SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — The condo tower collapse in Surfside could exacerbate the division that already exists between the tiny Florida town’s new luxury buildings built for the global elite and those constructed decades ago for the middle class. It is already creating headaches for some small businesses.
The town has seen the construction of numerous new condos in recent years, where large oceanfront units exceeding 3,000 square feet (280 square meters) with modern amenities can fetch $10 million and up. Meanwhile, small units of 800 square feet (75 square meters) in neighboring condo buildings constructed decades ago can be had for $400,000.
Ana Bosovic, a South Florida real estate analyst, said the June 24 collapse of the 40-year-old, middle-class Champlain Towers South will exacerbate this division. At least 36 people were killed and more than 100 remain missing.
Bosovic said many buyers will now avoid older buildings, not just because they fear they might also fall but because of repair costs the Champlain South owners faced before the collapse: $80,000 to $300,000 per unit. These factors will decrease older condos’ value, while prices in luxury buildings will continue to skyrocket.
“The holders of capital who are moving here were never considering older buildings. They are buying newer structures and preconstruction, so I don’t see this putting a damper on their appetites,” said Bosovic, founder of Analytics Miami. “What this will do is further depress sales of older structures and further bifurcate the market.”
Before the Champlain Towers South tragedy, Surfside, with about 6,000 residents on a half-square mile (1.3 square kilometers) of an island off Miami, was one of South Florida’s most anonymous municipalities — though in January Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner rented a luxury condo in a new building two blocks from the collapse.
The town is known for its clean beaches and a 12-story limit on its buildings, and stands in contrast with neighboring Miami Beach and its world-famous nightlife, Bal Harbour with its high-end shopping and both with buildings that are double and triple the height of Surfside’s tallest.
Mayor Charles Burkett said the town has experienced a “roller coaster” of emotions since the collapse. Demolition of the remaining portion of the structure and Tropical Storm Elsa, which brought strong winds and heavy rains to the area, have intensified what the community is going through.
“We have faced innumerable challenges, but the little good news is the resources we have are all aligned, all focused and pulling in the same direction,” he said.
Ryan Mermer moved to Surfside earlier this year from Palm Beach County, drawn by the quiet, the town’s proximity to Miami’s thriving business climate and its large Orthodox Jewish community. On Saturdays, much of the town closes for the Sabbath except for the chain stores. Surfside was home to Isaac Bashevis Singer, a Yiddish poet and short-story writer who won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature.
But Mermer also got a deal on a small apartment built a half-century ago, just steps away from the luxury condo that former President Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law moved into. While Mermer’s building was constructed for the middle class, today’s construction is aimed at the New York, European and South American elite, who are drawn by the state’s lifestyle, weather and lack of an income tax.
“I pay $1,375 (a month) … across the street from the beach; Ivanka and Jared pay $38,000,” said Mermer, a real estate agent who also works for Holocaust Heroes Worldwide, a support group for survivors of the Nazi death camps.
In Surfside’s low-key shopping district one recent afternoon, barber Aramis Armor and Freddy Elias, the co-owner of a tailor and dry cleaning shop, had no customers. The pandemic hit their businesses hard, both said, and the collapse and the resulting street closures made it difficult for anyone to reach them.
Amor says that in normal times, the business district is full of families — they can have an ice cream, eat pizza or drink a coffee in the many locally owned businesses that dot the downtown.
“They are all very nice, the clients are very good,” Armor said. He blamed city officials for his lack of business, saying they should never have let the collapsed building decay like it did.
Elias, who has owned Surfside businesses for 25 years, is hoping a federal low-interest loan promised by President Joe Biden’s administration to stores affected by the collapse will tide him over until his customers return. Meanwhile, a partner was headed to a customer’s home for a fitting rather than make the client fight traffic to get to the store.
“Since COVID and now this tragedy, it has been very, very bad for us,” Elias said. “We need help.”
The streets reopened this week.
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Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando and Gisela Salomon in Miami; photographer Marta Lavandier in Surfside; and researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report.
La juramentación de Donald Trump como presidente de EE.UU. se realizará este 20 de enero y aunque para él y su equipo es un día especial, puede que más de la mitad del país esté más interesada en otro tema: las protestas en su contra.
Según un reporte de Mashable, más de la mitad del país está realizando búsquedas relacionadas con la frase “inauguration protests” (protestas durante la inauguración o la juramentación), mientras que las búsquedas relacionadas con “attend inauguration” (asistir a la inauguración), resultaron minoritarias, según los datos de Google Trends.
Aunque estas búsquedas pueden significar muchas cosas, lo cierto es que este es un nuevo indicador de la fuerte oposición con la que Trump asumirá el poder.
Los datos muestran que al menos en 31 estados se está googleando más sobre las protestas que sobre cómo asistir a la inauguración, que es una tendencia ligeramente más popular en 17 estados. El mapa deja claro además que algunos estados en donde ganó Trump también están interesados por las protestas.
Google Trends revela el interés por las protestas en contra de Trump.
Google
Según Mashable existen varias preguntas que se están haciendo a Google y que están relacionadas con la inauguración, entre ellas “¿Quién está boicoteando la inauguración?”, que está en el primer lugar. Es de resaltar que en el quinto lugar se encuentra una pregunta más preocupante: “¿Qué es una inauguración?
¿Qué es una inauguración? la quinta pregunta más importante relacionada con la juramentación de Trump.
Google
Google también muestra cuáles son los temas que hoy preocupan más a los estadounidenses. Mientras que en 2008 durante la campaña electoral, que finalmente ganó Barack Obama, la mayor preocupación era la recesión económica, el buscador muestra que en la actualidad lo es Rusia, seguido por la inmigración, Obamacare, el empleo e ISIS.
Hasta mañana miércoles 4 de mayo, los fanáticos de Los Simpson podrán realizar preguntas para Homero en Twitter a través del hashtag #Homerlive y él las responderá en la pantalla de Fox, el domingo 15 de mayo, a las 21:30, en episodio subtitulado que se verá la misma noche que en los Estados Unidos.
En este capítulo inédito Marge, Lisa y Bart entregarán el programa a Homero, quien tomará un descanso para comentar los acontecimientos del día y responder preguntas de los fanáticos alrededor del mundo.
“Dan Castellaneta (el actor que da voz al personaje en Estados Unidos) estará en un estudio y, cuando hable, los movimientos de su cuerpo se traducirán en la animación de Homero a través del uso de una tecnología de captura de movimiento. Es muy emocionante ya que nunca he visto que esto suceda en un programa de televisión de dibujos animados”, explica Al Jean, Productor Ejecutivo de la serie.
En el siguiente video podés saber más de qué se trata:
“I think it’s a big problem. The corporate media has always had a liberal bias…If you go back 20, 30 years, it would always be through a liberal prism – but they wouldn’t just do some of the stuff that they do now,” DeSantis said.
CBS News‘ “60 Minutes” was recently under fire for suggesting DeSantis gave the Publix grocery store chain preferable treatment to offer the coronavirusvaccine based on its donations to his PAC.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi painted DeSantis as a villain who prioritized senior citizens over teachers during the report that was peppered with jabs at the Republican governor.
Publix called the notion that it received special access “absolutely false and offensive.”
“The irresponsible suggestion that there was a connection between campaign contributions made to Governor DeSantis and our willingness to join other pharmacies in support of the state’s vaccine distribution efforts is absolutely false and offensive. We are proud of our pharmacy associates for administering more than 1.5 million doses of vaccine to date and for joining other retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to do our part to help our communities emerge from the pandemic,” a Publix spokesperson told Fox News.
Democratic state officials, conservative pundits, Floridians and journalism professors alike have called for CBS News to retract or correct the story. Instead, the network put out multiple statements defending the report but never responded to specific criticism tied to pay-for-play allegations. The long-running news magazine acknowledged the backlash on Sunday without offering an apology or correction.
In his interview with Carlson, DeSantis said that there is no accountability for the corporate press because they can continue to omit information to serve a narrative with “impunity.”
DeSantis stated his belief that the media is “actively partisan.” He went on to say that they “craft a narrative regardless of the facts – if there’s a fact that’s “inconvenient to the narrative, they’ll smother and ignore the fact to be able to continue with the narrative.”
DeSantis listed a few so-called “bombshell” stories that were eventually proven to be false – such as actor Jussie Smollett faking a hate crime, and the Russia collusion narrative.
“The phone call that Trump supposedly had with Georgia, where they fabricated the quotes. Those aren’t even real quotes. And so I think it’s a big problem for democracy.”
“I think their model is kind of smearing their opponents for clicks. And I think that worked very well for them when Trump was president because they were really playing to an enraged left-wing base,” DeSantis said.
“Now that we’re in a different environment,” he continued, “you see the ratings going down.”
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An American citizen abducted last week in Niger has been rescued during a high-risk U.S. military raid in neighboring Nigeria, officials told ABC News early Saturday.
The mission was undertaken by elite commandos as part of a major effort to free the U.S. citizen, Philip Walton, 27, before his abductors could get far after taking him captive in Niger on Oct. 26, counterterrorism officials told ABC News.
The operation involved the governments of the U.S., Niger and Nigeria working together to rescue Walton quickly, sources said. The CIA provided intelligence leading to Walton’s whereabouts and Marine Special Operations elements in Africa helped locate him, a former U.S. official said.
Then the elite SEAL Team Six carried out a “precision” hostage rescue mission and killed all but one of the seven captors, according to officials with direct knowledge about the operation.
“They were all dead before they knew what happened,” another counterterrorism source with knowledge told ABC News.
President Donald Trump called the rescue mission a “big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forces” in a tweet and the Pentagon lauded the rescue mission in a statement.
“U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men,” said Pentagon chief spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman. “This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation.
“We appreciate the support of our international partners in conducting this operation.”
And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our military, the support of our intelligence professionals, and our diplomatic efforts, the hostage will be reunited with his family. We will never abandon any American taken hostage.”
ABC News consultant Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and retired CIA officer, said preparations for Walton’s rescue likely started when he was abducted.
“These types of operations are some of the most difficult to execute,” he said. “Any mistake could easily lead to the death of the hostage. The men and women of JSOC [Joint Special Operations Command], and the CIA should be proud of what they did here. And all Americans should be proud of them. “
Eric Oehlerich, an ABC News consultant and retired Navy SEAL, said Walton was “lucky” that such a mission was possible such as short time after he was abducted, when others have been held for years.
“Men in these top-tier special forces units train their entire adult lives to be ready when called upon, hostage rescue operations are inherently dangerous,” he said. “Those men put someone else’s life above their own, they do so selflessly….it’s an illustration of utter commitment.”
A former U.S. counterterrorism official emphasized generally how long the odds are for rescue in the “highly dangerous” missions — less than 30%. But the official said that it’s crucial to act as quickly as possible so that hostages don’t wind up in the hands of al Qaeda or ISIS.
“The longer a hostage is held the harder it is to find an exact location to be able and conduct a rescue operation,” the official said.
U.S. and Nigerien officials had said that Walton was kidnapped from his backyard last Monday after assailants asked him for money. But he only offered $40 USD and was then taken away by force, according to sources in Niger.
