theguardian--2020-11-13--How will Joe Biden's presidency affect arts and culture in America?

Four years ago , as Donald Trump prepared to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States , his incoming administration faced a serious hurdle : booking any big-name artist to perform at his inauguration .
Several artists declined or pulled out of the event ; whereas Barack Obama had Beyoncé , the Trump team eventually secured country artists Lee Greenwood and Toby Keith , whose rah-rah patriotism and jingoistic lyrics fit the bill for an agenda the New Yorker writer Andrea K Scott called “ America First , Art Last ” .
The performances drew middling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House press secretary Sean Spicer ) dwarfed the following day by the Women ’ s March , which drew a bevy of A-list stars to protest the Maga president .
The combative , mutually bitter relationship between Trump and most artists and creative organizations has only deepened since .
Though the Trump administration – called a “ worst-case scenario ” for arts groups – has largely failed to dismantle the federal arts programs it promised to defund , the Trump White House has been largely hostile to the arts , from Hollywood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arts programs in cities , towns and rural areas across the country .
Support of the arts , broadly construed , has understandably not been at the forefront of a rancorous and bruising 2020 election , as the economic crisis and ongoing pandemic imperil everything .
But with Joe Biden ’ s election win , however unacknowledged by the current president , it ’ s worth looking ahead : what would a Biden administration mean for the arts ?
First and foremost , handling the coronavirus pandemic which has grounded most live performances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theaters across the country , and tipped millions into unemployment .
The Covid recession is the most unequal in modern American history , ensnaring society ’ s most vulnerable – including all but the biggest name artists – in prolonged , stagnating financial hardship .
Without coronavirus under control , most efforts to resuscitate art economies are for nil .
Once in office , Biden will undoubtedly call a cease-fire on executive attempts to destroy the cornerstones of federal arts programs : the National Endowment for the Arts ( NEA ) , long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the late 1980s , and the National Endowment for the Humanities ( NEH ) , which supply funds to programs and institutions ranging from the Met , to regional theaters , to art classes for rural preschools .
For four straight years , the Trump administration proposed budgets that would eliminate the NEA and NEH ; the 2021 proposal , titled “ Stopping Wasteful and Unnecessary Spending ” and released in February of this year , included both agencies under a subsection called “ Eliminating Programs with No Proper Federal Role ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsibilities.
” The NEA ’ s $ 162m budget in 2019 was a mere 0.0034 % of the federal expenditure , about 49 cents per capita ; Trump ’ s budget added $ 4.8tn to the military budget and $ 2bn to his largely symbolic border wall .
The worst-case scenario never came to pass – Congress soundly rejected Trump ’ s wrecking-ball budgets each year , as public funding for arts programs remains one of the few olive branches left on Capitol Hill , in part because the agencies fund local arts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unrelenting pressure to argue for its existence in a hostile financial environment wasted time and taxpayer dollars , and conditioned state and local arts organizations already operating on the edge of solvency to even more corrosive financial uncertainty .
And though Congress actually increased funding for the NEA and NEH by $ 2.2m last year , it ’ s only creeping up to levels of support enjoyed 25 years ago .
More broadly , Trump fostered a White House and cult of personality hostile to artists not explicitly loyal to him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ symbolic protest – ribs at the president in Oscar acceptance speeches , the ceaseless Trump focus of late-night comedy – that chained attention to the President ’ s Twitter-addled , pettily unfocused brain .
The enmity by conservative news such as Fox News for creative expression , especially from artists of color – think outcry over Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion ’ s gloriously filthy song WAP , or manufactured outrage over the Netflix film Cuties – found a receptive and vocal audience in the president .
The removal of Trump from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media apparatus , on-air and online ; under Biden , Fox News will continue to Fox News , but without the amplification of the White House .
Though Biden has not been particularly known as an arts aficionado like the late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , who regularly attended operas , he is generally considered favorable to art and artists ( and a reliable backer of dad-favorites , from his Beatles and Bruce Springsteen summer playlist to his favorite film , Chariots of Fire ) .
As a senator from Delaware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voted for legislation favored by arts executives : co-sponsored a bill creating the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress , and co-sponsored legislation that founded the Smithsonian ’ s National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2001 .
As Obama ’ s vice-president , Biden was the lead White House negotiator for the 2009 stimulus bill that supplied $ 50m for the arts in response to the global financial crisis .
The Biden transition team has not yet announced a formal platform for the arts , but unlike the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to have one .
Obama was the first president to release a presidential platform for the arts , which included increased funding for the NEA , attracting “ foreign talent ” with a streamlined visa process , affordable healthcare for artists and development of public-private art partnerships through federal grants .
Should he need to call on star power , Biden will have access to far more mega-wattage than Trump ’ s roster of Lil Pump and Kid Rock .
As a candidate , Biden garnered endorsements from such high-profile names as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pitt , Lady Gaga ( whom he introduced at the 2016 Oscars ) , Bruce Springsteen and Billie Eilish .
Biden ’ s White House is likely to resemble Obama ’ s in its celebrity symbiosis : a revolving door of who ’ s-whos and incubation of talent .
( The smash Broadway hit Hamilton , for example , began as an experiment by Lin-Manuel Miranda at a 2009 White House evening for poetry , music and spoken word , and developed into the stage show thanks in part to an NEA grant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but perhaps greatest divergence from the Trump era , however , is the unshackling of attention from a single president on to … anything or anyone else .
Though protest art , from Spike Lee ’ s BlacKkKlansman to collages built from the testimonies of separated migrant children , has flourished under the Trump presidency , a relatively stable figure in the White House – not to mention the nation ’ s first black , south Asian , or female vice-president in Kamala Harris – relieves some pressure from artists to “ respond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s oxygen-sucking presence in Washington , so the thinking goes , artists are untethered from a reactive cycle , of responding explicitly or in escape to the horrors of , say , family separation , or “ very fine people on both sides ” .
How will culture flourish when not buffeted by the demands of attention , “ resistance ” , exhaustion ?
One new ( old , white ) man in the White House does not , of course , change everything , nor relieve the immediate and extreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – facing the country and shaping its art .
But Biden ’ s presidency will , at least , offer breathing room and an orientation forward , rather than the distracted present or mythical past .
As the president-elect himself put it in an interview with Miranda this August , in a tone unfamiliar to the Trump ethos : “ The future of who we are lies in the arts .
It is the expression of our soul .
”

Four years ago, as Donald Trump prepared to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, his incoming administration faced a serious hurdle: booking any big-name artist to perform at his inauguration. Several artists declined or pulled out of the event; whereas Barack Obama had Beyoncé, the Trump team eventually secured country artists Lee Greenwood and Toby Keith, whose rah-rah patriotism and jingoistic lyrics fit the bill for an agenda the New Yorker writer Andrea K Scott called “America First, Art Last”. The performances drew middling crowds (ones flatly denied by then White House press secretary Sean Spicer) dwarfed the following day by the Women’s March, which drew a bevy of A-list stars to protest the Maga president.
The combative, mutually bitter relationship between Trump and most artists and creative organizations has only deepened since. Though the Trump administration – called a “worst-case scenario” for arts groups – has largely failed to dismantle the federal arts programs it promised to defund, the Trump White House has been largely hostile to the arts, from Hollywood stars to political comedy down to local arts programs in cities, towns and rural areas across the country. Support of the arts, broadly construed, has understandably not been at the forefront of a rancorous and bruising 2020 election, as the economic crisis and ongoing pandemic imperil everything. But with Joe Biden’s election win, however unacknowledged by the current president, it’s worth looking ahead: what would a Biden administration mean for the arts?
First and foremost, handling the coronavirus pandemic which has grounded most live performances to a halt, shuttered Broadway and theaters across the country, and tipped millions into unemployment. The Covid recession is the most unequal in modern American history, ensnaring society’s most vulnerable – including all but the biggest name artists – in prolonged, stagnating financial hardship. Without coronavirus under control, most efforts to resuscitate art economies are for nil.
Once in office, Biden will undoubtedly call a cease-fire on executive attempts to destroy the cornerstones of federal arts programs: the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), long a target of the conservative culture wars since the late 1980s, and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which supply funds to programs and institutions ranging from the Met, to regional theaters, to art classes for rural preschools.
A shuttered cinema in Brooklyn. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
For four straight years, the Trump administration proposed budgets that would eliminate the NEA and NEH; the 2021 proposal, titled “Stopping Wasteful and Unnecessary Spending” and released in February of this year, included both agencies under a subsection called “Eliminating Programs with No Proper Federal Role” with programs “not considered core federal responsibilities.” The NEA’s $162m budget in 2019 was a mere 0.0034% of the federal expenditure, about 49 cents per capita; Trump’s budget added $4.8tn to the military budget and $2bn to his largely symbolic border wall.
The worst-case scenario never came to pass – Congress soundly rejected Trump’s wrecking-ball budgets each year, as public funding for arts programs remains one of the few olive branches left on Capitol Hill, in part because the agencies fund local arts ventures in all 50 states. But the unrelenting pressure to argue for its existence in a hostile financial environment wasted time and taxpayer dollars, and conditioned state and local arts organizations already operating on the edge of solvency to even more corrosive financial uncertainty. And though Congress actually increased funding for the NEA and NEH by $2.2m last year, it’s only creeping up to levels of support enjoyed 25 years ago.
More broadly, Trump fostered a White House and cult of personality hostile to artists not explicitly loyal to him, which in turned fueled a cycle of symbolic protest – ribs at the president in Oscar acceptance speeches, the ceaseless Trump focus of late-night comedy – that chained attention to the President’s Twitter-addled, pettily unfocused brain. The enmity by conservative news such as Fox News for creative expression, especially from artists of color – think outcry over Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s gloriously filthy song WAP, or manufactured outrage over the Netflix film Cuties – found a receptive and vocal audience in the president.
The removal of Trump from office is unlikely to stop the rightwing media apparatus, on-air and online; under Biden, Fox News will continue to Fox News, but without the amplification of the White House. Though Biden has not been particularly known as an arts aficionado like the late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who regularly attended operas, he is generally considered favorable to art and artists (and a reliable backer of dad-favorites, from his Beatles and Bruce Springsteen summer playlist to his favorite film, Chariots of Fire).
As a senator from Delaware, Biden consistently supported arts funding and voted for legislation favored by arts executives: co-sponsored a bill creating the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and co-sponsored legislation that founded the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2001. As Obama’s vice-president, Biden was the lead White House negotiator for the 2009 stimulus bill that supplied $50m for the arts in response to the global financial crisis.
The Biden transition team has not yet announced a formal platform for the arts, but unlike the Trump administration, they are at least likely to have one. Obama was the first president to release a presidential platform for the arts, which included increased funding for the NEA, attracting “foreign talent” with a streamlined visa process, affordable healthcare for artists and development of public-private art partnerships through federal grants.
Joe Biden and Lady Gaga. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Should he need to call on star power, Biden will have access to far more mega-wattage than Trump’s roster of Lil Pump and Kid Rock. As a candidate, Biden garnered endorsements from such high-profile names as Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga (whom he introduced at the 2016 Oscars), Bruce Springsteen and Billie Eilish. Biden’s White House is likely to resemble Obama’s in its celebrity symbiosis: a revolving door of who’s-whos and incubation of talent. (The smash Broadway hit Hamilton, for example, began as an experiment by Lin-Manuel Miranda at a 2009 White House evening for poetry, music and spoken word, and developed into the stage show thanks in part to an NEA grant.)
Biden’s least quantifiable but perhaps greatest divergence from the Trump era, however, is the unshackling of attention from a single president on to … anything or anyone else. Though protest art, from Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman to collages built from the testimonies of separated migrant children, has flourished under the Trump presidency, a relatively stable figure in the White House – not to mention the nation’s first black, south Asian, or female vice-president in Kamala Harris – relieves some pressure from artists to “respond to the current moment”. Without Trump’s oxygen-sucking presence in Washington, so the thinking goes, artists are untethered from a reactive cycle, of responding explicitly or in escape to the horrors of, say, family separation, or “very fine people on both sides”.
How will culture flourish when not buffeted by the demands of attention, “resistance”, exhaustion? One new (old, white) man in the White House does not, of course, change everything, nor relieve the immediate and extreme pressures – the pandemic, climate emergency – facing the country and shaping its art. But Biden’s presidency will, at least, offer breathing room and an orientation forward, rather than the distracted present or mythical past. As the president-elect himself put it in an interview with Miranda this August, in a tone unfamiliar to the Trump ethos: “The future of who we are lies in the arts. It is the expression of our soul.”


