truthout--2020-11-04--Biden Underperforms and Trump Stokes Chaos by Claiming False Victory

President Trump has prematurely declared victory and falsely accused Democrats of “ major fraud , ” even as millions of ballots continue to be counted across the United States amid an unprecedented wave of mail-in ballots widely believed to favor Democratic challenger Joe Biden .
The two campaigns appear neck and neck in several battleground states key to winning the White House , but early results suggest Democrats performed worse than they had hoped , setting up a potential legal fight over uncounted ballots reminiscent of the 2000 election .
We spend the hour discussing the results and what comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of People for the American Way and former head of the NAACP ; Briahna Joy Gray , formerly the national press secretary for the 2020 Bernie Sanders campaign , and co-host of the “ Bad Faith ” podcast ; and The Nation ’ s John Nichols in the battleground state of Wisconsin .
“ The tragedy of this election , regardless of what the outcome ends up being , is that it was ever this close at all , ” says Gray .
“ The crime here is that the vote is this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman in New York .
My co-host Juan González at his home in New Brunswick , New Jersey .
The presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden remains too close to call , with millions of ballots still to be counted in Michigan , Wisconsin , Pennsylvania , North Carolina , Georgia , Nevada and other states .
Earlier this morning , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prematurely and falsely claimed victory .
AMY GOODMAN : Despite the president ’ s charge , no evidence of fraud has emerged in any state .
Earlier in the evening , about two hours before , Joe Biden said all votes should be counted .
AMY GOODMAN : Across the country , over 101 million people cast early votes , either in person or by mail , shattering all previous records .
Many of those votes have not yet been counted in some states .
At the time of broadcast , Biden is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nevada .
In Michigan , Trump is leading by just 13,000 votes .
Trump has a large lead in Pennsylvania , but many votes from Philadelphia have not yet been counted , as well as surrounding areas throughout the state .
Trump is also leading in Georgia and North Carolina , but both states remain too close to call .
We begin our show with Ben Jealous , president of People for the American Way , former president of the NAACP .
His op-ed was published in USA Today .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , keep counting , and get to work.
” And we ’ re joined by Briahna Joy Gray , former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders 2020 .
She ’ s the co-host of the Bad Faith podcast and contributing editor to Current Affairs .
She tweeted through the night , so we were fortunate to be able to talk to her today , because she tweeted right through this morning .
Ben Jealous , we ’ re beginning with you .
“ Election chaos : keep calm , keep counting , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump says .
He declared victory and called the elections a “ fraud.
” BEN JEALOUS : I mean , Trump is a fraud .
Let ’ s be clear here : We have reason to be very , very hopeful .
Joe has won every single state that was won in 2016 by Ms. Clinton .
He has also won Nebraska .
He ’ s won Arizona .
And there ’ s huge buckets of votes to be counted in urban areas — Pittsburgh , Philly , Milwaukee , Detroit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there ’ s votes that are left to be counted in these states .
A lot of the little areas have come in , but the big urban areas , there ’ s huge buckets of votes to be counted .
So , Trump did what we expected him to do , which was to try to perpetrate this fraud on the people of our country that he had won when he has not .
And I would say to my fellow Dems and folks who voted against Trump , folks who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We ’ ve got this .
We ’ ve always known that we would have to wait for every vote to be counted .
We ’ re just going to have to keep calm and count every vote .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , let ’ s talk about one of the first states that was called last night , and that was Florida .
Now , we know that many thousands , if not over a million , votes — this is before the election , well before , when you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote and who didn ’ t initially .
If you can talk about what you see happened in Florida , and particularly talk about the Latinx vote ?
It definitely didn ’ t come out for Biden and Harris in the way the Democrats had predicted .
BEN JEALOUS : When you dig into what ’ s going on with the Latinx vote in Florida , you ’ ve got to acknowledge a couple of things .
One is that Donald Trump heavily outspent Joe Biden in advertising on Spanish-language media targeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Last time I checked , it was 10 to one .
At People For , one of the things that we tried to do was to make up for that gap .
And we found ourselves scrambling , trying to get dollars for , for instance , even statewide radio in Florida .
So there was just a failure over the summer to really court Latinx voters , especially those who speak Spanish as their main language .
The second problem was , frankly , one of relationship .
If you talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is critical to winning South Florida , where Joe did not perform as well as he did throughout the state , it ’ s kind of insane , because Trump and Pence , from a policy perspective , have great antipathy for what that community wants , and yet the leaders will say , “ But we know them .
You know , Pence made dozens of trips down here .
Democrats just made a few at that point.
” And so , you know , you ’ ve got to kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a marketing perspective , they ’ ve done a very good job of marketing themselves to Latinx voters in southern Florida , despite the fact that they have Latinx children in cages on the border and , quite frankly , their policy interests are not in line even with folks like in the Venezuelan community , you know , whose leaders were very supportive of them because they felt like they had a relationship .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to bring Briahna Joy Gray into this conversation , again , former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Talk about your response as you saw the way things were unfolding , what you predicted , what you ’ re seeing now .
In a moment , we ’ re going to be speaking with Erika Andiola in Arizona .
It may well be this Republican state was flipped .
Fascinatingly , it was Fox that first called it , to the ire of President Trump .
CNN has yet to call it .
But you have Arizona , that looks like it has been won by Biden , but you have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in North Carolina , in Michigan , in Florida , in Pennsylvania .
I mean , could you imagine what would happen if there wasn ’ t a pandemic ?
BRIAHNA JOY GRAY : Yeah , the tragedy of this election , regardless of what the outcome ends up being , is that it was ever this close at all .
For months , for years , Democrats have accurately described Trump as a pox on the country , as someone who has undermined every norm , who has caused a great deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities , and someone who has done little , little at all , to stem off the worst effects of this global health pandemic , from a health perspective and from an economic perspective .
And yet here we are .
And I think when you start to dig a little deeper , you see what ’ s going on .
This was an election in which the Democratic Party was very clear to put neoliberalism on the ballot .
Donald Trump — you know , Joe Biden was a candidate who bragged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change .
He ran , clearly , with the plan to marginalize the left and to be very clear about the fact that he didn ’ t feel like he needed to reach out and do that kind of outreach .
And specifically , he failed in the ways that Bernie Sanders really excelled when it came to Latino voters .
And what you saw in Florida is not just that they were outspent , but that Donald Trump was up on the airwaves with Spanish-language ads a full month before Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made about when to invest and to what degree .
And those choices ignored , perhaps fatally ignored , the extent to which the Latino vote is not guaranteed , and it has to absolutely be earned by building a relationship of trust over time .
And when you look at Nevada , one of the reasons why Joe Biden has done much better in terms of the Latino vote there is because he got there earlier and spent more money in the state .
And also , there ’ s some reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ helped there by the fact that marijuana legalization was on the ballot , and that might have turned out more voters .
So we ’ re seeing some arguable correlation between pushing progressive policies and , of course , investing in communities in states going toward Democrats .
And I think that we need to really think critically about how successful this “ nothing will fundamentally change ” message ultimately will be for the Democratic Party in the long run .
BEN JEALOUS : Well , I think all of that was spot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was spot on .
You know , our party has to , frankly , learn from the Trump campaign as far as we have to market to every single voter .
The way that they went after young Black men , just trying to pull off 3 , 4 % , we should have gone after with the intention of getting 95 % .
The way that they went after the Latinx community , trying to get to 40 % , we should have gone after , trying to get to 80 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking this kind of machine boss approach where you ’ re just asking , “ Are you winning a particular community ?
” And you ’ ve got to start seeing the people of this country as individuals , and you have to fight for every single one of their votes .
And so , I do believe that we ’ re going to win .
