theguardian--2020-11-21--Donald Trump Jr tests positive for coronavirus – as it happened

Trump ’ s futile last stands to cling to claims of winning are getting even more futile After Georgia officials certified the state ’ s recount on Friday , confirming Joe Biden as the winner of the state , Michigan also stuck to its election results , making it impossible for Donald Trump to win the presidency .
Michigan ’ s Republican state legislative leaders said after meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday that they had no information that would change the outcome of the presidential election in the state , and would follow the “ normal ” electoral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states where the campaign of the Republican Trump is seeking to challenge Democrat Joe Biden ’ s victory in the 3 November election , based on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud .
“ We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and as legislative leaders , we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan ’ s electors , ” the Michigan senate majority leader , Mike Shirkey , and the House speaker , Lee Chatfield , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chatfield said any allegation of election fraud should be thoroughly investigated .
“ Michigan ’ s certification process should be a deliberate process free from threats and intimidation , ” they said .
Having been stung by a series of court defeats , the Trump team is resting its hopes on getting Republican-controlled legislatures in battleground states to set aside the results and declare Trump the winner , according to three people familiar with the plan .
Before Friday ’ s meeting , the White House press secretary , Kayleigh McEnany , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting .
There will be no one from the campaign there .
He routinely meets with lawmakers from all across the country.
” The two lawmakers said they also pressed for more funds for Michigan to deal with the coronavirus pandemic .
“ We used our time in the White House to deliver a letter to President Trump making clear our support for additional federal funds to help Michigan in the fight against Covid-19 , ” they said .

Kari Paul (now), Lauren Gambino and Martin Belam (earlier)

