alternet--2020-11-03--Trump's faux-populist mask has been torn off

Despite his relentless claims of being a `` pro-worker '' president , Donald Trump has in fact gutted worker safety and health protections and refused to enforce rules to keep workers safe amid a deadly pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans and infected thousands of supposedly `` essential '' workers .
The facts show that OSHA ( the Occupational Safety and Health Administration , tasked with protecting job safety ) has plunged to its lowest enforcement and staffing levels in the agency 's half-century history.Trump 's OSHA sports a woefully anemic force of just 750 federal inspectors for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you include state inspectors ) —meaning it would take an astounding 165 years for them to inspect every American workplace , an all-time high , according to a report by the AFL-CIO .
That 's one safety inspector for every 79,262 workers .
According to Government Executive , `` The drop in inspectors coincided with an expansion of workplaces to protect , from 4.5 million in 1980 to more than 8.1 million today .
That means that there were 3,063 workplaces for each OSHA inspector in 1980 , compared to 9,286 today , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Under Trump , workers have about the same shot at winning the lottery as they do at getting their legally mandated job safety protections .
Trump 's anti-worker , pro-corporate agenda provides a direct reality check on the myth that the career businessman is any kind of `` populist . ''
Consider just a few of his many anti-worker policies : • Every Trump budget has included significant cuts to Labor Department programs that help protect workers ' rights and safety .
• Trump 's 2021 budget proposes huge cuts to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and poor people survive , get back on their feet , and make a basic survivable living .
• Contrary to Trump 's tireless boasts of creating `` jobs , jobs , jobs , '' manufacturing and other jobs grew far faster under Obama than under Trump .
As the Detroit Free Press reported , `` Manufacturing in Michigan has been down sharply since the pandemic hit in March but even before that , it had only grown slightly , by about 1 % , compared with a much larger growth of nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
• Trump has n't brought back manufacturing jobs as he has repeatedly promised and boasted .
At least 1800 factories have shuttered under Trump , whose much-promoted trade deals have done nothing to stem this long-term trend , according to the Economic Policy Institute .
• As the group Raise America 's Pay found , `` Gold-standard data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that growth in real ( after inflation ) hourly earnings for our production and nonsupervisory workers , also known as rank-and-file working Americans , has risen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at an annual rate of 0.9 % as compared to 1.3 % annually during Obama 's final term in office . ''
• As Forbes reported , Trump 's tax cuts `` helped billionaires pay less taxes than the working class . ''
• Trump has packed the National Labor Relations Board with anti-union career corporate Republicans , leading to rulings that ban union organizers from certain workplaces and make it far harder to organize a union or engage in collective bargaining , Labor Notes reported .
• Perhaps most egregious is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's supposedly `` essential '' workers amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic .
For seven months , since March , Trump 's labor secretary , Gene Scalia ( yes , of that Scalia family ) , has rejected numerous proposals to enact a temporary emergency standard that would provide workers with stronger protections against infectious diseases on the job .
Even as the coronavirus rages on , killing and hospitalizing thousands of workers , Trump 's OSHA and Department of Labor have vigorously opposed an emergency standard that would empower the agency and workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for The Progressive found .
They 've even battled in court to prevent an enforceable standard , repelling ( so far ) a lawsuit from the AFL-CIO and pressure from Congress .
`` Many lives could be saved if OSHA took action , '' Representative Scott , chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor , told The Progressive .
`` OSHA has effectively taken no enforceable action . ''
Even now , ten months into the pandemic , `` There is presently no enforceable regulation to protect workers from airborne infectious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an OSHA enforcement memo issued in April that gives inspectors `` Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer 's Good Faith Efforts During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) Pandemic . ''
This little-reported memo states , `` Where an employer has made attempts to comply in good faith , Area Offices shall take such efforts into strong consideration in determining whether to cite a violation . ''
States have adopted this same approach , following federal OSHA 's guidance .
The message to business and workers could n't be clearer : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , nobody 's minding the store under Trump .
Nearly four years into the Trump administration , there is still no top administrator for this critical life-saving agency—a situation that former OSHA administrator Dr. David Michaels calls `` unprecedented . ''
Loren Sweatt serves as OSHA 's acting deputy , a position with far less policymaking or political clout .
`` There really is a worker safety crisis now , it 's unprecedented in history , '' says Michaels .
Despite thousands of job safety complaints from workers , OSHA has only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a deadly pandemic , with thousands of workers filing complaints of dangerous conditions , Trump 's OSHA—the nation 's top cop for job safety—cited only one company over the first five months , and only a few more since then .
Recently , under scrutiny and pressure , OSHA has cited an Ohio healthcare company for three `` serious '' violations , and giant meatpacking corporation Smithfield Foods , with a pathetic proposed fine of $ 13,494 for `` general duty clause '' violations of failing to provide a safe working environment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ complaints of unsafe workplaces , and had closed 7,920 of those cases .
In House hearings , Rep. Alma Adams , D-N.C. , chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections , concluded , `` in the middle of this global health emergency that is causing more deaths in less time than any other workplace crisis that OSHA has faced in its 50-year existence , OSHA stubbornly refuses to use its authority to protect this nation 's workers .
This failure to act is a stunning act of abdication by the senior leaders in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four years , despite all Trump 's rhetoric about being a pro-worker `` populist , '' all the facts show the opposite .
No matter what he says , the evidence is thunderously clear : Trump is arguably the most ( perhaps tied with Reagan ) anti-worker , anti-labor president in modern history .
Workers in Michigan , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Wisconsin , and across America now have the chance to reject a president who has in fact thoroughly abandoned and rejected them at every turn .
Workers have a chance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a $ 15 minimum wage , while Trump opposes raising the federal minimum , which sits stagnant at an insane and unlivable $ 7.25 an hour .
America 's workers have a chance to vote for a Biden administration that will , at minimum , restore and expand worker safety and workers ' rights , and enable unions to organize .
America 's workers have a chance , right now , with this vote , to elect a Biden administration that has proposed creating millions of jobs to expand renewable energy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate crisis .
They can elect a president who creates living-wage jobs to manufacture essential personal protective equipment , helping our ailing economy and health .
On November 3 , America 's workers can reject a silver-spoon fake millionaire and tax cheat who , at every turn , has acted only to enrich the rich while screwing over workers and poor people .
That is the Trump record .
Do n't fall for Trump 's `` pro-worker '' hype and myth : he 's the anti-worker president , from beginning to end .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and author of Diet for a Dead Planet : Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis .
Cook has written for Harper 's , The Economist , Mother Jones , The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere .
See more of his work at www.christopherdcook.com .

