Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden.The billionaire candidate spent $500 million and failed to win a single Super Tuesday state. In an emotional speech to supporters, he said, “I’m just amazed at how many have stood with me shoulder to shoulder.”
Congress passed a bill that allocated $8bn to combat coronavirus, as the Trump administration faced continued criticism over its lack of adequate action to contain the outbreak.
Bernie Sanders admitted his campaign had failed to galvanize youth turnout to the extent he’d hoped. The Vermont senator did well in California, Colorado and his home state but lost ground to Biden in the east and south.
Elizabeth Warren’s surrogates and allies are reportedly meeting with members of Sanders’ team to discuss consolidating progressive support. After a weak performance on Super Tuesday, her chances of securing the nomination have dwindled.
The Trump administration has chosen Marshall Billingslea, a former Bush-era official involved a torture program, as his nuclear envoy. The Guardian’s Julian Borger reports:
Billingslea is currently the under-secretary for terrorist financing at the US Treasury. His nomination last year for a top human rights job at the state department was stalled by controversy over the extent of his involvement in the torture programme established by the George W Bush administration, in which he oversaw the conditions of detainees in Guantánamo Bay.
Neither the state department nor the treasury responded to a request for comment, but congressional staffers and former officials said Billingslea had accepted the post.
Update: Symone Sanders, who said she broke a nail yesterday after blocking a protestor who tried to rush at Joe Biden, has gotten herself to the salon.
Sanders, who is Joe Biden’s senior advisor, and Jill Biden — the candidate’s wife — emerged as heroes last night after swooping into action when anti-dairy protestors rushed toward the former vice president.
While the main focus yesterday was on the race to win the Democratic presidential nomination, some of the down-ballot races were full of drama as well.
Warren shakes hands with Sanders at the conclusion of the ninth Democratic 2020 U.S. Presidential candidates debate in Las Vegas Nevada. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Surrogates and allies of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are reportedly discussing strategies to unite to push a progressive agenda, the Washington Post reports. The expectation is that Warren, who has persisted despite a series of campaign setbacks, would drop out:
The conversations, which are in an early phase, largely involve members of Congress who back Sanders (I-Vt.) reaching out to those in Warren’s camp to explore the prospect that Warren (D-Mass.) might endorse him. They are also appealing to Warren’s supporters to switch their allegiance to Sanders, according two people with direct knowledge of the conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss delicate discussions that are supposed to be confidential.
The whirlwind of activity reflects the rapid changes in a Democratic primary that is still very much in transition. As late as Tuesday, many Warren allies believed she would stay in the race until the Democratic convention, despite her poor showing to date in the primaries, in hopes of retaining her clout and influencing the eventual nominee.
The Guardian’s Saad Ejaz was at Michael Bloomberg’s farewell speech earlier today, here’s his report from the room …
Michael Bloomberg gave his last public appearance as a presidential nominee today, consoling a room full of staff and supporters at a Manhattan Hotel.
“Mike will get it done,” the crowd chanted, rather unenthusiastically, as they waited for Bloomberg.
“I entered the race for the president to defeat Donald Trump,” explained Bloomberg once he took the stage, “And today I am leaving the race for the same reason.”
Super Tuesday marked the first time the billionaire, his message or his money had been tested. The numbers were not kind. “I’ve always believed that data should inform our decision,” he admitted, “After Yesterday’s results, the delegate math had become virtually impossible and a viable path to the nomination just no longer existed.”
Instead, it was time to unite behind one candidate to defeat Donald Trump, Bloomberg said, and that could only be his “friend and a great American” Joe Biden.
“I am glad to say that I endorse Joe Biden, and I hope you will join me in working to make him the next president of the United states,” Bloomberg said of the candidate who, just 11 weeks before, he was unconvinced could beat Trump or run the country.
“He’s never been the manager of an organization, he’s never run a school system,” Bloomberg told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in December.“The presidency shouldn’t be a training job.”
Earlier today, Mike Bloomberg took the stage one last time as presidential candidate.
Many of Bloomberg’s supporters were in a somber mood; some were in tears as the speech ended. “I’m just so sad and disappointed,” said Margaret Brick, who has supported Bloomberg for the past 17 years, “But I think he’s really going to help Joe.”
Other members of the campaign, like Abdul Malik, were not as sure of Joe Biden. Malik had worked with the Bloomberg campaign to increase outreach with people of color.
“I don’t know about Joe Biden yet,” said Malik, “My biggest issue is criminal justice reform and no one else comes close to Bloomberg’s plan.”
Bloomberg himself was overcome with emotion, as he reflected on his campaign’s journey.“I’m just amazed at how many have stood with me shoulder to shoulder,” he said at the verge of tears, “Working and fighting every step of the way.”
“And you do it because you love America as much as I do and that’s all I could ever ask for.”
Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, told CNN that Joe Biden would be a tough opponent in the election.
Lindsey Graham on Trump facing Biden in a general: "I think he would be tough. I think Joe Biden's got a good reputation and he'd be tough, he'd be more moderate than Bernie, but I still think it's Trump's to lose." pic.twitter.com/WMUzrghILu
“I think Joe Biden’s got a good reputation,” said Graham, a Republican senator of South Carolina. “He’d be more moderate than Bernie, but I still think it’s Trump’s to lose.”
Biden’s victory in Graham’s home state is what gave the firmer vice president’s flagging campaign the boost and momentum to take on Super Tuesday.
Chuck Schumer’s team has responded to Chief Justice John Roberts’ reprimand.
