theguardian--2020-10-01--When Trump defends armed rightwing gangs, his rhetoric has echoes of fascism | David Renton

You can imagine the men as they prepared for the showdown .
For days , the papers had been predicting a “ great sensation ” .
Press photographers besieged the entrance .
No one could enter the building where the debate was due to take place without a special permit .
In his dark blue suit , one question above all troubled the party leader , and with the help of his advisers , he puzzled how best to answer it .
What if he was accused of links to fascist street gangs ?
This wasn ’ t the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany in May 1931 .
For as the historian Benjamin Hett describes in his book , Crossing Hitler , the summer of 1931 saw Hitler being summonsed to court and accused of being complicit in the work of gangs who had beaten – and killed – their anti-fascist enemies .
Hitler ’ s response was to play a double game .
First of all , he was worried about looking weak in front of his supporters , who had called him a coward and a conformist .
So he needed to signal that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Second , he tried to pretend that any harm caused by his supporters was necessary since the country faced a much more threatening enemy : the far left .
“ The SA men are the first men in the party , ” he told his opponent , the private prosecutor Hans Litten .
Then , in answer to Kurt Ohnesorge , the judge who moderated the hearing , Hitler said that the “ red murderers ” of the left were the real problem : “ If an SA man really oversteps the boundary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold a man responsible for that.
” Compare this to Donald Trump signalling to his base .
During Tuesday ’ s presidential debate , he was asked : “ Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacist and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence ?
” He answered , “ I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing , not from the right wing.
” He continued : “ Proud Boys , stand back and stand by.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll tell you what , somebody ’ s got to do something about antifa and the left .
Because this is not a rightwing problem , this is a leftwing problem.
” Trump is wrong to pretend that the left is responsible for the violence on America ’ s streets .
Between 1 January 1994 and 8 May 2020 , white supremacists and other rightwing extremists in the US carried out attacks that left 329 people dead .
In the same period , a single attack staged by an anti-fascist resulted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incident , the one person who lost their life was the anti-fascist perpetrator .
That survey ended in May .
Since then , the number of killings carried out by anti-fascists has risen from zero to one .
On 29 August this year a pro-Trump truck convoy made its way through Portland , firing paintballs and pepper sprays .
A counter-protest saw an associate of the far-right group Patriot Prayer , Aaron J Danielson , shot dead .
One anti-fascist , Michael Forest Reinoehl , admitted to the shooting in a media interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He was shot by US marshals on 3 September in Lacey , Washington .
Even after Danielson ’ s death , the grim headcount remains : the far right has been carrying out killings at the rate of 300 to the anti-fascist one .
The 1920s saw a similar disparity of casualties .
The most detailed survey of deaths in Weimar Germany , carried out by the German mathematician Emil Julius Gumbel , found 314 murders carried out by the right in 1918-22 and 15 by the left .
After 1923 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again from 1928 with the rise of the Nazis .
In the US , since 2016 and Trump ’ s election , attacks on leftwing demonstrators have become more frequent .
They have included the killing of anti-fascist protester Heather Heyer at Charlottesville .
James Alex Fields Jr drove his car at protesters after being photographed earlier brandishing a shield with a fascist symbol right out of the 1920s ( a bundle of rods and an executioner ’ s rod ) .
He was sentenced to life in prison .
There were the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Life synagogue in Pittsburgh , allegedly by Robert Bowers .
And there have been the more than 100 white supremacists who have attempted to disperse anti-racist protests since the spring by driving their cars at demonstrators – the same method of attack as that used by Fields at Charlottesville .
Hitler ’ s followers were responding to the electoral success of the left ; they knew that in areas of Berlin the Communist vote was as high as 40 % .
And , in order to break the opposition to Hitler , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed antifascists .
It was this violence that led to Hitler ’ s trial .
The main purpose of the Proud Boys , in summer 2020 , is the same .
That ’ s why the they were in Portland last weekend , carrying posters denouncing anti-fascists and supporters of Black Lives Matters , and promising to drive the left out of the city .
Trump is lying when he says that the left is responsible for the violence .
In blaming the left he is encouraging his armed supporters and inviting further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a weak authoritarian .
After four years in power , Trump has not gone to war .
His opponents are at large and not in jail .
But when Trump defends armed gangs , he echoes the worst moments in modern history .
• David Renton is a barrister and author of Fascism : History and Theory

You can imagine the men as they prepared for the showdown. For days, the papers had been predicting a “great sensation”. Press photographers besieged the entrance. No one could enter the building where the debate was due to take place without a special permit. In his dark blue suit, one question above all troubled the party leader, and with the help of his advisers, he puzzled how best to answer it. What if he was accused of links to fascist street gangs?
This wasn’t the United States in September 2020. It was Germany in May 1931.
For as the historian Benjamin Hett describes in his book, Crossing Hitler, the summer of 1931 saw Hitler being summonsed to court and accused of being complicit in the work of gangs who had beaten – and killed – their anti-fascist enemies.
Hitler’s response was to play a double game. First of all, he was worried about looking weak in front of his supporters, who had called him a coward and a conformist. So he needed to signal that the gangs still had his support. Second, he tried to pretend that any harm caused by his supporters was necessary since the country faced a much more threatening enemy: the far left.
“The SA men are the first men in the party,” he told his opponent, the private prosecutor Hans Litten. Then, in answer to Kurt Ohnesorge, the judge who moderated the hearing, Hitler said that the “red murderers” of the left were the real problem: “If an SA man really oversteps the boundary of self-defence, you can’t hold a man responsible for that.”
Compare this to Donald Trump signalling to his base. During Tuesday’s presidential debate, he was asked: “Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacist and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence?”
He answered, “I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing.” He continued: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.” Then came the justification: “But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left. Because this is not a rightwing problem, this is a leftwing problem.”
Trump is wrong to pretend that the left is responsible for the violence on America’s streets. Between 1 January 1994 and 8 May 2020, white supremacists and other rightwing extremists in the US carried out attacks that left 329 people dead. In the same period, a single attack staged by an anti-fascist resulted in a killing. And during that incident, the one person who lost their life was the anti-fascist perpetrator.
That survey ended in May. Since then, the number of killings carried out by anti-fascists has risen from zero to one. On 29 August this year a pro-Trump truck convoy made its way through Portland, firing paintballs and pepper sprays. A counter-protest saw an associate of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, Aaron J Danielson, shot dead. One anti-fascist, Michael Forest Reinoehl, admitted to the shooting in a media interview, but said he acted in self-defence. He was shot by US marshals on 3 September in Lacey, Washington.
Even after Danielson’s death, the grim headcount remains: the far right has been carrying out killings at the rate of 300 to the anti-fascist one.
The 1920s saw a similar disparity of casualties. The most detailed survey of deaths in Weimar Germany, carried out by the German mathematician Emil Julius Gumbel, found 314 murders carried out by the right in 1918-22 and 15 by the left. After 1923, deaths fell almost to zero before resuming again from 1928 with the rise of the Nazis.
In the US, since 2016 and Trump’s election, attacks on leftwing demonstrators have become more frequent. They have included the killing of anti-fascist protester Heather Heyer at Charlottesville. James Alex Fields Jr drove his car at protesters after being photographed earlier brandishing a shield with a fascist symbol right out of the 1920s (a bundle of rods and an executioner’s rod). He was sentenced to life in prison.
There were the 11 worshippers shot at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, allegedly by Robert Bowers. And there have been the more than 100 white supremacists who have attempted to disperse anti-racist protests since the spring by driving their cars at demonstrators – the same method of attack as that used by Fields at Charlottesville.
Hitler’s followers were responding to the electoral success of the left; they knew that in areas of Berlin the Communist vote was as high as 40%. And, in order to break the opposition to Hitler, they went into those districts and beat and killed antifascists. It was this violence that led to Hitler’s trial.
The main purpose of the Proud Boys, in summer 2020, is the same. That’s why the they were in Portland last weekend, carrying posters denouncing anti-fascists and supporters of Black Lives Matters, and promising to drive the left out of the city.
Trump is lying when he says that the left is responsible for the violence. In blaming the left he is encouraging his armed supporters and inviting further killings.
In many ways Trump is a weak authoritarian. After four years in power, Trump has not gone to war. His opponents are at large and not in jail. But when Trump defends armed gangs, he echoes the worst moments in modern history.


theguardian--2020-10-01--'The more complaints we got, the better' – how Spitting Image redefined satire

