theguardian--2020-10-18--Buttigieg to Fox News Sunday: Barrett nomination puts my marriage in danger

Pete Buttigieg , a former challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination and a member of Joe Biden ’ s transition team , believes his own marriage is under threat from Donald Trump ’ s supreme court nominee , Amy Coney Barrett .
Speaking on Fox News Sunday , Buttigieg , who married his husband Chasten in 2018 , indicated that the court ’ s 2015 decision that made same-sex marriage legal was among a number of rulings a strong conservative majority could look to overturn .
Republicans are seeking to seat Barrett before the 3 November general election .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on forwarding the nomination to a full floor vote .
“ Right now as we speak the pre-existing condition [ healthcare ] coverage of millions of Americans might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice , ” Buttigieg said .
“ My marriage might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice .
So many issues are on the line.
” The right to same-sex marriage were enshrined in Obergefell v Hodges , the culmination of a years-long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decided by the landmark 5-4 ruling .
Buttigieg , a former mayor of South Bend , Indiana , said Republicans pushing through Barrett ’ s nomination days before the election , in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic , sent the wrong message to voters .
“ It ’ s not in the spirit of our constitution , or our legal system , or political system for them to do this , ” he said .
“ Most Americans believe that the American people ought to have a say .
We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s coming up , we ’ re in the middle of an election , millions of Americans are voting and want their voice to be heard.
” He added : “ There ’ s an enormous amount of frustration that this Senate can ’ t even bring itself , with Mitch McConnell , to vote through a Covid relief package .
People are suffering , people are hurting , there ’ s no clear end in sight .
“ There ’ s been a bill we brought to them months ago coming out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t touch it , they won ’ t do anything but suddenly they have time to rush through a nomination that the American people don ’ t want .
“ Whatever specific word you use for it , wrong is the word I would use.
” Buttigieg defended himself against a claim from Wallace that he had talked about expanding the court to 15 justices , so-called court packing .
“ My views haven ’ t changed , ” he said .
“ Bipartisan reform with the purpose of reducing the politicisation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea .
Let ’ s also be clear that a president can ’ t just snap their fingers and do it .
”

Pete Buttigieg, a former challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination and a member of Joe Biden’s transition team, believes his own marriage is under threat from Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Buttigieg, who married his husband Chasten in 2018, indicated that the court’s 2015 decision that made same-sex marriage legal was among a number of rulings a strong conservative majority could look to overturn.
Republicans are seeking to seat Barrett before the 3 November general election. The Senate judiciary committee will vote this week on forwarding the nomination to a full floor vote.
“Right now as we speak the pre-existing condition [healthcare] coverage of millions of Americans might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice,” Buttigieg said.
“My marriage might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice. So many issues are on the line.”
The right to same-sex marriage were enshrined in Obergefell v Hodges, the culmination of a years-long fight incorporating challenges from several states and decided by the landmark 5-4 ruling.
Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said Republicans pushing through Barrett’s nomination days before the election, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, sent the wrong message to voters.
“It’s not in the spirit of our constitution, or our legal system, or political system for them to do this,” he said. “Most Americans believe that the American people ought to have a say. We’re not talking about an election that’s coming up, we’re in the middle of an election, millions of Americans are voting and want their voice to be heard.”
He added: “There’s an enormous amount of frustration that this Senate can’t even bring itself, with Mitch McConnell, to vote through a Covid relief package. People are suffering, people are hurting, there’s no clear end in sight.
“There’s been a bill we brought to them months ago coming out of the house, they won’t touch it, they won’t do anything but suddenly they have time to rush through a nomination that the American people don’t want.
“Whatever specific word you use for it, wrong is the word I would use.”
Buttigieg defended himself against a claim from Wallace that he had talked about expanding the court to 15 justices, so-called court packing.
“My views haven’t changed,” he said. “Bipartisan reform with the purpose of reducing the politicisation of the supreme court is a really promising idea. Let’s also be clear that a president can’t just snap their fingers and do it.”


theguardian--2020-10-18--Gretchen Whitmer: Trump 'inciting domestic terrorism' with 'Lock her up!' rally chant

Gretchen Whitmer , the governor of Michigan who was the subject of a rightwing plot to kidnap and possibly kill her over coronavirus lockdown measures , has accused Donald Trump of “ inspiring and incentivising domestic terrorism ” .
Whitmer spoke after Lara Trump , a campaign surrogate for her father-in-law , insisted the president was merely “ having fun ” when he attacked Whitmer and responded to chants of “ Lock her up !
” at a rally in Muskegon .
“ Lock ’ em all up , ” the president said .
On Sunday , on NBC ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked about the coronavirus situation in her state and Trump ’ s encouragement of the chants against her .
“ It ’ s incredibly disturbing , ” she said , “ that the president of the United States , 10 days after a plot to kidnap me , put me on trial and execute me was uncovered , the president is at it again and inspiring and incentivising and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism .
“ It is wrong .
It ’ s got to end .
It is dangerous not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans .
People of goodwill on both sides of the aisle need to step up and call this out and bring the heat down .
“ This is the United States of America .
We do not tolerate actions like he has given comfort to and that ’ s why we all have to be in this together.
” In Muskegon , Trump targeted Whitmer several times , criticising state rules on the coronavirus , calling the governor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the plot that was foiled by the FBI .
Thirteen men have been charged in connection with the plot , which included plans to storm the state capitol and hold some kind of trial .
Trump took credit for federal law enforcement ’ s role in foiling the plot .
“ They said she was threatened , ” he said .
“ And she blamed me .
Hopefully you ’ ll be sending her packing pretty soon.
” The chant of “ Lock her up !
” was a reprise of chants Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 campaign .
Whitmer ’ s digital director , Tori Saylor , responded on Twitter , writing : “ Every single time the president does this at a rally , the violent rhetoric towards her immediately escalates on social media .
It has to stop .
It just has to.
” Lee Chatfield , the Republican speaker of the Michigan house , wrote : “ Trump didn ’ t chant ‘ lock her up ’ about our governor .
But others did and it was wrong .
She was literally just targeted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s win elections .
But not that.
” But Lara Trump told CNN ’ s State of the Union on Sunday the president “ wasn ’ t doing anything I don ’ t think to provoke people to threaten this woman at all .
He was having fun at a Trump rally and quite frankly , there are bigger issues than this right now for everyday Americans people … he wasn ’ t encouraging people to threaten this woman , that ’ s ridiculous.
” The president ’ s daughter-in-law also said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show people my social media and the threats against me , the threats against my children.
” Michigan added 1,791 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday , bringing its seven-day total past 10,000 , a record .
Wisconsin , where Trump campaigned later , reported 3,861 new cases on Friday , also a record .
Trump slammed anti-coronavirus measures .
“ You got to get your governor to open your state and get your schools open , ” he said in Muskegon .
“ The schools have to be open , right ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ been infected in the US and nearly 220,000 have died .
Joe Biden continues to hammer Trump for his response .
“ All President Trump is offering the people of Michigan is more lies and distractions , ” the Democratic nominee said .
“ No plan to get the virus under control , no strategy for pulling our economy out of this recession , no vision for uniting the country.
” Trump told both his rallies Biden would “ shut down the country , delay the vaccine and prolong the pandemic ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corner .
Michigan and Wisconsin are key battleground states in the fight for the electoral college .
Trump won both as he took the presidency despite losing the national popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3m ballots .
He is behind in both states this year .

