President Biden is launching a new effort to reach out to Black voters as polls show the president is losing ground with that key Democratic constituency to his rival, former President Donald Trump.

The Biden-Harris campaign on Wednesday announced an eight-figure spending blitz to drive engagement with Black student organizations, community groups and faith centers nationally and in battleground states as the president seeks to rally support for his reelection. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak at a rally in Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon for the first official ‘Black Voters for Biden-Harris’ event.

‘Today’s launch of the Black Voters for Biden-Harris coalition is yet another example of our campaign working diligently to earn every single vote. This coalition and the newly announced summer outreach and engagement programming serve as the next phase of our campaign’s ongoing historic investments in outreach to the backbone of the Biden-Harris coalition – Black voters,’ said Quentin Fulks, the Biden-Harris campaign’s principal deputy campaign manager. 

‘While we are busy putting in the work to earn Black America’s support — Donald Trump continues to show just how ignorant he is. Hosting janky rap concerts to hide the fact that he lacks the resources and competence to genuinely engage our community,’ Fulks said.

The Biden rally comes days after Trump held a rally in the Bronx, drawing as many as 10,000 people in the bluest part of deep blue New York City, according to law enforcement. In his speech, Trump emphasized that high inflation seen under Biden’s first term in the White House has had a disproportionate effect on Black and Hispanic families and vowed to turn the economy around if voters send him back to the White House. 

Trump’s decision to target minority voters in places like New York, where Republicans have not carried the state in decades, reflects the Trump campaign’s belief that Biden is showing weakness with key Democratic constituencies.

Polls back that theory up. A recent Fox News Poll found Biden with 72% support among Black voters, up from 66% in February, but lagging his 79% before the 2020 election. The November 2020 Fox News Voter Analysis found 91% of Black voters sided with Biden.

A New York Times/Siena poll of six battleground states found 76% of Black voters rate the economy today as ‘fair’ or ‘poor,’ while only 22% said it was ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’ The poll found that Black Americans, like other Americans, rank the economy as their No. 1 issue.

The Biden-Harris campaign promises to ramp up outreach to Black voters in the coming months to prevent that from happening. In addition to Wednesday’s rally in Philadelphia, Biden will join an event with Black-owned small businesses in the city and the campaign will put on an event with national organizations and local community members ‘focused on direct voter contact.’

Throughout the summer, the Biden campaign will partner with Black groups to reach Black voters and build the campaign’s presence in swing states and register people to vote. 

‘Our campaign believes that Black voters deserve to hear from Team Biden-Harris, and they deserve to have their vote earned, not assumed,’ the Biden campaign said. ‘That’s exactly what we are doing through historic investments in Black media and outreach, creative engagement efforts, culturally competent content and innovative organizing initiatives. No campaign has valued Black voters like we have, including through investing earlier and with more money than ever before talking to Black voters.’ 

The Biden team also accuses Trump of ‘running on an anti-Black agenda’ and ‘talking down to Black voters.’ 

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

As unlikely as it seemed four years ago, former President Donald Trump is the odds-on favorite to win the presidential election if it were held today. In presidential politics, things could change in a day with a court ruling, a scandal, a misstep or just a great campaign, but that’s the clear reality of today. 

Trump is leading President Biden in the Harvard-CAPS/Harris polls by about 5 points and in the FoxNews polls by 3 points as of May 24. It is closer in the Real Clear Politics average that shows a gap of only 1.1%, but swing state polls across the media show Trump routs in almost all of them.   

Underlying the horse race are issue and performance dynamics that favor Trump by more than the horse race numbers: Trump’s personal favorable rating is actually higher than Biden’s, his job performance is better by 11 points and Trump is winning key issues like the economy by wide margins. 

But this race is far from over. Thirty-one percent of voters, including 44% of independents, say that they are still weighing their choices. That’s a huge number for an election with known incumbents and good news for Biden. 

Today, however, 55% of Americans look back and approve of Trump’s job as president. In the Trump pre-pandemic years, roughly 70% of Americans thought the economy was strong, whereas they’ve been struggling with inflation for most of Biden’s term. And immigration, Trump’s signature issue, has exploded into the mainstream, even becoming the No. 1 voter concern for a couple of months earlier this year. 

