democracynow--2020-09-30--Kate Aronoff: The Climate Crisis Can't Take 4 More Years of Trump. We Must Push Biden from the Left

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
We end today ’ s show looking at the candidates ’ exchange about the climate crisis .
Climate change was not on the six topics Fox News moderator Chris Wallace released before the debate , but he added the issue after massive outcry from activists and young voters .
This is Wallace questioning President Trump and Joe Biden .
AMY GOODMAN : That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night .
For more , we ’ re joined by Kate Aronoff , staff writer at The New Republic .
She is the co-author of A Planet to Win : Why We Need a Green New Deal .
So , here ’ s Trump trying to talk about Biden as a socialist throughout the night , and then there is Biden saying that he does not support a Green New Deal , and Wallace pressing Trump on whether humans cause climate change and whether this is a crisis .
Kate , your overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was pleasantly surprised to even have climate change come up last night .
It wasn ’ t supposed to .
And I think it ’ s a credit to people who rightfully raised a stink about that .
And I also wasn ’ t surprised at all about what both candidates said , right ?
We ’ ve known for years that Donald Trump denies the science of climate change , that he thinks it ’ s a hoax , that he ’ s loyal to people in the fossil fuel industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry in particular .
And we ’ ve known that Joe Biden doesn ’ t support a Green New Deal .
This isn ’ t new news .
I think that what ’ s also not surprising is that there ’ s a clear choice between these two candidates , right ?
We can ’ t have another Donald Trump administration and hope to tackle the climate crisis on the speed and scale that we need .
And we know that Joe Biden is going to need to be pushed into tackling the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scale that we need .
So , I , you know , follow these issues .
I didn ’ t learn a whole lot last night .
I was glad it came up .
But I think there ’ s a lot of work to do regardless of who ’ s elected in January , and I certainly hope that Joe Biden is elected in November .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Kate Aronoff , while I agree with you that it was great for Chris Wallace to raise climate change issues in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen as a result of that , because he questioned Donald Trump four or five times straight at one point on the climate , is that it didn ’ t allow time for closing arguments by either candidate , this being perhaps maybe the biggest debate audience .
Who knows ?
We haven ’ t seen the final results yet .
But the chance that both candidates , Biden and Trump , lost to be able to make a closing argument , do you think that something was lost in that ?
KATE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other hour and a half of the debate , I am not sure we would have gotten too much of that — out of that , either way .
I mean , it was a mess , I mean , to put it really charitably , what happened last night .
And so , that would have been nice , but I also think it ’ s good to talk about the greatest existential threat humanity has ever faced , when you ’ re looking at two potential leaders in the free world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 seconds on Biden ’ s Green New Deal , or what he ’ s saying is his , the Biden deal ?
KATE ARONOFF : Yeah , it ’ s the most progressive climate policy that a Democratic presidential candidate has ever run on , and it ’ s not nearly enough .
Activists pushed this to be the best plan that we ’ ve seen from a Democratic nominee , and we know that , in January , when he is hopefully elected , that he ’ ll need to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any of that a reality .
So , it ’ s a good starting place , and it ’ s just that .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , we want to thank you for being on with us , Kate Aronoff , staff writer at The New Republic .
This is supposedly the first of three presidential debates .
Next week it ’ s vice-presidential debate .
We end today ’ s show with Fox ’ s Chris Wallace questioning President Trump about his tax returns .
AMY GOODMAN : We just have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ final response ?
KATE ARONOFF : Like most of the 1 % , Donald Trump lives by a different set of rules .
Most working people pay more taxes than Donald Trump has paid in the last 15 years .
The Times reporting is very clear .
And we need to get him out of office .
That ’ s it .
I mean , we need to — we need a much better tax code , and we need to tax the rich much more than they are now .
AMY GOODMAN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , thanks so much for being with us .
And if you ’ d like to see the whole debate , 90 minutes of the free-for-all , you can go to democracynow.org .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
Special thanks to Julie Crosby .
Stay safe .
Wear a mask .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
We end today’s show looking at the candidates’ exchange about the climate crisis. Climate change was not on the six topics Fox News moderator Chris Wallace released before the debate, but he added the issue after massive outcry from activists and young voters. This is Wallace questioning President Trump and Joe Biden.
CHRIS WALLACE: The forest fires in the West are raging now. They have burned millions of acres. They have displaced hundreds of thousands of people. When state officials there blamed the fires on climate change, Mr. President, you said, “I don’t think the science knows.” Over your four years, you have pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. You have rolled back a number of Obama environmental records. What do you believe about the science of climate change? And what will you do in the next four years to confront it?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I want crystal-clean water and air. I want beautiful, clean air. We have now the lowest carbon. If you look at our numbers right now, we are doing phenomenally. But I haven’t destroyed our businesses. Our businesses aren’t put out of commission. If you look at the Paris accord, it was a disaster from our standpoint. And people are actually very happy about what’s going on, because our businesses are doing well.
As far as the fires are concerned, you need forest management, in addition to everything else. The forest floors are loaded up with trees, dead trees, that are years old, and they’re like tinder, and leaves and everything else. You drop a cigarette in there, the whole forest burns down. You’ve got to have forest management.
CHRIS WALLACE: What do you believe —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You’ve got to have cuts.
CHRIS WALLACE: What do you believe about the science of climate change, sir?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I believe that we have to do everything we can to have immaculate air, immaculate water, and do whatever else we can that’s good. You know, we’re planting a billion trees, the billion tree project, and it’s very exciting for a lot of people.
CHRIS WALLACE: Do you believe that human pollution, gas, greenhouse gas emissions, contributes to the global warming of this planet?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I think a lot of things do, but I think, to an extent, yes.
JOE BIDEN: Look at how much we’re paying now to deal with the hurricanes, to deal with — by the way, he has an answer for hurricanes. He said maybe we should drop a nuclear weapon on them, and they may go away.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I never said that at all.
JOE BIDEN: That’s — yeah, you did say that.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You made it up.
JOE BIDEN: And here’s the deal.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You make up a lot of things.
JOE BIDEN: We are going to be in a position where we can create hard, hard, good jobs by making sure the environment is clean and we all are in better shape. We spend billions of dollars now, billions of dollars, on floods, hurricanes, rising seas. We’re in real trouble. Look what’s happened just in the Midwest with these storms that come through and wipe out entire sections and counties in Iowa. That didn’t happen before. They’re because of global warming. …
The Green New Deal will pay for itself as we move forward. We’re not going to build plants that in fact are great polluting plants. We’re going to build —
CHRIS WALLACE: So, do you support the Green New Deal?
JOE BIDEN: Pardon me?
CHRIS WALLACE: Do you support the —
JOE BIDEN: No, I don’t support the Green New Deal.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Oh, you don’t? Oh, well, that’s a big statement!
JOE BIDEN: Will you let — I support the Biden —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: That means you just lost the radical left!
JOE BIDEN: I support the Biden plan —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Oh, you don’t?
JOE BIDEN: — that I put forward.
CHRIS WALLACE: OK.
JOE BIDEN: The Biden plan, which is different than what he calls the radical Green New Deal.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s the first presidential debate last night.
For more, we’re joined by Kate Aronoff, staff writer at The New Republic. She is the co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal.
So, here’s Trump trying to talk about Biden as a socialist throughout the night, and then there is Biden saying that he does not support a Green New Deal, and Wallace pressing Trump on whether humans cause climate change and whether this is a crisis. Kate, your overall response?
KATE ARONOFF: Well, I was pleasantly surprised to even have climate change come up last night. It wasn’t supposed to. And I think it’s a credit to people who rightfully raised a stink about that.
And I also wasn’t surprised at all about what both candidates said, right? We’ve known for years that Donald Trump denies the science of climate change, that he thinks it’s a hoax, that he’s loyal to people in the fossil fuel industry, to executives in the fossil fuel industry in particular. And we’ve known that Joe Biden doesn’t support a Green New Deal. This isn’t new news.
I think that what’s also not surprising is that there’s a clear choice between these two candidates, right? We can’t have another Donald Trump administration and hope to tackle the climate crisis on the speed and scale that we need. And we know that Joe Biden is going to need to be pushed into tackling the climate crisis at the speed and the scale that we need.
