Biden derides ‘feeble, confused and tired’ Trump for comparing himself to Jesus

Oliver O'Connell,Gustaf Kilander and Joe Sommerlad

March 27, 2024 at 5:56 AM·43 min read

President Joe Biden has ridiculed his Republican predecessor Donald Trump after the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee compared himself to Jesus Christ on social media.

“Received this morning – Beautiful thank you!” Mr Trump wrote before quoting a supporter who apparently sent him a message reading: “It’s ironic that Christ walked through His greatest persecution the very week that they are trying to steal your property from you.”

The post then quoted from Psalm 109: 3-8: “They have also fought against me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.”

Mr Biden’s campaign wasted no time in ridiculing his opponent’s ludicrous and self-serving Messiah complex, deriding Mr Trump as “feeble, confused and tired” and adding: “He spent the weekend golfing, the morning comparing himself to Jesus, and the afternoon lying about having money he definitely doesn’t have.”

The president has been much more forthcoming in attacking the Republican with humour in recent weeks, mocking Mr Trump’s costly legal woes and boasts about winning a golf tournament over the weekend with sarcastic applause and the comment: “Quite an accomplishment.”

Key Points

Biden derides ‘feeble, confused and tired’ Trump for comparing himself to Jesus
Trump promises to ‘put up the cash’ as he's granted more time to produce bond
President mocks Trump for boasting about winning golf awards at his own club
Kamala Harris roasted after she claps along to protest song – before realising they’re protesting against her

Watch live: Trump expected in court for trial date hearing in New York hush money case

Monday 25 March 2024 13:30 , Oliver Browning

Watch live from New York ahead of Monday’s latest hearing in the hush money case facing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The former president is expected to attend court in Manhattan for what is set to be the final hearing before the criminal case goes to trial.

Mr Trump will ask to delay or dismiss the proceedings on charges stemming from hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, citing thousands of pages of potential evidence about witness Michael Cohen that prosecutors only turned over a matter of weeks ago.

The case, which was initially scheduled to begin jury selection on Monday, has already been adjourned for 30 days by Judge Juan Merchan to allow for time to respond to those filings.

Mr Cohen, Mr Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer, made payments to Ms Daniels and Ms McDougal to buy their silence ahead of the 2016 presidential election about sexual encounters they said they had with the candidate a decade earlier – affairs Mr Trump denies.

Judge Merchan’s decision will set the course for what could be the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.

Mr Trump, the Republican candidate expected to challenge Joe Biden in the November election, has pleaded not guilty and has called the case a politically-motivated “witch hunt” against him.

Supreme Court again confronts the issue of abortion, this time over access to widely used medication

Monday 25 March 2024 14:00 , Mark Sherman

The Supreme Court will again wade into the fractious issue of abortion this week when it hears arguments over a medication used in the most common way to end a pregnancy, a case with profound implications for millions of women no matter where they live in America and, perhaps, for the race for the White House.

Two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and cleared the way for bans or severe restrictions on abortion in many Republican-led states, abortion opponents on Tuesday will ask the high court to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to the medication mifepristone, which was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States last year.

That decision to reverse Roe had immediate political consequences, with Democrats making the case that the court had taken away a right that women held for half a century and winning elections as a result. Even conservative-leaning states like Kansas and Ohio voted against abortion restrictions. If the court were to uphold restrictions on medication abortions it could roil the election landscape in races for Congress and the presidency.

Chuck Todd admonishes his bosses on-air over NBC hiring Ronna McDaniel

Monday 25 March 2024 14:23 , John Bowden

NBC News political director isn’t ready to defend his network’s hiring of former GOP chief Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst.

On Sunday, he made sure his bosses — and everybody else — knew it.

Ms McDaniel’s hiring as a paid contributor at NBC News this past week was reported to have made a number of journalists at the network uncomfortable. As Meet the Press turned to its panel segment on Sunday morning, Todd vocalised those objections in a fiery admonition of NBC brass, whom he said owed moderator Kristen Welker an apology for booking Ms McDaniel as one of her interviews for Sunday’s programme.