by Christopher D. Cook
Despite his relentless claims of being a "pro-worker" president, Donald Trump has in fact gutted worker safety and health protections and refused to enforce rules to keep workers safe amid a deadly pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans and infected thousands of supposedly "essential" workers.
The facts show that OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, tasked with protecting job safety) has plunged to its lowest enforcement and staffing levels in the agency's half-century history.Trump's OSHA sports a woefully anemic force of just 750 federal inspectors for the entire country (1,815 total when you include state inspectors)—meaning it would take an astounding 165 years for them to inspect every American workplace, an all-time high, according to a report by the AFL-CIO. That's one safety inspector for every 79,262 workers.
According to Government Executive, "The drop in inspectors coincided with an expansion of workplaces to protect, from 4.5 million in 1980 to more than 8.1 million today. That means that there were 3,063 workplaces for each OSHA inspector in 1980, compared to 9,286 today, more than a 200% increase." Under Trump, workers have about the same shot at winning the lottery as they do at getting their legally mandated job safety protections.
Trump's anti-worker, pro-corporate agenda provides a direct reality check on the myth that the career businessman is any kind of "populist." Consider just a few of his many anti-worker policies:
Every Trump budget has included significant cuts to Labor Department programs that help protect workers' rights and safety.
Trump's 2021 budget proposes huge cuts to a host of programs that help low-income workers and poor people survive, get back on their feet, and make a basic survivable living.
Contrary to Trump's tireless boasts of creating "jobs, jobs, jobs," manufacturing and other jobs grew far faster under Obama than under Trump. As the Detroit Free Press reported, "Manufacturing in Michigan has been down sharply since the pandemic hit in March but even before that, it had only grown slightly, by about 1%, compared with a much larger growth of nearly 15% during Obama's second term."
Trump hasn't brought back manufacturing jobs as he has repeatedly promised and boasted. At least 1800 factories have shuttered under Trump, whose much-promoted trade deals have done nothing to stem this long-term trend, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
As the group Raise America's Pay found, "Gold-standard data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that growth in real (after inflation) hourly earnings for our production and nonsupervisory workers, also known as rank-and-file working Americans, has risen during President Trump's first three years at an annual rate of 0.9% as compared to 1.3% annually during Obama's final term in office."
As Forbes reported, Trump's tax cuts "helped billionaires pay less taxes than the working class."
Trump has packed the National Labor Relations Board with anti-union career corporate Republicans, leading to rulings that ban union organizers from certain workplaces and make it far harder to organize a union or engage in collective bargaining, Labor Notes reported.
Perhaps most egregious is the Trump administration's refusal to protect America's supposedly "essential" workers amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. For seven months, since March, Trump's labor secretary, Gene Scalia (yes, of that Scalia family), has rejected numerous proposals to enact a temporary emergency standard that would provide workers with stronger protections against infectious diseases on the job.
Even as the coronavirus rages on, killing and hospitalizing thousands of workers, Trump's OSHA and Department of Labor have vigorously opposed an emergency standard that would empower the agency and workers to enforce safety protections, my reporting for The Progressive found. They've even battled in court to prevent an enforceable standard, repelling (so far) a lawsuit from the AFL-CIO and pressure from Congress.
"Many lives could be saved if OSHA took action," Representative Scott, chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, told The Progressive. "OSHA has effectively taken no enforceable action." Even now, ten months into the pandemic, "There is presently no enforceable regulation to protect workers from airborne infectious diseases."
Making matters worse is an OSHA enforcement memo issued in April that gives inspectors "Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer's Good Faith Efforts During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic." This little-reported memo states, "Where an employer has made attempts to comply in good faith, Area Offices shall take such efforts into strong consideration in determining whether to cite a violation." States have adopted this same approach, following federal OSHA's guidance. The message to business and workers couldn't be clearer: on job safety, even in a pandemic, nobody's minding the store under Trump.
Nearly four years into the Trump administration, there is still no top administrator for this critical life-saving agency—a situation that former OSHA administrator Dr. David Michaels calls "unprecedented." Loren Sweatt serves as OSHA's acting deputy, a position with far less policymaking or political clout. "There really is a worker safety crisis now, it's unprecedented in history," says Michaels.
Despite thousands of job safety complaints from workers, OSHA has only issued a handful of citations. During a deadly pandemic, with thousands of workers filing complaints of dangerous conditions, Trump's OSHA—the nation's top cop for job safety—cited only one company over the first five months, and only a few more since then. Recently, under scrutiny and pressure, OSHA has cited an Ohio healthcare company for three "serious" violations, and giant meatpacking corporation Smithfield Foods, with a pathetic proposed fine of $13,494 for "general duty clause" violations of failing to provide a safe working environment. Through September, OSHA had recorded 8,645 complaints of unsafe workplaces, and had closed 7,920 of those cases.
In House hearings, Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, concluded, "in the middle of this global health emergency that is causing more deaths in less time than any other workplace crisis that OSHA has faced in its 50-year existence, OSHA stubbornly refuses to use its authority to protect this nation's workers. This failure to act is a stunning act of abdication by the senior leaders in the Department of Labor."
After four years, despite all Trump's rhetoric about being a pro-worker "populist," all the facts show the opposite. No matter what he says, the evidence is thunderously clear: Trump is arguably the most (perhaps tied with Reagan) anti-worker, anti-labor president in modern history.
Workers in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and across America now have the chance to reject a president who has in fact thoroughly abandoned and rejected them at every turn. Workers have a chance to elect a Biden administration that will push for a $15 minimum wage, while Trump opposes raising the federal minimum, which sits stagnant at an insane and unlivable $7.25 an hour.
America's workers have a chance to vote for a Biden administration that will, at minimum, restore and expand worker safety and workers' rights, and enable unions to organize. America's workers have a chance, right now, with this vote, to elect a Biden administration that has proposed creating millions of jobs to expand renewable energy and other vital science-driven actions to address our climate crisis. They can elect a president who creates living-wage jobs to manufacture essential personal protective equipment, helping our ailing economy and health.
On November 3, America's workers can reject a silver-spoon fake millionaire and tax cheat who, at every turn, has acted only to enrich the rich while screwing over workers and poor people. That is the Trump record. Don't fall for Trump's "pro-worker" hype and myth: he's the anti-worker president, from beginning to end.
Christopher D. Cook is an award-winning journalist and author of Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis. Cook has written for Harper's, The Economist, Mother Jones, The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere. See more of his work at www.christopherdcook.com.


alternet--2020-11-03--Historians of fascism stress 'it is not too late' to avoid the descent

Over 80 historians of fascism and authoritarianism from around the world signed an open letter Sunday warning that American democracy is in existential peril and urging people to take action now before it 's too late to save it .
`` Regardless of the outcome of the United States ' election , democracy as we know it is already imperiled , '' the letter opens .
`` Whether Donald J. Trump is a fascist , a post-fascist populist , an autocrat , or just a bumbling opportunist , the danger to democracy did not arrive with his presidency and goes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' it continues .
The letter notes that `` while democracy appeared to be flourishing everywhere in the years following the end of the Cold War , today it seems to be withering or in full-scale collapse globally . ''
`` As scholars of twentieth century authoritarian populism , fascism , and political extremism , we believe that unless we take immediate action , democracy as we know it will continue in its frightening regression , irrespective of who wins the American presidency in early November , '' the authors write .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of class and race across the globe , '' the letter states .
`` As the last four years have demonstrated , the temptation to take refuge in a figure of arrogant strength is now greater than ever . ''
`` However , '' argue the authors , `` it is not too late to turn the tide . ''
The scholars offer guidance on how this can be achieved , including : • By boldly and unapologetically safeguarding critical thinking based on evidence , including by supporting investigative journalism , science and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press .
• Securing commitments from corporate media organizations and governments to tackle the dangers of misinformation and media concentration .
• Building coalitions organized across differences of race , class , gender , religion , and caste , and respecting the perspectives and experiences of others .
• Revealing and denouncing any and all connections between those in power and those vigilante and militia forces using political violence to destabilize our democracies .
• Being prepared to defend pluralism and democracy against the growing dangers of communal violence and authoritarianism at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also through non-violent protest in the streets .
• Defending the integrity of the electoral process and ensure the widest possible voter turnouts , not just in this election but in every election large and small in all of our hometowns .
• Re-committing to a global conversation on support for democratic institutions , laws , and practices both within and between our respective countries .
`` We need to turn away from the rule by entrenched elites and return to the rule of law , '' the letter concludes .
`` We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' with a politics of adversaries in a healthy , democratic marketplace of ideas .
And above else , we need to work together to find ways to keep the light of democracy shining in our countries and all over the world .
Because if we do n't , we will indeed face dark days ahead . ''
Once dismissed as fringe rantings , discussion of creeping authoritarianism—or at least the breakdown of American democracy as we know it—has been increasing in academic and other serious circles during the tenure of President Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the wake of statements and actions from the president meant to cast aspersions upon the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election , including attempts to discredit mail-in voting as fraudulent and refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses .
Aggresive and violent behavior by Trump supporters—including voter intimidation sometimes perpetrated by armed backers including white supremacists the president commanded to `` stand by '' —has also alarmed many observers .
Responding to a Friday incident now under FBI investigation in which armed Trump supporters in Texas surrounded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staffers for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden , Eric Cervini , a historian of LGBTQ+ politics and culture , told The Guardian that `` as an historian who studied the rise of the Third Reich , I can tell you : This is how a democracy dies . ''
`` I 've been an election observer in broken authoritarian countries , and let me tell you : Trump 's behavior would be swiftly and unequivocally condemned by all international election monitors if it was happening elsewhere , '' Brian Klaas , a political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweeted last month .
`` He is behaving like the despots past presidents condemned . ''
Anne Berg , a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania whose grandparents were Nazis in Germany , warned earlier this month that the U.S. is in `` a rapid descent toward fascism . ''
`` People need to be aware of the risks we are facing right now , '' Berg told the Philadelphia Inquirer .
According to the Protect Democracy Project , a nonpartisan , nonprofit organization `` dedicated to fighting attacks , from at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to free , fair , and fully informed self-government , '' the U.S. scores 56 out of 100 on its Democracy Threats Index , released on October 25 , indicating a `` substantial erosion '' of democracy and signifying `` high potential for breakdown in the future . ''

Over 80 historians of fascism and authoritarianism from around the world signed an open letter Sunday warning that American democracy is in existential peril and urging people to take action now before it's too late to save it.
"Regardless of the outcome of the United States' election, democracy as we know it is already imperiled," the letter opens.
"Whether Donald J. Trump is a fascist, a post-fascist populist, an autocrat, or just a bumbling opportunist, the danger to democracy did not arrive with his presidency and goes well beyond November 3rd, 2020," it continues.
The letter notes that "while democracy appeared to be flourishing everywhere in the years following the end of the Cold War, today it seems to be withering or in full-scale collapse globally."
"As scholars of twentieth century authoritarian populism, fascism, and political extremism, we believe that unless we take immediate action, democracy as we know it will continue in its frightening regression, irrespective of who wins the American presidency in early November," the authors write.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed profound inequalities of class and race across the globe," the letter states. "As the last four years have demonstrated, the temptation to take refuge in a figure of arrogant strength is now greater than ever."
"However," argue the authors, "it is not too late to turn the tide."
The scholars offer guidance on how this can be achieved, including:
By boldly and unapologetically safeguarding critical thinking based on evidence, including by supporting investigative journalism, science and the humanities, and freedom of the press.
Securing commitments from corporate media organizations and governments to tackle the dangers of misinformation and media concentration.
Building coalitions organized across differences of race, class, gender, religion, and caste, and respecting the perspectives and experiences of others.
Revealing and denouncing any and all connections between those in power and those vigilante and militia forces using political violence to destabilize our democracies.
Being prepared to defend pluralism and democracy against the growing dangers of communal violence and authoritarianism at the ballot box but, if necessary, also through non-violent protest in the streets.
Defending the integrity of the electoral process and ensure the widest possible voter turnouts, not just in this election but in every election large and small in all of our hometowns.
Re-committing to a global conversation on support for democratic institutions, laws, and practices both within and between our respective countries.
"We need to turn away from the rule by entrenched elites and return to the rule of law," the letter concludes. "We must replace the politics of 'internal enemies' with a politics of adversaries in a healthy, democratic marketplace of ideas. And above else, we need to work together to find ways to keep the light of democracy shining in our countries and all over the world. Because if we don't, we will indeed face dark days ahead."
Once dismissed as fringe rantings, discussion of creeping authoritarianism—or at least the breakdown of American democracy as we know it—has been increasing in academic and other serious circles during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
Such talk has only increased in the wake of statements and actions from the president meant to cast aspersions upon the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, including attempts to discredit mail-in voting as fraudulent and refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.
Aggresive and violent behavior by Trump supporters—including voter intimidation sometimes perpetrated by armed backers including white supremacists the president commanded to "stand by"—has also alarmed many observers.
Responding to a Friday incident now under FBI investigation in which armed Trump supporters in Texas surrounded and harassed a tour bus transporting campaign staffers for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Eric Cervini, a historian of LGBTQ+ politics and culture, toldThe Guardian that "as an historian who studied the rise of the Third Reich, I can tell you: This is how a democracy dies."
"I've been an election observer in broken authoritarian countries, and let me tell you: Trump's behavior would be swiftly and unequivocally condemned by all international election monitors if it was happening elsewhere," Brian Klaas, a political scientist at the University College London, tweeted last month. "He is behaving like the despots past presidents condemned."
Anne Berg, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania whose grandparents were Nazis in Germany, warned earlier this month that the U.S. is in "a rapid descent toward fascism."
"People need to be aware of the risks we are facing right now," Berg told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to the Protect Democracy Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization "dedicated to fighting attacks, from at home and abroad, on our right to free, fair, and fully informed self-government," the U.S. scores 56 out of 100 on its Democracy Threats Index, released on October 25, indicating a "substantial erosion" of democracy and signifying "high potential for breakdown in the future."


