The new populist right is far more amenable to workers and trade unions than the left wants to admit.

The vice president may have stopped the Democratic death march, but weaknesses remain.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Even Donald Trump's supporters sense he suddenly has a tougher race on his hands.

As the former president unloaded on Kamala Harris in the swing state of North Carolina on Wednesday — calling her a “radical, left lunatic” at one point — faithful fans conceded that what had been a sleepy contest had abruptly become something quite different.

To some, it seemed like the vice president had momentum.

“Policy aside and everything, she definitely has the energy,” said Jessica Castillo, a self-described centrist from Charlotte who voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020 and was at the Charlotte event. “She is going to be a contender for Trump. Honestly, I think she’ll be more of a challenge.”

Taking the stage at the Bojangles Coliseum, his first rally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the campaign, Trump ripped into the vice president, casting her as “Lying Kamala Harris,” mispronouncing her name as he dubbed her “the most incompetent and far-left vice president in American history,” and repeatedly declaring that she would “destroy” the United States, if elected.

Trump has some reason for concern. Harris, after being endorsed by Biden to run at the top of the Democratic ticket, in recent days has seen a bump in polling compared to Biden’s lagging performance, including among independents, people of color and women, among other critical voting blocs.

“Now,” said Bryson Davis, an 18-year-old from Statesville, “he’s running against somebody that’s competent. “Kamala is probably going to come off a little more fiery than Joe would.”

Or as Castillo put it, “The fact she isn’t suffering from old age … it’s definitely going to give her a huge bump right away. She can talk. She can laugh, obviously.”

For the former president, Harris’ ascension was but a new invitation to fight — and the crowd ate it up. They cheered when he conceded he was “not going to be nice” about Harris, despite saying he “became nice” after the attempted assassination on July 13.

Trump on Wednesday fumed over the news coverage Harris has received as Democrats have coalesced around her since Sunday, insisting that his crowd sizes were still larger.

“Three weeks, four weeks ago, she was the worst politician in America,” Trump said. “Now they say, ‘Isn’t it amazing? Look at her. She’s beautiful. She’s so magnificent.’”

Trump this week agreed to debate Harris, and said he would be “willing to do more than one debate” against her. It’s a forum his supporters appeared eager for.

While predicting an eventual Trump-Harris debate would sway voters toward Trump, Jo Wally of Mooresville acknowledged the race seems closer now, “because she’s got the momentum.”

Sitting next to her, Kelly Henderson said she feared some women who are soft Trump backers will shift away from him.

Trump focused his attacks at the rally against Harris on her history as a prosecutor and senator, describing her as “more liberal than Bernie Sanders,” who “destroyed San Francisco with her policies” and will “destroy our country if she’s elected.” His new Harris talking points were apparently distributed to speakers who took the stage before him, with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, offering nearly identical criticism.

What kind of attacks Republicans will consider in bounds is still a matter of uncertainty. After Speaker Mike Johnson this week chided GOP members about attacking Harris based on her race or gender — a warning that came as at least one Republican congressman called her “a DEI vice president” — Trump supporters at the rally Wednesday largely shrugged off concerns about whether her status as a woman of color would be used against her by Trump or Republican operatives.

Before the rally Wednesday, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, said the campaign hasn’t gone after Harris’ race or gender, and so they didn’t take issue with Johnson’s guidance. But asked if taking that approach was off limits for Trump, Cheung said that it wasn’t necessarily.

“I don’t know it’s off limits,” he said. “But it’s not something that we’ve done. So it’s not even on our radar.”

Similarly, Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee and former chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, in an interview declined to say whether he agreed with Johnson’s remarks about staying away from Harris’ race or gender — instead, he said what he thought the party should focus on.

“Look, I think we need to talk about her being an extreme California liberal,” Whatley said, criticizing policies she supported in her home state, in the Senate and as Biden’s vice president.

Pressed again, Whatley said the Republican Party is “going to focus all day, every day on the American voters,” and telling them about Trump’s policies.

Even before Trump took the stage, the GOP’s focus — evident in speakers’ remarks before him — had dramatically moved away from Biden and onto Harris. While the vice president came up at times throughout Trump’s Saturday night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, now all but certain to become the nominee, she was the center of attack Wednesday.

