Joe Biden, 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, right, and President Donald Trump speak during the U.S. presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, Oct. 22, 2020. — Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are scheduled to square off again on the debate stage in September.
ABC News will host the Sept. 10 debate, with World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis serving as moderators.
More information on the debate, including the rules, location, staging and format, will be revealed closer to the date.
The ABC News qualifications for debate include receiving at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet ABC’s standards for reporting, appearing on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency prior to the eligibility deadline, and agreeing to accept the rules and format of the debate.
ABC News’ offices previously hosted two debates in 1960 between then-Vice President Richard Nixon and then-Sen. John F. Kennedy. The first was a split-screen televised debate on Oct. 13, 1960, filmed at ABC News’ New York and Los Angeles studios. Another debate between Kennedy and Nixon took place at ABC News’ New York studios on Oct. 21, 1960.
(DES MOINES, Iowa) — Health experts are warning of the possibility of floodwaters containing “fecal soup” after an agriculture-heavy region in Iowa was inundated with an unprecedented amount of precipitation.
Torrential rain began falling in the Midwest last week, prompting road closures, evacuation orders, helicopter rescues and failure at some water treatment plants, according to officials.
But as the floodwaters fail to recede — and more rain on the way threatens to extend the flood event — residents in several counties in northwest Iowa are being advised to find alternative water sources, as the precipitation likely caused overflows or breaches in the manure storage basins designed to contain the waste produced by the millions of farm animals within the region’s agriculture industry, Alicia Vasto, director of water programs for the Iowa Environmental Council, told ABC News.
The five counties most affected by the floodwaters and at most risk of being contaminated with fecal soup — animal feces mixed with water — are Clay, Emmet, Lyon, Plymouth, and Sioux, according to officials. The region is known for its heavy agricultural industry, the ample manure from which is now contaminating the standing water even further, according to a statement by Food and Water Watch, and environmental watchdog group.
The affected counties are home to more than 900 factory farms that produce about 23.6 billion pounds of animal waste annually — 175 times the human waste that is produced in all five counties, according to the group. The region has a high concentration of animal feeding operations, and the manure is stored in basins or lagoons that can be overtopped when too much rain falls in too little time, Vasto said.
“A lot of these facilities that have these large manure storage systems, and there’s a lot of potential for water contamination,” Vasto said.
The floodwaters have breached manure pits and lagoons, flushing animal feces and urine — as well as bacteria, parasites, viruses and nitrates — into waterways that supply the region’s drinking water, the environmental group said.
The rain fell fast and furiously. Precipitation that began on June 21 measured at 15 inches in some regions just two days later, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold told reporters on Sunday. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Iowa on Monday.
The severe weather continued into Tuesday night, with more tornado warnings, flash flooding and large hail affecting the Midwest.
Since then, floodwaters contaminated with fecal soup have been flowing into people’s homes as well as the waterways, Vasto said.
“It’s creating this disgusting mess that will be really difficult to clean up and is really toxic and dangerous for folks,” she said.
Health experts are even more concerned about the water systems since the floodwaters have not yet receded, Vasto said. Human fecal matter is likely in the mix as well, since water treatment plants failed and untreated raw sewage is flowing into waterways, she added.
Not only is the drinking water not safe, but neither is swimming or boating in the lakes and rivers in northern Iowa, where runoff from the fecal soup has likely spread, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said in a press release on Thursday.
Humans who come into contact with or consume manure-contaminated flood water are at increased risk of contracting waterborne illnesses, including E. coli infections and Giardia infections, according to Food and Water Watch. Drinking nitrate contaminated water is linked to birth defects and several types of cancers, the group said.
Residents affected by the floodwaters “must remain on constant guard against the threat of animal waste,” Amanda Starbuck, director of Food and Water Watch, said in a statement.
Elsewhere in the state, floodwaters that spilled over the Big Sioux River levee near Sioux City, Iowa, damaged hundreds of homes and have prompted the local wastewater treatment plant to dump about a million gallons of untreated sewage per day into the Missouri River, The Associated Press reported.
Northwest Iowa was not the only region affected by the heavy rain. Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota — where the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River is at risk of failure — have been under siege from severe flooding as well.
The flooding was so severe that a home teetering on the edge of the riverbank collapsed into the rising waters, images show.
This is not the first time fecal soup has affected northwest Iowa. In 2018, flooding caused manure overflows at 28 livestock operations. When Hurricane Florence struck eastern North Carolina in 2018, the flooding caused dozens of manure lagoons to overflow or breach entirely and flood fecal soup into homes and neighborhoods, according to Food and Water Watch. Thousands of hogs died in that event as well, the watchdog group said.
In the long term, the industry will need to rely on much larger manure storage systems that can handle the amount of precipitation that fell in the past week, Vasto said. In addition, lawmakers must start regulating pollution from the agriculture agency, Starbuck said.
“It takes more than disaster declarations to keep Iowans safe,” Starbuck said.
Former president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Ga on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(ATLANTA) — President Joe Biden delivered a halting performance in Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump — raising new questions about his future in an event largely viewed as a test of the two candidates’ fitness for office.
The two debated a slate of policies on stage in Atlanta, though little new ground was broken. Much of the focus was instead on how the 81-year-old president and his 78-year-old predecessor would handle another four years in the Oval Office — with Democrats left worrying about Biden’s performance.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday night’s clash:
Biden has slow start
Biden came on stage with a raspy voice and repeatedly stumbled through some of his answers early on.
When asked a question on the national debt, he said there are “thousands of trillionaires” before correcting himself, for instance.
But perhaps his biggest stumble came about 12 minutes into the debate, when he paused for six seconds after discussing ways the country could have spent money provided by taxes on wealthy Americans that would have been accrued were it not for tax cuts passed by Trump during his term.
“We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system. Making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the — with the COVID, excuse me — dealing with everything we have to do with, look … we finally beat Medicare,” Biden said, appearing to lose his train of thought at the end of his answer.
The moment precisely highlighted a major theme heading into the debate — Biden’s mental acuity and fitness for office — and sent Republicans celebrating.
“Game over!!!” Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign aide who remains in touch with the former president’s current team, texted ABC News.
Democrats, too, sounded a negative note.