theguardian--2020-11-13--Justice Alito takes aim at abortion rights, gay marriage and Covid rules

The inability of people to say , without fear of being branded as bigots , that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman is threatening to make freedom of speech “ a second-tier constitutional right ” , supreme court justice Samuel Alito said at a virtual conference on Thursday .
In a bleak address , Alito took aim at abortion rights , same-sex marriage , gun control and other conservative bugbears .
The remarks were made to the Federalist Society , the conservative legal group that has helped Donald Trump remake the judiciary in the last four years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past waded into politics in public forums , Alito ’ s 30-minute speech stood out for its provocative engagement on fronts in the culture wars that had not seemed to be particularly hot , at least before the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett last month .
Alito ’ s speech fueled concerns that Barrett ’ s elevation , which established an ironclad 6-3 conservative majority on the court , could lead the court to revisit basic anti-discrimination protections , marriage equality , reproductive rights and other issues .
“ This was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his message in sum was : I ’ m free to say this now .
We have the votes , ” tweeted Chris Geidner , director of strategy at the justice collaborative advocacy group .
As the United States continues to shatter daily records for new Covid-19 cases , Alito blasted coronavirus mitigation measures for imposing “ previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty ” .
He singled out restrictions in Nevada limiting religious services to 50 attendees .
“ The states ’ s message is this : forget about worship and head for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cirque du Soleil show , ” Alito said .
Although by any measure conservative jurisprudence under Trump has flourished , securing minority legal views for a generation , Alito spun a conservative victimization narrative , in which citizens are threatened in their freedom to speak and act as they please .
“ When I speak with recent law school graduates , what I hear over and over is that they face harassment and retaliation if they say anything that departs from the law school orthodoxy , ” he said .
“ It pains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , “ but in certain quarters , religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.
” As an example , Alito decried a Washington state law requiring a pharmacist to fill prescriptions for “ morning-after pills , which destroy an embryo after fertilization ” , as he put it .
“ Even before the pandemic , there was growing hostility to the expression of unfashionable views , ” Alito continued , using the rubric of “ the rule of law and the current crisis ” to mount an attack on same-sex marriage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ v Hodges ( 2015 ) , a ruling from which he dissented .
“ You can ’ t say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman , ” Alito complained .
“ Until very recently , that ’ s what the vast majority of Americans thought .
Now it ’ s considered bigotry.
” Legal analysts said the speech displayed thinking familiar from the 70-year-old justice ’ s opinions – but they called his decision to give voice to those opinions unusual .
“ I ’ m not surprised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things , ” tweeted University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck .
“ One need only read his written opinions to see most of them .
I ’ m surprised that he decided to *say* them in a public speech that was live-streamed over the internet – clips of which will now be recirculated for ever.
” Alito is a George W Bush appointee who previously worked as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and a circuit court judge .
The speech was pre-recorded for the 2020 National Lawyers Federation sponsored by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m talking to a camera , and that feels really strange , ” Alito said .
To capture the mood of what he described as an assault on religious liberties and free speech , Alito quoted a 1997 Bob Dylan song .
“ To quote a popular Nobel laureate , ” Alito said , “ it ’ s not dark yet , but it ’ s getting there .
”

The inability of people to say, without fear of being branded as bigots, that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman is threatening to make freedom of speech “a second-tier constitutional right”, supreme court justice Samuel Alito said at a virtual conference on Thursday.
In a bleak address, Alito took aim at abortion rights, same-sex marriage, gun control and other conservative bugbears.
The remarks were made to the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group that has helped Donald Trump remake the judiciary in the last four years.
While supreme court justices have in the past waded into politics in public forums, Alito’s 30-minute speech stood out for its provocative engagement on fronts in the culture wars that had not seemed to be particularly hot, at least before the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett last month.
Alito’s speech fueled concerns that Barrett’s elevation, which established an ironclad 6-3 conservative majority on the court, could lead the court to revisit basic anti-discrimination protections, marriage equality, reproductive rights and other issues.
“This was a hyper-political, partisan speech, and his message in sum was: I’m free to say this now. We have the votes,” tweeted Chris Geidner, director of strategy at the justice collaborative advocacy group.
As the United States continues to shatter daily records for new Covid-19 cases, Alito blasted coronavirus mitigation measures for imposing “previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty”.
He singled out restrictions in Nevada limiting religious services to 50 attendees. “The states’s message is this: forget about worship and head for the slot machines, or maybe a Cirque du Soleil show,” Alito said.
Although by any measure conservative jurisprudence under Trump has flourished, securing minority legal views for a generation, Alito spun a conservative victimization narrative, in which citizens are threatened in their freedom to speak and act as they please.
“When I speak with recent law school graduates, what I hear over and over is that they face harassment and retaliation if they say anything that departs from the law school orthodoxy,” he said.
“It pains me to say this,” Alito said, “but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.” As an example, Alito decried a Washington state law requiring a pharmacist to fill prescriptions for “morning-after pills, which destroy an embryo after fertilization”, as he put it.
“Even before the pandemic, there was growing hostility to the expression of unfashionable views,” Alito continued, using the rubric of “the rule of law and the current crisis” to mount an attack on same-sex marriage, secured by the court in Obergefell v Hodges (2015), a ruling from which he dissented.
“You can’t say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman,” Alito complained. “Until very recently, that’s what the vast majority of Americans thought. Now it’s considered bigotry.”
Alito went on:
That this would happen after our decision in Obergefell should not have come as a surprise. Yes, the opinion of the court included words meant to calm the furors of those who cling to traditional views on marriage. But I could see, and so did the other justices in dissent, where the decision would lead. I wrote the following: ‘I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers and schools.’ That is just what is coming to past. One of the great challenges for the supreme court going forward will be to protect freedom of speech. Although that freedom is falling out of favor in some circles we need to do whatever we can to prevent it from becoming a second-tier constitutional right.”
Legal analysts said the speech displayed thinking familiar from the 70-year-old justice’s opinions – but they called his decision to give voice to those opinions unusual.
“I’m not surprised that Justice Alito believes any of those things,” tweeted University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck. “One need only read his written opinions to see most of them. I’m surprised that he decided to *say* them in a public speech that was live-streamed over the internet – clips of which will now be recirculated for ever.”
Alito unleashed will make him a hero to more people looking for a leader of the conservative Court — but it also will make people outside of the SCOTUS world realize how he comes off (and it’s not good). pic.twitter.com/Gqt7uyHW07 — Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) November 13, 2020
Alito is a George W Bush appointee who previously worked as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and a circuit court judge. The speech was pre-recorded for the 2020 National Lawyers Federation sponsored by the Federalist Society. “Today I’m talking to a camera, and that feels really strange,” Alito said.
To capture the mood of what he described as an assault on religious liberties and free speech, Alito quoted a 1997 Bob Dylan song.
“To quote a popular Nobel laureate,” Alito said, “it’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.”


