thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-06--Chris Cuomo Loses It Over Trump’s ‘Bulls**t’ Coronavirus ‘Propaganda’ Video

CNN ’ s Chris Cuomo on Monday night said he wouldn ’ t play the clip with audio of President Donald Trump speaking from the White House after being discharged from Walter Reed hospital , where he was treated for the coronavirus .
“ I ’ m not going to play it for you .
Why should it ?
” he said .
“ How much bullshit do you need in your life ?
” Trump in the video claimed that he ’ s better and that he might be immune to COVID-19 now .
And he told Americans “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and “ don ’ t let it take over your lives.
” ″ ‘ Don ’ t let COVID control your life , ’ ” he said , mocking the president ’ s words .
” Nobody wants it to control their life .
They don ’ t have any choice.
” Then he called out Trump for denying Americans the same level of care he had in fighting the infection : '' Do n't be afraid of Covid ?
10,000 have died in the last 13 days .
Do n't be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down the most powerful and protected person in the world ... his continued recklessness makes it impossible to be sympathetic . ''
- @ chriscuomo on Trump 's Covid-19 response pic.twitter.com/rtgoYVGkHh — Cuomo Prime Time ( @ CuomoPrimeTime ) October 6 , 2020 “ His continued recklessness makes it impossible to feel sympathetic , ” Cuomo said .
“ I feel for his wife .
I don ’ t even know how she ’ s doing .
They only talk about him.
” The CNN host also called out Trump ’ s doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve provided about the president ’ s health : '' This President is a walking lie , '' says @ ChrisCuomo , detailing Trump returning to the White House and removing his mask .
`` Every aspect of his pandemic experience and response exhibits disrespect ...
I 'm upset because ... this man who can do everything , does nothing . ''
pic.twitter.com/BMrl0KKtws — Cuomo Prime Time ( @ CuomoPrimeTime ) October 6 , 2020

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CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday night said he wouldn’t play the clip with audio of President Donald Trump speaking from the White House after being discharged from Walter Reed hospital, where he was treated for the coronavirus.
Cuomo dismissed the footage as “propaganda.”
“I’m not going to play it for you. Why should it?” he said. “How much bullshit do you need in your life?”
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Trump in the video claimed that he’s better and that he might be immune to COVID-19 now. And he told Americans “don’t be afraid of it” and “don’t let it take over your lives.”
Cuomo just about had it.
″‘Don’t let COVID control your life,’” he said, mocking the president’s words. ”Nobody wants it to control their life. They don’t have any choice.”
Then he called out Trump for denying Americans the same level of care he had in fighting the infection:
"Don't be afraid of Covid? 10,000 have died in the last 13 days. Don't be afraid of Covid? It just took down the most powerful and protected person in the world... his continued recklessness makes it impossible to be sympathetic."
- @chriscuomo on Trump's Covid-19 response pic.twitter.com/rtgoYVGkHh — Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) October 6, 2020
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“His continued recklessness makes it impossible to feel sympathetic,” Cuomo said. “I feel for his wife. I don’t even know how she’s doing. They only talk about him.”
The CNN host also called out Trump’s doctors for the lack of information they’ve provided about the president’s health:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--I'm More Afraid Of A Second Trump Term Than My Cancer Coming Back. Here's Why.

Last month at an ABC News town hall , President Donald Trump claimed that his new health care plan would cover individuals with preexisting conditions .
But Trump says lots of things .
And his goal since 2016 has been to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its protections , as his administration argued before the Supreme Court in June .
If Trump and his Republican enablers win reelection and finish the job , I will be uninsurable .
Rates of cancer are rising in young people , but it ’ s harder for us to get diagnosed .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the floor of my bathroom , wrapped in towels in front of a heater , shaking from chills and soaked in sweat .
Medical providers told me it was mono , but it kept getting worse .
I fought for a month with my private insurer to cover a CT scan for my visibly swollen abdomen .
In Trump ’ s America , the belief that illness and poverty are moral failings is killing us from the inside out .
I had two master ’ s degrees and was working as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when I was diagnosed .
After I ran through paid vacation and six weeks of unpaid family medical leave , I lost my job and my health insurance .
Cancer , like COVID-19 , requires a community response to save lives .
My mother paid my rent and I lived off public assistance , food stamps and GoFundMe donations .
I was also fortunate to live in New York , a state that has worked to expand access to Medicaid , so that I was able to get care at one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployed .
There is no safety net , not even for a college-educated , employed , insured white man like myself .
My mother and stepfather ( who was already battling prostate cancer ) raided their retirement account .
I lost my savings .
My credit is shot .
I still owe thousands of dollars in medical bills ( from the time I was privately insured ) .
Privilege takes many shapes and forms in American life .
It ’ s covert and overt , it ’ s red , blue and definitely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more often unseen ― not having a preexisting condition is a privilege .
I ’ ve lost the weight I gained , and my hair has grown back .
Most of my scars are easily hidden : an incision along my abdomen where my spleen once lived ; a compromised ability to fight off infection ; fiery neuropathy pain in my hands and feet , a side effect of chemotherapy .
Though the cancer “ survivor ” is held up as sacred in America , the experience is profane .
My deus ex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the colloquial name for Adriamycin , an insidious but effective chemo drug that kills cells , both good and evil .
The mythology of the survivor is part of our problem in 21st-century America .
We like to think people can do everything on their own .
I didn ’ t beat cancer .
Chemo , my family and even my government saved my life .
If we don ’ t care for each other , what else is community for ?
I ’ ve spent my entire life working in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , developmentally disabled individuals , and the homeless .
As a hospital chaplain , I held people ’ s hands as they slipped into the next life .
The only difference between myself and those I served were the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune .
I now work with upward of 20 clients a week as a psychotherapist in private practice .
I ’ m holding space and bearing witness to people ’ s pain as they live through the traumas and stressors of America in 2020 .
Many of my clients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they don ’ t deserve to face this alone , so my small business struggles .
I am still at risk of relapse for the next four years ; if lymphoma does come back , my only option will be a bone marrow transplant .
I would have to spend months masked and in quarantine without the ability to fight off the simplest cold let alone the novel coronavirus .
Trump is not immoral but amoral ; his enablers are either practicing avarice , or , in the words of Hannah Arendt , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sometimes even 1,000 Americans die a day from COVID-19 and more pass from deaths of despair like addiction and suicide .

skaman306 via Getty Images
Cancer canceled my 2019. After 37 years of near-perfect health, I became one of tens of millions of Americans who went bankrupt due to illness.
Last month at an ABC News town hall, President Donald Trump claimed that his new health care plan would cover individuals with preexisting conditions. But Trump says lots of things. And his goal since 2016 has been to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its protections, as his administration argued before the Supreme Court in June. If Trump and his Republican enablers win reelection and finish the job, I will be uninsurable.
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Rates of cancer are rising in young people, but it’s harder for us to get diagnosed. I was so sick that I spent nights on the floor of my bathroom, wrapped in towels in front of a heater, shaking from chills and soaked in sweat. Medical providers told me it was mono, but it kept getting worse. I fought for a month with my private insurer to cover a CT scan for my visibly swollen abdomen.
It turned out I had advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer that moves and pools through your lymphatic system. My own immune system was killing me from the inside out.
In Trump’s America, the belief that illness and poverty are moral failings is killing us from the inside out. I had two master’s degrees and was working as a psychotherapist at a community mental health clinic when I was diagnosed. After I ran through paid vacation and six weeks of unpaid family medical leave, I lost my job and my health insurance.
Cancer, like COVID-19, requires a community response to save lives. My mother paid my rent and I lived off public assistance, food stamps and GoFundMe donations. I was also fortunate to live in New York, a state that has worked to expand access to Medicaid, so that I was able to get care at one of the best hospitals in the world despite being unemployed.
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There is no safety net, not even for a college-educated, employed, insured white man like myself. My mother and stepfather (who was already battling prostate cancer) raided their retirement account. I lost my savings. My credit is shot. I still owe thousands of dollars in medical bills (from the time I was privately insured).
Privilege takes many shapes and forms in American life. It’s covert and overt, it’s red, blue and definitely white, it’s seen and more often unseen ― not having a preexisting condition is a privilege. I’ve lost the weight I gained, and my hair has grown back. Most of my scars are easily hidden: an incision along my abdomen where my spleen once lived; a compromised ability to fight off infection; fiery neuropathy pain in my hands and feet, a side effect of chemotherapy.
Though the cancer “survivor” is held up as sacred in America, the experience is profane. My deus ex machina was the “red devil,” the colloquial name for Adriamycin, an insidious but effective chemo drug that kills cells, both good and evil.
Chemo is grotesque: from bloody hemorrhoids to blistering mouth sores, hair loss, night sweats, steroid-induced rages, skin rashes. I didn’t feel angelic on the floor, bloated, bald, covered in my own blood and shit, cradling vomit in my hands. I was fully human, naked, alone, afraid.
The mythology of the survivor is part of our problem in 21st-century America. We like to think people can do everything on their own. I didn’t beat cancer. Chemo, my family and even my government saved my life. If we don’t care for each other, what else is community for?
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I’ve spent my entire life working in public service: with underserved children and adults, developmentally disabled individuals, and the homeless. As a hospital chaplain, I held people’s hands as they slipped into the next life. The only difference between myself and those I served were the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
I now work with upward of 20 clients a week as a psychotherapist in private practice. I’m holding space and bearing witness to people’s pain as they live through the traumas and stressors of America in 2020. Many of my clients have lost their employer-based insurance, but they don’t deserve to face this alone, so my small business struggles.
I am still at risk of relapse for the next four years; if lymphoma does come back, my only option will be a bone marrow transplant. I would have to spend months masked and in quarantine without the ability to fight off the simplest cold let alone the novel coronavirus.
But I am more fearful of Donald Trump and his Republican enablers making America “great again” than the thought of my cancer returning.
Trump is not immoral but amoral; his enablers are either practicing avarice, or, in the words of Hannah Arendt, the banality of evil, while hundreds and sometimes even 1,000 Americans die a day from COVID-19 and more pass from deaths of despair like addiction and suicide.
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Making America “great” means limiting access, resources and opportunities to everyone, even the most fervent supporters of the president, who continue to seek to end access to health care for millions of Americans regardless of political affiliation.
This election, my life and millions of others depend on people voting for candidates who support policies that protect individuals from catastrophic illness, not leave them to die alone.
Andrew J. Rosenthal, MDiv LCSW, is a psychotherapist practicing in New York City.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-06--Biden Responds To Trump's Late-Night Tweetstorm With A Single Scathing GIF

