Nearly 60% of voters say that President Biden should not run for reelection in 2024, with most citing his age as the reason for their views, according to a new survey.
The Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll, done for Newsweek and released on Tuesday, found that 58% of voters do not want the 80-year-old commander-in-chief to seek a second term.
Only 30% of eligible voters polled said that Biden should run again in 2024, and 42% said the president’s advanced age was the most significant reason for their answer.
Other reasons voters cited for not wanting the octogenarian president to run for reelection included concerns with the Biden administration’s economic policies (16%), preferring other potential Democratic candidates (7%), and the results of the midterm elections (1%).
The poll, conducted on Dec. 5, surveyed 1,500 eligible voters, 12% of whom were unsure whether they thought Biden should launch a reelection campaign.
Biden, who is the oldest serving US president in history, has said he expects to run for another four year term but has pushed a final decision back until early next year.
He would be 86 years old when he leaves office if he completes a full second term.
Biden has reportedly “vented to allies” about how much his age is discussed in the media as he weighs a 2024 run, Politico reported Tuesday.\
“You think I don’t know how f—ing old I am?” an exasperated Biden ranted to one of his acquaintances earlier this year, according to the outlet.
“I think it’s a legitimate thing to be concerned about anyone’s age, including mine,” Biden said during an October interview with MSNBC. “And I think the best way to make the judgment is to watch me. Am I slowing up? Do I have the same pace?”
In a hypothetical 2024 matchup with former President Donald Trump, the only declared presidential candidate for 2024, Biden beats the 76-year-old Trump 47% to 40%, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University survey released Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — President Biden celebrated a slight decline in the rate of annual inflation to 7.1% Tuesday — while warning a return to normal rates of around 2% was “going to take time” and that there may be “setbacks along the way.”
Biden spoke after new data showed annual price increases cooled in November, continuing a gradual deceleration from a peak of 9.1% in June, while still remaining much higher than at any point since the early 1980s.
“In a world where inflation is rising at double digits in many major economies around the world, inflation is coming down in America,” Biden said at the White House, referring primarily to European inflation, which slightly outpaces US rates due to energy disruption from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Make no mistake, prices are still too high and we have a lot more work to do,” the president said. “But things are getting better and headed in the right direction.”
“Most Americans can see the progress driving down the street and finding relief at the pump as gas prices fall,” he went on. “Today’s report contains another piece of good news: food inflation slowed last month, providing much-needed relief for millions of families at the grocery store.”
President Biden celebrated a slight decline in the rate of annual inflation to 7.1% on Dec. 13.AP
So-called “core inflation,” referring to all items except food and energy, increased by 6% over November of 2021.
In response to a reporter’s shouted question about when prices would “get back to normal,” Biden suggested it might happen toward the end of 2023.
“I hope by the end of next year we’re much closer,” he said. “But I can’t make that prediction. I just — I’m convinced they’re not going to go up. I’m convinced they’re going to continue to go down.”
The Federal Reserve’s target for annual inflation is 2% and for the past two decades, it has been roughly that. The central bank has dramatically increased interest rates in an attempt to lower inflation, heightening concern about a possible recession next year.
The White House has largely blamed inflation on COVID-19, alleged corporate price-gouging, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — while Biden’s critics point to massive increases in government spending since he took office in January 2021.
“I want to be clear: it’s going to take time to get inflation back to normal levels as we make the transition to a more stable and steady growth,” Biden said. “But we could see setbacks along the way as well. We shouldn’t take anything for granted. But what is clear is that my economic plan is working and we’re just getting started.”
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He added: “I know it’s been a rough few years for hardworking Americans and for small businesses as well, and that for a lot of folks things are still pretty rough. But there are bright spots all across America where we’re beginning to see the impact of our economic strategy and we’re just getting started.”
Biden has signed some of the largest spending bills in US history, arguing that they were needed to keep the economy afloat and ultimately could reduce some consumer costs, including by improving transportation and energy efficiency.