theguardian--2020-11-13--Trumpism will persist until we rekindle faith in people’s ability to reshape the world | Jeff Sparro

Trumpism will persist until we rekindle faith in people’s ability to reshape the world | Jeff Sparrow

About 70 % of Republicans apparently believe the 2020 presidential election to have been neither free nor fair .
That ’ s a big chunk of voters rejecting , on entirely bogus grounds , the legitimacy of the new president .
And it ’ s not the first time either .
From 2011 , Donald Trump engendered support for his own tilt at the White House by questioning the legality of the Obama presidency .
He built his political career upon the embrace of “ birtherism ” , a racist conspiracy that emerged during the election of 2008 .
Back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows claimed Obama was not a “ natural-born citizen of the US ” , and thus ineligible for office under Article Two of the constitution .
A Harris Poll in 2010 found an astonishing 25 % of respondents questioned Obama ’ s right to serve , as the birthers tried to persuade electoral college voters , the supreme court and members of the college to block his certification .
More than any other figure , Trump brought that rejection of Obama ’ s legitimacy into the mainstream .
“ If he wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a real possibility ... ” he told NBC ’ s Today Show in 2011 , “ then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics.
” For the Tea Party movement and the Republican fringe , birtherism underpinned a rightwing conviction that Obama ’ s presidency represented a kind of coup .
Mind you , after the 2016 election , a significant proportion of Democrats thought the same about Trump ’ s victory .
As David Greenberg notes , Hillary Clinton , Jimmy Carter and John Lewis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ illegitimate ” , elected only as the result of Russian meddling .
Some Democrats blamed Vladimir Putin for the WikiLeaks release of the Podesta emails or suggested Russian social bots fixed the outcome ; others falsely claimed that voting booths had been rigged or that Trump was in fact a “ Manchurian candidate ” employed in Putin ’ s service .
For such people , Trump wasn ’ t merely an odious , rightwing demagogue .
He was also an impostor , whose presence in the Oval Office signified systemic institutional failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters to accept the 2020 result as genuine didn ’ t then come entirely from nowhere .
Indeed , it ’ s been a long time since partisans of a defeated presidential candidate haven ’ t denounced the process that allowed their opponent to win .
Perhaps we shouldn ’ t be surprised .
For years , surveys have revealed a massive and ongoing decline in trust in basic institutions , including those associated with democracy .
In early 2020 , for instance , the communications firm Edelman polled 34,000 people in 28 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It found a tremendous decrease in the public ’ s respect for institutions , with almost everywhere “ government and media … perceived as both incompetent and unethical ” .
Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed believed the media to be “ contaminated with untrustworthy information ” and 66 % did not expect government leaders “ to successfully address our country ’ s challenges ” .
Even in Australia , one of the wealthiest and most secure nations in the world , more than half of people polled saw the system as failing them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possessed confidence in the media .
We might think this cynicism would favour progressives , given the left ’ s longstanding critique of institutional power .
But it ’ s not as simple as that .
Obama won office because George W Bush had plunged America into permanent , unpopular wars .
Trump triumphed in 2016 because he faced a weak opponent ; he lost in 2020 when his response to Covid-19 revealed his utter ineptitude .
In other words , you don ’ t need to cry fraud to explain recent presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easily enough in terms of decisions by voters .
But only if you acknowledge voters ’ ability to make such decisions .
Conspiracy theories proceed on an entirely different basis .
They present ordinary people as gulls , the perpetual dupes of power ; they suggest events unfold , always and everywhere , according to the will of hidden string pullers .
Rather than asking why their candidate didn ’ t appeal to electors , the conspiracist looks for external manipulation – implicitly accepting that only the elite can make history .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the existing institutions might propel a movement to deepen and widen participation in political affairs .
Right now , however , it seems to be linked to a prevailing pessimism about democratic agency , one that can all too easily provide openings for authoritarian demagogues .
Joe Biden takes office as the embodiment of American business-as-usual .
Despite polling far more votes than Trump , he remains the ultimate insider , associated with many of the most consistently hated policies in recent years ( from the Iraq war , which he championed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initiate ) .
Not surprisingly , if you survey rightwing social media , you can see the new argument cohering at a frightening speed , with more and more accounts claiming that Biden was illegitimately foisted on honest Americans by a nefarious elite .
Far-right agitators , many of whom had long since given up on Trump , have embraced the # stopthesteal campaign with enthusiasm , with the upcoming Million Maga march potentially bringing together motley white nationalist and fascist groups in what looks very much like an attempted reprise of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Trump ’ s rise inspired imitators elsewhere , we should expect the right ’ s narrative to spread internationally .
Already , baseless allegations of electoral fraud have been echoed by Australian politicians – and it ’ s still early days yet .
Trump might be gone but , until we can rekindle faith in ordinary people ’ s ability to reshape the world , Trumpism will remain very much with us .

About 70% of Republicans apparently believe the 2020 presidential election to have been neither free nor fair.
That’s a big chunk of voters rejecting, on entirely bogus grounds, the legitimacy of the new president.
And it’s not the first time either.
From 2011, Donald Trump engendered support for his own tilt at the White House by questioning the legality of the Obama presidency. He built his political career upon the embrace of “birtherism”, a racist conspiracy that emerged during the election of 2008.
Back then, rightwing blogs and talk radio shows claimed Obama was not a “natural-born citizen of the US”, and thus ineligible for office under Article Two of the constitution.
A Harris Poll in 2010 found an astonishing 25% of respondents questioned Obama’s right to serve, as the birthers tried to persuade electoral college voters, the supreme court and members of the college to block his certification.
More than any other figure, Trump brought that rejection of Obama’s legitimacy into the mainstream.
“If he wasn’t born in this country, which is a real possibility ...” he told NBC’s Today Show in 2011, “then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics.”
For the Tea Party movement and the Republican fringe, birtherism underpinned a rightwing conviction that Obama’s presidency represented a kind of coup.
You don’t need to cry fraud to explain recent presidential elections
Mind you, after the 2016 election, a significant proportion of Democrats thought the same about Trump’s victory.
As David Greenberg notes, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter and John Lewis were among those who publicly labelled Trump “illegitimate”, elected only as the result of Russian meddling. Some Democrats blamed Vladimir Putin for the WikiLeaks release of the Podesta emails or suggested Russian social bots fixed the outcome; others falsely claimed that voting booths had been rigged or that Trump was in fact a “Manchurian candidate” employed in Putin’s service.
For such people, Trump wasn’t merely an odious, rightwing demagogue. He was also an impostor, whose presence in the Oval Office signified systemic institutional failure.
The refusal by Trump’s supporters to accept the 2020 result as genuine didn’t then come entirely from nowhere. Indeed, it’s been a long time since partisans of a defeated presidential candidate haven’t denounced the process that allowed their opponent to win.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.
For years, surveys have revealed a massive and ongoing decline in trust in basic institutions, including those associated with democracy.
In early 2020, for instance, the communications firm Edelman polled 34,000 people in 28 countries for its Trust Barometer report. It found a tremendous decrease in the public’s respect for institutions, with almost everywhere “government and media … perceived as both incompetent and unethical”.
Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed believed the media to be “contaminated with untrustworthy information” and 66% did not expect government leaders “to successfully address our country’s challenges”.
Even in Australia, one of the wealthiest and most secure nations in the world, more than half of people polled saw the system as failing them, and a large majority no longer possessed confidence in the media.
We might think this cynicism would favour progressives, given the left’s longstanding critique of institutional power.
But it’s not as simple as that.
Obama won office because George W Bush had plunged America into permanent, unpopular wars. Trump triumphed in 2016 because he faced a weak opponent; he lost in 2020 when his response to Covid-19 revealed his utter ineptitude.
In other words, you don’t need to cry fraud to explain recent presidential elections. You can understand the outcomes easily enough in terms of decisions by voters.
But only if you acknowledge voters’ ability to make such decisions.
Conspiracy theories proceed on an entirely different basis. They present ordinary people as gulls, the perpetual dupes of power; they suggest events unfold, always and everywhere, according to the will of hidden string pullers.
Rather than asking why their candidate didn’t appeal to electors, the conspiracist looks for external manipulation – implicitly accepting that only the elite can make history.
In different circumstances, a widespread cynicism about the existing institutions might propel a movement to deepen and widen participation in political affairs. Right now, however, it seems to be linked to a prevailing pessimism about democratic agency, one that can all too easily provide openings for authoritarian demagogues.
Joe Biden takes office as the embodiment of American business-as-usual. Despite polling far more votes than Trump, he remains the ultimate insider, associated with many of the most consistently hated policies in recent years (from the Iraq war, which he championed, to mass incarceration, which he helped initiate).
Not surprisingly, if you survey rightwing social media, you can see the new argument cohering at a frightening speed, with more and more accounts claiming that Biden was illegitimately foisted on honest Americans by a nefarious elite. Far-right agitators, many of whom had long since given up on Trump, have embraced the #stopthesteal campaign with enthusiasm, with the upcoming Million Maga march potentially bringing together motley white nationalist and fascist groups in what looks very much like an attempted reprise of the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.
Just as Trump’s rise inspired imitators elsewhere, we should expect the right’s narrative to spread internationally. Already, baseless allegations of electoral fraud have been echoed by Australian politicians – and it’s still early days yet.
Trump might be gone but, until we can rekindle faith in ordinary people’s ability to reshape the world, Trumpism will remain very much with us.


