Washington:

As Joe Biden’s verbal gaffes, shaky voice, and other troubling signs have brought an intense focus on the US President’s mental acuity, health experts are calling on him and rival Donald Trump to pass additional cognitive tests, even while warning against leaping to conclusions.

Such tests, experts said, could either help repudiate speculation that the 81-year-old president’s mental state is in worrying decline — or else confirm it — and could enlighten voters on the mental abilities of Trump, who has had his own share of verbal lapses.

But reliable diagnoses, they caution, cannot be made from afar.

Since Biden’s disastrous performance in his debate with Trump two weeks ago, the Democrat’s campaign has faced fierce opposition. A growing number of officials in his own party are questioning his ability to lead the country for four more years.

And it didn’t help when at a summit in Washington earlier this week Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his foe Vladimir Putin, before quickly correcting himself.

Dennis Selkoe, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, said the fundamental issue is whether Biden is suffering from “a normal age-related process” or “something that represents a neurologic disease.”

“Making a mistake with a name is not automatically a sign of dementia or of Alzheimer’s,” he told AFP.

But Selkoe, who sees many patients with neurodegenerative problems, said Biden does seem to have the “appearance of an early Parkinson patient” — including his slow, stiff gait and his low, sometimes barely audible voice, which could be a condition known as hypophonia.

Detailed Tests

In February, Biden underwent a complete physical exam. A published summary of its results indicated that an “extremely detailed neurologic exam” had ruled out Parkinson’s.

However, no detail was provided on the exact nature of the tests or their results.

Could a neurological illness have taken root over just the past five months? If the exams in February had been comprehensive, Selkoe said, there should have been early signs of a nascent condition.

In an editorial in March, the scientific journal Lancet called for standardized procedures to examine the health of sitting and prospective presidents to insulate American voters from a “pestilence of speculation, misinformation, and slander.”

Absent such reliable testing, “the US public remains beholden to voluntarily released reports from politicians’ personal physicians,” the journal said.

Jay Olshansky, an expert in aging at the University of Illinois at Chicago, sounded a similar note, saying, “We think the time has arrived for complete transparency.”

He urged both major presidential candidates to pass a cognitive test, something former president Trump has frequently challenged Biden to do.

Several such exams, including those known as the MMSE and the MoCA, are available either for an initial screening or as part of a more comprehensive battery of tests.

Biden has said that he effectively passes a cognitive test every day, simply by carrying out his presidential duties.

But “I don’t think it’s the same,” Selkoe said. Being able to conduct familiar tasks one has done for years is one thing, he said, while being able to repeat a list of words heard five minutes earlier, as some tests require, is another.

At a news conference Thursday, the President said he would be willing to take a new neurological exam if his doctors recommended it, but that “no one is suggesting that to me now.”

Stereotypes On Aging

Aging changes one’s brain, said Allison Sekuler, president of the Baycrest Academy, a hospital specializing in elderly care.

“Garbage is basically building up in the brain,” she told AFP, adding that parts of the brain atrophy, or shrink, including parts important to memory.

An early phase known as “mild cognitive impairment” can sometimes develop into Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia, she said.

During their recent debate, both Biden and Trump — who is 78 — “exhibited some sort of issues in terms of being able to stay on track with a question,” Sekuler said, recommending that both men undergo testing.

But, she added, “we’re really only talking about one of them right now because that aligns with our stereotype of what aging is.”

Olshansky also denounced what he called “raging” ageism, citing a recent magazine cover that used a walker as a symbol of the Biden-Trump race.

He noted that while there is a lower age limit for would-be US presidents — they must be at least 35 — there is no upper limit.

What he called “crystallized intelligence,” or the ability to use past experience to improve one’s reasoning skills, “gets stronger and stronger” with age.

Olshansky co-authored a 2020 study that gave Biden a 95 percent chance of surviving a first term, based on average life expectancy for someone of his age, plus personal risk factors.

But a similar calculation four years later, on a man now four years older, gave Biden a much lower probability of survival: just 75 percent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Donald Trump, the former US president and presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party, has attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, raising questions on her competence and describing her as an “insurance policy” for incumbent President Joe Biden.

His attack against Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, came amid chatter in the Democratic Party about whether President Biden should remain the nominee in the November 5 presidential election.

