Joe Biden’s career hangs in the balance – while Donald Trump is all smiles and signature clenched fists
Donald Trump is loving it.
He danced after making the announcement about the announcement, all smiles and signature clenched fists.
He has the look of a man who is back in the game – the rhetoric, too.
On stage in Ohio, Mr Trump labelled Nancy Pelosi – Speaker of the House of Representatives – an “animal”. Never mind common decency, or that her husband was recently attacked by an intruder with a hammer inside their home.
So inappropriate, so Trump, and his loyal audience lapped it up.
To them, bad patter isn’t an issue. They are just happy to have him back.
A solid Trump base provides a platform for his return. The support structure can only be enhanced by the many individuals, Trump-endorsed, expected to win office and authority at these midterm elections.
They assert the same unfounded claims of (2020) election fraud as Mr Trump himself – they wouldn’t have qualified for his endorsement otherwise. He is the kingmaker who wants to be king again, and they owe him.
It makes a Trump candidacy difficult for the Republican Party as a whole. Consider rival candidates for the top of the ticket in 2024. Potential contenders like Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo would find it very difficult to engage in a contest with a strident and well-supported Trump leadership campaign.
His overwhelming presence and support could well dissuade rivals from standing and lead to a truncated party contest that was no contest at all.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘We’re going to take back the White House’
Mr Trump’s return would also be a difficulty for the wider Republican Party, many of whom were happy to tolerate him while he delivered power over but don’t relish his return.
There is a constituency within the party that was happy to hold its nose and clutch its pearls when he carried them into government and, yet, grew weary over time. Having seen the back of Trump, they see a handbrake turn back towards chaos in Republican ranks – it concerns them and threatens cohesion in the party.
Read more:
Trump vows to make ‘very big announcement’ next week
If a good night for the Republican Party would give Mr Trump’s comeback a push, it would give Joe Biden a pushback. He has said he’s confident of holding on to the Senate, which would preserve his clout as president and bolster the foundations of a run for the second term, if that is what he wants.
Biden regarded as liability – but he’s achieved
However, if he lost the Senate and the House of Representatives, Mr Biden would effectively be a lame-duck president, hamstrung by the numbers against him and threatened by impeachment and investigation into matters such as the Afghanistan withdrawal, his COVID policies, his relationship with his son Hunter’s business dealings, etc. Republicans have made it known they want to settle scores.
Mr Biden is regarded as something of a liability within the ranks of his own party. His popularity level stands at 40%, a historical low for a president at this stage in an election cycle.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The US president declares ‘We are the United States of America!’ at a rally in Maryland
And yet, Mr Biden has achieved. With a wafer-thin majority, he’s been productive on policy, with results on climate change, healthcare and wiping away student debt. Sadly, for him, he has probably delivered too late for the population at large to feel the economic benefit and too late for people who voted him in on a promise of change and waited too long to see it transpire.
Should the Democrats have a bad night, it will be argued that a key campaigning weakness has been around the message. The warning about democracy being on the ballot may be difficult to argue with, but it doesn’t chime with voters’ priorities at a time when the economy is flagging. Surveys show that inflation, fuel costs, crime, and immigration are further up the list of concerns.
It would raise questions for Mr Biden about electoral strategy and, as such, suitability for a second presidential run.
However, that assumes Democratic defeat and, as Mr Biden said himself, he thinks Democrats will hold on to the Senate.
It’s a hope worth holding onto – his career depends on it.
Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.
One of the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.
Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”
Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.
But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.
The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.
In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.
Read more from Sky News:
Kremlin urges caution in nuclear rhetoric following Trump’s submarine order
Still wanted: UK riots suspects pictured in new police appeal
In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.
“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.
Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.
Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.
Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.
After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.
Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.
Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.
Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.
He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
Read more from Sky News:
World champion sprinter arrested for ‘assaulting boyfriend’
Trump says “nobody has asked” him to pardon Maxwell
O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike