theguardian--2020-10-15--Ohio's quarter-mile early-voting lines? That's what voter suppression looks like | David Litt

In-person early voting in started Ohio this week , and in the state ’ s largest cities , it was a total mess .
In Columbus , the line stretched for a quarter of a mile .
In Cuyahoga county , the hours-long wait began before polls even opened .
All of this was entirely predictable .
Earlier this year , the Ohio official in charge of elections , secretary of state Frank LaRose , limited the number of in-person early voting sites to just one per county .
Vinton county , a GOP stronghold in the state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13,500 Ohioans , has approximately 97 times more polling places per voter than Franklin county , the deep-blue home to more than 1.3 million .
LaRose ’ s decree makes voting easier for his fellow Republicans and far more difficult for Democrats .
But the needlessly long lines popping up throughout Ohio ’ s cities are not merely the result of election mismanagement or an ad hoc act of voter suppression .
Instead , they reflect a view of democracy that prioritizes the imaginary preferences of land over the very real preferences of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undermines the principle of “ one person , one vote ” .
To understand exactly why LaRose ’ s actions are so insidious , and so antithetical to modern democracy , it ’ s important to understand exactly the history of one person , one vote – a concept that sounds timeless , but in fact is younger than George Clooney .
At the turn of the 20th century , as Americans began migrating from the countryside to cities , rural politicians came up with ways to retain power without having to retain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this was to avoid redrawing legislative district boundaries every year .
The population of cities boomed – but the number of representatives allocated to them did not .
By 1960 , American representation , or lack thereof , had become almost farcical .
Maricopa county , Arizona , which contained the city of Phoenix and more than half the state ’ s population , elected just one-third of the state ’ s representatives to Congress .
“ One state senator represented Los Angeles county , which had a population of more than 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stern and Stephen Wermiel , “ while another represented three northern California rural counties with a total population of 14,294.
” Author Anthony Lewis provides an example from Connecticut : “ 177,000 citizens of Hartford elected two members of the state house of representatives ; so did the town of Colebrook , population 592.
” ( The most egregious example of what political scientists call “ malapportionment ” was surely in New Hampshire , where one district ’ s assemblyman represented a constituency of three . )
Another strategy politicians used to maintain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distribute power by county rather than by population .
The most infamous of these was Georgia ’ s “ county unit system ” .
Created in 1917 , the system gave each county a set number of votes in Democratic primaries : urban counties received six votes , towns received four , and rural counties received two .
Atlanta ’ s Fulton county had a population 80 times larger than that of three least-populous counties combined , yet they received an identical six votes .
Because Democrats dominated Georgia , the winner of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winner of the general election – which made the county unit system a powerful tool for disenfranchising urban voters in general , and Black voters ( who were more likely to live in cities ) in particular .
These kinds of representation-skewing schemes were immoral .
But for most of the 20th century , they weren ’ t illegal .
For decades , the supreme court held that district populations were a political question the judiciary had no business deciding .
But in 1962 , the justices concluded that malapportionment couldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It left voters powerless to reclaim their power .
In Baker v Carr Justice William Brennan declared that malapportionment – if sufficiently egregious – violated the constitution .
It ’ s hard to overstate the impact of the Baker decision .
In the months that followed , district maps were struck down in a dozen states .
The county unit system was overturned .
In 1964 , the court ruled that congressional districts , not just state legislative ones , were required to have roughly equal populations .
As Michael Waldman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , notes in The Fight to Vote , 93 of 99 state legislative maps were redrawn in just four years .
Chief Justice Earl Warren later called Baker v Carr the most important decision issued by his court .
He also summarized the principle behind that decision perfectly .
“ Legislators represent people , ” he wrote .
“ Not trees or acres.
” That principle – that power belongs to the people rather than the land – is what we now call one person , one vote .
Sixty years after Baker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is starker than ever .
Democrats have become the parties of cities and the denser suburbs , Republicans the party of exurbs and rural areas .
Democrats have won the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections .
But while the Republican party has lagged among America ’ s people , it represents the vast majority of America ’ s acres and trees .
Which brings us back to Columbus and Cleveland , where brutally long voting lines have turned casting a ballot into a feat of endurance .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allocate votes by county ( although that ’ s likely to be tested if Amy Coney Barrett joins the existing conservative majority on the court ) .
But it is still possible to allocate voting resources by county , in an effort to make voting exponentially more difficult for urban voters than for rural ones .
The goal of LaRose ’ s one-polling-place-per-county order is no different than that of the politicians who devised Georgia ’ s county unit system more than 100 years ago : diminish the political power of the cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Distressingly , but perhaps not surprisingly , it ’ s not just Ohio where one person , one vote is under attack .
In Georgia ’ s 2018 election , Atlanta received far fewer voting machines per voter than rural , redder counties elsewhere in the state .
States like Wisconsin have been gerrymandered to pack urban voters into a relative handful of districts while giving rural voters as many representatives as possible .
Earlier this month in Texas , the Republican governor , Greg Abbott , limited the number of drop boxes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county , even though the state ’ s most populous county has – and this is not a typo – 2,780,000 % more residents than the least – populous .
No wonder that in Houston , long lines of cars are snaking outside Harris county ’ s single drop-off site .
If there ’ s a silver lining in all this , it ’ s that the American people have shown themselves willing to fight for representative democracy .
Thus far , the attacks on voting in states like Ohio and Texas seem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ awareness , more outrage and , ultimately , higher turnout .
But in the long term , Americans must reckon with the fact that one of our two political parties increasingly sees representative democracy as either a hassle or a threat .
In the 2020 election , there ’ s good reason to hope that the voters will stand up to defend our system of government .
That said , they shouldn ’ t have to .
Democracy shouldn ’ t be on the ballot every four years .
If and when Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House or state governments across America , they ’ ll have plenty of challenges to tackle .
But nothing will be more important – or ultimately , more essential to changing the country ’ s course – than reasserting a fundamental but fragile principle of our democracy : in America , the ultimate source of power is the people .
Period .
• None David Litt is an American political speechwriter and author of the comedic memoir Thanks , Obama : My Hopey Changey White House Years

