buzzfeed--2020-10-29--The "Anonymous” Figure Who Claimed To Be Resisting The Trump Administration Actually Defended Its Co

The "Anonymous” Figure Who Claimed To Be Resisting The Trump Administration Actually Defended Its Controversial Immigration Policies

“ They served as gatekeepers , White House liaisons , executors of policy , '' one source said of Miles Taylor and his high-ranking DHS colleagues .
Before he penned an anonymous , explosive New York Times column claiming to be part of a group of `` like-minded colleagues '' intent on bringing down the Trump administration from the inside , Miles Taylor was a top official at the Department of Homeland Security while it imposed some of the most restrictive US immigration policies in decades .
Taylor , former chief of staff for then–DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen , revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' writer on Wednesday and has said he left the administration because “ saying ‘ no ’ was no longer enough.
” Yet according to internal emails and former colleagues , Taylor worked on some of the most critical immigration policies of the Trump administration and either remained silent on , or actively worked to push through , the agenda .
Family separation and the administration ’ s push to force asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico as they await the fate of their immigration cases were among the policies enacted while Taylor was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later criticized on cable news shows .
“ On multiple occasions , I sat within inches of Miles Taylor during meetings solely focused on 'zero tolerance ' policy , and he was neither silent nor vocally opposed to the weighty decisions before us , ” one current Trump administration official told BuzzFeed News on the condition of anonymity .
A former administration official said Taylor was part of a group close to Nielsen , a tight inner circle that included the likes of Chad Wolf , the current acting head of DHS and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nielsen .
“ They had their hands in virtually every policy that Nielsen looked at , ” the former official said .
“ They served as gatekeepers , White House liaisons , executors of policy .
In many ways , they served to sustain Nielsen to the greatest extent possible.
” Nielsen ’ s reign at DHS oversaw massive upheavals of the immigration system , including efforts to deny permanent residency to immigrants who officials believe are likely to use public benefits , a `` zero tolerance '' policy at the border that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushing asylum-seekers into Mexico during immigration proceedings , known as the `` Remain in Mexico '' program .
A former administration official said Taylor was heavily involved in negotiations over the program , which has exposed vulnerable immigrants to rape , torture , kidnapping , and other documented violence , according to immigrant advocates .
But in his New York Times op-ed published in 2018 , Taylor , known only at the time as `` Anonymous , '' claimed senior officials within the Trump administration were “ working diligently from within to frustrate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inclinations [ because ] the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.
” Then in August , Taylor began to publicly criticize the administration after leaving the DHS .
In an ad for Republican Voters Against Trump , he described his former role as “ terrifying.
” “ The president wanted to exploit the Department of Homeland Security for his own political purposes and to fuel his own agenda , ” he said in the ad .
He also blasted the Trump administration on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so because “ this has to do about being honest about the president and putting country before party.
” Yet , while he was distancing himself from immigration policies adopted by DHS during his tenure , Taylor was not being honest about his role .
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on Aug. 18 on Good Morning America , Taylor claimed he had no role in the policy to separate immigrant families at the border , which then–attorney general Jeff Sessions said was a deterrent against illegal immigration .
“ That was actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took on my role as deputy chief of staff in the Department [ of Homeland Security ] before becoming chief of staff , ” Taylor told Stephanopoulos .
“ Attorney General Sessions announced that a few days before I stepped into that role.
” He also told NBC that “ people like me should have done more.
” “ Looking back , I wish I had laid my body on the train tracks and said , 'We can not implement this no matter what you guys tell us about resources , ’ ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supposedly worked to secretly undermine the administration , Taylor publicly defended President Donald Trump ’ s immigration policies that were criticized as xenophobic and politically motivated to appease his base .
When addressing questions about Trump ’ s travel ban that targeted Muslim-majority countries in September 2017 , Taylor called the rules “ tough and tailored , ” arguing that terrorists were trying to “ exploit our defenses ” and that screening and vetting procedures were no longer adequate .
Last October , BuzzFeed News reported that Taylor had joined Google as its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The news caused internal backlash at the company as employees wondered why Google had hired an individual that stood for policies that its own founders and executives had opposed and protested against .
BuzzFeed News later obtained internal emails through the Freedom of Information Act that showed how integral Taylor was in coordinating family separation efforts with Nielsen and Wolf .
In one email from May 2018 — a time when family separation was a department policy — Nielsen asked Taylor and Wolf to provide “ narratives ” days after a caravan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way to the US–Mexico border in Tijuana .
Those “ narratives ” were meant to spin policies that had become highly controversial , particularly when images emerged of abandoned immigrant children in cages in squalid camps .
At Google , employees who asked questions about Taylor and his views ahead of a company-wide meeting were ultimately censored by the tech giant , which also cracked down on employees who tried to investigate his internal work history .
The company also eventually ended its weekly all-hands meetings in part because of the furor around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Google spokesperson confirmed that Taylor is still an employee but on unpaid leave .
The spokesperson said the company was previously unaware of his role as the unnamed Times op-ed writer and that it only found out on Wednesday via media reports .
“ I do n't know if he told Google he wrote the [ anonymous New York Times op-ed ] and book when he took the job , but either way they hired him knowing his role in atrocities , ” said Laurence Berland , a former Google employee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and was subsequently fired .
“ Miles was tailor-made for Google leadership .
They practice the same exact amoral , cynical strategery.
” In an email from April 24 , 2018 , obtained by the nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight , Taylor asked for examples to provide Nielsen in which separations of adults and children apprehended at the border had to happen as the administration faced mounting public backlash .
Katie Miller , who was the agency ’ s press secretary and is now married to Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller , responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of immigrant adults and children pretending to be families .
Despite his role , Taylor has continued giving interviews as a Trump critic and revamping his image as a sort of lifelong Republican working against the administration as the president faces a tough election in less than a week .
Last month , he ramped up efforts to campaign against Trump and was hired as a contributor at CNN , which for years has been the target of the president ’ s ire .
In August , he was asked by CNN ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writer of the New York Times op-ed , but he lied and said no .

He also told NBC that “people like me should have done more.”
“Looking back, I wish I had laid my body on the train tracks and said, 'We cannot implement this no matter what you guys tell us about resources,’” he added.
As he and others supposedly worked to secretly undermine the administration, Taylor publicly defended President Donald Trump’s immigration policies that were criticized as xenophobic and politically motivated to appease his base.
When addressing questions about Trump’s travel ban that targeted Muslim-majority countries in September 2017, Taylor called the rules “tough and tailored,” arguing that terrorists were trying to “exploit our defenses” and that screening and vetting procedures were no longer adequate.
Last October, BuzzFeed News reported that Taylor had joined Google as its “head of national security policy engagement.” The news caused internal backlash at the company as employees wondered why Google had hired an individual that stood for policies that its own founders and executives had opposed and protested against.
BuzzFeed News later obtained internal emails through the Freedom of Information Act that showed how integral Taylor was in coordinating family separation efforts with Nielsen and Wolf. In one email from May 2018 — a time when family separation was a department policy — Nielsen asked Taylor and Wolf to provide “narratives” days after a caravan of Central American immigrants had made its way to the US–Mexico border in Tijuana.
Those “narratives” were meant to spin policies that had become highly controversial, particularly when images emerged of abandoned immigrant children in cages in squalid camps.
At Google, employees who asked questions about Taylor and his views ahead of a company-wide meeting were ultimately censored by the tech giant, which also cracked down on employees who tried to investigate his internal work history. The company also eventually ended its weekly all-hands meetings in part because of the furor around Taylor’s hiring.
On Wednesday, a Google spokesperson confirmed that Taylor is still an employee but on unpaid leave. The spokesperson said the company was previously unaware of his role as the unnamed Times op-ed writer and that it only found out on Wednesday via media reports.
“I don't know if he told Google he wrote the [anonymous New York Times op-ed] and book when he took the job, but either way they hired him knowing his role in atrocities,” said Laurence Berland, a former Google employee who had raised concerns about Taylor internally and was subsequently fired. “Miles was tailor-made for Google leadership. They practice the same exact amoral, cynical strategery.”
In an email from April 24, 2018, obtained by the nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight, Taylor asked for examples to provide Nielsen in which separations of adults and children apprehended at the border had to happen as the administration faced mounting public backlash. Katie Miller, who was the agency’s press secretary and is now married to Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, responded with four examples from 2016 and 2017 of immigrant adults and children pretending to be families.
Despite his role, Taylor has continued giving interviews as a Trump critic and revamping his image as a sort of lifelong Republican working against the administration as the president faces a tough election in less than a week.
Last month, he ramped up efforts to campaign against Trump and was hired as a contributor at CNN, which for years has been the target of the president’s ire.
In August, he was asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper whether he was the writer of the New York Times op-ed, but he lied and said no.