It should not be this close .
Right now we just got to keep calm , count every vote , push hard .
And we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ straight out of the White House and the mouth of the president of United States , who took to the television at 2 a.m. to lie to the American people .
AMY GOODMAN : And , Briahna , your response to what Trump said ?
I mean , secretaries of state , both Republican and Democrat , have repeatedly warned — they ’ re the ones in charge of state elections — have repeatedly warned that they have to be able to have time to vote — to count that vote .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every vote counted in Arizona — right ?
— because right now Biden is ahead — Fox called it , CNN didn ’ t call it .
Mark Kelly , the Democrat , has beaten the sitting senator , Martha McSally , in a special election .
She had — that ’ s in Arizona .
He wants every vote counted there , but in Pennsylvania , where he has repeatedly gone after absentee ballots , calling them fraudulent , he wants the voting stopped .
And interestingly , he said this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Like , forget the other courts that lead up to the Supreme Court .
He ’ s taking this — his suggestion was — to his court .
BRIAHNA JOY GRAY : Yeah .
I mean , look , this was the game plan that a lot of very sensible folks warned about , right ?
Bernie Sanders predicted this almost word for word on the Late Night show earlier this week , right ?
And that ’ s part of why it ’ s so frustrating that this race was close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also predicted on Bad Faith podcast , I said if this is a landslide , if Biden clearly wins and can declare victory and can claim victory on Tuesday or Wednesday morning , then we are in good shape .
But if there ’ s any ambiguity here , we ’ re at real risk that Donald Trump will try to railroad through a result of his liking , because the reality is — and I think that Trump and the Republicans recognize — that they are a lot better at these kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not that they ’ re fair .
It ’ s not that they ’ re legal .
But Republicans are willing to scrape and fight for every advantage in a way that , as we just saw in the Amy Coney Barrett debacle , Democrats simply are not .
And in a situation like this where there is an ability to create ambiguity , even if there isn ’ t in fact ambiguity , it ’ s hard for me to imagine the steps that Democrats will take to prevent this from , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Donald Trump and for this being a redux of the year 2000 and the 2000 election , after which , I would like to point out , electoral reforms were not put into place .
AMY GOODMAN : So , let ’ s talk , Ben Jealous , about the position of Biden .
And as you said , this race is way too early to call .
And I want to talk about the kind of organizing that you have been doing .
If President Trump refuses to accept the counting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been amazing over the last few days to see that wall go up around the White House .
First it was — you know , first it was wire , and then it was a wall , preparing , not clear exactly , for what .
And I should say yesterday he had hundreds of people in the White House starting at 7:00 in the evening , again , the issue of the White House becoming a super hot spot , a superspreading event in itself .
And they stayed until well after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gave his speech to cheers as he talked about his victory and the fraudulent election .
But I wanted to go to the issues of Joe Biden — you also — you ran for governor of Maryland — and the kinds of issues that you represented and the kind of issues that Biden really stayed away from .
That ’ s the issue of Medicare for All .
Joe Biden said he would veto it if it came to his desk , if he was president .
I mean , if it came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Republicans and Democrats would have had to have endorsed it .
The issue of a Green New Deal , clear that he was not endorsing a Green New Deal , and also that whole issue of fracking , that he once said he was against and then said — once said he was against and then said he was for .
But do you think , rather than adopting a progressive position that would mobilize voters — it ’ s not that progressives don ’ t have somewhere else to go , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They can just decide not to vote .
BEN JEALOUS : You know , Joe Biden played his playbook .
It looks like it ’ s going to win the presidency for him .
With that said , the playbook of the party has to shift .
The party has to run towards the people of the country , has to run towards its base .
Kamala , quite frankly , has much more of that in her .
I ’ ve known her for years .
And that has to be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually fight for every single vote , to be clear to working-class men of all colors that we have a vision for your economic prosperity , because right now you ’ re seeing Trump get more men of every color than he should .
And it ’ s a real appeal to patriarchy .
And you ’ ve got to replace that , frankly , with a strategy for how you ’ re actually going to shore up people economically , because when they ’ re falling for the floor , they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways of being .
We have to really fight for every Latinx vote .
We ’ ve got to fight for every Black vote .
We ’ ve got to fight for every young person ’ s vote .
And that means that we have to be a party that is unabashed about pushing for a vision that actually saves the planet , provides healthcare for everybody and , again , provides a pathway to economic success for everyone in the country .
We ’ re supposed to be the party of FDR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I am hopeful that Joe Biden can be that president , even if he wasn ’ t that candidate .
What that ’ s going to require is for us as a movement to push him to his better angels .
And so , we ’ re going to count every vote .
We ’ re going to be optimistic in this moment .
Joe Biden will win .
And then we will push him as hard — you know , as FDR said himself , “ I agree with what you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” We ’ re going to have to go make Joe do a bunch of things that our children , born and yet unborn , need us to do in order to secure a better future for this country and our planet .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to bring in another guest .
And I also want to say Juan González was co-hosting today , but because we are living in these pandemic times , we are socially distanced , and he ’ s having a problem with his computer .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who is currently in Madison , Wisconsin .
The presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden remains too close to call , as we ’ ve said throughout this show , where we are broadcasting this in the morning of the day after the election , ballots still being counted in Michigan , in Wisconsin , in Pennsylvania , North Carolina , Georgia and Nevada and other states .
Biden is leading in Wisconsin by just over 20,000 votes , as we broadcast , with an estimated 97 % of votes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading narrowly by 24,000 votes , but the heavily Democratic city of Detroit is expected to take until , well , sometime tonight , possibly , to complete its count of absentee ballots .
And then you ’ ve got Grand Rapids and other places .
Their ballots have not fully been counted .
But we ’ re going now to Wisconsin , where we ’ re joined by John Nichols .
He ’ s The Nation magazine ’ s national affairs correspondent and host of the podcast Next Left .
His most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soul of the Democratic Party .
John , talk about what ’ s happening in Wisconsin right now .
Before we were speaking , the margin was much tighter .
It ’ s increased a bit to 20,000 , with Joe Biden ahead .
But talk about what ’ s been counted , what hasn ’ t , and what your assessment is of what ’ s happening in Wisconsin .
JOHN NICHOLS : Well , thanks for having me on , Amy .
And what a night it has been .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around Wisconsin — and I just got off the phone with some key players around the state and party folks and local officials , who all were up through the night — it does look — and again , we ’ ll see what scattering may be out there — it looks like Joe Biden has a sufficient lead to win Wisconsin .
I know that 21,000 votes seems like a very small margin , but you should understand that it is almost twice what John Kerry won the state by in 2004 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won the state by in 2000 .
And so , the fact of the matter is , Wisconsin is [ inaudible ] battleground state .
And when I look around the state right now , it appears that the key places have reported .
And what happened [ inaudible ] night was that , early on , Trump had a quite substantial lead .
And in many ways , the reporting on that went to the heart of the problem with how media covers election night , because it was reporting from more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It takes longer to count a lot of votes in a big city .
And so , Milwaukee took ’ til around 4 a.m .
When [ inaudible ] came in , it — AMY GOODMAN : John , we ’ re losing you a little bit .
Your Skype is going in and out , so if you could repeat what you just said about Milwaukee ?
JOHN NICHOLS : Sure .
I apologize .
When Milwaukee came in , it provided — AMY GOODMAN : We may just have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go — we ’ re going to go to break .
We ’ re going to try to fix this , even if we just get you on audio , because this is absolutely critical , what ’ s happening in Wisconsin .
John Nichols , The Nation ’ s national affairs correspondent , host of the podcast Next Left .
