motherjones--2020-09-30--Trump Took Credit for Making Insulin “So Cheap It’s Like Water.” Tell That to People Paying for It.

There was a key moment that you might have missed in Tuesday ’ s presidential debate .
It happened early on , before President Trump told a neofascist militia to “ stand by , ” invented an endorsement from an Oregon sheriff , and trampled on the memory of Joe Biden ’ s dead son .
Trump , after being criticized by Biden for his ongoing efforts to blow up the Affordable Care Act , tried to change the subject by talking about all the work he ’ s doing to bring down the cost of prescription drugs .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Trump said .
“ Insulin—it was destroying families , destroying people , the cost .
I ’ m getting it for so cheap it ’ s like water , you want to know the truth .
So cheap.
” I did a double take when I heard this , because insulin is expensive as hell , and no , the president hasn ’ t fixed that .
How expensive ?
“ In reality , insulin still retails for roughly $ 300 a vial , ” wrote Nicholas Florko at Stat News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two to three vials per month , and some can require much more.
” When I sent a tweet about this , I was flooded with responses from people sharing their own stories of how much they pay for insulin and other diabetes medication , sometimes attaching literal receipts .
People pay more just to stay alive than the president paid in taxes in 2017 : The cost of insulin , which people with type-1 diabetes need to inject regularly , tripled between 2009 and 2017 because of predatory pricing decisions by drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial consequences on the people who rely on the medication to live .
A study last year found that a full quarter of type-1 diabetes patients were rationing their insulin because they couldn ’ t afford it .
What made the price-gouging all the more glaring was the origin story of the medication ; its inventors famously refused to even put their names on it , believing that it belonged to the whole world and should be , well , almost as cheap as water .
Trump , Wallace noted in his preceding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a comprehensive plan to replace Obamacare ” despite years of promising to improve the American health care system .
Instead he has issued a stream of executive orders designed to give the appearance of tackling problems like prescription drug prices—most notably , insulin .
The administration made headlines in March when it announced plans to cap the monthly cost of insulin at $ 35 for seniors—but as Stat News noted , that discount ( which is hardly as cheap as water ) was limited to “ a fraction of seniors enrolled in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would have no impact on the young people without insurance who had turned to rationing .
Likewise , when Trump signed four executive orders on prescription drug prices in July , which he said would lower the cost of insulin from “ big dollars to virtual pennies , ” the Washington Post reported that it was mostly posturing : And an analysis from the independent fact-checking site PolitiFact rated the president ’ s claim that insulin costs had been seriously cut “ mostly false , ” and emphasized just how limited his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent executive order on insulin would touch fewer than 20 % of clinics through a program that provides 10 % or less of all prescription drugs.
” In practice , according to Kaiser Health News , the executive orders he ’ s signed are “ far from being implemented ” and are not likely to “ pass along drug-pricing discounts to a majority of Americans.
” To the extent that insulin costs have gone down in recent months for a lot of people , it ’ s because companies simply decided to lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ move , but not a substitute for long-term policy .
Trump , who also boasted about lowering drug prices during his Republican National Convention speech , seems like he ’ s sticking to this talking point .
But for everything else that happened on Tuesday , this might be the kind of subtle moment that voters remember—Biden or outside groups might remind them—because the people Trump is messaging to are the ones best equipped to call his bluff .
You can get away with lying about things that are abstract .
Declare often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and people might believe it .
Spin enough stories about ballots ending up in rivers ( what was that , anyway ? )
and a kernel of doubt might form .
But it ’ s another thing to lie about something so intrinsic to people ’ s lives—a medication that people pay for every month so they don ’ t die .
Either you ’ ve delivered insulin for “ virtual pennies ” or you haven ’ t .

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There was a key moment that you might have missed in Tuesday’s presidential debate. It happened early on, before President Trump told a neofascist militia to “stand by,” invented an endorsement from an Oregon sheriff, and trampled on the memory of Joe Biden’s dead son. Trump, after being criticized by Biden for his ongoing efforts to blow up the Affordable Care Act, tried to change the subject by talking about all the work he’s doing to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.
“I’ll give you an example,” Trump said. “Insulin—it was destroying families, destroying people, the cost. I’m getting it for so cheap it’s like water, you want to know the truth. So cheap.”
So cheap it’s like water.
I did a double take when I heard this, because insulin is expensive as hell, and no, the president hasn’t fixed that. How expensive? “In reality, insulin still retails for roughly $300 a vial,” wrote Nicholas Florko at Stat News. “Most patients with diabetes need two to three vials per month, and some can require much more.”
When I sent a tweet about this, I was flooded with responses from people sharing their own stories of how much they pay for insulin and other diabetes medication, sometimes attaching literal receipts. People pay more just to stay alive than the president paid in taxes in 2017:
With insurance, I had to pay $600 for a vial. I had to switch to Walmart brand insulin and even then, it's WAY more expensive than water. — Queen Phoenix (@QPhoenix113) September 30, 2020
My 14 year old daughter has had T1 since she was 2. This is what it costs to keep her alive for one month pic.twitter.com/kBoiEdxpJS — TrailerParkTrophyWife (@Jerseyatheart1) September 30, 2020
I buy insulin for two people in my family. $2,500 per quarter. At some point insurance kicks in but I hit $11,500 max OOP about 8 months into my year. And I have pretty good corporate insurance — Noman (@itnor1) September 30, 2020
The sticker price for a three-month supply of the insulin I take is over $7500. That has not changed under Trump. pic.twitter.com/dpmrSsmYxq — Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) September 30, 2020
I'm still laughing over that one. I pay $2.99 for a case of water and my insulin pens cost $500 dollars a month and that's just for mine my husband has his insulin also costs as much as mine. — Rosalinda Cervantes (@madeusk2409) September 30, 2020
The cost of insulin, which people with type-1 diabetes need to inject regularly, tripled between 2009 and 2017 because of predatory pricing decisions by drug companies. That had terrible health and financial consequences on the people who rely on the medication to live. A study last year found that a full quarter of type-1 diabetes patients were rationing their insulin because they couldn’t afford it. What made the price-gouging all the more glaring was the origin story of the medication; its inventors famously refused to even put their names on it, believing that it belonged to the whole world and should be, well, almost as cheap as water.
Trump, Wallace noted in his preceding question, has “never come up with a comprehensive plan to replace Obamacare” despite years of promising to improve the American health care system. Instead he has issued a stream of executive orders designed to give the appearance of tackling problems like prescription drug prices—most notably, insulin.
The administration made headlines in March when it announced plans to cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for seniors—but as Stat News noted, that discount (which is hardly as cheap as water) was limited to “a fraction of seniors enrolled in certain pricey private insurance plans.” And it would have no impact on the young people without insurance who had turned to rationing.
Likewise, when Trump signed four executive orders on prescription drug prices in July, which he said would lower the cost of insulin from “big dollars to virtual pennies,” the Washington Post reported that it was mostly posturing:
However, the moves are largely symbolic because the orders are unlikely to take effect anytime soon, if they do so at all, because the power to implement drug pricing policy through executive order is limited. Voters will not see an impact before the November elections, and the drug industry is sure to challenge them in court.
And an analysis from the independent fact-checking site PolitiFact rated the president’s claim that insulin costs had been seriously cut “mostly false,” and emphasized just how limited his purportedly sweeping reforms were. “A recent executive order on insulin would touch fewer than 20% of clinics through a program that provides 10% or less of all prescription drugs.”
In practice, according to Kaiser Health News, the executive orders he’s signed are “far from being implemented” and are not likely to “pass along drug-pricing discounts to a majority of Americans.”
To the extent that insulin costs have gone down in recent months for a lot of people, it’s because companies simply decided to lower them during the pandemic—a good public relations move, but not a substitute for long-term policy.
Trump, who also boasted about lowering drug prices during his Republican National Convention speech, seems like he’s sticking to this talking point. But for everything else that happened on Tuesday, this might be the kind of subtle moment that voters remember—Biden or outside groups might remind them—because the people Trump is messaging to are the ones best equipped to call his bluff. You can get away with lying about things that are abstract. Declare often enough that antifa is invading the suburbs and people might believe it. Spin enough stories about ballots ending up in rivers (what was that, anyway?) and a kernel of doubt might form. But it’s another thing to lie about something so intrinsic to people’s lives—a medication that people pay for every month so they don’t die. Either you’ve delivered insulin for “virtual pennies” or you haven’t.


motherjones--2020-09-30--I Watched 3 Old White Guys Talk About Race Tonight and Now I Am Dead Inside

