The Commentariat -- Sept. 30, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Sheila Kaplan of the New York Times: "The White House has blocked a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep cruise ships docked until mid-February, a step that would have displeased the politically powerful tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida. The current 'no sail' policy, which was originally put in place in April and later extended, is set to expire on Wednesday. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the C.D.C., had recommended the extension, worried that cruise ships could become viral hot spots, as they did at the beginning of the pandemic. But at a meeting of the coronavirus task force on Tuesday, Dr. Redfield's plan was overruled, according to a senior federal health official who was not authorized to comment and so spoke on condition of anonymity. The administration will instead allow the ships to sail after Oct. 31, the date the industry had already agreed to in its own, voluntary plan. The rejection of the C.D.C.'s plan was first reported by Axios."
John Verhovek & Molly Nagle of ABC News: "After a raucous and chaotic first presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden is embarking on a roughly 200-mile whistle stop train tour on Wednesday through the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, pushing his economic agenda while hoping to appeal to voters that have strayed from the Democratic Party in recent years.... The Democratic nominee, long-known for his affinity for Amtrak, briefly commented on last night's debate.... 'Last night's debate, and this election, it's supposed to be about ... you and all the people I grew up with in Scranton, and people in Youngstown and Claymont, Delaware, and all the people who make a difference,' Biden said standing outside at a socially-distanced event just feet away from his newly-minted campaign train. 'Does your president understand at all what you're going through? What so many other people are going through? The question is does he see you where you are and where you want to be? Does he care?' Biden asked rhetorically."
Quint Forgery of Politico: "The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Wednesday that the prior night's face-off between ... Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden showed the need for 'additional structure' to the format 'to ensure a more orderly discussion.' It added that it would announce the new measures shortly, while also commending Chris Wallace of Fox News for his 'professionalism' moderating the Tuesday night debate." This story has been expanded since linked Wednesday afternoon.
New York Times Upshot: Three "instapolls" peg Biden as winning the debate. "CNN found that Mr. Biden decisively won the debate, 60 percent to 28 percent, while CBS News and an early cut from a Data for Progress poll found far closer seven- and 12-point leads for Mr. Biden.... A closer look [at these polls] ... raises the possibility of good news for Mr. Biden. His favorability rating improved by a net four percentage points, compared with how the same respondents answered before the debate. The president's rating declined by a net four points.... Historically, the winner of these polls tends to gain in the real polls over the next week.... It's hard to say anyone clearly won the debate last night, and that's a win for Mr. Biden. He was the front-runner heading into the debate, and it was the president who needed a win to try to narrow the race." ~~~
~~~ Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "As President Trump argued during Tuesday night's debate that vast numbers of law enforcement officials are supporting his campaign, he began listing the locations of his alleged police backers. 'I have Florida, I have Texas, I have Ohio,' he said. 'Excuse me, Portland, the sheriff there just came out today and said, "I support President Trump."'...Multnomah County [includes Portland] Sheriff Mike Reese quickly took to Twitter on Tuesday night to forcefully deny any affinity for the president. 'In tonight's presidential debate the President said the 'Portland Sheriff' supports him. As the Multnomah County Sheriff I have never supported Donald Trump and will never support him,' Reese tweeted. In fact, as Trump has seized on unrest in Portland as a campaign issue and sent federal agents to the city for weeks of violent standoffs with protesters, Reese has regularly criticized the president's handling of the situation."
Michael Scherer & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "President Trump has scheduled large campaign rallies this weekend in Wisconsin despite recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force that call for increasing social distancing in the state 'to the maximal degree possible.' The task force has further flagged La Crosse and Green Bay, the metropolitan areas where Trump plans to gather thousands of supporters Saturday, as coronavirus 'red zones,' the highest level of concern for community spread of the virus, according to a report from the group released Sunday and obtained by The Washington Post. Wisconsi is listed in the document as the state with the third-highest rate of new cases in the country, with 243 new cases per 100,000 people over the previous week, about 2.6 times greater than the national average. Ahead of Trump's scheduled rally in Green Bay, the Bellin Health System said Tuesday that its hospital in that city is at 94 percent capacity as covid-19 continues to spike in the community." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Should be a big boost to Trump's poll ratings on the "cares about me" question.
