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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Supreme court lets Trump administration enforce new asylum restrictions – as it happened

Melania and Donald Trump at the Oval Office on Thursday.
Melania and Donald Trump at the Oval Office on Thursday. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

Summary

Well, it’s been... a day.

As CQ-Roll Call immigration reporter Tanvi Misra put it:

Here’s an updated recap of today’s US politics news:

  • The supreme court ruled on Wednesday to allow the Trump administration to enforce nationwide restrictions that would prevent most Central American immigrants from seeking asylum in the US. As the president celebrates the highest court’s order as a victory, other lawmakers and immigrant rights activists say the move could cost lives.
  • Democratic lawmakers also slammed federal immigration officials for refusing to explain why they stopped considering requests from immigrants looking to defer deportation due to medical reasons.
  • In a tweet, the president announced he will be delaying implementing increased tariffs on Chinese goods as a “gesture of good will” toward Beijng.
  • Trump referenced his canceled plan to hold peace talks with the Taliban while speaking at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony. It has been 18 years today since the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
  • Trump said his administration was moving to ban flavored e-cigarettes in an attempt to crack down on teen vaping.
  • Trump reportedly pushed his staff to pressure the NOAA to back up the president’s false hurricane claim. Trump dismissed the reports as “fake news.”
  • The president has offered no clarity on what gun legislation he would support, despite meeting with a bipartisan group of senators on the issue today.
  • Joe Biden maintained his lead in the latest CNN polling, but he has lost his double-digit advantage on the eve of the next democratic debate, which will take place tomorrow in Houston. Biden also leads among registered voters in the NPR/PBS NewsHour Marist Poll, but trails Elizabeth Warren among democratic and democratic-leaning voters.

Tomorrow is the third 2020 democratic presidential debate. The Guardian will be liveblogging as the two top contenders — Warren and Biden — face off for the first time. Andrew Yang has also promised a “big” and “unprecedented” surprise — perhaps a new look?

The Trump administration’s acting director of citizenship and immigration services further celebrated the supreme court’s action by calling it a “YUGE Win”, alluding to Donald Trump’s particular way of speaking.

The highest court’s order allowing the administration to enforce nationwide restrictions on asylum seekers would prevent most Central American immigrants from seeking protection in the US, and render ineligible refugees from Africa, Asia and South America who arrive regularly at the southern border.

Meanwhile, politicians and immigrant rights activists are decrying the move.

2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who lives in and once represent the border town of El Paso, Texas, said, “The Supreme Court has put lives in danger.”

Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, who chairs the House appropriations committee on homeland security, said the court is “jeopardizing the lives of coutless asylum seekers — innocent men, women, and children.”

The Trump administration policy restricting asylum would ban everyone — including children traveling on their own — from seeking asylum in the US unless they apply first in their country of transit. In July, a federal judge in California who blocked the policy said it was unclear that Mexico and Guatemala could handle the volume of migrants passing through their countries and process their asylum claims.

Trump delays tariff increase as "gesture of good will" toward China

The president announced in a tweet that he will delay increasing tariffs on $250 billion worth of goods from China by two weeks, at the request of Beijing.

Because October 1 — when the tariff increase was meant to kick in — is National Day of the People’s Republic of China, Trump announced that he’ll delay until October 15.

US and Chinese officials have agreed to continue trade talks this month.

California lawmakers approved statewide rent control, to ease the housing crisis.

California has the nation’s highest housing prices and a growing homeless population. The new bill will limit annual rent increases to 5 percent after inflation. It’s likely to be signed by the state’s democratic governor Gavin Newsom.

In February, Oregon was the first to pass statewide rent control. Maryland, New Jersey, New York and the District of Columbia are the only other states to have rent control in some localities.

Donald Trump is celebrating the Supreme Court ruling on asylum seekers as a victory, tweeting, “BIG United States Supreme Court WIN”

An oil drilling rig is off the Pacific Ocean coastline: Seal Beach, California.
An oil drilling rig is off the Pacific Ocean coastline: Seal Beach, California. Photograph: Eugene Garcia/EPA

Congress has passed a bill that would permanently bar drilling off US’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and extend a moratorium on drilling off Florida’s west coast.

