Tag: Joe Biden

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Biden Tops Trump In Dueling Town Hall Ratings

L-R Former Vice President Joe Biden, Donald Trump
It was a tale of two Town Halls last night as Donald Trump and Joe Biden took questions in separate events from likely voters. As many on social media noted, the tone and tenor of the events couldn’t have been more different. Donald Trump was being combative with his host, NBC News’s Savannah Guthrie when she would ask follow-up questions to many of his vague responses. Over on ABC, Biden was calm and collected as he looked each person in the eye as he answered their questions. At one point, his answer was so lengthy and detailed, host George Stephanopoulos interrupted to ask the questioner if they’d gotten the response they needed. Another clear difference between the two events was Trump’s town hall was only an hour (low-energy) and Biden’s was 90 minutes. But even after those 90 minutes, Biden stayed in the TV studio and answered follow-up questions from folks in the venue.

The Biden town hall marked one of the few times LGBTQ issues came up in a broadcast election event as Joe Biden clearly and with no equivocation vowed to protect the rights of LGBTQ Americans. When Mieke Haeck, a mother of two including an 8-year-old transgender daughter, asked how he would reverse Trump’s anti-LGBTQ actions, “The Trump administration has attacked the rights of transgender people,” asked Haeck, “banning them from military service, weakening non-discrimination protections, and even removing the word ‘transgender from some government websites. How will you, as president, reverse this dangerous and discriminatory agenda and ensure that the lives and rights of LGBTQ people are protected under U.S. law?” Biden was direct and unwavering in his response. “I will flat-out just change the law,” he told Haeck, adding that he would reverse Trump’s anti-LGBTQ executive orders. Biden also recounted an anecdote from his youth when he and his father witnessed two men sharing a kiss in public. Upon seeing the kiss, Biden turned to his father who said simply, “Joey, it’s simple. They love each other.” Circling back around to the beginning of the issue, Biden was clear: “There should be zero discrimination.”

Biden also took a question from a gentleman who asked Biden what he would say to LGBTQ Americans and others who are worried about erosions of their rights. Biden said, “I think there’s great reason to be concerned for the LGBTQ community, something I fought very hard for.” At the Trump Town Hall, things were a little bit more contentious. When Savannah Guthrie asked Trump about retweeting misinformation and conspiracy theories, he blew the question off. One such retweet contained a conspiracy theory that Biden and President Barack Obama orchestrated a cover-up regarding Navy SEAL Team Six faking the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden. “That was a retweet,” defended Trump. “That was an opinion of somebody and that was a retweet. I’ll put it out there. People can decide for themselves. I don’t take a position.” “You’re the president,” Guthrie responded. “You’re not someone’s crazy uncle who can retweet whatever.”

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg saw his tweet go viral (shared over 47K times, Liked over 350K times) when he shared, “Just imagine turning on the TV, seeing your president, and feeling your blood pressure go down instead of up.” And Donald Trump’s own niece, Mary Trump, scored with a single word tweet when someone playfully took issue with Savannah Guthrie referring to Trump as “someone’s crazy uncle.” #Actually By the way, Biden’s town hall on ABC News reportedly drew 2.3 million more viewers than the Trump town hall on NBC News. Variety reports Biden drew 12.7 million total viewers on the Disney-owned network, while Trump drew 10.4 million in the same 9-10 p.m. time slot on NBC.

More reactions from Twitter about the dueling Town Hall events below.

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Dueling Town Halls Replace Presidential Debate

L-R Donald Trump, Joe Biden
It’ll be dueling town hall events on Thursday instead of a debate. After refusing to participate in the scheduled second presidential debate of the 2020 cycle, Donald Trump has agreed to take part in an NBC News town hall event on Thursday at the same time former Vice President Joe Biden will take questions in an ABC News town hall to be hosted by George Stephanopoulos.

From NBC News: The town hall, moderated by “TODAY” anchor Savannah Guthrie, will take place on the same evening — and at the same time — that Joe Biden is doing his own town hall event in Philadelphia on ABC News at 8 p.m. ET.

Trump and Biden were supposed to hold their second debate on Thursday night, but Trump pulled out after organizers announced it was going to be conducted virtually. The last presidential debate is scheduled for next Thursday, Oct. 22.

During the one-hour town hall with Trump on Thursday, Guthrie will moderate a conversation between Trump and a group of Florida voters.

I know Trump loves to hear about his ratings. Because his NBC News town hall will be simulcast on CNBC and MSNBC, I’ll go ahead and predict he’ll probably get more viewers given the wider reach of three networks. But in the end, I doubt these events will change any voter’s mind.

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Biden Gaining Strength In Michigan & Wisconsin

Former Vice President Joe Biden (photo via campaign)
New data from the latest New York Times/Siena College poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in the vital battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump won the two northeastern states in 2016 with less than one percent each.

Overall, Mr. Biden led Mr. Trump by eight percentage points in Michigan, 48 percent to 40 percent, among likely voters. His lead in Wisconsin was slightly larger, 51 percent to 41 percent.