Seaborn Larson of the Helena (Montana) Independent Record: "Former Montana governor and Republican National Committee Chair Marc Racicot on Tuesday said he would not vote for ... Donald Trump, citing Trump's character as fault enough to vote for Democrat challenger Joe Biden on Nov. 3.... Racicot is not the only Montana Republican to reject the Trump-bearing GOP. In July, former Secretary of State and state Senate President Bob Brown penned a guest column in the Missoulian, his own 'Declaration of independence from the Republican Party.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Meant to link a story this last week. Arlette Saenz, et al., of CNN: "Tom Ridge, the former Department of Homeland Security secretary during the George W. Bush administration, endorsed Joe Biden in an op-ed published Sunday in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ridge's backing of the former vice president is the latest among a broad list of prominent Republican endorsements for Biden. Ridge, a former GOP governor of Pennsylvania, wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer he considers it 'a point of personal pride; to be counted among the first Republicans to reject ... Donald Trump, referencing a 2015 NBC News interview where he called Trump an 'embarrassment to the party' and country." Mrs. McC: I suppose it would be wrong if I wrote that Ridge will always be "Duct Tape Tom" to me.
Battle of the Self-Righteous Phonies. Nicholas Fandos & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The former F.B.I. director James B. Comey testified on Wednesday before a Republican-led Senate committee seeking to discredit the investigation he opened during the 2016 election into ties between Donald J. Trump's campaign and Russia.... Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee were eager to portray President Trump as a victim of a politically motivated smear by the F.B.I. that unfairly cast a shadow over his presidency. And they contended that Mr. Comey was the ringleader. Mr. Comey strongly defended the F.B.I.'s handling of the investigation, including his decision to open it. But he acknowledged, as he has before, that his initial claims were wrong that a wiretap of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, was properly handled and conceded that the bureau had been sloppy on that aspect of the broader inquiry. He testified by video from his home." The Washington Post's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Olivia Beavers of the Hill: "Former FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday warned that government officials with significant personal debt could pose a risk to national security. Comey, who was responding to a question about President Trump's finances during congressional testimony, said personal debt is a serious consideration when granting security clearances because it could be leveraged by a foreign foe. 'A person's financial situation could make them vulnerable to coercion by an adversary and allow an adversary to do what we try to do to foreign government officials we find are indebted, which is to try to recruit them to our side,' Comey told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).... 'I don't know whether the Russians have something over President Trump, but it is difficult to explain his conduct, his statements in any other way, especially as a refusal to criticize [Russian President] Vladimir Putin. So it raises significant questions and obviously the question is only deepened by disclosure, if it is true, of significant indebtedness,' Comey said." ~~~
~~~ Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Former FBI Director James Comey said on Wednesday that the Justice Department's attempt to drop the prosecution of Michael Flynn is 'deeply concerning,' suggesting ... Donald Trump’s former national security adviser is receiving special treatment and key pieces of evidence have been misrepresented. 'It's deeply concerning because this guy is getting treated in a way that nobody's been treated before,' Comey said during public testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.... Comey also questioned Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe's decision to release a Russian intelligence assessment stating that Hillary Clinton tried to pin Russia's 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee on Trump. Specifically, Ratcliffe wrote that Comey was briefed on that assessment.... 'That doesn't ring any bells with me,' Comey said, adding that he had 'trouble understanding' Ratcliffe's letter."
~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race, Etc.
New York Times' reporters' snark discussion of the debate is here. The page includes live video of the debate. Politico's live analysis is here. Politico also has live video.
Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "The first presidential debate between President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. unraveled into a rhetorical melee Tuesday, as Mr. Trump hectored and interrupted Mr. Biden nearly every time he spoke and the former vice president denounced the president as a 'clown' and told him to 'shut up.' In a chaotic, 90-minute back-and-forth, the two major party nominees expressed a level of acrid contempt for each other unheard-of in modern American politics. Mr. Trump, trailing in the polls and urgently hoping to revive his campaign, was plainly attempting to be the aggressor. But he interjected so insistently that Mr. Biden could scarcely answer the questions posed to him, forcing the moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, to repeatedly urge the president to let his opponent speak.... The president's bulldozer-style tactics represented an extraordinary risk for an incumbent who's trailing Mr. Biden because voters, including some who supported him in 2016, are so fatigued by his near-daily attacks and outbursts. Yet the former vice president veered between trying to ignore Mr. Trump by speaking directly into the camera to the voters, and giving in to temptation by hurling insults at the president. Mr. Biden called Mr. Trump a liar and a racist."
Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "The presidential campaign devolved into chaos and acrimony here Tuesday night as President Trump incessantly interrupted and insulted Democratic nominee Joe Biden while the two sparred over the economy, the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court and race relations in their first debate. The most anticipated event on the fall campaign calendar was an uncontrollable spectacle of badgering and browbeating, of raised voices and hot tempers. Trump's interjections and jeers, some of them false and made in an apparent effort to fluster Biden, landed with such ferocity that moderator Chris Wallace pleaded multiple times with the president to follow the agreed-upon debate rules. Biden, exasperated, asked Trump during the opening segment on the Supreme Court, 'Will you shut up, man?'"
Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "The first debate between ... Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into a bitter showdown Tuesday as the president repeatedly interrupted his opponent with angry -- and personal -- taunts that sometimes overshadowed the sharply different visions each man has of a nation facing historic crises."
Lauren Gambino of the Guardian: "In a sign of the times, there was no public audience, handshakes were omitted, the podiums were staged a safe distance apart and empty seats separated the campaign staff and the candidate's family members in attendance. In a striking contrast, Biden's family and guests wore masks for the duration of the event, while the first lady, Melania Trump, and the rest of the president's family removed theirs after being seated.... Even as Trump attempted to pin Biden, he trampled his own message with a stunning refusal to condemn white nationalism and commit to a peaceful transition of power...."
David Siders of Politico: "The mayhem Donald Trump subjected Americans to on Tuesday might have helped him if Joe Biden had disintegrated. Biden didn't. Trump -- and viewers everywhere -- just left the night worse off for having sat through the whole, weird thing. The president interrupted and bullied. Biden called the president a 'clown.' Chris Wallace, the moderator, despaired. 'The country would be better served,' the veteran journalist said to Trump, 'if we allow both people to speak with fewer interruptions.['] The result was a circus that will be viewed as one of the strangest confrontations in modern presidential history."
Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Instead of engaging with Biden in good faith, [Trump's] approach was quite simply to bluster and bully his way through every discussion. Rather than let Biden offer a thought and respond to it on the merits, Trump decided not to let Biden offer any thoughts in the first place. At first, he was clearly trying to fluster Biden, probably in an effort to reinforce his long-standing baseless assertion that Biden was suffering from a mental decline.... But Trump's strategy didn't change [when Biden adjusted to the onslaught].... Trump attacked moderator Chris Wallace as readily as he did Biden.... His approach was the approach he takes on Twitter: lifting up various unfounded allegations, shouting at everyone for hours on end, celebrating obscure memes and jokes. Biden found himself debating @realdonaldtrump and not the sitting president of the United States."
Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: “Perhaps the most chaotic presidential debate in modern American history inspired unprecedented reactions on cable and broadcast news by pundits who, in other circumstances, would have been combing over minor moments to gauge who won and lost. The consensus among many commentators: The losers of the night were the American public. 'That was a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck,' said CNN host Jake Tapper. 'That was the worst debate I have ever seen. It wasn't even a debate, it was a disgrace.' His CNN colleague Dana Bash had even sharper words: 'I'm just going to say it like it is: That was a s[hit] show.'... Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume [-- Mrs. McC: a pretty rabid right-winger --] said Trump 'was like a bucking bronco the entire time. I don't know how the people at home would find that appealing.' As for Biden -- who Hume earlier in the evening repeatedly said was 'senile' -- he 'came across as competent' during the debate[, Hume said]." But Hannity liked it.