The bill is now headed to the Republican-controlled Senate, which is unlikely to act on it. Still, the legislation is a strong repudiation of the Trump administration’s plans to expand offshore drilling, from both republican and democratic members of the House .

Coastal lawmakers from both parties oppose offshore drilling, fearing another disaster like the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

More from the AP:

“If we don’t act, drilling rigs could soon appear off our beaches,” said Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., the lead sponsor of the bicoastal drilling ban. Cunningham won his seat last year in part because of his opposition to drilling off South Carolina’s beach-dominated coast.

“The Low Country (near Charleston, S.C.) is a force to be reckoned with, and we stand firm in our opposition to drilling off our shoreline,” Cunningham said. Offshore drilling could ruin the state’s tourism-based economy, “ruin our vibrant natural resources” and harm the state’s “unique way of life,” he said.

“Drilling off the coast of Florida would create an industrial coastline less appealing to visitors, hinder our military readiness and adversely affect our environment,” said Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., co-sponsor of the Florida bill, which extends a moratorium set to expire in 2022.

The Supreme Court’s decision today undoes the lower court’s ruling blocking Trump’s asylum policy in some states along the border.

Groups challenging the policy in court say that it violates the US refugee act and the UN refugee convention guaranteeing the right to seek asylum to those fleeing persecution.

In a scathing dissent to today’s order, justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonya Sotomayor say that the Supreme Court “sidesteps the ordinary judicial process” by overriding proceedings in the lower courts.

Their dissent is also critical of the Trump administration:

Once again the Executive Branch has issued a rule that seeks to upend longstanding practices regarding refugees who seek shelter from persecution. Although this Nation has long kept its doors open to refugees—and although the stakes for asylum seekers could not be higher—the Government implemented its rule without first providing the public notice and inviting the public input generally required by law.

Supreme Court says Trump administration can deny asylum while legal challenge continues

Remember when the Trump administration tried to make a rule that would essentially ending asylum protections for almost all migrants who arrive at the US-Mexico border?

The policy announced in July held that any asylum seekers who pass through another country before arriving at the southern border wouldn’t be eligible for asylum unless they first applied for projection in the country they passed through?

A federal judge in California blocked the policy.

But today, in a brief, unsigned order, the Supreme Court permitted the Trump administration to carry on with the policy while legal challenges are ongoing.

Updated

Trump formally sends labor secretary nomination to senate

The president, who has been floating Eugene Scalia as a nominee for labor secretary since July, has formally sent the nomination to the senate.

If approved, Scalia — son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — would succeed Alexander Acosta, who resigned over public criticism of his handling of charges against late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

Elizabeth Warren speaks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party state convention in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Elizabeth Warren speaks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party state convention in Manchester, New Hampshire. Photograph: Gretchen Ertl/Reuters

Joe Biden is leading not only in newly released CNN poll, but also in the NPR/PBS NewsHour Marist Poll.

Among all registered voters, the former vice president has the highest favorability at 45%. But Warren is a close second, at 41%.

Among democrats and democratic-leaning independents, however, Warren has the lead at 75% — up from just about 50% in January.

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Trump said his administration was moving to ban flavored e-cigarettes in an attempt to crack down on “vaping.”
  • The president said his national security adviser, John Bolton, was leaving the administration because they disagreed on matters like Venezuela and North Korea, although Bolton’s stances on those issues was well known when he took the job. (Trump also laughably said he hoped the two had parted “on good stead.”)
  • Trump referenced his canceled plan to hold peace talks with the Taliban while speaking at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony. It has been 18 years today since the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
  • Trump reportedly pushed his staff to pressure the NOAA to back up the president’s false hurricane claim. Trump dismissed the reports as “fake news.”
  • The president has offered no clarity on what gun legislation he would support, despite meeting with a bipartisan group of senators on the issue today.
  • Joe Biden maintained his lead in the latest CNN polling, but he has lost his double-digit advantage on the eve of the next Democratic debate, which will take place tomorrow in Houston.

Maanvi will have more on the news of the day, so stay tuned.

