Who has to do well in the Democratic debates this week?

Who has to do well in the Democratic debates this week?

Who has to do well in the Democratic debates this week?

Well at the top end. Former V.P. Joe Biden had better do better than he did in the first debate. He's recovered in the polls from that. But a bad second debate would be really problematic. And then the second tier - a lot of those candidates are going to be gone without a strong debate performance. That's Booker, Castro, Gillibrand a bunch of others. They're going to be gone if they don't have good debates.

What's going on at the DCCC?

Well black and Latino lawmakers are saying that there's not anywhere near enough diversity in the top ranks. They're calling for the executive director to be fired. It's a real mess at the House campaign arm for Democrats.

Is talk of impeachment over?

Far from it. In fact the number of House Democrats calling for impeachment is rising. There's now over 100, which is about half the Democratic caucus. So it's still very much alive.

The Rant: President Trump and the Fed

He's out there again bashing the Fed saying interest rate hikes have badly slowed the economy and they should cut this week. They're going to cut this week but largely because of Trump's economic policy particularly on trade which has slowed down manufacturing in the U.S. and around the globe.

More from GZERO Media

GZERO

Listen: On this episode of the GZERO World Podcast, while the Gaza war rages on with no end in sight, Ian Bremmer and three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman discuss how it could end, who is standing in the way, and what comes next. It may seem premature to talk about a resolution to this conflict, but Friedman argues that it is more important now than ever to map out a viable endgame. "Either we're going to go into 2024 with some really new ideas,” Friedman tells Ian, “or we're going back to 1947 with some really new weapons."

2024 04 04 E0819 Quick Take CLEAN FINAL

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: On the back of the Israeli Defense Forces strike killing seven members of aid workers for the World Central Kitchen, their founder, Chef Jose Andres, is obviously very angry. The Israelis immediately apologized and took responsibility for the act. He says that this was intentionally targeting his workers. I have a hard time believing that the IDF would have wanted to kill his workers intentionally. Anyone that's saying the Israelis are only to blame for this—as well as the enormous civilian death toll in this war–I strongly disagree.

President Joe Biden pauses during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.
Miriam Alster/REUTERS

Biden told Netanyahu that the humanitarian situation in Gaza and strikes on aid workers were “unacceptable,” the White House readout of the call said.

Commander Shingo Nashinoki, 50, and soldiers of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), Japan's first marine unit since World War Two, take part in a military drill as U.S. Marines observe, on the uninhabited Irisuna island close to Okinawa, Japan, November 15, 2023.
REUTERS

Given the ugly World War II history between the two countries, that would be a startling development.

Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko listens to the presidential candidate he is backing in the March 24 election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, as they hold a joint press conference a day after they were released from prison, in Dakar, Senegal March 15, 2024.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Newly inaugurated Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in his first act in office, appointed his mentor Ousmane Sonko as prime minister on Wednesday.