On Tuesday night , with the election just five weeks away , President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the first of three presidential debates .
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace , the moderator of the debate , lost control of the evening early on and only intermittently reclaimed his authority .
But in the end , nearly the entire evening consisted of the president shouting over and interrupting Biden , while Wallace attempted unsuccessfully to get the debate back on track .
Individually and collectively the segments were often maddening to watch , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a word in edgewise over the rants of the middle-school sandlot bully masquerading as president of the United States .
But even with the bar as low as it was , the segment on race and violence was especially infuriating .
Unsurprisingly , the three white men on the debate stage failed to meet the moment .
When Wallace announced the topics for the evening last week , my alarm bells went off .
Records , check .
SCOTUS , check .
COVID-19 , check .
The economy , fine .
And then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with violence in cities .
This wasn ’ t going to be a conversation about the persistence of racial injustice in this country , nor would it be about any of the issues facing Black America , like income inequality , health disparities , or police brutality .
This would just give Trump a chance to lean into his racist narrative about this country and recite his greatest racist hits .
Listen to the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast : Subscribe using Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , or your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was time to discuss race and violence in the cities , he asked both candidates why Black people should support their bid for the White House .
Biden gave an acceptable answer about racial equity—which Trump surprisingly didn ’ t interrupt—but when it became time for the president to answer , he focused on how much the police love him .
Just to be clear , Black people should vote for Trump because law enforcement loves him ?
Then , the president tried to paint Biden as The Real Racist .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history with race relations leaves a lot to be desired .
The 1994 Crime Bill , which he co-sponsored , helped create laws that disproportionately put Black and Brown people behind bars .
But before anyone watching at home could begin to analyze why Trump was trying to attack Biden on criminal justice reform , the president engaged in one of his favorite indoor sports : Whenever someone mentions Black people , he takes a deep breath and starts screaming about “ law and order.
” Trump wanted Biden to profess his love @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in favor of law and order ?
” the president demanded .
In Trump ’ s mind , it is perfectly logical to bill himself as the law and order candidate while assailing Biden for being too tough on crime .
“ I ’ m in favor of it , ” Biden responded .
“ Law and order with justice where people get treated fairly.
” The ugly truth about “ law and order ” was revealed in the aftermath of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha , Wisconsin .
Blake , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the back seven times for the crime of walking away from police .
A few days later Kyle Rittenhouse , an armed white 17-year-old from Illinois , crossed state lines and killed two Black Lives Matter protesters who were demonstrating in support of Blake .
Rittenhouse was revered as a hero on the right .
As I wrote last month , when conservatives talk about law and order , they ’ re really talking about maintaining the racial hierarchy : Unfortunately for the viewers at home , Trump was not done with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Wallace also brought up the Trump administration ’ s recent plan to cancel the teaching of critical race theory in the federal government .
“ They were teaching people to hate their country , ” Trump replied , adding that racial sensitivity training was “ racist ” and “ sick.
” The “ Race and Violence in our Cities ” segment moved to the suburbs when the president yelled that the suburbs would be “ ruined ” under Biden .
One of his talking points claims that Biden , with the help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , would allow low-income people to invade the suburbs .
“ It ’ s not the 1950s , ” Biden responded , saying that the suburbs are diverse and integrated .
The second part is definitely a reach , the suburbs remain segregated as ever , but it was the thought that counted .
As the segment wore on , it was easy to forget that somehow the candidates were supposed to be discussing race .
Thanks to Wallace conflating race with violence ( gee , no dogwhistle there ) , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blame Democratic governors and mayors for street violence , while not so subtly implying that everything would be just fine if those liberals could finally get their Blacks under control .
As Trump bloviated , whined , insulted , and outright lied his way through 90 minutes , it became clear that this wasn ’ t a debate intended to sway voters , and the race segment certainly was not about appealing to Black voters .
Trump ’ s talking points were familiar ones , essentially from his late night deranged tweet storms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overdosed on Fox News .
Everything Trump does , from his disastrous coronavirus response ( once he found out who was dying ) , to his dog-whistling about suburbs , to his fixation on immigrants , is undergirded by race .
So , it ’ s no surprise that the segment on race , with an able assist by Wallace , produced the most truly alarming moment of the night .
Wallace pointed out that Trump often falsely accuses Biden of not condemning violence from the left and asks him if he is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump pretended that there is no such thing as violence from the right , Wallace name checked the Proud Boys , an extremist organization .
“ Proud Boys…stand back and stand by , ” the president answered .
It was far from a condemnation .
In fact , it sounded an awful lot like an order .

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On Tuesday night, with the election just five weeks away, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the first of three presidential debates. Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, the moderator of the debate, lost control of the evening early on and only intermittently reclaimed his authority. But in the end, nearly the entire evening consisted of the president shouting over and interrupting Biden, while Wallace attempted unsuccessfully to get the debate back on track. Individually and collectively the segments were often maddening to watch, as the former vice president struggled to get a word in edgewise over the rants of the middle-school sandlot bully masquerading as president of the United States.
But even with the bar as low as it was, the segment on race and violence was especially infuriating. Unsurprisingly, the three white men on the debate stage failed to meet the moment.
When Wallace announced the topics for the evening last week, my alarm bells went off.
Among the topics tentatively set to be covered in the first presidential debate next week between @JoeBiden and @realDonaldTrump: The Trump and Biden Record
The Supreme Court
Covid-19
The Economy
Race and Violence in our Cities
The Integrity of the Election pic.twitter.com/MoA5bNTcL4 — Molly Nagle (@MollyNagle3) September 22, 2020
Records, check. SCOTUS, check. COVID-19, check. The economy, fine. And then, there it was: Race coupled with violence in cities. This wasn’t going to be a conversation about the persistence of racial injustice in this country, nor would it be about any of the issues facing Black America, like income inequality, health disparities, or police brutality. This would just give Trump a chance to lean into his racist narrative about this country and recite his greatest racist hits.
Listen to the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast: Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
When Wallace announced it was time to discuss race and violence in the cities, he asked both candidates why Black people should support their bid for the White House. Biden gave an acceptable answer about racial equity—which Trump surprisingly didn’t interrupt—but when it became time for the president to answer, he focused on how much the police love him. Just to be clear, Black people should vote for Trump because law enforcement loves him?
Then, the president tried to paint Biden as The Real Racist. It’s true, Biden’s history with race relations leaves a lot to be desired. The 1994 Crime Bill, which he co-sponsored, helped create laws that disproportionately put Black and Brown people behind bars. But before anyone watching at home could begin to analyze why Trump was trying to attack Biden on criminal justice reform, the president engaged in one of his favorite indoor sports: Whenever someone mentions Black people, he takes a deep breath and starts screaming about “law and order.” Trump wanted Biden to profess his love for the phrase. “Are you in favor of law and order?” the president demanded. In Trump’s mind, it is perfectly logical to bill himself as the law and order candidate while assailing Biden for being too tough on crime.
In Trump’s mind, it is perfectly logical to bill himself as the law and order candidate while assailing Biden for being too tough on crime.
“I’m in favor of it,” Biden responded. “Law and order with justice where people get treated fairly.” The ugly truth about “law and order” was revealed in the aftermath of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot in the back seven times for the crime of walking away from police. A few days later Kyle Rittenhouse, an armed white 17-year-old from Illinois, crossed state lines and killed two Black Lives Matter protesters who were demonstrating in support of Blake. Rittenhouse was revered as a hero on the right. As I wrote last month, when conservatives talk about law and order, they’re really talking about maintaining the racial hierarchy:
Throughout history, we have seen how what is “law and order” for the dominant culture doesn’t apply to everyone. But as this era of pervasive corruption, state-sanctioned violence, and a pandemic that’s killed nearly 180,000 people makes abundantly clear, the harshest punishments for violating “law and order” are only doled out to certain people in certain places. When Trump and other right-wingers say they want “law and order,” they’re really sending a signal—less a dogwhistle than a bullhorn—to the other people guided by white supremacy: Break any law you want to maintain the current order.
Unfortunately for the viewers at home, Trump was not done with the playlist of his greatest racism hits. Wallace also brought up the Trump administration’s recent plan to cancel the teaching of critical race theory in the federal government. “They were teaching people to hate their country,” Trump replied, adding that racial sensitivity training was “racist” and “sick.”
The “Race and Violence in our Cities” segment moved to the suburbs when the president yelled that the suburbs would be “ruined” under Biden. One of his talking points claims that Biden, with the help of Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), would allow low-income people to invade the suburbs. “It’s not the 1950s,” Biden responded, saying that the suburbs are diverse and integrated. The second part is definitely a reach, the suburbs remain segregated as ever, but it was the thought that counted.
As the segment wore on, it was easy to forget that somehow the candidates were supposed to be discussing race. Thanks to Wallace conflating race with violence (gee, no dogwhistle there), Trump was able to bellow about Antifa and blame Democratic governors and mayors for street violence, while not so subtly implying that everything would be just fine if those liberals could finally get their Blacks under control.
As Trump bloviated, whined, insulted, and outright lied his way through 90 minutes, it became clear that this wasn’t a debate intended to sway voters, and the race segment certainly was not about appealing to Black voters. Trump’s talking points were familiar ones, essentially from his late night deranged tweet storms that usually appear after he’s overdosed on Fox News.
Everything Trump does, from his disastrous coronavirus response (once he found out who was dying), to his dog-whistling about suburbs, to his fixation on immigrants, is undergirded by race. So, it’s no surprise that the segment on race, with an able assist by Wallace, produced the most truly alarming moment of the night. Wallace pointed out that Trump often falsely accuses Biden of not condemning violence from the left and asks him if he is willing to condemn right-wing violence. After Trump pretended that there is no such thing as violence from the right, Wallace name checked the Proud Boys, an extremist organization. “Proud Boys…stand back and stand by,” the president answered. It was far from a condemnation. In fact, it sounded an awful lot like an order.


motherjones--2020-10-01--Donald Trump Can’t Denounce White Supremacists Because He Is One

