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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wave Palestinian flags outside Union Station, on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2024.
Bibi calls for anti-Iran alliance in Congress as thousands protest
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress Wednesday afternoon amid protests both inside and outside the US Capitol. He framed the war with Hamas as part of a larger conflict between the United States and Iran, and proposed an alliance of anti-Iran nations to be called “The Abraham Alliance.”
In doing so, Netanyahu cast Israeli troops as fighting on the frontlines for American interests, echoing similar sentiments about Ukrainians fighting on behalf of Western democracy. That said, he thanked President Joe Biden multiple times for his support and also lavished praise on former President Donald Trump. He’ll meet with both men this week before going home.
“It was a curious speech. On the one hand, Netanyahu went out of his way to thank Biden and note Israel’s debt to the US, and then followed it up immediately by listing Trump’s achievements,” noted Eurasia Group expert Greg Brew. “But overall, it struck the expected tone, emphasizing that Israel’s confrontation with Iran was really about protecting America.”
Netanyahu’s speech met with mostly warm reception in the halls of Congress, though a few boos were occasionally audible amid the applause. However, over 100 Congressional staffers called in sick in a coordinated protest action, and Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris declined to attend due to a scheduling conflict.
On the streets around Capitol Hill, more than 5,000 people — whom Netanyahu called “Iran’s useful idiots” — marched in protest. They chanted “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,” and accused Netanyahu of genocide, while also directing considerable invective at riot gear-clad police lining the route. Around 1:40 p.m., GZERO witnessed police on Constitution Avenue detonate a tear gas canister, which caused a mild panic in the crowd and forced at least six protesters to seek care from on-site medics.
Speakers at a rally held before the march praised pro-Palestinian activists for their efforts in the US. “The reason Joe Biden is not at the top of the nomination for the Democratic Party today is because of you, my friends,” said activist Linda Sarsour, addressing the crowd. “The reason why Kamala Harris is not presiding over the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech is because of you.”
But few at the rally expressed hope for much change from a potential Harris administration — though Gabriel, 68, a retired driver from Maryland, said he thought Harris might “see Palestinians with more empathy.”
We’re watching how Harris talks about Israel on the campaign trail, as well as whether the young people who showed up in Washington will reignite protests on college campuses this fall.
People visit the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S. March 15, 2022.
Supreme Court rejects abortion pill challenge
The nation’s highest court on Thursday unanimously rejected a broad ban on the abortion medication mifepristone, meaning patients and doctors will retain access to the increasingly important drug. Since the same court overturned federal abortion protections two years ago, a raft of states have imposed harsh bans, which has spiked demand for mifepristone since it can be safely mailed from states that permit abortion.
The court rejected arguments from anti-abortion doctors, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing in the decision that their “desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue.” Still, despite the rare unanimous decision, the activists who brought the case say they intend to revive the challenge with a fresh case, likely in a friendly jurisdiction.
They’ll have to wait in line, though. This is the most crowded Supreme Court calendar in recent memory, with over a dozen big decisions expected before the court breaks for summer recess in late June. We have our eye on the most crucial items, including the case over Trump’s claims to presidential immunity, the one that could overturn the entire legal framework for federal agency regulations, and a case that could make a mess out of US tax laws.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the media following meetings with Republicans on Capitol Hill, at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) headquarters in Washington, U.S., June 13, 2024.
Trump holds “pep rally” on return to Capitol Hill
Convicted former President Donald Trumpreturned to Capitol Hill on Thursday — the first time since his supporters attacked Congress on Jan. 6, 2021 — to deliver a behind-closed-doors speech to GOP legislators. Rep. Matt Gaetz described the mood as a “pep rally” meant to unify the Republican Party ahead of what is sure to be a grueling election.
Trump made reference from the podium to the divides within his own party, reportedly asking far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, to take it easy on House Speaker Mike Johnson. Greene ousted Johnson’s predecessor for working with Democrats to pass a spending bill and attempted to do the same to Johnson in April.
The occasion also marked the first time Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have been in the same room since the Jan. 6 attacks. McConnell previously said he held Trump “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events” of that day but now says he intends to vote for him — and to step down as the GOP’s Senate leader later this year.
Trump’s speech hopped from China (“they’re ripping us off”) to trans athletes (he’s anti) to border security (not happy), but he had a clear message for the GOP on abortion: Chill out! He reportedly said that Republicans keep losing because they endorse extreme positions on the issue and said he supported abortion policy that includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. We’re watching for signs the GOP takes his more moderate tack, and whether that helps them at the ballot box.
US Rep. Mike Johnson is surrounded by fellow members as he speaks to reporters after securing the nomination for House Speaker from the Republican conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 24, 2023.
The House Republican circus rolls on
It took five rounds of voting on Tuesday to make Tom Emmer of Minnesota the Republican nominee for speaker of the US House of Representatives … and about four more hours to persuade him his candidacy was doomed. Though he won a clear majority of House Republicans (117 of 221) in the final round of voting, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to earn the backing of 217 of 221 Republicans needed to win a majority of the full House.