Former Vice President Joe Biden had a message for President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening ― and he delivered it in the form of a GIF .
The Democratic presidential nominee didn ’ t mention Trump by name in his tweet , but it came after Trump spent Tuesday evening firing off tweets and retweets .
Trump shared wild conspiracy theories , insulted political rivals , made accusations about voting and attacked the media .
He also ripped his own Food and Drug Administration , “ scum ” at the FBI and the “ pathetic ” CIA .
And in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ action on a coronavirus relief package― which he himself had killed earlier in the day .
Trump fired off more than 40 tweets and retweets over about half an hour ― leading to this message from Biden : The quote came from an early September event in which Biden urged Trump to make a deal on coronavirus-related economic stimulus legislation .
“ Get off Twitter and start talking to the congressional leaders of both parties .
Invite them to the Oval Office , ” Biden said .
“ You always talk about your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a deal for somebody other than yourself.
” No deal was ever reached , and on Tuesday , Trump announced he would no longer make one , saying he has cut off negotiations until after the Nov. 3 election .
By evening , Trump was having second thoughts , urging a new round of stimulus checks as well as money for airlines and new funds for the Paycheck Protection Program ... some of the very program proposals that were being negotiated until Trump cut any discussion off .

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Former Vice President Joe Biden had a message for President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening ― and he delivered it in the form of a GIF.
The Democratic presidential nominee didn’t mention Trump by name in his tweet, but it came after Trump spent Tuesday evening firing off tweets and retweets.
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And in a head-spinning about-face, Trump also demanded action on a coronavirus relief package― which he himself had killed earlier in the day.
Trump fired off more than 40 tweets and retweets over about half an hour ― leading to this message from Biden:
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The quote came from an early September event in which Biden urged Trump to make a deal on coronavirus-related economic stimulus legislation.
“Get off Twitter and start talking to the congressional leaders of both parties. Invite them to the Oval Office,” Biden said. “You always talk about your ability to negotiate. Negotiate a deal, a deal for somebody other than yourself.”
No deal was ever reached, and on Tuesday, Trump announced he would no longer make one, saying he has cut off negotiations until after the Nov. 3 election.
By evening, Trump was having second thoughts, urging a new round of stimulus checks as well as money for airlines and new funds for the Paycheck Protection Program... some of the very program proposals that were being negotiated until Trump cut any discussion off.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Lincoln Project Trolls Trump's Balcony Stunt With Singalong 'Evita' Parody

President Donald Trump marked his return to the White House on Monday from hospitalization for the coronavirus with a photo-op at the Truman Balcony ― a scene his critics likened to the iconic moment from the musical “ Evita.
” Now his critics on the right turned that comparison into a song parody .
The Lincoln Project ― a group of never-Trump Republicans ― released “ Covita , ” a parody based on the musical ’ s showstopper : The Lincoln Project did not say who sang the track .
Asked on Twitter , co-founder Rick Wilson responded : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LuPone , who originated the role on Broadway and won a Tony as Eva Peron , weighed in on Trump ’ s balcony appearance a day earlier on social media .
“ I still have the lung power and I wore less makeup , ” she wrote on Twitter .
“ This revival is closing November 3rd.
” The “ Covita ” video was one of several released by The Lincoln Project on Tuesday .
The group also dropped a much more somber video on the toll of the infection amid Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @

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President Donald Trump marked his return to the White House on Monday from hospitalization for the coronavirus with a photo-op at the Truman Balcony ― a scene his critics likened to the iconic moment from the musical “Evita.”
Now his critics on the right turned that comparison into a song parody.
The Lincoln Project ― a group of never-Trump Republicans ― released “Covita,” a parody based on the musical’s showstopper:
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The Lincoln Project did not say who sang the track. Asked on Twitter, co-founder Rick Wilson responded: “I’ll never tell.”
Patti LuPone, who originated the role on Broadway and won a Tony as Eva Peron, weighed in on Trump’s balcony appearance a day earlier on social media.
“I still have the lung power and I wore less makeup,” she wrote on Twitter. “This revival is closing November 3rd.”
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The “Covita” video was one of several released by The Lincoln Project on Tuesday. The group also dropped a much more somber video on the toll of the infection amid Trump’s continuing efforts to downplay it:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Ex-CIA Director Issues Chilling Warning On What 4 More Years Of Trump Would Mean

Retired Gen. Michael Hayden , former director of the CIA under President George W. Bush , is warning about the toll of four more years of President Donald Trump .
“ If there is another term for President Trump , I don ’ t know what will happen to America , ” Hayden said in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump .
Hayden cited Trump ’ s disregard for the truth , his refusal to act against violent white supremacist groups and his disregard for America ’ s allies as reasons the nation could be in jeopardy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NSA under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush , spoke out on video as he endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president : “ I absolutely disagree with some of Biden ’ s policies , but that ’ s not important , ” Hayden said .
“ What ’ s important is the United States , and I ’ m supporting Joe Biden .
Biden is a good man .
Donald Trump is not.
” In 2016 , Hayden was among 50 former national security officials to sign a letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation ’ s security and well-being .
Although Hayden predicted that if elected Trump “ would be the most reckless president in American history , ” he did not make an endorsement .
Republican Voters Against Trump has been highlighting disaffected voices from within the party , often everyday GOP voters who are backing Biden .
The group has also featured some high-profile subjects , including Hayden ( who considers himself a political independent ) as well as former Trump administration insiders such as former aide to Mike Pence Olivia Troye , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Homeland Security Miles Taylor and Elizabeth Neumann , a former high-ranking official in the Department of Homeland Security .

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Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA under President George W. Bush, is warning about the toll of four more years of President Donald Trump.
“If there is another term for President Trump, I don’t know what will happen to America,” Hayden said in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump. Hayden cited Trump’s disregard for the truth, his refusal to act against violent white supremacist groups and his disregard for America’s allies as reasons the nation could be in jeopardy.
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Hayden, who was also head of the NSA under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, spoke out on video as he endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president:
“I absolutely disagree with some of Biden’s policies, but that’s not important,” Hayden said. “What’s important is the United States, and I’m supporting Joe Biden. Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not.”
In 2016, Hayden was among 50 former national security officials to sign a letter warning that Trump was a threat to the nation’s security and well-being. Although Hayden predicted that if elected Trump “would be the most reckless president in American history,” he did not make an endorsement.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Fox News Host Rips Trump Flack's Mask Defense, Points Out ‘Big Difference’ With Biden

Trump campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley attempted to defend President Donald Trump ’ s reckless face mask-removal stunt at the White House by pointing out that Democratic nominee Joe Biden did not wear a mask during his NBC town hall around the same time .
On Tuesday ’ s broadcast of “ America ’ s Newsroom , ” Smith called out Gidley for his false equivalence by pointing out the “ one big difference ” between Trump and Biden .
“ The president is currently shedding the virus , ” Smith noted .
“ He ’ s still in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Check out the exchange from the 6-minute mark here : WATCH : @ JHoganGidley discusses whether President Trump would shift his coronavirus messaging , as the president plans to return to the campaign trail 'soon ' amid his COVID-19 illness # nine2noon pic.twitter.com/5mSb7uOsl6 — America 's Newsroom ( @ AmericaNewsroom ) October 6 , 2020 Trump sparked widespread anger Monday when he took off his mask for the cameras on the White House balcony soon after returning from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , where he ’ d been hospitalized for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier in the interview falsely claimed that Trump ― who has repeatedly mocked Biden and others for wearing a mask , and has mostly refused to wear one himself ― had “ led on the issue ” of wearing face masks “ at every single turn .
”

