msnbc--2020-10-15--Donald Trump and Joe Biden town halls underscore America's parallel realities

In some other dimension , some other timeline , President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden square off against each other Thursday night in their second of three debates .
In this universe , the two presidential contenders will be addressing entirely different audiences from entirely different locations , confronting entirely different realities .
And yet , we probably would have ended up describing the debate that way anyways .
So did we really lose all that much from not having the candidates together in the same place ?
After the president tested positive for the coronavirus this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infectious wrench into the plans for the final sprint , the Commission on Presidential Debates opted to make Thursday night 's scheduled town hall-style debate a virtual one .
As we well know , Trump 's camp refused , leading to two days of the campaigns ' volleying statements at each other like a demented game of badminton , each accusing the other of dodging the event , before the commission finally threw up its hands and canceled the whole thing last Friday .
By that point , Team Biden had opted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night , hosted by ABC News .
On Wednesday , NBC News announced that Trump would be holding a town hall meeting on its network — at the exact same time as Biden 's .
( MSNBC.com , which will also carry the event , is part of NBC News Group . )
The network drew some heat for the choice , with critics questioning the decision to allow the president to counterprogram Biden 's event .
Controversy aside , thinking back on last month 's absolute train wreck of a first debate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we could have gained from a town hall featuring Trump and Biden together , either IRL or across a Zoom call .
The only benefit likely would have depended on the moderator 's ability to shut down Trump 's microphone .
On paper , the idea of having Trump and Biden address the same voter — and that person 's concerns — sounds like a useful way to compare and contrast the two men .
But so far , in practice , this has translated into less a debate and more an hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to drown one another out by falling back on their respective political résumés .
For Biden , that means trying to show empathy and connection while delivering as many canned policy sound bites as possible .
For Trump , that means opening his mouth and letting whatever combination of fearmongering and half-truths rattling around his head come tumbling out .
Even in a virtual setting , they might not be talking over each other , but they 'd definitely be talking past each other .
Does either candidate really need his opponent there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this onslaught of airtime from the candidates , here are some links to start your day with : • NBC News : In the third day of the Senate Judiciary Committee 's Supreme Court confirmation hearings , Amy Coney Barrett spent more time dodging potentially difficult topics than a Mario Kart player spends dodging shells .
• The Washington Post : New York University 's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute has pulled together what it says are the 10 best pieces of journalism this decade .
( Do n't see anything you wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's just an oversight . )
• NBC News : The mayor of Anchorage , Alaska , announced his resignation Tuesday , and the backstory is absolutely bonkers .
Just read the story ; it goes nowhere you would expect .
• The Daily Beast : The person who gave Hunter Biden 's alleged laptop to Rudy Giuliani talked to the Beast on Wednesday , and , well , he seems like the kind of person who would think Giuliani was a `` lifeboat '' in unsure waters .

In some other dimension, some other timeline, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden square off against each other Thursday night in their second of three debates. In this universe, the two presidential contenders will be addressing entirely different audiences from entirely different locations, confronting entirely different realities.
And yet, we probably would have ended up describing the debate that way anyways. So did we really lose all that much from not having the candidates together in the same place?
In this universe, the two presidential contenders will be addressing entirely different audiences from entirely different locations.
After the president tested positive for the coronavirus this month, throwing a giant and possibly infectious wrench into the plans for the final sprint, the Commission on Presidential Debates opted to make Thursday night's scheduled town hall-style debate a virtual one. As we well know, Trump's camp refused, leading to two days of the campaigns' volleying statements at each other like a demented game of badminton, each accusing the other of dodging the event, before the commission finally threw up its hands and canceled the whole thing last Friday.
By that point, Team Biden had opted to schedule a solo town hall for Thursday night, hosted by ABC News. On Wednesday, NBC News announced that Trump would be holding a town hall meeting on its network — at the exact same time as Biden's. (MSNBC.com, which will also carry the event, is part of NBC News Group.) The network drew some heat for the choice, with critics questioning the decision to allow the president to counterprogram Biden's event.
Controversy aside, thinking back on last month's absolute train wreck of a first debate, it's hard to see what we could have gained from a town hall featuring Trump and Biden together, either IRL or across a Zoom call. The only benefit likely would have depended on the moderator's ability to shut down Trump's microphone.
On paper, the idea of having Trump and Biden address the same voter — and that person's concerns — sounds like a useful way to compare and contrast the two men. But so far, in practice, this has translated into less a debate and more an hour and a half of both men trying to drown one another out by falling back on their respective political résumés.
For Biden, that means trying to show empathy and connection while delivering as many canned policy sound bites as possible. For Trump, that means opening his mouth and letting whatever combination of fearmongering and half-truths rattling around his head come tumbling out. Even in a virtual setting, they might not be talking over each other, but they'd definitely be talking past each other.
Does either candidate really need his opponent there for that? As we prep for this onslaught of airtime from the candidates, here are some links to start your day with:


msnbc--2020-10-15--Covid-19's feminist nightmare: If you're not seeing it, you haven't been paying attention

Erin thought 2020 was going to be her year .
`` I was supposed to get my life back , '' she said .
`` I would be able to go back to work , dig out of debt and be a person again . ''
Instead , she 's supervising 14 Zoom calls a day between her two daughters , both in elementary school , as they oscillate between disengagement and meltdowns .
They 're barely treading water financially , but her husband 's job necessitates living in a Southern California city with a soaring cost of living .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ many ways , '' she said .
`` But it 's still impossible . ''
Erin 's far from alone .
Across the country , women are leaving the job force in record numbers : out of necessity , through the lack of funding for industries like child care , in which they are the majority of the workforce , or out of sheer desperation .
When asked to describe her family situation , Erin first responded with : `` Pretty traditional , '' adding , `` More traditional than planned . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ has two children .
Because of struggles with infertility , multiple miscarriages and precarious pregnancies , she was unable to work for several years .
When her first daughter was born , she had multiple medical issues and required extensive care , so Erin continued to stay home .
When her daughter went to elementary school — at a specialized school for kids like her — the cost was too much , even with financial aid , for Erin and her husband to afford child care for their younger daughter .
So she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ husband makes more money , '' Erin said , `` so I 've always been the default caregiver . ''
Rae has run an online sewing pattern business since 2010 from her home in Michigan .
Her husband has a data management business that , pre-Covid-19 , brought in solid although sometimes sporadic income , and Rae 's work added financial stability for their family of five even when her husband took a pay cut this year .
But then the pandemic sent her kids ( ages 13 , 11 and 6 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came home , she has struggled to find child care providers that feel safe or are taking Covid-19 precautions seriously .
It 's no longer an option for her husband to pull part-time hours .
So Rae 's trying to wedge emailing and projects into the small crevices of her day , averaging less than five hours of work a week .
`` I feel unmoored and unhappy , '' she told me .
`` I ca n't work , which normally fulfills me , and I feel like I 'm missing out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help connect people and help them feel grounded right now — let alone feel connected and grounded myself . ''
Every day , she said , is a roller coaster — but also somehow the same .
The thing that has changed ?
The amount of sheer rage that 's building up inside her .
`` I am so angry I could scream , '' she said .
`` Most of the time I just want to cry .
I desperately want to return to work .
But when ?
Right now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end in sight . ''
At this point , we 're just beginning to understand the extent of Covid-19 's feminist nightmare — and just how regressive this pandemic will prove for women in general and Black women and other women of color in particular .
You might be living a story similar to Erin 's or Rae 's .
Or you might have heard stories similar to theirs .
If you have n't , you have n't been paying attention : They 're everywhere , and there 's likely to be more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months into the pandemic , the uneven contours of Covid-19 's societal wreckage are becoming clear .
Entrenched forms of systemic racism in the U.S. have meant that Black , Latino and Indigenous communities have been disproportionately affected , both physically and economically , by the virus .
And unlike during past recessions , women are shouldering the economic burden more than men : Over September , about 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce — compared to 216,000 men .
But even among women , the recession is uneven : According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is 12 percent for Black women , 10.5 percent for Latino women and 7.3 percent for white women .
Some of those women lost their jobs .
Others had to make a choice : quit or watch their already tenuously balanced family lives unravel altogether .
( It 's no coincidence , of course , that September was the first month many children were back in school . )
Millions of families are facing these sorts of dilemmas all over the world : how to balance safety , finances , schooling and elder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more difficult if you throw even one complicating variable into the mix , whether it 's a family member who 's at high risk , a parent who 's an essential worker , a special needs child or someone you love who is dying from Covid-19 or is dealing with its long-term side effects .
This already unmanageable scenario is made even more challenging as day care centers and preschools are closing or shifting to older age groups .
The women who run and work in these centers have lost their jobs — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become incredibly difficult to find .
If one family was dealing with this , that 's a problem .
Millions of American families dealing with it ?
That 's a massive societal problem .
And contrary to the long-standing American belief that all problems can be fixed by individuals and `` the markets , '' this pandemic has shown just how bankrupt that belief has become .
Massive societal problems are solved through governmental response , response that , at least hypothetically , is accessible to all those who need it , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealth or even to the children photogenic or remarkable enough to spark viral GoFundMe campaigns .
But we do n't have a coherent or sustained government response .
Instead , we have a bungled business assistance program , an impossible-to-navigate unemployment system and a whole lot of companies that think making a few announcements about increased flexibility will solve the problem .
Which means that the larger problem of domestic management falls , as it so often has fallen in heterosexual partnerships , to the woman .
Before the pandemic , women in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cents for every dollar men made .
Even with the wage gap decreasing , it 's still a significant gap — and when a household is faced with needing a full-time caregiver , it 's the person who makes less ( usually the woman ) who quits her job .
In Covid-19 times , it makes twisted sense : She was probably doing most of the home-school supervision anyway , even if her husband thought otherwise .
She likely also carried the majority of the `` mental load '' — that is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be completed for the family to function .
In most of these cases , a woman is n't actually quitting work .
She 's just quitting the one of her jobs for which she was paid .
Many women I spoke with about quitting or cutting hours were furious about what it suggested to their children about whose work was valued and whose was not and who were worried about how they 'd make ends meet financially .
But they were also relieved to be stepping back from a life-juggling ordeal that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For many , doing one job as a caretaker — even if they found that job boring or tedious — was a respite after years of having struggled to balance a family 's schedule and needs with the demands of a job .
That does n't mean that Covid-19 has shown that more women should quit the workforce .
It means that , at least in the United States , our society — from our school schedule to our meager social safety net — is still set up for two-parent homes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or works very little .
Parents were n't exhausted because they were both working .
Parents ( and moms in particular ) were exhausted because they were battling that system .
Now , depending on resources and ever-dwindling supplies of stamina , women are finally giving up on a game that was always stacked against them .
Still , even if both parents agree to give up work , it 's the mom who 's almost always actually dropping out .
And if we do n't change the system , it always will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to widen by 2 percentage points after the pandemic recession , and it will widen even further for women of color .
If the recovery from this recession is anything like the last , the jobs added back will have less security and fewer benefits , and they will overall be more precarious .
It will take years for the child care industry to recover , and it can take years for people who have dropped out of the workforce , either on their own terms or through layoffs , to regain their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have to start listening to these stories now .
We have to start making plans for how to address the vast , ever-widening imbalances left in their wake .
These are n't personal problems or failures .
They 're societal ones that demand a societal response — including from those who are n't parents — that attempts to address the way we devalue women 's work in and outside the home , the sustained labor imbalances in the heterosexual home , the way we support single parents and how race and location @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things .
This is n't a step back that can be easily regained .
There will be no V-shaped recovery from the `` first female recession . ''
It will leave scars and deeper inequities that will endure for decades .