Martin Pengelly in New York and agencies

Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan who was the subject of a rightwing plot to kidnap and possibly kill her over coronavirus lockdown measures, has accused Donald Trump of “inspiring and incentivising domestic terrorism”.
Whitmer spoke after Lara Trump, a campaign surrogate for her father-in-law, insisted the president was merely “having fun” when he attacked Whitmer and responded to chants of “Lock her up!” at a rally in Muskegon.
“Lock ’em all up,” the president said.
On Sunday, on NBC’s Meet the Press, Whitmer was asked about the coronavirus situation in her state and Trump’s encouragement of the chants against her.
“It’s incredibly disturbing,” she said, “that the president of the United States, 10 days after a plot to kidnap me, put me on trial and execute me was uncovered, the president is at it again and inspiring and incentivising and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism.
“It is wrong. It’s got to end. It is dangerous not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans. People of goodwill on both sides of the aisle need to step up and call this out and bring the heat down.
It is dangerous not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere Gretchen Whitmer
“This is the United States of America. We do not tolerate actions like he has given comfort to and that’s why we all have to be in this together.”
In Muskegon, Trump targeted Whitmer several times, criticising state rules on the coronavirus, calling the governor “dishonest” and making light of the plot that was foiled by the FBI.
Thirteen men have been charged in connection with the plot, which included plans to storm the state capitol and hold some kind of trial. Trump took credit for federal law enforcement’s role in foiling the plot.
“They said she was threatened,” he said. “And she blamed me. Hopefully you’ll be sending her packing pretty soon.”
The chant of “Lock her up!” was a reprise of chants Trump supporters aimed at Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 campaign.
Whitmer’s digital director, Tori Saylor, responded on Twitter, writing: “Every single time the president does this at a rally, the violent rhetoric towards her immediately escalates on social media. It has to stop. It just has to.”
Lee Chatfield, the Republican speaker of the Michigan house, wrote: “Trump didn’t chant ‘lock her up’ about our governor. But others did and it was wrong. She was literally just targeted. Let’s debate differences. Let’s win elections. But not that.”
But Lara Trump told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday the president “wasn’t doing anything I don’t think to provoke people to threaten this woman at all. He was having fun at a Trump rally and quite frankly, there are bigger issues than this right now for everyday Americans people … he wasn’t encouraging people to threaten this woman, that’s ridiculous.”
The president’s daughter-in-law also said: “Well gosh I would like to show people my social media and the threats against me, the threats against my children.”
Donald Trump speaks in Muskegon, Michigan. Photograph: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
Michigan added 1,791 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, bringing its seven-day total past 10,000, a record. Wisconsin, where Trump campaigned later, reported 3,861 new cases on Friday, also a record. Trump slammed anti-coronavirus measures.
“You got to get your governor to open your state and get your schools open,” he said in Muskegon. “The schools have to be open, right?”
More than 8 million people have been infected in the US and nearly 220,000 have died. Joe Biden continues to hammer Trump for his response.
“All President Trump is offering the people of Michigan is more lies and distractions,” the Democratic nominee said. “No plan to get the virus under control, no strategy for pulling our economy out of this recession, no vision for uniting the country.”
Trump told both his rallies Biden would “shut down the country, delay the vaccine and prolong the pandemic”, and insisted the country was turning the corner.
Michigan and Wisconsin are key battleground states in the fight for the electoral college. Trump won both as he took the presidency despite losing the national popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3m ballots. He is behind in both states this year.


theguardian--2020-10-18--'Visionary success': Jonathan Alter makes the case for Jimmy Carter

