theguardian--2020-03-06--Republican congressman dares Biden and O'Rourke to take rifle from his office

A Colorado Republican has posted a video of an AR-15 rifle on the wall of his Washington DC office and dared Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden and his putative gun rights czar Beto O ’ Rourke to “ come and take it ” .
But reporters , and the internet in general , were quick to point out the weapon would not only usually be illegal under DC law – it also wasn ’ t loaded .
What , one Twitter user asked , was congressman Ken Buck going to do if Biden or O ’ Rourke did show up looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beto around [ and ] try to poke his eye ?
” Biden has emerged as the favorite for the Democratic nomination to face Donald Trump at the polls in November .
O ’ Rourke , a former Texas congressman , is one of a number of moderates who initially ran against the former vice-president but have now come out to back him .
Last August , O ’ Rourke ’ s home town , El Paso , was the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart in which a gunman who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the aftermath , O ’ Rourke was an emotional champion of federal gun control reform .
Famously – or infamously , if you ’ re in favor of gun ownership under the second amendment to the US constitution – at a Democratic debate O ’ Rourke underlined his support for federally mandated buybacks of assault weapons and said : “ Hell , yes , we ’ re going to take your AR-15 , your AK-47.
” On the right , it made him a figure of fun and fear which only intensified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week O ’ Rourke was “ going to take care of the gun problem with me .
You ’ re going to be the one who leads this effort.
” Buck ’ s video response to this development was blunt .
“ I have a message for Joe Biden and Beto O ’ Rourke , ” he said .
“ If you want to take everyone ’ s AR-15 in America , why don ’ t you swing by my office in Washington DC and start with this one.
” He then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a stars and stripes motif – off his office wall and posed , finger on the trigger .
It seems that if Biden ever did detail O ’ Rourke to go to Buck ’ s office and attempt such a seizure from the 61-year-old Republican , the 47-year-old , 6ft 4in fitness freak might have a fighting chance .
It would not , however , be because O ’ Rourke would have the law behind him .
In fact , Buck does .
As the congressman told the Washington Post in 2015 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because he dutifully submitted to local , federal and political gun regulations .
“ I went to the ethics committee , ” Buck said , “ I got permission to accept the gift .
I went to Capitol Hill police ; I got permission to bring it into my office .
They went to the DC police ; they got permission for me to transport it into the District [ of Columbia ] .
I went to [ the Transportation Security Administration ] , and followed all of the regulations in getting it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here.
” Buck explained what that meant – and why he might struggle to fight O ’ Rourke off .
As well as being unloaded and carrying a trigger lock , Buck ’ s rifle lacks its bolt carrier assembly , without which it can not be fired and which was removed before it came to Washington .
“ Putting a trigger lock on an inoperable gun is like putting a chastity belt on a eunuch , ” he said , evocatively , before eerily foreshadowing the advice he was to receive on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The only dangerous thing about that gun is if someone took it off the wall and hit somebody else over the head with it .
”

A Colorado Republican has posted a video of an AR-15 rifle on the wall of his Washington DC office and dared the Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden and his putative gun rights czar Beto O’Rourke to “come and take it”.
But reporters, and the internet in general, were quick to point out the weapon would not only usually be illegal under DC law – it also wasn’t loaded.
What, one Twitter user asked, was congressman Ken Buck going to do if Biden or O’Rourke did show up looking to take his gun?
“Chase Beto around [and] try to poke his eye?”
Biden has emerged as the favorite for the Democratic nomination to face Donald Trump at the polls in November. O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, is one of a number of moderates who initially ran against the former vice-president but have now come out to back him.
Last August, O’Rourke’s home town, El Paso, was the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart in which a gunman who expressed pro-Trump views killed 22 people. In the aftermath, O’Rourke was an emotional champion of federal gun control reform.
Famously – or infamously, to those in favor of gun ownership under the second amendment to the US constitution – at a Democratic debate O’Rourke underlined his support for federally mandated buybacks of assault weapons and said: “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”
On the right, it made him a figure of fun and fear which only intensified when Biden told a rally in Dallas this week O’Rourke was “going to take care of the gun problem with me. You’re going to be the one who leads this effort.”
Buck’s video response was blunt.
“I have a message for Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke,” he said. “If you want to take everyone’s AR-15 in America, why don’t you swing by my office in Washington DC and start with this one.”
He then took the firearm – brightly painted with a stars and stripes motif – off his office wall and posed, finger on the trigger.
“Come and take it.”
O’Rourke tweeted a statement in response, saying Buck “makes the case for both an assault weapons ban and a mandatory buyback programme better than I ever could”.
It seems that if Biden ever did detail O’Rourke to go to Buck’s office and attempt such a seizure from the 61-year-old Republican, the 47-year-old, 6ft 4in fitness freak might have a fighting chance.
But it would not be because O’Rourke would have the law behind him. In fact, Buck does.
As the congressman told the Washington Post in 2015, the AR-15 is on his wall because he dutifully submitted to local, federal and political gun regulations.
“I went to the ethics committee,” Buck said, “I got permission to accept the gift. I went to Capitol Hill police; I got permission to bring it into my office. They went to the DC police; they got permission for me to transport it into the District [of Columbia]. I went to [the Transportation Security Administration], and followed all of the regulations in getting it on to the plane and getting it here.”
Buck explained what that meant – and why he might struggle to fight O’Rourke off.
As well as being unloaded and carrying a trigger lock, Buck’s rifle lacks its bolt carrier assembly, without which it cannot be fired and which was removed before it came to Washington.
“Putting a trigger lock on an inoperable gun is like putting a chastity belt on a eunuch,” Buck said, evocatively, before eerily foreshadowing the advice he was to receive on a Friday five years later.
“The only dangerous thing about that gun is if someone took it off the wall and hit somebody else over the head with it.”


theguardian--2020-03-06--US internet bill seen as opening shot against end-to-end encryption

US senators have proposed a new law which would make key legal protections that online platforms rely on contingent on those platforms adopting specific practices related to privacy and the prevention of child sexual exploitation .
The act has widely been seen as an opening salvo in a renewed war on end-to-end encryption , with the US justice department ( DoJ ) regularly criticising technology companies for creating products , such as iMessage and WhatsApp , which can not be intercepted by law enforcement .
Proposing what has been called the Earn It Act , a backronym for “ Eliminating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , the new bill was introduced by a bipartisan collection of senators on Thursday .
It proposes an amendment to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , described as “ the 26 words that created the internet ” in a recent book of that name , so that it only applies to platforms certified as following a set of best practices to prevent child abuse and exploitation .
Section 230 indemnifies internet platforms against being viewed as the publishers of the content they host ; before it was passed in 1996 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full legal liability for everything they hosted unless they performed no moderation at all .
The Republican Lindsey Graham , one of the four primary sponsors of the bill , said : “ I appreciate my colleagues working with me on this bill to ensure tech companies are using best business practices to prevent child exploitation online .
This bill is a major first step .
For the first time , you will have to earn blanket liability protection when it comes to protecting minors .
Our goal is to do this in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overly inhibit innovation , but forcibly deals with child exploitation.
” The Democrat Dianne Feinstein , one of California ’ s two senators , and thus Silicon Valley ’ s representative in the Senate , added : “ Technological advances have allowed the online exploitation of children to become much , much worse over recent years .
Companies must do more to combat this growing problem on their online platforms .
Our bill would allow individuals to sue tech companies that don ’ t take proper steps to prevent online child exploitation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect the most vulnerable among us.
” The bill has created unease .
Emma Llansó of the Centre for Democracy and Technology , a nonprofit organisation which campaigns “ to preserve the unique nature of the internet ” , said it “ would give government officials unprecedented powers to craft de facto regulations for online speech .
Online service providers would almost certainly err on the side of caution and take down anything – including a lot of lawful , constitutionally protected speech – that the attorney general might not like.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” that companies would be required to follow is left unspecified in the legislation , instead being placed under the auspices of a national commission on online child sexual exploitation prevention .
But the outline was suggested by a second announcement on Thursday , by the US DoJ and the wider Five Eyes surveillance coalition , which includes the governments of the UK , Canada , Australia and New Zealand .
That group revealed a set of “ voluntary principles to counter online child sexual exploitation and abuse ” , 11 principles that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the aim of protecting children , in particular from peers or adults seeking to engage in harmful sexual activity with children ” and “ seeking to identify and combat the dissemination of new child sexual abuse material via their platforms and services ” .
The UK ’ s Internet Watch Foundation , a charity responsible for finding and removing images of child sexual abuse from the internet , welcomed the principles .
Its chief executive , Susie Hargreaves , said she hoped they would “ encourage more companies to follow the lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do the right thing for victims of child sexual abuse ” .