Erin thought 2020 was going to be her year. "I was supposed to get my life back," she said. "I would be able to go back to work, dig out of debt and be a person again." Instead, she's supervising 14 Zoom calls a day between her two daughters, both in elementary school, as they oscillate between disengagement and meltdowns. They're barely treading water financially, but her husband's job necessitates living in a Southern California city with a soaring cost of living. "We are wildly lucky in so many ways," she said. "But it's still impossible."
Nearly eight months into the pandemic, the uneven contours of Covid-19's societal wreckage are becoming clear.
Erin's far from alone. Across the country, women are leaving the job force in record numbers: out of necessity, through the lack of funding for industries like child care, in which they are the majority of the workforce, or out of sheer desperation.
When asked to describe her family situation, Erin first responded with: "Pretty traditional," adding, "More traditional than planned." She's married to a man and has two children. Because of struggles with infertility, multiple miscarriages and precarious pregnancies, she was unable to work for several years. When her first daughter was born, she had multiple medical issues and required extensive care, so Erin continued to stay home. When her daughter went to elementary school — at a specialized school for kids like her — the cost was too much, even with financial aid, for Erin and her husband to afford child care for their younger daughter. So she continued to stay home. "My husband makes more money," Erin said, "so I've always been the default caregiver."
Rae has run an online sewing pattern business since 2010 from her home in Michigan. Her husband has a data management business that, pre-Covid-19, brought in solid although sometimes sporadic income, and Rae's work added financial stability for their family of five even when her husband took a pay cut this year. But then the pandemic sent her kids (ages 13, 11 and 6) home from school.
Since her kids came home, she has struggled to find child care providers that feel safe or are taking Covid-19 precautions seriously. It's no longer an option for her husband to pull part-time hours. So Rae's trying to wedge emailing and projects into the small crevices of her day, averaging less than five hours of work a week. "I feel unmoored and unhappy," she told me. "I can't work, which normally fulfills me, and I feel like I'm missing out on opportunities to use my sewing business to help connect people and help them feel grounded right now — let alone feel connected and grounded myself."
Every day, she said, is a roller coaster — but also somehow the same. The thing that has changed? The amount of sheer rage that's building up inside her. "I am so angry I could scream," she said. "Most of the time I just want to cry. I desperately want to return to work. But when? Right now, it feels like there is no end in sight."
At this point, we're just beginning to understand the extent of Covid-19's feminist nightmare — and just how regressive this pandemic will prove for women in general and Black women and other women of color in particular. You might be living a story similar to Erin's or Rae's. Or you might have heard stories similar to theirs. If you haven't, you haven't been paying attention: They're everywhere, and there's likely to be more of them every day.
Nearly eight months into the pandemic, the uneven contours of Covid-19's societal wreckage are becoming clear. Entrenched forms of systemic racism in the U.S. have meant that Black, Latino and Indigenous communities have been disproportionately affected, both physically and economically, by the virus. And unlike during past recessions, women are shouldering the economic burden more than men: Over September, about 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce — compared to 216,000 men. But even among women, the recession is uneven: According to September job figures, the unemployment rate is 12 percent for Black women, 10.5 percent for Latino women and 7.3 percent for white women.
If one family was dealing with this — that’s a problem. Millions of American families dealing with it? That’s a massive societal problem.
Some of those women lost their jobs. Others had to make a choice: quit or watch their already tenuously balanced family lives unravel altogether. (It's no coincidence, of course, that September was the first month many children were back in school.) Millions of families are facing these sorts of dilemmas all over the world: how to balance safety, finances, schooling and elder care — all of which is made more difficult if you throw even one complicating variable into the mix, whether it's a family member who's at high risk, a parent who's an essential worker, a special needs child or someone you love who is dying from Covid-19 or is dealing with its long-term side effects. This already unmanageable scenario is made even more challenging as day care centers and preschools are closing or shifting to older age groups. The women who run and work in these centers have lost their jobs — and safe, reliable child care has become incredibly difficult to find.
If one family was dealing with this, that's a problem. Millions of American families dealing with it? That's a massive societal problem. And contrary to the long-standing American belief that all problems can be fixed by individuals and "the markets," this pandemic has shown just how bankrupt that belief has become. Massive societal problems are solved through governmental response, response that, at least hypothetically, is accessible to all those who need it, not exclusively to those with connections or family wealth or even to the children photogenic or remarkable enough to spark viral GoFundMe campaigns.
But we don't have a coherent or sustained government response. Instead, we have a bungled business assistance program, an impossible-to-navigate unemployment system and a whole lot of companies that think making a few announcements about increased flexibility will solve the problem. Which means that the larger problem of domestic management falls, as it so often has fallen in heterosexual partnerships, to the woman.
Before the pandemic, women in the United States still made only 82.3 cents for every dollar men made. Even with the wage gap decreasing, it's still a significant gap — and when a household is faced with needing a full-time caregiver, it's the person who makes less (usually the woman) who quits her job. In Covid-19 times, it makes twisted sense: She was probably doing most of the home-school supervision anyway, even if her husband thought otherwise. She likely also carried the majority of the "mental load" — that is, the never-ending list of tasks that need to be completed for the family to function. In most of these cases, a woman isn't actually quitting work. She's just quitting the one of her jobs for which she was paid.
Many women I spoke with about quitting or cutting hours were furious about what it suggested to their children about whose work was valued and whose was not and who were worried about how they'd make ends meet financially. But they were also relieved to be stepping back from a life-juggling ordeal that, pre-Covid-19, had been deeply exhausting. For many, doing one job as a caretaker — even if they found that job boring or tedious — was a respite after years of having struggled to balance a family's schedule and needs with the demands of a job.
That doesn't mean that Covid-19 has shown that more women should quit the workforce. It means that, at least in the United States, our society — from our school schedule to our meager social safety net — is still set up for two-parent homes in which one parent either doesn't work or works very little. Parents weren't exhausted because they were both working. Parents (and moms in particular) were exhausted because they were battling that system. Now, depending on resources and ever-dwindling supplies of stamina, women are finally giving up on a game that was always stacked against them.
In most of these cases, a woman isn’t actually quitting work. She’s just quitting the one of her jobs for which she received monetary compensation.
Still, even if both parents agree to give up work, it's the mom who's almost always actually dropping out. And if we don't change the system, it always will be. The wage gap is poised to widen by 2 percentage points after the pandemic recession, and it will widen even further for women of color. If the recovery from this recession is anything like the last, the jobs added back will have less security and fewer benefits, and they will overall be more precarious. It will take years for the child care industry to recover, and it can take years for people who have dropped out of the workforce, either on their own terms or through layoffs, to regain their previous levels of pay and security.
We have to start listening to these stories now. We have to start making plans for how to address the vast, ever-widening imbalances left in their wake. These aren't personal problems or failures. They're societal ones that demand a societal response — including from those who aren't parents — that attempts to address the way we devalue women's work in and outside the home, the sustained labor imbalances in the heterosexual home, the way we support single parents and how race and location and class intersect with all of those things. This isn't a step back that can be easily regained. There will be no V-shaped recovery from the "first female recession." It will leave scars and deeper inequities that will endure for decades.


msnbc--2020-10-15--There's a reason GOP voter suppression is spiking. And the story starts in New Jersey.

