US Elections 2020 : The Joe Biden vs Donald Trump Thread

[Firebat]

Putin says Russia and U.S. should agree not to meddle in each other's elections

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin called on Friday for an agreement between Russia and the United States to guarantee not to engage in cyber-meddling in each other’s elections.

In a statement ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3, Putin called for a reset between Russia and the United States and said he wanted an agreement between the two countries to prevent incidents in cyberspace.

“(I propose)... exchanging guarantees of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, including electoral processes, including using information and communication technologies and high-tech methods,” he said.

Moscow’s relations with Washington are at post-Cold War lows as the election looms.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the aim of tilting it in Donald Trump’s favour, including by hacking into the campaign of his rival Hillary Clinton. Moscow denies that charge.

Trump is currently campaigning for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden.

“One of the main strategic challenges of our time is the risk of a large-scale confrontation in the digital sphere,” Putin said in the Kremlin statement.

“We would like to once again appeal to the United States with a proposal to approve a comprehensive program of practical measures to reset our relations in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).”

He proposed the two countries reach an agreement to prevent major cyberspace incidents, something he compared to a 1972 U.S.-Soviet treaty reached at the height of the Cold War to prevent incidents at sea and in the air from escalating.

He also called for the two countries to fully restore communication lines between their respective agencies to discuss key international information on security issues.

Russia has denied it is attempting to interfere in the 2020 U.S. campaign, despite evidence to the contrary.

Microsoft MSFT.O said two weeks ago that hackers linked to Russia, China and Iran were trying to spy on people tied to both Trump and Biden. Russia and China dismissed the allegations.

Reuters reported on Sept. 9 that Microsoft had alerted one of Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers. The Kremlin called the report “nonsense”.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...meddle-in-each-others-elections-idUSKCN26G1LJ

 

[sweep_shot]

Biden accuses Trump of silence on 'dictator' in Belarus

(Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday chided President Donald Trump for not speaking out about repression of democratic protests in Belarus, a country he said is being run by a "dictator."

More than 12,000 people have been arrested, and hundreds remain in jail, since President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the landslide winner of an Aug. 9 presidential election that the opposition in the former Soviet state denounced as rigged.

In a statement emailed to Reuters, Biden sided with demonstrators' "peaceful expressions of freedom" and demands for new elections.

Biden, a former vice president and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman who has had testy clashes with Russia over eastern Europe, also insisted on the release of several named opposition leaders whom he called "political prisoners."

"Yet President Trump refuses to speak out against Lukashenka's actions or to offer his personal support for the pro-democracy movement," Biden said, using an alternate spelling of the Belarusian politician's name.

Lukashenko was abruptly inaugurated on Wednesday in what Biden called a "sham ceremony," the same day that U.S. news was dominated by Trump's declining to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose his re-election bid against Biden on Nov. 3.

"A president hiding in fear from his own citizens, refusing to accept the will of the people is a sign of a weak, illegitimate autocrat, not a strong leader," Biden said in his statement.

Trump and Biden are set to meet for their first debate on Tuesday. The topics are to include "race and violence in our cities," the organizers said.

The two have clashed over whether mass demonstrations in the United States over police violence against Black people are largely peaceful or whether they need to be met with militarized force, with Trump calling himself the "law and order" president.

A spokeswoman for Trump's presidential campaign referred a request for comment to the White House, which did not immediately respond.

The comments from Biden would seem to show little sign of respite for Lukashenko, 66, who is now reliant on his security forces and his ally Russia to maintain his 26-year grip on power. He has brushed off the condemnation.

The United States, Britain and Canada are expected to impose sanctions soon on Belarusian individuals over what those governments view as a rigged election and violence against peaceful protesters, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

Biden promised to "defend our democratic values and stand with those who share them" in his statement but did not detail policy steps his administration would take against Belarus.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/...ump-of-silence-on-dictator-in-belarus-502162/.

 

[sweep_shot]

U.S. election: How Trump, Biden are preparing for the first 2020 presidential debate

Ahead of the first debate-stage matchup between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, each campaign is promising a stark contrast in policy, personality and preparation.

Trump has decided to skip any formal preparation. And while Biden’s team believes the significance of the debate may be exaggerated, the Democratic nominee has been aggressively preparing to take on the president.

Biden’s campaign has been holding mock debate sessions featuring Bob Bauer, a senior Biden adviser and former White House general counsel, playing the role of Trump, according to a person with direct knowledge of the preparations granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy. Bauer has not actually donned a Trump costume in line with Trump stand-ins from previous years, but he is representing his style and expected strategy.

“I’m sure the president will throw everything he can at (Biden). My guess is that they’re preparing for that — bombarding him with insults and weird digressions,” said Jay Carney, a former aide to Biden and President Barack Obama.

“I think it’s an important moment — I think it’s really important for President Trump, because the direction of this election has been pretty stable for a long time now, and he needs to shake it up as any candidate would who’s behind,” Carney added. “The question is, can that work?”

Trump and Biden are scheduled to meet on the debate stage for the first time Tuesday night at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. The 90-minute event moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace is the first of three scheduled presidential debates. Vice-President Mike Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, will also debate in October.

For some, the debates represent the most important moments in the 2020 campaign’s closing days, a rare opportunity for millions of voters to compare the candidates’ policies and personalities side-by-side on prime-time television. Trump has been trailing Biden in the polls for the entire year, a reality that gives the president an urgent incentive to change the direction of the contest on national television if he can.

Others, including those close to Biden’s campaign, do not expect the debates to fundamentally change the race no matter what happens, given voters’ daily struggles with the pandemic and the economy. They also point to high-profile debates in past elections thought to be game-changing moments at the time but that ultimately had little lasting effect.

Those with knowledge of Biden’s preparations suggest he will not take the fight to Trump if he can avoid it. But on Saturday, at least, he was on the attack when he discussed his strategy on MSNBC.

“I’m prepared to go out and make my case as to why I think he’s failed and why I think the answers I have to proceed will help the American people, the American economy and make us safer internationally,” Biden said, arguing that Trump won’t persuade voters with broadsides because “the people know the president is a liar.”

He said he doesn’t expect Trump to articulate a detailed vision for a second term.

“He doesn’t know how to debate the facts, because he’s not that smart,” Biden continued. “He doesn’t know that many facts. He doesn’t know much about foreign policy. He doesn’t know much about domestic policy. He doesn’t know much about the detail.”

While Biden has said he will try to be a fact checker of sorts on stage, the Democrat is being advised to avoid direct confrontations and instead redirect the conversation to more familiar campaign themes of unity and issues that matter most to voters: the economy, health care and the pandemic.

“Arguing over facts, litigating whether what he’s saying is accurate, that is not winning to Biden,” said Jen Psaki, a former Obama aide who is close to Biden’s team. “This is an opportunity to speak directly to the American people. His objective should be to speak directly to them, but not be pulled in by Trump. That is hard.”

Trump has not been doing any formal preparation, according to aides and allies who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

No set has been constructed and aides refused to say whether anyone is playing Biden. Trump, instead, has maintained that the best preparation is doing his day job — particularly his frequent and often contentious interactions with reporters. White House aides also scheduled an ABC town hall earlier this month to expose Trump to real voter questions for the first time in months in preparation for the second debate.

Privately some aides and allies are worried that Trump’s lack of formal preparation will lead him to fall into the same hubris trap as other incumbents in their first general election debate. Obama, for example, famously struggled in his first matchup against Mitt Romney in 2012.

But other Trump backers are confident that the president is ready to handle any tough questions or pushback from Biden.

“The debates matter,” said Lara Trump, a senior adviser to the campaign and the president’s daughter-in-law. “Donald Trump certainly did a great job on the debates (in 2016) and I think this will be no different.”

Lara Trump also seemed to simultaneously raise and lower expectations for Biden.

“Joe Biden spent a lot of time in his basement to study up. He’s been in this game for 47 years. I assume he’ll do okay,” she said. “Quite frankly, the bar has been lowered so much for Joe Biden that if he stays awake for the whole thing it’s like maybe he won.”

The mixed messages were in line with those of Trump’s allies who spent much of the year raising questions about Biden’s physical and mental strength, while in recent days trying to cast him as a strong and experienced debater facing a relative neophyte in Trump.

A former reality show star, the president is keenly aware of the power and pitfalls of live television. Aides say he is acutely mindful of the power of “moments” to define how a debate is perceived and that he intends to make his share of them happen.

It remains to be seen how aggressively Trump attacks Biden. He has warned apocalyptically about the consequences of a Biden victory and is never one to shy away from a fight. He is also an avowed “counterpuncher” and will surely respond to any attacks by Biden in kind.

Terry McAuliffe, the former Virginia governor and onetime national Democratic chairman, said Biden must fashion a succinct, debate-stage version of his message since the spring: draw a straight line from Trump’s personal deficiencies to his handling of the pandemic, its economic fallout, the national reckoning on race and then explain why a Biden presidency would be different.

“Trump’s just looking for a Hail Mary here,” McAuliffe said. “He knows he’s in trouble.”

Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7361430/trump-biden-presidential-debate-preparation/.

 

[sweep_shot]

Dwayne Johnson Endorses Presidential Candidate for First Time, Supports Joe Biden and Kamala Harris


"In my opinion you are a certified badass," Dwayne Johnson told Kamala Harris

Dwayne Johnson will be voting for Joe Biden on Nov. 3.

The actor, 48, announced his choice for president and vice president in a video shared on his YouTube channel on Sunday. The footage shows Johnson having a virtual conversation with Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, who the former WWE star was formally introduced to for the first time.

Harris, 55, said she's a "huge fan" of Johnson's work, from Jumanji to the Fast and Furious franchise, in which he portrays Luke Hobbs in Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious and the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw.

"I have been a lucky guy over the years, in my life and my career to have been part of and participated in some real defining moments, and I've never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate or vice presidential candidate in my life, over my career," Johnson said before officially endorsing Biden, 77, and Harris.

"That means a great deal to us, for real," the former vice president said, thanking Johnson for his support.

"You guys are both obviously experienced to lead. You've done great things. Joe, you've had such an incredible career. You've led in my opinion, with great compassion, and heart, and drive, but also soul. You and I talked about that in the past and how important soul is," said Johnson, who was once the third-most backed person online to run for president in the 2020 election.

Also during the virtual chat, the former PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive called Harris "smart and tough" as he praised her career as an attorney and senator. "I've seen you in those hearings and in my opinion you are a certified badass," he said.

Johnson also referenced his relationship with his late father Rocky "Soul Man" Johnson, who died in January at age 75. "Joe, you and I have talked about the relationship that you had with your father. This idea of respect and earning respect that our parents have taught us. My dad always said, 'Respect is given when it is earned.'

Then the father of three posed a question to Biden and Harris: "How will the both of you earn the respect of all the American people once you're in the White House?"

Biden was the first to answer Johnson's question, noting how he and Harris have to be honest with the public.

"By doing what we say we're going to do. By keeping our word. By leveling with the American people. By taking responsibility. When we fail, acknowledge it. We're not going to be perfect, but take responsibility. Say, 'This is what I'm going to do, this is what I believe and tell the truth.' That sounds so basic, but the American people are strong, they're tough, they can take anything if you level with them, and tell the truth," he said. "And one of the ways we're going to do it is to demonstrate we mean what we say. Our administration, DJ, is going to look like America. It's going to be representative of all of America."

Harris echoed Biden's theme of honesty, telling Johnson: "As we know, the nature of trust is that, like Joe was saying and as you've said, it's a reciprocal relationship. You give and you receive trust. And one of the foundations of trust is truth. You must speak truth but here's the reality: truth can sometimes be really difficult to hear and for that reason sometimes people don't speak it. But you cannot have trust if you don't speak truth. You know that as a parent, we know that as parents, you have to speak truth. And as long as there is an understanding that it is being spoken not to confront, not to hurt, but to deal with things, the way they must be handled. That has to be part of the core of what we do as we go forward because to your point, we're facing as a country so many challenges and people are grieving. I mean, people are grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of certainty, the loss of normalcy and to heal and get through this we're gonna have to be honest about what healing will require. That's one of the things that Joe and I really do have in common, which is we're motivated by healing, but we know to do that, we have to be honest about what it's going to take."

Johnson joins a long list of Biden and Harris' A-list supporters. Many in Hollywood have voiced their support for the Democratic ticket with several stars, including Stephen Curry, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, making special appearances during the virtual Democratic National Convention in August.

On Tuesday, Biden will take part in his first debate against President Donald Trump. The Cleveland event, moderated by Fox News' Chris Wallace, will cover six topics: "The Trump and Biden Records," "The Supreme Court," "COVID-19," "The Economy," "Race and Violence in our Cities" and "The Integrity of the Election."

Then on Oct. 7, Harris will debate Vice President Mike Pence.

Source: https://people.com/politics/dwayne-johnson-endorses-joe-biden-kamala-harris/.

 

[Firebat]

Debate offers Trump chance to yank stubbornly stable 2020 race his way

After months of anticipation, Donald Trump and election rival Joe Biden were scheduled to meet on a debate stage for the first time in Cleveland on Tuesday night, in what could be Trump’s last best chance to turn the presidential race his way and win re-election.

Suffering from weeks of negative revelations in the news and terrible poll numbers, Trump needs a big score at the first presidential debate to shift the national conversation away from the sputtering economy, the coronavirus pandemic and his staggering tax avoidance, analysts say.

Those factors could see a performance by Trump that is even more aggressive than usual.

“Trump will go after Biden hard, to deflect attention away from his own troubles, including the reports on his tax evasion and business failures,” said Brad Bannon, a Washington-based Democratic strategist. “Much of Biden’s support is based on his calm demeanor, which contrasts well with the president’s erratic personality.

“So, it’s important for Biden to respond to Trump without losing his cool, and smile while he surgically cuts the president down to size.”

Advisers to Biden, meanwhile, say that a great debate result for the Democratic candidate would be for not much to happen at all. The challenge as they see it is for Biden to appear steady and draw a contrast with Trump – and to resist being drawn into a mudfight.

Biden himself appears to recognize the dangers of meeting Trump on his preferred turf of insult and mockery.

“I hope I don’t get baited into a brawl with this guy, because that’s the only place he’s comfortable,” Biden told donors at a fundraiser in Delaware earlier this month. “This is a guy who is absolutely tasteless. Completely tasteless. So pointing it out doesn’t do much.”

The presidential election on 3 November is only 35 days away, and early in-person voting is under way already, while about 10m mail-in ballots have been sent out across the country – a record brought about by the coronavirus crisis.

The conventional wisdom about presidential debates is that they do not move the race much – except when they do. Former vice-president Al Gore was dinged for sighing through his first debate in 2000 with George W Bush. An underprepared outing by Barack Obama against Mitt Romney in their first debate of 2012 breathed new life into the challenger’s campaign.

