theguardian--2020-06-15--‘Who are we?’ Joe Biden seizes the moment as nation's attitude shifts on race

In the weeks since George Floyd died under the knee of a white police officer America ’ s institutions – from boardrooms and newsrooms to locker rooms and classrooms – are publicly addressing systematic discrimination and demanding reforms .
With a reckoning over race compounded by a pandemic and an economic collapse , Donald Trump and his would-be Democratic opponent Joe Biden are charting starkly different courses for the nation that could determine which one of them wins the White House in November .
But in tone , tenor and leadership style , it is Biden who currently appears well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden has sought to cast himself as a champion of racial equality , encouraging peaceful protest and vowing to “ heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country ” .
“ This is a battle for the soul of America , ” he said at an economic roundtable in Philadelphia last week .
“ Who are we ?
What do we want to be ?
How do we see ourselves ?
What do we think we should be ?
Character is on the ballot here.
” As public attitudes shift quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the changed political landscape , embracing a far more ambitious reform agenda than he entered the race for president .
By contrast , Trump , with his hostility to the protesters and resistance to their demands for reform , has found himself on the wrong side of the American public at a particularly perilous moment for his presidency and his re-election prospects .
A Washington Post-Schar School poll found that 61 % of Americans disapprove of the way Trump handled the protests while just 35 % approve .
When asked what type of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial strife , half said they would prefer a leader who can “ address the nation ’ s racial divisions ” , compared with 37 % who said they would prefer a leader who can “ restore security by enforcing the law ” .
“ People are finally seeing through the fog that has blinded them for too long , ” said Antjuan Seawright , a Democratic strategist based in South Carolina .
“ They are realizing that the system is broken and Donald Trump is not going to fix it.
” Public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in the wake of Trayvon Martin ’ s death in 2012 .
White Democrats in particular have become increasingly more concerned about issues of racial inequality , even registering to the left of African Americans voters .
But the recent shifts represent a sea change so sudden and deep that pollsters were left grasping for parallels .
A Monmouth poll conducted after Floyd ’ s killing found that for the first time a majority of Americans – 57 % – and 49 % of white Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ excessive force against African Americans .
When Eric Garner was killed by a police officer in New York City in 2014 , just 33 % of Americans and 26 % of white Americans say African Americans were more likely to be subject to excessive use of force by the police .
The same poll found that 3 in 4 Americans consider racism and discrimination a “ big problem ” .
Support for Black Lives Matter has also jumped , according to Civiqs Polling , that found voters from across the ideological and demographic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is big , ” tweeted Frank Luntz , a Republican pollster who said he hadn ’ t seen anything like it in more than three decades of polling .
“ This is ‘ Beatles on Ed Sullivan ’ big.
” Ample research has found race and identity were critical to Trump ’ s victory in 2016 .
During the campaign , he brazenly stoked white racial grievance that had been building since the election of the nation ’ s first black president , promising to restore America ’ s past glory and “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president , Trump said there were “ good people on both sides ” of a deadly white supremacist rally .
He disparaged four congresswomen of color with a racist taunt .
And recently , he has responded to the most significant racial upheaval in a generation by describing protesters as “ thugs ” and “ terrorists ” , threatening to unleash the army to quell demonstrations and defending military bases named after Confederate leaders .
In response to the protests , Trump has declared himself the “ president of law and order ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ predominantly white and conservative .
This week he held a roundtable with law enforcement officials in Dallas , where he dismissed police brutality as the misconduct of a few “ bad apples ” and warned that “ falsely labeling tens of millions of decent Americans as racists or bigots ” would not improve race relations .
Some observers have compared Trumps approach to Richard Nixon ’ s 1968 election strategy , when he ran as the law-and-order candidate after a summer of riots – and won .
But there is reason to believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1968 , said Michael Tesler , a political scientist at the University of California at Irvine and author of Post-Racial or Most Racial ?
Race and Politics in the Obama Era .
While “ law and order ” can be a powerful message in the midst of national upheaval , Tesler said , it ’ s a much harder case to make as an incumbent whose governing style over the last three and a half years has contributed to that chaos .
“ The country views Trump as a racial arsonist at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he wrote in an email .
And far from boosting Trump in November , the protests are likely to mobilize and energize Democrats , says Daniel Gillion , a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Loud Minority : Why Protests Matter in American Democracy .
Throughout modern American history , protests have not only succeeded in influencing public policy but impacted electoral outcomes for the party ideologically aligned with their cause , according to Gillion .
His research found African American turnout in 2016 was higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests , even as it declined elsewhere .
But the effect is geographically concentrated and the protests were limited .
“ Now that protests are happening in everyone ’ s backyard it ’ s likely there will be a snowballing effect , ” he said .
“ And based on what I ’ ve found , one can only expect that Democrats are going to be more mobilized to vote in November because of what ’ s taking place.
” Heather McGhee , co-chair of the political advocacy group color of change , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis caused by efforts to control it , which have disproportionately impacted African American communities , “ primed ” the nation for this tectonic shift in attitudes on racism in America .
“ It became very clear once the pandemic is that we were all suffering from the same storm , but we weren ’ t all in the same boat , ” said McGhee .
McGhee described Biden as a “ weather vane ” for the Democratic party .
During the primary , he offered himself as a pragmatist who once assured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would fundamentally change ” .
But that was when Democrats ’ top concern was ousting Trump .
Now , as inequalities in public health , the economy and race are laid bare , Biden ’ s sudden desire for systemic change is telling .
“ The band-aid has been ripped off , ” Biden said recently during a virtual appearance , explaining that more Americans are connecting the dots and exposed deep-rooted social ills .
“ The scar is apparent and I think they ’ re ready to do something about it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ see some real institutional change.
” A majority of Americans , including among Republicans , agree some changes to policing are needed .
But growing calls from activists to “ defund the police ” has little support .
“ There is a danger that lurks there for Biden and the Democrats , ” warned Ruy Teixeira , a political demographer at the Center for American Progress , a liberal thinktank in Washington .
“ There are scenarios in which you could see Trump making a successful law and order appeal , particularly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are sensitive to the issue.
” Biden , who faced criticism during the primary over his legislative record on criminal justice and race , has embraced an overhaul of policing .
Though he and Democratic leaders in Congress have flatly rejected growing calls to “ defund the police ” it has not stopped Trump and his Republican allies from seizing on the issue in an effort to drive a wedge between activists and moderate Democrats .
Trump ’ s electoral strategy hinges on his ability to drive up turnout among his base @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , older , less educated and conservative .
While their share of the electorate is shrinking , this cohort holds outsized influence in the handful of states that will likely determine the election .
Biden ’ s task is to stitch together a coalition that is increasingly multicultural , young , educated and liberal .
Diverse battleground states like Arizona , Georgia and Texas , once bastions of conservatism , are now competitive .
Biden won the primary on the strength of his support among African Americans , but he struggled to appeal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests , said Steve Phillips , host of Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips and the author of the book Brown Is the New White .
“ There ’ s a bigger risk of failing to inspire and galvanize younger voters and people of color than there is alienating moderate voters , ” he said .
Karen Finney , a Democratic strategist who advised Hillary Clinton ’ s campaign in 2016 , said Biden must “ treat black voters like swing voters ” .
Choosing a black woman as his running mate would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ importance to the Democratic party .
“ History is telling us that in this moment we need to lift the voices of black Americans , ” she said , “ and especially the voices of black women ” .

