Thread: President Joe Biden

Biden on affirmative action decision: ‘This is not a normal court’

President Biden on Thursday weighed in on the Supreme Court following its decision to upend affirmative action in college admissions, calling it “not normal.”

“This is not a normal court,” the president said at the White House when asked whether thought the institution had gone “rogue.”

The president opted not to respond to a question about whether there should be term limits for Supreme Court justices, an idea floated earlier in the week by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the former longtime House Speaker. In his remarks, Biden strongly disagreed with the court’s decision to strike affirmative action, which limited the use of race as a factor in college admissions.

Earlier on Thursday, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) said the court’s legitimacy is now in question, calling the decision “radical.”

In the opinion that broke along ideological lines, conservative justices invalidated admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, ruling they did not comply with the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas read his concurring opinion from the bench, a rare occurrence for him, and advocated for a colorblind view of the Constitution. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, meanwhile, read a blistering dissent from the bench.

The president, meanwhile, urged colleges and universities in the U.S. to maintain a commitment to ensuring diverse student bodies

“We’re not going to let this break us,” Biden said on Thursday, vowing to discuss the decision and next steps further.

Originally Posted by beachbound

Mate. he doesn’t have an option. I honestly think he’s ill equipped to form one. His life revolves around posting articles and videos, in the off chance that will make him appear provocative.

He's a bit pathetic and has OCD. Go easy on him.

Originally Posted by baldrick

the posts are more interesting than yours (willy) and harriets

and I will make this post 2 lines for shi1z and giggles

Originally Posted by S Landreth

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insightful, as usual

Originally Posted by S Landreth

“This is not a normal court,” the president said at the White House when asked whether thought the institution had gone “rogue.”

"Normal" ?

You have a flawed political system.

Live with it.


Let's go, Brandon !

• Biden to announce new actions to protect student loan borrowers – source

President Joe Biden plans to announce new actions on Friday to protect student loan borrowers following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that blocked his plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt, a White House source said.

"While we strongly disagree with the court, we prepared for this scenario," the source said, noting that Biden would have more to say on the subject later on Friday.

"The president will make clear he’s not done fighting yet, and will announce new actions to protect student loan borrowers," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Don't go anywhere" she said....

• Biden proposes new measures for student loan relief after Supreme Court defeat

Biden condemns Supreme Court decision on student loans, proposes new measures

President Joe Biden on Friday condemned a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that blocked his plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt and announced new actions to provide student loan relief in its wake.

Biden told reporters at the White House that his administration would pursue student loan relief through the Higher Education Act.

In the 6-3 decision earlier Friday, the Supreme Court blocked Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The ruling, which was welcomed by Republicans, was a blow to the Democratic president and threatened to dismantle part of his policy agenda.

Biden said he would find another way to make good on his promises to help people struggling with student loan debt.

"Today’s decision has closed one path. Now we’re going to start another," Biden told reporters.

Progressive voters, who are part of the coalition that helped elect Biden in 2020, long have put pressure on the White House to address student loan debt; the court's decision intensified calls for further action.

"The President has more tools to cancel student debt - and he must use them," Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive voice, said on Twitter after the Supreme Court's decision and before Biden spoke.

"More than 40 million hard-working Americans are waiting for the help that President Biden promised them, and they expect this administration to throw everything they've got into the fight until they make good on this commitment," Warren said.

Progressive House Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged Biden to use authorities under the Higher Education Act to continue loan forgiveness before payments resume. "We still have the power to cancel and must use it, or we’re looking at an economic crisis for millions of people," she said on Twitter.

The White House made clear it would be putting blame on Republicans for stymieing student-loan relief efforts. Biden, in an earlier written statement echoed in his later remarks, blasted Republican elected officials for supporting billions of dollars in pandemic-related loans to businesses.

"And those loans were forgiven. But when it came to providing relief to millions of hard-working Americans, they did everything in their power to stop it," he said.

Republicans argued that Biden's initial student-loan relief plan was unconstitutional and unfair.