“ It is difficult , ” wrote David Remnick , editor of the New Yorker , “ to overstate the psychological overload that the drama of the Trump presidency presents.
” Millions are feeling it and looking for escape .
Jonathan Alter found his in the life and times of another president : Jimmy Carter .
He recalls : “ Every time I felt the toxicity of Trump I could retreat to the Carter Library .
The Carter papers kind of brushed away the toxins that I was feeling surrounding me.
” The upshot is His Very Best : Jimmy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full-length independent biography of the 39th president , who shares little with the 45th except that both won the White House as political outsiders and both became desperately unpopular ( Carter ’ s approval rating sank to 28 % ) .
Polls currently suggest both may last one term .
Speaking from his home in Montclair , New Jersey , Alter says : “ I sent Carter an email saying , ‘ Do you think you have anything in common with Donald Trump ?
’ and I got back a one word response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their character , achievements , sense of responsibility , Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump have nothing in common.
” Indeed , Carter ’ s never-to-be-forgotten remark to Playboy during his 1976 election campaign – “ I have looked on a lot of women with lust ; I ’ ve committed adultery in my heart many times ” – now seems a model of decorum compared with Trump ’ s advice on Access Hollywood : “ Grab ’ em by the pussy .
You can do anything.
” Carter ’ s life spans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a barefoot farm boy – and son of a white supremacist – in the Jim Crow south to watching a nation convulsed by the killing of George Floyd .
He took office in 1977 , the year Star Wars dominated cinemas , Björn Borg won Wimbledon and Joe Biden was a dynamic young senator from Delaware .
Now 96 , Carter is the longest-lived president and , Alter contends , perhaps the most misunderstood .
Conventional wisdom holds that he was a genial failure whose defeat by Ronald Reagan was sealed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his claim to have been attacked by a “ vicious-looking , oversized swamp rabbit ” while fishing .
The same orthodoxy says he had a redemptive second act in public health and human rights advocacy around the world .
But Alter ’ s first surprise is his book cover : a portrait by Andy Warhol .
“ There was a time when Jimmy Carter was cool , ” says the author , who has previously chronicled Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama .
“ Hunter Thompson [ the gonzo journalist ] liked him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president .
He was genuinely friendly with Gregg Allman and Willie Nelson and spent time with and was admired by Bob Dylan and many other musicians from a lot of different genres .
“ Even though playing a musical instrument is just about the only skill that Jimmy Carter doesn ’ t have , he ’ s a great music fan and did a lot to advance musicians when he was president .
The music that he played in the Oval Office , and in his study just off the Oval Office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the evening , he would play country music or rock ’ n ’ roll.
” This year has also seen the release of a documentary , Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President .
This is not the Georgia peanut farmer of public perception .
Alter adds : “ He was treated by a lot of the press corps as a hick .
A lot of anti-southern bias partly accounts for the Carter presidency , but he actually had one of the most cultured White House schedules of events of any president .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stocks of former presidents rise and fall .
Abraham Lincoln remains the gold standard .
Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower are enjoying a bull run .
Thomas Jefferson , Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson are nosediving amid racial reckoning .
Bill Clinton is said to be a good bet for future reappraisal .
Alter argues that Carter is ripe for it too .
“ I describe Jimmy Carter as a political and stylistic failure , especially in comparison to Ronald Reagan , his successor , but a substantive and far-sighted , even visionary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because people have overstressed his unpopularity and underemphasised his actual achievements as president .
The extraordinary thing is how many of them there are.
” Alter points to overseas accomplishments such as the 1978 Camp David accords , ending a conflict between Egypt and Israel that had included four wars in 30 years ; the normalisation of relations with China , which “ provided the foundation for the global economy as we know it ” ; establishing human rights as a pillar of foreign policy ; and the Panama Canal treaties , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The author acknowledges in his “ warts and all ” telling , however , that allowing the deposed shah of Iran into the US on humanitarian grounds was “ the worst decision of Carter ’ s presidency ” .
He had been duped into believing the shah could not receive adequate medical attention elsewhere .
The blunder precipitated the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran , with American diplomats held hostage for 444 days .
“ The second worst decision , ” Alter says , “ was to fire a good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1979 , and that went really badly and was a dumb decision for a lot of reasons.
” Domestically , however , Carter diversified the federal judiciary and signed 14 major pieces of environmental legislation , overseeing the first fuel economy standards and first toxic waste clean-up .
He led by example on renewable energy , installing solar panels at the White House , only for Reagan to take them down with Trumpian spite .
Alter tantalises the reader with the thought of an alternative universe in which Carter wins a second term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – a depressing exercise in what might have been .
He notes the president asked top environmental aides to produce a series of reports about the challenges the world would face in 20 years ’ time .
“ The final reports , which were issued in late 1980 and early 1981 just before he left , were about a problem that scientists were calling ‘ carbon pollution ’ or , in a few cases , ‘ global warming ’ .
The main recommendation was that the world would need to bring the rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 2C above pre-industrial levels if the planet was to not be grievously harmed by global warming .
That was precisely the standard adopted in the Paris climate accords .
“ So in 1980 , Carter knew what had to be done .
At that point he had already put in fuel economy standards that would have led to hybrid cars mandated by the late 1980s .
Our entire auto industry and therefore , I think , the auto industry of the world would have shifted to hybrids in a short period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposition from car manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry , of course .
Alter argues : “ Would he have been able to get all of his ideas for dealing with global warming enacted ?
No .
Would he have raised the alarm ?
Yes .
At least we would have had a president who was interested in the science .
Reagan and George HW Bush didn ’ t care at all about global warming .
We lost a lot of time there.
” Carter ’ s relationship with Reagan , Bush and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but proved thorny all the same .
A 2009 photo shows Carter back in the Oval Office with George HW Bush , Clinton , George W Bush and Obama .
Perhaps most striking about the image is that Carter is awkwardly peripheral on one end , more distant from Clinton than he ought to be .
According to Alter , it is no coincidence .
“ He ’ s not a member in good standing of the ex-presidents ’ club .
In that picture he is standing off to the side and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told by another former president that that was a perfect reflection of the actual situation .
That day in general , Carter would want to be talking about his agenda and they were there to give President-elect Obama good-natured advice on what to expect , not to press their agenda .
“ Carter often said whatever was on his mind and was critical of his successors .
He had a very good relationship with his predecessor , Gerald Ford , but had fraught relations with his successors , especially the Democratic ones , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Carter wanting to be a freelance secretary of state and , when you ’ re president , you really don ’ t want freelance secretaries of state.
” Alter , 63 , interviewed the nonagenarian Carter more than a dozen times in his home , at his office , over meals , in transit and by email , over five years .
He watched him teach Sunday school and helped him build a Habitat for Humanity house .
What were his impressions of the man ?
“ He was and continues to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he reflects .
“ He ’ s extremely impressive when you spend time with him because of his surpassing intelligence and his ability to charm people up close , which made him a great retail campaigner .
“ But I would see flashes of the other Carter , the private Carter who might be snappish or commanding in a way that some people can find , if not offensive , at least surprising given what they know about Jimmy Carter.
” He continues : “ Generally he is a person of stellar character @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When I was dealing with him by email , I would sometimes send him him 10 questions , I ’ d go out for a walk , I ’ d come back and he would have answered all 10 of them within an hour .
“ His punctuality was always there .
So if I was scheduled to be with him for an hour , at one hour and 30 seconds , the interview was over .
He ’ s an extraordinarily disciplined person .
But he had trouble talking about certain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , I really can only express my truest feelings in poetry.
” Carter ’ s post-presidency spans four decades , his marriage to Rosalynn 74 years .
The couple live in Plains , a tiny town in Georgia where they met as infants , so long ago it was closer to the civil war than the present day .
Carter ’ s record on race , as on so much else , is complicated .
Alter writes that he too often stayed “ silent amid the brutal abuses of civil rights in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by phone : “ He spent the second half of his life making up for what he did or , more specifically , didn ’ t do and in that there ’ s a lesson for all of us in this post-George Floyd era .
One of Carter ’ s statements after George Floyd ’ s death was that he ’ d learned from his travels around the world that silence equals violence .
It ’ s never too late to speak up for racial justice and his life is a living example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s most notable legacies is the Carter Center , which since 1989 has monitored more than 110 elections in 39 countries .
This year , for the first time , it designated America as a “ backsliding ” democracy .
Trump has incessantly attacked mail-in voting and refused to commit to a smooth transition .
Having lived so long and seen so much , does Carter still have faith in the American experiment ?
Alter says : “ Now that Trump is threatening the peaceful transfer of power , he ’ s very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll get past this .
“ He is also very hopeful about the next generation and generally pretty optimistic .
He always tries to see the good in people .
He ’ s been criticised for trying to find the good in dictators and these thugs that he ’ s met with over the years .
He ’ s just trying to keep the bullets from flying .
”