Joe Biden, 81, has faced calls from some Democrats to step aside as the nominee following his disastrous performance during a June 27 debate with Trump in which he struggled to complete sentences or land any significant blows against his opponent.

“Whatever else can be said about crooked Joe Biden, you have to give him credit for one brilliant decision, probably the smartest decision he ever made. He picked Kamala Harris as his vice president. No, it was brilliant. Because it was an insurance policy. Maybe the best insurance policy I’ve ever seen,” Donald Trump, 78, told his supporters in Florida.

“If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent, they would have bounced him from office years ago, but they can’t because she’s gotta be their second choice,” he said as he repeatedly mispronounced her name.

Trump said as vice president, Harris was given two very important tasks – border security and to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine.

“First, she was put in charge of the U.S. border security. She never showed up. She’s never gone. She never went there once. And the border is the worst border in the history of the world,” he alleged.

“We have the best border in history because she has the worst border in the history of the world. Then, she was sent to Europe to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine. How did that work out? Not too good. Both times, the result was a deadly failure. Since Kamala was made border czar, the Biden-Harris administration has lost track of an estimated 150,000 children, many of whom have undoubtedly been raped, trafficked, killed, or horribly abused,” Trump said.

Trump accused Harris, 59, of being a socialist.

“I don’t think Kamala Harris’ California socialism is going to go down well with the people of Doral, the people of Miami, or the people of Florida. Because in Florida, we don’t like socialism. We want our freedom, right? We want our freedom,” he said.

“Joe, Kamala and the entire Democrat establishment have been caught red-handed in the thick of the biggest scandal and the biggest coverup…it’s a cover-up. It’s the biggest cover-up in political history. As you know, they are all co-conspirators in the sinister plot to defraud the American public about the cognitive abilities of the man in the Oval Office,” alleged Trump.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

U.S. President Joe Biden has dismissed concerns about his health and doubts about his re-election bid in November, brushing off a poor performance in the presidential debate as a “bad episode” and insisting that only “the Lord almighty” could persuade him to exit the race.

Mr. Biden, 81, said this on July 5 in a television interview, a week after his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta against his Republican rival Donald Trump, following which some of his own Democratic Party leaders started urging him to step down and his approval rating plummeted.

In the 22-minute high-stakes interview on ABC News aimed at quelling a burgeoning rebellion in the Democratic party, Mr. Biden, who is seeking a second term, said he had “a bad night” and he was “exhausted” and “sick” during his first presidential debate with Mr. Trump.

He asserted that only the “Lord Almighty” could make him drop out of the race to win the November 5 election.

He claimed that he is “running the world” and no one is “more qualified” to be President.

Asked whether he would be willing to have an independent cognitive evaluation and release the results to the American people, Mr. Biden said: “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I’ve had tests. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, I’m running the world.”

The President said in the interview that he was “sick” before the debate. Asked whether it was a bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition, Mr. Biden dismissed those concerns.

“It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night,” Mr. Biden said during his first interview after the debate, adding that his top party leadership are asking him to stay in the race.

“Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact the docs (doctors are) with me. I asked if they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, a virus. I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold,” he said and reiterated multiple times that he was running for the presidency.

Blaming himself for the bad debate night in Atlanta, Mr. Biden said, “Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody’s fault but mine. I prepared what I usually would do sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council for explicit detail,” adding that Mr. Trump “lied 28 times” during the debate.

Mr. Biden said none of the major Democratic party leaders have asked him to drop out and asserted that he would withdraw only if the “Lord Almighty” asked him to.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race. The Lord Almighty’s not coming down,” he added.

The President tried to avoid questions on both his mental fitness and cognitive tests.

“Do you dispute that there have been more lapses, especially in the last seven months?” Mr. Biden was asked.

“Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape,” he responded.

“Are you more frail?” he was asked. “No. Come keep my schedule,” he said.

Mr. Biden alleged that Mr. Trump is a pathological liar.

Asked by the interviewer whether he was being honest with himself about his ability to beat Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden said, “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.” He pointed to previous polls that showed he couldn’t win in 2020 as proof and subsequent down-ballot elections, denying extensive polling that reflects a race where he is trailing.