Walton lives with his wife and young daughter on a farm near Massalata, a small village close to the border with Nigeria.
Nigerien and American officials told ABC News that they believed the captors were from an armed group from Nigeria and that it was not considered terror-related. But hostages are often sold to terrorist groups.
Concern grew quickly after the kidnapping that an opportunity to rescue Walton could become much more dangerous if he was taken by or sold to a group of Islamist militants aligned with either al Qaeda or ISIS and American special operations commanders felt they needed to act swiftly before that could occur, said one counterterrorism official briefed on the hostage recovery operations.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed after the kidnapping that an American citizen had been abducted in Niger and said the U.S. government was “providing their family all possible consular assistance.” The spokesperson declined to comment on the case, citing “privacy considerations,” but added, “When a U.S. citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts, and we share information with families however we can.”
Another American, Christian humanitarian aid worker Jeffery Rey Woodke, 60, has been held hostage for the past four years since being kidnapped in northern Niger by armed militants.
Niger, home to 22 million people and three times the size of California, is one of many Sahel nations plagued by terrorism and instability, but its military has been a close U.S. partner in the fight against regional jihadist groups, including affiliates of both al Qaeda and ISIS.
Last week, a U.N.-backed donor summit raised $1.7 billion to support the region’s governments as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the humanitarian crisis is at a “breaking point,” with 13.4 million people in need of assistance.
NOTICIAS pudo hablar con un cibermilitante a sueldo del kirchnerista Florencio Randazzo, quien por primera vez reveló los detalles de las campañas 2.0 con las que los candidatos se embarran unos a otros. A cambio de que no se mencione su identidad –por temor a represalias–, el hombre dio ejemplos y números de cómo funciona la militancia rentada en la web.
Noticias: ¿Cuál es la función de un “fake”, como es su caso?
Cibermilitante: Como primera medida, crear una cuenta en Facebook, Twitter o cualquier red social con datos falsos que se asemejen a los de una persona real, es decir, escoger un nombre, buscar fotos, determinar sus gustos y lo más importante, una marcada ideología política que va a defender en cada publicación.
Noticias: ¿Cada uno publica lo que cree conveniente?
Cibermilitante: No. Como en todo ámbito laboral hay jerarquías. El rango más bajo es para aquellos que trabajan desde su casa y sólo tienen la autorización para dar retuit o compartir todo lo publicado en las cuentas oficiales, ya sea del candidato o la agrupación política a la que representan. Por otro lado, están los que cumplen un horario dentro de las oficinas generalmente del área de prensa y comunicación, de lunes a viernes o sábado, domingo y feriados. Ellos comparten, atacan y defienden a la persona que el jefe correspondiente a cada turno les indique. Y finalmente, quienes tienen una mayor cercanía al político pueden utilizar las redes en cualquier horario y lugar. No cualquiera llega ahí.
Noticias: ¿Qué sueldos cobran por hacer esto?
Cibermilitante: Quienes van a las oficinas y manejan una cuenta, tienen sueldos fijos de 9.000 y 10.000 pesos. Aquellos con mayor cercanía al político cobran de 20.000 en adelante, pero manejan entre cinco y diez usuarios. Y por último, los que comparten desde su casa, se les paga internet más un plus de 1.000 o 2.000 pesos, eso depende del intendente o puntero que los haya contratado.
El cibermilitante entrevistado por NOTICIAS reconoce que trabaja para Florencio Randazzo y cobra un sueldo del Estado. Cuando se le pregunta para quién hace fuerza el ministro de Interior y Transporte, su respuesta sorprende.
Noticias: ¿Adónde va el voto del randazzismo?
Cibermilitante: A Scioli no. Seguimos convencidos, más allá de la decisión de Cristina, que el candidato era Florencio. Aunque muchos de los que decían defender a Randazzo hoy levanten la bandera de Scioli. Como el caso de Diego Brancatelli, quien decía que Scioli era el “candidato de Magnetto” y hoy lo elogia como nadie.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked abortion restrictions in Louisiana from going into effect, pushing off the question for another week as to whether the high court will soon be forced to weigh in on the issue of abortion rights.
Alito stayed the law until Feb. 7, saying that filings were only completed on Friday and that justices needed more time to review them.
“This order does not reflect any view regarding the merits of the petition for a writ of certiorari that applicants represent they will file,” Alito said. The justice handles emergency requests from the 5th Circuit and can therefore act alone on the case, but may refer it to the full court to make a final determination.
The Louisiana law requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital in case anything goes wrong during an abortion. The Supreme Court in 2016 struck down similar laws in Texas in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, but the 5th Circuit upheld Louisiana’s law.
The ruling was handed down 5-3 because the Supreme Court was short-handed following the death of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Since then, President Trump has appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, tilting the court more conservative.
The Supreme Court has appeared reluctant to take up controversial cases this term following the bruising confirmation battle Kavanaugh faced regarding allegations of sexual assault when he was in high school.
Plaintiffs in the Louisiana case filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court on Jan. 25 to halt the 5th Circuit’s ruling.
Anti-abortion organizations and lawmakers who support restrictions such as the Louisiana law say they are necessary to protect women’s health, but abortion rights advocates contend that they effectively shutter clinics, placing abortions out of reach, and that they are not necessary.
In September, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled in Louisiana’s favor, saying that the law was different from the one the Supreme Court Struck down. The 5th Circuit then rejected the request for a rehearing en banc, or by all the judges that sit on the court.
Wilbur Scoville ganhou um Doodle do Google com direito a um jogo que simula o ‘teste da escala quente’ de pimentas. Hoje, o Google celebra o nascimento do químico há 151 anos (1865-1942). Scoville, além de receber a homenagem desta sexta-feira (22), é conhecido por ter inventado um método de avaliação do nível de ardência de vários tipos de pimenta, a famosa Escala de Scoville, disponível abaixo em app.
O Doodle do Google, além de animado, é interativo. No jogo, os usuários devem fazer com que um sorvete acerte a pimenta para acabar com a ardência na boca de Scoville, após o químico prová-la. O leite, muito presente no sorvete, é um dos principais componentes neutralizadores do ardor da pimenta.
Doodle de Wilbur Scoville brinca com jogo que usa ‘teste da pimenta’ (Foto: (Foto: Reprodução/Google))
A cada degustação que Wilbur Scoville prova, uma pimenta diferente e as suas propriedades e curiosidades também são reveladas. Após terminar as “lutas”, que você pode ganhar (e aí desbloquear “novas pimentas” para enfrentar) ou perder (e fazer com que Scoville caia no chão com a boca “pelando”), um sistema de compartilhamento dos resultados do jogo nas redes sociais é exibido.
O Doodle foi produzido pela artista e doodler do Google Olivia Huynh. Para a designer, a melhor parte do trabalho foi desenhar as pimentas e as reações de Scoville. “O conceito de picante é universal, cômico, e foi o que tentei usar para criar esse jogo de luta”, explica Huynh, em post do Google.
“Fiz storyboards de como poderia ser, rascunhos e testamos um protótipo. Depois vieram os cenários e animações. Desenhar as pimentas e as reações de Scoville foram minhas partes favoritas”, conta.
Doodle também é informativo, detalhando tipos de pimentas (Foto: Reprodução/Google)
Escala de Scoville
Wilbur Lincoln Scoville nasceu em Bridgeport, nos Estados Unidos, em 22 de janeiro de 1865 e morreu em 10 de março de 1942. O trabalho do americano como farmacêutico é reconhecido mundialmente: criou o Teste Organoléptico de Scoville, que gerou a já conhecida Escala de Scoville.
Com este método, Wilbur Lincoln Scoville definiu o grau de pungência de vários tipos de pimenta, através da detecção da concentração de capsaicina, substância responsável pela ardência da pimenta.
O teste é um Procedimento de Diluição e Prova. Scoville misturava as pimentas puras com uma solução de água com açúcar, e quanto mais solução fosse necessária para diluir a pimenta, mais alta seria sua picância. Depois disso, o método foi melhorado e foram criadas as unidades de calor Scoville (Scoville Heat Units, ou SHU).
Doodle Wilbur Scoville (Foto: Reprodução/Google)
Uma xícara de pimenta que equivale a 1.000 xícaras de água é uma unidade na escala de Scoville. A substância Capsaicina, que gera a ardência nas pimentas, equivale a 15 milhões de unidades Scoville.
A pimenta mexicana Habanero chega a 300 mil, uma “Red Savina Habanero”, modificada, tem 577 mil, e a Tezpur indiana, 877 mil.
Entretanto, este não foi o único trabalho de Scoville. “The Art of Compounding” (A Arte dos Compostos), de 1895, é um de seus livros, que foi usado como referência na farmacologia até os anos 60.
Scoville também publicou um livro com centenas de fórmulas de perfumes e outras essências, que foi chamado de “Extract and Perfumes” (Extratos e perfumes).
Em 1922, Scoville recebeu o Prêmio Ebert, e em 1929 ganhou a sua Medalha de Honra Remington e o título de Doutor honoris causa em Ciências pela Universidade de Columbia. O pesquisador morreu no dia 10 de março de 1942, deixando mulher e dois filhos.
Asked by Wallace whether the Republican Party is “still Donald Trump’s party,” Scott replied that the GOP is “the voters’ party” and “always has been.”
Scott said he spoke to Trump “about a week ago, and I told him, ‘This is my job. My job is to help Republican senators win all across the country.’”
The NRSC chair reported that the former president “made a commitment to me to help me do that,” adding: “I believe he’s going to be helpful, but I think other Republicans are going to be helpful,” as well.
And despite Trump’s threats to support primary challenges to certain GOP officials — including those as high-ranking as Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), who is up for reelection in 2022 — Scott stressed that he would back incumbent Republicans in the midterm races.
“I am supporting every Republican incumbent in all the Senate races. So I believe all of our incumbents are going to win,” he said.
Scott also did not hesitate to declare that Biden had won the presidency fair and square last November, although he did say there were “people that believe we’ve got to focus on making sure people feel comfortable that elections are fair.”
Scott’s interview came after he appeared Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, where he said in a speech that he would not “mediate” debates among Republicans over Trump’s role in the party.
Trump is scheduled to speak at the conference on Sunday, delivering his first major address since leaving office amid the fallout of last month’s insurrection at the Capitol.
We keep learning disturbing new details about how farDONALD TRUMP’S Justice Department was willing to go after perceived enemies it suspected were responsible for Russia-related leaks. It pursued members of the media and, according to a bombshell report by the NYT on Thursday night, Democrats in Congress and their family members, too: “As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, it took a highly unusual step: Prosecutors subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, aides and family members. One was a minor.
“All told, the records of at least a dozen people tied to the committee were seized in 2017 and early 2018, including those of Representative ADAM B. SCHIFF of California, then the panel’s top Democrat and now its chairman, according to committee officials and two other people briefed on the inquiry.
“Prosecutors, under the beleaguered attorney general,JEFF SESSIONS, were hunting for the sources behind news media reports about contacts between Trump associates and Russia. Ultimately, the data and other evidence did not tie the committee to the leaks, and investigators debated whether they had hit a dead end and some even discussed closing the inquiry.”
Schiff said “the Inspector General should investigate this and other cases that suggest the weaponization of law enforcement.”
