There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Democracy Now!’s independent reporting is more important than ever, when only a galvanized, engaged public, supported by resilient, pro-democracy grassroots movements, can prevent authoritarianism from triumphing. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!
Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman
There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Democracy Now!’s independent reporting is more important than ever, when only a galvanized, engaged public, supported by resilient, pro-democracy grassroots movements, can prevent authoritarianism from triumphing. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!
Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman
We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.
Please do your part today.
President Biden and Donald Trump appear headed for a rematch in November after both candidates won nearly every race on Super Tuesday, when millions of voters in 15 states went to the polls. Trump’s only remaining rival, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, is expected to drop out of the race today after beating Trump in just Vermont on Tuesday. Biden won every Democratic contest on Super Tuesday except American Samoa, where he lost to a little-known tech investor named Jason Palmer.
Despite Biden’s victories, many Democratic voters continue to show dismay over his support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. In Minnesota, 19% of voters in the Democratic primary chose “uncommitted.” About 12% of voters cast ballots for “no preference” in North Carolina, as did 9% in Massachusetts.
During an interview Tuesday, Donald Trump broke his silence on the war in Gaza by openly endorsing Israel’s actions. He spoke to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.
Brian Kilmeade: “The 'noncommitted' vote that Biden is getting, they’re not going to like you, either, because you are firmly in Israel’s camp, correct? Are you” —
Donald Trump: “Yeah.”
Brian Kilmeade: — “on board with the way the IDF is taking the fight to — in Gaza?”
Donald Trump: “You’ve got to finish the problem. You had a horrible invasion. It took place. It would have never happened if I was president, by the way.”
Over the weekend, Trump reportedly met with billionaire Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest men. Trump is seeking to boost his fundraising at a time when he is at risk of losing much of his personal fortune. Last month, a New York judge ordered him to pay $454 million in a civil fraud case.
In California, Democratic Congressmember Adam Schiff and the Republican baseball-star-turned-politician Steve Garvey are headed for a showdown in November to fill the Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein. Schiff and Garvey won the top two spots in California’s closely watched nonpartisan primary. Protesters chanting “ceasefire now” interrupted Schiff’s victory speech.
Rep. Adam Schiff: “It would not be possible to get through all the travails of these challenging times without my incredible family.”
Protesters: “Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now!”
Rep. Adam Schiff: “I also want to thank my brother Dan and my brother David, who’s also here this evening.”
Democratic Congressmembers Katie Porter and Barbara Lee placed third and fourth in the California Senate primary. Lee was the only candidate on the ballot who supports a ceasefire in Gaza.
North Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson has won the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary. MSNBC described him as a “Holocaust-denying, gay-bashing, extreme anti-abortion radical.” The Human Rights Campaign said Robinson was one of the most radical anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA politicians on the ballot for making comments like this one from 2021.
Mark Robinson: “The transgender movement in this country, if there’s a movement in this country that is demonic and that is full of anti- — the spirit of Antichrist, it is the transgender movement. And these same people gonna tell me, 'You need to believe in global warming.' And then they tell me, 'Follow the science. Follow the science.' You don’t even know what gender you are!”
Last week, Donald Trump praised Mark Robinson, who is Black, saying, “I think you are Martin Luther King times two.” In November, Robinson will face off against Josh Stein, who won the Democratic primary in North Carolina.
In another closely watched race, Colin Allred won the Democratic Senate primary in Texas, defeating state Senator Roland Gutierrez and others. Allred will face Republican Ted Cruz in November.
The World Food Programme has accused the Israeli military of blocking the agency from delivering crucial aid needed to avert a famine in northern Gaza. Health officials in Gaza say at least 18 children have died from starvation in recent days. The Biden administration is defending its decision to keep sending arms to Israel even though it is blocking aid deliveries. National security communications adviser John Kirby was questioned on Tuesday.
Andrew Feinberg: “What is preventing the president from communicating to the Israeli government that if they don’t allow aid, we will not continue supplying weapons? Why is that not a fair trade: no aid, no bombs?”
John Kirby: “Because the president still believes that it’s important for Israel to have what it needs to defend itself against a still viable Hamas threat. Maybe some people have forgotten what happened on the 7th of October, but President Biden has not.”
Palestinians in Gaza say the lack of aid is leading people to take drastic actions to feed their families.
Ahmed al-Talbani: “We have the willingness and ability to bear it, but is there a father in the world who can see his children writhing in hunger in front of him and remain silent, even if the price is risking his life, just like all these people who risk their lives in order to obtain what is not even enough, for a crumb of flour or aid or canned food? Yesterday, some expired canned goods arrived containing mold and fungus. We are not animals as they described us.”