alternet--2020-11-03--Trump will stop at nothing to win — and he's putting our system to the test

As President Trump jetted to 17 rallies mostly at regional airports in swing states in his sprint to Election Day , he has campaigned as he has governed .
Trump reeled off countless untruths about every topic—perhaps most importantly , about voting and counting votes this November .
At a rally in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , where 437,000 voters had requested absentee ballots and nearly 80 percent have been returned as of November 2 , and the rest could arrive in the mail as late as Friday and still be counted if postmarked by Election Day , Trump smeared the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to mysteriously find more ballots '' after polls close , he said .
`` Strange things have been known to happen , especially in Philadelphia . ''
At a rally in Dubuque , Iowa , Trump said , `` We should know the result of the election on Nov. 3 , the evening of Nov. 3 , '' even though it routinely took some states days or weeks to certify their election results—before 2020 's record volume of absentee ballots .
Still , he erroneously said , `` That 's the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way it should be . ''
And at a North Carolina rally , Trump told reporters on the sidelines that it did n't matter what the preliminary vote counts were—even though they could come late on Tuesday night or after midnight on Wednesday for two key swing states , Florida and Arizona .
`` As soon as that election 's over , we 're going in with our lawyers , '' Trump said .
The big question looming over these assertions is not whether a record number of voters will be heard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but whether America 's electoral system—its state-run elections , state and federal courts , and elected leadership—can or will stand up to Trump .
Bluntly , if Trump has shown he will stop at nothing to retain power , will nothing stop him ?
`` It happened in Kentucky and Mississippi and Florida and Pennsylvania , over hundreds of rallies in one arena after another , '' wrote Carl Hoffman in Liar 's Circus , a new book profiling Trump 's rallies and his most loyal followers .
`` Every few days he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who could impeach him or threaten him in front of that hungry mob .
If you wondered why no senator would challenge him , why no one would speak up , there it was . ''
As the 2020 election moves from casting ballots to counting votes , well-founded fears are overshadowing what should otherwise be celebrated as pro-democracy achievements .
More voters than ever have sought to be heard despite a pandemic .
And election officials have made historic efforts to restructure the process to serve voters and accommodate this surge .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind the current doubts .
If a democracy is based more on a nation of laws than on a battle of wills , the simmering worry is that the rules of elections will not hold—as Trump repeatedly asserts that he is above these laws , unless or until he wins .
The way Trump 's narrative moves from the podium at rallies and from his late-night tweets into the electoral arena is via disinformation from his campaign and Republican publicists , and via the lawsuits that they have filed—many of which echo the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is no shortage of caustic rhetoric , starting with Trump 's false claim that the vote counting should stop on Tuesday night .
Trump has also implied that federal agents would intervene on his behalf .
The reality is that states , not the federal government , run elections .
Their long-set procedures end when the tasks are done .
Moreover , the federal Justice Department can not step in and reject or seize ballots as they are being counted .
If anything , ever since the Supreme Court gutted the DOJ 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the DOJ has less power than it once had to intervene in elections .
But these kinds of details are not widely known and get overshadowed by Trump 's propaganda .
What unfolds in court is another matter .
Because the law never mirrors reality neatly , Trump 's campaign and Republican Party lawyers have conjured arguments that claim to invoke new and purportedly serious constitutional issues even though their purpose is to disqualify Democratic voting blocs .
Behind these strategies is a hope that federal appellate courts , and possibly the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make seemingly narrow rulings that can flip swing states .
There have been several themes in the litigation thus far .
Echoing the Supreme Court 's primary holding in Bush v. Gore , which awarded the presidency in 2000 to Republican George W. Bush , was the standard that like ballots have to be treated in a like manner .
Where that ideal collides with reality is local election jurisdictions in many states—usually at the county level—do not have the same voting machinery , ballot-processing protocols , poll worker training , etc .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ many lawsuits asserting `` equal protection '' violations .
Voters will shortly see if these claims will impede processing ballots and counting votes .
The next big claim is an ideological libertarian assertion cloaked as a constitutional law issue—that the U.S. Constitution only empowers state legislatures to set the rules for elections with federal candidates .
This new notion has roiled the rules surrounding the last date that an absentee ballot can be received in the mail by local election officials and still count .
At the end of October , federal appeals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the U.S. Supreme Court have cited this novel doctrine in cases involving the ballot-return deadlines in Wisconsin , Pennsylvania , North Carolina and Minnesota .
( In Pennsylvania and Minnesota , ballots arriving after Tuesday are being segregated , where legal challenges are expected .
In North Carolina , the state election board has not taken that proactive step . )
This libertarian view of independent state legislative authority is also the argument cited by the Texas GOP to try to disqualify more than 100,000 ballots in Harris County—where Houston is located—cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That case began its federal court review on Monday after Texas ' Supreme Court would not disqualify the ballots .
A district court rejected the GOP 's claims , but it is likely to be appealed .
At issue there is not just the presidency , but also several Texas legislative seats that may end the GOP 's long-held state political majority . )
There 's another batch of Republican lawsuits that are not just fishing expeditions to unearth ballot-handling problems—which always occur , but usually do n't scale to affect results .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed on October 27 by the Republican National Committee , Trump campaign and Nevada Republican Party against officials in Clark County—which includes Las Vegas—broadly make hyped-up claims that seek to cast the entire voting process as illegitimate .
But more strategically , they seek to disrupt ballot processing and vote counting , and put pro-GOP judges in charge .
The RNC lawsuit , for example , demands `` [ i ] mage files , documents , records , and information showing ( 1 ) each voter 's signature on envelopes containing mail ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , crucially , have never been public documents—they 're confidential like Social Security numbers .
But the RNC wants them , as well as signatures `` on record with the Clark County Election Department , the Registrar 's office , the Counting Board , and/or any other affiliated entity against which signatures on envelopes… are verified . ''
What the GOP is seeking to do is challenge the results ahead of the official process in the swing county in a swing state .
( On Monday , a Nevada state judge rejected a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , allow the GOP to independently videotape the `` ballot process '' [ county officials were doing it ] and give observers freer rein inside election offices .
The ruling noted that the GOP presented `` no evidence '' of signature matching errors nor partisan bias with handling ballots . )
The ruling will likely be appealed .
These kinds of procedural details are tailormade for litigation because the process of vetting absentee ballots and counting votes is intricate .
Every step becomes a potential turning point where a molehill can be characterized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dynamic had been modeled by President Trump and his handlers for months .
However , what is genuinely worrisome as the voting ends and the counting begins on Election Day is what role the federal courts might play to tilt outcomes—especially as Trump-appointed justices embrace novel legal theories that elevate constitutional abstractions about the real-world interests of record numbers of voters who cast ballots in a pandemic .
The bottom-line question is what forces will stand up to Trump and his enablers after he says on election night that he has won , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be .
During Election Day , there will be thousands of election protection legal volunteers seeking to help voters cast ballots and reporting unlawful intimidation .
There will be legions of volunteers and numerous citizens ' groups taking pictures of poll tapes as local precincts close—to ensure the reported electronic results match .
There will be groups taking screenshots of government websites reporting results to ensure that what 's reported is accurate or quickly flagged .
State officials in swing states are also being encouraged to save the digital images of ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more evidence is needed to verify the results .
But hovering above what may emerge as an extensive independent evidence trail to counter Trump 's statements is the backbone of the electoral system itself .
Will state election officials vociferously defend their process and show evidence of accurate counts ?
Will federal courts embrace legal theories that diminish 2020 's voters ?
Will the Supreme Court intervene in an election year where constitutional scholars have said that they have already erred ?
If Trump does n't win the election legitimately , who will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The American system has never figured out quite how to respond to a president who gives the conspiracy theorists of QAnon a hearing at the White House , '' wrote the New York Times ' Peter Baker in a Monday analysis .
`` [ T ] he Trump presidency has been a factory of falsehood from the start , churning out distortions , conspiracy theories and brazen lies at an assembly-line pace . ''
Steven Rosenfeld is the editor and chief correspondent of Voting Booth , a project of the Independent Media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Public Radio , Marketplace , and Christian Science Monitor Radio , as well as a wide range of progressive publications including Salon , AlterNet , the American Prospect , and many others .
This article was produced by Voting Booth , a project of the Independent Media Institute .

