The Note: Biden shows new vulnerabilities in 2020 race
Biden's standing as front-runner is being challenged from multiple directions.
The TAKE with Rick Klein
Back in April, before the nicknames started and before former Vice President Joe Biden even entered the 2020 race, President Donald Trump offered an assessment: "I think he is only a threat to himself."
That's just the start of it now. Biden has sought to avoid direct engagement with his rivals, but the campaign has found him -- and is managing to underscore how precarious his position is as the race's front-runner.
A new poll from CNN demonstrates a surge for Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with Biden heading in the wrong direction after tangling with Harris over issues of race at last week's debate. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg's huge fundraising haul solidifies his status as a top-tier contender, with his campaign ready for yet another close-up on Tuesday in Chicago.
Meanwhile, fresh headlines involving Biden's son, Hunter, are a reminder of thorny business and family relationships. Hunter Biden's interview with The New Yorker marks an attempt to get ahead of storylines that could haunt the campaign and provide fodder for Trump and his party.
Biden's campaign has sought to convey a front-runner's stance early on. That standing is already being challenged, from multiple directions.
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
Unable to bring cameras into detention facilities, members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday painted a grim and distressing picture of what they saw on their tours in El Paso, Texas.
They described the ongoing separation of families, crying women packed into jail-like cells, claims from immigrants that guards told them to drink from toilets and served them spoiled food.
"They have been there 56 days at this border station. They went nine or 15 days without showers," Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., told ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer.
In recent days, at least two 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, have called for large-scale diplomacy and development work in Latin America to try and stem the tide of those seeking asylum in the United States.
Republican leaders have defended Trump's decision to instead slash aid to Central America, arguing some of governments in the region cannot be trusted to handle the funds.
The operators of these holding facilities may try to keep Americans in the dark, but these elected officials are working to shine a light on this humanitarian crisis and the standards for treatment of people at the border.
The TIP with Justin Gomez
For the first time since the deadly shooting of a black man by a white police officer in South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg will speak in front of a majority black audience Tuesday morning at the Rainbow PUSH convention in Chicago, a key demographic that the 37-year-old has failed so far to win over this primary season.
The June 16 shooting sparked outrage in South Bend, forcing the mayor off the campaign trail at a crucial time when nearly all of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates were courting black voters in South Carolina the following weekend.
When he's not campaigning, Buttigieg has been returning to South Bend to meet with local leaders, the victim's family and community members as the investigation continues. This past Saturday, the mayor participated in a peace walk, which was much more civil than the previous weekend when Buttigieg held a town hall and angry residents voiced their frustration with his administration and the police department.
Following news of his impressive $24.8 million second-quarter fundraising, a senior campaign official said they'll soon be staffed with about 30 people in South Carolina, where the black vote is necessary to win in the primary. It's a sign that the Buttigieg campaign will be putting at least some of that new money toward targeting voters he desperately needs.
ONE MORE THING
ABC News' Sasha Pezenik reports that five key staffers on John Hickenlooper's presidential campaign are resigning amid a significant shakeup of the former governor's team.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Tuesday morning's episode features ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz, who examines the impact of President Donald Trump's quick visit to North Korea and what happens now after Iran announced its uranium levels are in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal. Then ABC News' Quinn Owen recaps another hectic day at the controversial migrant facility in Clint, Texas. http://apple.co/2HPocUL
ABC News' "The Investigation" podcast. ABC News political analyst Matt Dowd joins Senior Executive Producer Chris Vlasto to discuss former special counsel Robert Mueller's upcoming congressional appearance: "It will get people focused." Dowd, former chief strategist for President George W. Bush, also gives insight into former Vice President Joe Biden's chances in the Democratic primary and partisanship in the 2020 race. https://bit.ly/2FMgHe3
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The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.
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