Joe Biden has a cold
Joe Biden has a cold
Plus: Supreme Court rules on presidential immunity
Hi, I’m Hunter and welcome to Whig, my new newsletter about politics and pop culture. I’m just getting started so I’d love to hear your feedback. If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who you think might appreciate this newsletter, please do forward it.
A CBS News-YouGov poll released Sunday found 72% of registered voters believe President Joe Biden does not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, up from 65% in early June. It’s bad news for Biden on the heels of his poor performance in last week’s presidential debate, which staff blamed on Biden having a cold and the debate’s late start time.
But Biden defended his record in office at a rally the following day where he appeared much more energized. “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said. “I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.”
Biden’s debate stumble has been good for fundraising, and there is one piece of good news for Biden in the poll: a 40% plurality believed Biden told the truth during the debate compared to just 32% who said the same of former President Donald Trump. Expect to hear Democrats play up Biden’s honesty more as they make the case he deserves another term. — Hunter
Supreme Court rules on presidential immunity:
In a federal case accusing Trump of illegally attempting to overturn the 2020 election, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today that former presidents are immune from being charged for "official" acts in office. “The President is not above the law,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling. “But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who filed a dissenting opinion with the court’s two other liberal justices, wrote that the decision altered “the paradigm of accountability for Presidents of the United States.” She suggested a hypothetical president who admitted to ordering the assassination of his political rivals would have a fair shot at getting immunity under the court majority’s ruling. “To say that someone is immune from criminal prosecution is to say that, like a King, he ‘is not under the coercive power of the law,’” Sotomayor wrote.
Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that the ruling was a “Big win for our Constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American.” Biden said in a White House address tonight that the ruling “means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do” and it sets a “dangerous precedent” because “the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law.”
FLOTUS covers Vogue’s August issue:
First Lady Jill Biden was photographed by Norman Jean Roy in an all-white Ralph Lauren Collection dress for the August 2024 cover of Vogue with the cover line “We Will Decide Our Future.” The cover story was topped with an editor’s note in light of last week’s debate. It read in part, “Reached by phone on June 30 at Camp David, where the Biden family had gathered for the weekend, she told Vogue that they ‘will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president. We will continue to fight.’”
In the story, Biden says, “Each campaign is unique,” but she adds “this one, the urgency is different. We know what’s at stake. Joe is asking the American people to come together to draw a line in the sand against all this vitriol.” FLOTUS also got a shout out from Jane O’Meara Sanders, the wife of Sen Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who said she sees Biden “as a first lady in the Eleanor Roosevelt mold—getting out into the community, making sure those voices are getting heard in Washington.”
Biden campaigned in support of her husband at last Friday’s rally in Raleigh, N.C. wearing a version of Christian Siriano’s 2020 “Vote” gown. She cast the debate as a contest between “a president with integrity and character, who told the truth, and Donald Trump told lie after lie after lie.”
Harris makes BET Awards cameo:
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared in a prerecorded skit with Taraji P. Henson during Sunday’s BET Awards. The spot, which was labeled “Paid For By Biden/Harris” (native advertising!) showed the women on a video call as Henson talked about being worried about the election.
When Henson asked Harris what to do, the Veep responded, “We will do what we have always done, fight for our freedoms. But here’s the thing, we cannot fight alone. We need to get our families, our friends, co-workers, cousins, play cousins, aunties, and uncles, get all of them to register to vote.” Harris also dropped in a Kendrick Lamar reference: “these extremists, as they say, they not like us.”
Melania’s hosting a fundraiser for a gay conservative group at Trump Tower:
Former First Lady Melania Trump didn’t attend last week’s debate with her husband and she’s been M.I.A. from the campaign trail, but she is scheduled to hold a rare political event next week. Trump is headlining a fundraiser next Monday at Trump Tower for the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay conservative group.
The July 8 fundraiser is the second event Trump has hosted this year for the group, following an April fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell is listed as a committee co-host and attendees are asked to give $100,000 to attend, according to Politico.