21 Nov 2020 01.20 GMT Evening summary That’s all from me for the night. Here’s where the news stands as we head into the weekend. Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, will certify the election results, solidifying Biden’s win there.
Donald Trump Jr has tested positive for coronavirus, despite downplaying its severity for months.
Trump has lost the presidential election. We already knew this, of course, but his last-ditch attempts to demand recounts have failed as of today.
Updated at 01.32 GMT
21 Nov 2020 01.11 GMT Trump’s futile last stands to cling to claims of winning are getting even more futile After Georgia officials certified the state’s recount on Friday, confirming Joe Biden as the winner of the state, Michigan also stuck to its election results, making it impossible for Donald Trump to win the presidency. Michigan’s Republican state legislative leaders said after meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday that they had no information that would change the outcome of the presidential election in the state, and would follow the “normal” electoral process. Michigan is one of several states where the campaign of the Republican Trump is seeking to challenge Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 3 November election, based on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. “We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and as legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors,” the Michigan senate majority leader, Mike Shirkey, and the House speaker, Lee Chatfield, said in a joint statement. Shirkey and Chatfield said any allegation of election fraud should be thoroughly investigated. “Michigan’s certification process should be a deliberate process free from threats and intimidation,” they said. Having been stung by a series of court defeats, the Trump team is resting its hopes on getting Republican-controlled legislatures in battleground states to set aside the results and declare Trump the winner, according to three people familiar with the plan. Before Friday’s meeting, the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said: “This is not an advocacy meeting. There will be no one from the campaign there. He routinely meets with lawmakers from all across the country.” The two lawmakers said they also pressed for more funds for Michigan to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. “We used our time in the White House to deliver a letter to President Trump making clear our support for additional federal funds to help Michigan in the fight against Covid-19,” they said. Reuters contributed to this report
Updated at 01.34 GMT
21 Nov 2020 00.24 GMT Donald Trump Jr, who now has Covid-19, previously downplayed the virus The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, repeatedly dismissed the risks of coronavirus as the pandemic spiraled out of control this year, before contracting it himself this week. Trump Jr said in an interview with Fox News on 20 October that deaths from Covid-19 in America at the time were “almost nothing”. Days later the number of deaths from coronavirus in the US surpassed 225,000, increasing by at least a thousand each day. In the Fox News innterview, he said: “If you look at, I put it on my Instagram, I went through the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] data because I kept hearing about the new infections, [but] why aren’t they talking about deaths? Oh, oh, because the number is almost nothing, because we have gotten control of this thing.”
The elder Trump has repeatedly claimed that coronavirus deaths in the US are declining despite clear evidence that the opposite is the case. The president himself was able to recover from Covid-19 after being treated with a cocktail of experimental medications, most of which were unavailable to the public. Trump Jr. is reportedly not yet experiencing symptoms. Public health experts predict a surge in deaths to occur throughout the holiday season and in the weeks after.
Updated at 01.36 GMT
20 Nov 2020 23.57 GMT A bit of astrology trivia about Joe Biden, whose birthday is today Today is the 78th birthday of president-elect and future Scorpio-in-chief Joe Biden – giving us an excuse to revisit his astrological chart, because why not? As Biden continues to push back against recount demands from Donald Trump, birthday wishes poured in from political allies on social media throughout the day, including from Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, James Clyburn, Nancy Pelosi and Bill Clinton. But let’s get to the real news: what are Biden’s signs? Wishing a happy birthday to my friend and the next President of the United States, @JoeBiden. I’m excited to get to work with the incoming Biden-Harris Administration on all of the important issues facing America today. pic.twitter.com/FoS926duBA — Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) November 20, 2020 Joe Biden was born on 20 November 1942 at 8.30am in Scranton, Pennsylvania. That makes him a Scorpio sun, Taurus moon and Sagittarius rising. Here is an analysis of his sun and moon published in Oprah magazine by astrologer Lisa Stardust: His Scorpio Sun acts as the ‘claws of justice’, making Joe Biden a purveyor of transformation. Based on all of his astrological characteristics, it’s likely Joe Biden is a person who believes change is possible – mostly because he’s lived through it and seen it with his own eyes. His Taurus Moon, meanwhile, denotes a kind and practical person, one who is both a hard worker and also stable, and slow to anger. Simply put: He doesn’t do drama. Meanwhile, people like Biden who are Sagittarius risings “are warriors who will fight for the greater good”. His Scorpio leanings do not stop with his sun! Biden also has Mercury, Venus and Mars in Scorpio, meaning the water sign shapes how he communicates, behaves in relationships, and takes action in life. That is a lot of Scorpio, Joe. I just looked at Joe Biden’s birth chart and i am in SHOCK pic.twitter.com/oh98JXSliY — TsumiToro (@TsumiToro) November 11, 2020 In case you were wondering, future vice-president Kamala Harris is a Libra. Exiting president Donald Trump is a Gemini.
Updated at 01.38 GMT
20 Nov 2020 23.14 GMT Donald Trump Jr has tested positive for coronavirus. The president’s eldest son managed to evade infection after the White House super-spreader event earlier this year led to positive tests for many around him, including his father and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle. He tested positive for Covid-19 early this week, according to a statement from his spokesman. This marks the fourth member of the Trump family to contract Covid after Donald Trump Sr, Melania Trump, and Barron Trump – all of whom have since recovered. “Don has been quarantining out at his cabin since the result,” the spokesman said. “He’s been completely asymptomatic so far and is following all medically recommended guidelines”
Updated at 00.15 GMT
20 Nov 2020 22.58 GMT Georgia governor says he will follow the law and formalize certification of votes after recount Georgia’s governor announced Friday that he will certify the presidential election results following a recount, solidifying Joe Biden’s win there. The announcement came after a recount demanded by Donald Trump in the wake of the November election, which showed a narrow loss to Biden in an upset of the traditionally-Republican state. Despite pressure from Trump to push back against the results, Republican governor Brian Kemp said in a press conference on Friday he will be certifying the election results as is required by law. “As governor, I have a solemn responsibility to follow the law and that is what I will do,” he said. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted a series of false accusations regarding “illegal ballots” in Georgia, all of which were flagged by Twitter as misinformation. Despite Trump’s “throwing a fit about it”, as critics said Friday, Biden is officially the winner of Georgia and its 16 electoral college votes.
Updated at 23.57 GMT
20 Nov 2020 22.18 GMT Hello readers, Kari Paul here in Oakland, California taking over the blog for the next few hours. Stay tuned for updates.
20 Nov 2020 22.08 GMT Early evening summary Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has officially certified Biden as the winner of Georgia’s election, after his office mistakenly announced that the process had been completed earlier on Friday. Biden becomes the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state’s 16 electoral college votes in nearly three decades.
has officially certified Biden as the winner of Georgia’s election, after his office mistakenly announced that the process had been completed earlier on Friday. Biden becomes the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state’s 16 electoral college votes in nearly three decades. Joe Biden met with Democratic congressional leaders in Delaware this afternoon.
Mike Pence campaigned in Georgia today, making the case for the state’s Republican senators who are locked in hotly contested runoff elections. In his remarks, he tiptoed around the fact that Trump lost the election. “We’re going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out. And “ whatever the outcome, we will never stop fighting to make America great again”, he told a crowd in Canto, Georgia.
campaigned in Georgia today, making the case for the state’s Republican senators who are locked in hotly contested runoff elections. In his remarks, he tiptoed around the fact that Trump lost the election. “We’re going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out. And he told a crowd in Canto, Georgia. Speaking at an event about lowering the cost of prescription drugs, Trump again falsely claimed that he won the election. He took no questions from reporters.
Updated at 01.39 GMT
20 Nov 2020 21.44 GMT A new report in the Washington Post delves into the increasingly confounding inaction by a Trump official who continues to block the transition to a new administration. As head of the General Services Administration, Emily Murphy’s central responsibility is to officially acknowledge the next president of the United States thereby allowing the transition to begin, a process that releases millions of dollars and access to government resources and information critical to an orderly transfer of power. Yet nearly two weeks after Biden became the president-elect, and despite intensifying pressure from Democrats and some Republicans, Murphy has yet to “ascertain” an “apparent winner” – an unprecedented step that has pushed what is typically an apolitical and routine formality into uncharted territory. Murphy has declined to explain her rationale for the delay. “She wants to see what happens with all of the states, and she is looking for cues from the White House,” a senior Trump administration official told the Post. “She doesn’t want to be disloyal to the administration that hired her.” This person added that Murphy is “not a bonafide Trump person” and is upset that she has become a public figure accused of aiding Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the results of an election he lost. Read the full story here.
20 Nov 2020 21.18 GMT Biden certified as winner of Georgia presidential race The Georgia secretary of Sstate’s office officially certified the election results, affirming Biden’s victory in the traditionally Republican battleground after a mandatory statewide audit. The office mistakenly sent an email earlier on Friday declaring the process complete, only to immediately correct the statement to acknowledge that the process was ongoing. In a new statement sent around 4pm EST, the office said the results had been certified and directed the public to visit the secretary of state’s website to view the tally, which shows that Biden won by 12,670 votes. Just in, take two: Georgia Secretary of State's Office Certifies Election Results pic.twitter.com/sErBnd1u6p — Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) November 20, 2020 Because of the narrow margin of victory, either candidate may request a full recount. Such a request must be made within two business days. Trump’s campaign, seeking to overturn the results, has vowed to pursue all legal options.
Updated at 01.39 GMT
20 Nov 2020 20.53 GMT President elect Joe Biden is meeting with Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Biden, known for both quoting Irish poetry and garbling basic English, told the leaders that they had an open invitation to the Oval Office. President-elect Biden meets with House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer.
“In my Oval Office, mi casa you casa,” he tells them. pic.twitter.com/vdVR2j5TLb — The Recount (@therecount) November 20, 2020 “Me casa, you casa,” he told them, misquoting the expression “mi casa es su casa” and drawing a few chuckles. “I hope we’re going to spend a lot of time together,” he added.
Updated at 21.46 GMT
20 Nov 2020 20.05 GMT Trump is speaking now about lowering the cost of drug prices during which he falsely claimed he won the election and accused the pharmaceutical company Pfizer of intentionally delaying the release the results of its preliminary coronavirus vaccine until after the election. He took no questions. Before taking the podium, he sent this evidence-free missive on Twitter, again amplifying a fabricated conspiracy about “illegal ballots”. The Governor of Georgia, and Secretary of State, refuse to let us look at signatures which would expose hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots, and give the Republican Party and me, David Perdue, and perhaps Kelly Loeffler, a BIG VICTORY... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2020 In the tweet, Trump falsely claimed insisted that would have won Georgia and the state’s Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler would not have been forced into runoff races in January if it weren’t for widespread corruption. Twitter flagged the tweet as problematic. Loeffler, who was appointed to the seat, was running in a jungle election, in which she came in second behind the Democrat, Raphael Warnock, in a race that saw the Republican electorate split between Loeffler and Trump ally Doug Collins. Collins earned 20% of the vote compared with Loeffler’s nearly 26%. Perdue fell roughly .03% below the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff.
Updated at 20.09 GMT
20 Nov 2020 19.48 GMT House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been known to make blunt assessments of the president. On a private call Friday, she again did not mince words, reportedly calling the president a “psychopathic nut”. Source confirms Pelosi made this remark. Am also told that she called Trump a “psychopathic nut” on another call this week https://t.co/Bz9Pz3GH65 — Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 20, 2020
Updated at 20.09 GMT
20 Nov 2020 19.44 GMT Members of Trump’s outside legal team will not attend the president’s meeting with Michigan state lawmakers due to their exposure to the coronavirus pandemic, Axios reported. Earlier Friday, Andrew Giuliani, the son of Rudy Giuliani, announced on Twitter that he tested positive for the virus. The younger Giuliani attended an indoor press conference with his father, several members of Trump’s legal team and a contingent of reporters. According to Axios, trump campaign officials held a conference call this morning with a lawyer on the White House staff to “candidly discussed their legal conundrum.” A decision was ultimately reached that a member of Giuliani’s legal team needed to attend the meeting with the Michigan lawmakers this afternoon. After it was raised that the lawyer’s son had tested positive for the virus, someone suggested that Giuliani shouldn’t attend as he was in close contact with his son. At that point, Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis chimed in to say that the entire team had likely been exposed. Read more here.
20 Nov 2020 19.16 GMT Georgia has not certified the results, SoS says in correction The Georgia Secretary of State said the office is still completing the certification process, correcting a previous statement that declared the certification process complete. In a corrected statement, the secretary of state’s office said it was on track to certify the vote today. Update: GA Secretary of State office corrects itself — says SOS *will certify vote today. Apparently has not happened yet. pic.twitter.com/fSENZzSvu4 — Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) November 20, 2020
Updated at 19.22 GMT
20 Nov 2020 18.54 GMT Afternoon summary It’s been a lively morning in US politics, from Georgia to Michigan via Washington, DC, and on around the country. And there’s more to come this afternoon. Joe Biden is meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in Delaware and Donald Trump is venturing before the cameras for the first time in days, so do stay tuned. So far today: Georgia ’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, officially certified Joe Biden ’s historic election victory in the state.
’s Republican secretary of state, officially certified ’s historic in the state. In confirming Biden’s win in the state, after a vote recount by hand and more than two weeks after polls closed for in-person voting, Raffensperger said: “I live by the motto that numbers don’t lie .”
in the state, after a by hand and more than two weeks after polls closed for in-person voting, Raffensperger said: “I live by the motto that .” Pharmaceutical partnership Pfizer/BioNTech said it is asking US regulators today to allow emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine , the first to do so.
partnership said it is asking US regulators today to allow emergency use of its , the first to do so. The meeting at the White House today between Donald Trump and Republican leaders from Michigan, as the president tries to overturn Biden’s victory in that state, too, was described as “an embarrassment to the state” by Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer .
at the White House today between Donald Trump and Republican leaders from Michigan, as the president tries to overturn Biden’s victory in that state, too, was described as “an embarrassment to the state” by governor . New York’s attorney general has sent a subpoena to the Trump Organization for records related to consulting fees paid to Ivanka Trump as part of a broad civil investigation into the president’s business dealings, per a report.
20 Nov 2020 18.27 GMT A top legal adviser to the Biden campaign said it was “not possible” and “not legal” for the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature to overturn the result in the decisive battleground. “No state legislature in our country’s history ever has done what Donald Trump is apparently agitating for the Michigan state legislature to do, which is to ignore the results of a popular vote,” Biden campaign legal adviser Bob Bauer told reporters during a press call on Friday. “It cannot be done.” On the call, Bauer assailed Republican lawmakers for meeting with the president. “It’s an open attempt to intimidate election officials,” he said. “It’s absolutely appalling.” Trump’s campaign has baselessly claimed that elections officials counted enough “illegitimate ballots” to swing the election results against him, and that he would win if they were thrown out. The campaign has yet to provide evidence to support the suggestion of wide-scale fraud and a court has found the claims to be “not credible”.


theguardian--2020-11-21--Trump makes futile last stand to overturn results as Georgia certifies Biden win

