Primary season is in full swing for the eight Democrats hoping to cinch the nomination, but, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gains steam, critics warn his rise to the top could aid President Donald Trump's re-election.
Andy Puzder, former CEO of CKE Restaurants and a Republican once tapped to be President Donald Trump's Labor Secretary, told Cheddar Monday that a Sanders nomination would be a win for Republicans, arguing the Vermont Senator won't appeal to his own party's moderates.
"I think he's kind of hurt the Democratic party in two ways. One is if he's the nominee, there are a lot of moderate Democrats, a lot of Democrats in business who can't vote from him," due to his economic policies, said Puzder, who is now a senior fellow of public policy at Pepperdine University. He added, "If he's not the nominee, I don't see those Bernie supporters, the Bernie troops, out there voting for Mike Bloomberg, even if Mike Bloomberg is the nominee."
While Sanders pulls a devoted crowd of supporters who want to see some of his non-mainstream ideas come to fruition (think: Medicare-for-All), none of the moderate Democrats have been able to solidify the same type of support and seem to be splitting the moderate vote in early contests.
Former Vice President Joe Biden last weekend suggested a Sanders nomination could hurt candidates down-ballot who may not align with a far-left platform. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren echoed those concerns.
Puzder also noted the strong economy that has manifested during the Trump administration. "I don't see anybody on that stage that has a reasonable chance of defeating an incumbent president in a good economy."
Citing a number of major polls, Puzder said a majority of Americans "think they're going to be better off economically next year than they are this year." If that's the case, he asked, would those people "vote for a guy who's going to blow up the economy?"
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