So, I, you know, follow these issues. I didn’t learn a whole lot last night. I was glad it came up. But I think there’s a lot of work to do regardless of who’s elected in January, and I certainly hope that Joe Biden is elected in November.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Kate Aronoff, while I agree with you that it was great for Chris Wallace to raise climate change issues in the debate, one thing that did happen as a result of that, because he questioned Donald Trump four or five times straight at one point on the climate, is that it didn’t allow time for closing arguments by either candidate, this being perhaps maybe the biggest debate audience. Who knows? We haven’t seen the final results yet. But the chance that both candidates, Biden and Trump, lost to be able to make a closing argument, do you think that something was lost in that?
KATE ARONOFF: Well, judging by the other hour and a half of the debate, I am not sure we would have gotten too much of that — out of that, either way. I mean, it was a mess, I mean, to put it really charitably, what happened last night. And so, that would have been nice, but I also think it’s good to talk about the greatest existential threat humanity has ever faced, when you’re looking at two potential leaders in the free world.
AMY GOODMAN: Kate Aronoff, 20 seconds on Biden’s Green New Deal, or what he’s saying is his, the Biden deal?
KATE ARONOFF: Yeah, it’s the most progressive climate policy that a Democratic presidential candidate has ever run on, and it’s not nearly enough. Activists pushed this to be the best plan that we’ve seen from a Democratic nominee, and we know that, in January, when he is hopefully elected, that he’ll need to be pushed really aggressively in order to make any of that a reality. So, it’s a good starting place, and it’s just that.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we want to thank you for being on with us, Kate Aronoff, staff writer at The New Republic. This is supposedly the first of three presidential debates. Next week it’s vice-presidential debate. We end today’s show with Fox’s Chris Wallace questioning President Trump about his tax returns.
CHRIS WALLACE: Mr. President, as you well know, there’s a new report that in 2016, the year you were elected president, and 2017, your first year as president, that you paid $750 a year in federal income tax each of those years. I know that you pay a lot of other taxes, but I’m asking you the specific question: Is it true that you paid $750 in federal income taxes each of those two years?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I paid millions of dollars in taxes, millions of dollars of income tax. And let me just tell you, there was a story in one of the papers I paid —
JOE BIDEN: Show us your tax returns.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I paid $38 million one year. I paid $27 million one year.
JOE BIDEN: Show us your tax returns.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I went — you’ll see it as soon as it’s finished. You’ll see it.
CHRIS WALLACE: Vice President Biden, do you want to respond?
JOE BIDEN: Yeah, I do want to respond. Look, the tax code that made him — that put him in a position that he pays less tax than a schoolteacher makes — on the money a schoolteacher makes is because of him taking — he says he’s smart because he can take advantage of the tax code. And he does take advantage of the tax code. That’s why I’m going to eliminate the Trump tax cuts.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Good.
JOE BIDEN: And we’re going to — I’m going to eliminate those tax cuts —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: OK.
JOE BIDEN: — and make sure that we invest in the people who in fact need the help. People out there need help. Ask a —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But why didn’t you do anything over the last 25 years?
CHRIS WALLACE: No, no, no. Wait, no. Let — I want to —
JOE BIDEN: Because you weren’t president —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Why didn’t you do anything over the last 25 —
JOE BIDEN: Because you weren’t president screwing things up.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, no, no, no. You were a senator. And by the way, you were a vice —
JOE BIDEN: You’re the worst president America has ever had. Come on.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Hey, Joe, let me — let me just tell you, Joe, I’ve done more in — in 47 months, I’ve done more than you’ve done in 47 years.
AMY GOODMAN: We just have 20 seconds. Kate Aronoff, your final response?
KATE ARONOFF: Like most of the 1%, Donald Trump lives by a different set of rules. Most working people pay more taxes than Donald Trump has paid in the last 15 years. The Times reporting is very clear. And we need to get him out of office. That’s it. I mean, we need to — we need a much better tax code, and we need to tax the rich much more than they are now.
AMY GOODMAN: Kate Aronoff of The New Republic, thanks so much for being with us.
And if you’d like to see the whole debate, 90 minutes of the free-for-all, you can go to democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Special thanks to Julie Crosby. Stay safe. Wear a mask.


democracynow--2020-09-30--"Vigilantism at the Polls": Trump Attacks Election Integrity, Ballots & Backs Illegal Poll Watching

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to turn , though , to President Trump and Joe Biden also sparring over mail-in voting during last night ’ s debate .
And in terms of whether or not — when the votes are counted , and they ’ re all counted , that will be accepted .
If I win , that will be accepted .
If I lose , that will be accepted .
But by the way , if in fact he says he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to accept , well , let me tell you something : It doesn ’ t matter , because if we get the votes , it ’ s going to be all over .
He ’ s going to go .
He can ’ t stay in power .
It won ’ t happen .
It won ’ t happen .
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP : This is going to be a fraud like you ’ ve never seen .
The other thing , it ’ s nice , on November 3rd , you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won the election .
And I think we ’ re going to do well , because people are really happy with the job we ’ ve done .
But you know what ?
We won ’ t know — we might not know for months , because these ballots are going to be all over .
Take a look at what happened in Manhattan .
Take a look at what happened in New Jersey .
Take a look at what happened in Virginia and other places .
They ’ re not losing 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the way , is too much .
An election could be won or lost with that .
They ’ re losing 30 and 40 % .
It ’ s a fraud , and it ’ s a shame .
And can you imagine where they say , “ You have to have your ballot in by November 10th ” ?
November 10th , that means that ’ s seven days after the election — in theory , should have been announced .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Kristen Clarke , this whole issue of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s calling on his supporters to watch the polls , you tweeted , this was “ an attempt to promote intimidation and voter suppression and it is also UNLAWFUL.
” And you said , “ We will go to court to block any attempt to deny , discourage or deter people from freely casting their ballots.
” Talk about your sense of the president ’ s attempt to intimidate voters .
KRISTEN CLARKE : Well , this is an old and familiar tactic .
We saw the same thing from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ominously the night before the election that there will be people out watching and they ’ re ready to prosecute .
And , you know , they ’ re thinly veiled efforts to intimidate voters , and it ’ s all about intimidating Black and Brown voters in particular .
There ’ s no mistake as to why he referred to Philadelphia , in particular , last night .
And there are a few things .
One , these repeated claims that mail voting is fraudulent are baseless and unsubstantiated .
And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FBI director , who said there is no evidence of any vote-by-mail fraud scheme in our country .
Number two , we ’ ve got challenges with the U.S .
Postal Service , a new postmaster general installed on his watch that has worked tooth and nail to slow down mail delivery .
And we are in court battling Louis DeJoy right now to restore the status quo .
Number three , there is a raging pandemic .
There are some people who have no option .
They can not compromise their health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote in person this season , and so vote by mail is all that they can do .
And number four , vote by mail is not new .
There are five states , in bipartisan fashion , that have almost exclusively all vote-by-mail systems that have been in place for years .
There are over a dozen and a half states where more than 50 % of voters voted by mail in the last presidential election .
And there is support for vote by mail from both Republicans and Democrats .
My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Civil Rights Under Law , is working tooth and nail to make sure that every eligible American can exercise their voice in our democracy .
And we will not allow our efforts to be derailed by false claims of fraudulent voting or intimidation tactics that are aimed at the most vulnerable voters in our country — Black and Brown voters , people — JUAN GONZÁLEZ : But , Kristen — Kristen , I wanted to ask you , though — there is a danger , isn ’ t there , of — not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but in ballots being — a higher percentage of ballots cast being rejected because of technical issues in how the voter filled out the mail-in ballot ?
How are you going to deal with this situation , which really requires people to be — enough poll watchers , from both parties , to be at every place where ballots , mail-in ballots , are being counted after the election , doesn ’ t it ?
KRISTEN CLARKE : And there ’ s work happening before the election , as well .
Right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using signature-matching verification rules , for example , as a pretext to reject ballots cast by eligible voters .
We ’ re mobilizing an army of over 20,000 lawyers in anticipation of some of the fight that may lie on the other side of November 3rd .
And no doubt , there are well-funded groups that are all about suppressing the vote , that are bent on finding ways to disqualify mail-in ballots .
But we are working hard to empower voters , to make sure that they follow the steps necessary to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll do everything that we can to beat back those who want to disenfranchise and silence voters who literally have no option in the middle of a pandemic but to vote by mail this season .
