theguardian--2020-11-10--Black voters drove Joe Biden's victory - and have offered this country a reboot | Cliff Albright

It is now certain that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are our next president and vice-president .
Black voters across the US are taking a well-earned victory lap .
Not even the masks we must wear can hide the joy and hope on people ’ s faces .
For hundreds of years , Black folks have shown love and dedication to a country that has not reciprocated ; still we show up for ourselves and our allies .
We are responsible for saving this democracy from chaos and ruin .
But , as we celebrate , I ’ d like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ First , let ’ s talk about how Black voters shaped this ticket , which has garnered more than 75m votes – more than any other in American history , including Obama-Biden .
To be clear , Biden owes his selection as the party ’ s nominee to Black voters in the south , who were prescient enough to know that he was the candidate most likely to win .
Kamala Harris ’ s selection as his running mate is also a legacy of Black voter organizing and demands that he choose a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial acumen that he needed to govern the US .
Even FiveThirtyEight ’ s Nate Silver has noted : “ Democrats are 3-0 this century when they have a Black person on the ticket , and 0-3 when they don ’ t. ” Second , let ’ s talk about the Black turnout in the race .
Many analysts have understandably put a spotlight on Black voters in key cities including Detroit , Milwaukee , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh and Atlanta .
Biden won the city of Detroit with 94 % of the vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Pennsylvania , where Black voters made up 8 % of the electorate , 93 % voted for Joe Biden , including the critical vote-by-mail turnout that ultimately decided the election .
Nationally , it ’ s estimated that 87 % of Black voters supported Biden/Harris , while 12 % backed Trump/Pence .
However , some pundits , including Dave Wasserman , have already started spreading the narrative that it was the white suburbs that delivered victory for Biden/Harris .
Let ’ s be clear : the majority of white voters once again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the much-discussed efforts of groups such as the Lincoln Project .
It appears that Trump actually gained support from white women .
Third , while the role of Black voters in major cities was absolutely critical , we can not overlook the power of Black turnout in smaller and midsize cities .
There will be many books written about the flipping of Georgia from red to blue , but those books shouldn ’ t focus exclusively on Atlanta and Savannah ; they should have chapters about Macon , Augusta , Savannah , Columbus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , during the five days leading to 3 November , my organization , the Black Voters Matter Fund , brought our “ We Got Power ” bus tour to each of those cities .
During each of those stops , I told those in attendance that Georgia was going to shock the country , and here we are .
Fourth , this historic Black turnout was not simply a function of Biden/Harris .
It was driven by issues affecting our communities and the ability of local organizers to translate concerns about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is why this election cycle has seen major victories up and down the ballot , including in Brunswick , Georgia , where the district attorney who initially refused to arrest the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery was on the ballot .
Thanks to local organizing , she was defeated .
Fifth , and perhaps most importantly , while we celebrate the impact that Black voters have had , we should not lose sight of the fact that this election should not have even been as close as it was if not for voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to have recounts , Wisconsin and Georgia , have seen over half a million voters purged within the past year or so .
We can not let our success at increasing turnout hide the urgent need for restoring , and in fact strengthening , the Voting Rights Act .
We must keep these five points in mind even as Georgia is at the center of the US right now .
In addition to Georgia ’ s role in the presidential outcome , it also holds the key to control of the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballot and both races requiring runoffs in January to decide .
There ’ s lots of organizing to do , and we ’ re going to need to pull out a tremendous effort for those seats .
We ’ re ready and galvanized .
Of course , we have mountains yet to climb and marathons yet to run , but we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that no one will deny us .
Black voters have offered this country a reboot , another chance to bend the arc closer to justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be here .
Now we regroup and begin to address the formidable challenges the country must face .
And in doing so it ’ s essential that Black leaders are decision-makers and Black communities are involved .
As we say , “ Can ’ t stop .
Won ’ t stop .
”

It is now certain that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are our next president and vice-president. Black voters across the US are taking a well-earned victory lap. Not even the masks we must wear can hide the joy and hope on people’s faces.
For hundreds of years, Black folks have shown love and dedication to a country that has not reciprocated; still we show up for ourselves and our allies. We are responsible for saving this democracy from chaos and ruin. But, as we celebrate, I’d like to offer five thoughts for consideration.
First, let’s talk about how Black voters shaped this ticket, which has garnered more than 75m votes – more than any other in American history, including Obama-Biden. To be clear, Biden owes his selection as the party’s nominee to Black voters in the south, who were prescient enough to know that he was the candidate most likely to win. Kamala Harris’s selection as his running mate is also a legacy of Black voter organizing and demands that he choose a Black woman to bring the expertise and racial acumen that he needed to govern the US. Even FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver has noted: “Democrats are 3-0 this century when they have a Black person on the ticket, and 0-3 when they don’t.”
Second, let’s talk about the Black turnout in the race. Many analysts have understandably put a spotlight on Black voters in key cities including Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. Biden won the city of Detroit with 94% of the vote while Trump received only 5%. In Pennsylvania, where Black voters made up 8% of the electorate, 93% voted for Joe Biden, including the critical vote-by-mail turnout that ultimately decided the election. Nationally, it’s estimated that 87% of Black voters supported Biden/Harris, while 12% backed Trump/Pence.
However, some pundits, including Dave Wasserman, have already started spreading the narrative that it was the white suburbs that delivered victory for Biden/Harris. Let’s be clear: the majority of white voters once again voted for Trump, in spite of the much-discussed efforts of groups such as the Lincoln Project. It appears that Trump actually gained support from white women.
Third, while the role of Black voters in major cities was absolutely critical, we cannot overlook the power of Black turnout in smaller and midsize cities. There will be many books written about the flipping of Georgia from red to blue, but those books shouldn’t focus exclusively on Atlanta and Savannah; they should have chapters about Macon, Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, Albany and rural counties in-between. In fact, during the five days leading to 3 November, my organization, the Black Voters Matter Fund, brought our “We Got Power” bus tour to each of those cities. During each of those stops, I told those in attendance that Georgia was going to shock the country, and here we are.
Historic Black turnout was not simply a function of Biden/Harris. It was driven by issues affecting our communities
Fourth, this historic Black turnout was not simply a function of Biden/Harris. It was driven by issues affecting our communities and the ability of local organizers to translate concerns about those issues into electoral power. That is why this election cycle has seen major victories up and down the ballot, including in Brunswick, Georgia, where the district attorney who initially refused to arrest the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery was on the ballot. Thanks to local organizing, she was defeated.
Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, while we celebrate the impact that Black voters have had, we should not lose sight of the fact that this election should not have even been as close as it was if not for voter suppression. The two states that are likely to have recounts, Wisconsin and Georgia, have seen over half a million voters purged within the past year or so. We cannot let our success at increasing turnout hide the urgent need for restoring, and in fact strengthening, the Voting Rights Act.
We must keep these five points in mind even as Georgia is at the center of the US right now. In addition to Georgia’s role in the presidential outcome, it also holds the key to control of the US Senate, with two seats on the ballot and both races requiring runoffs in January to decide. There’s lots of organizing to do, and we’re going to need to pull out a tremendous effort for those seats. We’re ready and galvanized.
Of course, we have mountains yet to climb and marathons yet to run, but we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that no one will deny us. Black voters have offered this country a reboot, another chance to bend the arc closer to justice. Without us, America wouldn’t be here. Now we regroup and begin to address the formidable challenges the country must face. And in doing so it’s essential that Black leaders are decision-makers and Black communities are involved. As we say, “Can’t stop. Won’t stop.”


theguardian--2020-11-10--Brace yourselves. The next Donald Trump could be much worse | Bhaskar Sunkara

Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump .
Millions across the country are applauding the downfall of a president who has been mendacious in his public communications , loathsome in his personal conduct , and utterly inept in his handling of a pandemic that has killed 230,000 Americans .
Amid the celebration , however , there should be nagging fear .
Biden ran largely on the idea that he will be a return to the normalcy of the Obama years .
But if he governs as a “ normal ” Democrat , it won ’ t be long before we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The real Trump buried himself in blunders and couldn ’ t deliver on campaign promises to voters .
Instead of saving manufacturing jobs and protecting , as he pledged , “ the jobs , wages and wellbeing of American workers before any other consideration ” , the Trump administration eliminated paid overtime rules , created tax cuts for the rich and lost 740,000 manufacturing positions this year alone .
Yet a different Donald Trump might have handled the coronavirus pandemic competently and launched an ambitious infrastructure and jobs program capable of improving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Without actually challenging oligarchs and big business interests , this alternate-reality Trump might have been able to effectively marry economic populism with xenophobia , the same formula that has propelled rightwing authoritarians to power elsewhere in the world .
A different Trump might have even managed to win over enough voters who typically vote for Democrats , including black and brown voters , to expand his base into one capable of winning the popular vote .
As bad as the last four years have been , we ’ ve been lucky to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as opposed to a more effective politician , an American Narendra Modi or Jair Bolsonaro .
We ’ re not preordained to go the route of rightwing populism , of course .
Countries like Denmark , Portugal and Spain have cemented left-of-center governments in recent years and held the right at bay .
But to prevent the rise of another Trump , liberals are going to have to start thinking more seriously about what gave us Trump to begin with .
Trump was not just a product of latent racism and sexism .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ alienated part of the Democrats ’ traditional blue-collar voting base , not to mention the millions of unaffiliated voters who simply opted not to vote for either Clinton or Trump in 2016 .
It ’ s these voters , not the wealthy suburbanites which many in the party ’ s establishment cater to , that still hold the keys to American politics .
Biden won simply because of how unpopular Trump is .
Democrats will need to offer Americans something different – a type of politics that can activate irregular working-class voters and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re to create a stable and responsive government .
Progressives have to challenge the centrist policies of past Democratic administrations .
But they will also have to resist narrow identitarianism within their own ranks .
There can be no mass progressive politics if we insist on only talking to those who already agree with us .
By staying siloed in the progressive bubble we implicitly reject the possibility of organizing workers of all races , rural and urban alike , behind a program of Medicare for All , good union jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaigned differently than Clinton did .
He embraced a slightly more populist message and campaigned in areas the former secretary of state neglected .
But the thrust of his proposed method of governance is closer to the normal of the Clinton and Obama administrations than the one advocated by Biden ’ s erstwhile , more leftwing allies , such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders .
Under Bill Clinton , that “ normalcy ” saw much of the manufacturing base of the United States gutted , mass incarceration accelerated and essential welfare supports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people were deported , establishment figures like John Podesta were given White House posts , and even during a Great Recession there was no serious attempt to break with decades of failed economic policies .
When Hillary Clinton told voters that she had been in politics for 30 years , there were plenty of reasons for voters to be skeptical , given what happened to their lives and communities during 30 years of stagnant wages and soaring inequality .
By deciding to play the role of populist , Trump was able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sneak into the White House .
He squandered whatever mandate he had .
If Joe Biden does the same , the next rightwing president might not .
• None Bhaskar Sunkara is the founding editor of Jacobin magazine and a Guardian US columnist .
He is the author of The Socialist Manifesto : The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump. Millions across the country are applauding the downfall of a president who has been mendacious in his public communications, loathsome in his personal conduct, and utterly inept in his handling of a pandemic that has killed 230,000 Americans.
Amid the celebration, however, there should be nagging fear. Biden ran largely on the idea that he will be a return to the normalcy of the Obama years. But if he governs as a “normal” Democrat, it won’t be long before we have to deal with the next Donald Trump.
The real Trump buried himself in blunders and couldn’t deliver on campaign promises to voters. Instead of saving manufacturing jobs and protecting, as he pledged, “the jobs, wages and wellbeing of American workers before any other consideration”, the Trump administration eliminated paid overtime rules, created tax cuts for the rich and lost 740,000 manufacturing positions this year alone.
Yet a different Donald Trump might have handled the coronavirus pandemic competently and launched an ambitious infrastructure and jobs program capable of improving the lives of millions of people. Without actually challenging oligarchs and big business interests, this alternate-reality Trump might have been able to effectively marry economic populism with xenophobia, the same formula that has propelled rightwing authoritarians to power elsewhere in the world. A different Trump might have even managed to win over enough voters who typically vote for Democrats, including black and brown voters, to expand his base into one capable of winning the popular vote.
As bad as the last four years have been, we’ve been lucky to get the actual – bumbling – Trump, as opposed to a more effective politician, an American Narendra Modi or Jair Bolsonaro.
We’re not preordained to go the route of rightwing populism, of course. Countries like Denmark, Portugal and Spain have cemented left-of-center governments in recent years and held the right at bay. But to prevent the rise of another Trump, liberals are going to have to start thinking more seriously about what gave us Trump to begin with.
Trump was not just a product of latent racism and sexism. The economic hypocrisy of recent Democratic administrations alienated part of the Democrats’ traditional blue-collar voting base, not to mention the millions of unaffiliated voters who simply opted not to vote for either Clinton or Trump in 2016. It’s these voters, not the wealthy suburbanites which many in the party’s establishment cater to, that still hold the keys to American politics.
Biden won simply because of how unpopular Trump is
Biden won simply because of how unpopular Trump is. Democrats will need to offer Americans something different – a type of politics that can activate irregular working-class voters and deliver on bread-and-butter economic issues – if they’re to create a stable and responsive government.
Progressives have to challenge the centrist policies of past Democratic administrations. But they will also have to resist narrow identitarianism within their own ranks. There can be no mass progressive politics if we insist on only talking to those who already agree with us. By staying siloed in the progressive bubble we implicitly reject the possibility of organizing workers of all races, rural and urban alike, behind a program of Medicare for All, good union jobs and a Green New Deal.
Biden campaigned differently than Clinton did. He embraced a slightly more populist message and campaigned in areas the former secretary of state neglected. But the thrust of his proposed method of governance is closer to the normal of the Clinton and Obama administrations than the one advocated by Biden’s erstwhile, more leftwing allies, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders.
Under Bill Clinton, that “normalcy” saw much of the manufacturing base of the United States gutted, mass incarceration accelerated and essential welfare supports eliminated. Under Barack Obama, millions of people were deported, establishment figures like John Podesta were given White House posts, and even during a Great Recession there was no serious attempt to break with decades of failed economic policies.
When Hillary Clinton told voters that she had been in politics for 30 years, there were plenty of reasons for voters to be skeptical, given what happened to their lives and communities during 30 years of stagnant wages and soaring inequality. By deciding to play the role of populist, Trump was able to win over just enough of them to sneak into the White House.
He squandered whatever mandate he had. If Joe Biden does the same, the next rightwing president might not.


theguardian--2020-11-09--Loser! Voters revel in targeting Trump with one of his favourite taunts

“ Hillary , get on with your life and give it another try in three years !
” This is how Donald Trump advised the failed Democratic candidate for president in 2017 , but it seems he has been unable to heed the same advice .
“ SUCH GREAT NEWS , ” Trump tweeted on Monday about a potential coronavirus vaccine – having so far refused to acknowledge his defeat or give a concession speech .
In a loss unlike that of former Republican ( or Democratic ) presidents , Trump is focusing his efforts on blocking a speedy transition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – but his detractors are responding by using his words against him .
“ Yes !
And you ’ re fired !
” people responded to the tweet .
If Trump is refusing to accept the will of the people , it ’ s not because he hasn ’ t been repeatedly forced to see it with his own eyes : in fact , voters have been celebrating all weekend – right where the president had no chance to look away .
As Trump received the news while playing golf at his club @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up in the street to gloat , give him the finger , and wave Biden-Harris flags in view of his motorcade .
Someone also drove around Washington DC and the interstate with a huge “ loser ” ( a favourite Trump epithet for his opponents ) banner with Trump ’ s face on it , and many on social media told him “ you ’ re fired ” – his signature catchphrase from his time as host of The Apprentice .
Mass displays of celebration , champagne popping and dancing in the streets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including in Trump ’ s native New York .
And his attempts at branding the election as fraudulent have not gone unnoticed by his detractors either .
This weekend , his voter fraud line , which has a voice message stating , “ Thank you for calling the Trump election war room ” as callers connect , has been inundated with prank phones calls , forcing organizers to change its number several times .
Since the result was called , a Trump-appointed official has yet to sign a letter allowing Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin – putting on hold administrative steps , such as FBI clearance for transition officials and access to funding to begin setting up ( $ 9.9m this year ) .
This leaves some of us wondering whether Biden ’ s inauguration on 20 January will happen as planned – perhaps not , if Trump decides he doesn ’ t want to get on with his life and give it another try in a few years .
• This article was amended on 10 November 2020 .
A reference to “ Democrat presidents ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .

“Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!” This is how Donald Trump advised the failed Democratic candidate for president in 2017, but it seems he has been unable to heed the same advice.
“SUCH GREAT NEWS,” Trump tweeted on Monday about a potential coronavirus vaccine – having so far refused to acknowledge his defeat or give a concession speech. In a loss unlike that of former Republican (or Democratic) presidents, Trump is focusing his efforts on blocking a speedy transition and making unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud – but his detractors are responding by using his words against him. “Yes! And you’re fired!” people responded to the tweet.
If Trump is refusing to accept the will of the people, it’s not because he hasn’t been repeatedly forced to see it with his own eyes: in fact, voters have been celebrating all weekend – right where the president had no chance to look away.
A large blowup depicting Donald Trump with balloons that say ‘Loser’ in Washington. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
As Trump received the news while playing golf at his club in Virginia on Saturday, people lined up in the street to gloat, give him the finger, and wave Biden-Harris flags in view of his motorcade.
Someone also drove around Washington DC and the interstate with a huge “loser” (a favourite Trump epithet for his opponents) banner with Trump’s face on it, and many on social media told him “you’re fired” – his signature catchphrase from his time as host of The Apprentice.
Mass displays of celebration, champagne popping and dancing in the streets have been taking place across the country, including in Trump’s native New York.
And his attempts at branding the election as fraudulent have not gone unnoticed by his detractors either. This weekend, his voter fraud line, which has a voice message stating, “Thank you for calling the Trump election war room” as callers connect, has been inundated with prank phones calls, forcing organizers to change its number several times.
Since the result was called, a Trump-appointed official has yet to sign a letter allowing Joe Biden’s transition to president to formally begin – putting on hold administrative steps, such as FBI clearance for transition officials and access to funding to begin setting up ($9.9m this year).
This leaves some of us wondering whether Biden’s inauguration on 20 January will happen as planned – perhaps not, if Trump decides he doesn’t want to get on with his life and give it another try in a few years.


theguardian--2020-11-10--'Whoa': Fox News cuts off Kayleigh McEnany for 'illegal votes' spiel – video

Fox News has cut away from a briefing held by the White House press secretary , Kayleigh McEnany , during @ @ @ @ @ ’ s refusal to accept defeat in the presidential election and doubled down on allegations @ @ @ @ @ which there is scant if any evidence .
Speaking to media on Monday night in @ @ @ @ @ what she said was a campaign event at the Republican National Committee headquarters , McEnany @ @ @ @ @ vote to be counted , and every illegal vote to be discarded ' , prompting @ @ @ @ @ to stop broadcasting the briefing .
The Trump campaign and Republicans have brought numerous lawsuits @ @ @ @ @ have already tossed out cases in Georgia and Michigan • How Joe Biden beat Donald @ @ @ @ @ America ’ s soul – video

Fox News has cut away from a briefing held by the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, during which she repeated Donald Trump’s refusal to accept defeat in the presidential election and doubled down on allegations of voter fraud, for which there is scant if any evidence.
Speaking to media on Monday night in a 'personal capacity' during what she said was a campaign event at the Republican National Committee headquarters, McEnany said Republicans want 'every legal vote to be counted, and every illegal vote to be discarded', prompting the conservative Fox News network to stop broadcasting the briefing.
The Trump campaign and Republicans have brought numerous lawsuits alleging election irregularities. Judges have already tossed out cases in Georgia and Michigan


theguardian--2020-11-10--How senior Republicans have reacted to Trump's refusal to concede election – video report

Along with the president himself , the vast majority of Republican politicians have refused to accept Trump 's election loss @ @ @ @ @ W Bush was among a handful of Republicans who have congratulated the Biden-Harris team , @ @ @ @ @ , Mitch McConnell , said Trump was '100 % within his rights ' to question @ @ @ @ @ attorney general , William Barr , has authorised federal prosecutors to begin investigating 'substantial allegations @ @ @ @ @ Barr tells prosecutors to investigate 'vote irregularities ' despite lack of evidence • Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ , campaign insists • Will Trump accept defeat and leave the White House ?
Yes @ @ @

Along with the president himself, the vast majority of Republican politicians have refused to accept Trump's election loss.
The former president George W Bush was among a handful of Republicans who have congratulated the Biden-Harris team, while the senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said Trump was '100% within his rights' to question election results.
The US attorney general, William Barr, has authorised federal prosecutors to begin investigating 'substantial allegations' of voter irregularities


theguardian--2020-11-11--Joe Biden says Trump's refusal to concede defeat 'an embarrassment' – live

The networks have made their calls , world leaders have begun paying their respects , and even Fox News and Rupert Murdoch ’ s other media outlets appear to have given up on a second term for Donald Trump .
But in a video posted on Facebook on 7 November and viewed more than 16.5m times since , NewsMax host and former Trump administration official Carl Higbie spends three minutes spewing a laundry list of false and debunked claims casting doubt on the outcome of the presidential election .
“ I believe it ’ s time to hold the line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from his government post over an extensive track record of racist , homophobic and bigoted remarks , to the Trump faithful .
“ I ’ m highly skeptical and you should be too.
” The video , which has been shared more than 350,000 times on Facebook , is just one star in a constellation of pro-Trump misinformation that is leading millions of Americans to doubt or reject the results of the presidential election .
Fully 70 % of Republicans believe that the election was not “ free and fair ” , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election day .
Among those doubters , large majorities believe two of Trump ’ s most brazen lies : that mail-in voting leads to fraud and that ballots were tampered with .
Trump himself is the largest source of election misinformation ; the president has barely addressed the public since Tuesday except to share lies and misinformation about the election .
But his message attacking the electoral process is being amplified by a host of rightwing media outlets and pundits who appear to be jockeying to replace Fox News as the outlet of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platforms such as Facebook and YouTube .
Since election day , 16 of the top 20 public Facebook posts that include the word “ election ” feature false or misleading information casting doubt on the election in favor of Trump , according to a Guardian analysis of posts with the most interactions using CrowdTangle , a Facebook-owned analytics tool .
Of those , 13 are posts by the president ’ s own page , one is a direct quote from Trump published by Fox News , one is by the rightwing evangelical Christian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Newsmax Higbie video .

Maanvi Singh (now) and Joanna Walters, Lauren Gambino, Martin Belam (earlier)

