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

I keep hearing the "he’s the only one who can defeat trump" mantra and I don't get it.
Repeat something long enough and it is believed to be true
Other that he did once before, why is he the only one?

I don't get it either. In two years time in a debate he'll look like an OAP who took a wrong turn.

It's not like he hasn't been to the Whitehouse a zillion times, and he fucking lives there now.



President Biden appears to get lost in his own garden after White House event - LBC

They may be non-American and/or are still a little upset their candidate did not win the nomination and are hoping for a comeback

or upset non-americans

Originally Posted by S Landreth

or upset non-americans

Fucking right we'll be upset if that orange turd got elected again.

• Jayapal: Biden should run for reelection

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) is coming down strongly on the side of those who think President Biden should run for a second White House term in 2024.

“He was not my first or second choice for president, but I am a convert. I never thought I would say this, but I believe he should run for another term and finish this agenda we laid out,” Jayapal told Politico in an interview published Monday.

“What the president understands is you need this progressive base — young people, folks of color — and that progressives issues are popular. Whoever is in the White House should understand that, because it is a basic tenet now of how you win elections,” she said.

Jayapal’s endorsement comes as talk of 2024 intensifies. Biden, who turned 80 on Sunday, has hinted that he’ll make an official decision on whether to run early next year, and has appeared energized by his party’s unexpected midterm wins and the Democrats’ hold of the Senate majority.

Nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters in a USA Today-Ipsos poll released Sunday said Biden could win if he runs for reelection, and half of Democrats think he deserves to win the White House again, a notable uptick from just a few months ago, before the midterms.

The Progressive Caucus, which has pushed Biden on a number of issues throughout his presidency, fared well in a number of districts during the midterms, emboldening the liberal lawmakers as the next Congress nears.

“There’s no question that this will be the most progressive Democratic caucus in decades,” Jayapal said after Election Day.

• Biden calls veteran credited with taking down Club Q gunman

President Biden on Tuesday called Richard Fierro, an Army veteran who has been credited with taking down the gunman inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden personally thanked Fierro “for his bravery and for his, just, instinct to act.”

“The president just moments ago spoke to Richard and his wife Jess. He offered his condolences to them and also his support and he talked through what it’s like to grieve,” she said.

Additionally, Jean-Pierre noted that Thomas James has also been credited with confronting and stopping the gunman during the shooting on Saturday.

“Richard and Thomas are heroes, and we are so grateful for their quick action,” Jean-Pierre said.

Fierro said in an interview on Monday that he “went into combat mode” when the shooting began. He was watching a drag show at Club Q with his wife, daughter and friends when shots were fired.

Jean-Pierre opened the briefing on Tuesday by honoring the lives of the five victims of the shooting. She showed photographs of Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Derrick Rump and spoke about each of them.

“While we don’t know yet for certain the motive of this attack, hate has no place in this country. And neither do military style assault rifles, which is why we will continue to push for an assault weapons ban,” Jean-Pierre said.

When asked how Biden plans to reinstate an assault weapon ban with Republican leadership in the House and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, she said the president is “optimistic that we can get this done.”

“The president’s not going to stop until we ban assault weapons,” she added.

Biden on Monday called Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) to discuss the deadly shooting at Club Q.

____________

• Biden administration extends student loan payment pause to no later than June 2023

The Biden administration on Tuesday extended the pandemic-era federal student loan payment pause and interest accrual until no later than June 2023 while the administration faces legal challenges to its debt forgiveness plan.

“I’m confident that our student debt relief plan is legal. But it’s on hold because Republican officials want to block it,” President Biden said in a statement. “That’s why @SecCardona is extending the payment pause to no later than June 30, 2023, giving the Supreme Court time to hear the case in its current term.”

The pause was set to expire on Dec. 31 after Biden extended it in August around the same time he announced the student loan forgiveness program. At the time, the White House called that extension “one final time.”

The latest extension into next year will give the Supreme Court time to decide whether it will rule on whether the program can continue.

The payment pause will end “no later than June 30, 2023,” Biden said, because payments will resume 60 days after the Education Department is permitted to implement the program or the litigation is resolved, which should come before the end of June, when the Supreme Court term typically concludes.

Loan payments were first put on hold in March 2020 under former President Trump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to give individuals relief from paying their student loan bills. The freeze has since been extended six times.

Biden’s long-awaited forgiveness program has stopped accepting applications after it was blocked by several court challenges.

The Biden administration on Friday urged the Supreme Court to clear one of the legal obstacles blocking its student debt relief program, as part of the administration’s broader legal effort to have the policy reinstated.