In-person early voting started in Ohio this week, and in the state’s largest cities, it was a total mess. In Columbus, the line stretched for a quarter of a mile. In Cuyahoga county, the hours-long wait began before polls even opened.
All of this was entirely predictable. Thanks to an Ohio state law passed in 2006 by a Republican-controlled legislature and signed by a Republican governor, the number of in-person early voting sites is limited to just one per county. That means Vinton County, a Republican stronghold in the state’s southeast that’s home to just 13,500 Ohioans, has approximately 97 times more polling-places-per-voter than Franklin County, the deep-blue bastion with a population of more than 1.3 million.
The office of Frank LaRose, Ohio’s chief elections official, recently tweeted that “lines are due to enthusiasm”. But blaming voters for the long lines they endure ignores the massive, intentional disparity in resources between the more and less populous parts of the state. Ohio’s politicians have made voting far easier for Republicans and far more difficult for Democrats. But what makes the needlessly long lines that have appeared throughout Ohio’s cities particularly notable is that they are not merely the result of election mismanagement or an ad hoc act of voter suppression. Instead, they reflect a view of democracy that prioritizes the imaginary preferences of land over the very real preferences of people, and in so doing, undermines the principle of “One Person, One Vote”.
To understand exactly what makes the actions of Ohio’s Republican politicians so insidious, and so antithetical to modern democracy, it’s important to understand the history of One Person, One Vote – a concept that sounds timeless, but in fact is younger than George Clooney. At the turn of the 20th century, as Americans began migrating from the countryside to cities, rural politicians came up with ways to retain power without having to retain population. The simplest way to do this was to avoid redrawing legislative district boundaries every year. The population of cities boomed – but the number of representatives allocated to them did not.
By 1960, American representation, or lack thereof, had become almost farcical. Maricopa county, Arizona, which contained the city of Phoenix and more than half the state’s population, elected just one-third of the state’s representatives to Congress. “One state senator represented Los Angeles county, which had a population of more than 6 million people,” write authors Seth Stern and Stephen Wermiel, “while another represented three northern California rural counties with a total population of 14,294.” Author Anthony Lewis provides an example from Connecticut: “177,000 citizens of Hartford elected two members of the state house of representatives; so did the town of Colebrook, population 592.” (The most egregious example of what political scientists call “malapportionment” was surely in New Hampshire, where one district’s assemblyman represented a constituency of three.)
Another strategy politicians used to maintain control despite dwindling popular support was to distribute power by county rather than by population. The most infamous of these was Georgia’s “county unit system”. Created in 1917, the system gave each county a set number of votes in Democratic primaries: urban counties received six votes, towns received four, and rural counties received two. Atlanta’s Fulton county had a population 80 times larger than that of three least-populous counties combined, yet they received an identical six votes. Because Democrats dominated Georgia, the winner of the party primary was the de facto winner of the general election – which made the county unit system a powerful tool for disenfranchising urban voters in general, and Black voters (who were more likely to live in cities) in particular.
These kinds of representation-skewing schemes were immoral. But for most of the 20th century, they weren’t illegal. For decades, the supreme court held that district populations were a political question the judiciary had no business deciding. But in 1962, the justices concluded that malapportionment couldn’t be corrected through the normal electoral process. It left voters powerless to reclaim their power. In Baker v Carr Justice William Brennan declared that malapportionment – if sufficiently egregious – violated the constitution.
It’s hard to overstate the impact of the Baker decision. In the months that followed, district maps were struck down in a dozen states. The county unit system was overturned. In 1964, the court ruled that congressional districts, not just state legislative ones, were required to have roughly equal populations. As Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, notes in The Fight to Vote, 93 of 99 state legislative maps were redrawn in just four years.
Chief Justice Earl Warren later called Baker v Carr the most important decision issued by his court. He also summarized the principle behind that decision perfectly. “Legislators represent people,” he wrote. “Not trees or acres.” That principle – that power belongs to the people rather than the land – is what we now call one person, one vote.
Sixty years after Baker, the urban-rural divide in our politics is starker than ever. Democrats have become the parties of cities and the denser suburbs, Republicans the party of exurbs and rural areas. Democrats have won the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections. But while the Republican party has lagged among America’s people, it represents the vast majority of America’s acres and trees.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the people have shown themselves willing to fight for representative democracy
Which brings us back to Columbus and Cleveland, where brutally long voting lines have turned casting a ballot into a feat of endurance. It’s no longer possible to directly allocate votes by county (although that’s likely to be tested if Amy Coney Barrett joins the existing conservative majority on the court). But it is still possible to allocate voting resources by county, in an effort to make voting exponentially more difficult for urban voters than for rural ones. The goal of LaRose’s one-polling-place-per-county order is no different than that of the politicians who devised Georgia’s county unit system more than 100 years ago: diminish the political power of the cities at the expense of the countryside.
Distressingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, it’s not just Ohio where one person, one vote is under attack. In Georgia’s 2018 election, Atlanta received far fewer voting machines per voter than rural, redder counties elsewhere in the state. States like Wisconsin have been gerrymandered to pack urban voters into a relative handful of districts while giving rural voters as many representatives as possible. Earlier this month in Texas, the Republican governor, Greg Abbott, limited the number of drop boxes for mail-in ballots to just one per county, even though the state’s most populous county has – and this is not a typo – 2,780,000% more residents than the least populous. No wonder that in Houston, long lines of cars are snaking outside Harris county’s single drop-off site.
If there’s a silver lining in all this, it’s that the American people have shown themselves willing to fight for representative democracy. Thus far, the attacks on voting in states like Ohio and Texas seem to have backfired, leading to more awareness, more outrage and, ultimately, higher turnout. But in the long term, Americans must reckon with the fact that one of our two political parties increasingly sees representative democracy as either a hassle or a threat.
In the 2020 election, there’s good reason to hope that the voters will stand up to defend our system of government. That said, they shouldn’t have to. Democracy shouldn’t be on the ballot every four years. If and when Democrats regain control of Congress, the White House or state governments across America, they’ll have plenty of challenges to tackle. But nothing will be more important – or ultimately, more essential to changing the country’s course – than reasserting a fundamental but fragile principle of our democracy: in America, the ultimate source of power is the people. Period.


theguardian--2020-10-15--Amy Coney Barrett refuses to tell Kamala Harris if she thinks climate change is happening – video

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris has continued to grill supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on a range of issues @ @ @ @ @ racial discrimination in the US .
Harris pressed Barrett on whether she believed coronavirus was @ @ @ @ @ and climate change was happening .
Barrett avoided answering directly to a number of issues @ @ @ @ @ one from Democratic senator Cory Booker on whether it was wrong to separate children from @ @ @ @ @ coming to the US

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris has continued to grill supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on a range of issues, including climate change and racial discrimination in the US. Harris pressed Barrett on whether she believed coronavirus was infectious, smoking caused cancer and climate change was happening. Barrett avoided answering directly to a number of issues during the questioning, including one from Democratic senator Cory Booker on whether it was wrong to separate children from their parents to deter immigrants coming to the US


theguardian--2020-10-16--Town halls live: angry Trump clashes with moderator as Biden lays out policies at competing events

Perhaps because he was so directly , insistently asked to answer for his own record – Trump barely even mentioned @ @ @ @ @ tried to deflect to Biden when Guthrie asked him about his hesitance to denounce white @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t ask Joe Biden whether or not he denounces Antifa .
I watched @ @ @ @ @ show with Lester Holt , and he was asking questions like Biden was a child @ @ @ @ @ so , this is a little bit of a dodge .
Trump has long struggled @ @ @ @ @ of attack against Biden .
He ’ s recently settled on ridiculing Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ s unclear how effective that is considering that Trump is about the same age , @ @ @ @ @ are themselves , senior citizens .