Although some of the spending bills contained new revenue to offset spending, skeptics accused bill authors of budget gimmicks to paint a rosier economic picture by spreading spending out over fewer years than those offsets.
Republicans will retake the House next month and are vowing to halt ambitious Biden proposals. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, told The Post in a recent interview that the GOP would seek to “claw back this reckless spending” to reduce inflation.
“The first way we start to strengthen the economy is to rein in inflation by stopping the reckless spending bills,” Stefanik said. “We absolutely will use that power … to not only claw back this reckless spending but also put a stop to Joe Biden’s spending proposals … and that will begin to lower the rate of inflation.”
The public parkland just across the street from the White House’s South Lawn was closed to visitors Saturday morning to keep prying eyes away from the private wedding of President Biden’s granddaughter Naomi.
The Ellipse, the green space between the president’s home and the Washington Monument was barred off with temporary fencing that kept the curious at least a block away from the 11:00 am ceremony.
Guests — including former Senator Chris Dodd and former President Trump’s onetime personal lawyer Michael Cohen’s daughter Samantha, who attended college with Naomi Biden — were handed hand warmers as they filed through the White House gates, the Daily Mail reported.
Temporary fences kept prying eyes from the Ellipse expanse during the ceremony.Twitter/@EmilylgoodinPresident Joe Biden and wife Jill arrive at granddaughter Naomi’s wedding.AFP via Getty Images
But journalists have been banned from covering any part of the outdoor wedding ceremony, the bridal lunch to follow, or the “dessert-and-dancing” reception Saturday evening — even though all of the nuptial events are taking place in what the Bidens have frequently called “The People’s House.”
“Naomi and Peter [Neal] have asked that their wedding be closed to the media and we are respecting their wishes,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
In the White House’s history, only 18 weddings have been celebrated at the president’s home — just five in the past 100 years, according to the White House Historical Association.
Guests look on as the couple, both lawyers, exchange their vows.AFP via Getty ImagesVendors prepared the spot ahead of the ceremony.REUTERS
Naomi Biden and her soon-to-be husband, both attorneys, have lived at the White House since August, CNN reported Friday.
The Biden family used a presidential motorcade Friday evening to make the 700-foot, half-block trip from the White House to the Renwick Gallery art museum, where the bridal couple hosted a rehearsal dinner.
The White House is in talks with billionaire Elon Musk about setting up SpaceX’s satellite Internet service Starlink in Iran, CNN reported on Friday, citing officials familiar with the matter. The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent the regime’s restrictions on accessing the Internet and certain social media platforms. The Islamic Republic has been engulfed by protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody last month.
The US Treasury Department last month said that some satellite Internet equipment can be exported to Iran, suggesting that the company may not need a license to provide satellite broadband service in the country.
Musk had then said he would activate Starlink in response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tweet that the US took action “to advance Internet freedom and the free flow of information” to Iranians.
SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Musk said on Tuesday Starlink has not received any funding from the US Department of Defense for its services in Ukraine, adding the company was losing about $20 million (roughly Rs. 165 crore) a month due to unpaid service and costs on security measures for cyberwar defence. “No money from DoD, but several other countries, orgs & individuals are paying for ~11k/25k terminals,” Musk said. The Pentagon is reportedly considering paying for the service to Ukraine.
SpaceX is aiming to grow Starlink, as it races against rival satellite communications companies such as OneWeb and Amazon’s yet to launch Project Kuiper.
Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company’s latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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President Biden announced the release of 15 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Wednesday — before ripping critics who accused him of a desperate ploy to drive down gas prices temporarily right before next month’s midterm elections.
“What is your response to Republicans who say you are only doing this SPR release to help Democrats in the midterms?” a reporter asked Biden at the White House.
The president initially tried to brush off the inquiry, saying: “Where have they been in the last four months? That’s my response.”
It’s unclear why Biden said “four months” — as he first ordered oil released from the reserve nearly seven months ago.