WE HAVE MORE BELOW on the latest bipartisan infrastructure talks and rising Democratic tensions over Rep. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.). But first a dispatch from Tara, who spent years reporting on European politics for us in Brussels, on why President JOE BIDEN’S trip abroad is so important to his political prospects at home:
‘THIS IS AN ACID TEST’ — When we talk to European diplomats and officials, they all say the same thing — the Biden presidency is a “sigh of relief” after the “near-death experience” of Trump.
The past five years have made them acutely aware of U.S. domestic politics — specifically an American electorate that’s drifted away from the internationalism of BARACK OBAMA toward Trump’s isolationism. Trump’s lost, but his America-first message will be front and center in Republican politics, whether it’s Trump as messenger or someone else. And Democrats will need to have a credible response.
This week we checked in with the former U.S. ambassador to the EU,ANTHONY GARDNER, about Biden’s first foreign trip. Gardner has a unique perspective: He was widely respected in Brussels during Obama’s second term and advised Biden’s 2020 campaign by serving as co-chair of the EU working group.
Gardner had some tough advice for Europe if they really want to avoid a Trump comeback:Give Biden a win on China. Not mushy assurances of cooperation or niceties about the change in tone from America — a tangible victory that he can use to neutralize Trump’s message.
“There’s always that risk, that’s what democracies are about,” Gardner told Playbook, referring to a Biden loss in 2024. “That’s exactly why you in Europe should think about how you can contribute to the success of the administration.”
Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN said in March that the U.S. won’t make its European allies choose between “us-or-them” on China. But Gardner sees it differently.
There’s a short window for Bidenand the Democratic Party to prove to voters that Europe is worth our time and preferable to Trump’s go-it-alone policy on China. That means working together on trade, using the power of the WTO to close off their markets to Chinese exporters, and getting tough on Chinese subsidies and IP violations. These are issues Gardner believes Biden could sell at home to working- and middle-class voters.
“We cannot afford to go through the motions,” Gardner said. “We need to make clear to our electorate and our voters that working multilaterally, with rules and institutions, yields better results, and that communiques are no substitute for results.”
He added: “Some Europeans won’t like it to be put this way. But this is the acid test. This is the reality today. What good is Europe if it’s not going to work with us on this issue?”
Europeans aren’t sure they’re ready to trust the U.S. wholeheartedly again. It was Trump’s abandonment of Europe that essentially pushed them into China’s arms. That split European countries into two camps: those that rely on the U.S. for security and defense and agree with Gardner that the way forward is to help Biden domestically; and others like France and Germany that want to tread cautiously so as not to alienate China, in case they have to prepare for a world order without the U.S. at the top.
“Some [Europeans] thought the China problem was basically just a Trump thing, underestimating the bipartisan basis in Washington for criticism of Beijing,” said ANTHONY TEASDALE, director general of the European Parliamentary Research Service. “The reality is that most Americans feel threatened by China’s challenge to their status as global No. 1. This isn’t just a Trump thing, it’s an American thing. Realizing this has disoriented some European leaders, who are having to get up to speed with a longer-term shift in U.S. foreign policy.”
THE CAPITOL RIOTER NEXT DOOR — Imagine learning that someone you’ve known for 18 years is alleged to have been responsible for some of the worst violence on Jan. 6. How do you square that? In this week’s episode of “Playbook Deep Dive,” RACHAEL and journalist MELANIE WARNER dive into the story of JEFFREY SABOL, one man whose alleged activity on Jan. 6 left many in his life confused and grappling for answers — about how a highly educated, middle-aged man with so much to lose could participate in what FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY called “domestic terrorism.” What does his story tell us about the Capitol insurrectionists, and how everyday Americans became the new face of extremism?Listen and subscribe here
BIDEN’S FRIDAY:
— 12:15 p.m. British Summer Time: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
— Noon: First lady JILL BIDEN and the Duchess of Cambridge will tour a preschool in Cornwall and participate in a roundtable on early childhood education.
— 1:55 p.m.: Biden will depart St. Ives en route to Carbis Bay, where he will arrive at 2 p.m. and greet British PM BORIS JOHNSON and his wife, CARRIE, at 2:10 p.m.
— 2:20 p.m.: Biden will participate in a family photo with other G-7 leaders.
— 2:45 p.m.: The president will attend the G-7 Summit Session 1.
— 4:25 p.m.: Biden will depart Carbis Bay en route to St Ives, where he will arrive at 4:30 p.m.
— 5:40 p.m.: The president and first lady will depart St Ives en route to Bodelva, Cornwall, where they will arrive at 6 p.m.
— 6:15 p.m.: The Bidens will participate in a reception, family photo and dinner with other G-7 leaders and the Royal Family.
— 9:10 p.m.: The president and first lady will depart Bodelva en route to St Ives, where they will arrive at 9:30 p.m.
HARRIS’ FRIDAY: VP KAMALA HARRIS will deliver remarks on child care and families at 10:30 a.m.
THE SENATE is out. THE HOUSE will meet at 11:30 a.m. in a pro forma session.
PLAYBOOK READS
INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR
UNDERSTANDING THIS NEW BIPARTISAN DEAL: The group of 10 centrist senators scrambling to save infrastructure talks announced a framework for a deal: $1 trillion over five years, or $1.2 trillion over eight years, including $579 billion in new spending. The agreement is substantially more money than the final offer Sen. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.) made to Biden before talks fell apart — though still $400 billion less than Biden asked for.
But take this with a grain of salt for three reasons:
— One of their pay-fors includes indexing the gas tax with inflation, which would obviously increase the tax over time. The idea has been a major no-no for Biden, who vowed not to raise taxes on people making under $400,000 a year. In fact, our transportation reporter SAM MINTZ scooped Thursday that the White House “considers indexing the gas tax to inflation to be a violation of Biden’s pledge … and is not willing to include it in an infrastructure package, according to a source familiar with President Biden’s thinking.” Later, the White House released a statement saying “questions need to be addressed, particularly around the details of both policy and pay fors, among other matters.”
— Only five Republicans had their name on this agreement. But the chamber won’t get the 10 GOP senators needed for passage without Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL. We’ll have to see what the Kentucky Republican says about this.
— This alsoassumes every Senate Democrat would swallow a deal that’s a far cry from the bold vision they want. In just one warning sign this week, climate advocates are growing increasingly alarmed at suggestions that their pet issue may fall by the wayside.
WaPo’s Jeff Stein, Juliet Eilperin and Tyler Pagerreported Thursday night that AL GORE called Biden to implore him to tackle climate head on. And Senate Finance Chair RON WYDEN (D-Ore.) told the trio he would oppose any infrastructure deal that didn’t address climate or hike taxes on multinational corporations.
SO WHAT NOW? Don’t expect Democratic leaders to immediately pan the deal. Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER intends to let this process play out so his moderate members get a chance to make the bipartisan deal they’ve been hoping for — or at least try. In the process, they’ll either learn it can’t be done or they’ll succeed. Either way, Schumer can push forward anything they can’t pass with Republicans, via reconciliation.
— “Dem leaders look to deescalate Omar drama,”by Sarah Ferris: “Top Democrats on Thursday attempted to quickly defuse a fraught dispute within their caucus after comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar that compared war crimes committed by the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban incensed some Jewish Democrats. Speaker NANCY PELOSI’S leadership team took the unusual step of issuing a statement that both rebuked Omar for her comments and thanked her for later clarifying her remarks — taking a more nuanced approach than the last major uproar over the Minnesota Democrat’s comments on Israel that escalated into a days-long political crisis for her party.”
— In response to leadership’s statement Omar, however,Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-Mich.) tweeted a rather astounding rebuke of senior Democrats, suggesting this drama isn’t over yet: “Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.”
DEATH AND TAXES
— “Billionaire Tax Leak Referred to FBI as Probe Grows, IRS Says,”Bloomberg: “The disclosure of the personal income and tax data of some of the wealthiest Americans has been referred to additional federal investigators to probe the leak of confidential information, an Internal Revenue Service official said.”
— “Republicans use leak of billionaires’ tax secrets to attack Biden’s plan to boost IRS,” by Aaron Lorenzo: “Ways and Means Committee Republicans on Thursday said the leak of tax information on rich Americans like JEFF BEZOS, ELON MUSK and other billionaires erodes trust in the IRS and should disqualify President Joe Biden’s proposals to boost agency enforcement. GOP members of the panel — without citing evidence — blamed IRS insiders for the criminal breach of private taxpayer data, and suggested the timing was fishy.”
FLOTUS FILES
— “Jill Biden wants to share the ‘LOVE’ overseas,” by Eugene: “The day that she departed with her husband for his first foreign trip as president, the first lady’s office sent out a picture that encapsulates how Dr. Jill Biden thinks about her new role. She’s sitting at a desk in a cornflower blue jacket, poring over a huge binder with stacks of papers all around.
“The message: Jill Biden is not here to just focus on the frilly aspects of the first lady gig, she’s a woman of substance and wants the public to know it. In some ways the veteran political spouse is a return to more traditional, non-controversial first ladies after one — MELANIA TRUMP — who enjoyed celebrity status but spent most of her time as a partisan lightning rod. … For this first presidential trip abroad, the first lady is working on cementing her independent, ‘Jill from Philly’ image by setting up her own schedule during the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, primarily highlighting her main initiative on military families.”
— London Playbook: “Prez and PM punching: Pretty much all the British papers splash on the Carrie Johnson/Jill Biden photo-op — and it sounds like the president was a fan too. Joe Biden laid it on thick at yesterday’s brief appearance in front of the press, telling the PM: ‘I’m thrilled to meet your wife. I told the prime minister we have something in common: we both married above our station.’ Newlywed Johnson responded: ‘I’m not going to disagree with the president on that or anything else.’ (H/t POLITICO’s White House correspondent Anita Kumar.)”
POLITICS CORNER
BUCKING THE BOSS — “Shelby sides against Trump in Alabama Senate race,” by Burgess Everett: “Republican RICHARD SHELBY is backing his former chief of staff KATIE BOYD BRITT in the race to succeed him in the Senate, siding against former President Donald Trump’s favored candidate, Rep. MO BROOKS. ‘She’s like family. She’d make a good candidate. She’s probably the best-qualified candidate to come along in a long time,’ Shelby said in an interview. ‘I’d support her, I’d vote for her.’”
2022 WATCH — “Mark Brnovich, Arizona’s attorney general, launches U.S. Senate campaign,” Arizona Republic: “Arizona Attorney General MARK BRNOVICH announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate race’s Republican primary in 2022, jumping into what is expected to be a hotly contested battle to challenge incumbent Sen. MARK KELLY. Brnovich, a libertarian-leaning Republican who has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2015, becomes the third Republican to get into the race and the most well-known politically.”
FOR THE RECORD — Post and Courier’s JAMIE LOVEGROVE (@jslovegrove): “Asked by @postandcourier if he will run for reelection next year, [Rep. JIM CLYBURN] says, ‘Not just yes, but hell yes.’ He has represented #SC06 since 1993 and will be 82 by the time of the 2022 midterms.”