Donald Trump was on Friday making a futile but dangerous last stand , without precedent in modern American history , to overturn the result of the presidential election so he can remain in power .
Even as Joe Biden ’ s victory in the state of Georgia was confirmed , the president met with Republican leaders from Michigan at the White House in an increasingly desperate bid to subvert democracy after a series of courtroom defeats over allegations of voter fraud .
The Trump campaign ’ s apparent strategy is to persuade Republican-controlled legislatures in Michigan and other battleground states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the will of the people and declare Trump the winner , despite officials declaring it the most secure election in American history .
“ The entire election , frankly , in all the swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump , ” Sidney Powell , one of Trump ’ s lawyers , told the Fox Business Network on Thursday .
Michigan ’ s state legislative leaders , the senate majority leader , Mike Shirkey , and the house speaker , Lee Chatfield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House on Friday at Trump ’ s request .
Shirkey was greeted by protesters and media at Washington ’ s Reagan international airport .
There were chants of “ Certify the results !
” and a shout of “ Where is the evidence of fraud ?
” However , following the White House meeting , Shirkey and Chatfield affirmed their commitment to abide by the electoral process , in an apparent blow to Trump ’ s efforts .
“ We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as legislative leaders , we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan ’ s electors , ” the pair said in a joint statement .
“ Michigan ’ s certification process should be a deliberate process free from threats and intimidation.
” Most experts have dismissed Trump ’ s efforts as political fantasy and probably unlawful .
But they warn that an American president trying to reverse a free and fair election could poison millions of minds , conditioning his base to lose faith in democracy and regard Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a former secretary of state defeated by Trump in the 2016 election , tweeted on Friday : “ Protecting one man ’ s ego is not worth damaging the legitimacy of our democracy.
” Biden , a former vice-president , won the election and is preparing to take office on 20 January , but Trump has refused to concede and is searching for a way to invalidate the results , alleging widespread irregularities without providing evidence .
Speaking in the White House briefing room on Friday about an initiative to lower prescription @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claim that he was the true winner .
“ Big pharma ran millions of dollars of negative advertisements against me during the campaign – which I won , by the way , ” he told reporters .
“ But , you know , we ’ ll find that out .
Almost 74m votes .
We had big pharma against us .
We had the media against us .
We had big tech against us .
We had a lot of dishonesty against us.
” Biden received nearly 6m more votes than Trump but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college , where each state ’ s electoral votes , based largely on population , are awarded to the winner of a state ’ s popular vote .
Biden leads by 306 electoral votes to Trump ’ s 232 as states work to certify their results at least six days before the electoral college convenes on 14 December to ratify the vote .
The Trump campaign is particularly targeting Michigan , which Biden won by 154,000 votes , in the hope that Republicans there will manipulate the electoral system .
Both Shirkey and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to overturn Biden ’ s win , noting that Michigan law does not allow the legislature to directly select electors or award them to anyone other than the person who received the most votes .
Even so , Michigan ’ s governor , Gretchen Whitmer , a Democrat , told the MSNBC TV network : “ It ’ s incredibly dangerous that they are even entertaining the conversation .
This is an embarrassment to the state.
” Earlier this week , two Republicans canvassers blocked the certification of votes in Wayne county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a majority Black city .
They later relented , amid cries of racism , and the results were certified .
It then emerged that Trump made contact with the canvassers , Monica Palmer and William Hartmann , on Tuesday to express gratitude for their support .
On Wednesday , Palmer and Hartmann signed affidavits saying they believed the county vote “ should not be certified ” after all .
But Michigan ’ s secretary of state said they can not rescind their votes .
Trump ’ s dominance of the Republican party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoken out again his scorched earth strategy .
However , Mitt Romney , a senator for Utah and the party ’ s 2012 presidential nominee , broke ranks on Thursday .
He said : “ Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy before any court of law , the president has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election .
It is difficult to imagine a worse , more undemocratic action by a sitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of state , Brad Raffensperger , a Republican and Trump supporter , on Friday certified results that showed Biden won the state by just over 12,600 votes after a manual recount and an audit were conducted .
“ The numbers reflect the verdict of the people , not a decision by the secretary of state ’ s office or courts , or of either campaigns , ” he told reporters .
Trump ’ s attempts to reverse his defeat via lawsuits and recounts have met with no meaningful success .
Yet his campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ courts .
Rudy Giuliani , the president ’ s personal lawyer , said in an hour-and-a-half-long press conference on Thursday that there are plans to file more lawsuits .
He accused Democrats of masterminding a “ national conspiracy ” to steal the election , referencing China , Cuba , the Clinton Foundation , billionaire George Soros and the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez but offering no proof .
“ I know crimes , I can smell them , ” said Giuliani , the former mayor of New York , sweating profusely as what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his face .
“ You don ’ t have to smell this one , I can prove it to you.
” He offered no evidence to support his claims .
Chris Krebs , the Trump administration election official fired last week over the comments about the security of the election , tweeted : “ That press conference was the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history .
And possibly the craziest.
” Biden , celebrating his 78th birthday – he is the oldest US president-elect in history – met the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the Senate minority leader , Chuck Schumer , on Friday after spending most of the week with advisers planning his administration , despite the refusal of the Trump administration to cooperate with his team , even over dealing with the coronavirus pandemic .

Donald Trump was on Friday making a futile but dangerous last stand, without precedent in modern American history, to overturn the result of the presidential election so he can remain in power.
Even as Joe Biden’s victory in the state of Georgia was confirmed, the president met with Republican leaders from Michigan at the White House in an increasingly desperate bid to subvert democracy after a series of courtroom defeats over allegations of voter fraud.
The Trump campaign’s apparent strategy is to persuade Republican-controlled legislatures in Michigan and other battleground states in the electoral college to set aside the will of the people and declare Trump the winner, despite officials declaring it the most secure election in American history.
“The entire election, frankly, in all the swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump,” Sidney Powell, one of Trump’s lawyers, told the Fox Business Network on Thursday.
Michigan’s state legislative leaders, the senate majority leader, Mike Shirkey, and the house speaker, Lee Chatfield, both Republicans, visited the White House on Friday at Trump’s request.
Shirkey was greeted by protesters and media at Washington’s Reagan international airport. There were chants of “Certify the results!” and a shout of “Where is the evidence of fraud?”
However, following the White House meeting, Shirkey and Chatfield affirmed their commitment to abide by the electoral process, in an apparent blow to Trump’s efforts.
“We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and as legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors,” the pair said in a joint statement. “Michigan’s certification process should be a deliberate process free from threats and intimidation.”
Most experts have dismissed Trump’s efforts as political fantasy and probably unlawful. But they warn that an American president trying to reverse a free and fair election could poison millions of minds, conditioning his base to lose faith in democracy and regard Biden as an illegitimate president.
Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state defeated by Trump in the 2016 election, tweeted on Friday: “Protecting one man’s ego is not worth damaging the legitimacy of our democracy.”
Biden, a former vice-president, won the election and is preparing to take office on 20 January, but Trump has refused to concede and is searching for a way to invalidate the results, alleging widespread irregularities without providing evidence.
Speaking in the White House briefing room on Friday about an initiative to lower prescription medicine prices, Trump maintained his baseless claim that he was the true winner. “Big pharma ran millions of dollars of negative advertisements against me during the campaign – which I won, by the way,” he told reporters.
“But, you know, we’ll find that out. Almost 74m votes. We had big pharma against us. We had the media against us. We had big tech against us. We had a lot of dishonesty against us.”
Biden received nearly 6m more votes than Trump but the winner is determined by the electoral college, where each state’s electoral votes, based largely on population, are awarded to the winner of a state’s popular vote.
Biden leads by 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 as states work to certify their results at least six days before the electoral college convenes on 14 December to ratify the vote.
The Trump campaign is particularly targeting Michigan, which Biden won by 154,000 votes, in the hope that Republicans there will manipulate the electoral system.
Both Shirkey and Chatfield have previously denied that they might try to overturn Biden’s win, noting that Michigan law does not allow the legislature to directly select electors or award them to anyone other than the person who received the most votes.
01:30 Trump accuses Pfizer of delaying vaccine announcement until after election – video
Even so, Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, told the MSNBC TV network: “It’s incredibly dangerous that they are even entertaining the conversation. This is an embarrassment to the state.”
Earlier this week, two Republicans canvassers blocked the certification of votes in Wayne county, Michigan, where Detroit is located, a majority Black city. They later relented, amid cries of racism, and the results were certified. It then emerged that Trump made contact with the canvassers, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, on Tuesday to express gratitude for their support.
On Wednesday, Palmer and Hartmann signed affidavits saying they believed the county vote “should not be certified” after all. But Michigan’s secretary of state said they cannot rescind their votes.
Trump’s dominance of the Republican party is such that few prominent figures have spoken out again his scorched earth strategy.
However, Mitt Romney, a senator for Utah and the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, broke ranks on Thursday. He said: “Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy before any court of law, the president has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election. It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American president.”
Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican and Trump supporter, on Friday certified results that showed Biden won the state by just over 12,600 votes after a manual recount and an audit were conducted. “The numbers reflect the verdict of the people, not a decision by the secretary of state’s office or courts, or of either campaigns,” he told reporters.
Trump’s attempts to reverse his defeat via lawsuits and recounts have met with no meaningful success. Yet his campaign has not abandoned its offensive in the courts.
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, said in an hour-and-a-half-long press conference on Thursday that there are plans to file more lawsuits. He accused Democrats of masterminding a “national conspiracy” to steal the election, referencing China, Cuba, the Clinton Foundation, billionaire George Soros and the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez but offering no proof.
00:43 Rudy Giuliani suffers hair malfunction as he makes more baseless voter fraud allegations – video
“I know crimes, I can smell them,” said Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, sweating profusely as what appeared to be hair dye trickled down his face. “You don’t have to smell this one, I can prove it to you.” He offered no evidence to support his claims.
Chris Krebs, the Trump administration election official fired last week over the comments about the security of the election, tweeted: “That press conference was the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history. And possibly the craziest.”
Biden, celebrating his 78th birthday – he is the oldest US president-elect in history – met the House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, on Friday after spending most of the week with advisers planning his administration, despite the refusal of the Trump administration to cooperate with his team, even over dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.


