Politics and views in the United States.

President Joe Biden says he won't be dropping out as the Democratic nominee. Experts in democracy ruminate on recent Supreme Court rulings and immigrants' advocates want a phone call program restored.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

We cannot forget his record and what he's been able to do.

We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years.

That matters too.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says it's valid for people to ask President Joe Biden if he should leave the race after a poor debate performance, but that's not the only thing that matters.

Biden said he won't step back from the race, but will redouble his efforts to win in November - post-debate polls show 6 out of 7 Americans think Biden is too old for another term.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been top of mind for many Democrats looking for a replacement, but polls show her losing to former President Donald Trump.

Speaking on the Stephen A. Smith Show, California Attorney Areva Martin says Democrats have to reach a mature consensus on who they want.

Joe Biden is not just the president.

There's a whole team of people.

There's an administration.

So, if Joe Biden, when he gets re-elected, which my prediction is that he will, he brings with him Kamala Harris, the most diverse administration in the history of this country.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows former First Lady Michelle Obama is the only person to beat Trump, which she does, soundly.

At the end of the controversial term, the Supreme Court has ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts, and it profoundly undermined the authority of federal agencies.

Jeffrey Rosen with the National Constitution Center warns politicizing the courts is a threat to democracy.

He compares the way Trump reacted to being found guilty in his hush money trial to Biden's reaction to the high court's presidential immunity ruling and says they need to avoid eroding the rule of law.

By President Trump after his criminal conviction when he attacked the jury and the prosecution, and by President Biden when he criticized this decision, although he did not criticize the legitimacy of the courts.

He accepted the ruling but said that he strongly disagreed with it.

The court rejected a case on pollution from an Idaho mine.

The mine operator was challenging a $150,000 punishment for polluting the South Fork of the Clearwater River.

Jonathan Oppenheimer with the Idaho Conservation League says water quality would have suffered if the court had overturned the fine.

It can impact fisheries habitat as well as the insects that grow and develop in the water and on the rocks that they are disturbing that then feed the fish and other aquatic species.

Advocates are calling for the reinstatement of a program allowing detained immigrants 500 free minutes of phone calls per month.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently cut off free domestic and international calls because the program's pandemic-era funding ran out.

But Karim Golding with Freedom to Thrive says the phone calls are a lifeline for people in detention.

Absent these phones, how would we know that rights are being violated?

How would we know if nobody had the ability to communicate?

I'm Edwin J. Vieira for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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