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As it happenedended

Biden news: President assesses storm damage in California as classified documents scandal hurts polls

President Biden’s visit comes as White House remains adamant it will not interfere in the ongoing investigation into classified documents

Oliver O'Connell
Friday 20 January 2023 14:30 GMT
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President Biden will survey storm damages in Santa Cruz County

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President Joe Biden assessed storm damage in Santa Cruz County, California on Thursday accompanied by Governor Gavin Newsom. Mr Biden met first responders and locals impacted by the succession of storms that struck the region.

“If anybody doubts the climate is changing, then they must’ve been asleep for the last couple years,” the president said during remarks from a storm-damaged beach in the town of Capitola.

During the California tour, Mr Biden continued to defend how his office handled classified material, amid ongoing investigations from the DoJ.

“I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there. There’s no there there,” he said.

His visit comes a day shy of his second anniversary in the White House, and as the US hits the debt ceiling forcing the government to take “extraordinary measures to make payments on the national debt”.

Biden, the ‘consistently inconsistent’ ally for racial justice and civil rights

Josh Marcus reports on how the president has struggled to turn progressive stances on capital punishment, policing, and voting rights, into lasting actions.

Why Joe Biden has been a ‘consistently inconsistent’ ally for civil rights so far

The president has struggled to turn progressive stances on capital punishment, policing, and voting rights, into lasting actions, experts tell Josh Marcus

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 08:00

‘Actions speak louder than words’

Richard Hall explains how Joe Biden faced a test of his pro-union claims in late 2022 — but did he fail it?

Labour movement loses patience over Biden’s ‘lip service’

Joe Biden faced a test of his pro-union claims with a threatened strike on the railroad. Some believe he failed it, Richard Hall reports.

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 09:30

Does Biden’s $369bn green plan live up to its hype?

Can the Inflation Reduction Act deliver on the emissions cuts it promised and that are so desperately needed?

Lousie Boyle investigates.

Biden’s $369bn green plan was hailed as a triumph – but does it live up to the hype?

The Inflation Reduction Act has been lauded as a major victory for the Biden administration, writes senior climate correspondent Louise Boyle. But can it deliver the emissions cuts so desperately needed?

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 10:30

In a deeply divided DC, here’s how Biden the dealmaker took action

Andrew Feinberg reports on how Joe Biden — known as the dealmaker in the Obama administration — has continued in that role as president.

How Biden the dealmaker faced down a deeply divided DC

Joe Biden was the Obama administration’s top dealmaker as vice president. Experts tell Andrew Feinberg he’s continued that streak as president

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 11:30

Biden has battled inflation, but more economic headwinds await

Eric Garcia reports on why high inflation, a hallmark of President Biden’s second year in the White House, is such a tricky issue to overcome — and what might come next.

Inflation rocked Biden’s second year. There’s more trouble on the horizon

High inflation was a hallmark of President Biden’s second year in office. Eric Garcia reports on why it’s such a tricky issue to overcome

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 12:30

Can the White House win the war against Covid-19?

Biden, who once warned that the nation wasn’t prepared for a pandemic, is losing a battle against widespread disinformation, indifferent politicians and apathy, public health experts tell Alex Woodward.

Joe Biden’s ‘ticking time bomb’: Can the White House win the war against Covid-19?

The president who once warned that the nation wasn’t prepared for a pandemic is losing a battle against widespread disinformation, indifferent politicians and apathy, public health experts tell Alex Woodward

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 13:30

Trump bemoans ‘two standards of justice’, claiming Biden gets ‘white glove’ treatment

In a new campaign-style video address, former president Donald Trump bemoans what he sees as two standards of justice in the US — one for him and the general public, and one for the “corrupt political class”.

Mr Trump trotted out many of the gripes he has voiced about the investigation into the trove of classified documents recovered from his Palm Beach home (which he maintains is “ultra-secure” despite operating as a members club) and what he sees as the “white-glove” treatment of President Joe Biden after the discovery of a small number of documents at an office and in his garage (”which was probably very wet and damp as many garages are”).

The former president also criticised special counsel Jack Smith who is investigating on behalf of the “Injustice Department” claiming Mr Biden has weaponised the department against him.

If he returns to the White House he promises to end partisan investigations.

Watch below:

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 14:00

Classified documents case starting to hurt Biden, new poll finds

Nearly two-thirds of American adults support Congress investigating classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and post-vice presidential office, according to a new poll.

The survey from Yahoo News/YouGov found that 39 per cent of Democrats per cent of Democratic-leaning independents want to see another person be the Democratic nominee for president in 2024, while 38 per cent said they wanted Mr Biden. In December, 46 per cent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents wanted Mr Biden to be the nominee and 37 per cent said “someone else”, marking a drop in support for the incumbent president.

In addition, the number of people who said they were “not sure” about who they wanted as the Democratic nomineee climbed seven points in the past month.

Eric Garcia has the details.

Classified documents case is starting to become a problem for Biden, poll finds

The number of Democrats who want to see a new nominee increased in the past month, poll finds

Oliver O'Connell20 January 2023 14:30

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