But the stakes around the first debate of the 2020 cycle may be unique. The race has proven historically stable throughout the year, according to polling analysts, and big campaign moments including the national conventions and Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as a running mate do not appear to have moved the needle.

For weeks, the Trump campaign has been touting the debate as the moment that would at last alter the race, regaling donors with a fantasy of a quick-witted Trump running circles around a somnolent Biden.

Trump went so far at the weekend as to demand a “drug test” before the debate of Biden, whom Trump has baselessly accused of taking “performance enhancing drugs”.

Biden laughed off the suggestion, but his campaign issued a lacerating response.

“Vice-President Biden intends to deliver his debate answers in words,” a Biden spokeswoman told Politico. “If the president thinks his best case is made in urine, he can have at it.”

Biden and Trump are scheduled to participate in three debates total. The 90-minute opener in the series will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and be moderated by the Fox News host Chris Wallace, who has proven in the past to be a tough interviewer of the president.

On Monday, Wallace said he hoped to be “as invisible as possible” onstage. “If I’ve done my job right, at the end of the night, people will say, ‘That was a great debate, who was the moderator?’” Wallace told Fox.

Wallace has picked six subjects for the night: the candidates’ records in office; the supreme court; Covid-19; the economy; “race and violence in our cities”; and the integrity of the election.

But a bombshell New York Times report at the weekend showing that Trump paid zero federal taxes in 10 of the last 15 years, and that Trump has hundreds of millions in mysterious debt coming due, could be one of many topics that upend the planned proceedings.

Biden is expected to highlight how much of Trump’s wealth was inherited, and to draw a contrast between Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Biden grew up, and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the site of Trump’s most famous golden tower.

Biden might also underscore the dangers of a president who denies climate change by pointing to the ongoing wildfire crisis in the west. Facing new sexual assault allegations himself, Trump could seek to revive allegations against Biden.

Trump has already signaled that Biden’s family is fair game, with sustained attacks on his son Hunter Biden, whose relationships in Ukraine Republicans tried to use to muddle the impeachment inquiry.

But Trump appears to need more political mileage out of the debate than the brief bump that a few sharply delivered attacks might deliver.

More than winning an argument, strategists say, the debates are about making an impression on viewers that could nudge a crucial few into one camp or the other.

“Trump needs a Biden collapse,” the Republican political consultant Mike Murphy, a frequent Trump critic, said on his podcast. “Because Trump needs something to happen on the 29th that gives him the whole month to work with.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/29/donald-trump-joe-biden-presidential-debate-cleveland

 

[Romali_rotti]

The debate is soooo entertaining.. Biden just called Trump a clown to his face lol... Biden looks very weak on that stage....

 

[sweep_shot]

Trump now tells far right to 'stand down' amid white supremacy row

President Donald Trump has said a far-right group should "stand down" and let law enforcement do its work, after his refusal to explicitly condemn the group in a TV debate sparked a backlash.

Mr Trump said "I don't know who the Proud Boys are", a day after urging them in the election debate with Joe Biden to "stand back and stand by".

Proud Boys members called his debate comments "historic" and an endorsement.

Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "refused to disavow white supremacists".

The exchange came during the first of three televised debates between the two men ahead of the 3 November election. The debate descended into squabbling, bickering and insults, with US media describing it as chaotic, ugly and awful.

The commission that regulates the debates said it would introduce new measures for the next two to "maintain order". Mr Trump said they should get a new anchor and a smarter Democratic candidate.

Not much was gleaned on policy and although one snap poll on the debate gave Mr Biden a slight edge, other opinion polls suggest 90% of Americans have already made up their mind on who to vote for and the debate may well have made little difference.

Mr Biden has consistently led Mr Trump in national polls, but surveys in so-called battleground states suggest the vote could still be a close contest.

What did Mr Trump say about Proud Boys in the debate?
Moderator Chris Wallace asked whether the president would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during protests. These have flared this year over the issues of police killings and racism.

"Sure, I'm willing to... but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing," Mr Trump said.

Mr Biden twice said "Proud Boys" when the president asked who it was he was being told to condemn.

The president said: "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."

Founded in 2016, Proud Boys is a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against left-wing opponents. One Proud Boys social media account posted the logo "Stand Back, Stand By."

Mr Biden was meanwhile accused by conservatives of downplaying the threat of antifa.

Antifa, short for "anti-fascist", is a loose affiliation of far-left activists that often clash with the far right at protests.

During the debate, Mr Biden quoted the FBI director as saying recently that antifa is "an idea, not an organisation".

The FBI director also said in his congressional testimony this month that antifa was a "movement" that includes "violent anarchist extremists".

The US Department of Justice has accused antifa of instigating violence linked to rioting in US cities this year.

How did Mr Trump clarify his debate comments?
He was speaking on the White House lawn on Wednesday ahead of a campaign trip to Minnesota. A reporter asked him about Proud Boys and he said: "I don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down and let law enforcement do their work."

He repeated his demand that Mr Biden condemn the activities of antifa.

He did not clarify his use of "stand by" in the debate and said only that he wanted "law and order to be a very important part of our campaign" when asked whether he welcomed white supremacist support.

Pressed again on the issue, he said: "I've always denounced any form, any form of any of that."

A Trump statement after a neo-Nazi killed an anti-white supremacy protester with his car in Charlottesville in 2017 did condemn "the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups". Mr Trump also said there were "very fine people on both sides" during those protests.

The Department of Homeland Security says white supremacy groups will remain the most "persistent and lethal threat" in the United States into next year.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54359993.

 

[sweep_shot]

Texas governor cuts back on voting locations weeks before election

Texas' governor has ordered that voters can drop off their mail-in ballots at only one location per county in the lead-up to the presidential election.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott said the move would stop illegal voting.

Critics have accused Mr Abbott of voter suppression, pointing out that in some cases this means thousands of voters must go to one clerk's office.

Coming weeks before the election, the order requires counties to close any satellite ballot drop-off locations.

Texas is the second most populous US state and it would be a big win for candidates during the 3 November election. The state has been reliably Republican in modern presidential contests.

Many more voters this time around are expected to vote by post or drop off their ballots due to the pandemic.

Mail-in voting protocols differ slightly state by state, but in Texas, eligible early voters can begin dropping off their ballots this month.

Some of the state's largest counties had already set up multiple drop-off sites. Harris County, home to the city of Houston and some four million residents, must now close 11 drop-off locations, the Houston Chronicle reported.

In addition to raising questions about how potentially millions of urban Texans will need to visit a single drop-off site, the move may also be problematic for rural residents, who are spread out across the state - which is also America's second largest by area.

The order goes into effect on Friday.

In a statement following the order on Thursday, Mr Abbott cited Covid-19 in calling for strengthening ballot-security protocols.

"These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting."

Numerous nationwide and state-level studies over the years have revealed no evidence of major, widespread fraud in postal voting.

Texas Democratic chairman Gilberto Hinojosa responded to the announcement by accusing "scared" Republicans of trying to change rules while "on the verge of losing".

Mr Hinojosa added that courts across the US have said it is too late to make changes to election rules, "but our failed Republican leadership will try anyway".

The proclamation by Mr Abbott will cause "widespread confusion and voter suppression", said Harris County clerk Chris Hollins in a statement. Harris County, which encompasses Houston, is the most populous county in the state.

"Multiple drop-off locations have been advertised for weeks," he said. "To force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location...is prejudicial and dangerous."

Mr Abbott's order also says voting officials must allow poll watchers to be present at the drop-off site.

Poll watchers are individuals who can keep an eye out for any violations of election law at the polling location and during the tallying process. They cannot intimidate voters or speak to them.

President Donald Trump has urged his supporters to become poll watchers while suggesting the election could be rigged.

It's difficult to grasp exactly how large the state of Texas is. There are counties in the west as big as small US states. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a population larger than a dozen European nations. It has an economy roughly the size of Russia's.

Texas also has some of the lowest turnouts in elections in the nation, with just 46.5% of the voting-age population casting ballots in 2016.

Those figures aren't going to be improved by Governor Abbott's decision to mandate only one ballot-drop-off location per county throughout the state. It will be a burden in populous areas like Houston, where traffic and density makes travel slow, and out west, where vast open spaces make it arduous.

The state does have a robust early-voting system, but with concerns about in-person balloting during the Covid-19 pandemic, at-risk Texas might prefer to limit exposure.

Those on the left will see Mr Abbott's decision, combined with other Republican efforts to limit absentee voting - particularly in urban areas that are trending Democratic - as an attempt to prevent their party from winning key state-level elections or, perhaps, even voting for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since 1976.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54380684.

 

[Firebat]

Trump condemns all white supremacists after Proud Boys row

US President Donald Trump has condemned all white supremacist groups following controversy over remarks he made during the first presidential debate.

In an interview with Fox News on Thursday he explicitly condemned the Proud Boys group which in the debate he had urged to "stand back and stand by".

Members of the far-right group had regarded his comment as an endorsement.

Mr Trump's Democratic rival Joe Biden had accused the president of refusing to disavow white supremacists.

Senior Republicans also expressed unease over the remarks, and attempts by Mr Trump to walk back the comments at a news conference on Wednesday failed to end the controversy.

In an interview with Sean Hannity on Thursday evening President Trump said: "I've said it many times, let me be clear again, I condemn the KKK [Ku Klux Klan]. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys.

"I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that."

During Tuesday's debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked whether the president would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during protests.

When Mr Trump asked who it was he was being told to condemn, Mr Biden twice said "Proud Boys", referring to the far-right, anti-immigrant, all-group with a history of violence against left-wing opponents.

The president said: "Proud Boys - stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what... somebody's got to do something about antifa [anti-fascist activists] and the left because this is not a right-wing problem."

After his refusal to explicitly condemn far-right groups drew criticism, Mr Trump sought to qualify his remarks during an exchange with reporters on the White House had lawn on Wednesday.

He said he did not know who the Proud boys were.

He did not clarify his use of "stand by" in the debate but said he wanted to "let law enforcement do their work".

During his time in office, President Trump has been accused of emboldening far-right groups with his rhetoric while being more willing to openly condemn those on the far-left.

The tone and tactics of the first presidential debate were widely criticised.

The candidates were given two minutes to answer moderator questions before being allowed to address each other's response.

However, President Trump constantly interrupted Mr Biden leading to a series of chaotic exchanges in which both men talked over each other.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) - a nonpartisan body that has organised presidential debates since 1988 - has since said it will announce new measures to help moderators "maintain order" in the remaining two debates.

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54381500

 

[Realromeo]

Palanisami vs MK Stalin. Lets go, where my Tamil Nadu boys at ?

 

[Bigboii]

If Trump come back to power than it'll be bad for the world not the US because he is not into war and he is happy with letting things be the way it is, he laissez faire with his diplomacy and this creates a problem of "power vacuum"

He is letting go of south china sea, asia to China, Russia can practically do whatever they want

Know this is great for US isolation served US well (because no expenses but the resources and power is still there and direct threat from other nations sounds like a great thing)

But this isolation policy wouldn't be good for the world because everyone will try to fill the space US left/leaving leading to choas and imbalanced world

Example of this would be Chicago was relatively peaceful with one big gangster but than the cops arrested him it left a power vacuum and the citys murder rate sky rocketed leading to choas

So for US and if we are looking to get out of the worlds affair than Trump should be the number 1 choice cause his second term would transform US dimplomcy for decades

But the world can't afford to lose US and if his foriegn policy is continued unabated than no one can stop China and Russia and there'll major wars that can happen due to this power vacuum

So Trump reelection victory is not good for the world

 

[MenInG]

Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, just a month from the US election on 3 November.

Mr Trump and his wife Melania will now quarantine for two weeks while undergoing treatment for the coronavirus, something which will impact the remaining presidential debates.

Being 74-years-old and - according to his health records published in June - categorised as obese, Mr Trump is at a higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

If he were to become incapacitated or die as a result of the infection - or if such a fate were to befall Democratic candidate Joe Biden - it would have significant and unprecedented ramifications for the US electoral process.

Despite being unprecedented, there are established processes for the selection of new presidential candidates, and these would take centre stage.

According to the rules of the Republican National Committee (RNC), a vacancy for the candidacy in the case of death would be filled in the same manner that a presidential candidate is selected during the national convention.

The 168 members of the RNC - three from every US state, and three from the six territories of the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands - would cast their votes and the candidate would be elected by a majority.

It is a requirement for the RNC to re-elect their new presidential candidate and so it would not automatically fall to the current vice president Mike Pence, although he would constitutionally be required to fill the role of president in the interim period.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has similar rules - its 447 members would choose the new candidate after the DNC chair consulted with the party's leaders in Congress and with its state governors.

Typically this candidate's name would then be placed on the ballot papers and the election would continue as normal, however this is deeply challenging considering the vacancy may occur so close to the big day on 3 November.

Indeed, not only have the ballots already been printed - replacing them is not an insurmountable challenge - but millions of US voters have already filed their ballots using the postal system due to the pandemic.

In addition to that, states each have different deadlines for when the parties can submit different candidate names to be included on the ballot papers - deadlines which are likely to have already passed in the majority of states.

Electoral college members might be expected by the electorate to count votes for a deceased candidate as a vote for their replacement, but it is not clear that this would definitely be in line with voters' wishes - potentially leading to disputes and court actions.

It is also possible that Congress could delay the election, although this has never happened in US history.

When Mr Trump suggested doing so due to the pandemic back in July, citing a discredited theory that postal voting could be compromised by fraud, his comments were shot down by both Democrats and Republicans.

https://news.sky.com/story/us-elect...-trump-becomes-incapacitated-or-dies-12087574

 

[Greenstorm]

If Trump come back to power than it'll be bad for the world not the US because he is not into war and he is happy with letting things be the way it is, he laissez faire with his diplomacy and this creates a problem of "power vacuum"

He is letting go of south china sea, asia to China, Russia can practically do whatever they want

Know this is great for US isolation served US well (because no expenses but the resources and power is still there and direct threat from other nations sounds like a great thing)

But this isolation policy wouldn't be good for the world because everyone will try to fill the space US left/leaving leading to choas and imbalanced world

Example of this would be Chicago was relatively peaceful with one big gangster but than the cops arrested him it left a power vacuum and the citys murder rate sky rocketed leading to choas

So for US and if we are looking to get out of the worlds affair than Trump should be the number 1 choice cause his second term would transform US dimplomcy for decades

But the world can't afford to lose US and if his foriegn policy is continued unabated than no one can stop China and Russia and there'll major wars that can happen due to this power vacuum

So Trump reelection victory is not good for the world

I think its the opposite. Reduced American influence will be better for the world as it means less invasions and extraction of resources by the sole 'super' power. Local players will fill up the vacuum left by US withdrawal in their localities and that will benefit the inhabitants of that region. For instance, people living under numerous princely states in Indian subcontinent were doing better as opposed to when they were all subjected to a single British rule.
So Trump's reelection should benefit the world. Pakistan has certainly benefited from his first tenure.

