Category: 2020 election

Posted on

News Round-Up: June 26, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • The Gaily Grind: The U.S. House unanimously passed a bill Friday that would establish the Pulse nightclub in Orlando as a national memorial site, four years after a gunman opened fire on hundreds of people inside the club, killing 49 LGBTQ Americans and wounding dozens more. • Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday expressed regret for the first time about the reopening process he spearheaded during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he should not have allowed bars to open as quickly. “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting,” Abbott said. • New Music: The late Harry Hains, a compelling musician, actor (best known for American Horror Story, The OA) as well as artist and model, didn’t define himself by the constructs surrounding us, and his concept of ANTIBOY offers a portal into an age of existence where there is complete unparalleled freedom to live without preconceptions and societal labels. At a time when society is rising up to break down old systems and demanding equality for all, Harry’s personal perspective of the intersection of sexuality, gender, race, and self-expression endures because of its cultural relevance.

• NY Times: In the middle of a world-wide pandemic, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act — a move that, if successful, would bring a permanent end to the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans. • NPR: Donald Trump’s disapproval numbers are at an all-time high, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. Trump’s approval rating sits at just 40% overall, while a record 58% disapprove. What’s more, a whopping 49% of voters “strongly disapprove” of the job Trump is doing. That kind of intensity of disapproval is a record never before seen for this president or any past one. • Twitter: Add another musical group not having Donald Trump use their music at his rallies. Brendon Urie, lead singer for Panic! At The Disco, made it short and sweet in tweeting his disgust at the Trump campaign for using one his band’s song during its MAGA rally in Phoenix this week. “Dear Trump campaign,” Urie wrote on Twitter. “F*ck you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song. No thanks, Brendon Urie, Panic! At The Disco & company.”

Posted on

Trump On Biden: “He’s Gonna Be President Because Some People Don’t Love Me”

During an interview on Fox News Thursday night, Donald Trump admitted he could lose his reelection bid in November saying, “He’s gonna be your president because some people don’t love me, maybe.” Trump then, of all people, took a moment to mock the way former Vice President Joe Biden speaks. “I don’t want to be nice or un-nice, but…the man can’t speak.” “Un-nice?” He also pivoted to the healthy economy he inherited from President Obama insinuating HE alone had achieved that before the coronavirus.

Posted on

New York: Two Out Black Candidates Win Primaries, Set To Make History

L-R Mondaire Jones, Ritchie Torres (images via campaigns)
New York City Councilmember Ritchie Torres won the Democratic primary for New York’s 15th Congressional District, defeating virulently anti-LGBTQ opponent Rubén Díaz Sr. and putting him on track to become the first openly LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress. The seat is one of the safest in the country for Democrats, almost guaranteeing Torres will win in November. He will join Mondaire Jones, who also won his primary for New York’s 17th Congressional District last night in a safe district, in becoming the first two Black openly LGBTQ members of Congress when they win in November. Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about Torres’ and Jones’ primary victory:

“Voters in the Bronx rejected the politics of bigotry and instead put Ritchie on track to become the first openly LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress. At a time when our country is divided and we confront the realities of racism and police brutality, it is essential we have a voice like Ritchie’s fighting to turn the demands of protesters into legislative change at the federal level.

“Richie and Mondaire have shattered a long-standing political barrier with their primary wins, putting them on track to becoming the first two openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress. Black LGBTQ people – like all LGBTQ people – are severely underrepresented at every level of government, but this gives hope that we are moving toward building a U.S. Congress that is more representative of the people it serves.”

Posted on

COVID-19: Trump Administration May Shift Blame To CDC

Donald Trump at press conference (image via White House)
With Trump under fire for his handling of the outbreak, Oval Office advisers are looking to shift blame to the CDC. From Politico:

White House officials are putting a target on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, positioning the agency as a coronavirus scapegoat as cases surge in many states and the U.S. falls behind other nations that are taming the pandemic.

Trump administration aides in recent weeks have seriously discussed launching an in-depth evaluation of the agency to chart what they view as its missteps in responding to the pandemic including an early failure to deploy working test kits, according to four senior administration officials.

Part of that audit would include examining more closely the state-by-state death toll to tally only the Americans who died from Covid-19 directly rather than other factors. About 120,000 people in the U.S. have died of the coronavirus so far, according to the CDC’s official count.

Politically, Trump aides have also been looking for a person or entity outside China to blame for the coronavirus response and have grown furious with the CDC, including its public health guidance and actions on testing, making it a prime target.

Posted on

Trump Campaign: TikTok Rally Hacking Claims Are Bogus

In a statement posted to the Trump 2020 campaign site, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, claims news reports about TikTok and K-Pop fans claiming thousands of RSVPs to the woefully under-attended rally in Tulsa this past weekend are unfounded. In fact, Parscale denounces those reports of ticket hacking because the campaign weeds out “bogus” requests.

Leftists and online trolls doing a victory lap, thinking they somehow impacted rally attendance, don’t know what they’re talking about or how our rallies work.

Reporters who wrote gleefully about TikTok and K-Pop fans – without contacting the campaign for comment – behaved unprofessionally and were willing dupes to the charade.

Registering for a rally means you’ve RSVPed with a cell phone number and we constantly weed out bogus numbers, as we did with tens of thousands at the Tulsa rally, in calculating our possible attendee pool.

These phony ticket requests never factor into our thinking. What makes this lame attempt at hacking our events even more foolish is the fact that every rally is general admission – entry is on a first-come-first-served basis and prior registration is not required.