Obamas celebrate the life of Marian Robinson:
President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy for his late mother-in-law Marian Robinson last week at a memorial service at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago. Former First Lady Michelle Obama gave a “joint welcome” with her brother Craig Robinson and Dr. Biden even flew in for the occasion. Robinson died on May 31 at the age of 86. In a joint statement, the Obamas called Robinson their “rock” and said “we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”
Nikki Haley remembers her father:
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley mourned the loss of her father Ajit Randhawa, who died on Father’s Day at the age of 90. In a social media post, Haley called her father “the smartest, sweetest, kindest, most decent man I have ever known.” “He taught his kids the importance of faith, hard work, and grace,” Haley wrote. The funeral was held at the Shives Funeral Home in Columbia, S.C.
Paris Hilton testified on the Hill in support of child welfare:
Musician, author, reality TV star, and child welfare advocate Paris Hilton spoke before the House Ways and Means Committee last Wednesday in support of the federal Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. “I am here to be the voice for the children whose voices can't be heard,” Hilton said in a heartfelt opening statement in which spoke about the mistreatment she faced at youth residential treatment facilities when she was young. “I will not stop until America's youth is safe.” Hilton has helped pass laws about childhood welfare in nine states.
“Paris Hilton has been a voice for over 100,000 minors across the country who could be at risk of abuse and neglect in the so-called ‘troubled teen industry,’” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, told Whig. “For decades, the $23 billion industry has put profits over the safety of America’s kids. My bipartisan bill, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, has over 100 cosponsors and will shed light on the abuse and neglect occurring in congregate care programs around the country. I will continue pushing to get this bill to the President’s desk.”
There was one light-hearted moment during Hilton’s remarks when she complimented Rep. Claudia Tenney’s (R-N.Y.) jacket. “I wanted to find out who made it later,” Hilton said before her voice dropped an octave and she got back to business (see below). Absolutely sliving.
Gretchen Whitmer talks fashion criticism in her forthcoming book:
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) book True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything In Between is coming out next Tuesday from Simon & Schuster. In an exclusive excerpt shared with People, Whitmer wrote about delivering her State of the State address and being criticized for the dress she wore. She said comments about her dress, which she got from Rent the Runway, were highlighted by a local Fox affiliate and “read like a giant sexist haiku.”
“Until this report came out, I had felt good about my speech,” Whitmer wrote. “But when I watched this report about people criticizing my body, I was hurt. Not because people didn’t think I looked good — I don’t care about that. It was because I was trying to do something good, and met with a torrent of demoralizing, superficial sexist commentary.” The 2018 election was dubbed the “Year of the Women,” but, “still we had to deal with this kind of crap,” she wrote.
A rising Democratic star, Whitmer phoned the Biden camp last week and said she wasn’t behind buzz that she could be a possible replacement for Biden, according to Politico, but said she believed the state was no longer winnable for him following the debate. In a statement after the story published, she said, “Not only do I believe Joe can win Michigan, I know he can because he’s got the receipts.”
Why Carolyn Bessette Kennedy is still a fashion icon today:
The style of the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy is the subject of a new book, CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion. Author Sunita Kumar Nair told CBS Sunday Morning there are “social media accounts all based on Carolyn's style” today and fashion designers still look to her for inspiration. Her staples? A white tee, a great coat or jacket, and jeans. “The foundations,” Nair said.
Washington Post columnist Robin Givhan said “there is a subtext of just sadness, I think, that goes through the book” because Bessette “looked like such an unwilling subject” in most of the photos taken of her by paparazzi. “In most of these photographs, she is turned away from the camera, or she looks like she's just really trying to crawl into herself.”
July 16 will mark 25 years since Bessette, her husband and George magazine founder John F. Kennedy Jr., and Bessette’s sister Lauren Bessette were killed in a plane crash.
