2020 Daily Trail Markers: Warren endorses Biden
Joe Biden now has the public support of all of the major candidates who ran against him for the Democratic nomination, reports CBS News campaign reporter Zak Hudak. Elizabeth Warren Wednesday morning announced her endorsement of Biden for president in a video posted on Twitter, citing the former vice president's empathy, public service and role in implementing the Recovery Act after the 2008 financial crisis.
"When Donald Trump is gone, we will need to do more than heal a nation that has been bitterly divided," she said. "We will need to rebuild and transform our country. And I've seen Joe Biden help a nation rebuild."
As a candidate, Warren had said she would support the Democratic nominee no matter who it turned out to be but stayed out of the fray as Biden fought Bernie Sanders for the nomination. Although Warren is more ideologically aligned with Sanders, Biden last month adopted Warren's plan to repeal key pieces of a bankruptcy bill she fought Biden on 15 years ago.
After endorsing Biden, Warren put her massive grassroots network built during her own presidential bid to work in order to help the former vice president. In an appeal sent to Warren's supporters this afternoon using her email list, CBS News political unit associate producer Sarah Ewall-Wice says Biden made a direct pitch to those who had previously been receiving updates from the Warren campaign.
"I know, for some of you, that you might be skeptical of me or my campaign. I understand that. But I intend to earn your votes. And I intend to earn your trust," the email signed by Biden read. "I'm here to tell you that you're not only welcome as part of this campaign: you're needed. The only way that we'll defeat Donald Trump is with a broad coalition of folks working together to win what I have been calling a battle for the soul of our nation. I'm not here to ask you for money — I believe I need to earn it. So I'm asking if you will look me over, give me a chance, and join my campaign."
The email included a link that would redirect people to sign up for Biden campaign updates. The Biden/Warren crossover email comes after Warren amassed millions of dollars from millions of donors during the primary from grassroots support; the only other Democratic presidential candidate to eclipse her in grassroots fundraising was Sanders. Using her list to get former supporters to sign up for Biden could be a major step in helping the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee build up his grassroots support heading into the general election.
Senator Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, also threw her weight behind Biden Wednesday, the day after he won her state's primary.
"I'm supporting Joe Biden for president, not just because he's always fought for the bold progressive change that working families in Wisconsin need that because he understands that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and afforded the opportunity to thrive," she said in a video posted on YouTube. Both Baldwin and Warren are considered potential vice presidential picks for Biden, who has said he plans to begin vetting potential candidates soon.
FROM THE CANDIDATES
JOE BIDEN
At his virtual town hall this afternoon, Biden pivoted from high-profile politicians to speak with workers who continue to work through the pandemic, according to CBS News campaign reporter Bo Erickson. He also continued to criticize President Trump's actions during this time, honing in on the president's demeanor. Biden said Mr. Trump should not have "temper tantrums" and "harangue the press" at his briefings.
"Have we heard him offer any sincere message of empathy that people are hurting?" Biden said. "I don't think this is appropriate conduct for a president." He also downplayed Mr. Trump's belief that he will be able to reopen the economy, equating it to relying on a "miracle" happening tomorrow. In his conversations with the union workers, he spoke with a meat packing shop steward in Pennsylvania and then a paratransit driver and grocery clerk from Michigan. He said it was a "moral duty" to ensure protective equipment, paid leave and potential extra pay for workers like them.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
Kayleigh McEnany made her move from national press secretary on the Trump campaign to press secretary at the White House official Wednesday, reports CBS News political unit associate producer Eleanor Watson. She took over the @PressSec twitter account from Stephanie Grisham Wednesday morning, adding her profile photo and sending her first tweet, "Honored to join the @WhiteHouse as President Trump's @PressSec. I look forward to connecting the American People to @realDonaldTrump's agenda and sharing the historic successes of this Administration."
The move was confirmed on April 7 by White House officials. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale thanked McEnany on April 8 for her time on the campaign in a statement saying, "We don't think of it as losing a team member, rather as having a trusted colleague called upon to fill a very important role. President Trump has made an excellent choice."
The Trump-RNC fundraising committee plans to expand their joint operation, placing finance chairs in all 50 states, RNC senior officials confirm to CBS News. The announcement was first made Tuesday on a Trump Victory phone call with bundlers, led by Trump campaign senior adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle and top fundraiser Roy Bailey. In 2016, the Trump campaign named finance chairs for only 33 states.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the ongoing legal battle over disclosure of President Donald Trump's tax returns and business records on May 12, reports CBS News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga. Trump's appeals in three cases aimed at stopping Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives committees and a New York prosecutor from accessing his financial records were originally set to begin March 31, but postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Forced to amend its in-person tradition, the Supreme Court announced earlier this week it will break from precedent to hear arguments via teleconference. While justices and attorneys will participate remotely, the court will provide a live audio feed of arguments on CSPAN radio.