“Biden's student loan bailout unfairly punished Americans who already paid off their loans, saved for college, or made a different career choice," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. "Americans saw right through this desperate vote grab, and we are thankful that the Supreme Court did as well."

White House celebrates Fourth with military families, concert

Fireworks towards the very end of the video below.

Biden again calls for stricter gun measures after string of shootings

President Joe Biden on Tuesday again called for further gun restrictions following a string of deadly shootings as the nation celebrates Independence Day.

“Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives,” Biden said in a statement. “We pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence.”

Over the past few days, shootings in Philadelphia; Fort Worth, Texas; Baltimore; and Wichita, Kan. have left at least nine people dead and dozens of others injured. As of mid-June, the U.S. has seen the most mass killings and deaths up to that point in a single year.

Biden invoked last year’s Fourth of July when a gunman in Highland Park, Ill., used an assault rifle to kill seven people during a holiday parade. In the year since, state lawmakers have worked to prevent further mass shootings, successfully banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines across Illinois in January.

While the lawmakers’ efforts will save lives, Biden said, “much more must be done in Illinois and across America to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart.”

Biden has been a staunch advocate for stricter gun laws, saying in early May that he would “immediately” sign new gun legislation in the wake of a deadly shooting in Allen, Texas. In March, the president tried to bypass Congress to tighten gun measures, signing an executive order aimed at expanding background checks.

In addition to bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, Biden on Tuesday called for safe gun storage requirements, the end of gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability and universal background checks.

“I urge other states to follow Illinois’ lead, and continue to call upon Republican lawmakers in Congress to come to the table on meaningful, commonsense reforms that the American people support,” he said.

An overwhelming percentage of Americans support further restrictions on guns, according to a Fox News poll released in April. That includes 87 percent of those surveyed supporting a requirement for criminal background checks for all gun buyers and 61 percent supporting a ban on assault rifles and semiautomatic weapons.

Numerous gun measures have repeatedly stalled in Congress in recent decades, though legislation was approved in June 2022 and signed by Biden that was intended to keep guns out of the hands of people experiencing mental health crises.

So they've found some coke in the Whitehouse. Was it Trump Jr's, Hunter's or is Sleepy Joe struggling to stay awake?

Suspicious powder found at White House when Biden was away was cocaine, AP sources say - MarketWatch

• Most countries express confidence in Biden, US: poll

Most people around the world in a new survey have largely positive views of the U.S. and President Biden, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

The poll, released Tuesday, found that 59 percent of people surveyed globally view the U.S. favorably, with 30 percent responding unfavorably. Similarly, 54 percent of respondents have confidence in Biden, compared to 39 percent with little confidence.

Support for the U.S. is strongest in Poland, Israel, South Korea, Nigeria, Japan and Kenya. Much of the increase in support in Poland is due to U.S. support for the war in Ukraine, researchers said.

Only Hungary did not have a majority-favorable view of the U.S. among surveyed countries.

Researchers this spring polled over 27,000 people from 23 countries all over the world, many of which are U.S. allies.

In previous surveys, confidence in the president was lower during the Trump administration. The difference was most significant in middle-income nations like Brazil, researchers said. There, Biden’s 44 percent confidence rating this year is a significant improvement from Trump’s 29 percent in 2019.

Similarly, in Mexico, confidence in the president has returned to near the levels of the Obama administration to 43 percent, rising from near-single digits during the Trump administration.

The survey also analyzed respondents’ thoughts on America’s role in the world and influence through media, culture, education and economics.

A strong majority, 82 percent, of those surveyed agreed that the U.S. interferes in other countries’ affairs, but about half said that interference contributes to world peace.

A rising number of respondents also said that the U.S. is the strongest economic power over China, with 41 percent answering the U.S. and 33 percent China. Researchers noted double-digit improvement in that metric compared to 2020 in Germany, Sweden and Japan.

• Biden in red state South Carolina bashes Republicans for voting against his agenda

President Biden went to GOP stronghold South Carolina Thursday to bash Republicans in Congress for voting against his agenda while highlighting legislative victories from his first two years in office.