theguardian--2020-11-13--The Guardian view on Dominic Cummings: voting to leave | Editorial

Boris Johnson should have asked his chief adviser , Dominic Cummings , to resign months ago when he broke the first coronavirus lockdown and showed no regret afterwards .
Perhaps Mr Johnson thought he could not do without the architect of his election victory and his ally in pursuing a hardline Brexit .
But the damage was done .
Public confidence in the government ’ s handling of coronavirus fell and has not stopping falling since .
Mr Cummings walked out of Downing Street , in an act of theatrical defiance , on Friday .
It is a mark of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s government that a week of infighting within No 10 dominates the news at a time of national emergency when hundreds are dying every day from a dangerous disease .
Mr Cummings gets to walk away while Britain is stuck with the damage he has wrought .
He won the Brexit referendum by spreading lies , unconcerned about damaging public trust .
He has snubbed parliament , weaponised populist sentiment against state institutions and played fast and loose with the constitution .
He may say that unconventional times needed unconventional ideas .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much .
He picked , and lost , too many fights for his own good .
A swirling cast of characters was drawn in .
Even Carrie Symonds , Mr Johnson ’ s fiancee , got involved .
Mr Cummings was edged out of power before he could flounce out .
This tawdry episode demonstrates two things .
One is Mr Johnson ’ s palpable lack of leadership in a crisis .
He encouraged his chief adviser to embrace his inner Leninism — where the end justifies the means .
Second is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The prime minister over-centralised Downing Street and let Mr Cummings ride roughshod over a weak cabinet that he had hand-picked but which lacked the confidence or foresight to predict problems .
Mr Cummings ’ plans have gone awry thanks to the unpredictability of politics .
After the US election his ideas for a hard Brexit were going nowhere .
A Biden White House would have little time for the UK if it turned its back on Europe .
Mr Cummings ’ departure is a clear indication that the prime minister is ready @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a deal with the EU .
Coronavirus required bigger government .
Fiscal conservatives like the chancellor , Rishi Sunak , and many other Tory MPs worried that once voters understood that big spending would not bankrupt the economy they might get a taste for decent public services .
Mr Sunak wanted to balance the books , Mr Cummings wanted to blow them up .
He agitated for the un-Tory idea that state power could turbocharge the economy , making powerful enemies in No 11 .
Resentments have built like sediment on the river @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the flow of government .
Backbench MPs see Mr Cummings ’ contempt for them as symptomatic of a high-handed Downing Street and have rebelled in such numbers that it threatens the stability of a government that , paradoxically , won a landslide largely thanks to Mr Cummings .
Mr Johnson might think that , without his adviser , his ungovernable party becomes governable .
But he might find that elections become unwinnable .
Some of this is more about style than substance .
Mr Johnson still has to make good on his promise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially since north-south divisions have been dramatically exposed by coronavirus .
The prime minister needs to up his game .
Once gained , a reputation for incompetence is hard to shift .
Too often with Mr Johnson the buck stops somewhere else and blame is dumped on someone else .
With Mr Cummings out , there is no hiding place for Mr Johnson .

Boris Johnson should have asked his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, to resign months ago when he broke the first coronavirus lockdown and showed no regret afterwards. Perhaps Mr Johnson thought he could not do without the architect of his election victory and his ally in pursuing a hardline Brexit. But the damage was done. Public confidence in the government’s handling of coronavirus fell and has not stopped falling since.
Mr Cummings walked out of Downing Street, in an act of theatrical defiance, on Friday. It is a mark of the tragicomic nature of Mr Johnson’s government that a week of infighting within No 10 dominates the news at a time of national emergency when hundreds are dying every day from a dangerous disease. Mr Cummings gets to walk away while Britain is stuck with the damage he has wrought.
He won the Brexit referendum by spreading lies, unconcerned about damaging public trust. He has snubbed parliament, weaponised populist sentiment against state institutions and played fast and loose with the constitution. He may say that unconventional times needed unconventional ideas. But he seemed to enjoy his war too much. He picked, and lost, too many fights for his own good. A swirling cast of characters was drawn in. Even Carrie Symonds, Mr Johnson’s fiancee, got involved.
Mr Cummings was edged out of power before he could flounce out. This tawdry episode demonstrates two things. One is Mr Johnson’s palpable lack of leadership in a crisis. He encouraged his chief adviser to embrace his inner Leninism — where the end justifies the means. Second is the government’s well-deserved reputation for incompetence. The prime minister over-centralised Downing Street and let Mr Cummings ride roughshod over a weak cabinet that he had hand-picked but which lacked the confidence or foresight to predict problems.
Mr Cummings’ plans have gone awry thanks to the unpredictability of politics. After the US election his ideas for a hard Brexit were going nowhere. A Biden White House would have little time for the UK if it turned its back on Europe. Mr Cummings’ departure is a clear indication that the prime minister is ready to make the compromises needed to strike a deal with the EU.
Coronavirus required bigger government. Fiscal conservatives like the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and many other Tory MPs worried that once voters understood that big spending would not bankrupt the economy they might get a taste for decent public services. Mr Sunak wanted to balance the books, Mr Cummings wanted to blow them up. He agitated for the un-Tory idea that state power could turbocharge the economy, making powerful enemies in No 11.
Resentments have built like sediment on the river bed of Conservatism and threatened to choke the flow of government. Backbench MPs see Mr Cummings’ contempt for them as symptomatic of a high-handed Downing Street and have rebelled in such numbers that it threatens the stability of a government that, paradoxically, won a landslide largely thanks to Mr Cummings.
Mr Johnson might think that, without his adviser, his ungovernable party becomes governable. But he might find that elections become unwinnable. Some of this is more about style than substance. Mr Johnson still has to make good on his promise to “level up” Britain, especially since north-south divisions have been dramatically exposed by coronavirus. The prime minister needs to up his game. Once gained, a reputation for incompetence is hard to shift. Too often with Mr Johnson the buck stops somewhere else and blame is dumped on someone else. With Mr Cummings out, there is no hiding place for Mr Johnson.


theguardian--2020-11-13--This is no conventional coup. Trump is paving the way for a 'virtual Confederacy' | Jonathan Freedla

This is no conventional coup. Trump is paving the way for a 'virtual Confederacy' | Jonathan Freedland

Not for the first time , Donald Trump ’ s unhinged behaviour prompts an uncomfortable question : should we be laughing in derision or trembling with fear ?
Is he playing out his last days as nothing more than a sore loser pathetically kidding himself that he might yet score the winning run , even after the crowd ’ s gone home and the stadium is empty – or is his insistence that last week ’ s election was stolen an attempt to cling on to power , to stage a coup against his democratically elected successor ?
The case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s allegations crumble to dust .
On Thursday , a wing of the department of homeland security – part of the government that Trump still heads – declared that last week ’ s election “ was the most secure in American history ” , and that there was “ no evidence ” of any malpractice , still less of the mass-scale fraud that Trump has groundlessly alleged .
The result is that Trump ’ s lawyers have been all but laughed out of court , forced by impatient judges to admit that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , let alone proof .
His courtiers continue to pretend that the emperor is fully clothed , of course , but even they are winking at the crowd .
Surely Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was joking when he promised with a smile : “ There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.
” The inner circle are happy to let Trump , who has appeared only once in public since election day , remain hunkered down in his White House bunker , “ feverishly tweeting , watching television and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles Times reports .
They carry on telling him what he wants to hear , but they know his cause is doomed .
Tellingly , even Trump ’ s own son-in-law , Jared Kushner , made his excuses for Saturday ’ s supposed council of war , sending “ aides ” in his place .
All that should prompt derision rather than fear .
We can take the lead set by the president-elect himself , relax and let the process play out until Joe Biden is sworn in on 20 January .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the time I manage it .
But every now and then , fear intrudes .
Why , for example , has Trump fired the civilian leadership of the defence department , including the defence secretary , Mark Esper , filling their posts and others in intelligence with ultra-loyalists ?
Esper stood up to Trump over the summer , when the president wanted to deploy the military to crush peaceful protests .
Does Trump have something similar in mind , a move that would require a yes man to nod it through ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , after all , joking ?
For now , I can accept that a full , tanks-in-the-streets coup is not on the cards .
One Capitol Hill Republican tells me he suspects Trump sacked Esper mainly to “ make him feel better ” , and “ to get even with the people who thwarted him ” , rather than because he wants a Pentagon boss who will agree to send in the troops .
Equally possible , says my source , is that Trump plans to go out with a bang , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of bang ?
Some talk of a total withdrawal from Afghanistan .
Conversely , there ’ s chatter about a possible attack on Iran .
That would be huge – and Trump likes huge – but it ’ s not a coup .
On this reading , Trump is rejecting the election result less in order to keep power than to instil in his base the sense of grievance that will bind them to him for his next act – whether that be a new media company , Trump TV , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House in 2024 .
But if that ’ s true , it ’ s hardly grounds for relief .
That Trump ’ s attempt to defy a democratic election is comically inept or cynically motivated doesn ’ t alter the fact that he ’ s making it .
No less alarming , all but a handful of Republicans have backed him .
Fearing both his wrath and the hold he continues to exercise over the Republican electorate – highly relevant , given that two Senate seats are up for grabs in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s most senior figures have acquiesced in Trump ’ s evidence-free claim that the Democrats rigged the election .
That matters .
Most directly , it will impair the incoming president as he tries to get to grips with a pandemic that on Thursday saw a record number of new cases in the US – 159,000 in a single day – about which Trump is doing and saying precisely nothing .
How can Biden lead if half the country has been primed to believe he is not the rightful president ?
The Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2016 – trips on one simple fact : Hillary Clinton conceded defeat right away .
That is the only way a democratic system can work , with the consent of the loser .
The fear is that Trump and his followers will never give way , that he will remain the head of a “ Trumpian government in exile ” , as the historian Sean Wilentz puts it , antagonistic to the legitimate , elected government , armed with allies in Congress , sustained via social media and nourished by grievance and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new , virtual Confederacy .
The word is not wholly hyperbolic because , inevitably in America , so much of this turns on race .
When Trump ’ s cheerleaders locate the supposed voter fraud in Philadelphia or Detroit , their listeners get the message : it ’ s that black cities are corrupt and , at root , that black people shouldn ’ t be allowed to decide who gets to be president of the United States .
As Barack Obama writes in his upcoming memoir , these are “ dark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lurking on the edge of the Republican party – xenophobia … paranoid conspiracy theories , an antipathy toward black and brown folks ” .
So no , this won ’ t be a coup like we ’ ve seen in the movies .
But nor can we just laugh it off .
Trump is often ridiculous , but he ’ s no joke .

