January 1, Biden confuses Trump with Obama in latest gaffe

Good morning Americans,

President Joe Biden confused former President Obama with former President Trump during a speech on Wednesday. “Back in 2009, during the so-called Great Recession, the president asked me to be in charge of managing that piece, then-President Trump,” Biden said. “Excuse me, Freudian slip, that was the last president. He caused the…anyway, President Obama when I was vice-president.” Social media users immediately picked up on Biden’s gaffe. “Biden just confused Trump and Obama,” McClatchy reporter Bryan Lowry said via Twitter. “He called it a Freudian slip, which would mean he has some subconscious feelings about his former boss.”

In an update to the ongoing $1 trillion infrastructure deal, the Biden administration and a bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement. “This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function,” Biden said in a statement. “We will once again transform America and propel us into the future.” The lead Republican negotiator echoed Biden’s sentiments. “We now have an agreement on the major issues,” Portman said. “We are prepared to move forward.” Whether the measure will pass through the full Senate remains to be seen.

President Biden doesn’t have the authority to cancel student debt, according to Nancy Pelosi. “The president can’t do it,” the House Speaker said at a press briefing. “That’s not even a discussion.” Her comments contradict what other people in her party have said recently. Senators Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and Ayanna Pressley have repeatedly called on the president to forgive $50,000 of debt for all borrowers through executive action. “All you need is the flick of a pen,” Schumer said previously.

A Washington D.C. police officer who was assaulted during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot shared a voicemail threat he’d received while giving his testimony. “You want an Emmy? An Oscar? What are you trying to go for here?” the male caller asked. The message continues using a homophobic slur and several profanities. On Jan. 6, officer Michael Fanone was repeatedly shocked with a stun gun and assaulted with metal pipes while defending the Capitol from the intruders. He suffered a heart attack and a concussion during the attack. He now lives with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Tensions on Capitol Hill are on the rise once again, this time over the reinstated mask mandate. After Capitol Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan reintroduced the requirement, many House Republicans purposefully defied the rules by appearing on the floor without masks. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) got into a verbal altercation with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) outside the chamber, wherein Huffman called Donalds selfish for not wearing a mask. Donalds responded, “Don’t be worried about me! Mind your business!”

Milwaukee County Judge Glenn Yamahiro found probable cause to charge a police officer for the 2016 murder of Jay Anderson Jr., a Black man. Yamahiro said that probable cause existed to charge Joseph Mensah with homicide by negligent use of a deadly weapon. Mensah, who is also Black, found Anderson sleeping in his car at 3 am in a park in Wauwatosa. Mensah claims Anderson reached for a gun, but the judge found that evidence disputes this version of events. Mensah has two other fatal shootings under his belt from his time with the Wauwatosa Police Department.

Be well,

Fraser Dixon

Sources

• Biden confuses Trump with Obama, calls it ‘Freudian slip’
• Infrastructure deal: Senate ready to move ahead on $1T bill
• Pelosi says Biden doesn’t have power to cancel student debt
• Cop Shares Voicemail Threat He Received During Testimony About U.S. Capitol Riot
• House Republicans revolt over reimposed mask mandate
• A Wisconsin Officer Will Be Charged In The 2016 Slaying Of A Black Man