In a reaction to Biden’s interview, Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna, according to The New York Times, said he expected “complete transparency” from the White House and a willingness to answer “many legitimate questions” from the news media and voters about the president’s abilities.

“He has to earn that trust, and that requires more than one interview,” Khanna was quoted as saying by the daily.

ABC News said it offered a similar one-on-one interview to Trump, 78, but the former president declined.

Earlier during a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin, Biden asserted that he is in the race and will win the election again.

“We had a little debate last week. Can’t say it was my best performance. But ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation. What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do? Well, here’s my answer. I am running and going to win again,” Mr. Biden told his cheering supporters.

“…Some folks don’t seem to care who you voted for, well, guess what? They’re trying to push me out of the race. Well, let me say this as clearly as I can. I’m staying in the race. I’ll beat Donald Trump. I beat him in 2020. And by the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024.” Biden also took this opportunity to address the issue of his advancing age.

“You probably also noticed a lot of discussion about my age. I keep seeing all those stories about I’m being too old. Let me say something. I wasn’t too old to create over 15 million new jobs to make sure 21 million Americans are insured under the Affordable Care Act; to beat Big Pharma, the first firm to ever do that, and lower the cost of it to $35 a season,” he said.

President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, are seen on a television at Tillie’s Lounge during the presidential debate on Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Cincinnati. For many voters in the U.S., there’s despair in the air after the presidential debate this past week.
| Photo Credit: AP

Following a disastrous performance at the debate stage in Atlanta, there is a growing clamour within the ruling Democratic party and the mainstream American media for President Joe Biden to step down from the presidential race.

However, the 81-year-old President and his campaign have asserted that he is not giving up and is determined to successfully run for the November 5th presidential elections.

“Mr. Biden is the nominee (of the Democratic party. No switching of the nominee,” campaign leadership has asserted.

Mr. Biden, the 46th President of the United States, has won the Democratic presidential primary.

As of June 29, he had 3,894 delegates as against 1,975 delegates required to win the nomination of the party. These delegates would meet in Chicago from August 19 to 22 to formally nominate the winner of the primaries to run for the November 5 presidential elections.

Mr. Biden, seeking a second term in the White House, stumbled and fumbled during the televised presidential debate with his predecessor Donald Trump on Thursday night in Atlanta, setting off alarm bells among top Democrats about whether he can stay atop the gruelling months ahead of the elections on November 5.

The 78-year-old Mr. Trump, who is the presumptive Republican Party candidate for the presidential election, clashed right from the start with Biden and by the end of the 90 minutes debate, gave enough fodder for serious editorials and opinions as well as memes on social media.

Over the last 50 hours after the first presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday night, wherein his performance was seen far below par against his rival Mr. Trump, multiple media outlets, including The New York Times and his own party supporters and key decision makers, are calling him to step down from the race.

“Dropping out is Mr. Biden’s most patriotic option,” The Atlantic said Saturday.

“To serve his country, President Biden should leave the race,” The New York Times editorial board wrote Following the debate.

The New York Times wrote, “That is no longer a sufficient rationale for why Mr. Biden should be the Democratic nominee this year.” Similar messages are coming from inside the party as well.

However, his inner circle is standing by the side of Mr. Biden.

A post-debate poll says that 10% of the independent voters have moved towards Mr. Biden after the debate, a point that is being made by his team.

“It wasn’t my best debate ever as Barack (Obama) pointed out. I understand the concern after the debate,” Mr. Biden told his fundraisers in New Jersey. “I get it. I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” he said.

“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on January 6,” Mr. Biden said. He argued Mr. Trump’s lies were the biggest takeaway: “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”

“I didn’t have a great night but neither did he,” he said again of Mr. Trump.

Several prominent columnists — Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, Nicholas Kristof, Jonathan Alter, and David Ignatius — argued that the chance of a diminished Mr. Biden losing to Mr. Trump is too high to risk.

Sydney:

Within minutes of the conclusion of this week’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, it became clear to many that the 81-year-old Biden may not be capable of winning the general election in November.

His inability to clearly communicate during the 90-minute debate earned harsh criticism from across the US political spectrum, most notably among Democrats.