Former President Jimmy Carter said he is "distressed" by President Trump's decision to withhold funding from the World Health Organization.
"I am distressed by the decision to withhold critically needed U.S. funding for the World Health Organization, especially during an international pandemic. WHO is the only international organization capable of leading the effort to control this virus," Carter wrote in a statement tweeted earlier today.
President Trump announced Tuesday the U.S. plans to withhold funding for the World Health Organization, pending a White House review. He blamed the international organization for helping to accelerate the COVID19 pandemic. "So much death has been caused by their mistakes," the president told reporters during a briefing in the Rose Garden.
Rapper and retail mogul Kanye West says he is voting for President Trump in November. In a GQ Magazine interview out today, West cited the real estate market as a motivating factor. "I buy real estate. It's better now than when Obama was in office," the musical artist said. West later added, "I'm definitely voting this time. And we know who I'm voting on. And I'm not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I'm still here!" The news comes one day after rapper Cardi B, longtime supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden via Instagram livestream. "I'm just gonna go with Joe Biden because I cannot see the next step of America being ran by number 45," she said, in reference to the current president.
LIFE AFTER 2020
ELIZABETH WARREN
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith are calling for at least $50 billion in emergency federal funding to be used to keep the child care industry running during and after the coronavirus pandemic. "We will not be able to rebuild our economy if this country's child care system has collapsed beneath the economic burden of this pandemic," they wrote in a Medium post Wednesday. CBS News campaign reporter Zak Hudak says the proposal would give aid to child care centers bearing the cost of intensive cleaning and increased hours of care for the children of essential workers. It would also provide funding for providers who have been temporarily closed by the pandemic to keep their staff on payroll. The senators also proposed long-term investments toward child care infrastructure and worker wages. Warren spoke about the volatility of the industry on the trail and proposed universal childcare legislation in early 2019.
VEEPSTAKES
STACEY ABRAMS
Though the process of choosing a vice presidential running mate is shrouded in secrecy, one of the women on Biden's list is making it clear she's interested.
"I would be an excellent running mate," former Georgia General Assembly Leader Stacey Abrams told Elle magazine in an interview published Wednesday morning. Abrams also listed the high points of her resume for the magazine, according to CBS News campaign reporter Cara Korte. "I have the capacity to attract voters by motivating typically ignored communities. I have a strong history of executive and management experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. I've spent 25 years in independent study of foreign policy. I am ready to help advance an agenda of restoring America's place in the world. If I am selected, I am prepared and excited to serve," she said. With the glossy profile in the fashion mag, it would appear that Abrams is trying to keep her profile high as veepstakes loom.
Abrams held a press call this afternoon with fellow co-founder of Fair Fight 2020 Oregon Governor Kate Brown (D). The two spoke about their ask of Congress to add $4 billion of campaign funding in the fourth COVID19 stimulus package for mandate and implantation of at-home voting in November.
ISSUES THAT MATTER
TO YOUR HEALTH
As health coverage remains a heated topic of debate in the 2020 election cycle, CBS News political unit associate producer Sarah Ewall-Wice says state regulators could see insurance rates rise when companies make their filings for 2021 in the coming months amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, private insurers pay as much as $20,000 for comparable pneumonia hospitalizations and more than $80,000 for patients who require a ventilator during their stay. With uncertainty around the coronvirus' impact on next year's costs, the KFF said it could lead insurers to overprice plans, particularly in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Meanwhile, while hospitalization costs for Medicare and Medicaid patients would be lower on average because those programs typically pay lower rates than private insurance, the KFF analysis also found Medicare spending could rise because older adults are at a higher risk of coronavirus related hospitalizations. The new costs could potentially be offset by fewer non-urgent procedures and hospital visits, but an increase in Medicare spending could still mean higher premiums and cost sharing in the future. State Medicaid programs will likely also experience increased costs from both COVID-19 treatment as well as more enrollments as millions lose job-based coverage.
IN THE POLLS
VOTER TURNOUT
Seventy percent of Democrats say they are "certain" to vote in the upcoming presidential election, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, surging nine points over the first quarter of 2016. And 71% of Republicans say they too will vote, a three-point increase over the last election season. However, the results belie steep electoral puzzles facing Joe Biden's campaign as it ramps up for the general election.
For example, says CBS News campaign reporter Alex Tin, turnout among black voters in 2016 — a key share of the Democratic base — dropped for the first time in two decades of presidential elections. Beyond turnout, analysis of voter files by The New York Times found President Trump flipped large swaths of white, working-class Obama supporters. And less than a quarter of Biden's supporters report strong enthusiasm for the candidate, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, the lowest of any Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years.