AMY GOODMAN : We ’ re going to end with a clip from the debate , Joe Biden criticizing Trump for nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court at a time when early voting has already begun in the presidential election .
The moderator , Fox ’ Chris Wallace , asked Biden what action he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOODMAN : “ Shut up , man ” T-shirts are already being printed .
I want to thank Kristen Clarke , Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , and Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University , forthcoming book , We Still Here : Pandemic , Policing , Protest & Possibility .
Next up , we look at the climate .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn, though, to President Trump and Joe Biden also sparring over mail-in voting during last night’s debate.
JOE BIDEN: The fact is that there are going to be millions of people, because of COVID, that are going to be voting by mail-in ballots — like he does, by the way. He sits behind the Resolute Desk and sends his ballot to Florida, number one.
Number two, we’re going to make sure those people who want to vote in person are able to vote, because enough poll watchers are there to make sure they can socially distance, the polls are open on time, and the polls stay open until the votes are counted.
And this is all about trying to dissuade people from voting, because he’s trying to scare people into thinking that it’s not going to be legitimate.
Show up and vote. You will determine the outcome of this election. Vote, vote, vote. If you’re able to vote early in your state, vote early. If you’re able to vote in person, vote in person. Vote whatever way is the best way for you, because you will — he cannot stop you from being able to determine the outcome of this election.
And in terms of whether or not — when the votes are counted, and they’re all counted, that will be accepted. If I win, that will be accepted. If I lose, that will be accepted. But by the way, if in fact he says he’s not sure what he’s going to accept, well, let me tell you something: It doesn’t matter, because if we get the votes, it’s going to be all over. He’s going to go. He can’t stay in power. It won’t happen. It won’t happen.
So vote. Just make sure you understand you have it in your control to determine what this country is going to look like the next four years. Is it going to change, or are you going to get four more years of these lies?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen. The other thing, it’s nice, on November 3rd, you’re watching, and you see who won the election. And I think we’re going to do well, because people are really happy with the job we’ve done. But you know what? We won’t know — we might not know for months, because these ballots are going to be all over. Take a look at what happened in Manhattan. Take a look at what happened in New Jersey. Take a look at what happened in Virginia and other places. They’re not losing 2%, 1%, which, by the way, is too much. An election could be won or lost with that. They’re losing 30 and 40%. It’s a fraud, and it’s a shame. And can you imagine where they say, “You have to have your ballot in by November 10th”? November 10th, that means that’s seven days after the election — in theory, should have been announced.
CHRIS WALLACE: OK.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We have major states with that —
CHRIS WALLACE: In fact — no, time.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — all run by Democrats.
CHRIS WALLACE: Sir, two minutes is two minutes.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: All run by Democrats.
CHRIS WALLACE: You’re —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It’s a fraud.
CHRIS WALLACE: President Trump, I —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It’s a rigged election.
CHRIS WALLACE: You’re going to be able to continue. You have been charging for months that mail-in balloting is going to be a disaster. You say it’s rigged —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: That’s right.
CHRIS WALLACE: — that it’s going to lead to fraud. But in 2018, in the last midterm election, 31 million people voted mail-in voting. That was a quarter, more than a quarter, of all the voters that year, cast their ballots by mail. Now that millions of mail-in ballots have gone out, what are you going to do about it? And are you counting on the Supreme Court, including a Justice Barrett, to settle any dispute?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, I think I’m counting on them to look at the ballots, definitely. I don’t think we’ll — I hope we don’t need them, in terms of the election itself. But for the ballots, I think so.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Kristen Clarke, this whole issue of the mail-in ballots and also of the president’s calling on his supporters to watch the polls, you tweeted, this was “an attempt to promote intimidation and voter suppression and it is also UNLAWFUL.” And you said, “We will go to court to block any attempt to deny, discourage or deter people from freely casting their ballots.” Talk about your sense of the president’s attempt to intimidate voters.
KRISTEN CLARKE: Well, this is an old and familiar tactic. We saw the same thing from the president in 2018, when he tweeted ominously the night before the election that there will be people out watching and they’re ready to prosecute. And, you know, they’re thinly veiled efforts to intimidate voters, and it’s all about intimidating Black and Brown voters in particular. There’s no mistake as to why he referred to Philadelphia, in particular, last night.
And there are a few things. One, these repeated claims that mail voting is fraudulent are baseless and unsubstantiated. And that’s backed even by his own FBI director, who said there is no evidence of any vote-by-mail fraud scheme in our country.
Number two, we’ve got challenges with the U.S. Postal Service, a new postmaster general installed on his watch that has worked tooth and nail to slow down mail delivery. And we are in court battling Louis DeJoy right now to restore the status quo.
Number three, there is a raging pandemic. There are some people who have no option. They cannot compromise their health or their safety to go out and vote in person this season, and so vote by mail is all that they can do.
And number four, vote by mail is not new. There are five states, in bipartisan fashion, that have almost exclusively all vote-by-mail systems that have been in place for years. There are over a dozen and a half states where more than 50% of voters voted by mail in the last presidential election. And there is support for vote by mail from both Republicans and Democrats.
My organization, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, is working tooth and nail to make sure that every eligible American can exercise their voice in our democracy. And we will not allow our efforts to be derailed by false claims of fraudulent voting or intimidation tactics that are aimed at the most vulnerable voters in our country — Black and Brown voters, people —
AMY GOODMAN: Kristen Clarke, we wanted —
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: But, Kristen — Kristen, I wanted to ask you, though — there is a danger, isn’t there, of — not so much in terms of voter fraud, but in ballots being — a higher percentage of ballots cast being rejected because of technical issues in how the voter filled out the mail-in ballot? How are you going to deal with this situation, which really requires people to be — enough poll watchers, from both parties, to be at every place where ballots, mail-in ballots, are being counted after the election, doesn’t it?
KRISTEN CLARKE: And there’s work happening before the election, as well. Right now we are suing states that are using signature-matching verification rules, for example, as a pretext to reject ballots cast by eligible voters. We’re mobilizing an army of over 20,000 lawyers in anticipation of some of the fight that may lie on the other side of November 3rd. And no doubt, there are well-funded groups that are all about suppressing the vote, that are bent on finding ways to disqualify mail-in ballots. But we are working hard to empower voters, to make sure that they follow the steps necessary to cast a successful ballot. And we’ll do everything that we can to beat back those who want to disenfranchise and silence voters who literally have no option in the middle of a pandemic but to vote by mail this season.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to end with a clip from the debate, Joe Biden criticizing Trump for nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court at a time when early voting has already begun in the presidential election. The moderator, Fox’ Chris Wallace, asked Biden what action he would take, if elected.
CHRIS WALLACE: So, my question to you is — you have refused in the past to talk about it. Are you willing to tell the American people tonight whether or not you will support either ending the filibuster or packing the court —
JOE BIDEN: Whatever position I take on that, that will become the issue. The issue is, the American people should speak. You should go out and vote. You’re in voting now. Vote and let your senators know how strongly you feel.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Are you going to pack the court?
JOE BIDEN: Let — vote now.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Are you going to pack the court?
JOE BIDEN: Make sure you, in fact, let people know —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He doesn’t want to answer the question.
JOE BIDEN: — your senators. I’m not going to answer the question, because —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Why wouldn’t you answer that question?
JOE BIDEN: Because the question is —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You want to put a lot of —
JOE BIDEN: The question is —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — new Supreme Court justice —
JOE BIDEN: The question —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — radical left.
JOE BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Who is your — listen, who is on your list, Joe?
JOE BIDEN: This is so —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Who is on your list?
CHRIS WALLACE: All right.
JOE BIDEN: This is —
CHRIS WALLACE: Gentlemen, I think we’ve ended this —
JOE BIDEN: This is so unpresidential.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He’s going to pack the court.
CHRIS WALLACE: We have ended —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And he’s not going to give a list.
CHRIS WALLACE: No, no. We have ended this segment. We’re going to move on to the second segment.
JOE BIDEN: That was really a productive segment, wasn’t it? Keep yapping, man.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The people understand, Joe.
JOE BIDEN: They sure do.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Forty-seven years, you’ve done nothing. They understand.
CHRIS WALLACE: All right.
AMY GOODMAN: “Shut up, man” T-shirts are already being printed. I want to thank Kristen Clarke, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University, forthcoming book, We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest & Possibility.