On Wednesday—one day after the debate in which he refused to condemn white supremacists and told a neofascist street gang to “ stand by ” —President Donald Trump reprised his bigotry at a campaign stop in Duluth , Minnesota .
There , in front of a few thousand supporters at an airport , he attacked the state ’ s Somali American community and accused former Vice President Joe Biden of wanting to turn Minnesota into a “ refugee camp.
” Trump warned his supporters that Biden had a “ plan to inundate your state with a historic flood of refugees.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be “ coming from the most dangerous places in the world , including Yemen , Syria , and your favorite country : Somalia .
Right ?
You love Somalia.
” At this point , Trump pointed at a man in the crowd .
“ This guy loves Somalia , ” he said , as the crowd booed .
“ Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp—and he said that !
Overwhelming public resources , overcrowding schools , and inundating your hospitals.
” It was not the first time Trump had attacked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees , Trump has very explicitly tried to exploit racist anger about non-white immigrant communities .
During the 2016 campaign , Trump told voters in Minnesota that they had “ suffered ” from the “ large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state.
” In 2017 , Trump signed a watered-down version of his promised “ Muslim ban ” that virtually blocked Somalis from coming to the United States .
Since then , he has repeatedly erased the US citizenship of Democratic Rep. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called Omar an “ America-hating socialist ” who should “ go back ” to the country she fled as a child .
“ She ’ s telling us how to run our country , ” he said last week in Pennsylvania .
“ How did you do where you came from ?
How ’ s your country doing ?
” “ And then she tells us how to run our country , can you believe it ?
” Trump said again on Wednesday , as the crowd chanted , “ Lock her up.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ specifically classifies some people as true Minnesotans and Americans and others as lesser ones , whose right to be here is a privilege that can simply be revoked .
When Trump viciously attacked Omar during a North Carolina campaign stop last year , his supporters chanted , “ Send her back , send her back.
” These not-at-all-coded racist barrages against people of Somali descent are not confined to Minnesota , either ; the president ’ s son , Donald Trump Jr. , warned in 2018 that Somalis would “ repopulate ” Maine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate .
None of this is new , and that ’ s the point .
Tuesday ’ s debate set off another round of tut-tutting from members of the press and political world about the president ’ s reluctance to condemn white supremacists .
He blustered his way through another non-answer about the Proud Boys on Wednesday , before catching a flight to his Minnesota rally .
On Thursday , White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany talked around a question about the president ’ s views toward these bigots .
“ This all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Roberts of Fox News said on air a few minutes later .
“ Stop deflecting , stop blaming the media .
I ’ m tired of it.
” With all respect to Roberts , a far more credible journalist than many of the people at his network , it is not very puzzling .
Trump makes his views on white supremacy crystal clear every time he holds a rally—every time he tells a Muslim , Somali-American congresswoman to “ go back ” ; every time he says that “ our country ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he tells white Minnesotans that refugees from Africa are dangerous and a threat to their way of life .
He made his views clear when he said that some white supremacists are “ very fine people ” ; or that neo-fascists should “ stand by ” ; or that a judge born in Indiana is biased because of his “ Mexican heritage ” ; or that people coming across the border are “ rapists ” ; and so on… ) The president doesn ’ t condemn these bigots because he is one .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ condemn something and then wondering why he doesn ’ t is not simply pointless—it ’ s an active refusal to accept the facts as they ’ ve been laid out .
He told you who he is ; for once , you can take him at his word .

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On Wednesday—one day after the debate in which he refused to condemn white supremacists and told a neofascist street gang to “stand by”—President Donald Trump reprised his bigotry at a campaign stop in Duluth, Minnesota. There, in front of a few thousand supporters at an airport, he attacked the state’s Somali American community and accused former Vice President Joe Biden of wanting to turn Minnesota into a “refugee camp.”
Trump warned his supporters that Biden had a “plan to inundate your state with a historic flood of refugees.” Those refugees, he added, would be “coming from the most dangerous places in the world, including Yemen, Syria, and your favorite country: Somalia. Right? You love Somalia.”
At this point, Trump pointed at a man in the crowd. “This guy loves Somalia,” he said, as the crowd booed. “Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp—and he said that! Overwhelming public resources, overcrowding schools, and inundating your hospitals.”
“Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp” — Speaking in a state with one of the largest Somali populations in the country, Trump goads his fans into booing refugees, prompting “lock her up!” chants directed at Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/dT2yuHxFDZ — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2020
It was not the first time Trump had attacked Somali refugees in Minnesota. Although the state has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees, Trump has very explicitly tried to exploit racist anger about non-white immigrant communities. During the 2016 campaign, Trump told voters in Minnesota that they had “suffered” from the “large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state.” In 2017, Trump signed a watered-down version of his promised “Muslim ban” that virtually blocked Somalis from coming to the United States. Since then, he has repeatedly erased the US citizenship of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar—a Somali refugee. Trump has called Omar an “America-hating socialist” who should “go back” to the country she fled as a child.
“She’s telling us how to run our country,” he said last week in Pennsylvania. “How did you do where you came from? How’s your country doing?”
“And then she tells us how to run our country, can you believe it?” Trump said again on Wednesday, as the crowd chanted, “Lock her up.”
It’s an attack that specifically classifies some people as true Minnesotans and Americans and others as lesser ones, whose right to be here is a privilege that can simply be revoked. When Trump viciously attacked Omar during a North Carolina campaign stop last year, his supporters chanted, “Send her back, send her back.” These not-at-all-coded racist barrages against people of Somali descent are not confined to Minnesota, either; the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., warned in 2018 that Somalis would “repopulate” Maine unless voters supported a Republican for US Senate.
None of this is new, and that’s the point. Tuesday’s debate set off another round of tut-tutting from members of the press and political world about the president’s reluctance to condemn white supremacists. He blustered his way through another non-answer about the Proud Boys on Wednesday, before catching a flight to his Minnesota rally. On Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany talked around a question about the president’s views toward these bigots.
“This all remains very puzzling,” an angry John Roberts of Fox News said on air a few minutes later. “Stop deflecting, stop blaming the media. I’m tired of it.”
Some pretty striking comments from John Roberts on Fox pic.twitter.com/zqftfKoluF — Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) October 1, 2020
With all respect to Roberts, a far more credible journalist than many of the people at his network, it is not very puzzling. Trump makes his views on white supremacy crystal clear every time he holds a rally—every time he tells a Muslim, Somali-American congresswoman to “go back”; every time he says that “our country” is not also hers; every time he tells white Minnesotans that refugees from Africa are dangerous and a threat to their way of life. He made his views clear when he said that some white supremacists are “very fine people”; or that neo-fascists should “stand by”; or that a judge born in Indiana is biased because of his “Mexican heritage”; or that people coming across the border are “rapists”; and so on…)
The president doesn’t condemn these bigots because he is one. This whole exercise of asking him to condemn something and then wondering why he doesn’t is not simply pointless—it’s an active refusal to accept the facts as they’ve been laid out. He told you who he is; for once, you can take him at his word.


motherjones--2020-10-01--A Real Estate Firm Co-Owned by Jared Kushner Is Looking to Profit From the Pandemic