buzzfeed--2020-10-29--The Supreme Court’s Conservative Justices Warned Of “Serious Post-Election Problems” In Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON — The US Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request by Pennsylvania Republicans to rush a decision by Election Day on their latest challenge to the state ’ s extended absentee ballot deadline .
But three of the court ’ s conservative-leaning justices warned the fight isn ’ t over , raising the specter that mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day could still be invalidated .
Wednesday ’ s order , which newly sworn-in Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn ’ t participate in , leaves in place a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that means the state will accept @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nov. 6 at 5 p.m .
But the case remains pending before the US Supreme Court .
Justice Samuel Alito Jr. , joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch , wrote separately to make clear that the court could still intervene and that the fate of ballots that arrive after Election Day isn ’ t settled yet .
If the Supreme Court later overturns the extended deadline , Alito didn ’ t explicitly say what could happen to ballots that arrived after Nov. 3 , only writing that “ a targeted remedy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not clear what that targeted remedy might be .
Alito also indicated he was leaning in favor of Republicans , writing that there was a “ strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the Federal Constitution.
” The Pennsylvania attorney general ’ s office notified the court earlier on Wednesday that the secretary of state had directed counties to set aside and not count ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 until after the court fight is over .
The attorney general ’ s office released a statement saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ steps to ensure all eligible Pennsylvania votes will be counted and to stave off further anticipated legal challenges , ” but it also urged voters to return absentee ballots to a drop box `` as soon as possible . ''
“ We applaud the Court ’ s decision to slow down , get to regular order , and let Pennsylvania have an election .
Now we must vote and take time to count all eligible ballots , ” the attorney general ’ s office said .
“ The denial of expedited review is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have the rules changed on them on the eve of the election without proper review .
There could be more and we are prepared.
” A lawyer for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania did not immediately return requests for comment .
The Trump campaign released a statement from Justin Clark , deputy campaign manager and senior counsel , calling the secretary ’ s decision to segregate the later ballots and not include them in the state ’ s count for now “ a big victory.
” “ The Supreme Court deferred the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state courts can change the times , places , and manners of elections contrary to the rules adopted by the state legislature — until after November 3 , '' Clark said .
In a blog post shortly after the court released Wednesday ’ s order , election law expert Rick Hasen wrote that he thought it was unlikely the court would end up tossing the post–Nov .
3 ballots altogether , since the court created a situation in which Pennsylvania voters are relying on the Nov. 6 deadline in a previous order .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ theoretical possibility , ” especially now that county election officials would set aside those ballots .
On Oct. 19 , the Supreme Court voted 4–4 — with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. siding with the court ’ s liberal wing — on Republicans ’ request to temporarily block the extended timeline for counting votes until the court decided the case , a tie that left the Nov. 6 deadline in place .
On Oct. 23 , the Pennsylvania Republican Party asked the court for “ expedited consideration ” of the merits of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots that arrive after Nov. 3 — and to issue a ruling by Election Day .
Alito criticized how the court had managed the case .
He wrote that because the justices didn ’ t rule on the merits when the case first reached the court a month ago , it set up the situation they faced now , which was an emergency request to rule just days before the election .
“ The Court ’ s handling of the important constitutional issue raised by this matter has needlessly created conditions that could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alito wrote .
He continued farther down : “ [ T ] he question presented by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ’ s decision calls out for review by this Court — as both the State Republican and Democratic Parties agreed when the former applied for a stay .
But I reluctantly conclude that there is simply not enough time at this late date to decide the question before the election.
” The order didn ’ t include an explanation for Barrett ’ s decision to not participate in Wednesday ’ s order , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement that it was `` because of the need for a prompt resolution of it and because she has not had time to fully review the parties ’ filings . ''
Barrett officially began working on court business after being sworn in by Roberts on Tuesday .

WASHINGTON — The US Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request by Pennsylvania Republicans to rush a decision by Election Day on their latest challenge to the state’s extended absentee ballot deadline. But three of the court’s conservative-leaning justices warned the fight isn’t over, raising the specter that mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day could still be invalidated.
Wednesday’s order, which newly sworn-in Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn’t participate in, leaves in place a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that means the state will accept absentee ballots that arrive by mail by Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. But the case remains pending before the US Supreme Court.
Justice Samuel Alito Jr., joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, wrote separately to make clear that the court could still intervene and that the fate of ballots that arrive after Election Day isn’t settled yet.
If the Supreme Court later overturns the extended deadline, Alito didn’t explicitly say what could happen to ballots that arrived after Nov. 3, only writing that “a targeted remedy will be available.” It’s not clear what that targeted remedy might be.
Alito also indicated he was leaning in favor of Republicans, writing that there was a “strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the Federal Constitution.”
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office notified the court earlier on Wednesday that the secretary of state had directed counties to set aside and not count ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 until after the court fight is over.
The attorney general’s office released a statement saying that commonwealth officials had “taken careful steps to ensure all eligible Pennsylvania votes will be counted and to stave off further anticipated legal challenges,” but it also urged voters to return absentee ballots to a drop box "as soon as possible."
“We applaud the Court’s decision to slow down, get to regular order, and let Pennsylvania have an election. Now we must vote and take time to count all eligible ballots,” the attorney general’s office said. “The denial of expedited review is good for Pennsylvania voters, who will not have the rules changed on them on the eve of the election without proper review. There could be more and we are prepared.”
A lawyer for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania did not immediately return requests for comment. The Trump campaign released a statement from Justin Clark, deputy campaign manager and senior counsel, calling the secretary’s decision to segregate the later ballots and not include them in the state’s count for now “a big victory.”
“The Supreme Court deferred the important issue in this case — whether state courts can change the times, places, and manners of elections contrary to the rules adopted by the state legislature — until after November 3," Clark said.
In a blog post shortly after the court released Wednesday’s order, election law expert Rick Hasen wrote that he thought it was unlikely the court would end up tossing the post–Nov. 3 ballots altogether, since the court created a situation in which Pennsylvania voters are relying on the Nov. 6 deadline in a previous order. But he wrote it was a “theoretical possibility,” especially now that county election officials would set aside those ballots.
On Oct. 19, the Supreme Court voted 4–4 — with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. siding with the court’s liberal wing — on Republicans’ request to temporarily block the extended timeline for counting votes until the court decided the case, a tie that left the Nov. 6 deadline in place. On Oct. 23, the Pennsylvania Republican Party asked the court for “expedited consideration” of the merits of the case — whether Pennsylvania could reject all ballots that arrive after Nov. 3 — and to issue a ruling by Election Day.
Alito criticized how the court had managed the case. He wrote that because the justices didn’t rule on the merits when the case first reached the court a month ago, it set up the situation they faced now, which was an emergency request to rule just days before the election.
“The Court’s handling of the important constitutional issue raised by this matter has needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious post-election problems,” Alito wrote. He continued farther down: “[T]he question presented by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision calls out for review by this Court — as both the State Republican and Democratic Parties agreed when the former applied for a stay. But I reluctantly conclude that there is simply not enough time at this late date to decide the question before the election.”
The order didn’t include an explanation for Barrett’s decision to not participate in Wednesday’s order, but a court spokesperson said in a statement that it was "because of the need for a prompt resolution of it and because she has not had time to fully review the parties’ filings." Barrett officially began working on court business after being sworn in by Roberts on Tuesday.


buzzfeed--2020-10-29--Border Officials Turned Away Unaccompanied Immigrant Children More Than 13,000 Times Under Trump’s P

Border Officials Turned Away Unaccompanied Immigrant Children More Than 13,000 Times Under Trump’s Pandemic Policy

Immigrant children at the Gateway International Bridge , in Matamoros , Mexico , eat a meal provided by the United in Christ Ministry of Los Fresnos , Texas , a group that brings dinner every Thursday in rotation with other volunteers .
The Department of Homeland Security has expelled unaccompanied immigrant children from the US border more than 13,000 times since March , when the Trump administration gave the agency unprecedented powers to close off access at the border during the coronavirus pandemic , according to an internal document obtained by BuzzFeed News .
The figure represents a major jump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an order allowing border officials to expel nearly all immigrants crossing from Mexico as the coronavirus was spreading rapidly across the world in March .
“ This is an enormous number of children who are being summarily sent back without any due process , potentially to serious or fatal danger , ” said Lee Gelernt , an attorney with the ACLU who has been working to stop the order .
Previously , unaccompanied children were sent to government-run shelters as they attempted to pursue their asylum cases .
But the Trump administration has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the US and has been a key tool for border agents .
Expulsions are legally different than deportations , which would mean an immigrant had actually undergone the immigration process and found to not be legally allowed to stay in the US .
Critics say the government is using the public health orders as an excuse to violate federal laws that govern the processing of unaccompanied minors at the border .

