Category: 2020 Election

Trump rips NBA, calls it ‘political organization’

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President Trump on Thursday derisively referred to the NBA as a “political organization” after players have been outspoken on social justice issues and skipped playoff games in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

“They’ve become like a political organization, and that’s not a good thing,” Trump told reporters during a briefing on Hurricane Laura. “I don’t think that’s a good thing for sports or for the country.”

Trump said he wasn’t familiar with players choosing not to play on Wednesday in response to the Blake shooting, but took a swipe at the league’s decline in television ratings. Continue reading.

Biden: Trump ‘rooting for more violence’

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday accused President Trump of “rooting” for violence amid the unrest in Kenosha, Wis., following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

“He views this as a political benefit to him. You know, he’s rooting for more violence, not less. And he’s clear about that. And what’s he doing, he’s pouring more gasoline on the fire,” Biden said on MSNBC.

The former vice president cited comments from White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who told Fox News earlier in the day that “the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order.” Continue reading.

CDC director walks back change in coronavirus testing guidelines

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The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued new guidance for coronavirus testing, days after a quiet change sparked protests from the scientific and medical communities.

In a statement, Director Robert Redfield said those who come into contact with confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients could be tested themselves, even if they do not show symptoms of the virus.

“Testing is meant to drive actions and achieve specific public health objectives. Everyone who needs a COVID-19 test, can get a test. Everyone who wants a test does not necessarily need a test; the key is to engage the needed public health community in the decision with the appropriate follow-up action,” Redfield said. Continue reading.

USPS is telling people their mail is being held ‘at the request of the customer.’ It isn’t true.

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U.S. Postal Service customers across the country have been receiving a notification that often alarms and perplexes them: The message says packages they expected delivered to their home or business are being held at a post office “at the request of the customer.”

But customers who are receiving these notifications never requested that their mail be held.

The packages are delayed because of broad changes Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has implemented to the nation’s mail delivery operations, including policies that slow down package delivery. When a mail carrier cannot deliver a package on the day it was scheduled because their shift is ending, postal workers say, the system sometimes generates a misleading “held at the request of the customer” message.

Although the reality is that the mail carrier will deliver the package, sometimes the next day, customers say the message has prompted them to visit the post office to claim their items — even if they are concerned about venturing out because of the coronavirus pandemic — and has undermined their faith in mail delivery leading up to the 2020 election. Continue reading.

Room rentals, resort fees and furniture removal: How Trump’s company charged the U.S. government more than $900,000

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The Secret Service had asked for a room close to the president. But Mar-a-Lago said it was too late. The room was booked. Would agents like a room across the street from the president, instead?

“I do have a Beach Cabana available,” a staff member at President Trump’s club in Palm Beach, Fla., wrote in March 2017 to a Secret Service agent seeking rooms for the upcoming weekend. “Across the street at the Beach Club, North end of the pool.”

The next time, the Secret Service didn’t take the same risk. It paid Mar-a-Lago to book rooms for two weeks at a time — locking them up before the club could rent them to others, according to newly released records and emails. Continue reading.

‘You’ve absolutely failed’: Former Trump DHS official delivers damning takedown of president’s leadership skills

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A new video from Republican Voters Against Trump was released on Wednesday. Like former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security Miles Taylor’s video, this one features Elizabeth Neumann, Trump’s former assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention at the DHS. Neumann was one of the DHS officials who spoke on the threat of domestic terrorism with the House back in June 2019. It was a hearing that highlighted the rise of the white supremacist and white nationalist movements in our country and abroad, and the dangers they posed to our democracy.

Neumann begins the video talking about her Christian faith and her 2016 vote for Donald Trump, which she says was based on his campaign’s “pro-life” stance. Neumann describes seeing the rise of the domestic terrorist/white supremacy agenda between 2017-2018. She says that she was asked repeatedly by many whether or not President Trump’s “rhetoric” made her job of quelling these domestic threats more difficult. “The answer is yes. The president’s actions and his language are in fact racist.” She explains that she believes Trump’s “divisive language is indirectly tied to some of the attacks that we have seen in the last two years.”

The two-minute video is somber and straight forward. Neumann is a Republican, forced-birther type. She was a part of Trump’s fascistic DHS program, but she was also there to do a job, she explains, and Trump was more than simply incompetent—he was an active impediment to protecting the American people. Continue reading.

Trump Installs Massive New Fence Around White House Ahead Of RNC Speech

During the George Floyd protests President Donald Trump had fencing placed around the White House and even tear gassed peaceful protestors standing in the park across the street so he could have a photo-op.

But according to NBC News’ Garrett Haake and many people on the ground in Washington, D.C., the White House is putting up even more fencing than they installed a few months ago.

Why? Continue reading.

The Memo: Trump uses convention to target key states

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There’s an important and largely overlooked subplot to the Republican National Convention — call it the Republican Battleground States Convention.

The GOP has gone all-out to elevate the voices of Cuban Americans in Florida, small-business owners in Wisconsin and farmers in Iowa during the convention’s first three nights.

All three states are competitive in November and Florida, the largest battleground of all, is close to a must-win for President Trump. Continue reading.

Night 3 riddled with falsehoods as Pence takes GOP convention stage

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The third night of the Republican National Convention yet again offered a cascade of false claims, especially in Vice President Pence’s speech. Here are 20 claims that caught our attention. As is our practice, we do not award Pinocchios for a roundup of statements made during convention events.

“Before the first case of coronavirus spread within the United States, President Trump took the unprecedented step of suspending all travel from China. That action saved an untold number of American lives.” 

— Vice President Pence

Pence greatly overstates the impact of Trump’s action, which did not halt all travel from China and was not much different from what other countries did. Continue reading.