CNN is one of the approved pollsters for the Democratic National Committee, so presidential candidates can use it to qualify for the fourth debate next month.

But a Politico reporter noted that the results didn’t push any candidate closer to the debate stage next month.

Biden still leads but loses double-digit advantage in CNN poll

Joe Biden still leads the pack of Democratic presidential candidates in the latest CNN poll, but he has lost the double-digit advantage he held last month as the primary race has tightened.

According to the poll, Biden attracts the support of 24 percent of Democratic supporters, while Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are virtually tied at 18 and 17 percent. No other candidate reached double digits.

Biden’s showing is still impressive, but he has slipped a bit from his 14-point lead over the second-place finisher, Sanders, in August.

The poll adds to the evidence that the primary is currently a three-way race between Biden, Warren and Sanders. The fourth-place finisher, Kamala Harris, has slipped to 8 percent.

This dynamic will likely weigh heavily on candidates’ minds when they take the debate stage in Houston tomorrow. The top two candidates in CNN’s poll, Biden and Warren, have never faced off onstage before.

Democratic presidential candidates are denouncing the Trump administration’s decision not to grant Temporary Protected Status to the Bahamians affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Trump and the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Patrol, Mark Morgan, sent contradictory messages Monday about Bahamians receiving TPS.

Morgan said during a White House briefing he thought it would be “appropriate” to grant TPS, while Trump seemed to dismiss the idea.

Democrats quibble over defining 'impeachment inquiry'

Another debate unfolding on Capitol Hill revolves around how exactly House Democrats will define an impeachment inquiry.

The House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, sparked confusion earlier today when he told reporters that Democrats were not conducting an “impeachment inquiry.” That comment flew in the face of arguments from the House judiciary committee chairman, Jerry Nadler.

So Hoyer walked that initial comment back, saying he misunderstood reporters’ question. “I thought the question was in regards to whether the full House is actively considering articles of impeachment, which we are not at this time,” Hoyer wrote in a statement.

“I strongly support Chairman Nadler and the Judiciary Committee Democrats as they proceed with their investigation ‘to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment to the full House,’ as the resolution states.”

But that statement also seemed to contradict Nadler’s position, as a Politico reporter noted.

Confused? You’re not alone. House Democrats’ messaging on impeachment has become increasingly muddled, likely in an attempt to appease the progressive and moderate wings of their caucus. But the strategy is starting to irritate even fellow Democrats, as demonstrated by this tweet from a former senior adviser to Barack Obama.

It appears Trump was similarly vague on supporting a background check expansion while meeting with a bipartisan group of senators earlier today.

Toomey, a Democrat, and Manchin, a Republican, were the architects of a 2013 proposal to expand background checks to gun shows and Internet sales, which was defeated in the Senate.

Murphy, a Democrat, has been a fierce advocate for strengthening gun laws since the Sandy Hook shooting took place in his home state of Connecticut.

Trump remains vague on potential gun bill

Asked about what gun proposals he is considering after last month’s mass shootings, Trump offered no clarity, surely enraging the Democratic leaders calling on him to endorse the House-approved background checks bill.

“There’s a lot of things under discussion,” the president said. “Some things will never happen … and some very meaningful things can happen.”

Keep in mind that this was in response to a question about whether Trump would support background checks on all private gun sales. So the president responded to a very specific question with an exceedingly vague response, which doesn’t inspire much confidence about actually getting a gun bill signed.

Trump denies White House's involvement in pressuring NOAA as another outlet confirms it

While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office today, Trump was asked about the New York Times’ reporting that senior White House officials were involved in pressuring the NOAA to back up the president’s false hurricane claim.

“No I never did that,” Trump told reporters. “I never did that. That’s a whole hoax by the fake news media, when they talk about the hurricane and when they talk about Florida and when they talk about Alabama. That’s just fake news … it’s a fake story.”

But another outlet, the Washington Post, has now confirmed the Times’ reporting, adding that the president himself pressed his staff on the issue.

President Trump told his staff that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration needed to deal with a tweet that seemed to contradict his statement that Hurricane Dorian posed a significant threat to Alabama as of Sept. 1, in contrast to what the agency’s forecasters were predicting at the time, senior administration officials said. This led chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to call Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to tell him to fix the issue, the officials said.

