Hot dish 07.03.24

By Ryan Faircloth

Good morning. Many voters have been saying for months they think President Joe Biden is too old to serve another term. I’ve heard it repeatedly this year in interviews with voters from Minnesota to New Hampshire. A June Gallup poll found about 6 in 10 Americans were “very concerned” that Biden is too old to be president.

But you wouldn’t have known that was such a big concern if you listened only to what Democratic elected officials were saying. Many Democrats, here and nationally, avoided publicly addressing or even acknowledging the issue. When a special counsel issued an unflattering assessment of Biden’s memory, they accused him of pushing a political agenda. Top Minnesota Democrats also chided their colleague, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, for raising concerns about Biden’s age and mounting a primary challenge against the president earlier this year.

Then last week’s debate happened. Biden’s voice was faint, his message meandering as he struggled to debate former President Donald Trump. About 51 million viewers watched the president’s halting performance, which reignited worries about his age and even prompted some, such as Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, to say Biden should exit the race.

Since then, some Minnesota Democrats have began publicly sharing their concerns.

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, who described Biden as being “sharp as a tack” in February, said Biden now “must prove that he is up to the job for the next four years.”

Gov. Tim Walz said Biden should still be the nominee even though he had a “bad night.” Walz and other Democratic governors are set to meet with Biden in Washington on Wednesday to ask questions about his performance, my colleague Briana Bierschbach writes.

After a news conference in Hastings on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig said she’s been in touch with Biden’s campaign about what she needs to see moving forward.

“I need to see him out everywhere, talking unscripted, no teleprompter. And he needs to make sure that the American people have the confidence in his ability to run for re-election,” Craig said. “ I think we need to let the president think about whether he wants to continue moving forward ... He’s the only one who can step aside.”

FLOOD: Walz toured the Rapidan Dam near Mankato on Tuesday to assess a closed bridge that could be at risk of “partial or full failure” as a result of the dam’s flooding, my colleague Jp Lawrence writes.

The stability of County Road 9 bridge is threatened by erosion from the now-receding floodwaters, Walz and local officials said.

“The concern is that [the bridge] is going to be structurally damaged here and it will need to be replaced,” Walz said.

HOMELESS: My colleague Susan Du writes that organizations working to end homelessness say a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling will make it harder to move homeless people into permanent housing.

The court ruled last week that fining or jailing people for breaking anti-camping ordinances when there is no available shelter doesn’t violate the Constitution. Local governments now have the green light to cite and possibly arrest people in homeless encampments or public spaces.

“We know that this population in particular, with higher rates of significant mental health conditions, higher rates of substance use disorders, are facing a lot of barriers already,” said Stephanie Nelson-Dusek, a research scientist behind the Wilder Foundation’s Minnesota Homeless Study. “Piling on more barriers is not a solution to ending homelessness.”

DVS: Minnesota’s driver’s licensing system is congested as a result of more people seeking licenses and a years-old staff shortage, Star Tribune interns Victoria Stavish and Steph Quinn write.

Between October and May, Minnesota’s Division of Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) had about 100,000 more requests for licensing services than in the same span the prior year. DVS isn’t meeting the legal requirement to provide testing appointments within 14 days of a request for service.

WHERE’S WALZ: Walz has no public events on his schedule today.

HOT DISH BREAK: Your daily Hot Dish newsletter is taking a break for the long July 4th holiday weekend. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday.

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