— Roll Call’s Lindsey McPherson tweeted this context: “This is interesting. Alot of people thought Clyburn would retire when Pelosi did. While Pelosi has not committed to retiring, she made a promise in 2018 not to run for speaker again in 2022. And Clyburn has said he’s not interested in replacing her. So what’s his plan?”
HOW RED — REBA MCENTIRE will be a special guest at a fundraiser for South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM this weekend, per Stephen Sanchez.
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
WHAT BERNIE IS READING — “These businesses found a way around the worker shortage: Raising wages to $15 an hour or more,” by WaPo’s Eli Rosenberg: “Across the country, businesses in sectors such as food service and manufacturing that are trying to staff up have been reporting an obstacle to their success — a scarcity of workers interested in applying for low-wage positions. The issue has raised concerns about the strength of the country’s recovery as coronavirus cases abate, with the economy still down more than 7.5 million jobs compared with before the pandemic.”
GONE BIBI GONE
STOP US IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE — “Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out as end of his era draws near,” by AP’s Josef Federman in Jerusalem: “In what appear to be the final days of his historic 12-year rule, Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU is not leaving the political stage quietly. The longtime leader is accusing his opponents of betraying their voters, and some have needed special security protection. Netanyahu says he is the victim of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy. He speaks in apocalyptic terms when talking about the country without his leadership.”
DESSERT
HIGH, HOW ARE YOU — NATALIE FERTIG (@natsfert): “Me: ‘I work at POLITICO, I’m the cannabis reporter.’ @BernieSanders: ‘You’re the cannabis reporter?’ Me: ‘I’m the cannabis reporter.’ Sanders: ‘Are you stoned right now?’ Me: ‘I am not stoned right now.’ Sanders: ‘Is that a requirement to be…?’ Me: ‘It’s actually not.’”Audio of the exchange, via POLITICO Dispatch
TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week,” with Yamiche Alcindor moderating from Cornwall, England, and Ed O’Keefe co-moderating from D.C.: Jonathan Martin, Anna Palmer and Vivian Salama.
SUNDAY SO FAR …
“This Week”: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Panel: Rick Klein, Michèle Flournoy, Will Hurd and Amna Nawaz.
“Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) … Mike Pompeo. Panel: Marc Thiessen, Catherine Lucey and Harold Ford Jr. Power Player: Donna de Varona.
“The Sunday Show”: Kimberly Atkins Stohr … Michael Gerson … Chris Matthews … Yamiche Alcindor … Katty Kay … Helene Cooper.
“Inside Politics”: Panel: Olivier Knox, Laura Barron Lopez, Melanie Zanona, Vivian Salama and John Harwood.
“Face the Nation”: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) … Andy Slavitt … Scott Gottlieb.
“Full Court Press”: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) … Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
“Miller’s company is currently developing a social media platform that is being considered for use by Trump. People familiar with the discussions stress that no final decision has been made by the former president about which platform he will use. … The aide is expected to remain with Trump’s team, but not in a full-time, day-to-day role, according to a person familiar with the plans.”
PENCE’S NEW PALACE — “Mike Pence buys $1.9M Indiana home packed with amenities,” N.Y. Post: “Property records reveal that Pence, 62, bought a seven-bedroom, 7½-bathroom house in the upscale location of Carmel — known as the luxury pinnacle in his state of Indiana. …
“Spanning a massive 10,300 square feet, the estate sits on five acres of land and comes with all the amenities your heart desires. Built in 2008, the home offers a fitness room, an indoor basketball court, a handcrafted bar, a media room, a study, and several living spaces throughout. Outdoor features include a dock looking out onto a large pond, an in-ground pool and an expansive screened porch.”
CRINGE-WORTHY TV —Jeffrey Toobin is back on air with CNN eight months after he was fired from The New Yorker and took leave from the TV network for getting caught masturbating on a Zoom call. Host Alisyn Camerota didn’t mince words Thursday, describing his act before asking Toobin, “What the hell were you thinking?”
MEDIAWATCH — This year’s National Magazine Awards were announced Thursday, with top honors going to The New Yorker, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Audubon and Stranger’s Guide. The full list of winners
SPOTTED: Pete and Chasten Buttigieg dining with Pete’s mother, Jennifer Anne Montgomery, at The Duck & The Peach on Thursday night. Pic…Another pic … Bret Baier and Paul Ryan at Cafe Milano for lunch on Thursday.
SPOTTED at an event at Australian Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos and Elizabeth Sinodinos’ residence for the outgoing Deputy Ambassador Katrina Cooper on Wednesday night: DNI Avril Haines, Kurt Campbell, Julie Smith, Michèle Flournoy, Jill Tiefenthaler, Jean Baderschneider, Amanda Nguyen, Lisa Truitt, Laura Rosenberger, Singaporean Ambassador Ashok Mirpuri, Jane Duke, Dan Feldman, Harold Koh, Suzanne Spaulding, John Negroponte, Margo Smith and Paula Dobriansky.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK —The Commerce Department is adding a slate of senior staff: Liani Balasuriya is now executive secretariat, Jenny Kaplan is senior adviser for private sector engagement, Caitlin Legacki is senior adviser for strategic comms,and Scott Mulhauser has taken a temporary leave from Bully Pulpit Interactive to serve as a senior adviser to Secretary Gina Raimondo.
TRUMP ALUMNI — Christopher Ford is now senior adviser for geopolitical policy and strategy at MITRE. He most recently performed the duties of the undersecretary of State for arms control and international security.
TRANSITIONS — Francesca Craig is now acting as social secretary at the British Embassy. She most recently was director of special projects for the Motion Picture Association and is also the former social secretary to the French ambassador. … Chanse Jones is now senior director of public affairs at Forbes Tate Partners. He previously was senior manager of media relations and external comms at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. … Michael Feldman is now director of public affairs at CISA. He previously worked on the Biden campaign. …
… Ilse Zuniga is now press secretary for Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). She most recently was press secretary for Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). … Ryan Shay is now legislative director for Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.). He most recently was senior legislative assistant for Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.). … Schroeder Stribling will be president and CEO of Mental Health America. She currently is CEO of N Street Village, a D.C. housing nonprofit.
WEDDING — Geoff Burgan, comms director for Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and a Biden campaign alum, and Farah Melendez, campaign manager for Virginia A.G. Mark Herring and political director at the Democratic Attorneys General Association, got married May 20 in Salt Lake City in front of a small group of family and friends. Pic
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Hannah Bruce Huey, principal at Molly Allen & Associates, and Daniel Huey, a partner at Something Else Strategies, on Wednesday welcomed Henry Burtch Huey, who came in at 7 lbs, 13 oz and 20.5 inches.Pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Jennifer Rubin … Tad Devine of Devine Mulvey Longabaugh … Greta Van Susteren … Kim Oates of the House Radio/TV Gallery … J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami … Cisco’s Michael Timmeny … Lindsey Williams Drath … Cesar Gonzalez of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-Fla.) office … Deputy CIA Director David Cohen … TJ Adams-Falconer … DNC’s Lucas Acosta … Will Rahn … Jessica Franks Owens … Antonio De Loera-Brust … Eric Lieberman …Pentagon’s Jamal Brown … Duke’s Mike Schoenfeld … APCO Worldwide’s Penina Graubart … Treasury’s Arian Rubio … Lorissa Bounds … Alexa Papadopoulos … Kristen Thomaselli … Mary Kate Cunningham … Salesforce’s Tom Gavin … Matthew Campbell … Google’s Ramya Raghavan … Tom Alexander … Marty Kearns of Netcentric Campaigns … POLITICO’s Denis Manevski … Emily Dobler … former Reps. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) (91) … Ashley Mocarski … former South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard … Jennifer Budoff of the D.C. City Council
Send Playbookers tips to [email protected]. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
HILLSBOROUGH, California (KTRK) — A homeowner is in trouble with the City of Hillsborough for decorating her home like a “modern stone age family,” inspired by The Flintstones.
The home is complete with a dinosaur herd in front.
The city has now filed a complaint saying no permits were filed to make modifications to the home, like landscaping and a “yabba dabba do” sign.
The city is now demanding everything be taken down, calling it an eyesore.
Parece que la idea de estrellar un módulo científico sobre la superficie de Marte no ha ido tan bien como esperaban en la Agencia Espacial Europea. El módulo Schiaparelli dejó de transmitir segundos antes de tocar la superficie de Marte y todavía no han logrado recuperar la señal.
En la rueda de prensa que la ESA acaba de ofrecer, sus científicos reconocen que no tienen ni idea de lo que le ha ocurrido al pequeño módulo que formaba parte de la misión ExoMars. La sonda Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), que era el otro 50% de la misión, sí que ha logrado acoplarse con éxito a la órbita de Marte y comenzó a transmitir con normalidad a las 20:30 horas del día 19.
Con Schiaparelli no ha habido tanta suerte. Algo ha fallado en los últimos segundos del aterrizaje. La ESA aún está estudiando los datos de telemetría enviados antes de perder el contacto. Un análisis preliminar de esos datos y de las observaciones realizadas mediante el telescopio GMRT de la India revelan que el escudo térmico funcionó bien y que el paracaídas también se desplegó como estaba previsto.
Región dónde se supone que debía haber aterrizado el módulo.
Los datos se pierden poco después de desprenderse del escudo térmico. El problema podría estar en los impulsores que debían frenar el descenso. Al parecer, no se mantuvieron encendidos el tiempo suficiente. Otra versión apunta a que quizá lo hicieron a demasiada altura. Hasta que no lleguen a la Tierra el resto de datos (y con suerte alguna foto tomada por el módulo) no sabremos más.
Sponsored
Pese al fracaso de esa parte de la misión, la ESA ha recalcado que el aterrizaje era solo una parte relativamente pequeña de ExoMars y que este tipo de pruebas se realizan precisamente para pulir los sistemas de cara a misiones futuras. [vía ESA]
When former president Donald Trump sat down for an interview in late March at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., he described the events of Jan. 6 as largely peaceful and his supporters as friendly, saying the audience he addressed at a rally on the Ellipse before the attack on the U.S. Capitol was a “loving crowd.”
Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, Brazil earlier this week.
Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
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Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, Brazil earlier this week.
Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron is calling on world leaders to place the massive fires destroying Brazil’s Amazon rainforest at the top of their agenda as they gather in France’s southwest for the G7 Summit.
“Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire,” Macron wrote in a tweet Thursday. “It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency first order in two days!”
France is hosting the summit in the city of Biarritz, on the Atlantic coast, which begins on Saturday. President Trump and leaders from Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom will also attend.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres echoed Macron, saying in a tweet that “we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected.”
I’m deeply concerned by the fires in the Amazon rainforest. In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity.
An estimated 2,500 active fires in the Amazon have caused international concern, prompting a backlash against Brazil’s right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has described measures to protect the rainforest as “obstacles” to economic growth. Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has said repeatedly that he wants to open the Amazon to development.
Many of the fires are believed to have been set by farmers clearing land. Environmentalists claim Bolsonaro’s attitude about the Amazon has encouraged them, as well as cattle ranchers, loggers and miners.
Bolsonaro has said without evidence that there is a “very strong” indication that some non-governmental organizations were setting the fires in retaliation for losing funding from his administration.