“A few words the Biden team should look up: espresso; and honey and lemon for the throat,” said one high-level Democratic strategist.
Biden appeared to pick up steam as the debate dragged on, dubbing Trump a “convicted felon” and mixing it up over their records, but the president’s performance was less energetic than that of his opponent.
Biden team spins his performance
Biden’s team quickly worked to spin is performance, seemingly recognizing that he likely did not present himself a Democrats had hoped.
The campaign said the president had a cold, but tested negative for COVID-19, though it’s unclear why that news wasn’t announced beforehand. The campaign told ABC News’ Mary Bruce that they’re feeling fine but conceded he had a slow start.
“Tonight, President Biden presented a positive and winning vision for the future of America — one in which every American has a fair shot at the American dream, where every one of our rights are protected, and where our president fights to strengthen our democracy — not to tear it down,” said Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Biden’s allies echoed past support for the president, allowing that the night likely did not go as planned but that the president will remain the nominee.
“I don’t care, I’m going to stick with Joe Biden,” former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile said on ABC News Live.
Trump (mostly) keeps his cool
Operatives were eyeing which version of Trump would appear on stage Thursday: the brawler who repeatedly interrupted Biden at their first 2020 debate? Or would he be a staid presence that would be interpreted as more presidential?
Largely, the latter ended up as a more apt description of Trump’s performance.
To be certain, Trump veered into some of his more bombastic rhetoric — exaggerating the state of the economy under his term and the number of border crossings and crimes taking place under Biden; saying Biden “could be a convicted felon”; and accusing the president of “going after his political opponent because he can’t win fair and square.”
But he did not center his arguments around unfounded claims of election fraud or repeated attacks on Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son who was recently convicted on felony gun charges. Oftentimes, he returned his answers to favorable topics for him like inflation and immigration, including on a question regarding the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
“Let me tell you about Jan. 6. On Jan. 6, we had a great border. Nobody coming through. Very few on Jan. 6. We were energy independent on Jan. 6, we had the lowest taxes ever. We had the lowest regulations ever,” he said.
Trump’s campaign swiftly declared victory.
“Tonight President Trump delivered the greatest debate performance and victory in history to the largest voter audience in history, making clear exactly how he will improve the lives of every American,” top Trump campaign hands Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
“Joe Biden on the other hand showed exactly why he deserves to be fired,” they said. “Despite taking a week-long vacation at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border.”
New rules impose cleaner debate, but less pushback
Thursday’s debate had novel rules that were largely successful in imposing a cleaner debate than in the past.
No audience was in the studio to interrupt with applause or boos, and microphones were cut off when candidates were not recognized to speak.
The result was a debate with little crosstalk or disruptions, a stark departure from primary debates earlier this year and debates during 2020, when crosstalk made the candidates’ comments essentially illegible.
However, while the more rigid format helped move the conversation along, there was minimal pushback from moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who at times opted to move forward rather than correct falsehoods or push for a direct answer to their initial question if a candidate had already used up their time for a response.
And the conversation still veered into the outlandish at times, with both candidates sparring for a few minutes toward the end over their golfing abilities.
“Let’s not act like children,” Trump said.
Lots of policy talk, but little new ground
The structure also helped the moderators and candidates stick to policy, but little new ground was broken on the contenders’ stances on main issues.
Biden vowed to reinstate Roe v. Wade and protect abortion rights, raise taxes on wealthy Americans and support Ukraine.
Trump defended his tax cuts, said he would force European allies to boost their own efforts to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia and declared that Israel should be able to continue its military operations in Gaza.
However, voters will be left with little new information about what the two candidates believe on key issues that they haven’t heard on the campaign trail.
The historic bathhouse on Jacob Riis Beach is undergoing $50 million renovations that have stoked concerns about gentrification on the working class, queer beach. — ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The summer season in New York City is informally marked each year by the hoisting of Pride flags on The People’s Beach, a queer haven tucked away on the far eastern corner of the city’s Jacob Riis Park in Queens.
“When I was a runaway, when I had no community at all, I came and I witnessed something that I never even knew existed: that was a sense of family,” said Ceyenne Doroshow, activist and founder of LGBTQ advocacy group GLITS. “People fed me, people dressed me.”
This has been a popular gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community since the 1940s, shaped by its beachgoers into more than just a spot to sunbathe and swim. It’s a place of direct and indirect social activism, where queer joy is at the heart of the jumble of music, umbrella and bodies packed tightly along the shoreline each weekend.
But the land directly surrounding the beach is drastically and quickly changing. The recent demolition of an abandoned building, a $50 million building restoration plan and erosion threaten the future of this safe haven, some activists and beachgoers told ABC News.
Beachgoers are concerned it could become the next in a long list of lost LGBTQ+ spaces across the nation.
“This fight is bigger than just me. It’s bigger than just us. It’s about us fighting for our space in New York City,” Doroshow said. “This is considered our Mecca. This is our Fire Island, our Hamptons, our Boca Raton — this is the place where we can celebrate this as a space where you don’t have to [spend] out of your pocket to celebrate life.”
Gentrification inches toward The People’s Beach
The People’s Beach was once shielded from the rest of the world by the hulking Neponsit Beach Hospital, which was opened in the early 1900s. Local beachgoers say it acted as a barrier between queer beachgoers and any disapproving, discriminatory glares from beyond the park’s boundaries.
Even when the building had blocked the beach from view, the NYC LGBT Historic Site Project found that queer beachgoers long reported being harassed and given citations by Parks law enforcement for violations such as men’s bathing shorts being too short.
In 2023, NYC Health + Hospitals demolished the building, leaving the beachfront barren and open to the gawking eyes of all nearby. The loss of the seemingly protective barrier is a reminder of those historical tensions, and has stoked concerns about increased surveillance over the area.
The demolition came hand-in-hand with the announcement that the nearby historic park bathhouse about a quarter of a mile away would undergo a $50 million restoration, with plans to revitalize the landmark with restaurants, a bar, pool, event spaces and 28 hotel rooms.
Beachgoers fear a high-end restoration will ushering in a new era of gentrification on a beach known for its economic accessibility, pushing out lower-income and queer beachgoers.
“I want to make sure that the beach is accessible for the poor and working class of New York to come,” Berntsen said. “It would be great if we could build more of this infrastructure to the beach. My hope is that it’s not at the cost of it being an accessible beach financially to the people that go there.”