As the presidential race lumbers toward the finish line , President Donald Trump 's campaign to cast doubt on the integrity and reliability of the election is picking up speed .
In September , Donald Trump Jr. , the president 's son , claimed on social media — without any evidence — that Democrats planned to `` add millions of fraudulent ballots '' to `` steal '' the election .
To prevent this imaginary threat , he called on `` every able-bodied man [ and ] woman to join Army for Trump 's election security operation . ''
Meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sr. repeated his charge that Democrats would `` cheat '' in the election and urged his loyal followers to `` go into the polls and watch very carefully . ''
These calls for action from the Trump family support an ongoing effort by the GOP .
In May , the Republican National Committee announced its own massive program to monitor polling places and challenge ballots cast by voters its representatives deem suspicious .
The plan , backed by $ 20 million , called for the recruitment of 50,000 private citizens to serve as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
The RNC has n't revealed how many of these `` watchers '' have actually been recruited , but the operation is well underway , with members monitoring early-voting sites and drop boxes for mail-in ballots .
Republicans ' efforts will surely spike on Election Day , with a strong potential for electoral disruptions and civil disturbances , if not outright violence .
`` There 's going to be lots of watchers , lots of cameras and lots of attorneys all over the country , '' predicted the head of the GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` It 's going to be chaotic . ''
This RNC effort is remarkable in many ways , starting with the simple fact that it 's possible in the first place .
For the past 40 years , the party organization has been bound by a `` consent decree '' secured in federal court in 1982 .
As a result , the GOP was barred from engaging in these kinds of `` election security '' campaigns , which seem to be little more than efforts at voter intimidation and election interference .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gubernatorial race in New Jersey .
Widely understood as the first real referendum on the Reagan administration , the contest drew intense attention from both parties .
To support the campaign of Republican nominee Tom Kean Sr. , the RNC dispatched political operative John A. Kelly to the state .
Kelly — who was soon revealed to have fraudulently claimed to have an undergraduate degree from Notre Dame , a law degree from Fordham , a past role in law enforcement and an official position with the Fraternal Order of Police — saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
He launched a grandly titled `` National Ballot Security Task Force '' to identify suspicious Democratic voters and monitor selected polling places .
On Election Day , off-duty police officers and sheriff 's deputies hired by Kelly 's group were equipped with revolvers , two-way radios and official-looking armbands , and they were sent to predominantly Black and Hispanic polling places .
`` WARNING , '' their posters announced in red letters , `` THIS AREA IS BEING PATROLLED BY THE NATIONAL BALLOT SECURITY TASK FORCE .
IT IS A CRIME @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ELECTION LAWS . ''
A Democratic City Council member from Newark complained that guards were operating `` like the Gestapo '' there , popping into polling places in small groups , looking through registration books and challenging voters .
The election proved to be incredibly close .
After a recount of the ballots from those who had been allowed to vote , Kean squeaked out an incredibly slim margin of victory of 1,797 votes out of 2.3 million cast .
Meanwhile , according to Democratic officials , task force members had challenged more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intimidation , Republican officials argued that they had no choice , given their belief that Democrats would cheat .
`` Anyone opposed to ballot security obviously must be supportive of election fraud , '' RNC Chairman Richard Richards asserted .
`` We would have been cheated out of that race if we had n't been alert . ''
Kean likewise waved away charges of intimidation , saying Republicans just wanted to make sure `` that ballots suddenly do n't appear from some basement hall in Jersey City or Camden . ''
Democrats responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The lawsuit sought $ 10 million in damages `` for the deprivation of the right to vote '' and an injunction preventing Republicans from trying the same thing in other elections .
It also demanded that Republicans produce internal correspondence and documents about the task force to demonstrate its illegal intent .
For the suit , Democrats provided affidavits from 80 voters who said they had either left the polls themselves or seen others do so due to the presence of the armed guards .
One of them , an African American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force members stopped her , demanded to see her voter registration card and then turned her away when she did not produce it .
Rather than risk embarrassment during a trial or an adverse ruling after it , the RNC agreed to settle the case with a consent decree .
The consent decree , an agreement between the two parties , required the national and state GOP to seek court approval of any future `` ballot security '' programs , subject to being found in contempt if they ever engaged in similar practices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consent decree was steadily expanded and extended , as Democrats provided enough evidence of voter intimidation and electoral interference to convince the court that it was still needed .
Over the last decade , the RNC remained on its best behavior , studiously avoiding the appearance of any connection with `` ballot security '' campaigns .
When Mike Pence announced in the 2016 race that `` the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are working very , very closely with state governments and secretaries of states all over the country to ensure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Pence did n't know what he was talking about .
Its lawyers dismissed Pence 's `` incorrect assumptions '' in court filings , and Pence himself had to swear he was wrong .
A federal judge finally allowed the consent decree to expire in late 2017 , believing the issue had been put to rest .
The 2020 election will therefore be the first presidential race in 40 years without the consent decree in place .
At a private meeting with Republican officials last fall , Justin Clark , a senior lawyer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this was `` a huge , huge , huge , huge deal . ''
The RNC can now coordinate Election Day operations with various campaigns and committees .
As a result , Clark said , Republicans would have `` a much bigger program , much more aggressive program , a better funded program '' to fight `` voter fraud '' than ever before .
Of course , rampant voter fraud remains a myth .
As the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School has cataloged here , countless studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have shown that the current claims about millions of fraudulent votes , cast either in person or by mail , are simply baseless .
Even Trump 's own presidential commission on the issue unceremoniously disbanded in early 2018 after finding no evidence of widespread fraud .
But in 2020 , as in 1981 , the realities of voter fraud do n't matter .
Republicans are insisting that their very real efforts at voter intimidation are warranted because they insist that Democrats have done or will do or possibly might do something much worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact but nevertheless very real to them , is what threatens the security of our elections .

