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☆ 4 Presidents, 2 Events and a Preview of Campaign Clashes to Come
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The epicenter of the presidential campaign shifted to New York on Thursday, as the incumbent president and three of his predecessors descended on the area for dueling events that illustrated the kinds of political clashes that could come to define the general election. For Democrats, it was a high-profile fund-raiser for President Biden in Manhattan. On Long Island, former President Donald J. Trump attended a wake for a New York City officer who was killed during a traffic stop on Monday. Together, the day’s events made for an unusual moment in a general election campaign that has so far been largely defined by appearances in courtrooms and at small, invitation-only events. Mr. Biden, along with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, arrived for a joint fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall that campaign aides said raised $25 million.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton Organizations: New, New York City, Radio City Music Hall Locations: New York, Manhattan, Long

☆ Biden, Fighting for Credit and Raising Cash, Gets Help From Clinton and Obama
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Lisa Lerer | Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Of the triumvirate of recent Democrats in the White House, Mr. Biden is the one who historians, political strategists and policy experts argue has racked up the most expansive list of legislative accomplishments — and has received the least amount of credit for them. It is a roster of achievement that surpasses Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the two Democratic former presidents who will join him on Thursday in New York. And yet Mr. Biden’s approval ratings are the lowest of all three men. While voters broadly support some of Mr. Biden’s key policies, they are far more pessimistic about the future. And they’re not confident in his ability to serve a second term.

Persons: Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, ” Leon Panetta, Clinton’s, Obama’s, Mr Organizations: Democratic Locations: New York City, New York

A deadly virus and a public health lockdown remade daily routines with startling speed, leaving little time for the country to prepare. Four years later, the coronavirus pandemic has largely receded from public attention and receives little discussion on the campaign trail. Though diminished, the pandemic has become the background music of the presidential campaign trail, shaping how voters feel about the nation, the government and their politics. The pandemic hardened voter distrust in government, a sentiment Mr. Trump and his allies are using to their advantage. Fears of political violence, even civil war, are at record highs, and rankings of the nation’s happiness at record lows.

Persons: Joseph R, Biden, Donald J, Trump, —, Kathy Hochul, “ We’re, ” Organizations: White House, ” Locations: New York

While White House officials say they have largely reached the limits of their power to protect abortion rights, the issue has emerged as a linchpin of their re-election strategy. The tour is part of a White House initiative led by Ms. Harris to highlight abortion rights. The mere sight of a top Democratic official walking into an abortion clinic will offer the clearest illustration yet of how the politics of abortion rights have shifted for the party — and the nation. Mr. Biden has promised to restore federal abortion rights and preserve access to medication abortion, which faces new threats from a case set to be argued before the Supreme Court this month. He barely mentioned abortion rights during his 2020 campaign, a reflection of his discomfort with discussion of the issue and how little his strategists believed abortion energized swing voters.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Roe, Wade, Tim Walz, . Walz, Betty McCollum, shied, Biden’s, Donald J, Mr, Biden, ”, Reid J, Epstein Organizations: White, The, of Family, Gov, Minnesota, Democratic, Republicans Locations: Twin Cities, Minnesota, KFF, Texas, Roe

☆ Kamala Harris Will Visit Abortion Clinic, in Historic First
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Lisa Lerer | Nicholas Nehamas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to meet with abortion providers and staff members on Thursday in the Twin Cities, a visit that is believed to be the first stop by a president or vice president to an abortion clinic. The appearance at a health center will be the latest leg in a nationwide tour by Ms. Harris, who has emerged as the most outspoken defender of abortion rights in the administration. While White House officials say they have largely reached the limits of their power to protect abortion rights, the issue has emerged as a linchpin of their re-election strategy. Ms. Harris plans on Thursday to tour the center with an abortion provider and highlight what the administration has done to try to preserve access to the procedure as conservative states enact growing restrictions. Minnesota has become a haven for abortion seekers since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ushering in restrictive laws and bans in neighboring states.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Roe, Wade Organizations: White, The, of Family Locations: Twin Cities, Minnesota

