Trump, Biden spar over jobs data.
WASHINGTON — The two top Democrats in Congress said Thursday that any threats to U.S. troops must be pursued “relentlessly,” rebuking President Donald Trump after receiving a highly classified briefing about intelligence that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump, who has downplayed the threat, was “soft” on Russian President Vladimir Putin and distracted by less important issues. Trump has called reports of the intelligence assessments a “hoax” and has so far declined to address whether the U.S. has or will respond to Russia.
“Our armed forces would be better served if President Trump spent more time reading his daily briefing and less time planning military parades and defending relics of the Confederacy,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.
Trump and the White House have repeatedly insisted that the president wasn’t originally briefed because the information was unverified, even though it’s rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers. Officials have told The Associated Press and other news organizations that the information was included in one of the president’s written daily briefings last year and again this year.
The president on Thursday held a news conference to tout numbers showing added jobs in the economy. He did not mention Russia.
In a news conference shortly after a briefing Thursday with top intelligence officials, Pelosi called for tougher sanctions on Russia. She said the White House has “put on a con” that there has to be 100% consensus on intelligence for it to rise to a presidential level.
Trump, Biden spar on jobs
After the government reported a surge of 4.8 million new jobs last month and an unemployment rate of 11.1% in June, down from 13.3% in May, Trump claimed a major economic victory.
“Today’s announcement proves that our economy is roaring back,” Trump exulted to reporters.
Two hours later, former Vice President Joe Biden offered a darker assessment.
“There’s no victory to be celebrated,” Biden said in a video recorded at his home in Delaware. “We’re still down nearly 15 million jobs and the pandemic is getting worse, not better.”
“Today’s report is positive news and I’m thankful for it — for real,” Biden continued. “But make no mistake, we’re still in a deep, deep job hole because Donald Trump has so badly bungled the response to coronavirus.”