US senators have proposed a new law which would make key legal protections that online platforms rely on contingent on those platforms adopting specific practices related to privacy and the prevention of child sexual exploitation.
The act has widely been seen as an opening salvo in a renewed war on end-to-end encryption, with the US justice department (DoJ) regularly criticising technology companies for creating products, such as iMessage and WhatsApp, which cannot be intercepted by law enforcement.
Proposing what has been called the Earn It Act, a backronym for “Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies”, the new bill was introduced by a bipartisan collection of senators on Thursday.
It proposes an amendment to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, described as “the 26 words that created the internet” in a recent book of that name, so that it only applies to platforms certified as following a set of best practices to prevent child abuse and exploitation. Section 230 indemnifies internet platforms against being viewed as the publishers of the content they host; before it was passed in 1996, websites ran the risk of taking full legal liability for everything they hosted unless they performed no moderation at all.
The Republican Lindsey Graham, one of the four primary sponsors of the bill, said: “I appreciate my colleagues working with me on this bill to ensure tech companies are using best business practices to prevent child exploitation online. This bill is a major first step. For the first time, you will have to earn blanket liability protection when it comes to protecting minors. Our goal is to do this in a balanced way that doesn’t overly inhibit innovation, but forcibly deals with child exploitation.”
The Democrat Dianne Feinstein, one of California’s two senators, and thus Silicon Valley’s representative in the Senate, added: “Technological advances have allowed the online exploitation of children to become much, much worse over recent years. Companies must do more to combat this growing problem on their online platforms. Our bill would allow individuals to sue tech companies that don’t take proper steps to prevent online child exploitation, and it’s an important step to protect the most vulnerable among us.”
The bill has created unease. Emma Llansó of the Centre for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit organisation which campaigns “to preserve the unique nature of the internet”, said it “would give government officials unprecedented powers to craft de facto regulations for online speech. Online service providers would almost certainly err on the side of caution and take down anything – including a lot of lawful, constitutionally protected speech – that the attorney general might not like.”
The nature of the “best practices” that companies would be required to follow is left unspecified in the legislation, instead being placed under the auspices of a national commission on online child sexual exploitation prevention. But the outline was suggested by a second announcement on Thursday, by the US DoJ and the wider Five Eyes surveillance coalition, which includes the governments of the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
That group revealed a set of “voluntary principles to counter online child sexual exploitation and abuse”, 11 principles that included companies “adopting enhanced safety measures with the aim of protecting children, in particular from peers or adults seeking to engage in harmful sexual activity with children” and “seeking to identify and combat the dissemination of new child sexual abuse material via their platforms and services”.
The UK’s Internet Watch Foundation, a charity responsible for finding and removing images of child sexual abuse from the internet, welcomed the principles. Its chief executive, Susie Hargreaves, said she hoped they would “encourage more companies to follow the lead of our members and step up and do the right thing for victims of child sexual abuse”.


theguardian--2020-03-06--Why Joe Biden won the week in US politics – and everyone else lost

The kaleidoscope of the Democratic race was shaken up again this week as Joe Biden cemented his remarkable comeback with a series of victories on Super Tuesday .
But his leftwing rival Bernie Sanders was far from beaten .
Here ’ s who was up and down this week in US politics .
Only a couple of weeks ago we were all reading the Biden campaign its last rites .
But after the former vice-president to Barack Obama pulled off an impressive victory in South Carolina , his fellow centrists Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropped out and backed him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most viable moderate candidate going into Super Tuesday .
It worked a treat ; Biden won 10 states , including Texas and Massachusetts , the home state of former liberal contender Elizabeth Warren .
The race is far from over , but Biden has decisively reclaimed the mantle of frontrunner from Sanders .
He won ’ t give it up easily .
The leftwing firebrand increased his national poll lead following his landslide in Nevada , and had hoped to present himself as the unassailable frontrunner with an emphatic victory on Super @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California did such a victory manifest itself , and he will have been particularly disappointed to have lost Texas , Virginia and Massachusetts .
In national polling Biden has now reclaimed a slight lead .
Nevertheless , California is so big that its huge delegate haul keeps Sanders firmly in the race , and he has a passionate and impregnable base of support – particularly among the young and Latinos – which is likely to see him fight hand-to-hand through the next weeks and months of primaries , probably all the way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paper Warren could have been the ideal candidate to unite the liberal and centrist wings of the party , but after a strong early start she only managed to cut through again in her powerful attacks on Bloomberg during the debates .
She was squeezed out by Sanders on the left , her healthcare plans came under harsh attack in the media , and sexism also played a role in her failure to catch fire .
She quit the race on Thursday after a disastrous showing on Super Tuesday in which she failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even on her home turf of Massachusetts .
One of the hardest aspects of ending her campaign , she said , was thinking about “ all those little girls who are going to have to wait four more years ” for a female president .
But asked whether she would now be endorsing either Sanders or Biden , Warren said : “ Well , let ’ s take a deep breath and spend a little time on that .
We don ’ t have to decide that this minute.
” Warren swinging behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a significant impact on the next phase of the race .
The billionaire former New York mayor bet the farm on skipping the first few states and making a big entrance on Super Tuesday .
It didn ’ t happen .
He spent $ 500m of his $ 60bn fortune and all he had to show for it was a victory in the US territory of American Samoa , which he won with a grand total of 175 votes .
It was an ignominious end for a man who many accused of trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bowed out quickly on Wednesday morning , throwing his weight – and , many will hope , his money – behind Biden .
Thanksgiving dinners across America have been ruined in recent years by family rifts over Donald Trump between liberal youngsters and conservative uncles .
But it was an argument over Sanders that tore apart another tightknit group this week : Public Enemy , the pioneering political rap group led by Chuck D and Flavor Flav .
The clock-wearing rapper and dancer was summarily fired over a dispute about a Chuck-led lineup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senator , leading to vituperative criticism from his bandmate : “ If there was a $ bag , Flav would ’ ve been there front & center .
He will not do free benefit shows , ” Chuck tweeted .
Spotted at the airport in San Diego by the the Guardian , Flav denied that support for Sanders was at the heart of the dispute , saying : “ I don ’ t have anything against Bernie .
I think he ’ s a good person and I wish him luck … Fuck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruins everything and I hate it , ” lamented one fan , having perhaps assumed that Fight the Power was an Amish anthem about foregoing electricity .

The kaleidoscope of the Democratic race was shaken up again this week as Joe Biden cemented his remarkable comeback with a series of victories on Super Tuesday. But his leftwing rival Bernie Sanders was far from beaten. Here’s who was up and down this week in US politics.
Great week: Joe Biden
Joe Biden supporters: cheering on the frontrunner. Photograph: Barcroft Media/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Only a couple of weeks ago we were all reading the Biden campaign its last rites. But after the former vice-president to Barack Obama pulled off an impressive victory in South Carolina, his fellow centrists Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropped out and backed him, allowing Biden to present himself as the most viable moderate candidate going into Super Tuesday. It worked a treat; Biden won 10 states, including Texas and Massachusetts, the home state of former liberal contender Elizabeth Warren. The race is far from over, but Biden has decisively reclaimed the mantle of frontrunner from Sanders. He won’t give it up easily.
Disappointing week: Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders: still in the race. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
The leftwing firebrand increased his national poll lead following his landslide in Nevada, and had hoped to present himself as the unassailable frontrunner with an emphatic victory on Super Tuesday this week. But only in California did such a victory manifest itself, and he will have been particularly disappointed to have lost Texas, Virginia and Massachusetts. In national polling Biden has now reclaimed a slight lead. Nevertheless, California is so big that its huge delegate haul keeps Sanders firmly in the race, and he has a passionate and impregnable base of support – particularly among the young and Latinos – which is likely to see him fight hand-to-hand through the next weeks and months of primaries, probably all the way to the Democratic convention in July.
Bad week: Elizabeth Warren
01:49 Elizabeth Warren: key moments from her 2020 presidential campaign
On paper Warren could have been the ideal candidate to unite the liberal and centrist wings of the party, but after a strong early start she only managed to cut through again in her powerful attacks on Bloomberg during the debates. She was squeezed out by Sanders on the left, her healthcare plans came under harsh attack in the media, and sexism also played a role in her failure to catch fire.
She quit the race on Thursday after a disastrous showing on Super Tuesday in which she failed to place higher than third anywhere – even on her home turf of Massachusetts. One of the hardest aspects of ending her campaign, she said, was thinking about “all those little girls who are going to have to wait four more years” for a female president.
But asked whether she would now be endorsing either Sanders or Biden, Warren said: “Well, let’s take a deep breath and spend a little time on that. We don’t have to decide that this minute.” Warren swinging behind either of the remaining candidates could have a significant impact on the next phase of the race.
Terrible week: Mike Bloomberg
Mike Bloomberg: $500m and out. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
The billionaire former New York mayor bet the farm on skipping the first few states and making a big entrance on Super Tuesday. It didn’t happen. He spent $500m of his $60bn fortune and all he had to show for it was a victory in the US territory of American Samoa, which he won with a grand total of 175 votes. It was an ignominious end for a man who many accused of trying to buy the race, and he bowed out quickly on Wednesday morning, throwing his weight – and, many will hope, his money – behind Biden.
Worst week: Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav: not a fan of Trump. Photograph: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Thanksgiving dinners across America have been ruined in recent years by family rifts over Donald Trump between liberal youngsters and conservative uncles. But it was an argument over Sanders that tore apart another tightknit group this week: Public Enemy, the pioneering political rap group led by Chuck D and Flavor Flav.
The clock-wearing rapper and dancer was summarily fired over a dispute about a Chuck-led lineup playing at a rally for the Vermont senator, leading to vituperative criticism from his bandmate: “If there was a $bag, Flav would’ve been there front & center. He will not do free benefit shows,” Chuck tweeted.
Spotted at the airport in San Diego by the the Guardian, Flav denied that support for Sanders was at the heart of the dispute, saying: “I don’t have anything against Bernie. I think he’s a good person and I wish him luck … Fuck Trump!”
“Too much politics ruins everything and I hate it,” lamented one fan, having perhaps assumed that Fight the Power was an Amish anthem about foregoing electricity.


theguardian--2020-03-06--Coronavirus could turn Joe Biden’s defining weakness into a strength | Jonathan Freedland

