Tag: Donald Trump

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Trump’s Coronavirus Cavalcade: October 7, 2020

Donald Trump leaves the hospital to wave to followers (photo: public domain)
In this edition of Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Cavalcade: • After little-to-no effort to assauge the coronavirus in the White House working environment other than testing (that clearly failed), staffers have been instructed to wear full PPE gear when closely interacting with Donald Trump reports the New York Times. Even so, there are conflicting accounts as to whether Trump is working from the White House residence or in the Oval Office. • The FDA has issued guidance recommending that participants in late-stage coronavirus vaccine clinical trials be followed for at least two months after the final injection to ensure safety and boost public trust in any approved vaccine. • Trump adviser Stephen Miller is the most recent high-level White House adviser to test positive for the coronavirus. Additionally, one of Trump’s military aides who carries the ‘nuclear football’ has tested positive as well. • Speaking of the ‘nuclear football,’ due to the medications Trump has received to treat coronavirus (including dexamethasone, which can cause mood swings and “frank psychotic manifestations”), the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has issued a statement saying “we should not entrust nuclear launch authority to someone who is not fully lucid.” • After more than a dozen White House staffers have tested positive for coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence’s team has finally agreed to allow plexiglass barriers between himself and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris at tonight’s veep debate in light of the rash of positive cases within the White House. • Donald Trump announced that he ordered Republicans to end negotiations for further coronavirus stimulus for Americans because some of the money would go to ‘Democrat’ states. Pssst, most of those states send the largest portion of tax dollars to the federal government. Oh, and blue state folks are Americans, too. 

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Early Voting Already Up By More Than 50x 2016 Levels

Ballot watchers are seeing an unprecedented number of early votes being cast which could indicate record-breaking turnout for the 2020 presidential election. From Reuters:

With four weeks to go before Election Day, more than 4 million Americans already have voted, more than 50 times the 75,000 at this time in 2016, according to the United States Elections Project, which compiles early voting data.

The shift has been driven by an expansion of early and mail-in voting in many states as a safe way to cast a ballot during the coronavirus pandemic and an eagerness to weigh in on the political future of Trump, said Michael McDonald of the University of Florida, who administers the project.

“We’ve never seen this many people voting so far ahead of an election,” McDonald said. “People cast their ballots when they make up their minds, and we know that many people made up their minds long ago and already have a judgment about Trump.”

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Trump Announces He’s Leaving Hospital Today ‘Don’t Be Afraid Of Covid!’

Donald Trump leaves the hospital to wave to followers (photo: public domain)
Donald Trump announced this afternoon that he will be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center having been hospitalized since Friday after testing positive for coronavirus and displaying symptoms. In his tweet, he says he’s “feeling really good” and Americans shouldn’t “be afraid of Covid.” He also notes “some really great drugs & knowledge” have been developed regarding the virus in the past few months. As has been reported, though, Trump has received several treatments that aren’t available to the average COVID-19 patient.

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Campaign Ad: ‘I’m Smart’

L-R Donald Trump, Joe Biden (screen capture)
This new political ad from The Lincoln Project is for those political opinionators who criticize former Vice President Joe Biden for the times he might have tripped up when speaking in public. Reminder – Biden has shared publicly about his struggles with a lifelong struggle. Someone recently said to me, picking up the Fox News vibe, that “Joe’s so out of it he’s being led by the nose.” But when those peeps chatter on Biden, I wonder how they missed these Donald Trump moments that make me wonder, “Have you heard Trump speak?” The ads write themselves, folks…

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Medical Team Admits To ‘Overly Rosy’ Description Of Trump’s Condition

Dr. Sean Conley at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (screen capture)

On Sunday, Donald Trump’s medical team admitted they had given ‘an overly rosy description’ of Trump’s COVID-19 medical status on Saturday.

But there are still questions regarding when the president’s diagnosis occured, when he first developed symptoms, how severe those symptoms were and if he had been given oxygen at any point.

From the New York Times:

“I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction, and in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true,” Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, said in a briefing with reporters Sunday.

The doctors said that Mr. Trump had a “high fever” on Friday, and that there had been two incidents when his oxygen levels dropped — one on Friday and one on Saturday. They said Mr. Trump received oxygen at the White House on Friday; they were not clear about whether it was administered again on Saturday.

Medical experts said that despite the relatively upbeat tone of the news conference Sunday, the details of his treatment and the fact that his oxygen levels have been dropping showed that the illness has progressed beyond a mild case of Covid-19.

Follow the continuous updates at the New York Times here.

