The week that changed the US election: Trump wins immunity as Biden collapses | US Election 2024

Good morning.

Well, it was interesting, wasn't it? The election was going smoothly, and then we had a decisive week that changed the game and the stakes of the race.

First, Joe Biden blew his chance to prove he had the vitality, vigor and fitness for a second term in the White House, with a debate performance that only underscored concerns that he was too old for the job.

As the arguments were ongoing, the Supreme Court announced that presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution for almost everything they do in office. The decision jeopardized Trump’s recent conviction and other legal cases, and could embolden Trump to act without restraint if he wins a second term.

Well, look at all that (gulp), but first here's what else happened during the election.

Here's what you need to know

1. Trump's conviction delayed

The former president was scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, after being found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal payments in exchange for Stormy Daniels' silence. But after the Supreme Court's decision, his sentencing was pushed back to September 18 while the judge in the case decides whether Trump is granted immunity that could overturn the conviction.

2. Trump is gaining ground with young voters

Trump has opened up a lead over Biden among young voters, according to an AtlasIntel poll. The former president leads the current president by 15 points among 18-29 year-olds, according to the survey conducted by one of the most accurate pollsters of the 2020 election. The survey was conducted between June 26 and 28, so some respondents were interviewed after the debate. Other polls paint a mixed picture: some show Biden’s support has declined since the debate, others show it more or less stable.

3. Money is pouring in

The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised $264 million in the second quarter of 2024, including $127 million in June, which should give the president some energy. Trump, meanwhile, raised $331 million, or about 72% of the $454 million he owes, and can’t pay, in a civil fraud case earlier this year.

Could Biden have crowned Trump king? Donald Trump holds a rally to challenge the certification of the 2020 presidential election results by Congress in Washington DC, January 6, 2021. Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

The Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday that horrified many Americans: It ruled that U.S. presidents are entitled to broad immunity from prosecution for acts they commit in office.

The 6-3 decision by the conservative-majority court, three of which were appointed by Trump, means that some of the charges related to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election likely cannot be pursued.

The decision that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for actions that fall within the core constitutional powers of their office raises concerns about what Trump, who has said he would persecute his political opponents if reelected, might do in a second term.

Most reactions to the decision have been scathing, with Sonia Sotomayor, one of the liberal Supreme Court justices who dissented, saying the decision would make the president a king above the law.

While Trump, who has been obsessed with the royal family for decades (he reportedly tried to woo Princess Diana, who later told a friend that the future president gave her the creeps) will be quite pleased with this characterization, the timing was not exactly right for Trump's criticism.

The move underscored the significance of Biden’s underwhelming performance in the debate, in which the president spent much of his 90 minutes on stage staring into the distance, mouth agape, like a drunk reading a kebab shop menu. When Biden spoke, his voice trembled and he sometimes seemed to lose his train of thought.

A series of polls in recent days have shed some light on how Biden is viewed, though no truly comprehensive, benchmark national survey has yet been released. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that 60% of Americans believe he is unfit to serve another term as president, while among Democratic voters, 41% believe Biden should not be the presidential nominee in November, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll.

The urgency has only grown since the Supreme Court decision. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that 25 Democratic members of the House of Representatives were prepared to call for Biden’s resignation if he continued to look unstable, and two Democratic members of Congress, both in swing districts, said they thought Biden would lose to Trump in November. Prominent news outlets including The New York Times have called for Biden to be replaced, as have many pundits. Biden has said nothing to indicate he will resign and plans to meet with Democratic governors today to shore up their support.

This is largely due to the implications this Supreme Court decision could have for Trump’s presidency. Trump has repeatedly told us what he would do in a second term: He has said he would subject Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans to criticize him, to a televised military tribunal on uncertain charges, and that he would act as a dictator from day one of his presidency.

In June, Trump said that if elected, he would have every right to go after Joe Biden and his family and that the Supreme Court had essentially given him the green light to do so, and more.

Justice Sotomayer, writing a dissenting opinion to the court's decision, said the ruling means that when a president uses his official powers in any way, under the majority's reasoning, he will now be immune from criminal prosecution.

He orders the Navy Seals' 6-man team to assassinate a political rival? Sotomayer wrote.

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Immune.

In other words, it’s serious. Democrats find themselves in the biggest crisis of this election, even as the stakes have risen dramatically.

Lie of the weekJoe Biden and Donald Trump during the presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia, June 27, 2024. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

During last week's debate, Donald Trump falsely claimed that Democrats would take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, or even after birth, specifically calling out the former Virginia governor for comment on late-term abortions.

Ralph Northam, then a Democratic governor of Virginia, provided an answer in a 2019 interview, seized on by Trump and other Republicans, about what would happen when a baby was born with severe birth defects. At no point did Northam say a baby would be killed after birth, and a Virginia news outlet, 13NewsNow, denied Trump’s allegations about Northam’s comments.

Let's be clear: If a child is killed after birth, it is murder, or infanticide. This practice is illegal in every state in the United States (and around the world). Democrats do not advocate policies that kill babies after birth.

Late-term abortions, often called late-term abortions by Republicans despite the term being imprecise and confusing, are rare. Less than 1 percent of abortions in the United States are performed at 21 weeks of gestation or later, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This is often due to fetal abnormalities that are not discovered until later in gestation.

Rachel Leingang, journalist specializing in disinformation

Milwaukee braces for Republican influx

In less than two weeks, Milwaukee will temporarily become the center of the American political universe when Republicans open their national convention at the Fiserv Forum downtown.

The Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the 2024 Republican National Convention will be held from July 15-18. Photo: Tannen Maury/AFP/Getty Images

The GOP was right to choose Wisconsin's largest city as the site of its first real political convention since 2016. The state has served as a tipping point in numerous presidential elections, including Joe Biden's victory in 2020 and Trump's triumph four years earlier.

Fiserv Forum, best known as the home of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team, is now draped in a banner welcoming convention delegates. Barriers line the grounds, waiting to be deployed to close off roads. Residents are paying close attention to the outlines of the security zone, which threatens to disrupt traffic and the lives of those in and around it.

Milwaukee is a Democratic stronghold in a purple state and is likely to vote for Biden again. With rural Wisconsin leaning toward Trump, the real question is how the state’s suburban communities will tilt. Democrats did well there in the last election, but all indications are that this will be an election like few others have before.

– Chris Stein is the US politics live blogger for Guardian US

The Worst WeekRudy Giuliani at his most intoxicating. Photograph: Chris Kleponis/EPA-EFE

This guy doesn’t get a break. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer, hair-dye enthusiast, and all-around weirdo, lost his New York law license Tuesday. The move comes after he was suspended by New York radio station WABC in May after using his show to spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The move also comes after Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December after a court ordered him to pay nearly $150 million to two election workers he defamed. Phew!

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.theguardian.com/global/article/2024/jul/03/the-week-that-changed-the-election-how-the-supreme-court-made-trump-nearly-immune-as-president-just-as-biden-fell-flat-on-his-face The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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