The administration is currently fending off two separate rulings issued over the past two weeks that have effectively halted Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which would give federal borrowers making less than $125,000 a year up to $10,000 in debt relief.

That move came after a unanimous three-judge panel on the 8th Circuit halted Biden’s massive debt relief plan, which had already been blocked nationwide by a separate court ruling.

In an earlier legal development, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas invalidated the program, saying the presidential action unlawfully encroached on Congress’s power.

The administration has vowed to fight the challenges.

“We’re not going to back down though on our fight to give families breathing room,” Biden said in his announcement. “That’s why the Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court of the United States to rule on the case. But it isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers who are eligible to relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuits.”

More than 23 million people applied for student loan relief before the applications closed.

^ The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is.....


Oh.

• Appeals court halts depositions of 3 Biden administration officials in social-media censorship suit

A federal appeals court has halted planned court-ordered depositions of three top Biden administration officials in a lawsuit the states of Missouri and Louisiana brought over alleged pressure on social-media companies to remove posts containing purported misinformation about the coronavirus, election security and other issues.

A panel of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a district court judge in Louisiana erred by approving the depositions for Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly and White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty, without examining in detail whether there were other means of getting the information plaintiffs are seeking to prove their claims.

The suit filed in May by the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana claims President Joe Biden and various officials used pressure on social-media firms to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights.

“Before any of the depositions may go forward, the district court must analyze whether the information sought can be obtained through less intrusive, alternative means, such as further written discovery or depositions of lower-ranking officials,” the appeals court declared in a five-page, unanimous order issued by Judges Edith Clement, Leslie Southwick and Stephen Higginson. “It is not enough, as the district court found, that these officials may have ‘personal knowledge’ about certain communications. That knowledge may be shared widely or have only marginal importance in comparison to the ‘potential burden’ imposed on the deponent.”

• Thanksgiving turkeys get Biden pardon as president makes election joke

Biden pardons Thanksgiving turkeys, quips only ‘red wave’ will be spilled cranberry sauce — not Republican election wins

President Joe Biden pardoned the official Thanksgiving turkeys on Monday — and in the process made a series of “Dad” jokes at the expense of Republicans for falling well short of expectations in the midterm elections.

“The votes are in. They’ve been counted and verified. There’s been no ballot stuffing, there’s been no fowl play,” Biden punned at the White House as he granted presidential reprieves to the turkeys, named Chocolate and Chip.

“The only red wave this season will be if our German shepherd Commander knocks over the cranberry sauce at our table,” the Democratic president quipped.

Chocolate and Chip are guaranteed not to be eaten this holiday season due to what have become traditional annual presidential pardons for would-be Thanksgiving main courses.

The birds will live out their days back in their home state, at the Talley Turkey Education Unit at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

____________

• Biden's generation is ceding the stage as he plots his next act

Days after his 80th birthday, President Joe Biden gathered loved ones on Nantucket to earnestly begin family discussions about his 2024 plans.

The talks come a week after the 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she would be handing over her leadership role, declaring: “The hour has come for a new generation to lead.” Those words echoed Biden’s own from the presidential campaign trail where he once declared himself a “transition candidate” who would restore stability to the White House before passing the torch to younger leaders.

But that was then. Now, it increasingly appears that Biden isn’t ready to cede the stage just yet.

While there has been simmering tension within the Democratic Party about making a generational change, Biden’s fate appears to be intrinsically linked to Donald Trump, whom he defeated in 2020 and has deemed a threat to American democracy.

Nancy Pelosi says she'll step down from Dem leadership, in 180 seconds

The former president has already declared his own 2024 campaign and Biden has privately made clear that he believes he might be the only Democrat who could vanquish Trump again. And while Pelosi had an established line of succession in the House, those close to Biden say the field to follow him is far more unsettled.

“Why would he get out now?” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. “He has no clear successor and what matters here is Trump. Joe Biden is seen as the Donald Trump slayer and many Democrats think he can do it again.”

In Washington, old age has become the norm.

Biden is the nation’s first octogenarian president and the oldest man ever to hold the office. And he has plenty of senior citizen peers populating the halls of power: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is 71, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is 80 and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is 83, just to name a few. Plus, Trump himself is 76.

After Pelosi’s announcement, Hoyer also decided he would resign his leadership role, clearing the way for a slate of lawmakers decades younger. Pelosi’s expected successor as Democratic leader will be 52-year-old Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

But Pelosi is stepping down as her party shifts into the minority. Biden is all but assured of remaining his party’s standard bearer in 2024 and would run for reelection on the backs of an enviable legislative record and midterm results that exceeded Democratic expectations.