That’s mainly because Emmer has a powerful Republican enemy: Donald Trump. Emmer voted to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory, and Trump has sought revenge by waging an aggressive campaign to discredit Emmer within the GOP caucus. By late afternoon on Tuesday, Trump had tweeted his opposition, and the game was up. Emmer had bowed out.
Late Tuesday night, House Republicans then voted to make Mike Johnson of Louisiana their fourth nominee for speaker. Can he get the 217 votes needed to win the job?
If he too falls short, House Republicans may finally decide they’ve had enough of closed-door meetings and secret ballots, and decide instead to empower the current temporary speaker, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, to serve for a specified period up to several weeks. That would allow the House to negotiate with Democrats on the budgetary questions needed to keep the government from shutting down next month and to consider bills granting aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Or, they could go back to square one and start voting all over again, and your GZERO Newsletter team can just keep writing this same story every few days.
How Trump shook up American democracy — & nearly severed ties with Europe
Ian Bremmer discusses US politics and the upcoming midterm elections with DC power couple Susan Glasser and Peter Baker. Glasser is a Washington columnist for the New Yorker, and Baker is the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times. They recently co-authored a new book about the Trump presidency.
The conversation, which for the first time in the show's history was recorded in front of a live studio audience, looks at the key issues in the midterm election and the Trump factor. Baker and Glasser had planned to become foreign correspondents in 2020, but because of Trump's win decided to stay in DC. Even out of office, they say Trump still looms large over the GOP, and continues to influence US politics like an "active crime scene."
The journalists also discuss Vladimir Putin, who was the subject of one of their previous books, and the Trump-Putin bromance; the two men share more in common than might immediately meet the eye.
This interview was featured in a GZERO World episode: US votes as democracy is under attack
- How Trump dominates the GOP & "impressed" these DC journalists ... ›
- Susan Glasser: Trump damaged US credibility - GZERO Media ›
- Can the US get its act together? Susan Glasser & Peter Baker on ... ›
- Behind Trump's public theater: real attacks on US standing - GZERO ... ›
- Jon Lieber: What's different about the 2022 midterms is 2024 Trump ... ›
- Europe's biggest concerns about Trump's return - GZERO Media ›
- How Trump forced Europe's hand on Ukraine - GZERO Media ›
Behind Trump’s public theater: real attacks on US standing
Right before Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser were about to get overseas correspondent gigs at The New York Times and The New Yorker, respectively. Both turned it down, deciding to stay in America to cover the Trump presidency.
But what ensued was so crazy that "we got to be foreign correspondents in our hometown," Glasser tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, for the first time in front of a live studio audience.
Trump was something no one had ever seen before in US politics. He was "from another planet in terms of Washington," says Baker. And he didn't change his style right to the very end: the Jan 6. Capitol insurrection he spurred.
For Baker, Jan. 6 was "not an outlier" but rather the result of Trump's four-year war on American political institutions.
Watch the GZERO World episode: US votes as democracy is under attack
US votes as democracy is under attack
US midterm elections have traditionally been a referendum on the president. But in 2022 even Joe Biden wants the vote to be all about his predecessor, Donald Trump, who still dominates the GOP.
In this episode of GZERO World - and for the first time in front of a live studio audience — Ian Bremmer speaks to New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker and New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser, who've just co-authored a new book about the Trump presidency.
Baker and Glasser explain how they had planned to become foreign correspondents in 2020 but after Trump's win decided to stay in DC, covering him like being foreign correspondents in their own town. What's more, even out of office, they say Trump still looms large over the GOP, and continues to influence US politics like an "active crime scene.
And, of course, there's always Trump's bromance with Vladimir Putin, who share more in common than might immediately meet the eye.
- The Graphic Truth — Biden's first midterms: How does he stack up ... ›
- Democrats hope to use Jan 6 Trump focus to gain edge in midterms ... ›
- How Trump dominates the GOP & "impressed" these DC journalists ... ›
- Can the US get its act together? Susan Glasser & Peter Baker on ... ›
- Democracy is resilient - but so is authoritarianism around the world - GZERO Media ›
Join us for our Global Stage event live from Washington DC
WATCH : Today at 3:30 pm ET, GZERO Media streamed from the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, to discuss "Financing the Future" as part of our Global Stage series.
Moderator Jeanna Smialek, Federal Reserve reporter at The New York Times, led the conversation with Eurasia Group and GZERO Media president Ian Bremmer, World Bank president David Malpass, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Republic of Indonesia, and Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt. We also heard from Vickie Robinson, General Manager, Microsoft Airband Initiative, and Gintarė Skaistė, Minister of Finance, Lithuania.
GZERO Media's Webby Award-nominated Global Stage series is produced in partnership with Microsoft.
Live from Washington, DC: Financing the Future
Thursday, April 21
3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT
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