‘ The taxi driver who took my wife and I out to dinner last week said : ‘ Are you really Roy Hattersley ?
’ ” says the former deputy leader of the Labour party Roy Hattersley .
“ I said : ‘ I really am !
’ He said : ‘ You were famous !
You were on Spitting Image !
’ ” The satirical puppet show was watched by up to 15 million people in its heyday between 1984 and 1996 , and is now set to return to our screens – if you subscribe to BritBox that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the helm , and a new wave of writers , voice artists and puppeteers and an Adele-to-Xi Jinping of puppets all raring to take us back to the 80s .
“ I remember a kid at primary school telling me about this show where Neil Kinnock pulled out Margaret Thatcher ’ s pubes with a pair of pliers and thinking : ‘ What the fuck ?
’ ” says the comedian Matt Forde , who is writing and voicing for Spitting Image 2.0 .
“ People have lamented its absence because it can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t. ” And it made politicians icons – in a way that no party political broadcast ever could .
Many of the MPs who were so relentlessly mocked during the original run are remembered more for their caricatures than their policies .
So do they not feel insulted ?
Not at all , if Hattersley is to be believed .
“ We all watched it , ” he says .
“ I was just depicted as an old codger , so I didn ’ t mind .
If I had been Kenneth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the garden of life – I wouldn ’ t have liked it so much .
I joked that I was the eponymous hero , because I was the only one who spat .
[ Hattersley ’ s puppet had a vastly over-exaggerated bottom lip . ]
I suspect Norman Tebbit enjoyed being portrayed as a skinhead .
I ’ m sure Mrs Thatcher enjoyed her famous dinner scene : ‘ And what about the vegetables ?
Oh , they ’ ll have the same as me.
’ When politicians are above being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very dangerous situation.
” But it wasn ’ t just MPs who were fair game ; one of the keys to the show ’ s success was its ability to go beyond politics and delve into the increasingly eye-grabbing world of celebrity .
“ People used to say : ‘ That was funny what you said on Sunday , ’ as if it was actually me , ” says the boxer Frank Bruno .
“ I ’ m not sure why I spoke so slowly … ‘ You know what I mean , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sound a bit thick .
But I was up there with royalty and prime ministers .
It introduced me to kids and ladies who didn ’ t watch boxing.
” Kate Robbins , who voiced most of the female puppets for 10 years , says the cast weren ’ t aware of how big it was set to become .
“ We just looked at it like a nice voiceover job .
Steve Coogan was the new guy and kept asking what our five-year plan was .
Me and John Thompson would say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to the pub in a minute … ’ “ We had a lawyer sitting in the studio saying : ‘ Probably best not say that about the Queen Mother , ’ but we got away with politicians shagging their secretaries over desks because puppets were this huge legal grey area .
I was introduced to Princess Anne at a charity do .
She said : ‘ What do you do ?
’ and I wanted to say : ‘ I do you , Ma ’ am.
’ Someone told her I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ .
She said : ‘ You couldn ’ t do an impression of me , your nose isn ’ t big enough.
’ ” Not everyone was quite so magnanimous .
“ Jeffrey Archer threatened to sue , ” says John O ’ Farrell , a lead writer for 10 years .
“ Norris McWhirter sued when we superimposed his head on to a naked woman in a subliminal freeze-frame .
Edwina Curry kept letting us know she wanted to be in it .
You weren ’ t a proper celebrity until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Keeping things so newsworthy meant the programme had to operate on an extremely tight deadline .
“ The topical sketches were divvied up on a Thursday , ” says O ’ Farrell .
“ They did the voices on Friday , the puppets on Saturday .
We were adding bits right up until broadcast on the Sunday , like when Gazza broke his leg in the Cup Final on the Saturday afternoon .
It was all made in one building in the East End [ of London ] .
Cartoonists drew in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in another and we wrote sketches in the next .
It was incredible.
” It ’ s a model that the new series is keen to follow – although the pandemic has somewhat complicated matters .
“ Normally we ’ d all be in big writers ’ rooms , ” says Forde , “ but now Mondays and Tuesdays are over Zoom , Wednesdays and Thursdays I do my voice bits and it goes out on Saturday.
” It wasn ’ t just the writing that delighted the audience , it was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the original show ’ s writers , discovered when he launched Headcases in 2008 , a poorly received CGI retread of Spitting Image .
“ Old Flucky is the most ingenious fellow I ’ ve ever come across , ” says Law of his co-creator , Peter Fluck .
“ We were scraping a living photographing lifesize 3D caricatures for the New York Times , Newsweek and Time .
We thought : ‘ Fuck it .
If we turn them into puppets , perhaps we can carry on doing the same old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anybody apart from other wanky artists .
We got Martin Lambie-Nairn – who ’ d designed the Channel 4 logo – to invest in the puppets , and John Lloyd , who was a lot more respectable than us , to format the show .
We ’ d been censored in print , but television was incredible .
We ’ d have Mrs Thatcher as a sheepdog licking Ronald Reagan ’ s arse clean , and they put it out.
” It ’ s those puppets that Law credits with the show ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was awful , the only reason we got a second series was that the puppets were such a surprise ” – so how did they do it ?
“ One puppeteer would work the head and hand , another the eyes and another the other hand , ” explains the puppeteer Louise Gold , who voiced and puppeteered the Queen among others in the first two series .
“ They were human-sized , so they could be dressed from the charity shop .
You couldn ’ t hold them up for long .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ The more complaints we get , the better.
’ But when we started doing Ayatollah Khomeini , we got death threats and had our names taken off the credits.
” Doug Naylor , along with his Red Dwarf co-writer-to-be , Rob Grant , were brought in as lead writers and script editors for the second series , and the show really took off .
“ The first six episodes were achingly old-fashioned and got battered by the press , ” says Naylor .
“ They had stuff like Hitler living next door to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ puppets are old-fashioned .
The show ’ s not funny.
’ They wanted to create something the Guardian would think was brilliant .
That was the goal – to be adored by Guardian readers .
We got rid of the re-occurring sketches and Ian Hislop and Nick Newman came in every Friday to write up-to-the-minute topical jokes.
” Hislop , Private Eye editor and the familiar team captain of Have I Got News for You , is keen to share the credit around for the uptick in fortunes .
“ It was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We ’ d think : ‘ What are we going to do with Douglas Hurd ?
’ Then Harry Enfield made him sound like a Dalek and we thought : ‘ Yup , that ’ s funny.
’ It just came at the right time .
We ’ d had satire in the 60s and surrealism in the 70s .
The top satirical political programme was Yes Minister , which was a very elegant deconstruction of James Callaghan ’ s civil service .
Then Spitting Image came on to primetime ITV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the fourth season , and soon found himself mocked on the show .
“ I fondly imagined there might be some period of grace , like a Trump pardon , ” says Hislop .
“ But no .
In a matter of weeks after leaving , a puppet of me appeared with a banana on my head , stuck in court , losing a case.
” Trump will of course loom large in the series , voiced , along with Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer , by Forde .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he says .
“ Boris and Trump may be ludicrous political actors , but they can still be lampooned .
Trump ’ s puppet is grotesque .
It looks like something that lives on the ocean floor .
Doing his voice is the most fun I ’ ve ever had at work .
He ’ s part Trump , part Cartman from South Park .
If he needs to wrestle in a sketch , they ’ ll say : ‘ Can you do Trump wrestling ?
’ and I have to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to my laptop while standing in my spare room in my underpants.
” It ’ s a far cry from the cosy trips to the pub the original cast might have enjoyed , but BritBox are hoping the new series of Spitting Image can imitate the original ’ s success the way Forde can Donald Trump ’ s verbal tics , and bring the streaming service its first mainstream success .
Watch Spitting Image from 3 October only on BritBox.co.uk