The new results, along with recent Times/Siena surveys from elsewhere in the Northern battlegrounds, suggest that the president has not yet managed to reassemble his winning coalition across the region. He faces modest but significant defections among white and independent voters, while facing a groundswell of opposition from those who voted for a minor-party candidate or didn’t vote at all in 2016.

The president’s path to re-election is narrow if he doesn’t win either Wisconsin or Michigan. If Mr. Biden puts those two states in his column, along with the states carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016, he will hold 258 electoral votes, putting him on the doorstep of the 270 needed to win.

(image via NY Times)
Click here for a breakdown of where Trump is losing support among voters in the battleground states. Note – This report is not meant to condone complacency or think it’s safe to not participate in the 2020 presidential election. I share this information in an attempt to encourage citizens to VOTE.

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Presidential Commission Cancels Debate After Trump Refuses Virtual Format

L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden
After Donald Trump refused to take part in a virtual presidential debate (in light of the fact that he’s still contagious for the coronavirus), the Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the scheduled second debate between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. From CNN:

The cancellation is the culmination of a furious 48-hour back-and-forth between the commission and both campaigns and means what would have been the third debate in Nashville on October 22 will likely be the final meeting between the two candidates. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the commission’s decision.
The commission, with the backing of their health advisers, announced on Thursday morning that — because Trump tested positive for the coronavirus — the debate that was scheduled for Miami would be held virtually, with the two candidates appearing from remote locations.
Trump swiftly rejected that plan, saying he would not show up and setting off a series of events that put the future of all general election debates into question.
In response to Trump’s cancellation, a Biden spokeswoman swiftly said that they would have agreed to a virtual format for next Thursday’s contest, but because the President had seemingly bailed, they would book another format for the former vice president to take questions.

In fact, ABC News has already announced it will be hosting a town hall with Biden on October 15 to be moderated by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. You should note that for some time Trump has told his followers Biden would be the one to cancel. “Joe Biden is too weak to lead this country,” Trump said at a rally last week. “You know Biden lost badly when his supporters are saying he should cancel the rest of the debates. Now, I understand he is canceling the debates. Let’s see what happens. I think that’s not going to be a good move for him.” Clearly, Trump knows he can’t win a debate where his ability to bully and speak over his opponent is limited.

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Michelle Obama’s ‘Closing Argument’ For Joe Biden

Former First Lady Michelle Obama
The election is in less than a month and early votes are already being cast across the country. But, for anyone who might be undecided, former First Lady Michelle Obama offers this “closing argument” for Americans to support Joe Biden. “If we want to regain any kind of stability, we have to ensure that every eligible voter is informed and engaged on this election,” says Obama. Noting Trump’s “constant downplaying of the importance of masks and social distancing” as well as his “relentless pressure” to reopen schools while people are still in danger, Obama adds, “We simply can’t trust this president to tell us the truth about anything.” Obama added. “It’s painful to think that months into this crisis, this is still where we are, with no clear plan, no peace of mind, and the worst part is, it didn’t have to be like this. Look around the world.” “He boasts about gains in the stock market, but when you look at the lives of regular folks, whether it’s creating blue-collar jobs, making healthcare more affordable, protecting the environment, keeping our families safe from gun violence, let alone the coronavirus, there’s nothing much to brag about.” “By contrast, Joe Biden has lived his life guided by values and principles that mirror ones that most Americans can recognize. I know Joe… he’s a good man who understands the struggles of everyday folks.” Watch the compelling message below. And please – VOTE.

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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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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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Joe Biden Tests Negative For Coronavirus & More Updates

Former Vice President Joe Biden (photo via campaign)
The Washington Post reports former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, have tested negative for coronavirus. Some folks were concerned that, in light of Donald Trump testing positive for the virus, and the two men shared a stage without face masks on Tuesday night, that Biden might have been exposed. Let’s hear it for social distancing! Other updates regarding Trump and the coronavirus: • The Trump campaign has cancelled all previously scheduled events while the president is quarantined for the next several days. • Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who attended Trump’s Supreme Court announcement on Saturday has tested positive for the coronavirus and told the press he will self-quarantine for 10 days. • Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, also tested positive for the coronavirus and has experienced mild symptoms from Covid-19. • Vice President Mike Pence and his wife have tested negative as well. • The coronavirus has infected over 7.2 million Americans and killed over 207,000.

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Biden Will Attend Town Hall Event In Miami Hosted By NBC News

Former Vice President Joe Biden (image via campaign)
Deadline reports that former Vice President Joe Biden will participate in a Town Hall event hosted by NBC News’s Lester Holt on October 5 in Miami, Florida. The event was announced following last night’s wild debate between Biden and Donald Trump. Biden previously participated in a similar event earlier this month in Scranton, Pennsylvania, hosted by CNN. Socially distanced attendees took part from the safety of their cars. NBC News has also extended an invitation to Trump to do a similar event. Trump took part in an ABC News Town Hall in September. Candidates and their campaigns favor such events because taking questions from ‘everyday people’ can offer an appealing connection to voters.

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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.