Trump had complained for several days about the issue, according to the senior officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Mulvaney then called Ross but did not instruct him to threaten any firings or make any punitive threats, officials said. He simply told Ross that the agency needed to fix the matter immediately, leading to a new statement that was issued Friday, Sept. 6.

Mar-a-Lago intruder found guilty of lying to FBI

A Chinese woman who was arrested at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida club, earlier this year was found guilty of lying to a Secret Service agent and trespassing.

NBC News reports on the bizarre trial:

Jurors handed down the verdict against Yujing Zhang on Wednesday.

Zhang was arrested on March 30 after she allegedly told a Secret Service agent guarding Mar-a-Lago that she was there to use the pool. Once inside the posh Palm Beach resort she told a receptionist she was there to take pictures for a United Nations friendship event. Prosecutors said Zhang knew that the event had been canceled.

The trial had several twists and turns. The 33-year-old consultant from Shanghai fired her public defenders in June and chose to represent herself, a decision Judge Roy Altman did not like. He tried several times during the trial to convince Zhang to let her public defenders try the case but she refused. ...

She was charged with unlawful entry of restricted buildings and grounds and false statements and was convicted on both counts.

Death of T. Boone Pickens

Oil tycoon and corporate raider-turned philanthropist T. Boone Pickens, who amassed a fortune and and gave much of it away, has died. He was 91 and lately had become an advocate for renewable energy.

Spokesman Jay Rosser confirmed Pickens’ death Wednesday to The Associated Press.
Pickens made his first millions in oil, burnishing an image as a maverick, unafraid to take on giants in the oil patch.

Even his name seemed to fit, like central casting’s idea of what an oilman should be named.
Starting in the 1980s, he became known for launching hostile corporate takeover bids that often resulted in a huge payoff.

His fortune soared into the billions.
Pickens flirted with the idea of marketing water from West Texas to the state’s metropolitan areas. In a break from his past, he also developed wind farms.

In an interview with the Guardian at the Dallas offices of his new wind turbine venture 11 years ago, he said: “Don’t get the idea that I’ve turned green. My business is making money, and I think this is going to make a lot of money.”

Doors closing. T. Boone Pickens on Capitol Hill in July, 2019.
Doors closing. T. Boone Pickens on Capitol Hill in July, 2019.
 Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Afternoon summary

A busy news morning and every chance the rest of the day will continue in the same vein. Here are the main developments so far:

  • Donald Trump said his administration will propose banning flavored e-cigarettes over health concerns about vaping, especially among children. He spoke at an Oval Office briefing for reporters, with Melania Trump present.
  • Gone John. Trump said of departing national security adviser John Bolton “I hope we left in good stead” after yesterday’s sudden firing of the longtime Republican hawk, over policy and personality clashes.
  • At a ceremony at the Pentagon to mark the 18th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by Al-Qaida, the president repeated a dubious claim about time spent at “Ground Zero” as the attack site in New York was known.
  • Trump slammed leaders of the Federal Reserve as “boneheads”, in another attack on chairman Jerome Powell, demanding lower interest rates.

More on Trump’s tension with Bolton: the president said he bristled at the national security adviser’s positions on Venezuela and North Korea.

But those stances were well known for much of Bolton’s tenure and, in the case of Venezuela, bolstered by the administration’s own position.

For example, Trump said, “When [Bolton] talked about the Libyan model for Kim Jong-un, that was not a good statement to make. ... It set us back.” But a Post reporter noted that comment came more than a year before Bolton’s ouster.

Alexander Azar, the health and human services secretary, provided additional clarification on the new regulation after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with reporters.

E-cigarette companies appeared taken aback by the White House’s announcement, if this comment to a CBS News reporter is any indication.

But some of Trump’s former aides may use their influence to try to change the president’s mind in the coming weeks, a Politico reporter noted.

Minor correction: the White House does not appear to be trying to ban vaping entirely. The FDA is looking at banning flavored e-cigarettes, which are particularly popular among the industry’s youngest customers.

