Beltway Insider: Biden’s Legacy, Trump/Time Mag, ABC, DeSantis, Macron, Alex Jones/Newtown

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Sunday, 15 December 2024 10:11

Written by Janet Walker

President Biden, who is nearing the end of his presidency, has continued to solidify his legacy, commuting 1500 sentences, in what presidential scholars are calling the largest number of presidential pardons granted in modern history.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com for the period ending December 15, 2024, increased by 0.1% to 37.4% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 0.03% to 56.4% of those polled. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Biden’s Laundry List, Pardons and More, Trump Cabinet Shakeup, Syria, Notre Dame

Biden Tops Pardon List

President Biden, who is nearing the end of his presidency, has continued to solidify his legacy, pardoning 39 non-violent offenders, and commuting 1500 sentences of those released to home confinement during the coronavirus, in what presidential scholars are calling the largest number of presidential pardons granted in modern history.

Clemency decisions cannot be reversed; therefore, any incoming president cannot overturn the decision.  As Trump has publicly announced his intent to prosecute those who weaponized the judicial system to target him, Biden has announced several of those political officials believed to be on Mr. Trump's list.

"Those under consideration for such pardons include Anthony S. Fauci, who helped coordinate the nation's coronavirus response; retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has called Trump a "fascist"; Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), who led the first impeachment effort against Trump; and former congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), an outspoken GOP critic of Trump," The Washington Post reported.

With time, clearly an issue, Biden will continue to work to maximize his legacy and leave as many Americans as can be reached in a better, more secure, place to better able to improve their futures.

Trump Named Person of the Year

President-elect Donald Trump has been named Time Magazine's Person of the Year, citing the convicted felon's ability to regain the office of the presidency, and winning the popular vote, a first for a GOP candidate in sometime.

Time Magazine's article on Mr. Trump reads like a collage of moments collected over the last four years, highlighting the good, bad, shocking, and disturbing, especially over the last year, which saw him tried and convicted in a New York Court over hush money payments to an adult film star, sentencing delays, a hard charging debate strategy that hobbled the sitting president, paving the way for a sure victory, even as his second democratic opponent energized the lethargic voting public, which in the end worked against them, and now to the future, his promises, cabinet, and hopes for America.

As he is the devil we know, Americans are gearing up for his expected Day 1 pledges, many will be disruptive, as he is cleaning out the house to fix the breech in the foundation. Something, he as a developer, has a level of experience.

The Time Magazine article ends with insights on the future. "The President-elect is moving the goalposts on some of his pledges, like lowering the price of groceries. "It's hard to bring things down once they're up," Trump says. "You know, it's very hard." If his approach doesn't work and Trump feels boxed in, critics worry he will become ever more extreme. To his closest aides, the President-elect's unpredictable style will give him an edge over America's competitors."

ABC Bows Before The "King"

ABC News and Good Morning American anchor George Stephanopoulos has agreed to pay President-elect Trump $15 million dollars in defamation damages stemming from a news segment and statement made by Mr. Stephanopoulos which libeled Trump.

The Hollywood Reporter explained, "Per the settlement, ABC News and Stephanopoulos will pay $15 million to "a Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for plaintiff, as presidents of the United States of America have established in the past. The payment must be made within 10 days, and placed in escrow until such a foundation or museum has been established. ABC and Stephanopoulos will also pay $1 million in fees for Trump's attorneys."

World News: Syria to Make or Break

DeSantis Faces His Future

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 46, is at a fork in the road of his political career. With the decision to fill the expected empty senate seat of Marco Rubio, who should be confirmed as the next Secretary of State, DeSantis finds himself on the precipice of political greatness or implosion.

President-elect Trump, who is known for his quid pro quo political favors and conversely his political scorn, had made it known that he wants his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who was once considering a political run for Senate in North Carolina, her home state and was recently the Chairperson of the Republican National Convention, to be appointed by DeSantis to Rubio's seat, making her the junior Senator from the state of Florida, solidifying the Trump legacy with no election necessary.

DeSantis, who was a one-time foe of the president-elect, and debated Trump in the GOP presidential debates, has touted more deserving names for the upcoming position, which is the governors to fill.

According to sources close to the Governor, "DeSantis is more likely to pick someone who has held public office in Florida and said other contenders include the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, and former statehouse speaker Jose Oliva," reported The Washington Post.