Trump's reelection will create further polarization and divisions in American society which may not be good for America itself.

 

[Bigboii]

I think its the opposite. Reduced American influence will be better for the world as it means less invasions and extraction of resources by the sole 'super' power. Local players will fill up the vacuum left by US withdrawal in their localities and that will benefit the inhabitants of that region. For instance, people living under numerous princely states in Indian subcontinent were doing better as opposed to when they were all subjected to a single British rule.
So Trump's reelection should benefit the world. Pakistan has certainly benefited from his first tenure.

Trump's reelection will create further polarization and divisions in American society which may not be good for America itself.

You're sleeping on power vacuum's man
they can be really bad (try to leave the biases behind I know as Pakistanis we don't really like US that much but just give it a try)

This is an example if asia gets out of any American interferince who'll be the boss

There'll be a struggle for power between all the powers cause I don't see india, China, Japan going under Chinese influence

Than there'll be fights and so many places can become hot zones (hypothetically) like there may be a nepalese insurgency (with india, china support) or hell with no one to fear China can stop the waters from coming if Indians, vietnamese don't do what is asked of tham (than there'll nasty retaliations from these groups causing thier economic decline and choas)

No country is willing to leave south china sea know the US is maintaining status quo but after tham Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and many other countries won't like that and they'll retaliate (in any shape or form not just military wise)

All of this unbalance or lack of status quo would lead to choas leading to decreased living standards

Know I'll give an historical example
economic/standard of living situation under Pax Romana and Pax magnolia was good and the world flourished under these powers (in many different ways)

But we didn't see that happening afterwards (nor did the Europeans advanced thier civilization nor did the nations who were under the mongols)

Know after the mongols there were big regional powers but the people were better off under the mongols because
A-the economic situation of the world was better because freedom of movement led to more trade
B-more cultural exchange between people (in some ways mongols were responsible for European renaissance due to this cultural exchange)

So we have established that under great/ big empires there is peace which leads to increased living standards for people (historically speaking)

Know this where US comes into picture under US navy US maintains freedom of navigation

What it basically is is that cargo ships can travel places around the globe under US protection (basically no one can steal or bully nations/corporations from traveling for trade reasons) (this is the mission of US navy to dominate the seas so no can challenge tham and the freedom of navigation is maintained)

This dominance which we are taking for granted is leading to trade in increasing and it's helping the world become a global village

But imagine a place where there is no dominant player in the seas that means no freedom of navigation (because no one is powerful enough to really bully the other side into subservience thus creating regional "badmaash" who can dictate different rules for different parts of the world,seas) which would be catastrophic for trade and our would dramatically and would be a severe dent on the world's dream of becoming a global village

US power makes sure that the world remains a capitalist society (because US corporates are the ultimate winner in that situation) and

this is what I call "pax americana" which is extremely rare because it's not normal to have such a powerful country (historically speaking) and this power creates "peace, trade and increased standards of living" and these centuries are worth 2-3 centuries because world progress at light speeds but when these empires (which creates these peaceful times which we call "pax") become old than the world rots!!

I am looking at history and I am saying don't let this old elephant die cause he is providing you shade from the desert heat that'll come after he dies and than you'll be poor and hungary for at least a century afterwards

No one should wish for Rome and its power to fall because what comes after is pure hell for the world as they say in GOT winter is coming

 

[Bigboii]

I think its the opposite. Reduced American influence will be better for the world as it means less invasions and extraction of resources by the sole 'super' power. Local players will fill up the vacuum left by US withdrawal in their localities and that will benefit the inhabitants of that region. For instance, people living under numerous princely states in Indian subcontinent were doing better as opposed to when they were all subjected to a single British rule.
So Trump's reelection should benefit the world. Pakistan has certainly benefited from his first tenure.

Trump's reelection will create further polarization and divisions in American society which may not be good for America itself.

US is on auto pilot because for hundreds of the same system is being followed everyone knows thier job and there is precedence of what to do and what not to do I am not that worried tbh

There are two human things in the world that even a monkey can do

Be the CEO of Coca Cola and be the POTUS
Because both thier administrative models are near perfect and everyone knows thier role with power checks trust me I don't think there'll be a massive issue but there will be a problem non the less

 

[Greenstorm]

You're sleeping on power vacuum's man
they can be really bad (try to leave the biases behind I know as Pakistanis we don't really like US that much but just give it a try)

This is an example if asia gets out of any American interferince who'll be the boss

There'll be a struggle for power between all the powers cause I don't see india, China, Japan going under Chinese influence

Than there'll be fights and so many places can become hot zones (hypothetically) like there may be a nepalese insurgency (with india, china support) or hell with no one to fear China can stop the waters from coming if Indians, vietnamese don't do what is asked of tham (than there'll nasty retaliations from these groups causing thier economic decline and choas)

No country is willing to leave south china sea know the US is maintaining status quo but after tham Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and many other countries won't like that and they'll retaliate (in any shape or form not just military wise)

All of this unbalance or lack of status quo would lead to choas leading to decreased living standards

Know I'll give an historical example
economic/standard of living situation under Pax Romana and Pax magnolia was good and the world flourished under these powers (in many different ways)

But we didn't see that happening afterwards (nor did the Europeans advanced thier civilization nor did the nations who were under the mongols)

Know after the mongols there were big regional powers but the people were better off under the mongols because
A-the economic situation of the world was better because freedom of movement led to more trade
B-more cultural exchange between people (in some ways mongols were responsible for European renaissance due to this cultural exchange)

So we have established that under great/ big empires there is peace which leads to increased living standards for people (historically speaking)

Know this where US comes into picture under US navy US maintains freedom of navigation

What it basically is is that cargo ships can travel places around the globe under US protection (basically no one can steal or bully nations/corporations from traveling for trade reasons) (this is the mission of US navy to dominate the seas so no can challenge tham and the freedom of navigation is maintained)

This dominance which we are taking for granted is leading to trade in increasing and it's helping the world become a global village

But imagine a place where there is no dominant player in the seas that means no freedom of navigation (because no one is powerful enough to really bully the other side into subservience thus creating regional "badmaash" who can dictate different rules for different parts of the world,seas) which would be catastrophic for trade and our would dramatically and would be a severe dent on the world's dream of becoming a global village

US power makes sure that the world remains a capitalist society (because US corporates are the ultimate winner in that situation) and

this is what I call "pax americana" which is extremely rare because it's not normal to have such a powerful country (historically speaking) and this power creates "peace, trade and increased standards of living" and these centuries are worth 2-3 centuries because world progress at light speeds but when these empires (which creates these peaceful times which we call "pax") become old than the world rots!!

I am looking at history and I am saying don't let this old elephant die cause he is providing you shade from the desert heat that'll come after he dies and than you'll be poor and hungary for at least a century afterwards

No one should wish for Rome and its power to fall because what comes after is pure hell for the world as they say in GOT winter is coming

I admit I have a bias against US's global domination as I see it as a successor of the Western imperialists but you are giving too much weight-age to this 'pax Americana' observation which in any case is only about 30 years old (since the collapse of Soviet union).

Industrial revolution enabled modern globalization and consequent upliftment in standards of living, which was happening even before 'pax Americana' and will keep on happening after it.

US capitalists are not the only one benefiting from 'navigational freedom'. China itself has become a global power on the basis of trade (hence more connectivity projects like OBOR). Trade has become an absolute necessity for a country/empire to flourish in modern world and it inherently demands clear pathways for movement so with or without US, navigational freedom on seas and even land isn't going anywhere.

I see strong localized powers as an extension of a present Westphalian system but without the flaw of small/weak countries failing to protect their interests. Sure there will be a few inevitable skirmishes between these powers but they will find a way to form some sort of order based on mutual interests.

Humans do not need a global policeman to flourish. Majority of mankind (in Asia, Africa and latin America) can do a lot better then they are in present World order.

 

[Greenstorm]

US is on auto pilot because for hundreds of the same system is being followed everyone knows thier job and there is precedence of what to do and what not to do I am not that worried tbh

There are two human things in the world that even a monkey can do

Be the CEO of Coca Cola and be the POTUS
Because both thier administrative models are near perfect and everyone knows thier role with power checks trust me I don't think there'll be a massive issue but there will be a problem non the less

I agree this may not be an issue for US currently but issues may unfold in distant future.

 

[Bigboii]

I admit I have a bias against US's global domination as I see it as a successor of the Western imperialists but you are giving too much weight-age to this 'pax Americana' observation which in any case is only about 30 years old (since the collapse of Soviet union).

(I'll tell you why because since the late 1800s US is the biggest economy in the world consistently so this trade domination and the clout that comes with being economically successful was always there and it sure as hell wasn't as recent as 30 years because Soviet union was never powerful enough to "challenge" US because
A- their military, economics wasn't powerful enough to challenge US
B- Nikita came to US in 50s and he was there to make sure that americans think Russians as there equals (know if you were something you don't need to teach other to respect you or treat you as an equal)
C- To ensure freedom of navigation US always had a way powerful navy than USSR and they barely had any meaningful presense on the world's seas (big part of Pax americana = peace stability so trade increase which happens through sea) this means that after the Brits US was unchallenged in its dominance of the seas which meant that only one power for decades was controlling the seas thus freedom of navigation was there for decades
D- USSR was always the second world meaning living standards and milliary was not equal to US and they were a level below
This is the reason why I don't think think USSR was powerful enough to stop this pax americana period (because they weren't stoping the peace or the free movement of trade)


Industrial revolution enabled modern globalization and consequent upliftment in standards of living, which was happening even before 'pax Americana' and will keep on happening after it.

Yes you're right but not quite there because when I am referring to pax americana it has little to do with tech (although it is the byproduct of peace and stability) yes the tech would be there but the dominant naval power wound'd be there to control the seas and globalization is highly dependant on seas but wholl control the seas and be the dominant player so this globalization happens uninterrupted

I'll give a small example there was piracy in horn of africa = US fleet problem solved
Iran Iraq war problem in gulf and oil shipping = US fleet problem solved

South china sea getting a bit freaky and a bit warlike = US fleet problem solved

Know imagine if this is not there the shipping I need from Europe is costing way too much because of piracy, my iphone from china is not coming because Japanese are capturing cargos heading to China (you get the basic picture of why naval dominance is important to insure freedom of navigation)(without a dominant player it's hard to maintain this FON because even though everyone knows that this trade situation is good for everyone but because there are so many moving pieces and without a single powerful player to police the seas it becomes chaotic)

US capitalists are not the only one benefiting from 'navigational freedom'. China itself has become a global power on the basis of trade (hence more connectivity projects like OBOR). Trade has become an absolute necessity for a country/empire to flourish in modern world and it inherently demands clear pathways for movement so with or without US, navigational freedom on seas and even land isn't going anywhere.

(Addressed this above how even though they like freedom of navigation and understand it's importance but they won't be able to enforce it because every country has different priority (example in the gulf Iran has navy saudi will build navy than they'll fight over domination of the gulf disturbing supply lines but no one can stop tham)
But know US doesn't let that happen but in the future if the US leaves than this is an example on how regional powers will fight for domination throughout the globe which will lead to negative impact on freedom of navigation and globalization (because supply lines will be distributed for decades because most of the time regional powers are regional powers for a reason because they're not powerful enough dominate each other so there will only be constant skirmishes with no end result and this is the not the environment for cargo ships to travel safely and freely)

I see strong localized powers as an extension of a present Westphalian system but without the flaw of small/weak countries failing to protect their interests. Sure there will be a few inevitable skirmishes between these powers but they will find a way to form some sort of order based on mutual interests.
(Unfortunately like I mentioned above these skirmishes can last decades if no one is there to stop)

Humans do not need a global policeman to flourish. Majority of mankind (in Asia, Africa and latin America) can do a lot better then they are in present World order.

You know the US was 1 economic power since the late 1800s but before ww2 they only had 4000 soldiers meaning it won't effect US it's not something US signed up for but to keep stability this role was handed to US by britain (it's probably good for US in some ways)

I know you're annoyed ate mentioning Pax americana and how the world is totally different from the time of other pax empires but here the quote “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
George Santayana

I know what happens after great powers retire and it's not pretty

Response

 

[Greenstorm]

Response

I have read Henry Kissinger espousing similar sentiments under the guise of realpolitik. Western intellectuals and historians use fancy terms like 'navigational freedom' to provide an ethical base for the colonial extraction and American interventions. Another factor which augments this view is the horrific experience of the West during dark ages in post Roman-era.

You may have a point if US was acting like a fair and honest global policeman but the reality is far from it. Just the other day I was listening to Biden's views regarding Turkey where he was openly saying that US should look to support factions within Turkey that are opposing Erdogan, to topple his government. I am not willing to believe that American policy of installing puppets in other countries to further its own interests is somehow beneficial for the World.

You are saying that British and US had established navigational freedom in oceans by 19th century yet we witnessed two World wars and the bloodiest century in Human history during this 'pan americanism'.

American ingenuity and struggle to achieve such a strong position among commity of nations is admirable but history tells us that no nation is indispensable on World stage. We should learn from history but not by compromising on the ideals of morality and justice.

 

[MenInG]

Trump's Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, and Biden's running-mate, Kamala Harris, said on Friday they had both tested negative for Covid-19. Both wished Trump and his wife Melania well.

The Democratic campaign has moved to take down all its negative ads regarding Trump temporarily, but election campaigning has continued. Harris addressed a mobilisation drive-in event in Las Vegas, Nevada, overnight, while Biden campaigned in Grand Rapids, Michigan, earlier on Friday.

CBS reports that Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon has emailed campaign staffers across the country to reassure them that precautions will be taken with Biden, 77, and Harris, 55, travelling.

The next key event for the race falls on Thursday when Harris is due to debate Trump's running-mate, Vice-President Mike Pence, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

[Bigboii]

I have read Henry Kissinger espousing similar sentiments under the guise of realpolitik. Western intellectuals and historians use fancy terms like 'navigational freedom' to provide an ethical base for the colonial extraction and American interventions. Another factor which augments this view is the horrific experience of the West during dark ages in post Roman-era.

Yes you are right at the end of the day this stability and peace is there so US can exploit other countries facts no disagreements there (but my point is world would be better of (in living standards) getting exploited than being chaotic (because of reasons we explored before) lesser of two evils basically

You may have a point if US was acting like a fair and honest global policeman but the reality is far from it. Just the other day I was listening to Biden's views regarding Turkey where he was openly saying that US should look to support factions within Turkey that are opposing Erdogan, to topple his government. I am not willing to believe that American policy of installing puppets in other countries to further its own interests is somehow beneficial for the World.