Another journalist pressed, “Is it politically motivated, sir? It’s three weeks before the midterms.”
“Look, it makes sense,” Biden said.
Biden delivers remarks on energy at Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein listen on Oct. 19.Alex Wong/Getty Images
“I’ve been doing this for how long now? It’s not politically motivated at all,” he added. “It’s motivated to make sure that I continue to push on what I’ve been pushing on.”
“The problem is these guys are asleep,” Biden went on, in an apparent reference to oil companies. “I don’t know where they’ve been. And they seem — you know, the price at the pump should reflect what the price of a barrel of oil costs.”
White House officials told reporters ahead of the announcement that higher than usual corporate profits explain roughly 60 cents of current gas prices per gallon. The average cost of a gallon of gas is $3.85 per gallon, up from $3.34 one year ago, according to AAA data.
In his remarks Wednesday, Biden said that the federal government would begin to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when the price per barrel of oil reaches $70. Former President Donald Trump tried to add 77 million barrels to the reserve in 2020 when oil went for about $20 per barrel, but House Democrats blocked the plan.
The president announced the release of 15 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — just three weeks ahead of midterms.Richard Carson/REUTERS
Biden claimed in his remarks that he had done nothing to impede US oil production — despite the fact that he took several actions to throttle exploration, drilling and transportation of oil last year.
“Let’s debunk some myths here. My administration has not stopped or slowed US oil production. Quite the opposite,” Biden said.
The president justified the claim by noting that “we’re producing 12 million barrels of oil per day. And by the end of this year, we will be producing 1 million barrels a day more than the day in which I took office. In fact, we’re on track record oil production in 2023.”
Gas prices surged across America for months as the White House attempts to remedy the rise.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
“Americans know that Biden has resorted to gimmicks because his anti-US energy agenda has resulted in soaring gas prices,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “Democrats are to blame for the pain at the pump, the record high utility bills, and soaring energy costs. Voters know Republicans are ready to get our economy back on track and that starts with unleashing American energy.”
The US Oil & Gas Administration joined the pile-on, tweeting: “Gonna keep saying this over and over. The Biden Administration has taken dozens upon dozens of actions (over 100 to date) that will make it harder to produce the very US barrels that POTUS needs to refill the SPR.”
“Biden’s attempt to dig himself out of this energy crisis using our emergency oil reserves threatens our national security and leaves us vulnerable, should disaster strike,” tweeted Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.). “Instead, the President should focus on expanding our domestic energy production.”
Biden said that the federal government would begin to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when the price per barrel of oil reaches $70. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
“It’s the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It’s not the political petroleum reserve,” added Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “[Biden] is playing politics with this national security asset.”
Biden initially ordered oil to be released from the US strategic reserve in late March to offset price increases linked to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Biden administration officials framed the upcoming releases as merely “completing” Biden’s plan to release 180 million barrels from the strategic reserve between April and September.
The newly announced release will happen in December. Biden said earlier this month he would release 10 million barrels from the reserve in November to offset production cuts announced earlier this month by the OPEC+ cartel.
About 400 million barrels of oil will remain in the reserve after the December release is complete.
The White House pressured the Democratic mayor of El Paso, Texas, to not declare a state of emergency over the city’s migrant crisis due to fear it would make President Biden look bad, The Post has learned.
At least three of the El Paso City Council’s eight mayors have urged Mayor Oscar Leeser to issue an emergency declaration in response to the thousands of migrants who’ve filled the city’s shelters and are being housed in local hotels, sources familiar with the matter said.
But Leeser admitted during a private phone conversation last month that he’d been directed otherwise by the Biden administration, one of the officials told The Post.
“He told me the White House asked him not to,” Councilmember Claudia Rodriguez said.
Councilmember Claudia Rodriguez shared that they were advised by the White House.
Rodriguez also said Leeser has repeatedly assured her that he’d declare a state of emergency “if things got worse” — without saying what that meant.
US Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas), whose district covers rural areas and border towns near El Paso, also said he heard similar accounts from other city officials.
“It is a sleight of hand what the administration is doing — pressuring the local government to not issue a declaration of emergency, to say as if everything is going OK,” he said.
Gonzalez also alleged that the White House has done “the same thing in other parts of my district,” which have also seen huge numbers of migrants seeking refuge.
Leeser declined to speak with The Post but said in a prepared statement, “I don’t bow to pressure from any side.”
At one point over 2,100 migrants were crossing the border at El Paso.New York Post
“I make decisions based on current circumstances and in the best interest of the citizens of El Paso,” the statement said.
Leeser also praised the federal government for providing his city with “critical” assistance.
The White House pressured El Paso’s mayor to not declare a state of emergency over the city’s migrant crisis.New York PostCongressman Tony Gonzalez shares it was not the first time they’ve received pressure regarding migrants seeking refuge. Congressman Tony Gonzalez
At a Sept. 27 City Council meeting, Mayor Leeser also addressed the issue, saying Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) had urged him not to declare a State of Emergency, adding: “The White House has asked, at this point, for us not to do that and they’ll continue to work with us and continue to give us … money through [the] Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
Figures posted on El Paso’s official website show the city has received only $2 million in federal reimbursements toward the $8 million it has spent dealing with the migrant crisis.
The total cost could end up being much more, with ElPasomatters.org reporting in September the city was spending as much as $300,000 a day to shelter, feed and transport asylum-seeking immigrants.
At least three of the El Paso City Council’s eight mayors have urged Mayor Oscar Leeser to issue an emergency declaration.City of El Paso
In May, The Post first reported how officials in El Paso were considering declaring a state of emergency ahead of the expected ending of pandemic-related expulsions of border-crossers under Title 42 of the federal Public Health Services Act.
The move would have made the city and county eligible for state and federal funding to open additional shelters for housing migrants.
But the following day, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said that “the mayor and I backed off,” telling The Post that “we found out that there’s very little difference between the funding we’re getting now and the funding that we would get if it went up to the governor and the governor sent it to President Biden.”
At the time, about 700 migrants a day were arriving in El Paso.
But that number topped 2,100 a day last week before dropping down to around 1,600 a day, according to the latest information posted Monday on the city’s website.
Between April and mid-September more than 62,000 migrants had crossed the border at El Paso alone.
El Paso has relocated more than 10,000 migrants by bus to New York City since August, with Lesser revealing at a public meeting last month that he got a green light to do so from Mayor Eric Adams.
The increase of migrants has been an ongoing issue for the El Paso community. New York Post
El Paso has relocated more than 10,000 migrants by bus to New York City since August. New York Post
Between April and mid-September more than 62,000 migrants had crossed the border at El Paso alone. New York Post
The city has received only $2 million in federal reimbursements toward the $8 million it has spent dealing with the migrant crisis. New York Post
Adams has denied that assertion and publicly called on Leeser to end the program earlier this month, saying “New York cannot accommodate the number of buses that we have coming here to our city.”
The Oct. 7 appeal came the same day Hizzoner declared a state of emergency in the Big Apple over its migrant crisis.
But the buses have continued rolling to the city from El Paso, most recently on Sunday.
Leeser has said that most of the migrants flooding El Paso come from Venezuela.
In recent days, migrants have been able to simply walk across the dried-up Rio Grande, surrender to US Customs and Border Protection officials and get released after saying they intend to seek political asylum.
Last week, the US and Mexican governments announced a deal under which Venezuelans who cross into the US would be sent back to Mexico.
But border sources told The Post that the agreement was only being enforced in a small number of cases.
The White House didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The Biden Administration announced rail companies and unions reached a “tentative” agreement to void a national rail strike following an ongoing labor dispute.
On Thursday morning, the White House said in a statement that “better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs” will be given to rail workers.
President Joe Biden said in a statement the tentative deal “will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.”