Joe Biden is a candidate whose performance on the stump ranges from badly flawed to awful .
He is a meandering , unfocused speaker , often unable to complete a sentence , let alone a thought , with a record in office that is decidedly patchy , marred by several past positions he struggles to defend .
And yet Biden is now the frontrunner for his party ’ s nomination to take on Donald Trump .
What ’ s more , the current mood , and specifically the threat of coronavirus , might just turn his defining weakness into a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot at the White House .
I saw his limitations for myself last month in Hudson , New Hampshire , as he paced around a high school gymnasium delivering a rambling monologue that suggested a politician well past his prime .
Stronger on autobiography than policy , he strung together childhood memories , mottos taught him by his father and a kind of perplexed outrage that Trump ’ s America was not a country he recognised any more : “ What ’ s this all about ?
” he asked , as if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for ?
” In New Hampshire , he finished fifth .
Yet in the last seven days Biden has staged what is surely the most remarkable turnaround in modern US political history , a massive win in South Carolina setting off a chain reaction that brought victories across the south and midwest on Super Tuesday .
Only Bernie Sanders now stands between Joe Biden and the nomination , with the map of upcoming primary contests tilted in the latter ’ s favour .
Sanders likes to say it was the “ political and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden , but that ’ s a stretch .
For one thing , the Biden campaign was all but broke going into Super Tuesday , outspent by Sanders by a ratio of seven-to-one ( and outspent by Mike Bloomberg by 100-to-1 ) .
Biden had only a skeletal presence on the ground , dwarfed by Sanders ’ vast grassroots operation .
Besides , it was not the establishment that turned out for Biden , but African-American voters – the most consistently faithful group within the Democratic coalition – who backed him over Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with suburban women , it was black America , not corporate America , that made the difference .
There are plenty of lessons here .
One is that money and organisation are not the decisive factors they were assumed to be : just ask Bloomberg , who spent $ 500m and won not a single state , while Biden won states he didn ’ t even visit .
Another is that sexism and its offshoot - second-guessing other people ’ s sexism - pervades US politics .
Elizabeth Warren was the smartest candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accomplished debater and may well have made the best president , but she could not make headway .
I saw part of the explanation for myself in New Hampshire , speaking to countless women who admired Warren enormously , and were desperate to see a woman in the White House , but who had ruefully concluded that their fellow citizens were just not “ ready ” to make that happen .
They had seen how misogynistic unease with an older , opinionated woman had proved fatal to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of that in 2020 .
So they voted vote for a man instead .
One aspect of the Biden resurrection was foretold , contained within the very structure of this race .
Polls have consistently shown that while Sanders could command between 25 % and 30 % of Democratic voters , a clear majority were either anti- or non-Sanders voters .
The trouble was , for a whole year and until this week , that non-Sanders majority had at least five faces .
After South Carolina , once Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have fewer , and eventually just one .
Once the non-Sanders camp was unfragmented , it could start winning .
Perhaps inevitably , the face it chose was a familiar one , belonging to a man whom Democrats feel they ’ ve known for ever , whom most of them trust and like .
Even the voters I met who were not backing Joe Biden described him the same way : as a “ good man ” , as a “ really decent person ” , as someone of warmth and “ empathy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has endured .
His first wife and daughter were killed in a car crash when Biden was 30 ; his eldest son , Beau , died of cancer aged 46 .
Biden ’ s best moments in Hudson came as he listened to people talk of the pain they had endured .
“ Like most of you , I ’ ve lost a lot in my lifetime , ” he said .
“ But I ’ ll be damned if I ’ m going to stand by and lose my country.
” That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ count in a country that is currently fearful , even bracing itself for disaster .
Which brings us to the coronavirus .
For four decades , the US right has had great success in persuading voters that government is the problem , not the solution .
That ’ s found its most extreme form in Trump , elected on an implicit pledge to shake the whole thing up , if not burn it all down .
He ’ s gutted government departments and run down federal agencies , left posts vacant or filled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a base that for years has heard the fire-breathers of Fox News and talk radio cast “ government bureaucrats ” as the enemy .
But how does such talk sound now , when people are trembling at the prospect of a pandemic ?
In a moment like this , people don ’ t turn against government , they turn to it .
In good times , you might get applause railing against “ federal officials ” or “ elite experts ” .
In a crisis , those are precisely the people with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reassurance .
Suddenly , Biden ’ s 50 years as a Washington insider can be presented less as a liability than an asset , because that ’ s half a century of valuable experience .
Better still , Biden is remembered as the number two in the most unflappably efficient administration most Americans have ever known , namely the one headed by Barack Obama .
The fact that Obama chose Biden as his deputy has meant that , even without making an explicit endorsement , Obama has long served as Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the résumé counts for even more , with Biden ’ s presence in the team that presided over an economic recovery and governed with stability and calm – “ No drama Obama ” they called it – a prime credential .
That will help Biden if he faces Trump , but it could also ensure he does .
For Bernie Sanders ’ brand is not one of steady calm so much as upheaval and “ revolution ” .
That thrills his most devoted supporters but , Tuesday ’ s results suggest , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stability .
( At a crucial moment a fortnight ago , after he ’ d won in Nevada , Sanders could have moved to assuage those fears ; instead he reinforced them , defending his past praise for the record of Fidel Castro . )
At any other time , Biden ’ s age , manner and CV could have doomed his candidacy .
But with a plague looming , Americans might just view a flawed man of undoubted empathy and with an intimate knowledge of loss , a man who ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as something like a remedy .

Joe Biden is a candidate whose performance on the stump ranges from badly flawed to awful. He is a meandering, unfocused speaker, often unable to complete a sentence, let alone a thought, with a record in office that is decidedly patchy, marred by several past positions he struggles to defend. And yet Biden is now the frontrunner for his party’s nomination to take on Donald Trump. What’s more, the current mood, and specifically the threat of coronavirus, might just turn his defining weakness into a strength – and give him a serious shot at the White House.
I saw his limitations for myself last month in Hudson, New Hampshire, as he paced around a high school gymnasium delivering a rambling monologue that suggested a politician well past his prime. Stronger on autobiography than policy, he strung together childhood memories, mottos taught him by his father and a kind of perplexed outrage that Trump’s America was not a country he recognised any more: “What’s this all about?” he asked, as if befuddled. “What do we stand for?” In New Hampshire, he finished fifth.
Yet in the last seven days Biden has staged what is surely the most remarkable turnaround in modern US political history, a massive win in South Carolina setting off a chain reaction that brought victories across the south and midwest on Super Tuesday. Only Bernie Sanders now stands between Joe Biden and the nomination, with the map of upcoming primary contests tilted in the latter’s favour.
Sanders likes to say it was the “political and corporate establishment” that handed victory to Biden, but that’s a stretch. For one thing, the Biden campaign was all but broke going into Super Tuesday, outspent by Sanders by a ratio of seven-to-one (and outspent by Mike Bloomberg by 100-to-1). Biden had only a skeletal presence on the ground, dwarfed by Sanders’ vast grassroots operation. Besides, it was not the establishment that turned out for Biden, but African-American voters – the most consistently faithful group within the Democratic coalition – who backed him over Sanders by huge, crushing margins. Along with suburban women, it was black America, not corporate America, that made the difference.
There are plenty of lessons here. One is that money and organisation are not the decisive factors they were assumed to be: just ask Bloomberg, who spent $500m and won not a single state, while Biden won states he didn’t even visit. Another is that sexism and its offshoot - second-guessing other people’s sexism - pervades US politics. Elizabeth Warren was the smartest candidate in the Democratic field, the most accomplished debater and may well have made the best president, but she could not make headway. I saw part of the explanation for myself in New Hampshire, speaking to countless women who admired Warren enormously, and were desperate to see a woman in the White House, but who had ruefully concluded that their fellow citizens were just not “ready” to make that happen. They had seen how misogynistic unease with an older, opinionated woman had proved fatal to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and they were not prepared to risk a repeat of that in 2020. So they voted vote for a man instead.
One aspect of the Biden resurrection was foretold, contained within the very structure of this race. Polls have consistently shown that while Sanders could command between 25% and 30% of Democratic voters, a clear majority were either anti- or non-Sanders voters. The trouble was, for a whole year and until this week, that non-Sanders majority had at least five faces. After South Carolina, once Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar had dropped out, it began to have fewer, and eventually just one. Once the non-Sanders camp was unfragmented, it could start winning.
Perhaps inevitably, the face it chose was a familiar one, belonging to a man whom Democrats feel they’ve known for ever, whom most of them trust and like. Even the voters I met who were not backing Joe Biden described him the same way: as a “good man”, as a “really decent person”, as someone of warmth and “empathy”. Americans know the losses he has endured. His first wife and daughter were killed in a car crash when Biden was 30; his eldest son, Beau, died of cancer aged 46. Biden’s best moments in Hudson came as he listened to people talk of the pain they had endured. “Like most of you, I’ve lost a lot in my lifetime,” he said. “But I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and lose my country.” That ability to show basic human empathy could count in a country that is currently fearful, even bracing itself for disaster.
Biden is remembered as the number two in the most unflappably efficient administration most Americans have ever known
Which brings us to the coronavirus. For four decades, the US right has had great success in persuading voters that government is the problem, not the solution. That’s found its most extreme form in Trump, elected on an implicit pledge to shake the whole thing up, if not burn it all down. He’s gutted government departments and run down federal agencies, left posts vacant or filled them with pals, cheered on by a base that for years has heard the fire-breathers of Fox News and talk radio cast “government bureaucrats” as the enemy.
But how does such talk sound now, when people are trembling at the prospect of a pandemic? In a moment like this, people don’t turn against government, they turn to it. In good times, you might get applause railing against “federal officials” or “elite experts”. In a crisis, those are precisely the people with the authority to get a grip and offer reassurance.
Suddenly, Biden’s 50 years as a Washington insider can be presented less as a liability than an asset, because that’s half a century of valuable experience. Better still, Biden is remembered as the number two in the most unflappably efficient administration most Americans have ever known, namely the one headed by Barack Obama. The fact that Obama chose Biden as his deputy has meant that, even without making an explicit endorsement, Obama has long served as Biden’s chief character witness. Now that line on the résumé counts for even more, with Biden’s presence in the team that presided over an economic recovery and governed with stability and calm – “No drama Obama” they called it – a prime credential.
That will help Biden if he faces Trump, but it could also ensure he does. For Bernie Sanders’ brand is not one of steady calm so much as upheaval and “revolution”. That thrills his most devoted supporters but, Tuesday’s results suggest, it scares off those who yearn for stability. (At a crucial moment a fortnight ago, after he’d won in Nevada, Sanders could have moved to assuage those fears; instead he reinforced them, defending his past praise for the record of Fidel Castro.)
At any other time, Biden’s age, manner and CV could have doomed his candidacy. But with a plague looming, Americans might just view a flawed man of undoubted empathy and with an intimate knowledge of loss, a man who’s spent a lifetime inside the US government, as something like a remedy.


