New York Magazine places reporter on leave after alleged relationship with RFK Jr.
(NEW YORK) — New York Magazine placed its Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, on leave this week after it learned she allegedly “had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign,” the outlet said in a statement.
According to the news outlet Status, the relationship was allegedly with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate who suspended his campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
In its statement, New York Magazine did not name Kennedy, and a spokeswoman for the outlet did not respond to an ABC News request to confirm that he is in fact the subject in question.
But in statements, neither Nuzzi nor a Kennedy representative denied Status’ reporting that Kennedy was involved.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Nuzzi said in a statement. “During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News in a statement, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
Spear did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Kennedy denies the allegation of a romantic relationship.
A profile by Nuzzi of Kennedy, in which she hiked with the candidate near his southern California home, published in November.
At the time, Kennedy had recently dropped his Democratic presidential bid to run as an independent and was polling promisingly in swing states.
But a cash shortage and a wave of unflattering headlines blunted his campaign.
Kennedy is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, who has not commented publicly on the alleged relationship.
Nuzzi’s ex-fiancée, Ryan Lizza, Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent, wrote in the Friday’s “Playbook” newsletter, “Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancee, my editors and I have agreed that I won’t be involved in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO.”
(CHICAGO) — Former President Bill Clinton made an astounding claim at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night about the relative success of Democratic presidents when compared to their Republican counterparts in the area of job creation. The statistic is misleading, however.
“Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. I swear I checked this three times. Even I couldn’t believe it. What’s the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1,” Clinton told the audience at the United Center in Chicago.
Technically, the statistic is accurate, as long as one sets the date for the end of the Cold War at around January 1989. But the statistic omits relevant information.
To start, the Berlin Wall did not fall until November 1989. Beginning the tally in November 1989 would have shaved off some additional jobs created under President George H.W. Bush, leaving the Republicans at a net-negative job tally over the years since. That statistic would have appeared even more lopsided.
By setting his calculation to begin at the end of the Cold War, meanwhile, Clinton leaves out 16.8 million jobs created under President Ronald Reagan from 1980 to 1988.
Since January 1989, the U.S. has added 51.5 million jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. During Democratic administrations, the nation has added nearly 50 million of those jobs. By contrast, Republican presidents have overseen the creation of some 1.5 million jobs over that period, according to BLS data.
In general, presidents exert limited control over the jobs created while they’re in office. Each of the last three Republican presidents – George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump — ended his term in office during a period of economic difficulty.
For instance, debate persists over the extent to which George W. Bush deserves blame for the Great Recession, when some of the contributing factors took hold before he entered office. The Great Recession also weighed on the economy during the Obama presidency, but the downturn began before he took office.
In all, George H.W. Bush oversaw the creation of 2.6 million jobs, while George W. Bush helped the economy add another 2.1 million jobs. A portion of those gains is wiped out, however, by 2.8 million job losses under Trump as a result of COVID-19.
Economists disagree in their assessment of Trump’s handling of the economy after the outbreak of the pandemic.
Still, Clinton accurately notes that Democratic presidents have overseen the economy during periods of booming job growth. The economy added 23.2 million jobs during the Clinton administration, and another 10.5 million jobs during the presidency of Barack Obama.
Over the first three and half years of the Biden administration, the economy has added 16.2 million jobs.
(INDIANAPOLIS) — As Vice President Kamala Harris ramps up her presidential campaign, she spoke to fired-up members of historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta in Indianapolis on Wednesday, where she highlighted Biden administration wins and worked to shore up support from Black voters — a key voting group in the 2024 election.
“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past, and with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future, and let us be clear about what that future looks like,” said Harris, who was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority — another historically Black sorority.
“I know the leaders in this room, and I know the future we believe in, and we fight for,” the vice president added.
Harris’ 15-minute-long speech was well-received in the room of about 6,000 Zetas, where she was met with raucous applause throughout.
Harris touted some wins under President Joe Biden such as forgiving student loan debt, working to establish affordable childcare and tackling prescription drug costs.
She mentioned Biden’s address to the nation on Wednesday night — where he will talk about his decision to abandon his reelection bid.
“Tonight, our president will address the nation about his decision to step down as a candidate, and he will talk about not only the work, the extraordinary work that he has accomplished, but about his work in the next six months,” Harris said.
Harris also slammed former President Donald Trump over Project 2025, the conservative presidential transition blueprint fronted by the Heritage Foundation.
Zeta Phi Beta, like Harris’s own sorority, is a part of the “Divine Nine” — a collection of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities. Both the Zetas and the AKAs were founded at the vice president’s alma mater of Howard University, a historically Black university.
The significance of this moment for these women is profound. A last-minute organizing fundraising Zoom call Sunday night saw some 44,000 Black women donating nearly $1.6 million, which contributed to a record-breaking $126 million raised since President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Harris for the job, according to a memo the campaign sent outlining its path forward.
“Vice President Harris has well-documented support from the Biden-Harris coalition of voters that delivered victory in 2020,” said campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon. “She has significant advantages with key parts of the Democratic base: Black voters, Latino voters, AANHPI voters, women, and young voters.”
