talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--GOP Sets Restrictions On RNC Attendance To Hold A ‘Safe’ Convention

GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel sent a letter to party delegates on Thursday informing them that the upcoming Republican National Convention ( RNC ) in Jacksonville , Florida would be downsized as a protective measure against COVID-19 .
The GOP ’ s latest move comes as Florida experiences an explosion in coronavirus cases .
In the letter , McDaniel acknowledged that the purpose of moving the main events of the RNC from Charlotte , North Carolina to Jacksonville was so that the convention could be held at full capacity , per President Donald Trump ’ s demand .
“ When we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be able to plan a traditional convention celebration to which we are all accustomed , ” the party leader wrote .
“ However , adjustments must be made to comply with state and local health guidelines.
” McDaniel promised that the party would still hold a “ fantastic ” convention but in “ a safe and responsible manner.
” The new rules mandate that for the first three days of the event , which begins on August 24 , only regular delegates will be allowed to enter the convention venue at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t be admitted until the last day on August 27 , when Trump gives his acceptance speech after being formally renominated .
McDaniel stated that the party would use both indoor and outdoor venues for the convention .
Additionally , RNC officials will implement “ a variety of health protocols ” at the event , according to the GOP leader .
“ This plan includes but is not limited to on-site temperature checks , available PPE , aggressive sanitizing protocols , and available COVID-19 testing , ” she wrote .
Fears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the large convention have only grown since Florida began suffering massive spikes in cases recently .
Prior to McDaniel ’ s announcement , multiple Republican lawmakers had stated that they would not be attending the event .
I want to thank you for your patience during these unprecedented times as we work to put on a safe and exciting convention , and for the immense support you continue to provide to the President , RNC , and Republicans throughout the country .
When North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper began to play politics with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made the decision to move the celebratory aspect of the event to Jacksonville , Florida , while keeping the formal business of the convention in Charlotte , North Carolina .
At the time , the RNC Executive Committee unanimously approved Rule 37 ( e ) procedures that outline how the official business will take place in Charlotte , limiting the number of delegates necessary to be present there to formally re-nominate the president and vice-president .
When we made these changes , we had hoped to be able to plan a traditional convention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , adjustments must be made to comply with state and local health guidelines .
I want to make clear that we still intend to host a fantastic convention celebration in Jacksonville .
We can gather and put on a top-notch event that celebrates the incredible accomplishments of President Trump ’ s administration and his re-nomination for a second term – while also doing so in a safe and responsible manner .
Following President Trump ’ s outstanding speech at Mount Rushmore , momentum continues to be on our side .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ build upon the incredible energy behind President Trump ’ s campaign , and help propel him to victory in November .
Below is an update on how we expect the Jacksonville convention celebration to proceed , along with some changes we are implementing : • The convention celebration in Jacksonville will still occur from Monday , August 24th through Thursday , August 27th .
• Admittance to the convention venue for the first three days of the convention celebration in Jacksonville ( August 24 , 25 , 26 ) will be limited to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day ( Thursday , August 27 ) when President Trump will publicly accept the nomination , we plan that each delegate , their guest , and alternate delegates will be permitted to attend .
• We continue to plan to host programming each day leading up to President Donald Trump ’ s speech accepting the nomination on Thursday , August 27th .
We expect there to be evening programming each night , along with some daytime events and festivities .
We plan to utilize a number of indoor and outdoor venues in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena , TIAA Bank Field , Daily ’ s Place Amphitheater , 121 Financial Ballpark , and several others .
• We plan to implement a variety of health protocols in order to ensure a safe event .
This plan includes but is not limited to on-site temperature checks , available PPE , aggressive sanitizing protocols , and available COVID-19 testing .
I want to reiterate that the RNC is working around the clock to ensure the convention celebration in Jacksonville is still an exciting , premier event .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Jacksonville as we celebrate this historic moment in the life of our nation .
Thank you again for your continued support for President Trump , the Republican National Committee , and Republican candidates everywhere .
Please feel free to share this guidance with your local state party leadership , along with convention delegates and alternates .

GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel sent a letter to party delegates on Thursday informing them that the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) in Jacksonville, Florida would be downsized as a protective measure against COVID-19.
The GOP’s latest move comes as Florida experiences an explosion in coronavirus cases.
In the letter, McDaniel acknowledged that the purpose of moving the main events of the RNC from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville was so that the convention could be held at full capacity, per President Donald Trump’s demand.
“When we made these changes, we had hoped to be able to plan a traditional convention celebration to which we are all accustomed,” the party leader wrote. “However, adjustments must be made to comply with state and local health guidelines.”
McDaniel promised that the party would still hold a “fantastic” convention but in “a safe and responsible manner.”
The new rules mandate that for the first three days of the event, which begins on August 24, only regular delegates will be allowed to enter the convention venue at the VyStar Arena. Guests and alternate delegates won’t be admitted until the last day on August 27, when Trump gives his acceptance speech after being formally renominated.
McDaniel stated that the party would use both indoor and outdoor venues for the convention.
Additionally, RNC officials will implement “a variety of health protocols” at the event, according to the GOP leader.
“This plan includes but is not limited to on-site temperature checks, available PPE, aggressive sanitizing protocols, and available COVID-19 testing,” she wrote.
Fears of a potential COVID-19 outbreak caused by the large convention have only grown since Florida began suffering massive spikes in cases recently. Prior to McDaniel’s announcement, multiple Republican lawmakers had stated that they would not be attending the event.
Read McDaniel’s full letter:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--‘Outright Lies’: Voting Misinformation Flourishes on Facebook

