contest it is taking shape. new and familiar presidential faces jump into the 24 contest. selling themselves as the next and best alternative to donald trump. speaking of, incriminating new evidence this weekend in the classified documents case, not just one of trump s also tonight, legislating inaction. president biden rex up another big win in washington by delivering on a key campaign promise. it is pride month, the love story that triggered a movement for equality in chicago, and beyond. this is american voices. we begin this hour in iowa. a crucial stop for gop presidential candidates, as they work to find footing in a republican party defined by trumpism. this afternoon, a republican 2024 hopefuls stumped in des moines, at a fund-raiser hosted by joni ernst, noticeably absent, front runner donald trump. chief rival, for now, florida governor, ron desantis. he was there, desantis used the moment to lean into trumpism. while also trying to convince voters he is the best
lane of brighter, better american future. so if he s owning them on freedom, and he s owning them on a better tomorrow. i don t really know how much is left for them. yeah, joe biden presenting himself as an aspirational figure on the political landscape, at a time when kevin mccarthy, though he has tried so hard this week to declare victory and present republican priorities are so important to the nation, truly, the house republicans were practitioners of doomsday-ism throughout this debt ceiling debate. i find it amazing, i really do, the strategic decision of joe biden and his white house on messaging was almost one just to wait. just to wait. because understand what happens, what they can say to the nation now, which is a democratic led coalition in the house and senate, and a democratic president, saved the u.s. economy. kevin mccarthy is the only one taking a victory lap. think about that. the strategy of joe biden, alicia, it was to lean into
of this. i will take that optimism where i can get it. congresswoman, becca balint, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. i m going to bring back in david jolly, and jennifer rubin, who i did not allowed to leave. friends, i m very happy to be sitting here with you talking about how this is all going to play out in the context of a presidential election. rather than sitting here wondering if or not we are going to hit that june 5th default deadline, talking about the economic peril that we could be in. we get to go back to talking about politics. jennifer, this fits into multiple frames that joe biden is trying to walk into 2024 with. it fits into the confidence frame. it fits into the compromise frame. how then do they communicate the perils of what could have happened, and the reality of what did happen under president biden s leadership to voters? i think the presidential address on friday was a little bit of a preview of what he s
process, in the light of day, and making sure that we are making decisions that are in the best interest of the american people. it s not good for any state or constituents to see a small group of people negotiating behind closed doors. it should be happening within the agriculture committee for the farm bill. the appropriations committee. i applaud the president, i think he came out on top. i think he saved us from a lot of horrible cuts that were on the punch list. but we don t want to go through this again. i think having a bill that says we abolish the debt ceiling, and we pay our bills, that s what the constitution says. we have to pay our bills. to that point, it was an asymmetric fight. at the same time, there was a lot of talk in the run up to this about this being a test for hakeem jeffries. this being a task for kevin mccarthy. does this give you any sense that there is the possibility of compromise on other legislation moving forward in this congress?
the white house, posting this video of the signing. the budget agreement avoids the first ever u.s. default and cuts federal spending. the president last night, touting the bipartisan compromise. it was critical to reach an agreement. and it s very good news for the american people. no one got everything they wanted, but the american people got what they needed. the averted an economic crisis. an economic collapse. in this debate, i refused to put what was responsible for all this economic progress on the chopping block. i ve never been more optimistic about america s future. biden s optimism comes after some democrats had to hold their nose and choose compromise over economic demise. congressman, becca balint, was one of the democrats who signed off this deal. saying in a statement, quote, while there are parts of this bill that i oppose, the alternative of a default is unacceptable and would be devastating to for. monitors with me now, vermont congresswoman, becca balint. congres