Black voters are a key group of voters that both Harris and Trump will work to connect with as the November election approaches.
During her speech, Harris encouraged the Black attendees to head to the polls to “make history.”
“We know when we organize, mountains move; when we mobilize, nations change; and when we vote, we make history,” Harris said. “So let us continue to fight with optimism and faith and hope. Because when we fight, we win.”
Trump — as well as then-candidate Biden — have worked to court Black and Hispanic voters on the issues of the economy, education, immigration and more.
Trump has recently attended events at Black Conservative Federation Gala in South Carolina, 180 Church in Michigan and New York City’s South Bronx to court Black voters and announce his “Black Americans for Trump” coalition.
Trump has centered his appeal to Black voters by equating his criminal prosecutions to the historic discrimination Black Americans have faced.
The Harris campaign’s push comes at a time when it’s trying to shore up continued interest from a constituency that has historically voted for Democrats.
Harris’ event, which the White House announced in early July — before Biden’s decision to leave the 2024 race, came at a controversial time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week and addressed Congress on Wednesday — yet Harris was not there. It marks the first time Harris will miss a world leader visit since she has become vice president.
Harris, who in her secondary role to the president, has created some distance from Biden on the war in Gaza. Some pro-Palestinian groups tell ABC News that if she is able to strike the right tone in the coming weeks, she could win back the support Biden had lost.
The vice president is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.
(CHICAGO) — For much of the 2024 campaign, President Joe Biden could easily see himself taking the stage at the Democratic National Convention to accept the party’s nomination — a victory lap as he sought a second term in the White House.
But now, Biden’s prime-time speech in Chicago on Monday night will mark a bittersweet moment for his legacy and for the party.
It comes after a rapid shuffle catapulted Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket as Biden exited the race amid Democrats’ concerns about his age and ability to campaign reached a boiling point.
“This is extraordinary in a lot of ways in politics because sitting presidents don’t often turn over the reins,” said Jim Kessler, co-founder of the center-left think tank Third Way.
The scene will be a study in political contrasts, he says.
“In a way, it feels like a Hall of Fame athlete that’s making the tour to stadiums in the final season. But it’s also a torch passing and the Harris campaign is about the future,” Kessler said. “The needle I expect Biden will thread is celebrating the past and focusing on the future.”
Biden is slated to speak on the opening night of what will be a four-day gathering of prominent Democrats from across the nation culminating in Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz celebrating her history-making rise to become the party’s nominee.
Asked by a reporter on Sunday how he was feeling about his Monday night keynote, he responded, “Good, real good.”
The White House said last week Biden was looking forward to addressing not only Democrats but the nation about what’s at stake this election and to call for unity.
“He understands this is an incredibly important moment,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “He’s still very much the leader of the party, right? And he takes that very seriously. And he’s also very proud of his vice president.”
First lady Jill Biden, his strongest advocate, will speak before him, and afterward the couple heads to California, not planning to stay for Harris’ speech Thursday night.
Biden endorsed Harris minutes after he announced he would no longer run for reelection. At their first joint appearance since then, an event last Thursday to tout lower prescription drug prices, Biden said she would make “one hell of a president” as he was met by the crowd with chants of “Thank you, Joe!” — a rallying call that could very well emerge at the DNC.
But the road from his poor debate performance against Donald Trump in late June to his bowing out of the race was rocky, as he initially remained defiant against calls for him to step aside. With a growing drumbeat of Democratic lawmakers publicly urging him to drop out, private pressure from Democratic leaders such as Nancy Pelosi and polls showing the gap between he and Trump widening, Biden officially withdrew on July 21.
“All signs pointed to him wanting to have delivered that acceptance speech but the road was closed by funders, by the public, by the media, by key power brokers within the party, and so he’s having to switch up and it’s awkward,” said William Howell, an American politics professor at the University of Chicago.
Still, observers expect Biden to receive a resounding hero’s welcome at the convention.
“There will certainly be some callouts to his accomplishments, which aren’t trivial,” Howell said.
Biden is likely to tout some of his policy achievements, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which led to Medicare price negotiations and climate change investments; the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major piece of federal gun reform in decades; and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $550 billion in new spending for highways, bridges, public transit and more.
“He will paint himself as a unique president that served at a time when the nation needed someone who could stabilize the important institutions and who was able to get things done inside these institutions that are often strained because of partisanship,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston who focuses on the presidency.
“He has a record that would reelect an incumbent,” said Kessler. “What stood in the way was voters concerned about his age.”
Kessler added, “There’s a luxury to giving a speech when you don’t have to convince voters to vote for you. So there’s an aspect to his address on Monday that’s freeing.”
But much of Biden’s legacy may rest on what happens with the Democratic Party going forward, starting with Harris’ candidacy.
In an Oval Office address explaining his 2024 decision, Biden said that personal ambition couldn’t get in the way of saving democracy and that it was time to usher in the next generation.
“In 2024, he stepped aside so that she and the party could succeed. That magnanimous act is only complete if it’s fully successful,” Rottinghaus said. “Harris winning would be a legacy-defining moment for a president who said that he was going to be a bridge between the past and the future.”