On the diplomatic front, negotiations are continuing in Cairo over a possible ceasefire. A top Hamas official said Tuesday the group will not release any more hostages until there is a permanent ceasefire.
Osama Hamdan: “We reiterate that what the enemy failed to achieve on the battlefield, he will not achieve at the negotiating table. The security and safety of our people will not be achieved except with a permanent ceasefire, the end of the aggression, and the withdrawal of the enemy from every inch of the Gaza Strip. Providing urgent and appropriate shelter and bringing aid to our people in Gaza is our top priority, and any exchange of prisoners cannot take place before all of this is achieved.”
Israel bombed a home in southern Lebanon Tuesday, reportedly killing a Hezbollah fighter along with his wife and son. The attack came as U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein was visiting Beirut, where he warned that a war between Lebanon and Israel would not be containable and could spread across the region.
The World Food Programme has warned the ongoing conflict in Sudan could trigger “the world’s largest hunger crisis” unless fighting between the Sudanese military and Rapid Support Forces comes to an end. Agency officials said Wednesday more than 25 million people scattered across Sudan, South Sudan and Chad are facing severe food insecurity. Meanwhile, worsening violence has blocked humanitarian aid workers from accessing most Sudanese communities experiencing “emergency levels of hunger.” Aid deliveries from Chad into the western Sudan border have been halted after Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there were concerns RSF fighters had carried out arms transfers in that border.
Haiti’s most powerful gang leader has warned the country is heading to a civil war unless Haiti’s deeply unpopular unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns, as a violent uprising continues to grow in Port-Au-Prince. On Tuesday, Henry landed in Puerto Rico after apparently being unable to fly back to Haiti, where armed groups attacked the international airport on Monday. Henry left Haiti last week for Kenya, where he discussed a deal to bring a U.N. force of 1,000 Kenyan police to the island nation. Haitian gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, who is known as Barbecue, issued a new threat to Henry.
Jimmy Chérizier: “If Ariel Henry doesn’t step down, the country will suffer a genocide. If he doesn’t step down, if the international community continues to support him, they will lead us directly into a civil war that will end in genocide. The international community, especially the United States, Canada, France and the Core Group, will be responsible for all the people who die in Haiti.”
On Tuesday Doctors Without Borders announced it would scale up its medical operations in Port-Au-Prince. The group said the recent violence has led to a massive number of casualties.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two high-ranking Russian military officers for targeting civilians and attacking civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan spoke on Tuesday.
Karim Khan: “This afternoon, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants relating to Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, commander of long-range aviation of the Russian Armed Forces, and Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.”
In news from Capitol Hill, independent Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced she will not seek reelection this year. This comes just over a year after she left the Democratic Party after years of shifting further to the right. Sinema was widely criticized by Democrats for voting against changing filibuster rules to pass key voting rights measures and efforts to raise taxes on corporations. Her departure paves the way for a high-stakes Senate seat match, likely between Democratic Congressmember Ruben Gallego and Arizona’s former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who supported Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
In other Senate news, New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez and his wife have been charged with obstruction of justice in a new 18-count superseding indictment as part of a sweeping case centered on bribes tied to Egypt and Qatar.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is facing new controversy after reports he hired a law clerk who was previously found to have sent racist text messages. Crystal Clanton was the field director at the conservative student group Turning Point USA when she sent the messages, including one that said, “I hate Black people.” Justice Thomas has come out in defense of Clanton, who graduated from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, which has long had ties to conservative donors and has maintained close relationships with Supreme Court justices.
In a historic victory for college sports, the Dartmouth men’s basketball team has voted to unionize. The players voted 13 to 2 to join Service Employees International Union Local 560. This comes as Dartmouth is seeking to overturn a February decision by the National Labor Relations Board classifying the basketball players as employees of the university, which granted them the right to unionize.
In other education news, the evangelical Christian school Liberty University has agreed to pay an unprecedented $14 million federal fine for failing to report sexual assaults and other crimes on its campus. It is the largest fine ever levied under the federal Clery Act.
In Germany, a militant left-wing group has claimed responsibility for cutting off power and shutting down production at Tesla’s largest electric car factory in Europe, which Tesla is hoping to expand. The factory could remain shut down for a week, after an electricity pylon caught on fire. The leftist Volcano Group took credit for the sabotage, saying, “The factory contaminates the groundwater and consumes huge quantities of the already scarce drinking water resource for its products. Tesla is a symbol for 'green capitalism.'”
Over 100 people recently set up an encampment inside a nearby forest to protest Tesla’s plans to expand the factory.
Elster, protest spokesperson: “We’re here in Grünheide in Brandenburg and have occupied this forest because Tesla, which is building electronic cars here in the Gigafactory 4, also wants to buy and clear this adjourning area of forest. We have occupied this forest to stop this.”
Media Options