Biden on D-Day anniversary: 'Let us be worthy of their sacrifice' | The Excerpt

On Friday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: President Joe Biden talked of Ukraine on the anniversary of D-Day USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson has the latest on former President Donald Trump's search for a VP. People with early-stage Alzheimer's disease may be able to slow their cognitive decline through diet and exercise, according to a new study. If you want to retire in comfort, do you really need $1 million in savings? USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn discusses microfeminism.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson. And today is Friday, June 7th, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, Biden talks of Ukraine on D-Day. Plus, Trump steps up his search for a running mate, and we talk about microfeminism.

President Joe Biden spent the 80th anniversary of D-Day yesterday in Normandy, alongside World War II veterans. There, he and First Lady Jill Biden met with veterans ahead of the ceremony from a gazebo overlooking Omaha Beach where many of the soldiers came ashore eight decades ago. Biden saluted, took photos with each, and handed them a coin that he said had been especially minted for the event. During the ceremony, French President Emmanuel Macron bestowed the Legion of Honor, France's highest award of merit to 11 veterans from the US and one from Britain in recognition of their sacrifice. In his remarks, Biden drew parallels between the Allied troops who fought to free Europe during World War II, and the alliance of nations that has banded together to defend Ukraine in its war with Russia.

President Joe Biden:

The United States and NATO, and a coalition of more than 50 countries standing strong with Ukraine. We will not walk away. Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated. And will not end there. Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened, all of Europe will be threatened.

Taylor Wilson:

For more on Biden's trip to France and the return there for World War II vets, be sure to check out our Thursday episode with White House correspondent, Michael Collins.

♦

Former President Donald Trump's campaign has stepped up its vice presidential search, requesting detailed information from at least four of the top contenders. I spoke with USA TODAY national political correspondent, David Jackson, for the latest.

David, thanks for hopping on.

David Jackson:

Hey, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So David, Donald Trump's push for a running mate is heating up. You report that his campaign is vetting a handful of contenders for detailed information. I want to start by talking about Senator J. D. Vance from Ohio. Remind us, David, who Vance is and what's the latest here.

David Jackson:

Well, he's an interesting character because he started out as an entrepreneur and then a writer. He wrote a very famous book about growing up in Appalachia, and he was a very stern critic of Donald Trump, the presidential candidate in 2016. Called him a cancer on American politics, and was just very critical of the way Trump did it. But after Trump's election, he slowly but surely became a champion of President Donald Trump, and to the point where he was actually promoted to run for the US Senate from Ohio. And that was a race that he won. He entered the Senate in early 2023 and he's been a champion of Trump ever since. So now he's a potential vice president.

Taylor Wilson:

And how about Florida Senator Marco Rubio? He's been quick to align with Trump in recent weeks on a number of issues. Where do things stand for him?

David Jackson:

He's another interesting guy, former vehement critic of Trump. He ran for president in 2016 against Trump and was unsuccessful, but he was highly critical of Trump way back then. But like Vance, he has come around since Trump actually got elected and he's now a very big supporter. And he's also from Florida. So he's an interesting one because both Trump and Rubio have residency in Florida. And there's some question as to whether the law will permit that, whether that ticket could be able to get the electoral votes from Florida because there's a constitutional question about that. So I would consider him something of an underdog, but he's also a popular center in Florida, and he would also perhaps attract the Hispanic vote and that's the reason Trump is interested in him.

Taylor Wilson:

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is also being vetted here. Burgum was a relative unknown nationally, David, until he launched his own presidential campaign last summer. Could he find himself on this ticket?

David Jackson:

It's certainly possible. That's what we're told Trump, who has said publicly that he has a very high regard for Burgum. As you mentioned, he's a latecomer to the process because he launched his own presidential bid a couple of years ago. He wasn't anywhere successful. He didn't even make it to the Iowa caucuses, but he got along with Trump and he said some nice things about Trump. And as soon as he dropped out of the race in early January, he showed up at an event in Iowa to endorse Trump. The two of them I'm told hit it off at that event, and Trump's been very high on Burgum ever since. All of these folks we're talking about have also been auditioning for Trump all along during this campaign year, appearing with him at campaign events, doing a ton of TV interviews. And Burgum has been especially aggressive on the campaign trail. So that's one of the reasons he's being vetted.

