theguardian--2020-10-30--The US election that doesn't count: Guam goes to the polls but votes won't matter

Politics is a favourite sport on the streets of Hagatna , where voters are preparing for the US elections .
Billboards adorn every street corner and conversations are dominated by candidates and their policies .
But when Guamanians go to the polls on 3 November and mark down their preference for president , their “ votes ” won ’ t count .
Despite being American citizens , an anomaly in US law means the residents of the island , which lies in the Pacific Ocean 8,000 miles from Washington , have no say as to who runs their country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a governor , and a delegate to the US House of Representatives – a delegate who can not vote – but their choice for president , marked on the same ballot , carries no weight .
Guam ’ s is a straw poll : a non-binding four-yearly exercise that serves merely as an early barometer for how the rest of the nation will vote .
Guam residents are among the 4 million disenfranchised Americans living in US territories who can ’ t vote for president .
And being left out of the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that as a US citizen formerly residing on the mainland , I have to give up my voting rights for president simply by moving to another part of the US , ” James Hofman , a corporate lawyer who moved to Guam from California in 2006 , told The Guardian .
Guam , “ where America ’ s day begins ” – as the island ’ s slogan goes - is 14 hours ahead of Washington , DC .
“ It might have some symbolic value , but until there is a direct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reciprocal action and engagement by DC it ’ s not very meaningful , ” Hofman said of the straw poll .
While they may not be as emotionally invested in the presidential election as they are in local politics , the island ’ s voters don ’ t mind taking the time to pick their choice for president for what it ’ s worth .
“ If you ’ re already in the voting booth , you might as well register your opinion .
What ’ s one more oval to shade ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Agana Heights , said .
Tony Azios , spokesperson for Progressive Democrats of Guam , said the presidential straw vote “ amounts to little more than a fun activity and a quirky quadrennial [ news ] item ” .
But Guam ’ s straw-poll has proven a remarkable bellwether : in every election from 1984 to 2012 , Guamanians voted for the ultimate presidential winner .
In 2016 , the island backed Hillary Clinton , the winner of the popular vote .
Guam ’ s exclusion from national elections is a political anomaly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American citizens living abroad are eligible to vote by absentee ballot .
“ It was very simple for me in 2008 to send in my ballot by mail while living in South Korea , ” Azios said .
“ But now that I live in Guam , which has been a part of the United States for roughly 120 years , I can not vote .
It ’ s absurd.
” While some are consoled with Guam ’ s exemption from paying the federal income tax , many believe such a waiver is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oft-repeated strategic importance to national defence .
Guam , which is home to naval and air force bases , is known as the “ tip of the US military spear , ” and , with a burgeoning Chinese presence in the Pacific , it will grow increasingly geo-strategically valuable .
In coming years , around 5000 marines will be relocated to Guam from Okinawa in Japan as part of the Pentagon ’ s Indo-Pacific troop realignment program .
Guamanians enlist in the US military at a higher rate than any US state .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s 165,000 residents is a military veteran , according to the US census .
“ So why shouldn ’ t we be able to help select the commander-in-chief ?
” Azios asked .
Guam ’ s only formal participation in national elections are the state caucuses held by the island ’ s Republican and Democratic parties , to choose delegates to send to the parties ’ national conventions .
Guam is one of the 16 remaining colonies in the 21st century – alongside other US territories such Puerto Rico , the Northern Mariana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose representatives to the US Congress does not have a voting power .
The island ’ s representative can introduce bills and push for the territory ’ s agenda at the congressional committee level , but has no vote on the floor .
“ I consider myself an American and if you want my personal opinion , of course I want to vote for president , ” said Senator Wil Castro , a Republican who is running for the representative seat .
“ But I am not going to take it upon myself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote for president .
We might have to consult the legislature and the governor before pushing for a congressional agenda .
It ’ s not for me to decide.
” Last month , six residents of Guam and the US Virgin Islands sued the US government in federal court , challenging the territories ’ exclusion from presidential elections .
“ The next congress may have an historic opportunity to finally address the denial of voting rights to the nearly 4 million US citizens who live in territories , ” said Neil Weare , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group that advocates for the political rights of US territories .
“ Whether it takes statehood or a constitutional amendment , congress and the president must act to end over 120 years of disenfranchisement .
”

Politics is a favourite sport on the streets of Hagatna, where voters are preparing for the US elections.
Billboards adorn every street corner and conversations are dominated by candidates and their policies. But when Guamanians go to the polls on 3 November and mark down their preference for president, their “votes” won’t count.
Despite being American citizens, an anomaly in US law means the residents of the island, which lies in the Pacific Ocean 8,000 miles from Washington, have no say as to who runs their country.
They vote for a local legislature, a governor, and a delegate to the US House of Representatives – a delegate who cannot vote – but their choice for president, marked on the same ballot, carries no weight.
Guam’s is a straw poll: a non-binding four-yearly exercise that serves merely as an early barometer for how the rest of the nation will vote.
Guam residents are among the 4 million disenfranchised Americans living in US territories who can’t vote for president. And being left out of the election stings.
“I am deeply unhappy that as a US citizen formerly residing on the mainland, I have to give up my voting rights for president simply by moving to another part of the US,” James Hofman, a corporate lawyer who moved to Guam from California in 2006, told The Guardian.
Guam, “where America’s day begins” – as the island’s slogan goes - is 14 hours ahead of Washington, DC.
“It might have some symbolic value, but until there is a direct nexus between our political will and some reciprocal action and engagement by DC it’s not very meaningful,” Hofman said of the straw poll.
‘Where America’s day begins’. Tumon Bay near the Guamanian capital, Hagåtña. Photograph: Tassanee Vejpongsa/AP
While they may not be as emotionally invested in the presidential election as they are in local politics, the island’s voters don’t mind taking the time to pick their choice for president for what it’s worth.
“If you’re already in the voting booth, you might as well register your opinion. What’s one more oval to shade?” Tes Venzon, an accountant from Agana Heights, said.
Tony Azios, spokesperson for Progressive Democrats of Guam, said the presidential straw vote “amounts to little more than a fun activity and a quirky quadrennial [news] item”.
But Guam’s straw-poll has proven a remarkable bellwether: in every election from 1984 to 2012, Guamanians voted for the ultimate presidential winner. In 2016, the island backed Hillary Clinton, the winner of the popular vote.
Guam’s exclusion from national elections is a political anomaly that some find baffling, given that American citizens living abroad are eligible to vote by absentee ballot.
“It was very simple for me in 2008 to send in my ballot by mail while living in South Korea,” Azios said. “But now that I live in Guam, which has been a part of the United States for roughly 120 years, I cannot vote. It’s absurd.”
While some are consoled with Guam’s exemption from paying the federal income tax, many believe such a waiver is not commensurate to the island’s oft-repeated strategic importance to national defence.
Guam, which is home to naval and air force bases, is known as the “tip of the US military spear,” and, with a burgeoning Chinese presence in the Pacific, it will grow increasingly geo-strategically valuable.
In coming years, around 5000 marines will be relocated to Guam from Okinawa in Japan as part of the Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific troop realignment program.
Guamanians enlist in the US military at a higher rate than any US state. One in every 20 of Guam’s 165,000 residents is a military veteran, according to the US census.
“So why shouldn’t we be able to help select the commander-in-chief?” Azios asked.
The island of Guam is dominated by the US airforce’s Andersen Air Force Base. And Guamanians enlist at a higher rate than any state in the US. But residents of Guam, despite being US citizens, are not allowed to vote for their commander-in-chief. Photograph: US Air Force/Reuters
Guam’s only formal participation in national elections are the state caucuses held by the island’s Republican and Democratic parties, to choose delegates to send to the parties’ national conventions.
Guam is one of the 16 remaining colonies in the 21st century – alongside other US territories such Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and US Virgin Islands - whose representatives to the US Congress does not have a voting power.
The island’s representative can introduce bills and push for the territory’s agenda at the congressional committee level, but has no vote on the floor.
“I consider myself an American and if you want my personal opinion, of course I want to vote for president,” said Senator Wil Castro, a Republican who is running for the representative seat.
“But I am not going to take it upon myself to assume that every Guamanian wants to vote for president. We might have to consult the legislature and the governor before pushing for a congressional agenda. It’s not for me to decide.”
Last month, six residents of Guam and the US Virgin Islands sued the US government in federal court, challenging the territories’ exclusion from presidential elections.
“The next congress may have an historic opportunity to finally address the denial of voting rights to the nearly 4 million US citizens who live in territories,” said Neil Weare, founder of Equally American, a nonprofit group that advocates for the political rights of US territories.
“Whether it takes statehood or a constitutional amendment, congress and the president must act to end over 120 years of disenfranchisement.”


theguardian--2020-10-30--US election roundup: Trump and Biden swing through battleground states