theguardian--2020-11-20--Rudy Giuliani and Death in Venice | Brief letters

Re your report ( Proportion of students in England awarded first-class degrees soars , 19 November ) , I got my BA degree from Nottingham University in 1970 .
When we began our final year we were told that there would be no first-class degrees for politics students that year .
“ We mark on the bell curve , ” they said .
“ And we get one first per 30 students .
There are only 15 students each year for politics , and a student got a first last year .
So none of you lot can get one.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ To while away the time during this lockdown , we are going through over 40 years of photographic slides .
To save space , we are digitising the slides and discarding the originals .
We now have a large number of empty yellow plastic boxes .
Suggestions , please , for alternative uses – like 35mm film canisters , they must be useful for something !
Elizabeth and Les Brett Welling , London • “ Unintentional ” bullying surely implies a lack of empathy , compassion and self-awareness ( Bullying inquiry ‘ found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 19 November ) .
Strange characteristics for a British home secretary , especially in the aftermath of the Windrush fiasco .
Sandy Derbyshire London • What a metaphor .
Rudy Giuliani ’ s hair dye running down his face ( Donald Trump mounts all-out assault on election result in Michigan , 19 November ) reminded me of the closing scenes of Death in Venice .
Angela Bogle Bakewell , Derbyshire • Your editorial ( 18 November ) rightly condemns the cronyism displayed by the Tories in their procurement of PPE , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name : looting .
Deirdre Burrell Mortimer , Berkshire

Re your report (Proportion of students in England awarded first-class degrees soars, 19 November), I got my BA degree from Nottingham University in 1970. When we began our final year we were told that there would be no first-class degrees for politics students that year. “We mark on the bell curve,” they said. “And we get one first per 30 students. There are only 15 students each year for politics, and a student got a first last year. So none of you lot can get one.”
Stephen Rees
Vancouver, Canada
To while away the time during this lockdown, we are going through over 40 years of photographic slides. To save space, we are digitising the slides and discarding the originals. We now have a large number of empty yellow plastic boxes. Suggestions, please, for alternative uses – like 35mm film canisters, they must be useful for something!
Elizabeth and Les Brett
Welling, London
“Unintentional” bullying surely implies a lack of empathy, compassion and self-awareness (Bullying inquiry ‘found evidence Priti Patel broke ministerial code’, 19 November). Strange characteristics for a British home secretary, especially in the aftermath of the Windrush fiasco.
Sandy Derbyshire
London
What a metaphor. Rudy Giuliani’s hair dye running down his face (Donald Trump mounts all-out assault on election result in Michigan, 19 November) reminded me of the closing scenes of Death in Venice.
Angela Bogle
Bakewell, Derbyshire


theguardian--2020-11-20--Donald Trump is still busy trying to bulldoze democracy | Austin Sarat and Dennis Aftergut

The red light flashing danger to democracy grew more intense on 19 November .
We thought it could hardly get worse , with Trump toady Lindsey Graham sticking his nose into Georgia ’ s business – he asked , per Georgia ’ s secretary of state , Brad Raffensperger , and a witness , about tossing legal ballots .
And then the president did him one better .
After calling a member of Wayne county , Michigan ’ s Board of Canvassers who had previously voted to certify that county ’ s pro-Biden vote , he invited Republican Michigan legislators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislators who , under the Constitution ’ s article II , could theoretically appoint a slate of Trump electors to Congress on 3 January when the president is formally selected , in total defiance of Michigan ’ s 154,000 more voters who chose Joe Biden .
This has been the president ’ s plan all along : if he loses , fracture democracy ’ s foundation , the vote .
Create chaos , as is his wont , and see where the shards and chips fall .
Delegitimize the victor to keep Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his base , dominate and intimidate Republicans everywhere .
The president may be hoping that his desperate , post-election maneuvers will miraculously deliver , and that three battleground state Republican legislatures will send alternate slates .
Not impossible .
But the odds are somewhere south of cherries across the board on your first pull of the slot-machine arm .
For one thing , few legislators are likely to see a promising political future in defying their state ’ s majority .
For another , in the event of a dispute where a state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1887 Electoral Count Act , governors have the ultimate authority to certify electors , and defying the voters would be equally damaging to them .
Moreover , the governors of Michigan , Wisconsin , Pennsylvania and Nevada are Democrats .
So let ’ s keep the focus where it belongs , on Trump ’ s ability to shake trust and confidence in our democracy .
No republic stands without that trust and confidence .
Trump understands that .
Time and again he has shown that the Republic and its people do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care about abusing his office in pressing Ukraine ’ s president to investigate Trump ’ s most feared rival , Biden .
He has paid no attention to the raging Covid pandemic or any other public business now that he has been defeated .
He does not care about anything other than himself , and ultimately , proving that he is not a loser .
If he can not be a winner now , then maybe in 2024 .
Think of the most shameful presidential acts in our history .
Watergate springs to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House to cover up a bungled burglary of Democratic party headquarters and steal secrets to ensure Richard Nixon ’ s re-election .
As politically corrupt as it was , that conspiracy did not purport to negate majority votes cast for a presidential campaign opponent .
A century ago , another administration behaved in such a way as to undermine democracy .
In October 1919 , Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke .
His wife , Edith , kept the secret from the press and acted in his stead , even signing his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she was simply a “ steward.
” That was an immense fraud on the country , even if its intent was to preserve the people ’ s faith in our government .
Even as a fraud , however , nothing Wilson did undermined faith in our electoral system by asserting that a president who had decisively lost both the popular and electoral college votes had been cheated of his office .
The country can not now allow such a disruption of faith to ramble unhindered through our constitutional system .
These are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go quickly on the offense .
This is not the moment to turn the other cheek .
Too much is at stake .
Joe Biden must use his bully pulpit , abandoned to him by the president , and pressure every public leader , Democrat or Republican , to put patriotism first .
Leaders of every stripe must be called out unless they speak out as did the business community leaders who have demanded an end to Trump ’ s dangerous game .
The president-elect must use the courts preemptively to compel Emily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Services Administration , an official with full authority to “ ascertain ” Biden ’ s “ apparent ” victory , to use that authority so that the full peaceful transfer of power can proceed as our national health and security require .
To be sure , some have pointed out the risk , with a Trump-populated judiciary , of losing such a suit outweighs the potential gain .
That may have been true before Trump invited Michigan legislators to the White House , demonstrating his corrupt intent to feloniously deprive citizens , mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and to undermine our Republic ’ s foundation .
With that action , the balance tips toward action that tells the country that the incoming president represents the rule of law and its active defense .
Editorial boards , particularly in Michigan , must speak with one voice in favor of our elections and denounce any legislator who abandons their constitutional duty to appoint electors reflecting the majority ’ s will .
Grassroots organizations need to mobilize letter-writing campaigns , television appearances , community meetings and demonstrations against any elected representative whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not respect the ballot box .
If we survive this moment of danger , the US must attend to the difficult process of legislative , perhaps even constitutional , reform to prevent the next assault on democracy .
In the meantime , we need an all hands on deck approach , mobilizing political leaders and civil society that the US has for a long time used to promote democracy abroad .
Now is the time for those techniques to be deployed to save democracy at home .
Power in this country resides in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it if we do not want to lose it .