Taylor Wilson:

And the other name being vetted, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, another former presidential candidate himself. What's the latest on Senator Scott?

David Jackson:

He's still in the mix. He seems to have lost altitude in recent weeks. There was a time there earlier in the year when he was considered the favorite for the running mate slot. As you mentioned he ran for president but dropped out and quickly endorsed Trump. And that was a particularly important endorsement because Trump was also running against Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, and that's Scott's home state. When Trump picked up Scott's endorsement, it was a cudgel he could use against Nikki Haley. So he really likes him. Those two also get along quite well personally. Trump is very enthusiastic about trying to get more African American votes in the fall, and Tim Scott would be an asset in that particular quest. He has a very serious chance of getting this.

Taylor Wilson:

And David, we've been talking about vetting these contenders for the running mate. What exactly does that entail? What is the Trump camp looking into?

David Jackson:

They're basically just looking at financial information, and biographical information, and things like that. Lawyers within the Trump campaign and the RNC want to check out these guys' finances, like some of the stock trades they've made, some of the business partnerships they've entered into, they just want to make sure there's no malfeasance or any kind of problem that may look embarrassing in there.

Taylor Wilson:

And are there any other names that might pop up, or are we really trending toward these four being the final list of potential running mates?

David Jackson:

Well, these four are the ones that we know have been asked to provide specific detailed information about their backgrounds, and about their finances, so that automatically makes them contenders. But we're also hearing several names from the campaign, and they may also be asked for information. We just don't know that for a fact yet. One of them is a congresswoman from New York named Elise Stefanik. She's on the list for a couple of reasons.

One is that some of Trump's aides really want him to pick a woman, especially in light of the guilty verdict in the hush money trial that involved a former adult film star. And she's also someone who's been auditioning for this role for quite some time. She was very active in New Hampshire promoting his candidacy, and the two of them seem to get along pretty well. So that's a name to remember as well.

There's also Byron Donalds who's a congressman from Florida. He's an African American, and he could help with that segment of the electorate as well. Tom Cotton, the senator from Arkansas who's considered a defense expert and a foreign policy expert. He is said to be someone that Trump has thought about for the running mate slot.

And there's also Ben Carson who's been talked about really for years for this slot. The way he comes into the conversation is the idea that Trump might want an old hand, someone who's older and someone who really isn't that interested in running for president himself in 2028. And that's when Carson comes into the conversation so he could be a safe bet for Trump.

Taylor Wilson:

And David, we're moving into the summer months now. When can we expect a decision on this?

David Jackson:

Trump's now talking about doing it at the convention. He's trying to liven up the proceedings in Milwaukee. That conclave starts on July 15th and runs from the 15th to the 18th. So we may have to wait until then before we find out who he's actually going to pick.

Taylor Wilson:

David Jackson covers national politics for USA TODAY. Thanks, David.

David Jackson:

Thanks sir.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

People with early stage Alzheimer's disease may be able to slow their cognitive decline through diet and exercise, according to a new study. Participants who adhered to a daily mix of aerobic exercise and a mostly plant-based diet slowed cognitive decline, while memory and thinking worsened for members of a control group who did not change their habits, according to the study published today in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. The study was conceptualized by Dean Ornish, a physician and researcher whose diet and lifestyle recommendations to combat chronic disease have generated debate over the years in the medical research community. Researchers cautioned that the results must be replicated before broader conclusions can be drawn. The study enrolled just 51 people in part due to difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the small-scale multistate study suggests that lifestyle changes might be another way to fight Alzheimer's, they say. The mind-robbing disease afflicts nearly seven million Americans. Researchers and drug companies have poured billions into developing drugs targeting the beta-amyloid protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Despite that, only two drugs, Leqembi and Aduhelm have won FDA approval, and the maker of Aduhelm halted sales and relinquished ownership of the drug. An FDA advisory committee next week will evaluate donanemab, an anti-amyloid drug made by Eli Lilly.