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Trump campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley attempted to defend President Donald Trump’s reckless face mask-removal stunt at the White House by pointing out that Democratic nominee Joe Biden did not wear a mask during his NBC town hall around the same time.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of “America’s Newsroom,” Smith called out Gidley for his false equivalence by pointing out the “one big difference” between Trump and Biden.
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“The president is currently shedding the virus,” Smith noted. “He’s still in the middle of the 10-day virus phase.”
Check out the exchange from the 6-minute mark here:
WATCH: @JHoganGidley discusses whether President Trump would shift his coronavirus messaging, as the president plans to return to the campaign trail 'soon' amid his COVID-19 illness #nine2noon pic.twitter.com/5mSb7uOsl6 — America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) October 6, 2020
Trump sparked widespread anger Monday when he took off his mask for the cameras on the White House balcony soon after returning from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he’d been hospitalized for three days for coronavirus treatment.
Gidley earlier in the interview falsely claimed that Trump ― who has repeatedly mocked Biden and others for wearing a mask, and has mostly refused to wear one himself ― had “led on the issue” of wearing face masks “at every single turn.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-06--Trump Surrogates Who Should Be Quarantining Hit Campaign Trail

The chaos in the nation ’ s capital appears to have stemmed from a reckless in-person political ceremony at the White House on Sept. 26 , an event consistent with the Trump campaign ’ s months-long practice of holding in-person rallies and gatherings with limited coronavirus protections , if any .
Even as new people linked to the White House test positive for COVID-19 each day , the Trump campaign shows little concern about limiting the spread of the virus .
On Thursday , several of Trump ’ s family members , advisers and surrogates who had been around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are scheduled to travel around the country to appear at campaign events .
Vice President Mike Pence , the head of the White House ’ s coronavirus task force , is planning to travel to Nevada and Arizona on Thursday for back-to-back “ Make America Great Again ” events at an airplane hangar and a military and police gear manufacturer .
Later that day , the president ’ s son Eric Trump will host two events in North Carolina while his brother Donald Trump Jr. hosts an event in Panama City Beach , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South Dakota Gov .
Kristi Noem , former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski will also be in Florida , hosting an event at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Naples .
That evening , Trump campaign advisers Katrina Pierson , Mercedes Schlapp and Lara Trump , who is Eric Trump ’ s wife , will appear at a “ Women for Trump ” bus tour event at the New Englander Banquet Center in New Castle , Pennsylvania .
Trump announced about 1 a.m. Friday that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ although his own doctor ’ s description of the timeline suggests he may have been diagnosed as early as last Wednesday , the day of the Minneapolis fundraiser .
Trump ’ s doctor has refused to provide the date of the president ’ s last negative test result .
The upcoming Trump campaign events are scheduled for just eight days after the fundraiser , nine days after the presidential debate and 12 days after the Supreme Court nomination ceremony .
The CDC recommends that people who come into close contact with someone diagnosed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even if they do not experience symptoms and their tests come back negative .
Tests aren ’ t always accurate , and asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 can unwittingly spread the disease .
The Trump campaign did not respond to an email asking when the people hosting Thursday ’ s campaign events last interacted with Trump or anyone else who has tested positive for the coronavirus .
The campaign also did not respond to a question about what safety precautions will be in place at the events to protect attendees and staff .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s website do not advise attendees to wear masks or practice social distancing , although they do include a disclosure that by registering for the event , individuals forfeit their right to sue if they contract COVID-19 .
Pence ’ s physician released a memo Tuesday claiming the vice president does not need to quarantine because he doesn ’ t have symptoms , has tested negative and “ is not a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive.
” Pence was seated directly in front of Sen. Mike Lee ( R-Utah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at the Supreme Court nomination ceremony .
Despite his risk of infection , Pence and the Trump campaign have fought even modest efforts to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission , including opposing the use of plexiglass barriers at the vice presidential debate scheduled for Wednesday .
The Trump campaign “ didn ’ t want the vice president surrounded by plexiglass , ” debate commission co-chairman Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. told The Washington Post .
“ They didn ’ t want to have him in what looks like a box .
”

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The chaos in the nation’s capital appears to have stemmed from a reckless in-person political ceremony at the White House on Sept. 26, an event consistent with the Trump campaign’s months-long practice of holding in-person rallies and gatherings with limited coronavirus protections, if any. Even as new people linked to the White House test positive for COVID-19 each day, the Trump campaign shows little concern about limiting the spread of the virus. On Thursday, several of Trump’s family members, advisers and surrogates who had been around the president before he tested positive for COVID-19 are scheduled to travel around the country to appear at campaign events.
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Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the White House’s coronavirus task force, is planning to travel to Nevada and Arizona on Thursday for back-to-back “Make America Great Again” events at an airplane hangar and a military and police gear manufacturer. Later that day, the president’s son Eric Trump will host two events in North Carolina while his brother Donald Trump Jr. hosts an event in Panama City Beach, Florida, at a Holiday Inn. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski will also be in Florida, hosting an event at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Naples. That evening, Trump campaign advisers Katrina Pierson, Mercedes Schlapp and Lara Trump, who is Eric Trump’s wife, will appear at a “Women for Trump” bus tour event at the New Englander Banquet Center in New Castle, Pennsylvania.
Trump announced about 1 a.m. Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, although his own doctor’s description of the timeline suggests he may have been diagnosed as early as last Wednesday, the day of the Minneapolis fundraiser. Trump’s doctor has refused to provide the date of the president’s last negative test result.
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The upcoming Trump campaign events are scheduled for just eight days after the fundraiser, nine days after the presidential debate and 12 days after the Supreme Court nomination ceremony.
The Trump campaign is continuing to host in-person events, featuring crowds of maskless fans, even as the White House COVID-19 outbreak expands. Joe Raedle via Getty Images
The CDC recommends that people who come into close contact with someone diagnosed with the coronavirus self-quarantine for 14 days, even if they do not experience symptoms and their tests come back negative. Tests aren’t always accurate, and asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 can unwittingly spread the disease.
The Trump campaign did not respond to an email asking when the people hosting Thursday’s campaign events last interacted with Trump or anyone else who has tested positive for the coronavirus. The campaign also did not respond to a question about what safety precautions will be in place at the events to protect attendees and staff. The event pages on the campaign’s website do not advise attendees to wear masks or practice social distancing, although they do include a disclosure that by registering for the event, individuals forfeit their right to sue if they contract COVID-19.
Pence’s physician released a memo Tuesday claiming the vice president does not need to quarantine because he doesn’t have symptoms, has tested negative and “is not a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive.” Pence was seated directly in front of Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who has since tested positive, at the Supreme Court nomination ceremony.
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Despite his risk of infection, Pence and the Trump campaign have fought even modest efforts to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, including opposing the use of plexiglass barriers at the vice presidential debate scheduled for Wednesday.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Ex-Secret Service Boss Slams Trump’s Disregard For Agents' Safety

A former Secret Service supervisor condemned President Donald Trump for subjecting agents assigned to protect him with heightened risk of contracting the coronavirus in an op-ed for The Washington Post .
Joseph Petro , whose 23 years of service included a supervisory role under President Ronald Reagan , called out Trump and Secret Service management for their apparent disregard for agents ’ safety in the column published Tuesday .
In the article — titled “ I ’ m a former Secret Service executive .
The willingness to put agents in danger is inexcusable ” — Petro noted that safeguarding agents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But “ today , it seems , that is not always the case , ” he lamented , pointing out how Trump endangered protective service members on Sunday by leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to drive past supporters in a hermetically sealed SUV with agents .
“ Given the president ’ s COVID-19 infection , this was a gratuitous and dangerous political exercise that needlessly exposed his Secret Service agents — as well as their families — to the potentially deadly novel coronavirus , ” Petro wrote .
Petro described the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ very disappointing ” and held “ the management of the Secret Service responsible for this inexcusable lack of concern for the lives of the agents and their families.
” “ The Secret Service can not protect the president from himself , but its management has a solemn responsibility to protect those agents who put their lives on the line every day to protect him , ” Petro concluded .
“ It should not be that hard to do .
”

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A former Secret Service supervisor condemned President Donald Trump for subjecting agents assigned to protect him with heightened risk of contracting the coronavirus in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
Joseph Petro, whose 23 years of service included a supervisory role under President Ronald Reagan, called out Trump and Secret Service management for their apparent disregard for agents’ safety in the column published Tuesday.
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In the article — titled “I’m a former Secret Service executive. The willingness to put agents in danger is inexcusable” — Petro noted that safeguarding agents was “always our highest priority.”
But “today, it seems, that is not always the case,” he lamented, pointing out how Trump endangered protective service members on Sunday by leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to drive past supporters in a hermetically sealed SUV with agents.
“Given the president’s COVID-19 infection, this was a gratuitous and dangerous political exercise that needlessly exposed his Secret Service agents — as well as their families — to the potentially deadly novel coronavirus,” Petro wrote.
Petro described the failure of agents to wear masks as “very disappointing” and held “the management of the Secret Service responsible for this inexcusable lack of concern for the lives of the agents and their families.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-06--Some U.S. Catholics See Challenge To Trump In Pope's Latest Encyclical