Joan E Greve in Washington and Maanvi Singh in Oakland

16 Oct 2020 03.31 BST Dueling town halls summary That’s it from us tonight. The Guardian’s regular US politics liveblog will be back tomorrow morning. Here are the key takeaways from tonight’s dueling town halls: In a tense, antagonistic town hall, Donald Trump faced a thorough grilling from NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, a former litigator. When a defensive Trump dodged questions, Guthrie asked again – providing live fact-checks as the president responded to questions from her and voters.
When a defensive Trump dodged questions, Guthrie asked again – providing live fact-checks as the president responded to questions from her and voters. The president declined to disavow QAnon, a rightwing, racist and antisemitic conspiracy theory movement. This isn’t the first time Trump has demurred when asked to disown QAnon, whose supporters believe Trump is secretly battling a Democratic cabal engaged in pedophilia. The FBI considers QAnon a domestic terrorism threat.
This isn’t the first time Trump has demurred when asked to disown QAnon, whose supporters believe Trump is secretly battling a Democratic cabal engaged in pedophilia. The FBI considers QAnon a domestic terrorism threat. Trump more or less agreed with reporting that he owes more than $400m to creditors. In a contentious exchange with Guthrie, Trump was asked about New York Times reporting that revealed he owed money to foreign entities. “When you look at vast properties like I have ... the amount of money, $400 million, is a peanut, it’s extremely underleveraged.” He added: “Not a big deal.”
In a contentious exchange with Guthrie, Trump was asked about New York Times reporting that revealed he owed money to foreign entities. “When you look at vast properties like I have ... the amount of money, $400 million, is a peanut, it’s extremely underleveraged.” He added: “Not a big deal.” Joe Biden’s town hall was much less eventful, offering a striking contrast to Trump. The Democratic presidential nominee gave detailed answers about his proposals on everything from the coronavirus pandemic to tax reform during his ABC News town hall, which was moderated by George Stephanopoulos.
The Democratic presidential nominee gave detailed answers about his proposals on everything from the coronavirus pandemic to tax reform during his ABC News town hall, which was moderated by Biden pledged to offer a clearer stance on court-packing before election day. He said his opinion on packing the supreme court would largely depend on whether Senate Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett days before the election, as they currently intend to do. “I’m open to considering what happens from that point on” if Barrett is confirmed, Biden said.
He said his opinion on packing the supreme court would largely depend on whether Senate confirmed days before the election, as they currently intend to do. “I’m open to considering what happens from that point on” if Barrett is confirmed, Biden said. Biden said it was a mistake to support the 1994 crime bill that he helped to write. The Democrat argued the bill had some positive aspects, such as the federal assault weapons ban, but he acknowledged it had many negative consequences. Thanks for following along with our town hall coverage. Remember to tune in next week for the third presidential debate – assuming it happens, that is.
Updated at 03.44 BST
16 Oct 2020 03.22 BST NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie received widespread praise for her questioning of Trump, after she grilled the president on his past coronavirus test results and his thoughts on the QAnon conspiracy theory, which he refused to denounce. I so appreciate that Savannah Guthrie is fact checking @realDonaldTrump in real time and refusing to allow him to spread conspiracy theories unchecked.
What a welcome change from the first presidential & vice presidential debates. https://t.co/v9FBGTxr2H — Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) October 16, 2020 i can't think of anything more strategically disastrous than trump going head-to-head with @SavannahGuthrie and getting his ass kicked. the white women he needs to defect back to him will see themselves in her. the insecure men who love him will see him losing to a "girl" — Erin 🎃GrudgePAC🎃 Ryan (@morninggloria) October 16, 2020 Savannah Guthrie is doing very well so far in this format. She’s being direct, persistent, correcting misinformation and not letting the president avoid answering questions. Future debate moderators should take notes. — Liam Stack (@liamstack) October 16, 2020
16 Oct 2020 03.03 BST A noteworthy moment today was that Trump – while evading Guthrie’s direct question – more or less agreed with reporting that he owes hundreds of millions of dollars to creditors. “When you look at vast properties like I have, and they’re big and they’re beautiful and they’re well-located, when you look at that, the amount of money, $400 million, is a peanut, it’s extremely underleveraged,” Trump said. “Not a big deal.” – Maanvi Singh
Updated at 03.07 BST
16 Oct 2020 02.59 BST Max Benwell If you’re looking for funny tweets about tonight’s town halls, it doesn’t get much better than this from Donald Trump’s niece Mary (who also happens to be one of his fiercest critics): Actually . . . https://t.co/tdmNIjBP4j — Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) October 16, 2020
16 Oct 2020 02.58 BST Joe Biden continued to take questions from the town hall audience even after the event concluded. Biden is continuing to interact with the audience even after his @ABC town hall has concluded: pic.twitter.com/BzypF7mSKo — Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) October 16, 2020 The town hall ended about 30 minutes ago, and the Democratic nominee appears to still be talking to attendees while wearing his face mask. ABC News did not filter through the audio from the town hall venue after it ended, so it wasn’t clear what Biden was saying to attendees. - Joan E Greve
16 Oct 2020 02.53 BST The Trump campaign attacked NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie in a statement released after tonight’s dueling town halls. “Even though the commission canceled the in-person debate that could have happened tonight, one occurred anyway, and President Trump soundly defeated NBC’s Savannah Guthrie in her role as debate opponent and Joe Biden surrogate,” said Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director. Guthrie has been widely praised for pressing Trump on his coronavirus testing history and the QAnon conspiracy theory, which the president refused to denounce. - Joan E Greve
16 Oct 2020 02.51 BST Tonight was not the first time Donald Trump has declined to condemn QAnon, a rightwing conspiracy theory. Adherents of the conspiracy believe, among other things, that a cabal of Satan-worshipping Democrats, celebrities, and global elites engage in pedophilia, human trafficking, and the harvesting of the blood of abused children. They believe that Trump is waging a behind the scenes battle against this cabal and its “deep state” allies. This summer Trump said QAnon followers, who have been labeled domestic terrorism threat by the FBI, “love our country” and “like me very much”. My colleague Julia Carrie Wong explains the conspiracy theory and its impact: QAnon explained: the antisemitic conspiracy theory gaining traction around the world Read more – Maanvi Singh
Updated at 02.53 BST
16 Oct 2020 02.38 BST Perhaps because he was so directly, insistently asked to answer for his own record – Trump barely even mentioned his opponent Biden. He tried to deflect to Biden when Guthrie asked him about his hesitance to denounce white supremacists. Trump: You didn’t ask Joe Biden whether or not he denounces Antifa. I watched him on the same basic show with Lester Holt, and he was asking questions like Biden was a child. Guthrie: Well – so, this is a little bit of a dodge. Trump: Are you listening? I denounce white supremacy. Guthrie: OK. Trump has long struggled to find an effective line of attack against Biden. He’s recently settled on ridiculing Biden’s age, but it’s unclear how effective that is considering that Trump is about the same age, and many of his supporters are themselves, senior citizens. – Maanvi Singh
16 Oct 2020 02.37 BST Max Benwell In a standout moment of both town halls tonight, the mother of a trans child asked Biden a question on her daughter’s rights. As many have pointed out, a discussion on LGBTQ+ rights in general has been notably absent in the 2020 campaign so far, but many have praised Biden for his response to the question: This awesome mom Mieke Haeck asked Joe Biden about how he'd protect her trans daughter, cited the Trump-Pence administration's rollback of trans rights pic.twitter.com/k23GTQkAKA — Brennan Suen (@brennansuen) October 16, 2020 We just got the first Transgender question in the whole damn campaign. Biden says he promises there is no reason to suggest there should be any right denied to Transpeople that is enjoyed by anyone else. Thank you! — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) October 16, 2020 Holy sh*t! Joe acknowledged the high rates of deaths of Black trans women and the work of Beau Biden. This is an issue that is not getting due attention on the national level. #BidenTownHall — Nadia E. Brown (@BrownPhDGirl) October 16, 2020 Joe Biden is now discussing the murder of transgender women of color and how he plans to protect trans people. Again, he’s not perfect but bare minimum this is refreshing to hear. — Hilary Buff(y): Vampire Slayer (@ItsHilaryBuff) October 16, 2020 I think Biden needs a little more education about how to talk about trans identities, but his position seems in the right place and I can’t imagine how the other guy would have answered a question like that. https://t.co/NiC2NRj9yA — Andy Mientus (@andymientus) October 16, 2020
Updated at 02.54 BST
16 Oct 2020 02.35 BST Biden town hall concludes Anchor George Stephanopoulos closed the town hall with Joe Biden by asking the Democratic nominee about whether Trump would take a coronavirus test before the next debate. Biden said he would demand that the president receive a negative test result before the two nominees debate again, noting he has been taking daily tests since Trump announced his coronavirus diagnosis. “It’s just decency,” Biden said. “I’m less concerned about me than the guys with the cameras.” When asked whether he planned to attend the debate scheduled for next Thursday, Biden said, “I expect to be there.” - Joan E Greve
Updated at 02.35 BST
16 Oct 2020 02.31 BST Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Joe Biden what it would say about the country if he lost to Trump next month. “It could say that I’m a lousy candidate and I didn’t do a good job,” Biden joked. But the Democratic nominee emphasized he would not want his loss to be read as a sign that the country is embracing divisiveness. “I hope that it doesn’t say that we are as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds with one another as it appears, as the president wants us to be,” Biden said. - Joan E Greve
16 Oct 2020 02.28 BST A town hall attendee with a transgender daughter asked Joe Biden what he would do to protect the rights of transgender Americans. Asked by a mother of a transgender child about what he will do to protect LGBTQ rights, former VP Biden says: "I will flat out just change the law." https://t.co/JEyTOkB6qk #BidenTownHall pic.twitter.com/fxg7AhKwHG — ABC News (@ABC) October 16, 2020 “I will flat out just change the law,” Biden said, pledging to reverse Trump’s executive orders on the issue, such as the president’s ban on transgender people from serving in the US military. “There should be zero discrimination,” Biden said. He added, “And what’s happening is, too many transgender women of color are being murdered.” - Joan E Greve
16 Oct 2020 02.23 BST Moments ago, Joe Biden was asked about the Green New Deal, which his campaign website describes as a “crucial framework” for climate policy. Biden says he is not for the Green New Deal, despite calling it "a crucial framework" on his campaign website. pic.twitter.com/vcdLFtGr0G — The Recount (@therecount) October 16, 2020 “My deal is a crucial framework but not the New Green Deal,” Biden said, mispronouncing the name of the progressive plan. Here’s what Biden’s campaign website says: “Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face.” - Joan E Greve
16 Oct 2020 02.22 BST FBI is examining claims made in New York Post article While the Trump town hall aired on its network, NBC broke the news that federal investigators are examining whether emails that Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani claims to have found on a laptop at a computer repair shop incriminate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The FBI has seized the laptop, NBC reports. The Post, a conservative tabloid, implicated Joe Biden in connection with his son Hunter’s business with a Ukrainian energy company Burisma and was headlined: “Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad.” Both Bidens have said no such meeting was offered, and none took place. US intelligence agencies reportedly warned the White House last year that Giuliani was the target of a Russian influence operation. – Maanvi Singh
Updated at 02.25 BST
16 Oct 2020 02.22 BST Max Benwell A woman sitting just behind Trump has garnered fans on the right after nodding continuously and enthusiastically – and even giving a thumbs up while he spoke during tonight’s town hall: The star of the Trump town hall was the woman sitting over Trump's shoulder
It's excellent to have a black woman nodding in agreement and showing support for Trump as he gets attacked by a hostile leftist pic.twitter.com/2XVzbn1v6a — Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 16, 2020 FWIW, my phone is blowing up with people loving the woman seated behind Trump on his left. — Mollie (@MZHemingway) October 16, 2020 Gotta love the masked woman behind Trump nodding her head every time Trump says anything. #townhall — Gretchen Carlson (@GretchenCarlson) October 16, 2020 Journalists, if you don’t find out who that woman is nodding behind Trump at an “undecided” voter town hall, then I don’t know what you’re getting paid for — Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 16, 2020
16 Oct 2020 02.18 BST A town hall attendee asked Joe Biden if Trump deserved credit for creating peace through his foreign policy agenda. Biden said Trump might deserve “a little” credit but not much because the country has never been more isolated than it is now. Trump has reportedly considered delivering a major foreign policy speech on withdrawing more troops from Afghanistan before election day. - Joan E Greve
16 Oct 2020 02.11 BST Joe Biden reiterated his opposition to banning fracking, a crucial issue for voters in Pennsylvania, where his town hall is taking place. Biden reiterated he did not support banning fracking, but he emphasized that fracking must be handled safely. Anchor George Stephanopoulos told Biden: “Not everyone buys your denial” on a fracking ban. Trump has consistently said Biden would ban fracking, and the Democratic nominee has offered numerous denials of that. - Joan E Greve
Updated at 02.16 BST


theguardian--2020-10-16--Trump and Biden offer dramatically different visions at dueling town halls