11 Nov 2020 03.12 GMT Summary Donald Trump has still not conceded, as his campaign pursues longshot legal challenges and his Republican allies insist he has a right to challenge the results. The president has continued to spread misinformation to spread doubt about the legitimacy of the elections.
The president has continued to spread misinformation to spread doubt about the legitimacy of the elections. A USPS whistleblower who alleged ballot tampering has reportedly recanted his claims. This is a latest blow for Republicans who are struggling to substantiate their claims of widespread fraud.
This is a latest blow for Republicans who are struggling to substantiate their claims of widespread fraud. Joe Biden said he has not spoken to Trump since the election was called, and said his opponent’s refusal to accept defeat was “an embarrassment”. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released today found that 73% of the adults surveyed - both Democrats and Republicans - thought the loser of this election should concede.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released today found that 73% of the adults surveyed - both Democrats and Republicans - thought the loser of this election should concede. The US supreme court justices signaled that they are unlikely to strike down the entire Obamacare healthcare law. A legal challenge brought by Republican-governed states and backed by the Trump administration is seeking to invalidate the entire law based on the claim that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional.
A legal challenge brought by Republican-governed states and backed by the Trump administration is seeking to invalidate the entire law based on the claim that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional. Extreme Republican partisans have been appointed to work at the Pentagon, after defense secretary Mark Esper was fired. The newcomers include Anthony Tata , a retired army brigadier general and Fox News commentator who called Barack Obama a “terrorist leader”.
The newcomers include , a retired army brigadier general and Fox News commentator who called Barack Obama a “terrorist leader”. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration”. It was not clear if he was joking.
Updated at 03.15 GMT
11 Nov 2020 01.57 GMT The misinformation media machine amplifying Trump's election lies The Guardian’s Lois Beckett and Julia Carrie Wong report: The networks have made their calls, world leaders have begun paying their respects, and even Fox News and Rupert Murdoch’s other media outlets appear to have given up on a second term for Donald Trump. But in a video posted on Facebook on 7 November and viewed more than 16.5m times since, NewsMax host and former Trump administration official Carl Higbie spends three minutes spewing a laundry list of false and debunked claims casting doubt on the outcome of the presidential election. “I believe it’s time to hold the line,” said Higbie, who resigned from his government post over an extensive track record of racist, homophobic and bigoted remarks, to the Trump faithful. “I’m highly skeptical and you should be too.” The video, which has been shared more than 350,000 times on Facebook, is just one star in a constellation of pro-Trump misinformation that is leading millions of Americans to doubt or reject the results of the presidential election. Fully 70% of Republicans believe that the election was not “free and fair”, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted since election day. Among those doubters, large majorities believe two of Trump’s most brazen lies: that mail-in voting leads to fraud and that ballots were tampered with. Trump himself is the largest source of election misinformation; the president has barely addressed the public since Tuesday except to share lies and misinformation about the election. But his message attacking the electoral process is being amplified by a host of rightwing media outlets and pundits who appear to be jockeying to replace Fox News as the outlet of choice for Trumpists – and metastasizing on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Since election day, 16 of the top 20 public Facebook posts that include the word “election” feature false or misleading information casting doubt on the election in favor of Trump, according to a Guardian analysis of posts with the most interactions using CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned analytics tool. Of those, 13 are posts by the president’s own page, one is a direct quote from Trump published by Fox News, one is by the rightwing evangelical Christian Franklin Graham, and the last is the Newsmax Higbie video. Read more: The misinformation media machine amplifying Trump's election lies Read more
11 Nov 2020 01.20 GMT Poppy Noor Donald Trump has set up a retirement GoFundMe. Well, not exactly – he doesn’t call it a retirement GoFundMe, but his “election defense fund”. Those donating may believe that the money will be used towards challenging the election result, but may have missed that their contributions are earmarked for paying off Trump’s re-election debts. It seems to be the latest episode in the Trump team’s comedy of errors. As Trump continues to refuse to acknowledge the election result by baselessly claiming that Biden’s victory was won through voter fraud, he is also calling on his base for help. Donations can be made to two different funds – Trump’s personal fund, and his joint fund with the RNC. “President Trump needs YOU to step up to make sure we have the resources to protect the integrity of the election!” the wording on both funds says, which is featured in a huge pop-up on Trump’s re-election webpage. It continues: “Please contribute ANY AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY to the Official Election Defense Fund and to increase your impact by 1,000%!” It is unclear who matches the donations. But if you scroll down, past the information about the “Left-wing MOB” trying to “undermine our election”, you’ll see some fine print. On Trump’s personal fund, it dictates that of all donations raised, only 50% will go towards a recount effort, and that “50% of each contribution, up to a maximum of $2,800 ($5,000), [will] be designated toward DJTFP’s 2020 general election account for general election debt retirement until such debt is retired”. On his joint fund with the RNC, the donations work as follows: “60% of each contribution first to Save America, up to $5,000/$5,000, then to DJTP’s recount account, up to a maximum of $2,800/$5,000. [And] 40% of each contribution to the RNC’s operating account, up to a maximum of $35,500/$15,000.” This essentially means that depending on the size of your donation, a large portion of any donation won’t go to the “recount” bid but will instead go to the Super Pac sponsoring the bid, and the Republican party. Read more: Donald Trump's latest endeavor? Asking his supporters to pay his debts Read more
11 Nov 2020 00.59 GMT A new poll finds that 79% of Americans believe Joe Biden won the election, including about 60% of Republicans. Even as Donald Trump and campaign seek to challenge the election results with long-shot lawsuits, 72% of US adults believe loser should concede, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,363 adults. About 60% believe there ultimately will be a peaceful transition of power. The survey also found that 83% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans trusted local election officials to “do their job honestly”.
Updated at 01.32 GMT
11 Nov 2020 00.36 GMT Alex Hern False or misleading claims of electoral fraud are going viral on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, even as the platforms continue to implement special measures aimed at reducing the spread of misinformation around the US presidential election. Major social media platforms are nominally cracking down on misinformation, prominently displaying election results or appending warning labels to posts by Donald Trump that seek to undermine the validity of the vote. According to social analytics platforms such as NewsWhip and CrowdTangle, however, claims about voting irregularities have become among the most-shared content on Facebook. The top three posts are all from Donald Trump, according to CrowdTangle: one alleges “Fake Votes” in Nevada, where Trump trails Joe Biden by 36,000 votes; another claims Georgia, where Trump trails by 13,000 votes pending a recount, will be a “big presidential win”; and a third says “a very large number of ballots” will be affected by “threshold identification”, the meaning of which is unclear. The top news stories on Facebook are also dominated by rightwing claims of “irregularities” and “fraud”, CrowdTangle data showed. Three of the top 10 posts are links from Trump to the far-right news site Breitbart, covering attorney general Bill Barr’s inquiry into “voting irregularities” and inquiries in Michigan and Georgia; a fourth is to rightwing site Newsmax, calling Pennsylvania’s situation a “constitutional travesty”. Joining Trump in the top 10 are two posts from Republican media personality Dan Bongino backing the idea that election fraud is to blame for Trump’s loss, and a report from Fox News quoting Trump’s campaign team saying they are “not backing down”. Read more: Why I hate the Mary Wollstonecraft statue | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett Read more
11 Nov 2020 00.14 GMT A postal worker whose claims of voting irregularities have been the basis of Republican calls for investigations, admitted he fabricated his allegations, the Washington Post reports: A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations, according to three officials briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee. Richard Hopkins’s claim that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in a letter to the Justice Department calling for a federal investigation. Attorney General William P. Barr subsequently authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy. But on Monday, Hopkins, 32, told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tweeted late Tuesday that the “whistleblower completely RECANTED.” This news comes as the Trump campaign continues to insist that the president’s election loss is due to fraud despite a lack of evidence.
Updated at 01.02 GMT
11 Nov 2020 00.01 GMT The lieutenant governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said he’s offering $1m as a reward for reports of voter fraud, despite a lack of evidence that there is significant fraud, the Texas Tribune reports. Republicans – who have been alleging voter fraud since before the elections - have been having trouble finding proof to back their claims. The Trump campaign has lobbed a series of long-shot lawsuits to discount mail-in votes that are unlikely to change the outcome of the presidential election. Phone lines that the campaign has opened up to collect stories of fraud and inaccuracies have been bombarded by prank calls. In Texas, as my colleague Erum Salam points out, Patrick’s reward is unlikely to produce any evidence: dear god what a waste of money https://t.co/0zJgVP0A1X — Erum Salam (@salamdogmillion) November 10, 2020
Updated at 01.03 GMT
10 Nov 2020 23.35 GMT Julian Borger The reasons for the post-election personnel changes ten weeks before the end of Donald Trump’s tenure were unclear, but they came at a time when the president is refusing to accept election defeat.
The former defence secretary, Mark Esper, had refused to allow active duty troops to be deployed on US streets during the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.
In his resignation letter, Anderson, the outgoing Pentagon policy chief, also signalled his unease with the direction the Trump White House was taking in the aftermath of the election. “Now, as ever, our long-term success depends on adhering to the US Constitution all public servants swear to support and defend,” he wrote.
Democrats raised the alarm over the wave of staff changes at the Pentagon. “It is hard to overstate just how dangerous high-level turnover at the department of defence is during a period of presidential transition,” Adam Smith, the chairman of the House armed services committee said in a statement, adding that the development “should alarm all Americans”. “If this is the beginning of a trend – the President either firing or forcing out national security professionals in order to replace them with people perceived as more loyal to him – then the next 70 days will be precarious at best and downright dangerous at worst.” The top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, Mark Warner said the US had entered “uncharted territory” with Esper’s firing. “There’s never been a time when a senior official like this has been fired during a transition period between one administration to another,” Warner told MSNBC.