☆ The Trump-Biden Rematch Is Here. Americans Are Processing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After weeks of campaign ads, political speeches and voting in more than two dozen primary contests, Americans are coming to terms with a reality that many have tried to avoid: a rematch. For months, large swaths of Democratic, independent and moderate Republican voters have moved through familiar emotional stages, processing the prospect of President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump fighting it out, once again, for months. They have dealt with denial, believing other candidates would emerge, and bargaining, entertaining fantasies about last-minute entrants, nationally viable third-party candidates and speedy legal prosecutions. “You ever hear people say, ‘You’re picking, but that’s not the choice you want’?” said Shalonda Horton, 50, as she walked into a polling place in Austin, Texas, to vote for Mr. Biden on Tuesday. “When I get in there, I’ll say, ‘Lord, help me.’”In Los Angeles, Jason Kohler, who calls himself a progressive Democrat, said he was casting his ballot for Mr. Biden only with resignation.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, “, that’s, ”, Shalonda Horton, Mr, ’, Jason Kohler Organizations: Republican, Trump Locations: Austin , Texas, Los Angeles

☆ Amid Age Concerns, the White House Tries a New Strategy: Let Joe Be Joe
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Katie Rogers | Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He is making visits to ice cream parlors and barbecue joints, and asking to meet with influencers who can disseminate images of him on TikTok and Instagram. He is talking more often to reporters and fielding questions on the Middle East, Republicans and, of course, his age. “I have been saying for several months to the campaign, ‘Please, let him be Joe Biden,’ and so have many others,” Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware and a close ally of the president, said in an interview. “It is not only good for the campaign. It is good for him and it’s good for the country when Joe Biden gets a chance to get out from behind the podium and be less President Joe Biden and more Joe.”

Persons: influencers, Biden, Donald J, Trump, ’, enraging, “, Joe Biden, Chris Coons, Joe, ” Organizations: Republicans Locations: East, Delaware

☆ Key Primary Races in California and North Carolina to Follow on Super Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Typically, Super Tuesday looms large on the political calendar as the moment the presidential race moves from one-state-at-a-time contests into more than a dozen states, all at once. The delegate haul is immense, representing as much as one-third of each party’s total. Down the ballot from the presidential race, several states are hosting consequential primary contests. These races lack the high profile of the presidential campaign, but they can give us hints about the kind of race the country may face in November. Here are three worth watching:California SenateThe California Senate primary was expected to be a titanic clash over the future and ideology of the Democratic Party.

Persons: Donald Trump, Biden Organizations: Super, California Senate, Democratic Party Locations: California

☆ Majority of Biden’s 2020 Voters Now Say He’s Too Old to Be Effective
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Lisa Lerer | Ruth Igielnik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Widespread concerns about President Biden’s age pose a deepening threat to his re-election bid, with a majority of voters who supported him in 2020 now saying he is too old to lead the country effectively, according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College. The survey pointed to a fundamental shift in how voters who backed Mr. Biden four years ago have come to see him. A striking 61 percent said they thought he was “just too old” to be an effective president. The misgivings about Mr. Biden’s age cut across generations, gender, race and education, underscoring the president’s failure to dispel both concerns within his own party and Republican attacks painting him as senile. Seventy-three percent of all registered voters said he was too old to be effective, and 45 percent expressed a belief that he could not do the job.

Persons: Biden’s, Biden Organizations: The New York Times, Siena College, Mr

☆ It's becoming insane again in venture capital: A tiny AI startup wants investors to pay $100 to book a meeting with its founder.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A couple of days ago, startup founder Dan Siroker set his sights on meeting new investors. Siroker closed the process with 170 bids to sift through. Siroker told Business Insider this week that he isn't actively fundraising. Advertisement"When deals get hot, there is extreme interest," Ben Lerer, managing partner of Lerer Hippeau, an early-stage venture firm, told Business Insider's Ben Bergman late last year. "If you're not there long before the raising, you're not part of the conversation."

Persons: —, Dan Siroker, clamoring, whittle, Siroker, isn't, Andreessen Horowitz, they'd, Pavlo Gonchar, Ben Lerer, Lerer, Insider's Ben Bergman, there's, Dick Costolo, they're, Costolo, he'd Organizations: Service, Business, Getty, Twitter, Google, Nvidia, Boys & Girls Locations: haves, Silicon Valley

