While the first presidential debate has been widely deemed a disaster and raised questions about the remaining scheduled political bouts, Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said that former Vice President Joe Biden should still gear up for the long haul.
However, Menendez called on the Commission on Presidential Debates to make some serious changes before the next scheduled rounds. Wednesday afternoon, the Commission announced it will rethink conditions of debates moving forward.
"I think there should be debates but there has to be a different system in which the moderator has to have some control because otherwise the American people get nothing and the nation is further humiliated," he told Cheddar.
"I thought the debate was a national disgrace," Menendez added, placing most of the blame on Trump's incessant interruptions during Biden's responses.
The Democratic senator has long been critical of the president but more so recently, taking him to task on the Senate floor over his reported tax payments of $750 in 2016 and 2017. Menendez said it is absolutely an issue that the American people are concerned about.
"I think no one is happy to pay taxes but they are certainly extremely unhappy when the president of the country pays nothing and they pay more than their fair share," he said.
Menendez also raised questions about the vast amount of debt the president reportedly holds and whether the lenders are foreign entities. "The American people deserve to know that. Several national security experts say that raises a serious national security question."
Like many of his fellow Democrats, Menedez also opposes Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling it a direct threat to the election and an unfair process to the American people.
"Millions of people are voting already. They should have a say in who nominates the next Supreme Court justice by virtue of being elected as president," he explained.
As more people use mail-in ballots in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump continues to undermine the legitimacy of the process, potentially setting up a Supreme Court battle that could decide the outcome of the election, but Menedez said that in America, "the people decide the election, not some justice on the Supreme Court."
"If this, in fact, nomination does come up for a vote, which it should not before the election, then I certainly would not be voting for her," Menedez said.
He also pointed to Barrett's position critical of the Supreme Court decision that upheld the Affordable Care Act and her potential ability to dismantle the national health care law as reasons to consider voting against her appointment to the bench.
While there wasn't much to celebrate following last night's debate, Menendez said currently he is enjoying Hispanic Heritage Month.
"Hispanic Heritage Month is important because it is a celebration of the contributions of a community that has had a history in our country since before the founding of the nation," he noted. "The largest minority, fastest-growing in the nation, a trillion-dollar domestic marketplace that comes from the community; and so, these are all the elements that we celebrate at this time every year."
Born to Cuban immigrant parents, who fled to New York City and later relocated to Union City, N.J. in the 1950s, Menendez said the values instilled in him as a young man by his parents carved the path he's currently on, ultimately leading him to become just the sixth Latino person to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Survivors of the Parkland School Shooting along with activists from March For Our Lives set up on the National Mall on Thursday. Their demonstration displayed 1,100 bodybags that spelled out the phrase “Thoughts and Prayers” to remind lawmakers that condolences are not enough and to push for action on guns. Each bag represented 150 lives lost due to gun violence. Trevon Bosley, a board member of March For Our Lives, joined Cheddar News to discuss the organization's return to Washington, DC. "The main thing bringing us back is that we have not seen anything being done on the national level for gun violence.” Bosley said. “We’re not seeing anything changed, and we’re not seeing lives being saved”
UK's prince William and his wife were met by protesters during their visit to Jamaica. Cheddar News speaks with political strategist Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who explains why the country's path to independence is relevant to Americans.
As President Biden travels to Europe this week amid Russia's ongoing invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former Bush administration State Department official David Tafuri, joined Cheddar News to discuss the president's stop in Brussels, Belgium, to coordinate with NATO leaders efforts to dissuade Russian President Putin's war. "The maintenance of sanctions and increasingly ratcheting up the sanctions is what he thinks will cause a country like Russia to back off," Tafuri said of Biden. "And so he's committed to that strategy."
John Logan, Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the growing unionization push by employees at Starbucks and Amazon, and the wider implications of employee organization at these big companies.
Cheddar's Arielle Hixson sat down with five Black women making history as part of the Biden administration's communications team. Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary; Khanya Brann, the chief of staff to Kate Bedingfield; Amanda Finney, the chief of staff to Jen Psaki; Erica Loewe, the director of African American media; and Rykia Dorsey, the senior regional communications director, shared their stories.
President Biden has embarked on a crucial trip to meet with allies in Belgium and Poland to discuss new sanctions on Russia as it continues to wage war on Ukraine. The president will seek to address the growing humanitarian crisis out of Ukraine, demonstrate a united Western front against Russia, and reassure Ukraine that it has support from the U.S. Joel Rubin, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State & President of the Washington Strategy Group, breaks down what to expect from the President's crucial visit to Europe.
Catching you up on what you need to know Mar 24, 2022, with NATO meeting updates, Ukraine retaking suburbs around Kyiv, the spread of omicron subvariant BA.2 in China, Google Pay launching a third-party billing option, and a 16-year-old is suspected of being the Lapsus$ mastermind behind hacks of Microsoft and others.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in 52 years as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and an ongoing virus pandemic.
Alicia Garza joined Cheddar News to talk about the Black Futures Lab where serves as founder and principal. The non-profit organization seeks to develop grassroots power in the Black community with projects like the Black Census, which takes into account the granular experiences of the demographic. "What we know about Black folks and the reason that we decided to focus on black communities again, it's because we're being left out and left behind their stories being told about us without our input and without our shaping," she said. "If we want a robust democracy in this country, we have to change that equation." Garza also touched on issues around voter suppression and the midterm elections.