10 Nov 2020 23.27 GMT Julian Borger Extreme Republican partisans have been installed in important roles in the Pentagon, following the summary dismissal of the defense secretary. Democrats immediately demanded explanations for the eleventh-hour personnel changes, and warned that the US was entering dangerous “uncharted territory”, reshuffling key national security roles during a presidential transition. However, defense experts argued there was little the new Trump appointees could do to use their positions to the president’s advantage, given the firm refusal of the uniformed armed services to get involved in domestic politics. Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general, novelist and Fox News commentator who called Barack Obama a “terrorist leader”, has taken control of the Pentagon’s policy department, following the resignation of the acting undersecretary of defense for policy, James Anderson.
Tata had been unable to win Senate confirmation for the post after old tweets surfaced in which he expressed virulent Islamophobic views. Meanwhile, Kash Patel, a former Republican congressional aide who played a lead role in a campaign to discredit the investigation into Russian election meddling, has been made chief of staff to the new acting defense secretary, Chris Miller. On the same day, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Vice Admiral Joseph Kernan, a retired Navy Seal, was also reported to have resigned on Tuesday, and was replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a former aide to Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser who pleaded guilty to perjury.
Updated at 01.04 GMT
10 Nov 2020 23.16 GMT Ed Pilkington Current and former US Department of Justice (DoJ) officials have reacted with anger and dismay to the latest move in support of Donald Trump by William Barr, the attorney general who has stoked further discord around the president’s refusal to concede electoral defeat by approving federal investigations into voter fraud, despite little evidence of any wrongdoing. Barr’s two-page memo, delivered to the 93 US attorneys across the country on Monday, was immediately condemned by senior figures inside and outside the DoJ. In the most dramatic response, the top DoJ official in charge of voter fraud investigations, Richard Pilger, resigned from his post, telling colleagues he did so because of the “ramifications” of Barr’s move. In a statement, Pilger pointed out that for the past 40 years the justice department had abided by a clear policy of non-intervention in elections, with criminal investigations only carried out after contests were certified and completed. Barr’s memo tears up that rule by giving federal prosecutors the go-ahead to investigate what he called “apparently-credible allegations of irregularities”. His action was specifically aimed at closely fought presidential contests in swing states with prolonged vote counts caused by the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Complaints about unsubstantiated irregularities have been received by the justice department from three states: Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Outside the DoJ, there was widespread unease that Barr has once again mobilized the might of the justice department in a politicized direction. The memo was interpreted as casting doubt on the propriety of the election, which on Saturday was called for Joe Biden following his victory by a clear and growing margin in Pennsylvania. Read more: DoJ officials condemn Barr's approval of voter fraud inquiries without evidence Read more
Updated at 23.17 GMT
10 Nov 2020 23.06 GMT Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has drafted “anti-mob” legislation that would expand the state’s Stand Your Ground Law that would allow citizens to shoot anyone they suspect is engaged in looting, the Miami Herald reports. The legislation is a reaction to anti-police brutality, The Herald’s Ana Ceballos and David Ovalle report: “It allows for vigilantes to justify their actions,” said Denise Georges, a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor who had handled Stand Your Ground cases. “It also allows for death to be the punishment for a property crime — and that is cruel and unusual punishment. We cannot live in a lawless society where taking a life is done so casually and recklessly.” The draft legislation put specifics behind DeSantis’ pledge in September to crack down on “violent and disorderly assemblies” after he pointed to “reports of unrest” in other parts of the country after the high-profile death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer. The proposal would expand the list of “forcible felonies” under Florida’s self-defense law to justify the use of force against people who engage in criminal mischief that results in the “interruption or impairment” of a business, and looting, which the draft defines as a burglary within 500 feet of a “violent or disorderly assembly.” Read more here.
Updated at 23.06 GMT
10 Nov 2020 22.42 GMT Trump's longshot election lawsuits: where do things stand? Sam Levine Since election day, Donald Trump and other Republicans have filed a smattering of lawsuits in battleground states that have provided cover for Trump and other Republicans to say that the election still remains unresolved. Legal experts have noted these suits are meritless, and even if they were successful, would not be enough to overturn the election results. Indeed, judges in several of these lawsuits have already dismissed them, noting the Trump campaign has failed to offer evidence to substantiate allegations of fraud. Here’s where some of the key lawsuits stand: Trump's longshot election lawsuits: where do things stand? Read more
10 Nov 2020 22.34 GMT Cheri Bustos, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), just had a call with House Democrats offering insight into what happened on Election Day when House Democrats lost five seats to Republican opponents – a disappoint after Democrats gained the house two years ago. Reporters with sources who were on the call said that Bustos reaffirmed that her team did everything they could do, but were set back from Republicans overperforming in at-risk districts. Bustos on Dem call addressing #FL26: “Trump’s massive overperformance with Cuban voters was simply too much for her to overcome.” Also says the DCCC saw “similar shifts with white working class voters in Abby Finkenauer’s Northeast Iowa district” — Kirk A. Bado (@kirk_bado) November 10, 2020 On a call with House Democrats, DCCC Chair Bustos says "defund the police" was the most common GOP attack across the battlefield, per source on the call — Bridget Bowman (@bridgetbhc) November 10, 2020 Bustos said yesterday that she will not run for the chair position again, what is largely seen as an acknowledgment of the party’s chagrin for losing seats to Republicans. I’m signing off and handing the blog over the my Guardian colleague Maanvi Singh. Stay tuned for more live updates.
10 Nov 2020 22.21 GMT CIA director Gina Haspel had a brief meeting with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell this afternoon amid rumors that Donald Trump plans to fire her from her position. After Mark Esper, former defense secretary, was fired yesterday after his relationship with the president became tense over the use of active-service troops for Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. Esper reportedly has said he fears Haspel and Christopher Wray, FBI director, will be the next to go. Haspel refused to answer questions from reporters about the rumors of her termination as she was going to and leaving her meeting with McConnell. It is unclear what the subject of the meeting was, but as CNN’s Manu Raju said on Twitter, McConnell is a strong supporter of Haspel, and both share a Kentucky background. CIA Director Haspel departs the Hill after meeting with Mitch McConnell for roughly 20 minutes.
“Have a good evening everyone.” Did not answer multiple Qs from @AllisonMPecorin @JulieNBCNews pic.twitter.com/vFmuYkK2Oq — Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotnbc) November 10, 2020
10 Nov 2020 22.06 GMT North Carolina’s governor Roy Cooper lowered the state’s indoor gathering limit today as cases in the state continue to rise. The new limit has been adjusted to 10 people, down from 25. The limit does not apply to universities or schools. The state saw 2,582 cases yesterday and has over 1,200 people in the hospital with the virus. The state has averaged over 2,000 new cases a day over the last three weeks. Our numbers are too high. Considering our trends and cooler weather driving events indoors, North Carolina will remain paused in our current Phase 3 and we will adjust our indoor gathering limit down from 25 to 10 people. — Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) November 10, 2020 Covid has spiked around the country, with new cases topping 130,000 in the US in recent days. Unlike previous waves, cases are no longer rising in regional “hot-spots” but can be found all around the country. Public health experts have long warned that the winter would bring a new rise in cases as people head indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread, as the weather cools. State and local officials have been hesitant to implement the sweeping stay-at-home orders that were seen in the spring over fears of furthering economic declines.
10 Nov 2020 21.50 GMT The Biden campaign released the names of members of its transition team. The list has around 500 people who will specialize in different government agencies, from the Department of Defense to the US Postal Service. Most of the people on the team are volunteers. The list posted on Biden’s website includes each member’s most recent employer. Many of the larger department teams include former staffers from Obama’s administration. Lots of former DHS folks on Biden’s transition team, including a former DHS chief of staff (Rosen), former USCIS chief counsel (Jaddou) and former FEMA administrator (Fugate) pic.twitter.com/3OL2lJNAwC — Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) November 10, 2020 Biden releases names for agency review teams.
Leaders of HHS squad include Robert Gordon (Obama OMB veteran, now Michigan Health Dept. Director) and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure (who helped write and implement the ACA, in Congress and then at HHS). https://t.co/G1B1g9FPRu pic.twitter.com/TsNHBgsjLF — Jonathan Cohn (@CitizenCohn) November 10, 2020 Transition teams can typically coordinate with officials at the agencies they will take over, but that requires an election certification from the White House’s General Services Administration. Because Donald Trump is refusing to concede to the election, members of the transition team cannot contact the agencies they will take over.
Updated at 21.55 GMT
10 Nov 2020 21.33 GMT The Guardian’s Richard Luscombe in Miami reports: It seems that Florida’s improbable new status as an adult in the room, following an unusually orderly and well run election process, may be a little premature. The Sunshine State has reverted to type with the appointment by its Republican governor Ron DeSantis of a conspiracy theory-peddling Uber driver and sports blogger as a senior analyst of Covid-19 data. As the Miami Herald reported Tuesday, Kyle Lamb’s credentials for the $40,000-a-year job in the office of policy and budget are at best questionable. “Fact is, I’m not an ‘expert.’ I’m not a doctor, epidemiologist, virologist or scientist,” the Ohio native admits on his subscription-only podcast Beyond the Fold, whose 43 patrons paying $3 per month have also learned that Lamb considers himself to be a “jack of all trades [and] master of none!” “I have no qualms about being a ‘sports guy’ moonlighting as a Covid-19 analyst,” he writes. Florida is currently experiencing a surge in cases of Covid-19, with the state having surpassed 850,000 cases and 17,200 deaths. Despite this, DeSantis, a keen Donald Trump ally, has discontinued almost all lockdown restrictions across Florida and signed executive orders to thwart local authorities who seek to reimpose them. According to the Herald, Lamb, 40, has stated in frequent posts on Twitter and sports message boards that masks do not prevent the spread of coronavirus, that lockdowns are ineffective, and that he believes Covid-19 could be part of an international “cultural biowar” instigated by China. The process that was followed to recruit Lamb is unclear, but in a tweet four days ago he said he had “accepted an offer to go work for Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Florida state capitol. I will be doing data analysis on several fronts for them including but not limited to Covid-19 research and other projects.” Fred Piccolo, spokesperson for DeSantis, told the Herald in a statement that Lamb had been hired to an “entry level” position” and was “not a Covid-19 hire”. DeSantis’s history with data analysts employed by the state has been rocky. In May, Rebekah Jones, the data scientist who created and maintained Florida’s official Covid-19 database, claimed she was fired for refusing to manipulate figures or censor information.