However, the National Park Service said it’s excited for the renovation: “The Bathhouse is emblematic of over half a century of the quintessential NYC seaside experience,” said Jen Nersesian, the NPS superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area, in the 2023 announcement.
She continued, “Its restoration will connect beachgoers with this heritage and provide a new suite of visitor opportunities for generations to come.”
All of this is happening as erosion causes closures on parts of the beach — including the main strip of The People’s Beach where the LGBTQ community is known to gather on Bay 1 and 2.
In 2023, the NPS placed about 360,000 yards of sand on the beach. One year later, much of the sand has since been washed away due to intensifying weather conditions, creating unsafe conditions for beachgoers.
Some feel as though the beach is both literally and figuratively being pulled from under them.
“The problem really becomes about the uneven development,” said Jah Elyse Sayers, founder of research and archival group The People’s Riisearch Group at CUNY. “Whatever erosion will be naturally happening, it’s not also accompanied by the usual accretion of sand … Our literal beach is shrinking. The building that really defined the space and held the space is gone.”
The National Park Service, which manages the park, has not yet responded to ABC News requests for comment on beachgoer concerns.
Taking care of their own
Historical marginalization has routinely forced the LGBTQ+ community to take matters into their own hands — a trend reflected in the actions being taken by Riis beachgoers.
“It’s queer to take care of each other,” said Gabriel DeFazio, a Jacob Riis beachgoer who has helped raise funds to improve the beach.
Local activists say they are raising money and have gathered more than 6,000 signatures to form a community land trust on the empty, former Neponsit Beach Hospital lot right in front of the queer part of the beach.
The soon-to-be renovated bathhouse is far enough away that it provides little benefit for LGBTQ beachgoers on the eastern side, who only have a single food stand and a handful of porta potties despite the beach’s popularity.
Instead, they hope to build a health and wellness community center with a focus on the LGBTQ+ community in the hospital lot that offers services like therapy and hosts essential beach functions like bathrooms, changing rooms and food vendors.
“People need to feel that they have some self-determination and a place where they can go and celebrate community and develop the rules that they feel are appropriate to govern both their actions and the use of the land and their relationship to this overall environment,” said Petr Stand, a leader at Project Abigail, which designs sustainable solutions to gentrification.
The People’s Beach also didn’t have a wheelchair accessibility mat or extra wheelchairs available for beachgoers, hindering the ability for some patrons to get on the beach. Within 24 hours of asking the LGBTQ community of beachgoers, advocates say the funds were raised to buy these materials.
“We deserve concession stands. We deserve all the accommodations, we’ve had to create our own safety around wheelchairs,” Doroshow said. “That’s community taking care of community.”
Project Abigail, GLITS and urban planning, design and development nonprofit Hester Street are working together to create a plan for the center and other community initiatives around policing, wellness, and more.
Amron Lee, a project associate at Hester Street said a community policing strategy with trainings on de-escalation and harm reduction can will address some of the expected tensions that may come with new developments: “What you start to see, when that happens in any space is more surveillance, more harassment, maybe different populations, or different groups of people being in much more tension with each other.”
NYC Health + Hospitals told ABC News that “engagement with City partners on the future of the site beyond the current lifeguard complex remains ongoing,” but did not respond to requests for comment on the community’s involvement in future plans.
A world without The People’s Beach
Sayers, who grew up by the beach in South Jersey, didn’t think they would feel comfortable on the beach after coming out as trans. That changed when they came to Riis beach.
“I got out here and immediately could see just other visibly trans people, people who didn’t seem to care how their gender was being perceived. People all different kinds of bodies, like shirtless, not shirtless, like tiny bottoms, big bottom, whatever, just like people were wearing whatever, doing whatever talking, playing,” Sayers said.
Slowly, they went from going to the beach in a tank top and long shorts to feeling comfortable in beachwear once again. They felt at home alongside the Riis community — a feeling they hope can one day extend beyond Bay 1 and 2 for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I would love for this beach to feel less important, but that would require that we felt safe everywhere,” said Sayers. “If there’s a safe space, it also means that there are unsafe spaces.”
Berntsen is staying positive amid the developments, focusing on the community’s historical ability to stand strong against change.
“This has been a space of joy and liberation, long before then,” said Berntsen. “Witnessing the shifting landscapes, both literally, because of climate change, and social and economic landscapes of Rockaway over the last 20 years, I felt it’s really important for the community to understand that this is a community that can withstand these changes.”
To do so, Sayers urges community members to keep coming despite concerns.
“The only reason we’re able to be here is because people came here. Another reason people will be able to continue coming here is if we keep coming here,” Sayers said.
A gigantic fish measuring 6 feet long and weighing 220 pounds has been caught in the Hudson River in New York during an environmental survey, officials said. — NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
(NEW YORK) — A gigantic fish measuring 6 feet long and weighing 220 pounds has been caught in the Hudson River in New York during an environmental survey, officials said.
The catch happened last week during an Atlantic sturgeon survey when staff from the Hudson River Estuary Program captured the enormous creature.
“It was suspected to be a female that had not yet spawned,” said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in a statement on social media. “The fish was captured under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) endangered species research permit.”
Officials say that sturgeon are an endangered, anadromous fish species that spend most of the year in the ocean, but adults can sometimes move into the Hudson during this time of year to spawn and can migrate from anywhere from Florida all the way to Maine.
“This annual survey, which started in 2006, is conducted over the course of several weeks in May and June and is used to track trends in the Atlantic sturgeon population,” officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation said. “Staff use nets to capture the fish, measure it, scan it for a tag (and give it one if it doesn’t have one), take a piece of fin for genetic analysis, and weigh it before releasing it back into the wild.”
The Hudson River Estuary Program helps people conserve, restore and enjoy the Hudson River and its valley, according to their website, and the program focuses on the tidal Hudson and adjacent watershed from the federal dam at Troy to the Verrazano Narrows in New York City, including upper New York-New Jersey Harbor.
Even though this Atlantic sturgeon was well above the average size, the species are the Hudson River’s biggest fish and the largest of New York’s sturgeon species, the other two being the shortnose sturgeon and the lake sturgeon.