Next up, we look at the climate. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-09-30--COVID U.S. Death Toll Tops 205,000 & 7M Infections as Trump Mocks Biden's Mask, Attacks the ACA

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : Marc Lamont Hill , you had COVID , and I want to turn to the issue of healthcare and the pandemic .
On Tuesday night , Joe Biden rejected accusations that he supported Medicare for All , and acknowledged many people would not even be covered under his plan to create a government-sponsored public option .
But as he tried to explain his plan , the debate descended into chaos .
AMY GOODMAN : During the debate , Joe Biden repeatedly criticized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 pandemic , that ’ s killed over 205,000 people in the United States — by far the highest death toll in the world .
Still with us , Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill , author of the forthcoming book We Still Here : Pandemic , Policing , Protest & Possibility .
Marc , you had COVID .
Respond to this discussion and what — well , we ’ ve seen President Trump ’ s record .
If you can talk about that and what Joe Biden is recommending ?
MARC LAMONT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fascinating thing to watch the president of the United States mocking someone for wearing a mask too much .
It was almost like a high school bully .
It was very bizarre .
The idea of publicly representing the importance of the masks , to me , is a good idea , even if one were to overuse it , if that ’ s even possible .
To me , I ’ d rather err on the side of caution than not .
But the idea of not erring on the side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration ’ s handling of the COVID-19 crisis .
Trump didn ’ t really defend himself against the fact that 200,000 people have died .
Instead , he simply argued that more would have died under Joe Biden .
He didn ’ t address the fact that this was entirely preventable .
He pats himself on the back for saying that he was able to stop people coming in from China , largely playing on xenophobia , but ignores the fact that he didn ’ t block any sort of travel from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a place like New York City , the bulk of the people who had COVID right here , where I am right now , the strains that they found were from Europe and other parts of North America .
So , again , he smuggles in his racism and his xenophobia into his handling of a public health crisis .
The issue around masks isn ’ t just about Trump ’ s wearing of the mask ; it ’ s about the level of direction that came out of the White House regarding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health crisis .
He lies on Fauci , essentially , by suggesting that Fauci was saying that we shouldn ’ t wear masks , when in fact Fauci was speaking to the scarcity of the masks .
But the scarcity of the masks emerges because Donald Trump didn ’ t follow the pandemic playbook that Obama left , which suggested that we need tens of millions of masks in — not in storage , but in reserve .
And yet Trump ignored that , along with every other dimension of this .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , again , once we found out that vulnerable people , economically vulnerable people , poor people and the elderly were the most vulnerable and the most — the largest demographic of people dying from COVID-19 , suddenly they were rendered disposable , and the Trump administration did very little .
And as far as the public health part — or , rather , the healthcare part of this , this is an interesting moment .
Trump decides — spends the entire debate painting Joe Biden , a neoliberal , as a radical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same debate where Biden is defending police and saying he doesn ’ t want to defund police and doesn ’ t support the Green New Deal and doesn ’ t support Medicare for All , he ’ s still being painted as a socialist .
Now , he ’ s a much better alternative to Trump , and I ’ m certainly going to vote for him for that reason , but it ’ s fascinating to watch Trump use this language .
The truth here is , is that Trump has not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practice that will allow more Americans to be covered , that will allow more Americans to be safe .
Yes , he signed an executive order to get us cheaper insulin , but that addresses 2 % of the population of people who need insulin .
So , no , it ’ s not coming into America like water .
His attempts to address preexisting conditions through an executive order do nothing to address what the ACA did .
He has essentially undermined any chance at universal healthcare , any chance at protecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most vulnerable .
Biden ’ s plan isn ’ t great .
It ’ s not perfect .
But it ’ s considerably better than Trump ’ s .
And that ’ s what we have to deal with right now at this moment , is the reality that Trump has consigned us to death if we continue to follow his plan .
AMY GOODMAN : And , of course , the ACA , the Affordable Care Act , goes before the Supreme Court on November 10th , remains to be seen whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amy Coney Barrett , who has criticized the Affordable Care Act .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Marc Lamont Hill, you had COVID, and I want to turn to the issue of healthcare and the pandemic. On Tuesday night, Joe Biden rejected accusations that he supported Medicare for All, and acknowledged many people would not even be covered under his plan to create a government-sponsored public option. But as he tried to explain his plan, the debate descended into chaos.
JOE BIDEN: The vast majority of the American people would still not be in that option, number one.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Joe, you agreed —
JOE BIDEN: Number two —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — with Bernie Sanders’s far left —
JOE BIDEN: Number — I —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — on the manifesto, we call it.
JOE BIDEN: We knew — manifesto —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And that gives you socialized medicine.
JOE BIDEN: Look, hey, I’m not going to listen to him.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Are you saying you didn’t agree?
JOE BIDEN: The fact of the matter is, I beat Bernie Sanders.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Not by much.
JOE BIDEN: I beat him a whole hell of a lot.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Not by much.
JOE BIDEN: I’m here standing, facing you, old buddy.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Pocahontas would have left two days early —
JOE BIDEN: Well, I tell you —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — you would have lost every primary.
JOE BIDEN: All he knows how to do is hurt people.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: On Super Tuesday, you got very lucky.
JOE BIDEN: Look, here’s the deal. I got very lucky. I’m going to get very lucky tonight, as well. And tonight I’m going to make sure —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: With what? With what?
JOE BIDEN: Because here’s the deal. Here’s the deal. The fact is that everything he’s saying so far is simply a lie. I’m not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he’s a liar.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But you agree —
JOE BIDEN: I just want to make sure —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Hey, Joe, you’re the liar.
JOE BIDEN: I want to make sure —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You graduated last in your class, not first in your class.
JOE BIDEN: I — God. I want to make sure —
CHRIS WALLACE: Mr. President, can you let him finish, sir?
JOE BIDEN: No, he doesn’t know how to do that. He has —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You’d be surprised.
JOE BIDEN: You know, you picked —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You’d be surprised. Go ahead, Joe. Go on. Go on, Joe. Go.
JOE BIDEN: — the wrong guy, the wrong night, at the wrong time.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Listen, you agreed with Bernie Sanders —
JOE BIDEN: Here’s the deal.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — for the manifesto.
JOE BIDEN: The whole idea —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Now you’re disavowing it.
CHRIS WALLACE: Let him speak.
JOE BIDEN: There is no manifesto, number one.
CHRIS WALLACE: Please let him speak, Mr. President.
JOE BIDEN: Number two —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He just lost the left.
JOE BIDEN: Number two.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You just lost the left! You agreed with Bernie Sanders on a plan —
JOE BIDEN: Folks —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — that’s absolutely agreed to.
JOE BIDEN: Folks, do you have any idea what this clown’s doing?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And under that plan, you have socialized — they call it Medicare for All.
CHRIS WALLACE: Mr. President.
JOE BIDEN: Do you have any — do —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Socialized medicine.
CHRIS WALLACE: Mr. President.
JOE BIDEN: Well, I’ll tell you what. He is not for any help for people needing healthcare, because his —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Who isn’t? Bernie?
JOE BIDEN: — because he, in fact, already has cost 10 million people their healthcare, that they had from their employers, because of his recession, number one.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
JOE BIDEN: Number two, there are 20 million people getting healthcare through Obamacare now that he wants to take it away. He won’t ever look you in the eye and say that’s what he wants to do.
AMY GOODMAN: During the debate, Joe Biden repeatedly criticized President Trump over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s killed over 205,000 people in the United States — by far the highest death toll in the world.
JOE BIDEN: Look, you folks at home, how many of you got up this morning and had an empty chair at the kitchen table because someone died of COVID? How many of you were in a situation where you lost your mom or dad and you couldn’t even speak to them, you had a nurse holding a phone up so you could in fact say goodbye?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You would have lost far more people.
JOE BIDEN: How many people? That is —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Far more people.
JOE BIDEN: And by the way, your own —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And you would have been months late.
JOE BIDEN: His own —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You were months behind me, Joe.
JOE BIDEN: His own CDC director says we could lose as many as another 200,000 people between now and the end of the year. And he held up — he said, “If we just wear a mask, we can save half those numbers. Just a mask.” …
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He wants to shut down the whole country.