♦

If you want to retire in comfort, investment firms and some news headlines say you may need a million dollars in the bank, but maybe not. One prominent economist says you can retire for a lot less. He points to the experiences of actual retirees as evidence. You Don't Need to Be a Millionaire to Retire, that's the headline of a column penned by Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute think tank and published in April in The Wall Street Journal. Most Americans retire with nowhere near a million in savings. The notion that we need that much to fund a secure retirement arises from opinion polls, personal finance columns, and two or three rules of thumb that spread through the financial planning business. Financial advisors tell you to save 10 times your annual salary for retirement, enough cash that you can live on 4% of the balance for a year.

According to Northwestern Mutual's Planning & Progress Study, Americans said they would need $1.46 million in the bank to retire comfortably. Biggs disagrees. To prove his point the economist looked at responses to the Federal, Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking between 2019 and 2022. The survey asked retirement age Americans aged 65 to 74, how well they're managing financially. A majority around 85% said they were just fine. They were living comfortably or at least doing okay. Only 15% said they were struggling. Biggs says the finding matters because most retirees have much less than a million in the bank. In the Federal survey, the typical senior who reported a satisfactory retirement had 50,000 to a hundred thousand dollars in savings. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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Microfeminism, TikTok's latest trend is more than that. I spoke with USA TODAY senior reporter, Jessica Guynn, to learn more.

Jessica, thanks for making the time as always.

Jessica Guynn:

Thanks so much for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So Jessica, let's just start with this. What is microfeminism and what are some examples?

Jessica Guynn:

So microfeminism is basically everyday acts of feminism, like listing women first in an email, or greeting them first in a meeting, batting down a male colleague who's interrupting a woman, or just refusing to yield to a man who's barreling down the middle of the sidewalk, or a man spreading on the subway. And it's a term that's been around for decades, but it bubbles up from time to time in popular culture. And most recently it began having a moment on TikTok. It started when Ashley Chaney who's a producer and host in L.A., shared her favorite act of microfeminism. The video caught on, women all over the country started sharing their favorite microfeminisms, and these videos are getting millions of views.

Taylor Wilson:

And how is social media really acting as a game changer when it comes to feminism as a whole? And how does it fit into this fourth wave of feminism?

Jessica Guynn:

Well, women have been practicing these everyday acts of feminism for decades, offline. But the practice is getting a big lift from the internet. One of the key characteristics of the fourth wave of the feminist movement is that it's very online. And TikTok's algorithm here, which can make things go incredibly viral, is also playing a super significant role. It's putting microfeminism on the small screens of women and men, and giving them an opportunity to share their experiences and connect with one another, and spread their acts of microfeminism.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. You mentioned shared experiences. Why is having a shared language so important?

Jessica Guynn:

Well, many of the women I spoke with said they never knew the term microfeminism until they saw it on TikTok. It was something they intuitively had done all their lives, but they didn't know what to call it. Now that they have a term for it and a shared language to express it, wow, are they ever talking about it.

Taylor Wilson:

And Jessica, you wrote that there are unfortunately trolls when it comes to microfeminism. What did they say and how do feminists deal with this?

Jessica Guynn:

Well, most of the response from women sharing about microfeminism was overwhelmingly positive. But it would not be the internet if anti-feminists didn't muscle into the comments to have their say. And that's what we've seen. But we've also seen big moments of micro solidarity. Women and men have shown up for each other, and shut down these trolls.

Taylor Wilson:

How can small acts of microfeminism really have big results at work?

Jessica Guynn:

Well, I think the lesson behind microfeminism is that not everything has to be a grand gesture. You don't have to be the Erin Brockovich of your workplace to make a difference in the lives of your coworkers, or in your own life. For example, one woman said she routinely calls out men who take credit for a woman's work. I think she says something to the effect of, "Oh, John, that's a fantastic point. I think it's really relevant. I also really enjoyed it when Mary brought it up earlier." And I imagine if in your workplace, you and your colleagues made a point of speaking out every time a man claimed credit for a woman's idea, I mean, that could disrupt the casual sexism that really annoys women. And more importantly, can have an effect on their careers. And cumulatively if you all do this, it has the potential to bring about some really meaningful change.

Taylor Wilson:

Great insight and perspective here. As always, Jessica Guynn is a senior reporter with USA TODAY. Thank you, Jessica.

Jessica Guynn:

Thanks so much for having me, Taylor.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. We're produced by Shannon Rae Green, and our executive producer is Laura Beatty. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt, from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden on D-Day anniversary: 'Let us be worthy of their sacrifice'