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2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates [Bernie Sanders drops out Update#741]

Missed the last debate . Were there any blockbuster moments where one candidate destroyed the other ?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Biden: "You get rid of the 9 SuperPACs you have?"<br><br>Sanders: "9 SuperPACs? I don't have any SuperPACs."<br><br>Biden: "You want me to list them?"<br><br>Sanders: "Yeah you go ahead and list them."<br><br>Biden: "Come on. Give me a break." <a href="https://t.co/70LQUHXrjS">https://t.co/70LQUHXrjS</a> <a href="https://t.co/ntHx4cElA0">pic.twitter.com/ntHx4cElA0</a></p>— The Hill (@thehill) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1239627745052758016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Biden: "You get rid of the 9 SuperPACs you have?"<br><br>Sanders: "9 SuperPACs? I don't have any SuperPACs."<br><br>Biden: "You want me to list them?"<br><br>Sanders: "Yeah you go ahead and list them."<br><br>Biden: "Come on. Give me a break." <a href="https://t.co/70LQUHXrjS">https://t.co/70LQUHXrjS</a> <a href="https://t.co/ntHx4cElA0">pic.twitter.com/ntHx4cElA0</a></p>— The Hill (@thehill) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1239627745052758016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nice ! CNN is playing it like Biden won the debate hands down . Trump isn't lying when he says they are Fakenews.
 
Primaries in Illinois, Florida and Arizona today, huge states. Lets see how much corona affects the results.

Maryland and Lousiana have postponed their primaries, maybe that was the best thing to do.
 
Nice ! CNN is playing it like Biden won the debate hands down . Trump isn't lying when he says they are Fakenews.

CNN is as bad as FOX. They are absolutely, 100% pro establishment Dem, which i always say is paper thin away from pro establishment republicans.
They skewer Sanders all the time, its always full of negative news for him and for Biden its always sun shine and roses. Even a hardcore idiot Trumper can see that, lack of intelligence notwithstanding.
 
CNN is worse than Fox news when it comes to these things.

Bernie has been treated far more fairly by Fox than CNN.
 
CNN is worse than Fox news when it comes to these things.

Bernie has been treated far more fairly by Fox than CNN.

Yes Bernie has been treated far better by Fox but tbh Fox is worse than CNN or MSNBC who are filled with biased partisan-hacks themselves.

Sean Hannity just had a segment where he lied that no American has yet died of COVID19.
 
Yes Bernie has been treated far better by Fox but tbh Fox is worse than CNN or MSNBC who are filled with biased partisan-hacks themselves.

Sean Hannity just had a segment where he lied that no American has yet died of COVID19.

That's why I added the disclaimer "in these things". :))

From what I hear, Fox is like the Bhakt version of USA. lol.
 
CNN is worse than Fox news when it comes to these things.

Bernie has been treated far more fairly by Fox than CNN.

Well of course they would do that. They do that to get the Bernie voters on their side. Just like they ditched Hilary in 2016... but they are the absolute worst. Their fake news reporting and bias is ahead of CNN. But CNN seems determined now to match them with their pro Biden agenda.
 
Well of course they would do that. They do that to get the Bernie voters on their side. Just like they ditched Hilary in 2016... but they are the absolute worst. Their fake news reporting and bias is ahead of CNN. But CNN seems determined now to match them with their pro Biden agenda.

Yeah you are right.

Ulterior motive is there but man...I am angry at CNN.

They are wolf in sheep's clothing.
 
Yeah you are right.

Ulterior motive is there but man...I am angry at CNN.

They are wolf in sheep's clothing.

Oh yeah, no doubt.. big part of the swamp.. they are for hire propaganda tool just like Fox.

I find myself tuning into MSNBC more for American politics .. I hate Joe Scarborough though.. he looks And talks like a sleazy used car salesman.. but the rest of them are cool.
 
Oh yeah, no doubt.. big part of the swamp.. they are for hire propaganda tool just like Fox.

I find myself tuning into MSNBC more for American politics .. I hate Joe Scarborough though.. he looks And talks like a sleazy used car salesman.. but the rest of them are cool.
MSNBC is actually worse than CNN when it comes to presenting Bernie fairly. There are entire reports on how it asks right wing framed questions for progressive issues and has been treating Bernie unfairly for years. Chris Hayes is perhaps the one anchor that is somewhat neutral, but rest of it is gutter journalism.
 
MSNBC is actually worse than CNN when it comes to presenting Bernie fairly. There are entire reports on how it asks right wing framed questions for progressive issues and has been treating Bernie unfairly for years. Chris Hayes is perhaps the one anchor that is somewhat neutral, but rest of it is gutter journalism.

Khair Bernie ko to koi fairly treat nahi karney laga., I found msnbc more neutral between Dem/Republicans is what I meant to say.
 
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has steamrolled rival Bernie Sanders in primary elections in Florida, Illinois and Arizona.

Accelerating his momentum in the race, the former US vice-president made a clean sweep in all three states.

Mr Biden appealed for support directly to Sanders supporters.

With his hat-trick, Mr Biden took another big stride towards becoming the Democratic candidate who will face President Donald Trump in November.

What are the results so far?
With most Florida precincts reporting, Mr Biden led Mr Sanders by nearly 62% to about 23%, according to the Associated Press news agency.

In Illinois, with most precincts reporting, Mr Biden led the Vermont senator by 59% to 36%.

According to partial results from Arizona, Mr Biden had a double-digit lead on Mr Sanders.

In that south-western state, Mr Biden led among white voters by 51% to 32%. Hispanic voters were more equally divided between Mr Biden (45%) and Mr Sanders (44%).

Florida was the biggest prize of the night, awarding 219 of the 1,991 delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Will Joe Biden's record come back to haunt him?
Mr Trump won that traditional battleground state by 1.2 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election.

On the eve of Tuesday's vote, Mr Biden was hoping to build on his victories in 16 of the last 21 state contests.

The former US vice-president's triumph last month in South Carolina - his first ever primary win over three campaigns for president - resuscitated his faltering campaign.

According to opinion polling, most voters said electability was a priority for them.

About three in four Florida voters said Mr Biden would have a better chance of beating Mr Trump, a Republican. Just one in five said the same of Mr Sanders.

Older voters were more likely to say they supported Mr Biden.

Nearly half of Florida's voters said Mr Sanders' stances were too liberal.

How did the two candidates react?
In a webcam speech from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to comply with US anti-coronavirus advice against public gatherings, Mr Biden appealed to Mr Sanders' passionate supporters.

He said: "Let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders, I hear you, I know what's at stake, I know what we have to do."

But he focused largely on the outbreak sweeping the US, striking a unifying tone as he said: "The coronavirus doesn't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican... we're all in this together."

Mr Sanders hosted an online address from Washington DC, but he did not drop any hints about the future of his campaign.