The two US presidential candidates swung through northern battleground states on Friday amid signs that the coronavirus pandemic was once more threatening to overcome hospital capacity in several US regions .
Donald Trump was due to hold a succession of airport rallies in Michigan , Wisconsin and Minnesota , while Joe Biden was scheduled to have drive-in rallies in Iowa , Minnesota and Wisconsin .
The trip to Minnesota marked a rare defensive move for the Democratic challenger , who held a low double-digit lead in new polls published with four days left of the election campaign .
Hillary Clinton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest polls show Biden with a five-point margin .
But he told reporters : “ I don ’ t take anything for granted .
We ’ re going to work for every single vote up until the last minute.
” The president insisted the state was vulnerable .
“ I think it ’ s going to flip for the first time since 1972 , ” he said , claiming he had stopped rioting there following the police killing of George Floyd in May , which sparked the Black Lives Matter protests .
Before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump railed against the supreme court for ruling to allow election officials in North Carolina to accept votes received by 12 November as long as they are postmarked by 3 November .
“ This decision is CRAZY and so bad for our Country .
Can you imagine what will happen during that nine-day period , ” Trump said on Twitter .
He has been similarly critical of a parallel supreme court decision this week to allow Pennsylvania to extend its count .
His new appointee to the court , Justice Amy Coney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the decisions as , according to the court , she had not had time to review the arguments .
Behind in the polls , the Republicans have put significant effort in campaign endgame focusing on procedural and legal attempts to suppress the turnout or the vote count .
Trump has said he wants a result on 3 November , but by law states have until 8 December to finalise their returns .
The president has sought to concentrate his message on law and order and on the economy , highlighting economic data that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarter of 2020 .
But the shadow of coronavirus was hard to avoid .
There were 88,521 new cases of the coronavirus reported in the US on Thursday – a record single-day high – according to data from Johns Hopkins University , and – 9,540 more cases than on Wednesday .
On Friday , total US cases surpassed 9m , with the death toll closing in on 230,000 .
Healthcare statistics , which the Trump administration classified but were obtained by National Public Radio , showed hospitals in Atlanta , Minneapolis and Baltimore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain hospitals in Tampa , Birmingham and New York were over 95 % capacity in intensive care beds .
Trump ’ s standing has been hit by his insistence on playing down the seriousness of the pandemic but he showed no sign of changing course on Friday , complaining that the Minnesota authorities had limited the size of his rally there to 250 .
He told a mostly mask-free crowd in Waterford Township : “ You have to open up your states .
We got ta get our governor to open up our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Don ’ t worry , on November 4 , all these Democrat-run states will be open.
” The president also repeated an entirely unfounded smear of the medical profession that has become a staple of his rallies : “ You know , our doctors get more money if someone dies from Covid , you know that right ?
” Recent coronavirus testing in Minnesota has shown a 12 % positive rate , and large numbers of hospital staff are reported to be off work because of infection.Nationwide , more than 1,700 healthcare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 .
The president ’ s son , Donald Trump Jr , told Fox News on Thursday night that the Covid-19 death toll now was “ almost nothing ” and that critics of his father ’ s hands-off approach were “ truly morons ” .
Trump rallied Friday afternoon in Green Bay , Wisconsin , as the battleground state faced a surge in coronavirus cases , with nearly 200 Wisconsinites dying of the virus in the past week alone .
Photos showed no social distancing and infrequent mask usage .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump told the crowd .
“ You are so lucky I ’ m your president.
” Recent polls of Wisconsin , which Trump won by less than one point in 2016 , have shown Biden leading by an average of about nine points , according to FiveThirtyEight .
Biden held a drive-in rally in Des Moines , Iowa , his first of three such rallies on Friday , where polls show the Democratic nominee and the president locked in a close race .
The former vice-president told the crowd , amid a flurry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can not afford another four years of Donald Trump.
” Biden noted Iowa handed him and Barack Obama two victories in 2008 and 2012 , and he hopes to continue that winning streak on Tuesday .
Echoing his closing message in recent days , Biden said : “ I ’ m running as a proud Democrat , but I ’ ll govern as an American president.
” The contenders embarked on their northern swings with the election already more than half over , in voting terms .
About 84 million people are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have already voted , by postal ballot or early voting in person , 61 % of the total turnout in 2016 .
In Texas and Hawaii , that figure was over 100 % , meaning more people had already voted than the total turnout four years ago .
Going into the weekend , Biden held a comfortable , nine-point national lead in polling averages , and multiple recent polls have depicted an even larger lead in the popular vote for Biden .
In the latest Opinium Research/Guardian poll , released on Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 55-41 .
The poll , which surveyed 2,009 US adults online from 26-29 October , found severe deterioration for Trump among some of his most reliable supporters , including white voters , a group he won by 15 points in 2016 , and which no Republican presidential candidate has lost for 50 years .
Biden holds a narrow , 49-47 lead among white voters , the poll found .
The poll additionally found that a 57 % majority of likely 2020 voters who did not vote in 2016 supported Biden .

Julian Borger , Tom McCarthy and Joanna Walters

The two US presidential candidates swung through northern battleground states on Friday amid signs that the coronavirus pandemic was once more threatening to overcome hospital capacity in several US regions.
Donald Trump was due to hold a succession of airport rallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, while Joe Biden was scheduled to have drive-in rallies in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The trip to Minnesota marked a rare defensive move for the Democratic challenger, who held a low double-digit lead in new polls published with four days left of the election campaign. Hillary Clinton narrowly held Minnesota in 2016 and the latest polls show Biden with a five-point margin.
But he told reporters: “I don’t take anything for granted. We’re going to work for every single vote up until the last minute.”
The president insisted the state was vulnerable.
“I think it’s going to flip for the first time since 1972,” he said, claiming he had stopped rioting there following the police killing of George Floyd in May, which sparked the Black Lives Matter protests.
Before setting out from Washington on Friday morning, Trump railed against the supreme court for ruling to allow election officials in North Carolina to accept votes received by 12 November as long as they are postmarked by 3 November.
“This decision is CRAZY and so bad for our Country. Can you imagine what will happen during that nine-day period,” Trump said on Twitter.
He has been similarly critical of a parallel supreme court decision this week to allow Pennsylvania to extend its count. His new appointee to the court, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, did not take part in the decisions as, according to the court, she had not had time to review the arguments.
Behind in the polls, the Republicans have put significant effort in campaign endgame focusing on procedural and legal attempts to suppress the turnout or the vote count. Trump has said he wants a result on 3 November, but by law states have until 8 December to finalise their returns.
Donald Trump greets supporters in Waterford Township, Michigan, on 30 October. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
The president has sought to concentrate his message on law and order and on the economy, highlighting economic data that showed a substantial rebound in the third quarter of 2020. But the shadow of coronavirus was hard to avoid.
There were 88,521 new cases of the coronavirus reported in the US on Thursday – a record single-day high – according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and – 9,540 more cases than on Wednesday. On Friday, total US cases surpassed 9m, with the death toll closing in on 230,000.
Healthcare statistics, which the Trump administration classified but were obtained by National Public Radio, showed hospitals in Atlanta, Minneapolis and Baltimore, reaching 80% capacity, while certain hospitals in Tampa, Birmingham and New York were over 95% capacity in intensive care beds.
Trump’s standing has been hit by his insistence on playing down the seriousness of the pandemic but he showed no sign of changing course on Friday, complaining that the Minnesota authorities had limited the size of his rally there to 250.
He told a mostly mask-free crowd in Waterford Township: “You have to open up your states. We gotta get our governor to open up our state here, don’t we? Don’t worry, on November 4, all these Democrat-run states will be open.”
The president also repeated an entirely unfounded smear of the medical profession that has become a staple of his rallies: “You know, our doctors get more money if someone dies from Covid, you know that right?”
Recent coronavirus testing in Minnesota has shown a 12% positive rate, and large numbers of hospital staff are reported to be off work because of infection.Nationwide, more than 1,700 healthcare workers are reported to have died of Covid-19.
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, told Fox News on Thursday night that the Covid-19 death toll now was “almost nothing” and that critics of his father’s hands-off approach were “truly morons”.
Trump rallied on Friday afternoon in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the battleground state faced a surge in coronavirus cases, with nearly 200 Wisconsinites dying of the virus in the past week alone. Photos showed no social distancing and infrequent mask usage.
“We’re going to win Wisconsin,” Trump told the crowd. “You are so lucky I’m your president.”
Recent polls of Wisconsin, which Trump won by less than one point in 2016, have shown Biden leading by an average of about nine points, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Biden held a drive-in rally in Des Moines, Iowa, his first of three such rallies on Friday, where polls show the Democratic nominee and the president locked in a close race. The former vice-president told the crowd, amid a flurry of honking horns: “Folks, we cannot afford another four years of Donald Trump.”
Biden noted Iowa handed him and Barack Obama two victories in 2008 and 2012, and he hopes to continue that winning streak on Tuesday.
Echoing his closing message in recent days, Biden said: “I’m running as a proud Democrat, but I’ll govern as an American president.”
The contenders embarked on their northern swings with the election already more than half over, in voting terms. About 84 million people are reported by the US Elections Project to have already voted, by postal ballot or early voting in person, 61% of the total turnout in 2016. In Texas and Hawaii, that figure was over 100%, meaning more people had already voted than the total turnout four years ago.
Kamala Harris, who was campaigning in Texas on Friday, told reporters, “Texas has so much at stake in this election and they deserve to be heard, they deserve to be engaged by us because we intend to earn every vote.”
Biden has not visited the state since March, during the primary elections, and has no plans to do so. The Lone Star state has long been reliably Republican, but the Cook Political Report has said the election is a genuine toss-up, with polls finding Biden closely trailing Trump.
Going into the weekend, Biden held a comfortable, nine-point national lead in polling averages, and multiple recent polls have depicted an even larger lead in the popular vote for Biden. In the latest Opinium Research/Guardian poll, released on Friday, Biden led Trump by 14 points, 55-41.
The poll, which surveyed 2,009 US adults online from 26-29 October, found severe deterioration for Trump among some of his most reliable supporters, including white voters, a group he won by 15 points in 2016, and which no Republican presidential candidate has lost for 50 years. Biden holds a narrow, 49-47 lead among white voters, the poll found.
The poll additionally found that a 57% majority of likely 2020 voters who did not vote in 2016 supported Biden.
Maanvi Singh contributed reporting


theguardian--2020-10-30--Why this election calls into question whether America is a democracy

