What started out as a gesture of remembrance has turned into quite the controversy. On Monday (June 8), members of the Democratic Party joined together to remember the life and loss of George Floyd amid the multiple memorial services that are taking place nationwide. American citizens continue their peaceful protests against police brutality and socio-economical injustice, and to show their solidarity, Democrats took a silent knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds at the Capitol's Emancipation Hall.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders were embroiled in a race for the Democratic Nomination just a few months ago but after many moderates dropped out of the race, Biden was elevated and eventually became the clear frontrunner. While Sanders has stopped campaigning, his name was still on Primary ballots but for now, it seems like it was all for nothing.

According to CNN, Joe Biden recently won the race in Guam which gives him a delegate count of 1,992. In order to win the nomination, Biden needed 1,991 delegates. With this in mind, it’s clear that Biden will be running against Donald Trump come November.

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“A little more than three months ago I stood on stage in South Carolina and told the American people that ours was a campaign for everyone who has been knocked down, counted out, and left behind. Those words take on an ever greater resonance today, at a time when so many Americans are hurting and have suffered so much loss,” Biden noted in a statement. “So many feel knocked down by the public health and economic crisis we are weathering. So many feel counted out and left behind by a society that has for too long viewed them as less than equal, their lives as less than precious.”

This is perhaps the most important Presidential race in the history of the country and many will be looking on with bated breathe come election day. 

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During last night’s airing of “The Last Dance,” ESPN looked into Michael Jordan‘s history when it comes to social justice and how he never liked to play the political game. Back in 1990, Jordan was asked to endorse an African-American Democrat who was running for office. Jordan refused to do so at the time because he simply didn’t know enough about politics to say anything.

Jordan also infamously got himself in trouble by saying the phrase “Republicans buy sneakers too.” This made MJ seem like he only cared about money and that politics meant absolutely nothing to him. At one point in the documentary, former President Barack Obama even weighed in on MJ’s now-famous comments.

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“I’ll be honest, when it was reported that Michael said ‘Republicans buy sneakers too,’ for somebody who was at that time preparing for a career in civil rights law and public life, and knowing what Jesse Helms stood for, you would have wanted to see Michael push harder on that,” Obama said. “On the other hand, he was still trying to figure out, ‘How am I managing this image that has been created around me, and how do I live up to it?’”

For many, what Jordan said shouldn’t even be seen as an issue. At the end of the day, politics are a tricky thing and not everyone has to partake in them. Some would argue that MJ had a responsibility to be political although that’s another debate entirely.

Though Joe Biden is all but guaranteed to emerge as the Democratic presidential nominee, a development that would place him in a head-on battle with Donald Trump, there remains a disturbing dark cloud hovering over the former VP. It began when a former aide by the name of Tara Reade accused Biden of sexually assaulting her twenty-seven years ago, provided details about an encounter with Biden in 1993. As she explained: “[Biden] had me up against the wall; he used his knee to spread open my legs and put his fingers inside me.”

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Since Biden’s presidential campaign has picked up momentum, Reade has again raised awareness toward their alleged encounter; though initially reticent to cover the story at all, many mainstream news media outlets have finally taken the plunge and addressed the possibility of its authenticity. With the narrative continuing to plague his reputation, Joe Biden finally addressed Reade’s allegations by way of complete denial.

“This never happened,” reads the statement. “While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny. Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.”

The statement continues: “She has said she raised some of these issues with her supervisor and senior staffers from my office at the time. They — both men and a woman — have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues. News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one — not one — who corroborated her allegations in any way. Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way — as indeed I would not have.”

It should be noted that Biden has not reached out to Tara Reade, nor does it appear he intends to. One thing is certain, however — this will not be the last we hear of this, especially if Trump has his way on the debate stage. 

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It was only a matter of time until Donald Trump reacted to news that Bernie Sanders had officially dropped out of the presidential race for the Democratic party. Following Bernie Sanders' address to America, President Trump hit his favorite platform in the world to share his strange and sarcastic reaction that included references to Elizabeth Warren and AOC.

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"Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday! This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

During Bernie's address, he said that, despite dropping out of the race, he wanted to accumulate delegates. Trump, of course, publicly questioned this. He wasn't done, though. He took a moment to fire shots at Joe Biden as well as AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar, known as the "Squad."

"I can't see AOC plus 3 supporting Sleepy Joe," Trump added.

With Bernie now out of the race, former vice president Joe Biden is now in the lead to go against Donald Trump in the upcoming United States election. 

Check out Donald Trump's tweets below.

Joe Rogan is trending on Twitter following a podcast with Eric Weinstein, where Rogan remarks that he'd rather vote for Donald Trump than Joe Biden.

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“I’d rather vote for Trump than [Biden],” says Rogan. “I don’t think [Biden] can handle anything. You’re relying entirely on his cabinet. If you want to talk about an individual leader who can communicate, he can’t do that. And we don’t know what the fuck he’ll be like after a year in office.

“The pressure of being president of the United States is something that no one has ever prepared for. The only one who seems to be fine with it is Trump, oddly enough.”

