Mediaboss Marketing

Keir Starmer, the UKs new prime minister, was quiet on the question of relations with the US prior to his election, choosing to avoid, in particular, talk of how he would manage a second Donald Trump presidency.

Starmer is a centre-left politician the first to come to power in the UK for over a decade so his views are hardly aligned with Trumps. But the US presidential election is a few short months away and, depending on the result, the relationship between the UK and US could look very different on the other side of it.

After the first US election debate, and Joe Bidens dismal performance, the new British government will be focusing on how to plan for Trumps potential return to the White House in January 2025. And while Starmer has been silent in public, he and his top team have been preparing behind the scenes for some time.

Before arriving in government they put significant effort into building relationships with figures in the US leadership. This is a well-trodden path for UK Labour politicians and was most notable in the close relationship between Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

Impressively, Starmer and his foreign secretary, David Lammy, have been trying to build relationships on both sides of the aisle. Theyve spoken to Republicans as well as Bidens Democrats on visits to the US.

Lammy, who was the first black British man to study at Harvard Law School and spent time working as a lawyer in the US after graduating, recently said in a speech the special relationship is core not just to our own national security, but the security of much of the world.

Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday throughout the campaign and beyond.

Responding to a question about past comments he had made about Trump, he said that the two sides must work together whoever is in the White House.

The questioner may have been referring to the time before he became a minister when Lammy called Trump a a racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser and said he would protest in the streets if Trump was allowed to come to the UK. Lammys cautious response to questioning now reflects his far more tempered language on the subject since it first started to look like Labour could actually win power, and he may be a member of the cabinet.

Starmer will be aiming to demonstrate the usefulness of the UK in the US-UK alliance. With Biden, this will be fairly routine. In the event of a Trump victory in November, however, Starmer would need to show this usefulness to those around Trump a more difficult task.

Diplomatically, Starmer can help US administrations manage relations with Nato, encouraging more reluctant members, such as Germany, whilst restraining some of the more proactive NATO members pushing to expand the alliance. Given Trumps stated commitment to reevaluating the purpose of Nato, Starmer will also need to coordinate with European allies to demonstrate Natos relevance to the US.

Militarily, the UK has to demonstrate intent to restore the armed forces, especially after the US declared that the UK military was no longer a top-tier military partner.

Doing so would make it clear that the new British government is listening to its American allies but would also show that the UK intends to be able to deploy its military in support of US and Nato operations. Trump has repeatedly referred to his reluctance to deploy the US military, and his expectation that allies carry more of the military burden.

Until the presidential election in November, Starmer will be dealing with President Biden. The two met at the recent D-Day commemorations and less than a week after taking office, Starmer will meet Biden again, this time as prime minister at a Nato summit.

Like every other world leader, Starmer will have to tread carefully here. Given Trumps overt dislike for his successor, proximity to the Biden administration creates the potential for difficulties when trying to build good relations with any incoming Trump administration.

Biden has been clear in his foreign policy priorities since entering office: competition with China, and guardrails on the relationship with Russia. These guardrails flew off when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Yet, the Biden administration has been able to coordinate international support for Ukraine, and had a clear set of priorities.

In contrast, Trump has given little insight into how he would approach foreign policy. He has declared he would end the Ukraine conflict but given scant detail on how. What we do know is that he intends to stop funding Ukraines defence efforts and wants European allies to pay to restock US military supplies. He has also pledged to fully support Israels war with Hamas in Gaza, which has been a point of division within Starmers party since before the election.

Democratic leaders from around the world struggled to deal with Trump during his first term. Typically, they either had to ignore controversies that swirled around him or become an apologist for Trump. The former US presidents preference for strongmen was repeatedly on show.

It would be near impossible for Starmer to emulate those who do what Trump likes best by rolling out the red carpet and lining the streets with applauding crowds. Freedom of speech in the UK means that Starmer would not be able to prevent protests against Trump if he were to come to the UK and such protests are practically inevitable given what happened last time he visited. Starmer would do best to try to avoid a state visit from Trump which would include meeting the king.

The implications of the year ahead for the special relationship are clear: demonstrating the UKs value will be far easier for Starmer in a Biden presidency than in a Trump presidency. Starmer would feel compelled to react against the damage Trump would do to US credibility rather than be able to support it but this would further degrade the US-UK alliance.