theguardian--2020-11-10--Seventh straight day of 100,000 new US Covid cases as hospitalizations hit a high point

The US hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations on Tuesday and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November , as a nationwide surge of infections that shows no signs of slowing .
The country recorded a seventh consecutive day of more than 100,000 new cases , and one of the public health advisers recruited to president-elect Joe Biden ’ s transition team warned that those case numbers could double in the coming weeks under the leadership of Donald Trump .
Monday saw the US surpass 10m total cases – the highest number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and reach a death toll of 238,256 .
There were 111,433 new cases on Monday and 590 new deaths , according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University .
Hospitalisations have risen to nearly 62,000 nationwide , according to the Covid Tracking Project , which saw the biggest single-day increase since 10 July .
It found South Dakota had the highest hospitalisation rates in the US and said Illinois had reported more than 10,000 cases for four days straight .
In California , cases are at their highest levels in months .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would revert back to more restrictive reopening rules as a result .
Biden has already warned the US is “ facing a very dark winter ” and that even with Pfizer ’ s announcement that it has a vaccine it believes is 90 % effective , 200,000 more lives could be lost in the US in the next few months .
Alex Azar , secretary of health and human services , said on Tuesday the federal government will have enough of the vaccine by the end of December “ to have vaccinated our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of January , he told NBC , there will be enough for all healthcare workers and first responders , with March or early April targeted for a general vaccination programme .
Experts say cases could rise exponentially in the coming weeks .
Michael Osterholm , director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and a member of Biden ’ s Covid-19 advisory board , told CNN daily cases could soon double .
“ We are watching cases increase substantially in this country far beyond , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought could happen , ” he said , adding : “ It will not surprise me if in the next weeks we see over 200,000 new cases a day.
” On Tuesday , Donald Trump tweeted purported quotes from a Fox Business journalist and his former White House doctor turned congressman-elect , Ronny Jackson , crediting the president with the possible arrival of a vaccine .
He also retweeted a post describing Biden as an “ ambulance chaser ” .
Pfizer senior vice-president Kathrin Jansen told the New York Times the company did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Operation Warp Speed or take any of its money .
The Food and Drug Administration said it had issued an emergency use authorisation for Eli Lilly ’ s monoclonal antibody therapy , called bamlanivimab , to treat mild to moderate cases in adults and children over 12 .
On Tuesday , Osterholm told CBS a “ perfect storm ” was forming and that hospitals were “ about to be overrun ” .
“ We ’ re going to see by far the darkest days of this pandemic between now and next spring when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told CBS .
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci told MSNBC he expects the FDA will probably put in for an emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer vaccine in the next week to week and a half .
Providing it goes through , he said , doses should be available for highest-priority people in December .
Asked if he would take the vaccine if it was approved by the FDA , he said he would .
“ I ’ m going to look at the data , but I trust Pfizer .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ These are colleagues of mine for decades , the career scientists .
If they look at this data , and they say this data is solid , let ’ s go ahead and approve it , I promise you , I will take the vaccine , and I will recommend that my family take the vaccine.
” He also reiterated the importance of wearing a mask , saying : “ You protect others .
Their mask protects you , and your mask also protects you.
” Public health officials believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to encourage Americans to take a vaccine or prepare them for what to expect .
“ This needed to happen ‘ yesterday ’ , ” Daniel Salmon , director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , told USA Today .
“ It ’ s like watching a train wreck happen.
” Across the US , states are struggling .
In El Paso , Texas , officials have six mobile morgues and have requested four more , CNN reported .
The state was approaching 1m infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Dr Bruce Vanderhoff , warned of an “ unprecedented spike ” in hospital use and a growing demand on staff .
“ If we don ’ t control the spread of this virus , we won ’ t be able to care for those who are acutely ill without postponing important , but less urgent , care , ” he said .
“ We anticipate that this kind of shift could happen in a matter of weeks if trends don ’ t change.
” In Utah , the governor Gary Herbert , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in hospitals , declared a state of emergency , issued a mask mandate and restricted social gatherings .
“ This is a sacrifice for all of us , ” he said .
“ But as we slow the spread it will make all the difference for our overworked healthcare workers , who desperately need our help.
” Meanwhile , 28 employees of the election board in one of Missouri ’ s largest counties , Jackson , have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks , and a director , Tammy Brown , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from voters .

The US hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations on Tuesday and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November, as a nationwide surge of infections that shows no signs of slowing.
The country recorded a seventh consecutive day of more than 100,000 new cases, and one of the public health advisers recruited to president-elect Joe Biden’s transition team warned that those case numbers could double in the coming weeks under the leadership of Donald Trump.
Sign up for the Guardian Today US newsletter.
Monday saw the US surpass 10m total cases – the highest number in the world, by far – and reach a death toll of 238,256. There were 111,433 new cases on Monday and 590 new deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Hospitalisations have risen to nearly 62,000 nationwide, according to the Covid Tracking Project, which saw the biggest single-day increase since 10 July. It found South Dakota had the highest hospitalisation rates in the US and said Illinois had reported more than 10,000 cases for four days straight.
In California, cases are at their highest levels in months. On Tuesday, the state announced several counties would revert back to more restrictive reopening rules as a result.
Biden has already warned the US is “facing a very dark winter” and that even with Pfizer’s announcement that it has a vaccine it believes is 90% effective, 200,000 more lives could be lost in the US in the next few months.
Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, said on Tuesday the federal government will have enough of the vaccine by the end of December “to have vaccinated our most vulnerable citizens”. By the end of January, he told NBC, there will be enough for all healthcare workers and first responders, with March or early April targeted for a general vaccination programme.
Experts say cases could rise exponentially in the coming weeks. Michael Osterholm, director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and a member of Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board, told CNN daily cases could soon double.
“We are watching cases increase substantially in this country far beyond, I think, what most people ever thought could happen,” he said, adding: “It will not surprise me if in the next weeks we see over 200,000 new cases a day.”
On Tuesday, Donald Trump tweeted purported quotes from a Fox Business journalist and his former White House doctor turned congressman-elect, Ronny Jackson, crediting the president with the possible arrival of a vaccine. He also retweeted a post describing Biden as an “ambulance chaser”.
Pfizer senior vice-president Kathrin Jansen told the New York Times the company did not participate in the government’s Operation Warp Speed or take any of its money.
The Food and Drug Administration said it had issued an emergency use authorisation for Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody therapy, called bamlanivimab, to treat mild to moderate cases in adults and children over 12.
On Tuesday, Osterholm told CBS a “perfect storm” was forming and that hospitals were “about to be overrun”.
“We’re going to see by far the darkest days of this pandemic between now and next spring when the vaccine becomes available,” he told CBS.
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci told MSNBC he expects the FDA will probably put in for an emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer vaccine in the next week to week and a half. Providing it goes through, he said, doses should be available for highest-priority people in December.
Asked if he would take the vaccine if it was approved by the FDA, he said he would.
“I’m going to look at the data, but I trust Pfizer. I trust the FDA,” Fauci said. “These are colleagues of mine for decades, the career scientists. If they look at this data, and they say this data is solid, let’s go ahead and approve it, I promise you, I will take the vaccine, and I will recommend that my family take the vaccine.”
He also reiterated the importance of wearing a mask, saying: “You protect others. Their mask protects you, and your mask also protects you.”
Public health officials believe the federal government has not done enough to encourage Americans to take a vaccine or prepare them for what to expect.
“This needed to happen ‘yesterday’,” Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told USA Today. “It’s like watching a train wreck happen.”
Across the US, states are struggling. In El Paso, Texas, officials have six mobile morgues and have requested four more, CNN reported. The state was approaching 1m infections. In Ohio the chief medical officer, Dr Bruce Vanderhoff, warned of an “unprecedented spike” in hospital use and a growing demand on staff.
“If we don’t control the spread of this virus, we won’t be able to care for those who are acutely ill without postponing important, but less urgent, care,” he said. “We anticipate that this kind of shift could happen in a matter of weeks if trends don’t change.”
In Utah, the governor Gary Herbert, warned of a “dire situation” in hospitals, declared a state of emergency, issued a mask mandate and restricted social gatherings.
“This is a sacrifice for all of us,” he said. “But as we slow the spread it will make all the difference for our overworked healthcare workers, who desperately need our help.”
Meanwhile, 28 employees of the election board in one of Missouri’s largest counties, Jackson, have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks, and a director, Tammy Brown, a Republican, believes they got infected from voters.
Agencies contributed reporting


theguardian--2020-11-10--The misinformation media machine amplifying Trump's election lies