Van Jones, a former official in the Obama administration and CNN analyst, said about Biden:

He had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence in the country and of the base, and he failed to do that.

We’re still far from our convention. And there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward.

Biden did land a few blows on his predecessor over Trump’s various personal indiscretions and the January 6 2021 insurrection on the US Capitol, saying at one point, “you’ve got the morals of an alley cat”.

But it was not enough to persuade many sceptics that Biden is capable of fighting off the Trump campaign, not to mention performing the duties of US commander-in-chief and the hardest job in the world for another four years.

If polls over the weekend show Biden is losing support after his dreadful debate performance, which seems highly likely, the move to replace him as the Democrats’ candidate will become even more intense and, ultimately, irresistible.

How would this play out in the next few weeks?

Persuading Biden to step aside

Even with the withering criticism from his party, Biden remains in control of his fate. He won 99% of the pledged delegates in the Democratic primary process earlier this year, meaning he is entitled to the nomination. As a result, any decision to move to a different candidate starts with Biden himself.

Absent dramatic health news or his removal under the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which allows for such action by the vice president and a majority of his cabinet if the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”, Biden would have to agree to step down as the party’s nominee.

We should be realistic here: Biden is a very stubborn man. You don’t get to be the president of the United States without being enormously self-confident. Biden may not be the smartest or most talented politician, but he is dogged and relentless in his ambitions.

He ran for president twice before his success in 2020. He didn’t let a brain aneurysm, plagiarism charges, familial dramas or personal tragedy stop him seeking the highest office in the land. The day after the debate with Trump, he shook his fist at a campaign event in North Carolina and asserted, “When you get knocked down, you get back up”.

Persuading Biden to step down would require collaboration with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden. “Dr Jill”, as she is known, has taken a hands-on role in managing the president’s daily life and public appearances.

There are very few Democratic Party elders who can be influential with the Bidens. The list probably starts and stops with former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. If those two go to the first lady and forcefully urge Biden’s withdrawal, it could be very difficult to resist.

How could Biden save face?

If Biden withdraws from the race before the Democratic convention in mid-August, his delegates could then vote for a new nominee at the event. Potential nominees include Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Notably, except for Harris, none of these candidates has been vetted publicly during the Democratic primary process for the world’s most scrutinised job.

If Biden were to withdraw from the race after the convention, a special meeting of the members of the Democratic National Committee would decide on the new nominee. This committee includes around 500 leading party members from all US states and territories. (Whitmer is one of three vice chairs.)

A question senior Biden confidants might be asking themselves is, which scenario offers Biden a more graceful and successful exit?

He may want to anoint a successor and he would want to choose the method that offers him the most control. That may be the convention route, where he at least can claim the allegiance of his primary delegates.

This would require an announcement in the next few weeks. The sooner the better, so as to build as much public support as possible for a new nominee. Biden could salvage a significant amount of his reputation if his handpicked successor then defeated Trump in November.

Things look grim for Democrats right now, but in the long run, they may be in a strong position. Trump is very unpopular with most Americans. The 2021 insurrection remains a massive stain on his legacy. His vote ceiling among probable voters in November is still likely below 50%.

Veteran Obama strategist David Axelrod warned Republicans after the debate:

If, for whatever reason, there’s a change at the top of the ticket, you guys are in trouble with Donald Trump. Because the guy who was up there tonight is not a guy who’s going to inspire people.

A tough and nimble Democratic candidate who can communicate clearly could be very successful in November.

(Author:Lester Munson, Non-Resident Fellow, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney)

(Disclosure Statement:Lester Munson receives funding from the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He is affiliated with BGR Group, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm and is a former Republican official in the George W. Bush administration and on Capitol Hill)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

This combination of pictures show U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Joe Biden and Donald Trump square off for a historic US presidential debate this week, with the stage set for what could be a pivotal moment in the 2024 race as millions of potential voters tune in.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The first general election debate of the 2024 election season is here, and it’s a historic moment no matter what happens on stage.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are taking part in June 27 night’s debate in Atlanta. Not only is it the first-ever matchup between a sitting president and a former one, but it’s also the first debate for either candidate in this year’s election. And it’s happening so early in the general election campaign cycle that neither man will have accepted their party’s formal nomination yet.