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .
On April 3 , Terrence K. Williams , a politically conservative actor and comedian who ’ s been praised by President Donald Trump , assured his nearly 3 million followers on Facebook that Democrats would light ballots on fire or throw them away .
Wearing a red “ Keep America Great ” hat , Williams declared , “ If you mail in your vote , your vote will be in Barack Obama ’ s fireplace.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 350,000 times .
On May 8 , Peggy Hubbard , a Navy veteran and police officer who this year sought the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois , warned on Facebook that the country was heading toward civil war .
“ Your democracy , your freedom is being stripped away from you , and if you allow that then everything this country stood for , fought for , bled for is all in vain.
” The cause ?
California ’ s recent expansion of voting by mail : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote in the upcoming election in November is by mail only , ” Hubbard said .
The video has attracted more than 209,000 views .
On June 27 , Pamela Geller , an anti-Muslim activist with nearly 1.3 million followers , weighed in .
“ Mail-in ballots guarantee that the Democrats will commit voter fraud , ” she said on Facebook .
There ’ s no evidence for any of these statements .
While California will mail absentee ballots to all registered voters , polling places will also be available .
Voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in ballots .
A recent Washington Post analysis analyzed three states with all-mail elections — Colorado , Oregon and Washington — and found just 372 potential irregularities among 14.6 million votes , or 0.0025 % .
Facebook ’ s community standards ban “ misrepresentation of who can vote , qualifications for voting , whether a vote will be counted , and what information and/or materials must be provided in order to vote.
” But an analysis by ProPublica and First Draft , a global nonprofit that researches misinformation , shows that Facebook is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting , particularly regarding voting by mail , which is the safest way of casting a ballot during the pandemic .
Many of these falsehoods appear to violate Facebook ’ s standards yet have not been taken down or labeled as inaccurate .
Some of them , generalizing from one or two cases , portrayed people of color as the face of voter fraud .
The false claims , including conspiracy theories about stolen elections or outright misrepresentations about voting by mail by Trump and prominent conservative outlets , are often among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to a review of engagement data from CrowdTangle , a Facebook-owned analytics tool .
On Facebook , interactions — the number of comments , likes , reactions and shares that a post attracts — are a proxy for popularity .
Of the top 50 posts , ranked by total interactions , that mentioned voting by mail since April 1 , 22 contained false or substantially misleading claims about voting , particularly about mail-in ballots .
“ We have a long history in this country of voter suppression that goes all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Jessica Gonzalez , the co-CEO of Free Press , an advocacy group focused on media and technology .
“ This is a new way to suppress the vote , and I don ’ t know why Facebook wants any part of it.
” In an email , Geller said that “ what I wrote was factual and accurate ” and that the contention that voter fraud is rare “ is ridiculous on its face.
” She added : “ You ’ re trying to deceive your readers into not believing what they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Williams did not respond to questions .
After ProPublica flagged their posts to Facebook , it deleted them .
A Facebook spokesperson said that the company is “ running the largest voting information campaign in American history , ” including aiming to register 4 million voters .
It plans to create a Voting Information Center — a box on top of user feeds — “ to connect people with authoritative information about the elections ” and add labels that link voting-related posts to official election information .
“ Making sure people have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the COVID crisis , ” the spokesperson said .
From March to May 2020 , Facebook removed more than 100,000 pieces of content from Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies against voter suppression , according to the company ’ s website .
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month that he stands against “ anything that incites violence or suppresses voting.
” ProPublica and First Draft tracked Facebook posts using voting-related keywords — including the terms “ vote by mail , ” “ mail-in ballots , ” “ voter fraud ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April , when Trump began attacking voting by mail .
Mentions of these voting-related terms nearly tripled on Facebook , with interest in the topic spiking after Twitter attached a fact-checking label to Trump ’ s false tweets and directed users to a fact-check page on May 26 .
Twitter ’ s intervention prompted Trump to claim that Twitter is “ interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election ” and “ stifling FREE SPEECH.
” Facebook has refused to take down Trump ’ s false claims about voting by mail .
Facebook ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushback over misinformation on the site .
Gonzalez helped organize an advertising boycott of Facebook that now includes more than 1,000 companies and some of the platform ’ s biggest advertisers .
Among other demands , they ’ re calling on Facebook to remove voting misinformation .
In a long-awaited assessment of its civil rights record , Facebook was faulted last week for being “ far too reluctant to adopt strong rules to limit misinformation and voter suppression.
” Also last week , civil rights groups met with Facebook executives , including Zuckerberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away disappointed .
“ It was all talk , no action , ” Gonzalez said .
“ We hear words like ‘ We know we need to do better ’ and ‘ We ’ re working on this , ’ and yet misinformation still seems to be quite pervasive on the site.
” Facebook expects to meet one of the groups ’ demands by hiring a vice president to coordinate civil rights issues internally , according to the company .
The posts identified by ProPublica and First Draft offer outright false claims about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or mislead users about the reliability of voting methods .
Facebook has said it is committed to both free speech and to providing reliable information about voting , but those goals may sometimes conflict .
Facebook has removed more than 90 % of false posts referred to it by VoteSure , a 2018 initiative by the state of California to educate voters and flag misinformation , Secretary of State Alex Padilla said .
In VoteSure ’ s first election , the 2018 midterms , 272 of 276 posts and tweets reported to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Still , VoteSure only identifies a small portion of misinformation , and Facebook needs to do more , Padilla said .
The platform , he said , has made progress but still has “ baseless outright lies , claims about massive voter fraud , and posts that are clearly wrong , or clearly erroneous.
” Trump ’ s false attacks on voting by mail had a total of 3.8 million interactions on Facebook .
Among them , a Trump post that falsely claimed Nevada had illegally sent out ballots had the most interactions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by mail in the last 12 months in the U.S. Trump ’ s false claim that California is sending ballots to “ anyone living in the state , no matter who they are or how they got there ” drew the third most interactions of any post that mentioned voting over the same period , ranking behind a post from Obama and a pro-Trump meme .
In recent months , Trump has also claimed on Facebook that “ mail-in ballots will lead to a “ RIGGED ELECTION !
” and falsely said they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made false statements about the legality of actions taken by election officials in Michigan and Nevada ; and he misrepresented his own power to deny funding to states that expand vote by mail .
Trump continued those false claims last week , arguing a debunked distinction between mail-in voting and absentee voting .
“ What is frustrating is that Trump can post or tweet whatever he wants without the proper checks and balances , ” Padilla said .
“ What keeps me up at night is that he ’ s clearly setting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might not like in November.
” Breitbart , a conservative website that has long championed Trump , has had more engagement on its voting-related stories than any other publisher from April until July 1 , according to our analysis .
In fact , voting-related stories on Breitbart have garnered more interactions since April than equivalent articles by The Washington Post , The New York Times and NBC News combined .
Many of the Breitbart posts are misleading at best .
“ Obama ratchets up Democrats ’ Cheat-by-Mail scheme !
” read one post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ framed how often voter fraud occurs .
Another post declared : “ Flooding the nation with ballots that can be stolen , sold , discarded , and forged—THAT ’ s the path to Leftist victory in November.
” In a video by Fox Nation , Fox News ’ streaming service , that has been viewed nearly 500,000 times , host Tomi Lahren said , “ I firmly believe the only way Donald Trump loses in November is because of voter fraud.
” In the video , Lahren falsely claims that voter fraud is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus is a crisis , wait till you see the voter fraud epidemic we have here in California .
And mark my words it ’ s heading to your state like a diseased bat out of hell.
” ( There ’ s no evidence that voter fraud is rampant in California , or in any other state . )
“ This is an editorial video , not a news report , which is very clear to any Fox Nation viewer , ” said John Finley , executive vice president of development for Fox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump campaign and Breitbart did not respond to requests for comment .
In a Facebook group dedicated to fans of Candace Owens , a conservative commentator , one post circulated a 2016 video that describes a widely debunked conspiracy theory linking billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros to “ rigged ” voting machines .
The post has received more than 16,000 shares .
Soros ’ Open Society Foundations donate to ProPublica .
Claims of “ stolen elections ” were common across the political spectrum .
A post by the left-leaning page Ridin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kanye West were trying to steal the election .
A clip of Joe Biden saying that his “ single greatest concern ” is that Trump would try to “ steal the election ” was touted as evidence of a conspiracy by Republicans .
Other claims of stolen elections have come from Secure America Now , quoting Newt Gingrich ; Trump ’ s former White House doctor Ronny Jackson , now running for Congress ; and liberal accounts like StandWithMueller and Occupy Democrats .
Facebook is reportedly considering banning political ads in the days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed that misinformation or false claims about voting by mail on Facebook are rarer in paid political ads than in posts .
The vast majority of ads that used voting-related terms were factual and promoted voter participation broadly , including ads from Democratic and Republican groups , nonpartisan voting organizations and state election offices .
However , we did find a handful of ads that pushed questionable claims about voting by mail .
A group called Morning in Nevada PAC , created by supporters of Adam Laxalt , the state ’ s former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handful of ads attacking voting by mail , spending between $ 14,800 and $ 20,998 this year , according to a search of Facebook ’ s political ad library .
Some of these ads make unsubstantiated claims that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to fix the election using mail-in voting .
A similar ad from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs describes absentee ballots as the “ ‘ tool of choice ’ for those who are engaging in election fraud.
” Several posts identified by ProPublica and First Draft seized on isolated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voter fraud , a tactic reminiscent of the 1988 George H.W .
Bush campaign ad that featured mug shots of Willie Horton , a Black felon who committed a rape while on a weekend furlough , to paint Michael Dukakis as weak on crime .
One meme-like post has appeared on at least 136 Facebook pages and groups , including Hubbard ’ s , as well as groups like “ 2nd Amendment Hotties ” and “ Dullards for Trump , ” which have produced 100,838 interactions .
The post features a headshot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan , clerk .
Text on the image reads : “ THE DEMOCRAT CLERK OF SOUTHFIELD , MICHIGAN IS FACING TRIAL ON 6 FELONY COUNTS OF VOTER FRAUD FOR EDITING HUNDREDS OF BALLOTS .
PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN RIGHT ALL ALONG ABOUT DEMOCRATS ’ ELECTION TAMPERING AND VOTER FRAUD.
” The post is inaccurate .
Hawkins was not charged with editing ballots themselves .
She was charged in state court with altering voter records used to track ballots .
No voters were disenfranchised .
Hawkins , who has not yet entered a plea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
In June , a Patterson , New Jersey , city councilman and a councilman-elect , along with two other men , were charged with illegally collecting ballots from voters and delivering them to an election office .
New Jersey prohibits anyone from delivering more than three ballots on behalf of voters .
The case is pending , and the councilman and councilman-elect have said they will plead not guilty .
On Facebook , Breitbart and several other conservative pages have displayed mugshots of the defendants , all of whom are people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud is rampant .
“ There is already a sense in the Black community that our votes will be lost and that the election won ’ t be fair , ” said Brandi Collins-Dexter , a senior campaign director at Color of Change , a civil rights group organizing the ad boycott .
“ What this stuff does is just confuse people and sow distrust.
” Though vote by mail was less controversial before the pandemic , misinformation about other aspects of voting also plagued Facebook in 2016 .
Before Rhode Island ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders supporters wrongly accused its secretary of state , Nellie Gorbea , on social media of suppressing turnout , based on a news report that the number of open polling places would be considerably less than in a November general election .
However , it ’ s common for states to have fewer polling locations during a primary , when turnout is lower .
Rhode Island actually had 15 more locations available than in the 2012 presidential primary .
In any case , the state Board of Elections , not Gorbea , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 24 hours , we received thousands of comments on Facebook and Twitter , ” Gorbea said .
“ Nothing would quell it.
” Her office received angry messages from 36 states and three countries , but just one message from a Rhode Island constituent .
Her office has since hired a full-time employee to monitor social media .
Exaggerating the prevalence of voting fraud can backfire .
In a study released in June , researchers showed respondents a series of tweets .
Some were actual 2018 tweets by Trump , Florida Gov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio that put forth unfounded claims of voter fraud ; others were more generic “ placebo ” tweets .
The false claims reduced confidence in elections for everyone , the researchers found , especially Republicans and those who approve of Trump .
Those groups “ reported significantly lower confidence in elections after exposure to a low dose of voter fraud allegations even when those claims were countered by fact-checks.
” As a result , Trump ’ s rhetoric may cause fewer Republicans to vote by mail than Democrats , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authors of the study and a political scientist at Dartmouth College .
Still , Nyhan is worried about broader effects of misinformation .
“ The problem has clearly gotten worse in terms of elite rhetoric , ” Nyhan said .
“ We ’ ve seen what happens in other countries when there isn ’ t a shared trust in the rules of the game in democracy and it ’ s not good.
” For now , misinformation may be difficult to stop before it goes viral .
On July 13 , conservatives on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an unidentified Trump supporter said she was denied the right to vote , apparently in Louisiana .
Many of these pages framed it as evidence of voter fraud and a Democratic plot to steal the election .
By the time the post was deemed false by PolitiFact , a Facebook fact-checking partner , it had received more than 3.7 million views and been shared more than 170,000 times .