The Department of Homeland Security has expelled unaccompanied immigrant children from the US border more than 13,000 times since March, when the Trump administration gave the agency unprecedented powers to close off access at the border during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an internal document obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The figure represents a major jump in child expulsions since the CDC issued an order allowing border officials to expel nearly all immigrants crossing from Mexico as the coronavirus was spreading rapidly across the world in March.
“This is an enormous number of children who are being summarily sent back without any due process, potentially to serious or fatal danger,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the ACLU who has been working to stop the order.
Previously, unaccompanied children were sent to government-run shelters as they attempted to pursue their asylum cases. But the Trump administration has argued that the policy is necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the US and has been a key tool for border agents.
Expulsions are legally different than deportations, which would mean an immigrant had actually undergone the immigration process and found to not be legally allowed to stay in the US. Critics say the government is using the public health orders as an excuse to violate federal laws that govern the processing of unaccompanied minors at the border.


buzzfeed--2020-10-28--Herman Cain’s Life And Death Were More Complicated Than That

You ’ ve heard the jokes about the most prominent Republican to die from the coronavirus .
His family has seen them too .
On Father ’ s Day earlier this year , Melanie Cain Gallo drove to her parents ’ house to drop off a gift for her dad , Herman Cain .
He had just returned from a business trip that included a stop at a rally for President Donald Trump in Tulsa , Oklahoma , where he posed for a photo with other members of the campaign ’ s Black advisory board .
A day later , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he and his wife Gloria took precautions when it came to the coronavirus — Gloria has a heart condition and wore a mask , even around family — Melanie still gave her dad “ big hugs , ” she said , before driving back to her home nearby .
The next day , the father–daughter pair returned to their office in Stockbridge , a suburb south of Atlanta .
Melanie had worked with her dad for 15 years and was responsible for recording videos he made for the Herman Cain Show , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ website Western Journal .
Throughout the week , they worked in their small shared office .
By Friday , June 26 , both were feeling sick .
Cain , dressed in a deep blue Hawaiian shirt , with a portrait of Ronald Reagan visible behind him , filmed that day ’ s episode as planned , speaking for 14 minutes about the “ Marxist ” agenda of the Black Lives Matter movement , clashes with police in Seattle and Oakland , and new signs that the COVID death rate was finally dropping .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said in the episode , “ but people have got to take it seriously .
Social-distancing , sanitizing , washing your hands , and wearing masks — that ’ s how we really get our hands around this , folks.
” By the late afternoon , both felt worse and decided to go home early .
Over the weekend , their conditions deteriorated further .
“ I thought he was just drained from the travel , ” Melanie said .
Neither of them ran a fever .
They just “ felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough to drive herself and Cain to get tested .
As Melanie stood in line , her father waited outside by the car , too weak to join her .
Suddenly , he fainted .
Paramedics had to rush to the scene ; later that day , both Melanie and her father tested positive for COVID-19 .
They returned to their respective homes to isolate and rest .
Melanie , who is 48 years old , did recover , eventually .
But Herman Cain never did .
“ His just got worse fast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the hospital , ” Melanie said .
“ Once he went in the hospital , he stayed there.
” The hospital didn ’ t allow anyone to visit Cain , making him one of the many thousands of Americans who have had to face the illness alone as medical providers fought to limit the virus ’ s spread .
Cain ’ s family were only able to talk to him on the phone and via FaceTime , and for a while they didn ’ t think his case was outside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was eventually on a ventilator , ” Melanie said .
“ But the reports were similar to what you hear for other patients .
You know , oxygen issues with the lungs , just things like that .
Those things sounded , relatively speaking for COVID , normal.
” Cain stayed in the hospital for 29 days .
The family , physically divided by the virus , kept a close hold on what information they released to the public .
Cain ’ s wife and his son , 42-year-old Vincent , aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Melanie quickly saw the “ range of reactions ” inspired by her dad ’ s diagnosis .
She monitored the conversation at home , unable to see her mother or visit her father in the hospital , and still self-isolating from her husband and kids at their house in Atlanta .
“ And then to have all the politicization piled on top of that , ” she said .
“ It was one of the worst times that we 've experienced.
” On Thursday , July 30 , Gloria got a phone call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in distress , ” according to Melanie , and though the family pushed to continue his treatment , Cain was doing badly enough that they were allowed into the hospital to say goodbye .
It was too late .
“ He was basically gone when we got there , ” Melanie said .
“ We said goodbye , but we believe he had already passed.
” Cain was 74 .
Later that morning , Dan Calabrese , the director of Cain ’ s media company and the editor of his website , announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died .
“ You ’ re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning , ” Calabrese wrote .
“ But we have no choice but to seek and find God ’ s strength and comfort to deal with it .
Herman Cain — our boss , our friend , like a father to so many of us — has passed away.
” Trump told reporters that day that Cain “ was a very special person.
” “ Unfortunately , ” the president added , “ he passed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus.
” That day , Trump called Gloria and the family to express his condolences .
“ I don ’ t really know how to describe it .
It wasn ’ t an unpleasant conversation , ” Melanie said .
“ At the time , we were just focused on other things.
” It was , she said , a disorienting day .
Almost immediately , the bare facts of Cain 's diagnosis , his 29-day hospitalization , and eventual death , hardened into a simple and extreme political allegory : Cain attends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask , Cain gets COVID , Cain literally dies .
Among Resistance Twitter users , the alternate ending went even further : “ Trump ’ s rally killed him , ” wrote media critic Jeff Jarvis .
“ Joe Biden 's campaign events never killed anyone .
Trump 's rally did , ” wrote Oliver Willis , one of the left ’ s original bloggers .
This vein of commentary birthed an equal and opposite reaction on the right .
“ It has not even been 12 hours since former GOP presidential candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the usual partisans are already using his death as an opportunity to score political points , ” said Washington Examiner writer Becket Adams .
The usual tributes — obits in all the major papers , a panel on Fox News — got garbled in the noise .
That week , the team at his media company discussed what to do next .
With the family , they decided they would keep the eponymous platform alive , rebranding as “ the Cain Gang.
” They didn ’ t make the change immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s name and photo atop his Twitter account , which had been set up to auto-tweet certain content on the site , including syndicated posts from Western Journal .
For a number of days , as the site published new material , it appeared that Cain was tweeting from the grave .
The mistake , described by Calabrese as an “ internal administrative thing ” they corrected after about two days , lit up Twitter .
Their eventual Cain Gang rebrand was also clumsy .
A since-deleted Aug. 7 tweet , linking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the virus was “ not as deadly as the mainstream media first made it out to be.
” A few weeks later , the tweet resurfaced , prompting another wave of headlines .
“ Herman Cain Tweets Coronavirus Not That Deadly — Despite Having Died From It , ” one read .
It was as if Cain , still somewhere on the campaign trail , had been caught in a bad gaffe .
Three months later , at least 70,000 more Americans have died of COVID-19 , bringing the total to 227,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of government and Republican circles , infecting the president himself earlier this month .
Cain ’ s death became a footnote .
Lost in all the meta-commentary was the story of Cain himself .
To rewind just a few years to the peak of his fame on the right is to be reminded that he played a key role in priming the Republican base for a Trump-like leader .
Along with Sarah Palin and Ron Paul , Cain , in both his compelling successes and his failings , helped create the stage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and media-centered politics , slogan-friendly and written off as a joke by the people who were supposed to be in charge .
The manner of Cain ’ s death , and the tumultuous year in which he died , overshadowed a story that stretched well beyond politics .
In both life and death , Cain fit no one ’ s preferred narrative .
Though he had lauded Trump ’ s approach to the virus , focusing in his columns on gradually reopening the economy , Cain wasn ’ t a COVID denier .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Melanie , he convened a meeting with his staff to set down protocols for handwashing , social distancing , and wearing masks .
He also got in the habit of opening episodes of his daily video show by reminding viewers to take the virus seriously and follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
His advice early on in the pandemic , unlike much of the president ’ s , was practical and unequivocal .
He suggested wiping down surfaces , as he said he had done at home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all handles , cleaning all knobs , ” he told his followers in March .
He encouraged wearing masks and keeping a distance of 6 feet around strangers , as he said he did .
“ I think those things are gon na be with us for quite some time , folks , ” he predicted of CDC guidelines in an episode in May .
And though he attended the Trump rally that became a symbol of the president ’ s carelessness toward the crisis , his family and others close to him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain that he contracted the virus in Tulsa .
There ’ s no way to know for sure .
“ He was a real person , ” said Karol Markowicz , a conservative writer who worked on Cain ’ s 2004 Senate campaign in Georgia .
“ He was n't like this character you see on TV .
He was a good guy .
It ’ s unfortunate.
” When he was just starting out in politics , Herman Cain used to tell a story about his grandfather , Eugene Davis , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Georgia .
Aides knew this as the “ big potatoes ” speech , and when they heard their boss start in on the riff — recalling for the audience how the kids in the family would watch their grandfather load a wagon with potatoes and ready a mule to head out for the market in town — they knew he had read the room and felt the crowd was with him .
“ Them that 's going , get on the wagon !
” his grandfather would tell the gaggle of grandkids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ain ’ t , get out of the way !
” Every time , Cain and the other kids would scramble into the wagon , climbing atop the pile of potatoes .