America has long held itself up as the world ’ s leading democracy , but it has an equally long history of denying people the right to vote .
To understand how voter suppression is shaping the 2020 election , just look at Texas .
While many states do not require voters to have a reason to vote by mail , Texas only allows voters to do so if they are 65 or older or meet other conditions .
The state does not allow people to register to vote online .
Even with a flood of Covid cases , Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal and state courts to uphold those restrictions .
Last month , Texas ’ s governor , Greg Abbott , a Republican , abruptly issued an order that limited each county in the state to offer one ballot drop box .
The move meant that Democratic-friendly Harris county , which covers more than 1,700 square miles and is home to 2.4 million registered voters , could only offer one place for voters to return their ballots .
The state of Rhode Island , which is smaller than Harris county , will have more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing across America is in some ways a continuation of a centuries-long fight over access to the franchise .
African Americans were formally denied the right to vote at the nation ’ s founding , and even when granted access in the 19th century , states responded by implementing devices such as poll taxes , literacy tests and felon disenfranchisement laws designed to keep African Americans from the polls .
The 1965 Voting Rights Act , a crown jewel of the civil rights movement , blunted many of these racist tools , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of voting discrimination , like Texas , to get voting changes pre-cleared before they went into effect .
But in 2013 , the US supreme court gutted that provision , saying it was no longer necessary .
States , freed from federal oversight , unleashed a wave of new voting restrictions , including new voter ID laws and efforts to close polling places .
“ The forces that were fine with poll taxes and literacy tests are the same kinds of forces that are equally comfortable in the 21st century with ‘ targeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in voter IDs and requiring extra hurdles to cast an absentee ballot in the midst of a global pandemic , ” said Carol Anderson , a professor at Emory University in Atlanta who has written extensively about voter suppression , in an email .
Underneath it all , many see a cynical attempt by the Republican party to try to preserve power while making it deliberately harder for people less likely to support them – groups like minorities , young people and the poor – to vote .
In many places , Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this because of an unprecedented effort in 2010 and 2011 to draw electoral districts that cemented their control of state legislatures , which shape election laws in the US .
This effort succeeded across the country , including in key states such as Pennsylvania , Michigan and Wisconsin .
The pandemic has exposed how deeply entrenched this strategy is in the Republican party .
Even as Americans face an unprecedented health risk , people have waited in hours-long lines across the country to cast their ballots in person .
Republicans in several states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote by mail , like eliminating requirements that voters have to have an excuse to vote by mail or that they get a witness for their ballot .
They have also fought efforts to automatically mail absentee ballot applications to voters .
Many states require voters to return their ballots to election officials by election day to have them counted .
After widespread mail delays earlier this summer , many local election officials encouraged voters to return their absentee ballots in person to physically secure drop boxes .
But Republicans in Pennsylvania @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all moved to try to limit their use , making it unnecessarily harder for voters to return their ballots .
“ What has been troubling to me this year , as it relates to election administration , is that commonsense , practical services for voters have been politicized and weaponized as possible partisan activities , ” Tammy Patrick , a senior adviser at the Democracy Fund who works closely with election administrators across the US , said in an email .
“ Election officials at the state and local level , in red/blue/purple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this to all voters in a pandemic .
Some were able to do so , others were prevented from serving their voters well.
” Concerned about mail delays , Democrats and voting rights groups sued in courts across the country , asking election officials to count ballots as long as they are postmarked by election day and arrive in the days after .
While the Pennsylvania supreme court , over the loud objection of Republicans , ordered a three-day extension , courts have upheld the election day deadline in Michigan and Wisconsin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the outcome of the 2020 race .
Those decisions mean that thousands of ballots will probably be rejected simply because they arrive late , regardless of when the voter puts them in the mail ( Trump carried Michigan in 2016 by about 10,000 votes and Wisconsin by just under 23,000 ) .
For all of the Republican attacks on the right to vote , their most powerful ally has been the United States supreme court as well as the lower federal appeals courts to which Trump has appointed an unprecedented number of judges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brazenly anti-voter stance , refusing to ease the ballot receipt deadline in Wisconsin , witness requirements in South Carolina or even permit counties in Alabama to offer curbside voting .
The supreme court ’ s conservative majority has simply said that federal courts shouldn ’ t interfere with voting rules on the eve of an election and shouldn ’ t second-guess state lawmakers , who have the constitutional authority to set election rules .
The supreme court also refused to block a Republican-written Florida law that required people with felony convictions to pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Writing in dissent , Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the move would block people from voting “ simply because they are poor ” .
An estimated 774,000 people in Florida , one of the closest swing states in the country , can ’ t vote because they owe money .
The supreme court ’ s actions are all the more alarming because Donald Trump is unlikely to concede the election ( he has falsely said the election is “ rigged ” and will be stolen from him ) .
With the confirmation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a firm 6-3 majority on the court and there ’ s little question he will try to use the federal courts to try to overcome a close margin in the race if Trump is behind .
There are expected to be legal fights to try to get ballots disqualified on technicalities .
While experts caution there is a long road before the supreme court would be asked to decide an election , the court ’ s swath of anti-voter rulings do not bode well .
“ The supreme court has an outsized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I do think the president is looking to the court to expect a certain outcome , but I don ’ t think that outcome is guaranteed , ” said Franita Tolson , a constitutional law professor at the University of Southern California .
Despite all of this , there ’ s some evidence Americans are fighting back .
There ’ s been a tidal wave of turnout in the weeks leading up to the election .
A staggering 73 million people have already voted early , far more than cast early ballots in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michael McDonald , a political science professor at the University of Florida .
In Texas , a state with a history of abysmal voter turnout , the youth vote is surging and the state is fast approaching the 2016 total turnout .
Experts expect the highest overall turnout in a presidential race since 1908 .
After the election , Republicans are likely to point to these numbers as evidence that claims of voter suppression are exaggerated .
But that ’ s not true – even if we have record turnout this year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who were deterred from voting because they didn ’ t want to risk their health or get a witness or have proper ID .
Instead , America is seeing a flood of Americans continuing to chip away at the infrastructure of voter suppression that is supporting Republican power .
The structure is creaking under new weight – America is getting closer to its democratic promise .

