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☆ Biden secures Democratic nomination with majority of delegates, NBC News projects
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Peter Nicholas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, NBC News projects, winning a majority of the necessary delegates and setting up what is expected to be a bitter, closely contested rematch with Donald Trump. By clearing the field for the 81-year-old Biden, Democrats have gambled that he remains the party's best shot at defeating Trump one more time. The general election campaign opens with Biden an underdog against an opponent who historians have ranked as the worst president in the nation's history. He ran for the party's nomination in 1988 and again in 2008 and never made headway with rank-and-file Democratic voters. Through sheer persistence, he is now finishing a presidential term while wrapping up his second party nomination in a row.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald J, Trump, Donald Trump, Biden, Govs, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, —, Liano Sharon, parry, Marc Morial, Sen, Claire McCaskill, Beau's, Barack Obama's, Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore, Edward M, Kennedy Organizations: United, Former U.S, YMCA Allard Center, Democratic, NBC News, Biden, Trump, Democratic National Committee, parry Republicans, State, Union, National Urban League, Israel, Office Locations: Goffstown , New Hampshire, United States, Michigan, New Orleans, Israel, Gaza, South Carolina

Asked about Biden's private comments about Netanyahu, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement that the two leaders have a respectful relationship. His descriptions of his dealings with Netanyahu are peppered with contemptuous references to Netanyahu as "this guy," these people said. And in at least three recent instances, Biden has called Netanyahu an "asshole," according to three of the people directly familiar with his comments. U.S. President Joe Biden is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, as he visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2023. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also decidedly blunt last week after a meeting with Netanyahu in Israel.

Persons: Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Biden, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bibi, Biden's Organizations: Israel's, Palestinian, Hamas, National Security Council, Israeli, Sunday, NBC News, NBC, Congress, Israel Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, WASHINGTON, Gaza, Rafah, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia

☆ South Carolina Democrats head to the polls, where Biden is expected to notch a primary win
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Peter Nicholas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Biden stands as the overwhelming favorite to win the South Carolina primary against comparatively weak opposition: U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Marianne Williamson, an author who ran unsuccessfully in 2020. In drawing up the official primary calendar, Democratic officials put South Carolina first. Biden hopes to win South Carolina by a whopping margin, which might infuse his candidacy with more energy and help deflect attention from his low standing in public opinion polls. A total of 55 delegates are at stake Saturday in South Carolina. South Carolina Democrats want a huge turnout to justify the party's decision to bump the state to the front of the line.

Persons: Joe, Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, James Clyburn, Donald Trump, Jamie Harrison, Tierra Albert, Nikki Haley, Haley —, —, Clyburn, Haley, I've Organizations: Democratic, South Carolina, U.S . Rep, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, South, New, New Hampshire, GOP, Democratic National, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Party, Israel, Hamas, Claflin University, Trump, Republican, South Carolina Democrats, NBC News Locations: South Carolina, New Hampshire, New, Charleston, South, Columbia, Iowa, Carolinians, , Iowa, Spartanburg, Carolina, Israel, Gaza, Orangeburg

Tuesday’s legislative elections in Virginia will provide key tests for both parties’ messaging ahead of 2024, as well as the state’s GOP governor. “I think they’re the most important elections in America because these issues that are so important to Virginians are also the ones that are going to be so important to Americans next year,” Virginia GOP Gov. The battles for the state House of Delegates, which Republicans control, and the state Senate, which Democrats control, could come down to a handful of districts. And they’ll test Youngkin’s own political power as he’s brushed off questions about his presidential ambitions. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s paid private speeches, noting that she did not keep records of what she said to the groups.

Persons: “, Glenn Youngkin, ABC’s, NBC’s Gary Grumbach, Katherine Koretski, Sen, Siobhan Dunnavant, Democrat Schuyler Van, Youngkin, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez, Julia Jester, Megan Lebowitz, ’, Biden, Alex Seitz, Wald, Ron DeSantis, ”, NBC’s Matt Dixon, Jonathan Allen, Ali Vitali, Nikki Haley’s, Peter Nicholas, Carol E, Lee, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott’s, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, Brandy Zadrozny, He’s, Peter Meijer, who’s, Brandon Presley, Tate Reeves Organizations: GOP, Virginians, ”, ” Virginia GOP Gov, Delegates, District, Democrat, NBC News, Democratic, Biden, Israel, Hamas, Democrats, Republican National Committee, New York Times, Florida Republican Party, Florida GOP Gov, Florida GOP, South, Public Service, GOP Gov Locations: Virginia, America, ” Virginia, Democrat Schuyler Van Valkenburg, Youngkin, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Black, Michigan’s, Mississippi