‘The taxi driver who took my wife and I out to dinner last week said: ‘Are you really Roy Hattersley?’” says the former deputy leader of the Labour party Roy Hattersley. “I said: ‘I really am!’ He said: ‘You were famous! You were on Spitting Image!’”
The satirical puppet show was watched by up to 15 million people in its heyday between 1984 and 1996, and is now set to return to our screens – if you subscribe to BritBox that is – with co-creator Roger Law at the helm, and a new wave of writers, voice artists and puppeteers and an Adele-to-Xi Jinping of puppets all raring to take us back to the 80s.
“I remember a kid at primary school telling me about this show where Neil Kinnock pulled out Margaret Thatcher’s pubes with a pair of pliers and thinking: ‘What the fuck?’” says the comedian Matt Forde, who is writing and voicing for Spitting Image 2.0. “People have lamented its absence because it can lampoon people in ways other shows can’t.”
And it made politicians icons – in a way that no party political broadcast ever could. Many of the MPs who were so relentlessly mocked during the original run are remembered more for their caricatures than their policies. So do they not feel insulted? Not at all, if Hattersley is to be believed.
“We all watched it,” he says. “I was just depicted as an old codger, so I didn’t mind. If I had been Kenneth Baker – a slug sliming my way through the garden of life – I wouldn’t have liked it so much. I joked that I was the eponymous hero, because I was the only one who spat. [Hattersley’s puppet had a vastly over-exaggerated bottom lip.] I suspect Norman Tebbit enjoyed being portrayed as a skinhead. I’m sure Mrs Thatcher enjoyed her famous dinner scene: ‘And what about the vegetables? Oh, they’ll have the same as me.’ When politicians are above being laughed at, it’s a very dangerous situation.”
But it wasn’t just MPs who were fair game; one of the keys to the show’s success was its ability to go beyond politics and delve into the increasingly eye-grabbing world of celebrity.
“People used to say: ‘That was funny what you said on Sunday,’ as if it was actually me,” says the boxer Frank Bruno. “I’m not sure why I spoke so slowly … ‘You know what I mean, ’arry?’ It made me sound a bit thick. But I was up there with royalty and prime ministers. It introduced me to kids and ladies who didn’t watch boxing.”
Donald and Melania Trump’s puppets in the new series of Spitting Image on BritBox. Photograph: Avalon Productions
Kate Robbins, who voiced most of the female puppets for 10 years, says the cast weren’t aware of how big it was set to become. “We just looked at it like a nice voiceover job. Steve Coogan was the new guy and kept asking what our five-year plan was. Me and John Thompson would say: ‘Well, we’re going to the pub in a minute …’
“We had a lawyer sitting in the studio saying: ‘Probably best not say that about the Queen Mother,’ but we got away with politicians shagging their secretaries over desks because puppets were this huge legal grey area. I was introduced to Princess Anne at a charity do. She said: ‘What do you do?’ and I wanted to say: ‘I do you, Ma’am.’ Someone told her I was an impressionist on ‘that puppet programme’. She said: ‘You couldn’t do an impression of me, your nose isn’t big enough.’”
Not everyone was quite so magnanimous. “Jeffrey Archer threatened to sue,” says John O’Farrell, a lead writer for 10 years. “Norris McWhirter sued when we superimposed his head on to a naked woman in a subliminal freeze-frame. Edwina Curry kept letting us know she wanted to be in it. You weren’t a proper celebrity until you’d appeared on Spitting Image.”
Keeping things so newsworthy meant the programme had to operate on an extremely tight deadline. “The topical sketches were divvied up on a Thursday,” says O’Farrell. “They did the voices on Friday, the puppets on Saturday. We were adding bits right up until broadcast on the Sunday, like when Gazza broke his leg in the Cup Final on the Saturday afternoon. It was all made in one building in the East End [of London]. Cartoonists drew in one room, model-makers sprayed latex moulds in another and we wrote sketches in the next. It was incredible.”
Greta Thunberg’s puppet in the new series of Spitting Image on BritBox. Photograph: Avalon Productions
It’s a model that the new series is keen to follow – although the pandemic has somewhat complicated matters. “Normally we’d all be in big writers’ rooms,” says Forde, “but now Mondays and Tuesdays are over Zoom, Wednesdays and Thursdays I do my voice bits and it goes out on Saturday.”
It wasn’t just the writing that delighted the audience, it was the puppets – something Henry Naylor, one of the original show’s writers, discovered when he launched Headcases in 2008, a poorly received CGI retread of Spitting Image.
“Old Flucky is the most ingenious fellow I’ve ever come across,” says Law of his co-creator, Peter Fluck. “We were scraping a living photographing lifesize 3D caricatures for the New York Times, Newsweek and Time. We thought: ‘Fuck it. If we turn them into puppets, perhaps we can carry on doing the same old shit.’ We didn’t know anybody apart from other wanky artists. We got Martin Lambie-Nairn – who’d designed the Channel 4 logo – to invest in the puppets, and John Lloyd, who was a lot more respectable than us, to format the show. We’d been censored in print, but television was incredible. We’d have Mrs Thatcher as a sheepdog licking Ronald Reagan’s arse clean, and they put it out.”
Boris Johnson’s puppet in the new series of Spitting Image on BritBox. Photograph: Avalon Productions
It’s those puppets that Law credits with the show’s longevity – “the first series was awful, the only reason we got a second series was that the puppets were such a surprise” – so how did they do it? “One puppeteer would work the head and hand, another the eyes and another the other hand,” explains the puppeteer Louise Gold, who voiced and puppeteered the Queen among others in the first two series. “They were human-sized, so they could be dressed from the charity shop. You couldn’t hold them up for long. I remember John Lloyd saying: ‘The more complaints we get, the better.’ But when we started doing Ayatollah Khomeini, we got death threats and had our names taken off the credits.”
Priti Patel’s puppet in the new series of Spitting Image on BritBox. Photograph: Avalon Productions
Doug Naylor, along with his Red Dwarf co-writer-to-be, Rob Grant, were brought in as lead writers and script editors for the second series, and the show really took off. “The first six episodes were achingly old-fashioned and got battered by the press,” says Naylor. “They had stuff like Hitler living next door to Thatcher. We said: ‘Your puppets are old-fashioned. The show’s not funny.’ They wanted to create something the Guardian would think was brilliant. That was the goal – to be adored by Guardian readers. We got rid of the re-occurring sketches and Ian Hislop and Nick Newman came in every Friday to write up-to-the-minute topical jokes.”
Dominic Cummings’s puppet in the new series of Spitting Image on BritBox. Photograph: Avalon Productions
Hislop, Private Eye editor and the familiar team captain of Have I Got News for You, is keen to share the credit around for the uptick in fortunes. “It was a real team effort,” he says. “We’d think: ‘What are we going to do with Douglas Hurd?’ Then Harry Enfield made him sound like a Dalek and we thought: ‘Yup, that’s funny.’ It just came at the right time. We’d had satire in the 60s and surrealism in the 70s. The top satirical political programme was Yes Minister, which was a very elegant deconstruction of James Callaghan’s civil service. Then Spitting Image came on to primetime ITV with this immense rudery.”
Hislop left after the fourth season, and soon found himself mocked on the show. “I fondly imagined there might be some period of grace, like a Trump pardon,” says Hislop. “But no. In a matter of weeks after leaving, a puppet of me appeared with a banana on my head, stuck in court, losing a case.”
Dominic Raab’s puppet in the new series of Spitting Image on BritBox. Photograph: Avalon Productions
Trump will of course loom large in the series, voiced, along with Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer, by Forde. “It’s a fantasy Spitting Image lineup,” he says. “Boris and Trump may be ludicrous political actors, but they can still be lampooned. Trump’s puppet is grotesque. It looks like something that lives on the ocean floor. Doing his voice is the most fun I’ve ever had at work. He’s part Trump, part Cartman from South Park. If he needs to wrestle in a sketch, they’ll say: ‘Can you do Trump wrestling?’ and I have to make Trump wrestling noises into a microphone attached to my laptop while standing in my spare room in my underpants.”
It’s a far cry from the cosy trips to the pub the original cast might have enjoyed, but BritBox are hoping the new series of Spitting Image can imitate the original’s success the way Forde can Donald Trump’s verbal tics, and bring the streaming service its first mainstream success.
Watch Spitting Image from 3 October only on BritBox.co.uk


theguardian--2020-09-30--'How to move to Canada': Americans rush to Google after unwatchable debate

If you watched Tuesday night ’ s presidential debate thinking it was the height of civility , you ’ re probably in the minority .
For many Americans , it was enough to trigger a potential mass exodus .
Following a debate derailed by interruptions , people speaking over each other , and insults hurled back and forth , Google reported a peak number of searches for “ How to apply for Canadian citizenship ” in the US .
Some people seemed in such a hurry to get out they couldn ’ t even get the name right : searches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” also spiked alongside the correct “ How to move to Canada ” .
Searches initially peaked about an hour into the debate , at about 10.30pm , according to the search engine .
But it looks like the news unsettled people into the night – there has since been a second wave of searches on how to get Canadian citizenship – with most of the searches happening in the early hours of this morning .
The search was most popular in Massachusetts , followed by Washington and Michigan .
The results are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , every election sees a swath of voters contemplating moving over to the other side ( of the border ) .
Some even go through with it .
Since Google gave us the ability to contemplate revoking one ’ s citizenship at a touch of a button , we are just more able to see the numbers .
The peak “ Let ’ s all move to Canada ” election-induced moment seems to have come after the November 2004 election of George W Bush , according to Google .
In the past five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people were Googling how to move to Canada was after the November 2016 election .

If you watched Tuesday night’s presidential debate thinking it was the height of civility, you’re probably in the minority. For many Americans, it was enough to trigger a potential mass exodus.
Following a debate derailed by interruptions, people speaking over each other, and insults hurled back and forth, Google reported a peak number of searches for “How to apply for Canadian citizenship” in the US.
Some people seemed in such a hurry to get out they couldn’t even get the name right: searches for “How to move to Canda” also spiked alongside the correct “How to move to Canada”.
Searches initially peaked about an hour into the debate, at about 10.30pm, according to the search engine. But it looks like the news unsettled people into the night – there has since been a second wave of searches on how to get Canadian citizenship – with most of the searches happening in the early hours of this morning.
The search was most popular in Massachusetts, followed by Washington and Michigan.
The results are not unprecedented, however – in fact, every election sees a swath of voters contemplating moving over to the other side (of the border). Some even go through with it.
Since Google gave us the ability to contemplate revoking one’s citizenship at a touch of a button, we are just more able to see the numbers. The peak “Let’s all move to Canada” election-induced moment seems to have come after the November 2004 election of George W Bush, according to Google. In the past five years, the highest point at which people were Googling how to move to Canada was after the November 2016 election.


theguardian--2020-10-01--Katie Porter lambasts big pharma over cancer drug price hike using whiteboard calculations – video

US representative Katie Porter used her now-signature whiteboard as she questioned former Celgene CEO Mark Alles over the connection between @ @ @ @ @ Revlimid , a common cancer drug , and his personal bonus .
The Democratic congresswoman @ @ @ @ @ during a House oversight and reform committee hearing that centred on an 18-month investigation into @ @ @ @ @ drug makers defended the price rises as the cost of doing research and development and @ @ @ @ @ companies offer

US representative Katie Porter used her now-signature whiteboard as she questioned former Celgene CEO Mark Alles over the connection between the significant price hike for Revlimid, a common cancer drug, and his personal bonus.
The Democratic congresswoman for California presented her argument during a House oversight and reform committee hearing that centred on an 18-month investigation into pharmaceutical price gouging. The drug makers defended the price rises as the cost of doing research and development and talked about price-reduction programmes their companies offer


theguardian--2020-10-02--Donald Trump quarantines after positive Covid test; Mike Pence tests negative – live updates

What happens to the presidential campaign ?
This deeply weird presidential campaign as we know it could theoretically be over .
If Trump commits to quarantining for the CDC recommended minimum , he would be sheltered from the public until at least mid October .
We don ’ t know if there are going to be large-scale Trump rallies .
We don ’ t yet know if there will be future presidential debates .
Who else in politics could have been exposed ?
We don ’ t yet have a full idea of this , or know how long Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could have been contagious for .
But this has been one of the most high-contact weeks of the presidential campaign .
Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett last saw Trump on Saturday , the White House said .
The debate was on Tuesday , where Trump yelled at Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace — inside — for 90 minutes .
The debate hall was filled with Trump and Biden family members , and the Trump side of the hall was ( at least largely ) not masked .
What happens to… @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million people have already voted .
It ’ s really hard to imagine something dramatic changing at this point , though things have been dramatically changing at a regular pace .
If Trump or Biden is not able to serve as president and have to withdraw from the election , their respective parties would technically decide on their replacements .
This has never happened before , and if it had to happen now , it would come so close to the election with so many people already voting that it ’ s right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work .