In the weeks since George Floyd died under the knee of a white police officer America’s institutions – from boardrooms and newsrooms to locker rooms and classrooms – are publicly addressing systematic discrimination and demanding reforms.
With a reckoning over race compounded by a pandemic and an economic collapse, Donald Trump and his would-be Democratic opponent Joe Biden are charting starkly different courses for the nation that could determine which one of them wins the White House in November.
But in tone, tenor and leadership style, it is Biden who appears better positioned to harness the political moment.
Biden has sought to cast himself as a champion of racial equality, encouraging peaceful protest and vowing to “heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country”.
“This is a battle for the soul of America,” he said at an economic roundtable in Philadelphia last week. “Who are we? What do we want to be? How do we see ourselves? What do we think we should be? Character is on the ballot here.”
As public attitudes shift quickly on race, Biden appears emboldened by the changed political landscape, embracing a far more ambitious reform agenda than he envisioned when he entered the race for president last year. By contrast, Trump, with his hostility to the protesters and a resistance to their demands, has found himself on the wrong side of the American public at a particularly perilous moment for his presidency.
A Washington Post-Schar School poll found that 61% of Americans disapprove of the way Trump handled the protests while just 35% approve. When asked what type of president they preferred at this moment of racial strife, half said they would prefer a leader who can “address the nation’s racial divisions”, compared with 37% who said they would prefer a leader who can “restore security by enforcing the law”.
Joe Biden speaks about the unrest across the US from Philadelphia. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
“People are finally seeing through the fog that has blinded them for too long,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist based in South Carolina. “They are realizing that the system is broken and Donald Trump is not going to fix it.”
Public opinion on race has been moving leftward since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012. White Democrats in particular have become increasingly more concerned about issues of racial inequality, even registering to the left of African Americans voters.
But the recent shifts represent a sea change so sudden and deep that pollsters were left grasping for parallels.
Nearly three in four Americans consider racism and discrimination a “big problem”, according to a Monmouth poll conducted after Floyd’s killing. It also found that for the first time a majority of Americans – 57% – and 49% of white Americans believe police are more likely to use excessive force against African Americans.
When Eric Garner died after being placed in an illegal chokehold by a New York City police officer in 2014, just 33% of Americans and 26% of white Americans said African Americans were more likely to be subject to excessive use of force by law enforcement.
Support for Black Lives Matter has also jumped, according to Civiqs polling, that found voters from across the ideological and demographic spectrum embrace the movement.
“This is big,” tweeted Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster who said he hadn’t seen anything like it in more than three decades of polling. “This is ‘Beatles on Ed Sullivan’ big.”
Ample research has found race and identity were critical to Trump’s victory in 2016.
During the campaign, he brazenly stoked white racial grievance that had been building since the election of the nation’s first black president, promising to restore America’s past glory and “Make America Great Again”.
As president, Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides” of a deadly white supremacist rally. He disparaged four congresswomen of color with a racist taunt. And recently, he has responded to the most significant racial upheaval in a generation by describing protesters as “thugs” and “terrorists”, threatening to unleash the army to quell demonstrations and defending military bases named after Confederate leaders.
In response to the protests that erupted after Floyd’s death, Trump has declared himself the “president of law and order”, appealing to a base that is predominantly white and conservative. This week he held a roundtable with law enforcement officials in Dallas, where he dismissed police brutality as the misconduct of a few “bad apples” and warned that “falsely labeling tens of millions of decent Americans as racists or bigots” would not improve race relations.
Joe Biden prays as he meets religious leaders in Wilmington, Delaware, on 1 June. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Some observers have compared Trumps approach to Richard Nixon’s 1968 election strategy, when he ran as the law-and-order candidate after a summer of riots – and won.
But there is reason to believe 2020 may be different from 2016 and 1968, said Michael Tesler, a political scientist at the University of California at Irvine and author of Post-Racial or Most Racial? Race and Politics in the Obama Era.
While “law and order” can be a powerful message in the midst of national upheaval, Tesler said, it’s a much harder case to make as an incumbent whose governing style over the last three and a half years has contributed to that chaos.
“The country views Trump as a racial arsonist at a time when racial reconciliation is needed,” he wrote in an email.
And far from boosting Trump in November, the protests are likely to mobilize and energize Democrats, says Daniel Gillion, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Loud Minority: Why Protests Matter in American Democracy.
Throughout modern American history, protests have not only succeeded in influencing public policy but impacted electoral outcomes for the party ideologically aligned with their cause, according to Gillion.
His research found African American turnout in 2016 was higher in cities that saw Black Lives Matter protests, even as it declined elsewhere. But the effect is geographically concentrated and the protests were limited.
“Now that protests are happening in everyone’s backyard it’s likely there will be a snowballing effect,” he said. “And based on what I’ve found, one can only expect that Democrats are going to be more mobilized to vote in November because of what’s taking place.”
Heather McGhee, co-chair of the political advocacy group Color of Change, said the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis caused by efforts to control it, which have disproportionately impacted African American communities, “primed” the nation for this tectonic shift in attitudes on racism in America.
“It became very clear once the pandemic is that we were all suffering from the same storm, but we weren’t all in the same boat,” said McGhee.
McGhee described Biden as a “weather vane” for the Democratic party.
During the primary, he offered himself as a pragmatist who once assured donors that under his administration “nothing would fundamentally change”. But that was when Democrats’ top concern was ousting Trump. Now, as inequalities in public health, the economy and race are laid bare, Biden’s sudden desire for systemic change is telling.
“The band-aid has been ripped off,” Biden said recently during a virtual appearance, explaining that more Americans are connecting the dots and exposed deep-rooted social ills. “The scar is apparent and I think they’re ready to do something about it. I think they’re ready to see some real institutional change.”
Joe Biden meets with clergy members and community activists during a visit to Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
A majority of Americans, including among Republicans, agree some changes to policing are needed. But growing calls from activists to “defund the police” has little support.
“There is a danger that lurks there for Biden and the Democrats,” warned Ruy Teixeira, a political demographer at the Center for American Progress, a liberal thinktank in Washington. “There are scenarios in which you could see Trump making a successful law and order appeal, particularly to these white non-college [educated] voters who are sensitive to the issue.”
Biden, who faced criticism during the primary over his legislative record on criminal justice and race, has embraced a slate of policy changes – though he has firmly rejected the growing calls to “defund the police”.
Yet it has not stopped Trump and his Republican allies from seizing on the issue in an effort to drive a wedge between activists and moderate Democrats.
Trump’s electoral strategy hinges on his ability to drive up turnout among his base of support, which is predominantly white, older, less educated and conservative. While their share of the electorate is shrinking, this cohort holds outsized influence in the handful of states that will likely determine the election.
Biden’s task is to stitch together a coalition that is increasingly multicultural, young, educated and liberal. Diverse battleground states like Arizona, Georgia and Texas, once bastions of conservatism, are now competitive.
Biden won the primary on the strength of his support among African Americans, but he struggled to appeal to the young voters now leading the protests, said Steve Phillips, host of Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips and the author of the book Brown Is the New White.
“There’s a bigger risk of failing to inspire and galvanize younger voters and people of color than there is alienating moderate voters,” he said.
Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who advised Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, said Biden must “treat black voters like swing voters”.
Choosing a black woman as his running mate would be one way of emphasizing black voters importance to the Democratic party.
“History is telling us that in this moment we need to lift the voices of black Americans,” she said, “and especially the voices of black women”.


theguardian--2020-06-16--Coronavirus live news: New Zealand records first new cases for weeks as Beijing bans high-risk trave

Coronavirus live news: New Zealand records first new cases for weeks as Beijing bans high-risk travellers from leaving city

The Philippines is getting back to business after one of the world ’ s strictest coronavirus lockdowns spanning nearly three months , allowing restaurants to reopen this week for dine-in customers in an effort to keep people in work .
Eateries in the capital Manila that can meet government safety protocols were allowed to reopen from Monday at 30 % of their seating capacity , with strict hygiene and social distancing measures a must .
The Philippines has so far reported 26,781 infections and 1,103 fatalities due to Covid-19 - the third-highest death toll in East Asia after China and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lockdown since 16 March , but restrictions have been loosened since 1 June after some grim forecasts for a normally resilient economy and record April unemployment of 17.7 % .
Televised video footage showed happy staff at restaurants cleaning tables and cutlery , with some wearing masks and face shields and others in full-length protective suits and latex gloves .
Customers will be required to sit diagonally , or with a transparent plastic panel between them .
President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday some restrictions would remain in place in Manila for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contagion remained .
These include bans on gatherings and sports , partial curbs on public transportation , and stay-at-home orders for the elderly .
His trade minister , Ramon Lopez , said the only way to get the economy going without risking further outbreaks of the virus would be through modified restaurants and the restricted reopening of barber shops , salons and malls .
“ It is to our interest in government to really find that healthy balance in bringing back jobs while ensuring health protocols are followed , ” he said .

Jessica Murray (now); Alison Rourke and Simon Burnton (earlier)