The UKs new government has been preparing for a relationship with either a Republican or Democratic president. As will be the case for many world leaders, Starmer will be hoping for the predictability of Biden, whilst planning for the chaos of Trump.

Continue reading here:
The UK's new prime minister Keir Starmer hoping for a Democrat in the White House, preparing for Trump - The Conversation

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) on Friday became the fourth Democratic member of the House of Representatives to call on President Biden to end his re-election effort.

The Illinois Democrat made a direct plea to the 81-year-old president during an appearance on MSNBC, after clips of Bidens much-anticipated interview with ABC News George Stephanopoulos aired.

Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this, Quigley said during an appearance on All In with Chris Hayes.

The congressman argued that with Biden off the ticket, Day One were back in a dogfight with former President Donald Trump.

All of the sudden, all the things were talking with President Biden weve got a lot more we can talk about with Trump, Quigley said, claiming that the 78-year-old presumptive GOP nominee has cognitive issues.

Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) had previously called on Biden to step aside.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that as many as 25 Democrats in the House are preparing to call for the president to end his campaign.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has also reportedly been working to organize a meeting between the president and Democratic Senators, where they would ask Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, according to the Washington Post.

Biden, in his interview with Stephanopoulos, could not definitively remember if he watched a replay of his June 27 showdown with Trump.

I dont think I did, no, he told the This Week host.

Trump campaign adviser Steven Cheung mocked Bidens answer on social media.

How the hell do you not know if you re-watched the debate? Cheung wrote on X.

Quigley said he found Bidens response to the question disturbing, during an appearance on CNN.

When Stephanopoulos asked if he knew how poorly he was performing at the time, Biden launched into a rambling statement.

The whole way I prepared, nobodys fault, mine. Nobodys fault but mine. I I prepared what I usually would do sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or National Security Council for explicit detail, the president said.

And I realized partway through that, you know, all I get quoted the New York Times had me down ten points before the debate, nine now or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldnt I mean, the way the debate ran, not my fault, nobody elses fault, no one elses fault, he added.

This is a pretty incoherent answer, pollster Nate Silver wrote on X.

Im there now, theFiveThirtyEight founder added, indicating that based on Bidens ABC News interview, he now believes the president should drop out of the presidential race.

Something is clearly wrong here, Silver said.

ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl reported after the full interview aired that for some Democrats Bidens sitdown raised new concerns.

Particularly concerning, according to Karl, was Bidens response when asked how he would feel if Trump defeats him in November.

Ill feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do thats what this is about, the president said.

Karl reported that a prominent Biden ally responded, Wow, when they heard the presidents response.

With the greatest respect, all that really matters is avoiding a second Trump presidency, Quigley said in reaction to Bidens bizarre answer.

The congressman also said that it appeared as if the president was in absolute denial about polling indicating that he stands to lose the election to Trump.

David Axelrod, a political consultant and former adviser to President Barack Obama, said he didnt believe Biden did enough in the interview to change the minds of Democratic voters who are concerned about his November chances.

Some of it I found sad, Axelrod said during an appearance on CNN.

He seems not able to compute the fact people have these questions about him, the ex-Obama adviser said, reffering to questions about Bidens cognitive abilities.

In response to Bidens insistence that he takes a full neurological test every day because of his duties as commander in chief, Axelrod noted that 75% of the American people say he fails those daily tests, referring to polling where large majorities of voters say Biden is not fit for office.

Axelrod argued that Biden is hiding from reality by refusing to heed warnings from Democratic lawmakers, strategists and polls that say Trump is pulling away in the race, and the reality is grim right now.

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer described the interview as the worst of all worlds for Democrats.

Biden committed no real flubs. He didnt do anything to force himself out of the race. But he appears old, weak, tentative and hes losing to Trump, the former Bush White House official wrote on X.

So Biden will dig in and stay. The Ds are stuck, he added.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) likened the interview to a therapy session, arguing that Stephanopoulos was begging President Biden to get out of the race.

What we saw tonight was chilling, Graham tweeted.

If you believe President Biden is as fit now as he was when he took office, as he claims, you need a cognitive test.

Continue reading here:
Fourth Democratic House member calls on Biden to exit 2024 race after clips of ABC interview released - New York Post

President Joe Biden on Friday vowed to continue his reelection bid and dismissed worries about his age from some fellow Democrats who he said are trying to push me out.