☆ After South Carolina, Trump’s March to the Nomination Quickens
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But his overwhelming victory on Saturday in South Carolina, where he defeated Nikki Haley in her home state, makes it all but official. The Republican nominating contest isn’t a competition. The stakes were extraordinarily high: Many of his Republican opponents see Mr. Trump as, at best, unelectable and, at worst, a threat to the foundations of American democracy. And yet, as the campaign has moved through the first nominating contests, the race has not revealed Mr. Trump’s weaknesses, but instead the enduring nature of his ironclad grip on the Republican Party. “I think the party will be done with Trump when Trump is done with the party,” said David Kochel, a longtime Republican strategist who is opposed to Mr. Trump.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Nikki Haley, It’s, ”, David Kochel, “ Organizations: Republican, Republican Party, Capitol, Trump, Mr Locations: Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York City

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling, that frozen embryos should be considered children, has created a new political nightmare for Republicans nationally, who distanced themselves from a fringe view about reproductive health that threatened to drive away voters in November. Several Republican governors and lawmakers swiftly disavowed the decision, made by a Republican-majority court, expressing support for in vitro fertilization treatments. Others declared they would not support federal restrictions on I.V.F., drawing a distinction between their support for broadly popular fertility treatments and their opposition to abortion. “The concern for years has been that I.V.F. would be taken away from women everywhere,” Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, said in an interview on Thursday.

Persons: Nancy Mace Organizations: Alabama Supreme, Republican Locations: Alabama, South Carolina, I.V.F

☆ Trump Allies Plan New Sweeping Abortion Restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Lisa Lerer | Elizabeth Dias | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Allies of former President Donald J. Trump and officials who served in his administration are planning ways to restrict abortion rights if he returns to power that would go far beyond proposals for a national ban or the laws enacted in conservative states across the country. Behind the scenes, specific anti-abortion plans being proposed by Mr. Trump’s allies are sweeping and legally sophisticated. Some of their proposals would rely on enforcing the Comstock Act, a long-dormant law from 1873, to criminalize the shipping of any materials used in an abortion — including abortion pills, which account for the majority of abortions in America. “We don’t need a federal ban when we have Comstock on the books,” said Jonathan F. Mitchell, the legal force behind a 2021 Texas law that found a way to effectively ban abortion in the state before Roe v. Wade was overturned. “There’s a smorgasbord of options.”Mr. Mitchell, who represented Mr. Trump in arguments before the Supreme Court over whether the former president could appear on the ballot in Colorado, indicated that anti-abortion strategists had purposefully been quiet about their more advanced plans, given the political liability the issue has become for Republicans.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Comstock, ”, Jonathan F, Mitchell, Roe, Wade, Mr Locations: America, Texas, Colorado

☆ Latino-focused media company Sonoro wants to be the next 'IP machine' like Warner Bros. TV. Here are its expansion plans and the pitch deck it used to get investment.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Latino-focused media company Sonoro has raised $12.5 million from Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, and others. Its pitch deck shows how it turns podcasts into TV and film for Netflix and others. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe Latino-focused media company Sonoro has raised $12.5 million from Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, and others to turn audio content for English and Spanish speakers into film and TV.

Persons: Sonoro, —, it's, Josh Weinstein, Camila Victoriano, Gerónimo, Weinstein Organizations: Netflix, Service, Universal Pictures, Business Locations: Mexico, Ulta

☆ Why Democrats Are Using Personal Abortion Stories
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN in Dallas, learned that her 11-week-old fetus had a fatal medical condition in July 2022, she immediately understood the medical implications. What she didn’t know was that she would soon land in the middle of a lawsuit against the state of Texas — and in the midst of the presidential campaign. Dennard is starring in a new political ad for President Biden’s re-election campaign, in which she describes her diagnosis and having to leave Texas and its restrictive abortion law to get an abortion. Democrats like Biden are increasingly having women describe, in stark, emotional detail, the personal impact of the abortion bans championed by their Republican opponents. Andy Beshear, a Democrat seeking re-election in Kentucky, ran an ad featuring a woman who said she was raped as child by her stepfather, criticizing a state abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Persons: Austin Dennard, Biden’s, Biden, Andy Beshear Organizations: OB, Republican Locations: Dallas, Texas, Kentucky

As former President Donald J. Trump speeds toward the Republican nomination, President Biden is moving quickly to pump energy into his re-election bid, kicking off what is likely to be an ugly, dispiriting and historically long slog to November between two unpopular nominees. After months of languid buildup in which he held only a single public campaign event, Mr. Biden has thrown a series of rallies across battleground states, warning that democracy itself is at stake in 2024. He sent two of his most trusted White House operatives to take the helm of his re-election campaign in Wilmington, Del., after Mr. Trump seized control of the Republican primary race more rapidly than Mr. Biden’s advisers had initially expected. And other Biden aides are drafting wish lists of potential surrogates, including elected officials, social media influencers and the endorsement of their wildest dreams: the global superstar Taylor Swift.

