Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who has publicly called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential election, wrote in an op-ed for the Boston Globe that it appeared Biden didn’t recognize him during an overseas trip. “Every time we crossed paths and I caught his eye, he would break into that big, wide Joe Biden grin and say how glad he was to see me. It was like that just last Christmas at the White House Ball,” Moulton wrote. “More recently, I saw him in a small group at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me. Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,” he continued. Wow. Democrat Congressman Seth Moulton says Joe Biden had no clue who he was when they met last month: “I saw him in a small group at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me.” Joe Biden must resign the presidency. pic.twitter.com/r9C8A4qK42 — Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) July 19, 2024 “More recently, I saw him in a small group at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me,” Moulton said in an opinion piece he wrote for the Boston Globehttps://t.co/KxEsPFlHZ7 — Annie Linskey (@AnnieLinskey) July 19, 2024 Moulton writes in the Boston Globe: It was a crushing realization, and not because a person I care about had a rough night but because everything is riding on Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November. America needs him to win and, like most Americans, I’m no longer confident that he can. The president should bow out of the race. If anything the stakes are now even higher, and the urgency greater. The assassination attempt on Trump last weekend makes him even harder to beat, and it makes prosecuting the case about why he is a danger to democracy more tricky — though no less essential — because the wrong word choice can quickly be used against you. And while the shooting shifted the national conversation for now, what hasn’t changed are these basic facts: Biden is trailing Trump in critical swing states, and he has yet to show us that he is willing or able to change his strategy. Moulton was among the first House Democrats to call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential election. Additional House Democrats Call On Joe Biden To Step Aside, Senate Democrats Next? The list of congressional Democrats urging Biden to step aside has surpassed 30. More Congressional Democrats Call On Joe Biden To Step Aside, List Surpasses 30 From the New York Post: Biden awkwardly fumbled for a chair as other dignitaries, including French President Emmanuel Macron, stood during a poignant D-Day commemoration ceremony in France on June 6. Elsewhere during the ceremony, cameras captured the president with his eyes closed, prompting some to claim he was dozing off, and a clip of Biden appearing lost after shaking hands with Macron went viral on social media. The following week, Biden’s apparent mental decline “shocked” European allies during his trip to the G7 summit in Italy. A diplomatic insider told The Sun that the president had been “losing focus” during discussions at the summit and was “the worst he has ever been.” A senior European official later told the New York Times that Biden seemed “out of it” at points during the gathering and that the president appeared less robust physically than the last time the official had seen him the previous fall. Earlier this month, Moulton became the third House Democrat to call on Biden to step aside. Some 30 House Democrats have since echoed Moulton’s concerns, demanding that the octogenarian president no longer seek re-election.

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call on Friday. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and I had a very good phone call earlier today. He congratulated me on a very successful Republican National Convention and becoming the Republican nominee for President of the United States. He condemned the heinous assassination attempt last Saturday and remarked about the American people coming together in the spirit of Unity during these times,” Trump said. “I appreciate President Zelenskyy for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families. Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity,” he added. Zelensky called Trump World leaders know who the next United States President is pic.twitter.com/OJuyeqOvjG — Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) July 19, 2024 Per NBC News: Zelenskyy said in a post to X that the two agreed to hold a personal meeting in the future to discuss “what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.” “Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terror,” the Ukrainian president said. The call came almost five years to the day after another call between the two led to Trump’s first impeachment, and while questions swirl about whether Trump would continue to support military aid for Ukraine in its battle against Russian invaders. Trump has vowed that if he wins the election, he’d have the war “settled” while he’s still president-elect. He has not said how he’d do so. At his debate against President Joe Biden in June, Trump criticized the large amount of military aid going to Ukraine, but also said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms to end the war are “not acceptable.” “I spoke with @realDonaldTrump to congratulate him on the Republican nomination and condemn the shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. I wished him strength and absolute safety in the future. I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our nation’s freedom and independence,” Zelensky said. I spoke with @realDonaldTrump to congratulate him on the Republican nomination and condemn the shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. I wished him strength and absolute safety in the future. I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2024 From The Kyiv Independent: Zelensky told the BBC on July 18 that if re-elected, working with Trump would be “hard work, but we (Ukrainians) are hard workers.” He also said he is ready to work with whoever is elected U.S. president to defeat Russia. “Maybe he really doesn’t care, but we have to work with the United States,” he added. Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination on July 18. His chances to win the presidency are expected to increase following an assassination attempt, and calls for Biden to step out of the race are growing louder amid concerns over his health. The former president has long criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine and, as the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 U.S. elections, held sway over the party and contributed to the months-long deadlock in Congress over U.S. aid to Ukraine. Emily Channell-Justice, a program director at Harvard University’s Ukrainian Research Institute, believes that if elected in November, Trump’s first impeachment following the phone call with Zelensky will likely impact how a future Trump administration deals with Ukraine.