(What does a puppet do it follows orders, when someone follow orders he/she doesn't act up so the status quo is maintained and what Erdogan is doing is maybe good for the turkey but the status quo would be disturbed with his warlike behavior and it can cause long term chaos in neighboring regain this is why US intervenes and install puppets so they listen to orders, keep the countries stable and the US corporates keep on making money (its not because US is an honest policeman or a "good" country like Canada but they want stability so the corporates make money directly or indirectly and this only happens when there is no chaos in the world) When money is being made US companies are directly or indirectly involved in it

US hates wars and conflict (except for when they do it lol) and they hate it because they don't really benefit a lot with wars between countries cause it creates instability in the regions leading to lost revenues and the crazy thing is when US goes to war they do it benefit the corporates

US is not nice nor is it in the competition for being nice (just like any other powerful empire or power in the world)

You are saying that British and US had established navigational freedom in oceans by 19th century yet we witnessed two World wars and the bloodiest century in Human history during this 'pan americanism'.


US was never active in the world politics it only started after WW2 (they had 4000 soldiers before the war it means that fighting wasn't the objective at the time)

Pax Americana started after WW 2 (yes the economic might was there even before but lack of military strength means that they were not in the business of enforcing FON)

Brits were not that powerful yes in 1800s there was power but in 1900s Germany, Japan, France and many other countries started catching up and US wasn't interested in policing at the time it was happy to enjoy and it in isolation (which it should have done because economically they were far ahead of any other country and because they didn't police it left a power vacuum because Brits were not that powerful like they used to be and US wasn't interested in filling up that space)

So what happened WW 1 and 2 because natural order of things was not followed US was not interested in policing but the UK was an old lion at the time and other countries smelled the power vacuum (since the natural successor wasn't interested and the old lion wasn't willing to let go the younger hungrier nation decided to attack and fill the power vacuum through both WWs)

WWs actually proves my point when the naturally fit countries don't police the world than world becomes chaotic and war like



American ingenuity and struggle to achieve such a strong position among commity of nations is admirable but history tells us that no nation is indispensable on World stage. We should learn from history but not by compromising on the ideals of morality and justice.

This is where we differ I think ideals are just ideals but if we think about practicalities I don't see them working out and I think ideals and fairness in the world can never be achieved its just not structured like that

response

 

[sweep_shot]

Biden will get tested more frequently and continue in-person campaigning

(CNN)Joe Biden will be tested more frequently for Covid-19 and intends to move forward with in-person campaigning, following news of President Donald Trump and several individuals in his orbit testing positive, sources tell CNN.

The Democratic nominee will receive a test each time he travels, a source familiar with the Democratic nominee's testing said.
His campaign said Saturday that it would disclose the results of every test Biden takes.
"We have adhered to strict and extensive safety practices recommended by public health experts and doctors in all of our campaigning — including social distancing, mask wearing, and additional safeguards," campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. "Vice President Biden is being tested regularly, and we will be releasing the results of each test."
In early September, deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told reporters on a press call that Biden was being tested on a weekly basis, but that has picked up as his travel has increased in recent weeks. The former vice president most recently announced that he tested negative for coronavirus on Friday, hours after Trump announced his own diagnosis -- and days after the two shared a stage for the first presidential debate.
After attending mass in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday, Biden told reporters he would be tested again for coronavirus on Sunday morning, two days after traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Biden and Trump's podiums were placed 12 feet and 8 inches apart during Tuesday night's debate, according to a source with knowledge of the debate set-up.
There was no contact from the Trump campaign or the White House to alert the Biden campaign of possible exposure, a senior Biden campaign official who was with the former vice president at the debate said. That official said Biden's campaign believes there is not much risk because "we were never near them."
Campaign aides believe that over the past few months, they've developed an effective recipe for campaigning safely, including mask wearing, social distancing and smaller events, and they intend to continue with those practices.
Biden and his wife Jill are scheduled to travel to South Florida on Monday. On Thursday, Biden will visit Arizona, his first visit to the battleground state, with his running mate Kamala Harris.
On Friday, Biden traveled as scheduled to Grand Rapids, after receiving a negative coronavirus test result. While he went forward with his planned remarks on the economy, he did cancel an in-person event.
During Friday's remarks, he said Trump's positive test for coronavirus is a "bracing reminder" of the seriousness of the pandemic.
"We have to take this virus seriously. It's not going away automatically," Biden said. "We have to do our part to be responsible. It means following the science, listening to the experts, washing our hands, social distancing. It means wearing a mask in public. It means encouraging others to do so as well."
A campaign official said the recent developments regarding coronavirus reinforces why it's a central issue in this campaign.
"It's about who do Americans trust to get the virus under control and to protect them and how to get the country back to work," the official said.
The official reiterated that if Biden were to ever test positive for coronavirus, the campaign would make that information public.
Biden's campaign pulled its negative ads Friday, going with all-positive messages after Trump's test, a campaign aide said.
The aide said the decision to pull negative ads was made before the White House announced Friday evening that Trump was going to Walter Reed medical center for a few days.
In response to the Biden campaign's decision to pull the negative ads, spokesman Tim Murtaugh told CNN the Trump campaign will not make a similar move.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/politics/joe-biden-campaign-coronavirus/index.html.

 

[sweep_shot]

<iframe width="400" height="500" frameborder="0" src="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/embed/p08swzr8/54396559"></iframe>

US election 2020: Who really decides the outcome?

US election 2020: Who really decides the outcome?
Close
More than 245 million Americans are eligible to vote - yet only a small percentage of them will actually determine who the next president is. Who are they and where do they live?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/election-us-2020-54396559.

 

[sweep_shot]

JPMorgan says Biden victory could mark a stock market shift

A victory of Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election could herald the start of a rotation toward parts of the equity market that have been left behind by the rally, according to strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“We need to get through U.S. elections event-risk first, but there could be a broadening in styles and in regional performances thereafter,” said JPMorgan strategists led by Mislav Matejka in a note on Monday. “A potential Biden victory should not be seen as a negative for markets, and could in fact lead to an internal rotation.”

The analysts, who have for months preferred growth, defensives and U.S. stocks, say that they’re “warming” to a possible switch of market leadership after the U.S. vote, with Biden holding a comfortable lead in national polls over President Donald Trump a month before Election Day. They point out that value, or cheaper equities, have “dramatically” underperformed companies with stronger earnings growth in recent months, while European stocks “have gone nowhere” for four months.

The strategists are weighing in on the dilemma that’s keeping many investors up at night after the Nasdaq 100 in September had its worst drop since March as mega-cap technology stocks sold off. The 50 per cent rally in U.S. equities over the past six months and frothy valuations in the leaders of the rebound and winners of lockdowns are pushing such investors as Eaton Vance and BlackRock Inc. to prefer European stocks instead.

And JPMorgan isn’t alone in its view. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists including Sharon Bell and Peter Oppenheimer on Friday said that a U.S. Democrat clean sweep would favor European cyclicals, value, China-exposed stocks and renewables.

In their Monday note, JPMorgan analysts made no comment on President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis and its implications. Trump has been at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center since Friday and people familiar with the matter said his condition improved over the weekend although his release was unlikely before Tuesday.

‘Extreme Markets’

Matejka’s team has favored long positions in such defensive and growth sectors as healthcare, tech, staples and utilities at the expense of financials, consumer discretionary and energy, but is now considering a change after the election. In addition to increased political clarity after the Nov. 3 vote, the strategists cite such factors as an increasingly reflationary environment, possible additional stimulus and positive news on the COVID-19 front.

“If Biden wins, the dollar could be potentially lower and bond yields that have been stuck completely in a range for the last six months -- and that was one big impediment to the rotation -- the bond yields could start to grind higher,” Matejka said in a Bloomberg TV interview with Jonathan Ferro. “You’ll have some potential further fiscal stimulus, potentially also some trade uncertainty would be reduced, and that would be a good enough starting point for these extreme markets to start to broaden out.”

He added that a pick-up in bond yields can help banking stocks, in addition to the European market in light of its underperformance versus the U.S.

While many market participants are fretting over uncertainty and volatility that could result from a contested U.S. election, JPMorgan said the chances of a clear election result are rising. Biden’s possible victory is often associated with concerns over higher corporate taxes, however, the strategists say that in light of the economic slowdown he’s likely to instead prioritize business recovery and jobs growth.

“A potential Biden victory is unlikely to deliver significant tax increases, with these likely to be watered down, and additionally there could be a greater stimulus focus and consumer support,” JPMorgan strategists, which also include Prabhav Bhadani and Nitya Saldanha.

Matejka added in the Bloomberg TV interview that Biden had made his tax-hike proposals “in a very different world without the virus” and will be careful not to hurt the nascent recovery.

Source: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/jpmorgan-says-biden-victory-could-mark-a-stock-market-shift-1.1503758.

 

[sweep_shot]

Why some Pakistani-American voters' anxiety over Kamala Harris is unjustified
Dismissing Harris over her Indian heritage could backfire when it comes to the cause of equality and justice in the US.

Many Pakistani-Americans — who have consistently opposed Donald Trump over his anti-immigrant, anti-minority, and anti-women rhetoric — are wondering whether to vote for his Democratic opponent Joe Biden in the upcoming US Presidential Elections on November 3rd, 2020. Their apprehension stems from the selection of the Democrat’s vice-presidential running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. The irony is that Senator Harris as an African American woman, born to immigrant parents, personifies the values of diversity that most Pakistani-Americans advocate.

Senator Harris and the Kashmir Issue
The topic of Kashmir is naturally near and dear to the hearts of many Pakistani-Americans. Since she was born to an Indian mother, some Pakistani-American voters are worried that Senator Harris might somehow be partial to Narendra Modi’s policies in Kashmir if Joe Biden were to become the next US President. On the top of the ticket, Vice President Joe Biden himself has expressed disappointment over not just India’s revocation of Article 370 but also on the Citizenship Amendment Act as well as the National Register of Citizens. However, here the questions are not being raised about the candidate but his running mate.

Three simple facts can thwart any concerns about Senator Harris being compliant with current Indian policies. First, Harris, born in the United States, identifies herself as primarily an African-American, Christian woman — an elected representative — not an Indian diaspora member. Second, even policymakers and members of Indian descent in the Democratic Party — whether they be Muslims, Christians, Hindus, or Sikhs — have adhered to the party’s position of deriding Modi’s human rights violations in Kashmir and the infringement of minority rights in India. And third, Harris is on the record for having said: “We’ve to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping track of the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.”

Elections are about contrast, comparison, and choice. With India’s size and purchasing power, a US President choosing to maintain harmonious trade relations with that country is understandable. Having said that, President Trump has been unabashed in his support of Modi’s radical and anti-secular policies. Trump remains unmoved by a series of human rights violations in Kashmir — and towards minorities — perpetrated by the Modi administration. He instead chose to celebrate a “Howdy Modi” event with the Indian premier when he visited Houston in 2019.

Moreover, the Trump Organization has established Indian financial interests with the launch of Trump Towers. For a President to blatantly be benefiting directly from economic engagement with a foreign country is unheard of in US history. Setting aside the ideal and just on the merit of Trump’s disregard for human rights, who is likely to be pro-Modi: The Trump administration or the Biden administration?

Start with the values
People vote on what they value as best for them, their families, communities, and the world at large. Not just on the matter of Kashmir, but also on opportunities for their children, a Democratic ticket promises relief from Donald Trump’s drive to create a caste system in America based on race. Polls have consistently shown that in terms of bringing the US together as a nation and improving race relations, Americans feel that a Biden administration would do a far better job than Trump.

Senator Harris’ rise to the Democratic Party’s highest levels also reflects the fantastic opportunities that lie ahead for the next generation of minorities — including Pakistani Americans. The immigrant story that Harris’ life highlights is not much different from the aspirational values Pakistani-American parents coach their sons and daughters to adopt.

So what are the choices?
The only way for Pakistani-Americans to exert influence on American policies is to show up consistently at elections — not to stay on the sidelines and potentially sit out the most important election of a generation over their ambivalence on foreign policy matters. Staying at home for the elections sends a clear signal to the politicians to not take their South Asian, Muslim, or Pakistani-American constituents seriously in the future because they won’t affect election results.

And how could one not equate voting for Trump over Biden with leaving the knee of white supremacy on the necks of our next generation? Trump’s Muslim ban was swift after he took office in 2017 — knee-capping the analogy that barking dogs in politics seldom bite. The Muslim ban was challenged in courts — and eventually watered down — but continued to present hardships to many Muslims returning to their homes, workplaces, or educational institutions in America from overseas.

What if, after his re-election, Trump revisits another Muslim ban or some similar discriminatory policy? Who would stand up to his discriminatory policies in the legal system if — now with the demise of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — he manages to place on a delicately balanced US Supreme Court a conservative Justice who keeps offering the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt on policy challenges?

It’s about Donald
The election is a referendum on Donald Trump and his regressive policies that have harmed America's social fabric and emboldened right-wing nationalists like Modi around the world. It is not about Senator Kamala Harris — and anyone making it about her Indian heritage could well risk the political equivalence of cutting off their nose to spite their face. By focusing on a person’s origin instead of their deeds or values, we risk the same error we accuse the likes of Modi making — letting prejudice cloud our judgment.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1583394/w...ers-anxiety-over-kamala-harris-is-unjustified.

 

[Stewie]

Don’t see Donnie coming back from his disastrous 4 years to win this... done major damage he has!

 

[Robert]

If Trump has pulled a stunt it has backfired. Biden has a 14-point lead in one poll. The combination of chaotic debate and bravado on COVID seems to be hurting him.

 

[MenInG]

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has criticised US President Donald Trump for downplaying the severity of coronavirus, saying there is "a lot to be concerned about".

He said the president should be communicating the "right lesson" on masks and social distancing.

It came after Mr Trump told Americans not to fear Covid-19.

He has returned to the White House to continue his treatment for coronavirus after a three-night hospital stay.

The president, who is still contagious, removed his mask on the balcony of the White House while posing for pictures.

While he is no longer in hospital, his doctor has said he "may not entirely be out of the woods yet".

Speaking at an NBC television town hall event in Miami, Florida, on Monday night, Mr Biden said he was "glad" that the president seemed to be recovering well.

But, he said, "I would hope that the president, having gone through what he went through... would communicate the right lesson to the American people. Masks matter."

"The only thing I heard was one of the tweets saying that, you know, don't be so concerned about all this, essentially.

"There's a lot to be concerned about. Two hundred and ten thousand people have died," he added.

The US has recorded more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other country in the world.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama also criticised the president's response to the virus in a video released on Tuesday in which she urged people to vote for Mr Biden "like your lives depend on it".

"Seven months later, he [Mr Trump] still doesn't have a plan for this virus. Seven months later, he still won't wear a mask consistently and encourage others to do the same - even when those simple actions could save countless lives. Instead, he continues to gaslight the American people by acting like this pandemic is not a real threat," she said.

Mr Trump's diagnosis has upended his campaign for a second term in office, less than a month before the 3 November presidential election.