16 Jun 2020 00.12 BST More than 100,000 carers 'forced to use food banks in UK lockdown' In the UK, elderly spouses caring for each other and parents caring for disabled children are twice as likely as the general public to have used a food bank since lockdown, research has shown. The report, which experts said should “shock the nation”, found that more than 100,000 people doing unpaid caring for older, disabled or seriously ill relatives had been forced to use food banks since start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The figures paint a worrying picture of carers, especially those aged between 17 and 30, being under intolerable pressure. Almost 229,000 told researchers they have had someone in their household go hungry during lockdown. Christie, who is in her 30s, cares for her 76-year-old mother who has epilepsy, physical needs and struggles with her mental health. More than 100,000 carers 'forced to use food banks in UK lockdown' Read more
16 Jun 2020 23.40 BST Here are this week’s Covid-19-related developments throughout the Pacific Islands, with Dan McGarry in Port Vila and Tess Newton Cain: The total number of Covid-19 cases across the Pacific stands at 314, with new cases reported this week in New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. New Zealand is under increasing pressure, both internally and from across the region, to consider Pacific countries as part of its proposed travel ‘bubble’, alongside, or even in place of, Australia. The foreign minister, Winston Peters, initially rejected including Pacific island nations, but later backtracked. There are growing concerns in some Pacific countries that measures designed to safeguard public health are being used to undermine civil rights and democratic principles. Pacific countries plead for inclusion in ‘trans-Tasman bubble’ as travel restrictions easeRead more The Samoa Observer argues the prime minister is using emergency powers to push his own ideological preoccupations by seeking to ban all commercial activity on Sundays. In Papua New Guinea, the new – but retrospective – public health emergency bill may be the subject of a constitutional appeal by the opposition. The government stands accused of wasting millions of kina in the early days of the crisis and the bill would make oversight of government expenditure more difficult. A three-country study by Plan International Australia has shown supplies of pads and tampons have dropped, and prices increased, during the coronavirus pandemic, leading women to have to decide between their sanitary needs and food: Coronavirus in the Pacific: weekly briefing Read more
16 Jun 2020 22.48 BST Brazil suffers record increase in cases Brazil has had its worst day for new confirmed cases, recording 34,918 in 24 hours to bring its overall total to 923,189 total infections. The health ministry said the country has also suffered 1,282 deaths since the last update on Monday, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities there to 45,241. In nominal terms, Brazil is the second-worst hit country in the world in both respects.
Updated at 23.00 BST
16 Jun 2020 22.18 BST French nursing unions have called for a national strike to ask for better working conditions and to demand the government keep its promise to overhaul France’s hospital system in response to the pandemic. Police fired teargas after being pelted with objects by a small minority that overturned a car during the demonstration led by healthcare workers. Police fire teargas at largely peaceful healthcare protest in Paris – video
16 Jun 2020 21.37 BST The Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has sought to reassure Europe that forthcoming post-pandemic recovery funds will be spent wisely to revive the battered economy after a crippling lockdown, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported. The leader of Europe’s third-largest economy told AFP Italy’s share of the €750bn (£671bn) recovery plan agreed by the European commission would be the impetus to fix longstanding problems at home. Economists say entrenched structural problems have put the brakes on progress for decades. They include Italy’s burdensome public bureaucracy, sub-par infrastructure, including slow adoption of digital technology, and widespread tax evasion. Conte said: It’s an opportunity for us to design a better Italy, to work on a serious, comprehensive investment plan that will make the country more modern, greener, and more socially inclusive. Italy is reeling from the economic effects of its lockdown. Conte added: I often say it’s not a handout to benefit the current government, it’s an investment we must make in Italy and in Europe for our children and grandchildren.
16 Jun 2020 20.21 BST In the UK, the prime minister Boris Johnson has claimed the biggest breakthrough yet in treating patients has been made by a team of British scientists after the biggest controlled trial of treatments in the world. Dexamethasone, a cheap steroid, is widely available for use in the NHS already. Coronavirus 'breakthrough': Boris Johnson announces cheap steroid will help treat patients – video


theguardian--2020-06-16--Riots helped elect Nixon in 1968. Can Trump benefit from fear and loathing too?

The grainy footage shows a young CBS News reporter immersed in a large milling crowd .
Suddenly he is set upon by security guards who encircle then assault him , violently forcing him to the ground on live TV .
The reporter emerges seconds later looking flustered .
“ I ’ m sorry to be out of breath , ” he tells his viewers .
“ But somebody belted me in the stomach .
The security people put me on the deck.
” That 30-second clip could have been taken any night over the past two weeks from one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 750 US cities .
Journalists reporting on the George Floyd uprisings have been attacked by police using teargas , rubber bullets and batons almost 300 times .
In truth , however , the video of the reporter being punched in the solar plexus was taken in August 1968 .
It was one of the memorable images of that chaotic and bloody year which is increasingly being held up as a parallel of our own volatile times in 2020 .
The reporter was Dan Rather , a star TV correspondent who was to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News .
He was covering the 1968 Democratic national convention in Chicago , one of the low points of that year of strife , where violence erupted in police riots outside the convention hall echoed by the Rather attack on the conference floor .
“ They almost knocked me out , ” Rather recalled in an interview with the Guardian .
“ It was all captured on live television , and though in the grand scheme of things it was a minor incident , it became emblematic of the moment.
” Forty-two years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , remains a media powerhouse .
Today his voice is amplified not by the TV networks but through social media – he has almost 3 million followers on Facebook .
He continues to be one of the most acute observers of the political scene .
Given his long reporting career at the coalface of American politics , he also has one of the sharpest takes on the parallels between 2020 and 1968 .
“ In 1968 , the United States was in a state of shock , ” he said .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were racial uprisings and unrest , Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated and then Robert Kennedy , and all of this was coming together in the summer of 68 when it all looked to be going to hell in a hat.
” Like today , 1968 saw racial tensions boil over in more than 100 cities ; like today , the country was riven by such partisan divisions it seemed to be ripping apart at the seams .
And like today , 1968 even had its own pandemic , the “ Hong Kong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100,000 Americans .
In the past few days another aspect of the parallels between 1968 and 2020 has exploded on to the nation ’ s consciousness : the warped character and dark scheming of their respective Republican leaders – Richard Nixon and Donald Trump .
There has long been an affinity between these two men .
In 1987 , Nixon wrote a letter to Trump in which he recounted that his wife , Pat , had seen the real estate developer on television and predicted “ whenever you decide to run for office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then there ’ s the Roger Stone connection .
The political dirty-trickster was an adviser to Trump ’ s 2016 presidential campaign , having advised Nixon in an earlier era – he even has a Nixon tattoo on his back to prove it .
Nixon and Trump also share many of the same twisted traits .
For both of them political power was something to be bent to their will for personal benefit .
They both had a way of brooding inside the White House , allowing their resentments over how they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This month Trump took the connection with his predecessor to a new level .
On 1 June , standing in the White House Rose Garden , he declared himself to be a “ law and order ” president , vowing to deploy all federal resources – including the military – to staunch the “ rioting and looting ” he said was gripping America .
Trump then carried out the political act that rushed instantaneously into the history books .
With the help of his attorney general , William Barr , he cleared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and flash bangs , then walked accompanied by his top general in uniform to St John ’ s church for a photo op , Bible aloft .
“ I see it as a direct copy , ” Rather said .
“ Trump very clearly has decided to build his re-election campaign strategy around that of Richard Nixon and his 1968 campaign .
The scene when he went to St John ’ s church , demonstrating ‘ law and order ’ as he went , says to me that he has looked at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ This can be one of my paths to re-election.
’ ” Trump ’ s mimicry of Nixon is contained right there in the phrase “ law and order ” – rhetoric that had been familiar in the deep south for decades but which Nixon brought for the first time to the national political stage .
In his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination in Miami in August 1968 , just a few weeks before Rather was decked in Chicago , Nixon addressed himself to the “ forgotten Americans ” , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the non-shouters , the non-demonstrators ” .
He might just have said : “ Whites.
” Nixon spoke luridly about the state of the country , with its “ cities enveloped in smoke and flame ” .
Unveiling the “ law and order ” catchphrase that was to define his presidential campaign , he vowed to open a new front against the “ filth peddlers and the narcotics peddlers who are corrupting this country ” .
Though Nixon denied it at the time , his law and order stance was suffused with racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the growing anxieties of many white American voters amid a rapidly changing landscape following the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 and the urban unrest of largely African Americans following the assassination of King .
Todd Boyd , chair for the study of race and popular culture at the University of Southern California , said Nixon used dog whistles to court the fears of disgruntled white America .
“ A lot of white voters were responding to the unrest not by seeing black people fighting for their rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nixon ’ s promise to crack down on the protests was calculated .
“ He recognised he couldn ’ t come out and say , ‘ I want to dominate black people ’ , but he could say ‘ law and order ’ .
It was a very effective linguistic strategy that worked in 68 and for a long time after.
” Just how effective it was for Nixon is shown in an ingenious piece of academic research by Omar Wasow of Princeton University .
Wasow wanted to measure the impact of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on white voting patterns in the 1968 election , so he compared election results from largely white constituencies that had been in close proximity to scenes of rioting with similar white areas where there had been rainfall on the night of the unrest – a well-established dampener of protest passions .
He found a remarkable swing of up to 8 % among white voters against Nixon ’ s Democratic rival , Hubert Humphrey , in those areas where there had been no rain that night .
Wasow concluded that , writ large , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through his “ law and order ” dog-whistling had essentially handed him the presidency .
Not only has Trump taken to wielding the “ law and order ” baton on Twitter with abandon , but he has gone where Nixon never dared to tread – spouting direct threats of violence and using openly racist language .
When he was asked by Fox News on Thursday to explain his tweet glorifying violence by saying “ when the looting starts , the shooting starts ” , Trump said he thought – inaccurately – that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Philadelphia , Frank Rizzo ( in fact it was a 1967 comment by the Miami police chief ) .
Rizzo was responsible for some of the most brutal policing in US history .
His favored law and order response to peaceful demonstrations was to order his officers to mount motorbikes and run over the protesters .
Trump ’ s intentions in all this are clear – to try to repeat the Nixon playbook and turn white voters ’ deep-rooted racial anxieties to his advantage in November .
The billion-dollar question is : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a social analyst who fears that it might .
In his new book , American Poison , he argues that racial hostilities have so distorted the social contract in America it has turned the country into a failed state .
“ It ’ s all about sharing the bounty of citizenship , ” Porter told the Guardian .
“ White Americans have a real difficulty with doing that.
” He sees the current moment as a tribal inflection point that could trigger white fears , much as it did in 1968 .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the upheaval of civil rights legislation that was opening the doors for African Americans to the bounties of citizenship , provoking Nixon ’ s “ law and order ” backlash .
Today , the basic demographics of the country are shifting , with white people destined to lose their status as the majority of the population by 2045 .
“ That demographic fear is an important driver of white political activity , and it ’ s what Trump is playing on when he talks about thugs and looting and the burning of buildings.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40 have had much more experience of living in multicultural communities , and as a result there is a social ease that is powerfully illustrated by today ’ s nationwide protests in which blacks and whites march shoulder to shoulder in an unprecedented display of solidarity .
But Porter also reminds us that older , more conservative voters tend to turn out in presidential elections in higher numbers .
“ That residual , more racially hostile part of the electorate is particularly riled and fearful right now , and I wouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over into victory again.
” Timothy Naftali , a New York University historian who was founding director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California , rates Trump ’ s chances at being re-elected less highly .
Like Rather , he is convinced that Trump is copying the Nixon playbook .
“ He is absolutely trying to revive the 68 metaphor .
He is scrambling in a cynical and irresponsible way to ginny the system so that he can eke out a victory , ” Naftali said .
But Naftali went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Nixon ’ s “ law and order ” gambit might be Trump ’ s undoing , as it is based upon a fundamental misreading of history .
Nixon in 1968 was the outsider , seeking to challenge a Democratic White House in the form of the lame-duck president , Lyndon Johnson .
Trump , by contrast , is an incumbent president trying spuriously to wrap himself in the cloak of the outsider .
“ It shows the absurdity of the man that Trump thinks he can run as an outsider when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it wrong .
He clearly misunderstands the moment .
The 68 analogy is a trap he is creating for himself.
” Which brings us back to Dan Rather and his assessment of Trump ’ s Nixon ploy .
The legendary reporter said he was appalled by the optics of the St John ’ s church photo op .
“ This is the scene from some tinhorn dictatorship , using the church as a political prop with your in-uniform military generals backing you up as citizens are beaten and gassed , ” Rather said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down to this , ” he said .
“ Are the white voters in the suburbs more afraid of Trump than they are of the protesters ?
” I ask Rather to answer his own question .
“ I want to believe that the combination of the fear and disgust that a lot of people have with President Trump ’ s leadership will be a greater motivation than whatever racial fears they might have .
I want to believe , and I do believe.
” Rather ’ s personal hope is that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he is right .
“ I ’ ve been lucky and blessed to live this long , ” he said .
“ Elections are the dance of democracy .
I ’ d sure like to see this last dance through .
”