The White House has been working urgently in the past 24 hours to get a Senate confirmation process in motion for President Joe Biden's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, according to two White House officials. But the White House officials said they hope lawmakers in both parties will agree with the president on the need to quickly confirm Lew amid the war between Israel and Hamas. "Everyone understands the importance behind it," one White House official said. Tom Nides, Biden's former ambassador to Israel, told NBC News in an interview that the Senate needs to confirm his successor "immediately" upon return. One official said Lew is "eager" to get to work, and the White House hopes he is confirmed with bipartisan support.

Persons: Jack Lew, Joe Biden's, Obama, Biden, Lew, Tom Nides, Nides, Sen, Chris Murphy, Israel, Chris Coons, Coons, hasn't, Ted Cruz, Bill Clinton Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, IMF, White, Foreign Relations, White House, West Bank, Palestinian Health Ministry, NBC News, Connecticut, U.S, State, Counterterrorism, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, Republicans, Senate, Washington, Management, Israel, Organization, Economic Locations: Europe, Washington , DC, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, Ted Cruz of Texas

☆ Biden campaign to focus more on Trump to boost lackluster fundraising
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Allie Raffa | Peter Nicholas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In the meantime, the Biden campaign plans to focus its message on warnings about Trump — which campaign officials hope will energize the party's grassroots and spur more donations. Some campaign officials see an opportunity for an influx of contributions when Trump's legal trials begin. A Biden campaign official who softened expectations for the coming fundraising disclosure said Republican candidates may have also had a slow summer. The Biden campaign will try to galvanize rank-and-file Democrats with new merchandise and ways for contributors to "engage" with the president, two sources said. Recently the Biden campaign began a fundraising contest to win dinner with Biden and former President Barack Obama.

Persons: Joe Biden, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Biden, Chris Korge, Korge, Biden's, Harris, Kevin Munoz, Biden isn't, hasn't, Kamala Harris, Minyon Moore, Trump, Barack Obama Organizations: White, WASHINGTON, Biden, Fund, Democratic Party, NBC News, Harris coalition, Republican, Democratic, Trump, Convention, U.S . Capitol Locations: Washington ,, Georgia, Chicago

President Joe Biden is planning to deliver his most extended public remarks yet — as early as Thursday — on the unidentified objects that the U.S. military has been shooting down, three people familiar with the matter said. With federal investigators analyzing the wreckage and many questions still unanswered, Biden has been sparing in his remarks thus far. White House officials have been privately discussing whether he should deliver an address about the military shooting down a Chinese spy balloon and three other objects that have still not been identified, NBC News reported Tuesday. Lawmakers who've gotten private briefings about the aerial objects have said they want to hear directly from Biden about whether the U.S. is under threat. "In his remarks, Biden is expected to lay out the standards the U.S will employ when deciding whether to shoot down unknown objects floating overhead, or, instead, let them pass because they are benign in nature and no threat to civilian aircraft.

On other pages, they said he memorialized in writing some of his experiences or thoughts as vice president at the time. The number of notebooks Biden kept is large, according to the person familiar with the investigation, but they did not know the precise number. Trump and Biden’s possession of classified documents is the subject of separate special counsel investigations. Attorney General Merrick Garland has so far not named a special counsel to investigate Pence’s handling of classified documents. On Friday, Pence apologized for having classified documents in his possession and said he takes full responsibility for it.

☆ 'Bellyaching': Democratic unity defending Biden begins to see defections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is Senior White House Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — A Democratic push to discredit the congressional Republicans who are launching a slew of investigations into President Joe Biden may be fracturing because of an unexpected obstacle: fellow Democrats. And former Vice President Mike Pence revealed this week that he, too, had discovered classified documents in his Indiana home. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans have opened an oversight inquiry into Biden’s handling of the records. (Both the White House and the Secret Service said they don’t keep such records for his personal residence.) The White House counsel’s office now has a communications arm to quickly respond to Republican allegations of presidential wrongdoing.

