theguardian--2020-07-18--Pressure from Trump led to 5G ban, Britain tells Huawei

The British government privately told the Chinese technology giant Huawei that it was being banned from Britain ’ s 5G telecoms network partly for “ geopolitical ” reasons following huge pressure from President Donald Trump , the Observer has learned .
In the days leading up to the controversial announcement on Tuesday last week , intensive discussions were held and confidential communications exchanged between the government and Whitehall officials on one side and Huawei executives on the other .
As part of the high-level behind-the-scenes contacts , Huawei was told that geopolitics had played a part , and was given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision could be revisited in future , perhaps if Trump failed to win a second term and the anti-China stance in Washington eased .
Senior Huawei executives have gone public since Tuesday ’ s decision saying that they hope the British government will rethink , apparently encouraged by the results of back-channel contacts .
The government ’ s private admissions are out of kilter with public statements last week by ministers , who said Huawei had been banned because of new security concerns raised by the National Cyber Security Centre ( NCSC ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the Commons , Oliver Dowden , the secretary of state for digital , culture , media and sport , said new sanctions forbidding the sale of US-produced components to Huawei – meaning the Chinese company will have to source them from elsewhere – had changed the balance of security risk .
“ The new US measures restrict Huawei ’ s ability to produce important products using US technology or software , ” he said .
“ The National Cyber Security Centre has reviewed the consequences of the US ’ s actions … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ministers that they have significantly changed their security assessment of Huawei ’ s presence in the UK 5G network .
Given the uncertainty this creates around Huawei ’ s supply chain , the UK can no longer be confident it will be able to guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment affected by the change in the US foreign direct product rules.
” Last week ’ s move reversed a decision made in January when the government announced that Huawei equipment could be used in its new 5G network on a restricted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Tory MPs , including former party leader Iain Duncan Smith , who described Huawei as an arm of the Chinese Communist party and a risk to the UK .
Tuesday ’ s reversal of that announcement pleased all but the most hardline anti-Huawei Tory MPs .
But it has called into question Boris Johnson ’ s manifesto promise to supply superfast broadband to every home and business across the country by 2025 , and led the Chinese to warn of retaliation .
However , Beijing ’ s response was more muted than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The decision has also led to accusations that the UK government is putting its loyalty to Trump – who is waging a diplomatic war against China over coronavirus , human rights , trade , its stance on Hong Kong , and Huawei in the run-up to the US presidential elections – before its commitment to put the UK in the vanguard of global technological advances .
In a press conference at the White House on Tuesday , Trump immediately claimed credit for the UK decision – “ I did this myself , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he was trying to force other nations not to use Huawei .
Rejecting claims that the UK government was kowtowing to Trump because of the UK ’ s need to sign a post-Brexit trade deal with Washington , Matt Hancock , the health secretary , dismissed the president ’ s claim .
“ We all know Donald Trump , don ’ t we , ” he told Sky News .
“ But I think this is a sensible decision .
All sorts of people can try to claim credit for the decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assessment by the National Cyber Security Centre about how we can have the highest quality 5G systems in the future.
” Lord O ’ Neill , the economist who was brought into the government as commercial secretary to the Treasury in 2015 , said the private explanations given to Huawei made the decision seem “ more rational ” .
He said : “ Given that the prime minister continues to describe himself as a Sinophile , one would think that he is trying to minimise the damage .
Otherwise , the decision does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been the biggest contributor to global GDP in the last 20 years .
So why would we want to cut ourselves off from that ?
” However , Tory MPs will be infuriated by any suggestion that there could be another U-turn on Huawei .
Several have vowed to push Johnson further to ban Huawei from the UK altogether , including from existing 2G , 3G and 4G networks .
The Labour MP Kevan Jones , a former defence minister who now serves on the Commons intelligence and security committee , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government .
“ Of course security should be the number one priority , but it is clear this decision was taken for geopolitical reasons rather than taking into account the economic costs to the UK , ” he said .
This week the US secretary of state , Mike Pompeo , will visit London and hold talks with Tory MPs , including Duncan Smith , who are opposed to Huawei .
He is expected to try lobby other European governments on his visit .
Huawei refused to comment on its talks with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement issued last week saying : “ This disappointing decision is bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone .
It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane , push up bills and deepen the digital divide .
Instead of ‘ levelling up ’ the government is levelling down and we urge them to reconsider .
We remain confident that the new US restrictions would not have affected the resilience or security of the products we supply to the UK.
” A DCMS spokesperson said : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new 5G Huawei equipment after 31 December this year , and will remove all Huawei equipment from 5G networks by the end of 2027 .
“ This was a decision taken by ministers at the National Security Council , based on technical , security analysis from the world-leading National Cyber Security Centre .
”

The British government privately told the Chinese technology giant Huawei that it was being banned from Britain’s 5G telecoms network partly for “geopolitical” reasons following huge pressure from President Donald Trump, the Observer has learned.
In the days leading up to the controversial announcement on Tuesday last week, intensive discussions were held and confidential communications exchanged between the government and Whitehall officials on one side and Huawei executives on the other.
As part of the high-level behind-the-scenes contacts, Huawei was told that geopolitics had played a part, and was given the impression that it was possible the decision could be revisited in future, perhaps if Trump failed to win a second term and the anti-China stance in Washington eased.
Senior Huawei executives have gone public since Tuesday’s decision saying that they hope the British government will rethink, apparently encouraged by the results of back-channel contacts.
The government’s private admissions are out of kilter with public statements last week by ministers, who said Huawei had been banned because of new security concerns raised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ.
In the Commons, Oliver Dowden, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said new sanctions forbidding the sale of US-produced components to Huawei – meaning the Chinese company will have to source them from elsewhere – had changed the balance of security risk.
“The new US measures restrict Huawei’s ability to produce important products using US technology or software,” he said. “The National Cyber Security Centre has reviewed the consequences of the US’s actions …
“The NCSC has now reported to ministers that they have significantly changed their security assessment of Huawei’s presence in the UK 5G network. Given the uncertainty this creates around Huawei’s supply chain, the UK can no longer be confident it will be able to guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment affected by the change in the US foreign direct product rules.”
Oliver Dowden giving a statement to the House of Commons: he said US sanctions had changed the balance of the security risk. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Last week’s move reversed a decision made in January when the government announced that Huawei equipment could be used in its new 5G network on a restricted basis. This led to fierce criticism from Tory MPs, including former party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who described Huawei as an arm of the Chinese Communist party and a risk to the UK.
Tuesday’s reversal of that announcement pleased all but the most hardline anti-Huawei Tory MPs. But it has called into question Boris Johnson’s manifesto promise to supply superfast broadband to every home and business across the country by 2025, and led the Chinese to warn of retaliation. However, Beijing’s response was more muted than many on the UK side had feared.
The decision has also led to accusations that the UK government is putting its loyalty to Trump – who is waging a diplomatic war against China over coronavirus, human rights, trade, its stance on Hong Kong, and Huawei in the run-up to the US presidential elections – before its commitment to put the UK in the vanguard of global technological advances.
In a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, Trump immediately claimed credit for the UK decision – “I did this myself, for the most part” – and said he was trying to force other nations not to use Huawei.
Rejecting claims that the UK government was kowtowing to Trump because of the UK’s need to sign a post-Brexit trade deal with Washington, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, dismissed the president’s claim. “We all know Donald Trump, don’t we,” he told Sky News. “But I think this is a sensible decision. All sorts of people can try to claim credit for the decision but this was based on a technical assessment by the National Cyber Security Centre about how we can have the highest quality 5G systems in the future.”
Lord O’Neill, the economist who was brought into the government as commercial secretary to the Treasury in 2015, said the private explanations given to Huawei made the decision seem “more rational”.
He said: “Given that the prime minister continues to describe himself as a Sinophile, one would think that he is trying to minimise the damage. Otherwise, the decision does not make any sense whatsoever. China has been the biggest contributor to global GDP in the last 20 years. So why would we want to cut ourselves off from that?”
However, Tory MPs will be infuriated by any suggestion that there could be another U-turn on Huawei. Several have vowed to push Johnson further to ban Huawei from the UK altogether, including from existing 2G, 3G and 4G networks.
The Labour MP Kevan Jones, a former defence minister who now serves on the Commons intelligence and security committee, said it was clear US pressure had swayed the government. “Of course security should be the number one priority, but it is clear this decision was taken for geopolitical reasons rather than taking into account the economic costs to the UK,” he said.
This week the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, will visit London and hold talks with Tory MPs, including Duncan Smith, who are opposed to Huawei. He is expected to try lobby other European governments on his visit.
Huawei refused to comment on its talks with civil servants and ministers and pointed to a statement issued last week saying: “This disappointing decision is bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone. It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide. Instead of ‘levelling up’ the government is levelling down and we urge them to reconsider. We remain confident that the new US restrictions would not have affected the resilience or security of the products we supply to the UK.”
A DCMS spokesperson said: “We have banned the purchase of any new 5G Huawei equipment after 31 December this year, and will remove all Huawei equipment from 5G networks by the end of 2027.
“This was a decision taken by ministers at the National Security Council, based on technical, security analysis from the world-leading National Cyber Security Centre.”


