Rep. Adam Schiff calls on Biden to drop out – National & International News – WED 17Jul2024

Rep. Adam Schiff calls on Biden to drop out; Biden continues to dig in his heels.

China halts nuke talks over US support for Taiwan.

NATIONAL NEWS

Rep. Adam Schiff calls on Biden to drop out

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has called on President Biden to end his 2024 re-election campaign and is now the most prominent elected Democrat to do so. His statement comes a day after reports leaked of Schiff’s comments on the matter at a recent Democratic fundraising event. At that event Schiff echoed the concerns of many Congressional Democrats who fear that if Biden remains at the top of the ticket, it may cost the Democrats control of the Senate and destroy any chance of retaking the House. Schiff himself is running for a California Senate seat left vacant after Sen. Diane Feinstein died last year. 

More details are also coming to light about a heated call between Biden and Congressional Democrats that took place this past weekend. Reporting from earlier in the week quoted some Democratic lawmakers on the call who described the conversation as “tense” and “awful”. One House member said the call “was a complete disaster. We saw the same Joe Biden from the debate”.

“I don’t want to hear that crap”

During the call, Biden also began “shouting at (Colorado Rep.) Jason Crow for no reason” after Crow spoke about voters’ lack of confidence in Biden’s leadership on national security. Biden apparently retorted that he had “put NATO together” and said “I don’t want to hear that crap”.

Biden was equally uninterested in Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s concerns about poor polling numbers in her state. People who were on the call said that Biden implied that he didn’t believe Houlahan’s polling data but said he would send her “talking points”.

At one point, an aide handed Biden a note which Biden mistakenly read aloud: “Stay positive, you are sounding defensive”. 

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who was on the call, told CNN he was concerned that the people in Biden’s inner circle were not sharing polling data with Biden that accurately reflect voter sentiment about his leadership and continued candidacy. This is consistent with previous reporting that Biden’s ever-shrinking inner circle are blocking any negative news from reaching Biden. White House aides who fear being labeled “disloyal” are increasingly reluctant to present Biden with any information that contradicts the rosy electoral outlook curated for him by his inner circle.

Running out the clock

Despite growing opposition from his fellow Democrats and increasingly inauspicious polling, Biden is determined to stay in the race. According to aides familiar with White House discussions, Biden’s plan is to “Shut it down,” referring to Democratic dissent, “and play out the clock” until he is officially nominated and the rebels will have no choice but to get back in line. 

The Democratic National Convention doesn’t begin until August 19. However, the DNC has decided to hold a virtual nomination process ahead of time, with the dubious justification that this will ensure that Biden will appear on the ballot in Ohio. The state already passed a measure assuring that this would happen, but the DNC says they fear Ohio Republicans (who control the state legislature and passed the measure) might challenge the measure in court.

Rumors had circulated that the virtual roll call could happen as early as this week with media attention focused on the Republican National Convention. These rumors infuriated Democratic lawmakers, but the DNC now says the voting won’t take place until early August.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China halts nuclear agreement talks over US support for Taiwan

Lin Jian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced today that China was suspending its participation in international anti-nuclear proliferation talks, which began in November. This suspension is in protest of the US’ continued arms sales to Taiwan, and rhetoric from both President Biden and Donald Trump about possible new trade restrictions with China. Lin said that the US had continued selling arms to Taiwan despite “strong Chinese opposition and repeated negotiations”. He added that “the responsibility fully lies with the US” for the break down in arms talks.

China is currently estimated to have about 500 nuclear weapons in its arsenal and may produce another 1000 by 2030. 

The US and EU are also wary of China’s increasingly close relationship with Russia. Since the US and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia following the 2022 Ukraine invasion, China has given Russia a workaround by allowing Russian entities to use its banking network. China has also made up a large chunk of Russia’s economic shortfall by increasing its purchases of Russian oil, at a deeply discounted rate.

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