The U.S. government’s system for labeling and tracking classified documents appears to be broken, with potentially serious consequences for the country’s national security, lawmakers, former officials and scholars said Tuesday. Democratic and Republican lawmakers said there was a “systemic failure” if both the Obama and Trump administrations could not keep track of classified documents after their tenures ended. I don’t know how anybody ends up with classified documents. “We clearly don’t have an effective management system to oversee where classified documents go and how they’re retrieved,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Goitein and others said the recent discoveries of classified documents present a political opportunity for the White House, and possibly Congress, to at last tackle the problem.

☆ Biden's Cabinet is sticking around, bucking the turnover trend of his predecessors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

By early 2019, Trump had cycled through seven of 15 Cabinet secretaries and was on his third chief of staff. A White House official said Mayorkas would fight any such attempt and has no wish to step down. The durability of Biden’s Cabinet is something of a surprise. Going back decades, presidents have steadily concentrated power in the White House, at the Cabinet’s expense, historians say. Some Cabinet secretaries have felt marginalized as presidents stocked the West Wing with trusted advisers and usurped the prerogatives of Cabinet members who had thought they were brought in to run things.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will name Jeff Zients to serve as his next chief of staff, replacing Ron Klain who is expected to leave in the coming weeks, an administration official and a person familiar with the matter told NBC News. Zients, who previously led the Biden administration’s Covid-19 response, left the administration briefly last April, but returned in the fall just before the midterm elections. News of Zients' selection was first reported by The Washington Post. Klain, who has served in the top role for more than two years, is expected to depart the Biden administration after the president's State of the Union address early next month, according to two sources familiar with the decision. Check back later for updates.

☆ After criticism for silence, Biden White House takes questions on classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

A White House official, Ian Sams, spoke to reporters Tuesday about documents dating back to Biden’s vice presidency — the first time the White House has solicited questions about the classified materials. Sams, a senior adviser to the White House Counsel’s office, said in the press briefing that because of an ongoing Justice Department investigation, the White House is limited in what it can responsibly disclose. At issue is whether the White House kept quiet about documents that had been stored improperly in hopes of sparing Biden the political fallout from such a disclosure. Biden’s personal attorneys found more classified documents while searching his home in Wilmington on Dec. 20. Yet the White House didn't acknowledge the found documents until a CBS News report earlier this month.

“He’s got to say, ‘I messed up, I apologize,’” said Lanny Davis, who handled various investigations as a lawyer in the Clinton White House. The White House didn’t publicly confirm that documents had been found until Monday, when CBS News reported that a review was underway. A statement from a White House lawyer, Richard Sauber, mentioned only classified material found at the center. We respect that process.”Jennifer Palmieri, who served as communications director in the Obama White House, suggested that any White House press secretary in this position would be in a tough spot in terms of what can be disclosed in the briefing room. “The White House should consider appointing a separate spokesperson to handle all questions related to this matter,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who also served in the Clinton White House.

☆ Guns, drugs and migrants: Biden heads to Mexico to face diplomatic challenges with North American allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

MEXICO CITY — When North American leaders gathered in 2021 — at the first summit for the group in five years — the mood was upbeat. Before he arrived in Mexico City on Sunday night, Biden stopped in El Paso, Texas, amid criticism from congressional Republicans that the southwest border has gotten more porous on his watch. Citing health concerns, López Obrador has called for banning imports of genetically modified corn. Ahead of the summit, the leaders sought to ease some of the strains and perhaps create a more convivial atmosphere. Rather than fly into the more conveniently located Mexico City hub airport, Air Force One landed Sunday at a new airport that was a pet project of López Obrador’s.

COVINGTON, Ky. — A key part of the White House plan to combat the new House GOP majority was on vivid display Wednesday: President Joe Biden talked about bridges and bipartisanship, while Republicans bickered among themselves. They plan to show him addressing real-world problems that are Americans' top concern while painting congressional Republicans as being focused on raw politics. They are refining plans to pressure House Republicans in swing districts to stop any impeachment votes in committee — before the issue reaches the House floor. The general view inside the White House is that there is little of substance to worry about. There, Barack Obama challenged McConnell and congressional Republicans to “help us rebuild this bridge!” and put unemployed construction workers to work.

☆ Democrats fret as Biden tries to bolster re-election case touting legislative wins
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON — As 2022 draws to a close, President Joe Biden plans to give an upbeat national address Thursday afternoon with a unifying message. Biden would be traveling the country touting reduced insulin prices and new road projects, while House Republicans hold hearings into obscure conspiracy theories. The first is Biden runs and loses, perhaps to a younger Republican opponent who eclipses Trump as the new GOP favorite. His top aides have been meeting privately with left-leaning interest groups urging them to go out and showcase Biden’s record. “President Biden became the first president since FDR in 1934 to not lose a single incumbent United States Senate seat” in the midterms, Donilon wrote.