Throughout the segment, Rogan and Weinstein speak about Biden's problematic mental health, which seems to be deteriorating as this campaign goes on. Many Dem-alignment Twitter users are using Rogan's quote to further the mainstream narrative that he's a conservative, while others are opining that Rogan is the exact type of swing-voter that the Dems need to win over, rather than alienate. 

Rogan found himself trending for political reasons earlier this year when he endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. Traditional Dems labeled Rogan a bigot in response.

Check out some of the reaction on Twitter below.

With early victories in Vermont, Utah, and Colorado, many felt that Democratic dark horse Bernie Sanders was emerging as a clear favorite — at least, until last night’s Super Tuesday saw Joe Biden surging into the frontrunner position. Though Sanders locked down a victory in California, Biden came through with a total of ten projected wins, including Texas, Minnesota, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. A surprising turn, given than many had written off the former Vice President over a seemingly tepid campaign.

Biden himself acknowledged the unflattering narrative during his victory speech. “Just a few days ago the press and the pundits declared the campaign dead,” said Biden. “And then came South Carolina and they had something to say about it. They said when it got to Super Tuesday it would be over. Well, it may be over for the other guy!”

On that note, many were left wondering how the momentum-riding Sanders came up so short. Essentially, it all came down to the fact that a sizeable portion of his base simply did not vote. Once again, the narrative that the older generation dictates the political direction holds steadfast — though can somebody who decided to skip the polls truly complain about that? With the race tighter than ever Biden and Sanders are destined to dance for the big title. Expect a long and contentious road lined with infighting and controversies ripe for the picking.

One has to wonder whether either candidate would ever get behind the other, should it come time to consolidate for the big one: going against Donald Trump will not be easy, and a fractured Democratic party is hardly the ideal champion come battle-time. With Elizabeth Warren and Mike Bloomberg yet to make a decision vis-a-vis their own candidacy, there’s no telling which turns this wild ride is liable to take. 

The members of Public Enemy are currently public enemies. Flavor Flav released a statement earlier this weekend taking aim at Chuck D for supporting Bernie Sanders and using the group name to promote his political campaign. “We have become aware that Flavor’s bandmate and Public Enemy co-creator, Chuck D, has endorsed Bernie Sanders’ candidacy for President and plans to perform at an upcoming Sanders Rally,” Flav’s attorney Matthew H. Friedman wrote in a statement. “While Chuck is certainly free to express his political views as he sees fit—his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy. The planned performance will only be Chuck D of Public Enemy, it will not be a performance by Public Enemy. Those who truly know what Public Enemy stands for know what time it is, there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.” Flav went on to diss the Sanders campaign. 

“Flav has always delivered his authentic self,” the statement continues. “That authenticity compels him to speak out to ensure voters are not misled and that Public Enemy’s music does not become the soundtrack of a fake revolution.” Chuck D caught wind of Flav’s anger and responded swiftly. 

“Flavor chooses to dance for his money and not do benevolent work like this,” he said in a statement to HipHopDX. “He has a year to get his act together and get himself straight or he’s out.” Chuck’s attorney explained that, “From a legal standpoint, Chuck could perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to; he is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark. He originally drew the logo himself in the mid-80’s, is also the creative visionary and the group’s primary songwriter, having written Flavor’s most memorable lines.” We have a feeling that this isn’t over. 

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco products on Friday, according to The Hill.

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The bill narrowly passed with a 213-195 vote. The primary reason for polarization was Democrats’ fear that the current structure of the bill unfairly targets African-Americans.

“This legislation has dire, unintended consequences for African Americans,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), a member of the CBC. “Law enforcement would have an additional reason to stop and frisk menthol tobacco users because menthol would be considered illegal under this ban.” 

Clarke expanded, adding that the bill exempts products favored by the wealthy white community such as premium cigars. 

“The message that we’re sending is that, you know, for poorer communities — communities with less franchise that are gonna be over-policed — we’re going to add an extra burden to them,” Clarke told The Hill on Thursday.

Government data suggests that 5.4 million middle and high school students were using e-cigarettes in 2019.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. explained, “We need to ban flavors across the board because that’s what masks the nicotine and makes people think that it’s OK.”

According to The Hill, President Trump’s advisers said Thursday that they will recommend he vetos the bill as it is currently written.

President Donald Trump spoke about the coronavirus, yesterday in South Carolina, and downplayed its seriousness, calling it Democrats’ “new hoax.”

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“The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. They’re politicizing it,” he said, according to NBC News. “They don’t have any clue. They can’t even count their votes in Iowa. No, they can’t. They can’t count their votes. One of my people came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.’ That did not work out too well. They could not do it. They tried the impeachment hoax.”

Trump then called coronavirus fears their “new hoax.”

He went on to relate the virus to the border: “You see it. You see it with the coronavirus. You see that. When you have this virus or any other virus or any other problem coming in, it’s not the only thing that comes in through the border and we are setting records now at the border.”

“So far we have lost nobody to coronavirus,” Trump said. “Democrats will always say horrible things. Democrats want us to fail so badly.”

His comments come in response to Dems’ claims that his administration has not done enough to prepare for the epidemic. 

According to Worldometers.info, there have been 85,729 cases of the coronavirus worldwide and 2,933 total deaths. In the US, there are 59 active cases and no deaths so far.