America has long held itself up as the world’s leading democracy, but it has an equally long history of denying people the right to vote.
To understand how voter suppression is shaping the 2020 election, just look at Texas. While many states do not require voters to have a reason to vote by mail, Texas only allows voters to do so if they are 65 or older or meet other conditions. The state does not allow people to register to vote online.
Even with a flood of Covid cases, Texas has successfully fought tooth and nail in federal and state courts to uphold those restrictions. Last month, Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, a Republican, abruptly issued an order that limited each county in the state to offer one ballot drop box. The move meant that Democratic-friendly Harris county, which covers more than 1,700 square miles and is home to 2.4 million registered voters, could only offer one place for voters to return their ballots. The state of Rhode Island, which is smaller than Harris county, will have more drop-off locations this year.
The battle playing across America is in some ways a continuation of a centuries-long fight over access to the franchise. African Americans were formally denied the right to vote at the nation’s founding, and even when granted access in the 19th century, states responded by implementing devices such as poll taxes, literacy tests and felon disenfranchisement laws designed to keep African Americans from the polls.
The 1965 Voting Rights Act, a crown jewel of the civil rights movement, blunted many of these racist tools, in part by requiring places with a history of voting discrimination, like Texas, to get voting changes pre-cleared before they went into effect. But in 2013, the US supreme court gutted that provision, saying it was no longer necessary. States, freed from federal oversight, unleashed a wave of new voting restrictions, including new voter ID laws and efforts to close polling places.
“The forces that were fine with poll taxes and literacy tests are the same kinds of forces that are equally comfortable in the 21st century with ‘targeting African Americans with almost surgical precision’ in voter IDs and requiring extra hurdles to cast an absentee ballot in the midst of a global pandemic,” said Carol Anderson, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta who has written extensively about voter suppression, in an email.
Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletter
Underneath it all, many see a cynical attempt by the Republican party to try to preserve power while making it deliberately harder for people less likely to support them – groups like minorities, young people and the poor – to vote. In many places, Republicans have been able to get away with this because of an unprecedented effort in 2010 and 2011 to draw electoral districts that cemented their control of state legislatures, which shape election laws in the US. This effort succeeded across the country, including in key states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The pandemic has exposed how deeply entrenched this strategy is in the Republican party. Even as Americans face an unprecedented health risk, people have waited in hours-long lines across the country to cast their ballots in person. Republicans in several states have fought efforts to make it easier to vote by mail, like eliminating requirements that voters have to have an excuse to vote by mail or that they get a witness for their ballot. They have also fought efforts to automatically mail absentee ballot applications to voters.
Many states require voters to return their ballots to election officials by election day to have them counted. After widespread mail delays earlier this summer, many local election officials encouraged voters to return their absentee ballots in person to physically secure drop boxes. But Republicans in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Texas have all moved to try to limit their use, making it unnecessarily harder for voters to return their ballots.
“What has been troubling to me this year, as it relates to election administration, is that commonsense, practical services for voters have been politicized and weaponized as possible partisan activities,” Tammy Patrick, a senior adviser at the Democracy Fund who works closely with election administrators across the US, said in an email. “Election officials at the state and local level, in red/blue/purple states, have advocated offering services like this to all voters in a pandemic. Some were able to do so, others were prevented from serving their voters well.”
05:32 Voter suppression: how Trump is undermining the US election – video explainer
Concerned about mail delays, Democrats and voting rights groups sued in courts across the country, asking election officials to count ballots as long as they are postmarked by election day and arrive in the days after. While the Pennsylvania supreme court, over the loud objection of Republicans, ordered a three-day extension, courts have upheld the election day deadline in Michigan and Wisconsin, two key states that will probably shape the outcome of the 2020 race. Those decisions mean that thousands of ballots will probably be rejected simply because they arrive late, regardless of when the voter puts them in the mail (Trump carried Michigan in 2016 by about 10,000 votes and Wisconsin by just under 23,000).
For all of the Republican attacks on the right to vote, their most powerful ally has been the United States supreme court as well as the lower federal appeals courts to which Trump has appointed an unprecedented number of judges. The supreme court has taken a brazenly anti-voter stance, refusing to ease the ballot receipt deadline in Wisconsin, witness requirements in South Carolina or even permit counties in Alabama to offer curbside voting. The supreme court’s conservative majority has simply said that federal courts shouldn’t interfere with voting rules on the eve of an election and shouldn’t second-guess state lawmakers, who have the constitutional authority to set election rules.
The supreme court also refused to block a Republican-written Florida law that required people with felony convictions to pay financial debts before they can vote again. Writing in dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the move would block people from voting “simply because they are poor”. An estimated 774,000 people in Florida, one of the closest swing states in the country, can’t vote because they owe money.
The supreme court’s actions are all the more alarming because Donald Trump is unlikely to concede the election (he has falsely said the election is “rigged” and will be stolen from him). With the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump now has a firm 6-3 majority on the court and there’s little question he will try to use the federal courts to try to overcome a close margin in the race if Trump is behind. There are expected to be legal fights to try to get ballots disqualified on technicalities. While experts caution there is a long road before the supreme court would be asked to decide an election, the court’s swath of anti-voter rulings do not bode well.
I do think the president is looking to the court to expect a certain outcome, but I don’t think that outcome is guaranteed Franita Tolson
“The supreme court has an outsized role because it has become politicized. I do think the president is looking to the court to expect a certain outcome, but I don’t think that outcome is guaranteed,” said Franita Tolson, a constitutional law professor at the University of Southern California.
Despite all of this, there’s some evidence Americans are fighting back. There’s been a tidal wave of turnout in the weeks leading up to the election. A staggering 73 million people have already voted early, far more than cast early ballots in 2016, according to data collected by Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida. In Texas, a state with a history of abysmal voter turnout, the youth vote is surging and the state is fast approaching the 2016 total turnout. Experts expect the highest overall turnout in a presidential race since 1908.
After the election, Republicans are likely to point to these numbers as evidence that claims of voter suppression are exaggerated. But that’s not true – even if we have record turnout this year, we will never know the number of people who were deterred from voting because they didn’t want to risk their health or get a witness or have proper ID.
Instead, America is seeing a flood of Americans continuing to chip away at the infrastructure of voter suppression that is supporting Republican power. The structure is creaking under new weight – America is getting closer to its democratic promise.


theguardian--2020-10-30--US shatters daily coronavirus record with nearly 90,000 new infections

The US has shattered the daily coronavirus record , with almost 90,000 new infections reported on Thursday and close to 1,000 deaths , as the country surged past a world-topping 9m cases and experts warned of death rates more than doubling by mid-January .
The sobering data and scientific outlook show a pandemic veering further out of control in America even as the president and his son hammered a public message dismissing the grim realities .
On Friday , the total number of cases in the US hit 9,018,000 , according to figures from Johns Hopkins University .
So far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country , the highest figure in the world by a significant margin .
The US recorded its highest one-day total of new coronavirus infections of the pandemic , with 88,521 new cases reported on Thursday – a rise of 9,540 on the previous day .
The death toll for the 24-hour period was 971 .
Hospitalisations are soaring in all but 11 states , according to the Covid Tracking Project , with more than 46,000 people in hospital on Thursday and a number of states setting up overflow field hospitals and governors sending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the surge with a Friday morning tweet blaming case numbers on increased testing .
“ More Testing equals more Cases .
We have best testing .
Deaths WAY DOWN .
Hospitals have great additional capacity !
Doing much better than Europe .
Therapeutics working !
” His eldest son , Donald Trump Jr , said in an interview on Fox that deaths were “ almost nothing ” .
But experts warned that conditions are likely to worsen sharply going into winter and predicted that death rates could more than double by mid-January .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the University School of Medicine said in its latest forecast that the death toll could hit 514,000 by the middle of January and added it was most likely that by that time 2,250 Americans will be dying every day from Covid-19 , more than twice the current rate .
“ The fall/winter surge should lead to a daily death toll that is approximately three times higher than now by mid-January .
Hospital systems , particularly ICUs , are expected to be under extreme stress in December and January in 18 states , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to insist that the US was “ rounding the turn ” , arguing against taking stricter measures to combat the pandemic and told a campaign rally on Saturday “ you don ’ t see death ” .
“ This is the hardest point in this pandemic right now – the next two months , ” Scott Gottlieb , the former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) , told CNN .
But with the election just days away , cases are soaring in every competitive state .
In 13 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news cases has risen 45 % in the last fortnight and Iowa , Michigan , Minnesota and Pennsylvania have recently reached new weekly average highs .
In Utah , Gary Herbert , the governor , said hospitals “ can not keep up ” with the infection rate .
He tweeted : “ You deserve to understand the dire situation we face.
” And he warned that the state could face a similar fate to parts of Italy back in March or New York , where New York City became the world hotspot in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 14 states to report record increases in deaths this month and among 30 states that reported record increases in cases .
Trump has been campaigning repeatedly in Wisconsin in recent weeks despite local elected officials and doctors begging him not to , as crowds turn up , jostling and not wearing masks .
He was due to hold another rally there on Friday afternoon .
“ There is no way to sugarcoat it : we are facing an urgent crisis , and there is an imminent risk to you , your family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Wisconsin ’ s governor , Tony Evers .
At a drive-in rally in Florida on Thursday , the Democratic presidential candidate , Joe Biden , said Trump “ has given up ” on tackling coronavirus .
“ He is doing nothing .
We ’ re learning to die with it and Donald Trump has waved the white flag , abandoned our families and surrendered to the virus , ” he added .
“ But the American people don ’ t give up , we don ’ t give in and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and nor will I under any circumstances.
” The country reported a record of more than 500,000 new coronavirus cases in the past week .
Half of US counties saw new cases peak during the past month .
Almost a third saw a record in the past week .
Reported deaths can lag case numbers by weeks .
But already deaths are increasing in about half of states .
In the past month , about a third of US counties hit a daily record of more deaths than any other time during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

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The US has shattered the daily coronavirus record, with almost 90,000 new infections reported on Thursday and close to 1,000 deaths, as the country surged past a world-topping 9m cases and experts warned of death rates more than doubling by mid-January.
The sobering data and scientific outlook show a pandemic veering further out of control in America even as the president and his son hammered a public message dismissing the grim realities.
On Friday, the total number of cases in the US hit 9,018,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. So far, 228,677 people have died in the country, the highest figure in the world by a significant margin.
The US recorded its highest one-day total of new coronavirus infections of the pandemic, with 88,521 new cases reported on Thursday – a rise of 9,540 on the previous day. The death toll for the 24-hour period was 971.
Hospitalisations are soaring in all but 11 states, according to the Covid Tracking Project, with more than 46,000 people in hospital on Thursday and a number of states setting up overflow field hospitals and governors sending military helpers.
Donald Trump responded to the surge with a Friday morning tweet blaming case numbers on increased testing. “More Testing equals more Cases. We have best testing. Deaths WAY DOWN. Hospitals have great additional capacity! Doing much better than Europe. Therapeutics working!”
His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, said in an interview on Fox that deaths were “almost nothing”.
But experts warned that conditions are likely to worsen sharply going into winter and predicted that death rates could more than double by mid-January.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University School of Medicine said in its latest forecast that the death toll could hit 514,000 by the middle of January and added it was most likely that by that time 2,250 Americans will be dying every day from Covid-19, more than twice the current rate.
“The fall/winter surge should lead to a daily death toll that is approximately three times higher than now by mid-January. Hospital systems, particularly ICUs, are expected to be under extreme stress in December and January in 18 states,” it said.
The president continued to insist that the US was “rounding the turn”, arguing against taking stricter measures to combat the pandemic and told a campaign rally on Saturday “you don’t see death”.
“This is the hardest point in this pandemic right now – the next two months,” Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), told CNN.
But with the election just days away, cases are soaring in every competitive state. In 13 potential swing states the weekly average of news cases has risen 45% in the last fortnight and Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have recently reached new weekly average highs.
In Utah, Gary Herbert, the governor, said hospitals “cannot keep up” with the infection rate. He tweeted: “You deserve to understand the dire situation we face.” And he warned that the state could face a similar fate to parts of Italy back in March or New York, where New York City became the world hotspot in the early spring.
Utah was one of 14 states to report record increases in deaths this month and among 30 states that reported record increases in cases.
Trump has been campaigning repeatedly in Wisconsin in recent weeks despite local elected officials and doctors begging him not to, as crowds turn up, jostling and not wearing masks. He was due to hold another rally there on Friday afternoon.
“There is no way to sugarcoat it: we are facing an urgent crisis, and there is an imminent risk to you, your family members, your friends, your neighbors,” said Wisconsin’s governor, Tony Evers.
At a drive-in rally in Florida on Thursday, the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, said Trump “has given up” on tackling coronavirus.
“He is doing nothing. We’re learning to die with it and Donald Trump has waved the white flag, abandoned our families and surrendered to the virus,” he added. “But the American people don’t give up, we don’t give in and we surely don’t cower, and nor will I under any circumstances.”
The country reported a record of more than 500,000 new coronavirus cases in the past week.
Half of US counties saw new cases peak during the past month. Almost a third saw a record in the past week.
Reported deaths can lag case numbers by weeks. But already deaths are increasing in about half of states.
In the past month, about a third of US counties hit a daily record of more deaths than any other time during the pandemic, the New York Times reported.
The Associated Press contributed reporting