Natasha Korecki & Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "The moment Joe Biden's first debate against Donald Trump ended, his campaign was already confronted with questions about whether it should be his last. In the two men's first head-to-head matchup, Trump bullied moderator Chris Wallace, blew past his time limits and repeatedly and loudly interrupted Biden. It resulted in a mockery of presidential debates, growing so chaotic that it was impossible to follow entire segments. The Biden campaign immediately shot down any notion the former vice president wouldn't show up to debates in Miami and Nashville next month. In a call with reporters after the debate, the campaign was asked whether it would commit to the next two debates and whether it would seek changes with the debate commission. Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield said only that the campaigns were in ongoing talks with the debate commission and 'I would imagine there would be some additional conversations' going forward."
Mike Allen, et al., of Axios on "Trump's two chilling debate warnings": "President Trump pointedly refused to condemn white supremacist groups... after four months when millions marched for racial justice in the country's largest wave of activism in half a century.... This was a for-the-history-books moment in a debate that was mostly headache-inducing noise.... Trump also telegraphed with clarity that there's unlikely to be a clean outcome to the Nov. 3 election: 'We might not know for months, because these ballots are going to be all over. ... It's a fraud and it's a shame. ... It's a rigged election.' On the Supreme Court, Trump said: 'I think I'm counting on them to look at the ballots, definitely. I hope we don't need them, in terms of the election itself. But for the ballots, I think so, because what's happening is incredible.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm not sure anyone has noticed, but what Trump was saying about the election results was that "the election itself" means in-person voting (at least where Trump wins), and illegitimate mail-in "ballots" that the Supremes will have to adjudicate. These "ballots" are separate from and not part of "the election itself."
Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem. -- Donald Trump, during the debate ~~~
~~~ Ben Collins & Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News: "The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, pledged allegiance to ... Donald Trump on Tuesday night after he told the group to 'stand back and stand by' during the first presidential debate. Many people on social media who identify with the group echoed that language, saying they were 'standing down and standing by.' One known social media account for the group made 'Stand back. Stand by' part of its new logo.... The Proud Boys, a self-described 'Western chauvinist' organization, is considered a violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic hate group, according to the Anti-Defamation League...." A New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Hanna Trudo, et al., of the Daily Beast: "Outside of the debate, Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs saw Trump's remarks as permission to 'fuck' up the group's foes."
Pre-Debate Brawl Reports
Wired on how to watch the first presidential debate, which begins tonight at 9 pm ET: "... the presidential debates are simulcast across all the major networks and cable news programs. If you have cable or satellite TV, or a live streaming TV service or a Mohu antenna, check your local listings -- do those exist anymore? -- and you're good.... You can find the debate on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, MSNBC, and CSPAN. Basically it'll be harder to avoid it than to watch it. You can also stream it on those various networks' sites and/or YouTube channels. If you're looking for something to bookmark, CBS, CSPAN, and ABC News have YouTube streams ready to go." And more. (Also linked yesterday.)
Kelly Hooper of Politico: "The Trump campaign claimed the president 'finished debating Joe Biden' and bragged about his performance hours before the debate even started Tuesday night.... The message was sent to Trump campaign email subscribers about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday; the first presidential debate will begin at 9 p.m."