In a split-screen display , US voters heard dramatically different visions from Donald Trump and Joe Biden , his democratic challenger , at dueling town hall-style events on Thursday night , less than three weeks before the election .
The candidates were originally scheduled to participate in the second of three presidential debates in Miami , until Trump abruptly withdrew from the forum after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be held remotely due to concerns the US president might still be infectious with coronavirus .
Speaking on NBC News from the Pérez Art Museum in Miami @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 Americans , while inaccurately claiming the nation was “ rounding the corner ” in its fight against the virus .
“ We ’ re a winner , ” he told moderator , Savannah Guthrie , who challenged his assertions .
“ We have done an amazing job .
And it ’ s rounding the corner .
And we have the vaccines coming and we have the therapies coming.
” More than 1,000 miles away , at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia , Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called for a far more robust national response .
“ He missed enormous opportunities and kept saying things that weren ’ t true , ” Biden said , noting that Trump acknowledged to the journalist Bob Woodward in February that coronavirus was “ more deadly than even your strenuous flus ” .
“ The president was informed how dangerous this virus was , ” the former vice-president said .
Shortly after Trump withdrew from the presidential debate , the Biden campaign proceeded to set up a telecast with ABC News in Philadelphia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But Trump , slipping farther behind in national and battleground state polling , was unwilling to cede the prime-time coverage to his opponent .
On Wednesday , NBC news announced that it would hold a town hall with Trump in Miami on Thursday night , at the same time ABC will air its forum with Biden .
Speaking on Fox Business ahead of the event Trump bashed NBC News and claimed he was being “ set up tonight ” in what amounted to “ a free hour on television ” .
And he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Carolina by swiping at moderator Savannah Guthrie and other network anchors .
“ So you know , I ’ m being set up tonight , right .
I ’ m doing this town hall with Con-cast , ” Trump said , mocking the name of NBC ’ s parent company .
“ So I ’ m doing it and it ’ s NBC .
The worst.
” Trump mocked network anchor Lester Holt and political director Chuck Todd , while lamenting that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ’ s town hall on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meant for children.
” “ And so they asked me if I ’ d do it , and I figured what the hell , we ’ ve got a free hour on television , ” he said .
Trump returned to the campaign trail this week following his hospitalization with the coronavirus .
Ahead of his first public rally on Monday night , the White House physician Sean Conley said that the president had tested negative on consecutive days and was no longer contagious .
Biden ’ s vice presidential running mate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend after two people who had traveled with her tested positive for the coronavirus .
The campaign said Harris had not been in close contact with either person and had since tested negative for the virus .
Biden was also tested for the virus on Thursday and his campaign said the result was negative .
“ It ’ s rounding the corner , ” Trump said of the coronavirus , as cases begin to rise across the country .

In a split-screen display, US voters heard dramatically different visions from Donald Trump and Joe Biden, his democratic challenger, at dueling town hall-style events on Thursday night, less than three weeks before the election.
Appearing at the same time on different channels in different battleground states, Trump and Biden answered questions from voters instead of participating in what was scheduled to be the second of three presidential debates in Miami. But the unusual evening, a fitting coda to a campaign unlike any in modern history, allowed the candidates to present themselves to voters in a different format after their shambolic debate last month.
Speaking on NBC News from the Pérez Art Museum in Miami, a combative Trump defended his handling of the pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 Americans, while inaccurately claiming the nation was “rounding the corner” in its fight against the virus.
“We’re a winner,” he told the moderator, Savannah Guthrie, who challenged his assertions. “We have done an amazing job. And it’s rounding the corner. And we have the vaccines coming and we have the therapies coming.”
Nearly 1,200 miles away, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Biden slammed the president’s response and called for a far more robust national response during a town hall with ABC News.
“He missed enormous opportunities and kept saying things that weren’t true,” Biden said, noting that Trump acknowledged to the journalist Bob Woodward in February that coronavirus was “more deadly than even your strenuous flus”.
“The president was informed how dangerous this virus was,” the former vice-president said.
Perched on a stool outside the museum in Miami, Trump, who was only recently released from the hospital after being diagnosed with the coronavirus, was evasive about whether he had been tested on the day of the first presidential debate, as was required of each candidate. “Possibly I did, possibly I didn’t,” he said.
Loud and defensive, Trump clashed repeatedly with Guthrie, who challenged him as he unfurled a litany of false claims about voter fraud in the US, which he offered as a potential rationale for not accepting the results of the November election.
02:21 Trump grilled on white supremacy, QAnon and his taxes by Savannah Guthrie – video
“They talk about, ‘Will you accept a peaceful transfer?’ And the answer is yes, I will – but I want it to be an honest election, and so does everybody else,” Trump said.
Notably, Trump refused to disavow QAnon, claiming he knew nothing about the rightwing conspiracy theory group except that “they are very much against pedophilia”.
“I just don’t know about QAnon,” Trump said.
“You do know,” Guthrie shot back.
“I don’t know,” he said again.
Just days before, Trump tweeted a false claim by the group that alleged Barack Obama fabricated the killing of Osama bin Laden, prompting a rebuke from a member of the Seal Team Six that participated in the mission.
Asked why he had elevated this conspiracy theory, Trump downplayed any responsibility, insisting that he was simply sharing “an opinion of somebody”.
“You’re the president!” Guthrie exclaimed. “You’re not, like, someone’s crazy uncle who can retweet whatever.”
In another contentious exchange, Trump appeared to confirm a New York Times investigation that revealed he is $421m in debt, saying: “When you look at vast properties like I have ... the amount of money, $400m, is a peanut.” He added: “Not a big deal.”
The evening wasn’t entirely confrontational for Trump.
“You’re so handsome when you smile,” a voter named Paulette told the president, who smiled bashfully and thanked her before deflecting her question on immigration.
Seated comfortably in a plush chair onstage, Biden, earnest if discursive, engaged with the voters seated in the auditorium, who asked him about his plans for the virus, taxes and the supreme court. After the event, he lingered in the hall and continued to speak to audience members.
This video has been removed. This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. Joe Biden lays out plans for tax, Covid and the supreme court in town hall event – video
Biden again refused to state his position on court-packing, telling the moderator, George Stephanopoulos, that he had previously opposed the idea of adding additional justices to the court. But he left the door open to changing his mind, depending on how Senate Republicans handle the confirmation of the supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in the coming weeks. Asked if voters would have a clear understanding of his position before election day, Biden said they would.
“They do have a right to know where I stand,” he said. “And they’ll have a right to know where I stand before they vote.”
Pressed on his role authoring the 1994 crime bill, and the impact it had on mass incarceration, Biden conceded that elements of it were a “mistake” but argued that conditions had changed “drastically” since the law was passed.
In a poignant moment, Biden was asked by the mother of a trans daughter what he would do to protect LGBTQ+ rights.
“I will flat out just change the law,” Biden said, vowing that a Biden administration would work to ensure her daughter had the same rights and opportunities as her other daughter.
The candidates were originally scheduled to square off in Miami, until Trump abruptly withdrew from the forum after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be held remotely due to concerns the US president might still be infectious with coronavirus. Shortly afterward, the Biden campaign proceeded to set up a telecast with ABC News in Philadelphia and the commission formally canceled the debate.
Trump speaks with Savannah Guthrie at the town hall in Miami. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
But Trump, slipping farther behind in national and battleground state polling, was unwilling to cede the prime-time coverage to his opponent. On Wednesday, NBC news announced that it would hold the town hall with Trump in Miami at the same time ABC aired its forum with Biden.
Speaking on the Fox Business channel before the event, Trump bashed NBC News and claimed he was being “set up tonight” in what amounted to “a free hour on television”. And he previewed the event during a rally in North Carolina by swiping at moderator Savannah Guthrie and other network anchors.
Trump returned to the campaign trail this week following his hospitalization with the coronavirus. Ahead of his first public rally on Monday night, the White House physician Sean Conley said that the president had tested negative on consecutive days and was no longer contagious.
Biden’s vice-presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, canceled her travel through the weekend after two people who had traveled with her tested positive for the coronavirus.
The campaign said Harris had not been in close contact with either person and had since tested negative for the virus. Biden was also tested for the virus on Thursday and his campaign said the result was negative.


theguardian--2020-10-16--Trump refuses to disavow QAnon conspiracy theory during town hall

Donald Trump refused to denounce QAnon – a rightwing conspiracy theory that the FBI believes is a potential domestic terror threat – during an NBC town hall on Thursday night .
Asked by the NBC host Savannah Guthrie if he would denounce the theory and “ just say it ’ s crazy and not true ” , Trump responded : “ I don ’ t know about QAnon.
” Guthrie suggested to Trump that he did actually know about the conspiracy theory , which has been widely covered in the press and has found support among many of Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hear about it , they are very strongly against pedophilia , ” Trump said .
QAnon adherents believe that a cabal of Satan-worshipping Democrats , Hollywood celebrities and billionaires runs the world while engaging in pedophilia , human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children .
The conspiracy theory has roots in antisemitic tropes .
After Trump ’ s comment , Guthrie again pressed him to clarify that he did not believe in the conspiracy theory .
As Trump continued to equivocate , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said : “ So cute.
” Later Guthrie asked Trump why he had retweeted a QAnon Twitter account which claimed , baselessly , that Joe Biden had had a navy Seal team killed .
“ That was a retweet !
People can decide for themselves !
” Trump said .
Guthrie responded : “ I don ’ t get that .
You ’ re the president , not someone ’ s crazy uncle.
” The Trump town hall , in Miami , was scheduled after Trump refused to commit to a virtual presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the same time on ABC .
Several Republican candidates running for Congress in November have backed QAnon – and in turn been endorsed by Trump .