theguardian--2020-10-30--Donald Trump Jr and father play down Covid deaths as daily toll nears 1,000

As coronavirus deaths in the US approach 1,000 a day in the current record surge of infections , Donald Trump and his son , Don Jr , appear intent on publicly disputing the lethality of the outbreak at repeated opportunities .
Don Jr sat for an interview with Fox News on Thursday night during which he called critics of the Trump administration ’ s approach to the pandemic “ truly morons ” and said that deaths from Covid-19 in America right now are “ almost nothing ” .
Meanwhile , having said at a rally last weekend that “ you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this stage of the pandemic in the US , Donald Trump reiterated in a tweet on Friday morning that deaths are “ WAY DOWN ” in the US , mass testing is exaggerating the numbers of infections and hospitals are coping .
In fact , many hospitals across the US , especially the midwest and upper midwest heartland and Texas are on the brink of being overwhelmed and are setting up field hospitals and calling in the military and assistance from state governors .
On Fox News , Don Jr said : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it on my Instagram , I went through the CDC [ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ] data because I kept hearing about the new infections , [ but ] why aren ’ t they talking about deaths ?
Oh , oh , because the number is almost nothing , because we have gotten control of this thing.
” Public health experts , such as the top public health official on the White House ’ s own coronavirus taskforce , Anthony Fauci , just this week warned that the US was in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” this winter because it is not controlling the pandemic , and that life probably will not return return to normal until late 2021 or 2022 , even with a successful vaccine likely to emerge in the coming months .
Nearly 90,000 new coronavirus infections were reported in the US on Thursday , the highest single-day total in the country since the pandemic began , or about one new case every second .
In the recent surge deaths can lag cases by several weeks .
But already deaths are increasing in about half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported .
And in the past month , about a third of US counties hit a daily record of deaths in the pandemic .

As coronavirus deaths in the US approach 1,000 a day in the current record surge of infections, Donald Trump and his son, Don Jr, appear intent on publicly disputing the lethality of the outbreak at repeated opportunities.
Don Jr sat for an interview with Fox News on Thursday night during which he called critics of the Trump administration’s approach to the pandemic “truly morons” and said that deaths from Covid-19 in America right now are “almost nothing”.
Don Jr. falsely claimed on Thursday that the number of Americans dying from the coronavirus amounts to “almost nothing.”
An average of 1,000 Americans a day are dying from Covid-19 right now.pic.twitter.com/oHNzQtfDOS — Bill Maxwell 😷 #NeverTrump (@Bill_Maxwell_) October 30, 2020
Meanwhile, having said at a rally last weekend that “you don’t see death” at this stage of the pandemic in the US, Donald Trump reiterated in a tweet on Friday morning that deaths are “WAY DOWN” in the US, mass testing is exaggerating the numbers of infections and hospitals are coping.
More Testing equals more Cases. We have best testing. Deaths WAY DOWN. Hospitals have great additional capacity! Doing much better than Europe. Therapeutics working! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2020
In fact, many hospitals across the US, especially the midwest and upper midwest heartland and Texas are on the brink of being overwhelmed and are setting up field hospitals and calling in the military and assistance from state governors.
On Fox News, Don Jr said: “If you look at, I put it on my Instagram, I went through the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] data because I kept hearing about the new infections, [but] why aren’t they talking about deaths? Oh, oh, because the number is almost nothing, because we have gotten control of this thing.”
Public health experts, such as the top public health official on the White House’s own coronavirus taskforce, Anthony Fauci, just this week warned that the US was in for “a whole lot of pain” this winter because it is not controlling the pandemic, and that life probably will not return return to normal until late 2021 or 2022, even with a successful vaccine likely to emerge in the coming months.
Nearly 90,000 new coronavirus infections were reported in the US on Thursday, the highest single-day total in the country since the pandemic began, or about one new case every second.
In the recent surge deaths can lag cases by several weeks. But already deaths are increasing in about half of states, the New York Times reported.
And in the past month, about a third of US counties hit a daily record of deaths in the pandemic.


theguardian--2020-10-30--Digested week: no sympathy for the second most awful man in America | Emma Brockes

I ’ ve always felt sorry for the victims of Sacha Baron Cohen , no matter how much they seem to deserve it .
He plays on their vanity and eggs them on to say terrible things , but he also hoodwinks them using something less laudable : the desire , present in most people , to avoid causing someone else – in this case , Baron Cohen ’ s buffoonish alter egos – social pain or embarrassment .
There is , it turns out , an exception to this weakness of mine , a person I ’ m only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Step forward Rudy Giuliani , the former mayor of New York and the second most awful man in America , who over the weekend continued to push back against his starring role in the new Borat sequel .
In a secretly filmed scene from the movie , Giuliani is shown accompanying Borat ’ s “ 15-year-old daughter ” to a hotel room , before lying down on the bed and sticking his hands down the front of his pants .
He said later he had been “ tucking in my shirt ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ grossed out ” by this episode , but four days after news of the scene broke , Giuliani did what he does best and upstaged himself by engaging in another dispute .
On Sunday the 76-year-old sat in a car on Fifth Avenue in New York stuck in traffic caused by a group identifying itself as “ Jews for Trump ” .
Counter-protesters arrived and spotted through the car ’ s open passenger-seat window the tiny , scowling face of Giuliani .
Video footage of the event shows him peering beadily out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beatrix Potter introduced for the sole purpose of receiving a comeuppance .
Shouting ensued .
“ Who would you prefer for the next four years ?
” said Giuliani in an interview afterwards .
“ This group of foul-mouthed people who don ’ t seem to have a vocabulary beyond three words , or these very nice Jewish people who are … not saying anything back and not doing anything other than exercising their right to say they ’ re for Donald Trump.
” To which the answer is , obviously , whichever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until Giuliani is safely over the horizon .
To escape the world , I am on a television binge , although my choice of shows sometimes makes everything worse .
On Tuesday I finished Utopia , Gillian Flynn ’ s horrifically timed adaptation of the 2013 cult British show of the same name , in which a flu-like pandemic threatens the world .
A laborious disclaimer runs at the start of the show ( Utopia is a work of fiction “ not based on actual , related or current events ” ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came to delaying its transmission .
One of its themes is how you can ’ t trust government health authorities , while the world falls victim to an unreliable vaccine .
If it was masochistic to watch , I enjoyed it for its comic-book thrills and the way it unfolded like Scooby-Doo but with torture .
A better escape is The Undoing , the new HBO thriller starring Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman , set in the airless world of hyper-wealthy Manhattan .
Grant , who once described his own acting range as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where other former romantic heroes have fallen , and as someone who has since Four Weddings and Funeral been , so to speak , totally straight for Grant , it is gratifying indeed .
Orlando Bloom , marooned on the terrible Carnival Row ; Jude Law , hurling himself ineffectually about in The Third Day ; Paul Bettany , with any luck never to be seen in any context again ; and here is Grant , urbane , winsome and still a bit mumbly , banking one TV hit after another .
Kim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a private island to celebrate her 40th birthday , an event that left her feeling , she wrote on Instagram afterwards , “ humbled and blessed ” , not least “ during these times when we are reminded of the things that truly matter ” .
It has never been clear how nakedly the Kardashians are trolling us but , given that of all their shortcomings a lack of self-awareness has never been one , it ’ s fair to assume they know what they ’ re doing .
The Instagram post wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precisely on brand .
It was the same story with Kendall Jenner ’ s commercial for Pepsi , in which the model was depicted solving aggressive policing in the US by giving a cop a can of cola .
She too was accused of tone deafness , when the ad , which was crass , dumb and self-regarding , was entirely in keeping with the family ’ s output .
Above all , it guaranteed to generate in the form of outrage more grist for the Kardashian mill .
If we want them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give up the pleasure of hating them and replace it with stony indifference .
There is no trick-or-treating in our building this year , but a socially distanced Halloween parade around the block , during which all the kids will be required to wear masks ( not the fun kind ) .
In school , Halloween is banned because of problems with allergens .
One good thing to have come out of the reduced school schedule , therefore , is Halloween at the Learning Center , the city-provided facility where kids go for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not in school .
Today , to their delight , they got to dress up ( the only proviso , “ no swords ” ) .
Our particular Learning Center is in a public leisure complex , and it ’ s a lot groovier than school .
The staff work for the parks department rather than the education department , which means more tattoos and body piercings and fewer fawn-coloured cardies .
It also means that although it ’ s entirely indoors , it has a forest school vibe of no competition .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ my kids came home over the moon at the new way of doing things .
“ We played a game and if you won you got candy and if you lost you also got candy.
” I have opinions about this prizes-for-all approach but , given the state of the world , I decided to let this one slide .
As with everywhere else in New York , the one unbreakable rule of the Learning Center is that everyone entering wears a mask .
The number of ways people find to wear their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s the sizing issue , when the wearer drapes a narrow strip of fabric successfully over his nose and mouth while leaving vast expanses of chin exposed .
There ’ s the nose flasher , who covers his mouth but thinks nose-breathing doesn ’ t shed viral load .
And there is the person who wears it hooked over their ears but pushed way down as a kind of chin hammock .
( This person drags out the eating of crisps so their mask can stay down . )
Like the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school uniforms , everyone has their own style , with the added frisson of potentially infecting those around them with a deadly disease .
Happy Halloween .