Mrs. McCrabbie: As much as I hate to link to a Fox "News" report, especially one co-authored by someone named Doocy, this is to rich to pass on: Peter Doocy, et al., of Fox "News": "Fox News has learned that the president's re-election campaign wants the Biden campaign to allow a third party to inspect the ears of each debater for electronic devices or transmitters. The president has consented to this kind of inspection, but a source said the Biden campaign has declined the ear check." Apparently President* Con S. Piracy has given up on his demand for urine tests after Biden refused to submit a sample of his mule piss, so Trump now is pretending that he fears that Biden not only is using performance-enhancing drugs, he also is getting the "answers" fed to him by Black-Girl-President-in-Waiting Kamala Harris or other unnamed smart people. If I were Biden, I'd show up on-stage with a big ole electronic-looking device in my ear & keep muttering, "testing, testing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update. I see Joe more or less took my advice:
It’s debate night, so I’ve got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready. pic.twitter.com/EhOiWdjh1b
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 29, 2020
~~~ Update. Ben Collins of NBC News: "A conspiracy theory that Joe Biden would wear an electronic device in his ear during the first presidential debate went wildly viral Tuesday in the hours before the debate, and the groundless theory was later amplified by conservative news outlets that claimed that Biden had backed out of an ear 'inspection.' The conspiracy theory, which was pushed in a text message sent by the Trump campaign after it went viral on Facebook and YouTube, claimed that Biden had declined to 'undergo inspection for electronic ear pieces before debate.'"
DNI John Ratcliffe (& Lindsey Graham) Are Keeping Us Safe from Hillary Clinton. Andrew Desiderio & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Tuesday declassified a Russian intelligence assessment that was previously rejected by Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee as having no factual basis, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The extraordinary disclosure, released to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) earlier Tuesday, rankled Democrats, who said the move effectively put Russian disinformation into the public sphere in order to boost ... Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims about the government's efforts to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.... And several former senior intelligence officials described Ratcliffe's move as incendiary and irresponsible, given the manner in which he was publicly releasing unverified information that originated from a foreign adversary. The assessment claims that Hillary Clinton ... personally approved an effort 'to stir up a scandal against U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump by tying him to Putin and the Russians' hacking of the Democratic National Committee.' But in his letter to Graham, Ratcliffe noted that the U.S. intelligence community 'does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.'" ~~~
~~~ Spencer Ackerman & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "Former Hillary Clinton aides, ex-intelligence officials and Senate Democrats are accusing Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe of laundering Russian disinformation before an election after Ratcliffe suggested Clinton attempted to manufacture a scandal about Russian interference in the 2016 election on behalf of President Trump.... [Sen. Lindsey] Graham [R-Trump], who spoke to The Daily Beast on the phone Tuesday evening, said he did not know whether the information presented by Ratcliffe was true and said he was not concerned with releasing the uncorroborated allegations to the public even with the presidential election just 35 days away.... Graham's post-facto rationalization was just the latest illustration of how uniformly invested Trump allies have become in the narrative that Russian involvement in U.S. politics is either overstated or deliberately fabricated as a means of delegitimizing the president." Emphasis added.
~~~ Bill Barr Is Here to Help, Too. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The prosecution of Michael Flynn. A Senate investigation into the provenance of the Steele Dossier. The nascent federal probe of discarded absentee ballots in Pennsylvania. In recent days, the Justice Department has declassified or disclosed sensitive materials related to each of these proceedings that, on the surface, have little to do with each other. Yet within hours..., Donald Trump had weaponized each to boost his reelection campaign. It's the latest evidence that veteran prosecutors and attorneys -- and, over the weekend, even a current DOJ official -- describe as an intensifying effort to use the department to support Trump's political fortunes. 'These actions are not typical,' said William Jeffress, a veteran defense lawyer who represented former President Richard Nixon after he left the White House. 'Tradition is that politically sensitive actions by DOJ go dark at least 60 days before an election.'"
Natalia Alamdari of the Delaware News Journal: "This past week, conservative media outlets like Fox News, the Washington Times and The Blaze reported that [Joe] Biden lied about attending DSU, and that the school refuted those claims.... No, Joe Biden did not say he attended Delaware State University. But DSU is now pushing back against conservative media outlets reporting that Biden falsely said he attended the school, the only historically Black university in the state." Mrs. McC Note: Trump accused Biden during the debate Tuesday of not knowing what college he attended.