He instead talked about the coronavirus crisis, outlining proposals to address the pandemic, which he said would cost some $2tn

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51939611
 
As expected.. it’s curtains... he should concede and call it a day.
 
Sad day but the future of the dem's seems to be progressive . This will probably be the last flex of the old guard .

Not really. They have Michelle Obama run as a corporate/establishment candidate and she will win. Then her VP can run again for 2 more terms. 16 more years of crony capitalist/establishment presidency.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, his campaign has announced. <a href="https://t.co/2o4z13T8Nr">pic.twitter.com/2o4z13T8Nr</a></p>— AJ+ (@ajplus) <a href="https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1247908427025862657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Biden it is.
 
Bernie still had a small chance. I don't know why he dropped out.

So, it is Biden vs Trump now.
 
Senator Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign to become US president.

The development clears the way for former vice-president Joe Biden to become the Democratic party's nominee.

Mr Sanders, 78, told his campaign staff about his decision on a conference call on Wednesday before addressing his supporters online.

A self-described Democratic socialist, Mr Sanders found early success making healthcare and working-class issues a key part of his election platform.

"We have transformed American consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice," Mr Sanders told supporters in a live stream.

"Our movement has won the ideological struggle."

For a long time the front-runner, he has slipped behind Mr Biden in the party's primaries in recent weeks.

Mr Sanders had pursued the presidential nomination before, losing out in 2016 to Hillary Clinton.

In recent weeks, Mr Sanders had been hosting campaign events through online live streams due to health concerns from the Covid-19 outbreak.

Among the most left-leaning candidates during this year's election cycle, the Vermont Senator campaigned on policies including healthcare for all, free public college, raising taxes on the wealthy and increasing minimum wage.

While Mr Sanders saw support from younger voters, he failed to win key African-American voters across the southern states in the Democratic primary elections.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52219756
 
Selfless decision. It is more important for the democratic party to be united vs Trump. Personally don't think it does much as very rarely does a sitting US president get dethroned and Trump is a survivor
 
Have huge respect for the man hope he keeps working(politics is terrible for decent people), Biden is useless and no one would be excited to back him among Liberals but they will do out of no choice.
 
senator bernie sanders has suspended his campaign to become us president.

The development clears the way for former vice-president joe biden to become the democratic party's nominee.

Mr sanders, 78, told his campaign staff about his decision on a conference call on wednesday before addressing his supporters online.

A self-described democratic socialist, mr sanders found early success making healthcare and working-class issues a key part of his election platform.

"we have transformed american consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice," mr sanders told supporters in a live stream.

"our movement has won the ideological struggle."

for a long time the front-runner, he has slipped behind mr biden in the party's primaries in recent weeks.

Mr sanders had pursued the presidential nomination before, losing out in 2016 to hillary clinton.

In recent weeks, mr sanders had been hosting campaign events through online live streams due to health concerns from the covid-19 outbreak.

Among the most left-leaning candidates during this year's election cycle, the vermont senator campaigned on policies including healthcare for all, free public college, raising taxes on the wealthy and increasing minimum wage.

While mr sanders saw support from younger voters, he failed to win key african-american voters across the southern states in the democratic primary elections.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52219756

good decision..would have been a disaster if he was nominee
 
I feel that covid is a serious risk for candidates - and doubly dangerous for him at his age.
 
I felt like the coverage of this pandemic was like a distraction from the democratic nomination, they made us forget about Bernie and what he was striving for. It'd be real sus if things conveniently returned to normal by the general election as they would want trump out of office.
 
Coronavirus definitely impacted the primary but I think Bernie would've lost anyway. He had a very small chance.

Still, he should've continued just to advance the movement.
 
Good riddance! A Sanders nomination would have meant more uncertainty & upheaval for a market & economy already in deep trouble because of Covid & the US-China cold-war. It also shows that socialism doesn’t really appeal to anybody apart from the Generation Z in the States - Sanders could never really add to his Bernie Bros base. And a huuuge by-product to this that AOC & her coterie will be forced to lay low for a bit - coudn’t stand them at all!!
 
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I felt like the coverage of this pandemic was like a distraction from the democratic nomination, they made us forget about Bernie and what he was striving for. It'd be real sus if things conveniently returned to normal by the general election as they would want trump out of office.

Naa, Sanders had lost his way before anybody even thought about Covid - South Carolina & his inability to harness any votes beyond the Bernie Bros doomed his campaign.
 
Fightin' the good fight ain't easy

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Solidarity <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@berniesanders</a><br><br>The struggle for a better world goes on. <a href="https://t.co/9sgjdN4dEK">https://t.co/9sgjdN4dEK</a></p>— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1247957222895898625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Fightin' the good fight ain't easy

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Solidarity <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@berniesanders</a><br><br>The struggle for a better world goes on. <a href="https://t.co/9sgjdN4dEK">https://t.co/9sgjdN4dEK</a></p>— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1247957222895898625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Yeah, two losers bound by an impractical ideology & nothing else.
 
Yeah, two losers bound by an impractical ideology & nothing else.

Are you talking about the ideology already in place in 32/33 developed countries. I'm not exactly sure how USA even makes it to the list of developed countries when they can't even provide health care to millions of citizens.
 
Are you talking about the ideology already in place in 32/33 developed countries. I'm not exactly sure how USA even makes it to the list of developed countries when they can't even provide health care to millions of citizens.

And yet we are the wealthiest nation in the world, unlike the doddering socialistic European economies. Suck it up!
 
And yet we are the wealthiest nation in the world, unlike the doddering socialistic European economies. Suck it up!

NZ is a mixed economy, not socialist. Why does America have homeless people swarming the streets literally everywhere if it's so rich?
 
NZ is a mixed economy, not socialist. Why does America have homeless people swarming the streets literally everywhere if it's so rich?
Mixed economy my a** bunch of Socialist dipwits all the other countries I mean free higher education is such a stupid idea why would you do that

NY and California are the most liberal states in US (with high taxes and high services) and thier homelessness crisis is epic on the other hand Texas a capitalist state with no tax is doing much better because businesses are moving there and increasing tax revenue, US is not as simple as reading up some Socialist propaganda and just keep on repeating the same talking points

There's a reason for US being no #1 its because of free market only
 
And yet we are the wealthiest nation in the world, unlike the doddering socialistic European economies. Suck it up!

Isn't this just a function of being the most populated country that can be called developed if you really loosen the meaning of developed?

Yes, US is an incredibly wealthy country where 3 richest families own more wealth than bottom 50% of the country, where nearly all wealth gain in the last 30 odd years has gone to the top 1%. You can feel proud of that, I wouldn't.

One has to win power to affect significant change.

Can’t do much if you’re always finishing second.