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
On April 3, Terrence K. Williams, a politically conservative actor and comedian who’s been praised by President Donald Trump, assured his nearly 3 million followers on Facebook that Democrats would light ballots on fire or throw them away. Wearing a red “Keep America Great” hat, Williams declared, “If you mail in your vote, your vote will be in Barack Obama’s fireplace.” The video has been viewed more than 350,000 times.
On May 8, Peggy Hubbard, a Navy veteran and police officer who this year sought the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, warned on Facebook that the country was heading toward civil war. “Your democracy, your freedom is being stripped away from you, and if you allow that then everything this country stood for, fought for, bled for is all in vain.” The cause? California’s recent expansion of voting by mail: “The only way you will be able to vote in the upcoming election in November is by mail only,” Hubbard said. The video has attracted more than 209,000 views.
On June 27, Pamela Geller, an anti-Muslim activist with nearly 1.3 million followers, weighed in. “Mail-in ballots guarantee that the Democrats will commit voter fraud,” she said on Facebook.
There’s no evidence for any of these statements. While California will mail absentee ballots to all registered voters, polling places will also be available. Voter fraud is exceedingly rare, including with mail-in ballots. A recent Washington Post analysis analyzed three states with all-mail elections — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — and found just 372 potential irregularities among 14.6 million votes, or 0.0025%.
Facebook’s community standards ban “misrepresentation of who can vote, qualifications for voting, whether a vote will be counted, and what information and/or materials must be provided in order to vote.” But an analysis by ProPublica and First Draft, a global nonprofit that researches misinformation, shows that Facebook is rife with false or misleading claims about voting, particularly regarding voting by mail, which is the safest way of casting a ballot during the pandemic. Many of these falsehoods appear to violate Facebook’s standards yet have not been taken down or labeled as inaccurate. Some of them, generalizing from one or two cases, portrayed people of color as the face of voter fraud.
The false claims, including conspiracy theories about stolen elections or outright misrepresentations about voting by mail by Trump and prominent conservative outlets, are often among the most popular posts about voting on Facebook, according to a review of engagement data from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned analytics tool.
On Facebook, interactions — the number of comments, likes, reactions and shares that a post attracts — are a proxy for popularity. Of the top 50 posts, ranked by total interactions, that mentioned voting by mail since April 1, 22 contained false or substantially misleading claims about voting, particularly about mail-in ballots.
“We have a long history in this country of voter suppression that goes all the way back to our founding,” said Jessica Gonzalez, the co-CEO of Free Press, an advocacy group focused on media and technology. “This is a new way to suppress the vote, and I don’t know why Facebook wants any part of it.”
In an email, Geller said that “what I wrote was factual and accurate” and that the contention that voter fraud is rare “is ridiculous on its face.” She added: “You’re trying to deceive your readers into not believing what they see with their own eyes.”
Hubbard and Williams did not respond to questions. After ProPublica flagged their posts to Facebook, it deleted them.
A Facebook spokesperson said that the company is “running the largest voting information campaign in American history,” including aiming to register 4 million voters. It plans to create a Voting Information Center — a box on top of user feeds — “to connect people with authoritative information about the elections” and add labels that link voting-related posts to official election information.
“Making sure people have accurate information about voting is especially critical during the COVID crisis,” the spokesperson said.
From March to May 2020, Facebook removed more than 100,000 pieces of content from Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies against voter suppression, according to the company’s website. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month that he stands against “anything that incites violence or suppresses voting.”
ProPublica and First Draft tracked Facebook posts using voting-related keywords — including the terms “vote by mail,” “mail-in ballots,” “voter fraud” and “stolen elections” — since early April, when Trump began attacking voting by mail. Mentions of these voting-related terms nearly tripled on Facebook, with interest in the topic spiking after Twitter attached a fact-checking label to Trump’s false tweets and directed users to a fact-check page on May 26. Twitter’s intervention prompted Trump to claim that Twitter is “interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election” and “stifling FREE SPEECH.” Facebook has refused to take down Trump’s false claims about voting by mail.
Facebook’s inaction on Trump’s posts spurred pushback over misinformation on the site. Gonzalez helped organize an advertising boycott of Facebook that now includes more than 1,000 companies and some of the platform’s biggest advertisers. Among other demands, they’re calling on Facebook to remove voting misinformation.
In a long-awaited assessment of its civil rights record, Facebook was faulted last week for being “far too reluctant to adopt strong rules to limit misinformation and voter suppression.” Also last week, civil rights groups met with Facebook executives, including Zuckerberg, to push their demands and came away disappointed.
“It was all talk, no action,” Gonzalez said. “We hear words like ‘We know we need to do better’ and ‘We’re working on this,’ and yet misinformation still seems to be quite pervasive on the site.”
Facebook expects to meet one of the groups’ demands by hiring a vice president to coordinate civil rights issues internally, according to the company.
The posts identified by ProPublica and First Draft offer outright false claims about voting, blend opinion and factual errors, or mislead users about the reliability of voting methods. Facebook has said it is committed to both free speech and to providing reliable information about voting, but those goals may sometimes conflict.
Facebook has removed more than 90% of false posts referred to it by VoteSure, a 2018 initiative by the state of California to educate voters and flag misinformation, Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. In VoteSure’s first election, the 2018 midterms, 272 of 276 posts and tweets reported to social media platforms were taken down.
Still, VoteSure only identifies a small portion of misinformation, and Facebook needs to do more, Padilla said. The platform, he said, has made progress but still has “baseless outright lies, claims about massive voter fraud, and posts that are clearly wrong, or clearly erroneous.”
Trump’s false attacks on voting by mail had a total of 3.8 million interactions on Facebook. Among them, a Trump post that falsely claimed Nevada had illegally sent out ballots had the most interactions of any post that has mentioned vote by mail in the last 12 months in the U.S. Trump’s false claim that California is sending ballots to “anyone living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there” drew the third most interactions of any post that mentioned voting over the same period, ranking behind a post from Obama and a pro-Trump meme.
In recent months, Trump has also claimed on Facebook that “mail-in ballots will lead to a “RIGGED ELECTION!” and falsely said they are “substantially fraudulent”; he made false statements about the legality of actions taken by election officials in Michigan and Nevada; and he misrepresented his own power to deny funding to states that expand vote by mail. Trump continued those false claims last week, arguing a debunked distinction between mail-in voting and absentee voting.
“What is frustrating is that Trump can post or tweet whatever he wants without the proper checks and balances,” Padilla said. “What keeps me up at night is that he’s clearly setting the stage to question election results that he might not like in November.”
Breitbart, a conservative website that has long championed Trump, has had more engagement on its voting-related stories than any other publisher from April until July 1, according to our analysis. In fact, voting-related stories on Breitbart have garnered more interactions since April than equivalent articles by The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC News combined. Many of the Breitbart posts are misleading at best. “Obama ratchets up Democrats’ Cheat-by-Mail scheme!” read one post, linking to a story that misleadingly framed how often voter fraud occurs. Another post declared: “Flooding the nation with ballots that can be stolen, sold, discarded, and forged—THAT’s the path to Leftist victory in November.”
In a video by Fox Nation, Fox News’ streaming service, that has been viewed nearly 500,000 times, host Tomi Lahren said, “I firmly believe the only way Donald Trump loses in November is because of voter fraud.” In the video, Lahren falsely claims that voter fraud is rampant in California. “You think coronavirus is a crisis, wait till you see the voter fraud epidemic we have here in California. And mark my words it’s heading to your state like a diseased bat out of hell.” (There’s no evidence that voter fraud is rampant in California, or in any other state.)
“This is an editorial video, not a news report, which is very clear to any Fox Nation viewer,” said John Finley, executive vice president of development for Fox News Media. The White House, the Trump campaign and Breitbart did not respond to requests for comment.
In a Facebook group dedicated to fans of Candace Owens, a conservative commentator, one post circulated a 2016 video that describes a widely debunked conspiracy theory linking billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros to “rigged” voting machines. The post has received more than 16,000 shares. Soros’ Open Society Foundations donate to ProPublica.
Claims of “stolen elections” were common across the political spectrum. A post by the left-leaning page Ridin’ With Biden contended that Trump and Kanye West were trying to steal the election. A clip of Joe Biden saying that his “single greatest concern” is that Trump would try to “steal the election” was touted as evidence of a conspiracy by Republicans. Other claims of stolen elections have come from Secure America Now, quoting Newt Gingrich; Trump’s former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, now running for Congress; and liberal accounts like StandWithMueller and Occupy Democrats.
Facebook is reportedly considering banning political ads in the days before the election. But our review showed that misinformation or false claims about voting by mail on Facebook are rarer in paid political ads than in posts. The vast majority of ads that used voting-related terms were factual and promoted voter participation broadly, including ads from Democratic and Republican groups, nonpartisan voting organizations and state election offices. However, we did find a handful of ads that pushed questionable claims about voting by mail.
A group called Morning in Nevada PAC, created by supporters of Adam Laxalt, the state’s former Republican attorney general, has launched a handful of ads attacking voting by mail, spending between $14,800 and $20,998 this year, according to a search of Facebook’s political ad library. Some of these ads make unsubstantiated claims that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to fix the election using mail-in voting.
A similar ad from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs describes absentee ballots as the “‘tool of choice’ for those who are engaging in election fraud.”
Several posts identified by ProPublica and First Draft seized on isolated incidents to link people of color to voter fraud, a tactic reminiscent of the 1988 George H.W. Bush campaign ad that featured mug shots of Willie Horton, a Black felon who committed a rape while on a weekend furlough, to paint Michael Dukakis as weak on crime. One meme-like post has appeared on at least 136 Facebook pages and groups, including Hubbard’s, as well as groups like “2nd Amendment Hotties” and “Dullards for Trump,” which have produced 100,838 interactions. The post features a headshot of Sherikia Hawkins, a former Southfield, Michigan, clerk. Text on the image reads:
“THE DEMOCRAT CLERK OF SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN IS FACING TRIAL ON 6 FELONY COUNTS OF VOTER FRAUD FOR EDITING HUNDREDS OF BALLOTS. PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN RIGHT ALL ALONG ABOUT DEMOCRATS’ ELECTION TAMPERING AND VOTER FRAUD.”
The post is inaccurate. Hawkins was not charged with editing ballots themselves. She was charged in state court with altering voter records used to track ballots. No voters were disenfranchised. Hawkins, who has not yet entered a plea, is expected to face trial this year.
In June, a Patterson, New Jersey, city councilman and a councilman-elect, along with two other men, were charged with illegally collecting ballots from voters and delivering them to an election office. New Jersey prohibits anyone from delivering more than three ballots on behalf of voters. The case is pending, and the councilman and councilman-elect have said they will plead not guilty. On Facebook, Breitbart and several other conservative pages have displayed mugshots of the defendants, all of whom are people of color, to suggest that voter fraud is rampant.
“There is already a sense in the Black community that our votes will be lost and that the election won’t be fair,” said Brandi Collins-Dexter, a senior campaign director at Color of Change, a civil rights group organizing the ad boycott. “What this stuff does is just confuse people and sow distrust.”
Though vote by mail was less controversial before the pandemic, misinformation about other aspects of voting also plagued Facebook in 2016. Before Rhode Island’s presidential primary that year, Bernie Sanders supporters wrongly accused its secretary of state, Nellie Gorbea, on social media of suppressing turnout, based on a news report that the number of open polling places would be considerably less than in a November general election.
However, it’s common for states to have fewer polling locations during a primary, when turnout is lower. Rhode Island actually had 15 more locations available than in the 2012 presidential primary. In any case, the state Board of Elections, not Gorbea, was in charge of polling places.
“In 24 hours, we received thousands of comments on Facebook and Twitter,” Gorbea said. “Nothing would quell it.” Her office received angry messages from 36 states and three countries, but just one message from a Rhode Island constituent. Her office has since hired a full-time employee to monitor social media.
Exaggerating the prevalence of voting fraud can backfire. In a study released in June, researchers showed respondents a series of tweets. Some were actual 2018 tweets by Trump, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio that put forth unfounded claims of voter fraud; others were more generic “placebo” tweets. The false claims reduced confidence in elections for everyone, the researchers found, especially Republicans and those who approve of Trump. Those groups “reported significantly lower confidence in elections after exposure to a low dose of voter fraud allegations even when those claims were countered by fact-checks.”
As a result, Trump’s rhetoric may cause fewer Republicans to vote by mail than Democrats, said Brendan Nyhan, one of the authors of the study and a political scientist at Dartmouth College. Still, Nyhan is worried about broader effects of misinformation. “The problem has clearly gotten worse in terms of elite rhetoric,” Nyhan said. “We’ve seen what happens in other countries when there isn’t a shared trust in the rules of the game in democracy and it’s not good.”
For now, misinformation may be difficult to stop before it goes viral. On July 13, conservatives on Facebook pounced on a video in which an unidentified Trump supporter said she was denied the right to vote, apparently in Louisiana. Many of these pages framed it as evidence of voter fraud and a Democratic plot to steal the election. By the time the post was deemed false by PolitiFact, a Facebook fact-checking partner, it had received more than 3.7 million views and been shared more than 170,000 times.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--US, UK And Canada Accuse Russia Of Trying To Steal COVID-19 Vaccine Info