theguardian--2020-03-06--Is Joe Biden the American Brezhnev? | Ben Judah

Despite being frail and confused , he won the trust of an oligarchic party nomenklatura in a declining superpower by promising no structural reforms , no curbs on special interests and no changes to an interventionist , hegemonic and overextended foreign policy .
That ’ s a pretty neat summary of how the ailing Leonid Brezhnev held power in the USSR in the 1970s , or the ploy deployed by Konstantin Chernenko , the anybody-but-Gorbachev candidate , to become general secretary in 1984 before his death in office barely a year later .
But the fact that it could also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s pitch to the Democratic party establishment should give pause for thought .
Think of this comparison , in true eastern European style , as a “ serious joke ” .
First , excuse the silly part : there are leagues of difference between the intrigues of a totalitarian party state and the Democratic primaries .
There were obviously no free and fair elections in the USSR .
But there is a core similarity .
The late Soviet Union was a complex system that the party establishment knew by the late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than rethink their role in the world or embrace what were considered radical structural reforms that would have threatened the vested interests of party chiefs and state corporations , the Soviet establishment chose an avoidance strategy – first with Brezhnev , then with Chernenko .
The price they eventually paid , with the USSR ’ s collapse , was world-historic .
This election cycle the Democratic party has been presented with not one but two compelling campaigns for structural reform in the shape of Elizabeth Warren ( who dropped out on Thursday ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offered a sustained critique of the country ’ s economic model and argued that it is to blame for the rise of Donald Trump at home and has fuelled authoritarian kleptocracy abroad .
Their campaigns consistently highlighted the unsustainable nature of the current trajectory when it comes to not just the financialisation of the US economy , but the failed approaches to healthcare , college debt , climate breakdown and defence .
And , issue by issue , the progressive diagnoses and treatments for these ills have shown themselves to be highly popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against structural reform : rather than articulating where he thinks the left flank ’ s analysis fails , he chooses to criticise their solutions as unworkable or unelectable .
He was being honest when he told rich donors “ nothing would fundamentally change ” if he were elected president .
But there is more to this than merely waiving proposed wealth taxes .
Unlike the Obama administration , his would be a government with no policy roadmap , no reformist agenda and likely no executive energy .
Biden ’ s visibly frail mind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with it , his nostalgia for days of civility and collaborative politics on Capitol Hill that have plainly failed the Democrats for decades .
There would be no rethink of the US ’ s role in the world , despite the country having spent $ 5.9tn on conflicts in the Middle East and Asia that have not demonstrably made it safer .
Biden and his supporters ’ desire to beat Donald Trump is laudable .
He has clearly won the trust of African-American voters .
But the fact that Biden has chosen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any goals beyond ejecting Trump should trouble us .
By choosing to conceptualise Trump as an exception to the status quo and not as a product of the status quo , he fails to recognise that the conditions to produce another Trump still exist .
Much of what is now attracting the Washington establishment to Biden is that he offers an image that resembles the mythic form of American leadership .
But it lacks substance .
What concerns me is that those in the Beltway establishment most committed to the so-called “ rules-based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are forgetting that American power is built on a foundation of widely shared domestic prosperity allowing social stability .
However when lower- and middle-class incomes have been stagnant for decades , nearly 140 million adults report “ medical financial hardship ” every year , life expectancy is in decline as personal , mortgage and college debt continues to rise , this foundation starts to crumble .
Surveys show the national sense of wellbeing has declined .
Key indicators like these were what the Soviet leadership chose to ignore when they decided they would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chernenko months away from death than confront the challenge of domestic reform .
This is where this “ serious joke ” gets really serious .
Biden – if he survives the media- and Republican-led onslaught that will highlight every agonising mental blank as closely as Hillary Clinton ’ s emails – could actually win in November .
Head to head polls in swing states show this electability .
But those now rushing to endorse him have to be honest themselves about what kind of presidency this will be – a kind of caretaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ myths , and ignore the immense structural problems hollowing out the nation ’ s strength from within because they are too hard .
• Ben Judah is the author of This is London and Fragile Empire

Despite being frail and confused, he won the trust of an oligarchic party nomenklatura in a declining superpower by promising no structural reforms, no curbs on special interests and no changes to an interventionist, hegemonic and overextended foreign policy.
That’s a pretty neat summary of how the ailing Leonid Brezhnev held power in the USSR in the 1970s, or the ploy deployed by Konstantin Chernenko, the anybody-but-Gorbachev candidate, to become general secretary in 1984 before his death in office barely a year later. But the fact that it could also be read as an outline of Joe Biden’s pitch to the Democratic party establishment should give pause for thought.
Think of this comparison, in true eastern European style, as a “serious joke”. First, excuse the silly part: there are leagues of difference between the intrigues of a totalitarian party state and the Democratic primaries. There were obviously no free and fair elections in the USSR. But there is a core similarity. The late Soviet Union was a complex system that the party establishment knew by the late 1960s was badly malfunctioning. Yet rather than rethink their role in the world or embrace what were considered radical structural reforms that would have threatened the vested interests of party chiefs and state corporations, the Soviet establishment chose an avoidance strategy – first with Brezhnev, then with Chernenko. The price they eventually paid, with the USSR’s collapse, was world-historic.
This election cycle the Democratic party has been presented with not one but two compelling campaigns for structural reform in the shape of Elizabeth Warren (who dropped out on Thursday) and Bernie Sanders. Both candidates have offered a sustained critique of the country’s economic model and argued that it is to blame for the rise of Donald Trump at home and has fuelled authoritarian kleptocracy abroad. Their campaigns consistently highlighted the unsustainable nature of the current trajectory when it comes to not just the financialisation of the US economy, but the failed approaches to healthcare, college debt, climate breakdown and defence. And, issue by issue, the progressive diagnoses and treatments for these ills have shown themselves to be highly popular.
Biden has effectively been the campaigner against structural reform: rather than articulating where he thinks the left flank’s analysis fails, he chooses to criticise their solutions as unworkable or unelectable. He was being honest when he told rich donors “nothing would fundamentally change” if he were elected president.
But there is more to this than merely waiving proposed wealth taxes. Unlike the Obama administration, his would be a government with no policy roadmap, no reformist agenda and likely no executive energy. Biden’s visibly frail mind would be in the driving seat and, with it, his nostalgia for days of civility and collaborative politics on Capitol Hill that have plainly failed the Democrats for decades. There would be no rethink of the US’s role in the world, despite the country having spent $5.9tn on conflicts in the Middle East and Asia that have not demonstrably made it safer.
Biden and his supporters’ desire to beat Donald Trump is laudable. He has clearly won the trust of African-American voters. But the fact that Biden has chosen to campaign for the presidency without presenting any goals beyond ejecting Trump should trouble us. By choosing to conceptualise Trump as an exception to the status quo and not as a product of the status quo, he fails to recognise that the conditions to produce another Trump still exist.
Much of what is now attracting the Washington establishment to Biden is that he offers an image that resembles the mythic form of American leadership. But it lacks substance. What concerns me is that those in the Beltway establishment most committed to the so-called “rules-based international order” that Trump has undermined are forgetting that American power is built on a foundation of widely shared domestic prosperity allowing social stability.
However when lower- and middle-class incomes have been stagnant for decades, nearly 140 million adults report “medical financial hardship” every year, life expectancy is in decline as personal, mortgage and college debt continues to rise, this foundation starts to crumble. Surveys show the national sense of wellbeing has declined. Key indicators like these were what the Soviet leadership chose to ignore when they decided they would rather retain Brezhnev in senility or choose Chernenko months away from death than confront the challenge of domestic reform.
This is where this “serious joke” gets really serious. Biden – if he survives the media- and Republican-led onslaught that will highlight every agonising mental blank as closely as Hillary Clinton’s emails – could actually win in November. Head to head polls in swing states show this electability. But those now rushing to endorse him have to be honest themselves about what kind of presidency this will be – a kind of caretaker government that will swear fealty to superpower myths, and ignore the immense structural problems hollowing out the nation’s strength from within because they are too hard.