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54437852

 

[sweep_shot]

‘Fed up’: Trump losing support of key demographic ahead of election, polls show

U.S. President Donald Trump is losing votes among a key demographic ahead of the 2020 election, according to recent polling.

Trump has been losing votes among senior citizens, according to polls, and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has been gaining them — something relatively rare for a Democratic nominee, experts say.

A recent poll by CNN and SSRS, an independent research company, showed 60 per cent of respondents aged 65 and up saying they would vote for Biden, while 39 per cent would vote for Trump.

The poll, conducted between Oct. 1 to Oct 4., showed that 63 per cent of seniors said Biden did a better job during the first presidential debate, while 23 per cent said Trump did.

When it came to the country’s handling of the novel coronavirus, respondents over the age of 65 were more prone to choose Biden as a better leader. Sixty-one per cent of respondents said Biden could better handle the coronavirus outbreak, while 36 per cent said Trump could.

A different poll, by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, released two days after the first debate, showed 63 per cent of seniors favouring Biden, compared to 35 per cent choosing Trump.

And a Siena College Research Institute poll conducted at the beginning of October showed Biden leading Trump by one percentage points among seniors in Arizona, a state that has voted Republican in all but one presidential election since 1952.

Two other American polls released at the beginning of September showed similar results.

A Quinnipiac national poll saw Biden leading by four points among seniors and a Monmouth University poll showed Biden with an 11-point lead with seniors in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the U.S. election.

Why the senior vote matters
Seniors are a key demographic for winning an election as older people traditionally turn out to vote at higher rates than younger adults.

According to Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan American think tank, in the upcoming November election, nearly a quarter of the electorate will be ages 65 and older, the highest since at least 1970.

“This reflects not only the maturation of the large Baby Boom generation but also increased life expectancy among older Americans,” the centre said.

READ MORE: Young adults turned out to protest racial injustice, but will they vote at the polls?

Key battleground states like Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania also have disproportionately high shares of the senior electorate as well, Pew Research stated.

So winning the senior vote can give a candidate a significant advantage, said Tim Powers, vice-chairman of public affairs consulting firm Summa Strategies.

“Seniors turn out to vote,” he said, adding that this may be because of the generation’s pride of “civic duty.”

For example, in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, 71 per cent of Americans over the age of 65 voted, compared with 46 per cent among ages 18 to 29, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Trump had the senior vote in 2016
In the 2016 election, Trump’s strongest age demographic among voters was with older adults.

A 2016 CNN exit polls showed that while Hillary Clinton won voters aged 45 and under by 14 percentage points, Trump won voters aged 45 and older by eight points.

Another study on the 2016 presidential election by Pew Research Center found that voters aged 65 and older were Trump’s strongest age demographic; he had a nine-point percentage lead over Clinton.

And this makes sense as older voters tend to be more conservative and younger voters more liberal, Powers said.

In 2012, Mitt Romney won the over-65 vote by 12 points, according to Pew Research; in 2008, John McCain won them by eight percentage points.

But recent polls show Trump losing his senior voters and Biden gaining them. Powers said he’s unsure exactly why this may be happening but suggests that the age demographic may be “fed up” with the “disruption” over the last four years.

Seniors turning to Biden?
“I suspect there are multiple reasons for the change in polling (among seniors),” Powers said. “In 2016, people wanted a change, and seniors were more supportive of the disruption Trump was offering. Well, that disruption has become a hot mess, especially for those who worked hard to build the U.S.”

“I think after four years it’s getting tougher to support Trump, maybe it’s a bit of embarrassment,” he added.

Patrick Murray, director of the Independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, told the L.A. Times in the spring that a possible explanation of Trump losing senior votes is that there’s been too much political chaos.

But Powers stressed that just because the polls say Biden may be ahead, it does not he will win.

Trump still strikes a chord among many Americans, he said.

“He goes against convention and his reality schtick really appeals to people. He does have a strong pool of voters,” he said.

“A sizable chunk of these senior voters, who have seen a lot more politics over the years and can compare to prior administrations, feel there has been a lot more chaos in D.C. than they bargained for when they backed Trump in 2016, and they just want some normalcy in the White House.”

Powers said seniors may not choose to vote at all, or decide to vote for Biden instead.

“He is a senior too. He is 77, the oldest presidential candidate Americans have ever had. Perhaps there is comfort in that among seniors,” Powers argued. “He also has had 47 years of service and maybe they see he is committed to his country.”

Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7382989/donald-turmp-us-election-senior-voters/.

 

[Markhor]

Analysing the polls, Biden's lead according to the RCP average is +9.7.

Clinton's peak lead in 2016 according to RCP's average was +7.9 while Obama's peak lead in 2012 was +4.7.

In Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden leads by +7.1, +6.2 and +5.5. In Florida and Arizona, Biden leads by +4.5 and +3.1. Biden also has narrow leads in Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina and even Georgia but they're within the margin of error. However Biden can win just by flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Senate race is also important. With Doug Jones likely to lose in deep red Alabama, Democrats will need four Senate seats just to tie 50-50 (which the VP can break).

Democrats have some pickup opportunities though. Mark Kelly has led consistently over Martha McSally in Arizona. Cory Gardner is likely to lose to John Hickenlooper in Colorado. Sara Gideon has a small lead over incumbent Susan Collins in Maine. Cal Cunningham leads Thom Tillis in North Carolina. Theresa Greenfield is also leading Joni Ernst in Iowa. However despite some giddiness from Dem activists on social media - Georgia and Texas races are long shots.

 

[Savak]

Hillary Clinton was leading in the opinion polls going into the 2016 elections. Opinion polls don't mean much, everything matters on what happens during election day

 

[CanadianG00se]

Analysing the polls, Biden's lead according to the RCP average is +9.7.

Clinton's peak lead in 2016 according to RCP's average was +7.9 while Obama's peak lead in 2012 was +4.7.

In Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden leads by +7.1, +6.2 and +5.5. In Florida and Arizona, Biden leads by +4.5 and +3.1. Biden also has narrow leads in Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina and even Georgia but they're within the margin of error. However Biden can win just by flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Senate race is also important. With Doug Jones likely to lose in deep red Alabama, Democrats will need four Senate seats just to tie 50-50 (which the VP can break).

Democrats have some pickup opportunities though. Mark Kelly has led consistently over Martha McSally in Arizona. Cory Gardner is likely to lose to John Hickenlooper in Colorado. Sara Gideon has a small lead over incumbent Susan Collins in Maine. Cal Cunningham leads Thom Tillis in North Carolina. Theresa Greenfield is also leading Joni Ernst in Iowa. However despite some giddiness from Dem activists on social media - Georgia and Texas races are long shots.

Texas is Republican state and it will likely be the same this elections. Have family there and even some pro Dems are going to vote trump this time around.

 

[sweep_shot]

A Biden victory will drive inflation and gold prices higher - Saxo Bank

(Kitco News) - The precious metals market is expected to be rife with volatility ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, but one market analyst said that prices could generally trend higher as investors price in the growing possibility of Democratic nominee Joe Biden becoming the next president.

In a recent comment to Kitco News, Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said that gold prices could struggle in the near-term as markets continue to react to President Donald Trump shutting down any prospects of a comprehensive fiscal stimulus package; however, he added that gold could find a bid closer to the election if Bidden continues to solidify his lead in the race to the White House.

In a report published earlier this week, Hansen noted that markets could see a Biden victory as more inflationary, and that is what will ultimately propel gold prices higher.

Quoting, Saxo Bank ’s current strategists Hansen noted: “The argument here is that the Democrats are set to take back the presidency and the Senate, therefore paving the way for a massive multi-trillion stimulus passed in the first one hundred days of a Biden administration, taking U.S. inflation much higher while leaving the Fed policy rate pegged near zero.”

Hansen noted that investment demand in gold-backed exchange-traded products will continue to dominate the market and drive prices higher. He noted that investment demand remained strong through September even as prices saw a sharp decline.

“Investors, asset managers and pension funds are increasingly waking up to the need for tail-end protection against inflation and it has led a continued increase throughout the year to the current record above 111 million ounces,” he said.

Driving the demand for gold is the fact that real yields will continue to fall as the Federal Reserve holds interest rates at the zero-bound range in an environment of rising inflation.

Although Hansen sees potential for gold prices to go higher, he added that it is too early to tell if the precious metal can regain the $2,000 level. He said that a lot of investors could be waiting on the sidelines for the election dust to settle before jumping back into the market.

Source: https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-10-...flation-and-gold-prices-higher-Saxo-Bank.html.

 

[sweep_shot]

TRUMP WANTS DIRT ON BIDEN AND HE WANTS IT NOW, BILL BARR BE DAMNED

The president is fuming that a DOJ report on the early days of the Russia investigation won't be completed before the election.

Donald Trump and the Republicans had long been counting on William Barr to dig up some dirt on Joe Biden before next month’s election. But in recent conversations with GOP lawmakers, the attorney general has dashed those hopes: The Department of Justice report into the origins of the Russia investigation, he’s reportedly told Republicans, won't be ready by Election Day — much to the chagrin of the president and lawmakers who, in lieu of actual ideas to run on, had apparently been banking on a last-minute boost from John Durham.

“This is the nightmare scenario,” a GOP aide told Axios on Friday. “Essentially, the year and a half of arguably the number one issue for the Republican base is virtually meaningless if this doesn’t happen before the election.”

In 2019, Barr commissioned Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, to probe the early days of the FBI’s Russia inquiry, which Trump cast as a political “witch hunt” by Barack Obama and a cast of so-called “deep state” actors seeking to thwart him. Barr has covered the Durham investigation in a noble veneer, but the purpose of the probe has always been obvious — to legitimize the president’s abstruse lies and conspiracy theories, and to deliver an October surprise against Biden to help Trump in his uphill reelection battle. Barr has already teased “very troubling” findings, and hinted during a Capitol Hill hearing this summer that a public report would be released this fall.

But Trump has grown impatient with the pace of the probe, and has publicly lashed out against Barr — one of his most loyal and effective allies — in recent days. “Unless Bill Barr indicts these people for crimes, the greatest political crime in the history of our country, then we’re gonna get little satisfaction, unless I win,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo Thursday. “I won’t forget it.”

“These people should be indicted,” he added, calling directly for Obama and Biden to be charged.

His frustration, of course, has spilled onto his Twitter feed, which has been particularly unhinged in the days since his COVID-19 diagnosis. “Taking too long,” he complained on Tuesday. “Where are all of the arrests?” he asked in a Wednesday tweet about Hillary Clinton. “For the love of God ARREST SOMEBODY,” read a meme Trump retweeted this week.

Such remarks have irked Barr, the Associated Press reported Thursday. But the Trump administration is likely to keep up the pressure, pushing for him to release what he’s got before November 3 — even if the deliberate Durham doesn’t have his report ready by then. “Bill Barr should follow the instructions of the president to declassify and release all the documents the FBI are sitting on,” a White House official told Axios. “There’s no good reason for him to withhold this information.” Whether Durham heeds those calls remains to be seen. But Trump has made clear that bailing him out following Robert Mueller’s investigation isn’t enough; for the attorney general to remain in his good graces, he’ll have to deliver him a win here. “To be honest,” Trump told Bartiromo Thursday, “Bill Barr is going to go down as either the greatest attorney general in the history of the country or he’s going to go down as, you know, a very sad situation.”

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/10/trump-dirt-biden-bill-bar.

 

[Firebat]

US election 2020: Texas judge blocks postal voting restrictions

A Texas judge has blocked an order allowing only one absentee vote drop-off point per county, claiming it would affect older and disabled voters.

Drop-off points were set up to allow voters to submit ballots in advance rather than rely on the postal service.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said the number of drop-off points needed to be minimised to guarantee voter security.

Democrats said the move was blatant voter suppression.

A record number of people are expected to vote by mail in this year's election due to the pandemic.

The US Postal Service already has already warned ballot papers may not arrive in time to be counted on election day, 3 November.

Texas has a limit on who can request absentee ballots. Only voters who are over 65, have a disability, are in jail or who will be out of town on election day are allowed to vote by post.

Judge Robert Pitman ruled that the order would have left many voters having to travel long distances to find a drop-off point, or leave them vulnerable to coronavirus if they were forced to vote in person at a polling station.

Governor Abbott's ruling would have meant some people in Harris County, home to more than four million people, would only have one point in the entire county to hand in their ballot paper.

The race to claim Texas' 38 Electoral College votes this election is expected to be tight.

President Donald Trump has previously criticised postal voting, claiming there is widespread fraud involved. The Federal Election Commission has rejected these claims.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54475466

 

[Abdullah719]

We hope Trump will win election and withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, say Taliban

(Karachi) United States President Donald Trump received an unusual endorsement from the Afghan Taliban for his re-election bid, CBS News reported.

In a telephonic interview, Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said: “We hope he will win the election and wind up US military presence in Afghanistan.”

The Taliban group also expressed concern about Trump’s health conditions after he contracted the coronavirus. “When we heard about Trump being COVID-19 positive, we got worried for his health, but seems he is getting better,” another Taliban senior leader told CBS News.

However, the US President’s campaign rejected the Taliban’s support. In a statement, Trump’s election campaign communication director Tim Murtaugh stated that it rejects the Taliban’s support and that they should know President Trump will always protect American interests by any means necessary.

The comments from Taliban side comes days after Donald Trump announced he wants to bring all US troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas. Trump’s plan not only came as a surprise to US administration officials but also for head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah.

He said a “premature” withdrawal of US troops would have negative consequences for the war-torn country. “It will take a little bit [of] time for us to digest it,” Abdullah said. “It will happen one day, of course, and Afghanistan should be able to stand on its own feet, but if it is premature, it will have its consequences.”

There are now fewer than 5,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien has said that number would drop to 2,500 by early next year.

A deal was struck between the United States and the Taliban in February in which it was agreed that 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be released from Afghan prisons before peace talks between the militant group and the government.

Later, a Loya Jirga stated that intra-Afghan peace talks should begin immediately. It said that foreign prisoners, if any, should be handed over to their respective nations after receiving credible guarantees from their governments.

The jirga also decided that the freed prisoners should not return to the battlefield while permanent ceasefire should be imposed.

On August 10, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree to release the final batch of prisoners demanded by the Taliban as a condition to move to peace talks.

Later, the Afghan government released the remaining Taliban prisoners, kicking of intra-Afghan peace talks.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/4002...thdraw-us-troops-from-afghanistan-say-taliban

 

[sweep_shot]

US Election 2020: Anthony Fauci says Trump campaign ad quote misleading

Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci has said an edited clip of him used in a Trump campaign ad is misleading.

It shows Dr Fauci saying he "can't imagine that anybody could be doing more" to fight Covid-19, suggesting he is speaking about President Trump.

However, Dr Fauci was talking about himself and other medical officials.

The infectious diseases expert has previously clashed with Mr Trump over how to handle the pandemic.

"In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate," he said, in a statement sent to AFP news agency.