The grainy footage shows a young CBS News reporter immersed in a large milling crowd. Suddenly he is set upon by security guards who encircle then assault him, violently forcing him to the ground on live TV.
The reporter emerges seconds later looking flustered. “I’m sorry to be out of breath,” he tells his viewers. “But somebody belted me in the stomach. The security people put me on the deck.”
That 30-second clip could have been taken any night over the past two weeks from one of the anti-racism protests that have erupted across 750 US cities. Journalists reporting on the George Floyd uprisings have been attacked by police using teargas, rubber bullets and batons almost 300 times.
In truth, however, the video of the reporter being punched in the solar plexus was taken in August 1968. It was one of the memorable images of that chaotic and bloody year which is increasingly being held up as a parallel of our own volatile times in 2020.
The reporter was Dan Rather, a star TV correspondent who was to go on to become anchor of CBS Evening News. He was covering the 1968 Democratic national convention in Chicago, one of the low points of that year of strife, where violence erupted in police riots outside the convention hall echoed by the Rather attack on the conference floor.
Reporting from the floor, CBS’s Dan Rather (left with headshot) is shoved by security agents at the Democratic national convention. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
“They almost knocked me out,” Rather recalled in an interview with the Guardian. “It was all captured on live television, and though in the grand scheme of things it was a minor incident, it became emblematic of the moment.”
Fifty-two years after those events, Rather, 88, remains a media powerhouse. Today his voice is amplified not by the TV networks but through social media – he has almost 3 million followers on Facebook.
He continues to be one of the most acute observers of the political scene. Given his long reporting career at the coalface of American politics, he also has one of the sharpest takes on the parallels between 2020 and 1968.
“In 1968, the United States was in a state of shock,” he said. “The Vietnam war was going badly, there were racial uprisings and unrest, Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated and then Robert Kennedy, and all of this was coming together in the summer of 68 when it all looked to be going to hell in a hat.”
Like today, 1968 saw racial tensions boil over in more than 100 cities; like today, the country was riven by such partisan divisions it seemed to be ripping apart at the seams.
Chicago firemen fight blazes during race riots following murder of Martin Luther King. Photograph: Lee Balterman/The Life Picture Collection/Getty Images
And like today, 1968 even had its own pandemic, the “Hong Kong flu” that claimed the lives of 100,000 Americans.
In the past few days another aspect of the parallels between 1968 and 2020 has exploded on to the nation’s consciousness: the warped character and dark scheming of their respective Republican leaders – Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
There has long been an affinity between these two men. In 1987, Nixon wrote a letter to Trump in which he recounted that his wife, Pat, had seen the real estate developer on television and predicted “whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!”.
Then there’s the Roger Stone connection. The political dirty-trickster was an adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, having advised Nixon in an earlier era – he even has a Nixon tattoo on his back to prove it.
Nixon and Trump also share many of the same twisted traits. For both of them political power was something to be bent to their will for personal benefit.
They both had a way of brooding inside the White House, allowing their resentments over how they were perceived by the public to ferment.
This month Trump took the connection with his predecessor to a new level. On 1 June, standing in the White House Rose Garden, he declared himself to be a “law and order” president, vowing to deploy all federal resources – including the military – to staunch the “rioting and looting” he said was gripping America.
Trump then carried out the political act that rushed instantaneously into the history books. With the help of his attorney general, William Barr, he cleared a path through peaceful protesters using teargas and flash bangs, then walked accompanied by his top general in uniform to St John’s church for a photo op, Bible aloft.
Donald Trump holds up a Bible as he stands in front of St John’s Episcopal church across from the White House after walking there for a photo opportunity during protests over racial inequality. Photograph: Tom Brenner/Reuters
“I see it as a direct copy,” Rather said. “Trump very clearly has decided to build his re-election campaign strategy around that of Richard Nixon and his 1968 campaign. The scene when he went to St John’s church, demonstrating ‘law and order’ as he went, says to me that he has looked at the Nixon victory in 68 and said, ‘This can be one of my paths to re-election.’”
Trump’s mimicry of Nixon is contained right there in the phrase “law and order” – rhetoric that had been familiar in the deep south for decades but which Nixon brought for the first time to the national political stage. In his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination in Miami in August 1968, just a few weeks before Rather was decked in Chicago, Nixon addressed himself to the “forgotten Americans”, the “voice of the great majority – the non-shouters, the non-demonstrators”.
He might just have said: “Whites.”
Nixon spoke luridly about the state of the country, with its “cities enveloped in smoke and flame”. Unveiling the “law and order” catchphrase that was to define his presidential campaign, he vowed to open a new front against the “filth peddlers and the narcotics peddlers who are corrupting this country”.
Though Nixon denied it at the time, his law and order stance was suffused with racial undertones. He saw a political opening in the growing anxieties of many white American voters amid a rapidly changing landscape following the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 and the urban unrest of largely African Americans following the assassination of King.
A soldier enforces a nighttime curfew outside the US Capitol after riots in the wake Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination, in Washington DC on 8 April 1968. Photograph: Warren K Leffler/y U S News & World Report Collection/Getty Images
Todd Boyd, chair for the study of race and popular culture at the University of Southern California, said Nixon used dog whistles to court the fears of disgruntled white America. “A lot of white voters were responding to the unrest not by seeing black people fighting for their rights, but as black people complaining.”
Nixon’s promise to crack down on the protests was calculated. “He recognised he couldn’t come out and say, ‘I want to dominate black people’, but he could say ‘law and order’. It was a very effective linguistic strategy that worked in 68 and for a long time after.”
Just how effective it was for Nixon is shown in an ingenious piece of academic research by Omar Wasow of Princeton University. Wasow wanted to measure the impact of the violent protests following King’s death on white voting patterns in the 1968 election, so he compared election results from largely white constituencies that had been in close proximity to scenes of rioting with similar white areas where there had been rainfall on the night of the unrest – a well-established dampener of protest passions.
He found a remarkable swing of up to 8% among white voters against Nixon’s Democratic rival, Hubert Humphrey, in those areas where there had been no rain that night. Wasow concluded that, writ large, Nixon’s exploitation of the protests through his “law and order” dog-whistling had essentially handed him the presidency.
Not only has Trump taken to wielding the “law and order” baton on Twitter with abandon, but he has gone where Nixon never dared to tread – spouting direct threats of violence and using openly racist language. When he was asked by Fox News on Thursday to explain his tweet glorifying violence by saying “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”, Trump said he thought – inaccurately – that it had come from the former police commissioner of Philadelphia, Frank Rizzo (in fact it was a 1967 comment by the Miami police chief).
Rizzo was responsible for some of the most brutal policing in US history. His favored law and order response to peaceful demonstrations was to order his officers to mount motorbikes and run over the protesters.
Trump’s intentions in all this are clear – to try to repeat the Nixon playbook and turn white voters’ deep-rooted racial anxieties to his advantage in November. The billion-dollar question is: will it work?
Eduardo Porter is a social analyst who fears that it might. In his new book, American Poison, he argues that racial hostilities have so distorted the social contract in America it has turned the country into a failed state.
Demonstrators use the light of their cellphones as they gather during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, near the White House in Washington on 3 June. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
“It’s all about sharing the bounty of citizenship,” Porter told the Guardian. “White Americans have a real difficulty with doing that.”
He sees the current moment as a tribal inflection point that could trigger white fears, much as it did in 1968. In the late 60s the inflection point was the upheaval of civil rights legislation that was opening the doors for African Americans to the bounties of citizenship, provoking Nixon’s “law and order” backlash.
Today, the basic demographics of the country are shifting, with white people destined to lose their status as the majority of the population by 2045. “That demographic fear is an important driver of white political activity, and it’s what Trump is playing on when he talks about thugs and looting and the burning of buildings.”
Against that possibility, Americans under 40 have had much more experience of living in multicultural communities, and as a result there is a social ease that is powerfully illustrated by today’s nationwide protests in which blacks and whites march shoulder to shoulder in an unprecedented display of solidarity.
But Porter also reminds us that older, more conservative voters tend to turn out in presidential elections in higher numbers. “That residual, more racially hostile part of the electorate is particularly riled and fearful right now, and I wouldn’t find it crazy if they push Trump over into victory again.”
Timothy Naftali, a New York University historian who was founding director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California, rates Trump’s chances at being re-elected less highly. Like Rather, he is convinced that Trump is copying the Nixon playbook.
“He is absolutely trying to revive the 68 metaphor. He is scrambling in a cynical and irresponsible way to ginny the system so that he can eke out a victory,” Naftali said.
But Naftali went on to argue that his literal repeat of Nixon’s “law and order” gambit might be Trump’s undoing, as it is based upon a fundamental misreading of history. Nixon in 1968 was the outsider, seeking to challenge a Democratic White House in the form of the lame-duck president, Lyndon Johnson.
Trump, by contrast, is an incumbent president trying spuriously to wrap himself in the cloak of the outsider. “It shows the absurdity of the man that Trump thinks he can run as an outsider when he is the ultimate insider. He got it wrong. He clearly misunderstands the moment. The 68 analogy is a trap he is creating for himself.”
A man kneel in front of police officers during a protest against the killing of George Floyd, in St Louis, Missouri, on 1 June. Photograph: Lawrence Bryant/Reuters
Which brings us back to Dan Rather and his assessment of Trump’s Nixon ploy. The legendary reporter said he was appalled by the optics of the St John’s church photo op.
“This is the scene from some tinhorn dictatorship, using the church as a political prop with your in-uniform military generals backing you up as citizens are beaten and gassed,” Rather said.
“This election may well boil down to this,” he said. “Are the white voters in the suburbs more afraid of Trump than they are of the protesters?”
I ask Rather to answer his own question.
“I want to believe that the combination of the fear and disgust that a lot of people have with President Trump’s leadership will be a greater motivation than whatever racial fears they might have. I want to believe, and I do believe.”
Rather’s personal hope is that he’ll be around to see whether he is right. “I’ve been lucky and blessed to live this long,” he said. “Elections are the dance of democracy. I’d sure like to see this last dance through.”