As President Trump jetted to 17 rallies mostly at regional airports in swing states in his sprint to Election Day, he has campaigned as he has governed. Trump reeled off countless untruths about every topic—perhaps most importantly, about voting and counting votes this November.
At a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where 437,000 voters had requested absentee ballots and nearly 80 percent have been returned as of November 2, and the rest could arrive in the mail as late as Friday and still be counted if postmarked by Election Day, Trump smeared the Democratic-led city government. "Are they going to mysteriously find more ballots" after polls close, he said. "Strange things have been known to happen, especially in Philadelphia."
At a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, Trump said, "We should know the result of the election on Nov. 3, the evening of Nov. 3," even though it routinely took some states days or weeks to certify their election results—before 2020's record volume of absentee ballots. Still, he erroneously said, "That's the way it's been, and that's the way it should be."
And at a North Carolina rally, Trump told reporters on the sidelines that it didn't matter what the preliminary vote counts were—even though they could come late on Tuesday night or after midnight on Wednesday for two key swing states, Florida and Arizona. "As soon as that election's over, we're going in with our lawyers," Trump said.
The big question looming over these assertions is not whether a record number of voters will be heard after voting ends on November 3, but whether America's electoral system—its state-run elections, state and federal courts, and elected leadership—can or will stand up to Trump. Bluntly, if Trump has shown he will stop at nothing to retain power, will nothing stop him?
"It happened in Kentucky and Mississippi and Florida and Pennsylvania, over hundreds of rallies in one arena after another," wrote Carl Hoffman in Liar's Circus, a new book profiling Trump's rallies and his most loyal followers. "Every few days he would dangle [introduce] the politicians who could impeach him or threaten him in front of that hungry mob. If you wondered why no senator would challenge him, why no one would speak up, there it was."
As the 2020 election moves from casting ballots to counting votes, well-founded fears are overshadowing what should otherwise be celebrated as pro-democracy achievements. More voters than ever have sought to be heard despite a pandemic. And election officials have made historic efforts to restructure the process to serve voters and accommodate this surge.
It is not just routine election jitters behind the current doubts. If a democracy is based more on a nation of laws than on a battle of wills, the simmering worry is that the rules of elections will not hold—as Trump repeatedly asserts that he is above these laws, unless or until he wins.
The way Trump's narrative moves from the podium at rallies and from his late-night tweets into the electoral arena is via disinformation from his campaign and Republican publicists, and via the lawsuits that they have filed—many of which echo the same false or novel assertions.
There is no shortage of caustic rhetoric, starting with Trump's false claim that the vote counting should stop on Tuesday night. Trump has also implied that federal agents would intervene on his behalf. The reality is that states, not the federal government, run elections. Their long-set procedures end when the tasks are done.
Moreover, the federal Justice Department cannot step in and reject or seize ballots as they are being counted. If anything, ever since the Supreme Court gutted the DOJ's main enforcement tools in a 2013 decision, the DOJ has less power than it once had to intervene in elections. But these kinds of details are not widely known and get overshadowed by Trump's propaganda.
What unfolds in court is another matter. Because the law never mirrors reality neatly, Trump's campaign and Republican Party lawyers have conjured arguments that claim to invoke new and purportedly serious constitutional issues even though their purpose is to disqualify Democratic voting blocs. Behind these strategies is a hope that federal appellate courts, and possibly the Supreme Court, will step in and make seemingly narrow rulings that can flip swing states.
There have been several themes in the litigation thus far. Echoing the Supreme Court's primary holding in Bush v. Gore, which awarded the presidency in 2000 to Republican George W. Bush, was the standard that like ballots have to be treated in a like manner. Where that ideal collides with reality is local election jurisdictions in many states—usually at the county level—do not have the same voting machinery, ballot-processing protocols, poll worker training, etc. Thus, Trump's lawyers have filed many lawsuits asserting "equal protection" violations. Voters will shortly see if these claims will impede processing ballots and counting votes.
The next big claim is an ideological libertarian assertion cloaked as a constitutional law issue—that the U.S. Constitution only empowers state legislatures to set the rules for elections with federal candidates. This new notion has roiled the rules surrounding the last date that an absentee ballot can be received in the mail by local election officials and still count.
At the end of October, federal appeals courts and a majority of conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have cited this novel doctrine in cases involving the ballot-return deadlines in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Minnesota. (In Pennsylvania and Minnesota, ballots arriving after Tuesday are being segregated, where legal challenges are expected. In North Carolina, the state election board has not taken that proactive step.)
This libertarian view of independent state legislative authority is also the argument cited by the Texas GOP to try to disqualify more than 100,000 ballots in Harris County—where Houston is located—cast at new drive-through voting centers. (That case began its federal court review on Monday after Texas' Supreme Court would not disqualify the ballots. A district court rejected the GOP's claims, but it is likely to be appealed. At issue there is not just the presidency, but also several Texas legislative seats that may end the GOP's long-held state political majority.)
There's another batch of Republican lawsuits that are not just fishing expeditions to unearth ballot-handling problems—which always occur, but usually don't scale to affect results. These suits, such as a lawsuit filed on October 27 by the Republican National Committee, Trump campaign and Nevada Republican Party against officials in Clark County—which includes Las Vegas—broadly make hyped-up claims that seek to cast the entire voting process as illegitimate. But more strategically, they seek to disrupt ballot processing and vote counting, and put pro-GOP judges in charge.
The RNC lawsuit, for example, demands "[i]mage files, documents, records, and information showing (1) each voter's signature on envelopes containing mail ballots and/or absentee ballots." Those signatures, crucially, have never been public documents—they're confidential like Social Security numbers. But the RNC wants them, as well as signatures "on record with the Clark County Election Department, the Registrar's office, the Counting Board, and/or any other affiliated entity against which signatures on envelopes… are verified."
What the GOP is seeking to do is challenge the results ahead of the official process in the swing county in a swing state. (On Monday, a Nevada state judge rejected a related lawsuit to, among other things, allow the GOP to independently videotape the "ballot process" [county officials were doing it] and give observers freer rein inside election offices. The ruling noted that the GOP presented "no evidence" of signature matching errors nor partisan bias with handling ballots.) The ruling will likely be appealed.
These kinds of procedural details are tailormade for litigation because the process of vetting absentee ballots and counting votes is intricate. Every step becomes a potential turning point where a molehill can be characterized as a mountainous failing. That disinformation dynamic had been modeled by President Trump and his handlers for months.
However, what is genuinely worrisome as the voting ends and the counting begins on Election Day is what role the federal courts might play to tilt outcomes—especially as Trump-appointed justices embrace novel legal theories that elevate constitutional abstractions about the real-world interests of record numbers of voters who cast ballots in a pandemic.
The bottom-line question is what forces will stand up to Trump and his enablers after he says on election night that he has won, no matter what the partial unofficial results may be.
During Election Day, there will be thousands of election protection legal volunteers seeking to help voters cast ballots and reporting unlawful intimidation. There will be legions of volunteers and numerous citizens' groups taking pictures of poll tapes as local precincts close—to ensure the reported electronic results match. There will be groups taking screenshots of government websites reporting results to ensure that what's reported is accurate or quickly flagged. State officials in swing states are also being encouraged to save the digital images of ballots created by their vote-counting scanners in case more evidence is needed to verify the results.
But hovering above what may emerge as an extensive independent evidence trail to counter Trump's statements is the backbone of the electoral system itself. Will state election officials vociferously defend their process and show evidence of accurate counts? Will federal courts embrace legal theories that diminish 2020's voters? Will the Supreme Court intervene in an election year where constitutional scholars have said that they have already erred? If Trump doesn't win the election legitimately, who will stop him from seizing power illegitimately?
"The American system has never figured out quite how to respond to a president who gives the conspiracy theorists of QAnon a hearing at the White House," wrote the New York Times' Peter Baker in a Monday analysis. "[T]he Trump presidency has been a factory of falsehood from the start, churning out distortions, conspiracy theories and brazen lies at an assembly-line pace."
Steven Rosenfeld is the editor and chief correspondent of Voting Booth, a project of the Independent Media Institute. He has reported for National Public Radio, Marketplace, and Christian Science Monitor Radio, as well as a wide range of progressive publications including Salon, AlterNet, the American Prospect, and many others.
This article was produced by Voting Booth, a project of the Independent Media Institute.


alternet--2020-11-02--Trump's ex-intel chief tried to spread Biden disinformation on Twitter — but it backfired