3 Oct 2020 05.14 BST Evening summary: coronavirus in the Rose Garden It has been an extraordinary 24 hours in American politics, and the next few days are unlikely to be much calmer. You can continue to follow US political updates on our global coronavirus blog, helmed by my colleague Christopher Knaus in Australia. Here’s the highlights of today’s developments. Less than a day after announcing he had tested positive for Covid-19, T rump was hospitalized at Walter Reed medical center , where officials said he would spend the next few days.
, where officials said he would spend the next few days. Trump walked himself to the helicopter that transported him to the hospital, and White House officials said he was doing well and would be staying at the hospital out of “an abundance of caution”.
The White House said late Friday night that Trump was being treated with remdesivir. Trump tweeted that it was “going well”.
Trump tweeted that it was “going well”. It’s still not clear how and when Trump was infected with coronavirus, but a White House Rose Garden event last Saturday announcing Amy Coney Barrett as Trump’s supreme court nominee emerged as a key moment, with at least seven people at the event later announcing they had tested positive for coronavirus.
event last Saturday announcing emerged as a key moment, with at least at the event later announcing they had tested positive for coronavirus. Republican senators Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, both members of the Senate judiciary committee, said they had tested positive for coronavirus, raising questions about the scheduled confirmation hearing process for Barrett, which is scheduled to begin in 10 days. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said early Friday that he intended to move along with the confirmation process.
and both members of the Senate judiciary committee, said they had tested positive for coronavirus, raising questions about the scheduled confirmation hearing process for Barrett, which is scheduled to begin in 10 days. The Senate majority leader, said early Friday that he intended to move along with the confirmation process. Melania Trump, Kellyanne Conway, the Notre Dame president, John Jenkins, and a White House reporter also tested positive after the Rose Garden event.
the Notre Dame president, and a also tested positive after the Rose Garden event. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the country needed to unite in the face of Trump’s illness. Biden’s campaign said it would be suspending negative ads about Trump, but that Biden would continue campaigning for the time being. Trump’s campaign said it would still run negative ads about Biden.
said the country needed to unite in the face of Trump’s illness. Biden’s campaign said it would be suspending negative ads about Trump, but that Biden would continue campaigning for the time being. Trump’s campaign said it would still run negative ads about Biden. There are still many questions about how many other workers and employees may have been exposed to coronavirus by the president or his inner circle, including secret service members, White House reporters, and staffers at the president’s campaign fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday night.
Updated at 05.20 BST
3 Oct 2020 04.42 BST Trump tweets that his hospitalization is ‘going well’ It is nearly midnight in Washington, DC, but the president, who ihospitalized with coronavirus, appears to be awake. Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
3 Oct 2020 04.23 BST Scrutinizing the timeline of Trump’s coronavirus contacts As we learn more about the people exposed to Trump over the past few days, his choice to fly to a fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday night is likely to attract more scrutiny. Trump had gone ahead to the Bedminster fundraiser, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million people worldwide. https://t.co/7f76kHl6hN — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 2, 2020
3 Oct 2020 04.17 BST More video of Trump allies who now have coronavirus mingling at Rose Garden event Few masks, no social distancing. Here's Kellyanne Conway (covid-19+) with Attorney General Bill Barr at the tail end of the White House "super spreader" event (attended by several others who've also tested positive, including 2 U.S. senators) pic.twitter.com/cnrmbzZoLg — Dell Cameron (@dellcam) October 3, 2020
3 Oct 2020 04.12 BST Secret Service agents reportedly furious at Trump's behavior during pandemic Secret Service agents almost never complain about the president. It’s “unheard of,” the Washington Post reports. But now, current agents’ frustration at Trump’s behavior during the coronavirus pandemic is seeping out into public view. “Some currently in the ranks had become convinced during the pandemic that Trump was willing to put his protectors in harm’s way,” the Post reports, noting that some agents feel like he has put the people sworn to protect him in harm’s way. “He’s never cared about us,” one agent told a friend, the Post reports. Another said in an internal message group: “This administration doesn’t care about the Secret Service.” “Secret Service agents expressed their anger and frustration to colleagues and friends Friday, saying that the president’s actions have repeatedly put them at risk. “He’s never cared about us,” one agent told a confidant.” https://t.co/zP6RQpxdF2 — Travis Akers (@travisakers) October 3, 2020 The husband of former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, who just announced that she had tested positive for coronavirus after attending a Rose Garden event, used the news story to suggest his own feelings about his wife’s announcement. I can relate https://t.co/OUy6ILCuNo — George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 3, 2020
Updated at 04.14 BST
3 Oct 2020 03.58 BST Was the announcement of Trump’s supreme court nominee a super-spreader event? Confirmed cases linked to Saturday’s Rose Garden event are rising. The event was Trump’s formal announcement that he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to fill progressive champion Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat on the supreme court. Ginsberg, who died on 18 September, had made clear that she believed her replacement should not be confirmed until after the 2020 election. Amy Coney Barratt’s Rose Garden speech as super-spreader event is just hauntingly on-the-nose on about 15 different levels. — Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) October 3, 2020
Updated at 04.13 BST
3 Oct 2020 03.41 BST Rose Garden ceremony linked to at least seven confirmed coronavirus cases Politico has made a visual guide to the growing number of Trump officials and allies who have tested positive for coronavirus since attending a crowded Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday announcing Amy Coney Barrett as Trump’s supreme court nominee. Many of those who have since announced they tested positive for the virus were seated close together. Melania, Sen. Mike Lee and the Rev. John Jenkins, all of who have tested positive for Covid-19, were in close proximity to senators and White House officials at last Saturday's ACB announcement. https://t.co/FuaOoez2e2 pic.twitter.com/IAoWDXNMtI — Taylor Spooky Thomas 👻 (@tmthomasdc) October 2, 2020 As Huffington Post’s Igor Bobic notes, the chairs for the ceremony were not even spaced out. All they had to do is distance the chairs. They couldn’t even do the bare minimum. People should be fired over this. People would be fired over this in a normal admin. https://t.co/u73aoYQqa4 — Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 3, 2020
Updated at 04.07 BST
3 Oct 2020 03.30 BST Little transparency, many questions as coronavirus cases mount in Washington Within 24 hours, Trump announced he had tested positive for coronavirus, then announced he was going to be hospitalized for several days. Key players in the government received no warning about the president’s condition. Top leaders of Congress have had no briefing about Trump’s health. Gang of Eight hasn’t been notified about his health or informed about his transfer to Walter Reed, per multiple sources. Trump had called some of his Hill allies early today, like McConnell and Graham — Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 2, 2020 NEWS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was NOT informed of President Trump’s planned movement to Walter Reed, a Democratic aide tells @kasie.
She has not had any further conversations about continuity of government planning with the White House in the intervening hours, the aide said. — Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) October 2, 2020 Chris Christie, just now on ABC, says he has "not been contacted by the White House" re covid/contact tracing. Says he found out about Hicks's diagnosis through media reports last night... went this a.m. in NJ to get a test. Will receive results first thing Sat a.m.... — Al Weaver (@alweaver22) October 2, 2020 And, at a moment of deep uncertainty for the country and for the 2020 election, the Trump administration has a consistent record of making statements that are not true. “A crisis of confidence that has been building for four years,” as journalist Abby Phillip put it. A crisis of confidence that has been building for 4 years. https://t.co/gOBfqiFDSt — Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 2, 2020
3 Oct 2020 03.24 BST Kellyanne Conway has tested positive for Covid-19, says symptoms are ‘mild’ She is the seventh person at the Rose Garden event announcing Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the supreme court to confirm she has tested positive for coronavirus. Tonight I tested positive for COVID-19. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I’m feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians.
As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic. ❤ — Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) October 3, 2020 Kellyanne was seated almost at the exact center of the triangle formed by Sen. Mike Lee, Melania Trump and Rev. Jenkins — all of whom tested positive earlier today. https://t.co/m3u88qDyPQ https://t.co/wm2SesZ4if pic.twitter.com/RLOfrIhGj0 — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 3, 2020
Updated at 03.30 BST
3 Oct 2020 02.50 BST ‘I’m just not’ worried about getting coronavirus, Trump told Woodward in April New audio recording from Trump’s 13 April interview with journalist Bob Woodward includes Trump explaining why, despite the risks he was taking, he was “just not” worried about getting coronavirus. “I don’t know why I’m not. I’m not,” Trump said. "You're risking getting it..." said Woodward. "The way you move around and have those briefings and deal with people. Are you worried about that?"
"No, I'm not. I don't know why I'm not. I'm not," Trump said
"Why?" Woodward asked.
"I don't know," Trump said. "I'm just not.” https://t.co/XQqAdTRAAc — Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 2, 2020
Updated at 03.14 BST
3 Oct 2020 02.44 BST Vice-presidential candidates will debate while 12ft apart NEWS: in light of today’s events, commission on presidential debates has moved the chairs at the VP debate from 7 feet apart to 12 feet apart. Pence and Harris will be sitting down, per person familiar — Alex Isenstadt (@politicoalex) October 3, 2020
Updated at 03.15 BST
3 Oct 2020 02.40 BST 11 coronavirus cases linked to presidential debate in Cleveland Everyone agreed: the first 2020 presidential debate was a mess. And that was before it became clear that a growing number of debate attendees had been diagnosed with coronavirus. Cleveland city officials announced earlier today that they had confirmed at least 11 cases of coronavirus connected with the presidential debate held there on Tuesday. “In total, at this time, we are aware of 11 cases stemming from pre-debate planning and set-up, with the majority of cases occurring among out of state residents,” a press release said. “At this time, though that could change, no City residents appear to have contracted the virus as a result of this event.” At least 11 positive coronavirus tests can be traced to organizers of this week's presidential debate in Cleveland. https://t.co/A65t6y0ZBN — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 3, 2020 Ohio’s Democratic state house minority leader tweeted earlier today about her frustration with the debate attendees, including members of Trump’s family, who refused to wear masks. Tuesday evening, I attended the presidential debate. All attendees were required to get tested for COVID as a condition of attendance. Before the event started a Cleveland clinic doctor offered masks to attendees who were not wearing them. They refused. pic.twitter.com/a4z0Bs87iE — Emilia Sykes (@EmiliaSykesOH) October 2, 2020
3 Oct 2020 02.19 BST Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle say they tested negative for COVID-19 Per Fox News reporter Bill Hemmer: NEW: Donald Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle - who attended Tuesday nights debate with President Trump in Cleveland - say testing results tonight came back negative. — BILL HEMMER (@BillHemmer) October 3, 2020
3 Oct 2020 02.06 BST Will Covid-19 diagnoses delay confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett? Ten days before a contentious and divisive supreme court Senate hearing, two GOP senators have tested positive for Covid-19 The confirmation hearings for Trump’s supreme court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, are slated to begin on 12 October. Two Republican members of the Senate judiciary committee have just been diagnosed with Covid-19. (They are among six people at a crowded White House Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett that have already tested positive for the virus.) Ahead of SCOTUS headings, the second Republican senator on the Judiciary Committee to test positive https://t.co/4Ciqj8ue3D — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 3, 2020 The Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, is now calling to delay the confirmation hearings for Barrett.
“It is irresponsible and dangerous to move forward with a hearing, and there is absolutely no good reason to do so,” Schumer wrote on Twitter.
We now have two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who have tested positive for COVID, and there may be more. I wish my colleagues well.
It is irresponsible and dangerous to move forward with a hearing, and there is absolutely no good reason to do so. — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 3, 2020 Huffington Post reports that the two GOP senators are instead planning to quarantine for 10 days, rather than 14, which would mean they would be out of quarantine by the beginning of the scheduled hearing. Tillis, like Lee, says he’s going to quarantine for only 10 days and not 14. Barrett’s confirmation hearing is supposed to start in 10 days. — Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 3, 2020 The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, wrote earlier today that the hearings should proceed despite Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis. Just finished a great phone call with @POTUS. He’s in good spirits and we talked business — especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve. — Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) October 2, 2020
Updated at 09.14 BST
3 Oct 2020 01.49 BST Twitter says it will remove tweets expressing hope that Trump dies of coronavirus The social media company said that “this does not automatically mean suspension” for users that tweet about hoping that Trump dies. tweets that wish or hope for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against *anyone* are not allowed and will need to be removed. this does not automatically mean suspension. https://t.co/lQ8wWGL2y0 https://t.co/P2vGfUeUQf — Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) October 2, 2020
3 Oct 2020 01.38 BST Another GOP senator at Rose Garden even for Supreme Court nominee tests positive This brings the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases among attendees at the event to six, CNN reporter Betsy Klein notes. Thom Tillis, another Republican Senator in attendance at the Rose Garden tests positive — pic.twitter.com/JxxgV5VfoN — Emily Cochrane (@ESCochrane) October 3, 2020 At least six people who were in attendance at the Saturday Rose Garden event nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court have tested positive: POTUS, FLOTUS, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Mike Lee, Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, and one of the members of the press corps. — Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) October 3, 2020
3 Oct 2020 01.32 BST What we know and don’t know about Trump’s coronavirus There are many unanswered questions surrounding Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment. The Associated Press has a great breakdown of what we know about Trump’s case of coronavirus, and what we still don’t know. What symptoms does he have? The White House officially has given few details, except that he had a fever and was fatigued. How is he being treated? Trump’s physician, Dr Sean Conley, said Friday doctors were providing Trump with an experimental antibody cocktail; vitamin D; famotidine, which is typically used to treat heartburn and acid reflux; the sleep aid melatonin; and an aspirin. And while he said initially that Trump planned to stay at the White House, the White House announced late Friday afternoon Trump instead would be working from “presidential offices” at Walter Reed. When did Trump know he had been exposed? That question is important to answering whether the president continued his campaign events and other activities despite knowing he might be infecting others, and to knowing whether the White House was adequately transparent about Trump’s illness. White House officials say they learned of adviser Hope Hicks’ positive test results for the coronavirus Thursday, after Trump boarded the Marine One helicopter for a private fundraiser in New Jersey. But Trump went ahead with the trip and the fundraiser. He told Fox News that evening he was being tested. Just before 1am Friday, he tweeted that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had tested positive. Who infected Trump? We don’t know, although there’s no shortage of possible suspects. Trump, who typically shuns masks, was around hundreds if not thousands of people this week, traveling to a campaign rally, his golf club, the presidential debate, fundraisers and meetings with people involved in his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court. Hicks, one of Trump’s closest advisers, fell ill with the coronavirus Wednesday while accompanying Trump to a fundraiser in Minnesota, officials say. It’s not clear if her case is related to the president’s. And Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who was at the White House last weekend, announced Friday he had tested positive. The White House medical unit is slated to trace the president’s contacts.
Updated at 01.48 BST