Besides France, both Germany and Norway have also weighed in on the fires, criticizing Bolsonaro’s lack of action and saying they would withhold $60 million in funds for sustainability projects in Brazil’s forests.
Onyx Lorenzoni, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, on Thursday accused European countries of exaggerating environmental problems in an effort to stifle rainforest development.
“There is deforestation in Brazil, yes, but not at the rate and level that they say,” he said, according to the Brazilian news website globo.com.
In a tweet later on Thursday, Bolsonaro responded to Macron: “I regret that Macron seeks to make personal political gains in an internal matter for Brazil and other Amazonian countries. The sensationalist tone he used does nothing to solve the problem.”
Bolsonaro has also accused the media of hyping the fires to undermine him. “Most of the media wants Brazil to end up like Venezuela,” he said.
In an announcement this week by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, or INPE, the agency said there have been 74,155 fires in the country so far this year – about half in the last month and most of them in the Amazon. That represents an 84% increase from the previous year.
Federal prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Para – one of the worst hit areas – have announced an investigation into why there has been such a huge rise in wild fires this year.
Neighboring Bolivia has also struggled to contain the fires.
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, 19 de mayo.- El pastor Daniel Gloria pidió por oportunidades laborales, salud, felicidad… Sí, lo hizo, pero para que llegaran esos mensajes a través de WhatsApp.
Gloria realizó una oración en la que pidió a los fieles colocar sus celulares en una mesa central.
Ahora es tiempo de oración por los teléfonos, para que sólo reciban noticias de victoria, noticias dulces y agradables”, les dijo a los reunidos en el culto.
Tras la oración, afirmó, que los celulares que estaban sobre la mesa serían portadores de buenas noticias.
Reprendo toda mala noticia y mensajes contrarios”.
Read the full transcript of President Joe Biden’s exclusive interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, thank you for doing this.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Thank you for doin’ it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s get right to it. Back in July, you said a Taliban takeover was highly unlikely. Was the intelligence wrong, or did you downplay it?
BIDEN: I think — there was no consensus. If you go back and look at the intelligence reports, they said that it’s more likely to be sometime by the end of the year. The idea that the tal — and then it goes further on, even as late as August. I think you’re gonna see — the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others speaking about this later today.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you didn’t put a timeline on it when you said it was highly unlikely. You just said flat out, “It’s highly unlikely the Taliban would take over.”
BIDEN: Yeah. Well, the question was whether or not it w– the idea that the Taliban would take over was premised on the notion that the — that somehow, the 300,000 troops we had trained and equipped was gonna just collapse, they were gonna give up. I don’t think anybody anticipated that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you know that Senator McConnell, others say this was not only predictable, it was predicted, including by him, based on intelligence briefings he was getting.
BIDEN: What — what did he say was predicted?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator McConnell said it was predictable that the Taliban was gonna take over.
BIDEN: Well, by the end of the year, I said that’s that was — that was a real possibility. But no one said it was gonna take over then when it was bein’ asked.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So when you look at what’s happened over the last week, was it a failure of intelligence, planning, execution or judgment?
BIDEN: Look, I don’t think it was a fa– look, it was a simple choice, George. When the– when the Taliban — let me back — put it another way. When you had the government of Afghanistan, the leader of that government get in a plane and taking off and going to another country, when you saw the significant collapse of the ta– of the– Afghan troops we had trained — up to 300,000 of them just leaving their equipment and taking off, that was — you know, I’m not– this — that — that’s what happened.
That’s simply what happened. So the question was in the beginning the– the threshold question was, do we commit to leave within the timeframe we’ve set? We extended it to September 1st. Or do we put significantly more troops in? I hear people say, “Well, you had 2,500 folks in there and nothin’ was happening. You know, there wasn’t any war.”
But guess what? The fact was that the reason it wasn’t happening is the last president negotiated a year earlier that he’d be out by May 1st and that– in return, there’d be no attack on American forces. That’s what was done. That’s why nothing was happening. But the idea if I had said — I had a simple choice. If I had said, “We’re gonna stay,” then we’d better prepare to put a whole hell of a lot more troops in —
STEPHANOPOULOS: But your top military advisors warned against withdrawing on this timeline. They wanted you to keep about 2,500 troops.
BIDEN: No, they didn’t. It was split. Tha– that wasn’t true. That wasn’t true.
STEPHANOPOULOS: They didn’t tell you that they wanted troops to stay?
BIDEN: No. Not at — not in terms of whether we were going to get out in a timeframe all troops. They didn’t argue against that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no one told — your military advisors did not tell you, “No, we should just keep 2,500 troops. It’s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that”?
BIDEN: No. No one said that to me that I can recall. Look, George, the reason why it’s been stable for a year is because the last president said, “We’re leaving. And here’s the deal I wanna make with you, Taliban. We’re agreeing to leave if you agree not to attack us between now and the time we leave on May the 1st.”
I got into office, George. Less than two months after I elected to office, I was sworn in, all of a sudden, I have a May 1 deadline. I have a May 1 deadline. I got one of two choices. Do I say we’re staying? And do you think we would not have to put a hell of a lot more troops? B– you know, we had hundreds– we had tens of thousands of troops there before. Tens of thousands.
Do you think we woulda — that we would’ve just said, “No problem. Don’t worry about it, we’re not gonna attack anybody. We’re okay”? In the meantime, the Taliban was takin’ territory all throughout the country in the north and down in the south, in the Pasthtun area.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So would you have withdrawn troops like this even if President Trump had not made that deal with the Taliban?
BIDEN: I would’ve tried to figure out how to withdraw those troops, yes, because look, George. There is no good time to leave Afghanistan. Fifteen years ago would’ve been a problem, 15 years from now. The basic choice is am I gonna send your sons and your daughters to war in Afghanistan in perpetuity?
STEPHANOPOULOS: That’s–
BIDEN: No one can name for me a time when this would end. And what– wha– wha– what– what constitutes defeat of the Taliban? What constitutes defeat? Would we have left then? Let’s say they surrender like before. OK. Do we leave then? Do you think anybody– the same people who think we should stay would’ve said, “No, good time to go”? We spent over $1 trillion, George, 20 years. There was no good time to leave.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But if there’s no good time, if you know you’re gonna have to leave eventually, why not have th– everything in place to make sure Americans could get out, to make sure our Afghan allies get out, so we don’t have these chaotic scenes in Kabul?
BIDEN: Number one, as you know, the intelligence community did not say back in June or July that, in fact, this was gonna collapse like it did. Number one.
STEPHANOPOULOS: They thought the Taliban would take over, but not this quickly?
BIDEN: But not this quickly. Not even close. We had already issued several thousand passports to the– the SIVs, the people– the– the– the translators when I came into office before we had negotiated getting out at the end of s– August.
Secondly, we’re in a position where what we did was took precautions. That’s why I authorized that there be 6,000 American troops to flow in to accommodate this exit, number one. And number two, provided all that aircraft in the Gulf to get people out. We pre-positioned all that, anticipated that. Now, granted, it took two days to take control of the airport. We have control of the airport now.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Still a lotta pandemonium outside the airport.
BIDEN: Oh, there is. But, look, b– but no one’s being killed right now, God forgive me if I’m wrong about that, but no one’s being killed right now. People are– we got 1,000-somewhat, 1,200 out, yesterday, a couple thousand today. And it’s increasing. We’re gonna get those people out.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But we’ve all seen the pictures. We’ve seen those hundreds of people packed into a C-17. You’ve seen Afghans falling–
BIDEN: That was four days ago, five days ago.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What did you think when you first saw those pictures?
BIDEN: What I thought was we ha– we have to gain control of this. We have to move this more quickly. We have to move in a way in which we can take control of that airport. And we did.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I– I think a lot of– a lot of Americans, and a l– even a lot of veterans who served in Afghanistan agree with you on the big, strategic picture. They believe we had to get out. But I wonder how you respond to an Army Special Forces officer, Javier McKay (PH). He did seven tours. He was shot twice. He agrees with you. He says, “We have to cut our losses in Afghanistan.” But he adds, “I just wish we could’ve left with honor.”
BIDEN: Look, that’s like askin’ my deceased son Beau, who spent six months in Kosovo and a year in Iraq as a Navy captain and then major– I mean, as an Army major. And, you know, I’m sure h– he had regrets comin’ out of Afganista– I mean, out of Iraq.
He had regrets to what’s– how– how it’s going. But the idea– what’s the alternative? The alternative is why are we staying in Afghanistan? Why are we there? Don’t you think that the one– you know who’s most disappointed in us getting out? Russia and China. They’d love us to continue to have to–
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you don’t think this could’ve been handled, this exit could’ve been handled better in any way? No mistakes?
BIDEN: No. I– I don’t think it could’ve been handled in a way that there– we– we’re gonna go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens. I don’t know how that happened.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So for you, that was always priced into the decision?
BIDEN: Yes. Now, exactly what happened– is not priced in. But I knew that they’re gonna have an enormous, enorm– look, one of the things we didn’t know is what the Taliban would do in terms of trying to keep people from getting out, what they would do.What are they doing now? They’re cooperating, letting American citizens get out, American personnel get out, embassies get out, et cetera. But they’re having– we’re having some more difficulty in having those who helped us when we were in there–
STEPHANOPOULOS: And we don’t really know what’s happening outside of Kabul.
BIDEN: Pardon me?
STEPHANOPOULOS: We don’t really know what’s happening outside of Kabul.
BIDEN: Well– we do know generically and in some specificity what’s happening outside of Kabul. We don’t know it in great detail. But we do know. And guess what? The Taliban knows if they take on American citizens or American military, we will strike them back like hell won’t have it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: All troops are supposed to be out by August 31st. Even if Americans and our Afghan allies are still trying to get out, they’re gonna leave?
BIDEN: We’re gonna do everything in our power to get all Americans out and our allies out.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Does that mean troops will stay beyond August 31st if necessary?
BIDEN: It depends on where we are and whether we can get– ramp these numbers up to 5,000 to 7,000 a day coming out. If that’s the case, we’ll be– they’ll all be out.
STEPHANOPOULOS: ‘Cause we’ve got, like, 10,000 to 15,000 Americans in the country right now, right? And are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every American who wants to be out–
BIDEN: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: — is out?
BIDEN: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: How about our Afghan allies? We have about 80,000 people–
BIDEN: Well, that’s not the s–
STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that too high?
BIDEN: That’s too high.
STEPHANOPOULOS: How many–
BIDEN: The estimate we’re giving is somewhere between 50,000 and 65,000 folks total, counting their families.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Does the commitment hold for them as well?
BIDEN: The commitment holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out and everyone that should come out. And that’s the objective. That’s what we’re doing now, that’s the path we’re on. And I think we’ll get there.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So Americans should understand that troops might have to be there beyond August 31st?
BIDEN: No. Americans should understand that we’re gonna try to get it done before August 31st.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But if we don’t, the troops will stay–
BIDEN: If — if we don’t, we’ll determine at the time who’s left.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And?