In a rare statement, Roberts described a speech that Schumer delivered as the Supreme Court considered a case that could result in grave new abortion restrictions as “threatening”.
Schumer had said that the Trump-appointed justices would pay a price for restricting abortion access.
“Sen. Schumer’s comments were a reference to the political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court, and a warning that the justices will unleash a major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision,” said the senator’s spokesperson Justin Goodman in a statement. “For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes.”
After his big Super Tuesday wins, Biden just held a very brief press conference at a Los Angeles hotel, making about a dozen supporters and a large crowd of journalists wait over an hour for roughly seven minutes of remarks. He did not speak about Bloomberg’s departure or his remaining rivals in the race, saying: “What we can’t let happen in the next few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that can do is help Donald Trump ... Donald Trump poses an existential threat to our standing in the world.”
“What we cant let happen in the best few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that can do is help Donald Trump.” - Biden in LA pic.twitter.com/bk6v6pzXc3
“We are going to take this fight all across America to rebuild the middle class,” said Biden, who appeared relatively subdued in the small hotel conference room at the W Los Angeles in Westwood.
Biden ignored reporters’ questions as he walked out, but briefly responded to one question about criticisms that he is part of the Democratic “establishment”, saying, “The establishment are all those hard-working middle-class people, those African Americans...”
LA mayor Eric Garcetti, a Biden supporter, showed up, but made no remarks.
Lulu Lima, an 18-year-old supporter who also stood behind Biden, told me after that her father is a union member and supporter of the candidate. She said she was grateful to cast her first-ever vote for Biden and felt excited about his surge: “It’s awesome to see what can happen ... It means never lose hope, and in a broader sense, never lose hope for this nation.”
Lulu Lima, 18, stood behind @JoeBiden today at his LA press conference. Her dad is a union supporter. She said Biden’s recent surge was a reminder to “never lose hope.” She said she avoids talking politics with friends or others her age who are Bernie supporters. pic.twitter.com/ZHA2h4oWUF
Asked if she was confident Biden would win, she said, “All we can do is hope.” She said she avoids talking about politics with friends or others her age who are Sanders supporters: “It’s important for individuals to have their own beliefs.”
Donald Trump’s response to criticisms of his coronavirus response: Thanks, Obama.
The president blamed a federal agency decision during Barack Obama’s administration, which Trump said made it harder to quickly roll out testing for the virus.
“The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing can take place in a much more accurate and rapid fashion,” he told reporters during a White House meeting with airline executives, whom he had called to discuss the economic effects of the outbreak.
“That was a decision we disagreed with,” he said. I don’t think we would have made it, but for some reason, it was made.”
It’s unclear what decision, exactly, Trump is referring to.
The Trump administration has been criticized for dismantling an Obama effort to respond to global health emergencies more quickly. The president has also come under fire for not rolling out widespread testing for coronavirus more quickly, and spreading false information about the disease.
Sanders held a press conference at his campaign office in Burlington, Vermont. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
Bernie Sanders admitted he hadn’t been as successful as he’d hoped at galvanizing youth turnout.
“Have we been as successful as I would hope in bringing young people in? And the answer is no,” he said, speaking at his campaign headquarters in Vermont. “We’re making some progress. But historically younger people do not vote in the kind of numbers that older people vote in. I think that will change in the general election.”
He told reporters he was “disappointed” by the Super Tuesday results.
“Of course I’m disappointed,” he said. “I would like to win every state by a landslide. It’s not going to happen.”
But he emphasized the importance of upcoming races Michigan and other midwestern states, where he and Joe Biden are competing to win over working-class voters — to whom both candidates seem to appeal.
“Joe and I are running very different campaigns,” he said. “And my hope is that in the coming months, we will be able to debate and discuss the very significant differences that we have.”
Hi, there! It’s Maanvi Singh, blogging from the West Coast.
In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts denounced comments from Senator Chuck Schumer, who spoke at a rally outside the Supreme Court as the court heard oral arguments in a case that could result in new restrictions on abortion access.
“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said.
Schumer has said that Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — Trump’s Supreme Court appointees — “won’t know what hit” them if they voted to uphold abortion restrictions.
“I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price,” Schumer said.
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
The House easily passed a bill aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus. The bill, which lays out $8 billion in funding to combat the health threat, advanced to the Senate on a vote of 415 to 2.
Mike Bloomberg delivered an emotional speech to supporters after suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Joe Biden. The former New York mayor expressed pride in the race he ran, even though the billionaire candidate spent $500 million and failed to win a single Super Tuesday state.
Bernie Sanders predicted he and Biden would be “neck and neck” in the nominating contest after California’s delegates are allocated. Sanders was declared the winner of California, where 415 pledged delegates are up for grabs, as soon as polls closed, but Biden’s 10 victories elsewhere will likely give him the lead in delegates.
Elizabeth Warren said she was considering next steps for her campaign after a disappointing Super Tuesday performance. Warren’s campaign manager said the Massachusetts senator was “talking with our team to assess the path forward.”
US markets rallied after Biden’s strong Super Tuesday showing. After a string of market losses tied to concerns about coronavirus, investors appeared to breathe a sigh of relief about Sanders’ sinking fortunes in the presidential primary.
Who were the two “no” votes on the House’s coronavirus bill? Republican congressmen Ken Buck and Andy Biggs.
The conservative lawmakers questioned the need for $8 billion in funding to combat the health threat.
However, other House Republicans, including minority leader Kevin McCarthy, said the $2.5 billion originally requested by the White House was “a little low.”