theguardian--2020-07-18--To John Lewis, with love | Kevin Powell

To John Lewis, with love | Kevin Powell

I gasped when I learned of your death , after your courageous battle against cancer .
I think of your December statement , when you said : “ I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom , equality , basic human rights – for nearly my entire life .
I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.
” I shed tears then and I shed tears now , at what your passing represents to America and to the world .
You do not know this , but the very first time I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was a Rutgers University student , asked by the Commission for Racial Justice to be part of a group of young people recreating the Freedom Rides you led during the civil rights movement .
We stopped in Atlanta , where you were running for Congress .
You encouraged us , you gave us an on-the-spot civil rights history , you told us not to be afraid .
You seemed to know that some of us , including me , were absolutely terrified .
Our bus went on to Alabama , to help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just as you had done a generation before .
When we heard troubling rumors of white supremacists “ coming to get us ” for repeating and continuing your work , I held tightly to your words in Atlanta , urging us to never give up – never .
That was 34 long years ago .
I watched you become a congressman , an elder statesman , the humble and unassuming moral voice of America .
I sat on panels with you at the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference .
I saw you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights for which leaders like you were savagely beaten .
That is why you were forever committed to making “ Good Trouble ” on behalf of democracy .
I myself have walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma , Alabama , many times .
But my memories there are of you : of the bloodthirsty hatred of the police cracking your skull , how you could have died there on that ground , in your white trench coat , in 1965 , just because you believed that Black people , all people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I vote , Mr Lewis , because of you , because of people like you .
I exist because of you , because of people like you .
And I have wondered , as you witnessed president after president , one racial murder after another , from your childhood until your death , how you could still possess such a massive capacity to love people , every kind of people , in spite of what you experienced in your 80 years on this planet , in this country .
You did not merely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and were clear that love was forever the answer .
Is that who you were , Mr Lewis , when you were a boy practicing your sermons to your chickens in your hometown of Troy , Alabama ?
Is that who you were in 2017 , when you led 1,000 people through Comic-Con , a march to celebrate the trilogy of comic books you had written , based on your life ?
What a life it was , Mr Lewis .
To be able to say you spoke at the same majestic March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ King gave his “ I Have A Dream ” address , and to be the last living speaker from that sweltering August day .
To be able to say you were there in Indianapolis , Indiana , on the day Bobby Kennedy announced to a mostly Black crowd that Martin Luther King Jr had been killed , Kennedy ’ s words rivaling King ’ s as one of the greatest speeches ever .
To also say you were there , just two months later in Los Angeles , when Bobby himself was assassinated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your cracked skull and many arrests in the 1960s led to Barack Obama becoming our first Black president , and to also be able to say you lived long enough to witness # MeToo and Black Lives Matter and protests unlike anything we have had since you yourself led nonviolent demonstrations those many years ago .
You never stopped protesting , Mr Lewis .
In the final months of your life , there you were in Selma , honoring the 55th anniversary of that march .
There you were in a virtual town @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there you were , in June , a mere month before your death , admiring the Black Lives Matter mural on the street leading to the White House .
You never gave up , Mr Lewis , and neither will I , and neither will we who believe in freedom , justice and equality for everyone .
You , sir , were a living , breathing history book of America , a living , breathing example of the best of the human race .
The greatest thing you gave us , besides your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The greatest salute to you we can give , is to love ourselves and each other as fiercely as you did us , to the very end .
• None Kevin Powell is a poet , journalist , civil and human rights activist , public speaker , and the author of 14 books , including his newest title , When We Free The World , a collection of essays about the present and future of America available exclusively on Apple Books .

Dear Mr Lewis,
I gasped when I learned of your death, after your courageous battle against cancer. I think of your December statement, when you said: “I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.”
I shed tears then and I shed tears now, at what your passing represents to America and to the world. You do not know this, but the very first time I heard of you, in 1986, I was a Rutgers University student, asked by the Commission for Racial Justice to be part of a group of young people recreating the Freedom Rides you led during the civil rights movement.
We stopped in Atlanta, where you were running for Congress. You encouraged us, you gave us an on-the-spot civil rights history, you told us not to be afraid. You seemed to know that some of us, including me, were absolutely terrified.
Our bus went on to Alabama, to help African Americans protect their voting rights, just as you had done a generation before. When we heard troubling rumors of white supremacists “coming to get us” for repeating and continuing your work, I held tightly to your words in Atlanta, urging us to never give up – never.
That was 34 long years ago. I watched you become a congressman, an elder statesman, the humble and unassuming moral voice of America. I sat on panels with you at the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference. I saw you publicly saddened by attacks on the civil rights for which leaders like you were savagely beaten. That is why you were forever committed to making “Good Trouble” on behalf of democracy.
You never gave up, Mr Lewis, and neither will I, and neither will we who believe in freedom, justice and equality
I myself have walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, many times. But my memories there are of you: of the bloodthirsty hatred of the police cracking your skull, how you could have died there on that ground, in your white trench coat, in 1965, just because you believed that Black people, all people, had the right to vote. I vote, Mr Lewis, because of you, because of people like you. I exist because of you, because of people like you.
And I have wondered, as you witnessed president after president, one racial murder after another, from your childhood until your death, how you could still possess such a massive capacity to love people, every kind of people, in spite of what you experienced in your 80 years on this planet, in this country. You did not merely preach love, you embodied it, and were clear that love was forever the answer.
Is that who you were, Mr Lewis, when you were a boy practicing your sermons to your chickens in your hometown of Troy, Alabama?
Is that who you were in 2017, when you led 1,000 people through Comic-Con, a march to celebrate the trilogy of comic books you had written, based on your life?
What a life it was, Mr Lewis. To be able to say you spoke at the same majestic March On Washington in 1963, where Dr King gave his “I Have A Dream” address, and to be the last living speaker from that sweltering August day. To be able to say you were there in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the day Bobby Kennedy announced to a mostly Black crowd that Martin Luther King Jr had been killed, Kennedy’s words rivaling King’s as one of the greatest speeches ever. To also say you were there, just two months later in Los Angeles, when Bobby himself was assassinated.
To be able to say that your cracked skull and many arrests in the 1960s led to Barack Obama becoming our first Black president, and to also be able to say you lived long enough to witness #MeToo and Black Lives Matter and protests unlike anything we have had since you yourself led nonviolent demonstrations those many years ago.
You never stopped protesting, Mr Lewis. In the final months of your life, there you were in Selma, honoring the 55th anniversary of that march. There you were in a virtual town hall meeting with Barack Obama. And there you were, in June, a mere month before your death, admiring the Black Lives Matter mural on the street leading to the White House.
You never gave up, Mr Lewis, and neither will I, and neither will we who believe in freedom, justice and equality for everyone. You, sir, were a living, breathing history book of America, a living, breathing example of the best of the human race.
The greatest thing you gave us, besides your entire life, was your entire love. The greatest salute to you we can give, is to love ourselves and each other as fiercely as you did us, to the very end.


theguardian--2020-07-19--Trump White House reportedly seeks to defund coronavirus testing and tracing – live

On Saturday , it took Donald Trump 14 hours to tweet a tribute to John Lewis , the Democratic congressman and civil rights leader who died aged 80 on Friday night .
When the presidential tweet did come – after the president had played golf – it was short and to the point .
“ Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing , ” Trump wrote .
“ Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.
” Today , meanwhile , flags at the White House which were ordered lowered to half-staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been raised to their full height again .
But at least Trump hasn ’ t sent out a tweet or posted to Facebook pictures of Lewis which are in fact pictures of somebody else .
It ’ s a trap into which two Republican senators fell , as the Associated Press reports : Social media accounts for two Republican senators , Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska , mistakenly posted photos of the late congressman Elijah Cummings alongside comments meant to honor John Lewis .
The posts were quickly revised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights leader and lawmaker who died on Friday at the age of 80 .
Rubio acknowledged the error and displayed a video of himself with Lewis .
“ Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo , ” he wrote .
“ John Lewis was a genuine American hero .
I was honored to appear together in Miami three years ago at an event captured in video below .
May God grant him eternal rest.
” Sullivan ’ s Facebook tribute to Lewis featured a photo of Sullivan and Cummings , a congressman from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture .
The revised tribute omitted reference to the museum , and the photo was replaced with a picture of Lewis alone .
The changes were made without comment .
In response to an email , Sullivan spokesman Mike Anderson wrote : “ Senator Sullivan ’ s staff made a mistake trying to honor an American legend.
” Lewis represented an Atlanta district from 1987 until his death .
Cummings , a fellow civil rights activist who won 12 terms in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died last October , aged 68 .