I am not sure about the UK, but in the US you can thank the mainstream media that is completely corrupt and sold out to the wealthy and big corporations. They gaslight the people into thinking Bernie can't beat Trump or that Biden is the only safe option. They gaslight people about Bernie's policies, despite those policies being similar to what the rest of the developed already does. Now, the US populace, especially the older and the rural, aren't exactly the brightest bunch when it comes to nuanced ideas or what is actually the right idea, so they easily get dissuaded by the media. Still, if the media was honest, Bernie could've easily won.
 
Mixed economy my a** bunch of Socialist dipwits all the other countries I mean free higher education is such a stupid idea why would you do that

NY and California are the most liberal states in US (with high taxes and high services) and thier homelessness crisis is epic on the other hand Texas a capitalist state with no tax is doing much better because businesses are moving there and increasing tax revenue, US is not as simple as reading up some Socialist propaganda and just keep on repeating the same talking points

There's a reason for US being no #1 its because of free market only

The homelessness in NY and CA is because a lot of people moved to those states and like most of the US, the politicians are corrupt and sold out to the rich and the corporations, and they did their bidding, and did nothing to stop it.

Do you seriously think having public healthcare would be a detriment for the US economy?
 
The homelessness in NY and CA is because a lot of people moved to those states and like most of the US, the politicians are corrupt and sold out to the rich and the corporations, and they did their bidding, and did nothing to stop it.

Do you seriously think having public healthcare would be a detriment for the US economy?
Lots of people moved out of these states because of high taxes not in you are 100% wrong on this one
and I can't respond to emotional gernelizations slash rants buddy so you are on your own for that one

Please read my post never said anything about healthcare (guess you are too quick to dish out all of your far left "facts")
 
Lots of people moved out of these states because of high taxes not in you are 100% wrong on this one
and I can't respond to emotional gernelizations slash rants buddy so you are on your own for that one

Please read my post never said anything about healthcare (guess you are too quick to dish out all of your far left "facts")

So you consider the corruption in US politics are "emotional generalization"? I suppose I won't be able to help you with that one.
 
So you consider the corruption in US politics are "emotional generalization"? I suppose I won't be able to help you with that one.
Look there is corruption but I think you were generalizing the situation cause after all of the tax revenue every penny goes to corporations and corrupt politician c'mon give me a break you really think there are no services being provided (more than the rest of the nation)
 
NZ is a mixed economy, not socialist. Why does America have homeless people swarming the streets literally everywhere if it's so rich?

What the... you are honestly comparing a teeny tiny homogeneous country like NZ (whats your economic size anyway) with a country as vast & diverse like the US... Is that even a legit comparison? Come back with this when you guys develop an industry other than agriculture & animal rearing!
 
Look there is corruption but I think you were generalizing the situation cause after all of the tax revenue every penny goes to corporations and corrupt politician c'mon give me a break you really think there are no services being provided (more than the rest of the nation)

There is a big wide scale between zero services and what exists in rest of the developed countries. US doesn't have zero services, but it is still far behind other developed countries. All of the following problems, and more, are due to corruption in politics in the US:

Healthcare system
Lack of proper public transit throughout the US, except in a few cities
Education system being based on the income in the area
High rents, and the resulting homeless
No sick pay
No paid time off
Minimum wage that's similar to slave wage
High rates of incarceration
Gun control

These issues, and more, are due to corruption in US politics. And democrats are nearly just as corrupt as republicans. The only issue that democrats have the right position on is gun control. The rest of the issues, they take their cues from their donors and do their bidding.
 
Losers?

Yeah we need more winners in the world like Trump, Boris, Modi.

Great winners they are.

Good people both of them but the world is cruel , Chinese and Russians would had eaten these leaders alive.

He is right about Gen Z though, idealism and socialist and that is something that always annoyed me about residents of Tamil Nadu as well..
There is a reason why Telugu people have dominated South inspite of starting from
scratch...jus my opinion..
 
Good people both of them but the world is cruel , Chinese and Russians would had eaten these leaders alive.

He is right about Gen Z though, idealism and socialist and that is something that always annoyed me about residents of Tamil Nadu as well..
There is a reason why Telugu people have dominated South inspite of starting from
scratch...jus my opinion..

The thing with Bernie, Corbyn & their ilk is they are good intentioned but completely impractical. Their minds are warped with grandiose, theoretical socialist idealism - somewhat like an Ayn Rand but on the other end of the spectrum. They fail to understand a moot point - America was built on the hallowed ground of unabashed capitalism & apart from the Gen Z who are yet to experience the real world, everybody here to a various degree is skeptical of the idea of a socialistic society - including the ones who would probably benefit the most out of it.

America has always been the bulwark against communism since the days of Soviet Russia, Vietnam, Cuba etc - it would never appeal to the people here to adopt those very ideals they have fought against for their whole life. Hence, there was never any real chance of people like Sanders or Warren winning the nomination.
 
One has to win power to affect significant change.

Can’t do much if you’re always finishing second.

True but we can't view everything through the prism of just what's happening now.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

If you can’t take your own people along with you for you, you are a loser. Moral victory is a crutch only for the impractical.

Depends on how you define winners and losers.

You can be a salesman who says just about anything to get the order now.....or you can be a salesman who says the things that your client needs to hear but also try hard to get the sale.

First one gets you more money now.

Second one builds up long term relationships & profits.

And yet we are the wealthiest nation in the world, unlike the doddering socialistic European economies. Suck it up!

Depends on how we define wealthy.

China being a totalitarian regime puts most democracies to shame. :P

Good people both of them but the world is cruel , Chinese and Russians would had eaten these leaders alive.

He is right about Gen Z though, idealism and socialist and that is something that always annoyed me about residents of Tamil Nadu as well.. There is a reason why Telugu people have dominated South inspite of starting from scratch...jus my opinion..

When I was a kid, I used to be an idealist.

Then I grew up and I became a realist.

Then I looked around the world and realized....that GREAT change is brought forth by idealists. Not realists.

Idealists do the impossible while realists sit and complain about issues.

At the same time, idealists can be caught up in their own world while realists help run the world.

The world needs both idealists and realists.

It's not one or the other.

Coronavirus is destroying so many myths about universal healthcare, universal income...that it's not even funny.
 
Would you believe it. Biden extended his oliver branch to progressives by.... proposing to lower the medicare eligibility age to 60. At this rate, US should have universal health care in 2300. Hillary was proposing 55 back in 2016.

Mind you, medicare itself isn't a great health insurance provider when you look at other developed countries. It has deductibles and whatnot. It's just the least worst health insurance provider in the US.
 
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So who is Uncle Joe's running mate? Cuomo? I would choose AOC but she is too young under the Constitution.
 