Not for the first time, Donald Trump’s unhinged behaviour prompts an uncomfortable question: should we be laughing in derision or trembling with fear? Is he playing out his last days as nothing more than a sore loser pathetically kidding himself that he might yet score the winning run, even after the crowd’s gone home and the stadium is empty – or is his insistence that last week’s election was stolen an attempt to cling on to power, to stage a coup against his democratically elected successor?
The case for laughter is strong, as Trump’s allegations crumble to dust. On Thursday, a wing of the department of homeland security – part of the government that Trump still heads – declared that last week’s election “was the most secure in American history”, and that there was “no evidence” of any malpractice, still less of the mass-scale fraud that Trump has groundlessly alleged.
The result is that Trump’s lawyers have been all but laughed out of court, forced by impatient judges to admit that they don’t have any evidence, let alone proof. His courtiers continue to pretend that the emperor is fully clothed, of course, but even they are winking at the crowd. Surely Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was joking when he promised with a smile: “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”
The inner circle are happy to let Trump, who has appeared only once in public since election day, remain hunkered down in his White House bunker, “feverishly tweeting, watching television and telephoning allies”, as the Los Angeles Times reports. They carry on telling him what he wants to hear, but they know his cause is doomed. Tellingly, even Trump’s own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made his excuses for Saturday’s supposed council of war, sending “aides” in his place.
All that should prompt derision rather than fear. We can take the lead set by the president-elect himself, relax and let the process play out until Joe Biden is sworn in on 20 January. That’s certainly appealing, and most of the time I manage it. But every now and then, fear intrudes.
Why, for example, has Trump fired the civilian leadership of the defence department, including the defence secretary, Mark Esper, filling their posts and others in intelligence with ultra-loyalists? Esper stood up to Trump over the summer, when the president wanted to deploy the military to crush peaceful protests. Does Trump have something similar in mind, a move that would require a yes man to nod it through? Is it possible that Pompeo was not, after all, joking?
For now, I can accept that a full, tanks-in-the-streets coup is not on the cards. One Capitol Hill Republican tells me he suspects Trump sacked Esper mainly to “make him feel better”, and “to get even with the people who thwarted him”, rather than because he wants a Pentagon boss who will agree to send in the troops. Equally possible, says my source, is that Trump plans to go out with a bang, and wants pliant people in post. What kind of bang? Some talk of a total withdrawal from Afghanistan. Conversely, there’s chatter about a possible attack on Iran.
That would be huge – and Trump likes huge – but it’s not a coup. On this reading, Trump is rejecting the election result less in order to keep power than to instil in his base the sense of grievance that will bind them to him for his next act – whether that be a new media company, Trump TV, to challenge Fox News or another run for the White House in 2024.
But if that’s true, it’s hardly grounds for relief. That Trump’s attempt to defy a democratic election is comically inept or cynically motivated doesn’t alter the fact that he’s making it. No less alarming, all but a handful of Republicans have backed him. Fearing both his wrath and the hold he continues to exercise over the Republican electorate – highly relevant, given that two Senate seats are up for grabs in Georgia in January – the party’s most senior figures have acquiesced in Trump’s evidence-free claim that the Democrats rigged the election.
That matters. Most directly, it will impair the incoming president as he tries to get to grips with a pandemic that on Thursday saw a record number of new cases in the US – 159,000 in a single day – about which Trump is doing and saying precisely nothing. How can Biden lead if half the country has been primed to believe he is not the rightful president? The Republican rebuttal – that Democrats hardly welcomed Trump in 2016 – trips on one simple fact: Hillary Clinton conceded defeat right away. That is the only way a democratic system can work, with the consent of the loser.
The fear is that Trump and his followers will never give way, that he will remain the head of a “Trumpian government in exile”, as the historian Sean Wilentz puts it, antagonistic to the legitimate, elected government, armed with allies in Congress, sustained via social media and nourished by grievance and the romance of a lost cause: a new, virtual Confederacy.
The word is not wholly hyperbolic because, inevitably in America, so much of this turns on race. When Trump’s cheerleaders locate the supposed voter fraud in Philadelphia or Detroit, their listeners get the message: it’s that black cities are corrupt and, at root, that black people shouldn’t be allowed to decide who gets to be president of the United States. As Barack Obama writes in his upcoming memoir, these are “dark spirits” that have “long been lurking on the edge of the Republican party – xenophobia … paranoid conspiracy theories, an antipathy toward black and brown folks”.
So no, this won’t be a coup like we’ve seen in the movies. But nor can we just laugh it off. Trump is often ridiculous, but he’s no joke.


theguardian--2020-11-13--Making America grrr-eat again: Major and Champ, the Bidens' 'first dogs'

With Joe Biden ’ s election , dignity has been restored to the US presidency : after four years marked by perverse priorities and conspicuous inhumanity , a dog will finally be back in the White House .
When Biden takes office in January , he and his wife Jill will be accompanied by their two German shepherds : Champ , 12 , and Major , 2 .
They are the first dogs to occupy the Oval Office since the departure of Bo and Sunny , the Obamas ’ Portuguese water dogs , in 2016 .
For Champ , adopted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vice-president in 2008 ( and named for a story he used to tell on the campaign trail ) , it will be a homecoming of sorts .
For the rest of America , it concludes a period in presidential history that was actively hostile to man ’ s best friend – “ like a dog ” is one of Trump ’ s favourite putdowns – and reflects a return to founding values .
Major will be the first “ first dog ” to have been adopted from a shelter , two years after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association – a rags-to-riches embodiment of the American dream .
Patrick Carroll , the executive director of the Delaware Humane Association , told the New York Times that Major “ shows the real possibilities for what could happen for all the great dogs who need homes out there ” .
But like other Democratic figureheads before him , Major is already at the centre of a “ fake news ” storm .
A doctored photograph of him was shared on social media this week , forcing AP to publish a fact-check : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t that big.
” In the UK , the Dogs Trust tweeted its congratulations : “ We ’ re politically neutral , but always pro rehoming.
” The two goals are not always exclusive .
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds rescued their Jack Russell-cross Dilyn last year in part to promote Lucy ’ s Law , a crackdown on puppy farms .
Dilyn ’ s arrival at No 10 , coinciding with breakdowns over Brexit , likely also doubled as media strategy : a cute puppy serving as a dead cat .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is especially nuanced , gifting puppies to political allies and letting his big , barky ones intimidate press ( though he has denied knowing of Angela Merkel ’ s phobia before he let his large labrador , Konni , join their meeting ) .
For Biden , Major and Champ have played the more traditional humanising role – though that , in an election win this narrow , might have been enough to give Biden the edge .
In September , a Biden supporter launched a “ Dog Lovers for Joe ” campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humans Wisely ” .
The president-elect himself recognised early on that Trump ’ s views on dogs – as lowly , cringing creatures – was just one of the ways in which he offended polite society .
“ Some Americans celebrate # NationalCatDay , some celebrate # NationalDogDay – President Trump celebrates neither , ” Biden tweeted in October last year .
“ It says a lot .
It ’ s time we put a pet back in the White House.
” ( Jill Biden , meanwhile , opted for “ Build Bark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden campaign slogan . )
Indeed , the Trump presidency was the first in more than 100 years not to feature a ” first dog ” , despite internal encouragement that it would improve his profile .
Trump said last year – part-way through a speech on immigration – he thought the idea “ phony ” .
It might have cost him the White House .
In the last days of the election campaign , Team Joe pushed a “ Bark for Biden ” message featuring a dog bearing a sign : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ( and I ’ m just a dog on Instagram ) ” .