Trump on Bolton: 'I hope we left on good stead'

Trump has now concluded his Oval Office meeting with reporters, where he announced the planned regulation on e-cigarette companies.

But the president touched on a number of other topics while taking reporters’ questions, including the ouster of his now-former national security adviser, John Bolton.

“I hope we left on good stead, but maybe we haven’t,” Trump said. Given that the president appeared to fire Bolton by tweet and then Bolton almost immediately contradicted Trump’s version of events in his own tweet, it seems safe to say that they did not leave on “good stead.”

“John wasn’t in line with what we were doing,” the president said in explanation of Bolton’s departure.

But Trump emphasized he would not have trouble filling the job: “We have a lot of good people who want that position. ... We’ll have five people who want it very much.” Trump said he would announce his new national security adviser, his fourth in less than three years, next week.

Updated

It appears e-cigarette companies will have some time to prepare for (and likely lobby against) the proposed ban.

Trump noted in his informal announcement of the policy that the first lady has been passionate about the issue. “She’s got a son ... she feels very strongly about it,” the president said of his wife and the son they share, Barron.

Trump is attempting to crack down on e-cigarette products despite the fact that several of his former advisers have gone on to work for Juul, one of the biggest suppliers of e-cigarettes.

Trump denied he had any involvement with his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, pressuring the NOAA to back the president’s false hurricane claim, as the New York Times just reported.

Trump says Bolton 'wasn't in line' with administration's priorities

Trump is taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office and said he would announce a new national security adviser to replace John Bolton next week.

The president said Bolton “wasn’t in line with what we were doing” and that his hawkish history was unflattering to leaders like Kim Jong-un.

The health and human services secretary, Alexander Azar, said his department was currently finalizing the guidance on banning flavored e-cigarettes.

The first lady, who was present for Trump’s e-cigarette announcement in the Oval Office, tweeted Monday about the “epidemic” of the product’s use among minors.

Trump announces FDA banning flavored e-cigarettes

Trump just announced in an Oval Office meeting with White House reporters that the Food and Drug Administration is banning flavored e-cigarettes.

Michigan became the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes earlier this month, falling in the footsteps of liberal cities that have done the same.

Jessica Glenza reported a week ago:

Michigan’s Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the state health department would immediately ban retail and online sales of flavored e-cigarettes through an emergency rule-making process. The move will prohibit the sale, and the misleading marketing, of flavored nicotine vaping products.

‘I’ve got teenagers at home,’ Whitmer said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday. ‘I was talking with them about the prevalence of vaping in their schools, and it’s everywhere.’

Whitmer said she was concerned about fruit and candy flavored e-cigarettes being marketed to children as healthier alternatives to smoking.

Trump appears to be planning to make an announcement about e-cigarettes any minute at the White House.

At least three people have died recently as a result of a severe respiratory illness linked to vaping, Jessica Glenza reported last week.

Officials are investigating more than 450 possible cases of a severe breathing illness among otherwise ‘healthy young people’, they said on Friday. Possible cases have been identified across 33 states and one US territory.

Symptoms of the illness include vomiting, nausea, shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain. All confirmed cases appear to have a kind of non-infectious pneumonia, called lipoid pneumonia, developed when oil is inhaled.

In all confirmed cases, patients vaped either nicotine or the marijuana constituent THC in the last 90 days. An estimated 9 million adults and 3.6 million US teenagers vape, including 20% of high school students.

It looks like the president may be preparing to speak to reporters at the White House, so stay tuned.

White House directly involved in pressuring agency to back up Trump's false hurricane claim, report says

White House officials were directly involved with efforts to pressure the NOAA to affirm Trump’s false claim that Hurricane Dorian was threatening Alabama, the New York Times reports.

Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, told Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, to have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publicly disavow the forecasters’ position that Alabama was not at risk. NOAA, which is part of the Commerce Department, issued an unsigned statement last Friday in response, saying that the Birmingham, Ala., office was wrong to dispute the president’s warning.

In pressing NOAA’s acting administrator to take action, Mr. Ross warned that top employees at the agency could be fired if the situation was not addressed, The New York Times previously reported. Mr. Ross’s spokesman has denied that he threatened to fire anyone, and a senior administration official on Wednesday said Mr. Mulvaney did not tell the commerce secretary to make such a threat.