As the presidential race lumbers toward the finish line, President Donald Trump's campaign to cast doubt on the integrity and reliability of the election is picking up speed.
In September, Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, claimed on social media — without any evidence — that Democrats planned to "add millions of fraudulent ballots" to "steal" the election. To prevent this imaginary threat, he called on "every able-bodied man [and] woman to join Army for Trump's election security operation." Meanwhile, at the first presidential debate, Trump Sr. repeated his charge that Democrats would "cheat" in the election and urged his loyal followers to "go into the polls and watch very carefully."
The Radical Left is laying the groundwork to steal the 2020 Election from our president.
We need you to join ARMY FOR TRUMP’s election security operation!
VISIT: https://t.co/qTVQXOa6FD pic.twitter.com/reA0i2Aker — Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 21, 2020
These calls for action from the Trump family support an ongoing effort by the GOP. In May, the Republican National Committee announced its own massive program to monitor polling places and challenge ballots cast by voters its representatives deem suspicious. The plan, backed by $20 million, called for the recruitment of 50,000 private citizens to serve as "poll watchers" across 15 battleground states. The RNC hasn't revealed how many of these "watchers" have actually been recruited, but the operation is well underway, with members monitoring early-voting sites and drop boxes for mail-in ballots.
Republicans' efforts will surely spike on Election Day, with a strong potential for electoral disruptions and civil disturbances, if not outright violence. "There's going to be lots of watchers, lots of cameras and lots of attorneys all over the country," predicted the head of the GOP's county organization in suburban Philadelphia. "It's going to be chaotic."
This RNC effort is remarkable in many ways, starting with the simple fact that it's possible in the first place.
For the past 40 years, the party organization has been bound by a “consent decree” secured in federal court in 1982.
For the past 40 years, the party organization has been bound by a "consent decree" secured in federal court in 1982. As a result, the GOP was barred from engaging in these kinds of "election security" campaigns, which seem to be little more than efforts at voter intimidation and election interference.
The decree had its origins in the 1981 gubernatorial race in New Jersey. Widely understood as the first real referendum on the Reagan administration, the contest drew intense attention from both parties.
To support the campaign of Republican nominee Tom Kean Sr., the RNC dispatched political operative John A. Kelly to the state. Kelly — who was soon revealed to have fraudulently claimed to have an undergraduate degree from Notre Dame, a law degree from Fordham, a past role in law enforcement and an official position with the Fraternal Order of Police — saw his mission as exposing "voter fraud." He launched a grandly titled "National Ballot Security Task Force" to identify suspicious Democratic voters and monitor selected polling places.
On Election Day, off-duty police officers and sheriff's deputies hired by Kelly's group were equipped with revolvers, two-way radios and official-looking armbands, and they were sent to predominantly Black and Hispanic polling places. "WARNING," their posters announced in red letters, "THIS AREA IS BEING PATROLLED BY THE NATIONAL BALLOT SECURITY TASK FORCE. IT IS A CRIME TO FALSIFY A BALLOT OR TO VIOLATE ELECTION LAWS." A Democratic City Council member from Newark complained that guards were operating "like the Gestapo" there, popping into polling places in small groups, looking through registration books and challenging voters.
The election proved to be incredibly close. After a recount of the ballots from those who had been allowed to vote, Kean squeaked out an incredibly slim margin of victory of 1,797 votes out of 2.3 million cast. Meanwhile, according to Democratic officials, task force members had challenged more than 45,000 voters.
Accused of voter intimidation, Republican officials argued that they had no choice, given their belief that Democrats would cheat. "Anyone opposed to ballot security obviously must be supportive of election fraud," RNC Chairman Richard Richards asserted. "We would have been cheated out of that race if we hadn't been alert." Kean likewise waved away charges of intimidation, saying Republicans just wanted to make sure "that ballots suddenly don't appear from some basement hall in Jersey City or Camden."
Democrats responded by suing the Republicans in federal court. The lawsuit sought $10 million in damages "for the deprivation of the right to vote" and an injunction preventing Republicans from trying the same thing in other elections. It also demanded that Republicans produce internal correspondence and documents about the task force to demonstrate its illegal intent. For the suit, Democrats provided affidavits from 80 voters who said they had either left the polls themselves or seen others do so due to the presence of the armed guards. One of them, an African American woman in Trenton, reported that task force members stopped her, demanded to see her voter registration card and then turned her away when she did not produce it.
Rather than risk embarrassment during a trial or an adverse ruling after it, the RNC agreed to settle the case with a consent decree. The consent decree, an agreement between the two parties, required the national and state GOP to seek court approval of any future "ballot security" programs, subject to being found in contempt if they ever engaged in similar practices.
Over the ensuing decades, the consent decree was steadily expanded and extended, as Democrats provided enough evidence of voter intimidation and electoral interference to convince the court that it was still needed. Over the last decade, the RNC remained on its best behavior, studiously avoiding the appearance of any connection with "ballot security" campaigns. When Mike Pence announced in the 2016 race that "the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are working very, very closely with state governments and secretaries of states all over the country to ensure ballot integrity," the RNC declared that Pence didn't know what he was talking about. Its lawyers dismissed Pence's "incorrect assumptions" in court filings, and Pence himself had to swear he was wrong.
A federal judge finally allowed the consent decree to expire in late 2017, believing that the issue had been put to rest.
A federal judge finally allowed the consent decree to expire in late 2017, believing the issue had been put to rest. The 2020 election will therefore be the first presidential race in 40 years without the consent decree in place.
At a private meeting with Republican officials last fall, Justin Clark, a senior lawyer with the 2020 Trump campaign, noted that this was "a huge, huge, huge, huge deal." The RNC can now coordinate Election Day operations with various campaigns and committees. As a result, Clark said, Republicans would have "a much bigger program, much more aggressive program, a better funded program" to fight "voter fraud" than ever before.
Of course, rampant voter fraud remains a myth. As the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School has cataloged here, countless studies by journalists, scholars and election experts have shown that the current claims about millions of fraudulent votes, cast either in person or by mail, are simply baseless. Even Trump's own presidential commission on the issue unceremoniously disbanded in early 2018 after finding no evidence of widespread fraud.
But in 2020, as in 1981, the realities of voter fraud don't matter. Republicans are insisting that their very real efforts at voter intimidation are warranted because they insist that Democrats have done or will do or possibly might do something much worse. Their basic insecurity, unfounded in fact but nevertheless very real to them, is what threatens the security of our elections.


msnbc--2020-10-15--Ashley Parker: ‘This is a campaign and a White House that is intentionally modeling bad behavior’

Candidate Cori Bush on her bid and staying true to herself

Ashley Parker: ‘This is a campaign and a White House that is intentionally modeling bad behavior’
Washington Post White House reporter Ashley Parker weighs on the White House’s continued reckless behavior and disregarding of safety precautions when it comes to coronavirusOct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-15--Why one senior voter changed his mind on Trump

Meacham: Pence probably saved the republic, but I don't always want to count on one person to do it 08:18


msnbc--2020-10-15--GOP suddenly concerned with 'fiscal restraint' after 4 years of deficit spending

The Republican Party is gearing up for a potential Biden presidency, aiming to bring up ‘concerns’ over the national debt after 4 years of deficit spending by the Trump Administration and a massive tax cut for the rich.Oct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-15--Trailing in polls, Trump turns to discredited recount playbook

Pres. Trump is stepping up attacks on election integrity as both presidential campaigns prep for a potentially contested finish in 2020. MSNBC's Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber reports on the exact history and law that provides for a potentially lengthy counting of results in this exhaustive Special Report. Melber also provides evidence showing why pundits and politicians alike are wrong to prize arbitrary speed over legally mandated accuracy, how some in the media continued to repeat that kind of mistake in the 2018 election, and applies some insights about patience and philosophy from A$AP Ferg and Morgan Freeman to this unusual election year.Oct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-15--Campaign cancels Kamala Harris events after aide tests positive for Covid

Both a non-staff flight crew member and Kamala Harris’ communications director have tested positive for Covid-19, but the campaign stated the senator was not in close contact with either individual. NBC News’ Ali Vitali reports.Oct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-15--Trump campaign’s efforts for an October surprise are falling short

Politico's Michael Kruse says, "for this to be an October surprise ... we need to be surprised. And this stuff is simply no longer surprising.”Oct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-15--Fed. court rules against GOP suit to limit drive-thru voting

A Texas state court ruled that the Governor does not have the authority to limit ballot drop off locations, after he attempted to restrict the number to one per county. Joining Katy Tur to discuss is Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins.Oct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-15--It's clear now: Republicans don't care about democracy

Last week , I became a citizen of the United States .
The process was long and tedious — forms , fees , photos , biometrics and , as the final step , a naturalization interview .
That last hurdle in particular showed how much the rhetoric about the democracy the U.S. shares with immigrants differs from how it ’ s practiced .
One of the reasons I was keen to become a citizen is because the United States is supposed to be based not on a race or a culture but on an idea : of popular sovereignty ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people ; of democracy .
That was reflected in my naturalization interview , as I discussed on my show the next day , which involved a test of my knowledge of “ civics , ” of U.S. history and government .
Every prospective citizen is expected to answer a minimum of six questions correctly , from a list of 100 provided in a booklet from the U.S .
Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) .
Democracy is something of a running theme throughout the test .
The opening section of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American Democracy.
” Many of the questions refer to elections and the electoral process ; question 55 asks : “ What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy ?
” Now that I ’ m done with the test , maybe I should mail my well-thumbed USCIS booklet to the office of Republican Sen. Mike Lee .
The senior senator from Utah declared on Twitter the night before my citizenship test : He followed up a few hours later : Sorry — what ?
Sure , right-wing trolls on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a republic , not a democracy ” talking point to try to deflect from calls for greater representation and political equality .
But it is deeply depressing to witness a sitting U.S. senator engage in the same “ cheap rhetorical sleight of hand , ” to quote the political scientist Ed Burmila .
Of course , Lee doesn ’ t really believe the U.S. isn ’ t a democracy .
“ It ’ s time to stop delaying democracy ; it ’ s time to stop hiding from the American people , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2015 .
Lee , as writer Jonathan Katz noted , was accusing Democrats of undermining the democratic process in a debate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security .
We shouldn ’ t be surprised by Lee ’ s entreaties though .
In all three branches of federal government , minority rule is the new normal — so why should Republicans pretend to care about democracy and the popular support it requires ?
Why would they want to promote it ?
President Donald Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , came to office in 2000 after also losing the popular vote .
At the presidential level , the GOP has won the popular vote only once since 1988 .
Yet they have controlled the White House for the majority of the 21st century .
According to Cook Political Report ’ s David Wasserman , “ In 2020 , it 's possible Trump could win 5 million fewer votes than his opponent — and still win a second term.
” In Congress , the House of Representatives is far from representative thanks to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 ’ s blue wave , which saw Democrats retake control of the House , the overall result still “ wasn ’ t as bad as it could have been for Republicans , ” according to analysis by The Associated Press , which states that the GOP “ won about 16 more U.S. House seats than would have been expected based on their average share of the vote in congressional districts across the country.
” Across the Capitol , the Senate has always been an anti-majoritarian institution but never more so than today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regardless of size , “ the Republican Senate ‘ majority , ’ ” according to Vox ’ s Ian Millhiser , currently “ represents 15 million fewer people than the Democratic ‘ minority.
’ ” And on Oct. 12 , the Senate Judiciary Committee launched hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett , Trump ’ s third Supreme Court nominee .
If confirmed , Barrett will join Chief Justice John Roberts , Samuel Alito , Neil Gorusch , and Brett Kavanaugh in being nominated by a president who became president despite losing the popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have led to a majority on the highest court in the land in lifetime posts .
The problem remains the same at the state level .
In five states in 2017 and 2018 — Michigan , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Virginia and Wisconsin — “ Democratic candidates for state house received a majority of the statewide popular vote , ” according to a study by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute , but “ the Republican Party won more seats than Democrats , ” thereby retaining their majorities .
In Wisconsin , Republicans won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a whopping 65 percent of the seats in the state Legislature .
How is this fair ?
How is it small-d democratic or , for that matter , small-r republican ?
To those who abuse history to defend such grossly inequitable outcomes with the tired trope of “ We ’ re a republic , not a democracy , ” it is worth considering the definition of a “ republic ” offered by Founding Father James Madison .
In Federalist No .
10 , Madison defined a republic as “ the delegation of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the rest.
” The “ rest , ” however , have since become perpetually stymied even as their overall numbers have grown through universal suffrage .
Yes , the U.S. political and judicial systems were designed to protect the minority from the majority — but not to entrench minority rule across the United States .
None of the founders would have recognized a system that regularly denies a majority of voting citizens both political representation and the power to pass laws .
Those of us who are new U.S. citizens understand this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m reminded of the third question in my test booklet : “ The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution .
What are these words ?
” “ A Minority of People ” would be marked incorrect .