The red light flashing danger to democracy grew more intense on 19 November. We thought it could hardly get worse, with Trump toady Lindsey Graham sticking his nose into Georgia’s business – he asked, per Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, and a witness, about tossing legal ballots. And then the president did him one better.
After calling a member of Wayne county, Michigan’s Board of Canvassers who had previously voted to certify that county’s pro-Biden vote, he invited Republican Michigan legislators to the White House.
The same legislators who, under the Constitution’s article II, could theoretically appoint a slate of Trump electors to Congress on 3 January when the president is formally selected, in total defiance of Michigan’s 154,000 more voters who chose Joe Biden.
This has been the president’s plan all along: if he loses, fracture democracy’s foundation, the vote. Create chaos, as is his wont, and see where the shards and chips fall. Delegitimize the victor to keep Trump the center of attention, to hold his base, dominate and intimidate Republicans everywhere.
The president may be hoping that his desperate, post-election maneuvers will miraculously deliver, and that three battleground state Republican legislatures will send alternate slates. Not impossible. But the odds are somewhere south of cherries across the board on your first pull of the slot-machine arm.
For one thing, few legislators are likely to see a promising political future in defying their state’s majority. For another, in the event of a dispute where a state sends competing electors’ slates, under the 1887 Electoral Count Act, governors have the ultimate authority to certify electors, and defying the voters would be equally damaging to them. Moreover, the governors of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada are Democrats.
So let’s keep the focus where it belongs, on Trump’s ability to shake trust and confidence in our democracy. No republic stands without that trust and confidence. Trump understands that. Time and again he has shown that the Republic and its people do not matter to him.
He did not care about abusing his office in pressing Ukraine’s president to investigate Trump’s most feared rival, Biden. He has paid no attention to the raging Covid pandemic or any other public business now that he has been defeated. He does not care about anything other than himself, and ultimately, proving that he is not a loser. If he cannot be a winner now, then maybe in 2024.
Think of the most shameful presidential acts in our history. Watergate springs to mind, with a conspiracy inside the White House to cover up a bungled burglary of Democratic party headquarters and steal secrets to ensure Richard Nixon’s re-election. As politically corrupt as it was, that conspiracy did not purport to negate majority votes cast for a presidential campaign opponent.
A century ago, another administration behaved in such a way as to undermine democracy. In October 1919, Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke. His wife, Edith, kept the secret from the press and acted in his stead, even signing his name to documents in the belief that she was simply a “steward.” That was an immense fraud on the country, even if its intent was to preserve the people’s faith in our government.
Even as a fraud, however, nothing Wilson did undermined faith in our electoral system by asserting that a president who had decisively lost both the popular and electoral college votes had been cheated of his office.
The country cannot now allow such a disruption of faith to ramble unhindered through our constitutional system. These are the things to do.
The president-elect must go quickly on the offense. This is not the moment to turn the other cheek. Too much is at stake. Joe Biden must use his bully pulpit, abandoned to him by the president, and pressure every public leader, Democrat or Republican, to put patriotism first.
Leaders of every stripe must be called out unless they speak out as did the business community leaders who have demanded an end to Trump’s dangerous game.
The president-elect must use the courts preemptively to compel Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, an official with full authority to “ascertain” Biden’s “apparent” victory, to use that authority so that the full peaceful transfer of power can proceed as our national health and security require.
To be sure, some have pointed out the risk, with a Trump-populated judiciary, of losing such a suit outweighs the potential gain. That may have been true before Trump invited Michigan legislators to the White House, demonstrating his corrupt intent to feloniously deprive citizens, mostly citizens of color, of their votes, and to undermine our Republic’s foundation. With that action, the balance tips toward action that tells the country that the incoming president represents the rule of law and its active defense.
Editorial boards, particularly in Michigan, must speak with one voice in favor of our elections and denounce any legislator who abandons their constitutional duty to appoint electors reflecting the majority’s will. Grassroots organizations need to mobilize letter-writing campaigns, television appearances, community meetings and demonstrations against any elected representative whose action says that he or she does not respect the ballot box.
If we survive this moment of danger, the US must attend to the difficult process of legislative, perhaps even constitutional, reform to prevent the next assault on democracy. In the meantime, we need an all hands on deck approach, mobilizing political leaders and civil society that the US has for a long time used to promote democracy abroad. Now is the time for those techniques to be deployed to save democracy at home.
Power in this country resides in the people. We need to use it if we do not want to lose it.


theguardian--2020-11-20--Here's what interviewing voters taught me about the slogan 'defund the police' |  Danny Barefoot

Joe Biden won the electoral college , leads the popular vote by millions , and will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States .
Taking down an incumbent president is no easy feat and Biden deserves credit for his disciplined and effective campaign .
But there is no question Biden underperformed vis-à-vis the consensus of pollsters and pundits .
In Congress the underperformance was even more stark .
Democrats expected to make gains in the House of Representatives .
Instead , they are poised to return to Washington with an unexpectedly pared-down majority .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retake the chamber and deliver their party unified control of the federal government .
Instead , they made only modest gains .
This isn ’ t where the party wanted to be .
I run a Democratic political consulting firm and wanted to immediately get to work to understand why this underperformance happened .
While there are certainly multiple answers to that question and various dynamics at play , we decided to start our inquiry with voters who leaned towards voting for Joe Biden in the last weeks of the election , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We put together a focus group to discuss the election with these voters and explore what changed their minds .
It will be easy for some to dismiss these participants as Trump voters ( and they are ! )
but 70 % of them told us they have a negative view of Donald Trump and at some point they supported Joe Biden before ultimately casting their vote for Trump .
These aren ’ t Maga hat-wearing folks .
One of the major takeaways from my discussion with these voters was their distaste for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
While 80 % agreed racism exists in the criminal justice system and 60 % had a favorable view of Black Lives Matter , only one participant agreed we should “ defund the police ” .
Another participant was exasperated , “ That is crazier than anything Trump has ever said.
” We tried to explain the actual policies behind the slogan “ defund the police ” .
We noted that many activists who use this phrase simply want to reduce police funding and reallocate some of it to social services .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not what defund the police means , I ’ m sorry .
It means they want to defund the police.
” “ I didn ’ t like being lied to about this over and over again , ” added another woman .
“ Don ’ t try and tell me words don ’ t mean what they say , ” she continued .
The rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement .
Ultimately 50 % of people in our focus group said they thought Biden was privately sympathetic to defunding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats rejected this framing , it is clear the calls from some on the left were louder than those denials .
We followed up by asking if participants supported reducing police funding and reallocating it to social services and other agencies to reduce police presence in community conflict .
Seventy per cent said they would support that proposal .
It is almost beyond parody that progressive activists would build popular consensus on police reform only to slap on a slogan that is deeply unpopular with voters and doesn ’ t accurately communicate our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to abolish the police .
We don ’ t want to zero out funding for law enforcement .
So we should forcefully reject slogans that imply we do .
We should instead run on the broadly popular policies behind the slogan .
It ’ s policy that changes lives .
Unpopular framing that makes reform harder does favors to no one but those who want to protect the status quo .
Representative James Clyburn , the Democratic whip and an activist in the civil rights movement , was blunt regarding his opinion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he believes it cost Democrats seats .
“ Stop sloganeering .
Sloganeering kills people .
Sloganeering destroys movements , ” said Clyburn .
My party won this election .
We ’ ve now won the most votes in seven of the last eight presidential elections .
But we live in a political system that would allow Republicans to block all reform and rule through the courts if we merely repeat this year ’ s performance in perpetuity .
Some people ’ s response to that is to argue we need to abolish the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structural reform .
I agree .
But we need unified power to even begin that discussion .
So the conversations happening about the direction of the Democratic party aren ’ t about “ how do we win a majority every election ” ( we have mostly figured that out ! )
they have to be “ how do we win by enough to make real change in a system that is rigged against us ” .
Some have noted that Republicans would never have this debate after they won an election .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can govern through minority rule .
A majority is icing on the cake for them .
They don ’ t need to have this debate to get what they want .
Democrats do .
The first thing we should do is forcefully reject slogans , branding and messaging that is deeply unpopular with voters .
• None Danny Barefoot is the managing partner at Anvil Strategies , a Democratic consulting firm and advertising agency .
Danny has a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center