We ’ re also talking to Ben Jealous , who ’ s now head of People for the American Way and has a USA Today op-ed , an editorial , “ Election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and get to work , ” as well as Briahna Joy Gray , former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders 2020 .
Stay with us .

President Trump has prematurely declared victory and falsely accused Democrats of “major fraud,” even as millions of ballots continue to be counted across the United States amid an unprecedented wave of mail-in ballots widely believed to favor Democratic challenger Joe Biden. The two campaigns appear neck and neck in several battleground states key to winning the White House, but early results suggest Democrats performed worse than they had hoped, setting up a potential legal fight over uncounted ballots reminiscent of the 2000 election. We spend the hour discussing the results and what comes next, with Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way and former head of the NAACP; Briahna Joy Gray, formerly the national press secretary for the 2020 Bernie Sanders campaign, and co-host of the “Bad Faith” podcast; and The Nation’s John Nichols in the battleground state of Wisconsin. “The tragedy of this election, regardless of what the outcome ends up being, is that it was ever this close at all,” says Gray. “The crime here is that the vote is this close.”
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman in New York. My co-host Juan González at his home in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
The presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden remains too close to call, with millions of ballots still to be counted in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and other states. Earlier this morning, at around 2:20 a.m. Eastern, President Trump prematurely and falsely claimed victory.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4:00 in the morning and add them to the list, OK? It’s a very sad — it’s a very sad moment. To me, this is a very sad moment. And we will win this. And as far as I’m concerned, we already have won it. Related Story News | Politics & Elections DC Activists Are Building Power to Prepare for Any Post-Election Day Scenario Hundreds of protesters occupied downtown D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Plaza under heavy police presence. Truthout
AMY GOODMAN: Despite the president’s charge, no evidence of fraud has emerged in any state. Earlier in the evening, about two hours before, Joe Biden said all votes should be counted.
JOE BIDEN: I’m here to tell you tonight we believe we’re on track to win this election. We knew, because of the unprecedented early vote and the mail-in vote, that it’s going to take a while. We’re going to have to be patient, until the hard work of tallying the votes is finished. And it ain’t over ’til every vote is counted, every ballot is counted.
AMY GOODMAN: Across the country, over 101 million people cast early votes, either in person or by mail, shattering all previous records. Many of those votes have not yet been counted in some states.
At the time of broadcast, Biden is leading by small margins in Wisconsin and Nevada. In Michigan, Trump is leading by just 13,000 votes. Trump has a large lead in Pennsylvania, but many votes from Philadelphia have not yet been counted, as well as surrounding areas throughout the state. Trump is also leading in Georgia and North Carolina, but both states remain too close to call.
We begin our show with Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way, former president of the NAACP. His op-ed was published in USA Today. It’s headlined “Election chaos: keep calm, keep counting, and get to work.”
And we’re joined by Briahna Joy Gray, former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders 2020. She’s the co-host of the Bad Faith podcast and contributing editor to Current Affairs. She tweeted through the night, so we were fortunate to be able to talk to her today, because she tweeted right through this morning.
Ben Jealous, we’re beginning with you. “Election chaos: keep calm, keep counting, and get to work.” Respond to what President Trump says. He declared victory and called the elections a “fraud.”
BEN JEALOUS: I mean, Trump is a fraud. Let’s be clear here: We have reason to be very, very hopeful. Joe has won every single state that was won in 2016 by Ms. Clinton. He has also won Nebraska. He’s won Arizona. And there’s huge buckets of votes to be counted in urban areas — Pittsburgh, Philly, Milwaukee, Detroit, Atlanta. It’s not just that there’s votes that are left to be counted in these states. A lot of the little areas have come in, but the big urban areas, there’s huge buckets of votes to be counted.
So, Trump did what we expected him to do, which was to try to perpetrate this fraud on the people of our country that he had won when he has not. And I would say to my fellow Dems and folks who voted against Trump, folks who voted for Biden, just keep calm. We’ve got this. We’ve always known that we would have to wait for every vote to be counted. We’re just going to have to keep calm and count every vote.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let’s talk about one of the first states that was called last night, and that was Florida. Now, we know that many thousands, if not over a million, votes — this is before the election, well before, when you talk about voter suppression, who got to vote and who didn’t initially. If you can talk about what you see happened in Florida, and particularly talk about the Latinx vote? It definitely didn’t come out for Biden and Harris in the way the Democrats had predicted.
BEN JEALOUS: When you dig into what’s going on with the Latinx vote in Florida, you’ve got to acknowledge a couple of things. One is that Donald Trump heavily outspent Joe Biden in advertising on Spanish-language media targeting Latinx swing voters all across the country. Last time I checked, it was 10 to one. At People For, one of the things that we tried to do was to make up for that gap. And we found ourselves scrambling, trying to get dollars for, for instance, even statewide radio in Florida. So there was just a failure over the summer to really court Latinx voters, especially those who speak Spanish as their main language.
The second problem was, frankly, one of relationship. If you talk to folks in the Venezuelan community, which is critical to winning South Florida, where Joe did not perform as well as he did throughout the state, it’s kind of insane, because Trump and Pence, from a policy perspective, have great antipathy for what that community wants, and yet the leaders will say, “But we know them. You know, Pence made dozens of trips down here. Democrats just made a few at that point.” And so, you know, you’ve got to kind of give it to Trump that, from a marketing perspective, they’ve done a very good job of marketing themselves to Latinx voters in southern Florida, despite the fact that they have Latinx children in cages on the border and, quite frankly, their policy interests are not in line even with folks like in the Venezuelan community, you know, whose leaders were very supportive of them because they felt like they had a relationship.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to bring Briahna Joy Gray into this conversation, again, former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders. Talk about your response as you saw the way things were unfolding, what you predicted, what you’re seeing now. In a moment, we’re going to be speaking with Erika Andiola in Arizona. It may well be this Republican state was flipped. Fascinatingly, it was Fox that first called it, to the ire of President Trump. CNN has yet to call it. But you have Arizona, that looks like it has been won by Biden, but you have the very close races in Georgia, in North Carolina, in Michigan, in Florida, in Pennsylvania. I mean, could you imagine what would happen if there wasn’t a pandemic?
BRIAHNA JOY GRAY: Yeah, the tragedy of this election, regardless of what the outcome ends up being, is that it was ever this close at all. For months, for years, Democrats have accurately described Trump as a pox on the country, as someone who has undermined every norm, who has caused a great deal of hardship on specifically, historically marginalized communities, and someone who has done little, little at all, to stem off the worst effects of this global health pandemic, from a health perspective and from an economic perspective. And yet here we are.
And I think when you start to dig a little deeper, you see what’s going on. This was an election in which the Democratic Party was very clear to put neoliberalism on the ballot. Donald Trump — you know, Joe Biden was a candidate who bragged to his donors that nothing would fundamentally change. He ran, clearly, with the plan to marginalize the left and to be very clear about the fact that he didn’t feel like he needed to reach out and do that kind of outreach.
And specifically, he failed in the ways that Bernie Sanders really excelled when it came to Latino voters. And what you saw in Florida is not just that they were outspent, but that Donald Trump was up on the airwaves with Spanish-language ads a full month before Joe Biden got into the state. Choices were made about when to invest and to what degree. And those choices ignored, perhaps fatally ignored, the extent to which the Latino vote is not guaranteed, and it has to absolutely be earned by building a relationship of trust over time.
And when you look at Nevada, one of the reasons why Joe Biden has done much better in terms of the Latino vote there is because he got there earlier and spent more money in the state. And also, there’s some reporting out of The Intercept that he was helped there by the fact that marijuana legalization was on the ballot, and that might have turned out more voters.