Francis ’ new encyclical , released Sunday with the title “ Fratelli Tutti ” ( “ Brothers All ” ) , wasn ’ t written as commentary on a specific country ’ s politics and doesn ’ t explicitly mention Trump .
But given the letter ’ s sharp rebuke of “ violent nationalism , ” selfish tribalism , and “ trickle-down ” economic theory , some Catholics reading the letter from a U.S. context believe it has implications for the faithful as they face the 2020 presidential election .
“ This encyclical challenges Catholics across the ideological spectrum with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics that puts the common good at the center of our debates , ” said John Gehring , Catholic program director for the advocacy group Faith in Public Life Action .
“ But I do read the pope ’ s sharp criticism of nationalist trends and anti-immigrant populism as a critique of Trump ’ s ‘ America First ’ agenda.
” In the encyclical , the Argentine pontiff lamented how fractured society has become and criticized the way that “ hyperbole , extremism and polarization have become political tools.
” He bemoaned the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with impunity , in ways that just a few years ago would have meant the “ loss of universal respect.
” He suggested that free-market capitalism and trickle-down economic policies have failed and encouraged people to combat the “ structural ” causes of poverty and inequality .
Francis decried the xenophobia and “ aggressive nationalism ” bubbling up in certain countries and warned against the temptation to “ raise walls , walls in the heart , walls on the land.
” While presenting his vision for a world where people truly care for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ welcome , protect , promote and integrate ” migrants fleeing humanitarian crises .
People in some host countries are fearful of migrants and forget that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any other human being , the pope wrote .
“ For Christians , this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable , since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith : the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin , race or religion , and the supreme law of fraternal love , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it “ revealing ” that the “ small but vocal chorus ” of Catholic bishops who have publicly diminished Democratic candidate Joe Biden ’ s Catholic faith , as well as pro-Trump Catholic advocacy groups have said little about the encyclical , which is considered the most authoritative form of teaching a pope can give .
“ The pope is offering a broad analysis that opposes trickle-down economics , expands the definition of what it means to be ‘ pro-life , ’ and rejects nativist nationalism as un-Christian , ” Gehring said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the electoral goals of many on the Catholic right.
” “ [ America ’ s ] elected leaders have failed in their responsibility to care for the least among us , with millions of Americans worried about getting sick , finding their next meal , or paying rent , ” Campbell tweeted .
“ These politicians - notably in the Senate - have failed to give communities ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic the resources they need to survive .
This is a failure in moral leadership and Catholics can not stand for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on themes Francis has addressed frequently during his papacy .
He has spoken often about the plight of migrants , going so far as to resettle groups of refugees in Italy as an example to Catholics around the world .
Francis has clashed with Trump on the president ’ s goal of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border , claiming in 2016 that “ a person who only thinks about building walls ... and not building bridges , is not Christian.
” While Trump has made overtures to Muslim diplomats from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a good reputation among Muslims in his own country .
He came to power on a platform that explicitly called for a ban on Muslim immigration and has often resorted to anti-Muslim rhetoric to stir up his base .
As president , he has promoted inflammatory anti-Muslim videos on Twitter and voiced support for GOP candidates who hold blatantly Islamophobic views .
“ President Trump seems to be pretty gleeful about his division of people into those who are with him , and those who are enemies .
That is a behavior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
In the past , Francis has challenged Catholics to treat their concern for the lives of the poor , sick , and marginalized as “ equally sacred ” as the “ unborn.
” The pope restated the church ’ s longstanding opposition to abortion in the encyclical , but did so while discussing other groups he believes should be protected ― the poor , disabled , elderly , and victims of human trafficking .
E.J .
Dionne Jr. , a columnist for The Washington Post who identifies as Catholic , pointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the word “ abortion ” doesn ’ t appear in the document , but that Francis included 12 references to the death penalty , which the pontiff claimed is “ inadmissible ” in all cases .
This clear condemnation of the death penalty comes less than two weeks after one of the most prominent Catholics in the Trump administration , Attorney General William Barr , received a special award at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast ― despite the fact that Barr cleared the way for the federal government to resume capital punishment .

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Some American Catholics sifting through Pope Francis’ latest encyclical this week are seeing it as a strong indictment of President Donald Trump’s nationalist agenda.
Francis’ new encyclical, released Sunday with the title “Fratelli Tutti” (“Brothers All”), wasn’t written as commentary on a specific country’s politics and doesn’t explicitly mention Trump. But given the letter’s sharp rebuke of “violent nationalism,” selfish tribalism, and “trickle-down” economic theory, some Catholics reading the letter from a U.S. context believe it has implications for the faithful as they face the 2020 presidential election.
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“This encyclical challenges Catholics across the ideological spectrum with its call for a better kind of politics that puts the common good at the center of our debates,” said John Gehring, Catholic program director for the advocacy group Faith in Public Life Action. “But I do read the pope’s sharp criticism of nationalist trends and anti-immigrant populism as a critique of Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.”
In the encyclical, the Argentine pontiff lamented how fractured society has become and criticized the way that “hyperbole, extremism and polarization have become political tools.” He bemoaned the fact that some political leaders speak crudely with impunity, in ways that just a few years ago would have meant the “loss of universal respect.” He suggested that free-market capitalism and trickle-down economic policies have failed and encouraged people to combat the “structural” causes of poverty and inequality. Francis decried the xenophobia and “aggressive nationalism” bubbling up in certain countries and warned against the temptation to “raise walls, walls in the heart, walls on the land.”
Pope Francis signs his new encyclical in front of St. Francis' tomb on Oct. 3, 2020, in Assisi, Italy. On the anniversary of the saint's death, Pope Francis celebrated Mass and signed his latest papal letter, "Fratelli Tutti." Vatican Pool via Getty Images
While presenting his vision for a world where people truly care for each other, Francis called on countries to “welcome, protect, promote and integrate” migrants fleeing humanitarian crises. People in some host countries are fearful of migrants and forget that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any other human being, the pope wrote.
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“For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable, since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love,” he wrote.
Gehring said he found it “revealing” that the “small but vocal chorus” of Catholic bishops who have publicly diminished Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s Catholic faith, as well as pro-Trump Catholic advocacy groups have said little about the encyclical, which is considered the most authoritative form of teaching a pope can give.
“The pope is offering a broad analysis that opposes trickle-down economics, expands the definition of what it means to be ‘pro-life,’ and rejects nativist nationalism as un-Christian,” Gehring said. “None of that is particularly useful for the electoral goals of many on the Catholic right.”
Pope Francis didn’t write a political manifesto, but he knows that challenging nationalist leaders who prey on fear and racism will help frame this as a moral issue in the election. — John Gehring (@gehringdc) October 5, 2020
For Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of the Catholic advocacy group NETWORK, Francis’ encyclical was an indictment of “rampant individualism, ‘got-you’ politics and economic exploitation.”
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“[America’s] elected leaders have failed in their responsibility to care for the least among us, with millions of Americans worried about getting sick, finding their next meal, or paying rent,” Campbell tweeted. “These politicians - notably in the Senate - have failed to give communities ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic the resources they need to survive. This is a failure in moral leadership and Catholics cannot stand for it.”
As I read through #FratelliTutti, I am struck that @Pontifex is sending a simple but jarring message to our world: We must move beyond continuous divisiveness and come together to build a world worthy of all God's children. His words are an indictment on rampant individualism, — Sr. Simone Campbell (@sr_simone) October 4, 2020
Encyclicals serve as teaching documents for the world’s Catholics, and, as Francis puts it, for “all people of good will.” The letters aren’t meant to hold veiled messages for any specific country. Previous popes have used encyclicals to focus the church’s attention on issues such as workers’ rights, nuclear weapons and birth control.
“Fratelli Tutti” ruminates on themes Francis has addressed frequently during his papacy. He has spoken often about the plight of migrants, going so far as to resettle groups of refugees in Italy as an example to Catholics around the world. Francis has clashed with Trump on the president’s goal of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming in 2016 that “a person who only thinks about building walls ... and not building bridges, is not Christian.”
Francis also makes an effort in his letter to demonstrate the importance of interdenominational and interfaith dialogue. The pope said that he drew inspiration from several non-Catholics for the encyclical, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
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Francis made repeated references throughout the encyclical to Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, a spiritual leader at Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque, Sunni Islam’s most prestigious seat of learning. Last year, Francis signed a historic declaration of fraternity with the imam calling for peace between religions and declaring that religious extremists are actually deviating from true religious belief and manipulating religion for political reasons.
While Trump has made overtures to Muslim diplomats from the Middle East, he doesn’t have a good reputation among Muslims in his own country. He came to power on a platform that explicitly called for a ban on Muslim immigration and has often resorted to anti-Muslim rhetoric to stir up his base. As president, he has promoted inflammatory anti-Muslim videos on Twitter and voiced support for GOP candidates who hold blatantly Islamophobic views.
Pope Francis greets Egypt's Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb after an interfaith meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Feb. 4, 2019. Francis said he was "particularly encouraged" by the imam while writing "Fratelli Tutti." (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Kate Ward, a theological ethicist at Marquette University, told HuffPost that Francis’ determination to reach across religious beliefs comes through clearly in “Fratelli Tutti.”
“He is clearly determined that religious belief, or lack thereof, won’t be an obstacle to fraternity and social friendship on his watch,” Ward said of the pope.
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The document also contains a “challenge to anyone who’s tempted to conduct their life in society along aggressive lines, viewing others as enemies and inciting violence.”
“President Trump seems to be pretty gleeful about his division of people into those who are with him, and those who are enemies. That is a behavior this document really condemns,” Ward said.
In the past, Francis has challenged Catholics to treat their concern for the lives of the poor, sick, and marginalized as “equally sacred” as the “unborn.” The pope restated the church’s longstanding opposition to abortion in the encyclical, but did so while discussing other groups he believes should be protected ― the poor, disabled, elderly, and victims of human trafficking.
E.J. Dionne Jr., a columnist for The Washington Post who identifies as Catholic, pointed out in an op-ed on Sunday that the word “abortion” doesn’t appear in the document, but that Francis included 12 references to the death penalty, which the pontiff claimed is “inadmissible” in all cases.
This clear condemnation of the death penalty comes less than two weeks after one of the most prominent Catholics in the Trump administration, Attorney General William Barr, received a special award at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast ― despite the fact that Barr cleared the way for the federal government to resume capital punishment.
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Dionne wrote that it will be hard for Americans to read “Fratelli Tutti” outside the context of the presidential campaign.
“The themes of his encyclical ... will make it much harder for conservative and right-wing Catholics to insist that the only orthodox vote is for Trump,” he wrote.
In "Fratelli Tutti," Pope Francis presents his vision for a world where people truly care for and protect each other. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Ultimately, the biggest challenge for all U.S. Catholics is Francis’ call for dialogue and acceptance of others’ differences, Ward said ― something she believes Americans have trouble with.
“We want there to be good and bad characters in the drama, and there are only two sides and you’re either on ours or you’re on the bad side,” she said. “[Pope Francis] envisions a society of not binomial difference, but true plurality, where our discussion about what we can do to help the excluded starts from allowing others ‘to be themselves and be different.’”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Seth Meyers: Reporter's Question Sums Up The State Of Trump's Presidency