LONDON ( AP ) — Britain , the United States and Canada say Russia is trying to steal information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine .
The three nations alleged Thursday that hacking group APT29 , also known as Cozy Bear and said to be part of the Russian intelligence service , is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in coronavirus vaccine development .
The persistent and ongoing attacks are seen by intelligence officials as an effort to steal intellectual property , rather than to disrupt research .
Britain ’ s National Cybersecurity Centre made the announcement , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Canada .
It was unclear whether any information actually was stolen but the National Cypersecurity Centre says individuals ’ confidential information is not believed to have been compromised .
Cozy Bear has been identified by Washington as one of two Russian government-linked hacking groups that broke into the Democratic National Committee computer network and stole emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election .
The other group is usually called Fancy Bear .
It ’ s also unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin knew about the vaccine research hacking , but British officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
U.S. authorities have for month leveled similar accusations against China .
FBI Director Chris Wray said last week , “ At this very moment , China is working to compromise American health care organizations , pharmaceutical companies , and academic institutions conducting essential COVID-19 research .
”

LONDON (AP) — Britain, the United States and Canada say Russia is trying to steal information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine.
The three nations alleged Thursday that hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear and said to be part of the Russian intelligence service, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in coronavirus vaccine development.
The persistent and ongoing attacks are seen by intelligence officials as an effort to steal intellectual property, rather than to disrupt research.
Britain’s National Cybersecurity Centre made the announcement, which was coordinated with authorities in the U.S. and Canada.
It was unclear whether any information actually was stolen but the National Cypersecurity Centre says individuals’ confidential information is not believed to have been compromised.
Cozy Bear has been identified by Washington as one of two Russian government-linked hacking groups that broke into the Democratic National Committee computer network and stole emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The other group is usually called Fancy Bear.
It’s also unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin knew about the vaccine research hacking, but British officials believe such intelligence would be highly prized.
U.S. authorities have for month leveled similar accusations against China. FBI Director Chris Wray said last week, “At this very moment, China is working to compromise American health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions conducting essential COVID-19 research.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--US Carries Out Second Federal Execution This Week