The networks have made their calls , world leaders have begun paying their respects , and even Fox News and Rupert Murdoch ’ s other media outlets appear to have given up on a second term for Donald Trump .
But in a video posted on Facebook on 7 November and viewed more than 16.5m times since , NewsMax host and former Trump administration official Carl Higbie spends three minutes spewing a laundry list of false and debunked claims casting doubt on the outcome of the presidential election .
“ I believe it ’ s time to hold the line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from his government post over an extensive track record of racist , homophobic and bigoted remarks , to the Trump faithful .
“ I ’ m highly skeptical and you should be too.
” The video , which has been shared more than 350,000 times on Facebook , is just one star in a constellation of pro-Trump misinformation that is leading millions of Americans to doubt or reject the results of the presidential election .
Fully 70 % of Republicans believe that the election was not “ free and fair ” , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election day .
Among those doubters , large majorities believe two of Trump ’ s most brazen lies : that mail-in voting leads to fraud and that ballots were tampered with .
Trump himself is the largest source of election misinformation ; the president has barely addressed the public since Tuesday except to share lies and misinformation about the election .
But his message attacking the electoral process is being amplified by a host of rightwing media outlets and pundits who appear to be jockeying to replace Fox News as the outlet of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platforms such as Facebook and YouTube .
Since election day , 16 of the top 20 public Facebook posts that include the word “ election ” feature false or misleading information casting doubt on the election in favor of Trump , according to a Guardian analysis of posts with the most interactions using CrowdTangle , a Facebook-owned analytics tool .
Of those , 13 are posts by the president ’ s own page , one is a direct quote from Trump published by Fox News , one is by the rightwing evangelical Christian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Newsmax Higbie video .
The four posts that do not include misinformation are congratulatory messages by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama for Biden and Kamala Harris and two posts by Graham , including a request for prayers for Trump and a remembrance by Graham of his father , the televangelist Billy Graham .
On YouTube , hosts such as Steven Crowder , a conservative YouTuber with more than 5 million followers , have also been pushing out content questioning the election results .
A video from Crowder called Live Updates : Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5m times , and a nearly two-hour video headlined Fox News is NOT your friend has already racked up more than a million views .
Debunked claims about election malfeasance are similarly amplified by rightwing media players willing to go all-in on election fraud .
Those outlets appear to be capitalizing on Trump supporters ’ frustration at Fox News for reporting the actual outcome of the election .
Newsmax , a far-right outlet whose founding board members included William Rees-Mogg , has used its refusal to accept the results of the election as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday that it remained “ the only major news network to not call the election ” .
Its Facebook feed is alternating stories about supposed election misconduct with posts about Newsmax ’ s new popularity , perhaps even with Trump himself .
The president ’ s audience is rewarding Newsmax for its loyalty .
After averaging under 500,000 interactions a week for the first 10 months of the year , Newsmax ’ s Facebook success has exploded , with the site racking up 7.3m interactions and 59.7m video views since 1 November .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Trump and the Trump family , and when facts or narratives don ’ t support that , they ’ re ready to drop other sources , and that includes Fox , ” said Becca Lewis , a research affiliate at Data & Society Research Institute , who studies misinformation .
When challenged by the CNN host Brian Stelter in an on-air interview about why Newsmax was choosing to air “ election denialism ” and “ bogus voter fraud stuff ” , Newsmax ’ s CEO , Chris Ruddy , claimed the network @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and argued that all of the other major news outlets who had reported Biden ’ s election win were “ rushing ” .
The Newsmax CEO is no stranger to misinformation : as a young conservative reporter during the Clinton administration , he was “ one of the chief conspiracy theorists ” casting doubt on the suicide of the White House attorney Vincent Foster .
Newsmax is not the only conservative outlet that is amplifying Trump ’ s false claims about the legitimacy of the election .
The CEO of One America News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conspiracy theories and hiring a prominent Pizzagate conspiracy theorist as a correspondent , tweeted on Tuesday to the outlet ’ s 1.2 million followers , “ With all the states that have been found to have illegal voting , it ’ s looking like not only will Biden NOT be elected as the AP claimed , but chances are GREAT @ realDonaldTrump will be confirmed as President again.
” False election claims have not been confined to the internet and the airwaves .
At a “ Stop the Steal ” rally on Saturday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anti-lockdown protesters , attendees cited some of the exact same stories that were featured in Higbie ’ s Newsmax monologue , including claims that had already been factchecked by local Michigan news outlets .
Several people at the rally said they did not trust Fox News and , even after Fox had called the election for Biden , the pro-Trump crowd was still chanting , “ Four more years !
” and “ We won !
” The fact that many Trump supporters do not trust the election results is hardly surprising , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to not accept the outcome if he didn ’ t win ” , said Lewis , the misinformation researcher .
What has been striking , she said , are the tensions within the rightwing media about how to address the election results , or what story to tell about what supposedly went wrong .
“ They haven ’ t actually clicked into a clearcut narrative as quickly as the Trump media ecosystem often does , ” she said .
That lack of a simple counter-narrative may in part be a response to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actual election results .
But it may also be a reaction to Trump , who has been tweeting angrily , but largely staying out of the public view .
With Trump not “ as visible a presence as he usually is ” , that gives rightwing media “ a little bit less direction where to go ” , she said .
“ Both Fox News and Senate Republicans are trying to maneuver this tricky situation , where they may not want to so blatantly undermine democracy , but at the same time they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Trump supporters , who are so clearly and blatantly saying that there is big fraud , ” Lewis said .

The networks have made their calls, world leaders have begun paying their respects, and even Fox News and Rupert Murdoch’s other media outlets appear to have given up on a second term for Donald Trump. But in a video posted on Facebook on 7 November and viewed more than 16.5m times since, NewsMax host and former Trump administration official Carl Higbie spends three minutes spewing a laundry list of false and debunked claims casting doubt on the outcome of the presidential election.
“I believe it’s time to hold the line,” said Higbie, who resigned from his government post over an extensive track record of racist, homophobic and bigoted remarks, to the Trump faithful. “I’m highly skeptical and you should be too.”
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The video, which has been shared more than 350,000 times on Facebook, is just one star in a constellation of pro-Trump misinformation that is leading millions of Americans to doubt or reject the results of the presidential election. Fully 70% of Republicans believe that the election was not “free and fair”, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted since election day. Among those doubters, large majorities believe two of Trump’s most brazen lies: that mail-in voting leads to fraud and that ballots were tampered with.
Trump himself is the largest source of election misinformation; the president has barely addressed the public since Tuesday except to share lies and misinformation about the election. But his message attacking the electoral process is being amplified by a host of rightwing media outlets and pundits who appear to be jockeying to replace Fox News as the outlet of choice for Trumpists – and metastasizing on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
Since election day, 16 of the top 20 public Facebook posts that include the word “election” feature false or misleading information casting doubt on the election in favor of Trump, according to a Guardian analysis of posts with the most interactions using CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned analytics tool. Of those, 13 are posts by the president’s own page, one is a direct quote from Trump published by Fox News, one is by the rightwing evangelical Christian Franklin Graham, and the last is the Newsmax Higbie video.
The four posts that do not include misinformation are congratulatory messages by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama for Biden and Kamala Harris and two posts by Graham, including a request for prayers for Trump and a remembrance by Graham of his father, the televangelist Billy Graham.
On YouTube, hosts such as Steven Crowder, a conservative YouTuber with more than 5 million followers, have also been pushing out content questioning the election results. A video from Crowder called Live Updates: Democrats Try to Steal the Election was viewed 5m times, and a nearly two-hour video headlined Fox News is NOT your friend has already racked up more than a million views.
Debunked claims about election malfeasance are similarly amplified by rightwing media players willing to go all-in on election fraud. Those outlets appear to be capitalizing on Trump supporters’ frustration at Fox News for reporting the actual outcome of the election.
Newsmax, a far-right outlet whose founding board members included William Rees-Mogg, has used its refusal to accept the results of the election as a point of pride, tweeting on Saturday that it remained “the only major news network to not call the election”. Its Facebook feed is alternating stories about supposed election misconduct with posts about Newsmax’s new popularity, perhaps even with Trump himself.
The president’s audience is rewarding Newsmax for its loyalty. After averaging under 500,000 interactions a week for the first 10 months of the year, Newsmax’s Facebook success has exploded, with the site racking up 7.3m interactions and 59.7m video views since 1 November.
“Maga supporters – their devotion is to Trump and the Trump family, and when facts or narratives don’t support that, they’re ready to drop other sources, and that includes Fox,” said Becca Lewis, a research affiliate at Data & Society Research Institute, who studies misinformation.
When challenged by the CNN host Brian Stelter in an on-air interview about why Newsmax was choosing to air “election denialism” and “bogus voter fraud stuff”, Newsmax’s CEO, Chris Ruddy, claimed the network featured “all points of view” and argued that all of the other major news outlets who had reported Biden’s election win were “rushing”.
The Newsmax CEO is no stranger to misinformation: as a young conservative reporter during the Clinton administration, he was “one of the chief conspiracy theorists” casting doubt on the suicide of the White House attorney Vincent Foster.
Newsmax is not the only conservative outlet that is amplifying Trump’s false claims about the legitimacy of the election. The CEO of One America News, a rightwing outlet known for spreading conspiracy theories and hiring a prominent Pizzagate conspiracy theorist as a correspondent, tweeted on Tuesday to the outlet’s 1.2 million followers, “With all the states that have been found to have illegal voting, it’s looking like not only will Biden NOT be elected as the AP claimed, but chances are GREAT @realDonaldTrump will be confirmed as President again.”
False election claims have not been confined to the internet and the airwaves. At a “Stop the Steal” rally on Saturday organized by longtime Tea Party activists and anti-lockdown protesters, attendees cited some of the exact same stories that were featured in Higbie’s Newsmax monologue, including claims that had already been factchecked by local Michigan news outlets. Several people at the rally said they did not trust Fox News and, even after Fox had called the election for Biden, the pro-Trump crowd was still chanting, “Four more years!” and “We won!”
The fact that many Trump supporters do not trust the election results is hardly surprising, since the president “primed his supporters to not accept the outcome if he didn’t win”, said Lewis, the misinformation researcher.
What has been striking, she said, are the tensions within the rightwing media about how to address the election results, or what story to tell about what supposedly went wrong.
“They haven’t actually clicked into a clearcut narrative as quickly as the Trump media ecosystem often does,” she said.
That lack of a simple counter-narrative may in part be a response to the slow, drawn-out process of establishing the actual election results. But it may also be a reaction to Trump, who has been tweeting angrily, but largely staying out of the public view. With Trump not “as visible a presence as he usually is”, that gives rightwing media “a little bit less direction where to go”, she said.
“Both Fox News and Senate Republicans are trying to maneuver this tricky situation, where they may not want to so blatantly undermine democracy, but at the same time they don’t want to lose support of Trump supporters, who are so clearly and blatantly saying that there is big fraud,” Lewis said.