Welker’s interview with Ms McDaniel touched on several topics including her leadership of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Her tenure as RNC chair came to an end this year after Donald Trump endorsed her removal following the South Carolina primary.

VIDEO: Donald Trump appears in New York court for hearing in hush money case

Monday 25 March 2024 14:24 , Natalie Chinn

Donald Trump lashes out as clock runs down on his $464m bond payment

Monday 25 March 2024 14:30 , Oliver O’Connell

The clock is ticking.

On Monday, Donald Trump will face a reckoning with the legal system as he never has before.

Alongside his four criminal cases - totalling 88 charges - the civil fraud case against the former president, his adult sons Don Jr and Eric, the Trump Organization and two of its executives, seems somewhat underplayed.

It does, however, go someway to undoing two of the greatest myths about Mr Trump which helped propel him into the public eye as a real estate mogul, reality TV star, and finally US president: that he is immensely wealthy and a great businessman, skilled in the art of the deal.

What happens if Trump can’t secure $464m bond in civil fraud case? Here’s what to know

Monday 25 March 2024 15:00 , Alex Woodward

The Republican Party’s nominee to face President Joe Biden could be facing a financial crisis on top of a mountain of legal obligations, including 88 criminal charges, with at least one criminal trial and verdict expected before Election Day.

In a revealing court filing on 18 March, lawyers for Donald Trump said that he has tried to get help from at least 30 companies who can post a bond in excess of $464m after he lost a civil fraud trial in New York earlier this year.

But none of them could, and now he faces the “practical impossibility” of coming up with the money before the state’s imminent deadline to enforce the judgment against him on Monday, 25 March, according to his attorneys.

D-Day for Donald: Trump faces deadline today to pay $464m fraud bond. Here’s what you need to know

Monday 25 March 2024 15:01 , Joe Sommerlad

Donald Trump is facing a potentially huge day of legal drama today as the deadline to post bond for his $464m fraud judgment looms and an important hearing is held regarding his imminent hush money trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last month that the Republican presidential candidate must pay $354m in fines and a further $110m plus in interest ($464m, all in) over a decade-long scheme where he inflated the value of Trump Organization assets in order to obtain favourable loans from banks and insurers.

With interest ticking ever-upwards at 9 per cent or $120,000 a day, the exact total he owes as of deadline day is now closer to $468.1m – but his lawyers have argued that he has been unable to find a bond company willing to stump up the cash.

Fail to make the bond today and New York Attorney General Letitia James could begin seizing the former president’s assets, including some of his prized property empire.

Here’s what could happen today.

Lauren Boebert defends taking credit for money in spending bill despite voting against it

Monday 25 March 2024 15:15 , Eric Garcia

Republican Representative Lauren Boebert defended bragging about bringing home $20m for water and infrastructure projects to her Colorado district in the recent spending bill that passed – despite having voted against the bill’s final passage.

The right-wing Republican put out a press release last week touting the funding for projects in her state’s 3rd district.

“These include important federal resources for new water storage, improving water quality, funding water treatment plants, building new water supply lines, reducing congestion on I-70, and building roads and bridges,” Ms Boebert said in a press release.

“I’m grateful to all the local stakeholders who brought these important projects to my attention and that worked with my team and I throughout this process to ensure that 10 out of 10 of our requests were successfully funded in public law. Can’t wait for the ribbon cuttings and to see these priorities come to fruition.”

But Ms Boebert voted against the spending bill on 8 March. The legislation was the first of six spending bills that passed this month to fund the government through the end of the current fiscal year, which expires on 30 September. Last week, the House and Senate passed the second round of spending bills to keep the government open.

Ms Boebert bragged about bringing the money back to Colorado last week to The Independent.

“Sure did, I fought to get it in there, did I not,” she said. “If I wasn’t working on it, then it wouldn’t have been in there.”

But when asked about why she voted against its final passage, she said she disliked the process.

“I didn’t agree to the swampy way it came to the floor but I fought to get the stuff in the bills and it’s there,” she said. “And Colorado is going to benefit from it.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene insists she doesn’t want ‘chaos’ after second threat to oust House Speaker

Monday 25 March 2024 15:30 , John Bowden

Marjorie Taylor Greene has defended her bid to oust Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson - after threatening to do so in January - and insisted that she was not seeking to throw the government into “chaos”.