Lil Baby, Usher and Victoria Monét have brought home the gold from the 2024 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, which took place Thursday night in LA.
Lil Babyreceived the Songwriter of the Year Award for his work on It’s Only Me cuts “Forever,” “Freestyle” and “Heyy,” while Victoria’sASCAP Vanguard Award was given to her for “On My Mama” and the “innovative work that is helping to shape all of music,” a press release states.
Usher was awarded the ASCAP Voice of the Culture Award for his contributions to music and culture. He was also praised for his pen on “Glu” and “Good Good.”
Other winners of the night include SZA‘s “Snooze” as R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Song of the Year, “ICU” by Coco Jones, “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, Summer Walker‘s “Karma” and 21 Savage for “Spin Bout U.”
(ATLANTA) — In a historic clash of personality and policy, Joe Biden and Donald Trump took the stage for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election.
The showdown provided a rare opportunity for both candidates to move the needle in what has been a stubbornly tight race for the White House, but at the end of the night, Biden’s halting performance raised new concerns among Democrats and cause Republicans to celebrate.
The debate was a rematch for Biden and Trump, who faced each other twice in 2020, but a first-of-its-kind format and a vastly different political landscape presented new challenges for the two rivals.
Here’s how the debate developed:
Jun 27, 10:58 PM Bitter debate offers little new insight into Biden, Trump policy goals
For the most part, tonight’s debate revealed nothing new about what Biden and Trump think on major issues from the economy, immigration, foreign policy and reproductive rights.
Each candidate reiterated positions they’ve already touted countless times on the campaign stump.
Instead, they largely focused on criticizing each other’s past records and lobbing personal attacks.
Jun 27, 10:47 PM Trump targets Biden during his closing argument
In his two-minute closing argument, Trump went after Biden’s record abroad in a personal attack.
“They don’t respect you throughout the world,” he said.
Trump said he had the largest tax cut and the largest regulation cuts in history, but the country is now “exploding.”
“We’re a failing nation, but it’s not going to be failing anymore,” he said. “We’re going to make it great again.”
Jun 27, 10:36 PM Trump deflects when asked if will accept election results
Trump went to other topics when asked if he would accept the results of the 2024 election and had to be asked the question several times.
The former president finally responded, “If it’s a fair and legal and good election absolutely,” before adding that he would have accepted the last election if not for “the fraud.” There was no evidence of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.
Biden pushed back that Trump’s fraud claims were debunked by courts, telling him, “You can’t stand the loss.”
“I doubt you’ll accept it because you’re a whiner,” he said.
Jun 27, 10:41 PM Biden delivers closing argument
“We have made significant progress from the debacle that was left by President Trump in his last term,” Biden said.
Biden then went on to summarize some of his signature policies. On the economy, he vowed he will not raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000 a year and to continue his work to reduce health care costs, child care costs and give families financial breathing room.
“We’re going to continue to fight to bring down inflation and give people a break,” Biden said in closing.
Jun 27, 10:37 PM Candidates asked to address opioid crisis
The candidates were asked what they could do to help Americans battling the opioid crisis in the U.S.
After being prompted to respond to the question, Trump said that during his term as president they had “great equipment” and drug-detecting dogs to find illicit drugs at the border.
Biden said the U.S. needs machinery that can detect fentanyl and more agents at the border, and added that the U.S. is coming down “very hard” on countries in Asia that are producing fentanyl.
Jun 27, 10:32 PM Biden, Trump asked about voter concerns about their age
Moderator Dana Bash asked Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, to address voter concerns about their age.
“First of all, I spent half my career being criticized for being the youngest person in politics,” Biden said. “I was the second youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate. And now I’m the oldest. This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent.”
Biden said voters should look at his record and what his administration’s accomplished.
Trump pointed to the “cognitive test” he’s taken. In 2018, he took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test designed to detect early signs of memory loss and other mild cognitive impairment.
“He took none,” Trump said of Biden. “I’d like to see him take one, just one, a really easy one. Like go through the first five questions, he couldn’t do it.”
Jun 27, 10:14 PM Biden has a cold, campaign says
An hour in and here is the Biden campaign spin on what so far has been a rocky performance by the president.
Biden has a cold (but tested negative for COVID-19), the campaign confirms. They haven’t offered any explanation for why they didn’t disclose this sooner.
Overall, the campaign says they are feeling fine. They agree it was a slow start but say he’s found his groove.
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce and Molly Nagle
Jun 27, 10:12 PM Biden attacks Trump over scandals
Trump has made several comments about going after his political opponents and retribution. Asked to clarify what he meant, Trump replied, “Well, I said my retribution is going to be success.”
He also contended that he’s done nothing wrong despite his numerous criminal and civil cases.
Biden fired back contending that Trump’s claims that he has the right to seek retribution is wrong. He then went after Trump over his various scandals.
“The crimes you are still charged with and think of all the civil penalties you have, how many billions of dollars … and civil penalties? For molesting a woman in public for doing a whole range of things … having sex with a porn star … while your wife was pregnant? What would you be talking about? You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden said.
Jun 27, 10:01 PM Biden says Trump voters are voting against democracy
When asked point-blank whether he believes the millions of Americans who are likely to vote for Trump will be voting against American democracy — in reference to the president’s past comment that Trump and his MAGA Republicans are “determined to destroy American democracy,” Biden responded, “Yes, the more they know about what he’s done.”
Biden went on to reference Trump’s comment that there were “very fine people on both sides” of clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
“This guy has no sense of American democracy,” Biden said.
Trump called his accusation false.
Jun 27, 9:50 PM Biden calls Trump a ‘convicted felon’ and Trump brings up Hunter
Amid questioning about democracy and the Trump mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, Biden took a shot at Trump’s historic conviction in the hush money case.
“The only convicted felon is the guy standing on the stage with me now,” Biden said.
Trump then quickly brought up Hunter Biden’s recent conviction on federal gun charges.
Jun 27, 9:45 PM Trump deflects when asked about Jan. 6, violating oath
Trump largely avoiding taking on a question about what he would say to Americans who believe he violated his oath on Jan. 6, 2021, and are worried he would do it again.
Instead, he pivoted to the border and to criticizing Biden’s record.