Monday
I’ve always felt sorry for the victims of Sacha Baron Cohen, no matter how much they seem to deserve it. He plays on their vanity and eggs them on to say terrible things, but he also hoodwinks them using something less laudable: the desire, present in most people, to avoid causing someone else – in this case, Baron Cohen’s buffoonish alter egos – social pain or embarrassment.
There is, it turns out, an exception to this weakness of mine, a person I’m only too happy to see Baron Cohen torment. Step forward Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and the second most awful man in America, who over the weekend continued to push back against his starring role in the new Borat sequel. In a secretly filmed scene from the movie, Giuliani is shown accompanying Borat’s “15-year-old daughter” to a hotel room, before lying down on the bed and sticking his hands down the front of his pants. He said later he had been “tucking in my shirt”.
Even Fox News confessed to being “grossed out” by this episode, but four days after news of the scene broke, Giuliani did what he does best and upstaged himself by engaging in another dispute. On Sunday the 76-year-old sat in a car on Fifth Avenue in New York stuck in traffic caused by a group identifying itself as “Jews for Trump”. Counter-protesters arrived and spotted through the car’s open passenger-seat window the tiny, scowling face of Giuliani. Video footage of the event shows him peering beadily out like a creature in a story by Beatrix Potter introduced for the sole purpose of receiving a comeuppance. Shouting ensued.
“Who would you prefer for the next four years?” said Giuliani in an interview afterwards. “This group of foul-mouthed people who don’t seem to have a vocabulary beyond three words, or these very nice Jewish people who are … not saying anything back and not doing anything other than exercising their right to say they’re for Donald Trump.” To which the answer is, obviously, whichever one grabs the wheel and keeps driving until Giuliani is safely over the horizon.
Tuesday
To escape the world, I am on a television binge, although my choice of shows sometimes makes everything worse. On Tuesday I finished Utopia, Gillian Flynn’s horrifically timed adaptation of the 2013 cult British show of the same name, in which a flu-like pandemic threatens the world. A laborious disclaimer runs at the start of the show (Utopia is a work of fiction “not based on actual, related or current events”), which makes one wonder how close makers came to delaying its transmission. One of its themes is how you can’t trust government health authorities, while the world falls victim to an unreliable vaccine.
If it was masochistic to watch, I enjoyed it for its comic-book thrills and the way it unfolded like Scooby-Doo but with torture. A better escape is The Undoing, the new HBO thriller starring Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman, set in the airless world of hyper-wealthy Manhattan. Grant, who once described his own acting range as “sinisterly narrow”, has prospered where other former romantic heroes have fallen, and as someone who has since Four Weddings and Funeral been, so to speak, totally straight for Grant, it is gratifying indeed. Orlando Bloom, marooned on the terrible Carnival Row; Jude Law, hurling himself ineffectually about in The Third Day; Paul Bettany, with any luck never to be seen in any context again; and here is Grant, urbane, winsome and still a bit mumbly, banking one TV hit after another.
Wednesday
Kim Kardashian West threw a surprise party on a private island to celebrate her 40th birthday, an event that left her feeling, she wrote on Instagram afterwards, “humbled and blessed”, not least “during these times when we are reminded of the things that truly matter”. It has never been clear how nakedly the Kardashians are trolling us but, given that of all their shortcomings a lack of self-awareness has never been one, it’s fair to assume they know what they’re doing. The Instagram post wasn’t tone deaf, it was precisely on brand.
It was the same story with Kendall Jenner’s commercial for Pepsi, in which the model was depicted solving aggressive policing in the US by giving a cop a can of cola. She too was accused of tone deafness, when the ad, which was crass, dumb and self-regarding, was entirely in keeping with the family’s output. Above all, it guaranteed to generate in the form of outrage more grist for the Kardashian mill. If we want them to go away, we have to give up the pleasure of hating them and replace it with stony indifference.
Thursday
There is no trick-or-treating in our building this year, but a socially distanced Halloween parade around the block, during which all the kids will be required to wear masks (not the fun kind). In school, Halloween is banned because of problems with allergens. One good thing to have come out of the reduced school schedule, therefore, is Halloween at the Learning Center, the city-provided facility where kids go for remote learning on the days they are not in school. Today, to their delight, they got to dress up (the only proviso, “no swords”).
Our particular Learning Center is in a public leisure complex, and it’s a lot groovier than school. The staff work for the parks department rather than the education department, which means more tattoos and body piercings and fewer fawn-coloured cardies. It also means that although it’s entirely indoors, it has a forest school vibe of no competition.
After a day of Halloween fun, my kids came home over the moon at the new way of doing things. “We played a game and if you won you got candy and if you lost you also got candy.” I have opinions about this prizes-for-all approach but, given the state of the world, I decided to let this one slide.
Friday
As with everywhere else in New York, the one unbreakable rule of the Learning Center is that everyone entering wears a mask. The number of ways people find to wear their masks wrong continues to be weird. There’s the sizing issue, when the wearer drapes a narrow strip of fabric successfully over his nose and mouth while leaving vast expanses of chin exposed. There’s the nose flasher, who covers his mouth but thinks nose-breathing doesn’t shed viral load. And there is the person who wears it hooked over their ears but pushed way down as a kind of chin hammock. (This person drags out the eating of crisps so their mask can stay down.)
Like the small hacks and variations kids make to school uniforms, everyone has their own style, with the added frisson of potentially infecting those around them with a deadly disease. Happy Halloween.


theguardian--2020-10-30--Behold Trump's pre-election secret weapon: Nigel Farage, 'king of Europe' | Marina Hyde