When the coronavirus hit , Jared Kushner became a key player in the Trump administration ’ s response to the horrific crisis that has claimed more than 200,000 American lives .
At the start of the pandemic , Donald Trump ’ s son-in-law and top adviser pushed the view that the media were hyping the threat of the virus to damage the president .
Still , he promoted a national testing system—with drive-through sites and a website ( similar to one created by a business he was linked to ) —that never came to be .
Kushner pulled together a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the private sector , and he recruited volunteers from investment and consulting firms to hand out government contracts for desperately needed medical equipment—and generally botched the job .
At one White House meeting , Kushner reportedly declared , “ Free markets will solve this .
That is not the role of government.
” And through this all , it has gone unnoticed that Kushner owns a large stake in a real estate company now poised to make money off the economic distress caused by the pandemic that Trump has been unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s opportunity for profit may be enhanced by the Trump White House ’ s decision not to press for more widespread coronavirus economic relief .
As part of the $ 200– $ 783 million fortune he shares with his wife , Ivanka Trump , Kushner holds an ownership stake worth between $ 25 million and $ 50 million in Cadre , a real estate investment firm that he helped start in 2014 with his brother , Joshua Kushner , and Ryan Williams , a college buddy of Joshua .
The company ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institutional investors directly to real estate deals .
A 2016 profile of the firm described the company this way : “ Cadre is a platform where approved sellers ( ‘ operators ’ ) can apply to post carefully vetted commercial real estate deals , from stores to apartment buildings to offices .
A network of high-wealth individuals or ‘ qualified purchasers ’ who want to make real estate investments—but haven ’ t previously had access to deals—can drop $ 500,000 or more on individual properties.
” The firm ’ s vision , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an alternative to the more common use of real estate funds and allow direct investments in properties ( or portions of properties ) to make “ the real estate market more like the stock market.
” Its financial backers included Goldman Sachs , Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel , Chinese entrepreneur David Yu , and the family office of billionaire George Soros .
In its first years , Cadre ’ s listed properties were all in the United States , but it intended to expand to overseas markets .
Its website currently notes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ annual incomes greater than $ 200,000 ( or $ 300,000 for a household ) .
Cadre—headquartered in New York City in the Puck Building , which is owned by the Kushner real estate company—obviously has a sharp interest in the ups and downs of the real estate market , and the company has been looking to exploit the current economic misery by investing in distressed properties , particularly hotels .
In May , Bloomberg reported , Cadre was establishing “ a new fund to seize on property-market opportunities that arise from the economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic.
” Soon after that , Dan Rosenbloom , Cadre ’ s managing director of investments , cited hotel deals as a possible path forward for Cadre , which , like many real estate companies , had been slammed by the pandemic and forced to cut staff and executive pay .
“ These opportunities are still three to six months away , until you start to see forced selling , ” Rosenbloom told a trade publication .
On September 10 , Allen Smith , president of Cadre , wrote on the firm ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distress ” in the economy could create “ opportunities ” in hotels .
“ While a full recovery in the hotel sector will be difficult to predict until a vaccine is developed , ” he wrote , “ the near-term distress will present unprecedented opportunities.
” He explained : “ The ensuing distress should lead to opportunities emerging later in 2020 and early 2021 as forbearance agreements expire and there is a greater volume of loan sales , foreclosures , and owners seeking rescue capital to fix over-leveraged capital structures.
” The hotel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic , and its leaders have turned to Washington for help .
As the White House and Congress considered additional coronavirus relief this summer , the American Hotel and Lodging Association , the leading trade group for hoteliers , requested an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program and specific relief to assist hotels struggling to meet their commercial mortgages .
“ If they ’ re not able to get something done , we ’ ll have a serious problem on our hands , ” Chip Rogers , the group ’ s CEO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking vacations [ in the fall ] , if there ’ s no business travel and a lot of forbearance and forgiveness—which is usually offered in 90-day terms—come due , expenses will go up , and revenue will go down in a scenario where many [ hotels ] are already struggling to break even.
” But the GOP Senate adjourned in August without passing any new relief , and Trump ’ s White House , after issuing executive orders to extend federal unemployment benefits ( at a lower rate ) and implement a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new relief measure a priority .
Hotel industry leaders have worried about a possible wave of foreclosures ahead .
According to Cadre , further dislocation in the hotel sector— ” forced selling , ” as Rosenbloom put it—could be a golden opportunity for Cadre and its owners , including Kushner .
Which raises the question of whether Kushner ’ s stake in Cadre poses a conflict of interest .
After all , he might well be involved in White House discussions regarding coronavirus relief packages .
This is not a new question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has long been a source of controversy When he became a White House official in 2017 , he neglected to disclose his connection to Cadre—and many other business interests—on his financial disclosure form .
At the time , the Wall Street Journal reported , “ Ethics experts ’ concern is that Mr. Kushner ’ s business connections could jeopardize his impartiality in certain areas and that , absent disclosures , the public is in the dark about potential conflicts.
” After joining the White House , Kushner resigned from the board of Cadre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest , though lowering it to below 25 percent .
Ethical concerns over Kushner ’ s passive investment in Cadre did not fade .
In 2018 , news outlets revealed that Cadre was trying to exploit Opportunity Zone low-income tax breaks , which Kushner and Ivanka Trump had helped enact and promote , and that the firm was doing so in hot-market neighborhoods , not underserved communities .
The following year , the Guardian reported that Cadre “ received $ 90m in foreign funding from an opaque offshore vehicle since [ Kushner ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adviser to his father-in-law Donald Trump…The money came through a vehicle run by Goldman Sachs in the Cayman Islands , a tax haven that guarantees corporate secrecy.
” This secret funding posed a problem .
“ It will cause people to wonder whether he is being improperly influenced , ” Jessica Tillipman , a George Washington University law school lecturer , who teaches government ethics , told the Guardian .
In December , Kushner requested from the Office of Government Ethics a certificate of divestiture to sell his interest in Cadre ( and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that his Cadre shares did pose a possible conflict .
At the time , the top White House ethics officer determined it was “ reasonably necessary ” for Kushner to divest in order to do his job and “ avoid a conflict of interest.
” In February , Bloomberg reported Kushner was selling his stake in Cadre .
According to the business news service , in 2018 , SoftBank , a Japanese investment company , had pursued an investment in Cadre but had asked for Kushner to divest .
He didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesperson noted that Kushner ’ s involvement in the firm was indeed complicating its efforts to draw in new investors , including those overseas .
( New foreign investments—possibly from China or Saudi Arabia—could raise conflicts of interest concerns . )
And Cadre was reportedly willing to buy him out .
But this summer , Kushner put the brakes on the buyout , and his certificate of divestiture was withdrawn .
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , a good-government nonprofit , this was the first time the Office of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divestiture .
“ When an official requests a CD , they ordinarily commit to divest the assets at issue , ” CREW noted .
Bloomberg reported that Kushner ’ s Cadre sale was the victim of the pandemic : “ Company executives started cutting costs as real estate prospects dimmed and fresh investments dried up .
The deal was shelved.
” And CNBC noted , “ Jared Kushner made the decision as part of a private agreement he made with the company , according to people with direct knowledge of the matter .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on hold with the understanding that while he remains an investor , Cadre will not seek out foreign investors , these people said.
” This leaves Kushner still holding a large stake in a company that has signaled it is interested in capitalizing on economic calamity , particularly within the hotel industry .
With Kushner continuing to operate as a senior adviser to Trump , as the president considers policy steps related to the economy , the potential conflict raised by his Cadre stake arguably has intensified since last December , when Kushner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry says it needs federal help to stay afloat .
Cadre has indicated it is interested in hunting for hotels that go under .
Kushner is involved with each of the competing sides of this equation .
He could well personally benefit , if Cadre starts making a buck off hotels clobbered by the coronavirus that do not receive federal assistance .
( Of course , Donald Trump , who still owns his real estate business , which includes hotels , has his own potential conflicts—but government ethics rules do not apply to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involvement with Cadre raises “ two distinct types of ethics questions , ” says Kathleen Clark , a law professor at Washington University who specializes in legal and government ethics .
First , she explains , if Kushner benefits from his work at the White House—say , the advice he provides Trump on economic aid—a “ criminal conflict of interest statute could apply.
” But that would only happen if Kushner participates in a matter that applies directly to him , such as an issue that focuses on a particular industry .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or decision related directly to the hospitality sector and if that could benefit Cadre and Kushner , [ this criminal statute ] could come to apply , ” Clark notes .
It would not , if the subject at hand was broader , such as lowering interest rates or overall tax policy .
The second ethics issue , according to Clark , is whether Cadre , through Kushner , could benefit from inside or advance information regarding Trump administration plans .
“ Kushner needs to either divest or recuse .
Those are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Will Kushner reboot his divestment of Cadre ?
Has he recused himself from administration deliberations that relate to the hospitality or real estate industries ?
Mother Jones sent a list of questions about Kushner and Cadre to the White House and to Kushner ’ s personal attorney .
Neither responded .
Cadre did not reply to a request for comment .
“ Kushner is acting like the law doesn ’ t apply to him , ” Clark says .
“ I don ’ t know where he would get that idea from @ @