theguardian--2020-03-07--'It's a 50-50 nation': Chris Wallace on Fox News, Trump and America's great divide

When Chris Wallace grills politicians on his Sunday morning show , he can expect two men to offer feedback .
One is Donald Trump , who is wont to tweet back in anger .
The other is Wallace ’ s boss : Rupert Murdoch .
“ He cares tremendously about the news , ” Wallace says of the owner of the most watched cable news network in America .
“ And I will tell you , when I have contact with him , he never is asking about ideology , just : ‘ What ’ s going on ?
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ To give you a sense of how it ’ s all about a newsman ’ s instincts , the week of [ the ] New Hampshire [ primary ] I booked Bernie [ Sanders ] and [ Pete ] Buttigieg and the word came down through some of the executives , ‘ Good get ’ , from Rupert .
That ’ s all he cared about .
‘ Good get ’ .
” Few on the left would agree with such a benign view of Murdoch and his influence on US society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News is seen by critics as a centrifugal force in the decay of consensus , the coarsening of political debate and the polarisation of the country .
It is also said to be the propaganda arm of Trump ’ s White House or , in the words of one academic interviewed by the New Yorker last year , “ the closest we ’ ve come to having state TV ” .
Fox News Sunday stands out as an oasis of critical thinking and rapier questions that draw blood from administration allies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old school , Wallace has also spoken out against Trump for perpetrating a sustained assault on press freedom .
“ Wallace ’ s presence on Fox News can seem like a hallucination for regular viewers of the pro-Trump network that is often a seamless extension of the White House ’ s communications staff , ” columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote in the Washington Post in December .
So , in short , why does he still work there ?
At a Common Ground Committee forum at Columbia Journalism School in New York recently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ channel with prime-time opinion hosts such as Sean Hannity .
Was he legitimising them , one audience member wondered , and therefore complicit in “ truth-washing ” ?
Wallace repeatedly deflected , insisting on a church and state separation between news and opinion that viewers are intelligent enough to understand .
“ I don ’ t think many people would mistake me for the prime-time opinion people , ” he said .
“ I think they know the difference.
” Speaking alongside Maggie Haberman of the New York Times , Wallace made the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times are two sides of the same coin .
Yet countless articles and books and watchdogs have chronicled Fox News ’ influence as a purveyor of untruths , conspiracy theories and race baiting .
For a long time , like Trump , it pushed the baseless rumor that Barack Obama was not born in America .
Last year , Fox News viewer Cathy Garnaat was stunned to learn from a town hall event that special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s report contained anything at all negative about Trump .
And when Trump supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her back !
” about Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar , a Somali-born Muslim , Fox News host Laura Ingraham offered no condemnation but cheerfully proclaimed : “ The president was on fire.
” Wallace said he was not in regular contact with all the prime-time hosts but gets on well with Ingraham .
In a joint interview with the Guardian and Hollywood Reporter , he said he no longer wished to talk about the issue .
“ I ’ m here , ” he explains , friendly but firm .
“ You want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do ?
I ’ m happy to talk about it .
I don ’ t want to talk about what somebody else does .
It ’ s silly.
” Does he find himself in a tough spot now Fox News itself has inescapably become part of the Trump story , amplifying the president ’ s views and influencing his thinking ?
“ No .
I do what I do and I ’ m sitting there during the week trying to come up with the best guests and the best show I possibly can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinking about how do we fit in some media commentary.
” Cable news , accused of rewarding whoever shouts loudest and brings the most shock value , has been blamed for accelerating America ’ s coming apart , Fox News and MSNBC offering alternative facts and realities .
Wallace is uncertain .
“ Yeah , I guess I think they ’ re contributing to it , all of them together , in perhaps equal measure .
I mean , the only hesitation I have in saying that is I don ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there if we weren ’ t on the air .
“ It ’ s a 50-50 nation , it ’ s a divided nation .
People are constantly saying , ‘ Why can ’ t we come together and get things done , ’ and part of the problem is we ’ re just so divided on so many issues .
Do I think media commentary plays a role in that ?
Perhaps .
But when you look at the results and it ’ s 51-49 and Trump wins the electoral vote but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s just the way the nation is at this point.
” Hours earlier , at a press conference in India , Trump again attacked CNN , prompting Jim Acosta , its chief White House correspondent , to retort : “ Mr President , I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes if you don ’ t mind me saying.
” Wallace was “ horrified ” , he says , because reporters should be “ umpires ” and not getting into fights with presidents .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ re not meek but the point I guess I ’ d make is first of all he ’ s the president of the United States , whether you like him or you don ’ t like him , and I think there ’ s a certain respect due to the office , even if you don ’ t feel it for a particular man .
“ Secondly , I think it falls into this trap of becoming an advocate or an opponent as opposed to being a reporter .
We ’ re not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or any politician .
If it happened to Nancy Pelosi in a press conference , I would have said the same thing .
It ’ s not our place.
” Now Wallace is in the thick of a presidential election .
There has been much media soul searching since 2016 , when Trump ’ s outrageous conduct gained millions of dollars of free TV coverage at the same time reporters gave obsessive attention to Hillary Clinton ’ s email scandal .
“ When I look back on 2016 , things like over-coverage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the thing that most serious political reporters feel worst about is that we didn ’ t identify the support for Donald Trump early enough and that we didn ’ t understand the degree to which he really was striking a chord among millions of Americans and the degree to which that was going to translate into votes , particularly in the upper rust belt .
“ As you look ahead to 2020 , you want to be sure you ’ re striving to be as effective and as ahead of the curve as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mind of voters and what ’ s resonating with voters.
” Wallace , the son of journalistic giant Mike Wallace , is now 72 .
He ’ s about to publish a book , Countdown 1945 , an account of the 116 days leading up to the US attack on Hiroshima in Japan , the world ’ s first use of the atomic bomb in wartime .
But he describes journalism as the best way to make a living and has no intention of quitting the day job .
“ You ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still working at 88 .
When I went to a job interview with Roger Ailes , I was 55 years old and I said I can only give you 30 years .
So I ’ ve got more than a decade left to go .
”

When Chris Wallace grills politicians on his Sunday morning show, he can expect two men to offer feedback. One is Donald Trump, who is wont to tweet back in anger. The other is Wallace’s boss: Rupert Murdoch.
“He cares tremendously about the news,” Wallace says of the owner of the most watched cable news network in America. “And I will tell you, when I have contact with him, he never is asking about ideology, just: ‘What’s going on? What’s happening? Tell me.’
“To give you a sense of how it’s all about a newsman’s instincts, the week of [the] New Hampshire [primary] I booked Bernie [Sanders] and [Pete] Buttigieg and the word came down through some of the executives, ‘Good get’, from Rupert. That’s all he cared about. ‘Good get’.”
Few on the left would agree with such a benign view of Murdoch and his influence on US society and politics and the media landscape.
Fox News is seen by critics as a centrifugal force in the decay of consensus, the coarsening of political debate and the polarisation of the country. It is also said to be the propaganda arm of Trump’s White House or, in the words of one academic interviewed by the New Yorker last year, “the closest we’ve come to having state TV”.
But – significantly – not Wallace’s show.
Fox News Sunday stands out as an oasis of critical thinking and rapier questions that draw blood from administration allies and opponents alike. A pro of the old school, Wallace has also spoken out against Trump for perpetrating a sustained assault on press freedom.
“Wallace’s presence on Fox News can seem like a hallucination for regular viewers of the pro-Trump network that is often a seamless extension of the White House’s communications staff,” the columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote in the Washington Post in December.
Bernie Sanders appears on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, ahead of the New Hampshire Democratic primary. Photograph: Fox News
So, in short, why does he still work there? At a Common Ground Committee forum at Columbia Journalism School in New York recently, Wallace was repeatedly challenged about sharing a channel with prime-time opinion hosts such as Sean Hannity. Was he legitimising them, one audience member wondered, and therefore complicit in “truth-washing”?
Wallace repeatedly deflected, insisting on a church and state separation between news and opinion that viewers are intelligent enough to understand.
“I don’t think many people would mistake me for the prime-time opinion people,” he said. “I think they know the difference.”
Speaking alongside Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, Wallace made the questionable assertion that Fox News and the Times are two sides of the same coin. Yet countless articles and books and watchdogs have chronicled Fox News’ influence as a purveyor of untruths, conspiracy theories and race baiting.
For a long time, like Trump, it pushed the baseless rumor that Barack Obama was not born in America. Last year, Fox News viewer Cathy Garnaat was stunned to learn from a town hall event that special counsel Robert Mueller’s report contained anything at all negative about Trump.
You want to talk to me about what I do? I’m happy to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about what somebody else does
And when Trump supporters chanted “Send her back! Send her back!” about Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born Muslim, the Fox News host Laura Ingraham offered no condemnation but cheerfully proclaimed: “The president was on fire.”
Wallace said he was not in regular contact with all the prime-time hosts but gets on well with Ingraham.
In a joint interview with the Guardian and Hollywood Reporter, he said he no longer wished to talk about the issue.
“I’m here,” he explains, friendly but firm. “You want to talk to me about what I do? I’m happy to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about what somebody else does. It’s silly.”
Does he find himself in a tough spot now Fox News itself has inescapably become part of the Trump story, amplifying the president’s views and influencing his thinking?
“No. I do what I do and I’m sitting there during the week trying to come up with the best guests and the best show I possibly can and I’m not sitting there thinking about how do we fit in some media commentary.”
Wallace on NBC’s Meet the Press ahead of the 1988 election. Photograph: NBC NewsWire/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Cable news, accused of rewarding whoever shouts loudest and brings the most shock value, has been blamed for accelerating America’s coming apart, Fox News and MSNBC offering alternative facts and realities. Wallace is uncertain.
“Yeah, I guess I think they’re contributing to it, all of them together, in perhaps equal measure. I mean, the only hesitation I have in saying that is I don’t know that the polarisation wouldn’t be there if we weren’t on the air.
“It’s a 50-50 nation, it’s a divided nation. People are constantly saying, ‘Why can’t we come together and get things done,’ and part of the problem is we’re just so divided on so many issues. Do I think media commentary plays a role in that? Perhaps. But when you look at the results and it’s 51-49 and Trump wins the electoral vote but Hillary Clinton wins the popular vote, it’s just the way the nation is at this point.”
Hours earlier, at a press conference in India, Trump again attacked CNN, prompting Jim Acosta, its chief White House correspondent, to retort: “Mr President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes if you don’t mind me saying.”
Wallace was “horrified”, he says, because reporters should be “umpires” and not getting into fights with presidents.
We didn’t identify the support for Donald Trump early enough and we didn’t understand … he really was striking a chord
“Look, I think we’re not meek but the point I guess I’d make is first of all he’s the president of the United States, whether you like him or you don’t like him, and I think there’s a certain respect due to the office, even if you don’t feel it for a particular man.
“Secondly, I think it falls into this trap of becoming an advocate or an opponent as opposed to being a reporter. We’re not there to try to one-up the president or any politician. If it happened to Nancy Pelosi in a press conference, I would have said the same thing. It’s not our place.”
Now Wallace is in the thick of a presidential election. There has been much media soul searching since 2016, when Trump’s outrageous conduct gained millions of dollars of free TV coverage at the same time reporters gave obsessive attention to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal.
Wallace takes some different lessons.
“When I look back on 2016, things like over-coverage of rallies is certainly something but I think the thing that most serious political reporters feel worst about is that we didn’t identify the support for Donald Trump early enough and that we didn’t understand the degree to which he really was striking a chord among millions of Americans and the degree to which that was going to translate into votes, particularly in the upper rust belt.
Wallace moderates the third 2016 presidential debate, in Las Vegas. Photograph: Joe Raedle/AP
“As you look ahead to 2020, you want to be sure you’re striving to be as effective and as ahead of the curve as possible in identifying what is on the mind of voters and what’s resonating with voters.”
Wallace, the son of journalistic giant Mike Wallace, is now 72. He’s about to publish a book, Countdown 1945, an account of the 116 days leading up to the US attack on Hiroshima in Japan, the world’s first use of the atomic bomb in wartime. But he describes journalism as the best way to make a living and has no intention of quitting the day job.
“You’re talking to a man whose father was still working at 88. When I went to a job interview with Roger Ailes, I was 55 years old and I said I can only give you 30 years. So I’ve got more than a decade left to go.”