19 Jul 2020 22.02 BST Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti conceded Sunday that his city relaxed Covid-19 restrictions too quickly and warned that the city was “on the brink” of new shutdown orders following a week that saw Los Angeles county record both its highest number of daily new cases and new hospitalizations since the pandemic began.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Garcetti criticized the “lack of national leadership” in engendering an atmosphere conducive to backsliding. “I think a lot of things went wrong,” Garcetti said. “But, here, where we have had fewer deaths than many of the big cities, and our rate of increase hasn’t accelerated as much as others – we’re kind of in the middle of the pack – we have seen no national leadership. We have had to stand up testing centers on our own. We have had to do so much that is outside of our lane because of the lack of national leadership. “But, also, I think that there are people who are just exhausted. They were sold a bill of goods. They said this was under control. They said this would be over soon. And I think, when leaders say that, people react and they do the wrong things. They stop distancing themselves. They stop washing their hands. They stop wearing masks.” Garcetti did not dispute the main thrust of a Los Angeles Times editorial published on Wednesday that stated the state’s rapid reopening “wasn’t a good idea, especially because it suggested to a public desperate for release that the coronavirus was in retreat”. “I do agree that those things happened too quickly,” Garcetti said. “But ... It’s not just what’s open and closed. It’s also about what we do individually. It’s about the people who are getting together outside of their households with people they might know. It might be their extended family. It might be friends. They might think, because they got a test two weeks ago, that it’s OK. But it’s not. This virus preys on our division. It preys when we get exhausted. It preys on us in those moments when we don’t have a unified national front or we as individuals think, ‘Oh, this ain’t going to be a big deal.’ We have to be as vigilant right now as we were the first day, bring 100% of our strength, the way we did the first or second month. I kind of feel like people are 20% or 30% of their strength these days. “But we are seeing some hopeful signs. And then you have to be patient. You have to be patient when you close things down again, as we have done, wait two or three weeks to see the effect. And you have to be patient when you reopen things, and don’t have this domino effect of, hey, last week, it was the restaurants. Next week, it can be the bars. Week after that, everything’s open. That is a failed way to go forward. Listen to the science. Track the data, and be smart.” Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti warned that his city was ‘on the brink’ of new shutdown orders. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/REX/Shutterstock
19 Jul 2020 21.34 BST Louisiana officials said on Sunday they have temporarily suspended an emergency rent assistance program to help those hurt economically by the coronavirus pandemic because they were deluged with applicants. The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) said more than 40,000 renters have expressed interest in the Louisiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program in the less than four days since the program was launched during a press conference on Thursday, with both the LaRentHelp.com website and 2-1-1 phone line getting overwhelmed. “The response to our state’s emergency rental assistance program proves how significant the economic burden of Covid-19 is for our citizens,” Louisiana’s Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, said on Sunday. “This program was designed to help mitigate and off-set evictions and homelessness, and while we have allocated an additional $17 million for a total of $24 million in federal assistance, we know that much more is needed to address this serious crisis for the hard-working men and women who continue to keep our state going during this crisis.” The LHC, which had estimated it had enough money to assist roughly 10,000 at-risk tenants, said it will try to find more funds to help applicants in addition to the $24m in federal money originally allotted. Housing advocates had previously warned more relief would be needed with the $600-per-week federal unemployment payments due to expire at the end of the month. “We know there are many individuals and families whose lives have been upended by this pandemic and that there is a great sense of urgency for housing assistance,” LHC executive director E Keith Cunningham Jr said. “As the state’s housing agency, we are committed to doing everything we can to meet the needs of renters and landlords and are hopeful that additional federal dollars will become available as soon as possible.”
Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards has acknowledged more funds will be needed to help renters amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photograph: Travis Spradling/AP
19 Jul 2020 21.07 BST A number of NFL players took to social media on Sunday to publicly express their concerns and anger over the lack of agreed-upon coronavirus safety protocols with teams preparing to open training camps this week. America’s most popular sports league has moved full speed ahead with plans to start the season on schedule in early September, All 32 teams having conducted their offseason programs remotely under the assumption that training camps will be held in person starting no later than 28 July. But some of the league’s biggest stars expressed alarm on Sunday that too many outstanding issues remain before players can report in good conscience. “We need Football! We need sports! We need hope!” New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees wrote on Twitter. “The NFL’s unwillingness to follow the recommendations of their own medical experts will prevent that. If the NFL doesn’t do their part to keep players healthy there is no football in 2020. It’s that simple. Get it done @NFL.” Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said he is concerned because his wife, Ciara, is pregnant. He wrote: “My wife is pregnant. @NFL Training camp is about to start.. And there’s still No Clear Plan on Player Health & Family Safety. ???? We want to play football but we also want to protect our loved ones. #WeWantToPlay.” The Houston Texans’ JJ Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, highlighted a list of issues that need to be resolved before camps open on Tuesday, including information about how often players will be tested and what will happen if someone does test positive for the coronavirus. Once again in the interest of keeping everyone (players & fans) as informed as possible, here is an updated list of what we as players know and don’t know as the first group gets set to report to training camp tomorrow.#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/xQcjs33zgM — JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 19, 2020 Watt noted that an opt-out clause “for those at higher risk or those with family members at higher risk” had still not been agreed upon. The NFL is America’s richest sports league with an estimated $15bn in revenue last year, but Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s top infectious disease expert, has described the sport as a “perfect setup” for spreading Covid-19 due to the full-contact nature of the sport on every play. Host of NFL stars attack NFL for having 'no clear plan' over Covid-19 Read more
Updated at 21.36 BST
19 Jul 2020 20.42 BST It came as little surprise when Donald Trump lost New York state by 22 points in the 2016 presidential election, a landslide powered by Hillary Clinton’s overwhelming 60.9% margin of victory in the massively populated five boroughs of New York City. And while polling shows the US president trailing Joe Biden by an even wider margin ahead of November’s election, Trump’s supporters in his home state made themselves heard on Sunday by taking to the water for the TrumpStock boat parade, which started with a flotilla near the Statue of Liberty before heading up the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge. Footage posted to social media showed vessels and jetskis carrying Trump 2020 flags as they cruised up the Hudson from New York Harbor amid clear skies and 93F temperatures. Trump supporters take part in a Sunday parade on New York’s Hudson River called TrumpStock to support the president in his home state. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Trump supporters take photos while observing Sunday’s TrumpStock boat parade along the Hudson River. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Trump supporters cruise up the Hudson River during Sunday’s TrumpStock boat parade and flotilla. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Updated at 20.48 BST
19 Jul 2020 20.06 BST Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has issued a statement in response to Donald Trump’s pre-recorded interview with Fox News’s Chris Wallace that aired on Sunday morning, describing the US president’s coronavirus response as “actively undercutting our ability to save lives and stop Covid-19”: Yet again this morning, President Trump attacked the CDC and the public health experts who should be guiding our response to Covid-19, saying that they “don’t know” what they’re talking about. The past six months have proven again and again that it’s Donald Trump who doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to Covid-19. He said the virus would disappear. He said anyone who wants a test could get a test. He said the virus was under control. When it comes to the coronavirus, you can’t believe a word he says. It’s astonishing that even after 140,000 Americans have died in the worst Covid-19 outbreak in the developed world, President Trump continues his offensive against the CDC and scientists like Dr Fauci, instead of heeding their clear advice about the steps we must take to stop this virus – from ramping up testing to getting protective equipment to the heroes on the front lines. But what’s truly disturbing is that President Trump isn’t just attacking our leading health experts – he’s waving the white flag and actively undercutting our ability to save lives and stop Covid-19 by shamefully trying to block critical additional new funding for the CDC, as well as for testing and tracing. Think about that again: In the middle of a pandemic that continues to worsen on his watch, President Trump is trying to keep money away from the public health measures that we know will keep us and our families safe. He even went on to attack the value of testing again in the same interview, perpetuating a terrible months-long streak. Mr President, your ignorance isn’t a virtue or a sign of your strength – it’s undercutting our response to this unprecedented crisis at every turn and it’s costing Americans their jobs and their lives. It’s long past due for President Trump to listen to somebody other than himself in how to fight this virus, because after six straight months of deadly mismanagement it is spiraling even more out of control. He can start immediately by adopting the proposals I have laid out for months now that experts tell us will help us stop this virus, save lives, and safely re-open our economy. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday hammering away at US president Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
19 Jul 2020 19.46 BST Donald Trump is back at the White House after this morning’s visit to Trump National Golf Club across the Potomac, his ninth trip to his Loudoun county property in 29 days. A White House pool report describes what’s become a regular scene outside the club during the president’s twice-weekly visits over the past month. Outside the club entrance, about 15 or so protesters displayed mostly handmade anti-Trump signs like “The World Despises You,” “Have a Nice Convention,” “Trump the Body Snatcher. What Country Is This?” “No Trump. No KKK. No Racist Fascist USA,” “Trump Is The Virus,” “Trump Is Corrupt,” “Grifter and Failure,” and one that said “PIG” with the “I” in the shape of a female stick figure. About five or so POTUS supporters waved pro-Trump flags (versions of “Trump 2020: Keep America Great”), planted a “Trump-Pence” sign in the grass or held up a handwritten “Jobs Not Mobs” sign. A Jeep flying a blue “Trump: Make America Great Again” flag and a US flag drove back and forth repeatedly with patriotic songs playing on the radio. Other drivers honked as they passed by, although it was not always clear which camp they were cheering on. Trump fired off a couple of tweets on his ride back to the White House, taking a shot at “Radical Left Democrats” as the motorcade neared the Beltway and popping off at Obama and Biden once again on the final approach to the executive mansion, according to the pool report. Protesters and supporters of Donald Trump’s hold signs on Sunday outside Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
19 Jul 2020 19.23 BST Georgia Democrats to pick Lewis successor Martin Pengelly Georgia Democrats will gather on Monday to decide a replacement for John Lewis, the great civil rights leader who died on Friday aged 80, after serving more than 30 years in Congress. Lewis’s Atlanta-area seat will remain empty until Governor Brian Kemp schedules a special election but the Democratic party of Georgia is accepting applications for the nomination online until 6.30pm on Sunday. A special seven-member committee – including Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, 2018 gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and 2014 gubernatorial nominee Jason Carter – will then choose between three and five candidates. The state party’s executive committee will then choose a nominee and submit the name to the Georgia secretary of state by 4pm on Monday. In November, the nominee will face Republican Angela Stanton-King. Stanton-King is a reality TV personality who was pardoned earlier this year by Donald Trump for her role in a stolen car ring, for which she served six months of home confinement in 2007. Lewis won more than 84% of the vote when he last faced a Republican, in 2016. Bottoms, the Atlanta mayor and like Abrams a possible vice-presidential pick for Joe Biden, paid tribute to Lewis on Sunday. On CBS’s Face the Nation, she said: “You know, growing up in Atlanta, we have the great privilege of having these giants walk amongst us. So for me personally, John Lewis was more than this historical figure. He’s a person you see in the grocery store, that you see a church, that you see out and about around town. “And his legacy really speaks to so much about where we are with this movement and this moment in America. What he instilled in all of us was just courage and to do the right thing and treat people in a way that would then in turn have dignity and respect upon all of us. And so I am so grateful for his leadership and legacy. “I don’t think it happenstance that his last public appearance was on the Black Lives Matter Plaza [near the White House in Washington]. Because I think in his own way, he was leaving with us this reminder that the fight continues.”
Trump equates support for Confederate flag with Black Lives Matter Read more
19 Jul 2020 18.29 BST A sliver of good news from Vermont. The state has now gone 30 days without reporting a Covid-19 death, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. A total of 56 people have died from the virus in the rural, northeastern state but none since 19 June.