The thing with Bernie, Corbyn & their ilk is they are good intentioned but completely impractical. Their minds are warped with grandiose, theoretical socialist idealism - somewhat like an Ayn Rand but on the other end of the spectrum. They fail to understand a moot point - America was built on the hallowed ground of unabashed capitalism & apart from the Gen Z who are yet to experience the real world, everybody here to a various degree is skeptical of the idea of a socialistic society - including the ones who would probably benefit the most out of it.

America has always been the bulwark against communism since the days of Soviet Russia, Vietnam, Cuba etc - it would never appeal to the people here to adopt those very ideals they have fought against for their whole life. Hence, there was never any real chance of people like Sanders or Warren winning the nomination.

If capitalism was still giving young people a fair shot I would agree, but since 1980 neoliberalism has meant that the booomers grabbed the housing and a very few super rich people have disproportionate power. The youngsters have no chance of getting on the ladder which allowed their parents to share the American Dream.
 
Don't believe the hype. The West is as Socialist it can be, they just call it capitalism to oppose communism.

Don't believe me? When a government bails out a captialist system/business, it's called socialism, or nationalisation.

The numpties crying for free health care, that's socialism.

The numpties crying for a goverment pension, that's socialism.

Don't be deluded into thinking you live in a true capitalist system, if you did, over 50% of businesses, systems, and homes etc, would be wiped out, including banks, and governments.

The central bank is the lender of last resort, the government, socialism.
 
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If capitalism was still giving young people a fair shot I would agree, but since 1980 neoliberalism has meant that the booomers grabbed the housing and a very few super rich people have disproportionate power. The youngsters have no chance of getting on the ladder which allowed their parents to share the American Dream.

The income inequality is true of any country in the world, not necessarily America- even communist China & Russia have their economy controlled by those who have political connections. America though is the only country where people don’t begrudge people getting rich or being rich - and thats why you had a moneyed Trump or JFK winning elections. If you are aspirational & work hard its still easy to make money here - the problem is the new generation doesn’t want to work with the same intensity as the older generations did, but definitely resent their wealth.

I see that too often at my workplace in Wall street too (specifically when i am recruiting grads for my BU out of colleges) - the newer crop of Analysts are not willing to work extended hours or weekends, but want to get all the financial perks as their older peers did - Guess what? That ain’t happening anymore. And then these are the people who crib about income inequality & lack of housing!

I am a millennial myself but i don’t begrudge the baby boomers anything - they survived multiple conflicts & worked reallly hard in a post-war economy to earn the wealth they are enjoying now - unlike the Gen Z who have had it easy so far. Even today if you have the skill or apply your mind, it isn’t too difficult to make money like the top percentile population - a reason why the startup industry is flourishing.
 
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The income inequality is true of any country in the world, not necessarily America- even communist China & Russia have their economy controlled by those who have political connections.

US is at another level than most countries.

America though is the only country where people don’t begrudge people getting rich or being rich - and thats why you had a moneyed Trump or JFK winning elections.

Whom are you speaking for? Basically any Bernie supporter and a large chunk of democratic supporters will agree that all billionaires become billionaire either by doing outright illegal things, and if not such than doing highly immoral things.

If you are aspirational & work hard its still easy to make money here - the problem is the new generation doesn’t want to work with the same intensity as the older generations did, but definitely resent their wealth.

That myth about the US was busted a long time ago. US older generation didn't have to get university degrees, and if they did the degree was very cheap. They could have lived with a single income. Houses are much more expensive now, same with living expenses. The minimum wage in US is so far behind inflation.

US basically has capitalism for the poor and middle class, and socialism for the rich and wealthy corporations. The bailouts are now showing that. Poor people are not getting bailed out, however the big corporations that sunk all their money into stock buyback instead of saving the money for this kind of situation are getting bailed out.
 
US is at another level than most countries.



Whom are you speaking for? Basically any Bernie supporter and a large chunk of democratic supporters will agree that all billionaires become billionaire either by doing outright illegal things, and if not such than doing highly immoral things.



That myth about the US was busted a long time ago. US older generation didn't have to get university degrees, and if they did the degree was very cheap. They could have lived with a single income. Houses are much more expensive now, same with living expenses. The minimum wage in US is so far behind inflation.

US basically has capitalism for the poor and middle class, and socialism for the rich and wealthy corporations. The bailouts are now showing that. Poor people are not getting bailed out, however the big corporations that sunk all their money into stock buyback instead of saving the money for this kind of situation are getting bailed out.

You answered your own question, US is at another level because of capitalism for the many and socalism for the few.

However i disagree with you on making it in the US, its the easiest place on the planet to make it big if you have the focus and determination to succeed.
 
You answered your own question, US is at another level because of capitalism for the many and socalism for the few.

However i disagree with you on making it in the US, its the easiest place on the planet to make it big if you have the focus and determination to succeed.

For most immigrants who are well educated or are on that path, I agree they can do well. That doesn't mean they will do as well as the previous generations, due to the disproportional increase in cost of living relative to the growth in income, college debt, etc. But they will make it and have a decent living.

Yet the middle class of the US is so large, but they have actually seen their wealth drop in the last 30 years by 900 billion or so. A lot of these people are not the most skilled, yet their income has remain stagnant for 30 years while their productivity has gone up. The top 1% have seen their wealth go up by 21 trillion in the same time.
 
It must've been the behind-the-scenes genius of Amit Jani that secured this for Uncle Joe.
 
Obama endorses Biden’s White House bid

President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden’s White House bid on Tuesday, formally throwing his support behind his former vice president and the now-presumptive Democratic nominee.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned as a country from moments of great crisis, it’s that the spirit of looking out for one another can’t be restricted to our homes or our workplaces, or our neighborhoods or our houses of worship. It also has to be reflected in our national government,” Obama said in a nearly 12-minute video message that touched on the coronavirus pandemic.

“The kind of leadership that’s guided by knowledge and experience, honesty and humility, empathy and grace,” he continued. “That kind of leadership doesn’t just belong in our state capitols and mayor’s offices. It belongs in the White House. And that’s why I’m so proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States.”

The announcement marks Obama’s highly anticipated foray into the 2020 race after declining to back a candidate during the primary contest, and comes just one day after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also endorsed Biden’s candidacy.

Obama’s endorsement, while widely expected, also represents a new phase in the general election campaign against President Donald Trump, unlocking the Democratic Party’s most powerful surrogate for Biden at a time when his campaign has struggled to cultivate momentum amid the outbreak of the coronavirus in the U.S.

Although Biden maintained during the primary that he had asked Obama not to endorse any particular Democratic candidate — insisting that “whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits” — he relentlessly invoked his eight years of service under the former president and close personal relationship with him to court voters.

Biden’s efforts to align himself so closely with Obama, even as the previous administration’s policies came under occasional scrutiny from the party’s left flank, were ultimately successful in propelling him past more progressive rivals to become Democrats’ pick to challenge Trump in November.