TERRE HAUTE , Ind .
( AP ) — The United States on Thursday carried out its second federal execution this week , killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia and was unfit to be executed .
Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute , Indiana .
Purkey was convicted of kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old girl , Jennifer Long , before dismembering , burning and dumping her body in a septic pond .
He also was convicted in a state court in Kansas after using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman who had polio .
Purkey was strapped to a gurney inside the execution chamber .
A prison official removed a mask from Purkey ’ s face and asked him if he wanted to make a final statement .
He leaned his head up slightly from the gurney and said : “ I deeply regret the pain and suffering I caused to Jennifer ’ s family .
I am deeply sorry.
” He also expressed remorse for his own adult daughter ’ s suffering his actions caused .
“ I deeply regret the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who I love so very much , ” he said .
His last words were : “ This sanitized murder really does not serve no purpose whatsoever .
Thank you.
” As the lethal chemical was injected , Purkey took several deep breaths and blinked repeatedly , laying his head back down on the gurney .
His time of death was 8:19 a.m. EDT .
His spiritual adviser was in the room , wearing a face mask and a surgical mask and appeared to be praying , his gloved hands held together at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way for the execution to take place just hours before , ruling in a 5-4 decision .
The four liberal justices dissented , like they did for the first case earlier this week .
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that “ proceeding with Purkey ’ s execution now , despite the grave questions and factual findings regarding his mental competency , casts a shroud of constitutional doubt over the most irrevocable of injuries.
” She was joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan .
It was the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hiatus .
Another man , Daniel Lewis Lee , was put to death Tuesday after his eleventh hour legal bids failed .
Both executions were delayed into the day after they were scheduled as legal wrangling continued late into the night and into the next morning .
The Justice Department has been questioned for holding the executions in the middle of the worsening coronavirus pandemic , prompting lawsuits over fears those who would travel to the prison could become infected .
The decision to resume executions after nearly two decades was criticized as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , forcing an issue that is not high on the list of American priorities considering the 11 % unemployment rate and the pandemic .
Purkey ’ s lawyers had argued his condition had deteriorated so severely that he didn ’ t understand why he was being executed .
They said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a child and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia , bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions .
The issue of Purkey ’ s mental health arose in the run-up to his 2003 trial and when , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decide whether he should be put to death in the killing of Jennifer in Kansas City , Missouri .
Prosecutors said he raped and stabbed her , dismembered her with a chainsaw , burned her and dumped her ashes 200 miles ( 320 kilometers ) away in a septic pond in Kansas .
Purkey was separately convicted and sentenced to life in the beating death of 80-year-old Mary Ruth Bales , of Kansas City , Kansas .
Purkey had a long history of childhood trauma , was sexually abused by family members and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other family members , said Liz Vartkessian , a mitigation specialist who worked with Purkey ’ s legal team and visited him dozens of times in the last five years .
“ His case is replete with instances where he has expressed a deep remorse , ” she said in an interview earlier this month .
But recently , Purkey ’ s mental health had seriously deteriorated to the point he didn ’ t have the stamina for long visits with his legal team and often forgot key facts and dates , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him write down a schedule to remember his visits with his lawyers , she said .
He also had a long history of paranoia and delusions and believed the Justice Department was moving forward with his execution because of many complaints and lawsuits he brought in prison , even though most had failed , Vartkessian said .
The Supreme Court also lifted a hold placed on other executions set for Friday and next month .
Dustin Honken , a drug kingpin from Iowa convicted of killing five people in a scheme to silence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday .
Gresko reported from Arlington , Va. Associated Press writers Colleen Long in Washington and Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report .

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The United States on Thursday carried out its second federal execution this week, killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia and was unfit to be executed.
Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Purkey was convicted of kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old girl, Jennifer Long, before dismembering, burning and dumping her body in a septic pond. He also was convicted in a state court in Kansas after using a claw hammer to kill an 80-year-old woman who had polio.
Purkey was strapped to a gurney inside the execution chamber. A prison official removed a mask from Purkey’s face and asked him if he wanted to make a final statement.
He leaned his head up slightly from the gurney and said: “I deeply regret the pain and suffering I caused to Jennifer’s family. I am deeply sorry.”
He also expressed remorse for his own adult daughter’s suffering his actions caused. “I deeply regret the pain I caused to my daughter, who I love so very much,” he said.
His last words were: “This sanitized murder really does not serve no purpose whatsoever. Thank you.”
As the lethal chemical was injected, Purkey took several deep breaths and blinked repeatedly, laying his head back down on the gurney. His time of death was 8:19 a.m. EDT.
His spiritual adviser was in the room, wearing a face mask and a surgical mask and appeared to be praying, his gloved hands held together at the palms.
The Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution to take place just hours before, ruling in a 5-4 decision. The four liberal justices dissented, like they did for the first case earlier this week.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that “proceeding with Purkey’s execution now, despite the grave questions and factual findings regarding his mental competency, casts a shroud of constitutional doubt over the most irrevocable of injuries.” She was joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.
It was the federal government’s second execution after a 17-year hiatus. Another man, Daniel Lewis Lee, was put to death Tuesday after his eleventh hour legal bids failed.
Both executions were delayed into the day after they were scheduled as legal wrangling continued late into the night and into the next morning.
Jennifer’s father, William Long, attended Purkey’s execution.
“I hope he rots in hell,” Long,said.
The Justice Department has been questioned for holding the executions in the middle of the worsening coronavirus pandemic, prompting lawsuits over fears those who would travel to the prison could become infected. The decision to resume executions after nearly two decades was criticized as a dangerously political move in an election year, forcing an issue that is not high on the list of American priorities considering the 11% unemployment rate and the pandemic.
Purkey’s lawyers had argued his condition had deteriorated so severely that he didn’t understand why he was being executed. They said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a child and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions.
The issue of Purkey’s mental health arose in the run-up to his 2003 trial and when, after the verdict, jurors had to decide whether he should be put to death in the killing of Jennifer in Kansas City, Missouri. Prosecutors said he raped and stabbed her, dismembered her with a chainsaw, burned her and dumped her ashes 200 miles (320 kilometers) away in a septic pond in Kansas. Purkey was separately convicted and sentenced to life in the beating death of 80-year-old Mary Ruth Bales, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Purkey had a long history of childhood trauma, was sexually abused by family members and a Catholic priest and was beaten by other family members, said Liz Vartkessian, a mitigation specialist who worked with Purkey’s legal team and visited him dozens of times in the last five years.
“His case is replete with instances where he has expressed a deep remorse,” she said in an interview earlier this month.
But recently, Purkey’s mental health had seriously deteriorated to the point he didn’t have the stamina for long visits with his legal team and often forgot key facts and dates, she said.
Correction officers had to help him write down a schedule to remember his visits with his lawyers, she said.
He also had a long history of paranoia and delusions and believed the Justice Department was moving forward with his execution because of many complaints and lawsuits he brought in prison, even though most had failed, Vartkessian said.
The Supreme Court also lifted a hold placed on other executions set for Friday and next month.
Dustin Honken, a drug kingpin from Iowa convicted of killing five people in a scheme to silence former dealers, was scheduled for execution Friday.
___
Gresko reported from Arlington, Va. Associated Press writers Colleen Long in Washington and Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--Georgia Governor Explicitly Bans Local Mask Mandates In New Executive Order

Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp ( R ) on Wednesday explicitly banned cities and counties from adopting rules requiring masks or other face coverings .
The governor has called mandates to wear a mask “ a bridge too far , ” the Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported .
An earlier executive order , which was set to expire on Wednesday , had kept in place a months-long ban on local officials from taking more restrictive measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus .
But the new executive order Kemp issued on Wednesday “ suspended ” local requirements that require the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus .
The news came after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey ( R ) announced a statewide mask requirement to take effect on Thursday .
Kemp ’ s move also falls out of step with decisions made by the likes of Walmart and Sam ’ s Club , who on Monday said they would require shoppers to begin wearing masks .
A string of Georgia cities had already started to require masks earlier this month defying Kemp ’ s earlier calls not to adopt more restrictive measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quickly followed in cities like Atlanta , Athens and Augusta .
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson ( D ) responded to the decision telling MSNBC on Thursday morning that he was “ flabbergasted.
” “ On one hand we ’ re fighting COVID on another hand we ’ re fighting our governor , ” Johnson said .
“ Our hands should be totally and unequivocally working to fight this virus.
” The mayor added that as far as local officials in Savannah are concerned the city ’ s emergency declaration stands .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — you ’ re in business with the city of Savannah — you will wear a mask .
Period.
” Georgia reported 3,871 new infections on Wednesday , the second-highest daily count since the pandemic began .
So far , 127,834 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Georgia — a number that more than doubles the infections reported in mid-June .
“ We continue to watch the data and the numbers , ” Kemp said earlier this week .
“ We ’ ve got to learn to deal with it , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks and follow the guidance that we have.
” Before the new executive order was issued on Wednesday , more than 1,400 health care workers had signed an open letter earlier this month calling on Kemp to mandate masks and to allow local governments to make their own rules aimed at cutting down the number of new infections , The Journal-Constitution said .
The letter also made pleas for the governor to close bars and restaurants , and to ban indoor gatherings of more than 25 people .
Dr. Harry J. Heiman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University School of Public Health said that although these measures are “ basic , ” the state hasn ’ t “ come close to mastering them yet.
” He added that in the absence of “ aggressive action , ” the outbreak in the state “ is only going to get worse .
”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Wednesday explicitly banned cities and counties from adopting rules requiring masks or other face coverings.
The governor has called mandates to wear a mask “a bridge too far,” the Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported.
An earlier executive order, which was set to expire on Wednesday, had kept in place a months-long ban on local officials from taking more restrictive measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. But the new executive order Kemp issued on Wednesday “suspended” local requirements that require the use of masks or face coverings in efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The news came after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) announced a statewide mask requirement to take effect on Thursday. Kemp’s move also falls out of step with decisions made by the likes of Walmart and Sam’s Club, who on Monday said they would require shoppers to begin wearing masks.
A string of Georgia cities had already started to require masks earlier this month defying Kemp’s earlier calls not to adopt more restrictive measures. Savannah’s mask mandate was quickly followed in cities like Atlanta, Athens and Augusta.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson (D) responded to the decision telling MSNBC on Thursday morning that he was “flabbergasted.”
“On one hand we’re fighting COVID on another hand we’re fighting our governor,” Johnson said. “Our hands should be totally and unequivocally working to fight this virus.”
The mayor added that as far as local officials in Savannah are concerned the city’s emergency declaration stands. “If you come into the city of Savannah — you’re in business with the city of Savannah — you will wear a mask. Period.”
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson on Georgia Gov. Kemp's new executive order banning cities and counties from mandating people to wear masks. "Our governor has chosen … to make a public health emergency into some type of political issue." pic.twitter.com/FYjYxCTVud — MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 16, 2020
Georgia reported 3,871 new infections on Wednesday, the second-highest daily count since the pandemic began. So far, 127,834 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Georgia — a number that more than doubles the infections reported in mid-June.
“We continue to watch the data and the numbers,” Kemp said earlier this week. “We’ve got to learn to deal with it, and we’re encouraging people to wear masks and follow the guidance that we have.”
Before the new executive order was issued on Wednesday, more than 1,400 health care workers had signed an open letter earlier this month calling on Kemp to mandate masks and to allow local governments to make their own rules aimed at cutting down the number of new infections, The Journal-Constitution said. The letter also made pleas for the governor to close bars and restaurants, and to ban indoor gatherings of more than 25 people. Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a clinical associate professor at Georgia State University School of Public Health said that although these measures are “basic,” the state hasn’t “come close to mastering them yet.” He added that in the absence of “aggressive action,” the outbreak in the state “is only going to get worse.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--Graham Says Comey And McCabe Will Testify In Front Of Judiciary Committee In September

Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham ( R-SC ) stated on Wednesday night that he plans to have former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe testify soon in his investigation into the Trump-Russia probe .
“ In September we ’ re going to bring Comey and McCabe in , absolutely , ” Graham told Fox News host Sean Hannity .
“ I ’ ve got three weeks between now and the August break.
” The GOP senator also teased a new “ incredibly damning ” document that he claims to be evidence of alleged misconduct by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 Trump campaign ’ s ties to Russia .
“ Somebody can go to jail over this , ” Graham said .
“ Stay tuned.
” President Donald Trump and his allies , particularly Graham , have been attempting to discredit the Russia probe by accusing those who involved in the investigation , such as Comey and McCabe , of being biased against Trump .
However , Graham ’ s investigation took a somewhat less partisan turn last week when the Judiciary chair pledged to grant Senate Democrats ’ request to have Special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fiery op-ed slamming Trump ’ s commutation of Roger Stone ’ s prison sentence .

Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stated on Wednesday night that he plans to have former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe testify soon in his investigation into the Trump-Russia probe.
“In September we’re going to bring Comey and McCabe in, absolutely,” Graham told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “I’ve got three weeks between now and the August break.”
The GOP senator also teased a new “incredibly damning” document that he claims to be evidence of alleged misconduct by the FBI in their investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
“Somebody can go to jail over this,” Graham said. “Stay tuned.”
President Donald Trump and his allies, particularly Graham, have been attempting to discredit the Russia probe by accusing those who involved in the investigation, such as Comey and McCabe, of being biased against Trump.
However, Graham’s investigation took a somewhat less partisan turn last week when the Judiciary chair pledged to grant Senate Democrats’ request to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller testify after Mueller penned a fiery op-ed slamming Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s prison sentence.
Watch Graham below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--Georgia Gov. Files Lawsuit Against Atlanta Mayor’s Mask Mandate

On Wednesday , Kemp signed a statewide order explicitly banning cities and counties from adopting rules requiring masks or other face coverings .
Atlanta and a dozen other cities in Georgia have issued mask mandates in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 , which conflicts with Kemp ’ s order that encourages but stops short of mandating the practice .
In a statement on Thursday , Kemp wrote that his administration is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their employees who are “ struggling to survive during these difficult times.
” “ These @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth , ” Kemp wrote .
Kemp ’ s administration dismissed Bottoms ’ mask requirement mandate as “ merely guidance – both non-binding and legally unenforceable ” due to how it defies his statewide order blocking local governments from issuing stricter coronavirus-related rules .
Kemp argues in the lawsuit that he has the power to “ suspend municipal orders that are contradictory ” to state laws or his executive actions .
Additionally , Kemp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hands ” of police officers by directing them to defy his orders and requests that a judge block the Atlanta mayor from issuing any more orders or press releases that impose a mask mandate or other coronavirus-related restrictions .
“ Mayor Bottoms can not continue to knowingly enter orders and issue press releases which are unenforceable and void that only serve to confuse the public during a time when the state is in a public health emergency , ” the complaint said .

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ mandate requiring residents to wear masks.
On Wednesday, Kemp signed a statewide order explicitly banning cities and counties from adopting rules requiring masks or other face coverings. Atlanta and a dozen other cities in Georgia have issued mask mandates in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, which conflicts with Kemp’s order that encourages but stops short of mandating the practice.
In a statement on Thursday, Kemp wrote that his administration is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their employees who are “struggling to survive during these difficult times.”
“These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth,” Kemp wrote.
Kemp’s administration dismissed Bottoms’ mask requirement mandate as “merely guidance – both non-binding and legally unenforceable” due to how it defies his statewide order blocking local governments from issuing stricter coronavirus-related rules.
Kemp argues in the lawsuit that he has the power to “suspend municipal orders that are contradictory” to state laws or his executive actions.
Additionally, Kemp accuses Bottoms of “(tying) the hands” of police officers by directing them to defy his orders and requests that a judge block the Atlanta mayor from issuing any more orders or press releases that impose a mask mandate or other coronavirus-related restrictions.
“Mayor Bottoms cannot continue to knowingly enter orders and issue press releases which are unenforceable and void that only serve to confuse the public during a time when the state is in a public health emergency,” the complaint said.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--Arkansas’ GOP Governor Joins Growing List Of States Mandating Masks In Public

LITTLE ROCK , Ark .
( AP ) — Arkansas Gov .
Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state , which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks .
The Republican governor had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic , but he announced the order requiring masks when social distancing isn ’ t possible in the hopes of slowing the disease ’ s rapid spread in the state .
The order takes effect Monday .
Hutchinson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , hospitalizations and deaths show that more needs to be done to combat the virus ’ spread .
He also said adults needs to set the right example for the state ’ s schoolchildren , many of whom will be required to wear masks when in-person classes resume next month .
“ This whole fight against COVID-19 is likely to get harder and not easier , and we have to meet the challenge together .
Everyone must do their part , ” Hutchinson said .
“ This is a way to enlist the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hutchinson ’ s decision comes amid growing support for mask requirements from business and health leaders and a day after Bentonville-based Walmart said it would require customers to wear masks in all of its U.S. stores .
The state ’ s largest newspaper , the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , also called for a statewide requirement on Thursday .
Hutchinson previously encouraged people to wear masks and allowed cities to pass ordinances requiring their use , but he stopped short of requiring them statewide .
He ’ s the latest Republican governor to relent on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a surge in COVID-19 cases .
Alabama ’ s governor issued a similar mask mandate on Wednesday .
Arkansas ’ coronavirus cases have dramatically risen since May , when the state began allowing businesses that had closed because of the pandemic to reopen despite warnings from federal health officials about the risks of doing so too soon .
Arkansas was one of a handful of states that did not issue a broad stay-at-home order to keep most businesses closed .
Hutchinson announced the order as the state reported one of its biggest single-day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health Department on Thursday added 817 new confirmed cases to the state ’ s overall tally 31,114 since the pandemic started .
It also raised the state ’ s death toll by six , to 341 , and added 12 more patients to the number of people currently hospitalized with the disease , for a total of 470 .
The order includes several exemptions , including people younger than 10 years old or those engaged in religious worship , despite worship services being identified as sources of outbreaks in Arkansas and elsewhere .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to $ 500 .
The order prohibits law enforcement from detaining or arresting anyone for not complying , and says first-time violators will only receive a verbal or written warning .
The order also allows the state to exempt counties that the Health Department has certified as having a low risk of transmission .
Hutchinson said that would be defined as counties that have had no positive cases for 28 days and have adequate testing capability .
It was unclear whether any counties currently could be exempted under that provision .
Hutchinson previously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforced in a rural state such as Arkansas , but this week he left open the possibility of such a requirement .
The chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences called for a statewide requirement last weekend .
“ This is the right decision and will flatten the curve and save lives in Arkansas as we fight against the COVID-19 pandemic , ” UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson tweeted moments after Hutchinson ’ s announcement .
Hutchinson ’ s order was expected to face criticism from some conservatives in the solidly Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order , a Republican legislator who said he expected the mandate from Hutchinson called it an overreach by the state .
“ It ’ s not a question of whether you want to wear a mask or not .
The question is whether you want a state so powerful that it can mandate you wearing a mask , ” state Sen. Bob Ballinger said in a video posted on Facebook .