Trump is under immense pressure but so far surviving unprecedented court cases. The Republican base is behind him and thinks the trials are political charades. Although 62% of independents think Trump has committed crimes for which he should be convicted, they are split 55%-45% on whether the prosecutions are fair and unbiased.

Biden’s line that Trump is a ‘threat to democracy’ isn’t resonating either, with independents split 51%-49%. Jan. 6 is the most serious issue, but the Supreme Court’s review of key issues means it is unlikely that the case will go to court before Election Day.  

Biden’s problem is simple. His job rating is stuck in the low 40s and he has been unable to increase it so far. While inflation is reduced, prices are up about 20% from when he took office and that has created a lot of unhappy voters. If he can’t bring his rating up, he will have to bring Trump’s down, and he will have a huge cash advantage to run paid media.  

Adding to his uphill climb are his ratings on the border and the Middle East. His approval rating on the border is 38% and on Israel-Hamas has dropped to a low of 36%. The more Biden has moved to the left on Israel, the more swing voters are turning against him, and progressive voters still chanting ‘Genocide Joe,’ so he seems to be making no one happy here.  

What’s going to change the dynamic of this election? 

First, the early debate is a Biden-inspired game changer that Trump was perhaps too quick to accept given very unfavorable terms. Expect the moderators to be gunning for the front-runner — Trump. Expectations for Biden are low and high for Trump and Trump may come off as too overbearing because he has been waiting a long time to go after Biden. An upset here from a more vigorous-looking Biden could be worth 2 to 4 points overnight and reframe the race. A weak performance by Biden could make for a very uneasy Democratic convention. 

Second, a smart Trump vice presidential pick could shake up the race. The best move would be to somehow make a deal with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to win over her voters. But among those who have endorsed Trump already, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida are the top candidates who voters say would make them more likely to vote for Trump.  

The GOP VP slot is the only way the 2024 ticket will be differentiated from the 2020 ticket, and Trump has the power to move the needle with more independent-minded voters here. A too-conservative pick would probably cost him votes as he seeks to reunite the Republican Party.  

Third, the legal rulings will influence the outcome, starting with the New York case and then perhaps the Supreme Court ruling on the extent of presidential immunity. The effort to throw Trump off the ballot died quickly — will the attempt to convict and jail him recede as fast or fester throughout the election and his term?

No sense the Democratic prosecutors are giving up anytime soon and most voters think Trump is guilty of something. But an acquittal or hung jury in New York could be a major boost for Trump. 

Fourth, minority voters are indicating they may make something of a break with the Democratic Party and the reason appears to be economics. They usually come back on Election Day, but Biden’s approval ratings among minority voters are surprisingly low for a Democratic president: 66% among Black voters, 53% among Hispanics and 37% with Asians.  

Adding to his uphill climb are his ratings on the border and the Middle East. His approval rating on the border is 38% and on Israel-Hamas has dropped to a low of 36%. The more Biden has moved to the left on Israel, the more swing voters are turning against him, and progressive voters still chanting ‘Genocide Joe,’ so he seems to be making no one happy here.  

Hispanic Americans, in particular, are more negative on their economic recovery compared to Black voters, and so the exodus there is more likely to materialize. Fifty-two percent of Hispanic voters feel that their personal financial situation is worsening, while 49% of Black voters (a plurality) think theirs is improving.  

Only 29% of Hispanic voters think we’ve made progress in getting inflation under control, compared to 42% of Black voters. Biden laid down a marker with his tough Morehouse speech on race in response to these developments, and you can expect more of this from his camp. It has worked in the past.  

Conventions were typically big events, but there is no news coming out of these outside of the Trump VP pick and likely the audiences will shrink, favoring the debates instead. The next key date to evaluate this race is Labor Day, when the campaigns enter the election chute. So far, score Trump with an advantage.   

Israeli tanks were reportedly seen in the center of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, according to witnesses, as Israel enters the third week of its ground operation in the southern Gaza city.