Twice in his on-stage remarks, Whatley referred to her as “Border Czar Kamala Harris,” and slammed her record in the Senate. Hudson one-upped Trump on describing Harris as a progressive senator, not only saying that she was “more liberal” than Sanders, but also Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Criticizing Harris for failing to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress earlier Wednesday, Trump falsely claimed that Harris, whose husband is Jewish, is “totally against the Jewish people.”

“It amazes me how Jewish people will vote for the Democrats when they’re being treated so disrespectfully,” Trump said.

Throughout the rest of his speech, Trump railed against transgender athletes, briefly discussed his attempted assassination, reiterated his position in favor of exceptions for abortion restrictions, bashed Democrats’ southern border policies, falsely claimed Harris wants to “outlaw red meat” and gave what has now become his standard shoutout to Hannibal Lecter, a fictional character from the movie “Silence of the Lambs.”

Asked whether Republicans would need to reevaluate their plans to spend time and money flipping blue states like Minnesota, where Trump is scheduled to hold a rally Saturday, Whatley said they were still focused on their 10-battleground state plan.

“Right now, we’re playing offense,” Whatley said. “Right now, the Democrats aren’t even playing defense yet. They’re circling the wagons and trying to figure out how they can put a new candidate who’s never won a single primary state in as their nominee, and how they can pick somebody to be the vice presidential nominee.

“It’s important to note they not only had a bad messenger, but they had a bad message.”

Kierra Frazier contributed to this report.

Providing for consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 1371) strongly condemning the Biden Administration and its Border Czar, Kamala Harris's, failure to secure the United States border. (07/24/2024 legislative day)

Establishing the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. (07/24/2024 legislative day)

Speaking for the first time about his historic decision to end his reelection bid, President Joe Biden said that “saving our democracy” was “more important than any title.”

During an Oval Office address, Biden told the country that his painstaking choice to step aside, which only came after weeks of pressure from fellow Democrats, was made with the good of his party and country in mind.

“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term. But nothing — nothing — can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition,” Biden said. “The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation.”

Magnanimous and optimistic in tone as he spoke from behind the Resolute Desk, Biden spoke both to history and the present moment, attempting to push back on critics who say he must resign the office now and to salvage a legacy that could be deeply tarnished by the events of the last month.

The president, at 81 the oldest person to hold the office, did not explicitly say that he quit because of his health or polls showing him likely to lose, acknowledging only that he stepped aside “to unite my party.”

He presented himself as a truth-teller, a response to weeks of questions about whether he and aides had concealed the truth about his health and growing frailty as they sought another four-year term. “When I was elected, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth,” Biden said. “The truth is that the sacred cause of this nation is bigger than any one of us.”

Unlike Lyndon B. Johnson’s announcement in March 1968 that he would not seek a second term, the last time a president did so, Biden’s address lacked any real element of surprise. But the speech marked the president’s first spoken words on his decision to call off his reelection campaign since he posted the news on X on Sunday, while he was still isolating at his home on the Delaware shore after testing positive for Covid-19.

The prime-time address aimed to offer a deeper, more personal explanation to the country than his initial written letter, as well as a rallying call of support for Vice President Kamala Harris, his replacement as the Democratic nominee, and their shared legacy.

Biden praised Harris, calling her “experienced,” “tough” and “capable.”

“There’s a time and place for new voices, fresh voices — yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now,” he added, tapping the Resolute Desk to punctuate the sentence.

He ticked off a number of accomplishments, including having no American troops in conflict zones, as well as his priorities for the remainder of his term, including pushing for his cancer “moonshot” and reforms of the Supreme Court.

“Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as president,” he said. “That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights — from the right to vote — to the right to choose.”

The president, in his 12-minute address, embraced a legacy as the bridge-builder he vowed he would be four years ago. But the speech also came at a moment when the party — and the nation’s political discourse — has already moved on, transfixed for the moment with Harris, who has taken the baton and run with it in a way Biden no longer could.

The change atop the ticket has, in fact, sparked euphoria across what had been just days ago a divided and dispirited Democratic Party. Harris has received an avalanche of endorsements, enthusiasm and new donor contributions that were never there for him.

In a way, not seeking a second term may be the most broadly popular decision Biden has made as president. A CNN/ORC poll on Wednesday showed that 87 percent of all registered voters approved of his decision to end his campaign.