Theres been a lot of speculation, Biden told supporters in Wisconsin, referring to a poor debate showing that sparked calls for him to end his bid for a second term. Heres my answer: I am running and I am going to win again.

Bidens typical campaign rally speech got a facelift, with the usual laundry list of accomplishments repackaged to take on his Democratic critics while also acknowledging his age.

I know I look 40, the 81-year-old president said with a grin. I keep seeing all those stories about being too old. Let me say something. I wasnt 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 one to ever do that [by] lowering the cost of insulin to $35.

Was I too old to relieve student [loan] debt for 5 million Americans? he said to cheers. Too old to put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court of the United States of America? Was I too old to sign the most significant gun safety law in 30 years?

The president, speaking in Madison, was much sharper and more energetic than he appeared last week in his debate with former President Donald Trump. Biden repeatedly drew loud cheers Friday as he mocked and criticized Trump, the expected Republican nominee, at one point labeling the twice-impeached and once-convicted former president a one-man crime wave, and adding, I can hardly wait to again defeat Trump in November.

Still, Biden did appear to mix up the 2020 election cycle and the current one, and he slurred some words and stopped thoughts mid-sentence, things Republicans and some Democrats have called signs of mental decline. As he was still on stage, The Washington Post alerted an article citing anonymous sources saying that Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, was looking to assemble a group of Democratic senators to ask Biden to step aside.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that Biden is staying in the race. Hes not going anywhere. She jousted with reporters who pressed about Bidens age and mental condition with pointed questions. Jean-Pierre said the 81-year-old president is planning to strike a balance with his schedule by doing less after 8 p.m., while also saying he works around the clock. She said Biden is thinking clearly and plans to do the job in a full-throttle mode.

The president was in Wisconsin for the rally and a sit-down interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, a former communications director to President Bill Clinton. Some pundits said the unscripted sit-down Biden spoke off a teleprompter at the campaign rally would go a long way to deciding whether he can put down calls from within his party to drop out.

Three House Democrats, so far, have called on Biden to exit the race: Reps. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. Others have publicly expressed concerns about his debate performance and signs of aging.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Badger State, which Biden won in 2020, edging Trump 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent.

A Marquette University Law School survey released June 26, the day before the debate showing, put the candidates tied among registered voters. But it gave Trump a narrow lead among likely voters, 51 percent to 49 percent.

A national poll from Siena College and The New York Times conducted after the debate and released Wednesday gave Trump a 3 percentage bump and a 49 percent to 43 percent lead.

Biden on Friday vowed to win Wisconsin and the general election.

Ill beat Donald Trump. Ill beat him again in 2020, Biden said, then seemed to catch the gaffe immediately. By the way, were going to do it again in 2024.

Biden began his remarks by poking fun at a misstatement of American history Trump once uttered as president.

If you wonder whether Trump has it all together, did you ever hear how he explained the Fourth of July when he was president? He said in his Fourth of July speech five years ago, he said George Washingtons army won the Revolution by taking control of the airports from the British.

They talk about me misspeaking. Its true he is a stable genius, this man, Biden added, referring to how Trump once described himself amid Democrats questioning his mental state.

Bidens selection of Wisconsin came as part of his ongoing efforts to rebuild the 2020 electoral map that put him in the White House, including the so-called blue wall battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. He is slated to hold a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvanias largest city and media market, on Sunday.

We still believe that Biden needs to carry all of the Blue Wall trio, Kyle Kondik, an analyst with the University of Virginias Center for Politics, wrote this week, and hes really no better than 50-50 in each of them at the moment.

That is among the reasons why many Democratic lawmakers and strategists have spent the week urging Biden and his top aides to get him in front of voters pronto.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told CNN on Wednesday that Biden talking to Democratic lawmakers and governors as he did on Wednesday would do little to salvage his candidacy. Thats because he is not, to Welch, in a tell me situation, hes in a show me situation.

Notably, Biden has kept Vice President Kamala Harris, who would be among those expected to seek the nomination should he step aside, close this week. She was with him Wednesday at a meeting with Democratic governors and again to view Independence Day fireworks at the White House.