How poignant to see Kent garagiste Nigel Farage interfering in the US election , much in the way a drop interferes in the ocean .
Farage is appearing at the odd rally for his emotional support president , Donald Trump , which tells its own story about where the US leader is at , psychologically speaking , for the final days of his campaign .
On Wednesday , Trump gibbered to a crowd : “ I ’ m glad I called him up.
” So is Nigel ’ s agent .
Nigel was brought on stage in Arizona by Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the king of Europe ” .
In fairness , he could just as easily have got away with passing Farage off as the duke of Ruritania or the sultan of Jupiter .
Still , in for a penny , in for a pound , and Trump went on to hazard that Farage was “ one of the most powerful men in Europe ” , even though Nigel ’ s an unemployed radio DJ and has spent a good part of the past four years hanging round the old US-of-A hoping to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to eat a well-done steak with a self-confessed sex offender .
By way of recompense , Farage rubed his way on to the rally platform and took the microphone to declare Trump was “ the single most resilient and bravest person I have ever met in my life ” .
That is probably the only truthful thing to have been said on stage that night .
Yes , Trump received five draft deferments – first for college , then for something called “ heel spurs ” – and once described the business of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as “ my personal Vietnam ” .
But you have to remember that Nigel is himself a wildly overemotional nervous Nellie who would have been interned for spreading panic during the second world war he self-owningly fetishises .
There is no one more histrionic , more whiny , and – let ’ s face it – more willing to make alliances with far-right German politicians .
We simply couldn ’ t have risked him failing to keep calm or carry on among the general populace .
Anyway , this week , he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ informing Trump ’ s crowd : “ You ’ ll be voting for the only leader in the western world with the real courage to stand up to the Chinese Communist party.
” Stand up to them ?
He pays more tax to them than he does to the US .
Later , Nigel justified his media credentials by explaining to Daily Telegraph readers that Trump had “ what Americans call ‘ the big M ’ – momentum ” .
Is that what Americans call momentum ?
We ’ ll have to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for it , I suppose .
Then again , engaging with Farage on his own terms is like trying to debate a fart or conduct a symposium with cystitis .
Though operationally pointless and redundant now , he somewhat horrifyingly endures – a vestigial tail on our body politic .
It is increasingly accepted that Nigel will always be with us , like far-left antisemitism or a mutating respiratory virus .
It is probably more helpful to step back and see him for what he represents in this case , which in some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politicians have always nursed a certain desperation to be noticed by Washington power .
The trouble for Boris Johnson ’ s government of superforecasters is that they seem not to have forecast in time that it was at least a remote possibility this Joe Biden guy could win the presidency instead of Trump .
Thus , with no meaningful bonds forged at all with the current favourite , the omens for the UK should Biden prove victorious are not what you ’ d file under encouraging .
Any appearance of Farage within a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply serves as a reminder to Biden ’ s Democrats of their long-held conviction that Brexit and Trump are of a piece .
Furthermore , Johnson ’ s government still fails to understand that there IS a special relationship , it ’ s just that it ’ s between the US and Ireland .
So when Biden last month warned that the Good Friday agreement must not become “ a casualty of Brexit ” , there was a very urgent need for the Conservative administration to do and say precisely nothing .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smith failed to get the memo , or certainly to understand the words crayoned on it , and consequently could be found across the airwaves honking that Biden shouldn ’ t be lecturing the UK , but should be trying for “ a peace deal in the US ” to stop “ the killing and rioting ” in cities following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer .
Quite what power Duncan Smith thought Biden would have at that point to strike a “ peace deal ” is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exactly Iain ’ s strong point .
Nor are they Farage ’ s .
It was during the EU referendum campaign , you ’ ll recall , that Nigel lost his rag about Barack Obama “ interfering ” , after the US president announced that Britain would be “ at the back of the queue ” for a trade deal .
This didn ’ t go down enormously well at the time , it must be said , but has regrettably increased in accuracy as we near the conclusion of the Brexit process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event and without a trade deal lined up .
Unless any agreement with the US is signed by April , the legislation allowing it to speed it through Congress will have expired , meaning we will be at the back of a queue of queues .
Already , our ability to strike a deal has by all accounts been hampered by the failure to put the NHS on the table , while the need to have anything at all on the table means the table is now heaving with heavily chlorinated chicken shit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had enough of exports .
Speaking of chickenshits , you can be sure Nigel Farage will be a million miles away from that queue and all the other queues when they come to pass .
What does he care ?
He ’ s a wrecker , not a builder .
Perhaps the UK will live up to a vision “ the king of Europe ” couldn ’ t even be bothered to sketch on the back of one of his fag packets – or perhaps it won ’ t .
Perhaps our chlorinated @ @ @ @ @ @ @

How poignant to see Kent garagiste Nigel Farage interfering in the US election, much in the way a drop interferes in the ocean. Farage is appearing at the odd rally for his emotional support president, Donald Trump, which tells its own story about where the US leader is at, psychologically speaking, for the final days of his campaign. On Wednesday, Trump gibbered to a crowd: “I’m glad I called him up.” So is Nigel’s agent.
Nigel was brought on stage in Arizona by Donald, where the latter introduced him as “the king of Europe”. In fairness, he could just as easily have got away with passing Farage off as the duke of Ruritania or the sultan of Jupiter. Still, in for a penny, in for a pound, and Trump went on to hazard that Farage was “one of the most powerful men in Europe”, even though Nigel’s an unemployed radio DJ and has spent a good part of the past four years hanging round the old US-of-A hoping to get a 40-minute 6pm “dinner” invitation to eat a well-done steak with a self-confessed sex offender.
By way of recompense, Farage rubed his way on to the rally platform and took the microphone to declare Trump was “the single most resilient and bravest person I have ever met in my life”. That is probably the only truthful thing to have been said on stage that night. Yes, Trump received five draft deferments – first for college, then for something called “heel spurs” – and once described the business of avoiding STDs in Manhattan during the 1980s as “my personal Vietnam”. But you have to remember that Nigel is himself a wildly overemotional nervous Nellie who would have been interned for spreading panic during the second world war he self-owningly fetishises. There is no one more histrionic, more whiny, and – let’s face it – more willing to make alliances with far-right German politicians. We simply couldn’t have risked him failing to keep calm or carry on among the general populace.
Anyway, this week, he was giving it his best Lord Haw-Haw, informing Trump’s crowd: “You’ll be voting for the only leader in the western world with the real courage to stand up to the Chinese Communist party.” Stand up to them? He pays more tax to them than he does to the US. Later, Nigel justified his media credentials by explaining to Daily Telegraph readers that Trump had “what Americans call ‘the big M’ – momentum”. Is that what Americans call momentum? We’ll have to take this latterday Alistair Cooke’s word for it, I suppose.
Then again, engaging with Farage on his own terms is like trying to debate a fart or conduct a symposium with cystitis. Though operationally pointless and redundant now, he somewhat horrifyingly endures – a vestigial tail on our body politic. It is increasingly accepted that Nigel will always be with us, like far-left antisemitism or a mutating respiratory virus.
It is probably more helpful to step back and see him for what he represents in this case, which in some ways is nothing particularly new. British politicians have always nursed a certain desperation to be noticed by Washington power.
The trouble for Boris Johnson’s government of superforecasters is that they seem not to have forecast in time that it was at least a remote possibility this Joe Biden guy could win the presidency instead of Trump. Thus, with no meaningful bonds forged at all with the current favourite, the omens for the UK should Biden prove victorious are not what you’d file under encouraging. Any appearance of Farage within a restraining order’s distance of Trump simply serves as a reminder to Biden’s Democrats of their long-held conviction that Brexit and Trump are of a piece.
Furthermore, Johnson’s government still fails to understand that there IS a special relationship, it’s just that it’s between the US and Ireland. So when Biden last month warned that the Good Friday agreement must not become “a casualty of Brexit”, there was a very urgent need for the Conservative administration to do and say precisely nothing. As so often, alas, Iain Duncan Smith failed to get the memo, or certainly to understand the words crayoned on it, and consequently could be found across the airwaves honking that Biden shouldn’t be lecturing the UK, but should be trying for “a peace deal in the US” to stop “the killing and rioting” in cities following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. Quite what power Duncan Smith thought Biden would have at that point to strike a “peace deal” is unclear, but details aren’t exactly Iain’s strong point.
Nor are they Farage’s. It was during the EU referendum campaign, you’ll recall, that Nigel lost his rag about Barack Obama “interfering”, after the US president announced that Britain would be “at the back of the queue” for a trade deal. This didn’t go down enormously well at the time, it must be said, but has regrettably increased in accuracy as we near the conclusion of the Brexit process, a full four-and-a-half years after the event and without a trade deal lined up. Unless any agreement with the US is signed by April, the legislation allowing it to speed it through Congress will have expired, meaning we will be at the back of a queue of queues. Already, our ability to strike a deal has by all accounts been hampered by the failure to put the NHS on the table, while the need to have anything at all on the table means the table is now heaving with heavily chlorinated chicken shit. Ah well. Perhaps Britain has had enough of exports.
Speaking of chickenshits, you can be sure Nigel Farage will be a million miles away from that queue and all the other queues when they come to pass. What does he care? He’s a wrecker, not a builder. Perhaps the UK will live up to a vision “the king of Europe” couldn’t even be bothered to sketch on the back of one of his fag packets – or perhaps it won’t. Perhaps our chlorinated chickens will come home to roost.


theguardian--2020-10-30--'He's a salesman': why rallies are Trump's last best hope of clinging to presidency

