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| Kamala Harris and Joe Biden (AP) |
Donald Trump was so rattled by President Joe Biden's decision to address the nation last night that he had a lawyer send two legal complaints to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), both related to Vice President Kamala Harris' ascendance to the top of the Democratic Party's presidential ticket -- and neither of which appeared to have support in the law.
That's from a report at The New Republic (TNR), which indicates the thought of Harris as his opponent has Trump throwing more tantrums and fits than usual. Under the headline "Trump Proves With Latest Tantrum He Knows Kamala Harris Has the Edge; Donald Trump is having a fit over the amount of attention Joe Biden is getting," TNR's Edith Olmsted writes:
Donald Trump is seriously pissed that President Joe Biden addressed the nation last night from the White House, the first time he has spoken publicly and directly to the American people since isolating for Covid-19 last week, ending his re-election campaign, and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris over the weekend.
There’s obviously a lot to talk about—but Trump (predictably) wants to talk too, even if he doesn’t have anything new to say.
Biden and Harris seem to have taken up residence in the dark, empty spaces between Trump's ears. But Trump still has at least one lawyer who will work for him, so Olmsted writes about the former president's plans to walk, once again, down that familiar legal path:
In response to Biden’s announcement that he would address the country at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday to discuss “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” the Trump campaign’s general counsel David Warrington sent letters to ABC, NBC, and CBS demanding that the former president be granted equal airtime, according to The New York Times.
In the letter, Warrington wrote that because Biden will likely address his endorsement of Harris, it “appears that President Biden’s speech will not be a bona fide news event, but rather, a prime-time campaign commercial.”
Warrington cited the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule, arguing that Trump should be given equal time for a “campaign speech.”
Under rules installed in the 1970s, news stations are no longer required to give equal time to candidates for “bona fide news events,” such as presidential speeches or news conferences. When that rule was implemented, critics noted that it gave an incumbent president an inherent advantage when it came to news coverage in an election cycle. If they had a problem with that, one can scarcely imagine how disturbed they’d be by how powerful the American president has become.
None of the outlets Trump’s team reached out to had responded by Tuesday night, and it’s unclear if they will. Maybe some of Trump’s meandering 92-minute address at last week’s Republican National Convention can carry over somehow?
Since his legal arguments appear to be losers, how does this impact Trump? Here is how Olmsted sees it:
All of this goes to show just how scared Trump is of his new opponent. Harris’s apparent edge has sent the former president on several tantrums in just the few days since her candidacy was announced, and scrambling for a way to get out of the next presidential debate.
Warrington also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over Harris’s so-called “heist” of Biden’s campaign’s $91.5 million war chest. But legal experts argue that she’s within her rights to take over the money because, as Biden’s running mate, she was named as a recipient on the principal campaign committee that raised the money.
Here are key moments from Biden's address, per reporting at NPR:
In an Oval Office speech Wednesday night, President Biden addressed his decision to abandon his race for a second term, telling Americans, “the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”
“I revere this office. But I love my country more,” Biden said from behind the Resolute desk. “It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president, but in defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title.”
Biden said stepping aside was “the best way to unite” the country.
Biden also outlined some of his priorities for the final six months of his term, including lowering costs, defending voting rights, protecting access to abortion, Supreme Court reform and working toward peace in the Middle East.
The remarks were Biden’s first to the public since bowing to pressure from the Democratic Party and withdrawing from the presidential campaign on Sunday.
Biden said he believed his record as president “merited a second term.”
“But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” he said “That includes personal ambition.”
That decision was quickly followed by an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to run for president. Biden did address his former campaign team via telephone on Monday, when he told staffers that while “the name has changed at the top of the ticket… The mission hasn’t changed at all.”
In his remarks Wednesday, which ran just over 10 minutes, Biden said it has been the honor of his life to serve as president and he thanked Americans for the privilege. And he praised Harris, saying, “She’s experienced. She's tough. She's capable. She's been an incredible partner to me, and a leader for our country.”
He repeatedly stressed that he believes democracy is at stake in this election, telling Americans: “I ran for president four years ago because … the soul of America was at stake. And that's still the case.”
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