Richard Grenell , President Donald Trump 's former Acting Director of National Intelligence , is under fire after posting a @ @ @ @ @ and attacking him as `` phony '' for not wearing a mask .
Since the @ @ @ @ @ before the coronavirus was even discovered , Grenell is getting slammed on social media , @ @ @ @ @ taken the tweet down .
After countless Twitter users reported the photo Twitter on Monday @ @ @ @ @ after it had been posted – finally slapped a `` manipulated media '' warning label @ @ @ @ @ was too late .
The image has already received nearly 40,000 likes and 21,000 retweets @ @ @ @ @ rated Grenell 's tweet as `` False . ''
If Grenell 's intent was to @ @ @ @ @ mainstream media outlets reported on the false tweet .
Grenell is doubling down , now @ @ @ @ @ a mask while delivering a speech outdoors when there was no one near him .
@ @ @ @ @ getting dragged .
Here 's what some are saying :

Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump's former Acting Director of National Intelligence, is under fire after posting a 2019 photo of Joe Biden and attacking him as "phony" for not wearing a mask. Since the photo was celarly taken months before the coronavirus was even discovered, Grenell is getting slammed on social media, but refuses to apologize or taken the tweet down.
After countless Twitter users reported the photo Twitter on Monday afternoon – almost 24 hours after it had been posted – finally slapped a "manipulated media" warning label on it, but it was too late. The image has already received nearly 40,000 likes and 21,000 retweets and quote tweets.
PolitiFact rated Grenell's tweet as "False." If Grenell's intent was to damage Biden it backfired as mainstream media outlets reported on the false tweet.
Grenell is doubling down, now attacking Biden for not wearing a mask while delivering a speech outdoors when there was no one near him.
On social media Grenell is getting dragged. Here's what some are saying:


alternet--2020-11-02--Trump's call for an 'army' of poll watchers is falling flat so far

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .
Donald Trump Jr. looked straight into a camera at the end of September as triumphant music rose in a crescendo .
“ The radical left are laying the groundwork to steal this election from my father , '' he said .
“ We can not let that happen .
We need every able-bodied man and woman to join the army for Trump 's election security operation . ''
It was an echo of what his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in both of his presidential campaigns .
At a September campaign rally in Winston-Salem , North Carolina , the president encouraged his audience to be poll watchers .
“ Watch all the thieving and stealing and robbing they do , '' he said .
“ Because this is important . ''
But the poll-watching army that the Trumps have tried to rally has n't materialized .
Although there 's no official data , election officials across the country say that they have seen relatively few Republican poll watchers during early voting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have outnumbered the GOP 's .
In Colorado and Nevada , where the Trump campaign was particularly active in recruiting poll watchers , its efforts largely petered out .
Jordan Fuchs , the deputy secretary of state in Georgia , a swing state experiencing a record voter turnout , said both county governments and political parties can supply poll watchers in Georgia .
Most are showing up in Fulton County , whose seat is Atlanta .
“ I am receiving reports of a few thousand poll watchers from a variety of left-leaning groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from right-leaning groups , '' she said .
“ The Trump campaign is simply calling for additional poll watchers because they know there is a dearth of right-leaning poll watchers . ''
Although Kentucky election law does n't allow for poll watchers , the parties can have registered “ challengers '' at the polls on Election Day whose only job is to challenge a voter 's eligibility .
In Fayette County , home of Lexington , Republicans have submitted only seven names of challengers while Democrats have submitted 117 .
Don Blevins Jr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says he does n't know how many will actually show up on Tuesday .
“ Only in recent years have campaigns thought about doing this , and then rarely followed through , '' he said .
In Williamson County , Texas , a swing county just north of Austin , election administrator Christopher Davis said that the few poll watchers there were mostly sent by a local conservative activist who promotes unfounded claims of voter fraud .
When the county opened up its central count office this past weekend to process mailed ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The watcher , Davis said , was from the Trump campaign and behaved according to the rules .
“ Maybe we 're just lucky in WilCo , '' Davis said .
Several Trump supporters in Arizona said they volunteered to be poll watchers , but there was no follow-up .
“ I actually signed up twice because I never heard from them .
I never was contacted , and I signed up almost two months ago , '' said Lynne Berreman , who lives in Phoenix .
“ Hopefully it 's because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late October lawsuit by Nevada 's Republican Party tacitly acknowledged that the GOP 's poll watching operation there was ineffective .
The party sued Clark County , home of Las Vegas , in an effort to stop the counting of mail-in ballots until “ meaningful observation '' was allowed .
The suit alleged that poll watchers were not allowed to be close enough to the counting process to do their jobs .
A state court judge denied the request for a temporary injunction hours after it was filed .
Despite the small number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters at times have shown up and behaved aggressively at polling places and drop boxes , according to tips received by Electionland .
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment .
The paucity of Republican poll watchers does n't necessarily reflect a lack of enthusiasm for the candidate .
In fact , avid supporters may prefer more vocal or demonstrative ways of expressing their views than watching polls all day .
Trump 's cries for help in the prevention of fraud make the poll watcher 's role seem far more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More than 20 Trump campaign training videos for poll watchers , reviewed by ProPublica , make clear the mundane nature of the task , encouraging volunteers to be on time , to bring a water bottle , to not interact with voters and to be respectful “ even to our Democratic friends ! ''
Poll watching “ is like watching paint dry , '' said Justin Levitt , a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles , specializing in elections .
“ If you 're waiting for the busloads of fraud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is small American-flag-waving democracy , you begin to go out of your head .
It 's like sitting in a field waiting for the UFOs and the UFOs never show up .
And then you 're just sitting in a field , which is fine for a couple hours , but polls are open about 15 hours a day . ''
Analysts say that the president and his staff may not believe their own predictions of a poll-watching army , but that they may be raising the specter to deter Democratic voters from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also want people to sign up to be poll watchers , even if they do n't actually follow through , because their contact information helps identify potential donors .
Bob Bauer , the attorney for the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden , said the Trump campaign is betting on scaring voters into staying home to avoid confrontation .
But , he said , that tactic appears to have backfired , as young people and other likely Democratic voters have flocked to the polls during early voting .
Democrats have their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They encourage volunteers to watch not only voters but also Republican poll watchers , and to be on the lookout for any GOP effort to intimidate voters or challenge them without justification .
Poll watchers are common in American democracy and have been a fixture of precincts since the 1800s .
In the vast majority of states , the parties or the campaigns are allowed to send trained watchers to each precinct .
Poll watchers largely sit silently , taking notes on anything out of the ordinary to report to the party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to intervene but to observe and serve as witnesses for court cases or challenges if they observe something illegal or inappropriate , said Ben Ginsberg , one of the most well-known Republican election attorneys .
Most often , poll watchers report nothing .
This is n't the first Republican campaign with a lot of talk about poll watchers but little action .
In 2016 , Trump adviser Roger Stone mounted a last-ditch effort only days before Election Day while Trump was down in the polls and threatening not to accept the results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to recruit 3,000 hand-selected volunteers in a list of cities , but few showed up .
By text , Stone said that his efforts in 2016 were not poll watching but exit polling to ensure the legitimacy of the count and were “ entirely independent of the Trump campaign . ''
Litigation lodged by Democratic groups , portraying the effort as a veiled attempt to intimidate voters , hurt his ability to recruit in large numbers , he said .
“ Unfortunately defending against extensive litigation and our legal victories sapped our resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducted fell far below what we had hoped to achieve , '' he said .
Federal courts ultimately ruled that the effort did not constitute voter suppression or intimidation .
Stone was convicted and sentenced to prison time in February for lying to Congress and witness tampering during the House investigation into Russian activity in the 2016 election .
In July , the president commuted his sentence and he was released .
In 2008 , the conservative group True the Vote , which promotes unfounded allegations of voter fraud , sent hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the organization is headquartered .
In the 2010 midterms , it pledged to mobilize thousands of people to serve as poll watchers .
Between 2010 and 2012 , True the Vote chapters opened across the country and the organization began preparing a national recruitment effort .
“ Long , sad trombone sound , '' Levitt said .
While a few people showed up , and some counties had a larger presence than others , the campaign largely fizzled .
“ It was nowhere near the all-caps nightmare that it was reportedly supposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not respond to a request for comment .
In 1982 , after the New Jersey GOP sent off-duty law enforcement officers to watch voting , the state 's Republican Party and the Republican National Committee entered into a consent decree barring them from “ ballot security '' initiatives .
North Carolina 's Republican Party was added to the consent decree in 1990 .
All three parties were released from the consent decree in 2018 , raising concerns that the intimidating behavior would start anew .
But so far it has n't .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ watching , though some form of it is generally allowed .
In general , parties or candidates register watchers with the county .
Volunteers generally must pay their own way to the polling location , and they must be trained and present proof of that training at the polls , where their behavior is intensely restricted .
They generally can not be on their phone , speak to voters or engage in any way with the process , or they may be removed from the polling location .
The result , poll workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was just a really long day , '' said Zachary Brown , who served as a vote challenger — the equivalent of a poll watcher in Michigan — in Pontiac in 2012 for the conservative group Protecting Michigan Taxpayers .
Brown said he saw nothing out of the ordinary .
The determination behind the campaign to fish out fraud when there was none was “ disheartening , '' he said , and it led him to turn away from the conservative movement .
He has n't been a poll watcher since and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All I saw were people voting , '' he said .
The Trump campaign 's poll-watcher efforts this year were more centralized than normal in Colorado , where state Election Day operations manager Joe Samudio took over the task from county party chairs of appointing poll watchers during early voting and on Election Day .
Samudio seemed successful in recruiting volunteers but then was reassigned to Minnesota , leaving the program in limbo .
Although Colorado sends mail-in ballots to all voters , it also has numerous locations for in-person voting .
Poll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether they 're mailed in or cast in person .
Samudio did not respond to emailed requests for comment .
“ He had all these people and then suddenly he was sent to Minnesota and I did n't hear from anyone else for several days , '' said Peg Perl , the election director for Arapahoe County in Colorado .
She said she did not recall seeing or hearing of any Republican poll watchers during the first week of early voting , while some Democratic poll watchers did show up .
Colorado GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is currently dispatching watchers in all major counties .
The Trump campaign 's frustration over poll watching has boiled over in Nevada .
In an early October poll watcher training in Las Vegas , Jesse Law , the Trump campaign 's Election Day operations manager , complained to online and in-person trainees that Democratic poll watchers can “ get away with anything '' but Republicans are heavily watched .
Democrats were there not to ensure the integrity of the vote , as his volunteers would be , but to watch Republicans , Law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The problem with the Democrats being at these locations … is they are sent here to destroy your life , '' he said , saying that they would “ make up that we are suppressing the vote . ''
“ They are there to know everything that 's on your phone , everything you 're writing down , everything about you , '' he said , looking around the room .
Law did not respond to an email asking for comment .
Law emphasized that trainees should not break the law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ( whom he called “ the boss '' ) in court .
“ If you are over here going 'that person is n't legal ' and that person is completely legal , that 's a black eye for us .
Do n't do that , '' he said .
“ If you are seeing a problem , document it , talk to an attorney about it , and let 's get to the bottom of it — no spectacles please ! ''