"The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials," Dr Fauci added.

The 30-second campaign ad declares "President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America", before playing the clip of Dr Fauci.

However, in the original footage of Dr Fauci, which came from an interview the epidemiologist did with Fox News in March, he says: "I have been devoting almost full time on this. I'm down at the White House virtually every day with the task force. It's every single day. So, I can't imagine that under any circumstances that anybody could be doing more."

In response, Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said: "These are Dr Fauci's own words. The video is from a nationally broadcast television interview in which Dr Fauci was praising the work of the Trump administration. The words spoken are accurate, and directly from Dr Fauci's mouth."

President Trump also defended the use of the clip, tweeting: "They are indeed Dr Fauci's own words. We have done a 'phenomenal' job, according to certain governors."

This comes days after Dr Fauci criticised the White House for hosting a gathering last month that has been linked to an outbreak of Covid-19.

He said the Rose Garden event on 26 September, held to unveil President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, was a "superspreader event". At least 11 people who attended later tested positive for the virus.

Mr Trump also tested positive on 1 October, and was hospitalised for three days with the virus.

But last week doctors cleared him to hold public events, less than a month before he faces Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the presidential election.

On Monday the Trump campaign is planning a big rally in Sanford, Florida.

Mr Trump has expressed scepticism about measures such as masks and lockdowns to combat the spread of Covid-19, which has killed more than 213,000 people in the US. He has talked up the prospects of a vaccine becoming available, although researchers say this is unlikely to happen before next year at the earliest.

Polling suggests Mr Biden has a single-digit lead over Mr Trump and an ABC News/Ipsos poll found that just 35% of Americans approved of how Mr Trump has handled the crisis.

Who has tested positive in Mr Trump's circle?
As many as 34 White House aides and other contacts have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days, according to US media, many of them linked to the 26 September event.

On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health said nine infections had been tied to Mr Trump's 18 September campaign rally in the state.

At least one person was infectious when they attended, officials say, and two cases have led to hospital admissions, with one of those people in intensive care.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54504096.

 

[Stewie]

Hillary Clinton was leading in the opinion polls going into the 2016 elections. Opinion polls don't mean much, everything matters on what happens during election day

This is an oft repeated opinion after what happened in 2016.

Before the 2016 elections, these same polls had almost a 100% accuracy rate. The numbers don’t lie in most cases. The sampling of these surveys and polls is very scientific, and a true check of the pulse of the nation.

What happened in 2016 was extraordinary. Just a week or so before Election Day the then FBI director Comey announced investigation of the private email server Hillary was using. That announcement totally killed her chances. In such a short time there was not much damage control that could be done and a lot of voters were swung to Trump’s side.

Unless something of that sort happens again, don’t expect another miracle. I think Trump’s win has been turned into the stuff of legends and his voters and supporters are now thought of as hardcore winners who would easily turn the tide no matter what.. I personally think it’s all a “Hawwa” and the bubble will burst. Trump has lost quite a few supporters. We also want to keep in mind that Hillary got 3 million more votes than Trump in 2016 and lost due to electoral college. This happens very rarely. Before 2016 it had happened back in 2000 when Gore got more votes than Bush but still lost.

I don’t think we will see a repeat of any of that. Biden’s lead is very very steady and he can actually flip Texas blue which could be curtains for Trump even if he wins a lot of other swing states.

 

[sweep_shot]

US election 2020: Trump back on campaign trail in Florida

President Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail less than two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus.

Thousands gathered at an outdoor rally in Sanford, Florida, where a defiant Mr Trump made the first of four planned campaign stops over the next four days in battleground states.

The president and rival Joe Biden are scrambling to secure votes with three weeks until the 3 November election.

On Monday Mr Biden spoke in Ohio, another swing state.

Polling suggests Mr Biden has a 10-point lead over Mr Trump nationally. However his lead in some key states is narrower - as is the case in Florida, where he is 3.7 points ahead, according to an average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics.

Battlegrounds like the "Sunshine State" are crucial for gathering the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the White House, which is not determined by a simple popular ballot count.

Mr Trump tested positive for Covid-19 some 11 days ago, and was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center a day later.

But on Sunday his personal doctor said he was no longer a Covid transmission risk to others and disclosed on Monday that his most recent tests were negative over consecutive days, although he did not give the dates.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54516324.

 

[El Generico]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two polls that predicted Trump's 2016 win now predict his 2020 landslide loss <a href="https://t.co/ULawAnJPUb">https://t.co/ULawAnJPUb</a></p>— Newsweek (@Newsweek) <a href="https://twitter.com/Newsweek/status/1315863136264749056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Biden is leading pretty much in every poll. No ones is ever going to take these polls seriously again if Trump wins lol

 

[msaaim89]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two polls that predicted Trump's 2016 win now predict his 2020 landslide loss <a href="https://t.co/ULawAnJPUb">https://t.co/ULawAnJPUb</a></p>— Newsweek (@Newsweek) <a href="https://twitter.com/Newsweek/status/1315863136264749056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Biden is leading pretty much in every poll. No ones is ever going to take these polls seriously again if Trump wins lol

The problem is you can never get an accurate/fair sample set.

Same happened with Brexit.

 

[The Viper]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I keep reading Fake News stories that my campaign is running low on money. Not true, & if it were so, I would put up money myself. The fact is that we have much more money than we had 4 years ago, where we spent much less money than Crooked Hillary, and still easily won, 306-223!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1315871589129498625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Technics 1210]

In the last few days, sleepy Joe couldn't remember Mitt Romney's name, and also claimed he's running for democratic Senate elections! Yes Senate!!

Shame on Biden's family allowing Biden to run for Presidency when he is clearly suffering from dimentia!

 

[Markhor]

Trump in a speech asked for Puerto Ricans to vote for him in the upcoming election.

There's one problem. Puerto Rico doesn't have any electoral vote so islanders don't have a vote in general elections. Another gem to add to the collection.

 

[Markhor]

In the last few days, sleepy Joe couldn't remember Mitt Romney's name, and also claimed he's running for democratic Senate elections! Yes Senate!!

Shame on Biden's family allowing Biden to run for Presidency when he is clearly suffering from dimentia!

Oh Uncle, perhaps you were out clubbing too much in your youth in assorted London institutions that it's fried your mind - but let me remind you something.

Only a few months ago your hero told the world to inject disinfectant fluids as a coronavirus cure. So PUH-lease, Trump supporters are the very last people on Earth to talk about " BUT BIDENZZ COGNATIVE DECLANN !!"

 

[Stewie]

In the last few days, sleepy Joe couldn't remember Mitt Romney's name, and also claimed he's running for democratic Senate elections! Yes Senate!!

Shame on Biden's family allowing Biden to run for Presidency when he is clearly suffering from dimentia!

Let’s see.. should I vote for an old man with dementia or should I vote for the crazy ******* who suggests shoving UV bulbs up your Yoo-hoo would cure covid? Or injecting yourself with bleach.. who winks all the time at white supremacists groups. Who doesn’t even have a rudimentary understanding of US history and geography and doesn’t believe climate change is real...


That’s a tough one!!!!’

 

[Bigboii]

Let’s see.. should I vote for an old man with dementia or should I vote for the crazy ******* who suggests shoving UV bulbs up your Yoo-hoo would cure covid? Or injecting yourself with bleach.. who winks all the time at white supremacists groups. Who doesn’t even have a rudimentary understanding of US history and geography and doesn’t believe climate change is real...


That’s a tough one!!!!’

I really think if he wins after couple of months he should resign and relinquish power to Harris

I looked at the debates and he looked SO slow! he was answering question like an immigrant fresh of the boat

I could literally sense 1-2 second delay of him listening and converting the words into what it means

reminds me of that Russel Peters set of a Mexican in home depot

 

[Technics 1210]

The real politics will begin when Trump leaves office, be it next year, or in 2024. Though I do wonder what will happen to the hollow cries of the lefty snowflake cult - who will they moan about once Trump is gone?

 

[JaDed]

Looks like Trump is going to lose it’s getting worse for him.. don't think I care personally but the entire media except Fox seems to be Anti- Trump , SNL was extremely biased in its recent skits.. which I have to say is annoying.

 

[Stewie]

The real politics will begin when Trump leaves office, be it next year, or in 2024. Though I do wonder what will happen to the hollow cries of the lefty snowflake cult - who will they moan about once Trump is gone?

I dunno. Maybe wonder out loud why some Indians pretend to be Republican Americans when they really have nothing in common! Your types and your countrymen are the ones who are made fun of the red blooded republicans. They always make fun of Indian accents and terrible tech support Brian provide when you guys are not looking. Put those donation dollars to good use and donate democrat next time.

 

[Stewie]

I really think if he wins after couple of months he should resign and relinquish power to Harris

I looked at the debates and he looked SO slow! he was answering question like an immigrant fresh of the boat

I could literally sense 1-2 second delay of him listening and converting the words into what it means

reminds me of that Russel Peters set of a Mexican in home depot

Harris would be the de facto presidente.. we all know it. The only reason she is not the first one on the ticket is because america is not yet ready for a woman of color to become president (or a woman.. period)

Personally to me it doesn’t matter. Even if they put Barney the dinosaur or Napoleon Dynamite or the nun from the Conjuring or captain Jack Sparrow on the ticket running against Trump, I’ll vote for them.. long as we get rid of the Cheeto c***..

 

[Bigboii]

Harris would be the de facto presidente.. we all know it. The only reason she is not the first one on the ticket is because america is not yet ready for a woman of color to become president (or a woman.. period)

Personally to me it doesn’t matter. Even if they put Barney the dinosaur or Napoleon Dynamite or the nun from the Conjuring or captain Jack Sparrow on the ticket running against Trump, I’ll vote for them.. long as we get rid of the Cheeto c***..

tbh I kinda like his isolationist polices and Biden,
Harris are globalists who'll further push US into world affairs and I am afraid we are not going to be strong enough to handle the world like we used to in coming future

but some things he says are concerning to say the least

Extremely undecided at this moment we'll see what happens when ballot is in front of me...

 

[Stewie]

tbh I kinda like his isolationist polices and Biden,
Harris are globalists who'll further push US into world affairs and I am afraid we are not going to be strong enough to handle the world like we used to in coming future

but some things he says are concerning to say the least

Extremely undecided at this moment we'll see what happens when ballot is in front of me...

You are being incorrectly led to believe he is isolationist. He was itching for war with iran. He wanted to nuke them, in case you haven’t heard. He is also doing his level best to kill the Palestinian freedom movement thanks to his damaad and Steve Miller.

The only reason you don’t see an intricate foreign policy is because he doesn’t understand international politics. He understands business (somewhat) so he is going around trying to make weird deals. I think it’s a fairly clear decision for Muslims and Pakistanis. You really want to trust someone who is blackmailing arabs to sell out palestine and ban your countrymen from immigration? Someone who thinks really low of Muslims? If you have children, would you like them to grow up in trump’s America?
Don’t get fooled into thinking his foreign policy of non globalism or isolationism is a result of his benevolent and mature ideology.. it’s not. The moment he feels he can make a dime out of bombing a Muslim country, he will!

 

[Technics 1210]

Who cares! Just bring on the demise of Liberalism worldwide!

Muppets thinking the candidates are the problem, no, the system is - 350M Amreekans, and 2 old timers is the best they could do? LOL! On top of this, the vote is not about policies anymore, but about which candidate is the right colour and gender. Double LOL!

Liberalism is the new face of fascism.

Trump to win for entertainment and market deregulation purporses!

 

[Gilly]

Let’s see.. should I vote for an old man with dementia or should I vote for the crazy ******* who suggests shoving UV bulbs up your Yoo-hoo would cure covid? Or injecting yourself with bleach.. who winks all the time at white supremacists groups. Who doesn’t even have a rudimentary understanding of US history and geography and doesn’t believe climate change is real...


That’s a tough one!!!!’

You should vote for an old man with dementia, if you dont the white supremacists will come and get you.

 

[Stewie]

You should vote for an old man with dementia, if you dont the white supremacists will come and get you.

That’s exactly what I am going to do, Gilly.. thanks for being a sport and understanding how life works for us in our own country.

 

[Technics 1210]

You should vote for an old man with dementia, if you dont the white supremacists will come and get you.

Harris can't keep up with her lies which is still one step up from Biden who cannot remember his lies.

I think you've summed up the choice perfectly though; the Amreekan public must choose between a fossil and the bogeyman.

 

[sweep_shot]

US election: Biden says Florida seniors 'expendable' for Trump

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has criticised Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic while courting elderly voters in the battleground state of Florida.

To the president "you're expendable", Mr Biden said at a senior centre in the city of Pembroke Pines.

It came a day after Mr Trump returned to the campaign trail for the first time since his coronavirus diagnosis with a rally in the state.

He told supporters he felt "powerful".

Battleground states like Florida and Ohio are crucial for gathering the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidential election, which is not determined by a simple count of votes nationwide.

Opinion polls suggest Mr Biden has a 10-point lead over Mr Trump nationally, but his lead in some key states is narrower. In Florida, the Democrat is 3.7 percentage points ahead, according to an average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics.

Mr Trump narrowly won Florida in the 2016 election in a result buoyed by senior voters. But the latest polls suggest a shift away from the Republican among older voters there this time around.

What did Biden say?
Mr Biden spoke to a group of people at the senior centre in southern Florida on Tuesday, with social distancing measures in place.

The campaign event was in stark contrast to the president's rally the previous day, where thousands attended, many not wearing masks.

Mr Biden accused the president of dismissing the threat that coronavirus posed to senior citizens.

To Mr Trump, "you're expendable, you're forgettable, you're virtually nobody. That's how he sees seniors. That's how he sees you," said Mr Biden.

The "only senior Donald Trump seems to care about" is himself, he added.

Mr Biden also criticised the president for holding "super-spreader parties with Republicans hugging each other without concern of the consequences," while senior citizens couldn't see their grandchildren.

Introducing the Democratic candidate at the event, Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said it was voters aged 65 or over "who will swing elections in the Sunshine State".

What about President Trump?
At a rally on Tuesday night in the critical election state of Pennsylvania, Mr Trump said his Democratic challenger was "not a nice guy".

"He's a bad guy," the Republican president said of his rival. "He's always been a dummy."

Mr Biden's campaign has made much of his childhood in the state, but Mr Trump told the rally in Johnstown: "They say he was born in Scranton. But he left. He left. He abandoned you. Give me a break."

The president also attempted to woo the key voting demographic of suburban women, many of whom are said in opinion polls to view Mr Trump unfavourably.

"So can I ask you to do me a favour?" the president said. "Suburban women, will you please like me?

"I saved your damn neighbourhood."

Mr Trump held a rally in Florida on Monday and has others planned this week in Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida again.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54533480.

 

[El Generico]

^

I guess the plan of sacrificing seniors for the economy didn’t go over well with the older residents of Florida.