The tanks were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, the witnesses told Reuters. The Israel Defense Forces said its operations in the city continue in the Rafah area but did not comment on whether its forces advanced to the city center.

‘Overnight, IDF troops operated on the Philadelphi Corridor while conducting precise operational activity based on intelligence indicating the presence of terror targets in the area,’ the IDF said. The Philadelphi Corridor is an Israeli name for the 8.7 mile strip of land that comprises the border between Gaza and Egypt, including the border crossing in Rafah.

Israel pounded the city with airstrikes and tank fire, residents told Reuters, as it pressed the offensive despite international condemnation over a strike on Sunday that killed two senior Hamas terrorist leaders and dozens of civilians. The Hamas-run health ministry claimed at least 45 people died, and other outlets have quoted up to 50 deaths.

Since the strike, at least 26 more people have been killed by Israeli fire in Rafah, according to Hamas officials. 

Hamas does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists. Fox News Digital reported in March that an Ivy League statistician argued that Hamas’ death toll numbers are not trustworthy.

Israeli tanks pushed toward western neighborhoods and took positions on the Zurub hilltop in western Rafah in one of the worst nights of bombardment reported by residents. On Tuesday, witnesses reported gun battles between Israeli troops and Hamas-led fighters in the Zurub area.

‘The activity is being conducted as efforts are continuing to be made in order to prevent harm to uninvolved civilians in the area. The troops are engaging with terrorists in close-quarters combat and locating terror tunnel shafts, weapons, and additional terrorist infrastructure in the area,’ the IDF said.

Witnesses in Rafah told Reuters the Israeli military appeared to be using remote-operated armored vehicles, as there was no immediate sign of personnel in or around them. The IDF did not comment on those reports.

Israeli tanks have probed the edges of Rafah since the IDF took control of the border crossing with Egypt three weeks ago but had not yet entered the city in full force.

International leaders have condemned the Sunday strike that killed dozens of civilians. In a speech to the Israeli parliament on Monday, Netanyahu said, ‘In Rafah, we already evacuated about one million non-combatants residents and despite our upmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong. We are investigating the incident and will reach conclusions because this is our policy.’

A statement released by a spokesman for the Biden administration’s National Security Council on Monday said, ‘The devastating images following an IDF strike in Rafah last night that killed dozens of innocent Palestinians are heartbreaking.’

The statement continued, ‘Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians. But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians. We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened, and understand that the IDF is conducting an investigation.’

Israel has continued the offensive in Gaza despite the United Nation’s International Court of Justice (IJC) ruling Friday that it must halt its military campaign. Israel has said the court’s decision leaves some scope for military action.

Spain, Ireland and Norway, meanwhile, will officially recognize a Palestinian state on Tuesday, which has outraged Israel, in an attempt to pressure for a ceasefire.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel began the campaign after Hamas-led terrorists infiltrated southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed around 1,200 people, taking more than 250 captive back to Gaza.

Israel has said its goal in the war is to eradicate Hamas once and for all.

Reuters contributed to this report.

When the Supreme Court decided last week to keep the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) funded, some were surprised that Justice Clarence Thomas split from some of his conservative colleagues, writing the majority opinion to keep the CFPB intact. 

In a 7-2 decision, the court held that Congress uniquely authorized the bureau to draw its funding directly from the Federal Reserve System, therefore allowing it to bypass the usual funding mechanisms laid out in the appropriations clause of the Constitution. 

The financial watchdog agency bypasses typical congressional appropriations and simply requires the CFPB director to make requests of the Treasury Department for funds as needed. The banking industry parties challenging the CFPB say that is unconstitutional, citing the appropriations clause.

But the high court’s majority disagreed. ‘In this case, we must decide the narrow question whether this funding mechanism complies with the Appropriations Clause. We hold that it does,’ the opinion states. 

‘For most federal agencies, Congress provides funding on an annual basis. This annual process forces them to regularly implore Congress to fund their operations for the next year. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is different. The Bureau does not have to petition for funds each year. Instead, Congress authorized the Bureau to draw from the Federal Reserve System the amount its Director deems ‘reasonably necessary to carry out’ the Bureau’s duties, subject only to an inflation-adjusted cap,’ Thomas explained. 