“It is difficult,” wrote David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, “to overstate the psychological overload that the drama of the Trump presidency presents.”
Millions are feeling it and looking for escape. Jonathan Alter found his in the life and times of another president: Jimmy Carter.
He recalls: “Every time I felt the toxicity of Trump I could retreat to the Carter Library. The Carter papers kind of brushed away the toxins that I was feeling surrounding me.”
The upshot is His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life, the first full-length independent biography of the 39th president, who shares little with the 45th except that both won the White House as political outsiders and both became desperately unpopular (Carter’s approval rating sank to 28%). Polls currently suggest both may last one term.
Speaking from his home in Montclair, New Jersey, Alter says: “I sent Carter an email saying, ‘Do you think you have anything in common with Donald Trump?’ and I got back a one word response: ‘No.’ Certainly in terms of their character, achievements, sense of responsibility, Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump have nothing in common.”
Indeed, Carter’s never-to-be-forgotten remark to Playboy during his 1976 election campaign – “I have looked on a lot of women with lust; I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times” – now seems a model of decorum compared with Trump’s advice on Access Hollywood: “Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Carter’s life spans an American century, from growing up as a barefoot farm boy – and son of a white supremacist – in the Jim Crow south to watching a nation convulsed by the killing of George Floyd. He took office in 1977, the year Star Wars dominated cinemas, Björn Borg won Wimbledon and Joe Biden was a dynamic young senator from Delaware.
Now 96, Carter is the longest-lived president and, Alter contends, perhaps the most misunderstood. Conventional wisdom holds that he was a genial failure whose defeat by Ronald Reagan was sealed by humiliations such as the Iran hostage crisis and his claim to have been attacked by a “vicious-looking, oversized swamp rabbit” while fishing. The same orthodoxy says he had a redemptive second act in public health and human rights advocacy around the world.
But Alter’s first surprise is his book cover: a portrait by Andy Warhol.
“There was a time when Jimmy Carter was cool,” says the author, who has previously chronicled Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama. “Hunter Thompson [the gonzo journalist] liked him so much that he helped make him president. He was genuinely friendly with Gregg Allman and Willie Nelson and spent time with and was admired by Bob Dylan and many other musicians from a lot of different genres.
“Even though playing a musical instrument is just about the only skill that Jimmy Carter doesn’t have, he’s a great music fan and did a lot to advance musicians when he was president. The music that he played in the Oval Office, and in his study just off the Oval Office, was mostly classical. Then, in the evening, he would play country music or rock’n’roll.”
This year has also seen the release of a documentary, Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President. This is not the Georgia peanut farmer of public perception. Alter adds: “He was treated by a lot of the press corps as a hick. A lot of anti-southern bias partly accounts for the Carter presidency, but he actually had one of the most cultured White House schedules of events of any president. He’s a cultural maven.”
The stocks of former presidents rise and fall. Abraham Lincoln remains the gold standard. Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower are enjoying a bull run. Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson are nosediving amid racial reckoning. Bill Clinton is said to be a good bet for future reappraisal. Alter argues that Carter is ripe for it too.
“I describe Jimmy Carter as a political and stylistic failure, especially in comparison to Ronald Reagan, his successor, but a substantive and far-sighted, even visionary success. I think he is misunderstood because people have overstressed his unpopularity and underemphasised his actual achievements as president. The extraordinary thing is how many of them there are.”
Alter points to overseas accomplishments such as the 1978 Camp David accords, ending a conflict between Egypt and Israel that had included four wars in 30 years; the normalisation of relations with China, which “provided the foundation for the global economy as we know it”; establishing human rights as a pillar of foreign policy; and the Panama Canal treaties, which prevented a major war in Central America.
In a picture from January 2009, President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W Bush, for a meeting at the White House, with George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
The author acknowledges in his “warts and all” telling, however, that allowing the deposed shah of Iran into the US on humanitarian grounds was “the worst decision of Carter’s presidency”. He had been duped into believing the shah could not receive adequate medical attention elsewhere. The blunder precipitated the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, with American diplomats held hostage for 444 days.
“The second worst decision,” Alter says, “was to fire a good chunk of his cabinet, also in 1979, and that went really badly and was a dumb decision for a lot of reasons.”
Domestically, however, Carter diversified the federal judiciary and signed 14 major pieces of environmental legislation, overseeing the first fuel economy standards and first toxic waste clean-up. He led by example on renewable energy, installing solar panels at the White House, only for Reagan to take them down with Trumpian spite.
Alter tantalises the reader with the thought of an alternative universe in which Carter wins a second term and gets ahead of the climate crisis – a depressing exercise in what might have been. He notes the president asked top environmental aides to produce a series of reports about the challenges the world would face in 20 years’ time.
“The final reports, which were issued in late 1980 and early 1981 just before he left, were about a problem that scientists were calling ‘carbon pollution’ or, in a few cases, ‘global warming’. The main recommendation was that the world would need to bring the rate of growth of emissions down to no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels if the planet was to not be grievously harmed by global warming. That was precisely the standard adopted in the Paris climate accords.
“So in 1980, Carter knew what had to be done. At that point he had already put in fuel economy standards that would have led to hybrid cars mandated by the late 1980s. Our entire auto industry and therefore, I think, the auto industry of the world would have shifted to hybrids in a short period of time.”
Carter would have faced opposition from car manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry, of course. Alter argues: “Would he have been able to get all of his ideas for dealing with global warming enacted? No. Would he have raised the alarm? Yes. At least we would have had a president who was interested in the science. Reagan and George HW Bush didn’t care at all about global warming. We lost a lot of time there.”
‘Surpassing intelligence’
Carter’s relationship with Reagan, Bush and other successors was not in Obama-Trump territory but proved thorny all the same. A 2009 photo shows Carter back in the Oval Office with George HW Bush, Clinton, George W Bush and Obama. Perhaps most striking about the image is that Carter is awkwardly peripheral on one end, more distant from Clinton than he ought to be. According to Alter, it is no coincidence.
“He’s not a member in good standing of the ex-presidents’ club. In that picture he is standing off to the side and the others are chatting convivially. I was told by another former president that that was a perfect reflection of the actual situation. That day in general, Carter would want to be talking about his agenda and they were there to give President-elect Obama good-natured advice on what to expect, not to press their agenda.
“Carter often said whatever was on his mind and was critical of his successors. He had a very good relationship with his predecessor, Gerald Ford, but had fraught relations with his successors, especially the Democratic ones, Clinton and Obama. It boils down to Carter wanting to be a freelance secretary of state and, when you’re president, you really don’t want freelance secretaries of state.”
Alter, 63, interviewed the nonagenarian Carter more than a dozen times in his home, at his office, over meals, in transit and by email, over five years. He watched him teach Sunday school and helped him build a Habitat for Humanity house. What were his impressions of the man?
“He was and continues to be sharp as a tack,” he reflects. “He’s extremely impressive when you spend time with him because of his surpassing intelligence and his ability to charm people up close, which made him a great retail campaigner.
“But I would see flashes of the other Carter, the private Carter who might be snappish or commanding in a way that some people can find, if not offensive, at least surprising given what they know about Jimmy Carter.”
Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter answer questions at a Habitat for Humanity project, in October last year. Photograph: Mark Humphrey/AP
He continues: “Generally he is a person of stellar character and enormously candid and also enormously responsive. When I was dealing with him by email, I would sometimes send him him 10 questions, I’d go out for a walk, I’d come back and he would have answered all 10 of them within an hour.
“His punctuality was always there. So if I was scheduled to be with him for an hour, at one hour and 30 seconds, the interview was over. He’s an extraordinarily disciplined person. But he had trouble talking about certain family things. At one point he said, I really can only express my truest feelings in poetry.”
‘Silence equals violence’
Carter’s post-presidency spans four decades, his marriage to Rosalynn 74 years. The couple live in Plains, a tiny town in Georgia where they met as infants, so long ago it was closer to the civil war than the present day. Carter’s record on race, as on so much else, is complicated. Alter writes that he too often stayed “silent amid the brutal abuses of civil rights in his own backyard”.
He adds by phone: “He spent the second half of his life making up for what he did or, more specifically, didn’t do and in that there’s a lesson for all of us in this post-George Floyd era. One of Carter’s statements after George Floyd’s death was that he’d learned from his travels around the world that silence equals violence. It’s never too late to speak up for racial justice and his life is a living example of that.”
Among the ex-president’s most notable legacies is the Carter Center, which since 1989 has monitored more than 110 elections in 39 countries. This year, for the first time, it designated America as a “backsliding” democracy. Trump has incessantly attacked mail-in voting and refused to commit to a smooth transition.
Having lived so long and seen so much, does Carter still have faith in the American experiment? Alter says: “Now that Trump is threatening the peaceful transfer of power, he’s very alarmed but he thinks that we’ll get past this.
“He is also very hopeful about the next generation and generally pretty optimistic. He always tries to see the good in people. He’s been criticised for trying to find the good in dictators and these thugs that he’s met with over the years. He’s just trying to keep the bullets from flying.”


theguardian--2020-10-18--Trump: If I lose, it will be to the worst candidate in history – video