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
Donald Trump Jr. looked straight into a camera at the end of September as triumphant music rose in a crescendo. “The radical left are laying the groundwork to steal this election from my father," he said. “We cannot let that happen. We need every able-bodied man and woman to join the army for Trump's election security operation."
It was an echo of what his father, President Donald Trump, has said in both of his presidential campaigns. At a September campaign rally in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the president encouraged his audience to be poll watchers. “Watch all the thieving and stealing and robbing they do," he said. “Because this is important."
But the poll-watching army that the Trumps have tried to rally hasn't materialized. Although there's no official data, election officials across the country say that they have seen relatively few Republican poll watchers during early voting, and that at times Democratic poll watchers have outnumbered the GOP's. In Colorado and Nevada, where the Trump campaign was particularly active in recruiting poll watchers, its efforts largely petered out.
Jordan Fuchs, the deputy secretary of state in Georgia, a swing state experiencing a record voter turnout, said both county governments and political parties can supply poll watchers in Georgia. Most are showing up in Fulton County, whose seat is Atlanta.
“I am receiving reports of a few thousand poll watchers from a variety of left-leaning groups. There are very few poll watchers from right-leaning groups," she said. “The Trump campaign is simply calling for additional poll watchers because they know there is a dearth of right-leaning poll watchers."
Although Kentucky election law doesn't allow for poll watchers, the parties can have registered “challengers" at the polls on Election Day whose only job is to challenge a voter's eligibility. In Fayette County, home of Lexington, Republicans have submitted only seven names of challengers while Democrats have submitted 117. Don Blevins Jr., the clerk in the county, says he doesn't know how many will actually show up on Tuesday.
“Only in recent years have campaigns thought about doing this, and then rarely followed through," he said.
In Williamson County, Texas, a swing county just north of Austin, election administrator Christopher Davis said that the few poll watchers there were mostly sent by a local conservative activist who promotes unfounded claims of voter fraud. When the county opened up its central count office this past weekend to process mailed ballots, only one poll watcher showed. The watcher, Davis said, was from the Trump campaign and behaved according to the rules.
“Maybe we're just lucky in WilCo," Davis said.
Several Trump supporters in Arizona said they volunteered to be poll watchers, but there was no follow-up. “I actually signed up twice because I never heard from them. I never was contacted, and I signed up almost two months ago," said Lynne Berreman, who lives in Phoenix. “Hopefully it's because they already have enough people."
A late October lawsuit by Nevada's Republican Party tacitly acknowledged that the GOP's poll watching operation there was ineffective. The party sued Clark County, home of Las Vegas, in an effort to stop the counting of mail-in ballots until “meaningful observation" was allowed. The suit alleged that poll watchers were not allowed to be close enough to the counting process to do their jobs. A state court judge denied the request for a temporary injunction hours after it was filed.
Despite the small number of official poll watchers, unauthorized Trump supporters at times have shown up and behaved aggressively at polling places and drop boxes, according to tips received by Electionland.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
The paucity of Republican poll watchers doesn't necessarily reflect a lack of enthusiasm for the candidate. In fact, avid supporters may prefer more vocal or demonstrative ways of expressing their views than watching polls all day. Trump's cries for help in the prevention of fraud make the poll watcher's role seem far more dramatic and consequential than it actually is. More than 20 Trump campaign training videos for poll watchers, reviewed by ProPublica, make clear the mundane nature of the task, encouraging volunteers to be on time, to bring a water bottle, to not interact with voters and to be respectful “even to our Democratic friends!"
Poll watching “is like watching paint dry," said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, specializing in elections. “If you're waiting for the busloads of fraud to arise, and what you get is small American-flag-waving democracy, you begin to go out of your head. It's like sitting in a field waiting for the UFOs and the UFOs never show up. And then you're just sitting in a field, which is fine for a couple hours, but polls are open about 15 hours a day."
Analysts say that the president and his staff may not believe their own predictions of a poll-watching army, but that they may be raising the specter to deter Democratic voters from going to the polls. The campaigns also want people to sign up to be poll watchers, even if they don't actually follow through, because their contact information helps identify potential donors.
Bob Bauer, the attorney for the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden, said the Trump campaign is betting on scaring voters into staying home to avoid confrontation. But, he said, that tactic appears to have backfired, as young people and other likely Democratic voters have flocked to the polls during early voting.
Democrats have their own poll-watching strategy, according to campaign insiders. They encourage volunteers to watch not only voters but also Republican poll watchers, and to be on the lookout for any GOP effort to intimidate voters or challenge them without justification.
Poll watchers are common in American democracy and have been a fixture of precincts since the 1800s. In the vast majority of states, the parties or the campaigns are allowed to send trained watchers to each precinct. Poll watchers largely sit silently, taking notes on anything out of the ordinary to report to the party or campaign attorneys. Their job is not to intervene but to observe and serve as witnesses for court cases or challenges if they observe something illegal or inappropriate, said Ben Ginsberg, one of the most well-known Republican election attorneys. Most often, poll watchers report nothing.
This isn't the first Republican campaign with a lot of talk about poll watchers but little action. In 2016, Trump adviser Roger Stone mounted a last-ditch effort only days before Election Day while Trump was down in the polls and threatening not to accept the results of the election. Stone had pledged to recruit 3,000 hand-selected volunteers in a list of cities, but few showed up.
By text, Stone said that his efforts in 2016 were not poll watching but exit polling to ensure the legitimacy of the count and were “entirely independent of the Trump campaign." Litigation lodged by Democratic groups, portraying the effort as a veiled attempt to intimidate voters, hurt his ability to recruit in large numbers, he said.
“Unfortunately defending against extensive litigation and our legal victories sapped our resources so that the number of exit polls conducted fell far below what we had hoped to achieve," he said. Federal courts ultimately ruled that the effort did not constitute voter suppression or intimidation.
Stone was convicted and sentenced to prison time in February for lying to Congress and witness tampering during the House investigation into Russian activity in the 2016 election. In July, the president commuted his sentence and he was released.
In 2008, the conservative group True the Vote, which promotes unfounded allegations of voter fraud, sent hundreds of volunteers to minority neighborhoods around Houston, where the organization is headquartered. In the 2010 midterms, it pledged to mobilize thousands of people to serve as poll watchers. Between 2010 and 2012, True the Vote chapters opened across the country and the organization began preparing a national recruitment effort.
But what happened?
“Long, sad trombone sound," Levitt said. While a few people showed up, and some counties had a larger presence than others, the campaign largely fizzled. “It was nowhere near the all-caps nightmare that it was reportedly supposed to be." True the Vote did not respond to a request for comment.
In 1982, after the New Jersey GOP sent off-duty law enforcement officers to watch voting, the state's Republican Party and the Republican National Committee entered into a consent decree barring them from “ballot security" initiatives. North Carolina's Republican Party was added to the consent decree in 1990. All three parties were released from the consent decree in 2018, raising concerns that the intimidating behavior would start anew. But so far it hasn't.
Every state has different rules for poll watching, though some form of it is generally allowed. In general, parties or candidates register watchers with the county. Volunteers generally must pay their own way to the polling location, and they must be trained and present proof of that training at the polls, where their behavior is intensely restricted. They generally cannot be on their phone, speak to voters or engage in any way with the process, or they may be removed from the polling location.
The result, poll workers say, is rampant boredom. “It was just a really long day," said Zachary Brown, who served as a vote challenger — the equivalent of a poll watcher in Michigan — in Pontiac in 2012 for the conservative group Protecting Michigan Taxpayers. Brown said he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The determination behind the campaign to fish out fraud when there was none was “disheartening," he said, and it led him to turn away from the conservative movement. He hasn't been a poll watcher since and considers himself an independent politically. “All I saw were people voting," he said.
The Trump campaign's poll-watcher efforts this year were more centralized than normal in Colorado, where state Election Day operations manager Joe Samudio took over the task from county party chairs of appointing poll watchers during early voting and on Election Day. Samudio seemed successful in recruiting volunteers but then was reassigned to Minnesota, leaving the program in limbo. Although Colorado sends mail-in ballots to all voters, it also has numerous locations for in-person voting. Poll watchers also can observe counting of ballots whether they're mailed in or cast in person. Samudio did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
“He had all these people and then suddenly he was sent to Minnesota and I didn't hear from anyone else for several days," said Peg Perl, the election director for Arapahoe County in Colorado. She said she did not recall seeing or hearing of any Republican poll watchers during the first week of early voting, while some Democratic poll watchers did show up.
Colorado GOP spokesman Joe Jackson said that the party is currently dispatching watchers in all major counties.
The Trump campaign's frustration over poll watching has boiled over in Nevada. In an early October poll watcher training in Las Vegas, Jesse Law, the Trump campaign's Election Day operations manager, complained to online and in-person trainees that Democratic poll watchers can “get away with anything" but Republicans are heavily watched.
Democrats were there not to ensure the integrity of the vote, as his volunteers would be, but to watch Republicans, Law said in a video obtained by ProPublica. “The problem with the Democrats being at these locations … is they are sent here to destroy your life," he said, saying that they would “make up that we are suppressing the vote."
“They are there to know everything that's on your phone, everything you're writing down, everything about you," he said, looking around the room. Law did not respond to an email asking for comment.
Law emphasized that trainees should not break the law and give Democrats ammunition to use against Trump (whom he called “the boss") in court. “If you are over here going 'that person isn't legal' and that person is completely legal, that's a black eye for us. Don't do that," he said. “If you are seeing a problem, document it, talk to an attorney about it, and let's get to the bottom of it — no spectacles please!"