Here’s how to watch the debate:

What time is the debate? The debate will start at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. It’s being moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

What channel is the debate on? CNN is carrying the debate live on its broadcast network, as well as on CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Max. Viewers can also stream it without a log in on CNN’s website. Several networks have also agreed to carry the event live.

Where is the debate? The setting for the first general election debate is CNN’s studios in Atlanta. Unlike the Republican primary debates, no audience will be present.

Once a Republican stronghold, Georgia was a pivotal battleground in 2020. Both parties are preparing for another closely contested race in the state this year. Trump also faces an indictment in Georgia for his push to “find 11,780 votes” and overturn Biden’s victory based on false or unproven theories of voter fraud.

Which candidates will be on stage? Two candidates — Joe Biden and Donald Trump — will be on stage. For a time, it seemed like they wouldn’t be meeting up at all.

Biden’s campaign had proposed excluding third-party candidates, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from the debates outright. Under the debate commission’s rules, Kennedy or other third-party candidates could qualify if they secured ballot access sufficient to claim 270 Electoral Votes and polled at 15% or higher in a selection of national surveys.

Both CNN and ABC announced the same qualification threshold, saying candidates will need to reach at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet their standards, between March 13 and a week ahead of Thursday’s match up. Last week, CNN announced that Kennedy hadn’t met those markers.

Trump didn’t take part in any of the GOP primary debates, so this is his first time on stage this cycle. Biden didn’t debate any of the Democrats challenging him, either.

Last month, Biden announced that he would not participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that has organized them for more than three decades. Instead, his campaign proposed that media outlets directly organize the debates between the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees.

Hours later, Biden said he had accepted an invitation from CNN, adding, “Over to you, Donald.” Trump, who had insisted he would debate Biden anytime and anyplace, said on Truth Social he’d be there, too, adding, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” Soon after that, they agreed to a second debate.

What’s up next? ABC will host the second debate on Sept. 10. The network has not offered details on where its event would be held, only that it would be moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.

And don’t forget about the running mates. Trump hasn’t named his yet, but Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate her eventual rival in studio on either July 23 or Aug. 13.(AP) AMS

Former US President Donald Trump recently slammed the anti-Israel protests erupting across college campuses as a “radical revolution” and vowed to deport foreign student protesters if he wins the upcoming presidential election. According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump, while speaking at a donor event in New York, called the demonstrators part of a “radical revolution” and promised to crush pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses. He also praised the New York Police Department for clearing the campuses at Columbia University and said other cities needed to follow suit, saying “It (anti-Israel protests) has to be stopped now”. 

“One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they’re going to behave,” Donald Trump said on May 14, the outlet reported citing donors at the event. 

“If you get me elected, and you should really be doing this, if you get me reelected, we’re going to set that movement back 25 or 30 years,” he added. 

Washington Post cited donors who were present at the event. Speaking behind closed doors, the former president also said that he supports Israel’s right to continue “its war on terror” and boasted of his White House policies toward Israel. 

Meanwhile, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt blamed US President Joe Biden for empowering the protesters. “Joe Biden has sided with radical leftist Democrats like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib and empowered antisemitic protestors destroying our college campuses and threatening to undermine our democracy,” Ms Leavitt said.

“President Trump will side with Jewish Americans and American citizens, period, and he will not tolerate terrorist sympathizers on our college campuses,” she added. 

Also Read | Millions Share ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ On Instagram: What The Image Means

Previously, Mr Trump had publicly vowed to clamp down on anti-Israel protesters. Weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack, Mr Trump pledged to deport the “Resident aliens” who joined “pro-jihadists protest”. “If you hate America, if you want to abolish Israel, if you sympathize with jihadists, then we don’t want you in our country, and you’re not going to be getting into our country,” Mr Trump said, as per New York Post. 

“I will cancel the student visas of Hamas sympathizers on college campuses and all resident aliens who join in pro-Jihadists protests,” he went on. “Come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” he said. 

In the recent meeting, Mr Trump again supported Israel’s right to continue its attack on Gaza. “But I’m one of the only people that says that now. And a lot of people don’t even know what October 7th is,” he said. 