Ha Ha! Alexi McCammond of Axios: "Joe Biden's campaign released his 2019 tax returns on Tuesday, showing that he and his wife, Jill, paid nearly $300,000 in federal taxes last year.... The release, timed just hours before the first presidential debate, comes days after a bombshell New York Times report said that President Trump paid only $750 in federal taxes in 2016 and 2017.... Biden's deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, told reporters on a call that this marks 22 years of publicly available tax returns fo Biden and 16 years for [Kamala] Harris. Bedingfield said ... the campaign's message to Trump is simple: 'Mr. President, release your tax returns, or shut up.'" The post includes a copy of the Bidens returns. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ryan Lizza of Politico: "After watching hours of Trump's debates from 2015 and 2016, what comes across in hindsight is that he had an under-appreciated style, strategy, and message.... The conventional wisdom about Trump arriving in Cleveland Tuesday as a manic and extremely, well, Trumpy, debater could be wrong. Trump won the Republican nomination partly on the strength of his debate appearances.... What comes across watching these events back-to-back is the power of Trump's populism and demagoguery and the relative restraint he showed [during his debates with Hillary Clinton] compared to what we have seen on his Twitter feed and at his press conferences for much of this year.... [Philippe] Reines [-- who played Trump in Clinton's debate prep sessions --] described that three-step response that Trump patented in 2016 as, 'word salad, weird digression, I'm great and she's terrible.'... [Trump] shouldn't be underestimated." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ben Ashford, et al., of the Daily Mail: "Donald Trump's demoted campaign boss Brad Parscale is under investigation for 'stealing' between $25-$40 million from Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, well-placed sources exclusively told DailyMail.com. The 44-year-old is also being investigated for 'pocketing' nearly another $10 million from the Republican National Committee, the insiders added. The revelation comes as Parscale was involuntarily committed to a hospital by Fort Lauderdale police on Sunday following a concerning episode at his $2.4 million Florida home.... Tim Murtaugh, the Communications Director for Trump's 2020 campaign, said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'It's utterly false. There is no investigation, no audit, and there never was.' Steve Guest, the RNC Rapid Response Director, said: 'This report is categorically false. There is no audit or investigation of Brad at the RNC.'" Mrs. McC: This is a Daily Mail report, which automatically makes it suspect, so make of it what you will. I have read stories in the past that accused Parscale of taking liberties with Trump campaign funds.
Mississippi Senate Race. Senator Shows She's Working Hard for Foreigners. Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press: "Canadian, Russian, South African and Ukrainian models appear in U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's first 2020 campaign ad for her Mississippi campaigns -- but no Mississippians. Instead, the ad uses stock footage from foreign production companies as the senator talks about the work she has done to bring jobs and economic growth to Mississippians.... Hyde-Smith has not made any publicly announced campaign appearances in the state since the 2018 special election, which took place after then-Gov. Phil Bryant appointed her to fill a vacant Senate seat.... Her Democratic opponent, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, has held a number of socially distanced, outdoor campaign events this month and earlier in the summer."
Alexander Vindman & John Gans, in a New York Times op-ed: "As the 2020 election grew closer, the president increasingly ignored the policies developed by his own government and instead pursued transactions guided by self-interest and instinct. The result is a patchwork of formal policies and informal deals that has undermined America's interests and credibility. But Mr. Trump's sloppy management matters less than its result: No one can trust American foreign policy right now.... Trust is the coin of the realm in national security.... Increasingly, the president and his loyalists in and out of government undermined [the] process [of developing & executing consistent, strategic international polices] with winks, nods and WhatsApp messages, seeking side transactions that prioritize personal benefit, break norms and invite corruption.... In the homestretch before the election, Mr. Trump has overridden many of the remaining safeguards against bad deals, and ignores his professional advisers even more often." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Nick Miroff & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is preparing an immigration enforcement blitz next month that would target arrests in U.S. cities and jurisdictions that have adopted 'sanctuary' policies, according to three U.S. officials who described a plan with public messaging that echoes the president's law-and-order campaign rhetoric. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, known informally as the 'sanctuary op,' could begin in California as soon as later this week. It would then expand to cities including Denver and Philadelphia, according to two of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive government law enforcement plans. Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, probably will travel to at least one of the jurisdictions where the operation will take place to boost President Trump's claims that leaders in those cities have failed to protect residents from dangerous criminals, two officials said." A Slate story is here.