An Amtrak worker opens a door on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, as stoppages are announced on Sept. 14, 2022. AP
Twelve unions representing 115,000 workers agreed to the deal.
“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” Biden announced. “These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned.”
An Amtrak passenger train departs Chicago in the early evening on Sept. 14, 2022 in Chicago. AP
“The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come,” Biden added.
The details of the tentative agreement have not been shared.
While Amtrak workers are not involved in the ongoing labor dispute, over 21,000 of track miles outside of the northeast corridor — Boston to Washington D.C. — are owned and maintained by freight companies.
The deals of the “tentative” agreement were based on recommendations by the Presidential Emergency Board, appointed by Biden this summer, that called for 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses in a five-year deal, retroactive to 2020.
The unions that represent conductors and engineers who drive trains have held out hoping the railroads address additional issues, such as their strict attendance policy making it difficult to take time off. They have said that the railroad’s decision to slash its workforce by one-third over the last six years has made the job even harder.
A Chicago area Metra commuter train headed to the city’s Union Station passes an Amtrak passenger train on Sept. 14, 2022.AP
They have demanded the railroads provide unpaid leave time so workers could tend to their personal business, such as doctor’s appointments, without being penalized.
The strike would have put additional strain on the already log-jammed supply chains and could escalate already high inflation costs.
Even a brief shutdown would have dramatically disrupted the shipping of fuel, chemicals, foods, cars, coal, and other imported goods and products.
Last week, the White House attempted to define its economic vision in a 58-page report titled “The Biden-Harris Economic Blueprint.” One first notices the report’s sloppiness. Five footnotes supposedly sourcing the White House data include in bold letters: “Error! Bookmark not defined.” There is also awkward repetition, such as cutting-and-pasting “the strongest and most equitable labor market recovery in modern history” in paragraph after paragraph (eventually getting excited enough to remove the word “modern,” allowing the president to also declare superiority over all ancient economic recoveries).
Sure, the introduction declares that “President Biden’s top economic priority is bringing down inflation and lowering costs for families,” yet none of the report’s “five core pillars” focuses primarily on combating inflation, which remains incredibly high — 8.3% in August.
In fact, the report repeatedly brags about policies that worsen inflation. This includes mandating Project Labor Agreements and Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rules (union giveaways that raise costs for federal projects), and expanding federal Buy American rules that bar federal agencies from buying cheaper imports. The White House even trumpets its mandate applying expensive Davis-Bacon regulations to semiconductor manufacturers in the CHIPS Act — contradicting the bill’s purpose to lower production costs and spur domestic semiconductor production.
Inflation is still sky-high, even if President Biden says otherwise.Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
The White House report also laments the rising cost of college tuition, yet also brags about steep increases in Pell grants and college student aid that (according to the Federal Reserve) leads colleges to hike tuition further to capture 60% of all student aid.
If bringing down inflation is really the president’s top economic priority, we do not see that in his policies.
Nor does the White House report express any concern over trillion-dollar budget deficits. In fact, the only mention of deficits appears in a throwaway line touting the 2022 deficit decline that was entirely driven by rising tax revenues and the pandemic spending expiring on schedule, rather than any presidential actions.
President Biden’s laws such as the American Rescue Plan, infrastructure bill, veterans’ bill, CHIPS Act, appropriations bills, and student loan bailouts have cumulatively added more than $4 trillion to 10-year deficits in just 20 months. And that is on top of soaring baseline deficits that are scheduled to push interest costs on the debt to a record 3.3% of the economy within a decade. Most of the 58-page plan boasts about all the wonderful new benefits purchased on the national credit card, and offers no plan to stem the tide of red ink.
The White House report also repeatedly, and breathlessly, takes credit for an economic recovery that resulted overwhelmingly from the pandemic receding rather than any presidential policy. The “key accomplishment” of creating 9.7 million jobs stems mostly from the economy reopening following the pandemic. The “decline of more than $1.20 in gas prices this summer” of course fails to mention the $2.61 price rise that had occurred earlier under Biden.