theguardian--2020-07-19--Republican senators post pictures of Elijah Cummings in John Lewis tribute

Social media accounts for two Republican senators , Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska , mistakenly posted photos of the late congressman Elijah Cummings alongside comments meant to honor John Lewis .
The posts were quickly revised with photos of Lewis , the civil rights leader and lawmaker who died on Friday at the age of 80 .
Rubio acknowledged the error and displayed a video of himself with Lewis .
“ Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo , ” he wrote .
“ John Lewis was a genuine American hero .
I was honored to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at an event captured in video below .
May God grant him eternal rest.
” Sullivan ’ s Facebook tribute to Lewis featured a photo of Sullivan and Cummings , a congressman from Maryland who died last year , at the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture .
The revised tribute omitted reference to the museum , and the photo was replaced with a picture of Lewis alone .
The changes were made without comment .
In response to an email , Sullivan spokesman Mike Anderson wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made a mistake trying to honor an American legend.
” Lewis , a Democrat from Atlanta , was the last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists , led by Martin Luther King .
He was best known for leading 600 protesters in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma , Alabama .
Lewis was knocked to the ground and beaten by state troopers .
Televised images forced the country ’ s attention on racial oppression .
Lewis represented an Atlanta district from 1987 until his death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activist who won 12 terms in Congress representing a district in Maryland , died last October , aged 68 .

Social media accounts for two Republican senators, Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, mistakenly posted photos of the late congressman Elijah Cummings alongside comments meant to honor John Lewis.
The posts were quickly revised with photos of Lewis, the civil rights leader and lawmaker who died on Friday at the age of 80.
Rubio acknowledged the error and displayed a video of himself with Lewis.
“Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo,” he wrote. “John Lewis was a genuine American hero. I was honored to appear together in Miami three years ago at an event captured in video below. May God grant him eternal rest.”
Sullivan’s Facebook tribute to Lewis featured a photo of Sullivan and Cummings, a congressman from Maryland who died last year, at the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The revised tribute omitted reference to the museum, and the photo was replaced with a picture of Lewis alone. The changes were made without comment. In response to an email, Sullivan spokesman Mike Anderson wrote: “Senator Sullivan’s staff made a mistake trying to honor an American legend.”
Lewis, a Democrat from Atlanta, was the last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, led by Martin Luther King.
He was best known for leading 600 protesters in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was knocked to the ground and beaten by state troopers. Televised images focused the country’s attention on racial oppression.
Lewis represented an Atlanta district from 1987 until his death. Cummings, a fellow civil rights activist who won 12 terms in Congress representing a district in Maryland, died last October, aged 68.


theguardian--2020-07-19--Trump's 2020 strategy: paint Joe Biden as a puppet for the 'radical left'

