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President Joe Biden to sign bipartisan gay marriage bill into law at triumphant White House ceremony

President Joe Biden is inviting thousands to celebrate at the White House on December 13 as he signs into law gay marriage legislation before a bipartisan crowd that reflects growing acceptance of same-sex unions. Lawmakers from both parties will be there, as will first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. The White House promised musical performances but was trying to maintain suspense about the headliners. The triumphant mood will play out against the backdrop of a right-wing backlash over gender issues, which has alarmed gay and transgender people and their advocates. Among...

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Third White House bid will not shield Trump as Justice Department’s criminal investigations proceed

Donald Trump’s early announcement of his third White House bid will not shield the former president from the criminal investigations already confronting him as an ordinary citizen, leaving him legally and politically exposed as he seeks the 2024 Republican nomination. The Justice Department is pushing ahead with its probes. And with the midterm elections now mostly complete and the 2024 presidential campaign months away from beginning in earnest, federal prosecutors have plenty of time to continue their work even as Trump hits the campaign trail. “I don’t think the department is going to hesitate as a result of Trump...

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Ratings Worship: Can news outlets avoid another media circus with Trump’s third bid for White House?

By Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, Harvard Kennedy School Now that he is in the 2024 presidential race, the media circus that is Donald Trump is returning for a new season. Trump is still newsworthy. He has been weakened by his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, his attempt to overthrow its result and the underperformance of Republican candidates in the 2022 midterms. Nevertheless, Trump is more than a party leader. “Make America Great Again,” known colloquially as “MAGA,” is a political movement. Trump has a legion of diehard followers. Then there is Trump...

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As the Biden White House works to rebuild the middle class the MAGA-fueled culture wars aim to demolish it

The Biden White House has tried since President Joe Biden’s inauguration to move past the Trump years and to focus instead on strengthening democracy by rebuilding the American middle class and by renewing our alliances and friendships with democratic allies. As his message has repeatedly been drowned out by the cultural messaging of the Republicans, Biden has begun to criticize their economic plans more directly, especially in the last few weeks. The White House released a fact sheet on November 1 laying out exactly what it would look like to have the Republicans’ economic plans put into effect. The...

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Being a lame duck: The political threats facing President Biden if he decides to not run for reelection

By Michael J. Faber, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas State University As President Joe Biden’s approval ratings continue to hover around 40% and polls consistently show that most Americans do not want him to run for reelection, Biden’s spokespeople insist that he plans to run. It would be more surprising if he did not run. No eligible sitting president has declined to run for reelection since 1968. Announcing that he does not plan to run would make Biden an early lame duck and make it much harder for him to accomplish his goals. ‘A lot of little things’...

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Why lawmakers who voted against President Biden’s popular policies take credit for them before midterms

In their year and a half in power, Democrats have put in place policies that are widely popular. The infrastructure projects provided for under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act are so popular, in fact, that Republicans who voted against the law are nonetheless taking credit for them. Voters have long called for Medicare to be able to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies (83% in favor), now made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which also caps certain drug expenses, including the cost of insulin. Between 80 and 90% of Americans want basic gun control laws—the Democrats just passed the...

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