While Biden framed his decision as an instance of a politician putting his country above his own ambition, the last three-plus weeks made clear that he had wanted to remain in the race. He only became the transitional figure he promised he’d be in 2020 after his path to victory in 2024 collapsed following his disastrous June 27 debate performance and the ensuing calls from dozens of Democrats for a new nominee.

Reflecting on a 50-year career in Washington, Biden expressed his gratitude that he, “a kid with a stutter” from Claymont, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, could ascend to such heights.

“I’ve given my heart and my soul to this nation, like so many others,” Biden said, calling America “a nation of promise and possibilities.”

He continued: “The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America — lies in your hands.”

Biden did not mention Trump by name. But as he has done for more than a year, he spoke again about the coming election as “an inflection point.” His concluding words carried a valedictory air, and a final challenge for the American people.

“Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands,” Biden said.

Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino.

Quick Take

President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on July 17. His symptoms remained mild and have since resolved, according to his treating physician. But fueled by days without a public sighting and Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, social media posts have baselessly claimed that Biden was gravely ill or had a medical emergency.

Full Story

On July 21, President Joe Biden announced he was no longer running for president in the 2024 election. Just four days before, while campaigning in Las Vegas, he tested positive for COVID-19, leading him to fly to Delaware that evening to isolate. He remained in isolation at his beach house and was not seen in public again until July 23, when his symptoms had “resolved” and he tested negative for COVID-19, according to his physician.

Daily letters from Biden’s doctor show that the president never got seriously ill and he continued to perform his duties. But since his COVID-19 diagnosis — and particularly after his announcement that he would no longer seek the presidency — online posts have trafficked in unfounded rumors and speculation about Biden’s health.

“A verified source has informed the Global Press team that Joe Biden is currently in hospice care and is unlikely to survive the night,” proclaimed a July 22 X post later shared on Facebook. The “Global Press” account on X that made the original claim appeared to subsequently delete its account.

Some declared Biden to be terminally ill or even spread rumors that the president was dead.

Others, including conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, pointed to purported reports from local police in Las Vegas to suggest or claim that Biden had or might have had a medical emergency. 

According to an unnamed source, Kirk said, “US Secret Service informed LV Metro that there was an emergency situation involving Joe Biden and to close necessary streets so that POTUS could be transported immediately to University Medical, which they began to do in earnest.” 

“Then, mysteriously, there was a stand down order and the USSS informed local Vegas PD that they were going to ‘medivac’ POTUS to Johns Hopkins, which they presumed meant fly him back east ASAP,” Kirk’s post continued. “Apparently the rumor mill in the police department was that Joe Biden was dying or possibly already dead.”

Kirk’s speculations were later amplified in a Tucker Carlson video on Instagram. Citing an unnamed, non-medical source, another person online claimed Biden might have had a transient ischemic attack, or a mini stroke. 

Former President Donald Trump also chimed in on July 21, baselessly saying on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Biden “never had Covid.”

It’s true, according to local media and a statement from the police department, that a hospital in Las Vegas was on standby to potentially receive the president after he tested positive for COVID-19, and that police proactively shut down roads to ensure safe passage. But this doesn’t mean Biden had a medical emergency. The president never went to the hospital, and according to a letter posted by his treating physician, he only ever experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms. In an email to FactCheck.org, the White House denied that Biden had any kind of medical emergency.

In the afternoon of July 23, Biden appeared on a tarmac and told reporters he was “feeling well” before ascending the stairs to Air Force One to fly back to the White House. This put to rest the most extreme claims about his health, although conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer continued to insist he was dying. Biden is scheduled to address the nation this evening to discuss his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race.

No Evidence of a Medical Emergency

While suspicion has focused on road closures and preparation for a hospital in Las Vegas to possibly receive the president, there’s no evidence that Biden experienced a medical emergency. Instead, the posts appear to have spun contingency plans following Biden’s positive COVID-19 test into conspiracy theories.

“President Joe Biden did not visit UMC last week,” Scott Kerbs, a public relations director for University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, said in a statement to FactCheck.org. “On July 17 at approximately 2:15 p.m., UMC received notification to prepare for a potential medical visit from the president. As Nevada’s only Level I Trauma Center and the hospital tasked with caring for the Commander-in-Chief during official visits to the area, UMC was fully prepared to provide the state’s highest level of care for the president.”

In a local news report on July 17, the hospital’s CEO, Mason Van Houweling, indicated that the hospital prepared for a “medical” issue, rather than a trauma or accident, but did not elaborate further. He praised his hospital’s response, but referred to it as a “non-event.”

