Biden not confident of peaceful 2024 election amid Trump’s ‘dangerous’ rhetoric; Harris praises unions at rally: Live
President made surprise first appearance in White House briefing room to answer questions about today’s jobs report, November’s election, and prospects for Middle East peace
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President Joe Biden said he did not know if November’s election would be “peaceful” given Donald Trump’s “dangerous” rhetoric, in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room
However, the president told reporters that he is confident the election will be “free and fair”.
Biden was also asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was delaying a diplomatic agreement regarding the Gaza conflict to influence the election. He said that no administration has helped Israel more than he has and Netanyahu should remember that.
The president also mocked MAGA Republicans for calling today’s positive jobs numbers “fake” and when asked if he had reconsidered dropping out of the presidential race, joked: “I’m back in.”
On the campaign trail, Trump will be with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Friday afternoon as they survey damage from Hurricane Helene. The two have been estranged since the governor refused to help the former president find more voters in his state in the 2020 election.
Trump will be joined by tech billionaire Elon Musk at his Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of his attempted assassination on July 13.
Kamala Harris is campaigning in Michigan focusing on labor and the economy having scored high-profile endorsements from Liz Cheney and Bruce Springsteen.
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Full story: Biden says he can’t guarantee election will be peaceful,
President Joe Biden on Friday warned that he could not guarantee that the coming presidential election and transition period would be a peaceful one during his first appearance in the White House press briefing room since taking office 1,353 days ago.
Asked if he has confidence that the 2024 election would be both free and fair as well as peaceful, Biden told reporters he has confidence that the November 5 election will be “free and fair” but he demurred on the latter, citing previous actions by his predecessor, former president Donald Trump.
“The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out when he didn’t like the outcome of the election were very dangerous,” Biden said.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
Biden makes first appearance in White House briefing room as president
Biden had not previously been in the briefing room since taking office in 2021
Biden asked whether Netanyahu is delaying diplomatic agreement to influence US election
President Joe Biden was asked in the White House briefing room whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was delaying a diplomatic agreement in the Gaza conflict to influence the US election.
The president responded: “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. ... And whether [Netanyahu is] trying to influence the election or not, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.”
Biden says ‘confident’ of free and fair election but concerned about ‘dangerous’ things Trump has said
President Joe Biden on the presidential election: “I'm confident it will be free and fair. I don't know whether it will be peaceful. The things that Trump has said, and the things he said last time... were very dangerous.”
Watch: Biden scoffs at MAGA accusations job numbers are fake
Biden makes first briefing room appearance of his presidency
Watch LIVE: Kamala Harris delivers remarks in Detroit, Michigan
Raskin and AOC demand Chief Justice Roberts explain why Alito remained on Jan 6 case
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Is Ted Cruz’s notorious Cancun scandal to blame for his tough re-election race?
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz is currently caught up in a tough re-election battle – something one top pollster believes is down to memories of his notorious Cancun scandal.
Cruz – a one-time Donald Trump enemy turned MAGA cheerleader and cable news favorite – faced backlash in February 2021 when he jetted off on holiday to a luxury beach resort in Cancun while his state was hammered by a winter storm that killed 246 Texans and left millions without power and running water.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
Pollster blames Ted Cruz’s tough re-election race on his notorious Cancun scandal
Democratic challenger Colin Allred is hammering Cruz in ads saying he ‘abandoned us when we needed him’ during the deadly 2021 winter storm
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