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state, which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks.
The Republican governor had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic, but he announced the order requiring masks when social distancing isn’t possible in the hopes of slowing the disease’s rapid spread in the state. The order takes effect Monday.
Hutchinson said the state’s rising cases, hospitalizations and deaths show that more needs to be done to combat the virus’ spread. He also said adults needs to set the right example for the state’s schoolchildren, many of whom will be required to wear masks when in-person classes resume next month.
“This whole fight against COVID-19 is likely to get harder and not easier, and we have to meet the challenge together. Everyone must do their part,” Hutchinson said. “This is a way to enlist the support of everyone in this fight.”
Hutchinson’s decision comes amid growing support for mask requirements from business and health leaders and a day after Bentonville-based Walmart said it would require customers to wear masks in all of its U.S. stores. The state’s largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, also called for a statewide requirement on Thursday.
Hutchinson previously encouraged people to wear masks and allowed cities to pass ordinances requiring their use, but he stopped short of requiring them statewide. He’s the latest Republican governor to relent on the mask issue in the face of a surge in COVID-19 cases. Alabama’s governor issued a similar mask mandate on Wednesday.
Arkansas’ coronavirus cases have dramatically risen since May, when the state began allowing businesses that had closed because of the pandemic to reopen despite warnings from federal health officials about the risks of doing so too soon. Arkansas was one of a handful of states that did not issue a broad stay-at-home order to keep most businesses closed.
Hutchinson announced the order as the state reported one of its biggest single-day increases in confirmed COVID-19 cases. The Health Department on Thursday added 817 new confirmed cases to the state’s overall tally 31,114 since the pandemic started. It also raised the state’s death toll by six, to 341, and added 12 more patients to the number of people currently hospitalized with the disease, for a total of 470.
The order includes several exemptions, including people younger than 10 years old or those engaged in religious worship, despite worship services being identified as sources of outbreaks in Arkansas and elsewhere. Violators could face a fine of up to $500. The order prohibits law enforcement from detaining or arresting anyone for not complying, and says first-time violators will only receive a verbal or written warning.
The order also allows the state to exempt counties that the Health Department has certified as having a low risk of transmission. Hutchinson said that would be defined as counties that have had no positive cases for 28 days and have adequate testing capability. It was unclear whether any counties currently could be exempted under that provision.
Hutchinson previously questioned how a mask mandate could be enforced in a rural state such as Arkansas, but this week he left open the possibility of such a requirement. The chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences called for a statewide requirement last weekend.
“This is the right decision and will flatten the curve and save lives in Arkansas as we fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson tweeted moments after Hutchinson’s announcement.
Hutchinson’s order was expected to face criticism from some conservatives in the solidly Republican state. Hours before he issued the order, a Republican legislator who said he expected the mandate from Hutchinson called it an overreach by the state.
“It’s not a question of whether you want to wear a mask or not. The question is whether you want a state so powerful that it can mandate you wearing a mask,” state Sen. Bob Ballinger said in a video posted on Facebook.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--After Peddling Conspiracy, Chuck Woolery Announces Son Has COVID And Deletes Twitter

Conservative commentator and ex- “ Wheel of Fortune ” host Chuck Woolery , from whom President Donald Trump retweeted an unhinged post accusing health experts of “ lying ” about COVID-19 , deleted his Twitter account after revealing that his son had gotten infected with the virus .
On Sunday , Woolery tweeted a screed baselessly claiming that doctors and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) were conspiring with Democrats and the media to sabotage Trump with “ outrageous lies ” about COVID-19 .
“ Everyone is lying .
The CDC , Media , Democrats , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that we are told to trust , ” Woolery wrote .
“ I think it ’ s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back , which is about the election.
” Trump retweeted the false conspiracy theory the next day without comment .
But in a dizzying about-face several hours after Trump ’ s retweet , Woolery issued a post suddenly affirming the existence of the coronavirus on Monday .
“ To further clarify and add perspective , Covid-19 is real and it is here , ” the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested positive for the virus , and I feel for of those suffering and especially for those who have lost loved ones.
” His account suddenly disappeared afterward .
Now Twitter users who attempt to access the @ chuckwoolery page are met with an alert stating that the account no longer exists :

Conservative commentator and ex-“Wheel of Fortune” host Chuck Woolery, from whom President Donald Trump retweeted an unhinged post accusing health experts of “lying” about COVID-19, deleted his Twitter account after revealing that his son had gotten infected with the virus.
On Sunday, Woolery tweeted a screed baselessly claiming that doctors and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were conspiring with Democrats and the media to sabotage Trump with “outrageous lies” about COVID-19.
“Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust,” Woolery wrote. “I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election.”
Trump retweeted the false conspiracy theory the next day without comment.
But in a dizzying about-face several hours after Trump’s retweet, Woolery issued a post suddenly affirming the existence of the coronavirus on Monday.
“To further clarify and add perspective, Covid-19 is real and it is here,” the conservative firebrand tweeted. “My son tested positive for the virus, and I feel for of those suffering and especially for those who have lost loved ones.”
His account suddenly disappeared afterward. Now Twitter users who attempt to access the @chuckwoolery page are met with an alert stating that the account no longer exists:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--After Dragging His Feet, CO Guv Issues Statewide Mask Mandate: ‘No Mask, No Service’

Colorado Governor Jared Polis ( D ) issued a statewide mask mandate Thursday afternoon — finally giving in to pressure from mask orders in more than 20 other states to make the move .
“ Look , in Colorado , there ’ s no shirt , no shoes , no mask , no service , ” Polis said in a news conference Thursday .
“ Very simple.
” Polis made the announcement just one week after he declined to issue a formal order requiring masks , despite increasing pressure from other Democratic governors and local Colorado officials to intervene .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s too many people sitting around saying , ‘ I ’ m not going to wear a mask until there ’ s some piece of paper , ” Polis said at a news conference on July 9 .
Since then he has issued an executive order that will require all Coloradans over the age of 10 to don a mask or other facial covering while in indoor public spaces .
Violators “ may be subject to civil or criminal penalties , ” Polis said regarding the order that will be put in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least 30 days .
Polis ’ move to mandate masks was slow compared to many of his Democratic colleagues who have been requiring masks in their states for weeks .
NPR reported on Monday that more than 20 states had already made mask orders .
The move follows a mask mandate on Wednesday by Democratic Gov .
Steve Bullock ( MT ) that currently applies to 25 counties in the state , according to NBC Montana .
The decision also lags some Republicans who reluctantly put mask orders in place in recent weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kay Ivey ( R ) issued a statewide mask requirement to take effect on Thursday .
Nearly 40 cities and counties in Colorado had already issued mask orders as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations grow throughout the state , according to the Denver Post .
Mayor Michael Hancock , issued a local mask order in Denver on May 1 , and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has called face coverings the “ least invasive and least costly public health option ” to curb the spread of the virus .
“ The data is beginning to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The news also comes just a day after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp ( R ) issued an executive order that banned local officials from making mask mandates — an effort that “ suspended ” mask mandates that had cropped up in Savannah and quickly spread to cities like Atlanta , Athens and Augusta .
Each city had their own mask orders in place , which the governor has now forbidden .

Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) issued a statewide mask mandate Thursday afternoon — finally giving in to pressure from mask orders in more than 20 other states to make the move.
“Look, in Colorado, there’s no shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service,” Polis said in a news conference Thursday. “Very simple.”
Polis made the announcement just one week after he declined to issue a formal order requiring masks, despite increasing pressure from other Democratic governors and local Colorado officials to intervene.
“I don’t think there’s too many people sitting around saying, ‘I’m not going to wear a mask until there’s some piece of paper,” Polis said at a news conference on July 9.
Since then he has issued an executive order that will require all Coloradans over the age of 10 to don a mask or other facial covering while in indoor public spaces. Violators “may be subject to civil or criminal penalties,” Polis said regarding the order that will be put in place at midnight on Thursday for at least 30 days.
Polis’ move to mandate masks was slow compared to many of his Democratic colleagues who have been requiring masks in their states for weeks. NPR reported on Monday that more than 20 states had already made mask orders. The move follows a mask mandate on Wednesday by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock (MT) that currently applies to 25 counties in the state, according to NBC Montana. The decision also lags some Republicans who reluctantly put mask orders in place in recent weeks — among the latest, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) issued a statewide mask requirement to take effect on Thursday.
Nearly 40 cities and counties in Colorado had already issued mask orders as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations grow throughout the state, according to the Denver Post. Mayor Michael Hancock, issued a local mask order in Denver on May 1, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has called face coverings the “least invasive and least costly public health option” to curb the spread of the virus.
“The data is beginning to be alarming,” Polis said.
The news also comes just a day after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued an executive order that banned local officials from making mask mandates — an effort that “suspended” mask mandates that had cropped up in Savannah and quickly spread to cities like Atlanta, Athens and Augusta. Each city had their own mask orders in place, which the governor has now forbidden.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--READ: Indiana Authorities Release Initial Report On Alleged Attempted Lynching