Last week, I became a citizen of the United States. The process was long and tedious — forms, fees, photos, biometrics and, as the final step, a naturalization interview. That last hurdle in particular showed how much the rhetoric about the democracy the U.S. shares with immigrants differs from how it’s practiced.
One of the reasons I was keen to become a citizen is because the United States is supposed to be based not on a race or a culture but on an idea: of popular sovereignty; of government of, by, and for the people; of democracy.
One of the reasons I was keen to become a citizen is because the United States is supposed to be based not on a race or a culture but on an idea: of popular sovereignty; of government of, by and for the people; of democracy. That was reflected in my naturalization interview, as I discussed on my show the next day, which involved a test of my knowledge of “civics,” of U.S. history and government. Every prospective citizen is expected to answer a minimum of six questions correctly, from a list of 100 provided in a booklet from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Democracy is something of a running theme throughout the test. The opening section of the question booklet is titled “Principles of American Democracy.” Many of the questions refer to elections and the electoral process; question 55 asks: “What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?”
Last night, @mehdirhasan had a very important personal announcement… and a lot of thoughts on what it means to be an American at this moment in history. pic.twitter.com/HjENJRkB1K — The Mehdi Hasan Show (@MehdiHasanShow) October 9, 2020
Now that I’m done with the test, maybe I should mail my well-thumbed USCIS booklet to the office of Republican Sen. Mike Lee. The senior senator from Utah declared on Twitter the night before my citizenship test:
We’re not a democracy. — Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) October 8, 2020
He followed up a few hours later:
Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that. — Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) October 8, 2020
Sorry — what? Sure, right-wing trolls on Twitter often invoke the “we’re a republic, not a democracy” talking point to try to deflect from calls for greater representation and political equality. But it is deeply depressing to witness a sitting U.S. senator engage in the same “cheap rhetorical sleight of hand,” to quote the political scientist Ed Burmila.
I suggest you read this and understand why what you said is such a dumb statement. https://t.co/JF204lI0HK — Joe Belian (@msuvagabond) October 8, 2020
Of course, Lee doesn’t really believe the U.S. isn’t a democracy. “It’s time to stop delaying democracy; it’s time to stop hiding from the American people,” he declaimed on the Senate floor in 2015. Lee, as writer Jonathan Katz noted, was accusing Democrats of undermining the democratic process in a debate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
We shouldn’t be surprised by Lee’s entreaties though. In all three branches of federal government, minority rule is the new normal — so why should Republicans pretend to care about democracy and the popular support it requires? Why would they want to promote it?
None of the founders would have recognized a system that regularly denies a majority of voting citizens both political representation and the power to pass laws.
President Donald Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. The previous Republican president, George W. Bush, came to office in 2000 after also losing the popular vote. At the presidential level, the GOP has won the popular vote only once since 1988. Yet they have controlled the White House for the majority of the 21st century. According to Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman, “In 2020, it's possible Trump could win 5 million fewer votes than his opponent — and still win a second term.”
In Congress, the House of Representatives is far from representative thanks to partisan gerrymandering. In the wake of 2018’s blue wave, which saw Democrats retake control of the House, the overall result still “wasn’t as bad as it could have been for Republicans,” according to analysis by The Associated Press, which states that the GOP “won about 16 more U.S. House seats than would have been expected based on their average share of the vote in congressional districts across the country.”
Across the Capitol, the Senate has always been an anti-majoritarian institution but never more so than today. Based as it is on states regardless of size, “the Republican Senate ‘majority,’” according to Vox’s Ian Millhiser, currently “represents 15 million fewer people than the Democratic ‘minority.’”
And on Oct. 12, the Senate Judiciary Committee launched hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee. If confirmed, Barrett will join Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorusch, and Brett Kavanaugh in being nominated by a president who became president despite losing the popular vote. A minority of voters will have led to a majority on the highest court in the land in lifetime posts.
The problem remains the same at the state level. In five states in 2017 and 2018 — Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin — “Democratic candidates for state house received a majority of the statewide popular vote,” according to a study by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, but “the Republican Party won more seats than Democrats,” thereby retaining their majorities. In Wisconsin, Republicans won 45 percent of the vote but gained a whopping 65 percent of the seats in the state Legislature.
How is this fair? How is it small-d democratic or, for that matter, small-r republican? To those who abuse history to defend such grossly inequitable outcomes with the tired trope of “We’re a republic, not a democracy,” it is worth considering the definition of a “republic” offered by Founding Father James Madison. In Federalist No. 10, Madison defined a republic as “the delegation of the government…to a small number of citizens elected by the rest.” The “rest,” however, have since become perpetually stymied even as their overall numbers have grown through universal suffrage. Yes, the U.S. political and judicial systems were designed to protect the minority from the majority — but not to entrench minority rule across the United States. None of the founders would have recognized a system that regularly denies a majority of voting citizens both political representation and the power to pass laws.
Those of us who are new U.S. citizens understand this, perhaps, better than most. I’m reminded of the third question in my test booklet: “The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?”
Answer: “We the People.”
“A Minority of People” would be marked incorrect.