theguardian--2020-03-07--Donald Trump names Mark Meadows as new White House chief of staff

Donald Trump has named congressman Mark Meadows as his new chief of staff , replacing Mick Mulvaney , who been acting in the role for more than a year .
Trump announced the staff reshuffle in Friday night tweets , saying Mulvaney would become the US special envoy for Northern Ireland .
“ I have long known and worked with Mark , and the relationship is a very good one , ” Trump said .
The long-rumored move makes Meadows , who announced he was not seeking re-election for his House seat from North Carolina , in effect Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office in 2017 .
The decision comes as the Trump administration has faced criticism for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak .
Mulvaney had been leading the interagency response to the virus until Trump designated the vice-president , Mike Pence , to lead the whole-of-government effort more than a week ago .
Meadows , a conservative four-term congressman from North Carolina who previously chaired the Freedom Caucus , has long been a close ally to the president .
He ’ s also been a staunch proponent of Trump ’ s border wall in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who became a key figure during the impeachment proceedings .
Fiona Hill , a national security council member , testified that Gordon Sondland , the ambassador to the European Union , said that Mulvaney had approved a White House meeting with Trump for the Ukrainian president on condition Ukraine announced investigations tied Joe Biden .
Hill ’ s account was corroborated in testimony by another firsthand witness to the conversation , Lt Col Alexander Vindman .
Mulvaney himself said in a televised October press conference that the White House had conditioned military aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later denied he had said that .

Donald Trump has named congressman Mark Meadows as his new chief of staff, replacing Mick Mulvaney, who had been acting in the role for more than a year.
Trump announced the staff reshuffle in Friday night tweets, saying Mulvaney would become the US special envoy for Northern Ireland.
“I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one,” Trump said.
The long-rumored move makes Meadows, who announced he was not seeking re-election for his House seat from North Carolina, in effect Trump’s fourth chief of staff since taking office in 2017.
The decision comes as the Trump administration has faced criticism for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Mulvaney had been leading the interagency response to the virus until Trump designated the vice-president, Mike Pence, to lead the whole-of-government effort more than a week ago.
Meadows, a conservative four-term congressman from North Carolina who previously chaired the Freedom Caucus, has long been a close ally to the president. He’s also been a staunch proponent of Trump’s border wall in Congress.
He replaces Mick Mulvaney, who became a key figure during the impeachment proceedings. Fiona Hill, a national security council member, testified that Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, said that Mulvaney had approved a White House meeting with Trump for the Ukrainian president on condition Ukraine announced investigations tied Joe Biden. Hill’s account was corroborated in testimony by another firsthand witness to the conversation, Lt Col Alexander Vindman.
Mulvaney himself said in a televised October press conference that the White House had conditioned military aid on investigations in Ukraine, but he later denied he had said that.


theguardian--2020-03-07--Trump offers boasts and insults at CDC press conference on coronavirus – as it happened

Some commentators are calling Trump ’ s CDC coronavirus press conference today one of his “ most frightening ” and “ disturbing ” appearances in recent memory , given his political rants , misinformation , bizarre boasting and callousness : Ok , the CDC appearance was the most disturbing one yet from Trump .
He literally said experts were telling him to take sick Americans off a cruise ship but he does n't want to do it because it WILL MAKE THE NUMBERS GO UP and it `` was n't our fault . ''
Holy Jesus .
Tough to decide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visit was - Saying he wanted to keep sick people on a ship to fudge the numbers - lashing out at the gov of the worst hit state - being preoccupied w/ the ratings he got on Fox - or saying anyone can get tested when they can't He used the press event as an opportunity to attack Democrats , praise his own intelligence , slam CNN and spread false and misleading information about the status of the coronavirus outbreak .
While wearing his red “ Keep America Great ” re-election campaign hat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criticizing Washington state governor Jay Inslee as a “ snake ” and saying he disagreed with his vice president ’ s complimentary remarks toward the Democratic governor .
Inslee , who ran for president last year , is overseeing the most serious outbreak in the US .
In a moment that has sparked intense scrutiny , the president also said he would prefer that cruise ship passengers exposed to the virus be left abroad so that they don ’ t add to the number of total infections in the US .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Trump , who appeared to be explicitly acknowledging his political concerns about the outbreak : “ I don ’ t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn ’ t our fault.
” The president further implied that the coronavirus test was available to anyone who needs it , even though his own administration has acknowledged that there is currently a shortage among US health care providers .
He called the test “ perfect ” .
More on the latest here :

Sam Levin in Los Angeles (now) and Joanna Walters New York (earlier)