Donald Trump has described his Democratic presidential rival , Joe Biden , as the 'worst candidate in history ' at @ @ @ @ @ 'If I lose … what do I do ?
I 'd rather run against somebody @ @ @ @ @ at least this way I can go and lead my life . '
Trump again @ @ @ @ @ from Covid-19 , saying he 'got better fast ' and that he 'can now jump @ @ @ @ @ you all a big kiss , the women and the men '

Donald Trump has described his Democratic presidential rival, Joe Biden, as the 'worst candidate in history' at a rally in Wisconsin. 'If I lose … what do I do? I'd rather run against somebody who is extraordinarily talented, at least this way I can go and lead my life.' Trump again insisted that he was immune from Covid-19, saying he 'got better fast' and that he 'can now jump into the audience and give you all a big kiss, the women and the men'


theguardian--2020-10-19--Twitter removes false coronavirus tweet by Trump's favourite health adviser

Twitter has removed a tweet by Scott Atlas , a controversial scientist who has Donald Trump ’ s ear , in which he wrongly stated that masks fail to protect against coronavirus .
The Washington Post , meanwhile , reported that Atlas has scattered discord inside the White House , so infuriating Deborah Birx , the coronavirus response coordinator , that she complained to Vice-President Mike Pence , calling for Atlas to be removed .
The Post reported that at one meeting in the Oval Office , Atlas placed himself behind the Resolute Desk after Trump had left the room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Stanford ’ s conservative Hoover Institution , denied the account .
On Sunday , Twitter took down the tweet in which Atlas said : “ Masks work ?
NO.
” The company said the post violated its policy on Covid-19 misinformation that prohibits “ sharing false or misleading content which could lead to harm ” .
In a stream of posts , Atlas falsely claimed that several US states and other countries had taken up widespread use of masks without evidence of any positive effect .
He also incorrectly said that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practice .
Twitter ’ s move to block Atlas ’ s public comments is the latest controversy to hit since he joined the White House as a pandemic adviser in August .
A neuroradiologist , Atlas has no training in virology or epidemiology yet is understood to have become the key scientific influence on the president , eclipsing respected experts such as Anthony Fauci , the country ’ s top specialist in infectious diseases .
Atlas ’ s views on how to deal with the virus have raised alarm in scientific circles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and social distancing , and suggested people could gain natural self-defenses against the disease even without a vaccine through “ herd immunity ” .
Shortly after his appointment to the White House , 78 of his former colleagues at Stanford medical school wrote an open letter in which they lamented that many of Atlas ’ s opinions “ run counter to established science ” .
Robert Redfield , head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , was recently overheard discussing Atlas on a phone call .
“ Everything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Coronavirus is back on the ascendant , across the US .
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins records more than 8m confirmed cases , with almost 220,000 deaths .
Friday saw the daily number of confirmed cases exceed 70,000 for the first time since July , with almost 900 deaths .
In a leaked report , the White House put 26 states in the “ red zone ” – indicating a dangerous level of new infections – including almost all states in the midwest .
The surge in cases spells political peril @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for re-election in two weeks ’ time .
His rival , former vice-president Joe Biden , has put criticism of Trump ’ s handling of the pandemic at the center of his campaign .
Despite the rising numbers , and despite his own recent illness from the disease , Trump has stuck to his line that the threat of the virus is overplayed .
At a rally in Nevada on Sunday he repeated his false claim that the US was “ rounding the turn ” .
In North Carolina on Sunday , Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , ‘ This guy ’ s gone around the bend if he thinks we ’ ve turned the corner.
’ Things are getting worse , and he continues to lie to us about circumstances.
” Trump and Atlas have regularly been seen in public without wearing masks .
Their behavior goes against the official advice of the administration ’ s own public health agency , the CDC , which recommends mask-wearing in public settings .
Masks are particularly important for preventing the spread of the virus from people who show no symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Face coverings are primarily useful in protecting other people , rather than the individuals wearing them .

Twitter has removed a tweet by Scott Atlas, a controversial scientist who has Donald Trump’s ear, in which he wrongly stated that masks fail to protect against coronavirus.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that Atlas has scattered discord inside the White House, so infuriating Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator, that she complained to Vice-President Mike Pence, calling for Atlas to be removed.
The Post reported that at one meeting in the Oval Office, Atlas placed himself behind the Resolute Desk after Trump had left the room. The scientist, a senior fellow from Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, denied the account.
On Sunday, Twitter took down the tweet in which Atlas said: “Masks work? NO.” The company said the post violated its policy on Covid-19 misinformation that prohibits “sharing false or misleading content which could lead to harm”.
In a stream of posts, Atlas falsely claimed that several US states and other countries had taken up widespread use of masks without evidence of any positive effect. He also incorrectly said that there were “many harms” to the practice.
Twitter’s move to block Atlas’s public comments is the latest controversy to hit since he joined the White House as a pandemic adviser in August.
A neuroradiologist, Atlas has no training in virology or epidemiology yet is understood to have become the key scientific influence on the president, eclipsing respected experts such as Anthony Fauci, the country’s top specialist in infectious diseases.
Atlas’s views on how to deal with the virus have raised alarm in scientific circles. He has repeatedly cast doubt on masks and social distancing, and suggested people could gain natural self-defenses against the disease even without a vaccine through “herd immunity”.
Shortly after his appointment to the White House, 78 of his former colleagues at Stanford medical school wrote an open letter in which they lamented that many of Atlas’s opinions “run counter to established science”. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was recently overheard discussing Atlas on a phone call. “Everything he says is false,” Redfield said.
Coronavirus is back on the ascendant, across the US. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins records more than 8m confirmed cases, with almost 220,000 deaths.
Friday saw the daily number of confirmed cases exceed 70,000 for the first time since July, with almost 900 deaths. In a leaked report, the White House put 26 states in the “red zone” – indicating a dangerous level of new infections – including almost all states in the midwest.
The surge in cases spells political peril for Trump as he finalizes his push for re-election in two weeks’ time. His rival, former vice-president Joe Biden, has put criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic at the center of his campaign.
Despite the rising numbers, and despite his own recent illness from the disease, Trump has stuck to his line that the threat of the virus is overplayed. At a rally in Nevada on Sunday he repeated his false claim that the US was “rounding the turn”.
In North Carolina on Sunday, Biden said: “As my grandfather would say, ‘This guy’s gone around the bend if he thinks we’ve turned the corner.’ Things are getting worse, and he continues to lie to us about circumstances.”
Trump and Atlas have regularly been seen in public without wearing masks. Their behavior goes against the official advice of the administration’s own public health agency, the CDC, which recommends mask-wearing in public settings.
Masks are particularly important for preventing the spread of the virus from people who show no symptoms and may not know they are contagious. Face coverings are primarily useful in protecting other people, rather than the individuals wearing them.


theguardian--2020-10-19--Crucial battleground Florida begins in-person voting as Joe Biden holds lead – US politics live

