Trump returns to campaign trail with VP deadline nearing amid calls for Biden to withdraw

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By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is getting back on the campaign trail Tuesday, rallying voters in his home state at his flagship golf resort in a celebratory mood as Democrats face tough calls over President Joe Biden’s reelection chances.

Trump is nearing a deadline to announce his running mate but appears in no rush as much of the attention is still centered on questions about Biden’s ability to govern for another four-year term. Some Democrats have started calling for Biden to step down as their presumptive nominee following his dismal debate performance last month.

Both Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, are at least two decades older than most American presidents have been, according to the Pew Research Center, which said the median age for all U.S. presidents on their first inauguration is 55 years old. But that has not stopped Trump from arguing he is stronger than Biden, who repeatedly stumbled, paused and could not complete sentences at times during the June 27 debate. Trump was criticized by Democrats for making false statements during the debate about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and suggesting immigrants entering the U.S. illegally were taking so-called “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.”

In an interview Monday with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, Trump said he thought Biden “might very well stay in” the race. “Nobody to wants to give that up that way,” Trump added. “He is going to feel badly about himself for a long time. It’s hard to give it up that way, the way where they’re trying to force him out.”

In the Miami suburb of Doral, Trump will underscore his strong support in a former battleground state that has now shifted toward the GOP. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami native and one of the contenders for the vice presidential post, will be attending the rally along with other Florida politicians.

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Kevin Cabrera, a Miami-Dade County commissioner who was Florida state director for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and is set to speak at the rally, said to expect an “overwhelming show of unity.”

“The rally will display our unified front, showcasing a stark contrast to the Democrats, who are lost and fighting with each other over Biden’s health and ability to continue,” Cabrera said.

The presumptive GOP nominee will also touch on Biden’s handling of immigration and the economy, highlighting the rise in home prices and goods. Trump will also talk about how Florida is affected by the increasing arrivals of immigrants as the final destination for many people illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The leadership crisis among Democrats has perhaps given Trump a reason to wait for his VP announcement so as to not draw attention away from Biden’s woes. Senior advisers and key allies say they still don’t know whom Trump will choose as his running mate, and many believe the choice is still in flux.

Speaking on MSNBC Monday, Biden criticized Trump for not having held events since the debate and suggested he had been “riding around in his golf cart.”

Biden says he won’t step aside. But if he does, here’s why Harris is the favorite to replace him

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By WILL WEISSERT and BILL BARROW Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden insists that only “the Lord Almighty” can convince him to quit the presidential race. But should he change his mind, Vice President Kamala Harris is by far the best positioned to replace him.

Harris would have a head start over several of the most discussed Democratic alternatives like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She’s already been on a winning presidential ticket with Biden, has years of goodwill banked with core party constituencies and would likely control a huge campaign fund amassed by the Biden reelection.

Here’s a closer look at her prospects in a potential open primary:

She’d be Biden’s most natural endorsement

The president easily locked up the Democratic nomination and party rules prevent him from simply transferring the delegates he amassed during next month’s Democratic National Convention. But a number of delegates have already suggested they’d be loyal to Harris.

Biden picking Harris could limit potential chaos and avoid floor fights that do lasting damage to whoever emerges to take on Republican Donald Trump.

“Harris makes the most sense to carry on the Biden legacy,” said Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist who works closely with various state parties and stressed that the question was purely hypothetical since Biden insists he won’t bow out.

Feldman added that the Biden administration’s agenda “has been tremendously popular in terms of the issues that they’ve championed” and that the president and Harris have “been doing that in partnership.”

Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist, noted that voters four years ago put 78-year-old Biden in the Oval Office knowing Harris was next in line, and that Biden warded off primary challengers this year at age 81 with Democratic voters knowing Harris remained his second-in-command.

“Democrats have voted for Joe Biden with Kamala Harris,” Seawright said.

Challenging Harris as Biden’s alternative is risky

Harris is the first woman to serve as vice president as well as the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent. African Americans are Democrats’ largest and most loyal bloc of supporters.

Bypassing a historic No. 2 for anyone else — even a popular alternative from a key swing state — would already be difficult. Being seen as leading the charge against someone who broke gender and racial barriers could forever mark the challenger as disloyal in future Democratic primaries.

Glynda Carr, who leads the Higher Heights political action committee which supports Black female candidates across the country, said that public suggestions that Harris could be bypassed for another top Democrat in Biden’s absence shows “just how much Black women are oftentimes overlooked.”

“You want Black women to organize our houses, our blocks, our churches, our sororities?” Carr asked. “Then we’ve got to stand by our leadership.”