BIDEN: And if you’re American force — if there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay to get them all out.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You talked about our adversaries, China and Russia. You already see China telling Taiwan, “See? You can’t count on the Americans.” (LAUGH)
BIDEN: Sh– why wouldn’t China say that? Look, George, the idea that w– there’s a fundamental difference between– between Taiwan, South Korea, NATO. We are in a situation where they are in– entities we’ve made agreements with based on not a civil war they’re having on that island or in South Korea, but on an agreement where they have a unity government that, in fact, is trying to keep bad guys from doin’ bad things to them.
We have made– kept every commitment. We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with– Taiwan. It’s not even comparable to talk about that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, but those–
BIDEN: It’s not comparable to t–
STEPHANOPOULOS: –who say, “Look, America cannot be trusted now, America does not keep its promises–“
BIDEN: Who– who’s gonna say that? Look, before I made this decision, I met with all our allies, our NATO allies in Europe. They agreed. We should be getting out.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Did they have a choice?
BIDEN: Sure, they had a choice. Look, the one thing I promise you in private, NATO allies are not quiet. You remember from your old days. They’re not gonna be quiet. And so– and by the way, you know, what we’re gonna be doing is we’re gonna be putting together a group of the G-7, the folks that we work with the most– to– I was on the phone with– with Angela Merkel today. I was on the phone with the British prime minister. I’m gonna be talking to Macron in France to make sure we have a coherent view of how we’re gonna deal from this point on.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What happens now in Afghanistan? Do you believe the Taliban have changed?
BIDEN: No. I think– let me put it this way. I think they’re going through sort of an existential crisis about do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government. I’m not sure they do. But look, they have–
STEPHANOPOULOS: They care about their beliefs more?
BIDEN: Well, they do. But they also care about whether they have food to eat, whether they have an income that they can provide for their f– that they can make any money and run an economy. They care about whether or not they can hold together the society that they in fact say they care so much about.
I’m not counting on any of that. I’m not cou– but that is part of what I think is going on right now in terms of I– I’m not sure I would’ve predicted, George, nor would you or anyone else, that when we decided to leave, that they’d provide safe passage for Americans to get out.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Beyond Americans, what do we owe the Afghans who are left behind, particularly Afghan women who are facing the prospect of subjugation again?
BIDEN: As many as we can get out, we should. For example, I had a meeting today for a couple hours in the Situation Room just below here. There are Afghan women outside the gate. I told ’em, “Get ’em on the planes. Get them out. Get them out. Get their families out if you can.”
But here’s the deal, George. The idea that we’re able to deal with the rights of women around the world by military force is not rational. Not rational. Look what’s happened to the Uighurs in western China. Look what’s happening in other parts of the world.
Look what’s happenin’ in, you know, in– in the Congo. I mean, there are a lotta places where women are being subjugated. The way to deal with that is not with a military invasion. The way to deal with that is putting economic, diplomatic, and national pre– international pressure on them to change their behavior.
STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the threat to the United States? Most intelligence analysis has predicted that Al Qaeda would come back 18 to 24 months after a withdrawal of American troops. Is that analysis now being revised? Could it be sooner?
BIDEN: It could be. But George, look, here’s the deal. Al Qaeda, ISIS, they metastasize. There’s a significantly greater threat to the United States from Syria. There’s a significantly greater threat from East Africa. There’s significant greater threat to other places in the world than it is from the mountains of Afghanistan. And we have maintained the ability to have an over-the-horizon capability to take them out. We’re– we don’t have military in Syria to make sure that we’re gonna be protected–
STEPHANOPOULOS: And you’re confident we’re gonna have that in Afghanistan?
BIDEN: Yeah. I’m confident we’re gonna have the overriding capability, yes. Look, George, it’s like asking me, you know, am I confident that people are gonna act even remotely rationally. Here’s the deal. The deal is the threat from Al Qaeda and their associate organizations is greater in other parts of the world to the United States than it is from Afghanistan.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And th– that tells you that you’re– it’s safe to leave?
BIDEN: No. That tells me that– my dad used to have an expression, George. If everything’s equally important to you, nothing’s important to you. We should be focusing on where the threat is the greatest. And the threat– the idea– we can continue to spend $1 trillion and have tens of thousands of American forces in Afghanistan when we have what’s going on around the world, in the Middle East and North Africa and west– I mean, excuse me– yeah, North Africa and Western Africa. The idea we can do that and ignore those– those looming problems, growing problems, is not– not rational.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Final question on this. You know, in a couple weeks, we’re all gonna commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The Taliban are gonna be ruling Afghanistan, just l– like they were when our country was attacked. How do you explain that to the American people?
BIDEN: Not true. It’s not true. They’re not gonna look just like they were we were attacked. There was a guy named Osama bin Laden that was still alive and well. They were organized in a big way, that they had significant help from arou– from other parts of the world.
We went there for two reasons, George. Two reasons. One, to get Bin Laden, and two, to wipe out as best we could, and we did, the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We did it. Then what happened? Began to morph into the notion that, instead of having a counterterrorism capability to have small forces there in– or in the region to be able to take on Al Qaeda if it tried to reconstitute, we decided to engage in nation building. In nation building. That never made any sense to me.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It sounds like you think we shoulda gotten out a long time ago–
BIDEN: We should’ve.
STEPHANOPOULOS: –and– and accept the idea that it was gonna be messy no matter what.
BIDEN: Well, by the– what would be messy?
STEPHANOPOULOS: The exit–
BIDEN: If we had gotten out a long time ago– getting out would be messy no matter when it occurred. I ask you, you want me to stay, you want us to stay and send your kids back to Afghanistan? How about it? Are you g– if you had a son or daughter, would you send them in Afghanistan now? Or later?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Would be hard, but a lot of families have done it.
BIDEN: They’ve done it because, in fact, there was a circumstance that was different when we started. We were there for two reasons, George. And we accomplished both ten years ago. We got Osama bin Laden. As I said and got criticized for saying at the time, we’re gonna follow him to the gates of hell. Hell, we did–
STEPHANOPOULOS: How will history judge the United States’ experience in Afghanistan?
BIDEN: One that we overextended what we needed to do to deal with our national interest. That’s like my sayin’ they– they’re– they– they b– b– the border of Tajikistan– and– other– what– does it matter? Are we gonna go to war because of what’s goin’ on in Tajikistan? What do you think?
Tell me what– where in that isolated country that has never, never, never in all of history been united, all the way back to Alexander the Great, straight through the British Empire and the Russians, what is the idea? Are we gonna s– continue to lose thousands of Americans to injury and death to try to unite that country? What do you think? I think not.
I think the American people are with me. And when you unite that country, what do you have? They’re surrounded by Russia in the north or the Stans in the north. You have– to the west, they have Iran. To the south, they have Pakistan, who’s supporting them. And to the– and– actually, the east, they have Pakistan and China. Tell me. Tell me. Is that worth our national interest to continue to spend another $1 trillion and lose thousands more American lives? For what?
STEPHANOPOULOS: I know we’re outta time. I have two quick questions on COVID. I know you’re gonna make– be makin’ an announcement on booster shots today. Have you and the first lady gotten your booster shots yet?
BIDEN: We’re gonna get the booster shots. And– it’s somethin’ that I think– you know, because we g– w– we got our shots all the way back in I think December. So it’s– it’s– it’s past time. And so the idea (NOISE) that the recommendation– that’s my wife calling. (LAUGH) No. (LAUGH) But all kiddin’ aside, yes, we will get the booster shots.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And– and finally– are you comfortable with Americans getting a third shot when so many millions around the world haven’t had their first?
BIDEN: Absolutely because we’re providing more to the rest of the world than all the rest of the world combined. We got enough for everybody American, plus before this year is– before we get to the middle of next year, we’re gonna provide a half a billion shots to the rest of the world. We’re keepin’ our part of the bargain. We’re doin’ more than anybody.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, thanks for your time.
President Trump sent his first tweet a little more than half an hour into the Democratic presidential primary debate on Wednesday, and made clear what he thought of the proceeding.
“BORING!” Trump tweeted at 9:35 p.m. as Democratic hopefuls — including Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke — debated immigration, wealth inequality and other topics in Miami.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Trump was contemplating live tweeting the debate tonight and the follow-up tomorrow, which will feature front-runner Joe Biden.
Trump stayed mostly quiet on Twitter during the first hour of the debate Wednesday, sending only the one-word message.
Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence, spent more than three hours Thursday morning before the House Intelligence Committee, where lawmakers questioned him about the complaint, which revealed that Trump had pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son. A redacted version of the complaint was made public Thursday morning.
● Whistleblower claimed Trump abused his office and that White House officials tried to cover it up
5:50 p.m.: Schiff says he’s ‘deeply concerned’ about whistleblower’s safety
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said he is concerned about the safety of the whistleblower who raised the alarm about Trump’s call with Zelensky, citing “repugnant threats” made by the president earlier Thursday.
“I’m deeply concerned about it,” Schiff told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer when asked about the whistleblower’s safety. “And obviously, we’re going to do everything we can … to protect the whistleblower’s identity. But given those real, repugnant threats coming from the president, I have a real concern about this.”
Hours earlier, in a meeting with U.S. diplomats in New York, Trump had likened the whistleblower to a spy and suggested that the person should be punished for his or her actions.
Schiff also dismissed criticism from Republicans who have seized on his opening statement at Thursday’s hearing, in which he offered what he has described as a “parody” of Trump’s call with Zelensky.
“Oh, I don’t think it’s making light of the situation,” Schiff said on CNN. “And I certainly wouldn’t want to suggest that there’s anything comical about this.”
He added that it was accurate to say, as he did in the hearing, that Trump was “speaking like an organized crime boss.”
5:30 p.m.: Former Ukraine prosecutor says Hunter Biden ‘did not violate anything’
A former top Ukrainian prosecutor, whose allegations were at the heart of the dirt-digging effort by Rudolph W. Giuliani, said Thursday he believed that Hunter Biden did not run afoul of any laws in Ukraine.
“From the perspective of Ukrainian legislation, he did not violate anything,” former Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuri Lutsenko told The Washington Post in his first interview since the disclosure of a whistleblower complaint alleging pressure by Trump on Zelensky.
Lutsenko’s comments about Hunter Biden — which echo what he told Bloomberg News in May — were significant, because Trump and his personal attorney Giuliani have sought to stir up suspicions about both Hunter and Joe Biden’s conduct in Ukraine in recent weeks.
— Michael Birnbaum, David L. Stern and Natalie Gryvnyak
4:30 p.m.: American Academy of Diplomacy says Trump’s statements about Yovanovich are cause for ‘great concern’
The American Academy of Diplomacy, a nonprofit that supports the work of U.S. diplomats, put out a strongly worded statement condemning the disparaging comments Trump made about Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, during his call with the Ukrainian president.
According to the rough transcript of the call between Trump and Zelensky provided by the White House, Trump said, “The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that.”
Then Trump added, “She’s going to go through some things.”
The nonprofit’s chairman, Thomas Pickering, and its president, Ronald Neumann, said Trump’s comments causes them “great concern.”
Pickering worked in the State Department and as an ambassador under every president from Richard M. Nixon to Bill Clinton, while Neumann served as ambassador to Afghanistan and Bahrain under President George W. Bush and Algeria under Clinton.
