Biden's Chance to Prove Why He's Leader of the Pack

(Bloomberg) --

It’s Joe Biden’s moment to shine — or stumble.

The former vice president has a chance to solidify his front-runner status — or jeopardize it with a characteristic gaffe — when he takes the stage in Miami for the second night of the Democrats’ debut 2020 presidential debate.

Biden, who is trying to steer the party on a centrist course, will go head-to-head with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — the progressive who’s been running second in polls — and eight other candidates, including California Senator Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.

The first tranche of potential challengers to Donald Trump faced off last night, with Elizabeth Warren emerging as the big winner.

The Massachusetts senator and liberal firebrand went largely unchallenged by her opponents and used the opportunity to bring her argument that she’s the strongest alternative to Biden to a national television audience of millions.

In many ways, the debate was fought on Warren’s turf, with a focus on income inequality, busting corporate power and battling Republicans in Congress.

But translating success into momentum, particularly with seven months to go before the first votes are cast, remains an uphill battle for nearly everyone in the crowded field.

The nomination is still Biden’s to lose — for now.

Global Headlines 

Another sore spot | While Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will dominate the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, European leaders will use the gathering to try and head off their own trade tensions with the U.S. president. If they’re unsuccessful in preventing new auto tariffs, European officials say they’re confident they can inflict retaliatory pain on the U.S., Patrick Donahue and Jonathan Stearns report.

• Trump — ahead of a planned chat tomorrow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi — called on India to withdraw an “unacceptable” increase in levies on U.S. goods.
• On the agenda tonight: Xi meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, plus South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Trump dines with Australia’s prime minister. Click here for Trump's schedule.

Exceeding limits | Iran is set to breach limits in the 2015 nuclear deal for the first time today, raising the stakes for Trump’s decision to withdraw without a replacement. The decision is likely to frustrate European allies who’ve urged Iran to stick to its side of the agreement but have been unable to provide the country with the economic lifeline it’s been seeking to compensate for U.S. sanctions.

Diplomatically awkward | One leader arriving in Osaka with scandal at his heels was Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, with news of the attempted trafficking of cocaine by a sergeant on an Air Force plane bound for the summit. Bolsonaro called the sergeant’s actions “unacceptable” and denied it had any connection to his team, writing on social media: “We won’t tolerate such disrespect to our country!”

Migrant protections | House Democrats are seeking to use border funding legislation to limit how long migrant children can be detained, enforce high standards for “influx” facilities and require immediate notification of any child deaths in U.S. custody. The move follows fresh outrage, particularly in liberal circles, over Trump’s hard-line immigration policies and the worsening humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.

What to Watch

• Look for the U.S. Supreme Court to round out its term, potentially with rulings on whether the Trump administration can put a citizenship question on the 2020 census and if courts can strike down voting maps as too partisan.
• Australia is investigating reports that North Korea is holding Alek Sigley, who runs tours for foreign students and submits social-media posts about the country. The Australian student’s family said Sigley’s detention in Pyongyang hasn’t been confirmed.
• Forces loyal to Libya’s internationally recognized government retook the strategic city of Gharyan, the interior minister said, marking a setback for strongman Khalifa Haftar’s offensive to capture the capital, Tripoli.

And finally...Itchy eyes and clogged noses are common in the eastern South African village of Pullens Hope, which lies in a 90- by 110-mile belt that accounts for most of nation’s electricity production. Air pollution in the biggest towns in the area is regularly higher than that in Beijing and Jakarta. For residents like Rita Phoku, nearby coal-fired power plants belching emissions have meant the loss of family members to respiratory illnesses, Antony Sguazzin and Londell Phumi Ramalepe report.

--With assistance from Rosalind Mathieson and Benjamin Harvey.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Anthony Halpin

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