Former President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will host a campaign rally in the predominantly Hispanic South Bronx neighbourhood of New York on May 23, targeting a Democratic stronghold as he tries to chip away at U.S. President Joe Biden’s support among voters of color.

Recent polls suggest Mr. Trump is gaining ground with Black and Hispanic voters, groups that traditionally have supported Democrats. Mr. Trump’s campaign sees an opportunity to grab enough of their votes to make a difference in battleground States in the November 5 election.

That is not the case with New York, which Mr. Trump lost by 23 percentage points in 2020 and has no chance of winning this year, political analysts say. But, a well-attended rally held in the city and covered by major TV networks could help project his message to Black and Hispanic voters nationwide.

Why Trump is trying to win over non-white voters

“I think it’s part of this larger narrative where he’s trying to chip away at Biden’s support amongst Black and Latino men, primarily,” said Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University. “By him going to the South Bronx, he can say ‘I’m talking to communities that Joe Biden is taking for granted’.”

Mr. Trump’s focus on non-white voters reflects both candidates’ efforts to look beyond their base in what national polls show to be a close re-match. Some 40% of registered voters in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said they would vote for Mr. Biden if the election were held today, with the same share picking Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump won the U.S. presidency in 2016 with less support from Black and Hispanic voters than any president in at least 40 years, then made up ground with both groups in the 2020 race. In the New York Times/Siena College poll in March, he was selected by 23% of Black and 46% of Hispanic respondents in a one-on-one matchup with the current president. That is far higher than the 12% of Black and 32% of Hispanic voters than he won in 2020, according to Edison Research exit polls.

Political analysts have attributed Mr. Biden’s slipping support among non-white voters this election cycle in part to the outsized impact of inflation on people living paycheck to paycheck.

At Thursday’s rally in Crotona Park, Mr. Trump is expected to focus on the economy, crime and immigration – three main planks of his campaign. He will highlight inflation under Mr. Biden in particular, his campaign said.

Roughly 55% of Bronx County residents are Hispanic and about one-third are Black, according to 2022 census data. Mr. Biden won the county by 67.6 percentage points in 2020.

Biden on the offensive

Mr. Biden has had a flurry of actions and events focused on bolstering support among African American voters, including giving the commencement address at Morehouse College, where he noted the billions in funding his administration has granted to historically Black colleges and universities. He also has singled out Mr. Trump and other Republicans for attacking programmes aimed at improving diversity, equity and inclusion.

On Thursday, the Biden campaign released two new ads attacking Mr.Trump’s treatment of Black people.

Mr. Trump’s rally schedule has had to compete with his court appearances on criminal and civil charges. He is standing trial in New York on charges he falsified business records to hide a hush money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election. A verdict could come as early as next week.

In April, Mr. Trump made a campaign appearance at a convenience store in Harlem, New York, a predominantly Black neighbourhood in Manhattan that has historically voted for Democrats.

While speaking to a Black conservative group in South Carolina before the state’s primary election in February, Mr. Trump likened the four criminal cases against him to discrimination faced by Black Americans and said they had come to “embrace” his mug shots.

Mr. Trump’s legal challenges, including federal charges over his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his handling of classified documents, differ greatly from the historic inequities Black Americans have experienced in the criminal justice system.

Democratic U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, who represents the Bronx, on Thursday said it was clear to New Yorkers in the borough that Mr. Trump put his self interests over their needs. “I’m confident the people of the Bronx are not going to buy the snake oil he’s selling,” Mr. Torres told MSNBC in an interview.

Washington:

Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest people, says he won’t directly back Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the US election — but one look at his X feed makes clear his heart is with the Republican.

Trump, meanwhile, needs cash — burdened with millions of dollars in legal troubles, he is also gearing up to fight what will be the most expensive election in US history.

So could Musk ride to Trump’s rescue?

In a recent interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, the owner of X, formerly Twitter, said he was “leaning away” from Biden, but maintained that it was “unlikely” he would contribute to any campaign.

If he chose to back a candidate, “I will provide a very detailed explanation of why I am endorsing one or the other.”

For close Musk watchers, however, this seemed to edge away from a firm pledge days earlier to stay above the fray.

It came as Trump is picking up the phone to call multi-billionaires, hoping they will open their checkbooks and come to his rescue, according to The Washington Post.

