March 10 - 2024 campaign updates

Republican Sen. Katie Britt acknowledged Sunday that her graphic anecdote criticizing President Joe Biden Biden’s border policies took place before he was president or vice president.

During her Republican response to Biden's State of the Union address, Britt described a woman’s story of being “sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12." But the story she seemed to describe didn’t take place during Biden’s time as president or vice president, nor did it happen in the United States.

Asked if she meant to give the impression it had taken place during Biden’s time in office, Britt said: “No, Shannon. Look, I very specifically said this is what President Biden did during his first 100 days. Minutes coming into office, he stopped all deportations, he halted construction of the border wall. And he said I’m going to give amnesty to millions. Those types of things act as a magnet to have more and more people here."

Republican Sen. James Lankford said Sunday that President Joe Biden's State comments about the bipartisan border deal during his State of the Union address were accurate, even as he reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump's immigration policies.

“I was listening to the President and obviously he's walking through and I could hear some of my colleagues around me saying, 'none of that's true.' And I was actually listening to the President and said, 'no, that part actually is true,'" Lankford told CNN's Jake Tapper.

The bipartisan immigration bill, which Lankford pushed, was scuttled after former President Donald Trump urged Republicans in Congress to sink the bill. Still, Lankford said Sunday that while the misinformation around the bill is “frustrating,” he supports Trump’s border policies.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech showed a leader “in command.”

“Anybody who watched that address saw not just in the substance, but in the delivery of President Biden’s remarks, a leader who is in command, showing strength and clarity of vision,” Buttigieg told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

The president’s age remains a concern for Democratic voters. In a recent CNN poll, 46% cite Biden’s age when asked to name their biggest concern about him as a presidential candidate, with 5% mentioning his mental competence or sharpness.

Buttigieg on Sunday echoed some of the president’s talking points from Thursday evening about his age, saying “what matters most is the age of a leader’s ideas.” 

House Republican leaders are now bullishly predicting they will grow their majority in the 2024 elections, contending former President Donald Trump will be an asset in swing suburban districts that voted for President Joe Biden four years ago.

For much of the past year, GOP prospects of keeping the House appeared to be dim, especially given the constant internal feuding that led to the unprecedented ouster of a sitting speaker and their inability to advance a legislative agenda.

But the outcome of key primaries and redistricting fights in several states – along with a handful of Democratic retirements in swing districts and Biden’s persistently low approval ratings – have given Republicans new hope they can hang on despite what once seemed to be extremely grim odds.

Read more here.

President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign said Sunday that it raised $10 million in the 24 hours after Thursday evening's State of the Union address.

“Ten million dollars in 24 hours. To quote the boss, that’s a BFD,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “The President’s State of the Union address reminded so many of our supporters who is fighting for them, and the stakes of this election for our freedoms, our rights, and our democracy.”

The president raised at least $42 million for his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party in February, campaign officials previously told CNN, a total fueled by the strongest month of grassroots donations during this election cycle.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock on Sunday criticized politicians who, he said, are using the recent murder of Laken Riley to score “political points.”

“It's unfortunate that in this moment of grief, there are those who are trying to score cheap political points,” Warnock told CNN’s Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

Riley was found dead last month after jogging near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. Police say she was killed by a man who illegally crossed the border. 

Riley was a focal point of Donald Trump's campaign event Saturday. Signs featuring Riley were passed out to the crowd, and Riley's parents met with Trump backstage before he spoke.

The House on Thursday afternoon passed the Laken Riley Act, with all GOP members in attendance plus 37 Democrats supporting the bill. The legislation, introduced by freshman conservative Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, requires the detention of any migrant who committed burglary or theft.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump held dueling events Saturday in Georgia, where they each attacked the other as their rematch for the White House ramps up.

Here's what you should know:

Biden continues post-State of the Union campaign swing

The president delivered fiery remarks during his rally in Atlanta, slamming Trump for hosting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at his Mar-A-Lago club Friday. Biden said the former president “has been sucking up to wannabe dictators and authoritarian thugs all over the world.”

Biden repeated his view of the 2024 general election, calling it “a contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of this nation.” 

Trump slams Biden over his State of the Union address

At his first rally since emerging as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump criticized Biden's State of the Union address as “partisan” and “angry.” 

“Two nights ago, we all heard crooked Joe's angry, dark, hate-filled rant of a State of the Union address," Trump said at his rally in Rome, Georgia.

Killing of Laken Riley

Biden said in an interview with MSNBC on Saturday that he should have used the term “undocumented” to describe Laken Riley's alleged killer after calling him an “illegal” during Thursday’s State of the Union. 

Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who police say was killed by an undocumented immigrant on the University of Georgia campus last month, was a focal point of Trump's event Saturday. Signs featuring Riley were passed out to the crowd, and Riley's parents met with Trump backstage before he spoke.

Trump slammed Biden after the president said he shouldn't have used the term "illegal."

"He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal alien. He was an illegal migrant, and he shouldn't have been in our country, and he never would have been under the Trump policy," the former president said. "Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer."

Four states, a territory and the official arm of the Democratic Party for Americans living overseas are voting in presidential nominating contests Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is hoping to win enough delegates from Tuesday's elections to officially clinch his party's 2024 nod. Trump has 1,076 delegates to date, CNN estimates, following his win Friday in the American Samoa Republican caucus.

It takes 1,215 of 2,429 delegates to win the Republican nomination.

Here's are look at the contests taking place Tuesday:

Georgia presidential primaries

Washington state presidential primaries

Mississippi presidential and down-ballot primaries

Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses

Northern Mariana Islands Democratic primary (party-run)

Democrats Abroad presidential primary

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday invited any “disillusioned” Democrats to join his “Make America Great Again” movement as he continued to bash President Joe Biden and his State of the Union address. 

“If you're a disillusioned Democrat, of which there are many today, I extend an open hand, an open invitation, and I ask you to join us on the noble quest of saving our country,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia.

Trump's remarks came days after Biden repeatedly attacked the former president in his State of the Union address, drawing a sharp contrast between himself and Trump on key issues such as abortion, immigration and taxes. Biden did not mention Trump by name in his speech but repeatedly attacked his “predecessor” as a threat to democracy. 

Trump's stop in Georgia came the same day as Biden held a rally in Atlanta.

“He's at another part of your state, where he's really said some bad things today," Trump said.