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President Biden targets Project 2025, ties it to Trump at rousing Detroit rally
President Biden targeted the expansive far-right policy agenda known as Project 2025 in a rousing campaign stop in Detroit on Friday night as he sought to quell calls that he withdraw from the presidential election.
The president lambasted the multi-pronged initiative that was crafted by conservative think tanks, claiming it is “run and paid by Trump people, his top policy people.”
“You heard about it? It’s a blueprint for a second Trump term that every American should read and understand,” Mr. Biden told more than 2,000 people at Renaissance High School.
Former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and his campaign have worked to distance themselves from Project 2025. Trump has gone as far as to call some of the proposals “abysmal.”
“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it,” he wrote on social media on Thursday. “The Radical Left Democrats are having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said.”
Mr. Biden on Friday accused his opponent of trying to run from the plan “just like he’s trying to distance himself from overturning Roe vs. Wade because he knows how toxic it is. But we’re not gonna let that happen.”
Project 2025 is a proposed presidential transition project overseen by the conservative Heritage Foundation that includes a detailed blueprint for the next Republican president to usher in a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.
Mr. Biden said Friday that Project 2025 is “the biggest attack on our system of government, our personal freedoms, that has ever been proposed in the history of this country.”
Biden’s rally – at the same school where, four years ago he positioned himself as a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders – was a show of force in his team’s relentless sprint to convince fretting lawmakers within his own party that he is still capable of being president.
“Folks, you’ve probably noticed there’s a lot – a lot of speculation lately. What’s Joe Biden going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out?” he told the crowd. “Here’s my answer: I am running and we’re going to win. And nothing’s going to change that.”
A spate of travel to battleground states, interviews with journalists and a rare solo news conference have not tamped down the angst within the party about Biden’s candidacy and his prospects against Trump in November.
During his speech, Biden vowed to “shine a spotlight on Donald Trump” and what the presumptive Republican nominee would do if he returned to the White House.
“He inherited millions of dollars only to squander it. He’s filed for bankruptcy six times,” Biden said. “He even went bankrupt running a casino. I didn’t think that was even possible. Doesn’t the house always win in a casino?”
The president also criticized the media, claiming it was focusing on his errors and not on Trump’s. It prompted his supporters to boo reporters in the room — a staple of Trump rallies — though Biden tried briefly to calm the jeers, saying “no, no, no.”
“I guess they don’t remember that Trump called Nikki Haley Nancy Pelosi. Well, no — no more. Donald, no more free passes. Today, we’re going to shine a spotlight on Donald Trump,” he said.
After the rally, Ken Jacobs, 71, said Biden’s speech should put to rest any talk that he couldn’t handle another four years in office.
“He should repeat that exact speech at the Democratic convention,” Jacobs told The Associated Press. “It shows that he has the stamina for this.”
Anne Baxter, 62, told the Associated Press that Biden is correct in staying in the race and decried the media, celebrities and other Democratic leaders calling on him to step down.
“I’m glad he’s not listening to these knuckleheads, because it’s not the base,” the retired teacher said. “You heard these people here.”
In 2016, Trump won Michigan by a thin margin attributed in part to reduced turnout in predominantly Black areas like Detroit’s Wayne County, where Hillary Clinton received far fewer votes than former President Barack Obama did in previous elections.
Biden reclaimed much of that support four years ago, when he defeated Trump in Michigan by a 154,000-vote margin, but he has work to do. Detroit, which holds a population that is nearly 78% Black, saw a 12% turnout in the Feb. 27 primary, almost half that of the 23% total turnout in the state.
Key parts of Biden’s coalition in Michigan are also upset with him over Israel’s offensive following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Michigan holds the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation, contributing to over 100,000 people voting “Uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic primary in February.
Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
Senators voted 76-20 for the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate two federal policies that prevent nearly 3 million people, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, teachers and others with a public pension, from collecting their full Social Security benefits. The legislation has been decades in the making, as the Senate held its first hearings into the policies in 2003.
“The Senate finally corrects a 50-year mistake,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, after senators approved the legislation at 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
The bill’s passage is “a monumental victory for millions of public service workers who have been denied the full benefits they’ve rightfully earned,” said Shannon Benton, executive director for the Senior Citizens League, which advocates for retirees and which has long pushed for the expansion of Social Security benefits. “This legislation finally restores fairness to the system and ensures the hard work of teachers, first responders and countless public employees is truly recognized.”