In what is certainly news to Republicans, as well as America’s governors, mayors and public health officials, the report claims that “The Biden-Harris Administration also took decisive action to open America’s schools safely.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has played along with President Biden’s nonsense.Amanda Andrade-Rhoades – Pool vi
The report also offers lazy economic analysis that has long been refuted. This includes posting a chart claiming a substantial split between worker pay and productivity that economists on the left and right (including Lawrence Summers) have long disproven.
The report bemoans falling tax revenues, even though 2022 tax revenues are set to reach 19.6% of the economy (the second-highest level since World War II), driven by individual income tax revenues surging to a record 10.6% of the economy. Several charts attempt to show insufficient business tax revenues by including only corporate tax revenues, and ignoring the taxes paid by small businesses through the individual income tax code. The White House repeats the dubious claims that families earning under $400,000 have been spared from all new taxes, and that the $80 billion in new IRS funding will not bring more middle-class audits.
With Americans suffering under painful inflation, declining real wages and a falling stock market, the White House clearly feels pressure to justify its economic performance. They’ll have to do better than the latest spin.
Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Brian_Riedl.
Remember a couple of months ago when Joe Biden was overseas and Gavin Newsom sauntered into the White House like he owned the place, jacket slung over the shoulder oh so casually, TV cameras in the perfect place to capture the moment he opened the door and entered the president’s private lair?
Quite some chutzpah.
Immediately, tongues wagged that he was there to “measure the drapes,” which was exactly the point.
The Californian governor is being presented as the pretty face to lead a new generation of moderate Dems and their best hope to hold the White House.
In this scenario, a doddering Joe Biden would be shuffled off before his term ended, so Kamala Harris could grab the mantle — hurrah! — as the first black woman president, at least for a few months, and Newsom could set himself up as VP with a rails run into the White House in 2024. At 54, this distant relative of Nancy Pelosi fancies himself as the “youth ticket” to beat Donald Trump.
But not so fast.
Independent transparency non-profit Open the Books has dived deep into California’s finances to unmask Newsom’s backers and the destructive policies they foster, like misguided criminal-justice reforms which have driven crime rates around the nation.
The Newsom section of the Open The Books report, exclusively provided to The Post, is a fascinating glimpse into the ecosystem of liberal political elites that is ripping this country apart and shows how millions in donations to Newsom’s campaign have resulted in billions of dollars worth of contracts.
Newsom found his way strolling the White House, acting as if it was home a few months ago.Twitter/CAgovernor
After a 10-year battle to unlock California’s secretive checkbook and almost 450 open records requests with every state agency, Open The Books discovered that Newsom’s donors often are richly rewarded for their largesse with grants to their foundations and massive tax credits to their companies. Newsom “solicited roughly 1000 state vendors for $10.5 million worth of campaign donations, and those companies or affiliated companies received $6.2 billion worth of worth of state payments last year,” says CEO and founder Adam Andrzejewski.
His woke quartet
At the center of Newsom’s Berkeley/Bay Area cheer squad are four very rich women whose twin obsessions are climate and criminal-justice reform: Patty Quillin, wife of billionaire Netflix CEO Reed Hastings; Quinn Delaney, wife of real-estate mogul Wayne Jordan; Kaitlyn Krieger, wife of Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger; and Elizabeth Simons, daughter of hedge-fund billionaire James Simons.
The woke quartet poured $22 million into progressive criminal-justice ballot measures and progressive DAs over two years, according to Politico.
They spent almost $4 million just to elect far-left Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who has brought misery to the lives of so many Californians. They opened their Hermes purses again to defeat two recall efforts and keep him in office.
Open The Books has itemized their contributions to support Gascon and his policies. From Quillin $1.65 million, from Simons $725,000. Delaney gave $448,000 to the Real Justice PAC, which supported Gascón, and Krieger gave $206,500.