Moderator Jake Tapper pressed him again, saying there was 80 seconds remaining to answer the question. Trump went on to attack former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Jun 27, 9:42 PM Biden addresses Trump’s alleged ‘suckers’ veterans comment: ‘You’re the sucker’
In a heated moment in response to Trump’s claim that the president “doesn’t care about our veterans,” Biden referenced a 2020 Atlantic article in which Trump was reported to have called Americans killed as “suckers” while on a trip to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018.
On the subsequently canceled visit, the Atlantic reported that Trump told senior staff members, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
Referring to his late son Beau during the debate, Biden said to Trump, “My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker, you’re the loser.”
Trump responded by saying it was in a “third-rate magazine” and the source had “made it up.”
Jun 27, 9:48 PM Trump makes false claims Democrats support killing babies after birth
During the debate, Trump claimed that Democrats “support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month,” and contended that some Democratic states have had such a stance.
Democrats have never advocated for killing a baby after it is born as this would be murder, which is illegal in every state. Nine states have no abortion restrictions in place; however, it should be noted that late-term abortions are exceedingly rare, representing 1%, according to KFF.
Jun 27, 9:20 PM Biden stumbles, pauses for several seconds
Biden stumbled as he attacked Trump and defended his own record, pausing for several seconds.
The president was discussing domestic programs he hoped to be able to invest in with the money that would be gained by taxes the wealthiest Americans before trailing off and pausing, ultimately saying “we beat Medicare.”
“He did beat Medicare, he beat it to death,” Trump responded.
Jun 27, 9:24 PM Trump says he will not block abortion pills
Trump, who had yet to clarify his stance on abortion medication, said he would not block access to the drug if elected.
Jun 27, 9:15 PM Trump asked about plan to impose 10% tariff on goods coming to US
Asked how he would ensure that his plan to impose a 10% tariff on all goods coming to the U.S. wouldn’t drive prices higher Trump said it won’t drive them higher but will force countries like China to “pay us a lot of money” and “give us a lot of power for other things,” though didn’t elaborate.
Jun 27, 9:13 PM Biden defends economic record in 1st exchange of the night
Biden fielded the first question from moderator Jake Tapper, who asked him what his message was to Americans who feel worse off financially under his administration than they did under Trump.
Biden claimed he was handed an economy in “free fall.” He touted his record on job creation and lowering prescription drug prices and other household costs.
Trump, in turn, claimed he he had “the greatest economy in the history of our country” and that inflation is “absolutely killing us.”
Jun 27, 9:04 PM Candidates take the stage
Biden and Trump are now at the lecterns. The two entered from different sides of the stage and did not shake hands.
Jun 27, 8:59 PM Melania Trump not attending debate
ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reported that Melania Trump will not be at the debate.
The former first lady has made few appearances on the campaign trail as her husband seeks another term.
Jun 27, 8:54 PM Biden pokes fun at Trump’s jabs about performance-enhancing substances
Biden posted a photo on x taking a shot at Trump’s allegations that he’s taking performance-enhancing substances for the debate.
The president is seen holding a can of water with the “Dark Brandon” meme image claiming to be “Dark Brandon’s secret sauce.” The can, which will go on sale on the Biden campaign’s site next month, has a statement in bold letters “Get real, Jack. It’s just water.”
“I don’t know what they’ve got in these performance enhancers, but I’m feeling pretty jacked up. Try it yourselves, folks. See you in a bit,” the X post said.
Jun 27, 8:44 PM Muted mics and other new ground rules for tonight
For the first time since the first televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, there will be no live audience at CNN’s studio in Atlanta.
The candidates’ microphones will be muted unless it is their turn to speak. They will have two minutes to respond to questions and one minute for rebuttals, and there will be a red flashing light to indicate to them their time is about to expire.
The 90-minute program will have two commercial breaks, but Trump and Biden won’t be able to consult with their teams during them. No props or note cards are allowed on stage.
Here’s what experts said about the new rules, and how they may help or hurt each candidate.
Jun 27, 8:28 PM Possible VP picks on hand to support Trump at debate
Several possible vice presidential picks for Trump are in Atlanta for the debate.
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Tim Scott, R-S.C., and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson were seen in a picture posted to X by Stefanik.
Trump has repeatedly teased an announcement of who will join him in the 2024 ticket, but he has yet to make a final decision.
Jun 27, 8:23 PM Swing-state voters on what they want to hear from Biden, Trump
Voters across Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania spoke with ABC News about their unhappiness with both candidates and what they’re looking to hear from them during the debate.
“I’d like to see what they’re going to do for small businesses in this country,” said Scranton resident Jennifer Merceau, whose husband owns a masonry company.
Janee Johnson, who works at Toast ‘N Jams in Muskegon, Michigan, said the focus should be on doing the “right things for America.”
Michael Kordecki, the owner of that restaurant, wishes he could tell the candidates to “be more positive about America, about our future, and about what we can do with or without new people coming into the country.”
Jun 27, 8:14 PM This is the earliest presidential debate in history
With 131 days until Election Day, this faceoff is occurring months ahead of the usual fall timeline.
“The combination of having so many people with doubts about both candidates, coupled with the first debate occurring before either convention, heightens its potential importance,” Republican political strategist Whit Ayres told ABC News.
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville told ABC News: “People’s attitudes are very fixed and voters tend to be pretty entrenched. The person that ‘wins’ … in this debate is going to be the one that provides voters with some new information.”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Tommy Barone
Jun 27, 7:46 PM PolitiFact is joining the blog tonight to help sort out fact from fiction
Hi everyone, I’m Aaron Sharockman, the executive director of PolitiFact. I’m excited to join the ABC/538 team to provide fact-checking of the candidates. If you don’t know PolitiFact, we’ve been fact-checking political statements since 2007 using our Truth-O-Meter, which rates claims on a scale from True to Pants on Fire False.
We’ll be providing you real-time updates throughout the night.
How? Well, it’s not because we’re super smart or super fast (though maybe we are a little bit). No, it’s really because we’ve been fact-checking Biden and Trump for more than a dozen years. And over all those years, and all their campaigns, they’ve said a lot of things worth fact-checking.
And both candidates often repeat themselves.
Our team of 25 fact-checkers and editors have prepped dozens of instant fact-checks based on what we expect Trump and Biden might say. And if they do, we’ll be able to share that analysis with you almost instantly.