msnbc--2020-10-15--Rudy Giuliani is the boy who cried Ukraine

Here 's a pro tip : If a headline involves the words `` Joe Biden '' and `` Ukraine , '' search the story for `` Giuliani . ''
Because it 's clear that even after he inadvertently helped get his client the president impeached by peddling lukewarm misinformation , the former mayor of New York City still has n't learned his lesson .
But thankfully , a lot of people have caught on by now .
For those of you who did n't live and breathe the Ukraine saga for nearly six months this time last year , here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , looking to kneecap former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 race , pushed Ukraine 's president to announce investigations into Biden and his son Hunter .
Trump illegally withheld millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine as leverage .
As convoluted as the scheme became , it was simple at its core : circulate bad headlines that involve the words `` Biden '' and `` investigation , '' similar to when Hillary Clinton was weighed down with headlines about her emails in 2016 .
That attempt to spin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden , spearheaded at times by Rudy Giuliani , failed to launch and wound up getting Trump impeached .
The best efforts of the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to carry on that work failed to find anything substantive that showed that Joe Biden used his role as vice president improperly to benefit Hunter in Ukraine .
But in trying to con the public and the media into making `` Bidengate '' a thing , Giuliani has let himself get played time after time .
His latest attempt came in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story Wednesday morning with the headline `` Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad . ''
( We 're not linking to the piece , given the uncertain provenance of some of the materials used in its reporting . )
Its central claim is rooted in an alleged set of emails between Hunter and Vadym Pozharskyi , an adviser to the board of Burisma , the Ukrainian natural gas company Hunter Biden worked for from 2014 to 2019 .
In the alleged 2015 email , Pozharskyi writes : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent some time together .
It 's realty an honor and pleasure . ''
The Post claims that this email was part of a trove of information recovered from a mysterious laptop abandoned at a repair shop in Delaware .
The owner of that shop is alleged to have made a copy of the hard drive in the laptop before the Justice Department seized it 10 months ago .
Within minutes of the story 's being published , holes were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , how convenient it is that the laptop 's contents just happened to pop up weeks before the election .
And , as Politico 's Kyle Cheney noted on Twitter , even if this email is real — which we ca n't verify just yet — there 's no real evidence that a meeting between Joe Biden and Pozharskyi ever actually happened .
The Post also leans heavily on another email from Pozharskyi from the year before , asking Hunter Biden for `` advice on how you can use your influence '' to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bribes .
Now , is it a bad look for Hunter to have this ridiculously highly paid role while his dad is vice president ?
Absolutely , and both Hunter and members of the Obama State Department have said as much .
But the Post 's source for this story — Giuliani , Trump 's personal lawyer-turned-globetrotting geriatric Batman — gives away the game , as made clear in this excerpt : '' ... Before turning over the gear , the shop owner says , he made a copy of the hard drive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rudy Giuliani ’ s lawyer , Robert Costello .
Steve Bannon , former adviser to President Trump , told The Post about the existence of the hard drive in late September and Giuliani provided The Post with a copy of it on Sunday . ''
Trumpworld has been obsessed with Ukraine ever since Konstantin Klimnik , whom the Senate Intelligence Committee described as `` a Russian intelligence officer , '' and former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort invented the idea that Ukraine — not Russia — was the main foreign villain in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has n't let go since .
It was Giuliani whom Trump first sent to Ukraine to find evidence for the alleged corrupt dealings between Ukrainians and Democrats as a way to debunk the `` Russia hoax '' that Trump still swears was a con job to deny him the presidency .
In Trump and Giuliani 's hunt for Ukrainian meddling , a former Ukrainian prosecutor , Viktor Shokin , saw a chance to get payback for Biden 's role in his firing .
It was Giuliani who first pushed Shokin 's false claim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation into Hunter Biden and Burisma , a claim repeated in the Post 's story .
But let 's be clear : Shokin was n't fired because of anything improper Joe Biden did , no matter how colorfully Biden recounted the tale in 2018 .
It 's a point worth repeating , loudly , as Daniel Goldman , the former prosecutor who led the investigation for House Democrats , did on Twitter .
And it 's Giuliani , a famed former prosecutor , who 's found himself conned time and time again by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hear .
Just last month , Trump 's own Treasury Department sanctioned Ukrainian parliamentarian Andrii Derkach for spreading Russian propaganda .
Derkach was in recent months one of Giuliani 's main sources of disinformation .
To recap , the initial push to have Ukraine 's president announce investigations into the Bidens to stall Joe 's campaign for president failed spectacularly , even with the president 's eventual acquittal in the Senate .
Giuliani 's attempt to keep things going by rehashing the affair on the hard-right One America News Network failed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ron Johnson 's Senate report failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing , even though he clearly framed the investigation as helpful to the president .
And now we have Wednesday 's Post article , which is so thin that Twitter has blocked people from accessing or sharing it .
Even Facebook , not known for swift action , is slowing the story 's spread on its platform .
Will this latest attempt from Giuliani backfire nearly as spectacularly as the first one ?
Probably not .
But it 's like watching a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down and get absolutely demolished — and then proceed to run the exact same play for the next two downs anyway .
We 're at fourth-and-long now , and this Hail Mary does n't look like it 's gon na fly — but as long as there 's still people willing to play receiver downfield , Giuliani 's going to keep trying .

Here's a pro tip: If a headline involves the words "Joe Biden" and "Ukraine," search the story for "Giuliani." Because it's clear that even after he inadvertently helped get his client the president impeached by peddling lukewarm misinformation, the former mayor of New York City still hasn't learned his lesson. But thankfully, a lot of people have caught on by now.
In trying to con the public and media into making “Bidengate” a thing, Giuliani has let himself get played time after time.
For those of you who didn't live and breathe the Ukraine saga for nearly six months this time last year, here's a quick refresher: President Donald Trump, looking to kneecap former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 race, pushed Ukraine's president to announce investigations into Biden and his son Hunter. Trump illegally withheld millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine as leverage. As convoluted as the scheme became, it was simple at its core: circulate bad headlines that involve the words "Biden" and "investigation," similar to when Hillary Clinton was weighed down with headlines about her emails in 2016.
That attempt to spin the public into a fervor over Hunter Biden, spearheaded at times by Rudy Giuliani, failed to launch and wound up getting Trump impeached. The best efforts of the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to carry on that work failed to find anything substantive that showed that Joe Biden used his role as vice president improperly to benefit Hunter in Ukraine. But in trying to con the public and the media into making "Bidengate" a thing, Giuliani has let himself get played time after time.
His latest attempt came in the form of a New York Post story Wednesday morning with the headline "Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad." (We're not linking to the piece, given the uncertain provenance of some of the materials used in its reporting.) Its central claim is rooted in an alleged set of emails between Hunter and Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the board of Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company Hunter Biden worked for from 2014 to 2019. In the alleged 2015 email, Pozharskyi writes: "Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent some time together. It's realty an honor and pleasure."
The Post claims that this email was part of a trove of information recovered from a mysterious laptop abandoned at a repair shop in Delaware. The owner of that shop is alleged to have made a copy of the hard drive in the laptop before the Justice Department seized it 10 months ago.
Within minutes of the story's being published, holes were getting poked in it. For example, how convenient it is that the laptop's contents just happened to pop up weeks before the election. And, as Politico's Kyle Cheney noted on Twitter, even if this email is real — which we can't verify just yet — there's no real evidence that a meeting between Joe Biden and Pozharskyi ever actually happened.
The Post also leans heavily on another email from Pozharskyi from the year before, asking Hunter Biden for "advice on how you can use your influence" to halt what he said were politically motivated bribes. Now, is it a bad look for Hunter to have this ridiculously highly paid role while his dad is vice president? Absolutely, and both Hunter and members of the Obama State Department have said as much. But the Post's source for this story — Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer-turned-globetrotting geriatric Batman — gives away the game, as made clear in this excerpt:
"... Before turning over the gear, the shop owner says, he made a copy of the hard drive and later gave it to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello.
Steve Bannon, former adviser to President Trump, told The Post about the existence of the hard drive in late September and Giuliani provided The Post with a copy of it on Sunday."
Trumpworld has been obsessed with Ukraine ever since Konstantin Klimnik, whom the Senate Intelligence Committee described as "a Russian intelligence officer," and former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort invented the idea that Ukraine — not Russia — was the main foreign villain in 2016. Giuliani took the bait early and hasn't let go since.
It was Giuliani whom Trump first sent to Ukraine to find evidence for the alleged corrupt dealings between Ukrainians and Democrats as a way to debunk the "Russia hoax" that Trump still swears was a con job to deny him the presidency. In Trump and Giuliani's hunt for Ukrainian meddling, a former Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, saw a chance to get payback for Biden's role in his firing.
It was Giuliani who Trump first sent to Ukraine to find evidence for the alleged corrupt dealings between Ukrainians and Democrats as a way to debunk the “Russia hoax” that Trump still swears was a con job to deny him the presidency.
It was Giuliani who first pushed Shokin's false claim that he was fired to prevent an investigation into Hunter Biden and Burisma, a claim repeated in the Post's story. But let's be clear: Shokin wasn't fired because of anything improper Joe Biden did, no matter how colorfully Biden recounted the tale in 2018. It's a point worth repeating, loudly, as Daniel Goldman, the former prosecutor who led the investigation for House Democrats, did on Twitter.
Let’s try this one more time: the Ukrainian prosecutor was fired because he was NOT prosecuting corruption cases and there was NO Ukrainian investigation into Burisma. In addition to there being no evidence to support the bogus allegations, the basic premise is simply false. https://t.co/tIDJJdWguc — Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) October 14, 2020
And it's Giuliani, a famed former prosecutor, who's found himself conned time and time again by people who tell him what he wants to hear. Just last month, Trump's own Treasury Department sanctioned Ukrainian parliamentarian Andrii Derkach for spreading Russian propaganda. Derkach was in recent months one of Giuliani's main sources of disinformation.
To recap, the initial push to have Ukraine's president announce investigations into the Bidens to stall Joe's campaign for president failed spectacularly, even with the president's eventual acquittal in the Senate. Giuliani's attempt to keep things going by rehashing the affair on the hard-right One America News Network failed to gain traction. Homeland Security Committee Chair Ron Johnson's Senate report failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing, even though he clearly framed the investigation as helpful to the president.
And now we have Wednesday's Post article, which is so thin that Twitter has blocked people from accessing or sharing it. Even Facebook, not known for swift action, is slowing the story's spread on its platform.
Will this latest attempt from Giuliani backfire nearly as spectacularly as the first one? Probably not. But it's like watching a quarterback call a trick play on first down and get absolutely demolished — and then proceed to run the exact same play for the next two downs anyway. We're at fourth-and-long now, and this Hail Mary doesn't look like it's gonna fly — but as long as there's still people willing to play receiver downfield, Giuliani's going to keep trying.


msnbc--2020-10-15--As US cases rise, Trump's policy panned as a 'dangerous fallacy'