Donald Trump refused to denounce QAnon – a rightwing conspiracy theory that the FBI believes is a potential domestic terror threat – during an NBC town hall on Thursday night.
Asked by the NBC host Savannah Guthrie if he would denounce the theory and “just say it’s crazy and not true”, Trump responded: “I don’t know about QAnon.”
Guthrie suggested to Trump that he did actually know about the conspiracy theory, which has been widely covered in the press and has found support among many of Trump’s supporters.
“What I do hear about it, they are very strongly against pedophilia,” Trump said.
Trump refusing to disavow Qanon.
pic.twitter.com/Srvtckq4vp — Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) October 16, 2020
QAnon adherents believe that a cabal of Satan-worshipping Democrats, Hollywood celebrities and billionaires runs the world while engaging in pedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children. The conspiracy theory has roots in antisemitic tropes.
After Trump’s comment, Guthrie again pressed him to clarify that he did not believe in the conspiracy theory.
As Trump continued to equivocate, and the pair talked over one another, Trump said: “So cute.”
After talking over moderator Savannah Guthrie, ignoring questions about QAnon, Trump says "So cute." pic.twitter.com/gOdj0sKdBo — The Recount (@therecount) October 16, 2020
Later Guthrie asked Trump why he had retweeted a QAnon Twitter account which claimed, baselessly, that Joe Biden had had a navy Seal team killed.
“That was a retweet! People can decide for themselves!” Trump said.
Guthrie responded: “I don’t get that. You’re the president, not someone’s crazy uncle.”
06:24 What is QAnon and why is it so dangerous? – video explainer
The Trump town hall, in Miami, was scheduled after Trump refused to commit to a virtual presidential debate. Biden held a town hall at the same time on ABC.
Several Republican candidates running for Congress in November have backed QAnon – and in turn been endorsed by Trump.
Additional reporting by Julia Carrie Wong


theguardian--2020-10-15--Rudy Giuliani's daughter endorses Joe Biden

Rudy Giuliani ’ s daughter has endorsed Joe Biden for president in an essay for Vanity Fair , writing that in this historic election “ none of us can afford to be silent ” .
“ My father is Rudy Giuliani , ” Caroline Rose Giuliani said in the magazine .
“ We are multiverses apart , politically and otherwise .
I ’ ve spent a lifetime forging an identity in the arts separate from my last name , so publicly declaring myself as a ‘ Giuliani ’ feels counterintuitive , but I ’ ve come to realize that none @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right now.
” The younger Giuliani , a director , actor and writer who lives in Los Angeles , endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and voted for Barack Obama in 2012 .
She writes that since childhood she has engaged in debates with her father about LGBTQ rights , policing and other issues .
“ It felt important to speak my mind , and I ’ m glad we at least managed to communicate at all .
But the chasm was painful nonetheless , and has gotten exponentially more so in Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I imagine many Americans can relate to the helpless feeling this confrontation cycle created in me , but we are not helpless .
I may not be able to change my father ’ s mind , but together , we can vote this toxic administration out of office.
” Rudy Giuliani , the former mayor of New York , is a personal lawyer to Donald Trump and has been one of the president ’ s loudest endorsers , whether during the Russian investigation , the president ’ s impeachment or the coronavirus crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 3 November election , Giuliani is back in the spotlight with claims to have found incriminating evidence on a discarded computer of Joe Biden ’ s son Hunter .
Twitter and Facebook have been restricting the dissemination of the New York Post ’ s article reporting the unlikely and unsubstantiated claim .
“ If being the daughter of a polarizing mayor who became the president ’ s personal bulldog has taught me anything , it is that corruption starts with ‘ yes-men ’ and women , the cronies who create an echo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their proximity to power , ” his daughter writes .
“ We have to stand and fight , ” she argues .
“ The only way to end this nightmare is to vote .
There is hope on the horizon , but we ’ ll only grasp it if we elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris .
”

Rudy Giuliani’s daughter has endorsed Joe Biden for president in an essay for Vanity Fair, writing that in this historic election “none of us can afford to be silent”.
“My father is Rudy Giuliani,” Caroline Rose Giuliani said in the magazine. “We are multiverses apart, politically and otherwise. I’ve spent a lifetime forging an identity in the arts separate from my last name, so publicly declaring myself as a ‘Giuliani’ feels counterintuitive, but I’ve come to realize that none of us can afford to be silent right now.”
The younger Giuliani, a director, actor and writer who lives in Los Angeles, endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and voted for Barack Obama in 2012. She writes that since childhood she has engaged in debates with her father about LGBTQ rights, policing and other issues.
“It felt important to speak my mind, and I’m glad we at least managed to communicate at all. But the chasm was painful nonetheless, and has gotten exponentially more so in Trump’s era of chest-thumping partisan tribalism. I imagine many Americans can relate to the helpless feeling this confrontation cycle created in me, but we are not helpless. I may not be able to change my father’s mind, but together, we can vote this toxic administration out of office.”
Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, is a personal lawyer to Donald Trump and has been one of the president’s loudest endorsers, whether during the Russian investigation, the president’s impeachment or the coronavirus crisis.
With less than a month before the 3 November election, Giuliani is back in the spotlight with claims to have found incriminating evidence on a discarded computer of Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Twitter and Facebook have been restricting the dissemination of the New York Post’s article reporting the unlikely and unsubstantiated claim.
“If being the daughter of a polarizing mayor who became the president’s personal bulldog has taught me anything, it is that corruption starts with ‘yes-men’ and women, the cronies who create an echo chamber of lies and subservience to maintain their proximity to power,” his daughter writes.
“We have to stand and fight,” she argues. “The only way to end this nightmare is to vote. There is hope on the horizon, but we’ll only grasp it if we elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”


theguardian--2020-10-15--Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both flew on flights with people who tested positive for Covid-19 - as i

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both flew on flights with people who tested positive for Covid-19 - as it happened

Tonight , Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will face voters – but not each other – at dueling town hall-style events on Thursday night , in lieu of a presidential debate .
The candidates were originally scheduled to participate in the second of three presidential debates in Miami , until Trump abruptly withdrew from the forum after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be held remotely due to concerns the US president might still be infectious with coronavirus .
Shortly after Trump ’ s decision , the Biden campaign proceeded to set up a telecast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commission formally cancelled the debate .
But Trump , slipping farther behind in national and battleground state polling , was unwilling to cede the prime-time coverage to his opponent .
On Wednesday , NBC news announced that it would hold a town hall with Trump in Miami on Thursday night , at the same time ABC will air its forum with Biden .
Speaking on Fox Business ahead of the event Trump bashed NBC News and claimed he was being “ set up tonight ” in what amounted to “ a free hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the event during a rally in North Carolina by swiping at moderator Savannah Guthrie and other network anchors .
“ So you know , I ’ m being set up tonight , right .
I ’ m doing this town hall with Con-cast , ” Trump said , mocking the name of NBC ’ s parent company .
“ So I ’ m doing it and it ’ s NBC .
The worst.
” The Guardian will be following the events live tonight .

Maanvi Singh (now), Joan E Greve, Jessica Glenza and Martin Belam (earlier)