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When the coronavirus hit, Jared Kushner became a key player in the Trump administration’s response to the horrific crisis that has claimed more than 200,000 American lives. At the start of the pandemic, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser pushed the view that the media were hyping the threat of the virus to damage the president. Still, he promoted a national testing system—with drive-through sites and a website (similar to one created by a business he was linked to)—that never came to be. Kushner pulled together a secretive shadow task force with members drawn from the private sector, and he recruited volunteers from investment and consulting firms to hand out government contracts for desperately needed medical equipment—and generally botched the job. At one White House meeting, Kushner reportedly declared, “Free markets will solve this. That is not the role of government.” And through this all, it has gone unnoticed that Kushner owns a large stake in a real estate company now poised to make money off the economic distress caused by the pandemic that Trump has been unable to tame. Moreover, this firm’s opportunity for profit may be enhanced by the Trump White House’s decision not to press for more widespread coronavirus economic relief.
As part of the $200–$783 million fortune he shares with his wife, Ivanka Trump, Kushner holds an ownership stake worth between $25 million and $50 million in Cadre, a real estate investment firm that he helped start in 2014 with his brother, Joshua Kushner, and Ryan Williams, a college buddy of Joshua. The company’s aim was to connect wealthy people and institutional investors directly to real estate deals. A 2016 profile of the firm described the company this way: “Cadre is a platform where approved sellers (‘operators’) can apply to post carefully vetted commercial real estate deals, from stores to apartment buildings to offices. A network of high-wealth individuals or ‘qualified purchasers’ who want to make real estate investments—but haven’t previously had access to deals—can drop $500,000 or more on individual properties.” The firm’s vision, according to Business Insider, was to provide an alternative to the more common use of real estate funds and allow direct investments in properties (or portions of properties) to make “the real estate market more like the stock market.” Its financial backers included Goldman Sachs, Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel, Chinese entrepreneur David Yu, and the family office of billionaire George Soros.
“While a full recovery in the hotel sector will be difficult to predict until a vaccine is developed, the near-term distress will present unprecedented opportunities,” said the president of Cadre.
In its first years, Cadre’s listed properties were all in the United States, but it intended to expand to overseas markets. Its website currently notes that the firm only accepts investors with annual incomes greater than $200,000 (or $300,000 for a household).
Cadre—headquartered in New York City in the Puck Building, which is owned by the Kushner real estate company—obviously has a sharp interest in the ups and downs of the real estate market, and the company has been looking to exploit the current economic misery by investing in distressed properties, particularly hotels. In May, Bloomberg reported, Cadre was establishing “a new fund to seize on property-market opportunities that arise from the economic downturn in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.” Soon after that, Dan Rosenbloom, Cadre’s managing director of investments, cited hotel deals as a possible path forward for Cadre, which, like many real estate companies, had been slammed by the pandemic and forced to cut staff and executive pay. “These opportunities are still three to six months away, until you start to see forced selling,” Rosenbloom told a trade publication.
On September 10, Allen Smith, president of Cadre, wrote on the firm’s website that the pandemic-fueled “deep distress” in the economy could create “opportunities” in hotels. “While a full recovery in the hotel sector will be difficult to predict until a vaccine is developed,” he wrote, “the near-term distress will present unprecedented opportunities.” He explained: “The ensuing distress should lead to opportunities emerging later in 2020 and early 2021 as forbearance agreements expire and there is a greater volume of loan sales, foreclosures, and owners seeking rescue capital to fix over-leveraged capital structures.”
The hotel industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic, and its leaders have turned to Washington for help. As the White House and Congress considered additional coronavirus relief this summer, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the leading trade group for hoteliers, requested an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program and specific relief to assist hotels struggling to meet their commercial mortgages. “If they’re not able to get something done, we’ll have a serious problem on our hands,” Chip Rogers, the group’s CEO, said. “As people stop taking vacations [in the fall], if there’s no business travel and a lot of forbearance and forgiveness—which is usually offered in 90-day terms—come due, expenses will go up, and revenue will go down in a scenario where many [hotels] are already struggling to break even.” But the GOP Senate adjourned in August without passing any new relief, and Trump’s White House, after issuing executive orders to extend federal unemployment benefits (at a lower rate) and implement a payroll tax break, has not made a new relief measure a priority. Hotel industry leaders have worried about a possible wave of foreclosures ahead.
According to Cadre, further dislocation in the hotel sector—”forced selling,” as Rosenbloom put it—could be a golden opportunity for Cadre and its owners, including Kushner. Which raises the question of whether Kushner’s stake in Cadre poses a conflict of interest. After all, he might well be involved in White House discussions regarding coronavirus relief packages.
This is not a new question. Kushner’s ownership of Cadre has long been a source of controversy When he became a White House official in 2017, he neglected to disclose his connection to Cadre—and many other business interests—on his financial disclosure form. At the time, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Ethics experts’ concern is that Mr. Kushner’s business connections could jeopardize his impartiality in certain areas and that, absent disclosures, the public is in the dark about potential conflicts.” After joining the White House, Kushner resigned from the board of Cadre but he held on to his ownership interest, though lowering it to below 25 percent.
Ethical concerns over Kushner’s passive investment in Cadre did not fade. In 2018, news outlets revealed that Cadre was trying to exploit Opportunity Zone low-income tax breaks, which Kushner and Ivanka Trump had helped enact and promote, and that the firm was doing so in hot-market neighborhoods, not underserved communities. The following year, the Guardian reported that Cadre “received $90m in foreign funding from an opaque offshore vehicle since [Kushner] entered the White House as a senior adviser to his father-in-law Donald Trump…The money came through a vehicle run by Goldman Sachs in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven that guarantees corporate secrecy.” This secret funding posed a problem. “It will cause people to wonder whether he is being improperly influenced,” Jessica Tillipman, a George Washington University law school lecturer, who teaches government ethics, told the Guardian.
“Kushner needs to either divest or recuse. Those are the only two options.”
In December, Kushner requested from the Office of Government Ethics a certificate of divestiture to sell his interest in Cadre (and avoid capital gains taxes), noting that his Cadre shares did pose a possible conflict. At the time, the top White House ethics officer determined it was “reasonably necessary” for Kushner to divest in order to do his job and “avoid a conflict of interest.”
In February, Bloomberg reported Kushner was selling his stake in Cadre. According to the business news service, in 2018, SoftBank, a Japanese investment company, had pursued an investment in Cadre but had asked for Kushner to divest. He didn’t and the negotiations ended. A Kushner spokesperson noted that Kushner’s involvement in the firm was indeed complicating its efforts to draw in new investors, including those overseas. (New foreign investments—possibly from China or Saudi Arabia—could raise conflicts of interest concerns.) And Cadre was reportedly willing to buy him out.
But this summer, Kushner put the brakes on the buyout, and his certificate of divestiture was withdrawn. According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a good-government nonprofit, this was the first time the Office of Government Ethics had pulled a certificate of divestiture. “When an official requests a CD, they ordinarily commit to divest the assets at issue,” CREW noted.
Bloomberg reported that Kushner’s Cadre sale was the victim of the pandemic: “Company executives started cutting costs as real estate prospects dimmed and fresh investments dried up. The deal was shelved.” And CNBC noted, “Jared Kushner made the decision as part of a private agreement he made with the company, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Kushner and the company put the divestiture on hold with the understanding that while he remains an investor, Cadre will not seek out foreign investors, these people said.”
This leaves Kushner still holding a large stake in a company that has signaled it is interested in capitalizing on economic calamity, particularly within the hotel industry. With Kushner continuing to operate as a senior adviser to Trump, as the president considers policy steps related to the economy, the potential conflict raised by his Cadre stake arguably has intensified since last December, when Kushner acknowledged a possible conflict. The hotel industry says it needs federal help to stay afloat. Cadre has indicated it is interested in hunting for hotels that go under. Kushner is involved with each of the competing sides of this equation. He could well personally benefit, if Cadre starts making a buck off hotels clobbered by the coronavirus that do not receive federal assistance. (Of course, Donald Trump, who still owns his real estate business, which includes hotels, has his own potential conflicts—but government ethics rules do not apply to the president.)
Kushner’s involvement with Cadre raises “two distinct types of ethics questions,” says Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University who specializes in legal and government ethics. First, she explains, if Kushner benefits from his work at the White House—say, the advice he provides Trump on economic aid—a “criminal conflict of interest statute could apply.” But that would only happen if Kushner participates in a matter that applies directly to him, such as an issue that focuses on a particular industry.
“If Kushner participates in an economic initiative or decision related directly to the hospitality sector and if that could benefit Cadre and Kushner, [this criminal statute] could come to apply,” Clark notes. It would not, if the subject at hand was broader, such as lowering interest rates or overall tax policy. The second ethics issue, according to Clark, is whether Cadre, through Kushner, could benefit from inside or advance information regarding Trump administration plans.
“Kushner needs to either divest or recuse. Those are the only two options,” she says.
Will Kushner reboot his divestment of Cadre? Has he recused himself from administration deliberations that relate to the hospitality or real estate industries? Mother Jones sent a list of questions about Kushner and Cadre to the White House and to Kushner’s personal attorney. Neither responded. Cadre did not reply to a request for comment.
“Kushner is acting like the law doesn’t apply to him,” Clark says. “I don’t know where he would get that idea from.”


motherjones--2020-10-01--The Trump Files: Donald Told Congress the Reagan Tax Cuts Were Terrible

This post was originally published as part of “ The Trump Files “ —a collection of telling episodes , strange but true stories , and curious scenes from the life of our current president—on July 12 , 2016 .
Donald Trump loves to ( falsely ) complain at his rallies and speeches that America is “ the highest-taxed country in the world.
” His tax plan would slash income tax rates and deliver huge savings to the richest Americans .
But he wasn ’ t always a fan of trickle-down , supply-side tax cuts .
In 1991 , Trump told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Urgent Fiscal Matters that President Ronald Reagan had screwed up with his 1986 tax cuts , which cut the highest income tax rates nearly in half , from 50 percent to 28 percent .
“ In the real estate business we ’ re in an absolute depression , and one of the reasons we ’ re there is what happened in 1986 , ” he said .
“ Something has to be done .
It has to be brought back .
It has to be reformed.
” Trump contended that the low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s reason to invest and that the economy as a whole suffered as a result .
He recommended a return to much higher rates for the rich , arguing that they cause more people to invest in real estate .
But he didn ’ t quite explain why that would happen .
“ The fact is that 25 percent for high-income people—for high-income people—it should be raised substantially , ” he said .
“ I say leave the middle , leave the low—lower ’ em .
But people with money have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 25 percent ( which Trump erroneously thought was the top income tax rate at the time ) is now the maximum income tax rate that Trump calls for in his 2016 tax plan .
• Trump Files # 1 : The Time Andrew Dice Clay Thanked Donald for the Hookers • Trump Files # 2 : When Donald Tried to Stop Charlie Sheen ’ s Marriage to Brooke Mueller • Trump Files # 3 : The Brief Life of the “ Trump Chateau for the Indigent ” • Trump Files # 8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Water Cooler • Trump Files # 11 : Watch Donald Trump Say He Would Have Done Better as a Black Man • Trump Files # 14 : The Time Donald Trump Pulled Over His Limo to Stop a Beating • Trump Files # 15 : When Donald Wanted to Help the Clintons Buy Their House • Trump Files # 16 : He Once Forced a Small Business to Pay Him Royalties for Using the Word “ Trump ” • Trump Files # 17 : He Dumped Wine on an “ Unattractive Reporter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Behold the Hideous Statue He Wanted to Erect In Manhattan • Trump Files # 19 : When Donald Was “ Principal for a Day ” and Confronted by a Fifth-Grader • Trump Files # 20 : In 2012 , Trump Begged GOP Presidential Candidates to Be Civil • Trump Files # 21 : When Donald Couldn ’ t Tell the Difference Between Gorbachev and an Impersonator • Trump Files # 23 : The Trump Files : Donald Tried to Shut Down a Bike Race Named “ Rump ” • Trump Files # 24 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Bigotry • Trump Files # 26 : How Donald Tricked New York Into Giving Him His First Huge Deal