CHRIS WALLACE: President Trump, you have begun to increasingly question the effectiveness of masks as a disease preventer. And in fact, recently you have cited the issue of waiters touching their masks and touching plates. Are you questioning —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, I think masks are OK.
CHRIS WALLACE: — the efficacy of masks?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You have to understand, if you look — I mean, I have a mask right here. I put a mask on, you know, when I think I need it. Tonight, as an example, everybody’s had a test, and you’ve had social distancing and all of the things that you have to. But I wear masks —
JOE BIDEN: Just like your rallies.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — when needed. When needed, I wear masks.
CHRIS WALLACE: OK. Let me ask —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t have — I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.
AMY GOODMAN: President Trump mocking Joe Biden for wearing a mask.
Still with us, Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill, author of the forthcoming book We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest & Possibility.
Marc, you had COVID. Respond to this discussion and what — well, we’ve seen President Trump’s record. If you can talk about that and what Joe Biden is recommending?
MARC LAMONT HILL: Yeah, it’s a fascinating thing to watch the president of the United States mocking someone for wearing a mask too much. It was almost like a high school bully. It was very bizarre. The idea of publicly representing the importance of the masks, to me, is a good idea, even if one were to overuse it, if that’s even possible. To me, I’d rather err on the side of caution than not. But the idea of not erring on the side of caution is representative of the entire Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Trump didn’t really defend himself against the fact that 200,000 people have died. Instead, he simply argued that more would have died under Joe Biden. He didn’t address the fact that this was entirely preventable. He pats himself on the back for saying that he was able to stop people coming in from China, largely playing on xenophobia, but ignores the fact that he didn’t block any sort of travel from Europe. And when we look at a place like New York City, the bulk of the people who had COVID right here, where I am right now, the strains that they found were from Europe and other parts of North America. So, again, he smuggles in his racism and his xenophobia into his handling of a public health crisis.
The issue around masks isn’t just about Trump’s wearing of the mask; it’s about the level of direction that came out of the White House regarding what we should do in a public health crisis. He lies on Fauci, essentially, by suggesting that Fauci was saying that we shouldn’t wear masks, when in fact Fauci was speaking to the scarcity of the masks. But the scarcity of the masks emerges because Donald Trump didn’t follow the pandemic playbook that Obama left, which suggested that we need tens of millions of masks in — not in storage, but in reserve. And yet Trump ignored that, along with every other dimension of this.
Trump could have aggressively stopped this, but, again, once we found out that vulnerable people, economically vulnerable people, poor people and the elderly were the most vulnerable and the most — the largest demographic of people dying from COVID-19, suddenly they were rendered disposable, and the Trump administration did very little.
And as far as the public health part — or, rather, the healthcare part of this, this is an interesting moment. Trump decides — spends the entire debate painting Joe Biden, a neoliberal, as a radical socialist. I mean, at the same debate where Biden is defending police and saying he doesn’t want to defund police and doesn’t support the Green New Deal and doesn’t support Medicare for All, he’s still being painted as a socialist. Now, he’s a much better alternative to Trump, and I’m certainly going to vote for him for that reason, but it’s fascinating to watch Trump use this language.
The truth here is, is that Trump has not engaged in any kind of plan or practice that will allow more Americans to be covered, that will allow more Americans to be safe. Yes, he signed an executive order to get us cheaper insulin, but that addresses 2% of the population of people who need insulin. So, no, it’s not coming into America like water. His attempts to address preexisting conditions through an executive order do nothing to address what the ACA did. He has essentially undermined any chance at universal healthcare, any chance at protecting the American public, but especially the most vulnerable. Biden’s plan isn’t great. It’s not perfect. But it’s considerably better than Trump’s. And that’s what we have to deal with right now at this moment, is the reality that Trump has consigned us to death if we continue to follow his plan.
AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, the ACA, the Affordable Care Act, goes before the Supreme Court on November 10th, remains to be seen whether there will be a ninth justice, Amy Coney Barrett, who has criticized the Affordable Care Act.


democracynow--2020-09-30--"He Wants Violence in the Streets": Trump's "White Supremacist Project" on Full Display at Debate

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
During last night ’ s first presidential debate , Fox moderator Chris Wallace asked both candidates why voters should trust them to deal with the race issues facing this country over the next four years .
This is what they answered .
JOE BIDEN : Second point I ’ d make to you is that when Floyd was killed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a peaceful protest in front of the White House .
What did he do ?
He came out of his bunker , had the military use tear gas on them , so he could walk across to a church and hold up a Bible .
And then what happened after that ?
The bishop of that very church said that it was a disgrace .
The general who was with him said all he ever wants to do is divide people , not unite people at all .
This is a president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whistle to try to generate racist hatred , racist division .
This is a man who , in fact — you talk about helping African Americans .
One in 1,000 African Americans has been killed because of the coronavirus .
And if he doesn ’ t do something quickly , by the end of the year , one in 500 will have been killed .
One in 500 African Americans .
This man ?
This man is a savior of African Americans ?
This man cares at all ?
This man ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact is that you have to look at what he talks about .
You have to look at what he did .
And what he did has been disastrous for the African American community .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s President Trump and Joe Biden sparring last night in Cleveland , perhaps the calmest moment of the evening , when President Trump wasn ’ t interrupting almost everything Joe Biden said .
Fact checkers have noted Trump lied when he accused Biden of calling Black Americans “ superpredators.
” It was actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that phrase in 1994 , not Joe Biden .
Still with us , Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill , and Kristen Clarke is now joining us .
She ’ s the president and executive director of the national Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law .
Kristen , let ’ s begin with you .
Start off with your reaction to what they said here .
We just were discussing President Trump refusing to condemn white supremacists , when pushed on it several times — and on what he is saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a deeply disturbing moment last night .
In many respects , you know , that question , “ Will you condemn white supremacy ?
” was a softball .
It would have been very easy for President Trump to disavow white supremacy in crystal-clear terms .
You think about the tragedies that the American nation has lived through in recent time — the murder of nine peaceful worshipers at the Baptist church in Charleston , South Carolina ; the murders of 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh ; the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paso , Texas ; the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville , Virginia .
These horrendous incidents , all fueled by white supremacist violence , are easy for any reasonable-minded American to condemn , much less the leader of our country .
And we know that the FBI director has identified white supremacy as one of the greatest threats that we face in our nation today .
So I ’ m deeply disturbed .
And , you know , I think about how history will reflect on this moment , and yesterday was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think about 1915 , when Woodrow Wilson screened Birth of a Nation inside the White House .
And over a century later , that is a moment that stands out for any ordinary American as a White House that embraced , unnecessarily , white supremacist rhetoric .
And essentially , that ’ s what we saw yesterday .
We know that the Proud Boys are rejoicing today .
We know that they have taken this moment to breathe life into their movement .
They are boasting about how last night has helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to recruit new members .
And so this is a moment that poses a real and grave threat to Black and Brown people in particular in our country who are often the victims of racial violence .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Kristen Clarke , this repeated emphasis of the president throughout the debate last night , and obviously in statements previously , about the dangers of the left and antifa , and he kept referring to Portland , at one point claiming , completely erroneously — a complete lie — that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsed him .
But then , Mike Reese , who is the sheriff of the county in which Portland is , immediately tweeted out , “ I have never supported Donald Trump and never will.
” And yet he brazenly claims that he had the support of the sheriff of Portland .
This total distance from the facts , that often happens with the president and yet goes almost unchallenged , I ’ m wondering your sense of some of those claims that he ’ s made .
KRISTEN CLARKE : Well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ misstatements , the lies .
The Americans deserve truth .
But I do want to talk a little bit about the situation that ’ s happening on the ground in many cities across our country as communities continue to engage in protests and demonstrations against racial violence , against white supremacy , against police violence .
And these are issues that we didn ’ t hear President Trump speak to last night , speak to a solution or a cure for issues that are really tearing apart the fabric of our nation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Black Lives Matter movement and for many people , multiracial and multigenerational , who are calling for healing in our country right now .
You know , something else that this president has done has — he ’ s promoted militarization of the police and really emboldened federal law enforcement to be used as a weapon against peaceful demonstrators .
And it ’ s created this toxic situation that we ’ re seeing in many cities across the country right now .
I think about Lafayette Square , just outside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump , alongside Attorney General Barr and other federal officials , ordered federal law enforcement to use violence at the hands of peaceful demonstrators who were assembled to make a statement about racial and police violence in our country .