Van Houweling echoed that sentiment in another article about the hospital’s preparations, published on July 19 in Becker’s Hospital Review, which noted that the hospital “adjusted its preparation to arrange an appropriate facility and team for medical care based on the specific potential needs identified — in this case, diagnostic requirements.”

Kerbs told us in an email that this was describing “the fact that UMC, as a Level I Trauma Center, adjusted its default preparations from trauma care to general medical care, which involves diagnostics.”

Local police similarly confirmed that they prepared for Biden to travel to the hospital, but explained that it was precautionary. 

“The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was notified that President Joe Biden was sick on July 17th during his visit to Las Vegas. We did not know the nature of his illness,” the department told us in an email. “As a precaution, LVMPD proactively began to shut down roads leading to UMC Hospital. The Secret Service then advised LVMPD the President was going directly to Harry Reid International Airport and would be leaving Las Vegas.”

“It has been standard practice for many years, across administrations, for hospitals to be among the wide range of resources that are always put on standby when any president travels,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, told us in an email.

Bates denied that the president experienced a medical emergency, including a mini stroke. “The only medical situation was his covid diagnosis, which was publicly announced,” he said. 

A reporter who accompanied the president on the flight back to Delaware did not make note of any kind of medical emergency. Instead, he reported that the flight was “quite bumpy,” and that his request for an informal press briefing was denied. Upon landing, while not looking in the best of health — as might be expected for someone sick with COVID-19 — Biden was still able to walk and speak.

COVID-19 can be dangerous, particularly for older adults and those who have not been infected or vaccinated previously, but all available evidence points to the 81-year-old president’s case as being mild. 

Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor, Biden’s physician, provided daily updates on the president’s condition. In his last letter, on July 23, he reported that Biden had tested negative for the coronavirus and his symptoms, which had included a runny nose, cough and general malaise, had “resolved.”

“Over the course of his infection, he never manifested a fever, and his vital signs remained normal, to include pulse oximetry. His lungs remained clear,” O’Connor said of Biden, adding that the president “continues to perform all of his presidential duties.”

Although Biden did not make a public appearance until July 23, he called into his former campaign’s headquarters — now Vice President Kamala Harris’s HQ — on July 22. While in isolation, he also received briefings, spoke to a variety of politicians and supporters following the termination of his candidacy, and made a call to the head of the European Commission, according to White House officials.

As with his first bout of COVID-19 in 2022, Biden took the antiviral Paxlovid to treat his illness.

It’s not the first time that social media claims about Biden’s health have gone viral. Earlier this month, popular posts falsely claimed Biden had a “medical emergency” aboard Air Force One, the AP reported.

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org does not accept advertising. We rely on grants and individual donations from people like you. Please consider a donation. Credit card donations may be made through our “Donate” page. If you prefer to give by check, send to: FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104. 

Sources

“Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.” Press release. White House. 17 Jul 2024.

Letters from Kevin C. O’Connor, Physician to the President. Available from WhiteHouse.gov. 18 Jul to 23 Jul 2024.

Drummond, Cristen. “Las Vegas hospital on standby to treat President Biden during COVID-19 diagnosis.” KSNV. 17 Jul 2024.

Madhani, Aamer. “Biden will address the nation Wednesday on his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid.” AP. 23 Jul 2024.

President Biden (@POTUS). “Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.” X. 23 Jul 2024.

Kerbs, Scott. Brand and Public Relations Director, University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Emails to FactCheck.org. 23 Jul 2024.

Gooch, Kelly. “A Las Vegas hospital’s playbook for presidential care.” Becker’s Hospital Review. 18 Jul 2024.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Office of Public Information. Email to FactCheck.org. 23 Jul 2024.

Bates, Andrew. White House spokesperson. Email to FactCheck.org. 23 Jul 2024.

Kanno-Youngs, Zolan. “Travel Pool Report #8 Dover landing.” White House pool report. 17 Jul 2024.

“Biden lands in Delaware after testing positive for COVID.” AP video. 18 Jul 2024.

Kanno-Youngs, Zolan. “From Buoyant to Frail: Two Days in Las Vegas as Biden Tests Positive.” New York Times. 18 Jul 2024.

“The Changing Threat of COVID-19.” CDC. 23 Feb 2024.

“Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Wilmington, DE.” White House. 22 Jul 2024.

Miller, Zeke and Chris Megerian. “Biden tests positive for COVID.” AP. 21 Jul 2022.Goldin, Melissa. “FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One.” AP. 6 Jul 2024.

The post Online Rumors Baselessly Claim Biden Experienced Medical Emergency After COVID-19 Diagnosis appeared first on FactCheck.org.

As the Boeing Dreamliner that is the Democrats' 2024 presidential campaign falls apart in midair, many of the GOP campaigns I speak to as a political consultant are in a holding pattern, eating their proverbial popcorn and waiting for the dust to settle.

Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino.

Quick Take

Oklahoma’s state superintendent ordered public schools to incorporate the Bible as “an instructional support into the curriculum.” But social media posts have shared the inaccurate claim that “Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana all ordered that the Bible be taught in public schools.” Louisiana and Texas haven’t issued such an order.

Full Story

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, issued a directive on June 27 that all the state’s public schools “incorporate the Bible … as an instructional support into the curriculum,” the New York Times reported.

Walters said the Bible is “a necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western civilization, to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system,” the Times reported. “Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom,” Walters said.

Walters’ directive and other recent efforts by conservative-led states to introduce religion into public schools — which are facing legal challenges — have generated attention on social media. But some posts mischaracterize what changes have been made to public school curricula and where these changes have taken place.

A July 11 Threads post misleadingly claimed, “States of Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana all ordered that the Bible be taught in public schools.” Similar posts have been shared on Facebook, including a post that shows a group of students praying in a classroom.

Conservative leaders in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas have all sought to expand the role of religion in public education, but only Oklahoma’s education department has ordered that the Bible be taught in classrooms.

Ten Commandments in Louisiana

Two weeks before Walters’ order in Oklahoma, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a requirement that classrooms in every public school and state-funded university display the text of the Ten Commandments by Jan. 1, 2025.

The law requires that the posters be at least 11 inches by 14 inches and that “the text of the Ten Commandments shall be the central focus of the poster.” The posters will also include a lengthy statement intended to provide context for the display, stating, “The Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.” The posters will be purchased with donations, and public schools are not required to spend money on the displays.

A suit challenging the law has been filed by some Louisiana parents represented by the ACLU and other civil liberties groups on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of church and state.

They argue that the law violates U.S. Supreme Court precedent. A Kentucky statute similar to the one passed in Louisiana was the subject of the 1980 Supreme Court case, Stone v. Graham. The superintendent of Kentucky schools, James Graham, was sued by parents for an order that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. The high court decided against Graham, ruling that the poster violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution — which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” — and that displays of the Ten Commandments in classrooms were “plainly religious in nature.”

In an interview with NewsNation at the Republican National Convention on July 18, Landry said, “I think this is one of the cases where the court has it wrong. And so here is the question: If the Supreme Court has something wrong, why would you not want that to be corrected?”

Landry also said, “I would submit that maybe if the Ten Commandments were hanging on [would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’] wall in the school that he was in, maybe he wouldn’t have taken a shot” at former President Donald Trump.

While Landry wants to display the Ten Commandments in Louisiana’s classrooms, the state of Louisiana has not “ordered that the Bible be taught in public schools,” as the social media posts claim.

Proposed Curriculum in Texas

In May, the Texas Education Agency introduced elementary school materials that include biblical and other religious references for public review and comment. The proposed materials include lessons on biblical stories and discussions about how early American political figures were shaped by their religious beliefs. The materials contain references to several religions, though Judeo-Christian religious material appears most frequently. The Texas Tribune reported that “districts will have the option of whether to use the materials, but will be incentivized to do so with up to $60 per student in additional funding.”

The 2024 platform of the Texas Republican Party, adopted days before the new educational materials were unveiled, includes a call for the state board of education to mandate teaching of the Bible. But no such guidelines have been put in place in Texas, contrary to the claim in the social media posts.

The state education board will vote on the proposed elementary school materials in November. If approved, the changes would be implemented in August 2025.

Last year, the Texas State Senate approved legislation that would place copies of the Ten Commandments in classrooms — similar to the order in Louisiana — but the measure didn’t receive a final vote before the end of the legislative session.

Challenges to the Oklahoma Directive

Before the Oklahoma superintendent’s recent directive ordering that public schools incorporate the Bible into curricula, Walters was a proponent of state funding for the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which supporters hoped would be the first religious charter school in the U.S.

However, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state’s charter school contract with the online Catholic school violated “Oklahoma statutes, the Oklahoma Constitution, and the Establishment Clause.” Justice James Winchester wrote that public schools must be nonsectarian, but “St. Isidore will evangelize the Catholic faith as part of its school curriculum while sponsored by the State,” which violates the Establishment Clause.

The Establishment Clause has been at the center of many of the most significant Supreme Court decisions regulating the role of religion in schools. The 1962 case Engel v. Vitale banned school prayer for violating the Establishment Clause, even if the prayer was optional and nondenominational. In 1963, the court upheld Engel in Abington School District v. Schempp, when it decided that mandatory Bible readings in public schools are unconstitutional. 

Michael Klarman, a professor of American legal history at Harvard Law School, told us in an email, “It’s pretty clear to me that these states are presenting the current [Supreme Court], dominated by conservative Catholics, with an opportunity to reconsider” the Engel and Schempp decisions.

Walters’ recent order for schools to incorporate the Bible calls for “immediate and strict compliance.” But a spokesperson for the Oklahoma attorney general’s office said that the superintendent does not have the power to issue a memo mandating that content must be included in the curriculum, NBC News reported.

Under current law, “public schools can include the Bible in discussions of secular subjects like history or literature,” but the Bible cannot be used “as a form of religious instruction” in the classroom, Rachel F. Moran, a law professor at Texas A&M University School of Law, told us in an email.

According to Oklahoma law, individual school districts can determine what instructional material is used in the classroom. “School districts shall exclusively determine the instruction, curriculum, reading lists and instructional materials and textbooks, subject to any applicable provisions or requirements as set forth in law, to be used in meeting the subject matter standards,” the law states.

Andrew Spiropoulos, a professor of constitutional law at Oklahoma City University School of Law, told us in an email, “Some public school districts will likely allege that the state department of education does not possess sufficient statutory authority over school curricula to issue these particular directives.”

As of July 19, none of Oklahoma’s schools had agreed to follow the state superintendent’s directive, saying instead that they would follow “the current regulations for academic standards which include not having a Bible in every class,” Oklahoma City news station KFOR reported.

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

Sources

ACLU. “Clergy, Public-School Parents Sue to Block Louisiana Law Requiring Public Schools to Display the Ten Commandments.” Press release. 24 Jun 2024.

Bolden, Bonnie and Shannon Heckt. “Louisiana governor: 10 Commandments in schools could have stopped Trump rally shooting.” BRProud. 18 Jul 2024.

Brown, Dylan. “No school districts have announced following Bible mandate, OSDE responds.” KFOR. 19 Jul 2024.

CBS News. “Lawsuit challenges Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display Ten Commandments.” 24 Jun 2024.

Constitution Annotated. First Amendment. Congress.gov.

Downen, Robert. “Bill requiring Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms fails in House after missing crucial deadline.” Texas Tribune. 24 May 2023.

Epstein, Lee and Eric Posner. “The Roberts Court and the Transformation of Constitutional Protections for Religion: A Statistical Portrait.” Supreme Court Review. 2022.

Evans, Murray. “3 Large OKC-area school districts among those that won’t follow Ryan Walters’ order to teach Bible.” The Oklahoman. 19 Jul 2024.

Jacobson, Linda. “Exclusive: Texas Seeks to Inject Bible Stories into Elementary School Reading Program.” The 74 Million. 29 May 2024.

Kingkade, Tyler and Marissa Parra. “Oklahoma schools head Ryan Walters: Teachers who won’t teach Bible could lose license.” NBC News. 28 Jun 2024.

Klarman, Michael. Professor of American legal history, Harvard Law School. Email to FactCheck.org. 18 Jul 2024.

Mervosh, Sarah. “Oklahoma Supreme Court Says No to State Funding for a Religious Charter School.” New York Times. 25 Jun 2024.

Mervosh, Sarah and Elizabeth Dias. “Oklahoma’s State Superintendent Requires Public Schools to Teach the Bible.” New York Times. 27 Jun 2024.

Mervosh, Sarah and Ruth Graham. “The Bible in Public Schools? Oklahoma Pushes Limits of Long Tradition.” New York Times. 28 Jun 2024.

Moran, Rachel. Professor of law, Texas A&M University School of Law. Email to FactCheck.org. 18 Jul 2024.

