Barack Obama endorses Joe Biden; Trump’s Monday press briefing recap; debate on “ultimate authority” on states reopening

Barack Obama endorses Joe Biden

Former president Barack Obama released a captioned video to announce his endorsement of Joe Biden for the 2020 presidential election. 

Video clip: (OBAMA: that is why I am so proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States.)

We know that Biden was Obama’s vice president for eight years. Obama made a mention of Bernie Sanders, calling him an “American original” and lauded some of his policy positions. 

Video clip: (OBAMA: Bernie is an American original, a man who has devoted his life to giving voice to working people's hopes, dreams, and frustrations. He and I haven't always agreed on everything, but we have always shared a conviction that we have to make America a fairer more just, more equitable society.)

In the video, Obama gave his strongest criticism yet of the Trump administration and Republican Senators. 

Video clip: (OBAMA: because one thing everybody has learned by now is that the Republicans occupying the White House and running the U.S. Senate are not interested in progress.They are interested in power. They have shown themselves willing to kick millions off their health insurance and eliminate pre-existing condition protections for millions more even in the middle of this public health crisis, even as they are willing to spend $1 trillion on tax cuts for the wealthy.)

So, with those words from Obama, the 2020 race feels officially set, but in a suspended mode because of the pandemic. Obama said he would see “you on the campaign trail soon.” 

The Trump campaign told Fox News that Obama sat on the sidelines for the entirety of the 2020 primaries and claimed that Obama did not want Biden to run in the first place. 

An Obama spokesperson said that he made it clear from the beginning that he would stay neutral and wait until Democrats selected their nominee.
Barack Obama video: https://bit.ly/2K1sS8C
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaign-obama-endorse-biden-after-delay

—

Trump’s Monday press briefing recap; debate on “ultimate authority” on states reopening

President Trump during last night’s White House briefing spoke at length about how he did the right thing in closing the country from China in January and said that press coverage that said Trump acted too slowly to lock down America was unfair and false. 

The president outlined that his administration has organized a massive effort to manufacture ventilators, provide tens of thousands of beds, and order millions of personal protective equipment. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said they have started delivering the economic impact payments and said 80 million Americans should get them in direct deposit by Wednesday. If you haven’t received it by then, you can go to irs.gov and go to “Get your payment” to update your direct deposit information. If you are a social security beneficiary, you don’t have to do anything as you will get a direct deposit. 

President Trump said he has total and ultimate authority on whether the country reopens or not, and that he has authority over state governors on their states reopening. He was asked by the press on whether he actually has that authority or if it was up to the states, and Trump said they would write up legal papers on this. 

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney (R) tweeted that the federal government does not have absolute power. She quoted the 10th Amendment from the U.S. Constitution. 

[Tweet by @Liz_Cheney: “The federal government does not have absolute power. ‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” United States Constitution, Amendment X.’”]

I’ll try to say it in simpler terms. The amendment says that states can decide for themselves on what they want to do if it is not mentioned in the Constitution. 

A Cornell University law professor told USA Today that the 10th Amendment means that “Trump does not have authority to ease social distancing, or to open schools or private businesses. These are matters for states to decide…” 

A constitutional law professor from George Washington University told USA Today that Trump contradicted himself on “total authority” because he previously said it was up to the states to impose stay-at-home orders and to provide their own ventilators and PPE. 

AP News reported that New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said it should be up to the state and the governor to undo state executive orders. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said the government doesn’t get opened up via Twitter but at the state level. 

President Trump continued the conversation today by tweeting that “Mutiny On The Bounty” was one of his all time favorite movies. He framed it as Democratic governors on a ship rebelling against him as a captain. 

[Tweet by @realdonaldtrump “Tell the Democrat Governors that “Mutiny On The Bounty” was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!”]

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) told MSNBC this morning that if Trump tries to open the country too early with excessive risks, he would oppose it and then we will have a huge constitutional crisis. He said we don’t have a king but a president. 

President Trump tweeted that Cuomo has been calling and begging for everything and now he wants independence — Trump said “that won’t happen!” 

So, when does the White House want the country to be opened again? There are some reports that it will be on May 1, but Dr. Anthony Fauci told AP News that idea was “overly optimistic” and that “we’re not there yet” because the U.S. does not have the testing and tracing procedures necessary. 

There are two groups of state governors who have agreed to work together to make decisions on reopening their regions. The first group is New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The second group is California, Washington, and Oregon. 

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-coronavirus-press-conference-transcript-april-13

https://twitter.com/Liz_Cheney/status/1249845408127488000

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/14/trump-claim-total-authority-claim-10th-amendment/2988013001/

https://apnews.com/ba9578acf23bdb03fd51a2b81f640560

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1250075668282576898

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/cuomo-says-if-trump-tries-reopen-new-york-then-we-n1183341

https://apnews.com/urn:publicid:ap.org:46ee40035d500c4190489aea0adb126b

—