Well , here ’ s a question nobody would ’ ve put on their election season bingo card before 2020 .
Last week , President Donald Trump announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus .
Since then , at least 24 other people close to him have also contracted COVID-19 .
As Trump departed from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday , Yahoo ’ s White House correspondent Hunter Walker ’ s asked : “ Do you think you might be a superspreader , Mr. President ?
” “ Imagine if a year ago someone told you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Do you think you may be a superspreader ?
’ ” “ Late Night ” host Seth Meyers said on Tuesday .
“ The only reaction is : ‘ What the [ bleep ] happened ?
’ ” This is probably not the sort of question you want to receive just 28 days before an election .
“ Usually at the point in the calendar , reporters are asking the president questions about the election .
In Trump ’ s case , they ’ re asking him if he ’ s Typhoid Larry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr .
President , if you win a second term , is there anyone else you ’ d like to personally infect ?
’ ”

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Well, here’s a question nobody would’ve put on their election season bingo card before 2020.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Since then, at least 24 other people close to him have also contracted COVID-19. As Trump departed from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, Yahoo’s White House correspondent Hunter Walker’s asked: “Do you think you might be a superspreader, Mr. President?”
“Imagine if a year ago someone told you the president would be asked, ‘Do you think you may be a superspreader?’” “Late Night” host Seth Meyers said on Tuesday. “The only reaction is: ‘What the [bleep] happened?’”
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This is probably not the sort of question you want to receive just 28 days before an election.
“Usually at the point in the calendar, reporters are asking the president questions about the election. In Trump’s case, they’re asking him if he’s Typhoid Larry,” Meyers added. ”‘Mr. President, if you win a second term, is there anyone else you’d like to personally infect?’”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--'When You're A Star, They Let You Do It'

At Least He ’ s Not Clinton They had that in their back pocket for their ‘ break glass in @ @ @ @ @ was clearly the emergency .
They broke the glass and everybody scattered for it .
@ @ @ @ @ Clinton staffer , on the WikiLeaks release of Democratic Party emails The Birth Of The @ @ @ @