So we’re seeing some arguable correlation between pushing progressive policies and, of course, investing in communities in states going toward Democrats. And I think that we need to really think critically about how successful this “nothing will fundamentally change” message ultimately will be for the Democratic Party in the long run.
AMY GOODMAN: Ben Jealous, your response?
BEN JEALOUS: Well, I think all of that was spot on. I think all of that was spot on. You know, our party has to, frankly, learn from the Trump campaign as far as we have to market to every single voter. The way that they went after young Black men, just trying to pull off 3, 4%, we should have gone after with the intention of getting 95%. The way that they went after the Latinx community, trying to get to 40%, we should have gone after, trying to get to 80%. We’ve got to stop taking this kind of machine boss approach where you’re just asking, “Are you winning a particular community?” And you’ve got to start seeing the people of this country as individuals, and you have to fight for every single one of their votes.
And so, I do believe that we’re going to win. It should not be this close. Right now we just got to keep calm, count every vote, push hard. And we have to push against the disinformation that is coming straight out of the White House and the mouth of the president of United States, who took to the television at 2 a.m. to lie to the American people.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Briahna, your response to what Trump said? I mean, secretaries of state, both Republican and Democrat, have repeatedly warned — they’re the ones in charge of state elections — have repeatedly warned that they have to be able to have time to vote — to count that vote. And yet President Trump, while he wants every vote counted in Arizona — right? — because right now Biden is ahead — Fox called it, CNN didn’t call it. Mark Kelly, the Democrat, has beaten the sitting senator, Martha McSally, in a special election. She had — that’s in Arizona. He wants every vote counted there, but in Pennsylvania, where he has repeatedly gone after absentee ballots, calling them fraudulent, he wants the voting stopped. And interestingly, he said this is going to go to the Supreme Court. Like, forget the other courts that lead up to the Supreme Court. He’s taking this — his suggestion was — to his court.
BRIAHNA JOY GRAY: Yeah. I mean, look, this was the game plan that a lot of very sensible folks warned about, right? Bernie Sanders predicted this almost word for word on the Late Night show earlier this week, right? And that’s part of why it’s so frustrating that this race was close to begin with, because as I also predicted on Bad Faith podcast, I said if this is a landslide, if Biden clearly wins and can declare victory and can claim victory on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, then we are in good shape. But if there’s any ambiguity here, we’re at real risk that Donald Trump will try to railroad through a result of his liking, because the reality is — and I think that Trump and the Republicans recognize — that they are a lot better at these kind of strategic fights. It’s not that they’re fair. It’s not that they’re legal. But Republicans are willing to scrape and fight for every advantage in a way that, as we just saw in the Amy Coney Barrett debacle, Democrats simply are not. And in a situation like this where there is an ability to create ambiguity, even if there isn’t in fact ambiguity, it’s hard for me to imagine the steps that Democrats will take to prevent this from, yes, going to a favorable court for Donald Trump and for this being a redux of the year 2000 and the 2000 election, after which, I would like to point out, electoral reforms were not put into place.
AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s talk, Ben Jealous, about the position of Biden. And as you said, this race is way too early to call. And I want to talk about the kind of organizing that you have been doing. If President Trump refuses to accept the counting of the ballots — it’s been amazing over the last few days to see that wall go up around the White House. First it was — you know, first it was wire, and then it was a wall, preparing, not clear exactly, for what. And I should say yesterday he had hundreds of people in the White House starting at 7:00 in the evening, again, the issue of the White House becoming a super hot spot, a superspreading event in itself. And they stayed until well after 2:00 in the morning, when he gave his speech to cheers as he talked about his victory and the fraudulent election.
But I wanted to go to the issues of Joe Biden — you also — you ran for governor of Maryland — and the kinds of issues that you represented and the kind of issues that Biden really stayed away from. That’s the issue of Medicare for All. Joe Biden said he would veto it if it came to his desk, if he was president. I mean, if it came to his desk, that would mean that Republicans and Democrats would have had to have endorsed it. The issue of a Green New Deal, clear that he was not endorsing a Green New Deal, and also that whole issue of fracking, that he once said he was against and then said — once said he was against and then said he was for. But do you think, rather than adopting a progressive position that would mobilize voters — it’s not that progressives don’t have somewhere else to go, especially when it comes to Trump. They can just decide not to vote.
BEN JEALOUS: You know, Joe Biden played his playbook. It looks like it’s going to win the presidency for him. With that said, the playbook of the party has to shift. The party has to run towards the people of the country, has to run towards its base. Kamala, quite frankly, has much more of that in her. I’ve known her for years. And that has to be the future of the party, is to actually fight for every single vote, to be clear to working-class men of all colors that we have a vision for your economic prosperity, because right now you’re seeing Trump get more men of every color than he should. And it’s a real appeal to patriarchy. And you’ve got to replace that, frankly, with a strategy for how you’re actually going to shore up people economically, because when they’re falling for the floor, they’ll grasp for anything, including outmoded ways of being.
We have to really fight for every Latinx vote. We’ve got to fight for every Black vote. We’ve got to fight for every young person’s vote. And that means that we have to be a party that is unabashed about pushing for a vision that actually saves the planet, provides healthcare for everybody and, again, provides a pathway to economic success for everyone in the country. We’re supposed to be the party of FDR.
Now, I’m hopeful. I am hopeful that Joe Biden can be that president, even if he wasn’t that candidate. What that’s going to require is for us as a movement to push him to his better angels. And so, we’re going to count every vote. We’re going to be optimistic in this moment. Joe Biden will win. And then we will push him as hard — you know, as FDR said himself, “I agree with what you say. Go make me do it.” We’re going to have to go make Joe do a bunch of things that our children, born and yet unborn, need us to do in order to secure a better future for this country and our planet.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to bring in another guest. And I also want to say Juan González was co-hosting today, but because we are living in these pandemic times, we are socially distanced, and he’s having a problem with his computer. But I wanted to bring in John Nichols, who is currently in Madison, Wisconsin. The presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden remains too close to call, as we’ve said throughout this show, where we are broadcasting this in the morning of the day after the election, ballots still being counted in Michigan, in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada and other states. Biden is leading in Wisconsin by just over 20,000 votes, as we broadcast, with an estimated 97% of votes reported. In Michigan, Trump is leading narrowly by 24,000 votes, but the heavily Democratic city of Detroit is expected to take until, well, sometime tonight, possibly, to complete its count of absentee ballots. And then you’ve got Grand Rapids and other places. Their ballots have not fully been counted. But we’re going now to Wisconsin, where we’re joined by John Nichols. He’s The Nation magazine’s national affairs correspondent and host of the podcast Next Left. His most recent book, The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party.
John, talk about what’s happening in Wisconsin right now. Before we were speaking, the margin was much tighter. It’s increased a bit to 20,000, with Joe Biden ahead. But talk about what’s been counted, what hasn’t, and what your assessment is of what’s happening in Wisconsin.
JOHN NICHOLS: Well, thanks for having me on, Amy.
And what a night it has been. I can tell you that as I look around Wisconsin — and I just got off the phone with some key players around the state and party folks and local officials, who all were up through the night — it does look — and again, we’ll see what scattering may be out there — it looks like Joe Biden has a sufficient lead to win Wisconsin. I know that 21,000 votes seems like a very small margin, but you should understand that it is almost twice what John Kerry won the state by in 2004 and almost four times what Al Gore won the state by in 2000. And so, the fact of the matter is, Wisconsin is [inaudible] battleground state. And when I look around the state right now, it appears that the key places have reported. And what happened [inaudible] night was that, early on, Trump had a quite substantial lead. And in many ways, the reporting on that went to the heart of the problem with how media covers election night, because it was reporting from more rural areas and from more suburban areas. It takes longer to count a lot of votes in a big city. And so, Milwaukee took ’til around 4 a.m. When [inaudible] came in, it —
AMY GOODMAN: John, we’re losing you a little bit. Your Skype is going in and out, so if you could repeat what you just said about Milwaukee?