According to GOAL, the Gun Owners Action League, Massachusetts passed H4885, which appears to ban all semi-automatic firearms. At least it bans semi-automatic long guns, reports Bearing Arms. It works by adding a “shroud” to the two-feature test that’s used to determine if a particular firearm is considered an “assault weapon.” Additionally, GOAL says Section […] The post Massachusetts Moves to Ban Semi-Automatic Firearms appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Self-proclaimed neo-nazis recently demonstrated in Nashville, Tennessee, sparking outrage and prompting condemnations from local leaders and members of the Jewish community. One neo-nazi protester from Canada was charged with felony aggravated assault and disorderly conduct after striking a 19-year-old in the ribs and in the face with a flagpole. The incident happened when 15 to 20 neo-nazi demonstrators assembled on Broadway in downtown Nashville. “Chief John Drake condemned the hate being spread by the Neo-Nazi group,” Metro police said in a statement. “He expressed his appreciation to the MNPD officers who spent their late afternoon/early evening monitoring the group’s activities,” it went on to say. “I want to say to these visitors from out of town: You are not welcome here,” Council Member at Large Zulfat Suara said. “Nashville government condemns all forms of hate, and when you come for one of us, you’re coming for all of us, and we continue to stand together for Nashvillians.” Nashville Metropolitan Police Department Chief John Drake explained that the group is believed to be operating out of a rental property in Kentucky. Chief Drake also noted that police officers monitored the demonstrations by the neo-nazi group in order to prevent altercations between them and passerbys. “Even Nazi speech is protected under the United States Constitution,” Drake said while also assuring that police would step in if members of the group engaged in any illegal activity. He also advised members of the public to avoid interacting with the group, explaining that they were filming videos to use in propaganda. Nashville Jewish Federation CEO Rabbi Dan Horowitz condemned the organization’s rally and called on local law enforcement to enforce laws against parades without permits, wearing masks for disguise on public property, and littering at a Nashville City Council meeting on Tuesday. “We have been warning our local and state elected officials to act, and thus far, insufficient action has been taken to enforce our current laws,” the Horowitz’s organization said on social media. “We very much appreciate the efforts of law enforcement to disrupt these activities to the extent possible, and we now call on our elected officials to use the full force and effect of our local and state laws.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will join an emergency call with top Democrat donors on Friday as pressure continues to mount for President Joe Biden to drop out of the race over fears that he will get crushed by former President Donald Trump this fall. The New York Times reported that the plan to have Harris speak to the donors happened on “short notice” and that many in the party now want her to be the nominee against Trump. The Times said it was unclear whether she would look to calm them down or if she could take things in a different direction to suit her own political interests. Top Democrat donor Reid Hoffman encouraged other Democrat megadonors to join the call, saying that they find themselves in a “rapidly evolving environment.” “With the stakes as high as they are this cycle, we have to remain focused on the critical work that needs to be done to protect our democracy,” he added. He said that the meeting would “discuss urgent, emerging needs”. The news comes as billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist Michael Moritz — who has given nearly $8 million to pro-Biden and anti-Trump political action committees thus far during the 2024 cycle — said that he will not give any more money to Democrats this cycle if Biden remains the nominee. “Sadly, President Biden has a choice — vanity or virtue,” he said in a statement to The New York Times. “He can either condemn the country to dark and cruel times or heed the voice of Father Time. The clock has run out.” “I would vote for Biden, but I would not give another penny to any fund-raising appeals from Democrats,” he added. Major Democrat donors have informed the pro-Biden political action committee Future Forward earlier this month that they will freeze $90 million in donations if the president remains in the presidential race. Related: Biden Family Begins Mulling Plan For Possible Exit From Race

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) tore into CNN senior fact-checker Daniel Dale over his on-air declaration that Waltz was wrong about the Biden administration leaning in to developing and building electric tanks for the U.S. Army. Waltz made the comment during his speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), where he talked about military strength and readiness and argued that under President Joe Biden — and under the thumb of the climate agenda — American military priorities were all wrong. Dale responded by claiming that Waltz — a combat veteran and a Green Beret — was wrong about the Biden administration’s push to build electric tanks. Waltz pushed back first in a post on X, sharing an article from Inside Defense with the comment, “‘The Army intends to field all-electric tanks by 2050, a top service energy and environment official told Inside Defense.’ You can retract your ‘fact-check’ from TV last night on my speech.” https://t.co/pTAot3EdhS — Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 18, 2024 Waltz took it a step further during a follow-up appearance on CNN, where he argued that Dale should not have delivered a fact-check on national television if he did not have all of the facts himself. WATCH: CNN “fact checker” @ddale8 should actually CHECK HIS FACTs before going on live national television after my RNC speech and questioning my credibility about Biden‘s electric tanks! pic.twitter.com/mPx9Sm4RiZ — Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 19, 2024 Waltz brought Dale into the conversation, prompting his interviewer to read back what he’d said about Biden “focusing on building electric tanks” and noting that it appeared to come from an Army climate strategy plan that mentioned going electric with tactical vehicles. “Wrong,” Waltz cut him off, citing a Bloomberg report and testimony from the Secretary of the Army — along with a budget report indicating that funding was being set aside for development — and argued that Dale should sit down with some of the same people he had if he really wanted the facts. The interviewer tried to object, saying that Dale would probably be happy to speak with anyone — but Waltz pointed out that he should have done so before he called into question the “credibility” of a sitting member of Congress on live television. “Getting to the truth is a process,” the interviewer hedged. Waltz made it clear that he was having none of it, adding, “But literally minutes after my speech, he’s telling the world I’m misleading. There’s no way he could review the Army’s budget, the research and development, the testimony that I personally received under oath – or how about just Google and get the facts?”