When Amanda Litman first heard the words, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy,” she was at Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
It was Oct. 7, 2016, a Friday afternoon, and The Washington Post published a bombshell: Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, had boasted about sexual assault in 2005. And it was on tape.
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“It was almost a feeling of ‘oh my god, we just won the election,’ complicated by the fact that so many of the women on our staff were deeply traumatized,” Litman said. She remembers female staffers listening to the audio over and over again, then leaving the office for 10-minute walks around the block. When they came back, they looked as though they had been crying.
The audio, taken from an “Access Hollywood” shoot, seemed like a turning point in the election. Republican politicians quickly condemned Trump, many of them noting that as fathers of daughters, they had to speak up. Then-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reportedly urged the GOP chairman to get the nominee out of the race. Trump’s daughter Ivanka reportedly pleaded with him to offer a full apology. Karen Pence, the wife of Trump running mate Mike Pence, was reportedly livid, but her husband decided it was too late to leave the ticket.
In the 20 days that followed, 15 women came forward to say Trump had sexually abused them. Democrats thought this might be their shot to cement the election for Clinton, who would have been the first female president in U.S. history.
But come November, Trump won nonetheless. The same Republican politicians who claimed they couldn’t abide his words continued to back him. Then-Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who said after the tape’s release that he couldn’t look his 15-year-old daughter in the eyes and still endorse Trump, announced 19 days later that he still planned to vote for the nominee. Once Trump became president, Ryan and other Republicans helped push through his priorities, which they shared. Trump went on to appoint Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault, to the Supreme Court.
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Four years later, the “Access Hollywood” tape is buried under Trump’s record in office, including mishandling the coronavirus pandemic, dismantling the immigration system, derailing climate change efforts and much, much more. This September, when former model Amy Dorris accused Trump of sexually assaulting her at the 1997 U.S. Open, the charge was simply added to the list. Few, if any, Republicans spoke out, and the news cycle moved on.
But women haven’t forgotten. Activists and former Clinton staffers say that the “Access Hollywood” tape (and Republicans’ subsequent inaction) helped lay the groundwork for a seismic national shift in both the dialogue surrounding sexual abuse and the political mobilization of many women who had previously been passive observers.
“It’s one of the reasons why the Women’s March was such a galvanizing thing,” said Litman. “[Trump] didn’t just beat a woman candidate; he did so while denigrating women, which lays the cultural groundwork ― along with the work Tarana Burke had been doing for years ― for the Me Too movement.”
At Least He’s Not Clinton
When David Fahrenthold, the Washington Post reporter who first uncovered the “Access Hollywood” tape, reached out to the Trump campaign before publishing, they at first thought the transcript wasn’t real. “This doesn’t sound like me,” Trump said, according to a retelling of the weekend by Politico’s Tim Alberta.
Then the campaign received the audio, and it was clear that it was Trump speaking.
The campaign went into spin mode. “This was locker-room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago,” Trump said in a statement to the Post, before quickly turning to his opponent’s husband. “Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course — not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended.”
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That non-apology didn’t quell the public outrage after the story was published, and Trump appeared on video later that night to try again. In a markedly un-Trump-like performance, he said he never claimed to be a perfect person. “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” he said, before claiming the video was “a distraction from the important issues we’re facing today” and attacking Bill and Hillary Clinton for the former president’s sexual misconduct and alleged assaults, as well as accusing the former first lady of having bullied her husband’s victims.
One person faced swift consequences: Billy Bush, the “Access Hollywood” host who laughed along with Trump on tape, was suspended from his job at the “Today” show and fired a week and a half later.
It looked like Trump might face consequences too.
Republican after Republican issued statements condemning him. “As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday,” Pence said in a statement, notably emphasizing that the remarks were made a long time ago. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called Trump’s comments “repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance.”
Left to right: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Donald Trump looking chummy in 2017. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press
Speaker Ryan uninvited Trump from a campaign event set to take place the next day. During a call with House Republicans on Oct. 10, he told the lawmakers that he would not campaign with Trump or defend him. If others wanted to, that was up to them.
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“I’m going to spend the next 28 days working hard with all of our members to get reelected because we need a check on Hillary Clinton if Donald Trump and Mike Pence don’t win the presidency,” Ryan said at the time, according to audio later published by Breitbart News.
Some House Republicans agreed. Others didn’t ― and the ones who wanted to defend Trump were some of the loudest voices.
On the call, member after member said, “I don’t care how bad this is, you can’t let Hillary Clinton win,” according to a then-GOP aide. “It was very clear that everyone was still thinking in highly political terms.”
That was the calculus: Sure, what Trump said was bad. But at least he wasn’t Clinton.
“It demonstrated what was to come in terms of being able to rationalize anything as long as you compare it to Democrats,” the former GOP aide said.
Outrage, Pain And Motivation
The next episode of “Saturday Night Live” featured a sketch about the “Access Hollywood” tape that cut to Clinton campaign headquarters, where the candidate, played by Kate McKinnon, and her staff pop champagne.
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But in reality, learning about the tape wasn’t a gleeful moment for the Clinton team.
“I was like, wow, they don’t usually get that wrong,” said Jess McIntosh, who was a senior communication adviser to the campaign. Today, McIntosh likens the moment to learning last week that the president had been diagnosed with COVID-19: a preelection shock that might impact the race, but certainly nothing to cheer over.
In fact, for many Democrats, the tape was a sobering reminder of just how much was at stake in the election. Both Clinton and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine responded swiftly to the audio. On Oct. 7, Kaine told reporters that Trump’s words made him “sick to my stomach,” adding, “I’m sad to say that I’m not surprised.” Clinton tweeted the Washington Post story along with the comment, “This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to be president.”
Two days later, Trump and Clinton were in St. Louis facing off at the second presidential debate. When the tape came up, Clinton attempted to hammer home the idea that Trump’s denigration of women made him unfit to hold the highest office in the nation.
“With prior Republican nominees for president, I disagreed with them, politics, policies, principles, but I never questioned their fitness to serve,” she said. “Donald Trump is different.” During the same debate, Trump stood behind Clinton and followed her across the stage ― a physical posturing that many compared to stalking.
Donald Trump lurks behind Hillary Clinton during the Oct. 9, 2016, presidential debate. Rick Wilking/Reuters
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Democrats and activists alike were also grappling with the larger cultural implications of a Republican nominee for president who bragged about sexual assault. At 7:48 p.m. on the night the audio was published by The Washington Post, author Kelly Oxford tweeted, “Women: tweet me your first assaults. They aren’t just stats. I’ll go first: Old man on city bus grabs my ‘pussy’ and smiles at me, I’m 12.” Women began responding, many using the hashtag #NotOkay. According to NPR, within a day, 1 million women had responded to Oxford’s callout.
For so many, Trump’s words felt sickeningly familiar. They felt personal.
Jess Morales Rocketto, who was working on the Clinton campaign in 2016 and is now the civic engagement director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the executive director of Care in Action, told HuffPost that the Trump tape ― and working with fellow Clinton staffers to make people see the enormity of the moment ― pushed her to grapple with her own sexual assault.
“Engaging in that work ... is what enabled me to understand what had happened to me,” Rocketto said. “And to make it something that was not just about what had happened to me, and instead use it as fuel and transformation for keeping myself safe, and keeping other women like me safe.”
For Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet, and other activists who focus on women’s and survivors’ issues, the “Access Hollywood” tape was a loud, clear and “rude awakening” to the ways that “American society continues to degrade women and reward people who abuse them.”
Thomas also saw an opportunity for a larger conversation to come out of Trump bragging so brazenly about sexual assault. Because as many pointed out in the days and months after the “Access Hollywood” tape dropped, sexually abusive “locker-room talk” was reflective of a cultural rot much larger than Donald Trump.
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“I remember thinking like, that this was a pivotal exposure of what we knew was likely true about him and about his attitudes, but also the attitudes and the beliefs and behavior of so many men like him,” said Thomas. “And that it was a hugely important opportunity for having a national conversation about why that attitude and behavior is so toxic [and] so damaging.”
‘But Her Emails’ Takes Over
But the Trump campaign had a secret weapon. Trump and the campaign, via unofficial adviser Roger Stone, knew as of August that WikiLeaks had obtained hacked emails from Democratic Party staffers, including Clinton’s campaign chair, John Podesta, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report published in August of this year. The hack was unrelated to Clinton’s previous email controversy, which had to do with her use of a private server for some official business as secretary of state. But given the sensitivity of “email” and “Clinton,” it could still be highly damaging.
According to U.S. intelligence, the hack was carried out by Russians, whom Trump had openly courted to find Clinton’s “missing” emails.
On Oct. 7, Stone learned about the “Access Hollywood” tape before its release and called Jerome Corsi, an infamous conspiracy theorist, to ask him to get in touch with WikiLeaks, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee report. Stone “[w]anted the Podesta stuff to balance the news cycle,” Corsi told the committee.
“According to Corsi, Stone also told him to have WikiLeaks ‘drop the Podesta emails immediately,’” the committee report states.
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Later that day, WikiLeaks did.
McIntosh, the former Clinton adviser, was dismayed at how quickly the media seized on the hacked emails even amid the news that Trump had admitted to sexual assault.
The media’s focus on the “Access Hollywood” tape “only lasted until everybody got into John Podesta’s risotto recipe,” McIntosh said. “They played journalists so perfectly with that release. They had that in their back pocket for their ‘break glass in case of emergency.’ This was clearly the emergency. They broke the glass and everybody scattered for it.”
In the following weeks, even as multiple women accused Trump of sexual assault, reporters continued to question him on other matters, which McIntosh found disappointing.
“I am pretty sure if Hillary Clinton had been accused of assaulting somebody, that would be the last time someone asked her about her climate change plan,” McIntosh said. “The only questions would be, ‘When are you going to drop out of the race?’ And that was simply not what happened.”
“They had that in their back pocket for their ‘break glass in case of emergency.’ This was clearly the emergency. They broke the glass and everybody scattered for it.” - Jess McIntosh, a former Clinton staffer, on the WikiLeaks release of Democratic Party emails
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About a week before the election, then-FBI Director James Comey released a letter saying the agency was examining more of Clinton’s emails ― an announcement that Clinton blames, in part, for her ultimate loss.
The Democratic candidate’s emails remained in the news. The same Republicans who had condemned Trump’s remarks continued to back him.
And then, a month and approximately 1 million news cycles later, Trump won.
Despite the polls, despite the “Access Hollywood” tape, despite the allegations of 15-plus women. The man who openly denigrated women, immigrants and people of color was going to ascend to the highest office in the nation.
Litman remembers thinking about Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments on election night as she watched the returns come in from the Javits Center in New York City.
“I could not stop thinking about what does this tell little girls and what does this tell little boys,” said Litman. “[For little girls], you can be talked about this way, you can be treated this way, you can be assaulted this way, and there will be no punishment. For little boys, you have to behave this way to gain power. What a horrible message.”
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The Birth Of The ‘Pussy Hat’
However, after the initial shock and grief subsided, something else happened: Lots of American women who had once observed politics from the sidelines were angry. Furious, even. And they started organizing. Within four weeks, thousands of women had signed up for programs designed to help people run for political office.
Litman sees the mass, sustained effort as a response to the obvious lack of consequences for egregious behavior, like openly bragging about sexual assault, coupled with more than 15 women telling the country that this man had assaulted them. “He did this and then he got rewarded,” said Litman. “There were tapes. It wasn’t just a ‘he said, she said.’ He bragged about [assault] and then he got the highest office in the land. There’s no sense of justice.”
On Nov. 8, just hours after Trump was elected, retired attorney Teresa Shook posted on Facebook suggesting that women march on Washington. The post lit a spark that turned into the Women’s March ― the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Thanks to seasoned organizers Carmen Perez, Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, who stepped in early to help, the Women’s March brought an estimated 500,000 people to D.C. on Jan. 21, 2017, the day after Trump’s inauguration. (The New York Times reported that crowd scientists thought the march drew a crowd three times larger than that on Inauguration Day.)
Throngs of people, many wearing pink "pussy hats," joined the Women's March in Washington on Jan. 21, 2017. Shannon Stapleto/Reuters
Sister protests happened around the nation and the world. Many of the participants showed up wearing handmade pink “pussy hats,” a direct response to the president’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comment.
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Less than three months later, organizers showed up again, this time to protest the continued employment of Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, after news broke that the network had settled five separate sexual harassment lawsuits on his behalf since 2002. On April 19, 2017, O’Reilly was officially ousted from Fox.
“There was a [new] opportunity for holding people in positions of power accountable for abusing or harassing their staff,” said Thomas. “We were ready. The survivors came forward, the evidence was overwhelming, but it was also Fox News. It was an important moment to demonstrate the public lack of patience and disinterest in continuing to see institutions protecting abusers from accountability.”
Trump’s GOP Takeover
The opposition from women didn’t seem to greatly affect Trump, who soon after his election began to suggest to Republican senators and other allies that the tape wasn’t real, The New York Times reported in 2017.
Trump went on to push policies that harmed women and to back powerful men in spite of allegations that they had harmed women. He supported GOP senatorial candidate Roy Moore of Alabama in 2017 as Moore faced allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, including against teenage girls. Trump stuck with Kavanaugh when the now-Supreme Court justice was accused of sexual assault. He defended his former aide Rob Porter after Porter resigned from the White House due to accusations he had abused his ex-wives. All three men have denied the allegations against them.
The “Access Hollywood” tape continued to come up. UltraViolet Action played the tape on loop outside the Capitol in 2018 to protest Kavanaugh’s nomination.
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Demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Capitol to protest the confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Alex Brandon/Associated Press
Activists stress that there isn’t one straight line from the “Access Hollywood” tape to a movement, but that it is all connected.
“There’s no way of knowing all the ways this stuff ripples out,” Rocketto said. If the Trump tape hadn’t been exposed by The Washington Post, she’s not sure if she would have ultimately organized against Kavanaugh’s confirmation. “I wouldn’t have confronted Senator [Ted] Cruz in an elevator,” Rocketto said. “You don’t have Christine Blasey Ford coming forward [about Kavanaugh] without Me Too. And you don’t have a wave of women being elected.”
During the 2018 midterm elections, 125 women were elected in House, Senate and gubernatorial races. And not only did women run for elected office, they also spoke out about their own experiences with sexual harassment and abuse. Litman, who is now the executive director of Run for Something, an organization that helps recruit and support young Democrats running for office, told HuffPost that the shift in candidates’ openness about surviving sexual abuse has been significant.
“We work with these candidates who incorporate their experience as survivors into their campaigns,” Litman said. “I don’t think that would have happened before four years ago.”
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Four years after the “Access Hollywood” tape was revealed, Trump remains president and Republicans still control the Senate, where they are fighting to confirm a new Supreme Court justice who could put abortion rights at risk. Except now, we are also in the midst of a global pandemic, in which more than 200,000 Americans have died, millions have lost their jobs, and women ― especially women of color ― have been hit especially hard.
There’s still plenty to fight for.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Ex-Trump DHS Official: Biden's Gettysburg Speech 'Perfectly Encapsulates What We Need’