7 Mar 2020 01.32 GMT Some more on Mark Meadows, who Trump just announced as his new chief of staff: The conservative four-term congressman from North Carolina previously chaired the Freedom Caucus and has long been a close ally to the president. He’s also been a staunch proponent of Trump’s border wall in Congress. He replaces Mick Mulvaney, who was acting chief, and who will now become the US special envoy for Northern Ireland, Trump said in his Friday evening tweet:
....I want to thank Acting Chief Mick Mulvaney for having served the Administration so well. He will become the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2020 Mulvaney was a key figure during the impeachment proceedings.
7 Mar 2020 01.17 GMT Trump announces Mark Meadows as chief of staff Trump has just announced Congressman Mark Meadows as his new chief of staff, replacing Mick Mulvaney: I am pleased to announce that Congressman Mark Meadows will become White House Chief of Staff. I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2020
7 Mar 2020 00.55 GMT Some commentators are calling Trump’s CDC coronavirus press conference today one of his “most frightening” and “disturbing” appearances in recent memory, given his political rants, misinformation, bizarre boasting and callousness: The CDC presser was among the most frightening Trump appearances I’ve ever seen, on the level of Charlottesville — a horrifying and surprising (even for him!) callousness in the face of death and suffering, an inability to see anything through a lens other than his own ratings — Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) March 6, 2020 Ok, the CDC appearance was the most disturbing one yet from Trump. He literally said experts were telling him to take sick Americans off a cruise ship but he doesn't want to do it because it WILL MAKE THE NUMBERS GO UP and it "wasn't our fault." Holy Jesus. — Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 6, 2020 Tough to decide what the worst part of Trumps CDC visit was
- Saying he wanted to keep sick people on a ship to fudge the numbers
- lashing out at the gov of the worst hit state
- being preoccupied w/ the ratings he got on Fox
- or saying anyone can get tested when they can't — Sam Stein (@samstein) March 7, 2020 He used the press event as an opportunity to attack Democrats, praise his own intelligence, slam CNN and spread false and misleading information about the status of the coronavirus outbreak. While wearing his red “Keep America Great” re-election campaign hat, the president went on a rant criticizing Washington state governor Jay Inslee as a “snake” and saying he disagreed with his vice president’s complimentary remarks toward the Democratic governor. Inslee, who ran for president last year, is overseeing the most serious outbreak in the US. In a moment that has sparked intense scrutiny, the president also said he would prefer that cruise ship passengers exposed to the virus be left abroad so that they don’t add to the number of total infections in the US. “I like the numbers being where they are,” said Trump, who appeared to be explicitly acknowledging his political concerns about the outbreak: “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.” The president further implied that the coronavirus test was available to anyone who needs it, even though his own administration has acknowledged that there is currently a shortage among US health care providers. He called the test “perfect”. More on the latest here: Coronavirus: Trump offers misleading remarks and insults at CDC press conference Read more
7 Mar 2020 00.28 GMT The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the pro-Israel lobby group, has confirmed that two attendees at their major conference have now tested positive for coronavirus. As reporter Ryan Grim noted, there were 18,000 people in attendance, including two-thirds of Congress, and many of attendees also visited offices on the Hill: AIPAC confirms that two conference attendees have now tested positive for coronavirus. I reported 2 days ago this was likely. There were 18,000 people there, including 2/3rds of Congress. On Tuesday, thousands of conference goers visited Hill offices. https://t.co/pWeQQx2Gp0 — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) March 6, 2020 From 2 days ago. https://t.co/rLFIWlVKE5 https://t.co/8vDMX4SXS7 — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) March 6, 2020
7 Mar 2020 00.06 GMT Jay Inslee responds to Trump's attacks Washington state governor Jay Inslee, who is currently overseeing the most serious coronavirus outbreak in the US, has responded to the president’s personal insults and attacks, which Trump made during a rambling tangent at a CDC press conference earlier: My single focus is and will continue to be the health and well-being of Washingtonians.
It's important for leaders to speak with one voice. I just wish the president and vice president could get on the same page. https://t.co/VAzB9nkcRX — Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) March 6, 2020 The president also said he disagreed with his vice president’s complimentary remarks toward the Democratic governor. Inslee just tweeted: We appreciate the vice president's visit and our teams are working well together. — Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) March 6, 2020
6 Mar 2020 23.33 GMT Outside of the CDC, an update on the Biden v Sanders race today: -Sanders has directly criticized Biden over recent attacks against Nina Turner, the Sanders campaign co-chair: .@JoeBiden must accept responsibility for his surrogate telling our campaign co-chair Senator @NinaTurner that she doesn't have standing to invoke the words of Dr. King. That is unacceptable and Joe must apologize to Nina and all the people of color supporting our campaign. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 6, 2020 Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist and Biden supporter, has faced intense backlash and was forced to apologize after she told Turner, a black woman: “Don’t use Martin Luther King against Joe Biden. You don’t have that stand.” Biden has not tweeted about the dispute, but he did condemn an antisemitic attack against Sanders after a man unfurled a Nazi flag at one of his rallies: I don't care who you're supporting, attacks like this against a man who could be the first Jewish President are disgusting and beyond the pale. Hatred and bigotry have no place in America — and it's up to all of us to root out these evils wherever they're found. https://t.co/Q1Pz3hRUDS — Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) March 6, 2020
6 Mar 2020 23.14 GMT Trump says he wants passengers to stay on cruise: "I don't need the numbers to double" To recap what just happened at this Trump CDC press conference on coronavirus: The president wore his re-election campaign hat and interrupted the event to ask a Fox News reporter if his town hall on the network had good ratings.
He attacked CNN.
He called the governor of Washington state, the epicenter of a major outbreak, a “snake” and “not a good governor”, and said he disagreed with his own vice president saying nice things about the governor while visiting the state.
Trump said he has not considered canceling his rallies and is not worried about risks.
He made false and exaggerated claims about the availability of coronavirus tests, ignoring the reality that his vice president has acknowledged, which is that there is a shortage among US healthcare providers right now.
He said he would prefer if people on the Grand Princess cruise remained on the ship so that US numbers would not go up.
He gloated about his “natural ability” to understand the epidemic. Trump is visiting the CDC lab where materials that go into diagnostic tests are generated. (The lab he’s currently standing in was totally empty before he arrived but he says there are folks down the hall working) pic.twitter.com/CelatKHjjG — Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) March 6, 2020


theguardian--2020-03-07--CPAC: conservative conference guest tests positive for coronavirus

The American Conservative Union revealed on Saturday that someone who took part in its recent grassroots conservative conference , CPAC , which was attended by Donald Trump and the US vice-president , Mike Pence , has tested positive for coronavirus .
The organization put out a statement on Twitter on Saturday evening that said one of the CPAC attendees “ has unfortunately tested positive ” and noted that their “ exposure ” occurred before the conference .
The gathering took place in Oxon Hill , Maryland , in late February and was attended by many leading party figures as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accompanied by spouses , children and friends .
“ A New Jersey hospital tested the person and the CDC [ the federal public health agency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ] confirmed the result .
The individual is under the care of medical professionals in New Jersey and has been quarantined , ” the statement continued .
It informed anyone with concerns to contact the ACU or the department of health of the state of Maryland and urged people to remain calm .
The statement said : “ This attendee had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and never attended the events in the main hall.
” It noted that the Trump administration had been informed of the situation .
“ We will continue regular communication with all appropriate government officials , ” the statement continued .
The ACU chairman , Matt Schlapp , had previously tweeted a proud message about introducing the president at the CPAC event last weekend .
He then retweeted several posts from a journalist at the conservative-leaning RealClearPolitics media outlet .
There was no immediate comment from the White House .

Donald Trump has said he isn’t concerned at all about the coronavirus getting closer to the White House after it was revealed that an attendee at grassroots conservative conference CPAC had tested positive.
On a day when it also emerged that the nation’s capital had recorded its first case, the American Conservative Union said on Saturday that a participant at CPAC, which was attended by both Trump and the US vice-president, Mike Pence, had tested positive for coronavirus.
The White House said there was no indication that either Trump or Pence had been close to the infected attendee.
Asked if he was concerned about the virus getting closer, Trump said: “No, I’m not concerned at all. No, I’m not. We’ve done a great job.”
When asked whether his thousand-person campaign rallies would would continue in light of the CPAC case, the president replied: “We’ll have tremendous rallies.”
Trump held his most recent campaign rally last Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina. He waved off other questions to join a dinner for the president of Brazil, who was visiting Trump at the president’s home in south Florida.
Saturday also marked the first case in the District of Columbia, with mayor Muriel Bowser saying testing at the public health lab of the DC Department of Forensic Sciences yielded its first presumptive positive.
The American Conservative Union put out a statement on Twitter on Saturday evening that said a CPAC attendee “has unfortunately tested positive” and noted that their “exposure” occurred before the conference.
The gathering took place in Oxon Hill, Maryland, in late February and was attended by many leading party figures as well as thousands of grassroots members, often accompanied by spouses, children and friends.
“A New Jersey hospital tested the person and the CDC [the federal public health agency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] confirmed the result. The individual is under the care of medical professionals in New Jersey and has been quarantined,” the statement continued.
It informed anyone with concerns to contact the ACU or the department of health of the state of Maryland and urged people to remain calm.
The statement said: “This attendee had no contact with the president or vice-president and never attended the events in the main hall.”
It noted that the Trump administration had been informed of the situation.
Important Health Notification for CPAC 2020 participants and attendees. pic.twitter.com/NtahNO8st3 — ACU (@ACUConservative) March 7, 2020
“We will continue regular communication with all appropriate government officials,” the statement continued.
Over 19,000 people attended CPAC last year, and 2020 also had a similar crowd. — Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) March 7, 2020
The ACU chairman, Matt Schlapp, had previously tweeted a proud message about introducing the president at the CPAC event last weekend.
What an honor to introduce @realDonaldTrump at #CPAC2020.
Watch all of President Trump's CPAC 2020 speech here: https://t.co/gMusCAiuAv pic.twitter.com/0cQ1mYOkAw — Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) March 6, 2020
He then retweeted several posts from a journalist at the conservative-leaning RealClearPolitics media outlet.
CPAC didn't dawdle. @mschlapp tells me he found out just a couple hours before the statement went out:
"Our statement really does speak for itself. We are just being transparent and I feel bad for my friend but it's important for our attendees to know what happened." — Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) March 7, 2020
The governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, said the state had acted as soon as it became aware of the positive test.
“Immediately after learning of this individual’s interactions in our state, we began coordinating with the White House, the CDC and federal officials, the New Jersey Department of Health, Prince George’s County officials, and conference organizers,” Hogan said.
“Due to the scale of this conference, we are urging attendees who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to immediately reach out to their health care provider. We are providing this update not to unnecessarily raise alarm, but in the interest of full transparency and out of an abundance of caution.”
Also on Saturday, a marine at Virginia’s Fort Belvoir became the first military case of coronavirus reported inside the US.
The marine was being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, located south of Washington, and had recently returned from an overseas assignment, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said on Twitter.


theguardian--2020-03-07--Biden warns against primary bloodbath as Sanders sharpens attacks ahead of key contests

