After two news-filled weeks in American politics — in which former President Donald J. Trump was convicted of 34 felonies and President Biden enacted the most restrictive border policies of any modern Democrat — surrogates for the two campaigns flooded the morning news shows on Sunday to advertise make their candidates.
Republicans defended Mr. Trump against what they said was an unfair trial in New York. And the discussion over Mr. Biden’s executive order resembled a funny mirror: Republicans criticized a policy they had supported under Mr. Trump and Democrats supported one they had condemned.
Noem recommended a woman as Trump’s running mate – and again defended the killing of her dog.
Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who campaigned for Mr. Trump in Wisconsin, said it would be “beneficial” for him to choose a woman as his running mate. His campaign’s shortlist includes seven men and just one woman, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, according to people briefed on the process.
“All the polls tell him in these swing states that having a woman on the ticket will help him win,” Ms. Noem said on CNN. She added: “I’ve spent most of my time here in Wisconsin talking to women and people who are independent and marginalized, and they lean toward Donald Trump, but they also want to know that it’s their perspective.” I will be at the table when decisions are made.”
Ms. Noem was once considered a potential candidate herself, but her reputation fell after she published a book in which she described shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, after he disrupted a hunt and killed a neighbor’s chickens . On Sunday, she defended herself again, saying she was “protecting my children from a vicious animal.”
Abbott condemned Biden’s order…
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican who has tried to set his own border policy, condemned Mr. Biden’s order last week to close the border to asylum seekers as crossings increase – a measure similar to what Mr. Trump took in come into force in 2018.
“What Biden has done is nothing to actually secure the border,” Abbott said on Fox News, arguing that the restrictions were not being sufficiently enforced.
He then made the questionable claim that Mr. Biden is “actually empowering more people to do this,” since Mr. Biden’s executive order will only close the border to asylum seekers if illegal border crossings reach a seven-day average of 2,500 per day, which they regularly did cross the border illegally.”
…while Coons praised it.
Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat and co-chair of Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign, opposed asylum restrictions when Mr. Trump enacted them. But on Sunday he defended Mr Biden’s similar restrictions because, he said, their motivations were different.
“There is a big difference in the values that President Biden and former President Trump bring to the table as they try to address the issue of border security and immigration,” Mr. Coons said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” referring to Mr Trump’s ban on people entering the United States from several Muslim-majority countries and his separation of children from their parents, as well as his opposition to a bipartisan border security agreement that Mr. Biden supported.
“What former President Trump actually wants to do with his election is solve a problem, not a solution that was supported by a bipartisan group of senators,” he said. “President Biden is moving forward on securing our border. President Trump is simply making this a political issue.”
Whitmer said contraception is “very much at risk” among Republicans.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat, rejected claims by many Republicans that they supported full access to contraceptives.
“If the U.S. Senate puts forward a policy to ensure that it has the ability to enshrine access to contraceptives, and Republicans vote against it and reject this bill, it is very vulnerable here at this moment,” she said on CNN referring to legislation that Republicans blocked last week. “I think that what we’re hearing from Republicans when they say they want to protect this is at best disingenuous and at worst an outright lie.”
In response to a question about the trial of Mr. Biden’s son Hunter, she praised the president for assuring that he would accept the verdict and not pardon his son.
“We face a difficult choice between a president who respects the rule of law and a former president who is a convicted felon who wants to use the tools of government to persecute his enemies,” she said.
Cotton said Biden doesn’t support Israel and Ukraine enough.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who is on the Trump campaign’s list of possible running mates, said on “Fox News Sunday” that Mr. Biden was not sending enough aid to Ukraine, a claim that ignored the fact that his fellow Republicans for months blocked aid that Mr. Biden had supported.
Mr. Cotton also accused the president of not providing enough support to Israel. As Mr. Biden increasingly criticizes Israel’s actions in Gaza, he has delivered billions of dollars’ worth of weapons in support of them, angering war opponents who Mr. Cotton said the president had “taken care of.”
Vance described Trump as a champion of veterans.
Senator JD Vance of Ohio, another possible candidate to replace Mr. Trump, criticized Mr. Biden for his trip to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day and for an ad from his campaign in which veterans denounced Mr. Trump.
“Joe Biden is trying to cover himself in the glory of the Greatest Generation even as he seeks to destroy everything they fought for,” Mr. Vance said on Fox News. “So he made up these ridiculous accusations that Donald Trump doesn’t respect veterans.”
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2024-06-09 19:46:08
www.nytimes.com