Joe Biden won the electoral college, leads the popular vote by millions, and will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Taking down an incumbent president is no easy feat and Biden deserves credit for his disciplined and effective campaign.
But there is no question Biden underperformed vis-à-vis the consensus of pollsters and pundits. In Congress the underperformance was even more stark. Democrats expected to make gains in the House of Representatives. Instead, they are poised to return to Washington with an unexpectedly pared-down majority. In the Senate, Democrats were considered favorites to retake the chamber and deliver their party unified control of the federal government. Instead, they made only modest gains. This isn’t where the party wanted to be.
I run a Democratic political consulting firm and wanted to immediately get to work to understand why this underperformance happened. While there are certainly multiple answers to that question and various dynamics at play, we decided to start our inquiry with voters who leaned towards voting for Joe Biden in the last weeks of the election, but ultimately voted to re-elect Donald Trump. We put together a focus group to discuss the election with these voters and explore what changed their minds.
It will be easy for some to dismiss these participants as Trump voters (and they are!) but 70% of them told us they have a negative view of Donald Trump and at some point they supported Joe Biden before ultimately casting their vote for Trump. These aren’t Maga hat-wearing folks.
One of the major takeaways from my discussion with these voters was their distaste for the slogan “defund the police”. While 80% agreed racism exists in the criminal justice system and 60% had a favorable view of Black Lives Matter, only one participant agreed we should “defund the police”. Another participant was exasperated, “That is crazier than anything Trump has ever said.”
We tried to explain the actual policies behind the slogan “defund the police”. We noted that many activists who use this phrase simply want to reduce police funding and reallocate some of it to social services. One woman interrupted us to say “that is not what defund the police means, I’m sorry. It means they want to defund the police.” “I didn’t like being lied to about this over and over again,” added another woman. “Don’t try and tell me words don’t mean what they say,” she continued. The rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement.
Ultimately 50% of people in our focus group said they thought Biden was privately sympathetic to defunding the police. While Biden and many Democrats rejected this framing, it is clear the calls from some on the left were louder than those denials.
We followed up by asking if participants supported reducing police funding and reallocating it to social services and other agencies to reduce police presence in community conflict. Seventy per cent said they would support that proposal.
It is almost beyond parody that progressive activists would build popular consensus on police reform only to slap on a slogan that is deeply unpopular with voters and doesn’t accurately communicate our policy goals. We don’t want to abolish the police. We don’t want to zero out funding for law enforcement. So we should forcefully reject slogans that imply we do. We should instead run on the broadly popular policies behind the slogan. It’s policy that changes lives. Unpopular framing that makes reform harder does favors to no one but those who want to protect the status quo.
Representative James Clyburn, the Democratic whip and an activist in the civil rights movement, was blunt regarding his opinion of “defund the police” saying he believes it cost Democrats seats. “Stop sloganeering. Sloganeering kills people. Sloganeering destroys movements,” said Clyburn.
My party won this election. We’ve now won the most votes in seven of the last eight presidential elections. But we live in a political system that would allow Republicans to block all reform and rule through the courts if we merely repeat this year’s performance in perpetuity. Some people’s response to that is to argue we need to abolish the electoral college or some other version of structural reform. I agree. But we need unified power to even begin that discussion.
So the conversations happening about the direction of the Democratic party aren’t about “how do we win a majority every election” (we have mostly figured that out!) they have to be “how do we win by enough to make real change in a system that is rigged against us”.
Some have noted that Republicans would never have this debate after they won an election. That’s probably correct. But Republicans can govern through minority rule. A majority is icing on the cake for them. They don’t need to have this debate to get what they want. Democrats do.
The first thing we should do is forcefully reject slogans, branding and messaging that is deeply unpopular with voters.


theguardian--2020-11-20--As Donald Trump refuses to concede: the etymology of 'coup'

As Donald Trump sulked in the White House after the election and refused to concede defeat , many wondered if he was plotting a “ coup ” , in the sense of an illegitimate seizure of power .
This is short for the French coup d ’ état , literally “ blow ” or “ stroke ” of state , but it took a silent linguistic coup for that to become its meaning .
“ Coup ” is traced back to the Latin colaphos , for a punch or cuff .
As the phrase itself suggests , a coup d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17th century ) a decisive action by a ( legitimate ) government , such as the formation of an alliance or a cunning marriage ; only later did it come to mean the seizure of the apparatus of state from outside .
All coups , however , seem to require an element of surprise , just like a coup de foudre ( literally , lightning strike ) is love at first sight , and a “ coup ” in short is often cause for celebration : an admirable , unexpected success .
Pleasingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old Scottish use , meaning : “ The act of tilting or shooting rubbish from a cart , wheelbarrow , etc.
” In this sense , emptying the White House of Trump will itself constitute a coup to be marked with much revelry .
• Steven Poole ’ s A Word for Every Day of the Year is published by Quercus .

As Donald Trump sulked in the White House after the election and refused to concede defeat, many wondered if he was plotting a “coup”, in the sense of an illegitimate seizure of power. This is short for the French coup d’état, literally “blow” or “stroke” of state, but it took a silent linguistic coup for that to become its meaning.
“Coup” is traced back to the Latin colaphos, for a punch or cuff. As the phrase itself suggests, a coup d’état was originally (from the 17th century) a decisive action by a (legitimate) government, such as the formation of an alliance or a cunning marriage; only later did it come to mean the seizure of the apparatus of state from outside. All coups, however, seem to require an element of surprise, just like a coup de foudre (literally, lightning strike) is love at first sight, and a “coup” in short is often cause for celebration: an admirable, unexpected success.
Pleasingly, “coup” also has an old Scottish use, meaning: “The act of tilting or shooting rubbish from a cart, wheelbarrow, etc.” In this sense, emptying the White House of Trump will itself constitute a coup to be marked with much revelry.


theguardian--2020-11-21--US states scramble to take action as Covid numbers jump terrifyingly higher