For Donald Trump , surviving coronavirus has become just another punchline on the campaign trail .
“ I had so many doctors and each one of them studied different parts of the body , ” the president told supporters in Waukesha , Wisconsin , last weekend .
“ And I had a moment where almost every one of them was touching me simultaneously.
” More laughter .
“ I didn ’ t like it !
” “ I said , ‘ Doc , I wan na to get out of here , I ’ ve got ta campaign , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign against ‘ Sleepy Joe ’ .
Can you imagine losing to this guy !
?
” Cries of “ No !
” followed by Trump parodying the voice of a doctor , comparing himself to Superman and referencing “ Barack Hussein Obama ” – cue a chorus of boos .
Opinion polls suggest that Trump could be a dead man walking , hurtling towards a psychologically crushing defeat like one-term president Jimmy Carter against Ronald Reagan in 1980 .
Yet on the trail he continues to project the image of a happy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crowds with selective poll numbers , bogus conspiracy theories and his own brand of humor .
And his base remains loyal to the end with cheers , merriment and chants of “ Four more years !
” , “ Lock him up !
” and “ Build that wall !
” If Trump does lose next week – and the polls have been wrong before so that remains a big “ if ” – he will go down with all guns blazing .
Trump has always been in his element campaigning rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even after winning the 2016 election , throwing out populist red meat and feeding off the energy of fervent crowds .
Whereas Washington is difficult and messy , these public events offer simple affirmation .
Free from the constraints of the White House , its protocols and its officials , he uses the rallies to indulge in free association riffs and play to the gallery .
Now they may represent his last best hope of clinging to the presidency .
Rival Joe Biden is running a more low-key , in-person campaign with smaller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raised vastly more money than Trump and is outspending him in TV advertising .
The president evidently revels in the romantic self-image of an old-fashioned insurgent barnstorming small towns , standing on a soapbox , spinning a yarn and winning over all comers .
The power of live performance appeared to work in 2016 in states such as Wisconsin , where Hillary Clinton did not show up and Trump won narrowly .
Charlie Gerow , a Republican strategist in Pennsylvania , told the Washington Post : “ The rallies are not the be-all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are an important show of strength to rally the base and increase the intensity of those people .
“ Folks who attend a rally go home , talk to friends , talk to neighbors , talk to their family about what happened … Trump has thousands of little ambassadors going to their little corners of America , and the Biden campaign doesn ’ t have that.
” Trump rallies typically feature giant US flags and signs such as “ Make America great again ” ( Maga ) and “ Pennsylvania workers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they often held in open air airport hangars against a backdrop of the Air Force One plane or Marine One helicopter .
The president enters to raucous adulation and hurls red “ Make America great again ” caps into a crowd where such caps outnumber face masks , except among people standing behind the president , and physical distancing almost nonexistent .
A recent analysis by the USA Today newspaper found that Covid-19 cases surged in at least five counties where Trump had just held rallies .
The Republican nominee delivers almost the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same off-script digressions .
He attacks the media for harping on “ Covid , Covid , Covid ” and , in a novel development , has recently taken to playing video clips of his opponent that he believes are damning .
There is also constant machine gunfire of false or inaccurate statements – the New York Times counted 131 of them at a recent rally in Janesville , Wisconsin – and unhinged assertions such as : “ The Biden family is a criminal enterprise .
Frankly , it makes Crooked Hillary Clinton look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his 2016 victory in excruciating detail and confidently predicts not only another victory but by a bigger margin .
Indeed , inside the Maga bubble , defeat is so unthinkable that it is a laughing matter .
“ Could you imagine if I lose ?
” he asked at a rally in Macon , Georgia .
“ I ’ m not going to feel so good .
Maybe I ’ ll have to leave the country , I don ’ t know.
” Trump appears to be channeling The Power of Positive Thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pastor of the church he attended in New York , to will himself to an improbable victory .
But he is not first to put a brave face on a troubled campaign .
Henry Olsen , a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center thinktank in Washington , said : “ All the candidates , even if they know they ’ re going to lose , do the best they can to present a strong positive face .
I suspect if you were to go back and look at presidential campaigns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like with [ John ] McCain in 08 or [ Bob ] Dole in 96 , they ’ d still be going out making a strong case for themselves .
“ I suspect that with Trump there ’ s more genuine belief than there might have been with those gentlemen but his campaign can ’ t be ignorant of the facts .
They may have more optimistic numbers than the polls but there ’ s no way that they would have the president winning at this point.
” There has been one tweak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to end with the Rolling Stones ’ aching You Can ’ t Always Get What You Want , now they finish with the Village People ’ s YMCA .
The 74-year-old usually offers a jovial dance of sorts with the air of a man who knows something the rest of the world does not .
To critics , however , it is all not so much a vaudeville act as the last stand of a demagogue .
Tara Setmayer , a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill , said : “ Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s been a pitchman con artist his entire life , selling things that are not real , that are not authentic , and convincing people that they are .
This is exactly what he ’ s doing with his campaign.
” Setmayer , a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project , an anti-Trump group , added : “ They are virtually broke for a campaign that ’ s raised over a billion dollars and squandered the money .
They ’ re being significantly outraised and outspent on the airwaves in key battleground states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money in Texas and Georgia – places that Democrats never would have spent money in past elections.
” In chilly Waukesha last Saturday , Trump claimed that the turnout could have been three times bigger if space allowed and articulated his belief that , once again , crowd size will matter more than polling data , gut instinct more than conventional wisdom .
“ Something ’ s going on , and they see it , ” he said , pointing to the media with a black gloved hand .
“ Something ’ s @ @ @ @

For Donald Trump, surviving coronavirus has become just another punchline on the campaign trail.
“I had so many doctors and each one of them studied different parts of the body,” the president told supporters in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last weekend.
A roar of laughter.
“And I had a moment where almost every one of them was touching me simultaneously.” More laughter. “I didn’t like it!”
More laughter.
“I said, ‘Doc, I wanna to get out of here, I’ve gotta campaign, I’m in the midst of a campaign against ‘Sleepy Joe’. Can you imagine losing to this guy!?”
Cries of “No!” followed by Trump parodying the voice of a doctor, comparing himself to Superman and referencing “Barack Hussein Obama” – cue a chorus of boos.
Opinion polls suggest that Trump could be a dead man walking, hurtling towards a psychologically crushing defeat like one-term president Jimmy Carter against Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Yet on the trail he continues to project the image of a happy warrior cruising to re-election, regaling big crowds with selective poll numbers, bogus conspiracy theories and his own brand of humor. And his base remains loyal to the end with cheers, merriment and chants of “Four more years!”, “Lock him up!” and “Build that wall!”
If Trump does lose next week – and the polls have been wrong before so that remains a big “if” – he will go down with all guns blazing.
Donald Trump gestures to supporters after a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on 28 October. Photograph: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images
Trump has always been in his element campaigning rather than governing. He continued to hold rallies even after winning the 2016 election, throwing out populist red meat and feeding off the energy of fervent crowds. Whereas Washington is difficult and messy, these public events offer simple affirmation. Free from the constraints of the White House, its protocols and its officials, he uses the rallies to indulge in free association riffs and play to the gallery.
Now they may represent his last best hope of clinging to the presidency. Rival Joe Biden is running a more low-key, in-person campaign with smaller and less frequent events, but has raised vastly more money than Trump and is outspending him in TV advertising.
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The president evidently revels in the romantic self-image of an old-fashioned insurgent barnstorming small towns, standing on a soapbox, spinning a yarn and winning over all comers. The power of live performance appeared to work in 2016 in states such as Wisconsin, where Hillary Clinton did not show up and Trump won narrowly.
Charlie Gerow, a Republican strategist in Pennsylvania, told the Washington Post: “The rallies are not the be-all, end-all by any stretch. But they are an important show of strength to rally the base and increase the intensity of those people.
“Folks who attend a rally go home, talk to friends, talk to neighbors, talk to their family about what happened … Trump has thousands of little ambassadors going to their little corners of America, and the Biden campaign doesn’t have that.”
Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Lansing, Michigan, on 27 October. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump rallies typically feature giant US flags and signs such as “Make America great again” (Maga) and “Pennsylvania workers for Trump”. In the pandemic era they often held in open air airport hangars against a backdrop of the Air Force One plane or Marine One helicopter.
The president enters to raucous adulation and hurls red “Make America great again” caps into a crowd where such caps outnumber face masks, except among people standing behind the president, and physical distancing almost nonexistent. A recent analysis by the USA Today newspaper found that Covid-19 cases surged in at least five counties where Trump had just held rallies.
The Republican nominee delivers almost the same speech every time with almost the same off-script digressions. He attacks the media for harping on “Covid, Covid, Covid” and, in a novel development, has recently taken to playing video clips of his opponent that he believes are damning.
The rallies are not the be-all, end-all by any stretch. But they are an important show of strength to rally the base Charlie Gerow
There is also constant machine gunfire of false or inaccurate statements – the New York Times counted 131 of them at a recent rally in Janesville, Wisconsin – and unhinged assertions such as: “The Biden family is a criminal enterprise. Frankly, it makes Crooked Hillary Clinton look like an amateur.”
He also recounts his 2016 victory in excruciating detail and confidently predicts not only another victory but by a bigger margin. Indeed, inside the Maga bubble, defeat is so unthinkable that it is a laughing matter. “Could you imagine if I lose?” he asked at a rally in Macon, Georgia. “I’m not going to feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country, I don’t know.”
Trump appears to be channeling The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, who was pastor of the church he attended in New York, to will himself to an improbable victory. But he is not first to put a brave face on a troubled campaign.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center thinktank in Washington, said: “All the candidates, even if they know they’re going to lose, do the best they can to present a strong positive face. I suspect if you were to go back and look at presidential campaigns where the loser was quite clear, like with [John] McCain in 08 or [Bob] Dole in 96, they’d still be going out making a strong case for themselves.
“I suspect that with Trump there’s more genuine belief than there might have been with those gentlemen but his campaign can’t be ignorant of the facts. They may have more optimistic numbers than the polls but there’s no way that they would have the president winning at this point.”
Donald Trump acknowledges the cheering crowd behind him at a campaign rally in Goodyear, Arizona, on 28 October. Photograph: Ross D Franklin/AP
There has been one tweak. Whereas Trump’s rallies used to end with the Rolling Stones’ aching You Can’t Always Get What You Want, now they finish with the Village People’s YMCA. The 74-year-old usually offers a jovial dance of sorts with the air of a man who knows something the rest of the world does not.
To critics, however, it is all not so much a vaudeville act as the last stand of a demagogue.
Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, said: “Donald Trump is a salesman. He’s been a pitchman con artist his entire life, selling things that are not real, that are not authentic, and convincing people that they are. This is exactly what he’s doing with his campaign.”
Setmayer, a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group, added: “They are virtually broke for a campaign that’s raised over a billion dollars and squandered the money. They’re being significantly outraised and outspent on the airwaves in key battleground states to the point where Democrats are spending money in Texas and Georgia – places that Democrats never would have spent money in past elections.”
In chilly Waukesha last Saturday, Trump claimed that the turnout could have been three times bigger if space allowed and articulated his belief that, once again, crowd size will matter more than polling data, gut instinct more than conventional wisdom. “Something’s going on, and they see it,” he said, pointing to the media with a black gloved hand. “Something’s going on.”