Democratic presidential rivals Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are racing across the US midwest this weekend , with the progressive Sanders sharpening his attacks while the former vice-president warned against a campaign “ bloodbath ” as the 2020 nominating contest narrows .
Biden also warned , in an intensifying fight , against what he called “ Bernie brothers ” – understood to be a reference to diehard fans of Sanders more widely dubbed “ Bernie bros ” and known for aggressive online attacks on supporters of Democratic rivals and an unwillingness to join up with them if Sanders loses the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t let happen is let this primary become a negative bloodbath , ” Biden told more than 100 donors gathered at a private residence in Bethesda , Maryland .
“ I know I ’ m going to get a lot of suggestions on how to respond to what I suspect will be an increasingly negative campaign that the Bernie brothers will run .
But we can ’ t tear this party apart and re-elect Trump , ” Politico reported late Friday .
Before dropping out earlier this week , Elizabeth Warren had called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and bullying of her supporters by some of his supporters .
Biden and Sanders are now preparing for a showdown in the key midwest primary contests in Michigan and Missouri on Tuesday .
Sanders , 78 , who until recently was the frontrunner in the party ’ s race to face Republican White House incumbent Donald Trump in November , is now trailing in his total of pledged delegates , the senior party members who eventually anoint the nominee .
He needs to regain momentum after Biden , 77 , received a rush @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his strong comeback on Super Tuesday , 3 March .
Sanders ramped up his attacks on Biden on Friday , speaking in Arizona and then Michigan after canceling a rally in Mississippi , effectively conceding the state after Biden swept the majority of the southern black vote earlier in the week .
And the moderate Biden told a crowd at a fundraiser in Maryland , he was worried the battle could turn ugly .
“ We have to keep our eyes on the ball , ” Biden said .
Sanders , despite saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either could beat Trump and that both would be certain to rally behind the eventual nominee , assailed Biden ’ s record on issues such as trade , pensions , gay rights , abortion rights and the climate crisis , both on the campaign trail and via Twitter .
The Democratic race became a two-man contest between Biden and Sanders after contenders Elizabeth Warren , Mike Bloomberg , Amy Klobuchar , Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer all dropped out in the last week .
Tulsi Gabbard , a Hawaii congresswoman , is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nominating contest , but has virtually no chance of winning .
She won ’ t currently meet party rules to qualify for the next Democratic debate on 15 March in Phoenix , Arizona , where now only Biden and Sanders will compete on stage .
Late Friday Gabbard demanded support to help her get into the debate , encouraged by another 2020 dropout , Marianne Williamson .
Idaho , Mississippi , Missouri , Washington state , North Dakota and Michigan vote on March 10 in what is dubbed Mini Super Tuesday .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsed Biden .
A big win for Biden in delegate-rich Michigan would deliver a major blow to Sanders ’ hopes of becoming the nominee .
Biden ’ s campaign said it had raised about $ 22m in five days .
In Missouri Jay Nixon , the state ’ s former Democratic governor , swung his support behind Biden , leading a well-choreographed army of Missouri officials – 68 in all – to come out in support , and Gretchen Whitmer , the popular Michigan governor , has endorsed Biden .
Biden was due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Kansas City , Missouri .
Sanders begins a weekend of campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Michigan , which offers 125 of the 1,991 delegates needed to win the nomination .
Sanders , who unexpectedly won the Michigan primary in 2016 when he ran unsuccessfully for the nomination against Hillary Clinton , held a rally on Saturday afternoon in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn .
He lambasted Biden for voting for the Iraq war and for trade deals he said cost millions of American jobs , including in Michigan .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ] turned out to be an absolute disaster , ” Sanders said , referring to deals such as the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement ( Nafta ) .
Sanders also decried Biden ’ s acceptance of campaign contributions from billionaires .
“ People understand that if you ’ re taking money from billionaires , you ’ re not going to be there standing up for the working class and the middle class of this country , ” Sanders said .
He plans a town hall debate focused on racial and economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grappling with the effects of a crisis involving lead leaking into the public water supply , and on Sunday heads to Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor .
Meanwhile Biden reportedly launched his biggest advertising blitz yet , $ 12m on ads in key states voting on the next two Tuesdays , chiefly Michigan , Missouri , Mississippi , Florida , Ohio and Illinois .
At a rally in St Louis on Saturday afternoon , Biden pledged : “ We ’ re going to unite this party and unite this country.
” He thanked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dropped out , and also unexpectedly thanked supporters of former 2020 rival Kamala Harris , fueling speculation that the California senator might be about to endorse him .

Democratic presidential rivals Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are racing across the US midwest this weekend, with the progressive Sanders sharpening his attacks while the former vice-president warned against a campaign “bloodbath” as the 2020 nominating contest narrows.
Biden also warned, in an intensifying fight, against what he called “Bernie brothers” – understood to be a reference to diehard fans of Sanders more widely dubbed “Bernie bros” and known for aggressive online attacks on supporters of Democratic rivals and an unwillingness to join up with them if Sanders loses the nomination.
“What we can’t let happen is let this primary become a negative bloodbath,” Biden told more than 100 donors gathered at a private residence in Bethesda, Maryland. “I know I’m going to get a lot of suggestions on how to respond to what I suspect will be an increasingly negative campaign that the Bernie brothers will run. But we can’t tear this party apart and re-elect Trump,” Politico reported late Friday.
Before dropping out earlier this week, Elizabeth Warren had called out Sanders for what she called nastiness and bullying of her supporters by some of his supporters.
Biden and Sanders are now preparing for a showdown in the key midwest primary contests in Michigan and Missouri on Tuesday.
Sanders, 78, who until recently was the frontrunner in the party’s race to face Republican White House incumbent Donald Trump in November, is now trailing in his total of pledged delegates, the senior party members who eventually anoint the nominee.
He needs to regain momentum after Biden, 77, received a rush of endorsements from party establishment figures following his strong comeback on Super Tuesday, 3 March.
Sanders ramped up his attacks on Biden on Friday, speaking in Arizona and then Michigan after canceling a rally in Mississippi, effectively conceding the state after Biden swept the majority of the southern black vote earlier in the week.
And the moderate Biden told a crowd at a fundraiser in Maryland, he was worried the battle could turn ugly.
“We have to keep our eyes on the ball,” Biden said.
Sanders, despite saying he and Biden were friends, asserting either could beat Trump and that both would be certain to rally behind the eventual nominee, assailed Biden’s record on issues such as trade, pensions, gay rights, abortion rights and the climate crisis, both on the campaign trail and via Twitter.
In 2007, NBC reported that as president, Joe Biden’s Social Security plans "would include discussing options such as upping the retirement age.” 7/8 https://t.co/jRKP2d7byB — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 7, 2020
The Democratic race became a two-man contest between Biden and Sanders after contenders Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer all dropped out in the last week.
Rejoining the Paris Agreement isn't enough. Scientists say we must act immediately to end our dependence on fossil fuels and avoid climate catastrophe.
Our Green New Deal, which will create 20 million jobs, is the only plan in this race bold enough to address this crisis. https://t.co/njXDJdH4G3 — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 7, 2020
Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman, is the only other Democratic candidate still in the nominating contest, but has virtually no chance of winning.
She won’t currently meet party rules to qualify for the next Democratic debate on 15 March in Phoenix, Arizona, where now only Biden and Sanders will compete on stage. Late Friday Gabbard demanded support to help her get into the debate, encouraged by another 2020 dropout, Marianne Williamson.
Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Washington state, North Dakota and Michigan vote on March 10 in what is dubbed Mini Super Tuesday.
The former North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp has endorsed Biden.
I'm endorsing @JoeBiden because he understands the America that showers after work. He knows personally what happens when families can't pay the grocery bill. He'll keep his commitments to our farmers & ranchers. And he'll restore empathy for others to the White House. #JoeMentum pic.twitter.com/VxanvhZBbt — Heidi Heitkamp (@HeidiHeitkamp) March 6, 2020
A big win for Biden in delegate-rich Michigan would deliver a major blow to Sanders’ hopes of becoming the nominee.
Biden’s campaign said it had raised about $22m in five days.
In Missouri Jay Nixon, the state’s former Democratic governor, swung his support behind Biden, leading a well-choreographed army of Missouri officials – 68 in all – to come out in support, and Gretchen Whitmer, the popular Michigan governor, has endorsed Biden.
Biden was due to campaign on Saturday in St Louis and Kansas City, Missouri.
Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally at Salina Intermediate School on 7 March 2020 in Dearborn, Michigan. Photograph: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Sanders begins a weekend of campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Michigan, which offers 125 of the 1,991 delegates needed to win the nomination.
Sanders, who unexpectedly won the Michigan primary in 2016 when he ran unsuccessfully for the nomination against Hillary Clinton, held a rally on Saturday afternoon in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.
He lambasted Biden for voting for the Iraq war and for trade deals he said cost millions of American jobs, including in Michigan.
“Joe Biden voted for those agreements…[they] turned out to be an absolute disaster,” Sanders said, referring to deals such as the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).
Sanders also decried Biden’s acceptance of campaign contributions from billionaires.
“People understand that if you’re taking money from billionaires, you’re not going to be there standing up for the working class and the middle class of this country,” Sanders said.
He plans a town hall debate focused on racial and economic justice in Flint, which is still grappling with the effects of a crisis involving lead leaking into the public water supply, and on Sunday heads to Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.
Meanwhile Biden reportedly launched his biggest advertising blitz yet, $12m on ads in key states voting on the next two Tuesdays, chiefly Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Florida, Ohio and Illinois.
At a rally in St Louis on Saturday afternoon, Biden pledged: “We’re going to unite this party and unite this country.”
He thanked former Democratic rivals who have very recently dropped out, and also unexpectedly thanked supporters of former 2020 rival Kamala Harris, fueling speculation that the California senator might be about to endorse him.