Donald Trump ’ s new campaign manager began his tenure this week with a declaration of intent .
“ If we win more days than Joe Biden wins , President Trump will be re-elected , ” Bill Stepien said in his first public statement .
“ We will expose Joe Biden as a hapless tool of the extreme left and contrast his failures with the undeniable successes of President Trump.
” Expect to hear a lot more over the next 100 days or so about Biden , the former US vice-president , being “ a hapless tool of the extreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican argument that seeks to peel off moderates and independents by linking Democrats to high taxes and big government socialism .
With other attack lines against Biden failing to stick , the Trump campaign appears to have concluded that this is their best shot .
It comes as Biden builds a coalition that spans military generals and Black Lives Matter activists , disenchanted Republicans and democratic socialists .
His platform has been described as the most progressive of any presidential candidate in history , unfolding in a year that has seen the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smash old certainties .
Should Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress , America could experience a paradigm shift in what is defined as the left , right and centre ground .
One of the last gasps of the pre-pandemic era was the Conservative Political Action Conference ( CPAC ) at the National Harbor near Washington in February .
Its official theme was “ America v socialism ” and the agenda included sessions such as “ Socialism : Wrecker of Nations and Destroyer of Societies ” and “ Prescription for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
Trump , the star speaker , warned darkly of Democrats as “ radical-left socialists ” .
Much has happened since then and Trump has struggled to respond with an election strategy .
In late April , he went for xenophobia with an immigration ban ; in May , he brushed aside the coronavirus pandemic to focus on rebuilding the economy and pushed a conspiracy theory about Biden ’ s role in the Russia investigation ; in June , he responded to Black Lives Matter protests by promising a law and order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embraced a culture war over Confederate symbols from the civil war .
Each time , Trump has been reacting to events and playing catch-up , and opinion polls suggest that none of it has worked , culminating in Wednesday ’ s demotion of the campaign manager Brad Parscale .
His successor , Stepien , is a more traditional Republican operator who looks set to revert to a more traditional Republican game plan .
In 2008 , the party derided Barack Obama for suggesting it ’ s good to “ spread the wealth around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ define Biden in similar terms .
Lanhee Chen , the former policy director for Republican Mitt Romney ’ s 2012 presidential campaign , said : “ It is the best possible strategy they can employ given the fact that the far left has been such an ascendent part of the progressive coalition and given how vocal they have been about a number of policy proposals , which I think most Americans find completely distasteful.
” Chen , a fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank at Stanford University in Palo Alto , California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to portray Joe Biden as somebody who is either an empty vessel for the left or in cahoots with the far left makes a lot of sense to me .
We ’ ll have to see how effective the attack is , but I think it is the best available play in the playbook.
” The play is under way .
On Tuesday Trump held a 63-minute press conference that proved a thinly disguised campaign rally in the White House rose garden .
Ostensibly about China and Hong Kong , the president ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times .
These included : “ Joe Biden ’ s entire career has been a gift to the Chinese Communist Party ” ; “ Today , Joe Biden gave a speech in which he said that the core of his economic agenda is a hard-left crusade against American energy ” ; “ Biden has gone radical left ” ; and “ The Biden-Sanders agenda is the most extreme platform of any major party nominee , by far , in American history ” – a reference to Senator Bernie Sanders , a democratic socialist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic primary .
It was backed up by a fusillade from the Trump campaign across various platforms .
The “ Trump War Room ” tweeted : “ Bernie Sanders admits he forced Joe Biden to move ‘ a whole lot ’ to the left on healthcare.
” A campaign email noted how Biden has praised leftwing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , adding : “ Biden is too weak to stand up to the radical left , so he ’ s completely surrendered to them.. ” A TV ad claimed : “ The radical leftwing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our cities .
Defund the police .
Pressure more towns to follow .
And Joe Biden stands with them.
” And the vice-president , Mike Pence , speaking in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Friday , described Biden as a “ Trojan horse for a radical agenda ” , adding : “ I thought Joe Biden won the Democratic primaries but , looking at their unity agenda , it looks to me like Bernie won.
” Such attacks contend that Biden will be soft on immigration , sacrifice hundreds of thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ middle-class families , shut down charter schools and cut funding for police .
The Biden campaign dismisses such criticisms as false and desperate scaremongering .
Indeed , Biden is an improbable target for a red scare .
Obama ’ s former vice-president spent much of the Democratic primary fending off challenges from the left over everything from his links to the financial services industry to his incremental healthcare plan to his past shortcomings on racial equality .
He ultimately won a comprehensive victory over Sanders and Elizabeth Warren , the left ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has seemed able to bring the left with him .
Biden ’ s six policy task forces – on climate , healthcare , immigration , education , the economy and criminal-justice reform – have shown a humility that critics say Hillary Clinton lacked in 2016 , giving Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives a seat at the table .
Last week Biden launched a $ 700bn plan to revive American industry and tackle inequality , part of an ambitious economic restructuring that has earned comparisons with President Franklin Roosevelt ’ s New Deal in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposal to invest $ 2tn in clean energy infrastructure and climate solutions .
María Urbina , the national political director of the progressive grassroots group Indivisible , said : “ In terms of how is he doing in engaging and consolidating support from progressive communities , I got to say he ’ s doing a really good job .
When you look at his rollout this week of his climate plan , not only is he getting praised by grassroots communities who have spent a lot of time organising around changes to these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re also seeing key leaders expressing support , from Jay Inslee to Bernie Sanders to Elizabeth Warren.
” But could such a unity platform create an opening for Trump to exploit with his “ vote Biden , get Sanders ” attacks ?
Urbina thinks not .
“ It just doesn ’ t add up .
If you look at where Trump is starting to lose support and where Biden is gaining it , Biden is creating a continuum of support that is deep and wide as you can imagine in the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bring in .
It ’ s a distraction .
Joe Biden has support from Angela Davis and he has support from Republicans , so that ’ s not landing.
” A party notorious for infighting , and for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory , appears to have a struck a truce between centrists and progressives , uniting against the existential threat of Trump , at least for now .
Al From , the founder of the Democratic Leadership Council and the man who in 1989 chose Bill Clinton to lead the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way ” politics , agreed that Trump ’ s effort to cast Biden as a handmaiden to socialism will fall flat .
“ They ’ re slinging mud wherever they can and the problem is it sticks to the president ’ s hand and always winds up hitting him back in his own face , ” From said .
“ Joe Biden has a long record .
It ’ s pretty clear he ’ s not Bernie Sanders .
People know what he stands for .
He ’ s a good , decent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are looking for that .
“ This election is a referendum on Trump .
He ’ s running against himself and he ’ s doing a really good job of beating himself.
” The seismic events of 2020 have shaken the political kaleidoscope .
The jobless rate stood at 3.6 % when Biden launched his campaign in April last year ; now it is well above 10 % in the thick of a pandemic that has claimed 140,000 lives .
The police killing of George Floyd provoked the biggest mass protests for racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transformation from corporate boardrooms to public squares .
What have been multiple crises for Trump could be multiple opportunities for his successor , especially if Democrats regain control of the Senate and thereby avoid Republican obstruction .
Could Biden do something big and historic ?
From , who has known him for about 50 years , said : “ Biden is going to have a good centre-left New Democrat New Labour agenda that ’ s modernised to meet today ’ s challenges .
I think the whole political spectrum is going to change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes .
There will be a realignment .
I can ’ t tell you now what it ’ s going to be like.
” Neil Sroka , a spokesperson for Democracy for America , a political action committee that endorsed Sanders in the Democratic primary , said : “ The realigning of the left and centre has actually already happened .
Joe Biden , if he wins in November , will be elected on the most progressive agenda a Democrat has ever been elected on in the history of the country .
Period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement behind Senator Sanders in 2016 and the response to Trump and the movement that grew behind Senator Sanders again in 2020 has fundamentally altered the trajectory of the Democratic party in a way that ’ s hard to really grasp looking at it from where we were in January 2015.
” America has a worldwide reputation as a conservative nation that values private enterprise above public services , with Democrats well to the right of Britain ’ s Labour party and little prospect of European-style universal healthcare .
But it may also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibilities by a historic convergence of health , economic and racial crises .
Sroka added : “ While Joe Biden and perhaps his primary supporters might have thought we needed to go slower , outside events are showing that can change .
Progressives are there to ensure that we get change that is big enough and delivered fast enough to respond to the needs that Americans are quickly recognising .
”

Donald Trump’s new campaign manager began his tenure this week with a declaration of intent. “If we win more days than Joe Biden wins, President Trump will be re-elected,” Bill Stepien said in his first public statement.
“We will expose Joe Biden as a hapless tool of the extreme left and contrast his failures with the undeniable successes of President Trump.”
Expect to hear a lot more over the next 100 days or so about Biden, the former US vice-president, being “a hapless tool of the extreme left”. It is a classic Republican argument that seeks to peel off moderates and independents by linking Democrats to high taxes and big government socialism. With other attack lines against Biden failing to stick, the Trump campaign appears to have concluded that this is their best shot.
It comes as Biden builds a coalition that spans military generals and Black Lives Matter activists, disenchanted Republicans and democratic socialists. His platform has been described as the most progressive of any presidential candidate in history, unfolding in a year that has seen the coronavirus pandemic and mass protests against racial injustice smash old certainties.
Should Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress, America could experience a paradigm shift in what is defined as the left, right and centre ground.
Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. Photograph: José Luis Magaña/AP
One of the last gasps of the pre-pandemic era was the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the National Harbor near Washington in February. Its official theme was “America v socialism” and the agenda included sessions such as “Socialism: Wrecker of Nations and Destroyer of Societies” and “Prescription for Failure: The Ills of Socialised Medicine”. Trump, the star speaker, warned darkly of Democrats as “radical-left socialists”.
Much has happened since then and Trump has struggled to respond with an election strategy. In late April, he went for xenophobia with an immigration ban; in May, he brushed aside the coronavirus pandemic to focus on rebuilding the economy and pushed a conspiracy theory about Biden’s role in the Russia investigation; in June, he responded to Black Lives Matter protests by promising a law and order crackdown; and in July, he embraced a culture war over Confederate symbols from the civil war.
Each time, Trump has been reacting to events and playing catch-up, and opinion polls suggest that none of it has worked, culminating in Wednesday’s demotion of the campaign manager Brad Parscale. His successor, Stepien, is a more traditional Republican operator who looks set to revert to a more traditional Republican game plan. In 2008, the party derided Barack Obama for suggesting it’s good to “spread the wealth around”; now it will attempt to define Biden in similar terms.
Lanhee Chen, the former policy director for Republican Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, said: “It is the best possible strategy they can employ given the fact that the far left has been such an ascendent part of the progressive coalition and given how vocal they have been about a number of policy proposals, which I think most Americans find completely distasteful.”
Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, added: “The idea of trying to portray Joe Biden as somebody who is either an empty vessel for the left or in cahoots with the far left makes a lot of sense to me. We’ll have to see how effective the attack is, but I think it is the best available play in the playbook.”
The play is under way. On Tuesday Trump held a 63-minute press conference that proved a thinly disguised campaign rally in the White House rose garden. Ostensibly about China and Hong Kong, the president’s rambling speech mentioned Biden almost 30 times.
Bernie Sanders speaks alongside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a press conference to introduce college affordability legislation outside the US Capitol last year. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
These included: “Joe Biden’s entire career has been a gift to the Chinese Communist Party”; “Today, Joe Biden gave a speech in which he said that the core of his economic agenda is a hard-left crusade against American energy”; “Biden has gone radical left”; and “The Biden-Sanders agenda is the most extreme platform of any major party nominee, by far, in American history” – a reference to Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist who finished second to Biden in the Democratic primary.
It was backed up by a fusillade from the Trump campaign across various platforms. The “Trump War Room” tweeted: “Bernie Sanders admits he forced Joe Biden to move ‘a whole lot’ to the left on healthcare.” A campaign email noted how Biden has praised leftwing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, adding: “Biden is too weak to stand up to the radical left, so he’s completely surrendered to them..”
A TV ad claimed: “The radical leftwing mob’s agenda? Take over our cities. Defund the police. Pressure more towns to follow. And Joe Biden stands with them.” And the vice-president, Mike Pence, speaking in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Friday, described Biden as a “Trojan horse for a radical agenda”, adding: “I thought Joe Biden won the Democratic primaries but, looking at their unity agenda, it looks to me like Bernie won.”
Such attacks contend that Biden will be soft on immigration, sacrifice hundreds of thousands of blue-collar energy jobs, raise taxes on middle-class families, shut down charter schools and cut funding for police. The Biden campaign dismisses such criticisms as false and desperate scaremongering.
Indeed, Biden is an improbable target for a red scare. Obama’s former vice-president spent much of the Democratic primary fending off challenges from the left over everything from his links to the financial services industry to his incremental healthcare plan to his past shortcomings on racial equality. He ultimately won a comprehensive victory over Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the left’s standard bearers.
Yet so far he has seemed able to bring the left with him. Biden’s six policy task forces – on climate, healthcare, immigration, education, the economy and criminal-justice reform – have shown a humility that critics say Hillary Clinton lacked in 2016, giving Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives a seat at the table.
Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit in March. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP
Last week Biden launched a $700bn plan to revive American industry and tackle inequality, part of an ambitious economic restructuring that has earned comparisons with President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s. This week he added a proposal to invest $2tn in clean energy infrastructure and climate solutions.
María Urbina, the national political director of the progressive grassroots group Indivisible, said: “In terms of how is he doing in engaging and consolidating support from progressive communities, I got to say he’s doing a really good job. When you look at his rollout this week of his climate plan, not only is he getting praised by grassroots communities who have spent a lot of time organising around changes to these bold new standards, but you’re also seeing key leaders expressing support, from Jay Inslee to Bernie Sanders to Elizabeth Warren.”
But could such a unity platform create an opening for Trump to exploit with his “vote Biden, get Sanders” attacks? Urbina thinks not. “It just doesn’t add up. If you look at where Trump is starting to lose support and where Biden is gaining it, Biden is creating a continuum of support that is deep and wide as you can imagine in the kind of voting blocs you’d want to bring in. It’s a distraction. Joe Biden has support from Angela Davis and he has support from Republicans, so that’s not landing.”
A party notorious for infighting, and for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, appears to have a struck a truce between centrists and progressives, uniting against the existential threat of Trump, at least for now. Al From, the founder of the Democratic Leadership Council and the man who in 1989 chose Bill Clinton to lead the party’s revival with “third way” politics, agreed that Trump’s effort to cast Biden as a handmaiden to socialism will fall flat.
“They’re slinging mud wherever they can and the problem is it sticks to the president’s hand and always winds up hitting him back in his own face,” From said. “Joe Biden has a long record. It’s pretty clear he’s not Bernie Sanders. People know what he stands for. He’s a good, decent, honest, empathetic man and people are looking for that.
“This election is a referendum on Trump. He’s running against himself and he’s doing a really good job of beating himself.”
Anti-Trump activists burn a US flag near the White House, 4 July 2020 in Washington DC. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images
The seismic events of 2020 have shaken the political kaleidoscope. The jobless rate stood at 3.6% when Biden launched his campaign in April last year; now it is well above 10% in the thick of a pandemic that has claimed 140,000 lives. The police killing of George Floyd provoked the biggest mass protests for racial justice in half a century and sweeping transformation from corporate boardrooms to public squares.
What have been multiple crises for Trump could be multiple opportunities for his successor, especially if Democrats regain control of the Senate and thereby avoid Republican obstruction. Could Biden do something big and historic?
From, who has known him for about 50 years, said: “Biden is going to have a good centre-left New Democrat New Labour agenda that’s modernised to meet today’s challenges. I think the whole political spectrum is going to change. Both parties probably will see big changes. There will be a realignment. I can’t tell you now what it’s going to be like.”
Neil Sroka, a spokesperson for Democracy for America, a political action committee that endorsed Sanders in the Democratic primary, said: “The realigning of the left and centre has actually already happened. Joe Biden, if he wins in November, will be elected on the most progressive agenda a Democrat has ever been elected on in the history of the country. Period. End of story.
Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan in March. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
“The movement behind Senator Sanders in 2016 and the response to Trump and the movement that grew behind Senator Sanders again in 2020 has fundamentally altered the trajectory of the Democratic party in a way that’s hard to really grasp looking at it from where we were in January 2015.”
America has a worldwide reputation as a conservative nation that values private enterprise above public services, with Democrats well to the right of Britain’s Labour party and little prospect of European-style universal healthcare. But it may also have been awoken to new imperatives and possibilities by a historic convergence of health, economic and racial crises.
Sroka added: “While Joe Biden and perhaps his primary supporters might have thought we needed to go slower, outside events are showing that can change. Progressives are there to ensure that we get change that is big enough and delivered fast enough to respond to the needs that Americans are quickly recognising.”


