Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump

Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump
Those remarks from Biden came during a private call with donors last week as the Democrat had been scrambling to shore up his imperiled candidacy with key party constituencies. (Reuters)
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Updated 16 July 2024
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Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump

Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump
  • “Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden said

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview airing Monday that it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to put a “bull’s-eye” on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but argued that the rhetoric coming from his opponent was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.

Those remarks from Biden came during a private call with donors last week as the Democrat had been scrambling to shore up his imperiled candidacy with key party constituencies. During that conversation, Biden declared that he was “done” talking about his poor debate performance and that it was “time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye,” saying Trump has gotten far too little scrutiny on his stances, rhetoric and lack of campaigning.

Insisting “there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda,” Biden told NBC anchor Lester Holt that while he acknowledged his “mistake,” he nonetheless is “not the guy who said I wanted to be a dictator on day one” and that he wanted the focus to be on what Trump was saying. It’s Trump, not Biden, who engages in that kind of rhetoric, Biden said, referring to Trump’s past comments about a “bloodbath” if the Republican loses to Biden in November.

“Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden said. “Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?”

The interview was occurring the same day that his reelection team was preparing to resume full-throttle campaigning after the assassination attempt on Trump, particularly after the GOP nominee announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate — which unleashed a flurry of criticism from the Biden campaign and other Democrats about the young freshman senator’s policy positions.

“He’s a clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base shortly before departing for Nevada for a series of speeches and campaign events. “I don’t see any difference.”

The NBC interview, scheduled before the attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania, had been part of Biden’s broader strategy to prove his fitness for office after angst grew among Democrats because of his disastrous June 27 debate performance.

The Biden campaign recalibrated some of its political plans in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Saturday, pulling advertising off the air and hitting pause on messaging. The White House also scrapped Biden’s planned Monday visit to the Lyndon B. Johnson library, where he had been slated to deliver remarks on civil rights.

It’s still not finalized when Biden’s campaign ads will resume airing. But Biden is pressing on with the Nevada portion of his previously scheduled western swing, which will include remarks to the NAACP and UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights and advocacy group. He’ll also headline what’s been billed as a “campaign community event” on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Hours ahead of the NBC interview, his campaign issued a blistering statement on Trump’s selection of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, saying he picked the freshman senator because he would “bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda.”

“Over the next three and a half months, we will spend every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November,” said Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon. “The Biden-Harris ticket who’s focused on uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs; or Trump-Vance – whose harmful agenda will take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive – all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”

Biden has acknowledged that his candidacy and agenda will be under attack at the Republican National Convention this week, and aides feel no need to put their campaign on complete pause while Biden comes under scrutiny in Milwaukee. But they’ll tread carefully in the aftermath of the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I’ll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and the vision — my vision of the country — our vision,” Biden said during his Oval Office remarks on Sunday night, just the third such address of his presidency. “I’ll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets. That’s how democracy should work.”

Biden’s renewed campaigning this week comes as Democrats have been at an impasse over whether the incumbent president should continue in the race even as he was defiant that he would stay in. Biden has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he remains in the race, and aides have been operating as such.

It was unclear if the attempt on Trump’s life would blunt Democratic efforts to urge Biden to step aside, but it appears to have stalled some of the momentum, for now. No Democrats have called for him to exit the race since the shooting Saturday night.

In the hours before the shooting, Biden was still being confronted by frustration and skepticism from Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Jared Huffman of California said he asked the president during his meeting with the Congressional Progressive Caucus about objectively assessing the trajectory of the race, and if the Lord almighty doesn’t intervene would Biden consider “the best earthly alternative”: meeting with former presidents Obama and Clinton, and the Democratic leadership including Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to seek their advice.”

Huffman said on a social media post that Biden “disagreed with the notion that we are on a losing trajectory.”

And while Biden expressed a “willingness to listen” to other voices, Huffman said he doubted any would be persuasive. “I continue to believe a major course correction is needed, and that the President and his team have yet to fully acknowledge the problem, much less correct it,” he said.