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas said it is “impossible to understate” what it means for Black women to see Harris hold national office.

Democrats with national ambitions may not want a rushed campaign

Since Biden’s disastrous debate, Democrats have mentioned a parade of top alternatives who could run in the president’s place. In addition to Whitmer and Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker have been the subject of rumors. All of them have said they’ll continue to back Biden.

But, in dozens of interviews, Democratic operatives, pollsters and elected officials report that there has not been the kind of furious political jockeying for support for someone other than Harris at the convention that would be necessary if Biden were to step aside. Any such discussions have occurred quietly and preliminarily and would almost certainly be forced out in the open if Biden were to leave the race, making continuing them more difficult.

“Everyone would rather be a starter than a pinch hitter,” Feldman said.

For instance, Democratic fundraising bundler Barry Goodman, a Michigan attorney who was a finance co-chairman for both of Whitmer’s statewide campaigns, said he did not know of any coordinated effort on the governor’s part to rally support.

Harris will have money to start

Further possibly helping to smooth a switch from Biden to Harris is campaign finances. The vice president, as his official running mate, can access the $91 million cash on hand the president’s campaign has raised — which grows to $240 million when including allied Democratic organizations — in ways Democratic alternatives likely can’t.

For his part, Trump is already attempting to energize donors with the idea that Democrats could swap out Biden for Harris. The former president sent fundraising emails Monday titled “Biden’s dropping out” and “President Kamala Harris?”

Her legal background might resonate more than it once did

At 59, the vice president is 22 years Biden’s junior. A former prosecutor, she can deliver a withering attack in a debate — as Biden himself once faced during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary when Harris tore into him over his onetime opposition to school busing as a means of desegregation.

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The vice president’s legal background might also hew more closely to the ideals of today’s Democratic Party, which has largely moved to the center on criminal justice and law-and-order messaging in recent years after nationwide protests against racial injustice in 2020 helped energize the “defund the police” movement.

Biden has seen his approval rating fall sharply among Black Americans, a trend Harris would hope to reverse before November. Still, Biden has long struggled with low approval ratings among Americans more generally and the vice president doesn’t fare much better.

About 39% of U.S. adults have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the vice president, which is in line with Biden’s 40% favorability. But an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in June found that slightly fewer have an unfavorable view of Harris, 49% compared to Biden’s 57%.

Harris has a 62% favorability among Black Americans compared to 37% for Hispanic Americans and 35% for white Americans. Those are all similar to Biden’s, though there could be more opportunity for her to shape opinions. Roughly 12% of U.S. adults said they aren’t familiar enough with Harris to give an opinion, whereas nearly everyone has an opinion of Biden.

Barrow reported from New Orleans. Associated Press Polling Editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report.

Lunds in downtown St. Paul cuts five hours per day

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A decade after opening with fanfare in downtown St. Paul, the Lunds grocery store on 10th Street is reducing its hours by more than a third and reducing key offerings, including shifting from a butcher counter to self-service in its deli, meat and seafood departments.

The reduction in operating hours — a loss of five hours per day — represents a setback for a downtown short on options for produce and grocery store staples, especially at a time when downtown leaders, including the mayor’s office, have sought to increase population by converting underused commercial buildings into housing. Lunds, which opened in 2014 adjoining the luxury Penfield apartments, is the last remaining grocer in downtown St. Paul.

The new daily hours of operation — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. — will be effective July 15, according to Lunds officials. The store is currently open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The Caribou Coffee inside the store will remain open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

News of the reduction in store hours and offerings has spread quickly on social media channels, leading to widespread speculation that Lunds was reacting to limited foot traffic in the evening hours, shoplifting, a shift to remote work among the customer base or increased competition from online delivery. Several self-described customers said the grocery was too pricey for the area, which includes a mix of market-rate housing, such as the Penfield apartments next door, and affordable, low-income and shelter housing.

“I’m in that Lunds nearly every day,” said a self-described customer on the platform X. “They have a cop stationed there and closed one entrance. I’m thinking this is more about poor sales than theft.”

“This store gets about a third of my grocery spend,” wrote another customer. “I don’t believe theft as much as the Lunds product line not matching the neighborhood. $120 turkeys at Thanksgiving for a moderate income area with mostly 1- and 2-person households was a poor merchandising decision.”

“The only downtown grocery store in St. Paul just cut its operations by 35%,” wrote yet another customer. “An absolute shame.”

A Lunds spokesman on Monday did not address the question directly but issued a written statement.