theguardian--2020-07-19--Short and to the point: five Fauci quotes to get you through the week

Anthony Fauci , the top public health expert on the White House coronavirus taskforce , is determined to get his message out .
Despite the White House reportedly blocking TV interviews , and political forces undercutting him from Donald Trump down , the doctor who has served six presidents spent this week speaking out online .
Here are five highlights : ‘ We haven ’ t even begun to see the end of it yet ’ On Monday , Fauci talked to Lloyd Minor , dean of medicine at Stanford University , in what was billed as a virtual fireside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the films on TV of people in some states going from shutdown to completely throwing caution to the wind … there are things you can do now : physical distancing , wearing a mask , avoiding crowds , washing hands .
Those things , as simple as they are , can turn it around.
” ‘ I think you can trust me ’ On Tuesday , Fauci sat for a virtual forum staged by Georgetown University .
He said : “ Republican , Democrat , anybody else , we are all in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most part you can trust respected medical authorities .
I believe I ’ m one of them , so I think you can trust me … [ and other experts ] who have a track record of telling the truth.
” On Wednesday , the Atlantic magazine interviewed Fauci about the administration ’ s pandemic response , Donald Trump and White House aides seeking to undermine him , and his professional future .
“ It is a bit bizarre , ” he said .
“ The divisiveness that ’ s going on … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reset this and say , ‘ OK , let ’ s stop this nonsense .
We ’ ve got to do better.
” States and the federal government must be on the same page , Fauci said .
“ So , rather than these games people are playing , let ’ s focus on that.
” He added : “ I just want to do my job … and I ’ m going to keep doing it.
” On Thursday , Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg interviewed Fauci on his own platform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers rushing to reopen and young people crowding bars or staging parties without masks or social distancing .
“ Time out , ” he said .
“ Look what ’ s happened … there really is no reason that we ’ re having 40,000 , 50,000 , 60,000 [ new US cases a day ] , other than we are not doing something correctly.
” He also told revelers it ’ s “ not just you in a vacuum .
You ’ re propagating the pandemic ” .
‘ We need to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Washington , Fauci said the US had been hit “ very severely ” by the coronavirus .
Hospitalizations and deaths are rising .
But , Fauci said , controlling Covid-19 and reopening the economy do not have to be mutually exclusive .
“ We ’ ve got to have a delicate balance of carefully and prudently going towards normality and opening up at the same time that we contain and not allow these surges , ” he said .
“ Staying shut down has economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consequences that are significant [ but ] we need to get better control .
”

Anthony Fauci, the top public health expert on the White House coronavirus taskforce, is determined to get his message out. Despite the White House reportedly blocking TV interviews, and political forces undercutting him from Donald Trump down, the doctor who has served six presidents spent this week speaking out online.
Here are five highlights:
‘We haven’t even begun to see the end of it yet’
On Monday, Fauci talked to Lloyd Minor, dean of medicine at Stanford University, in what was billed as a virtual fireside chat.
Fauci added: “Look at the films on TV of people in some states going from shutdown to completely throwing caution to the wind … there are things you can do now: physical distancing, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, washing hands. Those things, as simple as they are, can turn it around.”
‘I think you can trust me’
On Tuesday, Fauci sat for a virtual forum staged by Georgetown University.
He said: “Republican, Democrat, anybody else, we are all in this together. I believe for the most part you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I’m one of them, so I think you can trust me … [and other experts] who have a track record of telling the truth.”
‘Stop this nonsense’
On Wednesday, the Atlantic magazine interviewed Fauci about the administration’s pandemic response, Donald Trump and White House aides seeking to undermine him, and his professional future.
“It is a bit bizarre,” he said. “The divisiveness that’s going on … We’ve got to own this, reset this and say, ‘OK, let’s stop this nonsense. We’ve got to do better.”
States and the federal government must be on the same page, Fauci said. “So, rather than these games people are playing, let’s focus on that.”
He added: “I just want to do my job … and I’m going to keep doing it.”
‘You’re propagating the pandemic’
On Thursday, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg interviewed Fauci on his own platform. Again, the doctor lambasted state lawmakers rushing to reopen and young people crowding bars or staging parties without masks or social distancing.
“Time out,” he said. “Look what’s happened … there really is no reason that we’re having 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 [new US cases a day], other than we are not doing something correctly.”
He also told revelers it’s “not just you in a vacuum. You’re propagating the pandemic”.
‘We need to get better control’
On Friday, talking to the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Washington, Fauci said the US had been hit “very severely” by the coronavirus. Hospitalizations and deaths are rising. But, Fauci said, controlling Covid-19 and reopening the economy do not have to be mutually exclusive.
“We’ve got to have a delicate balance of carefully and prudently going towards normality and opening up at the same time that we contain and not allow these surges,” he said.
“Staying shut down has economic, employment, health and other negative consequences that are significant [but] we need to get better control.”


