Presidential debates aren’t always the most useful tools for learning about what kinds of policy goals the hopefuls have. But on Thursday, the country will sit down not to learn about who the two men vying for the White House are but rather to listen to them, once again, throw sharp elbows as each tries to denigrate the other’s administration.
White House Reporter Haisten Willis took a look at the last two head-to-head contests between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in 2020. While those debates were haunted by the giant specter of COVID-19, there were plenty of promises made and criticisms thrown that weren’t directly related to the vicious pandemic.
As Haisten pointed out, not everything Biden promised and Trump argued has aged well.
In January 2022, when Biden had still been in office for less than a year, the total number of COVID-19 deaths under his watch surpassed those of Trump, even though vaccine doses became widely available early in the Biden presidency. By May 2022, there had been more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, 60% of which occurred after Biden took office.
Click here for a robust reminder about what Biden and Trump promised four years ago and compare their words to their actions on Thursday.
After looking back at 2020, Economics Reporter Zachary Halaschak is helping everyone look ahead and pick out the buzzwords about most voters’ biggest concern — the economy.
“Expect several questions about the economy,” Zachary wrote Tuesday morning. “Too-high inflation has been plaguing the country since just after Biden was sworn in and has quickly become the No. 1 problem on voters’ minds. Republicans have used voter discontent with the economy as a cudgel against Biden and Democrats, so it is likely that the two presumptive nominees will spar over economic matters throughout the matchup.”
The top of the debate is almost certain to include a discussion about inflation, “far and away Biden’s biggest economic headache.”
If the moderators and presumptive nominees feel like getting into the weeds, the discussion could also turn to a tariffs-taxes combination, as both men are pushing to punish China with a range of tariffs, and Trump has recently floated the idea of eliminating the income tax, in favor of a broad tariff regime.
Take a deeper economic policy dive here.
If Haisten’s and Zachary’s policy-centric look back at 2020 isn’t your speed this morning, Congressional Reporter Ramsey Touchberry also took a broader look back at those contests (with clips!).
Not every moment was as shocking as Trump’s ominous call for Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” — a line that was parsed at the time and investigated to a greater extent after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Also on the list were the occasional moments of levity, including Biden cracking under the back-and-forth nature of the argument to deliver a simple chastisement.
“The debates repeatedly devolved into shouting matches featuring which candidate could better talk over the other,” Ramsey wrote. “In one instance, a frustrated Biden told Trump to ‘shut up’ as they debated whether to end the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold or expand the Supreme Court to combat its conservative majority. Many Democrats have called for action on both fronts, but Biden ultimately declined to stake out positions.”
See the highlights here.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running as an independent alternative to Trump and Biden. But initial friendly relations between the Trump and Kennedy camps have dried up as the environmental lawyer’s left-wing leanings draw fire from Trumpworld.
“RFK is trying to fool voters into believing he opposes the globalist establishment, but no one has bought into the globalist scheme of fear mongering over climate change to limit energy consumption, kill jobs, and reduce the quality of life for normal people more than he has,” Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the former president, told Investigative Reporter Gabe Kaminsky.
Gabe took a look at Kennedy’s press secretary Stefanie Spear, who has “said China’s ‘war on coal’ is ‘awesome,'” celebrated climate protesters occupying government buildings, and consulted for a left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion group funded by Democratic megadonor George Soros.”
“Spear is a longtime associate of the 2024 independent candidate, who is polling at under 10%,” Gabe wrote. “Kennedy helped Spear launch the environmental website EcoWatch, which Spear has used to lobby against coal plants and urge the public to contact lawmakers to expedite green energy policies, archived records show.”
Read more about RFK Jr. and Spear here.
What’s a return to Congress without a visit from some stars?
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are rolling out the red carpet for Olympians and scions this week, Congressional Reporter Cami Mondeaux previewed for us.
“Lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., after a weeklong recess Tuesday to resume legislative duties and advance a slate of must-pass spending bills,” Cami wrote. “Meanwhile, the House will also hold hearings throughout the week featuring prominent athletes such as Michael Phelps to explore anti-doping measures in Congress as well as socialite Paris Hilton to discuss institutional child abuse.”
Click here to read more about why celebrities are descending on Capitol Hill.
Election season hasn’t been hotter, though the heat wave roiling the United States is supposed to break soon. National Politics Correspondent Mabinty Quarshie helped round up the top lines from the biggest contests happening on Tuesday.
Here is a quick preview.
“The most high-profile primary Tuesday will be [Rep. Jamaal] Bowman’s fight to beat back a challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a centrist Democrat, in New York’s 16th Congressional District,” Mabinty wrote.
Latimer appears to be in a position to be the first Democrat to mount a successful primary challenge against a member of the “Squad.” He is backed by wealthy donors and has the winds of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee blowing into his sails.
Two big fights in the Rocky Mountain State on Tuesday are happening in the 4th Congressional District.
“Former Parker, Colorado, Mayor Greg Lopez is the front-runner against three other candidates to win the special election to finish [former Rep. Ken] Buck’s term through the rest of this year,” Mabinty wrote. But Lopez won’t be running in the primary contest to replace Buck. That contest will feature Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who is trying her hand in a new district.
“Boebert is the front-runner in the race and has the backing of Trump despite the scandal that erupted after Trump’s security detail admonished the Colorado congresswoman for her drunken antics at the New York Young Republican Club’s annual gala in Manhattan last year.”
There isn’t much of a contest for partisan control of any seats in deep-red Utah. But there is a question about how much power Trump’s endorsement has there.
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“Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT), a Trump critic, hopes to survive competition from Phil Lyman, who has denied the results of the 2020 election, in the GOP gubernatorial primary. The governor was booed at the state’s nominating convention by delegates who claimed he was too centrist. Trump has not yet thrown in support for Lyman in the contest,” Mabinty wrote.
“Cox is a popular incumbent and will likely defeat Lyman, meaning a Trump endorsement could lower the strength of his support,” she added.
Click here to get caught up on everything else you need to know about Tuesday’s primary contests.