Category: Joe Biden

Here’s how Trump’s ‘court-packing’ attack on Biden could blow up in his face

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Given how brazenly Republicans blocked Barack Obama’s judicial nominees on an unprecedented scale and then packed the federal courts with young, conservative judicial activists, it was disappointing to see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both dodge the question of whether they would expand the Courts if they win and Senate Republicans confirm Amy Coney Barrett in a shambolic process. The question is a layup that they should have been able to convert into a slam dunk. Evading it made them seem defensive when public opinion is clearly on their side.

Here’s how they should handle such questions:

All options are on the table

One of Trump’s favorite responses to questions that he doesn’t want to answer is, “we’ll see what happens.” Sometimes he adds that he doesn’t want to reveal his hand prematurely. Democrats should follow suit. Continue reading.

Biden to participate in ABC town hall Oct. 15 in lieu of Trump debate

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Democratic nominee Joe Biden will take part in a town hall forum hosted by ABC News on the night of what was supposed to be the second presidential debate.

The former vice president will instead participate in an event in Philadelphia moderated by ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos.

The announcement indicates that the second presidential debate will no longer take place as planned Oct. 15 after President Trump balked at the decision to make it a virtual event for safety reasons. Continue reading.

2020 Presidential Candidate Disability Policies and Plans


The following document was provided by the DFL Disability Caucus and was produced by the Florida Democratic Disability Caucus.

An estimated 38 million eligible voters have disabilities. As Election Day approaches, we must take time to understand the multiple issues the effect people with disabilities. The following is a researched and detailed compilation of the Presidential candidates’ policies and plans for Americans with disabilities and their families.

SOCIAL SECURITY
Biden: Pledged to increase Social Security benefits. His plan would also boost payments for disabled and older Americans.
Trump: Issued an executive order in August 2020 that if he won a second term, he intended to eliminate the payroll tax that funds Social Security. The chief actuary for the Social Security Administration said the trust which supports
the Social Security would be depleted by the middle of 2023. Funds for disability payments would run out in 2021.

Continue reading “2020 Presidential Candidate Disability Policies and Plans”

Trump’s determination to attend next week’s debate seen as part of pattern of recklessness

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President Trump’s tweet Tuesday that he looks forward to next week’s presidential debate alarmed some medical and public health experts, who warned that his coronavirus infection might still be contagious then and could endanger others.

A day after the president was discharged from a three-night hospital stay, during which he was put on an aggressive mix of treatments usually reserved for the most severe cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, he continued to project an image of being fully in charge and able to conduct all of his regular activities.

Some outside health experts, however, said Trump’s determination to attend the Oct. 15 debate is part of a pattern of recklessness that has defined his response to the pandemic, with the president and his aides not wearing masks or observing social distancing. At least 19 people on his staff or his campaign, or who attended recent White House events, have tested positive for the virus in the past week. Continue reading.

4 takeaways from the vice-presidential debate

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The only debate between the presidential nominees’ running mates, Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), happened Wednesday night.

It was more in-line with the traditional tone of these debates than last week’s chaotic presidential one. There were no massive moments that are likely to change the race, but there were some takeaways. Here they are.

1. Pence’s coronavirus straw men

From the start of the debate, the pandemic was front-and-center — particularly given Pence’s role as head of the White House coronavirus task force. It quickly became clear that Pence was much more interested in propping up and knocking down straw men than in delving into details of the administration’s response.

Pence team agrees to plexiglass barrier on his side of debate stage

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The Commission on Presidential Debates said Tuesday night that Vice President Pence had dropped his objections to a plexiglass barricade on his side of the stage for Wednesday’s debate after viewing the setup during a walk-through of the debate hall.

The disclosure, by commission co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., came after a long day of posturing between the Trump and Biden campaigns over whether the barriers were needed to protect the participants from the coronavirus. Advisers to Pence maintained that there was no need for a barrier on his side of the stage.

But at that point the stage was already being built with two clear dividers, one next to each of the tables where the candidates will sit. Fahrenkopf said he had multiple talks with representatives of the Pence campaign after they saw the layout of the stage. Continue reading.

Trump campaign says president plans to participate in next debate in person despite uncertainty

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President Trump plans to participate in next week’s debate in person, his campaign said Tuesday, despite uncertainty around how he will recover from COVID-19.

“The President intends to participate in the debate in person,” the campaign’s communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said in a statement to The Hill.

But it’s unclear if the president will be healthy enough to attend the debate, or whether he would be exposing other attendees to a contagious virus that has killed roughly 210,000 people in the U.S. to date. Continue reading.

‘We’re on a knife’s edge’: Report details frightening parallels between Trump’s era and fascism of the past

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During his heated debate with former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday night, September 29, President Donald Trump disturbed many of his critics when he expressed his solidarity with the Proud Boys — a racist far-right group with a history of violence. History repeats itself, and journalist Amy S. Rosenberg — in an article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on October 5 — warns that some historians see troubling parallels between the United States in 2020 and countries that sunk into fascism in the past.

For her article, Rosenberg interviewed some scholars and historians in Philadelphia and nearby southern New Jersey. One of them is Anne Berg, who grew up in Germany and now teaches history at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rosenberg writes that although Berg’s parents were “basically hippies,” her grandparents “were Nazis” — and Berg told the Inquirer, “To expect that things are going to return to normal is irresponsible. People need to be aware of the risks we are facing right now.” Continue reading.