The Biden protective bubble will only tighten in the months ahead
21 January 2021
The Joe Biden who became the 46th president on Wednesday isn't the same blabbermouth who failed in 1988 and 2008.
Why it matters: Biden now heeds guidance about staying on task with speeches and no longer worries a gaffe or two will cost him an election. His staff also limits the places where he speaks freely and off the cuff. This Biden protective bubble will only tighten in the months ahead, aides tell Axios.
One prominent Democrat says the lingering question is can a nearly 80-year-old person "process" multiple major issues like the pandemic, a sagging economy, an ascendant China and pesky Russia?
The acid test, this Democrat said on the condition of anonymity, was whether Biden could ace a Rose Garden news conference.
- His Dec. 22 press conference in Wilmington, Delaware, suggested he could pull it off, if prepped and rested.
- Biden opened up with about 14 minutes of remarks read from a massive teleprompter. But then he closed his book and faced nearly 20 questions, gaffe-free and with several clever turns of phrase.
What to watch: The Biden White House will use the cover of coronavirus precautions to greatly curtail his freelance moments and access to him. Truth is, he’s a 78-year-old, high-risk American, so it isn't just good politics but good policy.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.