Teddy Roosevelt’s long-lost pocket watch has been recovered:
A silver pocket watch gifted to Teddy Roosevelt by his sister when he left for the Spanish-American War was stolen from an exhibit in 1987, but it has now been found. The watch became a consignment piece which turned up at a Florida auction, according to the National Park Service, or NPS.
After the NPS Investigative Services Branch and FBI Art Crime team proved the watch was U.S. property, it was taken to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island, Roosevelt’s summer White House, where it’s now on display. I can already feel our powers as a nation intensifying now that the watch has been returned.
🇫🇷 French voters propel far-right National Rally to strong lead in first-round legislative elections. The far-right National Rally leaped into a strong lead Sunday in France’s first round of legislative elections, bringing the party closer to being able to form a government in round two and dealing a major slap to centrist President Emmanuel Macron and his risky decision to call the surprise ballot. [Associated Press]
📺 MTV News archives go offline. More than two decades’ worth of content published on MTVNews dot com is no longer available after MTV appears to have fully pulled down the site and its related content. MTV shuttered its news division last year. [Variety]
🏳️🌈 Corporate Pride is down. Just 45 of the Fortune 100 companies had at least one social media post on LinkedIn or X explicitly related to Pride as of June 21. That’s down from 51 last year. [CNBC]
💌 The U.S. Postal Service’s new Jeopardy stamps are perfect. Alex Trebek, the late, beloved longtime Jeopardy! host, has a sheet of 20 Forever stamps coming out this month in his honor. The stamps all feature the same clue, “This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons,” and “Who is Alex Trebek?” written upside down at the bottom. [Yello]
🃏 Mattel will make 80% of its games color-blind accessible by the end of the year. Everyone deserves to crush their opponents in Uno. Now slight design changes will make gameplay possible for people with color blindness. [Fast Company]
Post Malone and Morgan Wallen return to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100:
After being displaced from No. 1 last week by Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen has returned to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a sixth nonconsecutive week. It’s now the longest-running No. 1 hit of the year.
Inside Out 2 crosses the $1 billion mark:
Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has now earned more than $1 billion at the global box office, becoming the first film to cross that threshold since Barbie last year as well as the fastest animated movie to reach $1 billion ever, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Halsey teases a Britney Spears sample:
In an Instagram post, Halsey wore a tee that said “Lucky” and teased a new song called “Lucky” that borrows some lyrics and melody from the Britney Spears song of the same name. “When I was 5, it always felt like Britney was singing directly to me,” she wrote in the caption. “24 years later, these words hit different.” Inject this into my veins, please.
Brat summer is just getting start:
The Brat wall in Brooklyn promoting Charli XCX’s new album brat just got a new brat green paint job that reads “ok, bye!” That doesn’t mean the brat era is over, though. “brat summer is only just beginning :)” the singer wrote on X.
Celine Dion made a surprise appearance at the NHL draft:
Fresh off the release of I Am: Celine Dion, a documentary that looks at the challenges she faces following her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Celine Dion made a surprise appearance at the NHL draft. There she announced that the Montreal Canadiens had selected 18-year-old Russian-born Ivan Demidov. “It’s unbelievable,” Demidov said about getting his name called by the singer. He said he’s familiar with her music because he watched Titanic.
Justin Timberlake’s ruined tour goes on:
During a Saturday stop of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour in Boston, Justin Timberlake joked about his recent arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. “So, uh, is there anyone here tonight that is driving?” he asked. “No, I’m just kidding.” Gotta address the elephant in the room somehow, I guess. Timberlake is scheduled to be in court on July 26, the day of his tour stop in Krakow, Poland.
Bill Nye is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame:
Everyone’s favorite TV science educator Bill Nye is finally getting some recognition. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced its Walk of Fame class of 2025 last week, including Nye, who was once a Boeing engineer before hosting Bill Nye the Science Guy beginning in 1993. Other stars that will be getting their own stars are Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Jane Fonda, Chris Wallace, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Green Day, Keith Urban, David Beckham, and Prince posthumously. You can view the full list here.
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