“The midterms reiterated the fact that competent and effective government is a priority of a majority of voters, above anything else,” said Adrienne Elrod, a Democratic strategist who worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

In 2020, Biden aides knew that the candidate’s age was an issue and briefly considered a pledge to serve only one term. That was dismissed. But Biden offered himself as a “bridge” to younger Democrats.

“I view myself as a transition candidate,” he said during one online fundraiser, suggesting he’d help field the next generation of leaders. “You got to get more people on the bench that are ready to go in — ‘Put me in coach, I’m ready to play.’ Well, there’s a lot of people that are ready to play, women and men.”

Trump announces 2024 run for president

But walking away from the White House is more difficult once it becomes home. And Biden has spent nearly half his life seeking the office, having launched his first presidential campaign back in 1988.

There are many reasons why those around Biden believe he will run again: he presided over a series of legislative wins, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and measures that enshrined Democratic climate change and health care priorities; he continues to spearhead a Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; and the Democrats this month held onto the Senate and held off a Republican wave in the House.

And then there is Trump. Two years ago, the party coalesced around Biden as a safe choice — a candidate who did not generate the most excitement but who it believed had the best chance to beat Trump, especially as a pandemic erupted. And even as polls now show that many in the party are eager for him to step aside, scores of key Democrats believe Biden should stay the course.

“He was not my first or second choice for president, but I am a convert,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), told POLITICO recently. “I never thought I would say this, but I believe he should run for another term and finish this agenda we laid out.”

Jeffries, emblematic of the new vanguard in the House, also offered his backing: “I’m hopeful that President Biden will seek re-election and I look forward to supporting him.”

If Biden opted against a run, few in Washington believe the field would clear for Vice President Kamala Harris, and that could create a bruising primary battle. But some Democrats welcome a change, even if messy.

Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan, who dodged the president during campaign events this year, explicitly called for Biden in recent months to step aside in the name of “generational change.” Other Democrats are less confident about Biden’s chances against Republicans other than Trump.

But rarely do parties take on a sitting president, and when they do, the resulting primary challenges — like Ronald Reagan against Gerald Ford in 1976 and Ted Kennedy against Jimmy Carter four years later — almost always weaken the incumbent. It is also rare for presidents to forgo a reelection bid, with those who do stand down having usually been forced out by external crises, like Harry Truman by the Cold War/Korean War and Lyndon Johnson by the Vietnam War.

While Biden’s poll numbers are middling, he leads Trump in hypothetical matchups. The threat posed by Trump looms large for Biden’s family; first lady Jill Biden, said to be warming to the idea of a reelection bid, will play a pivotal role in the discussions. Though aides are taking steps to prepare for another run, a final decision on a campaign will likely not be made for months.

Chatter about Biden’s age has been pervasive throughout the Beltway ever since he signaled he was launching his third presidential campaign back in 2019. He had visibly aged since his time as vice president. His stride had also shortened and slowed, not helped by the broken foot he suffered while playing with one of his dogs during the transition. He has always been prone to verbal gaffes and now tires more easily, according to those close to him.

Though known for his own rhetorical missteps, Trump already tried to make Biden’s age an issue in their first matchup — dubbing his opponent “Sleepy Joe” and claiming he was no longer with it — to little impact. Republican attacks have only continued, with a persistent drumbeat that Biden is not fit to hold office.

Biden advisers believe the 2020 race dealt with the current president’s age — he would be 86 when leaving office if he served a full second term — and that voters have grown more comfortable with older people in positions of power, whether in politics or business. White House officials said he would undergo a routine physical in the coming months.

In his most recent exam, conducted last November, his doctor declared that Biden “remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”

• Bidens speak with military members on Thanksgiving: ‘You’re the best of America’

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden spoke with members of the U.S. Armed Forces on Thursday afternoon, thanking them for their service on the Thanksgiving holiday.

“You gave up your seat at the Thanksgiving table to defend us – and we owe you a debt of gratitude,” Biden said in a tweet. “You’re the best of America.”

The Bidens mentioned their plans to chat with service members earlier in the day, when they called into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“Thanks to the firefighters, the police officers, first responders — they never take a break,” President Biden told NBC’s Dylan Dreyer during the parade. “And God bless our troops, for sure,” the first lady added.

“We’re going to be talking with some of our troops later today, both here and abroad … God bless our troops, for real,” the president said.

President Biden and Jill Biden also paid a visit to a local fire department in Nantucket, Mass., where the first couple is spending the Thanksgiving holiday.