His tenure as Obama’s No. 2 also contributed immeasurably to Biden’s firewall of support among African-American voters and proved foundational to the campaign’s argument that the former vice president was a capable, experienced leader ready to assume the responsibilities of the Oval Office.

Weighing in on the endorsement Tuesday, Brad Parscale, Trump’s reelection campaign manager, asserted that Obama “spent much of the last five years urging Joe Biden not to run for president out of fear that he would embarrass himself,” and now “has no other choice but to support him.”

“Obama was right in the first place: Biden is a bad candidate who will embarrass himself and his party,” Parscale said in a statement. “President Trump will destroy him.”

As a historically crowded and diverse field of White House hopefuls competed for the Democratic nomination over the past year, Obama’s public statements and remarks on the state of the race were closely parsed for potential clues regarding his preference of candidate and hopes for the future of the party.

When Biden officially entered the race last April, the former president’s spokeswoman said Obama “relied on the vice president’s knowledge, insight and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency,” and added that the two men “forged a special bond over the last 10 years.”

In November, Obama memorably warned a group of liberal donors that the “average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it,” arguing that voters “just don't want to see crazy stuff” and “are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain, you know, left-leaning Twitter feeds.”

He also reportedly urged Democrats later that same month to “chill out” about the party’s pool of candidates and expressed suspicion toward “purity tests during elections.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/14/obama-endorsement-2020-joe-biden-185464
 
Not surprising in the US, the rich benefiting from another disaster for the middle class.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/shahar...icans-getting-17-million-stimulus-checks/amp/

You may or may not be surprised that some of the language conveniently inserted into the $2.2 trillion-dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) skews heavily in favor of the wealthy. The provision doling out literally millions of dollars is aimed at a limitation that was created in 2017 when Republicans overhauled the tax code. It “temporarily suspends a limitation on how much owners of businesses formed as “pass-through” entities can deduct against their non-business income, such as capital gains, to reduce their tax liability,” according to The Washington Post.
 
Seems as if the Democratic Party didn't learn anything from the Hillary Clinton debacle. Their own incompetence will give another 4 years to Trump on a platter.
 
The thing with Bernie, Corbyn & their ilk is they are good intentioned but completely impractical. Their minds are warped with grandiose, theoretical socialist idealism - somewhat like an Ayn Rand but on the other end of the spectrum. They fail to understand a moot point - America was built on the hallowed ground of unabashed capitalism & apart from the Gen Z who are yet to experience the real world, everybody here to a various degree is skeptical of the idea of a socialistic society - including the ones who would probably benefit the most out of it.

America has always been the bulwark against communism since the days of Soviet Russia, Vietnam, Cuba etc - it would never appeal to the people here to adopt those very ideals they have fought against for their whole life. Hence, there was never any real chance of people like Sanders or Warren winning the nomination.

Based on what's happening now, and what happened in 2008, it doesn't appear US is a capitalist country, but rather crony capitalist. Capitalism for the middle class and socialism for the wealthy and corporations. This video describes it well:


One could argue that Canada and Europe are more capitalist, since they start from some basic fundamental rights, and build free economy from that. US doesn't even start from those fundamental rights, those that you call "socialism".
 
New fund-raising figures show the depth of the financial hole in which Mr. Biden finds himself against a president and Republican Party that have built up a huge war chest.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the Democratic Party could raise almost $1 million every single day between now and November, and he would still barely catch up to what President Trump and the Republican Party had in the bank at the start of April — let alone what Mr. Trump will have by Election Day.

New fund-raising figures released late Monday show the depth of the financial hole in which Mr. Biden finds himself at the start of the general election campaign: The presumptive Democratic nominee and his party are nearly $187 million behind the Republican National Committee and Mr. Trump, who has spent the last three years stockpiling his huge war chest.

The sheer size of Mr. Trump’s early advantage creates a unique set of financial and political pressures for Mr. Biden. He must find ways to both expand his appeal to small online contributors and attract huge seven- and eight-figure checks to the outside super PACs supporting him — all while sheltered in his Delaware home because of the coronavirus.

To lure the money that he will need to compete effectively in battleground states, Mr. Biden will have to navigate a series of consequential political decisions, refining his message, honing his policy agenda and selecting his running mate. But Democratic strategists say he has at least one point in his favor: He has wrapped up the nomination and started uniting the party relatively early in 2020, giving focus to the party activists and leading financial patrons who are singularly obsessed with defeating Mr. Trump.

“Trump’s clear lane is one of the huge benefits of incumbency, and he has used that advantage to turn the screws on every possible donor and execute a massive digital fund-raising effort,” said Jim Margolis, a Democratic strategist and veteran of past presidential campaigns. “So, yes, there will be a fund-raising imbalance, but I think Biden will have enough money to run a good campaign.”

The current cash gap at the presidential level is especially striking because down-ballot Democrats in key House and Senate races have been out-raising their Republican rivals. From competitive Senate races in Maine and Arizona to longer-shot contests in Kentucky and South Carolina, Democratic candidates out-raised their rivals in numerous Republican-held seats across the country in the first quarter of 2020.

Adding to the sense of fiscal strain at the top of the ticket, Mr. Biden has not yet struck an agreement to collect big checks in tandem with the Democratic National Committee (though one is expected soon); the Milwaukee host committee of the Democratic convention announced layoffs last week; and his campaign has been relatively slow to expand hiring since he seized control of the nominating contest a month ago.

Top party operatives and donors have been further distracted by a fractious turf war between leading Democratic super PACs jockeying for supremacy in the crucial and lucrative business of supporting Mr. Biden and ousting Mr. Trump on the airwaves. Even as the Biden campaign has sought to resolve the matter in recent days, some donors and advisers said they were still unsure where exactly they should be sending their checks.

Money is not always determinative in politics, especially at the presidential level. Mr. Biden won the 2020 primary despite being badly outspent. And Mr. Trump won the White House in 2016 despite spending far less than Hillary Clinton. But cash provides campaigns precious flexibility: allowing them to expand the electoral map, hire more staff members, buy more ads or even run political experiments at a moment when a pandemic has caused unprecedented societal upheaval.

Michael Halle, a former top adviser to Pete Buttigieg, said that while money could present a challenge for Mr. Biden, the coronavirus had already robbed Mr. Trump of a great advantage of incumbency: the ability to develop and plan out a political strategy. Mr. Trump had telegraphed his intent to rally around the robust economy; instead, there are record jobless claims.

“Yes, they have the money,” Mr. Halle said of the Republicans. “But to me the bigger power of incumbency is those other pieces. And those are gone.”