If you want a primer of what we expect to hear tonight — and how accurate those claims are — you can take a look here.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact
Jun 27, 7:37 PM Where 538’s Biden-Trump election forecast stands before the debate
Heading into tonight’s event, Biden and Trump are locked in a close contest. 538’s presidential election forecast rates the race as a dead heat, with both Biden and Trump having about a 1 in 2 shot of winning the election. This falls in line with our national polling average, which has the two candidates just about tied at 41%, with Kennedy polling at 9%.
But as readers know, U.S. presidential elections aren’t decided by the national popular vote. Instead, they’re decided by the Electoral College, where the results in individual states determine who wins each state’s electoral votes, with a majority of 270 out of 538 in total necessary to claim victory. Currently, the forecast shows an extremely tight race in each of the most pivotal states.
For instance, Biden’s path to victory may rest primarily on winning the Frost Belt battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that he carried in 2020. While the forecast shows him with small leads in each of those states, Biden’s advantage is well inside the range of potential outcomes, meaning Trump could easily carry them once we get to November. Meanwhile, Trump holds a narrow edge in the Sun Belt swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, but similarly his leads are far from secure.
Still, with nearly four months to go until Election Day, there’s a great deal of uncertainty around where public opinion will stand when voters cast their ballots. 538’s forecast utilizes a combination of polling information and campaign fundamentals, such as the economic situation and each state’s partisan leanings. Together, those indicators show a toss-up race that could go in either direction.
Now, tonight’s debate could move the contest: Historically, the margin in presidential races has shifted by an average of about 2 points in the two weeks following the first general election debate in cycles dating back to 1976. In what could be bad news for Biden, that movement has more often than not gone against the incumbent president or party. Yet we’re still sailing in uncharted waters. After all, this election involves both a sitting and former president, an unprecedented matchup in modern times. The debate is history-making, too: It’s nearly three months earlier than any past general election face-off.
-538’s Geoffrey Skelley
Jun 27, 7:27 PM Jill Biden says president ‘confident’ ahead of debate
Hours before the debate, first lady Jill Biden told deep-pocked donors that the president is “ready” for his faceoff against Trump.
“Joe’s ready to go. He’s prepared. He’s confident,” she said at a fundraising retreat at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta, according to the press pool. “You know what a great debater he is.”
She thanked donors for “making the right choice” for democracy, urging them to keep up their work in support of Biden, according to the press pool.
“We can’t stop now. We can’t get complacent,” the first lady said. “We’ve got to keep working together, working harder than we’ve ever worked before.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Jun 27, 7:24 PM WHCA protests pool reporters being barred from debate studio
The White House Correspondents’ Association is “deeply concerned” that CNN has barred travel pool reporters from being inside the studio and close to Biden during all of tonight’s historic presidential debate.
Despite “repeated requests” for White House pool access, CNN will allow only one print reporter to enter during a commercial break for a brief observation.
“That is not sufficient in our view and diminishes a core principle of presidential coverage,” president of the WHCA Kelly O’Donnell said in a statement Thursday.
“The pool is there for the ‘what ifs?’ in a world where the unexpected does happen,” O’Donnell said.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang
Jun 27, 7:14 PM Candidates prepare for interruptions despite muted mics
Just because their microphones will be turned on only when it’s their turn to speak, it doesn’t mean there won’t be interruptions, and campaign staffers of both candidates are preparing for it.
Since the candidates are still only 8 feet apart, there is a scenario where the viewer may not hear an interruption, but the other candidate and the moderators will.
Advisers from both campaigns told reporters that’s something they’ve acknowledged or discussed in debate preparations.
The Biden campaign said it is hoping the president just flat-out ignores any distractions or comments that Trump makes.
The Trump campaign said it is aware that tonight they could play this both ways: The former president could stay on message when his microphone is turned on but make off-hand comments to irk Biden when his microphone is turned off.
When it comes to the traditional handshake between the candidates before the event, both sides are being coy.
One Biden adviser said, “I wouldn’t do it,” while an adviser for the Trump campaign responded simply by laughing.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott
Jun 27, 7:03 PM Biden, Trump face differing expectations heading into debate
Biden and Trump are navigating different expectations heading into the debate — though Republicans have largely set the standards for each.
Polls show that voters share concerns about Biden’s age (81 years old) and fitness for office, and Republicans have for years cast the president as a dithering man. Showing vitality, as he did during this year’s State of the Union, and nimbly mixing it up with Trump, could help alleviate those worries, Democrats told ABC News.
Trump, meanwhile, has been working overtime to set his own expectations. He’s repeatedly demeaned CNN — the host — to suggest he’ll be debating behind enemy lines. And he’s emphasized his unfounded claims that Biden will be on some kind of drug to enhance his performance, seemingly to undercut the prospect of a good performance by the president. Some Republicans have also been highlighting Biden’s extensive resume of running races and debating.
Still, Trump’s allies are setting high expectations for him, with senior adviser Jason Miller telling ABC News that Trump has demonstrated “elite stamina.”
Jun 27, 6:38 PM Trump raises his fist as he exits plane in Atlanta
Trump arrived in Atlanta just before 5:30 p.m. As he exited the plane, he raised his fist and clapped his hands.
He went straight into his motorcade without approaching or greeting nearly 200 supporters who gathered to welcome him.
Accompanying him were his advisers Susie Wiles, Steven Cheung, James Blair, Jason Miller, Chris LaCivita, and Corey Lewandowski. The only lawmaker on the plane with him was Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Jun 27, 6:33 PM Biden stops to greet supporters on way to debate studio
Biden stepped off Air Force One in Georgia about 3:15 p.m. to greet a group of supporters on the tarmac applauding his arrival. The president was donning his signature aviators and a navy-blue suit.
He spent several moments shaking hands with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Stacey Abrams and Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson.
As he made his way to CNN’s studio, Biden made an unexpected stop to shake hands with a group of cheering supporters. The group held “Dark Brandon” cardboard cutouts and chanted “Let’s go, Joe!” and “Four More Years!”
Biden moved down the line to shake hands and meet people for nearly 10 minutes.