alternet--2020-11-02--Trump's plan to steal the election has 'key role' for Fox News: media critic

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has warned that unless former Vice President Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump by 6 % or more , Trump and his Republican allies will manipulate the courts in order to `` steal the election '' in key swing states like Florida and Pennsylvania .
Carville is hardly the only one who fears that the Trump campaign will play dirty on and after Election Night .
And according to Media Matters ' Matt Gertz , Trump has an accomplice in his plan to `` steal the election '' : Fox News .
In article published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explains , `` With Election Day looming , the expert consensus is that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is in a strong position , with President Donald Trump needing to catch a number of breaks to win .
But Fox News ' propagandists are making it sound like the president is the odds-on favorite , priming their audience to attribute any defeat to Democratic fraud .
Fox 's effort is a necessary , if not sufficient , step toward enacting Trump 's openly touted plan to try to steal the election — if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — by preventing the counting of ballots legally cast for Biden .
And even if the network fails to keep Trump in the White House , its reckless disinformation could raise tensions to feverish heights , potentially leading to political violence . ''
Gertz notes that Fox News ' recent election coverage has `` revolved around presenting anecdotal evidence that favors a Trump win as superior to polling data pointing to a likely Biden victory . ''
`` The message from Fox is quite clear : Trump is going to win , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is because of voter fraud by Democrats , '' Gertz writes .
`` Under normal circumstances , a major cable news network drastically misinforming its audience about the prospects of their chosen candidate 's chances might spark something between mirth and sadness .
But these are not normal circumstances .
The Trump campaign has , for months , been openly telegraphing that its narrow path to victory relies on a massive campaign of voter intimidation , suppression and disenfranchisement . ''
Trump has his allies , including U.S. Attorney General William Barr , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promotes voter fraud .
And Gertz argues that Fox News is encouraging voter intimidation by encouraging the delusions of Trump 's more unhinged supporters .
`` Republicans are using this voter fraud conspiracy theory as cover to suppress the Democratic vote , '' Gertz warns .
`` They have tried to block efforts to make it easier to vote safely during the pandemic .
Under the leadership of one of Trump 's major donors , the U.S .
Postal Service has slowed down mail delivery , likely keeping some ballots from arriving by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election lawyers are preparing to target individual votes in Democratic strongholds , challenging voters at the polls and disputing the legitimacy of mailed ballots .
GOP operatives are poised to tape and release decontextualized videos of poll operations in hopes of generating chaos . ''
A variety of Trump critics , from 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to former GOP strategist and Never Trump conservative Rick Wilson , have vehemently urged Biden to not accept defeat in any states until all of the votes have been counted .
And Gertz fears that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declare victory when many votes remain uncounted in swing states .
`` Trump himself reportedly plans to prematurely declare victory on Tuesday night if he appears to be leading and launch a legal blitz against counting the legally-cast ballots that might reverse the outcome — even though Republicans have ensured that counts of mail-in ballots in some key states ca n't begin until Wednesday , '' Gertz warns .
`` Meanwhile , the president , other party leaders , and Fox 's hosts are cheering on the increasingly violent actions of his supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ''

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has warned that unless former Vice President Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump by 6% or more, Trump and his Republican allies will manipulate the courts in order to "steal the election" in key swing states like Florida and Pennsylvania. Carville is hardly the only one who fears that the Trump campaign will play dirty on and after Election Night. And according to Media Matters' Matt Gertz, Trump has an accomplice in his plan to "steal the election": Fox News.
In article published the day before the election, Gertz explains, "With Election Day looming, the expert consensus is that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is in a strong position, with President Donald Trump needing to catch a number of breaks to win. But Fox News' propagandists are making it sound like the president is the odds-on favorite, priming their audience to attribute any defeat to Democratic fraud. Fox's effort is a necessary, if not sufficient, step toward enacting Trump's openly touted plan to try to steal the election — if it is close enough to do so — by preventing the counting of ballots legally cast for Biden. And even if the network fails to keep Trump in the White House, its reckless disinformation could raise tensions to feverish heights, potentially leading to political violence."
Gertz notes that Fox News' recent election coverage has "revolved around presenting anecdotal evidence that favors a Trump win as superior to polling data pointing to a likely Biden victory."
"The message from Fox is quite clear: Trump is going to win, and if he doesn't, the reason is because of voter fraud by Democrats," Gertz writes. "Under normal circumstances, a major cable news network drastically misinforming its audience about the prospects of their chosen candidate's chances might spark something between mirth and sadness. But these are not normal circumstances. The Trump campaign has, for months, been openly telegraphing that its narrow path to victory relies on a massive campaign of voter intimidation, suppression and disenfranchisement."
Trump has his allies, including U.S. Attorney General William Barr, have been baselessly claiming that mail-in voting promotes voter fraud. And Gertz argues that Fox News is encouraging voter intimidation by encouraging the delusions of Trump's more unhinged supporters.
"Republicans are using this voter fraud conspiracy theory as cover to suppress the Democratic vote," Gertz warns. "They have tried to block efforts to make it easier to vote safely during the pandemic. Under the leadership of one of Trump's major donors, the U.S. Postal Service has slowed down mail delivery, likely keeping some ballots from arriving by state deadlines. Republican poll watchers and election lawyers are preparing to target individual votes in Democratic strongholds, challenging voters at the polls and disputing the legitimacy of mailed ballots. GOP operatives are poised to tape and release decontextualized videos of poll operations in hopes of generating chaos."
A variety of Trump critics, from 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to former GOP strategist and Never Trump conservative Rick Wilson, have vehemently urged Biden to not accept defeat in any states until all of the votes have been counted. And Gertz fears that Fox News will try to help Trump declare victory when many votes remain uncounted in swing states.
"Trump himself reportedly plans to prematurely declare victory on Tuesday night if he appears to be leading and launch a legal blitz against counting the legally-cast ballots that might reverse the outcome — even though Republicans have ensured that counts of mail-in ballots in some key states can't begin until Wednesday," Gertz warns. "Meanwhile, the president, other party leaders, and Fox's hosts are cheering on the increasingly violent actions of his supporters, driving tensions to dangerous heights."


alternet--2020-11-02--A psychologist explains how Trump's own words reveal the traits that make him unfit for office