Persons: Donald J, Biden, Trump, Taylor Swift Organizations: Trump, Republican, White Locations: Wilmington, Del

☆ New Hampshire and Iowa Reveal Broader Weaknesses for Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Michael C. Bender | Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For weeks, Donald J. Trump has romped through Iowa and New Hampshire without breaking a sweat, muscling out rivals for the Republican nomination and soaking up adoration from crowds convinced he will be the next president of the United States. But as Mr. Trump marches steadily toward his party’s nomination, a harsher reality awaits him. Outside the soft bubble of Republican primaries, Mr. Trump’s campaign is confronting enduring vulnerabilities that make his nomination a considerable risk for his party. Mr. Trump still won easily. Ron DeSantis of Florida said Tuesday in an interview with Blaze TV, a conservative media company, just a couple of days after he ended his own campaign and endorsed Mr. Trump.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Nikki Haley, Mr, Republicans clamoring, MAGA, Reagan, Ron DeSantis, he’s, ” Organizations: Republican, Republicans, Mr, Trump, Blaze Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire, United States, ’, Florida

The much-fabled power of New Hampshire’s fiercely independent voters wasn’t enough to break the spell Donald J. Trump has cast over the Republican Party. His winning margin of 11 percentage points in moderate New Hampshire demonstrated his ironclad control of the party’s hard-right base and set him on what could very well be a short march to the nomination. For Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina governor, it was a disappointing finish in a state she had poured considerable resources into carrying. Her efforts to cobble together a coalition of independents and anti-Trump Republicans, with support from the state’s popular governor, were no match for Mr. Trump’s legions of loyalists. Even though Ms. Haley is vowing to fight on, the difficult terrain ahead in South Carolina means that this first-in-the-nation primary could turn out to be the last.

Persons: Hampshire’s, Donald J, Trump, Nikki Haley, steamrolled, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Trump’s Organizations: Republican Party, Republican, White House, South, Trump Republicans Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina

☆ Reading the Signs in New Hampshire
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

If you want to understand the New Hampshire primary, stand at the corner of West Broadway and Valley Street in Derry, N.H. There are two huge yard signs — one for Nikki Haley and one for Donald Trump — on adjacent houses. Not exactly: When my colleague Michael Bender headed there recently, neighbors told him that the pro-Haley house had been vacant for years, and that political campaigns often planted their signs there. The race looks like a real contest, with yard signs and all the usual campaign events. Yet when you dig a little deeper, there’s far less going on than it may seem.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Michael Bender, Haley Organizations: Trump Locations: Hampshire, West Broadway, Derry, N.H, Florida

With only about 48 hours left to campaign in the New Hampshire primary, Nikki Haley finally got the two-person race she wanted. For months, it has been an article of faith among Ms. Haley’s supporters and a coalition of anti-Trump Republicans that the only way to defeat Donald J. Trump was to winnow the field to a one-on-one contest and consolidate support among his opponents. That wishcasting became reality on Sunday afternoon, when Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida ended his White House bid. And yet, as the race reached the final day, there was little sign that Mr. DeSantis’s departure would transform Ms. Haley’s chances of winning.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Haley’s, Donald J, Trump, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis’s Organizations: Trump Republicans, Gov Locations: New Hampshire, Florida

The first-in-the-nation primary could be the last stand for the anti-Trump Republican. Since 2016, a shrinking band of Republican strategists, retired lawmakers and donors has tried to oust Donald J. Trump from his commanding position in the party. Ahead of New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday, the old guard of the G.O.P. Anything but a very close finish for her in the state, where moderate, independent voters make up 40 percent of the electorate, would send Mr. Trump on an all-but-unstoppable march to the nomination. Yet, their long-running war against him has helped to frame the nominating contest around a central, and deeply tribal, litmus test: loyalty to Mr. Trump.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump Republicans won’t, Nikki Haley Organizations: Trump Republican, Trump Republicans