The president’s visit to The Palmetto State, which former President Trump won by 12 points in the 2020 election, was meant to tout $500 billion in investments that private companies have made in manufacturing and clean energy during Biden’s administration.

“Every Republican member of the House from this state voted to repeal the clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that attracts all these jobs,” the president said in his remarks.

“Some of the analyses have said that the laws I’ve signed are going to do more to help red America than blue America; that’s OK with me because you’re all Americans,” Biden added. “My view is wherever the need is most, that’s the place we should be helping.”

The president went after Republicans who voted against either the Democratic-passed Inflation Reduction Act or the bipartisan infrastructure law but who have still since claimed credit for funding approved for their home states through the bills.

He specifically mentioned Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R), who last month touted the $1.4 billion in federal funding his state is set to receive for expanded broadband internet. The funding was authorized through the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that passed in 2021, which Tuberville voted against.

“That’s all right, because I’m one of those guys that believes in conversation,” Biden said.

He also called out Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for supporting part of his agenda while still joining every GOP lawmaker in voting against the Inflation Reduction Act last year.

“I want to thank Senator Graham for voting for the bipartisan infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act, but I wish he had voted for the rest,” the president said.

Biden, speaking in front of a “Bidenomics” backdrop, touted the economic-themed message he has focused on during his reelection bid so far.

“I’m not here to declare victory on the economy; I’m here to say we have a plan that’s turning things around quickly and we have a lot more work to do,” he said.

Biden was joined on his visit by Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.). Biden won the 2020 Democratic primary in South Carolina after Clyburn endorsed him, a victory largely credited for turning around his campaign and helping him ultimately secure the nomination.

No Republicans from The Palmetto State joined Biden on his visit Thursday. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was “made aware” of the trip to his district, White House spokesman Andrew Bates told reporters, but it’s unclear whether he was invited to join.

Bates name-checked Wilson, Graham and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) for touting investments from bills they voted against during a gaggle with reporters on the way to South Carolina.

“Sen. Lindsey Graham called the Inflation Reduction Act ‘a nightmare for South Carolina.’ Just two months later, he called BMW’s electric vehicles announcement ‘one of the most consequential announcements in the history of the state of South Carolina,’” Bates said.

“Wilson blasted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law but later announced, ‘I welcome Scout Motors’ plans to invest $2 billion and create up to 4,000 jobs in South Carolina,’” he added. “Nancy Mace called Bidenomics legislation a, quote, ‘disaster,’ then welcomed a RAISE grant to Charleston.”

Earlier on Thursday, the president visited Enphase Energy and Flex, which the White House noted was the first company to successfully manufacture and commercialize the solar microinverter.

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Extra: https://twitter.com/therecount/statu...03702379347971

Did anyone ask him which country South Carolina is in

Biden is such a numpty...

Sending cluster munitions to Ukraine is such a bad idea on so many levels. Not least, the US not caring about internationally banned weapons almost legitimizes the similar (and other) Russian weapons.

A terrible idea.

It's fukin ironic they took the UK to task over the F16s and here they are supplying internationally condemned mentions. Its time the UK broke with the US on siding with them and let the US and EU sort shit themselves until the senile cvnt is dead

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

He obviously hates Britain

No doubt about that, the stupid fuk thinks he's Oirish, he as much ancestry if not more in England but choses to ignore that fact just like he ingores and uses his influence on sorting his rotten cvnt of a sons mistakes. The bloke is a fukin useful mouth peace nothing more.

and from a torygraph article on the waste of oxygen

Last week it was reported that the President blocked Wallace and plumped for Mrs von der Leyen for a specific reason: the decision to go ahead with training Ukrainian pilots in US-built F-16 aircraft without his approval.


Wallace led the way in building an international coalition dedicated to supplying the jets to Ukraine – a step too far, it seems, for Biden. The Defence Secretary had forced the pace in previous Nato standoffs, too.


Perhaps these rows had left Biden feeling bruised. Maybe he thinks silky Mrs von der Leyen will be more biddable than bluff Captain Wallace. Yet it is hard to avoid the impression that his fundamental problem with Wallace was that the former Scots Guard had served during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.