There 's plenty of news this week on coronavirus cases in the United States , and all of that news is discouraging .
Looking at the overall trajectory of U.S. cases since the start of the pandemic crisis , there was a peak in April , which slowly subsided , only to reach an even higher peak in July , which also slowly eased , until last month when case totals started climbing again .
Yesterday , there were nearly 60,000 new cases -- a level unseen since August -- as well as over 1,000 American fatalities .
Infection tallies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation 's 50 states .
It led the New York Times to note that the country is now climbing toward `` a third peak . ''
It 's against this backdrop that a difficult political dynamic hangs overhead .
Indeed , as coronavirus cases climb , it 's not at all clear whether the White House thinks that 's a good thing or a bad thing .
By all appearances , it 's the former .
As the New York Times reported earlier this week : Alas , we 've been moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was four weeks ago , for example , when the president participated in an ABC News town-hall event and said the coronavirus is `` going away , '' even without a vaccine .
When George Stephanopoulos was incredulous , the president added , `` You 'll develop -- you 'll develop herd -- like a herd mentality .
It 's going to be -- it 's going to be herd-developed , and that 's going to happen .
That will all happen . ''
As regular readers know , while there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phrase `` herd mentality , '' instead of `` herd immunity , '' what mattered was the fact that Trump was describing a strategy in which the virus `` goes away '' by having much of the country get infected .
When Stephanopoulos said such a tactic would lead to `` many deaths , '' the president ignored the observation and just kept talking .
And now we know why .
The White House , with increasing pride , is making clear that it 's the administration 's position that the virus should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population .
It 's a school of thought that effectively says that more infections is a positive development .
As NBC News reported overnight , dozens of scientists from around the world warned against the `` herd immunity '' approach in a letter published in The Lancet , a leading medical journal .
Other experts , including those at the Infectious Diseases Society of America , are drawing the same conclusion .
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado , an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at Stanford University Medical School , told USA Today yesterday that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` just ridiculous . ''
The president , taking guidance from a radiologist he saw on Fox News , apparently believes otherwise .

There's plenty of news this week on coronavirus cases in the United States, and all of that news is discouraging.
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin have seen a greater than 25 percent increase in coronavirus cases in the last two weeks compared to the two weeks before. Minnesota has reported more than a thousand new Covid-19 cases for six days in a row, something that hasn't happened since the start of the pandemic. Wisconsin set a single day record for coronavirus deaths on Tuesday with 31, the statistics show. And states like Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming have some of the highest rates of new infections in the country, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
Looking at the overall trajectory of U.S. cases since the start of the pandemic crisis, there was a peak in April, which slowly subsided, only to reach an even higher peak in July, which also slowly eased, until last month when case totals started climbing again. Yesterday, there were nearly 60,000 new cases -- a level unseen since August -- as well as over 1,000 American fatalities. Infection tallies are now climbing in roughly three-quarters of the nation's 50 states.
It led the New York Times to note that the country is now climbing toward "a third peak."
It's against this backdrop that a difficult political dynamic hangs overhead. Indeed, as coronavirus cases climb, it's not at all clear whether the White House thinks that's a good thing or a bad thing. By all appearances, it's the former. As the New York Times reported earlier this week:
The White House has embraced a declaration by a group of scientists arguing that authorities should allow the coronavirus to spread among young healthy people while protecting the elderly and the vulnerable -- an approach that would rely on arriving at "herd immunity" through infections rather than a vaccine.... On a call convened Monday by the White House, two senior administration officials, both speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to give their names, cited an October 4 petition titled The Great Barrington Declaration, which argues against lockdowns and calls for a reopening of businesses and schools.
Alas, we've been moving toward this point for a while. It was four weeks ago, for example, when the president participated in an ABC News town-hall event and said the coronavirus is "going away," even without a vaccine. When George Stephanopoulos was incredulous, the president added, "You'll develop -- you'll develop herd -- like a herd mentality. It's going to be -- it's going to be herd-developed, and that's going to happen. That will all happen."
As regular readers know, while there was some laughter surrounding his use of the phrase "herd mentality," instead of "herd immunity," what mattered was the fact that Trump was describing a strategy in which the virus "goes away" by having much of the country get infected.
When Stephanopoulos said such a tactic would lead to "many deaths," the president ignored the observation and just kept talking.
And now we know why. The White House, with increasing pride, is making clear that it's the administration's position that the virus should simply run its course through the U.S. population. It's a school of thought that effectively says that more infections is a positive development.
As NBC News reported overnight, dozens of scientists from around the world warned against the "herd immunity" approach in a letter published in The Lancet, a leading medical journal.
Herd immunity, which occurs when enough people become immune to a contagious disease to make further spread unlikely, is a "dangerous fallacy unsupported by the scientific evidence," the scientists wrote. The letter, signed by 80 researchers from the fields of public health, epidemiology, virology, infectious diseases and others, said relying on immunity among people who have recovered from Covid-19 is a flawed strategy.
Other experts, including those at the Infectious Diseases Society of America, are drawing the same conclusion. Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at Stanford University Medical School, told USA Today yesterday that the "herd immunity" idea is "just ridiculous."
The president, taking guidance from a radiologist he saw on Fox News, apparently believes otherwise.


msnbc--2020-10-15--Chris: Trump is Extremely Online—and it’s Extremely Bad for his reelection

“One of the big problems for Donald Trump and his campaign is they seem to have forgotten how to communicate with anyone who isn't Extremely Online,” says Chris Hayes on why Trump can’t reach the “normies.”Oct. 15, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--'Not only lies, they were dangerous lies': Maddow lists Trump Covid lies at town hall

Trump ca n't say if he tested negative on day of debate

Rachel Maddow highlights some of the statements made by Donald Trump at the NBC News town hall about the coronavirus that were not only false, but potentially deadly because of the many people who take Trump at his word.Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--Trump refuses to condemn QAnon conspiracy theory

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.


msnbc--2020-10-16--Combative Trump and measured Biden at dueling town halls

Trump pushed conspiracy theories and falsehoods in a town hall with NBC News while a deliberate Biden spoke to voters' concerns even staying after the event was over to talk with those who didn't get to ask questions. Errin Haines and Eugene Robinson react.Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--Trump fuels range of conspiracy theories with town hall answers

Rachel Maddow looks at the many conspiracy theories that Donald Trump entertained without rejecting in an NBC News town hall, from his old stand-by about being spied on by the Obama administration, to bizarre ideas about Osama bin Laden, to coddling QAnon fantasists.Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--Is anything keeping the Biden campaign awake at night?

How is the Biden campaign feeling just weeks from the election? What, if anything, is keeping them up and are they worried things can change? Mike Barnicle discusses.Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--Trump talks election strategy in exclusive Woodward audio

Veteran journalist Bob Woodward joins sharing brand new audio from his conversations with the president for his book 'Rage' where Trump shares how he thinks he won the 2016 election. Woodward discusses what it could tell us about how Trump is running his 2020 campaign.Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--Trump reveals new details about his Covid symptoms, testing

Rachel Maddow reviews some of the news Donald Trump made in an NBC News town hall in revealing new details about the extent of his Covid-19 symptoms and dodging whether he actually took a Covid test on the day of the first presidential debate with Joe Biden.Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--Joy Reid: Our basic right to vote ever again is at stake

Joy Reid: Our basic right to vote ever again is at stake
On the 2020 presidential election Joy says, “Our basic right to vote ever again, whether the last shreds of the Voting rights Act will fall or whether we can rebuild the act that John Lewis bled for, is at stake.”Oct. 16, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-16--The 'law and order' president is pro-murder