The good news for Democrats is that March was Mr. Biden’s best fund-raising month of the campaign by far, raising $46.7 million. The bad news: His pace slowed markedly in the second half as the pandemic gripped the nation and froze the economy. On ActBlue, which processes online donations for Democrats, Mr. Biden raised $27.3 million in the first 15 days of March — the period when he took control of the nomination race — and only $8.5 million in the final 16 days, according to new Federal Election Commission records.

Mr. Trump and his shared committees with the R.N.C. raised $63 million in March and entered April with a combined $244 million in cash on hand. Mr. Biden and the D.N.C. had $57.2 million in the bank, after accounting for unpaid debts.

After a quiet first few weeks in Wilmington, Mr. Biden has begun to ramp up his remote fund-raising schedule. His campaign has scheduled at least 14 events from mid-April to early May, including two events this week featuring former rivals, Mr. Buttigieg and Senator Cory Booker.

“We are watching Joe Biden unite the Democratic Party before our eyes, and the full weight of the Party’s resources and network will be behind him moving forward,” said Penny Pritzker, a former Commerce secretary who has been advising the campaign.

Super PACs — which can accept unlimited donations but are legally barred from strategizing with the campaign itself — will be critical to keeping Mr. Biden competitive in online and television advertising, according to Democratic strategists.

The Biden campaign’s decision last week to single out one super PAC, Priorities USA, above the others in a statement to The Wall Street Journal set off an intense round of rancor that one top fund-raiser likened to a “nuclear bomb” in the political money world. Donors, super PAC strategists and campaign officials have spent much of the last week engaged in shuttle diplomacy to smooth matters over.

Priorities USA, which has existed for the last two presidential cycles, did not support Mr. Biden in the primaries and has some vocal critics among donors who hold the group partly accountable for Mrs. Clinton’s surprise 2016 loss. Among those in Mr. Biden’s orbit who have expressed reservations in the past about Priorities is Steve Ricchetti, a senior Biden adviser and the campaign chairman.

Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, a top Biden endorser and adviser, had worked with a different pro-Biden super PAC, Unite the Country, during the primaries and expressed his displeasure privately as well publicly, saying in an interview that the decision to single out one group was a “mistake.”

“I said before and I’ll say again, I didn’t know who Priorities was,” said Mr. Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat in the House. “Unite the Country — that’s who I worked with, that’s who I’m still working with.”

As the Biden campaign considered which outside group to endorse, Unite the Country recently added Mr. Clyburn’s daughter, Jennifer Clyburn Reed, as an unpaid board member and announced an alliance with another Democratic super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, with a goal of raising $175 million.

Those groups were disappointed with the Biden campaign’s initial endorsement of Priorities and, two days later, the campaign put out a second statement that recognized “a community of organizations that have contributions to make” in supporting the candidate. The campaign reissued that same statement for this article, and said its position had never changed and the clarification was only because of misinterpretation.

“We are pleased that the Biden campaign has recognized how critical American Bridge and its programs are to his election,” said Bradley Beychok, the president of American Bridge. “Since day one our mission has been to defeat Donald Trump and we have no plans to let up. We know our program will make a difference.”

On Friday, American Bridge announced a $15 million ad buy in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over the next two weeks. On Monday, Priorities USA announced $65 million in its own ad reservations for the fall in six states.

The day that the Biden campaign signaled its support of Priorities USA, the group announced a new “partners advisory council” that included Jennifer Granholm, the former governor of Michigan and the chairwoman of American Bridge. But Ms. Granholm was so frustrated with the rollout and announcement that she had told people she was considering resigning that new post, according to three people briefed on the matter. She has since decided to stay on.

“We believe a coordinated effort gives Democrats the best chance to win in November,” she said on Monday in a joint statement with Deval Patrick, the vice chair of American Bridge.

Priorities USA also announced that it was adding Bill Knapp, a political ad maker, to its media team, which drew attention from donors aligned with other groups. Mr. Knapp is a business partner of the top Biden adviser Anita Dunn at the firm SKDKnickerbocker. Priorities said that Mr. Knapp would only be paid a retainer and was not receiving a percentage of the group’s advertising budget. The Biden campaign said that Ms. Dunn had played no role in the blessing of Priorities as the leading super PAC.

Democratic donors are already trying to fill the financial breach. The billionaire financier George Soros directed nearly $28 million to various Democratic super PACs and organizations in the first three months of the year. Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, redirected $18 million of leftover funds from his failed 2020 campaign to the D.N.C. There are typically far stricter limits on party donations, but Mr. Bloomberg pioneered a loophole to give the vast sum as a former candidate.

Despite the super PAC infighting, Democrats have taken solace in the swiftness of the party’s unification. Senator Bernie Sanders not only offered a full-throated endorsement last week to Mr. Biden, his former rival, but also later said it would be “irresponsible” for his supporters to not line up behind the former vice president. Former President Barack Obama followed with his own formal backing, as did Senator Elizabeth Warren. Those two endorsements sparked more than $5 million in donations over two days, Mr. Biden told donors, one of his strongest stretches of the campaign.

“Time is a much more precious resource than money, and he just had a lot of time handed over to him,” said Robby Mook, who served as Mrs. Clinton’s campaign manager, noting that Mr. Sanders formally endorsed Mr. Biden three months earlier than he lined up behind Mrs. Clinton in 2016.

“If money was the key,” Mr. Mook added, “2016 would have gone very differently.”
 
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for United States president, said in a new interview that he would pick former First Lady Michelle Obama as his vice presidential candidate "in a heartbeat" if he thought she would take the job.

In an interview with KDKA television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, however, Biden said he doubted she would accept the offer.

"I'd take her in a heartbeat," Biden said. "She's brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman. The Obamas are great friends."

But "I don't think she has any desire to live near the White House again," Biden added.

It is not the first time the former vice president, who served two terms under President Barack Obama and is on reportedly good terms with his former boss, has said he would love to have Michelle Obama alongside him in the White House. At a campaign stop in Iowa in January, he said as much and added that he also would like to put Barack Obama on the US Supreme Court.

In Monday's interview, Biden said his search for a running mate was continuing and reiterated his pledge to select a woman, but declined to commit to selecting a woman of colour in the role.

"In terms of who to pick, we're just beginning the process," he said. "We'll shortly name the committee to review this and begin to look through the backgrounds of the various potential nominees. And that's just getting underway."

The Democrat's vetting process for a running mate has been playing out in an unusually public manner in recent days, with potential contenders for the job making appearances on a podcast Biden launched earlier this month that is recorded in his Delaware home.

While many Democrats have openly fantasised about the prospect of Michelle Obama being Biden's running mate, the former first lady has made it abundantly clear that she has no interest in the role and said she would stick to her "get-out-the-vote" efforts instead.

"I’ll say it here directly: I have no intention of running for office, ever," she wrote in her best-selling memoir, "Becoming," released in 2018.