15 Oct 2020 23.50 BST Summary Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will face voters – but not each other – at dueling town hall-style events on Thursday night, in lieu of a presidential debate. The candidates were originally scheduled to participate in the second of three presidential debates in Miami, until Trump abruptly withdrew from the forum after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be held remotely due to concerns the US president might still be infectious with coronavirus. Follow the events live here.
The candidates were originally scheduled to participate in the second of three presidential debates in Miami, until Trump abruptly withdrew from the forum after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be held remotely due to concerns the US president might still be infectious with coronavirus. Follow the events live here. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both flew on planes this week with people who have tested positive for coronavirus. A senior aide to Harris and a flight attendant on her campaign plane tested positive, as did an aviation administrator who flew with Biden. The campaign said neither Biden nor Harris had recent close contact with any of the three people, but Harris has canceled her in-person campaigning through Sunday out of an abundance of caution.
A senior aide to Harris and a flight attendant on her campaign plane tested positive, as did an aviation administrator who flew with Biden. The campaign said neither Biden nor Harris had recent close contact with any of the three people, but Harris has canceled her in-person campaigning through Sunday out of an abundance of caution. There were 898,000 new claims filed for jobless benefits in the US last week. This marks the thirtieth week of elevated unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and it was the highest number recorded since late August.
This marks the thirtieth week of elevated unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and it was the highest number recorded since late August. Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination hearings have concluded. The Senate judiciary committee will hold a vote on her supreme court nomination next Thursday, and the full Senate will then vote on her confirmation. Given that Republicans control the Senate, Barrett is expected to be confirmed.
The Senate judiciary committee will hold a vote on her supreme court nomination next Thursday, and the full Senate will then vote on her confirmation. Given that control the Senate, Barrett is expected to be confirmed. C-SPAN has indefinitely suspended political editor Steve Scully for lying about his Twitter account being hacked. Scully, who was supposed to moderate the second presidential debate before it was canceled, claimed his account had been hacked after he sent a controversial tweet to former Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci.
Scully, who was supposed to moderate the second presidential debate before it was canceled, claimed his account had been hacked after he sent a controversial tweet to former Trump adviser Trump attacked Dr Anthony Fauci during his campaign rally in North Carolina today, after the infectious disease expert criticized the president’s reelection campaign for featuring him in a political ad. “He’s a Democrat; everybody knows that,” Trump said. In reality, Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, does not have a party affiliation, according to his voter registration.
Updated at 00.01 BST
15 Oct 2020 23.47 BST Lauren Gambino Tonight, Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will face voters – but not each other – at dueling town hall-style events on Thursday night, in lieu of a presidential debate. The candidates were originally scheduled to participate in the second of three presidential debates in Miami, until Trump abruptly withdrew from the forum after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be held remotely due to concerns the US president might still be infectious with coronavirus. Shortly after Trump’s decision, the Biden campaign proceeded to set up a telecast with ABC News in Philadelphia and the commission formally cancelled the debate. But Trump, slipping farther behind in national and battleground state polling, was unwilling to cede the prime-time coverage to his opponent. On Wednesday, NBC news announced that it would hold a town hall with Trump in Miami on Thursday night, at the same time ABC will air its forum with Biden. Speaking on Fox Business ahead of the event Trump bashed NBC News and claimed he was being “set up tonight” in what amounted to “a free hour on television”. And he previewed the event during a rally in North Carolina by swiping at moderator Savannah Guthrie and other network anchors. “So you know, I’m being set up tonight, right. I’m doing this town hall with Con-cast,” Trump said, mocking the name of NBC’s parent company. “So I’m doing it and it’s NBC. The worst.” The Guardian will be following the events live tonight. Town halls live: Trump and Biden hold dueling events after canceled debate Read more
Updated at 00.01 BST
15 Oct 2020 23.15 BST Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and Trump ally who has been convalescing from Covid-19, said he was “wrong” to not wear a mask while he attended an event at the White House and while spending time with Trump. Christie attended the Rose Garden event honoring supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett that has been linked to several infections in an outbreak at the White House and helped Trump prepare for the first presidential debate. In a statement to the New York Times, he said: I believed when I entered the White House grounds, that I had entered a safe zone, due to the testing that I and many others underwent every day. I was wrong. I was wrong not to wear a mask at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement and I was wrong not to wear a mask at my multiple debate prep sessions with the president and the rest of the team. I hope that my experience shows my fellow citizens that you should follow C.D.C. guidelines in public no matter where you are and wear a mask to protect yourself and others. Christie spent time at an Intensive Care Unit, and was especially vulnerable to complications from the infection due to his asthma. While he has at times been critical of the president, Christie has on the whole been a loyal ally of the president – who has it was “a blessing from God” that he caught the virus and has continued to draw maskless supporters to campaign rallies across the country. In an interview with the New York Times, Christie did not directly blame Trump for his infection.
Updated at 23.49 BST
15 Oct 2020 22.55 BST Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham are leading in South Carolina, per a new New York Times/Siena College poll. Graham, whose flip-flopping on whether he – as chair of the Senate judiciary committee - would support the nomination of a Supreme Court justice during an election year, has been fighting the toughest reelection race of his senate career. The poll, which questioned 605 likely voters, shows Trump with an eight-point lead and Graham with a 3-point lead. The margin of error on the poll is 4.5%. No Democratic presidential candidate has won in South Carolina since 1976. .
Updated at 22.55 BST
15 Oct 2020 22.45 BST Caroline Rose Giuliani has endorsed Joe Biden for president in an essay for Vanity Fair which details how her politics diverges from her father’s. “My father is Rudy Giuliani,” the younger Giuliani writes. “We are multiverses apart, politically and otherwise. I’ve spent a lifetime forging an identity in the arts separate from my last name, so publicly declaring myself as a ‘Giuliani’ feels counterintuitive, but I’ve come to realize that none of us can afford to be silent right now.” Caroline Rose had endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and writes that since childhood she has engaged in debates with her father about LGBTQ rights, policing and other issues. She writes: “It felt important to speak my mind, and I’m glad we at least managed to communicate at all. But the chasm was painful nonetheless, and has gotten exponentially more so in Trump’s era of chest-thumping partisan tribalism. I imagine many Americans can relate to the helpless feeling this confrontation cycle created in me, but we are not helpless. I may not be able to change my father’s mind, but together, we can vote this toxic administration out of office.” Giuliani and his daughter and son at his wedding. Photograph: Carmen Valdes/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, is a personal lawyer to Donald Trump and one of the president’s loudest endorsers. He has been in the news lately after he claimed to have found incriminating evidence on a discarded computer of Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Twitter has been blocking the dissemination of the New York Post article reporting the unlikely and unsubstantiated claim. “If being the daughter of a polarizing mayor who became the president’s personal bulldog has taught me anything, it is that corruption starts with ‘yes-men’ and women, the cronies who create an echo chamber of lies and subservience to maintain their proximity to power,” Caroline Rose writes. Read the piece here.
Updated at 22.52 BST
15 Oct 2020 22.11 BST Hi there, it’s Maanvi – reporting from the West Coast. Here are the key moments from Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings.
15 Oct 2020 22.00 BST Today so far That’s it from me for now. I’ll be back later tonight to blog Trump and Joe Biden’s dueling town halls. Here’s where the day stands so far: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both flew on planes this week with people who have tested positive for coronavirus. A senior aide to Harris and a flight attendant on her campaign plane tested positive, as did an aviation administrator who flew with Biden. The campaign said neither Biden nor Harris had recent close contact with any of the three people, but Harris has canceled her in-person campaigning through Sunday out of an abundance of caution.
A senior aide to Harris and a flight attendant on her campaign plane tested positive, as did an aviation administrator who flew with Biden. The campaign said neither Biden nor Harris had recent close contact with any of the three people, but Harris has canceled her in-person campaigning through Sunday out of an abundance of caution. There were 898,000 new claims filed for jobless benefits in the US last week. This marks the thirtieth week of elevated unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and it was the highest number recorded since late August.
This marks the thirtieth week of elevated unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and it was the highest number recorded since late August. Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination hearings have concluded. The Senate judiciary committee will hold a vote on her supreme court nomination next Thursday, and the full Senate will then vote on her confirmation. Given that Republicans control the Senate, Barrett is expected to be confirmed.
The Senate judiciary committee will hold a vote on her supreme court nomination next Thursday, and the full Senate will then vote on her confirmation. Given that control the Senate, Barrett is expected to be confirmed. C-SPAN has indefinitely suspended political editor Steve Scully for lying about his Twitter account being hacked. Scully, who was supposed to moderate the second presidential debate before it was canceled, claimed his account had been hacked after he sent a controversial tweet to former Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci.
Scully, who was supposed to moderate the second presidential debate before it was canceled, claimed his account had been hacked after he sent a controversial tweet to former Trump adviser Trump attacked Dr Anthony Fauci during his campaign rally in North Carolina today, after the infectious disease expert criticized the president’s reelection campaign for featuring him in a political ad. “He’s a Democrat; everybody knows that,” Trump said. In reality, Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, does not have a party affiliation, according to his voter registration.
My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
