Trump calls Biden ‘lying machine’ and ‘fact checker’s dream’ as CNN debate looms: Live

Former Donald Trump adviser and far-right streamer Steve Bannon is getting help from House Republicans as he tries to avoid jail time.

At least one House Republican has gone directly to the Supreme Court to support Bannon’s last-ditch appeal to avoid having to turn himself into federal prison authorities on July 1.

House Speaker Mike Johnson — whom Bannon once called a “revolting loser” — also is working with GOP leadership to file a brief to a federal appeals court to undermine Bannon’s conviction for contempt of Congress, after he defied a subpoena from a congressional committee investigating January 6.

Alex Woodward reports.

...but CNN’s Boris Sanchez isn’t buying it.

The FBI has arrested Troy Garrett for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

He marched with Proud Boys leaders that morning in Washington, DC, and later was captured on video shoving a police officer while others tried to take his riot shield.

Per Quinnipiac University’s latest poll of registered voters:

A majority of voters (55 per cent) think Donald Trump should not be sentenced to prison based on the guilty verdict in the New York City criminal trial against him in connection to charges of falsifying business records, including a hush money payment to an adult film actress, while 40 per cent think he should be sentenced to prison.

Republicans (92 - 4 per cent) and independents (59 - 36 per cent) think Trump should not be sentenced to prison based on this guilty verdict, while Democrats (79 - 17 per cent) think he should be sentenced to prison.

Voters were asked how it would impact their vote if Trump were given a prison sentence. Among Trump voters, a majority (59 per cent) say if he were given a prison sentence it would not make a difference to their vote, 36 per cent say they would be more likely to vote for him, and 4 per cent say they would be less likely to vote for him.

It’s a different story for Hunter Biden though...

Fifty-one per cent of voters think President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, should be sentenced to prison after a jury found him guilty of lying on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs, while 38 per cent think he should not be sentenced to prison.

Republicans (61 - 28 per cent) and independents (50 - 39 per cent) think Hunter Biden should be sentenced to prison based on this guilty verdict. Among Democrats, 48 per cent think he should not be sentenced to prison, while 42 per cent think he should be sentenced to prison.

What version of Donald Trump will show up on the debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday night? We’re all used to the angry, bombastic, grievance-driven persona that comes across through social media — and the more jokey version that shows up at rallies — but what if he acts professionally and disciplined?

The Biden team has been considering that, per CNN:

Biden aides are gearing up for what they believe is the very real possibility that “a very disciplined” Trump may step onto the debate stage, one senior adviser involved in the preparations told CNN, in what would mark a stark contrast from the unhinged former president that created chaos during the first Biden-Trump debate four years ago.

In that face-off in September 2020, Trump memorably unleashed a torrent of insults, interruptions and long-winded rambling answers that made it, at times, nearly impossible for the moderator to keep the debate under control.

But as this one Biden adviser put it, the president’s team believes that Trump’s presidential campaign has been far more disciplined this time around than in 2020 or 2016, in no small part at the direction of political operatives like Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, and that that could result in Trump being relatively restrained on Thursday.

Most US adults plan to watch some element of Thursday’s presidential debate and many think the event will be important for the campaigns of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Both men remain broadly unpopular as they prepare to face off for the first time since 2020, although Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, maintains a modest enthusiasm advantage with his base compared to Biden, the Democratic incumbent.

About 6 in 10 US adults say they are “extremely” or “very” likely to watch the debate live or in clips, or read about or listen to commentary about the performance of the candidates in the news or social media.

Read more...

Voters were asked how important each of eight issues is in their decision of who to support in the election for president...

• preserving democracy in the United States: 51 percent say extremely important, 31 percent say very important, 12 percent say somewhat important, 2 percent say not so important, and 3 percent say not important at all;
• the economy: 45 percent say extremely important, 41 percent say very important, 12 percent say somewhat important, 1 percent say not so important, and 1 percent say not important at all;
• the United States Supreme Court: 38 percent say extremely important, 34 percent say very important, 17 percent say somewhat important, 4 percent say not so important, and 5 percent say not important at all;
• immigration: 35 percent say extremely important, 33 percent say very important, 22 percent say somewhat important, 5 percent say not so important, and 4 percent say not important at all;
• abortion: 29 percent say extremely important, 28 percent say very important, 20 percent say somewhat important, 8 percent say not so important, and 12 percent say not important at all;
• Donald Trump’s felony conviction in New York City: 23 percent say extremely important, 16 percent say very important, 11 percent say somewhat important, 10 percent say not so important, and 38 percent say not important at all;
• climate change: 21 percent say extremely important, 25 percent say very important, 21 percent say somewhat important, 12 percent say not so important, and 20 percent say not important at all;
• the Israel - Hamas war in Gaza: 18 percent say extremely important, 32 percent say very important, 30 percent say somewhat important, 8 percent say not so important, and 9 percent say not important at all.

Adam Kinzinger, the former Illinois Republican congressman, has announced he is endorsing Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024 and attacked the incumbent’s Republican challenger Donald Trump as a threat to American democracy.

Describing himself as a “proud conservative” in a new social media video explaining his decision, the former representative sought to carve out a path for other anti-Trump Republicans to follow his example and reject the GOP contender at the ballot box in November.

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

Just a day before President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, Trump has a slight lead over Biden 49-45 per cent in a head-to-head matchup, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters released today.

This is a small change from Quinnipiac University’s May 22 poll when the race was too close to call with Biden receiving 48 percent support and Trump receiving 47 percent support.

In today’s poll, Republicans (93-4 per cent) and independents (51-41 per cent) back Trump, while Democrats (94-4 per cent) back Biden.

In a six-way hypothetical race that includes other candidates, Trump leads with 43 per cent support, Biden receives 37 per cent support, independent candidate Robert F Kennedy, Jr. receives 11 per cent support, Green Party candidate Jill Stein receives 2 per cent support, independent candidate Cornel West receives 2 per cent support, and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver receives 1 per cent support.

More than 7 in 10 voters (73 per cent) think it is likely that they will watch the televised debate between Biden and Trump tomorrow night on CNN, while 25 per cent of voters think it is unlikely that they will watch.

When voters who chose a candidate were asked whether they would be open to the possibility of changing their choice for president based on the debate performances, 16 per cent said they were open to the possibility, while 82 per cent said they were not.

Thirteen per cent of voters supporting Biden, 12 per cent of voters supporting Trump, and 32 per cent of voters supporting Kennedy say they are open to the possibility of changing their choice for president based on the debate performances.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito blasted the Supreme Court for rejecting claims that President Joe Biden unlawfully coerced social media companies to remove disinformation on their platforms.

Alito, whose dissent was joined by justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, argued that the Biden administration impeded on the “free marketplace of ideas” by preventing “dissenting views” on Covid-19, posing a “serious threat” to the First Amendment.

In her opinion in Murthy v Missiouri for the court’s majority on Wednesday, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Republican-led states and social media users had failed to show they were harmed by any government actions.

Alex Woodward reports.