And today, as we celebrate freedom, as we celebrate the promise of America, we also celebrate and express our gratitude to our service members, to our veterans, to our military families, she said to applause at the July Fourth event Thursday.

And we give thanks to our commander in chief, Harris said, appearing to almost refer to him as the vice president, a job he held for eight years, the president of the United States, the extraordinary president of the United States, Joe Biden.

Hours earlier, Biden delivered remarks to military personnel and at several points spoke in half-sentences, at one point seeming unable to finish an anecdote about the Declaration of Independence. But on Friday, he repeatedly dismissed calls to drop out.

Theyre trying to push me out of the race, he said. Well, let me say it as clearly as I can: Im staying in the race.

Visit link:
Biden to Democrats calling for him to quit: Im staying in the race - Roll Call

MADISON, Wis. Dean Leeper was never thrilled about voting this year for President Biden. The incumbent is too old, in Leepers eyes, and even before his disastrous debate, some relatives who usually back Democrats were eyeing other candidates.

Now, Leeper is hoping that he and millions of Americans who want a new mainstream option will suddenly get their wish. He would be fine with Vice President Harris. Really, any other Democrat would work. Im not asking for much, the 32-year-old said.

Just, like, knows how to address a camera, Leeper continued, sounding demoralized, at a park where families celebrated the July Fourth holiday with live music and a bounce house. Can shake hands.

As Biden prepared to visit Madison on Friday, Democrats in this blue stronghold were more apprehensive than ever about an election they are desperate to win. Many said they were worried that Biden wasnt up to the task of defeating former president Donald Trump; others feared that replacing Biden would do more harm than good. They had grimaced through the debate last week, in which Biden delivered a halting performance and appeared repeatedly to lose his train of thought. They were concerned that a second Trump term would go further than the first, and anxious about a party caught between risky options.

I trust Biden to make the right decision, said Sandy Boes, 73. I dont know what it is, but I really believe that if he if the people around him think he cant do it that he will put the good of the country first. Im afraid, after the debate, that a lot of people just will decide not to vote, and if people dont vote, then I think we get Trump, and Im terrified.

Biden, 81, has repeatedly said he intends to stay in the race, even in the face of growing pressure in his party to step aside and conversations about replacement candidates. A week into widespread hand-wringing over Bidens viability as a candidate, Democratic voters here still had plenty of affection and respect for the man who beat Trump in 2020.

Many of Bidens doubters were open to the idea that the president could still reassure them, starting with an event in Madison that some were hoping to attend. Even for those who cast protest votes against Biden in the primary, it wasnt clear that replacing him was the right move so late in the race.

But the crisis hanging over Democrats was frustrating to voters who thought that Biden should have stepped aside earlier and faced little pressure to do so from party leaders. No prominent Democrats moved to challenge Biden as he said he was committed to running again, though polls leading up to the primaries showed that most Democratic voters wanted someone else and that some felt uneasy about his age and acuity.

There was support from constituents for a nominee besides Biden, said Charlotte Zangs, 26, but there wasnt really support within the party. What she saw was cheerleading that backfired: They were like, He can do it! Hes got it!

Zangs backed long-shot candidate Dean Phillips in a Democratic primary that Biden dominated, while her partner, 26-year-old Ben Nesslar, cast their ballot for uninstructed a protest vote delivered with eagerness for someone below the retirement age.

Now, the couple feels vindicated. But Zangs said at this point, shes not clamoring for Biden to bow out. Its such a complicated situation, she said.

Nesslar felt differently. To Nesslar, the debate had demonstrated that Biden was unfit to serve, and Nesslar was ready to embrace Harris. She can talk through a sentence, Nesslar said.

Madison, the capital of swing-state Wisconsin, and surrounding Dane County were among the blue strongholds critical to Bidens victory in 2020. In states like Wisconsin where races are won by the thinnest of margins, Biden and Trump are not only fighting over swing voters, but also working to energize their respective bases. Polls have consistently found that Biden is struggling with flagging support among groups that typically skew heavily Democrat, such as young people and voters of color.

Recent surveys have shown close races in swing states, often with Trump having an edge. After the debate, a New York Times-Siena poll found that Trumps national lead over Biden had widened to six percentage points among likely voters.

On the eve of Bidens planned visit here part of a crucial stretch as he looks to persuade Democrats not to abandon him many liberal voters were struggling with the same question: How to move forward?