theguardian--2020-06-16--Is the Trump family destroying Donald's presidency from the inside?

Revenge , as Mary Trump seems well aware , is a dish best served cold .
Twenty years after a bitter familial feud over her grandfather ’ s will , Donald Trump ’ s niece looks like she is finally about to wreak vengeance on her uncle .
The Daily Beast reported on Monday that Mary , 55 , who is the daughter of Donald ’ s late brother Fred Trump Jr , has written a “ harrowing and salacious ” book about the president .
Too Much and Never Enough will be published in the US on 28 July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Convention .
The timing is clearly designed to do maximum damage .
Why the bad blood ?
Well , for one thing , Mary reportedly blames Donald for mistreating her alcoholic father – behaviour she believes contributed to his death from a heart attack at the age of 42 .
Then there was the fight over Fred Trump Sr ’ s estate in 2000 .
Mary and her brother , Fred Trump III , claimed they were dealt with unfairly in their grandfather ’ s will as a result of “ fraud and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his siblings .
The ill will is said to have escalated when Donald , in retaliation for the lawsuit , cut off medical insurance for Fred III ’ s seriously ill infant son , who required round-the-clock care .
Fred III was quoted as saying : “ Our family puts the ‘ fun ’ in dysfunctional.
” Dysfunctional is an understatement .
The appearance-obsessed Trumps project an image of unity , but , behind the polished facade , they seem to loathe and distrust each other .
This is not surprising , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favourite mantras to his kids growing up was reportedly : “ Don ’ t trust anyone.
” According to a GQ profile of Donald Trump Jr , the president used to ask his children whether they trusted him .
When they replied : “ Of course , ” he would tell them off for not learning their lesson .
Maybe he had a point : Mary ’ s book ( which is also said to contain “ damning ” comments from Donald ’ s sister , the retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has written a critical tell-all about the president , but I would be surprised if it were the last time one of his own undermined him .
The question is : which Trump will turn on the president next ?
Donald probably does not need to worry much about his oldest sons , Eric and Donald Jr : they seem too stupid to be scheming .
( Years of unfettered hair gel abuse may have rotted their brains . )
Ivanka , however , seems more than capable of sacrificing dear daddy to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interesting feature of Trump ’ s presidency has been the frequent “ leaks ” to the press declaring how Ivanka and her husband , Jared Kushner , are diligently working behind the scenes to exert a moderating influence on the president .
If these mysterious leaks are to be believed , Javanka have saved us from Donald ’ s worst instincts .
But Ivanka is too obvious .
It is always the quiet ones you have to watch out for – and you don ’ t get much quieter than Melania Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ivanka has reportedly nicknamed her “ the Portrait ” ; Melania , in turn , calls Ivanka “ the Princess ” .
Melania may be taciturn , but she is no dummy – nor is she a pushover .
According to a new unauthorised biography of Melania ( which the White House has dismissed as “ fiction ” ) , an enterprising Ivanka tried to rename the First Lady ’ s Office the “ First Family Office ” , but Melania was having none of it .
She also , apparently , put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House as if it was her own home .
In addition , it has been widely reported that she used her husband ’ s presidency as an opportunity to renegotiate her prenuptial agreement – staying in New York during the first few months he was in office as leverage for negotiations .
“ That woman !
She will be the end of him , ” one of Trump ’ s friends was reportedly overheard saying about Melania ’ s refusal to move to Washington .
Who knows , those may be prophetic words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what Mary has started .

Revenge, as Mary Trump seems well aware, is a dish best served cold. Twenty years after a bitter familial feud over her grandfather’s will, Donald Trump’s niece looks like she is finally about to wreak vengeance on her uncle.
The Daily Beast reported on Monday that Mary, 55, who is the daughter of Donald’s late brother Fred Trump Jr, has written a “harrowing and salacious” book about the president. Too Much and Never Enough will be published in the US on 28 July, a month before the Republican National Convention. The timing is clearly designed to do maximum damage.
Why the bad blood? Well, for one thing, Mary reportedly blames Donald for mistreating her alcoholic father – behaviour she believes contributed to his death from a heart attack at the age of 42. Then there was the fight over Fred Trump Sr’s estate in 2000. Mary and her brother, Fred Trump III, claimed they were dealt with unfairly in their grandfather’s will as a result of “fraud and undue influence” by Donald and two of his siblings. The ill will is said to have escalated when Donald, in retaliation for the lawsuit, cut off medical insurance for Fred III’s seriously ill infant son, who required round-the-clock care. Fred III was quoted as saying: “Our family puts the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional.”
Dysfunctional is an understatement. The appearance-obsessed Trumps project an image of unity, but, behind the polished facade, they seem to loathe and distrust each other. This is not surprising, considering that one of Donald’s favourite mantras to his kids growing up was reportedly: “Don’t trust anyone.” According to a GQ profile of Donald Trump Jr, the president used to ask his children whether they trusted him. When they replied: “Of course,” he would tell them off for not learning their lesson. Maybe he had a point: Mary’s book (which is also said to contain “damning” comments from Donald’s sister, the retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry) marks the first time a Trump has written a critical tell-all about the president, but I would be surprised if it were the last time one of his own undermined him. The question is: which Trump will turn on the president next?
Donald probably does not need to worry much about his oldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr: they seem too stupid to be scheming. (Years of unfettered hair gel abuse may have rotted their brains.) Ivanka, however, seems more than capable of sacrificing dear daddy to advance her ambitions. Indeed, an interesting feature of Trump’s presidency has been the frequent “leaks” to the press declaring how Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, are diligently working behind the scenes to exert a moderating influence on the president. If these mysterious leaks are to be believed, Javanka have saved us from Donald’s worst instincts.
But Ivanka is too obvious. It is always the quiet ones you have to watch out for – and you don’t get much quieter than Melania Trump. The first lady says so little that Ivanka has reportedly nicknamed her “the Portrait”; Melania, in turn, calls Ivanka “the Princess”.
Melania may be taciturn, but she is no dummy – nor is she a pushover. According to a new unauthorised biography of Melania (which the White House has dismissed as “fiction”), an enterprising Ivanka tried to rename the First Lady’s Office the “First Family Office”, but Melania was having none of it. She also, apparently, put an end to Ivanka treating the White House as if it was her own home. In addition, it has been widely reported that she used her husband’s presidency as an opportunity to renegotiate her prenuptial agreement – staying in New York during the first few months he was in office as leverage for negotiations. “That woman! She will be the end of him,” one of Trump’s friends was reportedly overheard saying about Melania’s refusal to move to Washington. Who knows, those may be prophetic words. Perhaps Melania will end up finishing what Mary has started.