As Biden and Trump prepare to square off in their first political debate in four years, historians and experts contend the matchup may have a small but crucial impact on the election.
Aaron Kall, director of debate for the University of Michigan’s Debate Program, told ABC News the majority of those who tune in are likely already locked into a preferred candidate.
“Nothing that occurs during the 90-minute debate is going to change or influence who they’re going to vote for,” he said. However, Kall and other experts ABC News spoke with said there is still a smaller group of undecided voters who do tune in and can be swayed by the performances.
With the last two presidential elections decided by just tens of thousands of votes in a few states — many cast by independent voters — candidates’ debate strategies have become laser-focused on courting that group, according to Julien Labarre, administrator of the University of California Santa Barbara’s Center of Information Technology & Society.
“What we see is people who were not thinking of going to vote being turned into voters,” he told ABC News. “Spurring people into participation, we do see that kind of effect.”
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
Jun 27, 6:05 PM How Americans feel going into the debate
After tonight’s debate, there will be a rush to anoint a “winner” and a “loser,” but the only way we can really do that is once we have data on how the debate will actually affect people’s votes. To that end, 538 partnered with Ipsos to poll the same group of likely voters both before and after the debate to see how their attitudes change. Here are some of the key findings from our pre-debate poll, which was conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
First, we asked respondents to rate how well they thought each candidate would perform in the debate tonight on a five-point scale. On average, Trump got a score of 2.96 out of 5, and Biden got a score of 2.58 out of 5. In other words, expectations are significantly lower for Biden tonight, which could end up helping him — even a so-so performance from Biden would exceed most people’s expectations.
It looks like the reason people have such low expectations for Biden is his advanced age. We also asked respondents to grade each candidate’s physical, mental and emotional fitness on a five-point scale. On average, Biden got just a 2.3 out of 5 on physical fitness and a 2.4 out of 5 on mental fitness. Trump bested him on both of those measures, but Trump got only a 2.6 out of 5 on emotional fitness, which was lower than Biden’s score.
We also asked voters what issues would have the most impact on their vote. Fifty percent ranked inflation or increasing costs as one of their top three issues, while 37% included immigration. Voters also said Trump would do a better job handling those issues than Biden, so it will be especially important for the president to show strength on these issues tonight.
Finally, we asked voters which candidates they were considering supporting. Heading into the debate, 44.8% of voters are at least considering voting for Trump, 44.5% are at least considering voting for Biden and 18.5% are at least considering voting for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who failed to qualify for the debate. (Respondents could say they were considering multiple candidates, which is why these numbers add up to more than 100%.) We’ll ask voters the same question after the debate to see whether these numbers shift.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Jun 27, 5:56 PM Debate offers rare chance to change a rigid race
The debate between Biden and Trump marks one of the few foreseeable opportunities to change a race characterized by stagnant polls.
Literal history is in the rearview in the race, including 34 felony convictions for Trump in New York — that leaves just the debates, the party conventions and Trump’s sentencing as the only dates on the calendar that the campaigns could circle as opportunities to try to gain an edge.
“If you’re looking at the calendar for the next five months, this is one of those moments. And somebody’s going to take advantage of it,” Chip Saltsman, a GOP strategist who worked on former Vice President Mike Pence’s now-suspended presidential bid, told ABC News.
(UVALDE, Texas.) — Two people have been indicted in connection with the investigation into the 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, ABC Austin affiliate KVUE reported Thursday.
Former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been indicted and booked into the Uvalde County jail, Sheriff Ruben Nolasco confirmed to ABC News.
Arredondo is facing 10 charges of child endangerment and being held on a $10,000 bond, an official briefed on the case told ABC News.
The second person indicted is former Uvalde School District police officer Adrian Gonzalez, the San Antonio Express-News and Uvalde Leader News. ABC News has not independently confirmed the second charging.
According to the sheriff, the second person has not surrendered to the jail and is not in custody.
Families of the victims have been notified, according to officials.
The charges were first reported by the San Antonio Express News.
ABC News has reached out to the district attorney for comment.
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the massacre at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022, in the second-worst school shooting in American history.
The Justice Department released a scathing report earlier this year after it found “critical failures” before, during and after the shooting, and major departures from established active-shooter protocols.
Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell began her criminal investigation into the law enforcement failures shortly after the shooting and convened a grand jury to review evidence against hundreds of officers in January.
Mitchell initially said in May 2023 that she had been “optimistic” that the investigation would be completed by the one-year mark, but added that it was “not surprising” that it was still ongoing “given the magnitude of this investigation.”
Mitchell did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
Anne Marie Espinoza, director of communications and marketing for Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, released a statement Thursday, saying, “As we have done and continue to do, we extend our sincerest sympathies to all who lost loved ones.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this challenging situation,” Espinoza said.
Ana Rodriquez, mother of Maite Rodriquez, who was killed in the shooting, confirmed that the DA’s office had alerted her of the filing.
“My heart breaks for Maite. My heart breaks for her siblings,” Rodriquez told ABC News, adding, “The fact that these two people are being held accountable doesn’t change anything for me, it doesn’t bring her back.”
Rodriguez said the indictments Thursday do not equate to “complete justice,” saying, “Not everyone who … needs to be held accountable is going to be held accountable.”
Javier Cazares, the father of Jackie Cazares, who was also killed in the shooting, confirmed that he, too, spoke with the DA’s office ahead of the filing.
“It’s something. We were hoping more, but they are going to finally bring someone to justice,” Cazares said, echoing Rodriguez’s concerns.
“We feel there should be more facing charges,” he added.
ABC News’ Ismael Estrada, Bonnie McLean and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump prepare to take the debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday night, voters across the key swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania spoke with ABC News about how they’re feeling during an election where they feel unhappy with both major candidates – and what they hope to hear on the debate stage.
“I’m at a point where I just can’t really, you know, have a decision because of what my choices are. You know, I’m gonna vote, but I’m just not comfortable with who I’m voting for,” Barbara Chatman told ABC News from Headmaster’s Barbershop in Atlanta. “”One, he’s just been convicted, I feel uncomfortable about that. The other one they’re saying he’s too old – I feel uncomfortable about that. I feel like we should have someone new that’s running.”
It’s a feeling Laura Ruesch, who lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, shares.
“I have never felt worse about the options for presidential candidates this year. I really feel like it’s not a valid choice; I’m very upset at both parties for the candidates that they’ve put forward,” she told ABC News.
Chatman and Ruesch are what some analysts call “double-haters” – voters who feel uneasy about both Biden and Trump. A poll published Thursday from 538 and Ipsos found 21% of likely voters expressing that view.
ABC News interviewed dozens of voters across the four battleground states – where Biden beat Trump by around only 267,000 votes in total in 2020. And while some say they lean toward a candidate – with some apprehensions – many are yet to decide who they’ll vote for and are looking to the debate to help make up their minds.
“We have two people who have been there before…. [in Pennsylvania,] everybody’s across the board and they don’t feel strongly one way or another. So the debate is going to do a lot for them to, I think, lean one way or another,” Jerry Longo, a second-generation owner of Jerry’s For All Seasons, a garden center in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, told ABC News.
Stan Kowalski, a construction worker in Scranton, said that he’s concerned that Trump is headed into the debate while facing legal battles and verdicts. “I wish there wasn’t so much stuff hanging over his back going into this, but… this courtroom stuff isn’t any picnic by no means for anybody, but, I think he’s holding together pretty good, and we’ll see what happens.”
And on what concerns him about Biden, Kowalski said his age, as well as border and economic issues that Biden has grappled with.
Age is top of mind for many of the voters across all four states.
In Waukesha, Wisconsin, college student Lucas Franke says he is concerned about the ages of the two candidates.
“With candidates as old as they are, any kind of medical anything, a heart problem, a stroke for either of them could be debilitating,” Franke told ABC News.
At Cozy Nook Farm, west of Waukesha, dairy farmer Tom Oberhaus is also concerned.
“I am approaching that age myself. I don’t know if there’s anybody that 70 years old and older that says they’re as sharp and shrewd as they were when they were 50. That’s just the way life is,” he told ABC News from his farm. “Why don’t we want our sharpest people as our president is our leader of our country?”
Like many of the voters ABC News talked to, Oberhaus – who has run the farm with his wife since 1985 – agonizes over the economy.
“The rampant inflation that we’re in right now is critical. I mean, it’s it’s eating us alive. We can’t, you know, as farmers, we don’t get to set our prices and and we’re getting beat up by inflation,” he told ABC News.
And he’s not the only one.
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, Jennifer Merceau said her husband owns a masonry business, and she wants to see the economy “back to where it was.”
“Self-employed people are really struggling in this economy to make sure their customers are taken care of,” Merceau told ABC News. “I’d like to see what they’re going to do for small businesses in this country. I think that small business owners work really hard, and they’re good to their customers. And I’d like to see what can be done for them, which will in turn stimulate our economy even more,” she said of what she hopes the candidates are asked about at the debate, in addition to the border and military.
“We’re all just struggling out here, you know, we work, we all work full time, and, you know, we’re trying to take care of our kids. We need help with childcare. Like, it’s. It’s a struggle out here,” Cierra Waterhouse, also from Scranton, told ABC News.
The voters hope the economy is center stage at the debate.
“I would need to hear from the candidates that they really understand what the average person is going through, what our financial situations are,” accounting assistant Destiny Johnson told ABC News in Milwaukee.
Voters also expressed concern over immigration policy and border security, as well as America’s involvement with the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars. Polling has shown that those issues, while not top of mind for voters, have been on their minds, and Biden and Trump have grappled with these issues differently while on the trail.
Janee Johnson, who works as a waitress at Toast ‘N Jams in Muskegon, Michigan, said the focus should be on doing the “right things for America.”
“I feel like the best thing that they can say is, I am here for America, and America only. That would make me happy. That would make me trust who I’m putting in office at that point,” Johnson told ABC News.
Michael Kordecki, the owner of that restaurant, wishes he could tell the candidates to “be more positive about America, about our future, and about what we can do with or without new people coming into the country.” He added, “We have an immigration issue. I don’t think it’s that big of an issue. I think it just needs to be regulated. I think that we also have an issue with, older Americans not being well taken care of. I think that issue needs to be addressed at some point.”
Despite their distaste for the candidates, the voters told us they are planning to show up to the polls in November.
“You have to like one of them more than another, and your vote matters. So whether it’s for someone who you feel strongly about or you just feel more strongly about the other one, it’s important to get out there and vote,” said Longo, the garden center owner in Pennsylvania.
At Headmasters Barbershop in Atlanta, Chatman says she will still go out and vote this November.
“It’s sad that we only have two choices and neither choices are on the top of my list,” she said. “But at this point I have to go for someone because I am a voter. I feel like that my ancestors struggled to for me to have this right, so I refuse to allow anything to stand in the way of that. So I will be voting, just not sure who.”
ABC News’ Jacob Steinberg contributed to this report.
— Commonand Pete Rock have released “All Kind of Ideas” and its accompanying video. The track is the first new studio record Pete Rock has rapped on in five years. The video captures the two working during a studio session, with the process embodying “the nostalgic underground hip-hop scene of the 90s.”
“All Kind of Ideas” is the third cut off Common and Pete’s joint album, The Auditorium, Vol. 1, following “Wise Up” and “Dreamin.'” It’s due out July 12.
— If you’re wondering what label Gunna is on, he told Spotify’s RapCaviar the answer. “I’m still providing. We still pushing. No paperwork has been changed,” said the rapper, who was released from jail after entering an Alford plea in the YSL RICO case. “So it’s like, whatever’s been getting and how we’ve been pushing this s***, it’s still going.”
— Earl Sweatshirt, Yasiin Bey, Daniel Caesar and more are coming together for a special cause. They’re set to perform at the Troxy in London on July 4 for the Artists for Aid concert benefitting the people of Gaza and Sudan. Tickets are now available to purchase.
— XXXTentacion‘s father is the latest to sing Kendrick Lamar‘s praises. While many have praised K. Dot for his lyrical ability, Dwayne Onfroy simply shared a message thanking him for supporting his late son.
“Special big-up, shoutout goes to Kendrick Lamar…I just want to say, first off all, thank you for giving my son a platform when he was an unknown artist. On his first single.You gave him a shoutout when his album released. You stepped up to the plate for him when a lot of people just stood by and stood back,” he said, in part.