JOHN NICHOLS: Sure. I apologize. When Milwaukee came in, it provided —
AMY GOODMAN: We may just have to go to audio for you, but go — we’re going to go to break. We’re going to try to fix this, even if we just get you on audio, because this is absolutely critical, what’s happening in Wisconsin. John Nichols, The Nation’s national affairs correspondent, host of the podcast Next Left. We’re also talking to Ben Jealous, who’s now head of People for the American Way and has a USA Today op-ed, an editorial, “Election chaos: keep calm, keep counting, and get to work,” as well as Briahna Joy Gray, former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders 2020. Stay with us.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
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truthout--2020-11-04--Uber and Lyft Stocks Soar as California Overturns Protections for Gig Workers

Californians handed a major loss to labor unions on Tuesday night in voting to pass Proposition 22 , which allows companies like Uber and Lyft to continue classifying their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees .
Early in the night , the Associated Press called the measure .
With 72 percent reporting , 58 percent of the people have voted to pass the proposition .
If the proposition hadn ’ t passed , the companies would have been forced to treat their drivers as employees , which would upend their entire business model .
Gig workers and unions were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classifications .
Benefits from employee classification include such measures as minimum wage and health insurance .
Uber , Lyft , Postmates , DoorDash , Instacart , and others operating on the gig worker model staged a massive effort to pass Prop 22 , deploying a record number of lobbyists , sending voters misleading mailers , and spending over $ 200 million on their Yes on Proposition 22 campaign .
In court battles preceding the vote , Uber and Lyft threatened to leave California when a judge ordered the companies to classify their drivers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reprieve shortly afterwards although activists were skeptical that Uber and Lyft would make good on their threat given that two out of their three most profitable centers are in California .
The measure could have vast implications on how the gig economy is conducted across the country as other states and cities look to Prop 22 for how to handle this same issue .
Labor advocates were hoping that upholding the workers ’ classification as employees in California would lead to creating fairer conditions for gig workers across the country .
As it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Vice , the proposition amounts to these massive tech companies “ trying to steal protections from drivers.
” These protections would have been a boon for workers , especially during the global pandemic .
With the threat of COVID-19 , many drivers were not working due to fear of contracting the virus or were having trouble getting business at all .
One man in California died from the virus , possibly having contracted it from driving for Uber to support his family in dire times .
Because he wasn ’ t classified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L.A. Times reports , his family ’ s request for worker compensation from the state was denied .
Another concern over the passing of Prop 22 among labor advocates is the demonstration of the ability of a corporation to invest heavily in a measure that benefits them.. Uber and Lyft stocks were both up Wednesday morning , and In These Times labor reporter Hamilton Nolan remarked “ Uber and Lyft invested around $ 200 mil in a ballot measure to minimize labor costs and have gained around $ 8 billion in value in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s how democracy works folks .
”

Californians handed a major loss to labor unions on Tuesday night in voting to pass Proposition 22, which allows companies like Uber and Lyft to continue classifying their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees.
Early in the night, the Associated Press called the measure. With 72 percent reporting, 58 percent of the people have voted to pass the proposition.
If the proposition hadn’t passed, the companies would have been forced to treat their drivers as employees, which would upend their entire business model. Gig workers and unions were hoping for stronger workplace protections under employee classifications. Benefits from employee classification include such measures as minimum wage and health insurance.
Uber, Lyft, Postmates, DoorDash, Instacart, and others operating on the gig worker model staged a massive effort to pass Prop 22, deploying a record number of lobbyists, sending voters misleading mailers, and spending over $200 million on their Yes on Proposition 22 campaign.
In court battles preceding the vote, Uber and Lyft threatened to leave California when a judge ordered the companies to classify their drivers as employees. They were granted a reprieve shortly afterwards although activists were skeptical that Uber and Lyft would make good on their threat given that two out of their three most profitable centers are in California.
The measure could have vast implications on how the gig economy is conducted across the country as other states and cities look to Prop 22 for how to handle this same issue. Labor advocates were hoping that upholding the workers’ classification as employees in California would lead to creating fairer conditions for gig workers across the country. As it stands now, Edward Ongweso Jr. writes for Vice, the proposition amounts to these massive tech companies “trying to steal protections from drivers.”
These protections would have been a boon for workers, especially during the global pandemic. With the threat of COVID-19, many drivers were not working due to fear of contracting the virus or were having trouble getting business at all. One man in California died from the virus, possibly having contracted it from driving for Uber to support his family in dire times. Because he wasn’t classified as an Uber employee, as the L.A. Times reports, his family’s request for worker compensation from the state was denied.
Another concern over the passing of Prop 22 among labor advocates is the demonstration of the ability of a corporation to invest heavily in a measure that benefits them.. Uber and Lyft stocks were both up Wednesday morning, and In These Times labor reporter Hamilton Nolan remarked “Uber and Lyft invested around $200 mil in a ballot measure to minimize labor costs and have gained around $8 billion in value in one day as a result. That’s how democracy works folks.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-11-04--While World Awaits Presidential Result, Progressive “Squad” Expands in the House

With the world anxiously awaiting the results of a presidential race that some have called “ a matter of life and death , ” the four progressive congresswomen who burst onto the national political scene in 2018 and quickly became known collectively as “ the Squad ” expanded their informal team in the U.S. House on Tuesday by at least four .
After two years of causing “ good trouble ” on Capitol Hill , Reps. Ayanna Pressley ( D-Mass . )
, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) , Ilhan Omar ( D-Minn. ) , and Rashida Tlaib ( D-Mich. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their respective reelection races .
They were joined by congressional newcomers Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones , both of New York , along with Missouri ’ s Cori Bush and Marie Newman in Illinois — all of whom were declared as likely winners .
Justice Democrats welcomed the electoral victories of the initial Squad members , saying that “ the Squad is big ” and “ the time for bold action and visionary leadership is now.
” The group also celebrated the expected wins of Bowman in New York ’ s 16th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1st District : The group had also endorsed Newman of Illinois ’ 3rd District .
The youth-led Sunrise Movement , which advocates for the Green New Deal , also endorsed Newman along with the original members of the Squad and its newcomers .
“ We were told that progressive candidates can ’ t win , but once again we proved them wrong , ” the Sunrise Movement tweeted of Bush ’ s win , noting that the Black Lives Matter activist-turned-politician ran on defunding the police , a Green New Deal , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be a fierce advocate for the people in Congress .
She ’ s been fighting for her community and we know she ’ ll continue to do the same for us .
We ’ ve got the momentum , and the people are on our side.
” Sunrise said that Bowman , who ousted longtime Rep. Eliot Engel ( D-N.Y. ) in a primary this year , “ is the people ’ s candidate and we can ’ t wait to keep fighting alongside him.
” The candidates themselves also weighed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a progressive agenda at the federal level .
On The Young Turks Tuesday night , Bowman detailed some policies he would like to push — in the event that Democratic challenger Joe Biden beats President Donald Trump : Before Newman ’ s race was called , Ryan Cooper wrote at The Week that “ while seven or so votes is not that many , it ’ s possibly enough to start swaying close votes — particular given that there are several other Democratic representatives who are fairly close to the Squad politically , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them on individual issues .
The next House may have a serious left-wing faction for the first time in decades.
” The eight races that were called to double the size of the Squad Tuesday weren ’ t the only potential House victories for progressives .
As The Intercept outlined Monday , there are various other potential candidates — including Kara Eastman in Nebraska ’ s 2nd District and Mike Siegel in Texas ’ 10th District .