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News Round-Up: October 2, 2020

Happy World Smile Day from Snoopy
Some news items you might have missed: • World Smile Day: Talk about ‘who can turn the world on with his smile?’ Snoopy (above) sends TGIF greetings to all. #HandsomeDog #DogsRule • The Advocate: A man was dancing with a female friend recording a TikTok video in Lower Manhattan on Saturday when an unknown assailant called him a homophobic slur and punched him repeatedly in the head. The assailant fled on foot, and the New York Police Department’s hate-crimes unit is investigating the incident as a bias crime. • Pink News: In a letter to USA Today’s political reporter Susan Page, who will serve as moderator for the upcoming vice presidential debate, 13 LGBT+ rights groups asked her to address queer rights, as it would “do our nation and community a disservice to exclude these issues as a part of the conversation.” • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s lastest round-up of LGBTQ publications including DNA Magazine’s latest issue (below) featuring Ian Utterback on the cover.
Ian Utterback covers DNA Magazine (photo: James Franklin)
• USA Today: Newly revealed secretly recorded conversations with Melania Trump show the first lady expressing dismay at her role in decorating and promoting the White House during Christmas time, while she was being criticized for not doing more meaningful work. “I’m working my a– off with the Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f— about Christmas stuff and decorations but I need to do it, right?” Trump is heard saying. • Washington Post: Amazon said Thursday that nearly 20,000 of its U.S. employees had tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. The retailer has faced harsh criticism as hundreds of workers and critics have said it hasn’t done enough to keep employees safe as they work in its warehouses amid a surge in demand to send items to shoppers across the country. • Twitter: File this clip of Donald Trump mocking Joe Biden for wearing a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic under “Didn’t age well.”

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Trump To Be Hospitalized For COVID-19 Treatment

Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
Just 15 hours after testing positive for the coronavirus, Donald Trump will be hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. From CNN:

Trump was due to be flown aboard his Marine One helicopter to the hospital. It is routine for the President to travel to Walter Reed aboard Marine One.

In a statement, the President’s spokeswoman said Trump “remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day.”

When it comes to iconic sneakers, heck, when it comes to the entire history of footwear, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more beloved or influential shoe than the Superstar

“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. “President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.”

Trump reportedly has a fever, congestion, and a cough. There have been no announcements regarding whether Trump plans to transfer power to Pence temporarily as he remains in the hospital. For his part, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told the nation via Twitter, “This cannot be a partisan moment. This must be an American moment. We have to come together as a nation.” The Biden campaign also announced it is pulling attack campaign ads and will only air positive ads for the time being.

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After Disregarding Guidelines Trump & First Lady Contract Coronavirus

Donald Trump smirks during a press event

Donald Trump smirks during a press event
Donald Trump (photo: public domain/Flickr)
The hits keep coming… Last night it was revealed that close personal aide to Donald Trump, Hope Hicks, had contracted the coronavirus after traveling in close quarters with the president for days. According to the New York Times, White House officials knew about Ms. Hicks’s probable diagnosis since Wednesday evening, when she traveled with the president aboard Air Force One to Minnesota for a campaign rally and began to exhibit symptoms. She was quarantined on the return flight to Washington and exited Air Force One from the back entrance of the plane. As news reports began to scurry about wondering if Trump might have been exposed to the virus – Trump has famously disregarded his own administration’s guidelines regarding face mask wearing and social distancing – Trump confirmed with Fox News’s Sean Hannity during a phone-in interview that Hicks had tested positive for the virus and that he and the First Lady were tested and awaiting results.

A couple of hours later, Trump tweeted that he and Melania Trump had, in fact, contracted the coronavirus. The president reportedly is exhibiting symptoms from the virus. Stay tuned…

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Trump’s Favorite Pollster Shows Him Trailing Biden By 8 Points

Donald Trump reportedly took classified top secret documents from the White House when his administration came to an end.

Donald Trump (screen capture)
Hot on the heels of last night’s first presidential debate (if you could call it that after Donald Trump’s deplorable performance), the Donald gets some bad news from his favorite polling outfit. Rasmussen Polls, which tends to lean Republican, released its latest results and it shows a 7 point shift towards former Vice President Joe Biden in just one week. The survey puts Biden at an 8 point lead over Trump 51 percent to 43 percent. This is the first time Biden has cleared the 50 point threshold and its Trump’s worst showing in weeks.

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Former Trump Campaign Manager Hospitalized After Suicide Threat

Brad Parscale (cropped photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)
Brad Parscale, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, was removed from his home on Sunday afternoon after his wife called the police saying Parscale was armed and threatening to harm himself. From the Sun-Sentinel:

They made contact, “developed a rapport” and negotiated his exit from the house, the police said in a statement. He was taken to Broward Health Medical Center under the Baker Act, which provides for temporary involuntary commitment.

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Karen Dietrich said the encounter at the house was brief. “We went out and it was very short. We went and got him help.”

Dietrich said he didn’t threaten police and he went willingly under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows police to detain a person who is potentially a threat to himself or others.

The Trump campaign issued a statement to Axios which read, “Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we all love him. We are ready to support him and his family in any way possible.” Parscale was demoted from his position on the Trump campaign after the disastrous Tulsa rally on June 20 this summer which was poorly attended. He also recieved criticism for overspending on behalf of the campaign including millions in payments to his own companies.   The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free and confidential support for anyone in distress, in addition to prevention and crisis resources. Also available for online chat.