Mr. Trump’s overwhelming victory again demonstrated his enduring command of the Republican Party. Ron DeSantis of Florida narrowly pulled ahead of Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor. Their close finish gave both a rationale for continuing their campaigns, which is likely to help Mr. Trump. After so many months of attacks between her and Mr. DeSantis, the old political trope held true: In 2024, there are three “tickets” out of Iowa. But Mr. Trump rides away on a bullet train.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Haley, DeSantis Organizations: Republican Party, Gov, South Locations: Iowa, Florida, South Carolina, New Hampshire

☆ On the Ballot in Iowa: Fear. Anxiety. Hopelessness.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Presidential elections traditionally speak to future aspirations, offering a vision of a better tomorrow, the hope and change of Barack Obama or the compassionate conservatism of George W. Bush. Yet this year, even before a single vote has been cast, a far darker sentiment has taken hold. Across Iowa, as the first nominating contest approaches on Monday, voters plow through snowy streets to hear from candidates, mingle at campaign events and casually talk of the prospect of World War III, civil unrest and a nation coming apart at the seams. Four years ago, voters worried about a spiraling pandemic, economic uncertainty and national protests. “In Iowa, life isn’t lived in extremes, except the weather, and yet they still feel this dramatic sense of inevitable doom.”

Persons: Barack Obama, George W, Bush, ”, Doug Gross, Nikki Haley, isn’t Organizations: Capitol, Republican, “ Locations: Iowa

☆ The cofounder of Allbirds has some advice for startups looking to IPO: make money ahead of going public
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Allbirds was one of the last startups to go public in 2021's IPO biltz. "You need to be a great company, you need to be profitable," says Allbirds cofounder Tim Brown. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Going public before turning profitable is a thing of the past, according to Allbirds cofounder and chief innovation officer Tim Brown. "You need to be a great company, you need to be profitable," he told Business Insider.

Persons: Allbirds, Tim Brown, —, Klaviyo, Lerer, confidentially, PwC, Spencer Platt, Champagne, Brown, Joanna Glasner, Didi, Rivian Organizations: Service, Time Magazine, Maveron, Tiger Global, Casper Locations: Instacart, Silicon, Americas, Allbirds, Ukraine

☆ Opinion | The War Between Israel and Hamas Is Splintering the Democratic Coalition
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

These young voters faulted Israel’s response to the attacks, 52-32 percent. This wartime shift represents a fundamental break within a liberal coalition that has long powered the Democratic Party. Clearly, the most left-leaning young adults have the lowest rating of Israel. The Arab American Institute commissioned John Zogby Strategies to conduct a survey of 500 Arab Americans between Oct. 23 and Oct. 27. In this poll, 32 percent of Arab Americans identified as Republican as opposed to just 23 percent who identified as Democrats.

Persons: Biden’s, Biden, Donald Trump, Gallup, Jennifer Medina, Lisa Lerer, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bruce Cain, nonwhite, Cain, Siena, Hillary, ”, Norman Ornstein, ” Ornstein, Ornstein, Liz Skalka, Daniel Marans, Akbar Shahid Ahmed, “, Robbie Gramer, ” Gramer, ’ Gramer, ” Amy Mackinnon, Gramer, Antony Blinken, ” Yossi Hasson, Maya Tamir, Kea, Brahms, J, Christopher Cohrs, Eran Halperin, Niloufar Zebarjadi, Eliyahu Adler, Annika Kluge, Mikko Sams, Jonathan Levy, Zebarjadi, Jeremy Konyndyk, Harris, ” Laura Royden, Eitan Hersh, ” “, Hersh, Israel favorability, Young, John Zogby, Zogby, Farah Pandith, Pandith, —, Trump, Julie Wronski, Wronski, Stephen Ansolabehere Organizations: Quinnipiac University Poll, Biden, Democratic, West Bank, Democratic Party, Stanford, American Enterprise Institute, Democratic National Committee, State Department, U.S, USAID, United States Agency for International Development, Foreign, Liberals, Aalto University, USAID’s, U.S . Foreign, Politico, U.S ., Harvard, “, Israel, Young American Left, Tufts, Republicans, U.S.A, ”, Arab American Institute, American, Council, Foreign Relations, University of Mississippi Locations: Israel, Gaza, Medina, United States, Washington, Palestinian, ”, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Palestine, Michigan, America

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