The Disunited States of America are united once more .
After a brutal election that exacerbated bitter partisan divisions and left the country feeling as though it had been torn in two , it has at last been thrown back together .
For all the wrong reasons .
The great leveler is coronavirus .
Covid-19 is rampaging across the US as though it were on a personal mission to unify the splintered nation in an unfolding catastrophe .
Of the 50 states of the Union , all but one – isolated Hawaii – is seeing alarming spikes in new cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so uniformly across the vast landmass of the US , that records are being shattered daily .
Almost 12m cases have been recorded .
In just one day the US notched up 184,000 new cases – six times the total number of infections in South Korea since the pandemic began .
Almost 80,000 Americans are currently in hospital fighting for their lives , and the death rate is soaring inexorably towards 2,000 a day – close to the peak reached in April .
This week the country passed the grimmest landmark so far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the total has gone up significantly beyond that tragic milestone .
As Michael Osterholm , a member of the coronavirus advisory team assembled by Joe Biden , put it : “ We are in the most dangerous public health period since 1918.
” The result of this terrifying march of untrammeled disease is that panic has begun to set in at state level .
Governors and mayors from coast to coast have been scrambling to batten down the hatches , from New York City where the country ’ s largest public schools system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after it reopened , to California where governor Gavin Newsom announced he was “ pulling the emergency brake ” .
It is in the heartland states that the true horror of the current crisis is unfolding .
Here Donald Trump ’ s historic mishandling of the pandemic is coming home to roost .
Across the midwest , Trump ’ s playbook towards Covid-19 has been avidly embraced by Republican governors , from Kristi Noem in South Dakota , to Pete Ricketts in Nebraska , Kim Reynolds in Iowa , and Mike Parson in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s relentless downplaying of the virus , lying about the pandemic being under control , and spurning of mask wearing .
The results are now plain to see – runaway infection levels , staggering positivity rates and hospitals at breaking point .
Only now , when the virus is pummeling the midwest like a tornado , have some of the Republican governors begrudgingly begun to change tack .
Take Reynolds , the pro-Trump governor of Iowa .
She has pulled back from her refusal to impose a mask mandate after her state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths to at least 40 .
Iowa is now struggling with one of the worst outbreaks in the US with hospitals jammed with Covid-19 patients .
Reynolds spent months resisting calls from health specialists and doctors to require masks on the grounds , saying they were “ no silver bullet ” .
That ’ s a position that ’ s hard to hold when new infections are running at about 100,000 a month .
Reynolds finally shifted after the White House coronavirus task force called the state ’ s measures to combat the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing nothing would cost thousands more lives .
“ The spread in Iowa is exponential and unyielding , ” the task force said in a report this week .
The governor ordered people to wear masks in indoor public spaces with some exceptions such as eating in restaurants .
She also banned gatherings of more than 15 people indoors and twice that outdoors , except in the “ ordinary course of business ” , while requiring bars and restaurants to close by 10 pm .
Despite it all , Reynolds remains firmly attached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She urged Iowans to “ err on the side of caution ” and wear one yet continues to question their value by saying there is “ science on both sides ” .
“ If you look , you can find whatever you want to support wherever you ’ re at , ” she said at a press conference to announce the mask mandate .
Reynolds ’ limited measures , and the seeds of doubt she continues to plant around the science , have been criticized by some healthcare workers .
Eli Perencevich , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the University of Iowa , derided them as insufficient .
“ Ask yourself this : 1 ) does the virus only spread after 10pm 2 ) if you don ’ t need to wear a mask unless you will be next to someone for 15 minutes , will you ever need wear a mask ?
The answer to both of these questions is no , ” he tweeted .
In her controversial mini-Trump stance , the governor has enjoyed consistent backing from the Republican US Senator from Iowa , Joni Ernst .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speculating that doctors were exaggerating fatalities by pinning deaths from other causes on Covid-19 as a ruse to claim extra payments from the government .
The Iowa Medical Society described Ernst ’ s comments as “ incredibly disappointing ” and “ mistruths ” .
But it is a sign of how closely aligned many midwest Republicans are with Trump that he , too , has run with the lie about doctors cashing in on Covid deaths .
In the final days of his presidential campaign , Trump caused widespread offense within the medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were marking every death down as Covid-19 so they could grab more money .
Even Trump ’ s mendacious pronouncements on the pandemic could arguably be seen as preferable to his current posture .
Since the election , he has spent his time fixating on the baseless claim that victory was stolen from him , firing top officials who refused to go along with his conspiracy theories about voter fraud , and playing golf .
As for Covid , his leadership has consisted of resounding silence .
The last time he attended a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force was at least five months ago .
The combination of soaring disease and an AWOL president has left the 50 states to cope with a mounting disaster as best they can .
The result is an even more extreme form of what has emerged since the start of the pandemic – the patchwork of individual state responses , some aggressive , others nonchalant – that have been cobbled together as the virus slams in .
Wisconsin is another Midwest state that has quickly emerged as a major hotspot , with almost 3,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in new cases , hospitalizations and deaths almost daily , with public health officials warning that it “ is at a critical juncture right now ” .
“ Our hospitals are overwhelmed , our healthcare workers are exhausted , and too many families have lost a loved one , ” DHS deputy secretary , Julie Willems Van Dijk said .
On the empty streets of downtown Milwaukee , hotel staff take extended breaks outdoors while parking enforcement officers keep warm inside their vehicles .
With the city experiencing an especially punishing spike in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the residents or visitors to serve .
Like Iowa , Wisconsin has lacked basic coronavirus measures designed to curb the continued spread of the virus – though in this case , it is not for want of trying by the Democratic governor , Tony Evers .
He attempted to enact a “ Safer at Home ” order only to have the move struck down by the state supreme court last spring .
The court now weighs whether the last remaining mask mandate should be blocked .
Meanwhile , leaders across the state have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a difficult ask at the start of the holiday season in a state whose often bitingly cold winters force families indoors .
Milwaukee resident Caroline Gaeta , 58 , has heeded the call .
She usually travels to Indianapolis to share Thanksgiving with her 81-year-old mother , but decided to stay home citing the risk of exposing elderly loved ones .
“ Traveling would not be a good option right now given the uptick in numbers in both Wisconsin and Indiana , ” she said .
Since the beginning of the outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fallen along political and racial lines .
When the disease first struck , devastating mostly Black and Latino communities in Democratic cities like Milwaukee , Madison and Green Bay , white residents in surrounding suburbs and rural areas took aim at Ever ’ s state orders meant to combat the spread .
The backlash has been amplified by Republican lawmakers who have pushed to block coronavirus legislation .
Such sharp partisan battles in Wisconsin are being repeated in states across the country .
They are a measure of the challenges that lie ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nationwide heave to contain the disease .
Biden , who put combatting Covid as the top priority of his presidential campaign , has moved swiftly to convene a 13-member advisory panel on coronavirus .
The group has been doing all it can to ensure it hits the ground running on inauguration day , 20 January , but its work is impaired by the willful lack of any cooperation coming from the Trump administration .
Biden has warned that Trump ’ s refusal to share intelligence on such critical matters as how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fruition means that “ more people may die ” .
The vacuum at the center of the most powerful nation on Earth in grappling with the pandemic is not only being felt in the largely Republican-controlled states of the midwest .
On the coasts , where Covid-19 first struck in January , Democratic leaders are also feeling the heat .
In California , cases have skyrocketed after weeks of low transmission rates and loosened restrictions , and the state now has the distinction of being only the second besides Texas to surpass 1m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the last 10 days , Newsom has announced that 94 % of Californians will come under severe coronavirus restrictions yet again .
That includes requiring masks to be worn outside the home with rare exceptions .
Newsom issued a travel advisory last week asking that all Californians cancel out-of-state travel .
To add insult to injury , Newsom was forced to apologise on Monday after attending the birthday of a friend and lobbyist at the upscale French Laundry restaurant in Napa county , north of San Francisco .
Political reputations are also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The governor of New York , Andrew Cuomo , was so self-satisfied with the way the virus was brought under control in his state after its terrifying surge in April that he wrote a book bragging about his leadership skills .
In American Crisis , Cuomo describes in glowing terms how he became a national sensation in his daily coronavirus briefings .
The knack was , he writes , that he was “ authentic and real ” .
“ I felt the same emotions so many people were feeling , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That was then .
At Wednesday ’ s coronavirus briefing he was so tetchy about being asked routine questions about the decision to close New York City schools as the virus gathers force once again that he lashed out at a reporter , snapping : “ I don ’ t really care what you think ” .
You can understand why Cuomo would be on edge .
Hospitalizations in New York state are at their highest levels since June .
In the city , lines outside Covid testing facilities have grown as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 28 , had been waiting for two hours for a Covid-19 test outside a City MD clinic in Greenpoint , Brooklyn .
She estimated she had another hour before she would make it inside .
Shiau said she was wary of what was to come after having been in the city during the first wave , when hospitals were overwhelmed and almost 20,000 people died in less than two months .
“ I ’ ve been here since March and there ’ s like a collective trauma .
Hearing sirens 24 hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dead bodies outside funeral homes .
I ’ m pretty freaked out that it ’ s going to get back to that.
” Sydney Spence , 30 , said he would not be traveling home for Thanksgiving this year .
It will be the first time she has not spent the holiday with family .
“ Obviously I miss them , ” she said .
“ It ’ s sad .
But I ’ d much rather know they ’ re safer .
There will be more Thanksgivings .
”

Chris McGreal in Kansas City, Kenya Evelyn in Milwaukee, Vivian Ho in Oakland and Adam Gabbatt and Ed Pilkington in New York

