The day after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 inmates on death row, incoming President Donald Trump doubled down on his commitment to the death penalty.

Trump took to his Truth Social account to condemn Biden and promote the death penalty on Tuesday morning.

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country. When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Trump wrote.

READ MORE: Biden Ignores Military Death Row In Commutation Spree

Not quite three hours later, he had more to say:

“As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” Trump added, alongside a screenshot of a tweet by the New York Post promoting their article about the commutations, with the headline “Biden commutes death sentences of child killers and mass murderers 2 days before Christmas.”

Though Biden initially promised to pass a law banning federal executions, once elected, he backtracked on that promise, according to NBC News. His administration did, however, halt all federal executions during his term. Monday, he gave all but three inmates on death row life sentences without parole instead. The three exceptions were Dylann Roof, the man who killed nine at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooter; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber. In his statement announcing the move to commute the sentences, he said the only exception were those convicted of “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

Biden’s move comes after Trump campaigned on increasing the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty. The ACLU warned that Trump would “kill everyone on death row,” if given the chance. During his first term, Trump executed 13 federal inmates, with the last execution happening five days before Biden’s inauguration, according to the Associated Press.

Though Grover Cleveland is best known as the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms as president, he has another thing in common with Trump. Trump’s 13 federal executions is the highest number in the modern era, while Cleveland is the president who executed the most federal prisoners. In Cleveland’s first term, 23 prisoners were executed, and another 24 were killed in his second, for a total of 47.  Only Ulysses S. Grant and James Monroe have more executions than Trump, at 23 and 20 respectively.

Image via Reuters

President Joe Biden said he “strongly opposes” a section of a bill that would strip funding for gender care for trans kids in military families, but signed it anyway.

The National Defense Authorization Act gives $895 billion to the Department of Defense, State Department, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence agencies, as well as national security programs at the Department of Energy. The bill was passed with bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

Normally, this would be a straightforward funding bill, but earlier this month, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) added a provision blocking TRICARE, which funds health care for service members, from paying for gender-affirming care for children. This will affect approximately 2,500 trans kids, according to Newsweek.

READ MORE: Lone Dissenter Calls Texas Supreme Court Transgender Ruling ‘Cruel, Unconstitutional’

Biden signed the bill on Monday, although called out that section in a statement.

“My Administration strongly opposes Division A, title VII, subtitle A, section 708 of the Act, which inhibits the Department of Defense’s ability to treat all persons equally under the law, no matter their gender identity.  By prohibiting the use of appropriated funds, the Department of Defense will be compelled to contravene clinical practice guidelines and clinical recommendations,” Biden wrote.

“The provision targets a group based on that group’s gender identity and interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children.  This section undermines our all-volunteer military’s ability to recruit and retain the finest fighting force the world has ever known by denying health care coverage to thousands of our service members’ children.  No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve our Nation,” he continued.

The news created quick backlash, with people calling out what they see as hypocrisy and a failure to protect trans kids.

“And just like that, the first anti LGBTQ bill in nearly 3 decades was signed by Biden and passed by a Democratic senate. It included a ban on gender affirming care for trans children of military families. So much for having our back, you god damn liar,” journalist Alejandra Caraballo wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.

And just like that, the first anti LGBTQ bill in nearly 3 decades was signed by Biden and passed by a Democratic senate. It included a ban on gender affirming care for trans children of military families. So much for having our back, you god damn liar. www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo…

— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) 2024-12-24T13:11:07.737Z

Caraballo is referring to the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. While allowing LGBTQ people to serve in the military, it prohibited them from talking about or expressing their queerness, even while off duty. Military officials were, however, also prohibited from asking if a service member was gay. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

In the wake of anti-trans ads from Republican candidates in the 2024 election, Democrats have been accused of moving to dump transgender rights from their platform. Some elected Democrats have even called out the party’s prior embrace of LGBTQ rights.

“The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told the New York Times. “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports.” He then offered some advice to his party: “Democrats aren’t saying that, and they should be.”

“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Rep. Seth Moulton, (D-Mass.) said. “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

The minimal pushback on the National Defense Authorization Act is just another signal that Democrats are backing down on defending one of the most vulnerable populations in American society.

Image via Shutterstock

Nearly a quarter of Republican voters said that they want President Donald Trump to run for a third term in 2028, despite his being ineligible, according to a new poll.

According to the most recent Emerson College poll, that while 30% would vote for Vice President-elect JD Vance in a hypothetical 2028 Republican primary, 23% want Trump to run for a third term.  Another 28% were undecided. The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters between November 20-22, and has a margin of error of 3%.

As it stands, the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits a president from holding the office twice. An exception is made if a president is replaced with less than two years left of their term. For example, President Lyndon Johnson replaced John F. Kennedy in 1963 with a year left to his term. Johnson won in 1964, and could have run again in 1968, but chose not to. The only president to serve more than two terms is Franklin Roosevelt, who was elected four times in a row prior to the 22nd Amendment being ratified.

READ MORE: Trump to Seek Third Term If Re-Elected ‘Because They Spied on My Campaign’

Despite the constitutional prohibition, Trump has repeatedly made comments about running again. A common refrain during his rallies during his first term was that he’d never leave the White House. And just last week, he again made a reference to a 2028 run in a meeting with House Republicans, according to The Hill.

“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you do something,” Trump said. “Unless you say, ‘He’s so good, we have to just figure it out.’”

This summer during his campaign, at a Christian summit he told people that if they voted for him to win the 2024 election, “you won’t have to do do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote any more, my beautiful Christians.”

However, in an interview on Fox News, Trump said he was referring specifically for voting for him, not voting in general, according to the Guardian.

“That statement is very simple, I said, ‘Vote for me, you’re not gonna have to do it ever again,’” Trump said. “It’s true, because we have to get the vote out. Christians are not known as a big voting group, they don’t vote. And I’m explaining that to them. You never vote. This time, vote. I’ll straighten out the country, you won’t have to vote any more, I won’t need your vote any more, you can go back to not voting.”

In the interview, he said that he would leave after his second term was up, adding “I did last time,” referring to his loss in the 2020 election. While that is true, he constantly claimed that the election was “stolen,” leading Trump supporters to raid the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to stop the electoral votes from being certified, formalizing President Joe Biden’s win.

Image via Reuters