Quick reminder: this whole controversy stems from an incorrect tweet the president sent more than a week ago. If he had just corrected himself and left it at that, the White House could have avoided all of this bad press. But acknowledging fault isn’t really Trump’s style.

A third former aide to John Bolton has announced she will also leave the National Security Agency. Reuters has more on the departures:

Garrett Marquis, Bolton’s top spokesman, Sarah Tinsley, his communications director, and scheduler Christine Samuelian all resigned in what a source called an amicable fashion.

‘It was an honor to serve my country, and I wish the president and the administration success moving forward,’ Marquis said in a brief statement.

The trio of aides has worked for Bolton for years.

Bolton aides depart the National Security Council

Meanwhile, fallout continues from Trump’s abrupt firing of his national security adviser, John Bolton. (Or did he resign? More on that later.)

At least two of Bolton’s closest aides at the National Security Council have announced they will also leave their roles.

Trump’s acting chief of staff said yesterday there would not be mass firings at the agency in light of Bolton’s departure, but the former national security adviser’s allies likely see little reason to stick around.

Updated

2020 Democrats share 9/11 memories

Several Democratic presidential candidates have shared statements and remembrances in honor of the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“I was a sophomore in college when the planes hit. My roommates and I sat transfixed on a futon, glued to the horror unfolding on NBC’s Today Show,” wrote Pete Buttigieg, a veteran who served in Afghanistan.

“Years later, I would find myself carrying an M-4 in Kabul, Afghanistan — the country that had hosted the men who had conceived and implemented unimaginable attacks against other human beings. But in that moment I just sat there, stunned.”

Several other Democratic candidates expressed their gratitude for the first responders and remembered the attacks’ victims.

And Bernie Sanders used the anniversary as an opportunity to discuss his foreign policy proposals:

A New York Times reporter who previously covered the rebuilding of the World Trade Center said back in July, when the president claimed he spent “a lot of time” at Ground Zero, that she recalled only one instance of Trump visiting the site.

She also drew a distinction between Trump and the first responders who came to the aid of the attacks’ victims:

Trump repeats dubious claim about visiting Ground Zero

While speaking at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony, the president also repeated his dubious claim that he went down to Ground Zero shortly after the attacks.

Trump recounted how he was watching CNBC when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.

“I was looking out of a window from a building in midtown Manhattan directly at the World Trade Center when I saw the second plane at a tremendous speed go into the second tower,” Trump said. “It was then that I realized the world was going to change.”

He continued: “Soon after I went down to Ground Zero with men who worked for me to try to help in any little way that we could. We were not alone.”

Trump similarly said back in July, while signing a bill to fund the medical care of 9/11 first responders, that he spent “a lot of time” at Ground Zero. But Richard Alles, a retired deputy chief with the New York Fire Department, cast doubt on that.

“I spent many months there myself, and I never witnessed him,” Alles told the New York Times in July. “He was a private citizen at the time. I don’t know what kind of role he could have possibly played.”

Updated

Here is Trump’s full quote on the canceled Taliban peace talks while speaking at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony:

“We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago. I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people. They thought they would use this attack to show strength, but actually what they showed is unrelenting weakness. The last four days, we have hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before. And that will continue.

“And if for any reason, they come back to our country, we will go wherever they are, and use power, the likes of which the United States has never used before. And I’m not even talking about nuclear power. They will never have seen anything like what will happen to them. No enemy on earth can match the overwhelming strength skill and might of the American armed forces.”

Trump mentions scrapped Taliban peace talks at Pentagon's 9/11 memorial ceremony

The president has just finished speaking at the Pentagon’s memorial ceremony for the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

It’s safe to say he likely went off the teleprompter a bit. Most notably, Trump invoked his scrapped plans to hold peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David.

“We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago,” Trump told the crowd assembled at one of the sites of the attacks that collectively killed thousands. “I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people ... The last four days we have hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before.”

One reporter described the audience’s response as “polite.”

Joe Biden released a statement in honor of the 9/11 anniversary, saying the event “has become synonymous with America’s iron will to never bend, never break in the face of terror.”