The fact is that a week’s worth of the fake news media warning people away from the rally because of COVID and protestors, coupled with recent images of American cities on fire, had a real impact on people bringing their families and children to the rally.

MSNBC was among outlets reporting that protesters even blocked entrances to the rally at times. For the media to now celebrate the fear that they helped create is disgusting, but typical. And it makes us wonder why we bother credentialing media for events when they don’t do their full jobs as professionals.

The Tulsa Fire Marshall estimated 6,200 showed up for the event at the BOK Center which holds just over 19,000. If I’m understanding Parscale correctly, he’s saying his team received around a million valid requests for rally tickets, and a smattering of protests kept around 993,800 people from entering the event? Trump campaign spokeswoman Mercedes Schlapp deflected when Fox News anchor Chris Wallace asked “What happened?”

Posted on

Tom Petty Estate Demands Trump Stop Using “Won’t Back Down” At Rallies

(screen capture from ‘I Won’t Back Down’ music video)
The family of late rocker Tom Petty has formally asked Donald Trump’s campaign to stop using Petty’s song, “I Won’t Back Down” after the track was played at Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa on Saturday. Petty’s estate said in a cease and desist statement the Trump campaign was “in no way” authorized to use the song. According to the estate, Petty wrote the song for the common man and would not have approved of its use by Trump’s campaign. “We believe in America and we believe in democracy. Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideals of either. We would hate for fans that are marginalised by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage”.

The Petty estate isn’t the first to publicly denounce Trump’s use of their music at his rallies. Neil Young, Rihanna, Elton John, REM, The Village People, Adele, Guns N Roses, the Rolling Stones, Pharrell, Queen, Prince, Aerosmith, and Earth Wind and Fire have called BS on the Donald’s use of their music. Petty died at the age of 66 in 2017 of an accidental overdose.

Posted on

Lincoln Project Trolls Trump’s Rally Speech Explaining #RampGate

At Donald Trump’s woefully under-attended campaign rally last night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Trumpster spent a considerable amount of time explaining the recent #RampGate episode. In case you missed it, after speaking at this year’s West Point Academy commencement ceremony, Trump slowly exited the stage via a ramp he called “very slippery” (no rain that day) and very steep. The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump conservatives (including White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George Conway), released their latest ad with their take on Trump’s protracted maneuvers on the now-infamous ramp. #Brilliant

Posted on

Six Trump Staffers Test Positive For Coronavirus Ahead Of Tulsa Rally

From the Washington Post:

Six members of the advance team preparing to staff President Trump’s rally here Saturday tested positive for the coronavirus, underscoring concerns about holding a massive indoor event in a city where cases are spiking.

The campaign made that announcement, saying quarantine procedures had gone into effect for the infected staff members and those in “immediate contact” with them, as hundreds of supporters filled downtown streets in anticipation of the president’s rally — his first since the virus brought much of public life to a standstill in March.

Upon entering the rally grounds, attendees were handed blue face coverings and directed through a maze of metal fencing, which led to a touchless temperature screening conducted by volunteers in purple smocks.

Note: Oklahoma has seen a 100 percent spike in new coronavirus cases in the past week. NBC News spoke to Trump supporters outside the rally venue today, all of whom expressed little to no concern about the virus. Several also expressed doubt about the severity of the pandemic. “If Trump felt comfortable having it here, then I’m comfortable,” said one supporter. Said another, of the coronavirus risk: “If today is the day I die, today is the day I die.” “As far as I know, I’m still an American,” said Tom Todd, Sheri’s husband and a retired welder. “This is a free country and I can do what I want. If I want to wear a mask, I wear a mask. If I don’t, I don’t. If I get sick, I get sick. That’s my choice,” Tom continued, adding that he thought the number of coronavirus deaths was being “padded.”

Posted on

Poll: Wide Margin Of Democratic Voters Favor Harris For Running Mate

L-R Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA, Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
A new Monmouth University poll shows Democrats favor Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate by a wide margin. Of the 2,240 Democratic primary voters surveyed: • 28% favor Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) • 13% named Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) • 12% supported Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who took herself out of the running last night • 10% gave the nod to former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams • 7% favor Florida Congresswoman Val Demings • 2% support former National Security Adviser Susan Rice Among Biden’s primary voters, 33% said they prefer Harris. Among Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) voters, Warren was favored by 22% while Harris is at 18%. Also notable from the poll, 59% say having a woman of color on the ticket improves the chances of winning in November.

Posted on

Klobuchar: Biden’s Running Mate Should Be A Woman Of Color

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) removed herself from consideration to be former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 presidential election Thursday night saying the veep candidate should be a woman of color. From NBC News:

“America must seize on the moment and I truly believe — as I actually told the VP last night when I called him — that I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket,” she told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell in an exclusive interview Thursday night. “And there are so many incredible, qualified women. But if you wanna heal this nation right now, my party yes, but our nation, this is a helluva way to do it.”

Biden responded in a tweet late Thursday saying that when she first announced her presidential bid, it “wasn’t hard to see you had the grit and determination to do anything you set your mind to” and that with her help, “We’re going to beat Donald Trump.”

Klobuchar’s announcement was no doubt based, in part, on the weeks of protests in her home state of Minnesota after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. But also, Klobuchar’s tenure as chief prosecutor for Hennepin County has received renewed scrutiny, specifically in cases of police brutality. Biden has said he expects to announce his running mate by August 1. Pundits say Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are among the front-runners.