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This post was originally published as part of “The Trump Files“—a collection of telling episodes, strange but true stories, and curious scenes from the life of our current president—on July 12, 2016.
Donald Trump loves to (falsely) complain at his rallies and speeches that America is “the highest-taxed country in the world.” His tax plan would slash income tax rates and deliver huge savings to the richest Americans. But he wasn’t always a fan of trickle-down, supply-side tax cuts.
In 1991, Trump told the House Budget Committee’s Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Matters that President Ronald Reagan had screwed up with his 1986 tax cuts, which cut the highest income tax rates nearly in half, from 50 percent to 28 percent.
“In the real estate business we’re in an absolute depression, and one of the reasons we’re there is what happened in 1986,” he said. “Something has to be done. It has to be brought back. It has to be reformed.”
Trump contended that the low income tax rates took away rich people’s reason to invest and that the economy as a whole suffered as a result. He recommended a return to much higher rates for the rich, arguing that they cause more people to invest in real estate. But he didn’t quite explain why that would happen. “The fact is that 25 percent for high-income people—for high-income people—it should be raised substantially,” he said. “I say leave the middle, leave the low—lower ’em. But people with money have to have the incentive.”
A tax rate of 25 percent (which Trump erroneously thought was the top income tax rate at the time) is now the maximum income tax rate that Trump calls for in his 2016 tax plan.
Read the rest of “The Trump Files”:


motherjones--2020-10-02--“It Affects Virtually Nobody”: The Three Weeks of Denial Leading Up To Trump’s Diagnosis

Even by the warped standards of the Trump era , the past few weeks have been an unusually exhausting blur , culminating in the shocking yet not entirely surprising news that the president has COVID-19 .
In case you ’ re trying to recall ( or managed to forget ) , here ’ s how those three weeks of ongoing denial and dark hints of political chaos unfolded : September 13 : President Donald Trump holds an indoor campaign rally near Las Vegas , ignoring a state order limiting gatherings to 50 people .
• Asked if he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an indoor rally , Trump says , “ I ’ m on a stage and it ’ s very far away .
And so I ’ m not at all concerned.
” September 15 : Trump tells Fox & Friends that a vaccine will be approved “ in a matter of weeks.
” • At an ABC News town hall , asked why he ’ d downplayed the pandemic , Trump replies , “ In many ways I up-played it in terms of action.
” He says again that , even without a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ You ’ ll develop herd—like a herd mentality , ” he says .
September 16 : Attorney General William Barr says pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are the “ greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history ” since slavery .
• Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo goes on medical leave after he claims that a “ resistance unit ” inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to undermine the president .
• Trump claims that Democratic states are to blame for coronavirus death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blue states out , we ’ re at a level that I don ’ t think anybody in the world would be at.
” • Asked about CDC Director Robert Redfield ’ s comments that a vaccine wouldn ’ t be widely available before 2021 , Trump insists 100 million doses will be available by the end of the year and says the CDC head “ made a mistake.
” • Joe Biden asks the president to prove that vaccine development is not being politicized .
“ I trust vaccines , I trust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trust Donald Trump , ” he says .
September 17 : The New York Times reports that HHS staff , not CDC scientists , wrote the agency ’ s recent recommendation that asymptomatic people with possible coronavirus exposure do not need to be tested .
• Just over half of Americans surveyed say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if it were available .
• Olivia Troye , a former homeland security adviser to Pence who worked on the COVID task force , calls out Trump ’ s “ flat-out disregard for human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says the president saw the coronavirus as positive because he would no longer have to shake hands with “ disgusting people.
” September 18 : The CDC backtracks , again recommending testing for asymptomatic people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus .
• For the first time , the agency posts information about the transmission of the coronavirus via droplets that can travel more than 6 feet .
• Due to the coronavirus , the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says it ’ s cutting the number of monitors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election from 500 to 30 .
September 21 : The CDC removes the new information about airborne transmission from its site , saying it had been “ posted in error.
” • Johnson & Johnson begins Phase 3 trials of a vaccine .
• Trump tells Fox and Friends , “ We ’ ve done a phenomenal job…On public relations , I give myself a D. On the job itself , we take an A+.
” • At a rally in Ohio , Trump downplays the risks of COVID-19 : “ Now we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problems and other problems .
If they have other problems , that ’ s what it really affects .
That ’ s it…Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system , but it affects virtually nobody .
It ’ s an amazing thing.
” September 22 : The Washington Post reports that $ 1 billion in funding directed to the Pentagon to buy medical equipment was mostly spent on military gear .
• The US death toll passes 200,000 , which represents more Americans dying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Civil War , World War II , and the 1918 flu pandemic .
• Outside the White House , a reporter asks Trump , “ Why haven ’ t you said anything about the US hitting 200,000 deaths from COVID ?
” Trump ignores the question , but when he ’ s asked again about the milestone , he says , “ Well , I think it ’ s a shame .
I think if we didn ’ t do it properly and do it right , you ’ d have two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23 : At a Senate hearing , Sen. Rand Paul ( R-Ky. ) suggests New York ’ s cases have dropped because it has achieved herd immunity .
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci replies , “ If you believe that 22 percent [ infection rate ] is herd immunity , I believe you are alone in that.
” • The CDC reports that one-fifth of people with COVID in the US in August were in their 20s .
• Trump says that any attempt by the Food and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency authorization of a vaccine “ has to be approved by the White House.
” • Asked if he ’ ll commit to a peaceful transition of power after the election , he answers , “ We ’ re going to have to see what happens…Get rid of the ballots… and we ’ ll have a very peaceful—there won ’ t be a transfer , frankly .
There will be a continuation.
” September 24 : Trump , wearing a mask as he visits Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s coffin on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jeered by people chanting “ Vote him out !
” • The US has had more than 7 million confirmed coronavirus cases .
September 25 : A study finds that less than 10 percent of Americans have coronavirus antibodies , suggesting “ herd immunity remains out of reach.
” • Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis says all restaurants may reopen and suspends penalties for refusing to wear a mask .
September 27 : Trump tweets that the Supreme Court striking down the Affordable Care Act “ Would be a big win for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the effort to confirm Amy Coney Barrett before the election “ is designed to take away the ACA and your health care in midst of a pandemic.
” • The White House blocks Redfield ’ s attempt to keep cruise ships docked until next February .
• Trump golfs at Trump National in Virginia .
September 28 : Redfield is reported criticizing Trump ’ s coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas , saying “ Everything he says is false.
” Fauci tells CNN he worries a member of the coronavirus task force is giving Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know who the outlier is , ” he says .
• The worldwide death toll passes 1 million .
September 29 : Airlines brace for mass layoffs unless a new stimulus bill passes .
Disney announces 28,000 layoffs .
• At the first presidential debate , Biden slams Trump ’ s handling of the pandemic .
“ [ Trump ] said , ‘ It is what it is.
’ Well , it is what it is because you are who you are .
That ’ s why it is .
The president has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ He knew all the way back in February how serious this crisis was.
” Trump again mocks Biden for wearing a mask in public .
October 1 : All New York City schools are open again .
• Trump plans campaign rallies in Wisconsin , where cases are surging .
• White House adviser Hope Hicks tests positive for the coronavirus .
After finding out , Trump mingles maskless at a fundraiser .
• At another event that evening , Trump declares , “ The end of the pandemic is in sight.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump tweets that he and Melania have tested positive for COVID-19 .