theguardian--2020-11-10--'An embarrassment': Joe Biden criticizes Trump's refusal to concede election

Joe Biden said Donald Trump ’ s refusal to concede the election was “ an embarrassment ” , vowing to move forward with the presidential transition despite resistance from the White House and Republican leaders .
Biden , answering questions for the first time since he was declared the winner of the 2020 election , intensified his criticism of the president , who continued to baselessly allege voter fraud , and said Trump ’ s denial would “ not help his legacy ” .
Though the situation at the White House has caused deepening alarm over whether the US would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been a hallmark of American democracy for generations , Biden promised his team was “ going to get right to work ” confronting the compounding crises facing the nation .
Pointing to unfounded claims of voter fraud , Trump , with the support of senior Republicans in Washington , has maintained that the election is not over and is contesting the results in several states , despite it being called for Biden on Saturday morning almost four days after the polls closed .
In a call with reporters on Monday , transition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet to issue a letter of “ ascertainment ” that would recognize Biden as the president-elect and allow his team to begin the transfer of power .
Until the decision is made , Biden ’ s staff can not meet with their counterparts in the White House and other federal agencies , begin to perform background checks for potential appointees or receive security briefings .
Biden insisted the delay “ does not change the dynamic at all of what we ’ re able to do ” .
Receiving the intelligence briefings that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be useful , ” he said , but added : “ We don ’ t see anything slowing us down , quite frankly.
” Biden was joined by the vice-president-elect , Kamala Harris , at a theater near his home in downtown Wilmington , Delaware , where they delivered remarks after the US supreme court heard the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act .
The Democratic leadership have vowed to protect and expand the signature legislation from the Obama administration , in which Biden served as vice-president , during the worst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ century .
The US recently surpassed 10m cases of coronavirus , as most states struggled to contain outbreaks during the latest wave of infections .
“ In the middle of a deadly pandemic that ’ s affecting more than 10 million Americans , these ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from the American people , ” Biden said of the Republican state officials who brought the lawsuit that has ended up before the supreme court , aiming to invalidate the healthcare law .
Democrats made healthcare a central theme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the supreme court hearing last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett , whose confirmation cemented a 6-3 conservative court .
The health coverage of millions of Americans hangs in the balance if the court rules in favor of Republicans , though Tuesday ’ s arguments indicated that the justices were skeptical of striking down the entire law .
“ Each and every vote for Joe Biden was a statement that healthcare in America should be a right and not a privilege , ” Harris said in her remarks .
She added : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decisively.
” Yet few Republicans have recognized Biden as the president-elect .
On Tuesday , the secretary of state , Mike Pompeo , predicted , with a grin that may have indicated he was attempting humor , “ a smooth transition to a second Trump administration ” .
On Capitol Hill , where only a handful of Republicans , have acknowledged Biden ’ s victory , the Senate majority leader , Mitch McConnell , indicated that Trump would have until the 14 December deadline for the electoral college to cast its votes to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the electoral college votes , anyone who is running for office can exhaust concerns , ” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday .
He added : “ There will be , apparently , litigation .
Those cases will be decided .
And then the electoral college will meet .
And then we ’ ll have the inauguration.
” Biden laughed off Pompeo ’ s comments and expressed confidence that Republicans would eventually recognize him as the president-elect .
Though he had not spoken to McConnell yet , he anticipated that they would connect soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put in a position , with a few notable exceptions , of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president , ” Biden said .
Even as Republicans refuse to recognize Biden , world leaders are doing so .
On Tuesday , Biden spoke with the British prime minister , Boris Johnson , the French president , Emmanuel Macron , and the German chancellor , Angela Merkel , according to the transition team .
The Israeli prime minister , Benjamin Netanyahu , and Turkish president , Tayyip Erdoğan , have also congratulated Biden on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Canada and Ireland .
China and Russia have yet to speak up .
“ I ’ m letting them know that America ’ s back , ” Biden said , characterizing his conversations with America ’ s allies .
“ We ’ re back in the game .
”

Joe Biden said Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the election was “an embarrassment”, vowing to move forward with the presidential transition despite resistance from the White House and Republican leaders.
Biden, answering questions for the first time since he was declared the winner of the 2020 election, intensified his criticism of the president, who continued to baselessly allege voter fraud, and said Trump’s denial would “not help his legacy”.
Though the situation at the White House has caused deepening alarm over whether the US would witness a smooth transfer of power that has been a hallmark of American democracy for generations, Biden promised his team was “going to get right to work” confronting the compounding crises facing the nation.
Pointing to unfounded claims of voter fraud, Trump, with the support of senior Republicans in Washington, has maintained that the election is not over and is contesting the results in several states, despite it being called for Biden on Saturday morning almost four days after the polls closed.
In a call with reporters on Monday, transition officials said the General Services Administration had yet to issue a letter of “ascertainment” that would recognize Biden as the president-elect and allow his team to begin the transfer of power.
Until the decision is made, Biden’s staff cannot meet with their counterparts in the White House and other federal agencies, begin to perform background checks for potential appointees or receive security briefings.
Biden insisted the delay “does not change the dynamic at all of what we’re able to do”. Receiving the intelligence briefings that are traditionally shared with the incoming president “would be useful,” he said, but added: “We don’t see anything slowing us down, quite frankly.”
02:13 Biden calls Trump's behavior 'embarrassing' as Pompeo dismisses election result – video
Biden was joined by the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, at a theater near his home in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, where they delivered remarks after the US supreme court heard the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act.
The Democratic leadership have vowed to protect and expand the signature legislation from the Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice-president, during the worst public health crisis in more than a century.
The US recently surpassed 10m cases of coronavirus, as most states struggled to contain outbreaks during the latest wave of infections.
“In the middle of a deadly pandemic that’s affecting more than 10 million Americans, these ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from the American people,” Biden said of the Republican state officials who brought the lawsuit that has ended up before the supreme court, aiming to invalidate the healthcare law.
Democrats made healthcare a central theme of the election, and a focus of the supreme court hearing last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation cemented a 6-3 conservative court.
The health coverage of millions of Americans hangs in the balance if the court rules in favor of Republicans, though Tuesday’s arguments indicated that the justices were skeptical of striking down the entire law.
“Each and every vote for Joe Biden was a statement that healthcare in America should be a right and not a privilege,” Harris said in her remarks. She added: “And Joe Biden won this election decisively.”
Kamala Harris and Joe Biden arrive to deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Yet few Republicans have recognized Biden as the president-elect. On Tuesday, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, predicted, with a grin that may have indicated he was attempting humor, “a smooth transition to a second Trump administration”.
On Capitol Hill, where only a handful of Republicans, have acknowledged Biden’s victory, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, indicated that Trump would have until the 14 December deadline for the electoral college to cast its votes to pursue his legal challenges.
“Until the electoral college votes, anyone who is running for office can exhaust concerns,” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday. He added: “There will be, apparently, litigation. Those cases will be decided. And then the electoral college will meet. And then we’ll have the inauguration.”
Biden laughed off Pompeo’s comments and expressed confidence that Republicans would eventually recognize him as the president-elect. Though he had not spoken to McConnell yet, he anticipated that they would connect soon.
“The whole GOP has been put in a position, with a few notable exceptions, of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president,” Biden said.
Even as Republicans refuse to recognize Biden, world leaders are doing so. On Tuesday, Biden spoke with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, according to the transition team. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu ,and Turkish president, Tayyip Erdoğan, have also congratulated Biden on the election, as have the leaders of Canada and Ireland. China and Russia have yet to speak up.
“I’m letting them know that America’s back,” Biden said, characterizing his conversations with America’s allies. “We’re back in the game.”