Florida isn ’ t the only state where in-person voting opens today .
Residents in Alaska , Arkansas , Colorado , Idaho and North Dakota will also be able to cast their ballots today .
Tomorrow it is the turn of voters in Hawaii , Louisiana , Utah and Wisconsin .
West Virginia follows on Wednesday .
The US election system is completely decentralised , which is why there is such a variation on dates and rules between states .
Christina A. Cassidy reports this morning for the Associated Press on one particular question – what happens to your early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been cast ?
She spoke to Hannah Carson in North Carolina .
At 90 years old and living through a global pandemic , Carson knows time may be short .
She wasted no time returning her absentee ballot for this year ’ s election .
As soon as it arrived at her senior living community , she filled it out and sent it back to her local election office in Charlotte , North Carolina .
If something were to happen and she doesn ’ t make it to election day , Carson told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ valid .
“ I should think I should count , given all the years I have been here , ” she said .
But in North Carolina , a ballot cast by someone who subsequently dies can be set aside if a challenge is filed before election day with the county board of elections .
Seventeen states prohibit counting ballots cast by someone who subsequently dies before the election , but 10 states specifically allow it .
The law is silent in the rest of the country , according to research by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though a law might require such ballots to be rejected , it ’ s likely that some could still count depending on when the person dies and when election officials find out about the death .
“ The law may say that the ballot of a person who dies in that situation can ’ t be counted , but it is a hard law to follow , ” said Wendy Underhill , head of elections for the National Conference of State Legislatures .
When someone dies close to an election , it takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and there is a narrow window between when a ballot is cast and counted .
Colorado in 2016 had between 15 and 20 instances of voters who cast a ballot by mail and then died before Election Day .
All were counted .
In Michigan ’ s primary earlier this year , 864 ballots were rejected because the voters died before the election even though they were alive when they filled them out .
The president ’ s son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a link to a story about the dead voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ misrepresenting the issue .
With President Trump making unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud , the question of whether ballots will count if early voters die soon after could be a source of further conspiracies to come .

Joan E Greve (now) and Martin Belam (earlier)