theguardian--2020-06-17--Trump administration sues to block publication of John Bolton's book

The Trump administration has sued to block the publication of a forthcoming book by John Bolton , the US president ’ s former security adviser , about his time in the White House , arguing that it contained classified information and would compromise national security .
The civil lawsuit came one day after Trump said Bolton would be breaking the law if the book were published .
Trump fired Bolton last September after roughly 17 months as national security adviser .
Bolton ’ s book , The Room Where It Happened , will be a critical account of the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bolton “ shows a president addicted to chaos , who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends , and was deeply suspicious of his own government ” , per Simon and Schuster .
In a statement , Simon and Schuster said the lawsuit “ is nothing more than the latest in a long-running series of efforts by the Administration to quash publication of a book it deems unflattering to the president ” .
The lawsuit alleges that Bolton ’ s manuscript is “ rife with classified information ” and alleges that Bolton backed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the book .
The justice department is requesting that a federal court order Bolton to “ instruct or request ” that his publisher further delay publication of the book to allow for a completion of the national security review process and to “ retrieve and dispose ” of existing copies in a manner acceptable to the government .
The justice department also is asking a federal court to grant it the rights to all proceeds Bolton earns from the publication of the book .
Bolton ’ s lawyer Charles Cooper has said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ block publication are “ a transparent attempt to use national security as a pretext to censor Mr Bolton , in violation of his constitutional rights to speak on matters of the utmost public import ” .
Cooper has said Bolton worked for months with classification specialists to avoid releasing classified material .
The widely anticipated book is set to make explosive claims about the Trump White House , including that the president has committed “ Ukraine-like transgressions ” across his entire foreign policy .
According to a news release from the publisher , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaos in the White House , sure , but also assessments of major players , the president ’ s inconsistent , scattershot decision-making process , and his dealings with allies and enemies alike , from China , Russia , Ukraine , North Korea , Iran , the United Kingdom , France , and Germany.
” “ I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn ’ t driven by re-election calculations , ” Bolton writes in the book , according to the publisher .
On Monday , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ very strong criminal problem ” if he publishes the memoir .
The book was supposed to be released in March but its release date was twice delayed .
The book is now scheduled to be published later this month .
In a statement Tuesday , the American Civil Liberties Union said the lawsuit is “ doomed to fail ” .
Ben Wizner , the director of the organization ’ s speech , technology and privacy project , said the supreme court had rejected a half-century ago the Nixon administration ’ s efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Papers , and said it is well-established that prior restraints on publication are unconstitutional .
“ As usual , the government ’ s threats have nothing to do with safeguarding national security , and everything to do with avoiding scandal and embarrassment , ” Wizner said .

The Trump administration has sued to block the publication of a forthcoming book by John Bolton, the US president’s former security adviser, about his time in the White House, arguing that it contained classified information and would compromise national security.
The civil lawsuit came one day after Trump said Bolton would be breaking the law if the book were published. Trump fired Bolton last September after roughly 17 months as national security adviser.
Bolton’s book, The Room Where It Happened, will be a critical account of the Trump administration, according to the publisher.
Bolton “shows a president addicted to chaos, who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends, and was deeply suspicious of his own government”, per Simon & Schuster.
In a statement, Simon & Schuster said the lawsuit “is nothing more than the latest in a long-running series of efforts by the Administration to quash publication of a book it deems unflattering to the president”.
The lawsuit alleges that Bolton’s manuscript is “rife with classified information” and alleges that Bolton backed out of a White House vetting process for the book.
The justice department is requesting that a federal court order Bolton to “instruct or request” that his publisher further delay publication of the book to allow for a completion of the national security review process and to “retrieve and dispose” of existing copies in a manner acceptable to the government. The justice department also is asking a federal court to grant it the rights to all proceeds Bolton earns from the publication of the book.
Bolton’s lawyer Charles Cooper has said that the administration’s efforts to block publication are “a transparent attempt to use national security as a pretext to censor Mr Bolton, in violation of his constitutional rights to speak on matters of the utmost public import”. Cooper has said Bolton worked for months with classification specialists to avoid releasing classified material.
The widely anticipated book is set to make explosive claims about the Trump White House, including that the president has committed “Ukraine-like transgressions” across his entire foreign policy.
According to a news release from the publisher, “Bolton covers an array of topics: chaos in the White House, sure, but also assessments of major players, the president’s inconsistent, scattershot decision-making process, and his dealings with allies and enemies alike, from China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Iran, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.”
“I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by re-election calculations,” Bolton writes in the book, according to the publisher.
On Monday, Trump told reporters that Bolton will have a “very strong criminal problem” if he publishes the memoir.
The book was supposed to be released in March but its release date was twice delayed. The book is now scheduled to be published later this month.
In a statement Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union said the lawsuit is “doomed to fail”.
Ben Wizner, the director of the organization’s speech, technology and privacy project, said the supreme court had rejected a half-century ago the Nixon administration’s efforts to block the release of the Pentagon Papers, and said it is well-established that prior restraints on publication are unconstitutional.
“As usual, the government’s threats have nothing to do with safeguarding national security, and everything to do with avoiding scandal and embarrassment,” Wizner said.


theguardian--2020-06-16--Beijing says outbreak 'extremely severe'; French police fire teargas at protest – as it happened

In the UK , elderly spouses caring for each other and parents caring for disabled children are twice as likely @ @ @ @ @ have used a food bank since lockdown , research has shown .
The report , @ @ @ @ @ shock the nation ” , found that more than 100,000 people doing unpaid caring for @ @ @ @ @ ill relatives had been forced to use food banks since start of the Covid-19 pandemic @ @ @ @ @ worrying picture of carers , especially those aged between 17 and 30 , being under @ @ @ @ @ told researchers they have had someone in their household go hungry during lockdown .
Christie @ @ @ @ @ 30s , cares for her 76-year-old mother who has epilepsy , physical needs and struggles @ @ @ @ @

Helen Sullivan (now); Kevin Rawlinson ,Jessica Murray, Sarah Marsh, Ben Quinn, Alison Rourke and Simon Burnton (earlier)