Since late May , when Black Lives Matter protests flared up around the country , President Donald Trump 's re-election campaign has leaned into three words : `` law and order . ''
With those three words , Trump revived his 2016 pitch — that he is the only thing standing between the average American and chaos .
As he 's dug in his heels with his pro-law enforcement stance , Trump has recently spent a lot of time praising what can only be described as an extrajudicial killing .
If you think that 's an exaggeration , listen to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rare afternoon rally in North Carolina on Wednesday , Trump lavished praise on U.S. marshals for killing Michael Reinoehl , an alleged member of antifa , in Portland , Oregon , early last month .
`` We sent in the U.S. marshals , took 15 minutes , it was over .
Fifteen minutes it was over .
We got him .
They knew who he was and did n't want to arrest him , and 15 minutes , that ended , '' Trump said to applause .
Trump 's telling of the story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's protests , Trump and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered federal agents into Portland to protect the federal courthouse , which had become a staging ground for demonstrations .
Instead of calming things down , the agents ' presence aggravated the situation , drawing even more people to the area .
On one particularly chaotic night in late August , Trump supporters assembled a caravan of vehicles , intent on countering anti-police-brutality protesters .
The evening ended with one person dead from a gunshot wound to the chest , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Danielson , reportedly a member of the far-right group called Patriot Prayer .
The picture of his body , still wearing a hat that bore the group 's logo , quickly spread on Twitter overnight .
By the early morning of Aug. 30 , before Danielson 's name had been made public , the president and his supporters had rallied to his cause .
The same day , local media named Reinoehl as a suspect .
Four days later , Reinoehl was dead .
Authorities alleged that Reinoehl had pointed a gun at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , prompting the hail of bullets .
But The New York Times reported Tuesday that the law enforcement officials the marshals had deputized may not have even tried to arrest Reinoehl before they killed him .
The Times found that , of 22 witnesses , all but one said the law enforcement officials did n't identify themselves as they approached Reinoehl 's car .
And witnesses recounted that the officers began shooting almost instantaneously upon the their arrival , without having had a weapon brandished at them first .
A gun was found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed .
It may be tempting to lump Trump in with his predecessors : In one way or another , almost all presidents have shown themselves to favor extrajudicial murder when it suits their needs .
The deaths of countless people overseas in the name of whatever ideal we said we were fighting for in any given war or `` military campaign '' have been signed off on by consecutive administrations for most of the modern era .
Even Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama had his `` playbook , '' delineating just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against a U.S. citizen as part of his administration 's `` targeted killing campaign . ''
But Trump has always been enamored of violence , relishing his calls for police not to worry about injuring suspects in their custody .
During the 2016 campaign he promised his rallygoers that he 'd pay their legal fees for attacking protesters in the crowd .
His refusal to robustly denounce groups like the Proud Boys , despite their love of violence and willingness to start fights to intimidate protesters , was a major moment in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Carolina , he seemed to express a certain glee in his support for the marshals who killed Reinoehl , very much acting like the kind of person who would fast-forward through the boring nonviolent parts of the movie `` Bloodsport . ''
It might be different if this were a one-off occurrence .
But Trump has been repeating this line about the marshals for a month now .
At a Sept. 26 rally in Pennsylvania , he took credit for the shooting , saying he 'd inspired the marshals to use lethal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I put out on social media , 'Why did n't you arrest him ? '
And you know what ?
The U.S. marshals saw it , they went in , and he pulled a gun on 'em , and in 15 minutes it was all over , '' Trump told his audience .
`` None of our guys were hurt , and he was gone .
This guy was a stone-cold killer , and yet they say he was a protester ; he was not a protester .
He was an anarchist and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Thank you , that was an incredible job they did , brave . ''
And in an interview with Fox News ' Jeanine Pirro a little over a week after the shooting , Trump said Reinoehl `` was a violent criminal , and the U.S. marshals killed him . ''
`` And I 'll tell you something — that 's the way it has to be , '' he said .
`` There has to be retribution . ''
Retribution is n't the end goal of the criminal justice system .
Retribution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where a proportional response is seen as a sign of weakness .
Justice has to be worked toward ; retribution is something that can be ordered .
But one of the defining hallmarks of the Trump presidency has been his repudiation of the rule of law ; equal justice for everyone does n't fit the M.O .
of a person whose reality is defined via transactions .
No matter how much his enablers promise fans that `` law and order '' is more than just a dog whistle to rile up his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there 's a certain emptiness to the appeal as long as the man charged with enforcing our laws does n't actually believe they should apply to him .
After that sobering start to your Friday , here are some stories that you should absolutely be reading : The Washington Post : It turns out intelligence officials warned the White House late last year that Rudy Giuliani was potentially being fed Russian misinformation during his recent trip to Ukraine .
What .
A .
Shock .
The Associated Press : Democrats are n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D-Calif. , the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee , has been during Amy Coney Barrett 's hearings .
Her hug with committee Chairman Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , was the last straw for some .
BuzzFeed News : YouTube is finally joining the trend and banning the internet-spawned mass delusion QAnon — sort of .
Kind of .
Not really .
The Atlantic : Speaking of QAnon , some of its supporters helped generate a wave of anti-Netflix sentiment over the film `` Cuties , '' accusing the streamer 's marketing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actual victim of pedophilia would like to disagree .
ProPublica : And finally , this a harrowing look at what led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , once the global standard for fighting infectious disease , to become an agency battered politically and humbled by the coronavirus .

Since late May, when Black Lives Matter protests flared up around the country, President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has leaned into three words: "law and order." With those three words, Trump revived his 2016 pitch — that he is the only thing standing between the average American and chaos.
As he's dug in his heels with his pro-law enforcement stance, Trump has recently spent a lot of time praising what can only be described as an extrajudicial killing.
If you think that's an exaggeration, listen to Trump's own words. In a rare afternoon rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump lavished praise on U.S. marshals for killing Michael Reinoehl, an alleged member of antifa, in Portland, Oregon, early last month. "We sent in the U.S. marshals, took 15 minutes, it was over. Fifteen minutes it was over. We got him. They knew who he was and didn't want to arrest him, and 15 minutes, that ended," Trump said to applause.
Trump: We sent in the US Marshals, took 15 minutes and it was over... They knew who he was, they didn’t want to arrest him and 15 minutes that ended pic.twitter.com/fJA5BsJVeF — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) October 15, 2020
Trump's telling of the story is characteristically muddled. During this summer's protests, Trump and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered federal agents into Portland to protect the federal courthouse, which had become a staging ground for demonstrations. Instead of calming things down, the agents' presence aggravated the situation, drawing even more people to the area.
On one particularly chaotic night in late August, Trump supporters assembled a caravan of vehicles, intent on countering anti-police-brutality protesters. The evening ended with one person dead from a gunshot wound to the chest, who was later identified as Aaron "Jay" Danielson, reportedly a member of the far-right group called Patriot Prayer. The picture of his body, still wearing a hat that bore the group's logo, quickly spread on Twitter overnight. By the early morning of Aug. 30, before Danielson's name had been made public, the president and his supporters had rallied to his cause. The same day, local media named Reinoehl as a suspect. Four days later, Reinoehl was dead.
Authorities alleged that Reinoehl had pointed a gun at officers when they tried to apprehend him, prompting the hail of bullets. But The New York Times reported Tuesday that the law enforcement officials the marshals had deputized may not have even tried to arrest Reinoehl before they killed him. The Times found that, of 22 witnesses, all but one said the law enforcement officials didn't identify themselves as they approached Reinoehl's car. And witnesses recounted that the officers began shooting almost instantaneously upon the their arrival, without having had a weapon brandished at them first. A gun was found in Reinoehl's pocket after he was killed.
It may be tempting to lump Trump in with his predecessors: In one way or another, almost all presidents have shown themselves to favor extrajudicial murder when it suits their needs. The deaths of countless people overseas in the name of whatever ideal we said we were fighting for in any given war or "military campaign" have been signed off on by consecutive administrations for most of the modern era. Even Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama had his "playbook," delineating just when he could authorize a drone strike against a U.S. citizen as part of his administration's "targeted killing campaign."
But Trump has always been enamored of violence, relishing his calls for police not to worry about injuring suspects in their custody. During the 2016 campaign he promised his rallygoers that he'd pay their legal fees for attacking protesters in the crowd. His refusal to robustly denounce groups like the Proud Boys, despite their love of violence and willingness to start fights to intimidate protesters, was a major moment in the first 2020 presidential debate. And in North Carolina, he seemed to express a certain glee in his support for the marshals who killed Reinoehl, very much acting like the kind of person who would fast-forward through the boring nonviolent parts of the movie "Bloodsport."
It might be different if this were a one-off occurrence. But Trump has been repeating this line about the marshals for a month now. At a Sept. 26 rally in Pennsylvania, he took credit for the shooting, saying he'd inspired the marshals to use lethal force via tweet. "And then I put out on social media, 'Why didn't you arrest him?' And you know what? The U.S. marshals saw it, they went in, and he pulled a gun on 'em, and in 15 minutes it was all over," Trump told his audience. "None of our guys were hurt, and he was gone. This guy was a stone-cold killer, and yet they say he was a protester; he was not a protester. He was an anarchist and a killer. And the U.S. marshals: Thank you, that was an incredible job they did, brave."
And in an interview with Fox News' Jeanine Pirro a little over a week after the shooting, Trump said Reinoehl "was a violent criminal, and the U.S. marshals killed him."
"And I'll tell you something — that's the way it has to be," he said. "There has to be retribution."
Not justice — retribution.
Retribution isn't the end goal of the criminal justice system. Retribution is something that occurs outside those boundaries, where a proportional response is seen as a sign of weakness. Justice has to be worked toward; retribution is something that can be ordered.
But one of the defining hallmarks of the Trump presidency has been his repudiation of the rule of law; equal justice for everyone doesn't fit the M.O. of a person whose reality is defined via transactions. No matter how much his enablers promise fans that "law and order" is more than just a dog whistle to rile up his base against minorities, the fact remains that there's a certain emptiness to the appeal as long as the man charged with enforcing our laws doesn't actually believe they should apply to him.
After that sobering start to your Friday, here are some stories that you should absolutely be reading:
The Washington Post: It turns out intelligence officials warned the White House late last year that Rudy Giuliani was potentially being fed Russian misinformation during his recent trip to Ukraine. What. A. Shock.
The Associated Press: Democrats aren't happy with how friendly Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, has been during Amy Coney Barrett's hearings. Her hug with committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was the last straw for some.
BuzzFeed News: YouTube is finally joining the trend and banning the internet-spawned mass delusion QAnon — sort of. Kind of. Not really.
The Atlantic: Speaking of QAnon, some of its supporters helped generate a wave of anti-Netflix sentiment over the film "Cuties," accusing the streamer's marketing of being pro-pedophilia. Well, an actual victim of pedophilia would like to disagree.
ProPublica: And finally, this a harrowing look at what led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, once the global standard for fighting infectious disease, to become an agency battered politically and humbled by the coronavirus.