With Joe Biden’s election, dignity has been restored to the US presidency: after four years marked by perverse priorities and conspicuous inhumanity, a dog will finally be back in the White House.
When Biden takes office in January, he and his wife Jill will be accompanied by their two German shepherds: Champ, 12, and Major, 2. They are the first dogs to occupy the Oval Office since the departure of Bo and Sunny, the Obamas’ Portuguese water dogs, in 2016.
For Champ, adopted as a puppy after Biden was elected vice-president in 2008 (and named for a story he used to tell on the campaign trail), it will be a homecoming of sorts.
For the rest of America, it concludes a period in presidential history that was actively hostile to man’s best friend – “like a dog” is one of Trump’s favourite putdowns – and reflects a return to founding values.
The Obamas’ dog Bo laps up media attention at the White House in 2009. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Major will be the first “first dog” to have been adopted from a shelter, two years after the Bidens adopted him from Delaware Humane Association – a rags-to-riches embodiment of the American dream.
Patrick Carroll, the executive director of the Delaware Humane Association, told the New York Times that Major “shows the real possibilities for what could happen for all the great dogs who need homes out there”.
But like other Democratic figureheads before him, Major is already at the centre of a “fake news” storm. A doctored photograph of him was shared on social media this week, forcing AP to publish a fact-check: “America’s soon-to-be first dog isn’t that big.”
Vladimir Putin plays with his dogs Buffy and Yume at his Novo-Ogariovo estate, outside Moscow, in 2013. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
In the UK, the Dogs Trust tweeted its congratulations: “We’re politically neutral, but always pro rehoming.” The two goals are not always exclusive. Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds rescued their Jack Russell-cross Dilyn last year in part to promote Lucy’s Law, a crackdown on puppy farms.
Dilyn’s arrival at No 10, coinciding with breakdowns over Brexit, likely also doubled as media strategy: a cute puppy serving as a dead cat.
Vladimir Putin’s deployment of dogs is especially nuanced, gifting puppies to political allies and letting his big, barky ones intimidate press (though he has denied knowing of Angela Merkel’s phobia before he let his large labrador, Konni, join their meeting).
For Biden, Major and Champ have played the more traditional humanising role – though that, in an election win this narrow, might have been enough to give Biden the edge.
In September, a Biden supporter launched a “Dog Lovers for Joe” campaign with the slogan: “Choose Your Humans Wisely”.
The president-elect himself recognised early on that Trump’s views on dogs – as lowly, cringing creatures – was just one of the ways in which he offended polite society.
“Some Americans celebrate #NationalCatDay, some celebrate #NationalDogDay – President Trump celebrates neither,” Biden tweeted in October last year. “It says a lot. It’s time we put a pet back in the White House.” (Jill Biden, meanwhile, opted for “Build Bark Better”, a play on the Biden campaign slogan.)
Indeed, the Trump presidency was the first in more than 100 years not to feature a ”first dog”, despite internal encouragement that it would improve his profile. Trump said last year – part-way through a speech on immigration – he thought the idea “phony”.
It might have cost him the White House. In the last days of the election campaign, Team Joe pushed a “Bark for Biden” message featuring a dog bearing a sign: “I paid more income tax than Donald Trump (and I’m just a dog on Instagram)”.


theguardian--2020-11-13--'It's not over yet, right?' Trump voters back president's refusal to concede

The red and blue political bunting and yard signs planted on suburban lawns are mostly gone – and with them the outward signs of America ’ s fiercely oppositional election .
But in other respects , the tensions of the 2020 contest remain as acute as they were on polling day for many Trump supporters .
“ Not many care about people as much as Trump , ” said tow-truck driver Vinny Nolan as he took a rest at a highway truck stop near Hackensack , New Jersey .
“ The [ Russia ] collusion bullshit was a set-up .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this virus situation , then they announce a vaccine two days after the election .
Why didn ’ t they do that a week ago ?
He would have won.
” To more than half the country ’ s voters the election is resolved with Democrat Joe Biden as the winner but to a marginally smaller share of Americans it remains an ongoing contest – no matter all the evidence against that .
With Donald Trump as yet unwilling to recognize defeat , and papering swing-states with baseless legal petitions challenging vote counts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they remain behind the president .
A pre-natal office administrator in suburban Rockland county , New York , who preferred to give only her first name – Emily – citing pervasive fears of being shunned for her support , conceded that Trump had failed to adequately address “ the George Floyd thing ” , as she called the killing of a Black American by a white Minneapolis police officer that triggered a summer of unrest and anti-racism protests .
But Emily reasoned that Trump was not fundamentally a politician , a characteristic that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ popularity for many of the 71 million Americans who voted for him on 3 November .
And like many , protesters ’ calls to defund the police had worried her .
“ They talk about the community policing .
But what community ?
No one wants to get involved.
” Ten days after voting closed , Republican voters are at a crossroads over whether to support Trump ’ s unprecedented challenge to the vote counts or to accept defeat by Biden .
Whichever path supporters choose to follow , for many Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enhanced , by the manner of his defeat at the hands of what they regard as a political establishment .
Leo Basa , a veteran from Aerial Lake , Pennsylvania , said he didn ’ t see evidence of a stolen election but politicians “ had made a mockery of the system ” .
“ The tables have turned .
It is Republicans ’ turn to say , ‘ No , you didn ’ t win ’ , just like the Democrats did in 2016 .
It ’ s really a shame .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bickering .
The media has a lot to do with it .
State the facts and just the facts .
I ’ ll make my own opinions.
” On Wednesday , the widely publicized # StopTheSteal campaign was augmented with # stopthetires2020 , a protest by truck drivers billing themselves as a “ bonded group of brothers and sisters to show America who runs the country ” .
With stoppages on Wednesday and later this month , many showed their support on social media , and called on drivers to interrupt deliveries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and food-producing central red states “ to keep the movement going ” .
But on arterial highways leading into the disputed swing-state of Pennsylvania , many truckers said that they had either not heard of the protest , or had no wish to forfeit their daily haulage fees .
“ Who ’ s going to pay me to stop driving ?
said one driver , Ray , at a truck stop on I-80 , which runs from New York through Pennsylvania .
At an election protest rally in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters said they had experienced intimidation .
“ I am reluctant to post anything on social media , ” said IT consultant Elizabeth Clor .
Her husband , Greg Clor , added that Trump supporters “ are actually afraid they will be attacked .
If you say liberal things , that doesn ’ t happen.
” In a campaign office that remained cluttered with Trump-Pence bunting in Stroudsburg , Pennsylvania , the Republican election committee chairman for Monroe county , Thomas Whitehead , told the Guardian that the local party was following the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not over yet , right ?
We ’ re not conceding .
There are lawsuits going on , ” he said .
Monroe county went to Democrats by a margin of around 5 % this year , an increase of four percentage points over 2016 .
Still , Whitehead was keen to point out that besides the top of the ticket , the party had had a “ good year ” in terms of state and national legislative contests .
“ Some people don ’ t understand how we could do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the top secured , ” he said .
In Pennsylvania , Whitehead said Republicans had closed the gap with Democrats in terms of registered voters in the state by as much as 500,000 since Mitt Romney ran in 2012 .
“ Democrats still have a huge advantage but the new registrations are overwhelmingly because of Trump .
They never trusted the party before .
For a significant proportion Trump is who they look to , ” he said .
This weekend , Trump supporters , including members of the far-right Proud Boys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington .
For the moment Whitehead does not plan to march in the streets , at least not while the election results await certification and face legal challenges .
“ Our side has never been the side that goes out to protest , ” Whitehead said .
“ We might go out and do some rallies but we ’ re not going to shut down cities and burn things .
We think he should exhaust all resources to make sure every legal vote is counted .
”

The red and blue political bunting and yard signs planted on suburban lawns are mostly gone – and with them the outward signs of America’s fiercely oppositional election. But in other respects, the tensions of the 2020 contest remain as acute as they were on polling day for many Trump supporters.
“Not many care about people as much as Trump,” said tow-truck driver Vinny Nolan as he took a rest at a highway truck stop near Hackensack, New Jersey. “The [Russia] collusion bullshit was a set-up. He gave everyone money while we iron this virus situation, then they announce a vaccine two days after the election. Why didn’t they do that a week ago? He would have won.”
To more than half the country’s voters the election is resolved with Democrat Joe Biden as the winner but to a marginally smaller share of Americans it remains an ongoing contest – no matter all the evidence against that. With Donald Trump as yet unwilling to recognize defeat, and papering swing-states with baseless legal petitions challenging vote counts, many of his supporters still say they remain behind the president.
03:51 One week on: how Trump handled losing the US election – video report
A pre-natal office administrator in suburban Rockland county, New York, who preferred to give only her first name – Emily – citing pervasive fears of being shunned for her support, conceded that Trump had failed to adequately address “the George Floyd thing”, as she called the killing of a Black American by a white Minneapolis police officer that triggered a summer of unrest and anti-racism protests.
But Emily reasoned that Trump was not fundamentally a politician, a characteristic that lies at the heart of his enduring popularity for many of the 71 million Americans who voted for him on 3 November. And like many, protesters’ calls to defund the police had worried her. “They talk about the community policing. But what community? No one wants to get involved.”
Ten days after voting closed, Republican voters are at a crossroads over whether to support Trump’s unprecedented challenge to the vote counts or to accept defeat by Biden. Whichever path supporters choose to follow, for many Trump’s popularity is undiminished, perhaps even enhanced, by the manner of his defeat at the hands of what they regard as a political establishment.
Leo Basa, a veteran from Aerial Lake, Pennsylvania, said he didn’t see evidence of a stolen election but politicians “had made a mockery of the system”.
“The tables have turned. It is Republicans’ turn to say, ‘No, you didn’t win’, just like the Democrats did in 2016. It’s really a shame. They’re acting like children with the bickering. The media has a lot to do with it. State the facts and just the facts. I’ll make my own opinions.”
On Wednesday, the widely publicized #StopTheSteal campaign was augmented with #stopthetires2020, a protest by truck drivers billing themselves as a “bonded group of brothers and sisters to show America who runs the country”.
With stoppages on Wednesday and later this month, many showed their support on social media, and called on drivers to interrupt deliveries to coastal Democrat-controlled states from the industrial and food-producing central red states “to keep the movement going”.
But on arterial highways leading into the disputed swing-state of Pennsylvania, many truckers said that they had either not heard of the protest, or had no wish to forfeit their daily haulage fees.
Trump supporters demonstrate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Edward Helmore/The Guardian
“Who’s going to pay me to stop driving? said one driver, Ray, at a truck stop on I-80, which runs from New York through Pennsylvania.
At an election protest rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, soon after the election was called, Trump supporters said they had experienced intimidation. “I am reluctant to post anything on social media,” said IT consultant Elizabeth Clor. Her husband, Greg Clor, added that Trump supporters “are actually afraid they will be attacked. If you say liberal things, that doesn’t happen.”
In a campaign office that remained cluttered with Trump-Pence bunting in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, the Republican election committee chairman for Monroe county, Thomas Whitehead, told the Guardian that the local party was following the president’s line.
“It’s not over yet, right? We’re not conceding. There are lawsuits going on,” he said.
Monroe county went to Democrats by a margin of around 5% this year, an increase of four percentage points over 2016. Still, Whitehead was keen to point out that besides the top of the ticket, the party had had a “good year” in terms of state and national legislative contests.
“Some people don’t understand how we could do so well in other things and not have the top secured,” he said.
In Pennsylvania, Whitehead said Republicans had closed the gap with Democrats in terms of registered voters in the state by as much as 500,000 since Mitt Romney ran in 2012. “Democrats still have a huge advantage but the new registrations are overwhelmingly because of Trump. They never trusted the party before. For a significant proportion Trump is who they look to,” he said.
This weekend, Trump supporters, including members of the far-right Proud Boys group, are planning a march on Washington. For the moment Whitehead does not plan to march in the streets, at least not while the election results await certification and face legal challenges.
“Our side has never been the side that goes out to protest,” Whitehead said. “We might go out and do some rallies but we’re not going to shut down cities and burn things. We think he should exhaust all resources to make sure every legal vote is counted.”