And every time , their grandfather would avoid the smooth center of the road , driving instead on the rough dirt , where ruts and bumps would jostle the kids and send the potatoes bouncing beneath them .
One day , Cain would tell the crowd , he finally asked why his grandpa always drove on the rough part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ That way , by the time we get to town , all the little potatoes will be on the bottom , and all of the big potatoes will be on the top — and I want you kids to be the big potatoes.
’ '' By this time in his speech , Cain ’ s voice would be building and the crowd would be cheering and laughing .
And then , his voice booming , a finale : “ YOU ARE BIG POTATOES , ” he would shout .
“ WE ARE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ME ? ''
Cain was new to this , a first-time candidate in Georgia who had made the jump from the restaurant world to a three-way Republican primary for the Senate in 2004 , but he had confidence and a natural way with people .
“ By now , it ’ s a rock concert and the stage is literally surging , ” said Matt Carrothers , a former staffer who moved to Atlanta to work for Cain ’ s Senate campaign and later helped launch his media company .
`` BE A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The story , which Cain first used in motivational speeches in business and later adapted for the campaign trail , embodied much of what made him a magnetic and approachable figure in national politics : He was born in Memphis , the son of a chauffeur who then made a remarkable climb through the restaurant industry , moving up the ranks of the Pillsbury Company , from Burger King to Godfather ’ s Pizza , at a time when corporate America had yet to open up its deeply white boardrooms .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate bid in Georgia with close to 0 % name recognition , finished in a distant second , and carved out a spot for himself on the national stage .
He was a Black Republican who liked to buck political orthodoxy , telling aides , “ I worked hard , made a success of myself , and learned to think for myself.
” He was a man who ’ d wear suits to a “ meat ‘ n ’ three ” cafeteria lunch , and would insist on speaking to voters in plain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And as a first-time candidate , according to Carrothers , he set three rules for his young staff : First , “ check your ego at the door.
” Second , “ have a sense of humor.
” Third , “ no pessimists allowed.
” But the “ big potatoes ” speech was also exactly the kind of trademark Herman Cain style , with its big and borderline-goofy crescendo , that could disguise his own genuine seriousness , leaning into the punchline perhaps a little too far .
When he ran for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2012 Republican primary , his campaign became known for attention-getting slogans and stunts : Its most famous ad featured chief strategist Mark Block smoking a cigarette , and Cain pushed a catchy — some thought gimmicky — “ 9-9-9 ” tax plan .
( The plan consisted of a 9 % personal income tax , 9 % federal sales tax , and 9 % corporate tax . )
Cain ’ s background outside of politics was an asset in some ways , appealing to conservative voters who distrusted career politicians .
He got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , working for the Navy as a civilian ballistics analyst before receiving a master ’ s in computer science .
Pillsbury eventually put him in charge of resuscitating its Godfather ’ s Pizza chain , a role that led him to stints running the National Restaurant Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City .
But it worked against him in others ; Cain botched policy questions , once pronouncing Uzbekistan as “ Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan , ” and his public image became that of a pizza magnate who was always talking about 9-9-9 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the 2004 race , said Cain learned quickly as a first-time candidate and particularly loved retail politics ; he was eager to get out and shake hands .
A Black Republican running in the South was a rarity , and Cain ’ s personal history added resonance to his campaign .
“ He would go into places in Georgia , where as a kid he could n't go , ” Wylie said .
“ And people would be inspired to hear from him .
We would have crowds of people wanting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with people 's expectations , aides said .
Carrothers , the 2004 Senate staffer , recalled frequent lunches with Cain and the candidate ’ s childhood best friend , Joel Ricks , both of whom were then in their late fifties .
When the waiter would approach their table and take in the group of three — watching “ two impeccably dressed Black men , ” usually in three-piece suits , sit down with Carrothers , who is white and was 31 at the time — Cain would look up and say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants.
” Though Johnny Isakson , then a member of Congress , won the 2004 Senate primary by a wide margin — 53 % of the vote to Cain ’ s 26 % — his campaign had seen Cain as enough of a threat to launch a direct-mail effort against him .
Cain parlayed his increased fame into a career in conservative talk radio , hosting his own show on Atlanta ’ s WSB from 2008 to 2011 , and filling in occasionally for host Neal Boortz ’ s nationally syndicated show .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Hermanator PAC , and began speaking at events for conservative candidates running that cycle , including now-senator Tim Scott , the South Carolina Republican .
Markowicz , the deputy press secretary for the Senate campaign , said that when the 2004 campaign ended , Cain ’ s staffers were eager for him to run for another statewide office in Georgia .
But he would eventually set his sights on a bigger prize , a move that Markowicz thought he wasn ’ t ready for .
“ Running statewide in Georgia just seemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running for president , ” she said .
Cain made his debut at the first Republican debate of the 2012 primary , appearing in Greenville , South Carolina on May 5 , 2011 , alongside two former governors , a former US senator , and a member of Congress .
Backstage before the debate started , he turned to his top aide .
“ Mr .
Cain made a comment that all he ever wanted to do in life was to be financially stable , ” Block recalled .
“ And he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about ready to walk onstage for one of the highest offices in the world.
’ And I turned and just said , ‘ Let Cain be Cain.
’ ” The line presaged Trump ’ s 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski ’ s maxim : “ Let Trump be Trump.
” Cain ’ s 2012 bid presaged Trump in other ways : He ran a media-centered campaign at a time when people viewed the strategy as a distraction from traditional organizing — intimate Iowa gatherings that propel “ real ” candidates — or as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate appeared often in non-primary states , and employed only a handful of people in Iowa ; three months before voting began , he spent much of October 2011 away from the campaign trail to promote his book This Is Herman Cain !
“ I remember one of the Iowa staffers said something along the lines of ‘ people in Iowa have TVs too , ’ ” said a former Cain staffer .
“ Like , being on Fox was going to be as much of a benefit as going to some pancake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seemed prepared or willing to give Cain negative feedback , this staffer said .
“ The people around Herman were so sycophantic , ” they said .
“ They would never tell him he did anything wrong.
” Cain did plenty to distract from his own success : He made hateful and inflammatory comments about Muslims on the trail .
He dared people to question his policy credentials , arguing that voters needed “ a leader , not a reader.
” His candidacy spiraled into full crisis at the end of October when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked for Cain in the 1990s while he led the National Restaurant Association had accused him of sexual harassment .
Cain claimed he had been “ falsely accused ” but confirmed that there had been a settlement with the women .
At the end of November 2011 , Ginger White , an Atlanta woman , came forward with allegations that she and Cain had had a 13-year-long affair .
Cain denied this , but his campaign quickly collapsed .
In the years after his presidential bid , Cain 's public presence seemed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But in his early seventies , he became one of President Trump 's most reliable supporters and remained a familiar face on the Fox News circuit as he traveled the country for speaking engagements .
Trump nearly nominated him in 2019 for a seat on the Federal Reserve ’ s board of governors , but Cain withdrew under expected Senate opposition .
For the most part , you found him in daily videos on The Herman Cain Show , or writing in the pages of his own lo-fi website , HermanCain.com , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet .
On the evening of Wednesday , July 1 , the day Cain was admitted to the hospital , one such tweet appeared on his account .
At 5:44 p.m. , next to his name , a smiling headshot , and his blue checkmark , @ THEHermanCain shared a Western Journal article about the Republican governor of South Dakota , who had just declined to require mask-wearing and social distancing at the Mount Rushmore event where Trump was slated to celebrate the 4th of July holiday weekend .
“ Masks will not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be attended by President Trump , ” the tweet read .
“ PEOPLE ARE FED UP !
” Like many of the tweets from @ THEHermanCain , this one wasn ’ t written by Cain , according to Calabrese , the media company director .
Instead , he said , material for the account “ would originate through informal banter ” between Cain and his staffers , drawn from office talk or group text messages , and crafted into tweets styled in their boss ’ s voice .
Calabrese declined to name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying they had since moved on to another job .
“ If there was something [ Cain ] was fed up about , it was probably the way some people are so pushy and judgmental , ” he said , “ but not the masks themselves .
He absolutely recognized the necessity of it — and I know he was careful.
” Melanie Cain Gallo believes he could have been more careful — after the Tulsa rally , she said , she questioned him herself about why he wasn ’ t wearing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He told his daughter that he felt comfortable enough to do so because of the event ’ s temperature checks , a measure that was popular early in the pandemic that scientists increasingly say offers little protection .
Cain had already been traveling in the lead-up to the rally — there was a trip to Las Vegas and a stop in Dallas before the Tulsa rally for the premiere of Uncle Tom , a documentary about Black conservatives .
Some close to him believed he more likely caught COVID-19 in an airport or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t speculate on where he could have contracted the virus .
“ We didn ’ t really talk about it , ” Melanie said .
“ I mean , the main thing we were talking about was the fact that we both felt so bad.
” Current and former staffers who were watching the public reaction sensed in it something they had observed for years — a familiar reflex , they said , to caricaturize Cain .
On his campaigns and at his media company , aides embraced a kind of `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Block , the 2012 chief strategist , put it , and a belief that Cain challenged people ’ s long-held expectations about presidential candidates .
But it still bothers some of them that even during his rise to the top of the polls in the 2012 Republican primary , Cain was covered as half frontrunner , half joke .
“ The pundits would approach him as if he was just this goofball because he said things like ‘ Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan , ’ ” said Calabrese .
“ So they acted like he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand how to handle himself in the political world .
The truth is , he completely understood what people expected — and he thought it was ridiculous and he was n't gon na do it , ” he said .