“The threatening tone of this statement is deeply troubling,” they said in a joint statement. “It suggests actions outside of and contrary to the procedures and standards of a professional service whose officers, like their military counterparts, take an oath to uphold the Constitution. Whatever views the Administration has of Ambassador Yovanovitch’s performance, we call on the Administration to make clear that retaliation for political reasons will not be tolerated.
Yovanovitch was called back from her post in Ukraine in May, a move that Democrats have called a “political hit job.”
4:10 p.m.: Pompeo declines to say whether State Department told Giuliani to reach out to Ukraine
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to say Thursday whether the State Department directed Giuliani to contact Zelensky and his aides.
Giuliani said in a Fox News Channel interview earlier this week that he was “operating at the request of the State Department” when he reached out to Ukrainian officials about investigating Biden.
But in a news conference in New York, Pompeo dodged a question on Giuliani’s claim. He said he had yet to read the whistleblower’s complaint, telling reporters that he “read the first couple of paragraphs and then got busy today.” And he maintained that “to the best of my knowledge,” the behavior of State Department officials was “entirely appropriate.”
“We have tried to use this opportunity to create a better relationship between the United States and Ukraine, to build on the opportunities, to tighten our relationship, to help end corruption in Ukraine,” Pompeo said. “This was what President Zelensky ran on. We’re hopeful that we can help him execute and achieve that.”
4 p.m.: Clinton says Trump’s efforts to undercut Biden mirror his attacks against her in 2016
In an interview taped before Pelosi officially announced her support for an impeachment inquiry into Trump, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton described the latest developments regarding Trump’s alleged actions as “incredibly troubling.” She said Trump’s attempts to damage Biden’s 2020 chances are similar to his efforts to undercut her in 2016.
“The most outrageously false things were said about me,” Clinton said in an interview with CBS’s “Sunday Morning.” “And unfortunately, enough people believed them. So this is an effort to sow these falsehoods against Biden. And I don’t care if you’re for the [Democrats] or you’re a Republican, when the president of the United States — who has taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution — uses his position to, in effect, extort a foreign government for his political purposes, I think that is very much what the founders worried about in high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Later in the interview, Clinton called Trump “a clear and present danger.”
The interview will air in its entirety on Sunday.
3:50 p.m.: Biden campaign says Trump’s actions extend from ‘fear’ that the former vice president will beat him in 2020
The Biden campaign responded to the latest revelations in Trump’s alleged efforts to seek incriminating information from Ukraine about the former vice president, claiming that Trump’s alleged actions are “all borne from his deep, fully substantiated fear that Joe Biden will beat him in November 2020.”
“An intelligence community whistleblower said, ‘I have received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election,’” Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said in a statement.
“An hour after the report was made public, the Acting Director of National Intelligence called this report ‘urgent and important’ and ‘totally unprecedented.’ And now we know that President Trump’s response to all of this was to privately issue a thinly veiled threat this morning to execute the national security professionals who followed their oath to uphold the Constitution by bringing this to light.”
Bedingfield added that Trump’s “abuse of power makes him one of the most divisive, unfit individuals to occupy the Oval Office in our nation’s history.”
3:30 p.m.: Trump compares whistleblower to a ‘spy’
In remarks at a meeting with staffers for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations on Thursday, Trump likened the whistleblower to a spy and suggested that the person should be punished for his or her actions.
He told staffers that “basically, that person never saw the report, never saw the call, he never saw the call — heard something and decided that he or she, or whoever the hell they saw — they’re almost a spy.”
“I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” Trump said, according to audio of his remarks posted by the Los Angeles Times and confirmed to The Washington Post by a person in the room. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
At a separate event with campaign donors at New York City’s Cipriani restaurant on Thursday, Trump waved a copy of the rough transcript of his call with Zelensky and boasted that it was good news for the GOP because it had prompted a flood of donations.
“This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to the Republican Party,” Trump said, according to an attendee.
When the crowd chanted “four more years,” the president responded by joking that they shouldn’t stop there.
“If you really want their heads to explode, you should chant eight more years,” Trump said.
— Josh Dawsey
2:30 p.m.: Timeline: The alarming pattern of actions by Trump included in whistleblower allegations
Six weeks after it was submitted, a complaint from an intelligence community whistleblower has been declassified and released publicly. Part of the complaint centers on the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky. The whistleblower complaint, filed more than a month earlier, accurately captures the content of that call, lending validity to the rest of the assertions in the complaint.
With that in mind, we’ve pulled out the significant dates mentioned in the whistleblower complaint to give a sense of how the effort by Trump and Giuliani to elicit an investigation in Ukraine unfolded.
1:30 p.m.: Number of House members supportive of impeachment inquiry stands at 220
The number of House members who support an impeachment inquiry into Trump has grown slightly to 220, according to a Washington Post tally.
The figure includes 219 Democrats and one independent member.
Of those, 27 have gone a step further and said they support impeaching the president.
The ranks of Democrats calling for an impeachment inquiry swelled in the past week, culminating Tuesday when Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced a formal inquiry.
President Trump landed in Washington Thursday afternoon — and immediately lashed out at Democrats over their continued scrutiny of his phone call with Zelensky.
It was an “absolutely perfect phone call,” Trump told reporters shortly after getting off the plane.
He argued that Pelosi has been “hijacked by the radical left,” renewing his attacks on the speaker of the House after she announced her support for an impeachment inquiry.
1 p.m.: Schiff says Democrats are ‘determined to get to the bottom of this’
Schiff said his committee would work through an upcoming two-week recess as it continues to probe Trump’s interactions with Zelensky.
“We are determined to get to the bottom of this,” Schiff said, suggesting the committee would interview multiple witnesses, including the whistleblower.
The committee also wants to learn more about the roles of Attorney General William P. Barr and Giuliani among others, Schiff said.
Schiff spoke to reporters shortly after his panel adjourned after hearing from Maguire for more than three hours.
12:50 p.m.: Trump lashes out at Schiff after hearing wraps up
Trump took to Twitter shortly after the House Intelligence Committee hearing wrapped up, taking aim at its chairman and dismissing the whistleblower report as “second hand information.”
“Adam Schiff has zero credibility. Another fantasy to hurt the Republican Party!” Trump tweeted.
Adam Schiff has zero credibility. Another fantasy to hurt the Republican Party!
The tweet came as Schiff (D-Calif.) was fielding questions following the hearing from reporters, one of whom asked about Trump’s tweet.
“I’m always flattered when I’m attacked by someone of the president’s character,” Schiff responded.
In a separate tweet, Trump sought to play down the seriousness of the allegations of the whistleblower, who acknowledged no firsthand knowledge of Trump’s actions but said the complaint was informed by “more than half a dozen U.S. officials.”
“A whistleblower with second hand information? Another Fake News Story! See what was said on the very nice, no pressure, call. Another Witch Hunt!” Trump wrote.
A whistleblower with second hand information? Another Fake News Story! See what was said on the very nice, no pressure, call. Another Witch Hunt!
Later, Trump targeted Schiff again on Twitter, writing: “Liddle’ Adam Schiff, who has worked unsuccessfully for 3 years to hurt the Republican Party and President, has just said that the Whistleblower, even though he or she only had second hand information, “is credible.” How can that be with zero info and a known bias. Democrat Scam!”
12:40 p.m.: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, voices support for impeachment inquiry
Phil Scott on Thursday became the nation’s first Republican governor to voice support for the House’s impeachment inquiry against Trump.
“I believe we need to figure out what exactly did happen, establish the facts, and let the facts drive us from there to where we go,” Scott, who has been a frequent Trump critic, said at a news conference in Vermont.
12:30 p.m.: Lewandowski denies having conversations with White House about leading impeachment team
Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, denied a CNN report that he has had discussions with the White House about potentially leading the president’s impeachment team.
“For the last five years, I have done my best to help this president in any capacity that he has asked me,” Lewandowski said in a phone interview with The Washington Post. “But I have had no conversation with anyone at the White House regarding this.”
Lewandowski signaled, however, that he is open to helping Trump fight back against impeachment in whatever way the president requests.
“If the president asks me to push back on the fake impeachment narrative, I will do that in any way I can,” Lewandowski said.
CNN reported earlier Thursday that Lewandowski, who is mulling a U.S. Senate bid, representing his home state of New Hampshire, has had recent conversations with White House officials about taking an administration position as the impeachment battle ramps up.
— Robert Costa
12:20 p.m.: Maguire hearing wraps up
The House Intelligence Committee hearing concluded Thursday afternoon after more than three hours of heated questioning of Maguire by lawmakers.
Maguire is expected to go behind closed doors later Thursday to address the Senate Intelligence Committee.
12:10 p.m.: Republicans plan another House vote on impeachment authorization
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he will force another House vote on authorizing an impeachment investigation, in a move designed to put pressure on Democrats on the issue.
“Every member owes it to their constituents — their constituents are the ones who lend their voice to the members for two years,” McCarthy said at his weekly news conference. “And they should be very clear on where they stand.”
On Thursday morning, the number of House members backing an impeachment inquiry had passed the halfway mark, with 218 House Democrats and one independent member supporting at least opening an inquiry into whether Trump committed “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
But some Democrats are still holding out, including several in Republican-leaning districts.
— Mike DeBonis
12 p.m.: Senate panel debates withholding State Department funds
The Senate Appropriations Committee spent some time Thursday morning debating an amendment that would have withheld some State Department funds until $448 million in security assistance is released for Ukraine.
Ultimately, the committee didn’t vote on the amendment after its author — Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) — withdrew it. Murphy said he didn’t want to set a bad precedent and wanted to retain bipartisan agreement on the committee. He also said he trusted a commitment from Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) to ensure funding for Ukraine. Graham chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations.
“I accept Senator Graham’s commitment to continue to work on this,” Murphy said. “I would rather have us stay together united, Republicans and Democrats, speaking for the importance of continuing to fund aid to Ukraine, and I agree with him that even without this language, when we spend money, when we appropriate it, the president is legally obligated to spend it.”
Underlying the discussion was Trump’s decision to hold up security assistance for Ukraine until recently, as revelations emerged about his phone call with the president of Ukraine in which Trump suggested that Biden should be investigated by authorities in that country.
Graham insisted that Trump was withholding funds as a means to get other countries to pay more. Murphy raised questions about that explanation.
Several Democrats said that under the circumstances, there was a need for statutory language requiring money appropriated for Ukraine to be spent.
“The plot has thickened dramatically,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).
But the discussion ended without specific resolution.
“I just want to find a way to tell the Ukraine we’re with them and not screw up everything else,” Graham said.
— Erica Werner
11:45 a.m.: Trump’s other Ukraine problem: New concern about his business
Buried in the controversy over Trump’s phone call with Zelensky was an effort by the Ukrainian leader at currying favor with Trump through his business.
“Actually, last time I traveled to the United States, I stayed in New York near Central Park, and I stayed at the Trump Tower,” Zelensky told Trump, according to a rough transcript of the July 25 call released Wednesday.
Zelensky’s comments mark the first known example of the kind of interaction Democrats and government ethics experts had warned about when Trump took office: that foreign leaders would try to influence Trump by spending money at his properties and telling him about it.