Elizabeth Neumann , who until April was a high-ranking official in the Department of Homeland Security , on Tuesday offered a ringing endorsement of Democratic nominee Joe Biden ’ s address in Gettysburg .
In an appearance on MSNBC ’ s “ Deadline : White House , ” Neumann praised the former vice president for his speech at the Civil War battlefield in which he declared : “ We can end this era of division .
We can end the hate and the fear .
We can be what we are at our best : The United States of America.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump in 2016 , revealed in a video released by the Republican Voters Against Trump group in August that she ’ d flipped on the president due to his failings amid the coronavirus pandemic and because his racist rhetoric had made her job impossible .
“ I ’ ve been working on commercials and op-eds and different ways to communicate to people why I came to this conclusion , ” Neumann explained Tuesday to “ Deadline ” host Nicolle Wallace of her decision to back Biden .
“ Now I can just send @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It perfectly encapsulates what we need right now in this country .
”

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Elizabeth Neumann, who until April was a high-ranking official in the Department of Homeland Security, offered a ringing endorsement of Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s Tuesday address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
In an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” Neumann praised the former vice president for his campaign speech at the Civil War battlefield, in which he declared: “We can end this era of division. We can end the hate and the fear. We can be what we are at our best: The United States of America.”
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Neumann, who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, had revealed in a video released by the group Republican Voters Against Trump in August that she’d flipped on the president due to his failed response to the coronavirus pandemic and because his racist rhetoric had made her job impossible.
“I’ve been working on commercials and op-eds and different ways to communicate to people why I came to this conclusion,” Neumann told “Deadline” host Nicolle Wallace Tuesday of her decision to back Biden.
“Now I can just send them this speech,” she said. “It perfectly encapsulates what we need right now in this country.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-07--Trump Wouldn’t Be The First Republican To Cry 'Voter Fraud' To Contest A Loss

Trump has seeded this plan all year with his torrent of lies about absentee and mail-in voting and his hyperventilating inventions about widespread voter fraud .
But like most of the worst excesses of the Trump era , the seemingly outlandish plot to steal the election on phony claims of voter fraud predates the president himself .
The Republican Party has been pushing misinformation about voter fraud for decades as it also works to limit access to the polls .
Some GOP lawmakers have even used these claims to try to remain in office in spite of losses .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
Since 2000 , Republican politicians , lawyers , nonprofits and partisan media outlets have fomented false accusations of voter fraud in order to promote policies meant to make it harder to vote for Democratic Party-leaning constituencies , like racial minorities and college students .
When Republicans won control of states in the past two decades , they quickly moved to impose new voting restrictions , close polling locations and remove voters from the rolls .
All of this was based on disproven claims of mass voter fraud .
And when they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential race , they blamed that on unfounded voter fraud conspiracies .
Trump didn ’ t have to contest the election result formally last time .
This time , he might .
And if he does , he ’ s likely to follow the same playbook as two former GOP governors who refused to concede based on unsubstantiated claims that the vote in their states wasn ’ t fair .
Former North Carolina Gov .
Pat McCrory and former Kentucky Gov Matt Bevin managed to undermine faith in the election and their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concede defeat .
First , the Durham County board rejected McCrory ’ s request for a recount when it found nothing wrong with the county ’ s late reporting of 90,000 ballots .
The campaign asked the state Board of Elections to intervene and take over from the county boards the review of voter fraud allegations .
The state board rejected that request in most cases , while agreeing to look at the protest of the vote in Bladen County .
It found no sign of foul play .

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President Donald Trump’s plan for election night and the immediate aftermath is clear: If he loses, or looks headed for a loss, he will lie and claim he was cheated. He will look to reverse the results with lawsuits, by pressuring state level-Republicans or through any other method he and his allies can think of.
Trump has seeded this plan all year with his torrent of lies about absentee and mail-in voting and his hyperventilating inventions about widespread voter fraud. But like most of the worst excesses of the Trump era, the seemingly outlandish plot to steal the election on phony claims of voter fraud predates the president himself. The Republican Party has been pushing misinformation about voter fraud for decades as it also works to limit access to the polls. Some GOP lawmakers have even used these claims to try to remain in office in spite of losses. Trump’s just being more transparent about it.
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Since 2000, Republican politicians, lawyers, nonprofits and partisan media outlets have fomented false accusations of voter fraud in order to promote policies meant to make it harder to vote for Democratic Party-leaning constituencies, like racial minorities and college students. When Republicans won control of states in the past two decades, they quickly moved to impose new voting restrictions, close polling locations and remove voters from the rolls. All of this was based on disproven claims of mass voter fraud. And when they lost elections, like in the 2008 presidential race, they blamed that on unfounded voter fraud conspiracies.
As 2016′s Election Day neared, Trump pointedly refused to commit himself to accepting the results. After he won, he still made baseless claims of voter fraud. To this day he still lies and claims he won the popular vote, “if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
Trump didn’t have to contest the election result formally last time. This time, he might. And if he does, he’s likely to follow the same playbook as two former GOP governors who refused to concede based on unsubstantiated claims that the vote in their states wasn’t fair. Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and former Kentucky Gov Matt Bevin managed to undermine faith in the election and their own credibility ― then ultimately were forced to concede defeat.
“This is a song we’re hearing sung once again this year,” said J. Sailor Jones, campaign director for the nonprofit Democracy North Carolina.
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North Carolina: 2016
Then-Gov. Pat McCrory (R) of North Carolina speaks to supporters with his wife, Ann, at his side in Raleigh on 2016's Election Day. McCrory lost to Democrat Roy Cooper, contested the outcome by alleging voter fraud and finally conceded a month later. Raleigh News & Observer via Getty Images
As election night ended four years ago, McCrory trailed Democrat Roy Cooper by about 5,000 votes out of 4.7 million cast. Cooper’s lead emerged after the results of a block of 90,000 ballots from Durham County were reported just before midnight.
McCrory refused to concede, crying voter fraud. He and the state Republican Party would go on to falsely accuse hundreds of North Carolinians of voter fraud as rumors swirled that the accusations could lead the GOP-controlled Legislature to overturn the election and hand him a second-term.
McCrory’s post-election move to claim he lost election due to voter fraud wasn’t premeditated like Trump’s is today. Instead, he chose to do so after he lost.
His campaign immediately expressed “grave concerns over potential irregularities in Durham County.” Local North Carolina Republican activists, at the direction of the McCrory campaign’s law firm, filed a slew of protests with county elections boards to contest the result.
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McCrory’s protests accused more than 600 individual North Carolina voters of committing fraud. Most of the protests alleged double-voting, illegal voting by felons and absentee voting fraud. As McCrory’s campaign pushed these protests, they ran a public relations campaign that made further wild accusations of dead people voting and claimed new explosive revelations were going to turn the race around.
In one instance, McCrory’s campaign declared, “A massive voting fraud scheme has been uncovered in Bladen County,” where more than a third of residents are Black.
The complaint focused on an event local activists helped 250 absentee voters fill out their ballots while also serving as witnesses. This was perfectly legal at the time, but McCrory’s team claimed it was an “absentee ballot mill.” Similar protests were filed in other counties where groups helped witness absentee ballots submitted by Black voters.
“There’s a direct correlation between the counties that were selected for challenges and the active participation of black political action committees,” Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) said after attending a hearing on alleged voting irregularities in Halifax County. “This is targeting the African-American community and their participation in the election.”
Amid the protests by McCrory’s campaign, political observers started to discuss a state law that allowed the state Legislature to overturn the results of an election if they deemed it too corrupted. Such a move by the Legislature, which featured a Republican supermajority at the time, was “not reviewable” by the courts.
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The law had only been used once, when the Legislature chose the winner in a school superintendent race in 2004 after a voting machine malfunction lost 4,500 votes, making it impossible to know the real winner. Speculation became rampant that McCrory’s fraud allegations were designed to get the Legislature to intervene.
McCrory’s strategy, though, was plagued by one big problem: Almost every accusation of voter fraud was found to be false by county boards of elections, each of which had two Republican commissioners and a Democratic one.
First, the Durham County board rejected McCrory’s request for a recount when it found nothing wrong with the county’s late reporting of 90,000 ballots. The campaign asked the state Board of Elections to intervene and take over from the county boards the review of voter fraud allegations. The state board rejected that request in most cases, while agreeing to look at the protest of the vote in Bladen County. It found no sign of foul play.
McCrory’s lawyers also prodded local Republican officials to file sloppily researched protests claiming voter fraud against more than 600 people, according to a report by Democracy North Carolina.
Just 30 of the 600-plus accusations turned out to be accurate. But even these cases mostly involved parolees who were misinformed that they could vote ― no mass voter fraud scheme was uncovered.
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Many of the local Republicans who filed the protests would later complain that they “got screwed,” were “disappointed” or “victimized” or “left hanging” by the McCrory campaign, according to the Democracy North Carolina report.
Some of the voters falsely accused of fraud were even angrier, especially those who saw themselves named in their local papers. A number of them filed a libel lawsuit against McCrory.
“Now that I know what happened to me was wrong, I am fighting back,” Gabriel Thabet, a registered Republican falsely accused of voter fraud, wrote in the Greensboro News & Record. “I see this effort to invalidate my vote for what it is. It was intimidation, plain and simple. And the national effort to undermine our confidence in the electoral system with baseless allegations of noncitizens voting is the same thing.”
As the month of November ended, provisional and late-counted absentee ballots had pushed Cooper’s lead to over 10,000 votes, above the threshold for a recount. McCrory’s campaign said they’d drop their request for a statewide recount if the state board performed a machine recount for Durham County and it turned up no change. When Durham’s machine recount revealed no change , McCrory conceded the election.
At the end of the day, McCrory’s efforts were hamstrung by the Republican commissioners on the county boards of elections who did not simply see their job as partisan rubber stamps. The Republican Legislature also never moved to intervene as McCrory failed to turn up any evidence of intentional fraud.
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A well-publicized voter fraud case did mar North Carolina’s 2018 election, and it involved misconduct by a Republican ― a campaign consultant named McRae Dowless. He was found to be running an actual absentee ballot mill to elect Republican Mark Harris in the state’s 9th Congressional District. Dowless had acted as one of McCrory’s protest filers in 2016.
Harris looked to have won the House seat, but the wrongdoing by Dowless caused that result to be invalidated. The state’s election board scheduled a special election for September 2019, which Republican Dan Bishop won.
Kentucky: 2019
Then-Gov. of Kentucky Matt Bevin (R) speaks to supporters in Lousiville as wife Glenna looks on as the vote on election night last November showed hin narrowly losing his reelection bid. He cried foul, but his claims lacked any substance and within days other GOP leaders in the state disassociated themselves from his allegations. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last November in Kentucky, Bevin wasted no time challenging results showing him losing reelection to Democratic Andy Beshear by about 5,000 votes.
“[T]here have been more than a few irregularities,” Bevin told his supporters as he refused to concede on election night. He claimed, with no evidence, that these irregularities, “have been substantiated.”
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Again with no evidence, he insisted, “We know there have been thousands of absentee ballots that were illegally counted. That is known.”
It wasn’t.
He also questioned whether ballots were counted in one county, said that the 2018 scandal involving Dowless in North Carolina could be happening in Kentucky, and claimed people were turned away from polling places. Again, he presented no evidence, save for his own intuition.
“Honestly, I don’t think his accusations of voter fraud were all that clear,” said state Sen. Morgan McGarvey the chamber’s Democratic leader. He speculated that Bevin was simply “raising the idea that there could be voter fraud.”
Yet some talk still surfaced in the national and local press that Bevin could, theoretically, push the Republican-led Legislature to intervene and invalidate the election based on his made-up claims of fraud. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R) suggested that it was possible the Legislature may need to intervene.
“There’s less than one-half of 1%, as I understand, separating” Bevin and Beshear, Stivers said. “We will follow the letter of the law and what various processes determine.”
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As evidence of any fraud remained elusive, Stivers and other GOP leaders in the state pushed the governor to put up or shut up.
“It’s time to call it quits and go home,” Stivers said two days after he suggested a possible legislative intervention.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the dean of Kentucky’s Republican Party, offered his assessment a few days after the election, and it didn’t help Bevin’s cause. The governor “had a good four years” in office, McConnell said, adding that he was “sorry Matt came up short.”
On Nov. 13, a group run by Bevin appointee Erika Calihan threw together a slapdash press conference to lay out claims of voter fraud and election irregularities. Bevin promised to attend the event when he promoted it on his social media accounts, but then did not.
Calihan’s unsubstantiated claims did little more than reveal that there was no evidence of fraud save for unfocused conspiracy theories.
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The state conducted an automatic recanvass of the vote required by how close the election was Nov. 14. It changed one vote. Bevin conceded quickly after the recanvass.
“I do point to this example as a model for the country should Trump refuse to concede,” Josh Douglas, an election law professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law, said. “It’s really important for people of the candidate’s own party to not allow these allegations of election fraud without any evidence to continue to be the storyline.”
Trump: 2020
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport on Sept. 30 and, as he has for months, pressed his unsupported claim that the widespread use of mail-in ballots in this year's election will be marked by widespread fraud. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The examples of McCrory and Bevin show that Trump’s effort to manipulate the election with false claims of voter fraud to potentially steal it is not an aberration, but an extension of the Republican Party’s mindset and behavior in recent years.
But they also show that such a plan requires a huge number of actors to bend to the will of the perpetrator.
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McCrory could not get the Republican-led county or state boards of elections to rule in his favor. The Kentucky Legislature ditched Bevin once it turned out he had no evidence for his fraud claims.
Trump will need Republican-led state legislators, Republican members of Congress and the Republicans on the Supreme Court to back his claims of fraud if he hopes to even come close to overturning a result favoring former vice president Joe Biden. That relies on a lot of people choosing to act as Trump wants them to.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-10-06--Brianna Keilar Recaps 10-day Trump Roller Coaster: 'What A Year This Week Has Been'