The Disunited States of America are united once more. After a brutal election that exacerbated bitter partisan divisions and left the country feeling as though it had been torn in two, it has at last been thrown back together.
For all the wrong reasons.
The great leveler is coronavirus. Covid-19 is rampaging across the US as though it were on a personal mission to unify the splintered nation in an unfolding catastrophe. Of the 50 states of the Union, all but one – isolated Hawaii – is seeing alarming surges in new cases. The virus is on the rise so uniformly across the vast landmass of the US, that records are being shattered daily.
Almost 12m cases have been recorded. In just one day the US notched up 184,000 new cases – six times the total number of infections in South Korea since the pandemic began.
Almost 80,000 Americans are currently in hospital fighting for their lives, and the death rate is soaring inexorably towards 2,000 a day – close to the peak reached in April.
This week the country passed the grimmest landmark so far: 250,000 dead Americans. And already the total has gone up significantly beyond that tragic milestone.
As Michael Osterholm, a member of the coronavirus advisory team assembled by Joe Biden, put it: “We are in the most dangerous public health period since 1918.”
The result of this terrifying march of untrammeled disease is that panic has begun to set in at state level. Governors and mayors from coast to coast have been scrambling to batten down the hatches, from New York City where the country’s largest public schools system was closed on Thursday barely two months after it reopened, to California where governor Gavin Newsom announced he was “pulling the emergency brake”.
It is in the heartland states that the true horror of the current crisis is unfolding. Here Donald Trump’s historic mishandling of the pandemic is coming home to roost.
Across the midwest, Trump’s playbook towards Covid-19 has been avidly embraced by Republican governors, from Kristi Noem in South Dakota, to Pete Ricketts in Nebraska, Kim Reynolds in Iowa, and Mike Parson in Missouri. They have mimicked the president’s relentless downplaying of the virus, lying about the pandemic being under control, and spurning of mask wearing.
The results are now plain to see – runaway infection levels, staggering positivity rates and hospitals at breaking point.
Only now, when the virus is pummeling the midwest like a tornado, have some of the Republican governors begrudgingly begun to change tack. Take Reynolds, the pro-Trump governor of Iowa.
Kim Reynolds speaks about Iowa’s response to the coronavirus outbreak during a news conference Thursday. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP
She has pulled back from her refusal to impose a mask mandate after her state confronted its largest one-day increase in coronavirus deaths to at least 40. Iowa is now struggling with one of the worst outbreaks in the US with hospitals jammed with Covid-19 patients.
Reynolds spent months resisting calls from health specialists and doctors to require masks on the grounds, saying they were “no silver bullet”. That’s a position that’s hard to hold when new infections are running at about 100,000 a month.
Reynolds finally shifted after the White House coronavirus taskforce called the state’s measures to combat the pandemic “inadequate” and warned that doing nothing would cost thousands more lives. “The spread in Iowa is exponential and unyielding,” the taskforce said in a report this week.
The governor ordered people to wear masks in indoor public spaces with some exceptions such as eating in restaurants. She also banned gatherings of more than 15 people indoors and twice that outdoors, except in the “ordinary course of business”, while requiring bars and restaurants to close by 10 pm.
Despite it all, Reynolds remains firmly attached to her cultivated ambivalence over masks. She urged Iowans to “err on the side of caution” and wear one yet continues to question their value by saying there is “science on both sides”.
“If you look, you can find whatever you want to support wherever you’re at,” she said at a press conference to announce the mask mandate.
Reynolds’ limited measures, and the seeds of doubt she continues to plant around the science, have been criticized by some healthcare workers. Eli Perencevich, a doctor and professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa, derided them as insufficient.
“Ask yourself this: 1) does the virus only spread after 10pm 2) if you don’t need to wear a mask unless you will be next to someone for 15 minutes, will you ever need wear a mask? The answer to both of these questions is no,” he tweeted.
In her controversial mini-Trump stance, the governor has enjoyed consistent backing from the Republican US Senator from Iowa, Joni Ernst. The senator has gone one step further, speculating that doctors were exaggerating fatalities by pinning deaths from other causes on Covid-19 as a ruse to claim extra payments from the government.
The Iowa Medical Society described Ernst’s comments as “incredibly disappointing” and “mistruths”. But it is a sign of how closely aligned many midwest Republicans are with Trump that he, too, has run with the lie about doctors cashing in on Covid deaths.
In the final days of his presidential campaign, Trump caused widespread offense within the medical world by claiming without evidence that doctors were marking every death down as Covid-19 so they could grab more money.
Even Trump’s mendacious pronouncements on the pandemic could arguably be seen as preferable to his current posture. Since the election, he has spent his time fixating on the baseless claim that victory was stolen from him, firing top officials who refused to go along with his conspiracy theories about voter fraud, and playing golf.
As for Covid, his leadership has consisted of resounding silence. The last time he attended a meeting of the White House coronavirus taskforce was at least five months ago.
The combination of soaring disease and an awol president has left the 50 states to cope with a mounting disaster as best they can. The result is an even more extreme form of what has emerged since the start of the pandemic – the patchwork of individual state responses, some aggressive, others nonchalant – that have been cobbled together as the virus slams in.
Nurse Alex Krajek hangs up his air-purifying respirator after working in a patient room in a wing housing coronavirus patients at UW Health University hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, Wednesday. Photograph: Daniel Acker/Reuters
Wisconsin is another midwest state that has quickly emerged as a major hotspot, with almost 3,000 deaths. The state now breaks records in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths almost daily, with public health officials warning that it “is at a critical juncture right now”.
“Our hospitals are overwhelmed, our healthcare workers are exhausted, and too many families have lost a loved one,” the DHS deputy secretary, Julie Willems Van Dijk, said.
On the empty streets of downtown Milwaukee, hotel staff take extended breaks outdoors while parking enforcement officers keep warm inside their vehicles. With the city experiencing an especially punishing spike in cases, there simply aren’t the residents or visitors to serve.
Like Iowa, Wisconsin has lacked basic coronavirus measures designed to curb the continued spread of the virus – though in this case, it is not for want of trying by the Democratic governor, Tony Evers. He attempted to enact a “Safer at Home” order only to have the move struck down by the state supreme court last spring.
The court now weighs whether the last remaining mask mandate should be blocked. Meanwhile, leaders across the state have urged Wisconsinites not to gather or travel, a difficult ask at the start of the holiday season in a state whose often bitingly cold winters force families indoors.
Milwaukee resident Caroline Gaeta, 58, has heeded the call. She usually travels to Indianapolis to share Thanksgiving with her 81-year-old mother, but decided to stay home citing the risk of exposing elderly loved ones.
“Traveling would not be a good option right now given the uptick in numbers in both Wisconsin and Indiana,” she said.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the response in Wisconsin has largely fallen along political and racial lines. When the disease first struck, devastating mostly Black and Latino communities in Democratic cities like Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, white residents in surrounding suburbs and rural areas took aim at Ever’s state orders meant to combat the spread.
The backlash has been amplified by Republican lawmakers who have pushed to block coronavirus legislation.
Such sharp partisan battles in Wisconsin are being repeated in states across the country. They are a measure of the challenges that lie ahead for Biden as he struggles to effect a nationwide heave to contain the disease.
Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware Thursday. Photograph: Office Of The President Elect/EPA
Biden, who put combatting Covid as the top priority of his presidential campaign, has moved swiftly to convene a 13-member advisory panel on coronavirus. The group has been doing all it can to ensure it hits the ground running on inauguration day, 20 January, but its work is impaired by the willful lack of any cooperation coming from the Trump administration.
Biden has warned that Trump’s refusal to share intelligence on such critical matters as how to distribute the vaccines that are close to fruition means that “more people may die”.
The vacuum at the center of the most powerful nation on Earth in grappling with the pandemic is not only being felt in the largely Republican-controlled states of the midwest. On the coasts, where Covid-19 first struck in January, Democratic leaders are also feeling the heat.
In California, cases have skyrocketed after weeks of low transmission rates and loosened restrictions, and the state now has the distinction of being only the second besides Texas to surpass 1m cases.
With daily case rates doubling over the last 10 days, Newsom has announced that 94% of Californians will come under severe coronavirus restrictions yet again. That includes requiring masks to be worn outside the home with rare exceptions.
Newsom issued a travel advisory last week asking that all Californians cancel out-of-state travel. To add insult to injury, Newsom was forced to apologise on Monday after attending the birthday of a friend and lobbyist at the upscale French Laundry restaurant in Napa county, north of San Francisco.
People stand in line at a food distribution event ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Friday in Brooklyn, New York. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Political reputations are also being frayed over on the east coast. The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, was so self-satisfied with the way the virus was brought under control in his state after its terrifying surge in April that he wrote a book bragging about his leadership skills.
In American Crisis, Cuomo describes in glowing terms how he became a national sensation in his daily coronavirus briefings. The knack was, he writes, that he was “authentic and real”. “I felt the same emotions so many people were feeling, and I would acknowledge them and show them.”
That was then. At Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing he was so tetchy about being asked routine questions about the decision to close New York City schools as the virus gathers force once again that he lashed out at a reporter, snapping: “I don’t really care what you think”.
You can understand why Cuomo would be on edge. Hospitalizations in New York state are at their highest levels since June. In the city, lines outside Covid testing facilities have grown as the infection rate ticks up.
Jordana Shiau, 28, had been waiting for two hours for a Covid-19 test outside a City MD clinic in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She estimated she had another hour before she would make it inside.
Shiau said she was wary of what was to come after having been in the city during the first wave, when hospitals were overwhelmed and almost 20,000 people died in less than two months.
“I’ve been here since March and there’s like a collective trauma. Hearing sirens 24 hours, seeing the freezer trucks full of dead bodies outside funeral homes. I’m pretty freaked out that it’s going to get back to that.”
Sydney Spence, 30, said he would not be traveling home for Thanksgiving this year. It will be the first time she has not spent the holiday with family.
“Obviously I miss them,” she said. “It’s sad. But I’d much rather know they’re safer. There will be more Thanksgivings.”