The Georgia representative and other far right members of the House opposed the $1.2trn federal spending package that passed Congress this past week, and claimed that it was full of wasteful spending.

She denounced Mr Johnson as “willing to do the bidding of [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer”.

“Republican voters want fighters in the House of Representatives to fight like President Trump, and that is exactly what I’m doing,” Ms Greene said.

VIDEO: Ronna McDaniel defends silence over January 6 and supports convictions for violence

Monday 25 March 2024 16:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Linda Bean, an entrepreneur, GOP activist and granddaughter of outdoor retailer LL Bean, has died

Monday 25 March 2024 16:30 , Gene Johnson

Linda L. Bean, a granddaughter of famed outdoor retailer L.L. Bean who became an entrepreneur, philanthropist and conservative activist, has died at age 82.

Bean died Saturday, her business manager, Veronika Carlson, confirmed in a written statement Sunday. No cause was given.

“Linda was known for her amazing work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit as well as her pride and dedication to her home state of Maine and L.L.Bean, the company her grandfather founded,” the statement said. “Our hearts go out to her family and friends.”

Bean’s grandfather, Leon Leonwood Bean, founded the company in 1912. It grew through its popular catalogue, offering durable products such as rubber-bottomed boots that came with a lifetime guarantee.

Linda Bean served on the company’s board for nearly half a century. She also bought lobster dealerships, founded the Perfect Maine Lobster brand in 2007, and owned general stores, inns and vacation rentals on Maine’s central coast, where she lived in Port Clyde.

Former Obama official Neal Katyal calls Donald Trump ‘Don Poorleone’

Monday 25 March 2024 17:00 , Lucy Leeson

Former Obama official and lawyer Neal Katyal branded Donald Trump “Don Poorleone, while discussing the former US president’s financial woes.

Mr Katyal appeared on the Inside with Jen Psaki political show on Sunday (24 March) and explained why people are referring to Trump as the iconic Marlon Brando character Vito Corleone from The Godfather.

Mr Katyal said: “There is a reason why I think some people are calling Donald Trump ‘Don Poorleone’ right now, and it’s because he’s kind of talking out of both sides of his mouth.”

Today (25 March), the former president must post a $464m bond payment to comply with a New York civil court ruling that found him guilty of fraud earlier this year.

Watch live: White House holds briefing after Netanyahu cancels visit

Monday 25 March 2024 17:07 , Holly Patrick

Watch live as Karine Jean-Pierre holds Monday’s (25 March) White House briefing after Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a high-level delegation’s planned visit to Washington.

The Israeli prime minister’s decision came after the US abstained from a United Nations (UN) vote demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“It’s disappointing. We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington, DC to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to them going in on the ground in Rafah,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

The UN Security Council passed the resolution, which was backed by 14 nations of the council, demanding an immediate cease-fire during the month of Ramadan and the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

The US’s rare decision to withhold its veto on the matter represents a major shift in US policy, which has used its permanent member status on the Security Council to veto three previous resolutions demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, even as the death toll reached tens of thousands.

Trump handed lifeline as appeals court slashes fraud trial bond and grants 10-day reprieve

Monday 25 March 2024 17:16 , Ariana Baio

A New York appeals court has granted Donald Trump a 10-day extension to secure a portion of the $464m bond after the former president signalled he was struggling to come up with the money.

On Monday, the five-panel court said that the former president could have more than a week to secure just $175m while he awaits a ruling in his appeal of the judgement made by Justice Arthur Engoron in the civil fraud case.

The ruling is a win for Mr Trump who initially had until Monday to come up with the means to post the $464m bond to prevent New York Attorney General Letitia James from seizing his properties. Though the former president often boasts about his net worth, he seemed to be struggling to find a way to post the bond.

Justice Engoron imposed a $454m penalty on Mr Trump, his adult sons and former executives of the Trump Organization after finding them liable for conspiring to inflate his net worth to obtain favourable terms from insurers and banks on his properties.