CNN ’ s Brianna Keilar on Tuesday tallied up the wild week and a half of events that have pitched President Donald Trump ’ s administration into chaos just weeks before the Nov. 3 election .
“ Twenty-eight days until Election Day .
One candidate just left the hospital , and the other is on the trail .
And as the yard signs say , ‘ What a year this week has been , ’ ” Keilar said on “ CNN Newsroom.
” The anchor began her recap with Trump ’ s former reelection campaign manager , Brad Parscale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police on Sept. 27 .
He later announced he would withdraw from the campaign .
Next , Keilar recalled Trump ’ s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court .
The packed White House Rose Garden gathering on Sept. 26 where he did that is now being called a “ superspreader ” event after Trump , first lady Melania Trump and multiple West Wing and Republican attendees tested positive for the COVID-19 virus .
Also in the past 10 days was the explosive New York Times article about Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times reported that Trump ― a self-proclaimed billionaire ― paid just $ 750 in taxes in both 2016 and 2017 , his first year in the White House .
Then the first presidential debate , the widely panned candidate meeting that was marked by incessant rule-breaking , interrupting , insult-hurling and Trump ’ s refusal to condemn white supremacists or commit to accepting the outcome of the election should he lose .
Next up , Keilar looked at the contradictions to Trump ’ s overly optimistic coronavirus vaccine timeline by Moderna , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Reports indicate it won ’ t be ready until spring , but Trump declared at the debate it would be a matter of weeks .
She also noted massive layoffs from major U.S. companies , Trump ’ s failure to produce the health care plan he ’ s promised to announce imminently since his 2016 campaign , his crowded Minnesota rally on Wednesday , his decision to attend a New Jersey fundraiser despite his White House aide Hope Hicks testing positive for the coronavirus and then his own positive test result hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , his physician ’ s misleading reports about his health status , his decision to expose Secret Service agents to COVID-19 in order to take a joyride around the hospital to wave at supporters and then his return to the White House while still contagious ― where he immediately removed his mask upon entering .

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CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Tuesday tallied up the wild week and a half of events that have pitched President Donald Trump’s administration into chaos just weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
“Twenty-eight days until Election Day. One candidate just left the hospital, and the other is on the trail. And as the yard signs say, ‘What a year this week has been,’” Keilar said on “CNN Newsroom.”
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The anchor began her recap with Trump’s former reelection campaign manager, Brad Parscale, being involuntarily hospitalized after an incident with police on Sept. 27. He later announced he would withdraw from the campaign. Next, Keilar recalled Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The packed White House Rose Garden gathering on Sept. 26 where he did that is now being called a “superspreader” event after Trump, first lady Melania Trump and multiple West Wing and Republican attendees tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
From a Supreme Court nomination to Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, @brikeilarCNN goes through the rollercoaster of news during the last 10 days. https://t.co/8GMmxHR0tK pic.twitter.com/6IJG61pb7q — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) October 6, 2020
Also in the past 10 days was the explosive New York Times article about Trump’s tax avoidance and enormous debts. The Times reported that Trump ― a self-proclaimed billionaire ― paid just $750 in taxes in both 2016 and 2017, his first year in the White House.
Then the first presidential debate, the widely panned candidate meeting that was marked by incessant rule-breaking, interrupting, insult-hurling and Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacists or commit to accepting the outcome of the election should he lose.
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Next up, Keilar looked at the contradictions to Trump’s overly optimistic coronavirus vaccine timeline by Moderna, a pharmaceutical company working on developing the drug. Reports indicate it won’t be ready until spring, but Trump declared at the debate it would be a matter of weeks. She also noted massive layoffs from major U.S. companies, Trump’s failure to produce the health care plan he’s promised to announce imminently since his 2016 campaign, his crowded Minnesota rally on Wednesday, his decision to attend a New Jersey fundraiser despite his White House aide Hope Hicks testing positive for the coronavirus and then his own positive test result hours later.
That led to his hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, his physician’s misleading reports about his health status, his decision to expose Secret Service agents to COVID-19 in order to take a joyride around the hospital to wave at supporters and then his return to the White House while still contagious ― where he immediately removed his mask upon entering.