theguardian--2020-07-19--Donald Trump has unified America – against him | Robert Reich

Donald Trump is on the verge of accomplishing what no American president has ever achieved – a truly multi-racial , multi-class , bipartisan political coalition so encompassing it could realign US politics for years to come .
Unfortunately for Trump , that coalition has come into existence to prevent him from having another term in office .
Start with race .
Rather than fuel his base , Trump ’ s hostility toward people protesting the police killing of George Floyd and systemic racism has pulled millions of white Americans closer to black Americans .
More than half of whites now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Black Lives Matter movement , and more white people support than oppose protests against police brutality .
To a remarkable degree , the protests themselves have been biracial .
As John Lewis , the great civil rights hero who died on Friday , said last month near where Trump and William Barr , the attorney general , had set federal police in riot gear and wielding tear gas on peaceful protesters , “ Mr President , the American people … have a right to protest .
You can not stop the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you may have at your command.
” Even many former Trump voters are appalled by Trump ’ s racism , as well as his overall moral squalor .
According to a recent New York Times/Sienna College poll , more than 80 % of people who voted for Trump in 2016 but won ’ t back him again in 2020 think he “ doesn ’ t behave the way a president ought to act ” – a view shared by 75 % of registered voters across battleground states which will make all the difference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been Trump ’ s attacks on our system of government .
Americans don ’ t particularly like or trust government but almost all feel some loyalty toward the constitution and the principle that no person is above the law .
Trump ’ s politicization of the justice department , attacks on the rule of law , requests to other nations to help dig up dirt on his political opponents , and evident love of dictators – especially Vladimir Putin – have played badly even among diehard conservatives .
Refugees from the pre-Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans who rejected him from the start are teaming up with groups such as Republican Voters Against Trump , Republicans for the Rule of Law , the Lincoln Project and 43 Alumni for Biden , which comprises former officials of George W Bush ’ s ( the 43rd president ) administration .
The Lincoln Project has produced dozens of hard-hitting anti-Trump ads , many running on Fox News .
The third big unifier has been Trump ’ s catastrophic mishandling of the pandemic .
Many who might have forgiven his personality defects and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bungling of a public health crisis that threatens their lives and loved ones .
In a poll released last week , 62 % said Trump was “ hurting rather than helping ” efforts to combat Covid-19 .
Fully 78 % of those who supported him in 2016 but won ’ t vote for him again disapprove of his handling of the pandemic .
Voters in swing states like Texas , Florida and Arizona – now feeling the brunt of the virus – are telling pollsters they won ’ t vote for Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ coalition have little to do with Joe Biden , Trump ’ s presumed challenger , the Democrat may still become a transformational president .
That ’ s less because of his inherent skills than because Trump has readied America for transformation .
The tempting analogy is to the election of 1932 , in the midst of another set of crises .
The public barely knew Franklin D Roosevelt , whom critics called an aristocrat without a coherent theory of how to end the Great Depression .
But after four years of Herbert Hoover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leadership it was eager to support FDR and follow wherever he led .
There are still more than 100 days until election day , and many things could derail the emerging anti-Trump coalition : impediments to voting during the pandemic , foreign hacking into election machines , Republican efforts to suppress votes , quirks of the electoral college , Trumpian dirty tricks and his likely challenge to any electoral loss .
Yet even now , the breadth of the anti-Trump coalition is a remarkable testament to Donald Trump ’ s capacity to inspire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a former US secretary of labor , is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism : For the Many , Not the Few and The Common Good .
His new book , The System : Who Rigged It , How We Fix It , is out now .
He is a columnist for Guardian US

Donald Trump is on the verge of accomplishing what no American president has ever achieved – a truly multi-racial, multi-class, bipartisan political coalition so encompassing it could realign US politics for years to come.
Unfortunately for Trump, that coalition has come into existence to prevent him from having another term in office.
Start with race. Rather than fuel his base, Trump’s hostility toward people protesting the police killing of George Floyd and systemic racism has pulled millions of white Americans closer to black Americans. More than half of whites now say they agree with the ideas expressed by the Black Lives Matter movement, and more white people support than oppose protests against police brutality. To a remarkable degree, the protests themselves have been biracial.
As John Lewis, the great civil rights hero who died on Friday, said last month near where Trump and William Barr, the attorney general, had set federal police in riot gear and wielding tear gas on peaceful protesters, “Mr President, the American people … have a right to protest. You cannot stop the people with all of the forces that you may have at your command.”
Even many former Trump voters are appalled by Trump’s racism, as well as his overall moral squalor
Even many former Trump voters are appalled by Trump’s racism, as well as his overall moral squalor. According to a recent New York Times/Sienna College poll, more than 80% of people who voted for Trump in 2016 but won’t back him again in 2020 think he “doesn’t behave the way a president ought to act” – a view shared by 75% of registered voters across battleground states which will make all the difference in November.
A second big unifier has been Trump’s attacks on our system of government. Americans don’t particularly like or trust government but almost all feel some loyalty toward the constitution and the principle that no person is above the law.
Trump’s politicization of the justice department, attacks on the rule of law, requests to other nations to help dig up dirt on his political opponents, and evident love of dictators – especially Vladimir Putin – have played badly even among diehard conservatives.
Refugees from the pre-Trump GOP along with “Never Trumper” Republicans who rejected him from the start are teaming up with groups such as Republican Voters Against Trump, Republicans for the Rule of Law, the Lincoln Project and 43 Alumni for Biden, which comprises former officials of George W Bush’s (the 43rd president) administration. The Lincoln Project has produced dozens of hard-hitting anti-Trump ads, many running on Fox News.
The third big unifier has been Trump’s catastrophic mishandling of the pandemic. Many who might have forgiven his personality defects and authoritarian impulses can’t abide his bungling of a public health crisis that threatens their lives and loved ones.
In a poll released last week, 62% said Trump was “hurting rather than helping” efforts to combat Covid-19. Fully 78% of those who supported him in 2016 but won’t vote for him again disapprove of his handling of the pandemic. Voters in swing states like Texas, Florida and Arizona – now feeling the brunt of the virus – are telling pollsters they won’t vote for Trump.
Although the reasons for joining the anti-Trump coalition have little to do with Joe Biden, Trump’s presumed challenger, the Democrat may still become a transformational president. That’s less because of his inherent skills than because Trump has readied America for transformation.
The tempting analogy is to the election of 1932, in the midst of another set of crises. The public barely knew Franklin D Roosevelt, whom critics called an aristocrat without a coherent theory of how to end the Great Depression. But after four years of Herbert Hoover, America was so desperate for coherent leadership it was eager to support FDR and follow wherever he led.
There are still more than 100 days until election day, and many things could derail the emerging anti-Trump coalition: impediments to voting during the pandemic, foreign hacking into election machines, Republican efforts to suppress votes, quirks of the electoral college, Trumpian dirty tricks and his likely challenge to any electoral loss.
Yet even now, the breadth of the anti-Trump coalition is a remarkable testament to Donald Trump’s capacity to inspire disgust.


theguardian--2020-07-17--Trump will cling to power. To get him out, Biden will have to win big | Jonathan Freedland