Cold-calling those richer than him is not something Trump enjoys, but the former president is trailing Biden badly in fundraising and the campaign has still eight months to go.

Billionaire breakfast

Two of the world’s most public, and controversial, figures, Trump and Musk have not always seen eye to eye.

Trump, for one, is not a believer in electric cars such as those that Musk, who is also chief at Tesla, has championed — he has ridiculed them for being inconvenient and dependent on government subsidies.

During his 2016-2020 presidency, Musk kept his distance — though that was before his public tilt to the far right.

Musk also flirted with Trump alternatives in the Republican primary, expressing support for Florida governor Ron DeSantis and entrepeneur Vivek Ramaswamy before they flamed out.

Observers agree that Trump has remained quiet on Musk’s transgressions in hope for his money.

The Washington Post revealed that Musk attended a breakfast for billionaires in Florida last month where the former president pitched a group of donors.

That provoked swift speculation — but Musk said “it was just breakfast,” and that nothing more came out of it.

‘Dark money’

If Musk wanted to help Trump more directly, he could hand over limitless cash anonymously, according US election laws.

Called “dark money” by its critics, Musk could bankroll a candidate incognito via specially-created nonprofits called Super PACS.

“These groups can run ads that literally say, ‘vote for Trump'” without any required disclosure on the source of the money behind them, said Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.

Another avenue is to contribute after the fact: Musk could help erase Trump’s debts after the election, and thereby avoid riling the current White House occupant.

A rumor circulated in recent weeks that Trump was also pitching Musk to buy his social media platform Truth Social, and combine it with X.

Truth Social’s parent company went public last week, with shares initially soaring on Wall Street. That meant Trump, who has nearly 80 million shares in the venture, has holdings now estimated in the billions, meaning he may be less desperate for cash.

But that wealth is on paper only, and financial experts warn that the mega-valuation could vanish if Trump ever tries to sell his shares.

‘Combustible’

Money aside, Musk’s political inclinations give Trump a clear boost.

His presence on social media is often rife with unfounded conspiracy theories, disinformation and right-wing talking points that align with Trump, especially on immigration.

They also take place on a platform he owns — where he has free rein to promote (or demote) certain content.

The US Federal Election Committee has received complaints in the past when platforms were perceived as biased, though it never acted on them.

“Those combined create a combustible moment for us where the experience on Twitter (X) is in the hands of a haphazard erratic billionaire who gets bored and uses it to promote his own views,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at the watchdog Free Press.

Donations or not, “Musk’s influence is incredibly powerful,” she added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

California:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday that he has no plans to donate money to either candidate for US President.

In a post on X, Musk wrote, “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.”

  

Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2024

Notably, Musk’s post came two days after he reportedly met former US President Donald Trump in Florida.

According to New York Times, the billionaire and a few wealthy Republican donors met with Donald Trump on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss a private matter, according to three people briefed on the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Trump’s aides have not responded to Musk’s social media remarks.

In the past, Musk has contributed to both Republicans and Democrats, much like many other business titans.

He has not heavily invested in a presidential campaign, in contrast to other American billionaires, and over the years, he has divided his contributions roughly equally between Republicans and Democrats, according to New York Times.

In a recent development regarding the US Presidential race, Republican candidate, Nikki Haley formally announced on Wednesday to end her presidential candidate campaign.

“The time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets,” she said Wednesday in South Carolina.

“Although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in,” she said while speaking from Charleston, South Carolina. Nikki Haley congratulated former President Donald Trump during her announcement ending her presidential campaign but didn’t endorse him.

“In all likelihood, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee when our party convention meets in July. I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America’s president. Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us,” Haley said.

Haley added, “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that.”

According to the report, Haley had emerged as former President Donald Trump’s sole rival in the Republican presidential primary campaign, and while he rolled to victory in 14 of the 15 GOP contests on Super Tuesday, she foiled a possible clean sweep by winning in Vermont.

Across the Republican primaries on Super Tuesday, Haley won just 43 of the Republican delegates, while Trump won 764.

Meanwhile, President Biden and former President Donald J Trump emerged from Super Tuesday having amassed huge delegate hauls in California, Texas, and beyond, moving closer to their parties’ nominations and setting up a rematch for the White House in November.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)