Oklahoma State Department of Public Education. State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

Perez Jr., Juan. “Oklahoma high court rejects religious charter school contract.” Politico. 25 Jun 2024.

Republican Party of Texas. “Report of the 2024 Permanent Platform and Resolutions Committee of the Republican Party of Texas.” 23 May 2024.

Salhotra, Pooja and Robert Downen. “Texas education leaders unveil Bible-infused elementary school curriculum.” Texas Tribune. 30 May 2024.

Spiropoulos, Andrew. Professor of constitutional law, Oklahoma City University School of Law. Email to FactCheck.org. 18 Jul 2024.

Sy, Stephanie, et al. “Oklahoma education head discusses why he’s mandating public schools teach the Bible.” PBS. 1 Jul 2024.

Yoshonis, Scott. “Jeff Landry says benefit of defending La. Ten Commandments law ‘outweighs’ any cost.” KLFY. 18 Jul 2024.

The post Posts Misrepresent States’ Efforts to Teach the Bible in Public Schools appeared first on FactCheck.org.

Vice President Kamala Harris rallied members of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. on Wednesday, urging some of her staunchest supporters to “make history” in one of her first events as the Democrats’ all-but-assured nominee — and underscoring her connection with a critical voting bloc.

Her rousing speech amounted to a hometown reception. Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority since her days at Howard University, which is also part of the “Divine Nine.” The group represents historically Black sororities and fraternities, a ready-made coalition of supporters who the vice president called on “to energize, to organize and to mobilize” against former President Donald Trump.

The organizations collectively represent a significant well of support for Harris, both personally and politically.

“When we organize, mountains move,” Harris said. “When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history.”

After Harris’ ascension to the party’s apparent standard-bearer, the “Divine Nine” presidents collectively put out a statement promising to “meet this critical moment in history with an unprecedented voter registration, education and mobilization coordinated campaign.”

Harris, President Joe Biden’s endorsed successor, turned from running mate to all-but-certain ticket leader just four days ago. And she drew some of the biggest cheers of her speech by alluding to the historic nature of her own candidacy.

“When I am president of the United States,” Harris said, pausing for a wave of cheers, “and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law.”

“We are not playing around,” she added to laughter from the crowd.

Harris’ appearance at the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.’s Grand Boulé, the group’s annual national gathering, underscores her connection to Black voters — and her effort to push them to the polls in November. During her 2020 presidential campaigns, both in the primary and as Biden’s running-mate, she leaned on her sisters from AKA and the broader community.

“Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha — our Divine 9 — and my HBCU brothers and sisters,” she said during her convention speech in 2020.

Given her apparent new role at the top of the ticket, the Harris campaign is now arguing that she can shore up the party’s coalition, particularly among young voters of color, which had frayed under Biden. In a memo released Wednesday morning, Harris’ campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said the “shift in the race” — swapping out Biden for Harris — “opens up additional persuadable voters who our campaign can work to win the support of.”

“This race is more fluid now,” the memo said. “The Vice President is well-known but less well-known than both Trump and President Biden, particularly among Dem-leaning constituencies.”

During her speech, she briefly previewed Biden’s Oval Office address, scheduled for Wednesday evening, when he will talk about his “decision to step down as a candidate” and “about his work in the next six months,” as he finishes his term.

Harris also road-tested more of her attacks against Trump, who she said was “trying to take us backwards,” and the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” which envisions a massive overhaul of the federal government — and which Trump has sought to distance himself from.

“Now, can you believe they put that in writing? 900 pages of it,” Harris said. “This represents an outright attack on our children, our families and our future. These extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back.”

Vice President Harris and the return of the 'San Francisco Democrats.'

My, how things have changed in the past few weeks. By the time the Republican National Convention convened, the Democrats had hoped to be running President Biden on a platform touting the alleged succ

The key to effective civics is for teachers to engage students in 'conversations based on primary sources.' Immersion in such conversations, the authors contend, 'makes us ...

A Harris candidacy may not change the dynamic of the presidential race as much as we think

On Wednesday, Netanyahu will stand before Congress to make the case for Israel's battle for survival against those who seek its destruction.

Costco can't keep bars in stock. They sell it by the gram in vending machines in Korea. 'There's something about gold that hacks us.'

On the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

Today on TAP: And how she can talk to working-class voters