 

[Stewie]

^

I guess the plan of sacrificing seniors for the economy didn’t go over well with the older residents of Florida.

Americans can be very very callous at times. I have heard so many tell me “you know the virus will infect and kill those only who are in poor health so they will die in 10-15 years anyway. I don’t see why we should all suffer for them. Open up everything and let the high risk ones protect themselves”

And then the moment it hits close to home and they lose a parent, uncle, aunt... in some cases a child who was high risk (asthma patient for instance).. they start singing a totally different tune.

We have lost upwards of 200,000 people. There are a lot of aggrieved people out there at the moment.

 

[MenInG]

Muslim American votes may carry outsize weight in US election

Fatima Salman, 43, a social worker and a Muslim American from Detroit, Michigan says she is “definitely” voting for Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee challenging the re-election of United States President Donald Trump.

“I have three children and I worry about their future if Trump gets re-elected,” Salman says. “It’s a matter of our own existence and the future of this country as a whole.”

With early voting already well under way nationwide, there is evidence that in this election, Salman’s vote and that of other Muslim Americans, are well placed to be a significant factor in deciding the winner of the November 3 United States presidential election.

There are an estimated 3.45 million Muslims in the US – only about one percent of the country’s total population – but their concentrations in key swing and battleground states, such as Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, could make their vote especially impactful.

The stakes are particularly high in Michigan, a state with 270,000 registered Muslim voters, says Mohamed Gula, organising director of Emgage, a Muslim American advocacy group. Hillary Clinton, in 2016, lost the state to Trump by less than one percentage point – a little over 10,000 votes.

“When it comes down to the value of the Muslim vote, we could easily swing the election,” Gula says.

Top issues for Muslim Americans, Gula says, include healthcare, education and criminal justice reform.

“Obviously, we will hear foreign policy issues being centred,” Gula says, “but a lot of the issues that we hear today, in regards to what has really impacted the Muslim community are some of the same issues that average Americans also are impacted by.”

‘Strategy to win’

Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order banning nationals from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US – fulfilling a campaign promise and sending shockwaves across Muslim communities in the US and abroad.

In the face of sustained legal challenges, the policy went through several iterations, but the Supreme Court upheld the third version, affecting the lives of thousands of Americans who were prevented from being joined by relatives, partners and friends.

Trump further alienated Muslims in a series of disparaging comments and tweets blasting “Radical Islamic terrorism” and calling countries on the Muslim ban list “dangerous”. More recently, Trump did not denounce white supremacist groups and instead told one right-wing group, the Proud Boys, who are active throughout Michigan: “Stand back and stand by.”

Pollsters say back in the 1990s, Muslim voters were split almost evenly in their support for Republicans and Democrats. But that gap began to widen post-9/11, and following the administration of George W Bush, when the Republican party was perceived as more hostile to Islam.

Now, there are signs the Biden campaign is looking to capitalise on this sentiment.

“The Muslim vote is part of our strategy to win,” says Farooq Mitha, the Biden campaign’s senior adviser for Muslim American engagement, adding that Biden has put out an agenda for Muslim American communities promising to rescind the Muslim travel ban on “day one” of his administration and tackle hate crimes committed against them.

“Over the last seven months, we have done well over 150 events across Muslim communities and we understand that Muslims can play a pivotal role in battleground states – the traditional ones that we know of, like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Wisconsin – but now we see even states like Georgia, Texas, Ohio, that could be in play,” Mitha says.

Courtney Parella, Deputy National Secretary for the Trump campaign, said the president intends on ensuring religious liberties, economic prosperity and educational opportunities for Muslims in America, and internationally, and has fostered peace by brokering a deal bringing the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain into normalised diplomatic relations with Israel.

“President Trump understands that faith is part of what unites us as a nation, and he continues to staunchly defend religious freedoms for all Americans,” Parella said in a written statement to Al Jazeera.

“This President has a strong record of success for Muslim Americans and has done what others before him couldn’t – he brought peace between the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim peoples of the Middle East.”

‘Not a monolith’

Nationally and in Michigan, Biden is leading Trump in most polls. Polling also shows that the overwhelming majority of Muslim voters support the Democratic party. According to a recent survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, 71 percent of Muslims say they will vote for Biden.

But “the Muslim community is not a monolith,” says Mahmoud Al-Hadidi, a physician and chairman of the Michigan Muslim Community Council.
Muslim Americans are a diverse group comprised of waves of immigrants coming from the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, some, dating back to the early 1930s. And about a fifth of Muslim Americans are native-born Black Americans.

According to the CAIR survey, 18 percent of Muslims said they support Donald Trump, and another 11 percent were either undecided or preferred not to answer.

Al-Hadidi explains that despite significant concerns over rising animosity towards Muslims under the Trump administration and the passage of the travel ban which was “very devastating” and “really degrading” for the Muslim community, there is also a growing sense of disenchantment towards the Democratic party.

Although Muslim Americans, especially the younger generation, have largely supported the protests that erupted this summer over racial inequality and police violence in the wake of the killing of George Floyd – the older generation, many of whom fled wars and instability in their home countries, were very concerned by the violence they witnessed in the streets.

“Safety, peace, and avoiding chaos in the cities, is very important to a lot of people, especially business owners,” al-Hadidi told Al Jazeera, adding that many Muslim business owners felt that Biden did not do enough to condemn vandalism against private businesses – unlike Trump who has promised to crack down on violent protesters.

Detroit, a city with one of the largest concentrations of Black Americans, became a focus of nightly protests. Although most were peaceful, some saw intense clashes with police and vandalism of downtown Detroit businesses.

As a result, a sizeable proportion of Muslims are “quietly” supportive of Trump, al-Hadidi says, but are afraid to speak up out of fear “of being attacked, called traitors or having their property vandalised”.

Voting Trump out
Nada al-Hanooti, Executive Director of Emgage’s Michigan chapter says Muslims’ disenchantment with the Democratic Party sunk in after Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist the community had rallied around, dropped out of the race in early April. The Vermont senator saw his initial strong lead evaporate after the party’s establishment lined up behind Biden.

“It is going to take a long time to persuade our communities to vote for Biden,” al-Hanooti said. “They’re not going to just jump on the bandwagon of the democratic nominee.”

But for many Muslims, like their average American counterparts, who have been dismayed by Trump’s handling of foreign relations, racial justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic, voting Trump out of office may be a motivation in and of itself.

“A lot of people will reluctantly vote for Biden, but it’s definitely a vote to get Trump out, and not necessarily to get Biden in,” al-Hanooti says.
Nationally, in a recent Pew Research Center survey, 63 percent of Biden supporters said their vote is more a vote against Trump and not necessarily a vote for Biden.

Lama Samman Nasry, a resident of Franklin, a Detroit suburb, and a mother of four children, said she is one of those reluctant voters, and is unsure if she will cast her vote at all this election.

She said Sanders was her first choice, but also believes that another four years of Trump will be devastating for the country.

“We don’t feel as safe, racism is rising and Trump is fuelling the racists, telling them to stand by, this is scary for us,” Samman Nasry said, adding that her husband and daughters are all voting for Biden, and have been urging her to do the same.

“I am not encouraged to vote for Biden, but I might change my mind and say you know what, let’s give it a try and see what he does, give him a chance.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...20-electoral-impact?__twitter_impression=true

 

[MenInG]

Who will the US based Indians vote for in the US Election?

New Delhi: Over 70 per cent of registered Indian American voters plan to vote for Joe Biden in next month's US presidential election, according to the 2020 Indian American Attitude Survey (IAAS), and only 22 per cent of the rest will vote for Donald Trump.

The data, based on responses from 936 Indian Americans surveyed online in the first 20 days of September, also says "in line with past studies... members of the community continue to strongly identify with the Democratic Party"; 56 per cent of respondents said they identified as a Democrat, while only 15 per cent saw themselves as Republican.

Indian Americans also, the report adds, do not consider the US-India relationship to be a big factor in their voting decision - something that is likely to run against President Donald Trump, who has stressed on his close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed "great support from India" in a bid to win over the community.

In any case, according to the survey, most Indian Americans believe the Democrats do a better job of managing US-India ties.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump's Democrat challenger Mr Biden's vice presidential pick - Senator Kamala Harris, the first Black woman and American of Indian and African descent to get the ticket - has "galvanised" the Indian American community in favour of the Democrats, the report said.

In August, Ms Harris, a junior senator from California, made headlines across India after talking about her mother (Shyamala Gopalan) and mentioning her fondness for idli and masala dosa.

The Democrats' vice presidential pick, Kamala Harris, has "galvanised" the Indian Americans

The Indian American vote - the second-largest immigrant group in the US - is in the spotlight even though the community represents less than one per cent of registered US voters.

Increased support for Mr Trump was expected by the Republicans, particularly after widely-covered and lavish visits were exchanged between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Mr Trump visited in February while PM Modi's "Howdy Modi!" event in Houston was in September last year.

News agency Reuters reported that "speculation" said the community may not favor Mr Biden as he may be tougher on India on issues such as human rights and civil liberties that activists say are increasingly at risk under PM Modi.

But, according to the report's authors, "the big takeaway is that there is scant evidence for... popular narratives (that indicate) widespread defection of Democratic voters toward Trump"

PM Modi and US President Donald Trump at "Howdy Modi!" in Houston in September last year

"There is little evidence of a significant evolution in partisan allegiances since 2016. The vast majority (91 per cent) of Indian Americans who voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 plan to support Biden in 2020," the authors said.

Instead, voters who were polled listed the economy and healthcare as their top two concerns in the lead-up to the vote. U.S.-India ties were near the bottom of the list.

Among the survey's other findings is this interesting note - that although Indian Americans of all faiths prefer Mr Biden to Mr Trump, support for the Democrat candidate is significantly stronger from Muslims (82 per cent) than Hindus (67 per cent).

The Christian community, meanwhile, leans more toward Mr Trump, with 45 per cent of the respondents preferring the Republican as American President, whose health condition following hospitalisation for a COVID-19 infection has also made headlines.

A survey of 936 Indian Americans suggests the community will vote for Joe Biden over Donald Trump

Indian American men and women both prefer Mr Biden to Mr Trump, and by considerable margins. Sixty-nine per cent of women and 68 per cent of men intend to vote for the Democrat, while just 19 per cent of women and 24 per cent of men plan to vote for Mr Trump.

The survey was a collaboration between the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and the University of Pennsylvania.

The United States will vote for a new president - the first national election since the coronavirus pandemic swept the world - early next month.

Early voting for the election has already begun and, according to a report by CNBC, these have "smashed" 2016 levels amid concern over following social distancing norms during regular voting.

The CNBC report states that over 10.6 million Americans have already cast their votes (it is unknown how many Indian Americans have) with Democrats holding a strong early lead.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-...iden-says-survey-2310164?pfrom=home-topscroll

 

[James]

Biden is seriously doddery already, and so surely he can’t last as President til his mid 80s. The vote is effectively the joint Biden-Harris ticket against Trump.

My prediction is that Trump will lose, he will take it to the Supreme Court, and lose again. (despite his blatant attempts to rig the judiciary.)

 

[Technics 1210]

Yes folks. More than 200000 people have died in Amreeka due to C19, during the same period more have died related to alcohol, drugs, and guns in the name of freedom in Amreeka.

Don't fall for the liberal trap! These lot will try and pull everything in their gutter tripe tactical book to gain the sympathy and empathy vote!

 

[Stewie]

Biden is seriously doddery already, and so surely he can’t last as President til his mid 80s. The vote is effectively the joint Biden-Harris ticket against Trump.

My prediction is that Trump will lose, he will take it to the Supreme Court, and lose again. (despite his blatant attempts to rig the judiciary.)

He won’t go easy. He will keep whining about rigging and this and that and he will have to be dragged out of White House. I am pretty sure that’s how it’s gonna go. They will be making movies and tv shows out of that buffoon’s time in the White House for ages.

The darkest period in US history post slavery

 

[Gilly]

Biden is falsely being linked to Burisma. The emails are obviously fake and made by Trump operatives.

Trump should be impeached for this.

 

[El Generico]

Biden is falsely being linked to Burisma. The emails are obviously fake and made by Trump operatives.

Trump should be impeached for this.

What’s the point of impeaching him when the guy is going to be voted in a couple of weeks anyways?

 

[El Generico]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The New York Post story some are tweeting about has a huge falsehood in it: Story claims Biden pushed for the ouster of the Ukrainian prosecutor when he was investigating Burisma. <br><br>Flatly false. And the ouster was backed by international institutions.<a href="https://t.co/HtoWJg0j4V">https://t.co/HtoWJg0j4V</a></p>— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1316345382939566080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Gilly]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The New York Post story some are tweeting about has a huge falsehood in it: Story claims Biden pushed for the ouster of the Ukrainian prosecutor when he was investigating Burisma. <br><br>Flatly false. And the ouster was backed by international institutions.<a href="https://t.co/HtoWJg0j4V">https://t.co/HtoWJg0j4V</a></p>— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1316345382939566080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I dont know how anyone could claim that Biden pushed for the prosecutor to be fired, there is video evidence that proves he did not.

 

[sweep_shot]

US election 2020: Why it matters so much to Germans

Panting into the cold night air, the Berlin Thunderbirds are training hard, steam rising from their helmets and padded shoulders.

American sport, culture and, many would say, values pump through the veins of Germany. Which is why so many people here - including the players tackling each other with enthusiasm - are also keeping a close eye on the upcoming US presidential election.

"You're kind of like a bystander," says Christoph, a quarterback. "You have no influence but in the end it does influence you."

To stroll under reddening trees through the small market which stands on Berlin's Kennedy Platz is to get a glimpse of how closely Germany and America have been bound, how deeply rooted the transatlantic relationship.

Beyond the stalls packed with pumpkins and flowers, looms the impressive stone edifice of Rathaus Schoeneberg where, nearly 60 years ago, John F Kennedy told a wildly cheering crowd packed deep into the neighbouring streets, "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner").

Ute, who was a child at the time, pauses as she buys fruit to explain why today there's so little enthusiasm among Germans for the current American commander-in-chief.

"For my generation - born after the second world war - Americans were a great example of freedom and democracy. That's ended with Trump."

President Trump - who once claimed he'd charmed Angela Merkel - remains deeply unpopular in Germany. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that Germany rates the US president particularly unfavourably.

For her part, the German chancellor has never warmed to President Trump's style or his politics. She was openly dismayed by his dismissive attitude towards Nato, his withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change, and his rejection of the Iran nuclear agreement.

The lack of personal chemistry between the leaders has been in stark contrast to the relationship Mrs Merkel developed with Barack Obama. It's no secret in Berlin that the government has struggled to replicate the same level of co-operation with the Trump administration.

But Mrs Merkel won't be dealing with the White House for much longer. Germany is looking ahead to its own significant election.