Cynthia Carlson, 54, said she was 50-50 on the question of whether Biden should keep leading the ticket. New candidates, she said, would mean skeletons in the closet that the Republicans would bring out but if Biden stays in and he doesnt up his game? Then thats an issue, too.

Biden should have done more to set up whoever the next person is going to be, said Chris Schickel, 61.

His partner, 43-year-old Shanna Wolf, said a new ticket would be exciting and called Harris super smart. But others worried that Harris has her own vulnerabilities in a general election.

Im worried about sexism. Im worried about racism. I feel like Biden weirdly is a more viable candidate because hes a White man, even if hes super old, said Ben Kasten, 39, who said he feels like he also doesnt have a strong sense of what Harris stands for despite following political news closely.

Kasten said he considers Biden a fantastic candidate when it comes to his policies and principles. But watching the debate last week, he felt so sick he turned it off. He estimates he made it about 10 minutes as a raspy-voiced Biden struggled through.

A history teacher in the Madison area, Kasten says the stakes of the election are enormous. He and his wife have even discussed wanting to leave the country if Trump is reelected.

The damage that he has done, the disrespect that he has shown to institutions that have shaped American life for a long time it makes it really hard to explain to kids why thats okay, he said.

Read the rest here:
'I'm terrified': As Biden visits Wisconsin, Democrats worry and wonder if they should replace him - The Washington Post - The Washington Post

Late last year, Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a first-term Democrat from a rural district in Washington State, began receiving a deluge of alarmed texts from her friends. Before she was elected to Congress, in 2022, Gluesenkamp Perez ran an auto-repair shop with her husband; her professional and personal acquaintances still largely consist of people who work in the trades construction, carpentry, woodworking. Now a number of those friends were venting about, of all things, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The C.P.S.C. had recently proposed a rule effectively requiring that all new table saws sold in the United States come equipped with a high-tech safety feature that stops and retracts the saws spinning blade within milliseconds of its making contact with flesh. The finger-saving technology has been likened to airbags in cars a straightforward but ingenious safety solution but many of Gluesenkamp Perezs friends didnt see it that way. They were worried that a government mandate would increase the cost of a new table saw by hundreds of dollars, while also giving SawStop, the company that developed the technology, an effective monopoly.

What may seem like a minor regulatory hiccup is to Gluesenkamp Perez emblematic of the disconnect between government and the governed that she has dedicated her short time in office to addressing. Too often, she believes, policymakers are not only disrespectful to people who work with their hands, but also ignorant of the reality of their day-to-day lives. If the commission had had somebody who has worked in construction in the body, they would know that if you raise the cost of a table saw by $400, people are just going to put a circ saw on a sheet of plywood and more people are going to lose their fingers, she says. In April, she introduced legislation that would prohibit the commission from implementing the rule until five years after SawStops patent expires. (SawStops chief executive, Matt Howard, said that the company has promised not to enforce its patent once the rule is implemented.)

Sworn into Congress at age 34, with no previous experience as an elected official, Gluesenkamp Perez operates very differently from most of her fellow politicians. Interviewing prospective staff members, shes as likely to ask them about what kind of car they own as about what kind of political experience they have. She hired her legislative director, in part, because the woman drove a Toyota Camry with 200,000 miles on it. That says a lot, Gluesenkamp Perez explains. But what really sets her apart is the way she thinks about the federal government itself which she believes is woefully out of touch with the needs of working-class Americans.

Earlier this year, at a private dinner for Democratic representatives with Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Gluesenkamp Perez asked one question: How many of your employees at the F.T.C. dont have a college degree? Khan couldnt produce a number. Gluesenkamp Perez suspected that was because the answer is zero. (Through a spokesman, the F.T.C. said the actual figure is 8 percent.) To Gluesenkamp Perez, this served as further evidence of an overly academic, wonky approach to governance that produces bad, alienating policy. I feel like in D.C., people have this idea that equity is translating the lawyerly gobbledygook on government websites into Spanish, she says. That is not equity. Equity is being able to navigate the website with an eighth-grade reading level in English and without having to hire a compliance firm.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?Log in.

Want all of The Times?Subscribe.

Go here to see the original:
The Blue-Collar Democrat Who Wants to Fix the Party's Other Big Problem - The New York Times