“It’s also become a reminder of who we are as a nation and what Americans are capable of when we come together, united in shared purpose,” said the Democratic presidential candidate, who was in the Senate when the attacks occurred.

Biden concluded: “This year, on 9/11, we once more honor the memories of those Americans whose lives were too cruelly cut short, and we renew our commitment to upholding the best of what it means to be an American—and to all that sets the United States apart.”

More on that Washington Post/ABC News poll: Joe Biden has the largest lead over Trump in a hypothetical match-up, besting the president by 15 points.

Bernie Sanders holds a 9-point lead over Trump, and Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris both have 7-point leads. Pete Buttigieg has a more narrow lead over Trump that falls within the poll’s margin of error.

So overall, the poll is good news for Democrats. But pollsters and strategists are historically skeptical of general election polls this far out from Election Day.

Trump criticizes poll showing him losing to Democratic front-runners

The Fed isn’t the only thing irking the president this morning. More results have been released from the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, and they show Trump trailing Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris in hypothetical general election match-ups.

This two-part tweet thread continues several falsehoods, not to mention the derogatory nickname he throws in for Warren, so let’s take them one at a time.

First of all, as the blog covered yesterday, the Washington Post/ABC News poll is well regarded. It has an A+ rating from the polling and analysis website FiveThirtyEight.

Second of all, the outlets’ final poll before the general election in 2016 showed that Hillary Clinton would beat Trump nationally by 4 points. That was very close to the actual result, where Clinton defeated Trump in the popular vote by 2 points. (She obviously lost the Electoral College and the presidency along with it.)

Third, there is no evidence that pollsters are skewing their results in an attempt to undermine Trump.

Fourth, Trump has been campaigning since he took office. He has held campaign rallies consistently since his inauguration.

Fifth, Russia’s 2016 election interference is very much confirmed and is not at all “fake news.”

Sixth, Trump has egregiously exaggerated how much Dan Bishop, the Republican who won last night’s special congressional race in North Carolina, was down in the polls.

It’s amazing how many falsehoods can be stuffed into two 280-character tweets.

Trump slams Fed leaders as 'Boneheads'

Good morning, live blog readers — I hope you all take a moment today to remember the 2,997 people lost 18 years ago.

Our president’s focus seems to be drifting toward other topics this morning. While simultaneous celebrating his party’s narrow victory last night in a North Carolina special congressional race, Donald Trump is lashing out against the leaders of the Federal Reserve as “Boneheads.”

The central bank is expected to once again lower interest rates next week after doing so for the first time in a decade during its July meeting.

But that doesn’t seem to be appeasing Trump, who has previously complained that the Fed’s chairman, Jerome Powell, supposedly raised interest rates too fast and then lowered them too slowly.

This is very well-trodden territory for Trump. He has repeatedly lashed out against Powell to blame the chairman for the slowing US economy, even though the president’s trade war has done far more damage in that arena.

But this poll released yesterday, showing a majority of Americans expect a recession in the next year, is almost certainly on the president’s mind, too. Trump is counting on a strong economy to win re-election. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll at least need a bogeyman to blame for the slump. Why not the Fed chairman?

Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on:

  • Americans across the country will recognize the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
  • Trump and the first lady are attending a 9/11 observance ceremony at the Pentagon.
  • Robert Wilkie, the VA secretary, will continue his five-day trip through Israel.

The blog is watching all of that, so stay tuned.

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Woman realizes she’s pregnant—but only after boyfriend displays strange symptoms: ‘The way I would be annoyed at him’
Given how common pregnancy is, it’s surprising that many are unaware of its many side effects and potential dangers.
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Austin rideshare driver has a passenger named Bradley. Then he issues a warning to Bradley’s girlfriend after what he overhears
An Austin rideshare driver has gone viral after a passenger made some startling revelations in the back of his car. Revelations so startling, in fact, that the driver decided to issue a PSA to his girlfriend.
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
We’ve Reached The Point(e) Where Real-Life Ballerinas Are Weighing In On Timothèe Chalamet Ballet And Opera Controversy
The dancers shared their thoughts.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
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