20 Oct 2020 02.50 BST Summary The presidential debate commission said it will mute candidates during parts of the event this week, allowing both Trump and Biden two minutes of uninterrupted time to answer each moderator question. Both candidates will be unmuted for open discussion afterward. The rule change comes after a chaotic first debate during which Trump, especially, interrupted and talked over Biden and the debate moderator
Both candidates will be unmuted for open discussion afterward. The rule change comes after a chaotic first debate during which Trump, especially, interrupted and talked over Biden and the debate moderator The supreme court blocked Republican efforts to stop an absentee ballot deadline extension in Pennsylvania. The ruling will likely mean thousands more votes are counted in one of the most critical swing states in the election. Republicans in the swing state had tired to stay an order from the Pennsylvania supreme court allowing ballots postmarked by election day to be counted even if the arrive up to three days later.
The ruling will likely mean thousands more votes are counted in one of the most critical swing states in the election. Republicans in the swing state had tired to stay an order from the Pennsylvania supreme court allowing ballots postmarked by election day to be counted even if the arrive up to three days later. Trump attacked Dr Anthony Fauci as a “disaster” on a call with campaign staff. “People are tired of coronavirus,” the president said. “People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots.” The comments came one day after “60 Minutes” aired an interview with Fauci, in which the infectious disease expert said he was not surprised Trump caught coronavirus because of the president’s activities in the days before he developed symptoms.
“People are tired of coronavirus,” the president said. “People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots.” The comments came one day after “60 Minutes” aired an interview with Fauci, in which the infectious disease expert said he was not surprised Trump caught coronavirus because of the president’s activities in the days before he developed symptoms. Joe Biden criticized Trump for attacking Fauci, arguing Americans are “tired of your lies about this virus.” Biden said of Trump in a statement, “We need a leader to bring us together, put a plan in place, and beat this virus — but you have proven yourself yet again to be incapable of doing that.”
arguing Americans are “tired of your lies about this virus.” Biden said of Trump in a statement, “We need a leader to bring us together, put a plan in place, and beat this virus — but you have proven yourself yet again to be incapable of doing that.” Russian intelligence agents were planning a cyber-attack on the Tokyo Olympics, the UK National Cyber Security Centre revealed, as part of a joint operation with the US intelligence agencies. The UK also confirmed details of a Russian attempt to disrupt the 2018 winter Olympics.
the UK National Cyber Security Centre revealed, as part of a joint operation with the US intelligence agencies. The UK also confirmed details of a Russian attempt to disrupt the 2018 winter Olympics. The supreme court agreed to hear two cases involving Trump’s controversial immigration policy. One case centers on Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico as their claims are processed. The other focuses on government funding of the US-Mexican border wall.
One case centers on Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico as their claims are processed. The other focuses on government funding of the US-Mexican border wall. In-person early voting begins today in the crucial swing state of Florida. Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris held events in Orlando and Jacksonville today. – Maanvi Singh and Joan E Greve
20 Oct 2020 02.36 BST Ed Pilkington Kelly Loeffler, the Republican US senator from Georgia who has embraced a follower of the toxic rightwing conspiracy theory QAnon in a desperate bid to hang on to her seat, squared off with her Trump-supporting rival and the leading Democratic candidate in their first debate today. The virtual debate, staged through separate video links to ensure safety amid the pandemic, was a chance for voters to get to grips with one of the most volatile and chaotic races in the nation. Some 20 candidates are standing in a race which, as a special election, had no primary. Loeffler, who was appointed to the seat in January following the resignation of Johnny Isakson, is having to fend off a fierce challenge from Doug Collins, an avidly Trump-supporting congressman. The pair have been scrambling over each other in a rapid dash to the right, trying to outdo the other in their radical conservative credentials. An exchange between Collins and Loeffler featured sparring on a personal angle. “You’ve attacked my hair, my makeup, how I talk, my clothes, where I’m from,” Loeffler said, adding: “I am the true conservative. I don’t have to have a record I have to lie about,” the Gainesville Times reported. Collins shot back: “I’ve never mentioned anything personally – her fixtures, hair or anything else. But it’s amazing what she [says] about me.” Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King preached for eight years, asked Collins if he would condemn QAnon. That is the virulent conspiracy theory rapidly which claims a cabal of Democrats and billionaires is running a pedophile and human trafficking ring and which the FBI has warned is a domestic terrorism threat. “I don’t agree with QAnon … and don’t support them,” Collins said. Loeffler said: “I don’t know anything about QAnon.” Georgia: two rightwing Republicans face Democrat in special election debate Read more
20 Oct 2020 02.24 BST Alison Rourke The World Health Organization’s emergency director, Michael Ryan, has linked soaring transmission rates in the northern hemisphere to the failure to quarantine people exposed to the virus. He said if he could have one wish, it would be to ensure “every contact of a confirmed case is in quarantine for the appropriate period”. “I do not believe that has occurred systematically, anywhere,” Ryan said, adding it was “a good part of the reason why we’re seeing such high numbers”. Ryan said that about half of the 48 countries in the UN health agency’s European region had seen roughly 50% increases in cases within the past week – and hospitalizations and death rates were beginning to track those rises. Some moderately good news is that the average age of sufferers was now much younger, treatment has improved and those infected may have been exposed to lower doses of the virus because of physical distancing and mask-wearing.
Worldwide cases of the virus passed 40 million on Monday. The WHO says 42 potential vaccines are now being tested on humans, of which 10 have reached the third and final stage. A further 156 are being worked on in laboratories with a view to human testing. But the WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said that while one or two trials may report data by the end of the year, most would start to do so in early 2021. Coronavirus live news: WHO says failure to quarantine behind soaring cases Read more
20 Oct 2020 01.50 BST The Trump campaign said the president will participate in the debate this week despite the rule change. Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien said: “President Trump is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last-minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favored candidate.” Here are the highlights from the first debate: 00:45 'Will you shut up, man?': Biden and Trump clash in first US presidential debate – video
20 Oct 2020 01.34 BST The debate rule change allowing for microphones to be muted is likely to anger the Trump campaign. In a statement, the non-partisan commission noted: “We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today. One may think they go too far, and one may think they do not go far enough. We are comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held.” Both campaigns had agreed to a format in which each candidate would have two minutes to answer a question from the moderator, before launching into back and forth open discussion. “The Commission is announcing today that in order to enforce this agreed upon rule, the only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules,” it said in a statement. Both mics will be unmuted for open discussion.
20 Oct 2020 01.26 BST Analysis: Supreme court ruling on Pennsylvania's deadline for absentee ballots Sam Levine The US supreme court decision to not pause a ruling from the Pennsylvania supreme court extending the deadline for absentee ballots in the state is a hugely consequential ruling that will likely mean thousands more votes are counted in one of the most critical swing states in the election. Chief justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal justices in the ruling, producing a 4-4 deadlock. The even split means that a September ruling from the Pennsylvania supreme court ordering ballots to count as long as they are postmarked by election day and received in the days after will stand. The ruling is a win for Democrats, who sought the extension in state court, and a loss for Republicans, who had asked the US supreme court to intervene. Nearly 900,000 voters in Pennsylvania have already returned their ballots, according to state data collected by Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida. The justices made the ruling on an emergency request from Pennsylvania Republicans and, as is customary in similar cases, offered no explanation for their ruling. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas all said they would have granted the Republican request.
Pennsylvania typically requires mail-in ballots to arrive by election night in order to count. But last month, the Pennsylvania supreme court, citing potential postal service delays amid the Covid-19 pandemic, extended the deadline by 3 days last month, saying ballots should count as long as they are postmarked by election day. The court also required election officials to count ballots with no postmark or an illegible one.
In a typical election, only around 1% of mail-in ballots are rejected, but that number is expected to rise this year as more people vote by mail for the first time. One of the top reasons mail-in ballots get rejected is because they arrive after election day. The decisions from the Pennsylvania supreme court and US supreme court offer important insurance against that kind of disenfranchisement.
The ruling is a break from a string of rulings this year in which the US supreme court has upheld a swath of voting restrictions across the country, even amid the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Pennsylvania case had an important distinction; while all the voting cases that have reached the supreme court this year have been from federal courts, the Pennsylvania case came from a state court. The supreme court may have been more hesitant to overrule a state court on a manner of election law, which the constitution specifically authorizes the states to set.
Updated at 01.44 BST
20 Oct 2020 01.22 BST The presidential debate commission has adopted rules to mute microphones When Trump and Biden face off on Thursday for a final televised debate, each candidate will have their microphones cut off while the other is delivering responses to questions. During the 90-min debate, each candidate will have two minutes of uninterrupted time to respond to questions before they move on to open debate. The rule change from the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) comes after a chaotic first debate during which the presidential conductors spoke over each other, and Trump, especially, interrupted his opponent. Republicans and Trump have already been sour at the CPD after it canceled the second debate due to safety concerns after Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19, and earlier today contested the topics the commission had chosen for the debate this week.
Updated at 01.28 BST
20 Oct 2020 01.03 BST Justice Department lawyers argued that Trump was addressing his fitness for office and speaking in an official capacity when he called E Jean Carroll – who has accused him of rape – a politically-motivated liar. From the AP: The lawyers argued in papers in Manhattan federal court that the president should be replaced as the defendant in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit by the Justice Department because he was acting in an official capacity when he made his statements. They said he was entitled to refute Carroll’s claims because she was trying to call “into question the president’s fitness for office and a response was necessary for the president to effectively govern.” The lawyers had made similar arguments before and were replying to written arguments submitted to a judge by lawyers for Carroll, a media figure who hosted an advice show in the mid-1990s when she says she was attacked. Earlier this month, Carroll’s attorneys argued the opposite, saying Trump can’t insult their client and then cite his job as reason to remove himself as a defendant. “Only in a world gone mad could it somehow be presidential, not personal, for Trump to slander a woman who he sexually assaulted,” they said. Carroll has said Trump raped her in a department store dressing room a quarter century ago after they randomly crossed paths and engaged in conversation as each recognized the other’s measure of fame. Her lawyers argued that defamatory attacks by the president included assertions that Carroll had falsely accused other men of rape, that she lied about him to advance a secret political conspiracy and sell books and that he had never met her even though they’d been photographed together. The lawyers noted that Trump also had said: “She’s not my type.”
Updated at 01.05 BST
19 Oct 2020 00.38 BST After Donald Trump said at his Prescott, Arizona rally that he could raise more campaign money than he had, by hypothetically calling the head of Exxon and offering permits in exchange for $25m, the energy company has issued a statement clarifying that no such exchange occured. "I call the head of Exxon. I'll use a company. 'How, how are you doing, how's energy coming? When are doing the exploration? Oh, you need a couple of permits, huh?' But I call the head of Exxon, I say, 'you know, I'd love you to send me $25m for the campaign'" - Trump #QuidProQuo pic.twitter.com/Tr1ccpyMzw — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 19, 2020 Offering political favors in exchange for campaign donations is illegal. Staging a mick phone call, Trump said, “I call the head of Exxon... ‘How, how are you doing, how’s energy coming? When are doing the exploration? Oh, you need a couple of permits, huh?’” We are aware of the President’s statement regarding a hypothetical call with our CEO…and just so we’re all clear, it never happened. — ExxonMobil (@exxonmobil) October 19, 2020
19 Oct 2020 00.34 BST Supreme court blocks Republican efforts to stop mail-in voting expansion Republicans and the state GOP had asked the supreme court to stay a Pennsylvania supreme court order extending the ballot receipt deadline in the state. In a 4-4 vote, justices Gorsuch, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Thomas voted against the order. The court took a while to issue this ruling - it seems chief justice Roberts was unable to win over any of the opposers. Because the supreme court is missing a justice, after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a 4-4 means a loss for Republicans. A majority is needed to grant a stay. Breaking news: The US Supreme Court said it would not halt a ruling from the PA Supreme Court extending the ballot receipt deadline in the state. This is one of the most significant rulings of the 2020 election cycle — Sam Levine (@srl) October 19, 2020 Mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania were due by the time polls close on election day, but the Pennsylvania supreme court’s order allowed officials to count ballots postmarked by 8pm on election day to be counted even if they arrive up to three days later. The ruling was celebrated by voting rights advocates, who cited postal services delays and other concerns as millions vote by mail due to the pandemic.
Updated at 01.45 BST
19 Oct 2020 23.47 BST Sam Levin A fire inside an official election drop box in Los Angeles county has damaged voters’ ballots and is under investigation for arson, officials said. The blaze Sunday night in the city of Baldwin Park appeared to be intentional, according to authorities, though the cause and the extent of the destruction were still under investigation. The fire required firefighters to spray water into the box to extinguish the flames, likely causing significant damage. Video from the scene showed dozens of wet and burnt ballots. “The arson of an official ballot drop box … has all the signs of an attempt to disenfranchise voters and call into question the security of our elections,” Hilda L Solis, LA county supervisor, said in a statement, adding that the county has asked the state attorney general and FBI to investigate. The LA county registrar’s office, which oversees the elections in the state’s largest county, has not responded to questions about how many ballots were affected, but said officials had last collected ballots from the site at 10am on Saturday. The fire was reported around 8pm on Sunday, and the damaged drop box location has since remained closed. A fire department spokeswoman said three arson investigators were dispatched to the scene, and that the fire department spent nearly two hours on site responding to the blaze. George Silva, a local resident who saw the fire on Sunday night while on a bike ride, told the Guardian firefighters initially struggled to put out the blaze. “I felt a sense of broken-heartedness and disappointment,” said Silva, who runs a local air conditioning business. “I can’t believe somebody would do this.” He hasn’t voted yet and said he now planned to cast his ballot in person when early voting begins later this month. “I’m waiting until I know my vote will be safe and secure.”
The incident comes one week after California’s Republican party sparked confusion by placing their own unauthorized ballot boxes in several counties, prompting state election officials to send a cease-and-desist order demanding their removal. The state warned that the GOP boxes could mislead voters and violate the law. Los Angeles ballots damaged after suspected arson attack on official drop box Read more


