Biden news: White House defends ‘Neanderthal’ slur of GOP states, as Trump shifts blame for Senate loss

Donald Trump has told allies he is serious about running for president in 2024, something the former president hinted at during the Conservative Political Action Conference last Sunday.

However it is understood if he does make a come back, close aides are encouraging him to pick a running mate who will help him attract voters he lost in 2020 and not stick with his former vice-president Mike Pence, as reported by Bloomberg.

A few names have already been thrown into the hat, such as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Republican Kristi Noem, who has previously defended Trump’s legacy as president.

Trump’s relationship with Pence has been strained ever since the violence at the US Capitol on January 6 where supporters of the former president raided the building.

Pence, his family and multiple other politicians were forced to flee the building. Trump and Pence did not speak to each other for days after the incident amid reports the incident in the Capitol has caused a fissure in their relationship.

Georgia governor Brian Kemp has said that he would “absolutely” support Donald Trump if he became the 2024 Republican nominee, despite the former president calling for his resignation late last year.

The 57-year-old Republican said he “worked very hard for the president” and thought his ideas would be part of the party “for a long time in the future”, in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.

James Crump reports

The governor of Mississippi has likened Joe Biden’s comments over his decision to scrap mask mandates as “neanderthal thinking” to being “called deplorable” by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The president criticised governors in Texas and Mississippi for loosening Covid restrictions and ending mask mandates, describing the moves as “neanderthal thinking.”

Speaking on Fox News, Republican governor Tate Reeves said: “Today I feel the same way as I did the day that Hillary Clinton called all of us in middle of America deplorables when president Biden said that we were all neanderthals.”

“It struck me as someone who needs to get out of Washington DC and actually travel to middle America.”

Louise Hall has the details

Jacob Chansley, known as the ‘QAnon Shaman’ during the Capitol riot, has spoken out and said how disappointed he is not to be given a pardon from former President Donald Trump.

Speaking from behind bars to 60 minutes, he said: “I developed a lot of sympathy for Donald Trump because it seemed like the media was picking on him and seemed like the establishment was going after him unnecessarily or unfairly, and I had been a victim of that all of my life, whether it be in school or at home.

“So in many ways I identify with a lot of the negative things that he was going through.”

He added: “I honestly believed and still believe that he cares about the Constitution, that he cares about the American people, and that’s also why and you know it wounded me so deeply and why it disappointed me so greatly that I and others did not get a pardon.” 

Donald Trump is reportedly considering ditching Mike Pence as his running mate for a 2024 presidential run and replacing him with a person of colour or a woman.

Three sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday that Mr Trump, who left office on 20 January after losing 3 November’s election to Joe Biden, is telling his aides that he is strongly considering running for president again in 2024, writes The Independent’s James Crump

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has warned that a compromise brokered between President Joe Biden’s administration and “conservative” Democrats on relief checks for Americans was “an own-goal”.

Democrats on Wednesday decided to more narrowly target $1,400 direct payments to households to Americans earning up to $80,000, with payments phasing out at $75,000.

The decision has drawn the ire of AOC who said on Twitter: “Conservative Dems have fought so the Biden admin sends fewer & less generous relief checks than the Trump admin did.

“It’s a move that makes little-to-no political or economic sense, and targets an element of relief that is most tangibly felt by everyday people. An own-goal.”

Chris Riotta has all the details

The Colorado representative appeared on Real America’s Voice, a right-leaning media network, where she lashed out at the Equality Act.

Ms Boebert claimed that “there is nothing about equality” in the act, adding: “If anything, it’s supremacy—of gays, lesbians” before pausing and mispronouncing the word “transvestite,” in an apparent reference to transgender people.

The Independent’s Louise Hall looks at the rapid online backlash Boebert received, with many condemning the remarks.

Joe Biden will meet with House members on Thursday as the president looks to move onto his next major initiative after the $1.9 trn Covid relief bill.

VP Kamala Harris and transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg are expected to join the eight members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, according to The Washington Post.

Capitol Police made the request for the 5000 troops to remain in city well into the spring, citing continued security concerns, according to AP.

The city is on heightened alert today over a QAnon theory that claims 4 March is the date Donald Trump will be inaugurated.

Story to follow.

Thousands of National Guard troops will continue to be deployed at the Capitol for at least the next two months, as lawmakers face ongoing threats in the wake of the 6 January insurrection.

The House of Representatives worked late into the evening on Wednesday to wrap up its work so members could avoid going into the legislature on Thursday amid active threats from a right-wing “militia” group and QAnon conspiracy theorists planned for this weekend.

The US Capitol Police — the legislative branch security force charged with securing the Capitol complex and protecting members of Congress — has asked for a 60-day extension of the current National Guard troop deployment that expires on 12 March.

Griffin Connolly goes deeping into this breaking story.