“We have a long tradition of serving our communities by providing a shopping experience with the highest levels of quality and service in stores that are clean, well-maintained, and safe for both our guests and our team members,” reads the statement. “In our ongoing efforts to ensure this tradition continues, we are making key operational updates at our Downtown St. Paul store … to maintain the viability of this location. … We are confident these changes will help us continue to provide exceptional service to our customers while also ensuring the store’s financial sustainability.”

Lunds officials said no team members will be laid off but “a limited number” of employees will be transferred to other Lunds & Byerlys locations.

The Lunds workforce is unionized. A spokesperson for United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 1189 could not be reached for comment Monday.

Store officials said there are no changes planned for the food bar offerings, which are already offered in a self-service format.

A divided St. Paul City Council voted in 2012 to take a $62 million gamble on the 254-unit Penfield apartments, where construction had stalled during the recession. After acquiring the site, the city backed its continued development, leading to a profitable sale to Jones Lang LaSalle in 2016. Lunds opened in 2014 in a 27,000 square foot commercial space on the building’s first floor.

An arson fire in March 2022 caused more than $500,000 in damage, but the store was able to soon reopen. A St. Paul with a lengthy criminal history was later convicted. He received probation.

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Support for legal abortion has risen since Supreme Court eliminated protections, poll finds

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By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A solid majority of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban as a rising number support access to abortions for any reason, a new poll finds, highlighting a politically perilous situation for candidates who oppose abortion rights as the November election draws closer.

Around 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don’t want to be pregnant for any reason, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s an increase from June 2021, a year before the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure, when about half of Americans thought legal abortion should be possible under these circumstances.

Americans are largely opposed to the strict bans that have taken effect in Republican-controlled states since the high court’s ruling two years ago. Full bans, with limited exceptions, have gone into effect in 14 GOP-led states, while three other states prohibit abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, before women often realize they’re pregnant.

They are also overwhelmingly against national abortion bans and restrictions. And views toward abortion — which have long been relatively stable — may be getting more permissive.

Vincent Wheeler, a 47-year-old Republican from Los Angeles, said abortion should be available for any reason until viability, the point at which health care providers say it’s possible for a fetus to survive outside the uterus.

“There’s so many reasons as to why someone may want or need an abortion that it has to be up to that person of what they have to do in that specific circumstance,” Wheeler said, acknowledging that some fellow Republicans might disagree.

Likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has declined to endorse a nationwide abortion ban, saying the issue should be left up to the states. But even that stance is likely to be unsatisfying to most Americans, who continue to oppose many bans on abortion within their own state, and think Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to abortions nationwide, according to the poll.

Seven in 10 Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, a slight increase from last year, while about 3 in 10 think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

Robert Hood, a 69-year-old from Universal City, Texas, who identifies as an “independent liberal,” has believed that abortions should be allowed for any reason since he was an 18-year-old high school senior, because “life is full of gray situations.” He recalls reading stories as a teenager about women who died trying to get an abortion before the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision provided a constitutional right to the procedure.

“Pregnancy is complicated,” he said. “Women should make the choice with the advice of their doctor and family, but at the end of the day it’s her choice and her body and her life.”

He said he would support national protections for abortion rights.

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Views on abortion have long been nuanced and sometimes contradictory. The new AP-NORC survey shows that even though the country is largely antagonistic to restrictions on abortion, a substantial number of people hold opinions and values that are not internally consistent.

About half of those who say a woman should be able to get an abortion for any reason also say their state should not allow abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy and about one-quarter say their state should not allow abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

But the vast majority of Americans — more than 8 in 10 — continue to say abortion should be legal in extreme circumstances, such as when a patient’s life would be endangered by continuing the pregnancy. About 8 in 10 say the same about a pregnancy caused by rape or incest or when a fetal anomaly would prevent the child from surviving outside the womb.

National bans on abortion are broadly unpopular: Around 8 in 10 Americans say Congress should not pass a federal law banning abortion. About three-quarters say there should not be a federal law banning abortion at six weeks, and 6 in 10 oppose a federal law banning abortion at 15 weeks.

Most Republicans — about two-thirds, according to the survey — say a nationwide abortion ban should not happen.

On the campaign trail, Trump has courted anti-abortion voters by highlighting his appointment of three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe. But his strategy on abortion policy has been to defer to the states, an attempt to find a more cautious stance on an issue that has become a major vulnerability for Republicans since the 2022 Dobbs decision.

Despite Trump’s statements, Penny Johnson, 73, from Sherman Oaks, California, said she is deeply afraid Republicans might pursue a national abortion ban if they win the White House and Congress in November.

“We’ll have a lot of women who’ll die,” she said.

The poll of 1,088 adults was conducted June 20-24, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press polling writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.