theguardian--2020-10-19--Republican senator tries to distance himself from Trump: 'He is who he is'

A member of Republican leadership in the US Senate has likened his relationship with Donald Trump to a marriage , and said that he was “ maybe like a lot of women who get married and think they ’ re going to change their spouse , and that doesn ’ t usually work out very well ” .
The Texas senator John Cornyn ’ s comments , to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram , are the latest instance of a Republican under electoral pressure seeking to distance himself from an unpopular president , however gingerly , as polling day looms .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , potentially leading to unified government in Washington .
“ I think what we found is that we ’ re not going to change President Trump , ” Cornyn said .
“ He is who he is .
You either love him or hate him , and there ’ s not much in between .
“ What I tried to do is not get into public confrontations and fights with him because , as I ’ ve observed , those usually don ’ t end too well.
” Trump spent some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ben Sasse of Nebraska .
Sasse criticised Trump in a call with constituents , lamenting among other things his treatment of women and the way he “ kisses dictators ’ butts ” and “ flirts with white supremacists ” .
Trump fired back with insults , forcing Republican National Committee chair , Ronna McDaniel , on to the defensive on the Sunday talkshows .
Sasse is more or less assured of re-election in two weeks ’ time but his prediction of a “ bloodbath ” for Senate Republicans with an unpopular president at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump – and McDaniel – the most .
Cornyn , a former Senate majority whip , certainly knows what Sasse meant .
He leads his Democratic challenger in the usually safe Republican state – but not by much , some polls showing MJ Hegar within the margin of error .
Cornyn told the Fort Worth paper that “ when I have had differences of opinion ” with Trump , “ which I have , [ I ] do that privately .
I have found that has allowed me to be much more effective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who say I ought to call him out or get into a public fight with him.
” Cornyn said he was happy to praise Trump publicly when they agreed , such as on judicial nominations and tax cuts .
Subjects of disagreement included Covid-19 response ; efforts to secure another relief bill ; and the use of defense funds for border security .
On trade policy , Cornyn added : “ I applaud him for standing up to China but , frankly , this idea that China is paying the price and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here at home is just not true.
” The comment was mild enough not to immediately rile Trump , who was campaigning in battleground states .
The Star-Telegram described Cornyn ’ s caution , saying he “ noted that his friend , former [ senator ] Bob Corker [ of Tennessee ] , who initially was on cordial terms with Trump ’ s White House , opted not to run for re-election in 2018 after clashing with Trump on issues such as a border wall.
” Corker was once considered as a running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the point of saying the White House was being run like an “ adult daycare centre ” , he retired in 2018 .
Blasting back at Sasse , Trump showed he never forgets a slight .
The Nebraska senator , the president tweeted , “ seems to be heading down the same inglorious path as former senator Liddle ’ Bob Corker ” , who became “ totally unelectable ” because of his criticism “ and decided to drop out of politics and gracefully ‘ RETIRE ’ ” .
Cornyn , 68 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and secure a fourth six-year-term .

A member of Republican leadership in the US Senate has likened his relationship with Donald Trump to a marriage, and said that he was “maybe like a lot of women who get married and think they’re going to change their spouse, and that doesn’t usually work out very well”.
The Texas senator John Cornyn’s comments, to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, are the latest instance of a Republican under electoral pressure seeking to distance himself from an unpopular president, however gingerly, as polling day looms. Democrats are favoured to take the Senate, potentially leading to unified government in Washington.
“I think what we found is that we’re not going to change President Trump,” Cornyn said. “He is who he is. You either love him or hate him, and there’s not much in between.
“What I tried to do is not get into public confrontations and fights with him because, as I’ve observed, those usually don’t end too well.”
Trump spent some of the weekend in a public fight with Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Sasse criticised Trump in a call with constituents, lamenting among other things his treatment of women and the way he “kisses dictators’ butts” and “flirts with white supremacists”.
Trump fired back with insults, forcing Republican National Committee chair, Ronna McDaniel, on to the defensive on the Sunday talkshows.
Sasse is more or less assured of re-election in two weeks’ time but his prediction of a “bloodbath” for Senate Republicans with an unpopular president at the top of ticket may have stung Trump – and McDaniel – the most.
Cornyn, a former Senate majority whip, certainly knows what Sasse meant. He leads his Democratic challenger in the usually safe Republican state – but not by much, some polls showing MJ Hegar within the margin of error.
Cornyn told the Fort Worth paper that “when I have had differences of opinion” with Trump, “which I have, [I] do that privately. I have found that has allowed me to be much more effective, I believe, than to satisfy those who say I ought to call him out or get into a public fight with him.”
Cornyn said he was happy to praise Trump publicly when they agreed, such as on judicial nominations and tax cuts. Subjects of disagreement included Covid-19 response; efforts to secure another relief bill; and the use of defense funds for border security.
On trade policy, Cornyn added: “I applaud him for standing up to China but, frankly, this idea that China is paying the price and we’re not paying the price here at home is just not true.”
The comment was mild enough not to immediately rile Trump, who was campaigning in battleground states. The Star-Telegram described Cornyn’s caution, saying he “noted that his friend, former [senator] Bob Corker [of Tennessee], who initially was on cordial terms with Trump’s White House, opted not to run for re-election in 2018 after clashing with Trump on issues such as a border wall.”
Corker was once considered as a running mate or secretary of state. Exasperated to the point of saying the White House was being run like an “adult daycare centre”, he retired in 2018.
Blasting back at Sasse, Trump showed he never forgets a slight. The Nebraska senator, the president tweeted, “seems to be heading down the same inglorious path as former senator Liddle’ Bob Corker”, who became “totally unelectable” because of his criticism “and decided to drop out of politics and gracefully ‘RETIRE’”.
Cornyn, 68, is hoping to defeat his 44-year-old opponent and secure a fourth six-year-term.