_____________

• Biden Voices Support For Assault Weapons Ban During Lame-Duck Congress

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he was open to a last-ditch effort to ban assault-style weapons as the 117th Congress winds down and Republicans prepare to take over control of the House in January.

With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress for just a few more weeks, Biden said he would “start counting votes” to see how much support there might be for such legislation.

“I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons,” he told reporters during a Thanksgiving Day visit to Nantucket Island off the coast of Massachusetts.

Biden has said repeatedly he is “determined to ban assault weapons” in the U.S. again after successfully helping implement a ban on new sales of certain semiautomatic weapons and large capacity magazines in 1994.

Although the term “assault weapon” is often criticized by gun-rights advocates because its meaning is not well defined, it generally refers to semiautomatic rifles that are designed for rapid fire.

“The idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick, it’s just sick,” Biden said Thursday. “It has no social redeeming value, zero, none. Not a single, solitary rationale for it.”

The 1994 assault weapons ban was allowed to lapse after a decade, during the Bush administration.

____________

• White House releases Biden’s Thanksgiving Day menu

President Biden enjoyed all the Thanksgiving classics — turkey, stuffing, gravy, pies — and his favorite ice cream at the first family’s holiday dinner in Nantucket, Mass., on Thursday.

The Bidens’s menu, details of which were publicly released Thursday night, came complete with a thyme-roasted turkey, sherry gravy, classic stuffing, cranberry relish and sweet potatoes. The first family also enjoyed shrimp cocktails, seared scallops and roasted root vegetables.

The president’s Thanksgiving dessert consisted of three types of pie — apple, coconut cream and pumpkin — as well as his favorite flavor of ice cream, chocolate chip.

____________

• Biden mulls 2024 plans as Democrats weigh generational shift

President Biden plans to use some time over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to decide whether he wants to run for reelection, surrounding himself with family as he assesses his political future while giving himself a deadline of early next year to officially announce.

Biden, who just turned 80, remains in many Democrats’ minds the party’s best shot at retaining the White House in 2024. Still, he’s weighing his next steps at a time when several contemporaries in the party have stepped down from top roles to make room for a new generation of leaders.

For Biden, coming off a stronger-than-expected midterm result for Democrats is sure to factor heavily in the decision, along with the potential for a rematch against former President Trump. And while the White House has insisted for months Biden plans to run again, the president has left the door open to making a final decision after discussing with family during the holidays.

“He plans to run. He said himself … that he’s going to have a private conversation with his family,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.

“I’m certainly not going to lay out what that conversation could look like or potentially be,” she added. “That is the president’s, clearly, prerogative to have that conversation with his family, to make that decision.”

• Biden, Family Attend Christmas Tree Lighting on Nantucket

The Biden family's tradition of eating lunch, shopping and watching a Christmas tree lighting in downtown Nantucket on Friday became mostly about keeping the president's 2-year-old grandson from having a meltdown.

There was President Joe Biden's daughter, Ashley, dancing and clapping with nephew Beau to "Jingle Bell Rock'' to keep him entertained as they waited with the crowd that had gathered for the 48th annual tree lighting ceremony on Main St. There was Beau perched on the shoulders of his dad, Hunter Biden. There was Beau being carried by his father, then not being carried by his father, then appearing to say things that suggested he wanted to get out of the cold and intermittent heavy rain. Beau's grandfather walked with him at various points. Every member of the family seemed to be doing whatever they could to keep blond-haired Beau, who is named after his late uncle, happy for a few hours until the tree was lit.

The Bidens have a more than 40-year tradition of spending Thanksgiving on Nantucket, an island off the coast of Massachusetts. The day after, they go out to lunch -- this year, they dined at the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant.

Afterward, they hit Nantucket Bookworks, a nearby bookstore. The president emerged carrying his purchases in a reusable tote bag. They meandered along downtown Nantucket's cobblestone streets, going into some stores and window shopping at others.

The first lady and Ashley had gotten some of their shopping done earlier Friday, so the spree after lunch was mostly for the president. Biden spent time inside a leather goods store and a pet store, among other businesses. At one point, he looked through the window of a lingerie store but did not go inside.

"We're thankful for you,'' someone yelled to the president.

The tree lighting ceremony went off with a bit of a hitch. The red, green and blue lights on the tree failed to come on following a countdown from 10. The high school's acapella chorus came out to sing until the problem was solved and the tree was illuminated, ushering in the Christmas season in Nantucket.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

"We're thankful for you,'' someone yelled to the president.
Remember your laptop, Hunter another witty spectator shouted out loud

No manners