In 1993, Wallace was mentioned in dispatches after his patrol captured an IRA unit attempting to bomb soldiers. Everything we know about Biden’s immersion in Irish Republican mythology suggests that for this reason alone he would find the British Defence Secretary antipathetic.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

• Most countries express confidence in Biden, US: poll

Most people around the world in a new survey have largely positive views of the U.S. and President Biden, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

The poll, released Tuesday, found that 59 percent of people surveyed globally view the U.S. favorably, with 30 percent responding unfavorably. Similarly, 54 percent of respondents have confidence in Biden, compared to 39 percent with little confidence.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Biden is.....

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Biden feeling bruised.

For instance, in Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom – three key NATO allies of the U.S. – the share saying the U.S. considers their interests is larger now than at any point over the past two decades.

Why has Sleepy Joe ostracised Hunter's love child?

Biden accused of 'scarring' Hunter's estranged daughter in New York Times op-ed

Gossip/click bait. Is there a reason why you didn’t post the entire op-ed?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Desantis is a crafty politician.

__________

Biden administration announces $1.7 billion for electric and ‘traditional’ buses

The Biden administration announced Monday it will disperse $1.7 billion for more than 1,700 new buses around the country, some of which are expected to be electric.

Outlining the funds on a press call last week, an administration official said 700 of the buses will be zero-emission — a category that is often electric.

The official said an additional 610 buses will have “low or no” emissions, while 400 will be “traditional” buses and about 14 will be powered by hydrogen.

The Federal Transit Administration did not respond to follow-up questions by The Hill asking for additional details on the “traditional” and low-to-no emissions buses.

The funds announced Monday, which will also go toward other programs like workforce training, come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is the second slate of bus grants announced by the Biden administration under the law.

So far, the law has invested $3.3 billion in buses and bus infrastructure, and nearly $5 billion more is expected over the next three years.

The funds were touted by officials as good for the economy and environment.

“Today’s announcement means more clean buses, less pollution, more jobs in manufacturing and maintenance, and better commutes for families across the country,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

Why doesn't he just shut up ?

Biden arrives in Britain to meet King Charles, PM Sunak

U.S President Joe Biden arrived in London late on Sunday for the start of a three-nation tour that will include meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a discussion on climate change with King Charles at Windsor Castle on Monday.

The White House had said the trip was designed "to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations".

The president, who flew into Stansted airport northeast of London late on Sunday, will travel to Downing Street on Monday to hold a low-key meeting with Sunak, their fifth in as many months. Sunak's spokesperson said the discussions would likely include the upcoming NATO summit and Ukraine.

"As we face new and unprecedented challenges to our physical and economic security, our alliances are more important than ever," Sunak said in a statement released by his office.

"The UK is Europe's leading NATO ally, we are the United States' most important trade, defence and diplomatic partner, and we are at the forefront of providing Ukraine with the support they need to succeed on the battlefield," said Sunak, who studied at California's Stanford University and owns a penthouse flat in Santa Monica, in southern California.

Sunak has gone some way in repairing ties with Biden after the relationship cooled under his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss due to their tough stance over a post-Brexit deal with the European Union and Johnson's closer ties to Republican former President Donald Trump.

For Biden, the more high-profile part of the trip will be his meeting with King Charles at Windsor Castle, to the west of London, where the monarch's late mother, Queen Elizabeth, hosted Democratic President Barack Obama in 2016 and Trump in 2018.

Biden also met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor for tea in 2021.

The king will receive Biden in the quadrangle of the castle, where a guard of honour will give a Royal Salute and the U.S. national anthem will be played, the king's office said.

The president and the king are due to discuss climate issues, a subject on which Charles, 74, has campaigned and spoken out about for more than five decades.

When the two men met at the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Scotland two years ago, Biden praised Charles' leadership on the subject, telling him, "We need you badly".

"You are very kind for saying that," Charles replied.

Biden met Charles at a reception during a visit for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth last year, but in keeping with longstanding practice of U.S. presidents, he did not attend the king's coronation in May.