“ He had a self-deprecating sense of humor .
He liked to be kind of goofy and loud .
And he was n't gon na stop doing that because some political image consultant somewhere thought that he would get disrespected by Politico .
Who cares about Politico ? ''
If the dynamic troubled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seem to bother Cain .
What did , Calabrese said , was the way in which race shaped people ’ s view of his politics .
“ He was considered by a lot of people to be an apostate , ” he said .
“ This he did talk about .
If you were a Black man who questioned or strayed from the Democratic orthodoxy — not just about race , but about economics , about the role of government — you were a heretic.
” He came from a tradition of Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business , and , for Cain in particular , independence .
He had said he first registered as a GOP voter after overhearing someone say , “ Black Republicans ?
There ’ s no such thing.
” The suggestion that “ someone would dare tell me what party affiliation I should have , ” Cain said , “ haunted ” him for days .
Black Republican politicians operate in a complicated public space , caught between ideals and a party that can be less than welcoming , and sometimes outright hostile , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been further complicated by Trump — a president who , without irony , says he 's done more for Black Americans than any president since Abraham Lincoln while disparaging Black officials and overseeing a pandemic that ’ s disproportionately affected Black Americans .
Still , Cain 's pro-business posture and willingness to rebuke the establishment line made his support for Trump unsurprising .
Cain spoke at a Trump rally in Georgia in December 2015 ; by March , he was encouraging the Republican establishment to “ get over ” their resistance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s record on race at a campaign rally on June 15 , 2016 , in Atlanta .
“ This sounds like a shucky-ducky kind of crowd on a shucky-ducky kind of day here to support an aww-shucky-ducky kind of candidate , ” he said .
“ I grew up in Atlanta , Georgia .
I know what a racist looks like when I see one .
Donald Trump is not a racist.
” The Tulsa rally was important to the president .
It was a public reset , talked up by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s people would be behind him , pandemic or no .
The event had initially been set for Juneteenth , the holiday that commemorates the day the last enslaved person was freed , in a city known for the 1921 massacre that ’ s considered one of the worst instances of racial violence in US history , as nationwide demonstrations over police brutality and racism continued .
The scheduling decision was met poorly .
The Trump campaign moved the rally to the following night and worked to ensure its Black surrogates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters flew in .
It was almost a given that Cain , the chair of Black Voices for Trump , would be there , too .
That Saturday , he touched down in Oklahoma , and by late that afternoon , he was standing in line to enter the Bank of Oklahoma Center along with other members of Black Voices for Trump , the coalition of Black Republicans that Cain helped launch for the president ’ s reelection .
“ Did people think it was safe ?
I know my dad thought it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
A few spots back in line , Dr. Alveda King , a GOP activist and former Georgia state representative , watched Cain , her close friend , get his temperature checked before entering the arena .
“ I think I did n't even have on my mask , but there were times that I did , ” said King , describing a relaxed approach to mask-wearing that night among VIP rally-goers .
With Cain was Corrin Rankin , a conservative activist based in California .
They were part of a group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they participated in campaign surrogacy , appearing on a preshow livestream hosted by Trump campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson .
“ We were kind of kept together to make sure we were on time for our interviews , and then we were escorted over to the rest of the group , ” Rankin said .
Cain appeared on Pierson ’ s broadcast with a member of the Texas legislature , Rep. James White .
None of the three commentators wore a mask , though White sported one pulled beneath his chin .
Cain ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Republicans like Baptist minister and host C.L .
Bryant , conservative activist Deneen Borelli , and Republican National Committee adviser Paris Dennard .
Eventually , they were shown to their seats .
Rankin , who took “ a bunch ” of photos and videos that day , put her phone up and said , “ Hey , everyone , smile.
” She snapped the photo , and Cain asked her to text it to him .
That evening , before the start of the rally , the photo was tweeted from Cain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group seated close together , none of them wearing a mask .
The post sat on Cain ’ s feed that night .
It wouldn ’ t become infamous until weeks later , generating tens of thousands of retweets and comments — the vast majority of which came in two bursts , first on July 2 , the day Cain ’ s diagnosis became public , and again on July 30 , the day of his death .
Though no one in the picture had a mask on , Rankin said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cain had been wearing one at other points in the day .
“ We would take them off for photos , ” she said .
On the day of the rally , Rankin posted a behind-the-scenes Instagram photo of a group of Black Voices for Trump surrogates including Cain , who was wearing a mask but had pulled it down beneath his chin .
Rankin defended the rally ’ s safety procedures .
“ I felt that the campaign was doing everything according to what we knew at the time , that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she nor anyone else in the photo besides Cain had gotten sick afterward .
“ I 've never really thought about how I feel about that photo in retrospect , ” she said .
“ I think that it 's a moment in time.
” Trump ’ s Tulsa rally made news mostly for what it didn ’ t have : a large turnout or strict social distancing measures .
Video obtained by the Washington Post showed event staff , at the direction of the campaign , removing social distancing stickers from seats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ separated .
Despite the campaign ’ s refusal to enforce social distancing , rallygoers had plenty of room to spread out ; the 19,000-seat auditorium wasn ’ t even halfway full .
Trump rambled for nearly two hours .
When he did mention the coronavirus , he was dismissive , calling it “ the kung flu ” and boasting that he had directed officials to “ slow down ” testing .
The next day , June 21 , was Father ’ s Day .
Back in Atlanta , Herman Cain received the visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had already announced that six staffers and two Secret Service members who were supposed to work the rally had tested positive for the virus and were self-isolating .
An Oklahoma journalist who covered the event would also test positive .
When Cain got the virus too , few people knew until the first public statement .
Even then , they did n't know how sick he was .
Block , his chief strategist in 2012 , was supposed to have a long briefing with Cain on the afternoon of Tuesday , June 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That morning around 11:30 a.m. , he got a text from his former boss canceling the meeting .
“ Regrets today .
I tested positive for COVID yesterday .
Maybe Wednesday .
Thanks , HC , ” the message read .
By the next afternoon , Cain was in the hospital .
The family wanted to keep certain details private .
They were especially sensitive about the fact he had been placed on a ventilator , according to Calabrese , who managed press inquiries on behalf of the family throughout the month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about whether he was on a ventilator just like the rest of the world was , ” said Nathan Naidu , who served as the director of candidate operations ( in effect , Cain ’ s body man ) on the 2012 campaign .
“ And so I think there was still a certain amount of uncertainty there , but at no point did any of us ever think it was that serious.
” Cain wasn ’ t in a position to keep in touch directly for long , Calabrese said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few days , I never heard from him again.
” Weeks went by , and Calabrese started to get a bad feeling .
He got a call from Cain ’ s executive assistant early one morning , before 7:30 a.m. “ As soon as I heard her voice , I knew , ” he said .
He spent the rest of that morning readying a public statement and responding to press inquiries .
He scrolled through his Facebook timeline and saw intense speculation about Cain ’ s death from public figures and personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dang it , do people really need to do that ?
But some people think they do , ” he said .
The question left Cain ’ s own former staff divided .
Some admitted that the “ optics ” of the Tulsa photo , as Naidu put it , were “ not great , ” he said .
“ Candidly , the timeline is bad .
I think we all know that.
” Others harped on the press coverage , which largely glossed over the fact that Cain had been traveling that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his Western Journal show to wear masks .
“ The press made it seem like [ Tulsa ] was the only possible place he could have caught COVID-19 , ” said Linda Hansen , Cain ’ s former deputy chief of staff .
“ It ’ s just so unfair and it is I believe disrespectful to him.
” For Ellen Carmichael , a Republican consultant who was Cain ’ s top press aide in 2012 , the reaction from both sides was frustrating .
The characterizations from liberal commentators and Saturday Night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fly on Vice President Mike Pence ’ s head in a recent sketch , were “ sickening , ” she said .
But in her view , Republican grandees didn ’ t give Cain his due either .
“ I do n't think he got nearly enough credit .
I do n't think he got nearly enough respect , ” she said .
“ I wish that more had been said to honor him .
I wish more had been done.
” The day after Cain ’ s death , the question came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I will not politicize Herman Cain ’ s passing , ” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany .
That afternoon on the White House lawn , a reporter asked the president if he worried about Cain catching the virus at one of his own rallies .
“ No , I don ’ t think he did .
No , ” Trump said before boarding Marine One for campaign events in Florida .
“ All the public stuff — I mean , we can ’ t focus on that right now , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why people have been critical of her dad ’ s decision to go to Tulsa .
“ I ca n't fault those people for speaking against him not wearing the mask and all of that , ” she said .
Nor does she fault those who believe Trump has mishandled the virus — though she didn ’ t offer up her own thoughts on the subject .
“ What I do have a problem with is the way in which people express those things.
” People had said “ vile ” and “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said .
“ And I don ’ t think that ’ s necessary.
” All the while , three months later , the family has stayed silent .
In a way , Cain was always the outlier in their family of four .
“ He was so public and so outspoken and so larger than life — so comfortable in front of any camera .
You know , no fear .
And we are not that .
We are not public people .
We are not media people , ” Melanie said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that from us and viewed our silence as — I do n't know what they viewed it as .
They did n't view it as grief and a struggle .
They viewed it as us not caring , which was even more hurtful , because we 've heard people say , ‘ Oh , they do n't even care.
’ “ Well , no , ” she said .
“ We 're still trying to make heads and tails of what happened to our family.
” ●

