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Internal strife swirls around Biden’s successful overseas visit
President Biden wrapped up a trip to Germany and Spain on Friday, rightly boasting how NATO emerged stronger from Russia’s war in Ukraine and rich democracies remained surprisingly united behind Moscow’s spending spree.
But it was the Supreme Court’s recent decisions, especially the one it overturned Roe v. Wadewhich dominated his pre-departure press conference, as did his unusually strong condemnation of conservative justices as having a “destabilizing” effect on the American republic.
Here are four takeaways from his presence at the G7 and NATO summits.
1. Home reality is imposed. Boy, do it.
World leaders are keeping a close eye on America’s domestic politics. You never know when a president’s waning powers or a lawmaker’s petulant ego will derail progress on a trade deal, or a diplomatic candidate, or keeping the U.S. government open, with global implications.
But rarely has the situation at home crowded the marble halls of a global summit to such an extent as this week.
Foreign heads of state and government rarely comment on Supreme Court decisions. But many of America’s closest friends — Britain, Canada, France and others — did so to criticize the judges for the repeal Rowe and holding that there is no constitutional right of access to abortion.
Asked if other leaders might question his “America is back” slogan and instead see a country moving backwards, Biden bristled. “They don’t think so. You haven’t found one person — one world leader — who says America is going backwards,” he told reporters.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the decision “a big step backwards”.
And Politico’s Andrew Desiderio reported this from a NATO foreign ministers’ dinner this week: “At least four diplomats in the room expressed concern about the reversal of the Court’s ruling last week Roe v. Wade and removing the constitutional right to abortion, according to one of the two Americans present.
2. NATO came out stronger. But there is one but.
Biden successfully lobbied Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, which would be one of the biggest changes to European security in decades. But.
First, all 30 NATO members must formally agree to bring the new members under the alliance’s mutual defense umbrella. This takes time, as The Daily 202 explained here.
Second, Sweden and Finland have made concessions to Turkey, particularly on Erdogan’s demands to hand over Kurdish fighters Ankara considers terrorists. They agreed to deal with extradition requests “expeditiously and thoroughly”. Kind of unclear.
But Erdogan now claims they have agreed to extradite 73 people and says they must keep their promises or he will not allow them to join NATO. Stay on the line.
3. Biden really doesn’t want to be seen begging for Saudi oil.
“That is not the purpose of the trip,” he insisted yesterday, referring to his upcoming visit to the kingdom.
OK, but if he meets Saudi King Salman or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman? “No, I’m not going to ask them,” Biden said, adding that his demand for more oil production was aimed at all Gulf countries, “not particularly the Saudis.”
4. Now he faces a big choice on the Supreme Court.
After days of highlighting limits on his executive power to soften the court’s ruling on abortion, Biden turned heads Thursday by saying Congress should pass legislation that Rowe and that the Senate must abolish the filibuster to do so.
He called the decision a “mistake” and even “destabilizing” and accused the Supreme Court of “outrageous behavior” by overruling privacy rights. (But his bottom line remains that Americans “vote, vote, vote” for Democrats in November.) Liberals, previously frustrated by what they saw as Biden’s apathetic response, cheered.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called the criticism “baseless and dangerous.”
Now what? Does Biden put aside his instinctive defense of institutions and press ahead with his attacks on the judiciary? Or is he retreating? Some liberals believe he has been too slow to adopt an exemption from the Voting Rights Act and has not pushed hard enough on that front.
In the Atlantic, Ron Brownstein quoted an anonymous White House official as saying the president would continue to use the decision to attack Republicans. (Attacking the court itself, though? The official apparently didn’t say.)
“What you’re going to see us do is emphasize that they want to go in an even more extreme direction, particularly a national ban on abortion, particularly threats to marriage and contraception, and particularly some of the specific instinctive attempts to force someone who was raped to get pregnant,” the official said.
Some liberals worry that Biden is not the right president for this moment. Now we’ll see if this is the right time for this president.
Biden will keep the abortion decision in the spotlight by meeting with Democratic governors
“Today, back from a six-day trip to Europe, President Biden plans to meet virtually from the White House with a group of Democratic governors trying to protect access to abortion in their states after last week’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. The meeting will keep an issue in the spotlight that Democrats hope will boost turnout in November,” reports John Wagner.
Brittney Greener appears in Russian court on drug charges
“A Russian prosecutor on Friday charged WNBA star Brittney Greiner with transporting a ‘significant amount’ of cannabis oil, according to Russian media reports of her trial, where she faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted,” Robin Dixon reports and Mary Ilyushina.
Griner, sitting in a cage in the courtroom with a bottle of water and a bag of crackers, said she understood the charges. She has not spoken. Court officials initially prevented media and cameras from entering the court, according to Russian media, but two journalists were later admitted.
GW defends Thomas’ appointment amid calls for removal from law school
“George Washington University rejected calls to remove Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas from its law school by students and others frustrated by the justice’s overturning vote Roe v. Wade and calling for him to revisit other landmark civil rights cases,” Lauren Lumpkin reports.
Kyiv reported 20 killed in attack on Odessa
“In Ukraine’s Odesa region, a Russian strike killed at least 20 people and wounded 38 in a residential building and recreation center, Kyiv said on Friday. Although the Kremlin denied hitting civilians, Ukrainian officials said at least one child was killed and others were wounded. Rescuers continue to search for victims under the rubble,” Ellen Francis, Andrew Jeong, Amy Cheng, Julian Duplain and Karina Tsui report.
Noon reads from The Post
Traumatologists have become depressingly prepared for mass shootings
“After every school shooting, the nation goes through a somber routine: alerts on cell phone screens, pictures of victims filtering through the evening news, the familiar cycle of funeral floral arrangements and calls to action, and the ubiquitous outpouring of thoughts and prayers,” Caroline Anders reported.
“But before any of that is the grim routine that the public doesn’t see as doctors and nurses prepare hospital rooms, wait to hear how many victims they’re getting and wonder if they’ll be able to save them.”
How Trump World pressures witnesses to deny possible wrongdoing
“Evidence in multiple state, federal and congressional investigations points to a similar pattern: Trump and his close allies privately shower potential witnesses with flattery and attention, providing vague assurances that it would be better to stay loyal to Trump than cross him.” Rosalind S. Helderman, reporting by Josh Dawsey and Jacqueline Alemany.
“Meanwhile, Trump has publicly criticized those who offer testimony against him in frankly personal terms, offering a clear example to others of the consequences of crossing the line.”
The US is moving away from coal. The Supreme Court decision will not change that.
“When conservative environmental lawyer Geoffrey Holmstead joined the Bracewell firm in late 2006, it represented the full range of power companies, including coal-fired and coal-mining firms. No longer. Electric utility CEOs, wary of the dangers of climate change, are moving away from coal and other fossil fuels,” reports Stephen Mufson.
Who Will Help Care for Babies After Texas Roe?
“One in 10 people of reproductive age in America lives in Texas, which will soon join half of all states banning nearly all abortions. Texas’ conservative leadership has spent decades restricting access to abortion while slashing welfare spending and publicly funded health care. Now, even some abortion advocates say their state is woefully unprepared for a likely surge in birth rates among poor women,” reports Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times.
The Dormant ‘Phone Fraud’ Scheme That Could Catch Trump’s World
“While the Jan. 6 hearings produced explosive testimony and evidence suggesting that a number of former administration officials may face criminal charges related to the attack on the Capitol — possibly as far back as Trump — there is another potential criminal charge that largely degree has been lost in the news,” reports the Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger.
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