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Donald Trump is appearing at a campaign rally at his golf club near Miami on Tuesday evening, as speculation around his vice presidential pick reaches fever pitch with six days to go until the Republican National Convention.
One VP hopeful, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, appeared on stage before the former president, laying into Joe Biden over his disastrous debate performance. Trump meanwhile has remained relatively quiet since going toe-to-toe with with his rival on June 27.
Trump has said he would likely make a decision on who his 2024 running mate will be “a little before” or during the convention, which kicks off on July 15.
It comes as a new poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris has a better shot than President Joe Biden at defeating Trump in the 2024 election. The survey, conducted by the Democratic firm Bendixen & Amandi, shows Biden slightly behind Trump, 42 to 43 per cent, with Harris inching past the former president 42 to 41 per cent.
The eyes of the world are on Biden as he hosts the NATO summit in Washington DC amid concerns about his fitness to contest the election and serve another term in office and fresh calls for him to quit the 2024 race.
Key Points
- Kamala Harris pulls ahead of Joe in Trump matchup, but someone else does better...
- Trump’s VP decision draws near as former president prepares for tonight’s Florida rally
- Trump attacked over ‘preposterous’ attempt to distance himself from Project 2025
- Nato allies ‘not concerned’ by questions over president's mental fitness ahead of major summit
- Trump says ‘Hunter is calling the shots’ and Biden’s ‘ego’ won’t let him quit 2024 race
- Sixth House Democrat calls publicly for president to drop out
Trump challenges Biden to another debate... and 18 holes of golf
Speaking by the 10th hole of the Trump National Doral Golf Club, which he described as “one of the greatest golf courses on Earth,” Donald Trump challenged Joe Biden to another presidential debate later this week.
The former president laid into Biden’s performance on June 27, and said he had scored “even according to the fake news media, the most decisive and overwhelming defeat in the history of presidential debates.”
”Even CNN said as I walked off the stage that it was one of the greatest performances they’ve ever seen. But it was sort of easy, if you want to know the truth,” he told the cheering crowds.
“But don’t feel sorry for he’s a very bad guy. He weaponized government. Remember that is a very bad guy. Don’t feel sorry for. So tonight, I’m officially offering, Joe, the chance to redeem himself in front of the entire world.
“Let’s do another debate this week so that sleepy Joe Biden can prove to everyone all over the world that he has what it takes to be president. But this time, it will be man to man, no moderators, no holes barred, just name the place, any time.”
Trump went on to challenge Biden to an 18 hole golf match, something the two men clashed over in bizarre fashion during the debate.
“It will be among the most watched sporting events in history, maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters,” Trump said.
“I will even give Joe Biden 10 strokes a side. 10 strokes, that’s a lot. That means 20 strokes in case you don’t play golf. I will give him 10 strokes a side and if he wins, I will give the charity of his choice, any charity that he wants, $1 million.”
Mike Bedigan10 July 2024 01:12 1720567239Watch: Who will Trump's running mate be?
In pictures: Trump descend on Doral for rally
What is Project 2025?
A 900-page plan drawn up by former Donald Trump aides and endorsed by a powerful right-wing think tank is giving the former president a roadmap for his second administration.
Project 2025 — a blueprint for Trump’s presidency spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and more than a dozen former Trump administration officials — is essentially a wishlist for his administration with plans to expand his executive authority, replace civil servants with ideologically aligned appointees, crush abortion rights and impose an anti-immigrant agenda, among other policies.
But the former president is trying to distance himself from the plan, claiming that he knows “nothing” about it or “who is behind it,” despite its authors coming from Trump’s White House and the GOP’s close ties to the group that launched it.
Alex Woodward looks at the details.
What is Project 2025? The ‘dystopian’ manifesto for Trump’s second term
Project 2025’s blueprint for Donald Trump’s return to the White House opens the door to fascism, lawmakers warn
Oliver O'Connell9 July 2024 23:50 1720563622AOC: '[Biden] is in this race, and I support him’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reaffirmed her commitment to President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee on Monday evening amid heightened tensions within the party over his mental fitness.
“Joe Biden is our nominee, he is not leaving this race, he is in this race and I support him,” Ocasio-Cortez told a group of reporters outside of the Capitol.
The New York rep’s assertion comes as Democratic lawmakers scramble to find consensus on whether or not to support Biden, 81, as the presidential nominee.
Ariana Baio reports.
AOC backs Biden: ‘He is in this race, and I support him’
Democratic lawmakers are scrambling to find consensus on whether to support Biden’s re-election campaign after his shaky debate performance
Oliver O'Connell9 July 2024 23:20 1720563240In pictures: Florida Senator Marco Rubio addresses rally in Doral
What time with the Trump rally in Florida begin?
Donald Trump is due to host a rally in the Miami suburb of Doral on Tuesday night following several days of relative silence, since going toe-to-toe with Joe Biden on June 27.
The rally is due to kick off at 7pm ET.
Analysis: Trump lied and Biden got tongue tied at the first debate. So why is the world only focusing on one?
Kelly Rissman wonders where the scrutiny of Donald Trump is in comparison to that lumped on Joe Biden.
Biden had a bad debate night. That doesn’t mean we can ignore Trump’s lies
As most of the media — and the country — is laser focused on the president’s poor debate performance, a handful of outspoken analysts have wondered: Where is the same scrutiny of Donald Trump? Kelly Rissman reports
Oliver O'Connell9 July 2024 22:50 1720560912Junior Navy sailor tried to access President Biden’s medical records three times
A junior sailor tried to get hold of President Joe Biden’s restricted medical records three times in a single day in February “out of curiosity,” the Navy revealed Tuesday.
The name of the sailor has not been shared, but he was assigned to the Navy’s hospital corps and stationed at the major medical center that is Fort Belvoir in Virginia, a US official told CBS News.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.
Junior Navy sailor tried to access President Biden’s medical records three times
‘At no time was the President’s personal information compromised,’ Navy commander says
Oliver O'Connell9 July 2024 22:35 1720560022Pence: RNC platform ‘profound disappointment’ to pro-life movement
Former Vice President Mike Pence is not happy with the Republican Party platform for the 2024 election given its softened language regarding abortion. The platform was quickly pushed through the rules committee and will be voted at next week’s Republican National Convention.
Donald Trump congratulated the rules committee chair Marsha Blackburn and vice chari Mike Waltz for its quick passage.
Here’s in part what Pence had to say...
The RNC platform is a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life.
Now is not the time to surrender any ground in the fight for the right to life. The 2024 platform removed historic pro-life principles that have long been the foundation of the platform. I urge delegates attending next week’s Republican Convention to restore language to our party’s platform recognizing the sanctity of human life and affirming that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.
The updated platform also cedes this fight to the states, leaving the unborn in California and Illinois to the far-left’s extremist abortion policies. The right to life is not only a state issue; it is a moral issue, and our party must continue to speak with moral clarity and compassion about advancing the cause of life at the federal, state and local level.
He concludes by describing the GOP platform as “retreating” but says the pro-life movement “never will” and then says:
My fellow Republicans, Stand firm for Life. Restore the RNC platform’s historic commitment to the sanctity of human life. Pro-Life Americans and generations born and unborn deserve nothing less.
Read his full statement here
Oliver O'Connell9 July 2024 22:20 Newer1 / 11OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