With DeSantis' name being considered as an alternate to lead the Department of Defense should Pete Hegseth, Trump first choice, failed to be confirmed, which is likely due to his less than honorable past that has been the subject of much debate on Capitol Hill and his admission of an relationship with alcohol, that is also under scrutiny and depending on the day is either a problem or is not a problem.

Trump, who has been known to secure his goals, is also faced with a dilemma. His desire to have his daughter-in-law, and a loyalist, in the senate, and his allegiance to Hegseth, a veteran, as the top policy maker for the Department of Defense, someone who has no experience in government and has never held public office.

To secure his daughter-in-law's political future, and by extension, his family's continual political presence, Trump will need to secure the seat, that means wooing DeSantis into appointing her.

DeSantis has been known as one of the rare honest politicians, someone who doesn't give into the political exchange system of government. The appointment of Lara Trump doesn't come without risks to his personal and political reputation.

His current term as governor ends in two years and due to term limits, he is unable to seek a third term in the state of Florida. However, as an overwhelming percentage of senators were once governors, a senate run is not out of the question. A political appointment secures a continued political future. And as DeSantis is just approaching middle age, he can be a political force for possibly eight years, certainly across this first four years term.

His popularity among his constituents remains high as "Floridians continue to show strong support overall for the job Governor DeSantis has done in office, with 57% of Florida voters holding a favorable view of the Governor. Governor DeSantis receives particularly high marks from Floridians on his administration's response to the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton, with more than three-fourths (76%) of Florida voters approving of how DeSantis and his team have handled the recovery efforts," reported the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

So as DeSantis balances his support of the new president, the needs of his home state and his political future including a possible senate run in 2026, challenging any appointee in a special election to serve the final two years of the six-year senate term, he may need a bit more wooing by the president-elect before he allows his path to diverge.

World News: French President Macron Faces No Confidence Vote, PM Out

Macron Names New PM

French President Emmanuel Macron has named François Bayrou, 73, as the new Prime Minister, as the government faces continued tremors, over the recent no confidence vote which effectively hobbled Macron and his government.

The far right, led by Marine Le Pen, is becoming a greater force and while the newly minted centrist PM, is loyal to Macron, his need to reach across the aisle to the multiple factions that are building a consolidated force, after Macron's effort to realign government. The people are rising and embracing those who they feel will best serve their needs in government and are willing to stand and force change.

"Le Pen, who has long sought the presidency, is among the Macron critics on the far right and far left who have called on him to resign. He has pledged to serve out his term, which ends in 2027. But if his opponents manage to bring down successive governments, that would pile further pressure on the president," reported The Washington Post.

For Macron to serve out his term, he will need to make concessions, to accommodate Le Pen's strength. She is confronting her own legal challenges, and if convicted for misuse of funds, would be banned from running for president, which limits her power to The National Assembly.

Coronavirus Total

The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually.  The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants.

For the seven days ending December 15, 2024, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by The World Health Organization increased by 25,879 confirmed cases totaling 776,973,432. The total worldwide death toll increased by 732 to 7,077,725 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated November 10, 2024, from The World Health Organization).

Biden remembers Sandy Hook

"Twelve years ago today, the community of Newtown, Connecticut, and the entire nation were forever changed when twenty innocent children and six brave educators were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a single individual armed with a weapon of war. Jill and I still grieve this unimaginable loss and continue to pray for the victims' families and others traumatized by this senseless violence," Biden said in a released statement.

World News: Peace Lasts but a Minute

Sale of Infowars Stopped

The families of the Sandy Hook tragedy will have to wait a little longer in their efforts to collect on the 1.5 billion in defamation damages by Infowars owner Alex Jones who repeatedly and publicly through his media availability called the December 14, 2012 massacre a hoax, after a Houston judge, stopped the sale to The Onion, owned by Global Tetrahedron, who was named the winning bid.

"I don't think anyone acted in bad faith here. I think everyone was trying to buy an asset and put their best foot forward and play by the rules," Lopez said as he delivered his decision. [. . .] The judge added that he was troubled that the process, however well intended, "did not maximize value in any way, based on the record before me," The Washington Post reported.

For more information on President Joe Biden: Whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.