Were we not thoroughly spooked by what happened in 2016 , we ’ d find it easier to say out loud that all signs point to the defeat and removal of Donald Trump on 3 November .
Superstition and a desire not to tempt fate hold us back , but the signs are plentiful .
The most obvious is the polls , which show not only that Joe Biden is ahead of Trump by double-digit margins , but also that 72 % of Americans believe their country is on the wrong track – a number that spells ruin for any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four years ago that national polls don ’ t matter – after all , Hillary Clinton led in those – and what really counts are the contests in the battleground states : the likes of Wisconsin , Pennsylvania and Michigan .
Biden is handily ahead in all of those , too .
Could those polls be wrong ?
One expert reckons Biden is so far in front that even if the polls are as wrong now as they were in 2016 he will still win .
More important , these numbers reflect something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appalled by Trump ’ s behaviour since day one , but mere outrage and scandal have proved insufficient to sink his presidency .
Now , though , he is associated with genuine catastrophe .
More than 130,000 Americans are dead from coronavirus , with caseloads rising in 41 of 50 states .
Trump ’ s handling of this disaster has so obviously made it worse – whether playing down the threat , urging premature easing of lockdown or calling on Americans to inject themselves with bleach – that he has made the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any rival .
His one hope was a healthy economy , but that too now lies in ruins ( though , troublingly , Trump still leads Biden by 12 points on economic competence ) .
His racial dogwhistling is also costing him : surveys suggest that , outside his base , Americans recoil at Trump ’ s widening of the country ’ s most enduring divide .
It means Trump ’ s unpopularity is not ephemeral – the kind of thing that might be fixed by sacking a campaign manager , as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anchored in facts that will be hard to shift .
Given all that , surely the rational response is to look forward to Trump ’ s imminent departure from office ?
To which the right answer is : not so fast .
To remove Trump , it will not be enough for Biden to win .
He has to win big .
By that , I don ’ t mean that thanks to voter suppression – fewer polling places in majority-black neighbourhoods and the like – Democrats have to be several points ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is true .
Nor do I mean that Biden can only overturn Trumpism by riding a wave so big that Democrats take back the Senate and therefore avoid being thwarted by Mitch McConnell for four gridlocked years , though that is also true .
Or that Biden needs a wide enough margin to withstand the foreign hacking and disruption efforts in Trump ’ s favour that most monitors expect , having concluded that when Russian agents poked around voter registration databases in 2016 , they were merely “ casing the joint ” for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though that too is true .
No , what I have in mind is a threat more fundamental .
The danger is that Trump will lose – and refuse to go .
He ’ s already laid out his rationale .
“ Rigged 2020 election , ” he tweeted last month .
“ Millions of mail-in ballots will be printed by foreign countries , and others .
It will be the scandal of our times !
” Here ’ s the scenario Trump is planning for .
On the evening of 3 November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a margin even greater than the 3 million votes by which Hillary beat him in 2016 – but the count of votes cast on the day puts him narrowly ahead in one or two key states .
He promptly declares victory , claiming that the millions of votes that were cast as absentee ballots – by voters anxious to avoid polling stations because of Covid-19 – should be disqualified as fraudulent .
He has a motive to do that , since mail-in votes often skew Democratic .
And he has a precedent for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida in 2018 , Trump urged the state to stop counting the votes and go with the election night results , which favoured Republicans .
Let ’ s say he makes that same move in the three midwestern battlegrounds in November .
Republicans are in charge of the state legislatures in all three .
Now here ’ s where it gets nerdily arcane , but bear with me .
Those Republican legislatures could refuse both to certify their state results and to send a slate of representatives to the electoral college , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden ’ s lawyers would plead his case all the way to the supreme court , but that court likes to stay out of elections .
It could plausibly instruct the electoral college to meet on 14 December , with or without the disputed states .
If it meets without them , and neither Trump nor Biden can reach the 270 electoral college votes required to win , then the constitution throws the question to the House of Representatives .
Democrats control that body , but here ’ s the thing .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ make its decision state-by-state , with one vote per state – so that tiny Republican Wyoming would have as much say as populous , Democratic California .
By that count , Republican states would outvote Democratic ones by 26 to 24 – and Trump would remain president .
There are variations on that theme .
Some imagine a standoff in which , say , Pennsylvania ’ s Democratic governor certifies the state ’ s vote for Biden , while the state ’ s Republican assembly certifies it for Trump : the result is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ picture Trump ’ s pliant attorney general ordering a bogus investigation , on grounds of national security , into foreign meddling , thereby giving Republicans an excuse not to ratify a Biden victory in their state .
But it ’ s just as easy to imagine a situation where , with next to no legal or technical justification , Trump simply stays put and refuses to leave – and Republicans stand by him .
After all , they ’ ve tolerated his every other assault on the republic : why would they change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scenarios , but if these past four years have taught us anything , it ’ s that nightmares can come true .
There ’ s only one guaranteed defence against such a possibility , and that is for Biden to win a blowout victory .
Which is why efforts such as those by the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump could be significant : they make it legitimate for conservatives , independents and , yes , lifelong Republicans to lend their vote to the Democratic candidate , just this once .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weaknesses can become a strength : he is sufficiently inoffensive that millions of non-Democrats can back him , in a way they could not bring themselves to do for Hillary Clinton .
It goes without saying that Democrats , whether of the left or centre , also have to turn out in colossal numbers , if not to elect Biden then to remove Trump .
Every vote will count this time because of the unique nature of this president .
Make no mistake , it will take a landslide to get Trump out @

Were we not thoroughly spooked by what happened in 2016, we’d find it easier to say out loud that all signs point to the defeat and removal of Donald Trump on 3 November. Superstition and a desire not to tempt fate hold us back, but the signs are plentiful. The most obvious is the polls, which show not only that Joe Biden is ahead of Trump by double-digit margins, but also that 72% of Americans believe their country is on the wrong track – a number that spells ruin for any incumbent.
Of course, we learned four years ago that national polls don’t matter – after all, Hillary Clinton led in those – and what really counts are the contests in the battleground states: the likes of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Biden is handily ahead in all of those, too. Could those polls be wrong? One expert reckons Biden is so far in front that even if the polls are as wrong now as they were in 2016 he will still win.
More important, these numbers reflect something solid. Naturally, liberals have been appalled by Trump’s behaviour since day one, but mere outrage and scandal have proved insufficient to sink his presidency. Now, though, he is associated with genuine catastrophe. More than 130,000 Americans are dead from coronavirus, with caseloads rising in 41 of 50 states. Trump’s handling of this disaster has so obviously made it worse – whether playing down the threat, urging premature easing of lockdown or calling on Americans to inject themselves with bleach – that he has made the case for his own removal more powerfully than any rival. His one hope was a healthy economy, but that too now lies in ruins (though, troublingly, Trump still leads Biden by 12 points on economic competence). His racial dogwhistling is also costing him: surveys suggest that, outside his base, Americans recoil at Trump’s widening of the country’s most enduring divide. It means Trump’s unpopularity is not ephemeral – the kind of thing that might be fixed by sacking a campaign manager, as the president did this week – but rather anchored in facts that will be hard to shift.
Given all that, surely the rational response is to look forward to Trump’s imminent departure from office? To which the right answer is: not so fast. To remove Trump, it will not be enough for Biden to win. He has to win big.
By that, I don’t mean that thanks to voter suppression – fewer polling places in majority-black neighbourhoods and the like – Democrats have to be several points ahead merely to draw level, though that is true. Nor do I mean that Biden can only overturn Trumpism by riding a wave so big that Democrats take back the Senate and therefore avoid being thwarted by Mitch McConnell for four gridlocked years, though that is also true. Or that Biden needs a wide enough margin to withstand the foreign hacking and disruption efforts in Trump’s favour that most monitors expect, having concluded that when Russian agents poked around voter registration databases in 2016, they were merely “casing the joint” for a more sustained offensive in 2020 – though that too is true.
No, what I have in mind is a threat more fundamental. The danger is that Trump will lose – and refuse to go.
He’s already laid out his rationale. “Rigged 2020 election,” he tweeted last month. “Millions of mail-in ballots will be printed by foreign countries, and others. It will be the scandal of our times!” Here’s the scenario Trump is planning for. On the evening of 3 November, he loses the popular vote by a margin even greater than the 3 million votes by which Hillary beat him in 2016 – but the count of votes cast on the day puts him narrowly ahead in one or two key states. He promptly declares victory, claiming that the millions of votes that were cast as absentee ballots – by voters anxious to avoid polling stations because of Covid-19 – should be disqualified as fraudulent. He has a motive to do that, since mail-in votes often skew Democratic. And he has a precedent for it: in a tight senate race in Florida in 2018, Trump urged the state to stop counting the votes and go with the election night results, which favoured Republicans.
Let’s say he makes that same move in the three midwestern battlegrounds in November. Republicans are in charge of the state legislatures in all three. Now here’s where it gets nerdily arcane, but bear with me. Those Republican legislatures could refuse both to certify their state results and to send a slate of representatives to the electoral college, which has to meet by 14 December. Biden’s lawyers would plead his case all the way to the supreme court, but that court likes to stay out of elections. It could plausibly instruct the electoral college to meet on 14 December, with or without the disputed states. If it meets without them, and neither Trump nor Biden can reach the 270 electoral college votes required to win, then the constitution throws the question to the House of Representatives. Democrats control that body, but here’s the thing. Under the rules, the house would make its decision state-by-state, with one vote per state – so that tiny Republican Wyoming would have as much say as populous, Democratic California. By that count, Republican states would outvote Democratic ones by 26 to 24 – and Trump would remain president.
There are variations on that theme. Some imagine a standoff in which, say, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor certifies the state’s vote for Biden, while the state’s Republican assembly certifies it for Trump: the result is deadlock. Former senator Tim Wirth can picture Trump’s pliant attorney general ordering a bogus investigation, on grounds of national security, into foreign meddling, thereby giving Republicans an excuse not to ratify a Biden victory in their state. But it’s just as easy to imagine a situation where, with next to no legal or technical justification, Trump simply stays put and refuses to leave – and Republicans stand by him. After all, they’ve tolerated his every other assault on the republic: why would they change now?
Granted, these are nightmare scenarios, but if these past four years have taught us anything, it’s that nightmares can come true. There’s only one guaranteed defence against such a possibility, and that is for Biden to win a blowout victory. Which is why efforts such as those by the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump could be significant: they make it legitimate for conservatives, independents and, yes, lifelong Republicans to lend their vote to the Democratic candidate, just this once. It’s also how Biden’s weaknesses can become a strength: he is sufficiently inoffensive that millions of non-Democrats can back him, in a way they could not bring themselves to do for Hillary Clinton. It goes without saying that Democrats, whether of the left or centre, also have to turn out in colossal numbers, if not to elect Biden then to remove Trump.
Every vote will count this time because of the unique nature of this president. Make no mistake, it will take a landslide to get Trump out.