The vote came down to the wire, as the Senate looked to wrap up its current session. Senators rejected four amendments and a budgetary point of order late Friday night that would have derailed the measure, given the small window of time left to pass it.
Vice President-elect JD Vance of Ohio was among the 24 Republican senators to join 49 Democrats to advance the measure in an initial procedural vote that took place Wednesday.
“Social Security is a bedrock of our middle class. You pay into it for 40 quarters, you earned it, it should be there when you retire,” Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who lost his seat in the November election, told the chamber ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “All these workers are asking for is for what they earned.”
What is the Social Security Fairness Act?
The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) — that reduce Social Security payments to nearly 3 million retirees.
That includes those who also collect pensions from state and federal jobs that aren’t covered by Social Security, including teachers, police officers and U.S. postal workers. The bill would also end a second provision that reduces Social Security benefits for those workers’ surviving spouses and family members. The WEP impacts about 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and the GPO nearly 800,000 retirees.
The measure, which passed the House in November, had 62 cosponsors when it was introduced in the Senate last year. Yet the bill’s bipartisan support eroded in recent days, with some Republican lawmakers voicing doubts due to its cost. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed legislation would add a projected $195 billion to federal deficits over a decade.
Without Senate approval, the bill’s fate would have ended with the current session of Congress and would have needed to be re-introduced in the next Congress.
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Saturday is the winter solstice and 2024’s shortest day. Here’s what to know about the official start of winter.
The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial event signifies the first day of winter, astronomically.
What is the winter solstice?
The winter solstice is the day each year that has the shortest period of daylight between sunrise and sunset, and therefore the longest night. It happens when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude that circles the globe south of the equator, the National Weather Service explains.
The farther north you are, the shorter the day will be, and in the Arctic Circle, the sun won’t rise at all.
How is the day of the winter solstice determined?
The winter solstice occurs because of the Earth’s tilt as it rotates around the sun.
When the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, the nights last longer. The longest night happens on the solstice because the hemisphere is in its furthest position from the sun. That occurs each year on Dec. 21 or 22.
This year, it falls on Dec. 21 at 4:21 a.m ET, to be precise.
On the summer solstice, when the northern tilt is closest to the sun, we have the longest day, usually June 20 or 21.
National Weather Service
The solstices are not always exactly on the 21st every year because the earth’s rotation around the sun is 365.25 days, instead of 365 even.
Will days start getting longer after the winter solstice?
Yes. Each day after the solstice, we get one minute more of sunlight. It doesn’t sound like much, but after just two months, or around 60 days, we’ll be seeing about an hour more of sunlight.
When will winter officially be over in 2025?
The meteorological winter ends on March 20, 2025. Then, spring will last until June 20, when the summer solstice arrives.
How is the winter solstice celebrated around the world?
Nations and cultures around the world have celebrated the solstice since ancient times with varying rituals and traditions. The influence of those solstice traditions can still be seen in our celebrations of holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, Britannica notes.
The ancient Roman Saturnalia festival celebrated the end of the planting season and has close ties with modern-day Christmas. It honored Saturn, the god of harvest and farming. The multiple-day affair had lots of food, games and celebrations. Presents were given to children and the poor, and slaves were allowed to stop working.
Gatherings are held every year at Stonehenge, a monumental circle of massive stones in England that dates back about 5,000 years. The origins of Stonehenge are shrouded in mystery, but it was built to align with the sun on solstice days.
Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images
The Hopi, a Native American tribe in the northern Arizona area, celebrate the winter solstice with dancing, purification and sometimes gift-giving. A sacred ritual known as the Soyal Ceremony marks the annual milestone.
In Peru, people honor the return of the sun god on the winter solstice. The ancient tradition would be to hold sacrificial ceremonies, but today, people hold mock sacrifices to celebrate. Because Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere, their winter solstice happens in June, when the Northern Hemisphere is marking its summer solstice.
Scandinavia celebrates St. Lucia’s Day, a festival of lights.
The “arrival of winter,” or Dong Zhi, is a Chinese festival where family gathers to celebrate the year so far. Traditional foods include tang yuan, sweet rice balls with a black sesame filling. It’s believed to have its origins in post-harvest celebrations.
Researchers stationed in in Antarctica even have their own traditions, which may include an icy plunge into the polar waters. They celebrate “midwinter” with festive meals, movies and sometimes homemade gifts.