Ted Barrett & Manu Raju of CNN: "Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in an extremely rare move Tuesday, took control of the Senate floor and is forcing a procedural vote on a bill, a step that is typically done only by the Senate majority leader. The top Democrat's action now sets up a vote later this week related to a bill that would protect people with pre-existing conditions if the Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration's Department of Justice and strikes down the Affordable Care Act after arguments are heard in November. Schumer's surprise steps were extraordinary because such motions are typically offered by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who controls the Senate and dictates what gets considered on the floor. Schumer has never before tried to force such a cloture vote in his time as the top minority leader, aides said. The rules say any senator can do what Schumer did Tuesday but senators typically don't take these extreme steps because doing so regularly would shut down the Senate."
Andrew Desiderio & Marianne Levine of Politico: "... Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court did not commit to recusing herself from cases related to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, according to her written responses to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. Amy Coney Barrett's responses, obtained by Politico on Tuesday night, also provide a window into the breakneck pace at which the White House operated in the aftermath of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, with Barrett revealing that Trump settled on her as his pick just three days after Ginsburg's death."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
Lindsey Tanner of the AP: "After preying heavily on the elderly in the spring, the coronavirus is increasingly infecting American children and teens in a trend authorities say appears fueled by school reopenings and the resumption of sports, playdates and other activities. Children of all ages now make up 10% of all U.S cases, up from 2% in April, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Tuesday. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the incidence of COVID-19 in school-age children began rising in early September as many youngsters returned to their classrooms."
Donald McNeil of the New York Times: "In the last week, leading epidemiologists from respected institutions have, through different methods, reached the same conclusion: About 85 to 90 percent of the American population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the current pandemic. The number is important because it means that 'herd immunity' -- the point at which a disease stops spreading because nearly everyone in a population has contracted it -- is still very far off.... 'The idea that herd immunity will happen at 10 or 20 percent is just nonsense, said Dr. Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. That belief began circulating months ago on conservative news programs like those of Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham. It has been cited several times by Dr. Scott W. Atlas, President Trump's new pandemic adviser. It appears to be behind Mr. Trump's recent remarks that the pandemic is 'rounding the corner' and 'would go away even without the vaccine.' But it is also gaining credence on Wall Street and among some business executives, said prominent public health experts, who consider the idea scientifically unfounded as well as dangerous...."
Caitlin Dickerson, et al., of the New York Times: "The Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga., drew national attention this month after a nurse, Dawn Wooten, filed a whistle-blower complaint claiming that detainees had told her they had had their uteruses removed without their full understanding or consent. Since then, both ICE and the hospital in Irwin County have released data that show that two full hysterectomies have been performed on women detained at Irwin in the past three years. But firsthand accounts are now emerging from detainees ... who underwent other invasive gynecological procedures that they did not fully understand and, in some cases, may not have been medically necessary. At least one lawyer brought the complaints about gynecological care to the attention of the center's top officials in 2018..., but the outside referrals continued. The Times interviewed 16 women who were concerned about the gynecological care they received while at the center.... All 16 were treated by Dr. Mahendra Amin, who ... has been described by ICE officials as the detention center's 'primary gynecologist.' The cases were reviewed by five gynecologists -- four of them board-certified and all with medical school affiliations -- who found that Dr. Amin consistently overstated the size or risks associated with cysts or masses attached to his patients' reproductive organs."
Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: "For six months, Disney has kept tens of thousands of theme park workers on furlough with full health-care benefits in hopes that a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel would appear. On Tuesday, Disney conceded that none was coming. The company's theme park division said it would eliminate 28,000 jobs in the United States. Theme parks will account for most of the layoffs, although Disney Cruise Line and Disney's retail stores will also be affected."