15 Oct 2020 21.48 BST The president is previewing his NBC News town hall tonight by attacking the network. “I will be doing a major Fake @NBCNews Town Hall Forum, live tonight from Miami, at 8:00 P.M.,” Trump said in a new tweet. “They asked me to do it in place of the Rigged Steve Scully (he is now suspended from @cspan for lying) Debate. I wonder if they’ll treat me as well as Sleepy Joe? They should!” I will be doing a major Fake @NBCNews Town Hall Forum, live tonight from Miami, at 8:00 P.M. They asked me to do it in place of the Rigged Steve Scully (he is now suspended from @cspan for lying) Debate. I wonder if they’ll treat me as well as Sleepy Joe? They should! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2020 Joe Biden participated in an NBC News town hall last week, and he is holding another town hall with ABC News tonight, at the same time as Trump’s event. The dueling town halls are occurring in place of the second presidential debate, which was canceled after Trump refused to agree to a virtual format to limit the potential spread of coronavirus after he tested positive.
15 Oct 2020 21.33 BST According to Joe Biden’s campaign, the aviation administrator who has tested positive for coronavirus flew with the nominee on Monday and Tuesday of this week. “This individual traveled on the plane during the vice-president’s trip to Ohio on Monday and Florida on Tuesday, and was stationed in the last row of the 737 aircraft - over 50 feet away from the vice-president - throughout all of the flights,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in her statement. “This distance is well beyond the standard two rows (in front and behind) of distance the CDC generally uses when conducting contact investigations on aircraft for infectious diseases.” Dillon noted that this individual last tested negative on 11 October and sought another test today after developing coronavirus symptoms and being contacted as part of the contact tracing effort from the two other positive test results reported earlier today. Because of the minimal contact between Biden and this individual, the nominee will not be quarantining or changing his travel plans, as Kamala Harris did. “As we announced earlier today, Senator Harris’ contact with the crew member on her flight, and her staffer, were so incidental that she is not required to quarantine. Nonetheless, we postponed her travel plans out of an abundance of caution given even this incidental contact,” Dillon said. “Given that the vice-president had no physical proximity at all with this administrative crew member, and that his plane is larger than Senator Harris’ plane, and the distance from the individual is significant (over 50 feet), there is no reason to even undertake such a caution.”
Updated at 21.38 BST
15 Oct 2020 21.25 BST Aviation administrator on Biden's campaign plane tests positive for coronavirus An aviation administrator who flew with Joe Biden on his campaign plane has tested positive for coronavirus, the Democrat’s campaign manager announced in a statement. “Around noon on Thursday, October 15th, we learned – as part of our contact tracing of the crew member on Senator Harris’ plane that tested positive for Covid last night – that an administrative member of the aviation company that charters Vice President Biden’s aircraft tested positive for Covid-19,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon in a statement. Dillon noted that Biden “was not in close contact” with the person, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “In fact, the vice-president did not even have passing contact: this individual was over 50 feet from VP Biden at all times, entered and exited the aircraft from a rear entrance, and both the individual and the vice-president wore masks for the entire flight,” Dillon said. “Given these facts, we have been advised by the vice-president’s doctor and the campaign’s medical advisors that there is no need for the vice-president to quarantine.” The news comes just hours after the campaign announced one of Kamala Harris’ senior aides and a flight attendant on her plane tested positive for the virus.
Updated at 21.41 BST
15 Oct 2020 21.18 BST Joanna Walters We’ll let the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speak for herself on US supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s climate crisis conversation yesterday with Senator and VP-nominee Kamala Harris. To be fair, I don't have any "views on climate change" either. Just like I don't have any "views" on gravity, the fact that the earth is round, photosynthesis nor evolution...
But understanding and knowing their existence really makes life in the 21st century so much easier. https://t.co/R7oOIyBsHC — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) October 15, 2020 During her nomination hearing yesterday, Barrett refused to say whether she believed climate change was happening and threatening Americans’ health. Barrett told Harris, “I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial.” Harris replied, “Thank you, Judge Barrett. You’ve made your point clear that you believe it’s a debatable point.”
03:27 Amy Coney Barrett refuses to tell Kamala Harris if she thinks climate change is happening – video
15 Oct 2020 21.06 BST Trump took a victory lap after C-SPAN announced it was indefinitely suspending Steve Scully for lying about his Twitter account being hacked. I was right again! Steve Scully just admitted he was lying about his Twitter being hacked. The Debate was Rigged! He was suspended from @cspan indefinitely. The Trump Campaign was not treated fairly by the “Commission”. Did I show good instincts in being the first to know? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2020 “I was right again! Steve Scully just admitted he was lying about his Twitter being hacked. The Debate was Rigged! He was suspended from @cspan indefinitely. The Trump Campaign was not treated fairly by the ‘Commission’. Did I show good instincts in being the first to know?” Trump said in a tweet. It should be noted that Scully sent the tweet at the center of this controversy after the president attacked him as a “never Trumper” because he interned for Biden’s Senate office more than four decades ago.
15 Oct 2020 20.46 BST C-SPAN suspends political editor for lying about Twitter hack - reports C-SPAN has reportedly suspended political editor Steve Scully, who was supposed to moderate the second presidential debate, for lying about his Twitter account being hacked. The AP reports: A week ago, after Trump had criticized him as a ‘never Trumper,’ Scully tweeted “@Scaramucci should I respond to Trump.” [Anthony] Scaramucci, a former Trump communications director and now a critic of the president, advised Scully to ignore him.
Scully said that when he saw his tweet had created a controversy, ‘I falsely claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked.’ He had been frustrated by Trump’s comments and several weeks of criticism on social media and conservative news outlets about his role as moderator, including attacks directed at his family, he said. ‘These were both errors in judgement for which I am totally responsible for,’ Scully said. ‘I apologize.’ Scully was supposed to moderate the second debate tonight, but the Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the debate after Trump refused to agree to a virtual event to prevent him from potentially spreading coronavirus.
15 Oct 2020 20.30 BST Trump attacks Fauci after criticism over campaign ad Trump also attacked Dr Anthony Fauci during his North Carolina campaign rally today, after the infectious disease expert criticized the president’s reelection campaign for featuring him in a political ad. Trump brings up Fauci, prompting boos at his rally. Trump then lies about Fauci's statements, suggested he once said "do not wear a mask under any circumstances," which he never did.
"He's a nice guy, so I keep him around," Trump says, dismissively pic.twitter.com/8zBv1E9qVk — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 15, 2020 The president mocked Fauci for altering his advice to Americans on wearing face masks to limit the spread of coronavirus. “He said do not wear a mask, do not wear a mask under any circumstances” Trump told the crowd. “Then they say, ‘Oh, wear a mask’.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially said healthy people without any known exposure to coronavirus did not have to wear masks, but the agency altered that guidance after evidence showed masks could help limit the spread of the virus from people who are asymptomatic or not yet showing symptoms. Trump also said of Fauci: “He’s a Democrat; everybody knows that.” Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, actually does not have a party affiliation, according to his voter registration. In North Carolina, President Trump claims "everybody knows" that Dr. Fauci, who has worked under presidents from both parties, is a Democrat. His voter registration: pic.twitter.com/PYIiifkz6q — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 15, 2020 Fauci has also explicitly said he did not want to be featured in Trump’s campaign ads because “it’s so clear that I’m not a political person”. “I have never – either directly or indirectly – endorsed a political candidate,” Fauci told CNN on Monday. “And to take a completely out-of-context statement and put it in which is obviously a political campaign ad, I thought was really very disappointing.”
Updated at 20.37 BST
15 Oct 2020 20.14 BST During his campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump suggested the coronavirus pandemic is going to “peter out,” even as cases rise across the country. “It’s going to peter out, and it’s going to end, but we’re going to help the end,” Trump said, offering very rosy predictions about the development of a coronavirus vaccine and therapeutics. "It's going to peter out and it's going to end" -- Trump lies about the trajectory of the coronavirus outbreak in the US
Trump then shouts out Ronna McDaniel, who is apparently traveling to political rallies again after her own bout with Covid pic.twitter.com/zs1CYN26ev — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 15, 2020 But the number of new coronavirus cases is actually rising in many states. The seven-day national average of new cases has reached 53,124, up from 38,216 a month ago, according to the New York Times. Many experts have said the rise in the Midwest is particularly worrisome, as Americans in those states huddle inside more frequently due to falling temperatures.
15 Oct 2020 19.37 BST Trump gets in a dig against Harris while offering 'best wishes' Speaking at his campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump sent his “best wishes” to Kamala Harris after one of her top aides and a flight attendant she has traveled with tested positive for coronavirus. “We extend our best wishes,” Trump said. “We extend our best wishes, which is more than they did to me, but that’s okay.” "The glass ceiling broke her, but there will be a woman that breaks the glass ceiling, it just won't be Hillary. And you know who else it won't be? It won't be Kamala...but I'm very concerned about her, because 2 people that travel with her...they have tested positive" -- Trump pic.twitter.com/v484zRmMvT — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 15, 2020 In reality, both Joe Biden and Harris said they hoped the president and the first lady would make a full recovery after Trump announced they had tested positive for coronavirus. “Doug and I join Joe Biden and Dr. Biden in wishing President Trump and the First Lady a full and speedy recovery,” Harris said in an October 2 tweet. “We’re keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts. Doug and I join Joe Biden and Dr. Biden in wishing President Trump and the First Lady a full and speedy recovery. We’re keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts. — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 2, 2020
15 Oct 2020 19.28 BST Amy Coney Barrett nomination hearings conclude Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, has officially gaveled out the final day of Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination hearings. Senator @LindseyGrahamSC and @SenFeinstein shake hands and hug after the #SCOTUShearings conclude.
Full video here: https://t.co/lKxfaDOIaZ pic.twitter.com/rj1diSUxAQ — CSPAN (@cspan) October 15, 2020 Graham said earlier today that the committee would hold a vote on Barrett’s nomination to the supreme court next Thursday, after which the full Senate will vote on her nomination. Given that Republicans control the Senate, Barrett is expected to be approved by the committee and confirmed by the full chamber. As the final day of Barrett’s hearings concluded, Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee, applauded Graham’s leadership over the past few days. Feinstein and Graham shook hands and hugged as they left the hearing room, which will likely frustrate the public health experts who have urged Americans to minimize such interactions amid the coronavirus pandemic.