U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry told the BBC he had been invited to brief the king and Biden about a climate finance conference that he was due to host with British energy minister Grant Shapps on Monday.

Following the meeting, Biden and Sunak will leave Britain for Lithuania where NATO leaders will gather for a key summit. Biden is then expected to travel to Helsinki for a meeting with Nordic leaders.

Reporting by Michael Holden and Steve Holland Additional reporting by Muvija M and Paul Sandle Editing by Helen Popper and Leslie Adler

• Biden is off to Windsor Castle to have tea with King Charles and promote clean energy

President Joe Biden’s itinerary this week in Europe is dominated by the ongoing war in Ukraine and his continued efforts to rally an international coalition against Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.

But first, some tea.

The U.S. president’s initial stop on his three-nation trip is Britain, where he’ll meet with King Charles III for the first time since the latter was crowned in May. Biden did not attend Charles’s coronation, sending first lady Jill Biden instead, and Monday’s visit will be marked by a bit of royal pomp — including a royal salute, a viewing of U.S.-related artifacts at Windsor Castle and teatime for the two men.

Biden and Charles will also use their visit to bring attention to climate issues, hosting a forum that will focus on how to encourage private companies to engage in more clean energy efforts, specifically in developing economies.

“The president has huge respect for the king’s commitment on the climate issue in particular, that he has been a clarion voice on this issue and more than that, has been an actor, someone who’s mobilized action and effort,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, told reporters on Air Force One as Biden traveled to London. “So the president comes at this with enormous goodwill.”

That visit will be paired with what will be the sixth meeting between Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak since he assumed his role in October. It’s all meant to highlight the so-called enduring “special relationship” between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. When Biden declined to attend Charles’s coronation, he promised the king in a phone call that he would visit soon.

Biden last had formal talks with Charles, then prince, at the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. The U.S. president also attended the state funeral of Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September as well as a reception for heads of state at Buckingham Palace the night before the service.

The climate portion of Biden and the king’s visit on Monday also underscores the high priority that the environment has been for the 74-year-old Charles, who has long fought to protect wildlife and battle climate change. Formally called the Climate Finance Mobilisation Forum, Biden and Charles will be briefed by officials from the financial and philanthropic sectors on their discussions about expanding clean energy initiatives in developing nations.

Before making his way to Windsor Castle, Biden will sit down with Sunak in a session that the White House says will focus on a range of global issues but is sure to be dominated by their continued efforts to back Ukraine. The two nations have been among the most stalwart defenders of Kyiv, and the U.K. has pushed the White House to take more aggressive steps in providing military aid to Ukraine.

But now it’s the Biden administration that has taken steps that 10 Downing Street feels go too far, with the U.S. president’s decision this week to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a weapon that more than two-thirds of the members of the NATO military alliance have barred for their potential threat to civilian life.

Biden has acknowledged that providing the bombs — which open mid-air and release smaller “bomblets” across a broad swath of land — was a “difficult decision” but he noted that the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition and that the weapons were necessary for them to continue their fight against Russian forces.

“It took me a while to be convinced to do it,” Biden said in a CNN interview ahead of his trip to Europe. “But the main thing is, they either have the weapons to stop the Russians ... from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don’t. And I think they needed them.”

Sunak, for his part, has distanced himself from the U.S. decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.

“The U.K. is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use,” he told broadcasters on Saturday. The U.S. is not a party to that agreement.

“We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we’ve done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine,” Sunak added.

Sullivan downplayed the disagreement over cluster munitions, saying that “I think you will find Prime Minister Sunak and President Biden on the same page strategically on Ukraine, in lockstep on the bigger picture of what we’re trying to accomplish and as united as ever — both in this conflict and writ large.”

The prime minister’s office said his meeting with Biden on Monday “will be an opportunity to monitor progress on measures and initiatives under the Atlantic Declaration,” which the two leaders signed when Sunak visited the White House last month.

“This includes negotiations which have now begun on a U.K.-U.S. Critical Minerals Agreement, which will support the UK and US’ shared leadership in green technology,” the statement said.

Joe Biden and Charles III to bond over tea and eco-activism at Windsor Castle