theguardian--2020-10-02--US unemployment rate falls to 7.9% in last look at jobs market before elections

The US unemployment rate fell to 7.9 % in September , the labor department announced on Friday , in the last snapshot of the jobs market ahead of the presidential election .
Unemployment has fallen sharply since hitting a historic record of 14.7 % in April after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the US .
But the rate is still far higher than the 4.8 % when Trump took office in January 2017 and the recent pace of recovery is slowing .
The current level marks the worst job loss that any president has faced going into an election based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world war .
Over the month of September , the US added just 661,000 jobs , down from the 1.4m jobs added in August , a month that was boosted by the temporary hiring of 238,000 people to conduct the 2020 Census .
About half of the jobs lost in the early months after the coronavirus hit the US have now been recovered .
But the recovery in the jobs market has been uneven , disproportionately benefitting white men while young people , women , Latino and Black Americans have continued to struggle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment rate for white people was 7 % in September , for black people it was 12.1 % and for Latinos it was 10.3 % .
The teenage unemployment rate was 15.9 % .
Dedrea Perea of Bernalillo , New Mexico lost her job in telecommunications in August .
Her unemployment benefits have been placed on hold because she ’ s still considered employed in order to maintain her health insurance and can ’ t get a hold of anyone through the state unemployment agency to address her dilemma .
For now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and utility shut offs , but she is at risk of having her car repossessed and is struggling to cover her back payments on rent and utilities .
“ I ’ ve been donating plasma in order to make small payments to my utilities and my landlord so that I ’ m not too far behind until I can find a job , ” said Perea .
William Rodgers , former chief economist at the US Department of Labor , and one of the US ’ s most prominent black economists , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ a plateau ” and continuing restrictions on how businesses operate , fresh outbreaks , and the coming flu season could all slow further recovery .
Rodgers , professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University , said the current situation would likely hit minorities – and particularly young minorities – hardest .
“ This is a two-reality economy , ” said Rodgers .
“ Going into this recession , inequality was , by many measures , at all time highs .
One group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from home while another has suffered economically , and in terms of health , to a far higher degree .
”