But Justice Engoron also implemented several restrictions on the former president and his co-defendants including barring him from running a New York company and obtaining loans from New York banks among other penalties.

Mr Trump appealed the decision, a tactic he has used in nearly all of his criminal and civil trials, and asked the court to reduce the bond to $100m while the appeal is ongoing.

Monday’s order will satisfy Mr Trump’s request and allow the former president and his adult sons, to run businesses in New York and obtain loans from financial institutions.

Judge sets rescheduled trial date for Trump’s hush money case

Monday 25 March 2024 17:23 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump will go on trial next month for allegedly falsifying business records that covered up hush money payments to an adult film star, what New York prosecutors have called a criminal scheme to bury embarrassing stories of his affairs in the leadup to the 2016 presidential election.

The trial, which was initially set to begin with jury selection on Monday, will mark the first of four criminal trials against him, and the first-ever criminal trial against any current or former American president.

Mr Trump arrived for yet another pretrial hearing in the case inside a 15th floor courtroom in Manhattan on Monday as his attorneys prepared to argue allegations of misconduct from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in front of New York Justice Juan Merchan.

The judge rejected the accusations and set a trial date for 15 April.

VIDEO: Trump Calls On Israel To ‘Finish Up’ The War In Gaza

Monday 25 March 2024 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Will Letitia James seize Trump Tower? Ex-president is running out of time to pay $464m bond

Monday 25 March 2024 17:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Lawyers for Donald Trump notified an appeals court this week that their client has failed to secure a bond to satisfy the $464m civil fraud judgment levelled against him by a New York court, saying finding a company to back such a large amount of money was proving a “practical impossibility”.

Mr Trump has hotly objected to a “fire sale” of his property empire – selling off assets to generate cash to meet the bond – but failing to do so risks allowing such prized properties as Trump Tower in Manhattan, so integral to his brand, to fall into the hands of New York attorney general Letitia James, who has already said she is more than happy to repossess his holdings.

Trump claims he has $454m fine amount ‘in his bank account’ but plans to spend it running for president

Monday 25 March 2024 18:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Donald Trump claims he has nearly half a billion dollars in his bank account and that he intends to use it for his presidential election campaign, as he faces a Monday deadline to prevent his properties from being seized.

Justice Arthur Engoron in February ruled that the 45th president and his adult sons must pay in excess of $464m for grossly inflating his net worth and the value of his assets for more than a decade to obtain favourable conditions on loans.

Mr Trump must either find the cash or post a bond to prevent the state’s authorities from seizing his properties while he appeals the ruling.

VIDEO: Former SCOTUS justice Stephen Breyer on term limits

Monday 25 March 2024 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Lisa Murkowski says she’s considering quitting Republican Party because of Trump

Monday 25 March 2024 18:54 , John Bowden

Lisa Murkowski’s future in the Republican Party is now publicly in question as the Alaska senator says she is grappling with the reality that her party is set to nominate the twice-impeached former president who faces 91 criminal charges for the presidency.

Donald Trump’s continued control of the GOP and the dominance of his Maga faction is not sitting well with the centrist Republican who has broken with her party’s base several times in recent years, including in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump and the 2017 failed vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Ms Murkowski was interviewed by CNN’s Manu Raju on Capitol Hill and said that she wouldn’t be endorsing Mr Trump for president — as most other Republicans on Capitol Hill have already done — in 2024. She further added that she was “independently minded”, and was asked whether that meant she was considering dropping her party affiliation.

“I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times. Let’s just leave it at that,” she responded.

Trump promises to ‘put up the cash’ as former president granted more time to produce bond

Monday 25 March 2024 18:55 , Holly Patrick

Donald Trump said he would “put up the cash” as he was granted more time to pay part of the $464m bond in his New York civil fraud case on Monday, 25 March.

An appeals court granted the former president a 10-day extension to pay $175m in a reprieve on the day the full amount against him had been due.

In rambling remarks at 40 Wall Street after appearing in Manhattan criminal court, Mr Trump said: “This is all about election interference. This is all Biden-run things.