theguardian--2020-06-16--Oklahoma coronavirus rate surges as Trump rally nears

Shortly after the Trump campaign again insisted its first campaign rally since March would go ahead in Tulsa this weekend , it was reported that Oklahoma confirmed 591 new coronavirus cases on Monday , a 7.7 % increase and the highest in the US .
The news , reported by Yahoo and citing an internal document from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , came after Mike Pence , who will attend the rally , falsely claimed that “ in a very real sense ” Oklahoma had “ flattened the curve ” of new Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is abundant , ” said the vice-president , who leads the White House coronavirus taskforce , at a cabinet meeting on Monday .
“ The number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously and we feel very confident going forward with the rally this coming weekend.
” That is not true .
Nor was it true when Pence said it .
On Saturday , Oklahoma reported its then highest daily total of new cases , 225 , since the pandemic began .
On Sunday , Tulsa county reported its largest single-day increase since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statistics showed the seven-day rolling average for new cases in Tulsa was 65 , up on a previous peak of 26 in early April .
Before news of the CDC figures on Tuesday , researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland recorded 8,417 total cases in Oklahoma and 359 deaths .
According to Johns Hopkins , the US has recorded more than 2.1m cases of Covid-19 , and more than 116,000 deaths .
One closely watched national model now predicts more than 200,000 deaths by October .
Ali Mokdad , a creator of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said : “ Increased mobility and premature relaxation of social distancing led to more infections , and we see it in Florida , Arizona and other states .
The Republican party has abruptly moved the main events of its August national convention from North Carolina to Florida , because of the prospect of fewer coronavirus-related restrictions there .
But Florida has seen four days in the last six of record levels of new Covid-19 infections .
Meanwhile Oklahoma is among states which have reopened since late May .
The Trump rally in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the administration seeks to reopen an economy battered by the outbreak .
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday , Pence said : “ We ’ ve had such an overwhelming response that we ’ re also looking at another venue , we ’ re also looking at outside activities .
And I know the campaign team will keep the public informed as that goes forward.
” The Trump campaign clarified that Pence did not mean the rally might be switched from the indoor BOK Center in an attempt to mitigate possible coronavirus spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to meet demand .
Attendees must sign a waiver , clearing the campaign of responsibility should they contract coronavirus .
Tulsa ’ s chief public health officer and the Tulsa World newspaper have urged Trump to cancel the rally .
The event has already been moved back a day to avoid a clash with Juneteenth , the day when African Americans celebrate the end of slavery , during nationwide protests over police brutality and racism .
On Monday Bruce Dart , Tulsa ’ s chief public health officer , told the World : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and it hurts my heart to think that there ’ s a potential that we ’ re going to have something here where people become exposed to an illness .
We ’ ve seen how devastating it ’ s been across the board in this country , and I don ’ t want it to happen to anybody here.
” Trump , meanwhile , claimed “ Almost One Million people request tickets ” .
The BOK Center venue holds 19,000 .
A convention center nearby will extend capacity to around 62,000 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicated the true purpose of the promotional effort when he heralded the “ biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x ” .
On Monday , as reports circulated of donors in New Jersey being stringently tested before being ushered into Trump ’ s presence , Parscale said of the rally : “ Before entering each guest will get : Temperature check , Hand sanitizer , Mask.
” But use of the masks and attempt to socially distance will reportedly be optional .
Public health experts including Dr Anthony Fauci @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wave of the virus if people take precautions including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing rules .
Trump has refused to wear a mask in public .
Oklahoma ’ s Republican governor , Kevin Stitt , backs the president ’ s visit and attributes rising cases in his state to increased testing .
“ It is in the United States .
It is in Oklahoma , ” Stitt said on Monday .
“ And we can ’ t let [ coronavirus ] dictate our lives .
We have to go about our lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it with every precaution possible.
” And at the White House , Trump said : “ If we stop testing right now we ’ d have very few cases , if any .
”

Shortly after the Trump campaign again insisted its first campaign rally since March would go ahead in Tulsa this weekend, it was reported that Oklahoma confirmed 591 new coronavirus cases on Monday, a 7.7% increase and the highest in the US.
The news, reported by Yahoo and citing an internal document from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), came after Mike Pence, who will attend the rally, falsely claimed that “in a very real sense” Oklahoma had “flattened the curve” of new Covid-19 infections.
“Today their hospital capacity is abundant,” said the vice-president, who leads the White House coronavirus taskforce, at a cabinet meeting on Monday. “The number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously and we feel very confident going forward with the rally this coming weekend.”
That is not true. Nor was it true when Pence said it.
On Saturday, Oklahoma reported its then highest daily total of new cases, 225, since the pandemic began. On Sunday, Tulsa county reported its largest single-day increase since early March. On Monday, state statistics showed the seven-day rolling average for new cases in Tulsa was 65, up on a previous peak of 26 in early April.
Before news of the CDC figures on Tuesday, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland recorded 8,417 total cases in Oklahoma and 359 deaths.
According to Johns Hopkins, the US has recorded more than 2.1m cases of Covid-19, and more than 116,000 deaths.
One closely watched national model now predicts more than 200,000 deaths by October.
Ali Mokdad, a creator of the model at the University of Washington, said: “Increased mobility and premature relaxation of social distancing led to more infections, and we see it in Florida, Arizona and other states.
“This means more projected deaths.”
The Republican party has abruptly moved the main events of its August national convention from North Carolina to Florida, because of the prospect of fewer coronavirus-related restrictions there.
But Florida has seen four days in the last six of record levels of new Covid-19 infections.
Meanwhile Oklahoma is among states which have reopened since late May. The Trump rally in Tulsa will be a showpiece event as the administration seeks to reopen an economy battered by the outbreak.
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Pence said: “We’ve had such an overwhelming response that we’re also looking at another venue, we’re also looking at outside activities. And I know the campaign team will keep the public informed as that goes forward.”
The Trump campaign clarified that Pence did not mean the rally might be switched from the indoor BOK Center in an attempt to mitigate possible coronavirus spread, but was instead indicating extra venues to meet demand.
Attendees must sign a waiver, clearing the campaign of responsibility should they contract coronavirus.
Tulsa’s chief public health officer and the Tulsa World newspaper have urged Trump to cancel the rally.
The event has already been moved back a day to avoid a clash with Juneteenth, the day when African Americans celebrate the end of slavery, during nationwide protests over police brutality and racism.
On Monday Bruce Dart, Tulsa’s chief public health officer, told the World: “I want people to be safe, and it hurts my heart to think that there’s a potential that we’re going to have something here where people become exposed to an illness. We’ve seen how devastating it’s been across the board in this country, and I don’t want it to happen to anybody here.”
Trump, meanwhile, claimed “Almost One Million people request tickets”. The BOK Center venue holds 19,000. A convention center nearby will extend capacity to around 62,000. Brad Parscale, campaign manager, perhaps indicated the true purpose of the promotional effort when he heralded the “biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x”.
On Monday, as reports circulated of donors in New Jersey being stringently tested before being ushered into Trump’s presence, Parscale said of the rally: “Before entering each guest will get: Temperature check, Hand sanitizer, Mask.”
But use of the masks and attempt to socially distance will reportedly be optional.
Public health experts including Dr Anthony Fauci say the US may avoid a second wave of the virus if people take precautions including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing rules. Trump has refused to wear a mask in public.
Oklahoma’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, backs the president’s visit and attributes rising cases in his state to increased testing.
“It is in the United States. It is in Oklahoma,” Stitt said on Monday. “And we can’t let [coronavirus] dictate our lives. We have to go about our lives, but we are going to do it with every precaution possible.”
And at the White House, Trump said: “If we stop testing right now we’d have very few cases, if any.”


theguardian--2020-06-16--Trump’s ‘woeful’ police reform order leaves systemic racism intact, critics say

Donald Trump faced renewed criticism on Tuesday for what critics said was a “ woeful ” attempt at police reform that failed to address systemic racism and fell far short of the demands of Black Lives Matter activists seeking fundamental change .
The US president issued an executive order that would discourage police from using chokeholds and create a national database for police misconduct .
But while Trump ’ s remarks in the White House Rose Garden began with a sombre list of African Americans killed by police , they soon turned into something resembling a campaign speech , touting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguing “ school choice ” is the civil rights cause of our time .
The president has been scrambling to respond after the death of George Floyd , an African American killed when a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into the his neck for nearly nine minutes .
The killing touched off the biggest civil rights uprising for half a century and a moment of national reckoning on racism .
With nine officials at his side , some in law enforcement uniforms , Trump signed an executive order aimed at promoting accountability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government grants to encourage police departments to meet certain standards for use of force , including banning chokeholds – except in cases where an officer is targeted by deadly force .
The order also establishes a database for tracking officers with multiple complaints of misconduct and gives incentives to police departments to involve mental health professionals and social workers in issues of addiction , homelessness and mental illness .
Trump said he had met several families who have lost loved ones in deadly encounters with police officers .
But the president , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to rough people up when they are arrested , and who has denounced protesters as “ thugs ” and “ terrorists ” , could not resist his instinct to play to his support base .
Trump bemoaned how many murders in Chicago and Baltimore did not result in arrests .
“ Americans want law and order , ” he said .
“ They demand law and order .
They may not say it .
They may not be talking about it but that ’ s what they want .
Some of them don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what they want , but that ’ s what they want.
” He added : “ I strongly oppose the radical and dangerous efforts to defund , dismantle and dissolve our police departments , especially now when we achieved the lowest recorded crime rates in recent history .
Americans know the truth : without police , there is chaos .
Without law , there is anarchy.
” There are a “ small number of bad police officers ” , he added .
“ They are very tiny .
I use the word ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small percentage .
But you have them.
” Democrats condemned the president for lack of ambition .
Chuck Schumer , the minority leader in the Senate , said : “ Unfortunately , this executive order will not deliver the comprehensive meaningful change and accountability in our nation ’ s police departments that Americans are demanding.
” Vanita Gupta , president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , said : “ This executive order is a woeful attempt to shift focus from the dangerous rhetoric and policies he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not achieve the transformative change needed to heal our country and usher in a new era of public safety in which all communities thrive.
” Police reform proposals are also emerging in Congress .
A Democratic plan would limit legal protections for police and ban chokeholds .
A Republican plan , drafted by Senator Tim Scott , for a bill with restrictions on chokeholds and other practices is expected to be announced on Wednesday .
Some cities and states are also moving ahead with changes of their own .
Keisha Lance Bottoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to change police use-of-force policies and require that officers receive continuous training in how to de-escalate situations .
The announcement came after the police killing of another African American man , Rayshard Brooks , 27 , outside a fast-food restaurant on Friday , sparking demonstrations in the city .
The restaurant was burned down over the weekend and the officer who shot Brooks was fired .
Bottoms said : “ I am often reminded of the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr .
There is a ‘ fierce urgency of now ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we do not have another day , another minute , another hour to waste.
” The New York city police department is disbanding the type of plainclothes anti-crime units that were involved in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner .
New Jersey ’ s attorney general ordered police to begin divulging names of officers who commit serious disciplinary violations .
In Chicago , a panel of residents , activists and one police official will review the police department ’ s policy on when officers can use force .
In Albuquerque , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wanted a new department of social workers and civilian professionals to provide another option when someone calls the emergency number 911 .
Albuquerque was the scene of violence on Monday night when protesters tried to tear down a bronze statue of a Spanish conquistador outside a museum .
A man was shot and taken to hospital in a critical but stable condition near a confrontation between protesters and a group of armed men to protect the statue of Juan de Oñate before protesters wrapped a chain around it and began tugging on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down.
” The city announced that the statue would be removed until officials determine next steps .
Police said detectives arrested Stephen Ray Baca , 31 , on suspicion of aggravated battery .
Statues of Christopher Columbus and Confederate war generals have also been torn down across the nation .
A statue of Josephus Daniels , a former newspaper publisher , navy secretary and lifelong white supremacist was taken down in North Carolina .