Among those in contention are former campaign trail rivals Amy Klobuchar, a Senator from Minnesota, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and California Senator Kamala Harris. Also said to be in contention are Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Stacey Abrams from Georgia.

Neither Biden nor incumbent President Donald Trump have been able to campaign in public since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing stay-at-home orders across the country.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/biden-pick-michelle-obama-vp-heartbeat-200421142952366.html
 
Biden predicts Trump will try to postpone US election

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden predicts US President Donald Trump will try to postpone the country's November election in an attempt to stay in power.

Biden suggested on Thursday that Trump could use the coronavirus pandemic to justify such a move.

"Between he and the Russians, there's going to be an attempt to interfere [in the vote]," the 77-year-old former US vice president said during an online fundraiser.

"This president, mark my words, I think he's going to try to kick back the election somehow, come up with a rationale why it can't be held," he added.

It would be virtually impossible for Trump to succeed with such a move considering Congress sets the Election Day statutorily, and the Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to move it back.

Any executive order postponing the election would meet a constitutional challenge in court. The 20th Amendment to the constitution sets January 20 as Inauguration Day.

Trump in election mode

Six months before US voters head to the polls, Trump's mind is already in election mode. However, with the coronavirus pandemic raging and job losses climbing to 26.4 million on Thursday, Trump's path to victory may be harder than he anticipated.

Biden, highlighting Trump's recent threat to veto emergency funding for the US Post Office, claimed it was an example of the president's intention to "do all he can to make it very hard for people to vote".

While mail-in voting and absentee ballots remain methods many say could help limit voters spreading coronavirus, Trump maintains they create the potential for fraud.

Dozens of US states have postponed their primary races, which will officially determine who will be the presidential nominee.

The 73-year-old Trump has been criticised for turning his daily White House coronavirus briefings into campaign events - rallying his base and taking swipes at his detractors such as Biden, who is sheltering at home.

"We have a sleepy guy in a basement of a house that the press is giving a free pass to, who doesn't want to do debates because of COVID," Trump said during the Thursday briefing.

The total death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in the US has reached at least 49,963 with more than 869,000 cases.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/biden-predicts-trump-postpone-election-200424101025576.html
 
I don't think Biden can defeat Trump. He had a chance but this COVID-19 issue probably destroyed his momentum.
 
Hillary Clinton becomes latest Democrat to endorse Biden

(AP) - Hillary Clinton, the first woman to become a major party's presidential nominee, endorsed Joe Biden's White House bid on Tuesday, continuing Democrats' efforts to coalesce around the former vice president as he takes on President Donald Trump.

Clinton made her announcement during a Biden campaign town hall to discuss the coronavirus and its effect on women. Without mentioning Trump by name, Clinton assailed the Republican president and hailed Biden's experience and temperament in comparison.

“Just think of what a difference it would make right now if we had a president who not only listened to the science ... but brought us together,” said Clinton, who lost the 2016 election despite leading Trump in the national popular vote. “Think of what it would mean if we had a real president,” Clinton continued, rather than a man who “plays one on TV.”

Biden, as a former vice president and six-term senator, “has been preparing for this moment his entire life," said Clinton, a former secretary of state. "This is a moment when we need a leader, a president like Joe Biden.”

With her historic candidacy, Clinton remains a powerful — and complex — figure in American life. Her 2016 campaign inspired many women, and her loss to Trump resonates to this day. The female candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary often faced skepticism that a woman could win the White House.

Biden has pledged to select a woman as his vice president.

Given her 2016 experience, Clinton could offer Biden unique insight as he prepares for the November general election. Her endorsement is the latest example of leaders from across the Democratic spectrum rallying behind Biden.

Read more: https://www.wbrc.com/2020/04/28/ap-source-hillary-clinton-endorse-biden-later-tuesday/
 
Hilary not supporting Biden could had actually gotten him extra votes imo.
 
US Democratic candidate Joe Biden has flatly denied sexually assaulting a former staff assistant, Tara Reade, nearly 30 years ago.

"I'm saying unequivocally: it never, never happened," he said of the allegations during a TV interview on Friday.

He asked for a search of the Senate archives for any record of a complaint Ms Reade allegedly filed at the time.

Ms Reade made a criminal complaint to police last month.

She said she was a victim of sexual assault without naming Mr Biden. The police complaint, she said, was filed "for safety reasons only" as the statute of limitations for her claim had expired.

Mr Biden is running against Republican incumbent President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by some 25 women.

The Democrat put out his statement before speaking on Morning Joe, a show on US cable channel MSNBC.

What are Reade's accusations?

She was working as a staff assistant to Mr Biden from 1992-93, when he was a senator for the US state of Delaware.

Ms Reade, now 56, says that in 1993 he forced her up against a wall in the halls of Congress, and put his hands under her shirt and skirt, penetrating her with a finger.

"I remember him saying, first, as he was doing it 'Do you want to go somewhere else?' and then him saying to me, when I pulled away... he said 'Come on man, I heard you liked me,'" she told podcast host Katie Halper in March. "That phrase stayed with me."

Ms Reade says records of Mr Biden's 36-year career as a US senator will contain evidence that she complained to her superiors about him.

The records are being held at the University of Delaware, which has said it will not release any papers until two years after Mr Biden leaves public life.

It appears there were no witnesses to the alleged assault but three people have backed Ms Reade's account.

Her brother, a former neighbour and a former colleague have all said that they heard her give it shortly after the alleged incident.

Former neighbour Lynda LaCasse told Business Insider: "This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it."

"I remember her saying, here was this person that she was working for and she idolised him," Ms LaCasse said. "I remember the skirt. I remember the fingers. I remember she was devastated."

Ms Reade is one of more than half a dozen women who have forward over the last year to accuse him of inappropriate touching, hugging or kissing, though none described his actions as sexual assault at the time.

What did Biden say?

Speaking to MSNBC's Mika Brezezinski on Friday, the former vice-president denied any sexual misconduct against Tara Reade outright.

"It did not happen. Period," he said.

Brezezinski pressed Mr Biden on his former statements suggesting that women should be believed when coming forward with their stories of sexual violence.

In 2018, when now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, Mr Biden was joined by a chorus of top Democrats in supporting Dr Ford's claims, and insisting that she be heard.

"For a woman to come forward in the glaring light of focus, nationally, you've got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real, whether or not she forgets the facts, whether or not it's been made worse or better over time," Mr Biden told reporters at the time.

"Are women to be believed unless it pertains to you?" Brezezinski asked Mr Biden on Friday.

"Women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt," Mr Biden said. "Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts."

"The truth matters."

Mr Biden refused to speculate on Ms Reade's motives, saying she had a right to come forward "and say whatever she wants to say. But I have a right to say: 'Look at the facts.'"