As of press time , those two races were being led by Republicans but hadn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the New York Times .

They are joined by New York’s Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, Missouri’s Cori Bush and Illinois’s Marie Newman.
With the world anxiously awaiting the results of a presidential race that some have called “a matter of life and death,” the four progressive congresswomen who burst onto the national political scene in 2018 and quickly became known collectively as “the Squad” expanded their informal team in the U.S. House on Tuesday by at least four.
After two years of causing “good trouble” on Capitol Hill, Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were all declared the projected winners of their respective reelection races. They were joined by congressional newcomers Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, both of New York, along with Missouri’s Cori Bush and Marie Newman in Illinois — all of whom were declared as likely winners.
Justice Democrats welcomed the electoral victories of the initial Squad members, saying that “the Squad is big” and “the time for bold action and visionary leadership is now.” The group also celebrated the expected wins of Bowman in New York’s 16th District and Bush in Missouri’s 1st District:
Congratulations to @JamaalBowmanNY in his victory tonight. The 11-year old boy who was beaten by police officers and then started his own public school to take care of his community is now officially going to be a Congressman. Congressman Jamaal Bowman, everyone. pic.twitter.com/dhGNwpcf43 — Justice Democrats (@justicedems) November 4, 2020
The group had also endorsed Newman of Illinois’ 3rd District. The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which advocates for the Green New Deal, also endorsed Newman along with the original members of the Squad and its newcomers.
“We were told that progressive candidates can’t win, but once again we proved them wrong,” the Sunrise Movement tweeted of Bush’s win, noting that the Black Lives Matter activist-turned-politician ran on defunding the police, a Green New Deal, and Medicare for All. “Cori Bush will be a fierce advocate for the people in Congress. She’s been fighting for her community and we know she’ll continue to do the same for us. We’ve got the momentum, and the people are on our side.”
Sunrise said that Bowman, who ousted longtime Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) in a primary this year, “is the people’s candidate and we can’t wait to keep fighting alongside him.”
The candidates themselves also weighed in:
I am beyond honored to be elected as the next representative for #IL03. We couldn’t have done this without our amazing district-wide coalition. We will continue to build bridges and fight for a just country and economy for working families. It’s a #NewDayinIL03. — Marie Newman (@Marie4Congress) November 4, 2020
Wow. I’m so humbled to be the next Representative of #NY16. Thank you so much. I’m ready to get to work to disrupt the status quo and deliver for our families. Hold me accountable. Push me and my colleagues. I’m going to need you in Congress with me. There’s so much work to do. pic.twitter.com/xBEWcwxKSb — Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) November 4, 2020
To all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed asides. This is our moment. We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That's how we build the political revolution. — Cori Bush (@CoriBush) November 4, 2020
Together, we have fought for our shared humanity. We have organized. We have mobilized. We have legislated our values. I am so proud to be your Congresswoman & your partner in the work. I believe in the power of us. And we’re just getting started. https://t.co/P0jPUK04wM — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) November 4, 2020
Serving NY-14 and fighting for working class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life. Thank you to the Bronx & Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, & trusting me to represent you once more. https://t.co/MXG2Z2DV2F — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 4, 2020
Our sisterhood is resilient. pic.twitter.com/IfLtsvLEdx — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 4, 2020
They also got to work pushing a progressive agenda at the federal level. On The Young Turks Tuesday night, Bowman detailed some policies he would like to push — in the event that Democratic challenger Joe Biden beats President Donald Trump:
.@JamaalBowmanNY: "We need to legalize marijuana at a federal level and release everyone who's in marijuana due to marijuana convictions and expunge their records…" "Number two, we need to end life sentences…"#electionnight: https://t.co/crsqgfWg6a #tytlive #election2020 pic.twitter.com/bX3y1Es4Ad — The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) November 4, 2020
Before Newman’s race was called, Ryan Cooper wrote at The Week that “while seven or so votes is not that many, it’s possibly enough to start swaying close votes — particular given that there are several other Democratic representatives who are fairly close to the Squad politically, and many others who are close to them on individual issues. The next House may have a serious left-wing faction for the first time in decades.”
The eight races that were called to double the size of the Squad Tuesday weren’t the only potential House victories for progressives. As The Intercept outlined Monday, there are various other potential candidates — including Kara Eastman in Nebraska’s 2nd District and Mike Siegel in Texas’ 10th District. As of press time, those two races were being led by Republicans but hadn’t yet been called, according to the New York Times.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-11-04--Deutsche Bank May Seize Trump’s Assets If He Loses and Fails to Repay Debt

Deutsche Bank is searching for a way to end its tumultuous relationship with President Donald Trump after the election following years of negative media coverage stemming from their relationship , a new report reveals .
Trump has long relied heavily on the German-based financial giant , and he currently owes the bank about $ 340 million .
Bank officials concerned about the president ’ s ability to repay the loans have discussed foreclosing on his properties or even seizing his assets , according to Reuters .
Deutsche Bank was one of few financial firms willing to do business with Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the ’ 90s , lending the president more than $ 2 billion over about two decades .
The bank continued to lend Trump hundreds of millions even after he sued it for “ predatory lending practices ” and fought for forgiveness for his unpaid debt , according to The New York Times .
Trump has about $ 340 million in outstanding loans to the Trump Organization , which he has personally guaranteed , that come due in 2023 and 2024 .
But Deutsche Bank executives have met to discuss ways to end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reuters .
The bank ’ s management committee overseeing reputational risks for the company in the Americas has floated an idea to sell off Trump ’ s debt on the secondary market , as it did in the past .
However , the idea has failed to gain traction , because “ it is not clear who would want to buy the loans and the attendant problems that come with it , ” according to the report .
Executives tired of the negative publicity and legal scrutiny believe they will have more “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump if he loses the election , which they hope will ease congressional scrutiny of the bank if Democrats win the Senate .
Deutsche Bank has already faced numerous federal and local investigations into its dealings with Trump , which one senior executive described as “ serious collateral damage ” for its longtime relationship , according to Reuters .
Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass.
, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee , has vowed to investigate the bank over its relationship with the Trump family .
Such a probe would face fewer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the upper chamber .
Executives are also concerned about Trump ’ s ability to repay his debts .
The loans were given for the development of his Doral golf resort and hotels in Chicago and Washington .
But those properties were already struggling from Trump ’ s drag on their business before the coronavirus pandemic dealt a serious blow to the hospitality industry .
If Trump is no longer in office , Deutsche Bank executives believe it will be easier to demand repayment , according to Reuters .
The bank could also refinance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if he does not pay or “ seize the president ’ s assets if he is unable to repay , ” two officials told Reuters .
The executives believe they will have less recourse if the president wins re-election .
“ The bank wouldn ’ t want the negative publicity inherent with seizing assets from a sitting president and would likely extend the loans until he is out of office , ” the outlet reported .
The Deutsche Bank loans are just a fraction of Trump ’ s overall debt .
The New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s personal and business tax returns , reported that his company is on the hook for $ 421 million in loans that were personally guaranteed .
A Forbes analysis found that Trump ’ s company has more than $ 1 billion in debt .
Trump has argued that his debt is dwarfed by the size of his personal wealth , but he has been unable or unwilling to pay back his full debt to Deutsche Bank and other lenders in the past .
He also defaulted on bonds the bank helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atlantic City casinos .
The president has also infamously refused to pay his debts to vendors and contractors throughout much of his career .
That attitude was on full display when he had issues with his microphone on Monday at one of his final campaign rallies in Kenosha , Wis. “ Don ’ t pay him !
Don ’ t pay the damn bill !
