- Don Lemon asking Elon Musk to take responsibility for his own company’s failures, illustrating why Elon never wanted the interview to air

President Biden is somehow still polling behind disgraced former president Donald Trump in most pivotal swing states. The Democratic nominee has a lot of work to do if he wants to remain at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next year. 
 

• President Biden has had a serious problem with young voters for some time now, a crucial demographic that helped push him over the finish line in 2020. He continues to face an uphill battle with voters 18-29, many of whom are highly critical of the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. In four of the five states where “uncommitted” (a vote in Democratic primaries to protest Biden’s handling of the war) performed best, there was a clear trend consistent across those states. Areas with higher density of young voters were much more likely to vote “uncommitted” or against Biden in some way in the primary. Protest votes were also strong in communities with greater numbers of Muslim and Arab Americans, a trend that was most notable in Michigan, where majority-Arab American areas voted “uncommitted” at an eye-popping rate of around 79 percent. 
   

• One area where Biden thinks he can make inroads with young voters is housing. The nationwide housing crunch is hitting young people particularly hard, and with millions of renters disproportionately cash-burdened by their payments—and many crushed by student loans on top of that—many young Americans are abandoning the dream of homeownership entirely. President Biden has made decreasing consumer costs a central tenet of his economic case for reelection, but housing may be his white whale. While prices have decreased more broadly, housing costs have continued to rise, which administration officials believe is harming public opinion on the economy. Increases in housing costs accounted for roughly two-thirds of the country’s annual inflation in February. 
   

• Biden pressed Congress on Tuesday for major new housing investments, including incentive to promote construction and tax credits aiding lower-income renters and first-time homebuyers. Republican lawmakers have demonstrated that they won’t pass any legislation that could potentially help Biden win reelection (tens of millions of Americans hanging in the balance be damned, I guess?) so the odds are long that such bills will pass before November, if at all.

Donald Trump, of course, does not care in the slightest about the plight of the average renter or homebuyer, being that he literally inherited and presided over a commercial real estate company for decades. But as with other priorities for American voters, Biden needs to clearly differentiate himself from his opponent in the eyes of voters. 

• A plurality of Latino voters in the U.S. now respond “neither” when asked which of the major political parties cares more about them, according to a new Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll. More Latinos still favor the Democratic Party, but the numbers are slowly dropping off. Some voters in this demographic show growing differences on cultural issues and crime, and they believe Republicans are better at handling the economy. Almost half of the voters surveyed have a favorable opinion of President Biden, but this gradual decline in support could spell trouble for Democrats in future elections, as Latinos are a vital voting block. 

• To that end, President Biden sought to personally re-engage Latino voters on a campaign stop in Reno, NV on Tuesday. Biden told supporters at his Nevada campaign office that he and his opponent have “a different value set” and he criticized Trump for disparaging comments he has made about veterans. Biden said that Washoe County—which includes Reno—and the state of Nevada will be “really, really, really critical,” for the November election. His campaign stop in Reno coincided with the launch of “Latinos con Biden Harris”—a new spanish-language arm of the campaign. The president did two Spanish-language radio interviews, and emphasized his support for unions and abortion during the trip. 

Leading climate organization the League of Conservation Voters announced a pledge of $120 million to Biden’s campaign, bringing the total expected pro-Biden spending from outside groups this year to about $1 billion. Biden is expected to raise and spend $2 billion as part of his reelection campaign. Donald Trump is struggling to raise funds, but that far from assures his defeat (Amy McGrath, anyone?). Biden will need to throw every piece of spaghetti at the wall until something sticks, because the other guy certainly isn’t playing by the rules and looks increasingly poised to win.

Yesterday on Strict Scrutiny, hosts Leah, Melissa, and Katie dug into arguments from two conservative states who assert that fake news on social media is protected under the first amendment. Try explaining that to a founding father! They also previewed the mifepristone case that the Court will hear next week, though nothing can ever really prepare us for hearing a bunch of old Catholics talk about women’s healthcare. Make sure to listen and follow Strict Scrutiny on Amazon Music so you never miss an episode.