The US unemployment rate fell to 7.9% in September, the labor department announced on Friday, in the last snapshot of the jobs market ahead of the presidential election.
Unemployment has fallen sharply since hitting a historic record of 14.7% in April after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the US. But the rate is still far higher than the 4.8% when Trump took office in January 2017 and the recent pace of recovery is slowing. The current level marks the worst job loss that any president has faced going into an election based on records going back to the second world war.
Over the month of September, the US added just 661,000 jobs, down from the 1.4m jobs added in August, a month that was boosted by the temporary hiring of 238,000 people to conduct the 2020 census.
About half of the jobs lost in the early months after the coronavirus hit the US have now been recovered. But the recovery in the jobs market has been uneven, disproportionately benefiting white men while young people, women, Latino and black Americans have continued to struggle to make up lost ground.
The unemployment rate for white people was 7% in September, for black people it was 12.1% and for Latinos it was 10.3%. The teenage unemployment rate was 15.9%.
Dedrea Perea of Bernalillo, New Mexico lost her job in telecommunications in August. Her unemployment benefits have been placed on hold because she is still considered employed in order to maintain her health insurance and can’t reach anyone through the state unemployment agency to address her dilemma.
For now, state regulations have placed moratoriums on evictions and utility shut offs, but she is at risk of having her car repossessed and is struggling to cover her back payments on rent and utilities.
“I’ve been donating plasma in order to make small payments to my utilities and my landlord so that I’m not too far behind until I can find a job,” said Perea.
William Rodgers, former chief economist at the US Department of Labor, and one of the US’s most prominent black economists, said the jobs recovery seemed to have hit “a plateau” and continuing restrictions on how businesses operate, fresh outbreaks and the coming flu season could all slow further recovery.
Rodgers, professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, said the current situation would likely hit minorities – and particularly young minorities – hardest.
“This is a two-reality economy,” said Rodgers. “Going into this recession, inequality was, by many measures, at all-time highs. One group has faired OK economically and has worked from home while another has suffered economically, and in terms of health, to a far higher degree.”


theguardian--2020-10-02--'I feel pride': incarcerated residents of Washington DC register to vote for first time

On a Wednesday afternoon earlier this month , Tony Lewis Sr , a former Washington DC drug dealer in his 32nd year of a life sentence , didn ’ t imagine anything exciting was in the cards .
Then a prison counselor at the correctional institute in Maryland told him his voter registration form had arrived .
“ I couldn ’ t believe what I was hearing , ” he told his son , Tony Lewis Jr , via text message .
“ I feel pride today , I feel like a real man , a citizen of my community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ joy stemmed from legislation passed by DC ’ s council in July , extending the right to vote to incarcerated residents for the first time , a right that only Maine and Vermont currently allow .
The DC Board of Elections says it has sent registration applications to 2,400 people in prison since the law passed , allowing them to vote in November ’ s presidential election .
That number is lower than the 4,500 DC residents who were believed to be incarcerated earlier this year , a discrepancy likely in part due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But pinpointing an exact number is also difficult for DC officials because , unlike states , the nation ’ s capital doesn ’ t have its own prison system , meaning its incarcerated residents are scattered in over 100 federal facilities across the country .
“ We have no information other than the information we ’ ve been provided , ” said Alice Miller , the executive director of the DC Board of Elections .
“ This is [ the number the Federal Bureau of Prisons ] gave us .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , advocates of voting rights for felons have hailed DC ’ s new legislation as hugely significant in the precedent it sets in reversing the suppression of votes of Black Americans like Lewis Sr , nationwide .
US restrictions on voting rights for felons are among the world ’ s harshest , and many were created to disenfranchise Black Americans after they gained voting rights in the Jim Crow era .
According to the Sentencing Project , an advocacy and research organization , Black American adults are over four times more likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and overall , 2.2 million Black Americans are banned from voting .
“ This is part of an individual ’ s right to participate in democracy , ” said Kaitlin Banner , the deputy legal director of the Washington Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs .
In other places in the country , the process has not been as smooth .
In 2018 , Florida voters approved an amendment that re-enfranchised 1.4 million people .
For a state where 537 votes decided the 2000 US presidential election , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting rights for people with felony convictions .
But Republicans have been working to gut it ever since .
Many of the re-enfranchised will be voting for the first time in decades , or , if they were incarcerated as juveniles , in their entire lives .
“ Committing a crime does not mean that you ’ re no longer a citizen , ” says Lewis Jr , whose father ’ s incarceration spurred him to become an activist who helps felons reintegrate into the community .
“ You should still be able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With the system stacked against that idea , Lewis Jr says his father never even thought voting was something he would ever be able to do .
Now , he says , his father is energized .
“ It ’ s really a way for him to contribute , ” he said .
“ Many times people that are incarcerated [ find it ] hard to feel a part of what ’ s going on in the world.
” The feelings are similar for Marion Crawford , a 40-year-old Black American from DC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when he was a juvenile .
“ I was ecstatic , ” he said about gaining the right to vote .
“ It also makes me feel like I belong .
I ’ m just looking forward to being a part of the process – just part of the community.
” For Crawford , voting for the first time will be especially exciting given the high stakes of the 2020 election .
“ Everything in the state of politics , the country as a whole one now – it ’ s rough , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think it ’ s like an awakening going on.
” Given the challenges of implementing the new law , especially during the pandemic , the DC council did not mandate that the election board send ballots to prisoners this year .
But Robert C White Jr , the councilmember who led the effort to pass the legislation says that ’ s still the goal .
He said the board of elections has been working with the Bureau of Prisons to distribute educational materials and voter registration forms .
For White , the new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sr and Crawford an opportunity to engage with society that they never should have lost .
“ I ’ m really proud , not just as a local DC guy , but as somebody who believes very much in second chances and the need to give more humanity to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people , ” he said .
“ Now that the District of Columbia has restored the right to vote for incarcerated felons , no state can say that it can ’ t or shouldn ’ t be done .
”

On a Wednesday afternoon earlier last month, Tony Lewis Sr, a former Washington DC drug dealer in his 32nd year of a life sentence, didn’t imagine anything exciting was on the cards. Then a prison counselor at the correctional institute in Maryland told him his voter registration form had arrived.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” he told his son, Tony Lewis Jr, via email. “I feel pride today, I feel like a real man, a citizen of my community and city.”
Lewis Sr’s joy stemmed from legislation passed by DC’s council in July, extending the right to vote to incarcerated residents for the first time, a right that only Maine and Vermont currently allow. The DC Board of Elections says it has sent registration applications to 2,400 people in prison since the law passed, allowing them to vote in November’s presidential election. That number is lower than the 4,500 DC residents who were believed to be incarcerated earlier this year, a discrepancy likely in part due to prisoners being released because of Covid-19.
But pinpointing an exact number is also difficult for DC officials because, unlike states, the nation’s capital doesn’t have its own prison system, meaning its incarcerated residents are scattered in over 100 federal facilities across the country.
“We have no information other than the information we’ve been provided,” said Alice Miller, the executive director of the DC Board of Elections. “This is [the number the Federal Bureau of Prisons] gave us. This is what they identified.”
Despite these complications, advocates of voting rights for felons have hailed DC’s new legislation as hugely significant in the precedent it sets in reversing the suppression of votes of Black Americans like Lewis Sr, nationwide. US restrictions on voting rights for felons are among the world’s harshest, and many were created to disenfranchise Black Americans after they gained voting rights in the Jim Crow era.
According to the Sentencing Project, an advocacy and research organization, Black American adults are over four times more likely to lose their voting rights than other Americans, and overall, 2.2 million Black Americans are banned from voting.
Tony Lewis Jr and Sr. Photograph: Courtesy of the family
“This is part of an individual’s right to participate in democracy,” said Kaitlin Banner, the deputy legal director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
In other places in the country, the process has not been as smooth. In 2018, Florida voters approved an amendment that re-enfranchised 1.4 million people. For a state where 537 votes decided the 2000 US presidential election, the amendment underlined the potential power of restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions. But Republicans have been working to gut it ever since.
Many of the re-enfranchised will be voting for the first time in decades, or, if they were incarcerated as juveniles, in their entire lives.
“Committing a crime does not mean that you’re no longer a citizen,” says Lewis Jr, whose father’s incarceration spurred him to become an activist who helps felons reintegrate into the community. “You should still be able to participate in the political process.”
With the system stacked against that idea, Lewis Jr says his father never even thought voting was something he would ever be able to do. Now, he says, his father is energized.
“It’s really a way for him to contribute,” he said. “Many times people that are incarcerated [find it] hard to feel a part of what’s going on in the world.”
The feelings are similar for Marion Crawford, a 40-year-old Black American from DC who has been incarcerated since 1997, when he was a juvenile. “I was ecstatic,” he said about gaining the right to vote. “It also makes me feel like I belong. I’m just looking forward to being a part of the process – just part of the community.”
Committing a crime does not mean that you’re no longer a citizen...You should still be able to participate in the political process Tony Lewis Jr
For Crawford, voting for the first time will be especially exciting given the high stakes of the 2020 election.
“Everything in the state of politics, the country as a whole one now – it’s rough, but I’m hopeful because I think it’s like an awakening going on.”
Given the challenges of implementing the new law, especially during the pandemic, the DC council did not mandate that the election board send ballots to prisoners this year. But Robert C White Jr, the councilmember who led the effort to pass the legislation says that’s still the goal.
He said the board of elections has been working with the Bureau of Prisons to distribute educational materials and voter registration forms. For White, the new legislation is about giving citizens like Lewis Sr and Crawford an opportunity to engage with society that they never should have lost.
“I’m really proud, not just as a local DC guy, but as somebody who believes very much in second chances and the need to give more humanity to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people,” he said. “Now that the District of Columbia has restored the right to vote for incarcerated felons, no state can say that it can’t or shouldn’t be done.”


theguardian--2020-10-02--Fears for Joe Biden after Trump tests positive for Covid