But now, several Democrats who requested anonymity were skeptical that there would be enough drive among lawmakers to successfully try and pressure Biden not to run, especially because they are scattered and away from Washington until next week and because Biden has said he won’t step aside and seized the opportunity to quickly respond to the shooting over the weekend. The people requested anonymity to characterize private conversations.

Many in the Democratic Party had been looking to congressional leaders Jeffries and Schumer to voice concerns directly to the president. Jeffries met with Biden at the White House on Thursday night, while Schumer went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Saturday for his visit with Biden, which occurred just before the assassination attempt on Trump.

There were still deep concerns that Biden is not up to the job and a sense that pressure to try and find another candidate could ramp up again when lawmakers return to Washington. Congressional Democrats were watching the Republican National Convention and Biden’s appearances this week with awareness that the dynamics could change — again.


Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA
Updated 11 sec ago
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Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA
  • ‘The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue,’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry says

TOKYO: Japan has expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Japan attaches great importance to the activities of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s nuclear program and expresses serious concern over this announcement,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.”

Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday that they would no longer cooperate with the agency. Japan had been urging Iran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA and said all necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve this will go on, in cooperation with the international community and relevant organizations.

“Japan has consistently emphasized the importance of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue, based on the position that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, for the sake of maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Foreign Ministry added.


Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK

Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK
Updated 20 min 4 sec ago
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Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK

Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK
  • Corbyn in talks with Independent Alliance MPs elected in 2024 for opposing Gaza war
  • Jeremy Corbyn: That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative

LONDON: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he could launch a political movement to provide a left-wing “alternative” to the governing party before the next general election.

Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 by the UK’s current Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to a row over antisemitism. 

He has since sat as an independent MP, and has hinted at a desire to form a new group centered around socialist policies with a pro-Palestine stance.

Corbyn told ITV’s “Peston” political show that he is holding discussions with members of the Independent Alliance, who were elected last year by running on pro-Palestine platforms against Labour MPs.

The alliance includes Leicester South MP Shockat Adam; Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan; Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain; and Dewsbury and Batley MP Iqbal Mohamed.

“That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative,” Corbyn said, adding that its foreign policy platform would be “based on peace rather than war,” and that it would seek to alleviate poverty and inequality.


Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine

Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine
Updated 56 min 55 sec ago
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Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine

Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine
  • "We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Frederiksen said
  • Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa

AARHUS, Denmark: Denmark promised on Thursday to push for Ukraine to join the EU, as the Nordic country welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the start of its six-month EU presidency.

Ukraine launched its bid to become an EU member in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion, but it has stalled because of opposition from Hungary.

"We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement, promising to mix increased military support to Kyiv with sanctions on Moscow.

Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Frederiksen has stressed the importance of European security, which she links to a strict migration policy, and the country has promised to push the agenda and champion Ukraine during its EU presidency.

The Aarhus meeting comes as the United States announced it would stop supplying some weapons to Ukraine, after President Donald Trump effectively nixed the country's attempts to join the NATO military alliance.

Russian strikes have intensified in the absence of progress on resolving the conflict, and the US moves have severely hampered Kyiv, which has relied on Western military support since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

"Ukraine is essential to Europe's security. Our contribution to Ukraine is also a protection of our freedom," Frederiksen said.

"Ukraine belongs in the European Union. It is in both Denmark's and Europe's interest. Therefore, the Danish EU presidency will do everything we can to help Ukraine on their way towards EU membership."

Denmark's Europe minister Marie Bjerre told reporters earlier on Thursday that Ukraine's EU membership bid was "very important for us".

"We are still trying to lift the resistance from Hungary," she said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Ukraine's membership of the EU would "ruin" the 27-nation bloc.

Using its veto power, Hungary has effectively frozen the accession process.

Ukraine has insisted it still hopes Budapest can be brought around, claiming intensive work is being done "behind the scenes".

The Danish government said discussions at the Aarhus meeting would include increased military support, cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry and new sanctions against Russia.

The Nordic nation has also made repeated calls for Europe to boost defence spending.

Denmark wants to move forward on a European plan presented in March to increase the defence capabilities of EU countries using simplified procedures and loans to finance investments in the European defence industry.

The Scandinavian country has already begun increasing its own defence spending, which now exceeds three percent of GDP.


Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director

Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director
Updated 56 min 36 sec ago
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Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director

Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director
  • Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, renowned cardiac surgeon, was killed in targeted Israeli airstrike
  • Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and health workers in Gaza since October 2023

JAKARTA/DUBAI: Israel’s assassination of Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, has sparked shock in Jakarta, with parliamentarians calling for new international accountability mechanisms to hold Israel legally responsible for its crimes in Gaza.

A renowned cardiac surgeon and one of Palestine’s most senior doctors, Dr. Al-Sultan graduated from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Hyderabad, Pakistan, in 2001.

He was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli airstrike on their temporary residence in northern Gaza on Wednesday.

His surviving daughter, Lubna, told the media that the missile “targeted his room exactly, right where he was.” Her testimony confirmed statements from the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee — which funded the Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia — that the attack was a targeted assassination.

“The attack on Dr. Marwan was utterly savage and barbaric,” Dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees, told Arab News.

“It was a shock to hear the news. I couldn’t believe it. He was the only heart specialist left in the north. This is a huge loss.”

The Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, one of the biggest health facilities in Gaza, was one of the first targeted by Israel when it started its deadly war on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.

Dr. Al-Sultan had never left his post, remaining with patients through multiple Israeli offensives on the hospital and personally overseeing repairs to restore essential services, MER-C said in a statement recalling how in December 2024, he evacuated the facility while under Israeli siege.

The moment was recorded on a mobile phone, showing Dr. Al-Sultan leaving only after he had ensured the safety of every patient.

The Indonesia Hospital opened in late 2015. Coordinated by MER-C, its construction and equipment were financed from donations of the Indonesian people, with dozens of engineers and builders volunteering to design and build the facility and to prepare its operations.

The killing of Dr. Al-Sultan has spurred outcry in Indonesia, with the government issuing an official condemnation and lawmakers from the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation calling on parliamentarians around the world to “push for international accountability mechanisms” to ensure that “crimes against humanity be immediately brought to international forums, including global parliamentary bodies, so that Israel can be held legally and morally accountable for its actions in Gaza.”

Israel has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 133,000 others, since October 2023. The true death toll is feared to be much higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent.

The study says the death toll may be even higher, as it does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to health care, caused by the Israeli military’s destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid.

Data from the UN and international health organizations shows that Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and medics in Gaza since October 2023.

Dr. Al-Sultan is the 70th health care worker to be killed in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch.

“He was a prominent medical figure, both as a heart specialist and director of the Indonesia Hospital,” Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of MER-C’s executive committee, told Arab News.

“We had feared that this could happen, but he had said that he would remain in Gaza and, if he were to be martyred, it would be in his homeland.”


Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine

Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine
Updated 03 July 2025
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Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine

Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine
  • Among the sites hit were a military enlistment office in the eastern city of Poltava and port infrastructure in the southern city of Odesa
  • The Ukrainian army reported there were “dead and wounded” at a recruitment office in Poltava

KYIV: Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens of others, Ukrainian officials said.

Among the sites hit were a military enlistment office in the eastern city of Poltava and port infrastructure in the southern city of Odesa.

Moscow has stepped up its drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks, with peace talks stalling and Kyiv’s key ally Washington signalling it could cut military support.

The warring sides last met for direct talks more than a month ago and no further meeting has been organized.

The Ukrainian army reported there were “dead and wounded” at a recruitment office in Poltava.

Emergency services posted images of buildings on fire and rescue workers at the scene of the strike.

“Two people were killed,” the emergency services said. The region’s police added 47 people were wounded.

In Odesa, two people were killed when “an Iskander missile” struck the seaport, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.

He added that six people had been wounded in the strike.

In Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, strikes killed four people, the regional prosecutor’s office said.

“At least nine apartment buildings, three garages, a shop facade and a power line were damaged in the settlements,” it added.

In Russia’s Lipetsk region, debris from a Ukrainian drone killed a woman and wounded two other people, its governor said Thursday.

The debris fell on a building in Lipetsk, which lies about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Moscow, killing a woman in her seventies, Igor Artamonov wrote on Telegram.