Melanie, who is 48 years old, did recover, eventually. But Herman Cain never did. “His just got worse fast to the point where he needed to go to the hospital,” Melanie said. “Once he went in the hospital, he stayed there.”
The hospital didn’t allow anyone to visit Cain, making him one of the many thousands of Americans who have had to face the illness alone as medical providers fought to limit the virus’s spread. Cain’s family were only able to talk to him on the phone and via FaceTime, and for a while they didn’t think his case was outside the norm for COVID-19 patients.
“He was eventually on a ventilator,” Melanie said. “But the reports were similar to what you hear for other patients. You know, oxygen issues with the lungs, just things like that. Those things sounded, relatively speaking for COVID, normal.”
Cain stayed in the hospital for 29 days. The family, physically divided by the virus, kept a close hold on what information they released to the public. Cain’s wife and his son, 42-year-old Vincent, aren’t on social media much, but Melanie quickly saw the “range of reactions” inspired by her dad’s diagnosis. She monitored the conversation at home, unable to see her mother or visit her father in the hospital, and still self-isolating from her husband and kids at their house in Atlanta. “And then to have all the politicization piled on top of that,” she said. “It was one of the worst times that we've experienced.”
On Thursday, July 30, Gloria got a phone call. The doctors said Cain was “in distress,” according to Melanie, and though the family pushed to continue his treatment, Cain was doing badly enough that they were allowed into the hospital to say goodbye. It was too late.
“He was basically gone when we got there,” Melanie said. “We said goodbye, but we believe he had already passed.” Cain was 74.
Later that morning, Dan Calabrese, the director of Cain’s media company and the editor of his website, announced in a blog post that Cain had died. “You’re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning,” Calabrese wrote. “But we have no choice but to seek and find God’s strength and comfort to deal with it. Herman Cain — our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us — has passed away.”
Trump told reporters that day that Cain “was a very special person.”
“Unfortunately,” the president added, “he passed away from a thing called the China virus.” That day, Trump called Gloria and the family to express his condolences. “I don’t really know how to describe it. It wasn’t an unpleasant conversation,” Melanie said. “At the time, we were just focused on other things.” It was, she said, a disorienting day.
Almost immediately, the bare facts of Cain's diagnosis, his 29-day hospitalization, and eventual death, hardened into a simple and extreme political allegory: Cain attends MAGA rally, Cain doesn't wear mask, Cain gets COVID, Cain literally dies. Among Resistance Twitter users, the alternate ending went even further: “Trump’s rally killed him,” wrote media critic Jeff Jarvis. “Joe Biden's campaign events never killed anyone. Trump's rally did,” wrote Oliver Willis, one of the left’s original bloggers. This vein of commentary birthed an equal and opposite reaction on the right. “It has not even been 12 hours since former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain was pronounced dead from COVID-19, and the usual partisans are already using his death as an opportunity to score political points,” said Washington Examiner writer Becket Adams. The usual tributes — obits in all the major papers, a panel on Fox News — got garbled in the noise.
That week, the team at his media company discussed what to do next. With the family, they decided they would keep the eponymous platform alive, rebranding as “the Cain Gang.” They didn’t make the change immediately, according to Calabrese, leaving Cain’s name and photo atop his Twitter account, which had been set up to auto-tweet certain content on the site, including syndicated posts from Western Journal. For a number of days, as the site published new material, it appeared that Cain was tweeting from the grave. The mistake, described by Calabrese as an “internal administrative thing” they corrected after about two days, lit up Twitter. Their eventual Cain Gang rebrand was also clumsy. A since-deleted Aug. 7 tweet, linking to a Western Journal article, argued that the virus was “not as deadly as the mainstream media first made it out to be.” A few weeks later, the tweet resurfaced, prompting another wave of headlines. “Herman Cain Tweets Coronavirus Not That Deadly — Despite Having Died From It,” one read. It was as if Cain, still somewhere on the campaign trail, had been caught in a bad gaffe.
Three months later, at least 70,000 more Americans have died of COVID-19, bringing the total to 227,000. The virus has reached the highest level of government and Republican circles, infecting the president himself earlier this month. Cain’s death became a footnote.
Lost in all the meta-commentary was the story of Cain himself. To rewind just a few years to the peak of his fame on the right is to be reminded that he played a key role in priming the Republican base for a Trump-like leader. Along with Sarah Palin and Ron Paul, Cain, in both his compelling successes and his failings, helped create the stage for conservatism in 2020 — a populist and media-centered politics, slogan-friendly and written off as a joke by the people who were supposed to be in charge.
The manner of Cain’s death, and the tumultuous year in which he died, overshadowed a story that stretched well beyond politics. In both life and death, Cain fit no one’s preferred narrative. Though he had lauded Trump’s approach to the virus, focusing in his columns on gradually reopening the economy, Cain wasn’t a COVID denier. Early on in the pandemic, according to Melanie, he convened a meeting with his staff to set down protocols for handwashing, social distancing, and wearing masks. He also got in the habit of opening episodes of his daily video show by reminding viewers to take the virus seriously and follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His advice early on in the pandemic, unlike much of the president’s, was practical and unequivocal. He suggested wiping down surfaces, as he said he had done at home and around the office — “cleaning all handles, cleaning all knobs,” he told his followers in March. He encouraged wearing masks and keeping a distance of 6 feet around strangers, as he said he did. “I think those things are gonna be with us for quite some time, folks,” he predicted of CDC guidelines in an episode in May. And though he attended the Trump rally that became a symbol of the president’s carelessness toward the crisis, his family and others close to him don’t believe it’s certain that he contracted the virus in Tulsa. There’s no way to know for sure.
“He was a real person,” said Karol Markowicz, a conservative writer who worked on Cain’s 2004 Senate campaign in Georgia. “He wasn't like this character you see on TV. He was a good guy. It’s unfortunate.”