But the former vice-president would not move to open his files at the University of Delaware for a search of documents pertaining to Ms Reade. Despite repeated questioning from Brezezinski, Mr Biden insisted those 1,800 boxes of documents did not contain any personnel files and would be used as political "fodder" for his ongoing presidential campaign.

Could the allegations hurt Biden's election chances?

Some Republicans are seizing on the Reade allegations to portray the Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives, the Associated Press reports.

But given the long-standing allegations against Donald Trump, a man who once boasted of grabbing women by the genitals, the Republican camp may struggle to make political capital from Mr Biden's troubles.

At the same time, the Democrats have set themselves up as the party of moral purity, on gender as well as race. The party's politicians are inevitably held to a different standard.

And women are a core constituency for the party, traditionally giving more votes to Democratic candidates than Republicans.



https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52499900
 
Tara Reade, the woman who accuses Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in a Capitol Hill corridor in 1993, has disputed an Associated Press report that said she said she did not use the words “sexual harassment” in a complaint she says she filed 27 years ago.

“This is false,” Reade wrote first, adding later: “…The headline was quite misleading. I filed the intake form regarding sexual harassment and retaliation however that was articulated on form in 1993. I filed with Senate Personnel. Perhaps Joe Biden knows where that form is located. Ask him.”

Reade also confirmed a report she had cancelled a Fox News Sunday interview after receiving threats, writing: “No survivor be fearful to come forward. And I did file a complaint.”

In a statement and TV interview on Friday, Biden flatly denied the accusation and asked the National Archives to look for Reade’s complaint. The Archive said it wouldn’t have it, but the Senate might.
 
A woman who accuses Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago has called on him to quit the presidential race.

In an interview, Tara Reade urged Mr Biden to "please step forward and be held accountable".

She added: "You should not be running on character for the president of the United States."

Mr Biden, who is set to challenge President Donald Trump in November, has denied Ms Reade's accusation.

Ms Reade, now 56, worked as a staff assistant to Mr Biden from 1992-93 when he was a senator for the US state of Delaware.

She has said that in 1993 he forced her against a wall and put his hands under her shirt and skirt, penetrating her with a finger, after she delivered him his gym bag.

In her most graphic, detailed account yet of the alleged assault, Ms Reade told US media personality Megyn Kelly that Mr Biden kissed her neck and told her he wanted to have sex with her, using an obscene term.

"So, he had one hand underneath my shirt, and the other had, I had a skirt on, and he went down my skirt and then went up and I remember I was up almost on my tippy toes," she said.

"When he went inside the skirt, he was talking to me at the same time, and he was leaning into me and I pulled this way away from his head."

When she refused his advances, she said: "He looked at me and said, 'What the hell, man, I heard you liked me'."

She added: "He pointed his finger at me and he said 'You're nothing to me. You're nothing'."

Ms Reade was asked by Kelly if she wanted Mr Biden to withdraw from the race.

"I wish he would, but he won't, but I wish he would," she said. "That's how I feel emotionally."

Ms Reade offered to take a lie detector test about her claim, on condition that Mr Biden do so also.

"I will take one if Joe Biden takes one," she said.

Ms Reade said she had received a death threat after Biden supporters accused her without evidence of being a Russian agent.

"His surrogates have been saying really horrible things about me and to me on social media," she continued.

"He hasn't himself, but there is a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying it's been safe - it's not been safe.

"All of my social media has been hacked, all of my personal information has been dragged through."

How did Biden's campaign respond?

Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield said in a statement after the interview aired that Ms Reade's story contained "inconsistencies".

"Women must receive the benefit of the doubt," said the statement. "They must be able to come forward and share their stories without fear of retribution or harm - and we all have a responsibility to ensure that.

"At the same time, we can never sacrifice the truth. And the truth is that these allegations are false and that the material that has been presented to back them up, under scrutiny, keeps proving their falsity."

Mr Biden, who is the Democratic party's presumptive presidential nominee, broke his silence on the matter a week ago, appearing on a morning television show to brand the allegations "false".

What other latest developments are there?

A court document from 1996 shows Ms Reade's ex-husband describing "a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in US Senator Joe Biden's office", according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

"It was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on [Reade], and that she is still sensitive and effected [sic] by it today," wrote Theodore Dronen, her then-husband, in a legal memo during their divorce battle.

The file obtained by the California newspaper appears to be the only document from the time that might describe Ms Reade's allegation.

Ms Reade's brother, a former neighbour and a former colleague have all said they heard her describe the accusation against her boss after the alleged incident. And her mother appears to have called a CNN show about the claim back in 1993.

High-powered Manhattan lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that he is representing Ms Reade. He has represented alleged sexual assault victims of jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Could the allegations hurt Biden?

Some Republicans are seizing on the Reade accusation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women when claims of wrongdoing are aimed at conservatives.

Mr Trump himself has faced a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations, which he also denies. He once boasted of grabbing women by the genitals.

The sexual allegations against Donald Trump

However, the Democrats have much more strongly championed the #MeToo movement, which backs women who make accusations of sexual assault and calls for their stories to be heard.

Women are a core constituency for the party, traditionally giving more votes to Democratic candidates than Republicans.

Some liberal women have said they believe Tara Reade but will vote for Mr Biden anyway because they view Mr Trump as much worse.

November's presidential election will be the first of the #MeToo era, and Mr Biden has framed it as a "battle for the soul of America".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52584774
 
Biden on coronavirus, 'Obamagate', Tara Reade
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has been speaking to ABC News’ Good Morning America.

If there was (were?) ever a gamut of issues to be run, he has been running it.

On Donald Trump’s claims about his administration’s coronavirus response, particularly over the availability of testing: “The truth is the truth … anyone can’t get a test around the country. ... He knew about this crisis all the way back in January and February. He’s been incompetent the way he responded.”

On campaigning in a pandemic and whether he should leave his basement in Delaware: “We’re on the campaign trail now. And everybody says you know Biden’s hidin’. Well let me tell you something – we’re doing very well! We’re following the guidelines of the medical professionals.”

On Trump’s attempts to make “Obamagate” a real thing: “I was aware that [the FBI] asked for an investigation [of Michael Flynn] but that’s all I know about it. Think about this, can you imagine any other president focusing on this at a moment when people are just absolutely concerned about their health, the health of their families? … We have an economic crisis, a health crisis, this is all about diverting attention. Focus on what’s in front of us. Get us out of this, Mr President.”

On people who believe Tara Reade, the former Senate staffer who has accused him of sexual assault, and therefore will not vote for him: “That’s their right … At the end of the day, the truth is the truth. And truth is, this never happened.”

Also this morning, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, voting rights campaigner and contender to be named Biden’s vice-president Stacey Abrams is out with her endorsement of the former veep.

Here’s Daniel Strauss with more on the Reade story and how it is, to a degree, deepening splits in Democratic ranks:
 
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