Donald Trump faced renewed criticism on Tuesday for what critics said was a “woeful” attempt at police reform that failed to address systemic racism and fell far short of the demands of Black Lives Matter activists seeking fundamental change.
The US president issued an executive order that would discourage police from using chokeholds and create a national database for police misconduct.
But while Trump’s remarks in the White House Rose Garden began with a sombre list of African Americans killed by police, they soon turned into something resembling a campaign speech, touting the stock market and retail sales and arguing “school choice” is the civil rights cause of our time.
The president has been scrambling to respond after the death of George Floyd, an African American killed when a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into the his neck for nearly nine minutes. The killing touched off the biggest civil rights uprising for half a century and a moment of national reckoning on racism.
With nine officials at his side, some in law enforcement uniforms, Trump signed an executive order aimed at promoting accountability in law enforcement.
It uses federal government grants to encourage police departments to meet certain standards for use of force, including banning chokeholds – except in cases where an officer is targeted by deadly force.
The order also establishes a database for tracking officers with multiple complaints of misconduct and gives incentives to police departments to involve mental health professionals and social workers in issues of addiction, homelessness and mental illness.
Trump said he had met several families who have lost loved ones in deadly encounters with police officers. But the president, who in the past has called on police to rough people up when they are arrested, and who has denounced protesters as “thugs” and “terrorists”, could not resist his instinct to play to his support base.
Trump bemoaned how many murders in Chicago and Baltimore did not result in arrests. “Americans want law and order,” he said. “They demand law and order. They may not say it. They may not be talking about it but that’s what they want. Some of them don’t even know that’s what they want, but that’s what they want.”
He added: “I strongly oppose the radical and dangerous efforts to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments, especially now when we achieved the lowest recorded crime rates in recent history. Americans know the truth: without police, there is chaos. Without law, there is anarchy.”
There are a “small number of bad police officers”, he added. “They are very tiny. I use the word ‘tiny’. It is a very small percentage. But you have them.”
Democrats condemned the president for lack of ambition. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, said: “Unfortunately, this executive order will not deliver the comprehensive meaningful change and accountability in our nation’s police departments that Americans are demanding.”
Vanita Gupta, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said: “This executive order is a woeful attempt to shift focus from the dangerous rhetoric and policies he has previously promoted. Piecemeal reform effort will not achieve the transformative change needed to heal our country and usher in a new era of public safety in which all communities thrive.”
Police reform proposals are also emerging in Congress. A Democratic plan would limit legal protections for police and ban chokeholds. A Republican plan, drafted by Senator Tim Scott, for a bill with restrictions on chokeholds and other practices is expected to be announced on Wednesday.
Some cities and states are also moving ahead with changes of their own. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, pledged to change police use-of-force policies and require that officers receive continuous training in how to de-escalate situations.
The announcement came after the police killing of another African American man, Rayshard Brooks, 27, outside a fast-food restaurant on Friday, sparking demonstrations in the city. The restaurant was burned down over the weekend and the officer who shot Brooks was fired.
Bottoms said: “I am often reminded of the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. There is a ‘fierce urgency of now’ in our communities. It is clear that we do not have another day, another minute, another hour to waste.”
The New York city police department is disbanding the type of plainclothes anti-crime units that were involved in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner. New Jersey’s attorney general ordered police to begin divulging names of officers who commit serious disciplinary violations. In Chicago, a panel of residents, activists and one police official will review the police department’s policy on when officers can use force.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mayor Tim Keller said he wanted a new department of social workers and civilian professionals to provide another option when someone calls the emergency number 911. Albuquerque was the scene of violence on Monday night when protesters tried to tear down a bronze statue of a Spanish conquistador outside a museum.
A man was shot and taken to hospital in a critical but stable condition near a confrontation between protesters and a group of armed men to protect the statue of Juan de Oñate before protesters wrapped a chain around it and began tugging on it while chanting: “Tear it down.”
The city announced that the statue would be removed until officials determine next steps. Police said detectives arrested Stephen Ray Baca, 31, on suspicion of aggravated battery.
Statues of Christopher Columbus and Confederate war generals have also been torn down across the nation. A statue of Josephus Daniels, a former newspaper publisher, navy secretary and lifelong white supremacist was taken down in North Carolina.


theguardian--2020-06-16--Fed chair says US economy faces ‘significant uncertainty’ and fears wider income inequality

The Federal Reserve chair , Jerome Powell , warned on Tuesday that the US economy faces “ significant uncertainty ” in the months ahead , and that the recession that has followed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic could widen income inequality for minorities and those on lower incomes .
Powell said in testimony presented to the Senate banking committee : “ Much of that economic uncertainty comes from uncertainty about the path of the disease and the effects of measures to contain it .
Until the public is confident that the disease is contained , a full recovery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losses had fallen hardest on low-income workers , minorities and women and the current downturn further exacerbate income inequality .
“ If not contained and reversed , the downturn could further widen gaps in economic wellbeing that the long expansion had made some progress in closing , ” Powell said .
Unemployment has shot up since the coronavirus hit the US but has disproportionately hurt low-income workers , minorities and women .
Powell also warned the downturn posed “ acute risks to small businesses ” .
He said : “ These businesses are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embody the work of generations.
” Congress is weighing further temporary relief for businesses and unemployed workers following its approval of the nearly $ 3tn Cares Act emergency bailout .
Powell warned that without that aid , the long-term consequences for the economy could be severe .
“ The longer the downturn lasts , the greater the potential for longer-term damage from permanent job loss and business closures , ” said Powell .
“ The Cares Act and other legislation provide direct help to people , businesses and communities .
This direct support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in helping families and businesses in a time of need , but also in limiting long-lasting damage to our economy.
” The Fed chair was speaking amid signs that the US is bouncing back from the worst of the pandemic ’ s initial impact .
On Tuesday , US stock markets rose sharply after the commerce department announced that retail sales had risen 17.7 % last month following weeks of lockdown .
The rebound erases only a fraction of the historic drops in March and April and comes as coronavirus infractions are picking @ @ @ @ @

The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, warned on Tuesday that the US economy faces “significant uncertainty” in the months ahead, and that the recession that has followed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic could widen income inequality for minorities and those on lower incomes.
Powell said in testimony presented to the Senate banking committee: “Much of that economic uncertainty comes from uncertainty about the path of the disease and the effects of measures to contain it. Until the public is confident that the disease is contained, a full recovery is unlikely.”
Powell said recent job losses had fallen hardest on low-income workers, minorities and women and the current downturn further exacerbate income inequality.
“If not contained and reversed, the downturn could further widen gaps in economic wellbeing that the long expansion had made some progress in closing,” Powell said.
Unemployment has shot up since the coronavirus hit the US but has disproportionately hurt low-income workers, minorities and women.
Powell also warned the downturn posed “acute risks to small businesses”. He said: “These businesses are the heart of our economy and often embody the work of generations.”
Congress is weighing further temporary relief for businesses and unemployed workers following its approval of the nearly $3tn Cares Act emergency bailout.
Powell warned that without that aid, the long-term consequences for the economy could be severe.
“The longer the downturn lasts, the greater the potential for longer-term damage from permanent job loss and business closures,” said Powell. “The Cares Act and other legislation provide direct help to people, businesses and communities. This direct support can make a critical difference not just in helping families and businesses in a time of need, but also in limiting long-lasting damage to our economy.”
The Fed chair was speaking amid signs that the US is bouncing back from the worst of the pandemic’s initial impact. On Tuesday, US stock markets rose sharply after the commerce department announced that retail sales had risen 17.7% last month following weeks of lockdown. The rebound erases only a fraction of the historic drops in March and April and comes as coronavirus infractions are picking up across the US.