The ensuing chaos and brutal attack that was perpetrated resulted in harm to many people , who we have brought a lawsuit on behalf of .
That case , Black Lives Matter D.C. v. Trump , is now pending in federal court .
But I fear that unless we see change or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downward into a sea of further racialized violence in our country .
And for my organization , the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , we work closely with the victims of racial hate crimes .
We work closely with the families of Emmett Till .
We work closely with the families of James Byrd and the mother of Heather Heyer .
They are reminders to us every day about the clear and present danger presented by ongoing white supremacy in our country right now .
And all that President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hatred , in ways that really present a risk to our lives .
AMY GOODMAN : There is so much to talk about in last night ’ s debate .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
During last night’s first presidential debate, Fox moderator Chris Wallace asked both candidates why voters should trust them to deal with the race issues facing this country over the next four years. This is what they answered.
JOE BIDEN: It is true, the reason I got in the race is when those people — close your eyes. Remember what those people looked like coming out of the fields carrying torches, their veins bulging, spouting and just spewing anti-Semitic bile, and accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan. A young woman got killed. And they asked the president what he thought. He said, “There were very fine people on both sides.” No president has ever said anything like that.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Finish the statement. Finish the statement.
JOE BIDEN: Now, second —
CHRIS WALLACE: It is his two minutes, sir.
JOE BIDEN: Second point I’d make to you is that when Floyd was killed, when Mr. Floyd was killed, there was a peaceful protest in front of the White House. What did he do? He came out of his bunker, had the military use tear gas on them, so he could walk across to a church and hold up a Bible. And then what happened after that? The bishop of that very church said that it was a disgrace. The general who was with him said all he ever wants to do is divide people, not unite people at all.
This is a president who has used everything as a dog whistle to try to generate racist hatred, racist division. This is a man who, in fact — you talk about helping African Americans. One in 1,000 African Americans has been killed because of the coronavirus. And if he doesn’t do something quickly, by the end of the year, one in 500 will have been killed. One in 500 African Americans. This man? This man is a savior of African Americans? This man cares at all? This man’s done virtually nothing. Look, the fact is that you have to look at what he talks about. You have to look at what he did. And what he did has been disastrous for the African American community.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So —
CHRIS WALLACE: President Trump, you have two minutes. Why should Americans trust you over your opponent to deal with race issues?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You did a crime bill, 1994, where you called them “superpredators.” “African Americans are superpredators.”
JOE BIDEN: Never said it.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And they’ve never forgotten it. They’ve never forgotten it, Joe.
JOE BIDEN: I never said it.
CHRIS WALLACE: No, no, sir. It’s his two minutes.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So you did that, and they call you “superpredator.” And I’m letting people out of jail now that — you have treated the African American population community — you have treated the Black community about as bad as anybody in this country.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s President Trump and Joe Biden sparring last night in Cleveland, perhaps the calmest moment of the evening, when President Trump wasn’t interrupting almost everything Joe Biden said. Fact checkers have noted Trump lied when he accused Biden of calling Black Americans “superpredators.” It was actually former first lady Hillary Clinton who used that phrase in 1994, not Joe Biden.
Still with us, Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill, and Kristen Clarke is now joining us. She’s the president and executive director of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Kristen, let’s begin with you. Start off with your reaction to what they said here. We just were discussing President Trump refusing to condemn white supremacists, when pushed on it several times — and on what he is saying here.
KRISTEN CLARKE: It was a deeply disturbing moment last night. In many respects, you know, that question, “Will you condemn white supremacy?” was a softball. It would have been very easy for President Trump to disavow white supremacy in crystal-clear terms. You think about the tragedies that the American nation has lived through in recent time — the murder of nine peaceful worshipers at the Baptist church in Charleston, South Carolina; the murders of 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; the murders of over 20 people in El Paso, Texas; the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia. These horrendous incidents, all fueled by white supremacist violence, are easy for any reasonable-minded American to condemn, much less the leader of our country. And we know that the FBI director has identified white supremacy as one of the greatest threats that we face in our nation today. So I’m deeply disturbed.
And, you know, I think about how history will reflect on this moment, and yesterday was a dark day for our country. I think about 1915, when Woodrow Wilson screened Birth of a Nation inside the White House. And over a century later, that is a moment that stands out for any ordinary American as a White House that embraced, unnecessarily, white supremacist rhetoric. And essentially, that’s what we saw yesterday.
We know that the Proud Boys are rejoicing today. We know that they have taken this moment to breathe life into their movement. They are boasting about how last night has helped to energize their base and helped them to recruit new members. And so this is a moment that poses a real and grave threat to Black and Brown people in particular in our country who are often the victims of racial violence.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Kristen Clarke, this repeated emphasis of the president throughout the debate last night, and obviously in statements previously, about the dangers of the left and antifa, and he kept referring to Portland, at one point claiming, completely erroneously — a complete lie — that the sheriff of Portland had just that day endorsed him. But then, Mike Reese, who is the sheriff of the county in which Portland is, immediately tweeted out, “I have never supported Donald Trump and never will.” And yet he brazenly claims that he had the support of the sheriff of Portland. This total distance from the facts, that often happens with the president and yet goes almost unchallenged, I’m wondering your sense of some of those claims that he’s made.
KRISTEN CLARKE: Well, it’s incredibly problematic, the misstatements, the lies. The Americans deserve truth.
But I do want to talk a little bit about the situation that’s happening on the ground in many cities across our country as communities continue to engage in protests and demonstrations against racial violence, against white supremacy, against police violence. And these are issues that we didn’t hear President Trump speak to last night, speak to a solution or a cure for issues that are really tearing apart the fabric of our nation, and issues that are front and center for the Black Lives Matter movement and for many people, multiracial and multigenerational, who are calling for healing in our country right now.
You know, something else that this president has done has — he’s promoted militarization of the police and really emboldened federal law enforcement to be used as a weapon against peaceful demonstrators. And it’s created this toxic situation that we’re seeing in many cities across the country right now. I think about Lafayette Square, just outside the shadow of the White House, where President Trump, alongside Attorney General Barr and other federal officials, ordered federal law enforcement to use violence at the hands of peaceful demonstrators who were assembled to make a statement about racial and police violence in our country. The ensuing chaos and brutal attack that was perpetrated resulted in harm to many people, who we have brought a lawsuit on behalf of. That case, Black Lives Matter D.C. v. Trump, is now pending in federal court.
But I fear that unless we see change or intervention soon, that we are spiraling downward into a sea of further racialized violence in our country. And for my organization, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, we work closely with the victims of racial hate crimes. We work closely with the families of Emmett Till. We work closely with the families of James Byrd and the mother of Heather Heyer. They are reminders to us every day about the clear and present danger presented by ongoing white supremacy in our country right now. And all that President Trump did yesterday was fanned the flames of hatred, in ways that really present a risk to our lives.
AMY GOODMAN: There is so much to talk about in last night’s debate.


democracynow--2020-09-30--Former Neo-Nazi Says Trump's Call for Proud Boys to "Stand By" Will Encourage More Violence

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met in Cleveland Tuesday for the first of three scheduled presidential debates .
It was a night filled with chaos and insults as Trump repeatedly mocked and interrupted Biden , who responded by calling Trump a “ clown ” and “ the worst president the nation has ever had.
” Trump refused to condemn white supremacists after being questioned by debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News .
AMY GOODMAN : Soon after President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boys posted a new version of their logo including Trump ’ s quote , “ Stand back and stand by.
” The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Proud Boys as a hate group whose leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists .
After the debate , Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs wrote , quote , “ President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA…well sir !
we ’ re ready !
!
” he said .
One recent study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 329 people in the United States in the past 25 years .
We begin today ’ s show with two guests : Christian Picciolini , a former neo-Nazi who leads the Free Radicals Project , a global extremism prevention and disengagement network , his most recent book , Breaking Hate : Confronting the New Culture of Extremism ; we ’ re also joined by Marc Lamont Hill , professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University .
We ’ re going to start with Christian Picciolini .
“ Stand back and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump ’ s message to the Proud Boys and what exactly it means , you as a former white supremacist skinhead ?
CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI : Well , Amy , it ’ s very crystal clear to me what President Trump was calling for last night , and it ’ s , I think , crystal clear to the Proud Boys what he was asking for .
And that was for continued pressure , continued violence against what he is calling the threat of the left .
And in reality , there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if we look historically , you know , just over the last 25 years , and the number that you ’ ve quoted , far-right extremists — everything from neo-Nazis to white supremacists to white nationalists — are responsible for nearly 100 % of the violence , 100 % of the death and 100 % of the fear and rhetoric and propaganda that is inducing this type of violence .
So , he was completely wrong .
But it was a clear-cut call to a violent white supremacist group that they must stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boy , which essentially is version 2.0 of a neo-Nazi skinhead , I would see that as a call to arms , specifically against anti-fascist groups and protesters like antifa and Black Lives Matter .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Marc Lamont Hill , I ’ m wondering your reaction to the president ’ s comments , especially in the light of the almost — not only chaotic , but a preview of what kind of authoritarianism there will be in future debates , in political debates between candidates , that the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the progressive movement in America is underestimating how quickly we are careening toward fascism and authoritarianism in this country ?
MARC LAMONT HILL : Well , after the last three years , three-and-a-half years , we shouldn ’ t be underestimating it .
The evidence is there , whether it ’ s public policy , whether it ’ s the president ’ s statements , whether it ’ s his commitment to making these “ both sides ” arguments when it comes to white supremacy , when it comes to the debates .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 24 hours , has framed this debate as both sides were uncivil , both sides were disrespectful , when in fact it ’ s one side doing this type of — this violence and the other side sort of responding to it however they do .
And so , when it comes to the president ’ s refusal to denounce white supremacy , we should not be surprised .
There have been other white supremacist presidents who have attempted to cloak — and politicians , more broadly , who have attempted to cloak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alley-oop .
He had the opportunity to say , “ I denounce white supremacy , ” and then continued to do the white supremacist project that he ’ s been doing .
But instead , he wouldn ’ t do it .
When he says , “ Proud Boys , stand back and stand by , ” these were prepared remarks .
This wasn ’ t Trump on the cuff .
This is was actually one of the things that he was prepared to say .
He went into the debate understanding that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of wink does an extraordinary amount of political work for his base .
Trump is not trying to widen his base .
He ’ s trying to create the chaos that you just mentioned .
He wants chaos in the streets , he wants violence in the streets , he wants chaos at the polls , because he wants Americans to feel a sense of unsafety .
It ’ s its own kind of diplomatic terrorism .
AMY GOODMAN : Christian Picciolini , what should we understand about the white supremacist movement ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ last night .
It wasn ’ t so much Joe Biden .
It was Chris Wallace of Fox News who said , “ Will you condemn white supremacists ?
” President Trump refused .
What does this mean ?
And what does it mean to you , too , as a former white supremacist skinhead ?
What this means , not only the Proud Boys and who they are , but to the white supremacist movement in this country ?
CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI : You know , having been somebody who was there many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re taking this , they ’ re seeing this as a vote of confidence .
They ’ re seeing it as a call of action , very clear-cut call to action .
You know , they ’ re feeling as though their guy is in the White House and that they can ’ t do any wrong , that they ’ ve become emboldened and empowered to take to the streets , to carry weapons , to intimidate people , to really ramp up their rhetoric and their violence .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nod ; it was a clear bullhorn , a very clear bullhorn , to white supremacists that they have space to act .
And , you know , I think what was even more disturbing , or equally disturbing , was the fact that he called for vigilantism at the polls , that he asked for poll watchers to keep an eye on people who were voting .
And that , to me , again , was also a call for white supremacist and militia members and “ boogaloo ” boys and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supremacist umbrella to really start to act out what they ’ ve been talking about and to be violent against the left and to intimidate them to not show up and vote , which is exactly what we need to do , is we need to show up and vote , unless this is the kind of America and this is the kind of president you want .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Well , Christian , you mentioned the issue of calling people to be , in essence , vigilantes at the polls .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1993 in a mayoral election in New York City , when Rudy Giuliani was attempting to unseat David Dinkins , who was then the first African American mayor in the city , and there were literally hundreds of off-duty police officers and off-duty correction officers who Giuliani mobilized to go into the Black and Latino neighborhoods of New York to intimidate the voters .
And I remember , the night of the election , asking the campaign manager of David Dinkins , Bill Lynch — I said , “ Bill , why aren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re getting all these reports.
” And it was a very close election , but Lynch and the Democratic machinery at that time basically accepted the result , even though they knew that there was massive intimidation occurring .
I ’ m wondering , do you — as we move closer to the election , I see this potential being , in essence , publicly encouraged by the president to have this on a nationwide scale .
CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI : Yeah , absolutely .
I mean , that ’ s exactly what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I would urge people not to be intimidated by that , to vote , to vote by mail , to vote early if they can , because we don ’ t know what type of trouble we ’ re going to be seeing on Election Day .
But despite that , we still need to vote , unless this is the kind of America we want to live in for the next four years and potentially see our democracy completely destroyed .
So , again , we can ’ t be intimidated .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , American — this is not part of our American DNA , is to be intimidated by terrorists , to be intimidated by white supremacists .
We are progressive .
We move past this .
And in order to do that , we have to come together , and we can ’ t be intimidated by these people .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , Christian Picciolini , we want to thank you for being with us , of the Free Radicals Project .
I should just add this , this news : Fred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a British brand — that it will stop selling one of its iconic polo shirts , the black-and-yellow polo shirt , to Canada and North America , after it was adopted as the unofficial uniform of Proud Boys .
Christian Picciolini , thanks for being with us .
And , Marc Lamont Hill , we ’ d like to ask you to stay with us , of Temple University , as we continue to talk about issues of race , the climate crisis and voting .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ 70s feminist anthem by Helen Reddy , who died Tuesday at the age of 78 .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met in Cleveland Tuesday for the first of three scheduled presidential debates. It was a night filled with chaos and insults as Trump repeatedly mocked and interrupted Biden, who responded by calling Trump a “clown” and “the worst president the nation has ever had.” Trump refused to condemn white supremacists after being questioned by debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News.
CHRIS WALLACE: Are you willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
CHRIS WALLACE: — and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities, as we saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Sure, I’m willing to do that.
CHRIS WALLACE: Are you prepared to specifically —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But —
JOE BIDEN: Well, do it.
CHRIS WALLACE: Well, go ahead, sir.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I would say — I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing.
CHRIS WALLACE: So, what are you — what are you —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If you look —
CHRIS WALLACE: What are you saying —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace.
CHRIS WALLACE: Well, then do it, sir.
JOE BIDEN: Say it. Do it. Say it.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Do you want to call them — what do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name.
CHRIS WALLACE: White supremacists and right-wing —
JOE BIDEN: White supremacists.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Go ahead. Who would you like me to condemn?
JOE BIDEN: Proud Boys.
CHRIS WALLACE: White supremacists and right-wing militia.
JOE BIDEN: The Proud Boys.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem.
JOE BIDEN: His own —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is a left-wing —
JOE BIDEN: His own FBI director said the threat comes from white supremacists.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is a left-wing problem.
CHRIS WALLACE: Go ahead. Go ahead, sir.
JOE BIDEN: Antifa is an idea, not an organization
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.
JOE BIDEN: Not militia.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Oh, really?
JOE BIDEN: That’s what his FBI —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: OK.
JOE BIDEN: — his FBI director said.
CHRIS WALLACE: Gentlemen, I’m going to —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, then, you know what? He’s wrong.
CHRIS WALLACE: No, no. We’re done.
AMY GOODMAN: Soon after President Trump said these words, the Proud Boys posted a new version of their logo including Trump’s quote, “Stand back and stand by.” The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Proud Boys as a hate group whose leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. After the debate, Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs wrote, quote, “President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA…well sir! we’re ready!!” he said. One recent study from July found right-wing extremists have killed 329 people in the United States in the past 25 years.
We begin today’s show with two guests: Christian Picciolini, a former neo-Nazi who leads the Free Radicals Project, a global extremism prevention and disengagement network, his most recent book, Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism; we’re also joined by Marc Lamont Hill, professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University.
We’re going to start with Christian Picciolini. “Stand back and stand by.” Can you talk about President Trump’s message to the Proud Boys and what exactly it means, you as a former white supremacist skinhead?
CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI: Well, Amy, it’s very crystal clear to me what President Trump was calling for last night, and it’s, I think, crystal clear to the Proud Boys what he was asking for. And that was for continued pressure, continued violence against what he is calling the threat of the left.
And in reality, there is no threat from the left, because if we look historically, you know, just over the last 25 years, and the number that you’ve quoted, far-right extremists — everything from neo-Nazis to white supremacists to white nationalists — are responsible for nearly 100% of the violence, 100% of the death and 100% of the fear and rhetoric and propaganda that is inducing this type of violence.
So, he was completely wrong. But it was a clear-cut call to a violent white supremacist group that they must stay vigilant. If I were a Proud Boy, which essentially is version 2.0 of a neo-Nazi skinhead, I would see that as a call to arms, specifically against anti-fascist groups and protesters like antifa and Black Lives Matter.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Marc Lamont Hill, I’m wondering your reaction to the president’s comments, especially in the light of the almost — not only chaotic, but a preview of what kind of authoritarianism there will be in future debates, in political debates between candidates, that the president set here. Do you think that the progressive movement in America is underestimating how quickly we are careening toward fascism and authoritarianism in this country?
MARC LAMONT HILL: Well, after the last three years, three-and-a-half years, we shouldn’t be underestimating it. The evidence is there, whether it’s public policy, whether it’s the president’s statements, whether it’s his commitment to making these “both sides” arguments when it comes to white supremacy, when it comes to the debates. Even corporate media, in the last 24 hours, has framed this debate as both sides were uncivil, both sides were disrespectful, when in fact it’s one side doing this type of — this violence and the other side sort of responding to it however they do.
And so, when it comes to the president’s refusal to denounce white supremacy, we should not be surprised. There have been other white supremacist presidents who have attempted to cloak — and politicians, more broadly, who have attempted to cloak their white supremacy. Trump had an alley-oop. He had the opportunity to say, “I denounce white supremacy,” and then continued to do the white supremacist project that he’s been doing. But instead, he wouldn’t do it.
When he says, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” these were prepared remarks. This wasn’t Trump on the cuff. This is was actually one of the things that he was prepared to say. He went into the debate understanding that that kind of rhetoric and that kind of wink does an extraordinary amount of political work for his base. Trump is not trying to widen his base. He’s trying to create the chaos that you just mentioned. He wants chaos in the streets, he wants violence in the streets, he wants chaos at the polls, because he wants Americans to feel a sense of unsafety. It’s its own kind of diplomatic terrorism.
AMY GOODMAN: Christian Picciolini, what should we understand about the white supremacist movement? We can’t underestimate what happened last night. It wasn’t so much Joe Biden. It was Chris Wallace of Fox News who said, “Will you condemn white supremacists?” President Trump refused. What does this mean? And what does it mean to you, too, as a former white supremacist skinhead? What this means, not only the Proud Boys and who they are, but to the white supremacist movement in this country?
CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI: You know, having been somebody who was there many, many years ago and knows how they’re taking this, they’re seeing this as a vote of confidence. They’re seeing it as a call of action, very clear-cut call to action. You know, they’re feeling as though their guy is in the White House and that they can’t do any wrong, that they’ve become emboldened and empowered to take to the streets, to carry weapons, to intimidate people, to really ramp up their rhetoric and their violence. And last night was not a wink and a nod; it was a clear bullhorn, a very clear bullhorn, to white supremacists that they have space to act.
And, you know, I think what was even more disturbing, or equally disturbing, was the fact that he called for vigilantism at the polls, that he asked for poll watchers to keep an eye on people who were voting. And that, to me, again, was also a call for white supremacist and militia members and “boogaloo” boys and anybody else who falls under this white supremacist umbrella to really start to act out what they’ve been talking about and to be violent against the left and to intimidate them to not show up and vote, which is exactly what we need to do, is we need to show up and vote, unless this is the kind of America and this is the kind of president you want.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Christian, you mentioned the issue of calling people to be, in essence, vigilantes at the polls. I recall, clearly, back in 1993 in a mayoral election in New York City, when Rudy Giuliani was attempting to unseat David Dinkins, who was then the first African American mayor in the city, and there were literally hundreds of off-duty police officers and off-duty correction officers who Giuliani mobilized to go into the Black and Latino neighborhoods of New York to intimidate the voters. And I remember, the night of the election, asking the campaign manager of David Dinkins, Bill Lynch — I said, “Bill, why aren’t you protesting this? We’re getting all these reports.” And it was a very close election, but Lynch and the Democratic machinery at that time basically accepted the result, even though they knew that there was massive intimidation occurring. I’m wondering, do you — as we move closer to the election, I see this potential being, in essence, publicly encouraged by the president to have this on a nationwide scale.
CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s exactly what the president was calling for. And I would urge people not to be intimidated by that, to vote, to vote by mail, to vote early if they can, because we don’t know what type of trouble we’re going to be seeing on Election Day. But despite that, we still need to vote, unless this is the kind of America we want to live in for the next four years and potentially see our democracy completely destroyed. So, again, we can’t be intimidated. This is not what, you know, American — this is not part of our American DNA, is to be intimidated by terrorists, to be intimidated by white supremacists. We are progressive. We move past this. And in order to do that, we have to come together, and we can’t be intimidated by these people.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Christian Picciolini, we want to thank you for being with us, of the Free Radicals Project.
I should just add this, this news: Fred Perry has announced — it’s a British brand — that it will stop selling one of its iconic polo shirts, the black-and-yellow polo shirt, to Canada and North America, after it was adopted as the unofficial uniform of Proud Boys.
Christian Picciolini, thanks for being with us. And, Marc Lamont Hill, we’d like to ask you to stay with us, of Temple University, as we continue to talk about issues of race, the climate crisis and voting. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “I Am Woman,” the ’70s feminist anthem by Helen Reddy, who died Tuesday at the age of 78.


democracynow--2020-09-30--Headlines for September 30, 2020

Headlines for September 30, 2020

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met in Cleveland , Ohio , Tuesday for the first of three scheduled presidential debates .
It was a night filled with chaos and insults as Trump repeatedly mocked and interrupted Biden , who responded by calling Trump a clown and the worst president the nation has ever had .
During one exchange , Trump refused to condemn white supremacists after being questioned by debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News .
President Donald Trump : “ Proud Boys , stand back and stand by .
But I ’ ll tell you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what .
Somebody ’ s got to do something about antifa and the left , because this is not a right-wing problem.
” Soon after Trump said these words , the Proud Boys posted a new version of their logo with Trump ’ s quote : “ Stand back and stand by.
” The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Proud Boys as a hate group whose leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists .
During Tuesday ’ s debate , President Trump refused to tell his supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election .
Trump also made false or misleading statements about climate change , the coronavirus pandemic , cases of election fraud , prescription drug prices , manufacturing jobs , Trump ’ s political endorsements and more .
After headlines , we ’ ll air excerpts of the debate and get response from around the country .

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met in Cleveland, Ohio, Tuesday for the first of three scheduled presidential debates. It was a night filled with chaos and insults as Trump repeatedly mocked and interrupted Biden, who responded by calling Trump a clown and the worst president the nation has ever had. During one exchange, Trump refused to condemn white supremacists after being questioned by debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News.
President Donald Trump: “What do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name.”
Chris Wallace: “White supremacists and right-wing” —
Joe Biden: “White supremacists.”
President Donald Trump: “Go ahead. Who would you like me to condemn?”
Joe Biden: “Proud Boys.”
Chris Wallace: “White supremacists and right-wing militia.”
Joe Biden: “The Proud Boys.”
President Donald Trump: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem.”
Joe Biden: “His own” —
President Donald Trump: “This is a left-wing” —
Joe Biden: “His own FBI director said the threat comes from white supremacists.”
President Donald Trump: “This is a left-wing problem.”
Soon after Trump said these words, the Proud Boys posted a new version of their logo with Trump’s quote: “Stand back and stand by.” The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Proud Boys as a hate group whose leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists.
During Tuesday’s debate, President Trump refused to tell his supporters not to engage in violence after the election. Trump also made false or misleading statements about climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, cases of election fraud, prescription drug prices, manufacturing jobs, Trump’s political endorsements and more. After headlines, we’ll air excerpts of the debate and get response from around the country.