Even by the warped standards of the Trump era, the past few weeks have been an unusually exhausting blur, culminating in the shocking yet not entirely surprising news that the president has COVID-19. In case you’re trying to recall (or managed to forget), here’s how those three weeks of ongoing denial and dark hints of political chaos unfolded:
September 13: President Donald Trump holds an indoor campaign rally near Las Vegas, ignoring a state order limiting gatherings to 50 people. • Asked if he’s worried about exposure to the virus at an indoor rally, Trump says, “I’m on a stage and it’s very far away. And so I’m not at all concerned.”
September 15: Trump tells Fox & Friends that a vaccine will be approved “in a matter of weeks.” • At an ABC News town hall, asked why he’d downplayed the pandemic, Trump replies, “In many ways I up-played it in terms of action.” He says again that, even without a vaccine, the coronavirus will go away. “You’ll develop herd—like a herd mentality,” he says.
September 16: Attorney General William Barr says pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history” since slavery. • Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo goes on medical leave after he claims that a “resistance unit” inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to undermine the president. • Trump claims that Democratic states are to blame for coronavirus death rates: “If you take the blue states out, we’re at a level that I don’t think anybody in the world would be at.” • Asked about CDC Director Robert Redfield’s comments that a vaccine wouldn’t be widely available before 2021, Trump insists 100 million doses will be available by the end of the year and says the CDC head “made a mistake.” • Joe Biden asks the president to prove that vaccine development is not being politicized. “I trust vaccines, I trust scientists, but I don’t trust Donald Trump,” he says.
September 17: The New York Times reports that HHS staff, not CDC scientists, wrote the agency’s recent recommendation that asymptomatic people with possible coronavirus exposure do not need to be tested. • Just over half of Americans surveyed say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if it were available. • Olivia Troye, a former homeland security adviser to Pence who worked on the COVID task force, calls out Trump’s “flat-out disregard for human life” and endorses Biden. She says the president saw the coronavirus as positive because he would no longer have to shake hands with “disgusting people.”
September 18: The CDC backtracks, again recommending testing for asymptomatic people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. • For the first time, the agency posts information about the transmission of the coronavirus via droplets that can travel more than 6 feet. • Due to the coronavirus, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says it’s cutting the number of monitors it will send to observe the November election from 500 to 30.
September 21: The CDC removes the new information about airborne transmission from its site, saying it had been “posted in error.” • Johnson & Johnson begins Phase 3 trials of a vaccine. • Trump tells Fox and Friends, “We’ve done a phenomenal job…On public relations, I give myself a D. On the job itself, we take an A+.” • At a rally in Ohio, Trump downplays the risks of COVID-19: “Now we know it affects elderly people with heart problems and other problems. If they have other problems, that’s what it really affects. That’s it…Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system, but it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.”
September 22: The Washington Post reports that $1 billion in funding directed to the Pentagon to buy medical equipment was mostly spent on military gear. • The US death toll passes 200,000, which represents more Americans dying in any discrete mass casualty event besides the Civil War, World War II, and the 1918 flu pandemic. • Outside the White House, a reporter asks Trump, “Why haven’t you said anything about the US hitting 200,000 deaths from COVID?” Trump ignores the question, but when he’s asked again about the milestone, he says, “Well, I think it’s a shame. I think if we didn’t do it properly and do it right, you’d have two and a half million deaths.
September 23: At a Senate hearing, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggests New York’s cases have dropped because it has achieved herd immunity. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci replies, “If you believe that 22 percent [infection rate] is herd immunity, I believe you are alone in that.” • The CDC reports that one-fifth of people with COVID in the US in August were in their 20s. • Trump says that any attempt by the Food and Drug Administration to impose stricter guidelines on emergency authorization of a vaccine “has to be approved by the White House.” • Asked if he’ll commit to a peaceful transition of power after the election, he answers, “We’re going to have to see what happens…Get rid of the ballots… and we’ll have a very peaceful—there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation.”
September 24: Trump, wearing a mask as he visits Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s coffin on the steps of the Supreme Court, is jeered by people chanting “Vote him out!” • The US has had more than 7 million confirmed coronavirus cases.
September 25: A study finds that less than 10 percent of Americans have coronavirus antibodies, suggesting “herd immunity remains out of reach.” • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says all restaurants may reopen and suspends penalties for refusing to wear a mask.
September 27: Trump tweets that the Supreme Court striking down the Affordable Care Act “Would be a big win for the USA!” • Biden says that the effort to confirm Amy Coney Barrett before the election “is designed to take away the ACA and your health care in midst of a pandemic.” • Trump golfs at Trump National in Virginia.
September 28: Redfield is reported criticizing Trump’s coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas, saying “Everything he says is false.” Fauci tells CNN he worries a member of the coronavirus task force is giving Trump bad information. “I think you know who the outlier is,” he says. • The worldwide death toll passes 1 million.
September 29: Airlines brace for mass layoffs unless a new stimulus bill passes. Disney announces 28,000 layoffs. • The White House blocks Redfield’s attempt to keep cruise ships docked until next February. • At the first presidential debate, Biden slams Trump’s handling of the pandemic. “[Trump] said, ‘It is what it is.’ Well, it is what it is because you are who you are. That’s why it is. The president has no plan,” he says. “He knew all the way back in February how serious this crisis was.” Trump again mocks Biden for wearing a mask in public.
October 1: All New York City schools are open again. • Trump plans campaign rallies in Wisconsin, where cases are surging. • White House adviser Hope Hicks tests positive for the coronavirus. After finding out, Trump mingles maskless at a fundraiser. • At another event that evening, Trump declares, “The end of the pandemic is in sight.”
October 2: At 12:54 am, Trump tweets that he and Melania have tested positive for COVID-19.


motherjones--2020-10-02--17 Republicans Just Voted Against a Resolution to Condemn QAnon. We Asked Them All Why.

Seventeen Republicans and an independent libertarian voted on Friday against a resolution to condemn QAnon—the outlandish conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of liberal elite pedophiles is running a child sex trafficking ring and is locked in a battle with President Donald Trump , who is trying to stop them .
This is a new escalation in congressional Republicans ’ flirtation with QAnon .
The vote comes as an increasing amount of QAnon-supporting congressional candidates have run in and even won primary races around the country .
Most have little-to-no shot at winning in November , though Marjorie Taylor Greene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seat in Georgia , has a likely shot of winning her race , and Lauren Boebert , a Republican running in Colorado for a House seat , has a shot at winning hers as well .
The possibility of their electoral victories has put House Republicans in something of a bind : Some rank-and-file members don ’ t want to associate with QAnon , but House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has welcomed Boebert to its “ Young Guns ” fundraising and training program .
And while McCarthy remained neutral in Greene ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ good and productive ” relationship with her .
President Trump has also recently declined to disavow QAnon and its followers when asked about it by reporters .
House Dems upped the pressure on their GOP counterparts when they introduced a resolution “ [ c ] ondemning QAnon and rejecting the conspiracy theories it promotes.
” The resolution acknowledges the danger the conspiracy movement poses and also encourages , but does not force , the FBI and intelligence community to strengthen their focus on mitigating QAnon-related threats .
In the past three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters have plotted to carry out acts of violence and have committed at least one murder .
All Democrats voted for the resolution on Friday and Republicans overwhelmingly did , too .
But still , a somewhat shocking 18 members of the House apparently have an issue with criticizing QAnon via congressional resolution .
It ’ s unclear exactly why .
Mother Jones reached out to all 18 of these members after the vote and most didn ’ t return a request for comment .
Three did , though : Reps. Justin Amash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R-Texas ) , and Drew Ferguson ( R-Ga. ) .
They all defended their vote out of concern for violating the First Amendment .
“ There is a world of difference between conspiracy and criminal – one is protected by the First Amendment ; the other should be condemned in all forms , ” Arrington said , in an emailed statement provided by his office .
He also criticized Democrats for not going after antifa and “ radical leftist groups ” instead of QAnon .
( Nevermind that the centrist think-tank Center for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been linked to no murders in the last 25 years , while right-wing extremists have killed over 300 . )
In response to our query , Amash ’ s office directed us to a tweet from the libertarian congressman , in which he made a similar free speech argument : Ferguson similarly said as much in an emailed statement : “ Congressman Ferguson is not a supporter of QAnon .
He in no way intended to lend credibility to conspiracy theorists or their outlandish ideas .
He does , however , support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free speech.
” It ’ s unclear how a non-binding resolution that encourages other agencies to act within their own jurisdictions would supersede or threaten a Constitutional amendment .
The lawmakers who voted on First Amendment grounds did not offer further explanation .
It ’ s worth noting that one of the congressmen who voted in favor of the resolution , Rep .
Buddy Carter ( R-Ga. ) , later backtracked his vote .
On Twitter , he wrote that he “ unintentionally voted ” against the resolution .
“ In the interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ aye ’ and that will be reflected in the record , ” he said .
In a statement to Mother Jones , Carter clarified what happened : “ I have made my position on QAnon very clear .
This was an honest mistake and an unintentional vote on a non-binding resolution while I was distracted advocating for additional relief for small businesses and working families .
I have already submitted a clarification , and my intended ‘ aye ’ vote will be reflected in the record.
” It ’ s not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aligned himself with QAnon .
In early August , Carter attended a “ Save the Children ” rally and march in Savannah that was organized by QAnon supporters .
When he was criticized for attending the rally , Carter claimed that he didn ’ t know it was organized by supporters of the group and attended to show solidarity against human trafficking .
“ Congressman Carter was invited by a constituent who shares his strong stance against human trafficking , especially the trafficking of children , ” a spokesperson for Carter told the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rep .
Carter had no knowledge of any QAnon ties to the event , his attendance had absolutely nothing to do with QAnon , and Rep. Carter is in no way affiliated with QAnon.
” Here ’ s a full list of who voted against the resolution : • Buddy Carter ( R-Ga. ) ( though , per above , he ’ s changing his vote )

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Seventeen Republicans and an independent libertarian voted on Friday against a resolution to condemn QAnon—the outlandish conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of liberal elite pedophiles is running a child sex trafficking ring and is locked in a battle with President Donald Trump, who is trying to stop them.
This is a new escalation in congressional Republicans’ flirtation with QAnon. The vote comes as an increasing amount of QAnon-supporting congressional candidates have run in and even won primary races around the country. Most have little-to-no shot at winning in November, though Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican running for a House seat in Georgia, has a likely shot of winning her race, and Lauren Boebert, a Republican running in Colorado for a House seat, has a shot at winning hers as well. The possibility of their electoral victories has put House Republicans in something of a bind: Some rank-and-file members don’t want to associate with QAnon, but House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has welcomed Boebert to its “Young Guns” fundraising and training program. And while McCarthy remained neutral in Greene’s race, he said that he had a “good and productive” relationship with her. President Trump has also recently declined to disavow QAnon and its followers when asked about it by reporters.
House Dems upped the pressure on their GOP counterparts when they introduced a resolution “[c]ondemning QAnon and rejecting the conspiracy theories it promotes.” The resolution acknowledges the danger the conspiracy movement poses and also encourages, but does not force, the FBI and intelligence community to strengthen their focus on mitigating QAnon-related threats. In the past three years since its founding, some QAnon supporters have plotted to carry out acts of violence and have committed at least one murder.
All Democrats voted for the resolution on Friday and Republicans overwhelmingly did, too. But still, a somewhat shocking 18 members of the House apparently have an issue with criticizing QAnon via congressional resolution.
It’s unclear exactly why. Mother Jones reached out to all 18 of these members after the vote and most didn’t return a request for comment. Three did, though: Reps. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), and Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.). They all defended their vote out of concern for violating the First Amendment.
“There is a world of difference between conspiracy and criminal – one is protected by the First Amendment; the other should be condemned in all forms,” Arrington said, in an emailed statement provided by his office. He also criticized Democrats for not going after antifa and “radical leftist groups” instead of QAnon. (Nevermind that the centrist think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies found that anti-fascists have been linked to no murders in the last 25 years, while right-wing extremists have killed over 300.)
In response to our query, Amash’s office directed us to a tweet from the libertarian congressman, in which he made a similar free speech argument:
The resolution threatens protected speech (absurd as that speech may be), and its prescriptions for addressing QAnon aren’t appropriate for what we know about them & may make things worse. These are conspiracy theorists who believe in a deep state that’s fighting against them,… https://t.co/POPukpQ5YM — Justin Amash (@justinamash) October 2, 2020
Ferguson similarly said as much in an emailed statement: “Congressman Ferguson is not a supporter of QAnon. He in no way intended to lend credibility to conspiracy theorists or their outlandish ideas. He does, however, support the First Amendment and its protection of free speech.”
It’s unclear how a non-binding resolution that encourages other agencies to act within their own jurisdictions would supersede or threaten a Constitutional amendment. The lawmakers who voted on First Amendment grounds did not offer further explanation.
It’s worth noting that one of the congressmen who voted in favor of the resolution, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), later backtracked his vote. On Twitter, he wrote that he “unintentionally voted” against the resolution. “In the interest of transparency, my intended vote was ‘aye’ and that will be reflected in the record,” he said. In a statement to Mother Jones, Carter clarified what happened: “I have made my position on QAnon very clear. This was an honest mistake and an unintentional vote on a non-binding resolution while I was distracted advocating for additional relief for small businesses and working families. I have already submitted a clarification, and my intended ‘aye’ vote will be reflected in the record.”
It’s not the first time Carter has “unintentionally” aligned himself with QAnon. In early August, Carter attended a “Save the Children” rally and march in Savannah that was organized by QAnon supporters. When he was criticized for attending the rally, Carter claimed that he didn’t know it was organized by supporters of the group and attended to show solidarity against human trafficking. “Congressman Carter was invited by a constituent who shares his strong stance against human trafficking, especially the trafficking of children,” a spokesperson for Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time. “Rep. Carter had no knowledge of any QAnon ties to the event, his attendance had absolutely nothing to do with QAnon, and Rep. Carter is in no way affiliated with QAnon.”
Here’s a full list of who voted against the resolution:


motherjones--2020-10-02--The CDC Put a Halt to Evictions. One Missouri County Is Allowing Them Anyway.

Last month , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established a national moratorium on evictions until the end of the year , as a way to protect tenants who have been hit by financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns .
But a county in Missouri has already violated the order by allowing eviction proceedings to continue , according to an ACLU lawsuit filed on Wednesday .
On September 4 , the same day that the CDC order went into effect , Jackson County , Missouri , which includes half of Kansas City and a population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administrative order .
Ostensibly , the county order interpreted and implemented the national moratorium , but , in fact , it “ directly conflicts with and interferes with the CDC moratorium , ” says Linda Morris , the ACLU lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of KC Tenants , a Jackson County tenants ’ rights group .
The lawsuit was filed against Jackson County ’ s 16th Judicial Circuit Court , which filed the administrative order .
The CDC order allows tenants to declare that they ’ re not able to pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to defer rent payments until 2021 .
The Jackson County administrative order establishes a framework for continued evictions while the CDC order is in place .
“ It explicitly permits landlords to file and pursue eviction actions , ” Morris says .
The order also creates a system of “ eviction-plus ” hearings , where landlords may challenge tenants who claim they can ’ t pay , Morris says , “ by demanding all sorts of personal and financial records.
” The ACLU claims that instead of enforcing the CDC order , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violates it .
For millions of US residents , the CDC evictions moratorium couldn ’ t have come soon enough .
Similar efforts to prevent tens of millions of people from losing their housing were contained within the CARES Act , an emergency bill passed by Congress last March to curb the most immediate and dire economic consequences of the pandemic .
But those protections effectively expired on August 25 , putting 13 million households at risk of eviction by year ’ s end .
Then the CDC stepped in , noting that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of the virus .
The tenants ’ rights community hailed the CDC order as providing a necessary safeguard , but some worried that it fell short .
Conditional protections required a written declaration from tenants , for instance , and those who didn ’ t meet certain income requirements still could be evicted .
The Missouri administrative order is exactly what tenant activists most feared .
“ Every tenant deserves the right to safe , accessible housing , “ said Tara Raghuveer , director of KC Tenants , in a press release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowing landlords to strip tenants of that right by evicting them in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis .
It ’ s inhumane and unconstitutional.
” The county order allowed landlords to file a “ verification ” to the court stating that a tenant who has not paid rent doesn ’ t meet the conditions for protection outlined by the order .
Once a verification is filed , the property owner may begin to “ recover possession of any residential property for the nonpayment of rent , ” the order says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their declaration form—claiming they can ’ t pay rent—the county ’ s administrative order moves the process to court , where an evidentiary hearing can “ challenge the accuracy or veracity of any statements in the Declaration Form , ” according to the order .
The ACLU argues that Jackson County ’ s order violates the CDC ’ s demands , and that the evidential hearings violate civil liberties .
“ These evidentiary proceedings will allow landlords or property owners to harass or retaliate against tenants who seek protection under the Moratorium , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights , ” the complaint claims .
In fact , according to KC Tenants , 284 evictions have been filed in the county since the CDC and county orders went into effect .
Even if the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri—where the ACLU submitted its case—ultimately rules against Jackson County , damage will already have been done .
According to Morris and KC Tenants , landlords have been requesting evidentiary hearings in almost every pending eviction case .
What ’ s more , those facing eviction rarely have legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Houston ’ s Harris County , several hours south , only three percent of tenants have an attorney present for proceedings .
Those tenants who are ultimately spared from being evicted often suffer downstream consequences .
Even if the tenant is exonerated , the eviction filing is still visible to future landlords .
“ The perfect parallel is arrest and eviction , ” says Morris .
If someone is accused of wrongdoing and vindicates him or herself , the initial accusation can continue to raise questions .
As a result , Morris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really denying access to housing for years to come .
”

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Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established a national moratorium on evictions until the end of the year, as a way to protect tenants who have been hit by financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. But a county in Missouri has already violated the order by allowing eviction proceedings to continue, according to an ACLU lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
On September 4, the same day that the CDC order went into effect, Jackson County, Missouri, which includes half of Kansas City and a population of 700,000 people, filed its own administrative order. Ostensibly, the county order interpreted and implemented the national moratorium, but, in fact, it “directly conflicts with and interferes with the CDC moratorium,” says Linda Morris, the ACLU lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of KC Tenants, a Jackson County tenants’ rights group. The lawsuit was filed against Jackson County’s 16th Judicial Circuit Court, which filed the administrative order.
The CDC order allows tenants to declare that they’re not able to pay rent, so they would then be able to defer rent payments until 2021. The Jackson County administrative order establishes a framework for continued evictions while the CDC order is in place. “It explicitly permits landlords to file and pursue eviction actions,” Morris says. The order also creates a system of “eviction-plus” hearings, where landlords may challenge tenants who claim they can’t pay, Morris says, “by demanding all sorts of personal and financial records.” The ACLU claims that instead of enforcing the CDC order, the terms in the administrative order actually violates it.
“It explicitly permits landlords to file and pursue eviction actions.”
For millions of US residents, the CDC evictions moratorium couldn’t have come soon enough. Similar efforts to prevent tens of millions of people from losing their housing were contained within the CARES Act, an emergency bill passed by Congress last March to curb the most immediate and dire economic consequences of the pandemic. But those protections effectively expired on August 25, putting 13 million households at risk of eviction by year’s end. Then the CDC stepped in, noting that evictions could jeopardize efforts to contain the spread of the virus. The tenants’ rights community hailed the CDC order as providing a necessary safeguard, but some worried that it fell short. Conditional protections required a written declaration from tenants, for instance, and those who didn’t meet certain income requirements still could be evicted.
The Missouri administrative order is exactly what tenant activists most feared. “Every tenant deserves the right to safe, accessible housing, “said Tara Raghuveer, director of KC Tenants, in a press release. “The Jackson County courts are allowing landlords to strip tenants of that right by evicting them in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis. It’s inhumane and unconstitutional.”
The county order allowed landlords to file a “verification” to the court stating that a tenant who has not paid rent doesn’t meet the conditions for protection outlined by the order. Once a verification is filed, the property owner may begin to “recover possession of any residential property for the nonpayment of rent,” the order says. If the tenant has already filed their declaration form—claiming they can’t pay rent—the county’s administrative order moves the process to court, where an evidentiary hearing can “challenge the accuracy or veracity of any statements in the Declaration Form,” according to the order.
The ACLU argues that Jackson County’s order violates the CDC’s demands, and that the evidential hearings violate civil liberties. “These evidentiary proceedings will allow landlords or property owners to harass or retaliate against tenants who seek protection under the Moratorium, thereby discouraging tenants from exercising their federal rights,” the complaint claims. In fact, according to KC Tenants, 284 evictions have been filed in the county since the CDC and county orders went into effect.
Even if the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri—where the ACLU submitted its case—ultimately rules against Jackson County, damage will already have been done. According to Morris and KC Tenants, landlords have been requesting evidentiary hearings in almost every pending eviction case. What’s more, those facing eviction rarely have legal representation when defending themselves in court. In Houston’s Harris County, several hours south, only three percent of tenants have an attorney present for proceedings.
Those tenants who are ultimately spared from being evicted often suffer downstream consequences. Even if the tenant is exonerated, the eviction filing is still visible to future landlords. “The perfect parallel is arrest and eviction,” says Morris. If someone is accused of wrongdoing and vindicates him or herself, the initial accusation can continue to raise questions. As a result, Morris notes, “These eviction filings are really denying access to housing for years to come.”