Other Ukrainian officials have also patronized Trump properties. A top Zelensky aide met at Trump’s D.C. hotel in July with Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, a frequent patron of the hotel himself, according to the New York Times. A lobbyist who registered as an agent of Zelensky’s with the U.S. government hosted a $1,900 event at the D.C. hotel in April, according to a federal filing.
11:40 a.m.: Lawmakers urge Congress not to go on recess
The House is scheduled to leave town on Friday for a two-week recess. But several Democrats are arguing that lawmakers should remain in Washington amid the intensifying focus on Trump’s conduct and the whistleblower complaint.
“Trump clearly sees the Oval Office as his campaign office,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said in a tweet. “We cannot let the occupant make a mockery of our Constitution any longer. Congress must cancel the upcoming recess so we can finally impeach this president.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also said that “Congress must not leave for recess tomorrow.”
“If we are committed to holding Trump accountable and passing something on gun violence, we have to keep working here in DC,” he said in a tweet. “The stakes are too high.”
The liberal group Indivisible said in a statement earlier this week that Pelosi should cancel recess “and get to a vote on articles of impeachment as soon as humanly possible.”
11:15 a.m.: Pelosi accuses the White House of a “coverup”
Pointing to the whistleblower’s report during remarks to reporters late Thursday morning, Pelosi repeatedly accused the White House of having engaged in a “coverup.”
She was responding to claims by the whistleblower from the U.S. intelligence community that not only did Trump misuse his office for personal gain and endanger national security, but that unidentified White House officials had tried to hide that conduct.
According to the complaint, White House officials were so alarmed by Trump’s call with Zelensky that they sought to limit access to its written record.
“Their actions are a coverup,” Pelosi said at her weekly press briefing. “It’s not only happened that one time. My understanding is it may have happened before.”
Pelosi also said that there was no timeline on the impeachment inquiry announced earlier this week and that Trump would have an opportunity to present exculpatory information.
“There is no rush to judgment,” Pelosi said.
She said the episode involving Ukraine would take precedence in the impeachment inquiry.
“We are at a different level of lawlessness that is self-evident to the American people,” Pelosi said.
11 a.m.: Schumer says Senate will serve as ‘solemn jurors of our democracy’ if House impeaches Trump
In remarks as the Senate opened Thursday morning, Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for lawmakers to place the best interests of the country, not their political parties, front and center as they weigh their next steps following the release of the whistleblower’s complaint.
“We have a responsibility to consider the facts that emerge squarely and with the best interest of our country — not our party — in our hearts,” Schumer said. “We have a responsibility not to rush to final judgment or overstate the case — not to let ourselves be ruled by passion, but by reason.”
He added that “if the House at the end of its inquiry sees fit to accuse the president of impeachable offenses, we in the Senate will act as jury.”
“And our role as the solemn jurors of democracy demands that we place fidelity to the country and fidelity to the Constitution above all else,” he said.
10:30 a.m.: Trump campaign says Democrats are the ones interfering in the 2020 election
A spokesman for Trump’s reelection campaign said Thursday morning that it wasn’t Trump who sought to interfere in the 2020 elections — but Democrats.
“All of this amounts to Democrats interfering in the 2020 election by attempting to block @realDonaldTrump from running for re-election,” Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Trump’s campaign, wrote on Twitter. “They want to deny Americans the opportunity to vote to re-elect the President. They know they can’t beat him, so they have to try to impeach.”
All of this amounts to Democrats interfering in the 2020 election by attempting to block @realDonaldTrump from running for re-election.
They want to deny Americans the opportunity to vote to re-elect the President.
They know they can’t beat him, so they have to try to impeach.
10:15 a.m.: House Republicans highlight 20-year-old clips of Democrats opposing President Bill Clinton’s impeachment
As House Democrats sought to build a case for impeachment against Trump, House Republicans were using their Twitter account to share two-decade-old video clips of Democrats taking issue with the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
The House Republican conference account shared clips of more than a half-dozen lawmakers speaking out against Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, with some of them complaining about a partisan process seeking to undo the will of voters.
One video depicted Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), currently the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, speaking on the House floor.
“I am greatly disappointed in the raw, unmasked, unbridled hatred and meanness that drives this impeachment coup d’etat. The unapologetic disregard for the voice of the people,” she said.
Others Democrats highlighted in the clips included Pelosi, now-House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), now-Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Tex.) and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.).
9:45 a.m.: Democratic White House hopefuls start weighing in on whistleblower complaint
Democratic White House contenders have started weighing in on the whistleblower complaint, with one — former congressman Beto O’Rourke (Tex.) — calling on the House to cancel its upcoming two-week recess.
“The House should cancel its break and start impeachment proceedings now,” O’Rourke said in a tweet. “As the whistleblower made clear: Every day Trump is in office, our democracy is less safe. We can’t wait to act.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio) shared on Twitter that he had read the report.
“It’s as straightforward as can be,” Ryan said, alleging it detailed “third-rate, banana republic behavior.”
“I can’t believe my Republican colleagues are going to ignore this,” Ryan said in another tweet. “Would they if our President was an Democrat?”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) also weighed in, writing on Twitter: “Donald Trump solicited foreign interference in our elections from the Oval Office. He attempted to cover up his actions. And his appointees intervened, against the law, to attempt to suppress this whistleblower complaint.”
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), meanwhile, highlighted a paragraph in the report and offered her assessment: “This is a coverup.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) later asserted in a statement that the whistleblower complaint was “only the tip of an iceberg of corrupt, illegal and immoral behavior by this president.”
“What the House must do is thoroughly investigate Trump’s cover-up of this call and his other attempts to use government resources to help his re-election campaign,” he said.
9:20 a.m.: White House dismisses whistleblower complaint as ‘third-hand accounts’
Shortly after the whistleblower complaint was made public, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued a statement.
“Nothing has changed with the release of this complaint, which is nothing more than a collection of third-hand accounts of events and cobbled-together press clippings — all of which shows nothing improper,” she said.
9:15 a.m.: Whistleblower claimed Trump abused his office and that White House officials tried to cover it up
The House Intelligence Committee has released the whistleblower complaint at the heart of the burgeoning controversy over Trump’s July phone call with the Ukrainian president — an explosive document that claims not only that Trump misused his office for personal gain, but that unidentified White House officials tried to hide that fact.
“In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election,” the whistleblower wrote in the complaint dated Aug. 12. “This interference includes, among other things, pressuring a foreign country to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals. The President’s personal lawyer, Mr. Rudolph W. Giuliani, is a central figure in this effort. Attorney General (William P.) Barr appears to be involved as well.”
8:45 a.m.: Trump lashes out at Democrats as whistleblower complaint is released
Minutes after a whistleblower complaint was made public, Trump lashed out at Democrats in a tweet written in all capital letters in which he accused them of trying to destroy the Republican Party “AND ALL THAT IT STANDS FOR.”
“STICK TOGETHER, PLAY THEIR GAME, AND FIGHT HARD REPUBLICANS. OUR COUNTRY IS AT STAKE!” he counseled members of his party.
The tweet was in response to a whistleblower from the U.S. intelligence community who alleged that Trump had improperly pressed Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son.
8:10 a.m.: Sarah Sanders argues impeachment drive helps Trump politically
Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders argued Thursday that House Democrats have given Trump a political boost by launching a formal impeachment inquiry.
“I think that it’s one of the dumbest and most ridiculous political moves that we’ve seen in history, how they have forced impeachment over this issue,” Sanders said during an appearance on Fox News, where she is now a contributor.
“All this is doing is helping fuel his campaign,” Sanders said of the Democrats’ move. “They’re raising more money, they’re rallying his base, and they’re unifying the Republican Party in a way that only they can by attacking this president the way they do time and time again.”
7:30 a.m.: Trump unleashes spate of morning tweets
The president asserted Thursday that the stock market would crash if Democrats followed through with impeaching him, a warning sent in the midst of a morning spate of tweets and retweets about the inquiry announced this week by Pelosi.
In one tweet, Trump highlighted a Fox Business Network report with the headline: “Stocks hit session lows after Pelosi calls for impeachment inquiry.”
“If they actually did this the markets would crash,” Trump wrote in response. “Do you think it was luck that got us to the best Stock Market and Economy in our history. It wasn’t!”
Trump also highlighted a tweet by his daughter Ivanka, a White House adviser, in which she thanked him for his work and included a photo of her father pumping his fist.
“So cute! Her father is under siege, for no reason, since his first day in office!” Trump wrote.
In another, he wrote: “THE GREATEST SCAM IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN POLITICS!”
6:30 a.m.: Biden suggests a motive for Trump reaching out to Ukraine
Speaking at a fundraiser Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Biden said there was no proof of Trump’s allegation that he and his son Hunter Biden had conflicts of interest while he served as vice president.
“This is not about me, and it really isn’t because not a single publication said anything he has ever said about me or my son is true,” Biden said. “Everyone has gone and researched it and said it’s not true.”
Biden suggested that Trump asked Zelensky to investigate him and his son because “70-something polls show that I’ll kick his … toes.” The audience burst into laughter.
6:15 a.m.: Some House Democrats fret as Pelosi forges ahead with impeachment
As his fellow House Democrats moved en masse toward impeaching Trump after months of hesitation, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey could only watch in bewilderment.
“I don’t get surprised often,” the freshman moderate said Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Pelosi dropped her own qualms and launched the House’s official impeachment inquiry targeting Trump. “But really, truly, I just was like, ‘Wow.’ It happened so quickly.”
As other Democrats proclaimed unity and resolve after Pelosi described the “dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office,” pledging to move quickly toward impeachment articles, Van Drew stood with a group of Democrats who say they continue to have reservations and fear a rash impeachment could obliterate the rest of the party’s governing agenda, improve Trump’s chances of reelection and imperil their own.
6 a.m.: Biden edges closer to calling for impeachment on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Biden edged closer to calling for impeachment on Wednesday night, pointing to a rough transcript of a conversation between Trump and Ukraine’s president as evidence that Trump is likely to have committed “an impeachable offense.”
Biden, who had stopped short of calling for the president to be ousted earlier this week, adjusted his stance after the White House shared the details of a 30-minute phone call Trump made to Zelensky in July. According to the 2,000-word rough transcript, Trump repeatedly suggested that Zelensky investigate Biden, offering help from the Justice Department and raising the possibility of inviting the foreign leader to the White House.
“Based on the material that they acknowledged today, it seems to me it’s awful hard to avoid the conclusion that it is an impeachable offense and a violation of constitutional responsibility,” Biden said during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
5 a.m.: 218 House Democrats support impeachment inquiry
As of Wednesday evening, there were now 217 House Democrats and Independent Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) who support launching an impeachment inquiry, giving 218 votes to impeach Trump — the threshold number of votes needed to pass anything in the House.
In the past two days, 78 Democrats said they wanted the House to go through with an impeachment process. Before the whistleblower complaint news broke last week, there were 95 members total who supported doing so.
“Today, for the world to see, we learned in his own words that the President of the United States used the full weight of the most sacred office in the land to coerce a foreign leader in a way that undermines our democracy and threatens our national security,” said Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who came out for an impeachment inquiry Wednesday night.
But just because 218 lawmakers want the House to go through with the impeachment process, there’s no guarantee that they would vote to impeach Trump at the end of it. Of the 218, only 25 have said they’d vote to impeach the president right now.
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