This continues the series , `` The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump Revisited : Mental Health Experts on the Devastating Mishandling of a Pandemic . ''
Whereas we could not have predicted a pandemic three-and-a-half years ago , the authors of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump : 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President anticipated how the president would respond , should there be a crisis .
We tried to warn the public of the very consequences that are unfolding today : abuse of power , incompetence , loss of lives and livelihoods of many Americans , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ph.D. , professor emeritus at Stanford University , is a scholar , educator , and researcher .
Zimbardo is perhaps best known for his landmark Stanford prison study .
Among his more than five hundred publications are the best seller The Lucifer Effect and such notable psychology textbooks as Psychology : Core Concepts , 8th edition , and Psychology and Life , now in its 20th edition .
He is founder and president of the Heroic Imagination Project ( heroicimagination.org ) , a worldwide nonprofit teaching people of all ages how to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He continues to research the effects of time perspectives and time perspective therapy .
Lee : Your lifetime work in social psychology and more recently on time perception have guided me and others for a long time , but especially since the beginning of our publicly speaking up .
What are your current observations on Donald Trump ?
Zimbardo : Our president has two new distinctions : first the analog of the worst prison guards of the Stanford prison experiment ; and secondly , he is the most extreme present hedonist in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of my presentation that will follow are , first , Trump 's desire for dominance over everyone can be fully realized as his new role as the mean prison guard who rules over all citizens as his imaginary prisoners .
And secondly , as an extreme present hedonist , Trump makes important national and international decisions , as we just heard from the previous speaker , without ever thinking about the future consequences .
He also becomes addicted to any activity that is novel and readily accessible , notably Trump 's Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these conclusions ?
First , Trump as domineering prison guard .
I often analogize between Donald Trump and the worst prison guard in my Stanford prison experiment .
That student , who by chance was assigned to play a prison guard , soon internalized that role in the extreme .
He reported later that he felt as if he were a puppeteer , and the prisoners , who were other students , were his puppets .
That he could make them do anything by pulling their strings .
This total dehumanization of others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much of Trump 's treatment of everyone , starting with his personal staff , his appointed team , extending to women , American minorities , immigrants , climate scientists , victims of extreme natural disasters , and all political opponents .
Power is Trump 's aphrodisiac .
And then I want to add another of his mindless addictions .
Virtually everything he has done publicly since becoming president of the United States is part of his addiction .
Secondly , Trump 's previous manifestation of sexual addiction pales in comparison to his recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three years he has made almost 22,000 `` tweets . ''
His `` tweets '' have been regularly increasing : 6.5 daily in 2017 , eight daily in 2018 , almost ten daily in 2019 , and , so far , more than 34 daily in 2020 !
As he becomes more manic , his Twitter explosion has been as high as 200 `` tweets '' on one day and night in June 2020 .
Some are totally incoherent as if he were publicly revealing he is mentally unraveling .
Many of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and extreme grandiosity , as Trump is praising himself as brilliant : `` I 'm a stable genius . ''
Even more self-aggrandizing assertions such as being able to achieve anything he wants to that no other American president in all of history has ever been able to do , and that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize .
You have described since the beginning what people find to be the most compelling characteristic about him : his present hedonism .
Would you explain what that is ?
As an extreme present hedonist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any concern for the validity or prior foundation of any of his assertions .
Since becoming president , Donald Trump has made over 20,000 lies , more for misleading claims , many of them repeated hundreds of times , and have been rising exponentially over the years .
These conclusions are based on decades of scientific research on the psychology of time perspective .
I developed a scale called `` the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory , '' and we studied people around the world , and to be a present hedonist means you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ novelty , you live only for enjoyment , you never think about the future , you never link what you are doing now to its future consequences .
My inventory is the most reliable and valid measure of individual differences in time perspective , and many researchers and businesspeople around the world are using it .
Is there anything else you would like to add ?
He is also an extreme narcissist .
Everything is about I , he , and me .
We saw this in the first debate where he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down , he was oozing all over the place !
In the second debate where they had a mute , he was contained , but two interesting things .
The moderator asked Joe Biden and Donald Trump : `` Imagine you are elected as president in the next election , what would your acceptance speech be to the nation ? ''
And Biden said , this means you have to imagine , something that is going to happen next month , and Biden accepted that and simply said , `` My fellow Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do the following three things . ''
When it was Trump 's turn—this is his most fervent desire , to be the president—he could not do that .
He could not project himself into that future , and he kept complaining about what he had been talking about earlier , that people do not appreciate what he has done , he is under-appreciated .
So , that is one instance .
Recently , he has been going around the nation .
He actually loves being up on the stage .
He loves these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on and on about how washing machines and showers waste water .
But not just mentioning it , taking five to ten minutes to this audience , what this was , he was following up on Biden 's sense at that , he is not interested in conservations .
He is not interested that we have to do to conserve our resources , given the climate change .
His inability to project what is needed by America to go from where we are to where we should be , and also what it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you seek novelty .
You are bored by sameness .
And he has virtually said this : `` The problem with COVID-19 is it keeps coming on , it is on and on .
It is boring . ''
Waving his hand , he said : `` Let us get past it , let us get by it , let us get on . ''
So , these are the traits that make him totally unfit to be a president , make him unfit to be anything , and continues to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen is , we vote him out of office .
Read previous interviews with Dr. Robert Jay Lifton , Dr. Judith Herman , Dr. James Gilligan , and Drs .
Dee Mosbacher and Nanette Gartrell .

This continues the series, "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump Revisited: Mental Health Experts on the Devastating Mishandling of a Pandemic." Whereas we could not have predicted a pandemic three-and-a-half years ago, the authors of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President anticipated how the president would respond, should there be a crisis. We tried to warn the public of the very consequences that are unfolding today: abuse of power, incompetence, loss of lives and livelihoods of many Americans, and increasing violence.
Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Stanford University, is a scholar, educator, and researcher. Zimbardo is perhaps best known for his landmark Stanford prison study. Among his more than five hundred publications are the best seller The Lucifer Effect and such notable psychology textbooks as Psychology: Core Concepts, 8th edition, and Psychology and Life, now in its 20th edition. He is founder and president of the Heroic Imagination Project (heroicimagination.org), a worldwide nonprofit teaching people of all ages how to take wise and effective action in challenging situations. He continues to research the effects of time perspectives and time perspective therapy.
Lee: Your lifetime work in social psychology and more recently on time perception have guided me and others for a long time, but especially since the beginning of our publicly speaking up. What are your current observations on Donald Trump?
Zimbardo: Our president has two new distinctions: first the analog of the worst prison guards of the Stanford prison experiment; and secondly, he is the most extreme present hedonist in the universe. Two quotes that exemplify part of my presentation that will follow are, first, Trump's desire for dominance over everyone can be fully realized as his new role as the mean prison guard who rules over all citizens as his imaginary prisoners. And secondly, as an extreme present hedonist, Trump makes important national and international decisions, as we just heard from the previous speaker, without ever thinking about the future consequences. He also becomes addicted to any activity that is novel and readily accessible, notably Trump's Twitter mania.
How have you come to these conclusions?
First, Trump as domineering prison guard. I often analogize between Donald Trump and the worst prison guard in my Stanford prison experiment. That student, who by chance was assigned to play a prison guard, soon internalized that role in the extreme. He reported later that he felt as if he were a puppeteer, and the prisoners, who were other students, were his puppets. That he could make them do anything by pulling their strings. This total dehumanization of others is like a dictatorial mindset that characterizes much of Trump's treatment of everyone, starting with his personal staff, his appointed team, extending to women, American minorities, immigrants, climate scientists, victims of extreme natural disasters, and all political opponents. Power is Trump's aphrodisiac. And then I want to add another of his mindless addictions. Virtually everything he has done publicly since becoming president of the United States is part of his addiction.
Secondly, Trump's previous manifestation of sexual addiction pales in comparison to his recent Twitter over-the-top addiction. In the past three years he has made almost 22,000 "tweets." His "tweets" have been regularly increasing: 6.5 daily in 2017, eight daily in 2018, almost ten daily in 2019, and, so far, more than 34 daily in 2020! As he becomes more manic, his Twitter explosion has been as high as 200 "tweets" on one day and night in June 2020. Some are totally incoherent as if he were publicly revealing he is mentally unraveling. Many of these "tweets" reflect his egocentric megalomania and extreme grandiosity, as Trump is praising himself as brilliant: "I'm a stable genius." Even more self-aggrandizing assertions such as being able to achieve anything he wants to that no other American president in all of history has ever been able to do, and that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
You have described since the beginning what people find to be the most compelling characteristic about him: his present hedonism. Would you explain what that is?
As an extreme present hedonist, Trump lives in the moment without any concern for the validity or prior foundation of any of his assertions. Since becoming president, Donald Trump has made over 20,000 lies, more for misleading claims, many of them repeated hundreds of times, and have been rising exponentially over the years. These conclusions are based on decades of scientific research on the psychology of time perspective. I developed a scale called "the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory," and we studied people around the world, and to be a present hedonist means you live in the moment, you seek novelty, you live only for enjoyment, you never think about the future, you never link what you are doing now to its future consequences. My inventory is the most reliable and valid measure of individual differences in time perspective, and many researchers and businesspeople around the world are using it.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
He is also an extreme narcissist. Everything is about I, he, and me. We saw this in the first debate where he was uncontainable. They could not hold him down, he was oozing all over the place! In the second debate where they had a mute, he was contained, but two interesting things. The moderator asked Joe Biden and Donald Trump: "Imagine you are elected as president in the next election, what would your acceptance speech be to the nation?" And Biden said, this means you have to imagine, something that is going to happen next month, and Biden accepted that and simply said, "My fellow Americans, as your president, I will do the following three things." When it was Trump's turn—this is his most fervent desire, to be the president—he could not do that. He could not project himself into that future, and he kept complaining about what he had been talking about earlier, that people do not appreciate what he has done, he is under-appreciated. So, that is one instance.
Recently, he has been going around the nation. He actually loves being up on the stage. He loves these things. Recently, he was going on and on about how washing machines and showers waste water. But not just mentioning it, taking five to ten minutes to this audience, what this was, he was following up on Biden's sense at that, he is not interested in conservations. He is not interested that we have to do to conserve our resources, given the climate change. His inability to project what is needed by America to go from where we are to where we should be, and also what it means to be a present hedonist is, you seek novelty. You are bored by sameness. And he has virtually said this: "The problem with COVID-19 is it keeps coming on, it is on and on. It is boring." Waving his hand, he said: "Let us get past it, let us get by it, let us get on." So, these are the traits that make him totally unfit to be a president, make him unfit to be anything, and continues to be a danger. One thing that can happen is, we vote him out of office.
Read previous interviews with Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, Dr. Judith Herman, Dr. James Gilligan, and Drs. Dee Mosbacher and Nanette Gartrell.
Follow Dr. Lee at bandylee.com.