” Trump shouted while ranting about the sound guy , adding : “ And then I won ’ t pay the bill of the company that does this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do a story , ‘ Trump is a horrible human being .
He doesn ’ t pay a bill.
’ No , I don ’ t like to pay bills when people do a bad job .
”

Trump has long relied heavily on the German-based financial giant, and he currently owes the bank about $340 million.
Deutsche Bank is searching for a way to end its tumultuous relationship with President Donald Trump after the election following years of negative media coverage stemming from their relationship, a new report reveals.
Trump has long relied heavily on the German-based financial giant, and he currently owes the bank about $340 million. Bank officials concerned about the president’s ability to repay the loans have discussed foreclosing on his properties or even seizing his assets, according to Reuters.
Deutsche Bank was one of few financial firms willing to do business with Trump after a series of bankruptcies and defaults in the ’90s, lending the president more than $2 billion over about two decades. The bank continued to lend Trump hundreds of millions even after he sued it for “predatory lending practices” and fought for forgiveness for his unpaid debt, according to The New York Times. Trump has about $340 million in outstanding loans to the Trump Organization, which he has personally guaranteed, that come due in 2023 and 2024.
But Deutsche Bank executives have met to discuss ways to end their relationship with Trump, according to Reuters. The bank’s management committee overseeing reputational risks for the company in the Americas has floated an idea to sell off Trump’s debt on the secondary market, as it did in the past. However, the idea has failed to gain traction, because “it is not clear who would want to buy the loans and the attendant problems that come with it,” according to the report.
Executives tired of the negative publicity and legal scrutiny believe they will have more “freedom” to sever their relationship with Trump if he loses the election, which they hope will ease congressional scrutiny of the bank if Democrats win the Senate. Deutsche Bank has already faced numerous federal and local investigations into its dealings with Trump, which one senior executive described as “serious collateral damage” for its longtime relationship, according to Reuters.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to investigate the bank over its relationship with the Trump family. Such a probe would face fewer roadblocks if Democrats win back control of the upper chamber.
Executives are also concerned about Trump’s ability to repay his debts. The loans were given for the development of his Doral golf resort and hotels in Chicago and Washington. But those properties were already struggling from Trump’s drag on their business before the coronavirus pandemic dealt a serious blow to the hospitality industry.
If Trump is no longer in office, Deutsche Bank executives believe it will be easier to demand repayment, according to Reuters. The bank could also refinance the debt, foreclose on the properties if he does not pay or “seize the president’s assets if he is unable to repay,” two officials told Reuters.
The executives believe they will have less recourse if the president wins re-election.
“The bank wouldn’t want the negative publicity inherent with seizing assets from a sitting president and would likely extend the loans until he is out of office,” the outlet reported.
The Deutsche Bank loans are just a fraction of Trump’s overall debt. The New York Times, which obtained years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns, reported that his company is on the hook for $421 million in loans that were personally guaranteed. A Forbes analysis found that Trump’s company has more than $1 billion in debt.
Trump has argued that his debt is dwarfed by the size of his personal wealth, but he has been unable or unwilling to pay back his full debt to Deutsche Bank and other lenders in the past. He also defaulted on bonds the bank helped sell to investors to finance his failed Atlantic City casinos.
The president has also infamously refused to pay his debts to vendors and contractors throughout much of his career. That attitude was on full display when he had issues with his microphone on Monday at one of his final campaign rallies in Kenosha, Wis.
“Don’t pay him! Don’t pay the damn bill!” Trump shouted while ranting about the sound guy, adding: “And then I won’t pay the bill of the company that does this crazy microphone, and they’ll do a story, ‘Trump is a horrible human being. He doesn’t pay a bill.’ No, I don’t like to pay bills when people do a bad job.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-11-04--Trumpism Is Alive and Well — and It Won’t Go Away Even If Trump Does

The final results of the 2020 presidential and congressional elections remain unresolved this morning .
Even absent an outcome , there are many in the U.S. and around the world who will call Tuesday ’ s closer-than-expected election a disaster , an abject national humiliation , and a punch in the throat to every medical professional who waded into Donald Trump ’ s pandemic wearing trash bags and masks dipped in Lysol so they could help save lives .
How very quickly we forget .
No , this is not 2016 , when half the country voted “ couch ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ places .
In fact , one of the bright spots of the night is that turnout was the highest it has been in 120 years .
Just under 67 percent , the country outperformed its turnout mark for the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon election .
You can ’ t , and won ’ t , do much better than that these days .
And right there comes the nasty little turn .
Many devoutly believed Trump needed to be thoroughly and unquestionably routed last night , and not just to avoid a protracted and messy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a badly compromised Supreme Court .
More than that , the hope for a full Trump routing last night was also a hope that the entire grotesquerie that is Trumpism itself might be torn down , burned and buried under salted earth before the watching eyes of the whole wide world .
Well , after a huge turnout , that did not happen .
Instead , an election that many expected to be a Democratic “ Blue Wave ” has become a nip and tuck affair that has seen Democrats actually lose seats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still hold the majority in that chamber , but it is a slimmer one today , and the GOP minority will surely be emboldened after outstripping expectations .
Dreams of a Democratic Senate majority are slowly but surely falling to dust .
Ah , yes .
Expectations , otherwise known as “ polls , ” form an entire industry that has once again proven itself unequal to the task it claims expertise in .
I ’ m not one to casually quote neoconservative fiends like John Podhoretz , but in this specific instance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bone .
“ Political polling is a fraud , ” Podhoretz correctly declares .
“ It claims to measure something that , it is now unmistakably clear , can not be accurately measured .
Polling ’ s seductive promise is that it will take the guesswork out of understanding a complex and changing set of circumstances and replace that uncertainly with something that looks like science .
But it ’ s less like the physics that helps us shoot rockets into space and more like the set of the spaceship on ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It has a lot of dials and lights .
Things beep .
But if you put it on the Cape Canaveral launchpad and lit it on fire , you would just burn to death.
” I pledge to you upon this day , November 4 , 2020 , that I will never again stain this page with numbers from a poll , and I apologize abjectly for having done so in the past .
Polls are the Wonder Bread of political journalism ; they help fatten articles and hit deadlines , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have the caloric equivalent of gravel .
Never again , you have my word .
The race at present is down to a white-knuckle clutch of seven states : Pennsylvania , North Carolina , Michigan , Georgia , Wisconsin , Nevada and Arizona .
The last of those , Arizona , was called late last night by Fox News in favor of Joe Biden , which motivated Trump to erupt in a frenzy of fraud accusations and authoritarian victory declarations that , impossibly but surely , stained this elaborate debacle even more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to the U.S. Supreme Court , ” he railed .
“ We want all voting to stop.
” The outstanding districts in those states are almost all urban centers that contain millions of uncounted votes .
Tallying those ballots is what Trump wants stopped , and what will likely motivate him to bring this election to court if Biden eventually prevails .
At the end of that path lies the Supreme Court , clearly what Trump is hoping for .
To be sure , there were a great many joyful victories recorded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez obliterated their opponents to secure a second term for themselves , and Jamaal Bowman won the seat for New York ’ s 16th district .
Sarah McBride won her race for Delaware state senate , making her the highest-ranking transgender official in government .
All small-time drug possession in Oregon has been decriminalized .
Arizona , Montana , New Jersey and South Dakota legalized marijuana .
Mississippi approved the removal of the Confederate banner from its state flag .
Florida passed a $ 15 minimum wage .
Nebraska and Utah passed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to continue for those convicted of a crime .
But Lindsey Graham still has a job , as does Mitch McConnell , and probably as majority leader to boot .
The “ Blue Wave ” was transmogrified into lost ground in both the House and Senate , and if Biden wins this thing , it will be by a whisper-thin margin that can fully expect to spend the next couple of months in court .