A scramble is under way in Washington to determine how far coronavirus infection has spread in the top ranks of US leadership after Donald Trump tested positive , in a week that included a presidential debate , political rallies and White House meetings with Congress .
The White House said its medical unit had begun contact tracing on Thursday .
Among those who may have been exposed is the Democratic challenger for the presidency , Joe Biden , who stood a few metres away from Trump for the 90 minutes of Tuesday night ’ s televised debate .
Epidemiologists said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morning he could have been infectious at that time .
The two candidates did not shake hands under Covid rules , and their lecterns were about 3 metres apart , but for the majority of the debate the president was speaking , sometimes at high volume , in Biden ’ s direction in an indoor venue in Cleveland .
Saskia Popescu , an epidemiologist and assistant professor at the George Mason University , said it was “ entirely possible ” Biden had been exposed , as Trump would have been infectious for 48 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the list for possible exposure is the vice-president , Mike Pence , the White House chief of staff , Mark Meadows , Trump ’ s pick for the supreme court , Amy Coney Barrett , and the Senate Republicans they visited this week to prepare for Barrett ’ s confirmation hearings .
The list also include Trump ’ s children and his son-in-law , Jared Kushner , along with other senior White House staffers who accompanied Trump from Washington to the Cleveland debate and back .
Few if any of them are reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One .
The extent of the spread of Covid in the top tier of US politics will depend on when the president , Melania Trump and Trump ’ s adviser Hope Hicks became infected .
Hicks tested positive on Wednesday after feeling unwell at a Trump rally in Minnesota .
According to the New York Times , a small group of White House officials were aware of the result on Wednesday evening .
Hicks flew back from Minnesota in a separate cabin on Air Force One and exited from the back of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House knew about Hicks ’ s condition , Trump travelled to New Jersey for a fundraising event on Thursday , and his press secretary , Kayleigh McEnany , held a briefing for journalists .
As she had accompanied Trump on trips all week , Hicks should have been tested every day .
However , if she was symptomatic from Covid infection on Wednesday , that raises questions about the testing .
Normally symptoms do not appear for several days after infection , so it is possible Hicks was given false negative results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The White House uses the Abbott ID Now test , which has been found to produce a significant percentage of false negatives .
Pence attended a meeting at the White House on Monday but did not travel with Trump to Cleveland for the debate .
However , he has been in close proximity to Meadows since then .
Meadows has , in turn , been in daily close contact with Hicks and the president .
Pence and Meadows have accompanied Barrett to a series of meetings with Republican senators starting on Tuesday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Meadows , Barrett and the White House counsel , Pat Cipollone , meeting the Republican Senate leader , Mitch McConnell .
In the photograph , none of them are wearing masks .

A scramble is under way in Washington to determine how far coronavirus infection has spread in the top ranks of US leadership after Donald Trump tested positive, in a week that included a presidential debate, political rallies and White House meetings with Congress.
The Democratic challenger for the presidency, Joe Biden, tested negative on Friday after fears he could have been infected at Tuesday’s debate with Trump in Cleveland. Further tests will be required as it can take several days after initial exposure to the virus for symptoms, and a positive test result, to emerge.
A large White House contingent travelled to and from Ohio at close quarters in Air Force One without masks. The administration began a contact-trace operation on Thursday and the scale of the search widened as it became clear that Trump had continued campaigning – flying to Minnesota on Thursday – after Hope Hicks, a close adviser, had tested positive. Some senior officials did not find out until Thursday night, when they were informed by journalists about Hicks. It is not known who infected Trump or Hicks.
Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, said on Friday: “I fully expect that as this virus continues to go on other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result.”
Meadows said that some “core staff” had tested negative, including himself, his deputy for communications, Dan Scavino, and the president’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. He did not name anyone that tested positive.
Meadows was briefing the press without wearing a mask. On Friday afternoon, the national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, ordered masks to be worn in common areas of the White House, but the order did not apply to individual offices.
It emerged on Friday that infection could have started to spread in senior administration and Republican ranks as early as Saturday. The president of Notre Dame University, John Jenkins, announced he had tested positive. Jenkins had attended an event in the White House Rose Garden on Saturday for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett as a supreme court justice, at which very few masks were worn.
The Republican Senator Mike Lee, who was videoed touching and hugging other guests at the same event, said on Friday he had also tested positive. Lee said he began to feel sick on Thursday morning, when he attended a meeting of the Senate judiciary committee, maskless for at least some of the time. He spoke for about 10 minutes, shouting some of the time, close to other senators on the committee, according to HuffPost.
Secret Service agents standby as Donald Trump departs from the South Lawn. Photograph: Sarah Silbiger/EPA
Another Republican senator who was in attendance at the Rose Garden ceremony, Thom Tillis, also announced Friday he had tested positive for the virus. Kellyanne Conway, a former counsellor to the president, also said she had tested positive.
Barrett herself tested negative, the White House said on Friday. The Washington Post reported that she had caught the disease over the summer but made a full recovery. Lee’s infection calls into question the 12 October start date for her confiirmation hearings.
The vice-president, Mike Pence, tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said. The state department confirmed that the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, currently travelling in Europe, also tested negative, and the Pentagon confirmed the defence secretary, Mark Esper, had a negative test result.
Trump’s children along with other senior White House staffers accompanied Trump from Washington to the Cleveland debate and back. Trump’s entourage wore masks as they entered the debate venue on Wednesday evening but then most took them off in defiance of the recommendation of the debate organisers. None of them are reported to have worn masks on Air Force One.
The White House physician said on Friday that no other members of Trump’s family had tested positive.
The extent of the spread of Covid in the top tier of US politics will depend on when the president, Melania Trump and Hicks became infected.
According to the New York Times, Hicks began to feel unwell at a Trump rally in Minnesota on Wednesday. She flew back in a separate cabin on Air Force One and exited from the back of the plane.
Trump spoke to journalists on the White House south lawn on his way to his Minnesota on Wednesday, mingled with local politicians and held a fundraising meeting in the town of Shorewood, before flying to Duluth for a big campaign rally.
By Meadows account, Hicks’s positive test was confirmed on Thursday as the president’s helicopter, Marine One, was taking off on the way to a fundraising event in New Jersey.
Trump suggested in an interview on Thursday night, before his own positive test result, that Hicks could have been infected by police or soldiers at an official event.
“It’s very, very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement. And they come over to you, and they want to hug you and they want to kiss you, because we really have done a good job for ’em. And you get close, and things happen,” Trump told Fox News.
Even after Hicks’s test result was confirmed, the president went ahead with the event at his golf club at Bedminster, where he took part in a fundraising reception and a roundtable meeting with supporters. The Trump Organization sent attendees at the two events an email on Friday, published by Vice News, advising them to get tested if they experienced symptoms.
Trump’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, held a briefing for journalists at which she did not mention Hicks’s test result. She has said she was unaware of the news at the time. Two journalists in the White House pool have since tested positive.
As she had accompanied Trump on trips all week, Hicks should have been tested every day. However, if she was symptomatic from Covid infection on Wednesday, that raises questions about the testing. Normally symptoms do not appear for several days after infection, so it is possible Hicks was given false negative results from tests earlier in the week. The White House uses the Abbott ID Now test, which has been found to produce a significant percentage of false negatives.
The Republican National Committee confirmed on Friday that its chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, had tested positive and had been staying at home since last Saturday. She last met Trump the previous day.


theguardian--2020-10-02--Biden's campaign has changed course on canvassing. Is it too late?

