President Joe Biden returned to the White House on Independence Day only to be confronted by another mass shooting before an expected summer of violence ahead of November's midterm elections.
While Democrats hope to fight the fall campaign on issues such as the Supreme Court's decision regarding abortion, the economy and crime are likely to dominate.
Bud Cummins, a former U.S. attorney, implored Biden and Democrats to drop crime-related "political propaganda and distortion," particularly with respect to allegations of racial injustice, this summer. Instead, the onetime Arkansas U.S. attorney, who was appointed by George W. Bush and worked under Attorney General John Ashcroft, encouraged leaders to underscore how "we are not going to tolerate illegal conduct."