With no end in sight to Israel’s war in Gaza, it’s important to look ahead to what the conflict could look like in a potential second Trump presidency. Trump’s son-in-law and former senior White House adviser Jared Kushner (does anyone know if he succeeded in bringing peace to the Middle East?) In an interview at Harvard on March 8, Kushner, a former property dealer, praised the potential of “Gaza’s waterfront property,” which he said “could be very valuable…if people would focus on building up livelihoods.” He continued: “It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.” He then went on to say he would “just bulldoze something in the Negev”—a desert region in southern Israel—and would “try to move people in there.” What he described sure sounds an awful lot like ethnic cleansing! When asked whether he supports a two-state solution, or Palestinians having their own state, Kushner called it “a super bad idea,” that would, he said, “essentially be rewarding an act of terror,” implicating all Palestinians for the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that it will allow Texas (for now) to enforce a brutal immigration law expanding the powers of local police to arrest suspected migrants. The law can now go into effect while litigation continues in the lower courts, and could still be blocked at a later date. 

Canadian foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly announced on Tuesday that Canada will halt future arms shipments to Israel following a nonbinding vote in the nation’s parliament late Monday. The coalition that supported the resolution to stop arms sales cited frustration with what they see as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s failure to sufficiently protect civilians in Gaza. 

The grifters du jour over at No Labels are pressing ahead with a third-party presidential bid despite having no candidate to run. More than a dozen prominent potential candidates have said no to the group, which is gorgeous. No Labels, No Candidate, No Problem!

Trump-appointed federal judge Aileen Canon issued an unusual order late on Monday in which she told lawyers to file proposed jury instructions by April 2 on topics related to defense motions to have Trump’s indictment for classified documents dismissed outright—even though she has not yet ruled on when the trial will be held. 

Speaking of Trump, he sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulous on Monday for defamation over the latter’s questioning of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) about her endorsement of the former president. Mace is a rape survivor, and she accused Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her by asking why she would endorse Trump given his verdicts related to E. Jean Carroll’s sexual battery and defamation lawsuits. 

Moving on to a different Trump legal matter, attorneys for his co-defendants in the Fulton County election interference case are asking a Superior Court judge to let them appeal his decision to allow District Attorney Fani Willis to continue leading the prosecution. 

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) said in an interview with Pod Save America that she regrets calling the recent California Senate primary “rigged” after losing the contest to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who received a huge war chest of mega-donor money. 

Disgraced former president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was indicted Tuesday over accusations that he falsified his personal COVID-19 vaccine records. 

Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno is projected to win the Ohio GOP Senate primary, beating the establishment candidate State Sen. Matt Dolan (R-OH) who was endorsed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH).

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) says he will not support Donald Trump for president. Welcome to the club, you goofy-ass Hoosier.

Back in January, two members of an Al Jazeera crew—Hamza Dahdouh and drone operator Mustafa Thuraya—were killed, along with their driver, and two other journalists were seriously wounded. The following day, the Israel Defense Forces said it had “identified and struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops,” and then two days after that, the IDF stated that both journalists killed actually belonged to militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. But a new report in the Washington Post calls those claims into question. The Post obtained and reviewed footage from Thuraya’s drone—a device commonly used by journalists to capture images and footage in dangerous areas, the kind anyone could purchase at Best Buy—and found that no IDF soldiers, aircrafts, or other military equipment are visible in the footage taken that day. The Post also found no indications that either man was anything other than a journalist, as both passed through Israeli checkpoints, and Dahdouh had even been approved to leave Gaza, a privilege which would not have been granted to a known militant. The Post’s exhaustive report now raises questions about whether the journalists may have been targeted for simply operating a drone. In response to multiple inquiries and detailed questions from The Post, the IDF said: “We have nothing further to add.” Ninety journalists and other media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Whether you're looking to whiten your teeth, maintain a healthy smile, or enhance your overall oral care routine, Smileactives has you covered.

Achieving a bright and radiant smile has never been easier, thanks to Smileactives Pro Whitening Gel. Say goodbye to messy and time-consuming whitening strips or uncomfortable trays. Simply add the gel to your toothpaste and brush as normal to achieve your new, confident smile!
 

Safe and Effective formulas, fast results with up to 5 shades whiter in 7 days, and a 60-day money-back guarantee, Smileactives is a smile game-changer! And for a limited time, Smileactives is offering Buy One, Get One Free on their Introductory Pro Whitening Gel. To claim, visit smileactives.com/NL and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

The Montana Supreme Court on Monday overruled the state attorney general’s January decision that a ballot initiative to explicitly protect abortion in the state constitution is “legally insufficient,” meaning the ballot proposal can proceed!

Former Trump aide Peter Navarro reported to federal prison in Miami on Tuesday, becoming the first former White House official to be imprisoned for contempt of Congress. “The very best people!”

A new poll from Florida Atlantic University found that Americans who voted for president Biden and Democrats are happier than people who voted for Trump. Turns out that not having a permanent, frothing contempt for your fellow man really does a lot for your mood.