‘Although there may be other constitutional checks on Congress’ authority to create and fund an administrative agency, specifying the source and purpose is all the control the Appropriations Clause requires.’

‘The statute that authorizes the Bureau to draw money from the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System to carry out its duties satisfies the Appropriations Clause,’ the opinion states. 

The banking associations, which sued the CFPB, Thomas writes ‘offer no defensible argument that the Appropriations Clause requires more than a law that authorizes the disbursement of specified funds for identified purposes.’

But Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch strongly dissented, saying, ‘The Court upholds a novel statutory scheme under which the powerful [CFPB] may bankroll its own agenda without any congressional control or oversight.’

Thomas, in the majority opinion, fired back, ‘The dissent accepts that the question in this case is ultimately about the meaning of ‘Appropriations.’’

‘It faults us for consulting dictionaries to ascertain the original public meaning of that word, insisting instead that ‘Appropriations’ is a ‘term of art whose meaning has been fleshed out by centuries of history,” Thomas writes. 

‘But, as we have explained at length, both preratifcation and postratifcation appropriations practice support our source-and-purpose understanding,’ he said.

The CFPB has been a thorn in the side of Republicans since Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., helped create it after the 2008 market crash in an effort to protect consumers from financial schemes, with authority to regulate banking and lending agencies via federal rules. 

President Barack Obama said in 2011 that the agency ‘was Elizabeth’s idea, and through sheer force of will, intelligence, and a bottomless well of energy, she has made, and will continue to make, a profound and positive difference for our country.’

Former acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney during the Trump administration even called the agency ‘Elizabeth Warren’s baby.’

Warren has been critical of the high court since Trump flipped the ideological majority with his appointments of Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. In 2021, she called to expand the court, saying that the current court ‘threatens the democratic foundations of our nation.’

She’s been directly critical of Thomas, accusing him last year of ‘corruption’ by taking vacations paid for by a GOP mega-donor but not disclosing them. Thomas said he consulted his colleagues and the judicial conference and said he’s followed the ethics rules regarding the reporting of those trips. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Warren for comment.

When the high court ruled in the CFPB’s favor last week, she praised it, saying it ‘followed the law.’ 

Peggy Little, a senior counsel with the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) disagreed with the majority’s decision. But she thinks Thomas’ authorship ‘debunks the idea that all conservatives decide the cases the same way.’ 

‘I think it’s a healthy corrective to how the media talks about the court,’ she told Fox News Digital. 

She added that ‘it would be a mistake for Congress to consider [the decision] a license to set up similar regimes’ and that the high court ‘might revisit it and see the error of its ways.’

David B. Rivkin Jr., an appellate and constitutional law attorney and former White House and Justice Department counsel, says Thomas ‘marches to the beat of his own drum.’

‘The notion that the six conservative justices march in lockstep is absurd,’ Rivkin said. ‘There are distinctive differences not only in how they decide specific cases but in their judicial philosophy. There are numerous permutations of originalism and textualism.’

‘Justice Thomas does what he thinks is right, follows the text and its original intent when it was written, and doesn’t mind if he’s the only dissenting justice,’ John Shu, a constitutional lawyer who worked for both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital. 

Shu co-authored the first white paper criticizing the leadership structure and funding mechanism of the CFPB with former White House counsel Ambassador C. Boyden Gray in 2010.

‘If other justices decide to agree with him, that’s nice, though he’s willing to go it alone,’ Shu observed.  ‘Justice Thomas is a true originalist and textualist, as is Justice Alito, and in this case, they interpret the term ‘appropriations’ in different ways, which further proves that the justices do not vote in lockstep as some erroneously claim.’

‘Neither Justice Alito nor Justice Thomas are results-oriented, meaning that they do not begin with a preferred outcome in mind and try to come up with some kind of justification later,’ Shu explained. 

‘Instead, they go where the law’s text and original intent take them, and they don’t concern themselves with political outcomes or backlashes, which is one of the reasons why the Constitution gives federal judges lifetime appointment, to insulate their jobs from political whims,’ he said.