theguardian--2020-11-14--Trump supporters set for Washington rally as president refuses to concede – live

Fox News is coming in for criticism over a promotional video in which its opinion hosts echo Donald Trump ’ s baseless claims about the presidential election , which he lost to Joe Biden but which he refuses to concede .
“ Oh my god , ” Andrew Laurence of Media Matters for America , a liberal media watchdog group , wrote on Twitter .
“ Fox is running a promo of their ‘ opinion ’ hosts casting doubt on the election results and I guess trying to keep their rabid viewers sated.
” In the short video , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voices America trusts ” .
Laura Ingraham is shown first , saying : “ These legal efforts are critical.
” That is a reference to cases Trump aides have mounted in key battleground states , alleging without significant evidence voter fraud and ballot irregularities and seeking to overturn results via recounts .
Such efforts have met with little success and experts say they are almost guaranteed to fail .
Trump is more than 5m votes down in the popular vote and lost the electoral college to Biden by 306-232 , the same score @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 , in what he has claimed was a landslide .
On the Fox News video , Tucker Carlson appears next .
“ There are apparent irregularities , ” he says .
“ The media mob , and the Democrats , they lie , ” says Sean Hannity .
“ Speaking up for you , and the issues that matter most to the people , ” says the announcer .
“ They thought there would be a blue wave , not the case , ” says Steve Doocy of Fox & Friends , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in fact pointing to an electoral truth : that Trump attracted the most votes of any sitting president , staving off a landslide defeat , and that Republicans made gains at state level and in the US House and look likely to retain control of the Senate .
“ You ’ re gon na see something even bigger than Trump in 2022 and 2024 , ” says Greg Gutfeld , referring to the next two election years .
“ The truth does need to come out , ” says Ingraham .
“ Can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have America back ?
” asks Carlson .
“ Fox News , ” the announcer says .
“ America is watching.
” Oliver Darcy , of CNN , wrote that the Fox News video “ appears to be part of a bid to hold onto its bleeding audience – an audience that refuses to believe reality , in large part because Fox has primed millions to distrust credible news sources ” .
Such conspiracy theories have crossed into Fox ’ s “ straight ” news operation since the election was declared for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days after the result was called , Media Matters said , Fox News “ cast doubt on or pushed conspiracy theories about the election results at least 255 times .
A review by Media Matters found 111 such claims on Fox ’ s ‘ straight news ’ shows and 144 claims on the network ’ s opinion shows ” .
“ Where are the adults at Fox ?
” Darcy asked .
“ Why aren ’ t they getting their talent under control ?
Well , this ad makes it clear : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have .
In fact , they ’ re so proud of the undemocratic commentary , they ’ re happy to showcase it in an ad .
They really have no shame .
”

Bryan Armen Graham in New York (now) and Martin Pengelly (earlier)

14 Nov 2020 22.33 GMT David Smith Our Washington bureau chief had a ride in the presidential motorcade today, as White House pool reporter. Here’s another taste of his sketch, now launched… The motorcade did a lap of Freedom Plaza, where people had climbed walls and other structures for a better view, and turned at the Ronald Reagan Building. Trump’s own hotel was not far away. There were chants of “USA! USA!”, “We want Trump! We want Trump!” and, somewhat optimistically, “Four more years! Four more years!” It was reminiscent of Trump’s strange pre-election drive-by of supporters outside Walter Reed military hospital, when he was under treatment for Covid-19. A few enthusiasts chased the motorcade, perhaps hoping for a last glimpse of Maga magic before the lights go out. The view from the motorcade was a reminder that, having spent four years surrounded by sycophantic cabinet members, soaking up the adulation of crowds at endless rallies and consuming constant praise from conservative media, Trump may have thought he was truly loved by the vast majority of Americans. The election result would have come as a very rude awakening. No wonder he still can’t quite believe it. Driving Mr Donald – White House excursion reveals a presidency pushing up daisies Read more
14 Nov 2020 21.51 GMT Agence France Presse has an interesting report about Christopher Miller, Donald Trump’s new acting defense secretary, indicating that he could accelerate the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the Middle East.
All wars must end,” Miller said in his first message to the US armed services. He said the US is committed to defeating al-Qaida, 19 years after the 9/11 attacks, and is “on the verge” of doing so. “Many are weary of war – I’m one of them,” Miller wrote in the message, dated Friday but posted early Saturday on the defense department website. “But this is the critical phase in which we transition our efforts from a leadership to supporting role. Ending wars requires compromise and partnership. We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it’s time to come home.” Miller did not mention specific troop deployments but appeared to single out Afghanistan and Iraq, where US troops were deployed after 9/11. A former US special forces officer and counterterrorism expert, Miller was named to lead the Department of Defense after Trump fired Mark Esper. Trump has been pressing to pull forces out of both countries since he came into office four years ago. Any such action would have to come in the 67 days before Biden takes office on 20 January. Trump has tweeted that he wants the troops “home by Christmas”. National security adviser Robert O’Brien has said the goal is to cut to 2,500 in Afghanistan by February.
Critics say this removes any leverage on the Taliban insurgents to halt attacks that continue amid scant progress in peace talks with the Afghan government.
14 Nov 2020 21.31 GMT From the Trump motorcade… David Smith Our Washington bureau chief has been traveling with Donald Trump today, as White House pool reporter. Here’s a taste of David’s sketch, coming soon in full… It was a jarring few minutes of seeing the world through Donald Trump’s eyes and indulging his fantasies. As the White House pool reporter, taking a turn to shadow the US president for print media outlets, the Guardian found itself at the back of Trump’s motorcade rolling out of the executive mansion grounds on to Pennsylvania Avenue. At 10am the dozen black shiny vehicles with flashing blue and red lights were greeted by a sight seldom seen in Washington, usually a Democratic bastion: hundreds of Trump supporters, cheering and clapping, whistling and whooping, punching the air and hailing their idol as if he had in fact won a glorious victory over Joe Biden. What a difference from the previous Saturday when Trump returned from a round of golf to be jeered and booed by denizens of the capital who had just learned that he had been fired by the electorate. Some foreign observers compared the scene to Paris after the liberation or a Middle East autocracy that had overthrown its dictator. But a week later, with Trump adding election defeat to the coronavirus disaster and climate crisis as truths that must be denied, supporters – and far-right groups including the extremist Proud Boys – poured into town to endorse his baseless claims that the election was stolen from him… More to come from David. In the meantime, here’s our current lead report, including some of David’s work for the pool… Trump supporters gather in Washington as president refuses to concede to Biden Read more
14 Nov 2020 20.37 GMT Anti-Trump protester describes scuffle with supporters of president Victoria Bekiempis Activists in Washington on Saturday to protest Trump’s attacks on the election and refusal to concede defeat by Joe Biden say supporters of the president attacked them. Sunsara Taylor, a spokeswoman and co-founder of RefuseFascism.org, told the Guardian her group was part of a nationwide protest to “stand on the victory of his electoral defeat … to expose, oppose Trump’s attempt to overturn this election.” After RefuseFacism.org announced their protest, Taylor said, word of Saturday’s pro-Trump Million MAGA March emerged. “We thought it was even more important that they not be allowed to dominate the public square and the public discourse,” she said. Around 11.15am this morning, Taylor said, around 15 to 20 activists convened at the west end of Freedom Plaza, near the White House, and started setting up signs. Because there were a lot of Trump supporters around it was “elbow-to-elbow” crowded, she said, so the activists decided to move into the street. “His mob of supporters descended on us as soon as we set off,” Taylor said. “They assaulted some of us. They grabbed. They shoved. Every single person had hands put on them by multiple MAGA meatheads, but we held it together. We marched together. We chanted: ‘Trump pack your shit!’” The #MillionMAGAMarch is officially starting in about half an hour, but violence has already broken out.
I’ll have a complete recording up later, but @RefuseFascism came to protest and was physically pushed out by Trump supporters. Some fighting ensued. pic.twitter.com/DdKgb49gLS — Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) November 14, 2020 “It was like a pack of piranhas who circled,” Taylor said, adding that Trump supporters voiced anti-gay, racist and misogynistic insults. “It’s really in keeping with Trump, who celebrated white supremacy and sexual assault. “We raised our banners. We raised our signs. We chanted and when it became clear that they were so physical, we moved together … and moved further down the street.” Over the course of several blocks, she said, about 100 Trump supporters swarmed the anti-fascist protesters. “At times, there’d be five guys grabbing one woman,” Taylor said. No one was seriously injured. Taylor’s group then regathered, she said, in Black Lives Matter Plaza, the stretch of 16 Street NW near the White House which was renamed this summer.