Joe Biden beat Donald Trump once, and Democrats are crafting a strategy to try to beat him again in 2024 — even if his name isn’t on the ballot. But Democrats interviewed about the emerging 2024 strategy said they plan to make sure this particular comment isn’t soon forgotten. (Trump issued another statement on his Truth Social platform insisting he hadn’t said he wanted to “terminate” the Constitution.) A Trump ally, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said he doesn’t believe Trump will suffer a backlash over his comment about the Constitution. Trump’s comment “is very serious,” said longtime Biden confidant Ted Kaufman, a former U.S. senator from Delaware.

Biden had been hopeful that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be more apt to free Griner once America’s midterm elections were done, a calculation that proved correct. Still detained in Russia is Paul Whelan, a businessman whom the White House has also been working to free without success. In a 2012 interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” when he was vice president, Biden came out in favor of same-sex marriage, and he is expected to sign the measure into law. White House officials acknowledged the headwinds and worried that the midterm elections would be a repudiation of Biden’s record. “When I look at what the Biden White House has done, I think experience and patience really paid off,” said Jennifer Palmieri, who served as White House communications director during the Obama administration.

☆ 'We cannot normalize this': Doug Emhoff leads White House roundtable to combat antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Antisemitism is dangerous,” said Emhoff, the nation’s first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff during a roundtable about the rise of antisemitism in Washington on Wednesday. President Joe Biden has proposed raising that sum to $360 million in the coming year for the 2023 fiscal year. Conference speakers drew a link between antisemitism and another scourge that the Biden administration wants to confront: threats to democracy. “Antisemitism is the death knell of democracy,” said Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust scholar and the Biden administration’s special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism.

WASHINGTON — If it’s Monday ... It’s the last day of campaigning before tomorrow’s Georgia Senate runoff. ... NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard covers the closing messages by Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. And just looking at the campaigns, which get the biggest bang per advertising buck, it’s Warnock at $25.2 million, versus Walker at $10.1 million. But now it’s $11.8 million — behind Warnock’s $25 million and the $20.3 million from Georgia Honor, a Democratic Super PAC. Runoff watch: Walker accuser speaks to NBC NewsDays after she first revealed an allegation of domestic abuse against Georgia Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker, a former girlfriend of his sat down with NBC News to detail those allegations.

Now Biden faces a backlash from a core of rail workers and allied groups, as some of them see a betrayal in the bill he pushed to avert a rail strike. The standoff between rail workers and the profitable companies that employ them posed an awkward dilemma for Biden, forcing him to find an elusive middle ground between dueling campaign pledges. A rail strike threatened to unravel the job gains that no doubt will be central to any Biden re-election campaign. He said he is not giving up on paid sick leave for rail workers and other Americans who don’t receive such benefits. …”Still, the president could have used more leverage to reach a deal that included paid sick leave, union officials and allies contend.

☆ Biden to host French President Macron at his first state dinner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

White House executive chef Cris Comerford gave a media preview Wednesday of the state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron. “You need France.”Then-President Trump hosted French President Macron at a state dinner in 2018. The state dinner may be the Biden administration’s way of apologizing for an unforced error of such magnitude, Fried said. “We owed the French one after that.”A dish is previewed for the Macron state dinner. The last state dinner at the White House was in 2019.

☆ Biden leans into manufacturing in campaign-style Michigan speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“We’re building a better America,” Biden said at a plant that makes components for electric vehicles. Two years ago, anyone betting against Biden’s political prospects would have lost. Biden has said more than 700,000 manufacturing jobs have been added since he took office. Democrats would like to flip the county in 2024, when Michigan will, as ever, loom as a crucial battleground state. “We’re hoping that President Biden’s visit might entice people to come back to the fold and recognize what his administration is doing for us economically.”

They’re offering more policy briefings to longtime supporters, Zoom calls with top administration officials and White House tours, too. "The $500,000 people like me, we’re not going to be players in 2024," said Dick Harpootlian, a longtime Democratic donor and South Carolina state senator. For the White House, the shift is an acceleration of a courtship campaign that began more modestly before the midterm elections. Amid concerns about the omicron variant last year, the White House was forced to abandon plans for a more full set of holiday parties. Some of those same people were invited to the White House next month for an in-person policy briefing.

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