At a Latinos for Trump roundtable in Phoenix in August , Alma Rodriguez said she had yet to hear from Joe Biden ’ s campaign this cycle .
But the 28-year-old has been approached several times by canvassers and volunteers from the Trump campaign – and she ’ s started visiting the organization ’ s office .
“ I go to the center and talk with people who just have a passion , ” she said .
Part of this is by design .
For months now , the Biden campaign has been focused on digital and phone messaging , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope of curbing Covid-19 risks for voters and staff .
They ’ ve been hoping their caution sends the message that they take the virus , and their voters well being , seriously .
Meanwhile , the Trump campaign says it has already knocked on 19m doors across the US .
And Trump has continued to hold political rallies across the country , many of which have drawn thousands of people without masks , and are linked to Covid cases in Tulsa and Saginaw .
But on Thursday , the Biden campaign announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Democrats were growing frustrated by the campaign ’ s decision not to have a robust ground game , it unveiled a new effort to dispatch several hundred volunteers across critical swing states such as Pennsylvania , Nevada , Michigan and New Hampshire .
The coronavirus has hung over a bitterly divided election .
The Trump administration has been downplaying the severity of the virus since February , and balking at public health interventions such as widespread mask mandates and citywide lockdowns .
Biden supporters say its caution this year , then , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if somebody knocked on my door I ’ d be mortified , ” said Moe Vela , a former senior advisor to Biden , before the announcement .
“ I don ’ t know who ’ s touched what , who ’ s breathed what.
” Instead the Biden campaign has been focusing on new ways of reaching voters , such as virtual yard signs in the popular Animal Crossing video game or drive-in movie theater-style rallies .
Even so , volunteers say they haven ’ t been able to reach every voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s just harder and harder to get people on the phone , ” Patrick Sullivan , a Biden volunteer who lives in suburban Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , told the Associated Press .
“ So being able to go to someone ’ s door and talk to them makes a big difference.
” The Biden camp opened 109 supply centers with campaign material and voter education pamphlets to distribute , as well as a supply of personal protective equipment and thermometers to avoid an outbreak .
The volunteers have also been trained to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is an expected surge in mail-in voting this year , as voters hope to avoid long lines during the pandemic , leading to increased confusion and logistical issues with absentee ballots .
In Pennsylvania , a pivotal state , voters could forget to use the ballot secrecy envelopes , making their votes invalid .
In Florida , hundreds of ballots have already been rejected because voters didn ’ t sign the envelope .
Republicans say the new strategy is hypocritical , and possibly , futile .
“ President Trump ’ s re-election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for months .
We ’ re now averaging 2m doors a week , and growing , ” said Steve Guest , a Republican National Committee spokesperson in an email statement .
“ Joe Biden ’ s campaign is trying to shoe string together a ground game with less than 33 days to go , but it ’ s too little , too late.
” But David Broockman , a professor at the University of California , Berkeley , who has studied voter persuasion efforts , said the value of in-person organizing may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I ’ m more concerned that Trump is outspending Biden on the air in Georgia and parts of Minnesota , ” he said in an email .
“ I ’ m skeptical that this is a productive and safe use of volunteer hours relative to alternatives like calling friends or writing postcards to voters.
” Mac Stipanovich , a retired Republican political operative in Florida , agreed .
He said he didn ’ t think door knocking would have much of an effect in persuading people to vote for either candidate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was “ more cosmetic than substantive ” .
“ It allows the Biden campaign to demonstrate that , yes , they have people who are committed to the candidate , who are excited about the candidate , and who will walk in the hot sun and knock on their neighbor ’ s doors , ” he said .
Though the Biden campaign has remained indoors until this month , other groups have been holding in-person initiatives throughout the year .
“ If we don ’ t do this for our community , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pastor Donna Foster , an organizer with the non-profit Black Mothers Forum in Phoenix , Arizona .
The forum set up voter registration stations next to drive-through food distribution centers , where more people have visited due to economic distress during the pandemic .
Also in Phoenix , the non-profit Mi Familia Vota has been engaged in a decade-long effort to turn out the Latino vote .
When the pandemic hit , the group ’ s civic engagement director said canvassers focused on reaching people by phone – but were only able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called , on a good day .
In August , they started knocking on doors again .
“ And suddenly we started reaching maybe a quarter of people , ” Madero said .
“ It ’ s just more effective.
” Every day , canvassers , wearing masks for protection , have gathered at the organization ’ s downtown Phoenix headquarters , where they have their temperatures checked and fill out a health screening form , before being presented with a massive yellow sticker that reads “ I ’ ve been screened ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she wasn ’ t always very engaged in politics , but decided to work as a canvasser this year after seeing her community devastated by coronavirus and degraded by anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from those in power .
“ We don ’ t tell people how to vote when we sign them up , ” Romero said .
“ But we just present them with options .
And I tell people it ’ s important for us to vote to support and protect those who can ’ t vote.
” With just one month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are attempting to capture every possible vote , particularly in critical states such as Pennsylvania , Wisconsin and Michigan .
Time will tell if Biden ’ s last stretch of canvassing will have an impact on the election – especially since he saw record donations prior to the campaign ’ s announcement that it will send out volunteers .
Or if the so-called shy voters will respond to Trump ’ s ongoing ground game as they did in 2016 .
But at the very least , Stipanovach said , the new door-to-door effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creates an ambiance , if you will , of the whole campaign that things are happening , there ’ s momentum , we ’ re winning , ” he said .

Ankita Rao, Lauren Gambino, Sam Levine and Maanvi Singh

At a Latinos for Trump roundtable in Phoenix in August, Alma Rodriguez said she had yet to hear from Joe Biden’s campaign this cycle. But the 28-year-old has been approached several times by canvassers and volunteers from the Trump campaign, who say they have knocked on 19 million doors – and she’s started visiting the organization’s office.
“I go to the center and talk with people who just have a passion,” she said.
Part of this is by design. For months now, the Biden campaign has been focused on digital and phone messaging, avoiding traditional in-person canvassing efforts in the hope of curbing Covid-19 risks for voters and staff. They have been hoping their caution sends the message that they take the virus, and their voters’ wellbeing, seriously.
But on Thursday, the Biden campaign announced it was changing course. After reports that Democrats were growing frustrated by the campaign’s decision not to have a robust ground game, it unveiled a new effort to dispatch several hundred volunteers across critical swing states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan and New Hampshire.
Soon after the announcement Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, tested positive for Covid-19, leaving political pundits to wonder: will Biden’s new ground game work or does playing it safe seem more important than ever?
The coronavirus has hung over a bitterly divided election. The Trump administration has been downplaying the severity of the virus since February, and balking at public health interventions such as widespread mask mandates and citywide lockdowns.
Biden supporters say its caution this year, then, was entirely justified. “I know if somebody knocked on my door I’d be mortified,” said Moe Vela, a former senior adviser to Biden, before the announcement. “I don’t know who’s touched what, who’s breathed what.”
Campaign volunteers for Joe Biden work a phone bank in North Charleston, South Carolina, on 28 February. Photograph: Joshua Lott/AFP via Getty Images
Instead the Biden campaign has been focusing on new ways of reaching voters, such as virtual yard signs in the popular Animal Crossing video game or drive-in movie theater-style rallies.
Even so, volunteers say they haven’t been able to reach every voter they had hoped to. “It’s just harder and harder to get people on the phone,” Patrick Sullivan, a Biden volunteer who lives in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press. “So being able to go to someone’s door and talk to them makes a big difference.”
The Biden camp opened 109 supply centers with campaign material and voter education pamphlets to distribute, as well as a supply of personal protective equipment and thermometers to avoid an outbreak.
The volunteers have also been trained to focus on the voting process itself. A surge in mail-in voting is expected this year, as voters hope to avoid long lines during the pandemic, leading to increased confusion and logistical issues with absentee ballots. In Pennsylvania, a pivotal state, voters could forget to use the ballot secrecy envelopes, making their votes invalid. In Florida, hundreds of ballots have already been rejected because voters didn’t sign the envelope.
Republicans say the new strategy is hypocritical, and possibly, futile.
“President Trump’s re-election team has been knocking doors, safely for months. We’re now averaging 2m doors a week, and growing,” said Steve Guest, a Republican National Committee spokesman in an email statement. “Joe Biden’s campaign is trying to shoestring together a ground game with less than 33 days to go, but it’s too little, too late.” (It’s worth noting Trump’s rallies in Tulsa and Saginaw have been linked to Covid cases.)
But David Broockman, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has studied voter persuasion efforts, said the value of in-person organizing may be overstated, particularly during a pandemic.
Ryan Retza, right, leads volunteers in a training event at a campaign office in Appleton, Wisconsin, on 20 August. Photograph: David Goldman/AP
“I’m more concerned that Trump is outspending Biden on the air in Georgia and parts of Minnesota,” he said in an email. “I’m skeptical that this is a productive and safe use of volunteer hours relative to alternatives like calling friends or writing postcards to voters.”
Mac Stipanovich, a retired Republican political operative in Florida, agreed. He said he didn’t think door knocking would have much of an effect in persuading people to vote for either candidate. Door knocking for Biden, he said, was “more cosmetic than substantive”.
“It allows the Biden campaign to demonstrate that, yes, they have people who are committed to the candidate, who are excited about the candidate, and who will walk in the hot sun and knock on their neighbor’s doors,” he said.
Though the Biden campaign has remained indoors until this month, other groups have been holding in-person initiatives throughout the year.
“If we don’t do this for our community, no one else will,” said Pastor Donna Foster, an organizer with the non-profit Black Mothers Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. The forum set up voter registration stations next to drive-through food distribution centers, where more people have visited due to economic distress during the pandemic.
Also in Phoenix, the non-profit Mi Familia Vota has been engaged in a decade-long effort to turn out the Latino vote. When the pandemic hit, the group’s civic engagement director said canvassers focused on reaching people by phone – but were only able to reach about 2% of everyone they called, on a good day.
Craig Bakerjian hands out campaign face masks, signs and shirts in support of Joe Biden at a drive-thru station in Las Vegas on 29 September. Photograph: John Locher/AP
In August, they started knocking on doors again. “And suddenly we started reaching maybe a quarter of people,” Madero said. “It’s just more effective.”
Every day, canvassers, wearing masks for protection, have gathered at the organization’s downtown Phoenix headquarters, where they have their temperatures checked and fill out a health screening form, before being presented with a massive yellow sticker that reads “I’ve been screened”. Yvette Romero, 27, said she wasn’t always very engaged in politics, but decided to work as a canvasser this year after seeing her community devastated by coronavirus and degraded by anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from those in power.
“We don’t tell people how to vote when we sign them up,” Romero said. “But we just present them with options. And I tell people it’s important for us to vote to support and protect those who can’t vote.”
With just one month left until election day, both campaigns are attempting to capture every possible vote, particularly in critical states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Time will tell if Biden’s last stretch of canvassing will have an impact on the election – especially since he saw record donations before the campaign’s announcement that it will send out volunteers. Or if the so-called shy voters will respond to Trump’s ongoing ground game as they did in 2016, even after the president himself tested positive for Covid-19.
But at the very least, Stipanovach said, the new door-to-door effort will send a message.
“That creates an ambiance, if you will, of the whole campaign that things are happening, there’s momentum, we’re winning,” he said.