Norbert Roettgen, who chairs the German foreign affairs committee, is one of the candidates hoping to replace Mrs Merkel when she stands down next year.

"The four years of the Trump presidency have meant that everything, very fundamentally, has been called into question. The very existence of Nato, the predictability of US foreign policy. It has been a disruption which we haven't seen since World War Two."

He, like many in Berlin, fears that another term for President Trump could do irreparable damage to the transatlantic relationship.

"We are concerned. I'm totally convinced that the prospect of another four years would not only mean that we're going to see more of the same, but I'm quite certain we would see an acceleration of everything we've experienced.

"Because then President Trump would not be under the pressure to be re-elected. He would be unshackled."

It took many in Berlin by surprise that the president of a country long considered an ally, a military and trading partner, has singled out Germany as a target for such fierce and sustained criticism.

There've been clashes over defence spending (Germany is increasing expenditure but still falls short of the 2% GDP target agreed with Nato), Germany's trade surplus with the US, and the construction of the controversial Nordstream 2 pipeline which will double the amount of Russian gas entering Europe via Germany.

But it was President Trump's decision to reduce the number of US troops stationed in Germany which perhaps most potently symbolised the depths to which the transatlantic relationship had plummeted.

As Wolfgang Ischinger, former ambassador to Washington and the chair of the Munich security conference argues, as long as there are US troops on European soil, the actual location isn't particularly important but that "regretfully, trust has been lost over this issue".

He warns that a victory for Joe Biden - whose adviser for foreign policy has said he'd review the decision to withdraw troops from Germany - might not be the return to "some kind of transatlantic paradise" either because national differences over the big issues like climate change, Russia and China will remain.

However, most officials in Berlin expect such a political arena to be an easier one in which to negotiate and manoeuvre.

Ambassador Ischinger is not alone in seeing this election as a significant moment for Germany.

"The difficulties which we've what we've experienced in the last three and a half years have indeed served as a useful wake up call for Germany to begin to reflect about its own responsibilities," he says.

Berlin has no desire for another four years of Donald Trump.

But, regardless of the outcome of the US election, there is a growing sense that Germany, which for so long considered America it's team mate, may need to adjust its game plan.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54522984.

 

[Bigboii]

so Dinesh Dsouza is back with another one of his garbage documentaries

back at it again with dem ugly a** documentaries

apparently Trump is the only one left who can save this country

for the uninitiated he is the Zaid Hamid of America

 

[Robert]

He won’t go easy. He will keep whining about rigging and this and that and he will have to be dragged out of White House. I am pretty sure that’s how it’s gonna go. They will be making movies and tv shows out of that buffoon’s time in the White House for ages.

The darkest period in US history post slavery

It is going to take a long time to heal the USA of the societal fractures that Trump has re-opened and deepened, elevating ignorance and conspiracy theory, trashing the third estate and encouraging racism and white supremacy.

It will be unedifying to see him exit the White House in bad grace, but then the healing can begin.

 

[Firebat]

BREAKING: US vice-presidential contender's aides test positive

Two individuals involved with the election campaign of US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden have tested positive.

A statement by Biden's campaign manager said one was the communications director for Biden's running mate Kamala Harris and the other a non-staff flight crew member.

Senator Harris was not in close contact with them during the two days preceding their positive tests, and therefore - based on current US guidelines - did not need to quarantine, the statement said.

"Regardless, out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign’s commitment to the highest levels of precaution, we are canceling Senator Harris’s travel through Sunday, October 18th," it added.

The US presidential election is on 3 November.

 

[Technics 1210]

It is going to take a long time to heal the USA of the societal fractures that Trump has re-opened and deepened, elevating ignorance and conspiracy theory, trashing the third estate and encouraging racism and white supremacy.

It will be unedifying to see him exit the White House in bad grace, but then the healing can begin.

Long time thanks to the Liberals. If only they'd accepted the democratic result from both side of the pond in 2016 then we wouldn't be in the mess.

Stop blaming the right, when it is the left at fault. Liberals love to point the finger at others instead of themselves.

The healing will begin when Liberalism is destroyed.

@thread - do not fall for the lefty woke snowflake nonsense. Liberals are to blame for this sorry state of affairs.

 

[Technics 1210]

BREAKING: US vice-presidential contender's aides test positive

Two individuals involved with the election campaign of US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden have tested positive.

A statement by Biden's campaign manager said one was the communications director for Biden's running mate Kamala Harris and the other a non-staff flight crew member.

Senator Harris was not in close contact with them during the two days preceding their positive tests, and therefore - based on current US guidelines - did not need to quarantine, the statement said.

"Regardless, out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign’s commitment to the highest levels of precaution, we are canceling Senator Harris’s travel through Sunday, October 18th," it added.

The US presidential election is on 3 November.

Biden's campaign is on tour with all the social distancing malarky, dead rallies, conventions, for the sake of safety and they still get spammed, meanwhile Trump is drawing in crowds of 10000s and survives C19!

You couldn't make this up!

 

[Gilly]

Biden looks in trouble.

 

[Stewie]

It is going to take a long time to heal the USA of the societal fractures that Trump has re-opened and deepened, elevating ignorance and conspiracy theory, trashing the third estate and encouraging racism and white supremacy.

It will be unedifying to see him exit the White House in bad grace, but then the healing can begin.

Hallelujah, brother...

Well said!

 

[sweep_shot]

US election: Trump declines to disavow QAnon conspiracy theory

US President Donald Trump has refused to disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory during a town hall debate in Florida.

Asked by the moderator at the primetime event in Miami whether he would repudiate the bizarre online claims, he said he did not know anything about it.

In a simultaneous town hall debate in Philadelphia, his Democratic challenger Joe Biden declined to divulge his plans for the Supreme Court.

Opinion polls indicate Mr Biden has a solid lead over Mr Trump, a Republican.

There are 19 days until election day, but millions of early ballots have already been cast for the 3 November vote.

What did Trump say about QAnon?
The QAnon conspiracy theory holds that Mr Trump is battling a clandestine "deep state" network of political, business, media and entertainment elites, often involving Satanic plots and child trafficking.

When NBC moderator Savannah Guthrie asked Mr Trump on Thursday night whether he would reject the group, he replied: "I know nothing about QAnon."

Ms Guthrie said she had just told him about the group.

The president said: "You told me, but what you told me doesn't necessarily make it fact. I hate to say that.

"I know nothing about it, I do know they are very much against paedophilia, they fight it very hard."

Mr Trump instead targeted antifa, a loose-knit movement of mainly far-left activists blamed by the US Department of Justice for civil disorder in US cities during racial justice protests over the last few months.

"I tell you what I do know about," said Mr Trump, "I know about antifa and the radical left and I know how violent they are and how vicious they are and I know how they're burning down cities run by Democrats."

The back and forth continued as Ms Guthrie challenged Mr Trump: "You do know [about QAnon].

"I don't know," he said.

What did Biden say on court packing?
Mr Biden was asked during the ABC town hall whether he supported court packing, which means adding seats to the US Supreme Court and appointing justices to sway its ideological make-up.

Mr Biden has recently been ducking questions on the issue, as conservatives argue that the Democratic nominee is planning to tamper with the third branch of the US government, the judiciary.

The former vice-president gave conflicting answers on Thursday night, saying: "I have not been a fan of court packing. I'm not a fan."

Moderator George Stephanopoulos pressed Mr Biden on whether he would be open to expanding the court if Republicans confirmed Mr Trump's current judicial nominee for an existing vacancy on the nine-seat Supreme Court.

"I'm open to considering what happens from that point on," he said.

Mr Stephanopoulos asked the former vice-president whether voters had a right to know where he stands on the key issue.

"They do have a right to know where I stand and they'll have a right to know before they vote," he said.

"Depending on how they handle this," he added, apparently referring to the Republican confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

On a segment about law enforcement, Mr Stephanopoulos asked Mr Biden whether he believed more police officers equated to less crime.

"Yes, if they're involved in community policing, not jump squads," the Democrat replied.

He also said police officers who find themselves under physical attack should de-escalate.

"So instead of anybody coming at you and the first thing you do is shoot to kill, you shoot them in the leg," said Mr Biden.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54551058.

 

[sweep_shot]

How President Trump can still win the US election

Recent polls suggest Joe Biden has a significant and steady lead over Republican Donald Trump in this year's presidential race in both national preference and key swing-state surveys.

Due to record-shattering fundraising, the Democrat also has a sizeable financial advantage, which means he'll be able to blanket the airwaves with his campaign message in the final weeks.

Electoral analysts have been increasing their odds that Trump will lose his re-election bid. Nate Silver's Fivethirtyeight.com blog currently has Biden with an 87% changes of winning, while Decision Desk HQ puts him at 83.5%.

If all of this is painfully familiar to Democrats, it should be. At a similar point four years ago, Hillary Clinton was also predicted to have a high likelihood of victory. They remember how that turned out.

Could history repeat itself with another Trump victory? If the president is taking the oath of office once again in January, here are five possible reasons why it happened.

Another October surprise
Four years ago, just 11 days before the election, FBI Director James Comey disclosed that his agency was reopening an investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state. For a week, related stories dominated the headlines and gave the Trump campaign room to breathe.

With just over two weeks before polls close in 2020, a similar seismic political event might be enough to propel Trump to victory.

So far, at least, the big surprises this month have been bad news for Trump - such as the revelation of his tax returns and his hospitalisation for Covid-19.

A New York Post article about a mysterious laptop containing an email that might link Joe Biden to his son Hunter's efforts to lobby for a Ukrainian gas company has been billed by some conservatives as such a campaign earthquake - but its questionable provenance and lack of specificity means it's unlikely to sway many voters.

Trump has promised that there's more to come, however. If this is just an opening salvo, setting up direct evidence of wrongdoing by Biden while vice-president, that could be a different, bigger story.

Or perhaps there's another, wholly unanticipated and shocking campaign development that's just about to burst.

If we could predict it, it wouldn't be a surprise.

The polls are wrong
Practically since Biden secured the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, national polls have given him a steady lead over Trump. Even in key swing states, which have shown a tighter race, Biden has demonstrated a consistent lead frequently outside the margin of error.

As 2016 demonstrated, however, national leads are irrelevant and state-level polls can miss the mark.

Predicting what a presidential electorate will look like - that is, who will actually show up to cast a ballot - is a challenge in every election, and some pollsters got it wrong last time, undercounting the number of white, non-college-educated voters who would turn out for Trump.

Although the New York Times predicts Biden's current margins would protect him from even a 2016-level misfire, pollsters have some new obstacles to overcome in 2020.

Many Americans, for instance, are planning to vote by mail for the first time. Republicans are already promising to aggressively challenge mail-in ballots to prevent what they say could be the potential for widespread fraud - something Democrats have said is really an effort at voter suppression.

If voters fill out their forms incorrectly or do not follow proper procedure, or there is delay or disruption in mail delivery, it could lead to otherwise valid ballots being discarded. Understaffed or limited in-person polling places could also make it more difficult to vote on election day, discouraging Americans who had been considered by pollsters to be "likely voters."

A debate turnaround
The dust has now settled from the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden more than two weeks ago, and the president is the one who got the dirtiest.

Polls indicate Trump's aggressive, interrupting style didn't play well with suburban women, who are a key voting demographic in this campaign. Meanwhile, Biden held up adequately under fire, assuaging concerns among voters - played up by Republicans - that he had lost a step in his advancing age.

Trump missed an opportunity to change his first-debate impressions when he backed out of the second scheduled debate because it had been switched from in-person to a "virtual format". He'll have one more chance on the big stage next Thursday and will have to make it count.

If Trump presents a calmer, more presidential demeanour and Biden comes unglued or has some particularly dramatic gaffe, the balance of the race could possibly tilt in Trump's favour.

A swing state sweep
Even with polls showing an advantage for Biden, there are enough states where Trump is ahead or within the margin of error that - if things break just the right way for the president - the Electoral College arithmetic could work out for him.

Even though Trump lost the national popular vote last time around, he had a comfortable margin in the Electoral College, where each state gets a number of votes based on their population.

Some of the swing states he won - like Michigan and Wisconsin - seem to be out of reach this time. But if he can claw out narrow victories in the rest, turning out even more white non-college voters in places like Pennsylvania and Florida, he can reach the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the White House.

There are even scenarios where he and Biden each get 269 votes, creating a tie that would be decided by the state delegations to House of Representatives, a majority of which would probably side with Trump.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2020-54561411.

 

[sweep_shot]

US election 2020: Harris halts travel after aide tests positive for coronavirus

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris will halt campaign travel until Monday after two members of her staff tested positive for coronavirus.

The California senator's communications director, Liz Allen, and a flight crew member received the results on Wednesday, a Biden official said.

Neither aide had close contact with the candidates in the 48 hours prior to their positive tests, she added.

Ms Harris had been scheduled to fly to North Carolina on Thursday.

Biden Campaign Manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said the senator had no close contact with either infected staff member in the two days before the positive test, and was therefore not required to quarantine.

"Regardless, out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign's commitment to the highest levels of precaution, we are cancelling Senator Harris's travel through Sunday," she said.

An airline company staff member who flew with presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday and Tuesday also tested positive, Ms Dillon said in a statement.

Mr Biden was not in close contact with the individual, his team said, and doctors advised that he did not need to self-isolate.

On 8 October, Ms Harris and Mr Biden campaigned together in Arizona, where they held multiple appearances and interviews. The campaign says Ms Harris flew with both staff members on that trip, but they all wore masks throughout the flight and practiced social distancing.

Ms Harris and her husband both tested negative on Thursday, the campaign told reporters.

The Biden campaign has made emphasising health safety a visible part of its political strategy, in an effort to mark a point of contrast with President Trump. A number of Republicans and White House associates - and Mr Trump himself - have tested positive for coronavirus in recent weeks.

Mr Biden is scheduled to hold a town hall event on ABC News on Thursday night. President Trump is due to host a competing town hall on NBC at the same time.

Ms Harris had been due to visit North Carolina on the state's first day of early in person voting. She was scheduled to visit the cities of Charlotte and Asheville for what would have been her second trip to the crucial swing state in the past three weeks.

Mr Trump, who held an afternoon airport rally in the North Carolina city of Greenville, is holding his sixth visit to the state since the Republican convention in late August.

"Two of the people that travel with her, in the plane all the time. They have tested positive," Mr Trump said on Thursday. "We extend our best wishes, which is more than they did for me," he told the audience.

Both Mr Biden and Ms Harris publicly wished the president and the first lady a quick recovery after the news of their positive Covid test was announced.

The president's visit was expected to draw thousands of people, local police say. Parking restrictions mean that attendees were required to take a Trump campaign shuttle bus from a nearby fairgrounds.

Local health officials had appealed to Trump supporters to wear masks and practice social distancing and hand washing at the rally.

But like at previous Trump rallies, pictures from Greenville showed many of his supporters eschewing masks and crowding close together.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54559605.