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Thursday, July 25, 2024

Biden Addresses the Nation for First Time After Dropping Out of Campaign

Townhall: President Joe Biden delivered his address to the nation from the Oval Office this evening. The speech was supposed to explain why he decided to exit the 2024 race. Instead, as Fox News’s Dana Perino noted, we got a political speech, a mini-State of the Union. It came off as resentful, outlining his accomplishments, both real and imagined, though well short of the great presidents who have sat behind that desk before him. The speech was also labored and slurred, indicating that his age had caught up to him (Townhall). Collin Rugg: President Biden struggles to pronounce his words while reading from a teleprompter in the Oval Office. Biden said he had “save democracy” by letting his own party stage a coup on him. “Those who cherry that cause, cherish it so much. A cause of American democracy itself. We must unite to protect it.” “Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy” (X). RNC Research: BIDEN: My record is so good, I’ve “decided” to drop out of the presidential race (X).

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Addresses Joint Session of Congress

Spencer Brown: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday afternoon… Still embroiled in a war started by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists on October 7 with the slaughter and kidnapping of innocents, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel’s current fight against those who wish its elimination is “not a clash of civilizations” but “a clash between barbarism and civilization” (Townhall). Charlie Kirk: BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: “I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots” (X). Greg Price: Netanyahu: “Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza’. They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC'” (X).

Anti-Israel Protesters Vandalize Statues in DC, Burn American Flags, Praise Hamas

Townhall: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress that was boycotted by a large swath of Democrats… It was no shock that angry, unhinged, pro-terrorist activists descended into DC. They caused mayhem on the Hill yesterday, released maggots at the Watergate Hotel, where the prime minister was staying, and now stormed Union Station. The pro-Hamas brigades stormed the grounds, took down the American flags in the traffic circle, and then burned some nearby. This is the Left in 2024, and the folks Democrats have to kowtow if they want to win this election (Townhall). Katie Pavlich: Outside Union Station in DC now. Lots of vandalism of the statues and Freedom Bell, including big praise for Hamas (X). Clay Travis: Anti-Israel protesters just tore down the American flag at DC’s Union Station and raised the Palestinian flag in its place. How does any Jewish voter in America support Democrats? They hate you (X). Nick Sortor: Police in riot gear are fighting with THOUSANDS of protestors that are approaching the U.S. Capitol (X). Daily Signal: The exact moment a U.S. Park Police officer was dragged away by a pro-Palestine protestor while trying to make an arrest outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., today (X).

Kamala Harris Declines Attending Netanyahu’s Address to Congress to Speak to College Sorority

She is the President of the Senate. She ought to have been presiding. New York Post: Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a national gathering of a black college sorority Wednesday — skipping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress to speak instead about how she plans to build upon President Biden’s record if she becomes America’s first female president. Harris, 59, spoke to members of Zeta Phi Beta in Indianapolis — delivering one of her first speeches since becoming the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee following President Biden’s Sunday decision to step aside and endorse her to replace him on Nov. 5 ballots. She used the word “freedom” 13 times to describe her vision on abortion rights, gun rights, voting rights and state policies against the teaching of so-called Critical Race Theory (New York Post). Senator Rick Scott: Biden and Harris have been disrespecting Israeli PM Netanyahu since their first days in office. For months, Biden and Harris refused to meet with or talk to Netanyahu. Now, VP Harris is doubling down on that disrespect by refusing to attend this speech and preside over it as Senate President. It’s disgusting. Israel is the United States’ greatest democratic ally in the Middle East. We cannot abandon them as they defend themselves against terrorism, and we need a president who will stand strong with our ally – like we had with President Trump, who was the most pro-Israel president we ever had (X).

Donald Trump Holds First Rally Since Biden Drops Out

CBS: Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, held his first public campaign rally since President Biden dropped out of a 2024 matchup that both major parties had spent months preparing for, leaving the former president to direct his ire toward his likely new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump opened his speech by claiming that Mr. Biden “quit” the race because “he was losing so badly in the polls,” and he alleged, without evidence, that Democratic lawmakers conspired to force Mr. Biden’s hand by threatening to use the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, a common attack line from Republican lawmakers in recent days (CBS). Post Millennial: Trump: “If Kamala will lie to you so brazenly about Joe Biden’s mental incapacity, then she will lie to you about anything. She can never, ever be trusted” (X).