The law enforcement arm of Indiana ’ s Department of Natural Resources released a report Thursday , the product of @ @ @ @ @ lynching on July 4 .
The victim , Vauhxx Booker , claims that a group @ @ @ @ @ and attempted to lynch him while he and his friends were on their way to @ @ @ @ @ Lake Monroe , just outside of Bloomington .
Two members of that group , Sean @ @ @ @ @ recently lawyered up and contradicted Booker ’ s claims , saying that he was the @ @ @ @ @ The report has been given to the Monroe County Prosecutor ’ s office to decide @ @ @ @ @ the altercation .
The FBI has also been conducting an investigation into the possible hate @ @

The law enforcement arm of Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources released a report Thursday, the product of investigations after an alleged attempted lynching on July 4.
The victim, Vauhxx Booker, claims that a group in the woods attacked him and attempted to lynch him while he and his friends were on their way to watch the lunar eclipse at Lake Monroe, just outside of Bloomington.
Two members of that group, Sean Purdy and Caroline McCord, recently lawyered up and contradicted Booker’s claims, saying that he was the “instigator and aggressor.”
The report has been given to the Monroe County Prosecutor’s office to decide whether to charge members of the altercation. The FBI has also been conducting an investigation into the possible hate crime.
Read the DNR report here:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--Hogan Condemns Attacks On Fauci As Trump Admin’s ‘Biggest Mistake’ In COVID Response

Maryland Gov .
Larry Hogan ( R ) said Thursday that the White House ’ s efforts to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci , who has emerged as a critical scientific voice on the Coronavirus Task Force , was probably “ one of the biggest mistakes they ’ ve made.
” In an interview with MSNBC ’ s Andrea Mitchell , Hogan condemned what he called an “ attack ” and a “ campaign ” waged against the top infectious diseases expert by the White House as one of the biggest blunders that the Trump administration has made in its ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fauci , who he said “ has been the most respected most trusted voice and the guy we ’ re getting the most honest information from throughout this entire crisis.
” Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the past 36 years .
Hogan ’ s comments come after a memo was distributed by the White House to media outlets over the weekend with a list intending to smear Fauci while purporting to identify “ the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atlantic that was published on Wednesday , Fauci said the list “ was a major mistake ” and failed to “ do anything but reflect poorly on them.
” The President sought to deepen public doubt about the health official by sharing a tweet on Monday from former game show host Chuck Woolery , who accused the government ’ s medical experts of “ lying ” about the virus .
In a CBS interview on Tuesday night , the President defended the tweet by saying he was re-posting a sentiment “ that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s backing of Fauci follows an op-ed that he wrote in the Washington Post on Thursday ripping President Trump for what Hogan describes as a “ bungled effort ” and “ hopeless ” response to the coronavirus crisis .
Hogan said that the essay is an excerpt from his forthcoming book , “ Still Standing : Surviving Cancer , Riots , a Global Pandemic , and the Toxic Politics that Divide America , ” in which he critiques Trump in greater detail for failures made earlier on in the pandemic .
Hogan told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” to exclude Fauci from recent briefings from the Coronavirus Task Force , and also rebuked the President for ignoring some of the advice from his own team of experts .
The GOP governor , who is chairman of the National Governors Association , has been a prominent critic of Trump who he accused of playing a game of “ pinball ” and “ mixed messaging ” that often goes against the wisdom of science and is played out in threats and tweets .
“ We just need the President to lead and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worry so much about his twitter account , ” Hogan said .

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Thursday that the White House’s efforts to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has emerged as a critical scientific voice on the Coronavirus Task Force, was probably “one of the biggest mistakes they’ve made.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Hogan condemned what he called an “attack” and a “campaign” waged against the top infectious diseases expert by the White House as one of the biggest blunders that the Trump administration has made in its ongoing mishandling of the pandemic.
Hogan defended Fauci, who he said “has been the most respected most trusted voice and the guy we’re getting the most honest information from throughout this entire crisis.”
Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the past 36 years.
Hogan’s comments come after a memo was distributed by the White House to media outlets over the weekend with a list intending to smear Fauci while purporting to identify “the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.”
In an interview with The Atlantic that was published on Wednesday, Fauci said the list “was a major mistake” and failed to “do anything but reflect poorly on them.”
The President sought to deepen public doubt about the health official by sharing a tweet on Monday from former game show host Chuck Woolery, who accused the government’s medical experts of “lying” about the virus. In a CBS interview on Tuesday night, the President defended the tweet by saying he was re-posting a sentiment “that a lot of people feel.”
Hogan’s backing of Fauci follows an op-ed that he wrote in the Washington Post on Thursday ripping President Trump for what Hogan describes as a “bungled effort” and “hopeless” response to the coronavirus crisis.
Hogan said that the essay is an excerpt from his forthcoming book, “Still Standing: Surviving Cancer, Riots, a Global Pandemic, and the Toxic Politics that Divide America,” in which he critiques Trump in greater detail for failures made earlier on in the pandemic.
Hogan told Mitchell that the President was “wrong” to exclude Fauci from recent briefings from the Coronavirus Task Force, and also rebuked the President for ignoring some of the advice from his own team of experts.
The GOP governor, who is chairman of the National Governors Association, has been a prominent critic of Trump who he accused of playing a game of “pinball” and “mixed messaging” that often goes against the wisdom of science and is played out in threats and tweets.
“We just need the President to lead and focus on these issues and maybe not worry so much about his twitter account,” Hogan said.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-07-16--Emotional ‘Pass The Torch’ Meeting Held After Trump Dumped Parscale

The Trump campaign held a brief but emotional meeting Thursday where outgoing campaign manager Brad Parscale passed the torch to his successor , Bill Stepien , according to Politico .
The meeting came the morning after Trump abruptly announced the shakeup , which reportedly caught the President ’ s family off guard .
On Wednesday night , Trump announced in a tweet that Parscale would be replaced by deputy campaign manager Stepien .
The President tweeted that Parscale will remain on the team as a “ senior advisor ” to Trump ’ s re-election campaign .
According to a Politico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ pass the torch ” ceremony between Parscale and Stepien at the Trump campaign ’ s Arlington , Virginia headquarters described the 20-minute meeting as “ emotional.
” Politico reported that two attendees noted that campaign leaders tried to convey the notion that the shakeup “ represented continuity ” for Trump ’ s re-election campaign .
The two attendees told Politico that Parscale thanked the roughly 200 or so campaign staffers at the meeting and spoke highly of Stepien for his political skills .
Stepien pushed for aides to ignore reports that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden in the polls and to ramp up its efforts in the last few months heading into the general election .
Two people with knowledge of the Trump family ’ s reaction to the shakeup told Politico that they were blindsided by it and described Parscale as being “ deeply hurt.
” Parscale is set to return home to Florida where he will focus on data , digital and advertising roles of the Trump campaign .
It is unclear how involved he will now be in the day-t0-day activities of the campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a biblical verse just hours after the reportedly emotional transition meeting with Stepien .

The Trump campaign held a brief but emotional meeting Thursday where outgoing campaign manager Brad Parscale passed the torch to his successor, Bill Stepien, according to Politico.
The meeting came the morning after Trump abruptly announced the shakeup, which reportedly caught the President’s family off guard.
On Wednesday night, Trump announced in a tweet that Parscale would be replaced by deputy campaign manager Stepien. The President tweeted that Parscale will remain on the team as a “senior advisor” to Trump’s re-election campaign.
I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump Campaign Manager. Brad Parscale, who has been with me for a very long time and has led our tremendous digital and data strategies, will remain in that role, while being a Senior Advisor to the… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
…be on the way, and Americans want safe streets and communities! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
According to a Politico report on Thursday, two attendees of the “pass the torch” ceremony between Parscale and Stepien at the Trump campaign’s Arlington, Virginia headquarters described the 20-minute meeting as “emotional.” Politico reported that two attendees noted that campaign leaders tried to convey the notion that the shakeup “represented continuity” for Trump’s re-election campaign.
The two attendees told Politico that Parscale thanked the roughly 200 or so campaign staffers at the meeting and spoke highly of Stepien for his political skills. Stepien pushed for aides to ignore reports that Trump was losing to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the polls and to ramp up its efforts in the last few months heading into the general election.
Two people with knowledge of the Trump family’s reaction to the shakeup told Politico that they were blindsided by it and described Parscale as being “deeply hurt.” Parscale is set to return home to Florida where he will focus on data, digital and advertising roles of the Trump campaign. It is unclear how involved he will now be in the day-t0-day activities of the campaign.
On Wednesday afternoon, Parscale tweeted a biblical verse just hours after the reportedly emotional transition meeting with Stepien.