The Kriegers founded the Future Justice Fund, whose goal is to end “mass incarceration” because it is racist to put black people in jail. Delaney and Jordan founded the Akonadi Foundation, which is dedicated to “ending the criminalization of black youth” and “supports the development of powerful social-change movements to eliminate structural racism and create a racially just society.”
Akonadi donated $28,200 to Newsom’s reelection. Delaney donated $122,200 to Newsom’s re-election; Jordan donated $89,800 and separately donated $100,000 to the Million Voter Project Action Fund Committee to Oppose Newsom Recall. But the state of California has reciprocated some of this generosity.
For instance, Simons donated $123,200 to Newsom’s reelection, and her private-equity guru husband, Mark Heising, matched it with another $123,200.
California gave back with a grant in 2021 to their Heising-Simons Foundation worth $262,502.40 via UC Berkeley.
Quillin donated $123,200 to Newsom’s reelection. Hastings donated $94,000 and another $3 million into a fund to fight Newsom’s recall. Netflix employees and executives donated $69,150 to Newsom’s reelection. Netflix, Inc. Federal PAC donated another $5,000.
Lo and behold, Open The Books found that the California Film Commission looked kindly on Netflix when it came to allotting tax credits. Netflix received more than twice as much in tax credits as did any other company ($60 million in the allotment reported in February 2022).
It’s nice to live in a nepotistic state where the media gives you a free pass. But if Newsom plans on stepping up to the big stage, the Open The Books scrutiny is just a taste of what’s to come.
Bragg’s off target
Alvin Bragg refuses to lock up murderous thugs but he’s more than happy to weaponize the law to strike a political enemy of the Biden administration like former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. In the middle of a violent crime wave in this city, Bragg’s priority today is to indict a resident of Washington, DC.
New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference.AP/Yuki Iwamura
Open letter, closed minds
Shame on the never-Trumper former Pentagon leaders who signed an open letter they must know plays right into the Biden administration’s inflammatory election narrative that Trump voters pose some existential threat to “democracy.”
The letter, which alludes to the January 6 Capitol riot, has been carefully written to be opaque, bordering on incoherent. But the 13 signatories know perfectly well that whipping up “MAGA fear” is the Democrats’ only strategy to stave off a wipeout at the midterms. The fact that the letter was organized by Duke political science academic Peter Feaver, a fevered Trump-hater and mentor of General “Thoroughly Modern” Milley, makes its intent clear.
Special criticism is due signatory Leon Panetta, the liberal Californian congressman turned-Obama CIA director and defense secretary who previously also signed the “Dirty 51” letter from 51 ex-intelligence officials framing the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian disinformation before the 2020 election.
Some on the list should know better. Others are beyond redemption.
Jay Carney, the top policy and communications executive at Amazon and one-time White House spokesman, has been named the head of policy at Airbnb, marking another high-profile departure for Amazon as it faces a shifting consumer landscape and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Carney, who served as the press secretary for President Barack Obama, will join Airbnb‘s executive team and work with co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the company said in a Friday blog post.
“Jay has worked at the highest levels of both government and technology, serving as a strategic counselor to the President, and at one of the largest tech companies in the world,” Chesky said in the post.
Carney will join Airbnb in September in Washington, DC.
Amazon has seen string of departures since Andy Jassy succeeded founder Jeff Bezos as CEO last summer. This month, Dave Clark, the chief executive of Amazon’s consumer business who oversaw a mass expansion of Amazon’s logistics footprint, left the company after 23 years. Clark, who will join the logistics startup Flexport in September, was replaced by Doug Herrington, another executive who helped launch Amazon Fresh in 2017.
Carney started with Amazon seven years ago and ran the company’s global corporate affairs organisation, reporting directly to the CEO. He oversaw Amazon’s policy and public relations, focusing on the company’s relationship with lawmakers and the White House.
Carney was White House press secretary from 2011 to 2014 after serving as director of communications for then Vice President Joe Biden.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