BLM Denounces Democrats for Anointing Kamala Harris Without Proper Primaries

Townhall: In another instance of the left eating its own, the Marxist “Black Lives Matter” organization expressed its anger with the Democratic National Committee and Kamala Harris for seizing the party’s nomination for president following President Joe Biden’s decision to quit the race. In a statement declaring that it “cannot ignore the troubling actions of the Democratic Party,” the BLM organization calls out the party of Biden and Harris because it “refused to host debates during the primary, even though a vast majority of Democratic voters wanted them” — a series of events that “would have likely allowed America to see the decline of Joe Biden in 2023” (Townhall). National Review: BLM expressed concern that any process other than the virtual snap primary would be considered undemocratic and lend credence to critics’ claims that Harris was selected solely because of her race and gender (National Review).

Axios Edits Out Instances Where They Referred to Kamala Harris as “border czar”

Media running cover for the democrat nominee. Townhall: After being hit with relentless reminders about how Axios referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as the border czar, the outlet added a note that reads as follows. “Editor’s note: This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a “border czar” in 2021.” That being said, Axios is still being hit with criticism for such a framing (Townhall). Jon Levine: Axios committed to making it worse. This is literally Soviet (X). Just the News: The vice president received her immigration role in early 2021, but did not visit the southern border until June, traveling to El Paso, Texas. After the appointment, her then-spokeswoman Symone Sanders insisted Harris was “not doing the border” and that she would instead “take on the diplomatic effort, with Mexico and countries in the northern triangle to address the root causes of migration” (Just the News).

Kamala Harris Took Over of the Democrat Party in 48 Hours

New York Times: Late on Sunday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris summoned a small clutch of her closest advisers and allies to the Naval Observatory, where she lives and works, with little notice and even less information. President Biden had informed Ms. Harris earlier that morning that he was withdrawing from the race. The vice president had assembled her team so that the exact moment Mr. Biden formally quit, they were ready to go. Time was of the essence. A sprawling call list of the most important Democrats to reach had been prepared in advance. She phoned past Democratic presidents, many of her potential rivals — including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — the Democratic congressional leaders, Senator Bernie Sanders, the heads of the various influential caucuses and other top Democrats, a person with direct knowledge of the call list said. The blitz demonstrated exactly the kind of vigor and energy that Mr. Biden had lacked in recent weeks. Within 48 hours, Ms. Harris had functionally cleared the Democratic field of every serious rival, clinched the support of more delegates than needed to secure the party nomination, raised more than $100 million and delivered a crisper message against former President Donald J. Trump than Mr. Biden had mustered in months (New York Times).

FBI Director Chris Wray Testifies Before Congress About Assassination Attempt of Donald Trump

CBS: FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before House lawmakers Wednesday about the investigation into the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, and he revealed new details about the gunman’s actions in the lead-up to the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania. Wray told members of the House Judiciary Committee that the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, flew a drone near the site of the rally roughly two hours before he opened fire. Wray said investigators recovered the drone in Crooks’ vehicle, and the bureau believes he was watching video streamed from the device to scout the area. The FBI chief also said agents recovered a total of three “relatively crude” explosive devices: two from Crooks’ vehicle and one from his residence. Crooks had a transmitter that would have allowed him to detonate the devices in his car remotely, but the receivers on the bombs were turned off, Wray said (CBS). National Review: At this time, Wray said the FBI does not know why Trump was not prevented from going onto the stage after law enforcement became aware of Crooks’s presence. The FBI found no evidence Crooks had any co-conspirators, and considers him to be a “loner” based on interviews and the small number of contacts on his devices. The FBI is leading the investigation into the security failures at the Trump rally, alongside federal, state, and local partners (National Review).

10.

Effects of Inflation Still Crippling for Americans

With just over three months to November election. Fox Business: Inflation is moderating, but an increasing number of Americans that are nearing retirement or have already retired are considering delaying their plans or returning to the workforce because of rising prices, a recent survey said. More than two out of three (68%) of pre-retirees plan to push back their retirement – compared to 64% last year, according to the F&G Annuities & Life survey…Generation X is the most concerned over the impact of inflation on their retirement plans, with 71% saying they are considering or have pushed back their planned retirement date, up from 65% last year. Beyond inflation, 49% of Generation Xers said they were worried they hadn’t saved enough money to retire and 42% said they wanted more financial options and a larger safety net. Workers said they needed to save $1.5 million to retire comfortably, yet many are far from that target, according to a Northwestern Mutual survey. A third of workers said they had less than $50,000 in savings and investments, and 14% had less than $1,000 (Fox Business). House GOP: In November 2021, Kamala Harris promised Americans that the Biden-Harris agenda would drive down inflation. Since Biden and Harris took office inflation has skyrocketed by over 20% (X).