“We’ll put up securities, cash, or bond, whatever it is, very quickly.”

‘Don Poorleone’: Trump memes explode as deadline approaches for $464m bond payment

Monday 25 March 2024 19:00 , Katie Hawkinson

As Donald Trump approaches his $464m bond payment deadline on Monday, social media users have come together to coin yet another nickname for the former president: “Don Poorleone.”

The meme uses an image of the iconic Marlon Brando character, Vito Corleone, from “The Godfather“ and adapts his famous line.

While Vito Corleone vowed to “make him an offer he can’t refuse”, the Trump meme states: “I made an offer everyone refused.”

Kamala Harris roasted after she claps along to protest song – before realising they’re protesting against her

Monday 25 March 2024 19:30 , Martha McHardy

Kamala Harris is being roasted on social media after she was seen clapping along to a protest song – before awkwardly realising that they were protesting against her.

The vice president visited Puerto Rico on Friday to highlight the Biden administration’s actions in supporting the island nation’s recovery and renewal efforts.

During the visit, she stopped by the Goyoco community centre in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan.

In video footage from her visit to the community centre, Ms Harris is seen gleefully clapping and smiling as Puerto Rican protesters banged on drums and sang in Spanish.

VIDEO: 16 Republican AGs Sue Biden Administration for Pausing Liquid Natural Gas Exports

Monday 25 March 2024 20:00 , The Independent

Biden mocks Trump for boasting about winning two golf awards at his own club hours before bond deadline

Monday 25 March 2024 20:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

President Joe Biden ridiculed his 2024 election rival Donal Trump on social media after the Republican boasted about winning two amateur golf trophies at his own club’s awards.

The former president announced in a post on Truth Social that he had been awarded the club championship trophy and the senior club championship trophy at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

“I WON BOTH,” Mr Trump wrote. “A large and golfing talented membership, a GREAT and difficult course, made the play very exciting.

“The qualifying and match play was amazing. A large and distinguished group will be there tonight. Very exciting, thank you,” the 45th president added.

Mr Biden on Monday shared a screengrab of Mr Trump’s post on X, adding: “Congratulations, Donald. Quite the accomplishment.”

Chuck Todd admonishes his bosses on-air over NBC hiring Ronna McDaniel

Monday 25 March 2024 21:00 , John Bowden

NBC News political director isn’t ready to defend his network’s hiring of former GOP chief Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst.

On Sunday, he made sure his bosses — and everybody else — knew it.

Ms McDaniel’s hiring as a paid contributor at NBC News this past week was reported to have made a number of journalists at the network uncomfortable. As Meet the Press turned to its panel segment on Sunday morning, Todd vocalised those objections in a fiery admonition of NBC brass, whom he said owed moderator Kristen Welker an apology for booking Ms McDaniel as one of her interviews for Sunday’s programme.

Welker’s interview with Ms McDaniel touched on several topics including her leadership of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Her tenure as RNC chair came to an end this year after Donald Trump endorsed her removal following the South Carolina primary.

McCarthy claims Gaetz ousted him as speaker when he refused to ‘do something illegal’ to stop ethics probe

Monday 25 March 2024 21:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Kevin McCarthy has claimed that Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz ousted him as speaker because he refused to “do something illegal” to stop an ethics probe into the congressman.

The former California Republican congressman and House speaker appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, pointing to the motion to vacate filed against his successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, by Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene after Mr Johnson made a deal with Democrats to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year until 30 September.

Mr McCarthy was ousted after just nine months as speaker in October after Mr Gatez filed a motion to vacate after Mr McCarthy also compromised with Democrats on government funding.

“The one advice I would give to the conference and to the speaker is do not be fearful of a motion to vacate,” he said on CBS. “I do not think they could do it again. That was surely based on Matt Gaetz trying to stop an ethics complaint.

“It was purely Matt coming to me trying ... [to get] me to do something illegal to stop the Ethics Committee from moving forward in an investigation that was started long before I became speaker,” Mr McCarthy said.

Lauren Boebert defends taking credit for money in spending bill despite voting against it

Monday 25 March 2024 22:30 , Eric Garcia