theguardian--2020-10-15--Joe Biden and Kamala Harris flew with people who tested positive for Covid-19

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both travelled on flights that carried someone who subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus , it emerged on Thursday .
Harris , the Democratic vice-presidential nominee , abruptly canceled her travel for the coming few days after two people associated with the Biden-Harris election campaign tested positive for coronavirus .
That news came earlier on Thursday and was followed by a later statement from the campaign that Biden , the presidential nominee , had been on a flight in which a crew member had tested positive .
The campaign stressed that Biden was “ not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came as the two men vying for the White House in the 3 November election , Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger , were set to take part in separate but simultaneous town hall events to face voters ’ questions on Thursday night – after their face-to-face debate was canceled when the president got coronavirus .
“ Around noon on Thursday , October 15 , we learned – as part of our contact tracing of the crew member on Senator Harris ’ plane that tested positive for Covid last night – that an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charters Vice-President Biden ’ s aircraft tested positive for Covid-19 , ” Jen O ’ Malley Dillon said in the statement .
Dillon said Biden “ was not in close contact ” with the person , as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
“ In fact , the Vice-President did not even have passing contact : this individual was over 50 feet from VP Biden at all times , entered and exited the aircraft from a rear entrance , and both the individual and the Vice-President wore masks for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Given these facts , we have been advised by the Vice-President ’ s doctor and the campaign ’ s medical advisers that there is no need for the Vice-President to quarantine.
” This morning it emerged that Harris had been on a flight this week with two individuals two days before their positive Covid-19 tests .
The individuals were Harris ’ s communications director , Liz Allen , and a “ non-staff flight crew member ” .
Because Harris and these contacts wore medical-grade N95 face masks during the flight and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for more than 15 minutes , they do not meet the CDC definition of “ close contact ” .
For that reason , Harris does not meet full quarantine criteria , which would normally require an individual to be in isolation for two weeks .
But “ out of an abundance of caution ” the campaign canceled her normal schedule of events through Sunday , while promising a “ robust and aggressive ” round of online campaigning intended to reach far and wide .
The individuals who tested positive were not in contact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the uncertainty created and the hiatus in in-person events for Harris was an undoubted blow to the Democratic election campaign with less than three weeks before polling day .
The Harris campaign put out a statement saying the news of the positive tests came in late on Wednesday .
It added that the Harris intended to return to in-person campaigning on Monday .
The campaign said that Harris last tested negative for coronavirus on Wednesday and she will be tested again .
Trump , meanwhile , embarked on a frantic day of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hall evening event , and has fallen behind in the polls with less than three weeks to go , while Biden was set for a low-key day of online fundraising before his dueling event .
Trump has been crisscrossing the nation in a way a campaign would normally proceed in the closing stages of an election , trying to sway uncertain voters and project images of an enthusiastic loyal base and a vigorous candidate , which have been largely absent in 2020 during the pandemic .
In sharp contrast , Biden has only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been relying heavily on online campaigning and huge spends on TV and social media advertising .
And unlike Trump ’ s packed campaign rallies , which flout federal public health advice and where attendees are largely maskless , in line with his infamously dismissive rhetoric on masks and social distancing , Biden events are deliberately sparse and feature ubiquitous mask use .
On Thursday , Trump was making stops en route to Miami , Florida , for his town hall , appearing at a midday rally in battleground North Carolina .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump spent much of the rally downplaying the severity of the virus that has killed more than 217,000 Americans , after largely recovering himself .
“ It ’ s going to peter out .
It ’ s going to end , ” he said of the pandemic – just as he had last winter – even as cases have continued to increase nationwide in recent weeks .
And he mentioned that his own son , Barron , “ recovered so fast ” from the virus to bolster his argument for why schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then planned to to fly to southern Florida to a fundraising event in Doral , where he has a golf resort , before completing a short journey to Miami , where he was due to be quizzed by voters in the town hall event to be broadcast on NBC and some cable stations beginning at 8pm eastern time .
In sharp contrast , Biden ’ s published schedule had him taking part in online fundraising efforts , presumably from his home and campaign base in Delaware , before traveling the short distance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rival town hall event , taking questions from voters in a session that will be broadcast on ABC .
The two men had been due to take part in the second official presidential debate on the night .
But when the Commission on Presidential debates announced that the debate needed to be held virtually , not in person , after Trump contracted coronavirus , Trump pulled out .

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both travelled on flights that carried someone who subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus, it emerged on Thursday.
Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, abruptly canceled her travel for the coming few days after two people associated with the Biden-Harris election campaign tested positive for coronavirus.
That news came earlier on Thursday and was followed by a later statement from the campaign that Biden, the presidential nominee, had been on a flight in which a crew member had tested positive.
The campaign stressed that Biden was “not in close contact”.
The news came as the two men vying for the White House in the 3 November election, Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, were set to take part in separate but simultaneous town hall events to face voters’ questions on Thursday night – after their face-to-face debate was canceled when the president got coronavirus.
“Around noon on Thursday, October 15, we learned – as part of our contact tracing of the crew member on Senator Harris’ plane that tested positive for Covid last night – that an administrative member of the Aviation company that charters Vice-President Biden’s aircraft tested positive for Covid-19,” Jen O’Malley Dillon said in the statement.
Dillon said Biden “was not in close contact” with the person, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“In fact, the Vice-President did not even have passing contact: this individual was over 50 feet from VP Biden at all times, entered and exited the aircraft from a rear entrance, and both the individual and the Vice-President wore masks for the entire flight,” Dillon said.
“Given these facts, we have been advised by the Vice-President’s doctor and the campaign’s medical advisers that there is no need for the Vice-President to quarantine.”
This morning it emerged that Harris had been on a flight this week with two individuals two days before their positive Covid-19 tests. The individuals were Harris’s communications director, Liz Allen, and a “non-staff flight crew member”.
Because Harris and these contacts wore medical-grade N95 face masks during the flight and the infected individuals were not within 6ft for more than 15 minutes, they do not meet the CDC definition of “close contact”.
Liz Allen, Kamala Harris’s communications director. Photograph: Twitter
For that reason, Harris does not meet full quarantine criteria, which would normally require an individual to be in isolation for two weeks.
But “out of an abundance of caution” the campaign canceled her normal schedule of events through Sunday, while promising a “robust and aggressive” round of online campaigning intended to reach far and wide.
The individuals who tested positive were not in contact with Biden, the campaign noted. But the uncertainty created and the hiatus in in-person events for Harris was an undoubted blow to the Democratic election campaign with less than three weeks before polling day.
The Harris campaign put out a statement saying the news of the positive tests came in late on Wednesday.
NEWS: Sen. Harris's campaign communications director and a non staff flight member have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Biden campaign is canceling some of Harris's planned travel. pic.twitter.com/TBme8kjFv4 — Daniel Strauss (@DanielStrauss4) October 15, 2020
It added that the Harris intended to return to in-person campaigning on Monday.
The campaign said that Harris last tested negative for coronavirus on Wednesday and she will be tested again.
Trump, meanwhile, embarked on a frantic day of in-person campaigning on Thursday before the town hall evening event, and has fallen behind in the polls with less than three weeks to go, while Biden was set for a low-key day of online fundraising before his dueling event.
Trump has been crisscrossing the nation in a way a campaign would normally proceed in the closing stages of an election, trying to sway uncertain voters and project images of an enthusiastic loyal base and a vigorous candidate, which have been largely absent in 2020 during the pandemic.
In sharp contrast, Biden has only recently been doing events in person and has been relying heavily on online campaigning and huge spends on TV and social media advertising.
And unlike Trump’s packed campaign rallies, which flout federal public health advice and where attendees are largely maskless, in line with his infamously dismissive rhetoric on masks and social distancing, Biden events are deliberately sparse and feature ubiquitous mask use.
On Thursday, Trump was making stops en route to Miami, Florida, for his town hall, appearing at a midday rally in battleground North Carolina. Biden raised campaign cash at his virtual event.
Trump spent much of the rally downplaying the severity of the virus that has killed more than 217,000 Americans, after largely recovering himself. “It’s going to peter out. It’s going to end,” he said of the pandemic – just as he had last winter – even as cases have continued to increase nationwide in recent weeks.
And he mentioned that his own son, Barron, “recovered so fast” from the virus to bolster his argument for why schools can and should fully reopen.
He then planned to to fly to southern Florida to a fundraising event in Doral, where he has a golf resort, before completing a short journey to Miami, where he was due to be quizzed by voters in the town hall event to be broadcast on NBC and some cable stations beginning at 8pm eastern time.
In sharp contrast, Biden’s published schedule had him taking part in online fundraising efforts, presumably from his home and campaign base in Delaware, before traveling the short distance to Philadelphia, where he will appear in a rival town hall event, taking questions from voters in a session that will be broadcast on ABC.
The two men had been due to take part in the second official presidential debate on the night. But when the Commission on Presidential debates announced that the debate needed to be held virtually, not in person, after Trump contracted coronavirus, Trump pulled out.
Reuters contributed reporting