The Political Thread

[Chris]

Voters Doubt Biden’s Leadership and Favor Trump, Times/Siena Poll Finds

The share of voters who strongly disapprove of President Biden’s handling of his job has reached 47 percent, higher than in Times/Siena polls at any point in his presidency.

www.nytimes.com

President Biden is struggling to overcome doubts about his leadership inside his own party and broad dissatisfaction over the nation’s direction, leaving him trailing behind Donald J. Trump just as their general-election contest is about to begin, a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College has found.

With eight months left until the November election, Mr. Biden’s 43 percent support lags behind Mr. Trump’s 48 percent in the national survey of registered voters.

 

[Chris]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/02/politics/us-airdrops-aid-gaza/index.html

The United States and Jordan air-dropped humanitarian aid into Gaza, US Central Command said Saturday, one day after President Joe Biden asserted the US would pull out “every stop” to get more aid into the besieged coastal enclave.

 

[Death By Looch]

Voters Doubt Biden’s Leadership and Favor Trump, Times/Siena Poll Finds

The share of voters who strongly disapprove of President Biden’s handling of his job has reached 47 percent, higher than in Times/Siena polls at any point in his presidency.

www.nytimes.com

President Biden is struggling to overcome doubts about his leadership inside his own party and broad dissatisfaction over the nation’s direction, leaving him trailing behind Donald J. Trump just as their general-election contest is about to begin, a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College has found.

With eight months left until the November election, Mr. Biden’s 43 percent support lags behind Mr. Trump’s 48 percent in the national survey of registered voters.

 

[Chris]

Majority of Biden 2020 voters say Biden is too old serve effectively: poll

A majority of voters who backed President Biden in 2020 now say he is too old to serve another term effectively, a new poll found. The recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that 61 percent…

thehill.com

A majority of voters who backed President Biden in 2020 now say he is too old to serve another term effectively, a new poll found.

The recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that 61 percent of those who voted for Biden in 2020 strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that he is “just too old” to serve effectively. Among those planning on voting for him in a hypothetical general election, 59 percent still say he is too old to be an effective president.

 

[Chris]

Key Figure in Trump’s Business Will Plead Guilty to Perjury

Allen H. Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization finance chief, has already spent time at the Rikers Island jail complex. A perjury plea could send him back.

www.nytimes.com

Allen H. Weisselberg, a longtime lieutenant to former President Donald J. Trump, has reached an agreement with Manhattan prosecutors to plead guilty to perjury charges on Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Yet Mr. Weisselberg, who for years has remained steadfastly loyal to Mr. Trump in the face of intense prosecutorial pressure, is not expected to implicate his former boss. That unbroken streak of loyalty has frustrated prosecutors and already once cost him his freedom.

Mr. Weisselberg, 76, is now expected to concede that he lied to investigators from the New York attorney general’s office when they were investigating Mr. Trump for fraud. The attorney general, Letitia James, had accused Mr. Trump of wildly inflating his net worth to obtain favorable loans and other benefits.

 

[Chris]

Live Updates: Trump Prevails in Supreme Court Challenge to His Eligibility

The justices ruled that the 14th Amendment did not allow Colorado to bar the former president from the state’s primary ballot. The justices offered different reasons, but the decision was unanimous.

www.nytimes.com

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that President Donald J. Trump should remain on Colorado’s primary ballot, rejecting a challenge to his eligibility for another term that could have upended the presidential race by taking him off ballots around the nation.

Though the justices offered different reasons, the decision was unanimous.

 

[Death By Looch]

Of course...

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Yep, the fact that it was a unanimous decision is fucking baffling.

 

[Bobby Barrows]

This fucking country.

 

[Chris]

Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to leaking military secrets

Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets. Prosecutors plan to seek the high end of the range, according to the agreement...

www.yahoo.com

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets.

Teixeira's plea agreement with prosecutors calls for a prison sentence between 11 and nearly 17 years. Prosecutors plan to seek the high end of the range, according to the agreement.

 

[Chris]

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-03-04/un-team-says-rape-gang-rape-likely-occurred-during-hamas-attack-on-israel

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A team of United Nations experts reported on Monday that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred at several locations during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants.

 

[Chris]

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will not run for re-election in Arizona

The Democrat-turned-independent is retiring from the Senate after one term.

www.nbcnews.com

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced Tuesday that she will not run for re-election this year, leaving the Senate after one term that saw her paint Arizona blue, leave the Democratic Party and play a key role in numerous legislative negotiations in a tightly divided Senate.

“Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year,” Sinema said in a video posted on her X account.

 

[Chris]

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/super-tuesday-primary-03-05-24/index.html

• Haley to drop out: Nikki Haley will announce today that she is exiting the presidential race, according to sources familiar with her plans. Haley, Donald Trump's sole rival in the race for the 2024 GOP nomination, will not announce today that she is endorsing the former president, sources say.
• Big night for Biden and Trump: President Joe Biden and Trump dominated Super Tuesday races across the country and moved closer to clinching their parties' nominations as they gear up for a likely November rematch.
• Few surprises: There was little real drama on Super Tuesday. The only close race was in Vermont, where Haley notched her only win of the day, CNN projected. And Biden was handed his first primary defeat Tuesday in the US territory of American Samoa.
• Other key races: Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff will face GOP Steve Garvey in California's Senate race. In North Carolina, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein will compete in the governor's race.

 

[Chris]

Hochul to dispatch 750 National Guard troops to NYC subways following spate of violence

Her announcement on Wednesday is part of a series of proposals Hochul outlined on Wednesday to combat crime in the subways.

www.nydailynews.com

Gov. Hochul is deploying 750 members of the New York National Guard and 250 state and MTA police officers to NYC subway stations following a spate of violent incidents across the network.

Her announcement on Wednesday is part of a series of actions Hochul outlined on Wednesday to combat crime in the subways. Among them is directing the MTA to install cameras in conductor cabs and on platforms facing conductor windows.

 

[Chris]

https://www.axios.com/2024/03/06/mitch-mcconnell-trump-2024-endorsement

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday announced he'd endorse former President Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Why it matters: McConnell recently announced he'd step down as Senate GOP leader in November after years of a contentious relationship with the former president.

• The endorsement, first reported by the Washington Post, came shortly after former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley dropped out of the presidential race.
• "It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States," McConnell said in a statement provided to Axios.