In any event , the counting goes on and it will probably be days before a final result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a long time picking apart the details that led to last night , the missed clues and overstated chances .
Was Joe Biden the best choice as a nominee , or just another in a seemingly endless line of doomed DNC Dembots straight out of central casting ?
Certainly , Biden has not lost yet , and may well prevail… but the moment begs a question : Would we be here if Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren were standing in Biden ’ s place ?
We will never know , and now we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ First , the urban/rural voter split is more pronounced than ever , and the urban voters are surprisingly evenly matched in numbers with their rural brethren .
There is no blaming turnout this time , not after matching a 120-year-old high mark .
We appear to be as evenly divided a nation as we ’ ve been hearing we are , and this newest nose count underscores the grim truth of it .
Second , and more importantly : Despite the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic and his ridiculous handling of the crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceaseless bombast , the overt racism , all of it , Donald Trump remains popular enough to make a razor-thin contest out of what many ( hand raised ) expected would be a blowout .
More people voted in this election than ever before in all our history , and at least half of them think Trump is worthy of a second term .
Maybe more , if the deal goes down his way .
As election officials steadily process the ballots before them , I am processing the meaning of last night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nature of my country coming into this contest , something I felt I ’ ve had a handle on for years .
Nearly 66 million people surveyed the roiling , hateful , plague-raddled disaster zone the nation has become under Trump ’ s administration and decided he should have another four years to do more of the same .
It ’ s not over yet , but no matter the final outcome , this feels very much like a resounding setback , if not a defeat in its own right .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Democratic majority in the Senate in order to effectively govern .
The ground was ripe for the Democrats to do much better last night , with the surrounding circumstances altogether vehement in their pressing relevance… and then , this .
It is going to be a very long week , again .
Stout hearts .

The final results of the 2020 presidential and congressional elections remain unresolved this morning. Even absent an outcome, there are many in the U.S. and around the world who will call Tuesday’s closer-than-expected election a disaster, an abject national humiliation, and a punch in the throat to every medical professional who waded into Donald Trump’s pandemic wearing trash bags and masks dipped in Lysol so they could help save lives.
How very quickly we forget.
No, this is not 2016, when half the country voted “couch” instead of heading out to their polling places. In fact, one of the bright spots of the night is that turnout was the highest it has been in 120 years. Just under 67 percent, the country outperformed its turnout mark for the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon election. You can’t, and won’t, do much better than that these days.
And right there comes the nasty little turn. Many devoutly believed Trump needed to be thoroughly and unquestionably routed last night, and not just to avoid a protracted and messy legal battle that could wind up before a badly compromised Supreme Court. More than that, the hope for a full Trump routing last night was also a hope that the entire grotesquerie that is Trumpism itself might be torn down, burned and buried under salted earth before the watching eyes of the whole wide world.
Well, after a huge turnout, that did not happen. Instead, an election that many expected to be a Democratic “Blue Wave” has become a nip and tuck affair that has seen Democrats actually lose seats in the House of Representatives. Democrats still hold the majority in that chamber, but it is a slimmer one today, and the GOP minority will surely be emboldened after outstripping expectations. Dreams of a Democratic Senate majority are slowly but surely falling to dust.
Ah, yes. Expectations, otherwise known as “polls,” form an entire industry that has once again proven itself unequal to the task it claims expertise in. I’m not one to casually quote neoconservative fiends like John Podhoretz, but in this specific instance, he cuts it right down to the bone.
Nearly 66 million people surveyed the roiling, hateful, plague-raddled disaster zone the nation has become under Trump’s administration and decided he should have another four years to do more of the same.
“Political polling is a fraud,” Podhoretz correctly declares. “It claims to measure something that, it is now unmistakably clear, cannot be accurately measured. Polling’s seductive promise is that it will take the guesswork out of understanding a complex and changing set of circumstances and replace that uncertainly with something that looks like science. But it’s less like the physics that helps us shoot rockets into space and more like the set of the spaceship on ‘Star Trek.’ It’s shiny. It has a lot of dials and lights. Things beep. But if you put it on the Cape Canaveral launchpad and lit it on fire, you would just burn to death.”
I pledge to you upon this day, November 4, 2020, that I will never again stain this page with numbers from a poll, and I apologize abjectly for having done so in the past. Polls are the Wonder Bread of political journalism; they help fatten articles and hit deadlines, but as far as valuable information goes, they have the caloric equivalent of gravel. Never again, you have my word.
The race at present is down to a white-knuckle clutch of seven states: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona. The last of those, Arizona, was called late last night by Fox News in favor of Joe Biden, which motivated Trump to erupt in a frenzy of fraud accusations and authoritarian victory declarations that, impossibly but surely, stained this elaborate debacle even more deeply. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he railed. “We want all voting to stop.”
The outstanding districts in those states are almost all urban centers that contain millions of uncounted votes. Tallying those ballots is what Trump wants stopped, and what will likely motivate him to bring this election to court if Biden eventually prevails. At the end of that path lies the Supreme Court, clearly what Trump is hoping for.
To be sure, there were a great many joyful victories recorded last night. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez obliterated their opponents to secure a second term for themselves, and Jamaal Bowman won the seat for New York’s 16th district. Sarah McBride won her race for Delaware state senate, making her the highest-ranking transgender official in government.
All small-time drug possession in Oregon has been decriminalized. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota legalized marijuana. Mississippi approved the removal of the Confederate banner from its state flag. Florida passed a $15 minimum wage. Nebraska and Utah passed measures closing the loophole that allowed slavery to continue for those convicted of a crime.
But Lindsey Graham still has a job, as does Mitch McConnell, and probably as majority leader to boot. The “Blue Wave” was transmogrified into lost ground in both the House and Senate, and if Biden wins this thing, it will be by a whisper-thin margin that can fully expect to spend the next couple of months in court. In any event, the counting goes on and it will probably be days before a final result is reached.
We will be spending a long time picking apart the details that led to last night, the missed clues and overstated chances. Was Joe Biden the best choice as a nominee, or just another in a seemingly endless line of doomed DNC Dembots straight out of central casting? Certainly, Biden has not lost yet, and may well prevail… but the moment begs a question: Would we be here if Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren were standing in Biden’s place? We will never know, and now we wait.
Two facts stand out: First, the urban/rural voter split is more pronounced than ever, and the urban voters are surprisingly evenly matched in numbers with their rural brethren. There is no blaming turnout this time, not after matching a 120-year-old high mark. We appear to be as evenly divided a nation as we’ve been hearing we are, and this newest nose count underscores the grim truth of it.
Second, and more importantly: Despite the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic and his ridiculous handling of the crisis, despite the shattered economy, the ceaseless bombast, the overt racism, all of it, Donald Trump remains popular enough to make a razor-thin contest out of what many (hand raised) expected would be a blowout. More people voted in this election than ever before in all our history, and at least half of them think Trump is worthy of a second term. Maybe more, if the deal goes down his way.
As election officials steadily process the ballots before them, I am processing the meaning of last night’s results. I gravely misunderstood the nature of my country coming into this contest, something I felt I’ve had a handle on for years. Nearly 66 million people surveyed the roiling, hateful, plague-raddled disaster zone the nation has become under Trump’s administration and decided he should have another four years to do more of the same.
It’s not over yet, but no matter the final outcome, this feels very much like a resounding setback, if not a defeat in its own right. Even if Biden wins, he would need a Democratic majority in the Senate in order to effectively govern. The ground was ripe for the Democrats to do much better last night, with the surrounding circumstances altogether vehement in their pressing relevance… and then, this.
It is going to be a very long week, again. Stout hearts.
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