theguardian--2020-11-14--US sees record 184,000 new daily Covid cases as Trump politicises vaccine effort

The US set yet another daily record for new coronavirus cases on Friday , topping 184,000 , while Donald Trump promised imminent distribution of a vaccine – except to New York , which he threatened to leave out for political reasons – and the president-elect , Joe Biden , pleaded with Americans to follow basic mitigation measures .
According to Johns Hopkins University , 184,514 new cases were recorded on Friday , up from 153,496 on Thursday .
More than 10.7 million cases have been recorded in total and more than 244,000 people have died .
Deaths are also increasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the highest toll in 1o days if more than a thousand less than the highest such toll , from April .
At the White House , in his first remarks since losing the election to Biden , Trump said he expected a vaccine developed by Pfizer to receive emergency use authorisation “ extremely soon ” , and to be available to the general population by April .
He also said the federal government would not deliver the vaccine to New York , because its governor , Andrew Cuomo , “ doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
Trump and Cuomo have clashed frequently during the pandemic .
Cuomo told MSNBC : “ None of what he said is true , surprise surprise .
We ’ re all excited about the possibilities about a vaccine.
” Trump also took a shot at Pfizer , saying its statement that it was not part of Operation Warp Speed , the federal vaccine effort , was “ an unfortunate misrepresentation ” .
Pfizer did not receive support for research or manufacturing of the vaccine , but has agreed to sell its vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the company was proud to be part of Operation Warp Speed “ as a supplier of a potential Covid-19 vaccine ” .
If Trump ’ s timeline for the Pfizer vaccine holds , he will be out of power by the time it is distributed to the general population .
Trump has not conceded defeat to Biden and is mounting legal challenges to results in battleground states .
But he has little to no chance of success and Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president in Washington on 20 January .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Biden has named his own Covid taskforce .
On Friday one member , Dr Celine Grounder , alluded to delays in providing national security briefings to Biden caused by Trump ’ s refusal to concede when she told CNN the virus was now “ essentially a national security threat [ because ] Americans are getting infected and sickened by coronavirus , dying from coronavirus , and how the economy is being impacted by the coronavirus.
” “ The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar , ” he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I renew my call for every American , regardless of where they live or who they voted for , to step up and do their part on social distancing , hand washing , and mask wearing.
” With winter closing in , socialising moving indoors and case numbers reaching levels regularly warned of by Dr Anthony Fauci , a widely trusted public health expert with whom Trump has regularly clashed , states across the Republican midwest are struggling badly .
Hospital resources are stretched and governors have appealed for help .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DeWine , the governor of Ohio , told the Wall Street Journal .
“ We ’ ve never seen anything like this .
Our spring surge and summer surge were nowhere like this.
” Another Republican , Doug Bergum of North Dakota , ordered a statewide mask mandate and imposed business restrictions .
In Nevada , Democratic governor Steve Sisolak has tested positive .
Elsewhere , the governors of New Mexico and Oregon have ordered strict social limitations .
Imposing a two-week stay-at-home order , Michelle Lujan Grisham , the Democratic governor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are in a life-or-death situation , and if we don ’ t act right now , we can not preserve the lives , we can ’ t keep saving lives , and we will absolutely crush our current healthcare system and infrastructure .
On the east coast , New York could close public schools on Monday while Ned Lamont , the governor of Connecticut , has entered quarantine after an aide tested positive .
On the national stage , Trump said : “ Ideally we won ’ t go to a lockdown .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not be going to a lockdown .
Hopefully the – whatever happens in the future , who knows which administration will be .
“ I guess time will tell .
But I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown.
” Biden has promised to follow advice from scientists about new social restrictions , although he walked back an initial statement that he would go back into widespread lockdown if so advised .
He supports a national mask mandate .
Several dozen US Secret Service agents have contracted the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staffing events at the White House and on the campaign trail at which mitigation measures were not enforced .
Trump , members of his family , cabinet members and senior aides and top Republicans have tested positive .
In September , the president spent three days in the hospital .
One scientific model predicts more than 400,000 deaths by March .
Two weeks ago , in an interview with the Washington Post , Fauci warned of a winter of more than 100,000 new cases a day and said the country was in for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now , US has recorded more than 100,000 cases a day for 10 days running .

The US set yet another daily record for new coronavirus cases on Friday, topping 184,000, while Donald Trump promised imminent distribution of a vaccine – except to New York, which he threatened to leave out for political reasons – and the president-elect, Joe Biden, pleaded with Americans to follow basic mitigation measures.
According to Johns Hopkins University, 184,514 new cases were recorded on Friday, up from 153,496 on Thursday. More than 10.7 million cases have been recorded in total and more than 244,000 have died. Deaths are also increasing: 1,431 were reported on Friday, the highest toll in 10 days if more than a thousand less than the highest such toll, from April.
At the White House, in his first remarks since losing the election to Biden, Trump said he expected a vaccine developed by Pfizer to receive emergency use authorisation “extremely soon”, and to be available to the general population by April.
He also said the federal government would not deliver the vaccine to New York, because its governor, Andrew Cuomo, “doesn’t trust where the vaccine is coming from”. Trump and Cuomo have clashed frequently during the pandemic.
Cuomo told MSNBC: “None of what he said is true, surprise surprise. We’re all excited about the possibilities about a vaccine.”
The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar. It is accelerating right now Joe Biden
Trump also took a shot at Pfizer, saying its statement that it was not part of Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccine effort, was “an unfortunate misrepresentation”. Pfizer did not receive support for research or manufacturing, but has agreed to sell its vaccine to the federal government. A spokeswoman said the company was proud to be part of Operation Warp Speed “as a supplier of a potential Covid-19 vaccine”.
If Trump’s timeline for the vaccine holds, he will be out of power by the time it is distributed to the general population. Trump has not conceded defeat and is mounting legal challenges in battleground states. But he has little to no chance of success and Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president in Washington on 20 January.
Preparing for government from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden has named his own Covid taskforce. On Friday one member, Dr Celine Grounder, alluded to delays in providing national security briefings to Biden caused by Trump’s refusal to concede when she told CNN the virus was now “essentially a national security threat [because] Americans are getting infected and sickened by coronavirus, dying from coronavirus, and how the economy is being impacted by the coronavirus”.
Shortly before Trump spoke, Biden issued a statement with a conspicuously presidential tone.
“The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar,” he said. “It is accelerating right now. I renew my call for every American, regardless of where they live or who they voted for, to step up and do their part on social distancing, hand-washing, and mask-wearing.”
With winter closing in, socialising moving indoors and case numbers reaching levels regularly warned of by Dr Anthony Fauci, a widely trusted expert with whom Trump has regularly clashed, states across the Republican midwest are struggling. Hospital resources are stretched and governors have appealed for help.
“It’s on fire,” Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, told the Wall Street Journal. “We’ve never seen anything like this. Our spring surge and summer surge were nowhere like this.”
Another Republican, Doug Bergum of North Dakota, ordered a mask mandate and imposed business restrictions. In Nevada, the Democratic governor, Steve Sisolak, tested positive.
The governors of New Mexico and Oregon have ordered strict social limitations. Imposing a two-week stay-at-home order, Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, said: “We are in a life-or-death situation, and if we don’t act right now, we cannot preserve the lives, we can’t keep saving lives, and we will absolutely crush our current healthcare system and infrastructure.”
Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown, also a Democrat, said: “This situation is dangerous, and our hospitals have been sounding the alarm. I know this is hard, and we are weary. But we are trying to stop this ferocious virus from quickly spreading far and wide.”
In Idaho, Governor Brad Little, a Republican, has enlisted the state national guard to assist in pandemic response and slowed reopening plans.
On the east coast, Ned Lamont, the governor of Connecticut, entered quarantine after an aide tested positive. In New York, public schools could close on Monday while New York City’s courthouses, which may be the busiest in the US, are imposing restrictions on in-person proceedings, after positive tests were recorded among court employees.
00:46 Donald Trump comes close to admitting defeat but stops short – video
Cuomo said he would meet with leaders of six north-eastern states, to figure out supplemental steps.
On the national stage, Trump said: “Ideally we won’t go to a lockdown. I will not go – this administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully the – whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration will be.
“I guess time will tell. But I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown.”
Biden has promised to follow advice from scientists about new social restrictions, although he walked back an initial statement that he would go back into widespread lockdown if so advised. He supports a national mask mandate.
Several dozen US Secret Service agents have contracted the virus, probably as a result of staffing events at the White House and on the campaign trail at which mitigation measures were not enforced. Trump, members of his family, cabinet members and senior aides and top Republicans have tested positive. In October, the president spent three days in hospital.
One scientific model predicts more than 400,000 deaths by March. Two weeks ago, in an interview with the Washington Post, Fauci warned of a winter of more than 100,000 new cases a day and said the country was in for “a whole lot of hurt”. The US has now recorded more than 100,000 cases a day for 10 days running.