Good morning. How is it only Wednesday?
NATO leaders convened in Washington yesterday for the 75th NATO summit. Leaders will discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, challenges posed by China and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. If that wasn’t enough, there is uncertainty that President Joe Biden, the most powerful member of the alliance, will be able to beat his predecessor and NATO skeptic Donald Trump. Biden has said skeptical voters, politicians and the media should look to his interactions at the NATO summit as proof that he will be able to not only beat Trump in November, but lead the country for another four years. Biden opened the conference with a speech yesterday that carried importance on the global and the domestic stages.
Minnesota is one of six states to move toward Trump in the Cook Political Report’s Electoral College Ratings. The group updated its outlook for Minnesota and its 10 electoral college votes from “Likely Democratic” to “Leans Democratic.” They aren’t the only group to do so following Biden’s debate performance. Sabato’s Crystal Ball also updated Minnesota to “Leans Democratic.” Last week, CNN’s Jeff Zeleny called Minnesota the “reddest blue state” and predicted considerable money and candidate time in the state no matter if Biden remains or is replaced. In the 2016 presidential election, Minnesota was the narrowest loss for Donald Trump.
Nikki Haley released her delegates so they can back Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention next week. The 97 delegates Haley won through primaries and caucuses earlier this year is a move that goes toward solidifying GOP support around the party’s presumptive nominee. In a statement, Haley encouraged her delegates to support Trump. “We need a president who will hold our enemies to account, secure our borders, cut our debt and get our economy back on track,” Haley said. Throughout her presidential run, Haley was critical of Trump campaigning on the fact that she would offer Republicans an alternative to the former president.
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips has finally weighed in on the Biden debate debacle. Phillips ran a longshot campaign against Biden in the primaries, arguing that Biden was too old to serve a second term. He was the only elected Democrat to challenge Biden. Phillips told reporters in Washington yesterday, “If this is vindication, vindication has never been so unfulfilling.” Phillips stopped short of fully calling on Biden to withdraw and said he would make his perspective clear in the coming days.
A White House physician says visits by a neurologist were a part of Biden’s physicals. In a letter issued Monday, the White House physician wrote that neurological specialists had only visited Biden during his three routine physicals. Other visits by the specialist to the White House were to treat military personnel who experience neurological issues related to their service. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that a neurologist has visited the White House eight times in the past eight months, according to visitor logs.
Tune in to MPR News with Angela Davis at 9 a.m. today to hear from a doctor who specializes in aging and a political analyst. Biden’s recent debate performance continues to raise questions about his mental sharpness. Angela and guests will talk about the kinds of changes to cognitive skills that are typically age-related versus symptoms of something more serious and will explore possible next steps for Biden’s re-election bid.
The Minnesota House is losing another member with the resignation of a longtime Republican lawmaker. State Representative Pat Garofalo of Farmington says he'll leave his seat after Sunday. He previously said he wouldn't seek an 11th term. His departure won't change the party balance in the Legislature for now and his seat is considered relatively safe for Republicans. Two other resignations since the end of session have reduced the ranks to 68 Democrats and 63 Republicans. All House seats are on November's ballot.
The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board meets today and on its agenda is an interesting advisory opinion. It covers the extent of advocacy regulated by disclosure rules and goes into many hypotheticals that are close to reality. The upshot is that an outside group wants to know precisely where the boundary is so it can walk right up to it in future elections.
New AI security measures at the Mall of America have some people concerned. Mall operators recently launched new facial recognition technology to help identify people who could post a security risk to mall patrons or businesses. Sarah Thamer reports that officials say the system relies on technology from Corsight, a private Israeli company, and is integrated with security cameras located in key areas. Some lawyers are worried the technology will misidentify and target people of color. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are concerned, too. DFL Sen. Omar Fateh and Republican Sen. Eric Lucero cited concerns about privacy and data storage. | 