buzzfeed--2020-10-28--Six Republican Secretaries Of State Tried To Stop Facebook’s Effort To Register Millions Of Voters

Despite the request , Facebook said it registered an estimated 4.4 million people to vote in the upcoming presidential election .
On Monday , Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a major milestone for what he called “ the largest voting information campaign in US history.
” Launched in August with the goal of registering 4 million Americans to vote , Facebook claimed the effort garnered an estimated 4.4 million registrations across the company ’ s social media platforms , based on conversion rates the company calculated from “ a few states it had partnered with.
” “ Voting is voice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the company ’ s internal message board , specifically thanking Facebook ’ s civic engagement and civic integrity teams .
What he didn ’ t mention , however , was the resistance the voting information campaign faced from Republican-led secretaries of state .
In September , Facebook received a strongly worded letter signed by the secretaries of state of Alabama , Idaho , Kentucky , Louisiana , Mississippi , and West Virginia , asking the company to discontinue its Voting Information Center .
It argued election officials alone are “ legally and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Facebook has “ no such accountability.
” “ While such goals may be laudable on their face , the reality is that the administration of elections is best left to the states , ” read the letter , which was addressed to Zuckerberg .
“ The Voting Information Center is redundant and duplicative of what we , as chief election officials , have been doing for decades.
” The six Republican secretaries of state warned that the voting information center could foster “ misinformation and confusion.
” The letter , which was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request by Common Cause , a nonprofit government watchdog group , reveals the partisan hostility faced by the $ 800 billion company as it sought to provide people with what Zuckerberg previously called “ the single most powerful expression of democracy.
” Over the past year , Facebook has faced fierce criticism from both political parties , with Democrats arguing the social network hasn ’ t done enough to limit the spread of political misinformation and hate , while Republicans have argued — largely without evidence — that they ’ re victims of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eligible person should have the information they need to register and vote , ” Facebook spokesperson Kevin McAlister said in a statement .
He declined to comment directly on the letter .
Jesse Littlewood , vice president for campaigns at Common Cause , called the effort by the secretaries of state a “ remarkable ” attempt to “ strong-arm Facebook.
” “ It ’ s troubling to see those overseeing elections try to stop what appears to be a successful project to register voters , ” he said .
The Sept. 2 letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook ’ s government and policy teams was not the first time Republicans complained about the company ’ s Voting Information Center , a website that included information about voter registration and how to cast a ballot by mail .
Earlier this summer , following Facebook ’ s announcement of the effort , Trump campaign officials alleged that the company would use ad targeting to help register people that would oppose the president .
“ With knowledge of every user ’ s political ideology , Facebook is officially in the business of political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voices should be seen as nothing less than an attempt to ultimately benefit Biden and the Democrat Party , ” Samantha Zager , a spokesperson for the Trump campaign , told Bloomberg News in July .
Facebook denied that any ad targeting would be used in its voter registration drive .
In their letter , the six Republican secretaries of state said some of the information Facebook planned to use in its Voter Information Center was incorrect .
“ Accordingly , the undersigned respectfully request that Facebook discontinue its Voter Information Center project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from publishing or promoting election information retrieved from or created by any source except state/territory chief election officials , ” they wrote .
The letter came after Facebook reached out to secretaries of state across the country asking them for information that it would include on the Voting Information Center ahead of its Aug. 13 launch .
In correspondence obtained by Common Cause , Donald Kersey , general counsel for the office of West Virginia Secretary of State , said in an Aug. 6 email that he had “ strong concerns ” about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting in the state that had been sent to him by Rachel Holland , a Facebook government outreach employee .
The pair went back and forth via email , before Kersey wrote on Aug. 14 , “ Please consider this writing exclusive notification that West Virginia does not wish to make the tool available at the local level at this time.
” Facebook moved forward with the voting information center , leading the six secretaries of state to send their letter in early September .
Two days later , Kersey followed up with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Secretary Warner , West Virginia ’ s chief election official , Facebook has been asked to cease its VIC project in our state for the concerns raised in several previous letters , ” he wrote .
As of Tuesday , Facebook ’ s voter information center was still operational for addresses in West Virginia , according to a test by BuzzFeed News .
In an email to BuzzFeed News , Kersey said that voter registration drives `` have been conducted by countless third parties for decades '' and that the purposes of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unofficial election information to voters . ''
Common Cause , which sought correspondence between Facebook and all 50 secretaries of state , also obtained correspondence between the company and a state election director in North Dakota , who said that the social network ’ s initiative was “ not helping.
” “ We don ’ t have time to keep fact-checking Facebook , especially when finding that errors and misinformation continue , ” state election director Brian Newby wrote to a Facebook official on Sep. 28 .
He noted that “ technically there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” though Facebook ’ s site noted potential voters in the state had until Nov. 2 , the date that a mail-in ballot has to be returned or postmarked in the state .
While North Dakota 's secretary of state was not a part of the letter sent to Zuckerberg , Newby told BuzzFeed News in an email that third-party sites like Facebook `` risk disenfranchising voters with incorrect information . ''
He added that he did n't doubt the motivations of Facebook in North Dakota , which unlike other states , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signatories of the Sep. 2 letter continued to believe Facebook was a detriment to their efforts .
Earlier this month , Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill sent a press release commending social media platforms for encouraging voter registration and participation .
“ I am grateful to social media platforms including Facebook , Google , Instagram , Snapchat , Twitter , and others who are amplifying the message promoted by election officials across the country during this historic election year , ” he said in an Oct. 8 statement .
A Facebook spokesperson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make them aware .
Grace Newcombe , the press secretary for Alabama ’ s secretary of state , told BuzzFeed News that Merrill ’ s office was pleased with changes made by Facebook after the initial letter was sent .
“ Facebook has made a concerted effort to direct voters directly to our website AlabamaVotes.gov as opposed to a third-party site , ” she said , adding that the effort helps Alabama reach “ a record-breaking 3,707,772 registered voters.
” The estimated 4.4 million people that Facebook said it registered more than doubled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have registered for in the 2016 presidential election and 2018 midterms .
There ’ s a lot to be critical of Facebook for , said Common Cause ’ s Littlewood , noting that the company has a long way in terms of moderating organic electoral content and fixing algorithmic amplification of groups that violate its terms of service .
On Tuesday , the company faced heat after incorrectly preventing candidate ads from running seven days before the Nov. 3 vote .
“ This voter information center was supportive of democracy , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are true and Facebook did register a large number of voters , it will be great to see some information about how many of those voters end up casting a ballot .
”

On Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a major milestone for what he called “the largest voting information campaign in US history.” Launched in August with the goal of registering 4 million Americans to vote, Facebook claimed the effort garnered an estimated 4.4 million registrations across the company’s social media platforms, based on conversion rates the company calculated from “a few states it had partnered with.”
“Voting is voice,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post to the company’s internal message board, specifically thanking Facebook’s civic engagement and civic integrity teams. What he didn’t mention, however, was the resistance the voting information campaign faced from Republican-led secretaries of state.
In September, Facebook received a strongly worded letter signed by the secretaries of state of Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia, asking the company to discontinue its Voting Information Center. It argued election officials alone are “legally and morally responsible to our citizens” and said Facebook has “no such accountability.”
“While such goals may be laudable on their face, the reality is that the administration of elections is best left to the states,” read the letter, which was addressed to Zuckerberg. “The Voting Information Center is redundant and duplicative of what we, as chief election officials, have been doing for decades.”
The six Republican secretaries of state warned that the voting information center could foster “misinformation and confusion.”
The letter, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Common Cause, a nonprofit government watchdog group, reveals the partisan hostility faced by the $800 billion company as it sought to provide people with what Zuckerberg previously called “the single most powerful expression of democracy.” Over the past year, Facebook has faced fierce criticism from both political parties, with Democrats arguing the social network hasn’t done enough to limit the spread of political misinformation and hate, while Republicans have argued — largely without evidence — that they’re victims of anti-conservative bias.


buzzfeed--2020-10-28--A Dodgers Player Tested Positive For The Coronavirus During The World Series. When They Won, He Came

A Dodgers Player Tested Positive For The Coronavirus During The World Series. When They Won, He Came Back To Celebrate.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were two innings away from winning the World Series Tuesday night when star third baseman Justin Turner left the game without explanation .
The Dodgers won , and their players rushed the field to celebrate the team 's first championship in 32 years .
Then broadcasters revealed that Turner had tested positive for COVID-19 .
Turner 's teammates mobbed each other after the final out .
At first Turner was n't there with them , but about an hour into the festivities , he returned to the field .
Donning a mask , he even grabbed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All kinds of weird moments ensued , including team manager , Dave Roberts , promising that he `` did n't touch '' Turner after the result came in .
( The coronavirus often spreads by air . )
Turner tweeted about the win and the positive test , saying that he had `` Just experienced every emotion you can possibly imagine '' and was feeling `` no symptoms at all '' of the virus .
On Wednesday , the Dodgers said they would wait to hold a big celebration with fans at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of questions : Where 'd Turner get it ?
When was he tested and when exactly did officials find out about his diagnosis ?
Should they have stopped the game ?
What does this mean for the rest of the Dodgers ?
How about the Tampa Bay Rays ?
And staff at the stadium at Globe Life Field in Arlington , Texas , where the game was held ?
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon , MLB officials said `` Turner chose to disregard '' the protocols and `` put everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
They said he refused to comply with security and that his behavior was being investigated .

The Los Angeles Dodgers were two innings away from winning the World Series Tuesday night when star third baseman Justin Turner left the game without explanation.
The Dodgers won, and their players rushed the field to celebrate the team's first championship in 32 years. Then broadcasters revealed that Turner had tested positive for COVID-19.


buzzfeed--2020-10-28--Trump Brought Rage Toward Gretchen Whitmer And Doubt About The Kidnapping Plot To Michigan. He Had A

Trump Brought Rage Toward Gretchen Whitmer And Doubt About The Kidnapping Plot To Michigan. He Had A Receptive Audience.

LANSING , Michigan — President Donald Trump brought his anger with Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer to her home state on Tuesday , telling a campaign rally crowd that the kidnapping plot that targeted her `` maybe '' was n't a `` problem '' and coaxing his supporters into a chant of `` lock her up . ''
Whitmer has been one of Trump ’ s most frequent targets in his last campaign rallies before Election Day , just as she has been throughout the coronavirus pandemic after she took restrictive measures to try to limit the virus ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three weeks since the FBI announced the arrest of 13 people involved in an alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer .
In an essay for the Atlantic published Tuesday , Whitmer explained how the president ’ s verbal attacks encourage threats .
“ Every time the president ramps up his violent rhetoric , every time he fires up Twitter to launch another broadside against me , my family and I see a surge of vicious attacks sent our way , ” she wrote in the Atlantic .
Trump , looking for the state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Whitmer is simply “ not a good governor.
” His response , made before thousands of his most ardent supporters , resulted in chants of `` lock her up , '' which Trump smiled through before resuming his remarks .
“ No , your governor , I do n't think she likes me too much , ” he told thousands of his supporters who came out to the Capital Region International Airport in Lansing , Michigan , to see him .
Trump then commented on the plot to kidnap Whitmer , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sitting president to address an alleged attempt on the life of a United States governor .
“ Hey , I 'm the one , it was our people who helped her out with her problem , and we ’ ll have to see if it 's a problem .
People are entitled to say , maybe it was a problem , maybe it was n't .
It was our people , my people , our people who helped her out .
And then she blamed me for it . ''
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standing in line , in the rain , Monday morning to get into the rally .
The retiree and lifelong Michigander expressed doubt about the FBI ’ s findings .
“ A small number of people have allegedly threatened [ Whitmer ] and the thing is that we do n't know all the facts , yet.
” He added , “ The FBI ’ s findings , right now , are preliminary .
”

LANSING, Michigan — President Donald Trump brought his anger with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to her home state on Tuesday, telling a campaign rally crowd that the kidnapping plot that targeted her "maybe" wasn't a "problem" and coaxing his supporters into a chant of "lock her up."
Whitmer has been one of Trump’s most frequent targets in his last campaign rallies before Election Day, just as she has been throughout the coronavirus pandemic after she took restrictive measures to try to limit the virus’s spread. It's only been about three weeks since the FBI announced the arrest of 13 people involved in an alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer. In an essay for the Atlantic published Tuesday, Whitmer explained how the president’s verbal attacks encourage threats.
“Every time the president ramps up his violent rhetoric, every time he fires up Twitter to launch another broadside against me, my family and I see a surge of vicious attacks sent our way,” she wrote in the Atlantic.
Trump, looking for the state's support in next week's election, said Whitmer is simply “not a good governor.”
His response, made before thousands of his most ardent supporters, resulted in chants of "lock her up," which Trump smiled through before resuming his remarks.
“No, your governor, I don't think she likes me too much,” he told thousands of his supporters who came out to the Capital Region International Airport in Lansing, Michigan, to see him.
Trump then commented on the plot to kidnap Whitmer, but not the way one would expect a sitting president to address an alleged attempt on the life of a United States governor.
“Hey, I'm the one, it was our people who helped her out with her problem, and we’ll have to see if it's a problem. People are entitled to say, maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasn't. It was our people, my people, our people who helped her out. And then she blamed me for it."
It’s the same skepticism Robert Bothwell conveyed while standing in line, in the rain, Monday morning to get into the rally. The retiree and lifelong Michigander expressed doubt about the FBI’s findings. “A small number of people have allegedly threatened [Whitmer] and the thing is that we don't know all the facts, yet.” He added, “The FBI’s findings, right now, are preliminary.”