Voters have increasingly expressed disappointment in President Donald Trump's performance in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a Wednesday poll showing his disapproval rating standing at 59 per cent just four months ahead of the November election.
Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden says the self-proclaimed “wartime president has surrendered, waved the white flag and left the battlefield” when it comes to tackling the coronavirus and standing up to Russia and “does not know what’s going on” in a blistering new campaign speech on Tuesday, his first press conference since March.
In a report released on Wednesday, the Pentagon claims that Russia has been working alongside the Taliban to drive US troops out of Afghanistan.
"As of February, the Russian government was working with the central government, regional countries and the Taliban to gain increased influence in Afghanistan, expedite a US military withdrawal, and address security challenges that might arise from a withdrawal," the report stated.
With the US passing 2.6m cases of Covid-19 and 126,000 deaths, the administration has bought up almost all global supplies of the drug remdesivir, one of only two treatments proven to assist in the fight against the condition.
In an interview with Fox News, his first following the Russia reports, the president suggested that the virus would "disappear" – repeating a claim he made in February, when he said that "one day, it's a like a miracle, it will disappear".
He also praised the economy, despite a looming recession and record unemployment, reaching 13 per cent within the months following the pandemic.
"Retail sales are at a record number, especially when you talk about increase," he said. "When you look at percentage increase nobody has ever seen anything like it."
The president's approval ratings have plunged, with a disapproval rating standing at 59 per cent four months before Election Day.
He's preparing for a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on Friday in search of a sorely needed high point for his last several weeks, though the event won't be socially distanced and wearing masks won't be enforced.
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Trump ‘waving white flag’ on Russia and coronavirus, says Joe Biden
Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden says self-proclaimed “wartime president” Donald Trump “has surrendered, waved the white flag and left the battlefield” when it comes to tackling the coronavirus and standing up to Russia and “does not know what’s going on” in a blistering new campaign speech.
"It's almost July, and it seems like our wartime president has surrendered, waved the white flag and left the battlefield," he said. "Here we are three months later and we're hardly more prepared than we were in March."
The former vice president condemned the "state-by-state approach" that left a patchwork response to the Covid-19 crisis while nearly every state grapples with rising cases weeks after emerging from brief quarantines.
"Statewide lockdowns were meant to buy us time to get our act together," Biden said. "Instead of using that time to prepare ourselves, Donald Trump squandered it."
On Russia, the candidate stopped short of saying Trump had violated his oath of office or should face consequences from Congress because of his apparent inaction on potential Russian bounties offered to the Taliban to take out American and British troops in Afghanistan.
But he called it "an absolute dereliction of duty if any of this is even remotely true" and added, in that case, that the public should "unrelated to my running, conclude that this man is unfit to be president of the United States of America".
Throughout this election campaign, Biden has hammered Trump for "cosying up" to Russian president Vladimir Putin and other autocrats.
"He should have, at a minimum, picked up the phone and said, 'Vladimir, old buddy, if any of this is true... you've got a big problem," Biden said yesterday.
The 77-year-old Biden also used Trump's explanations - that he was unaware of any such intelligence reports - to turn the tables on the president's frequent mockery of his own mental acuity.
Biden said his 74-year-old rival "doesn't seem to be cognitively aware" and he embraced the possibility of general election debates.
"I can hardly wait to compare my cognitive capability to the cognitive capability of the man I'm running against," Biden said.
Here’s Alex Woodward’s report.
US buys up almost entire global supply of coronavirus drug remdesivir
With the US passing 2.6m cases of Covid-19 and 126,000 deaths, the administration has bought up almost all global supplies of the drug remdesivir, one of only two treatments proven to assist in the fight against the condition.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has acquired 500,000 doses of the drug from manufacturer Gilead Sciences, it says. The treatment was also used to fight Ebola in 2014.
Here’s Tom Barnes’s report.
Dr Fauci warns country could see 100,000 Covid-19 cases per day
That remdesivir announcement follows hot on the heels of the president’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, telling Congress on Tuesday that the country could find itself facing 100,000 infections a day if tighter shutdown measures are not taken to tackle its renewed spread.
“Clearly we are not in total control right now, I am very concerned because it could get very bad,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said, starkly.
Here’s Gino Spocchia’s report.
Trump laments disgraced Fox boss Roger Ailes in latest Twitter spree
The president had another lively one on social media last night, attacking Fox News host Donna Bazile and lamenting the loss of the network’s late CEO Roger Ailes (overlooking the 23 counts of sexual harassment levelled against a man who died three years ago), before becoming back to remind his followers that he did indeed know Ailes was dead - and soundly utterly mad in the process.
He also vowed to veto an amendment to the Defence Authorisation Bill proposed by Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, using his favourite racist slur to deride her in a tweet with too may clauses to make much sense.
That was followed by an attack on legislation brought in to “take meaningful actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice & foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.”
The president also renewed his efforts to blame China for the “ugly face” of the coronavirus leering across the world.
Arguably best of all, Trump took credit for the primary victory of Lauren Boebert, who won the race for Colorado's 3rd congressional district by beating the man he backed, five-term congressman Scott Tipton!
Boebert, incidentally, is described by The Huffington Post as “a restaurant owner who encourages her employees to openly carry firearms while working and has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory”. Hurray!
That eatier is called Shooter's Grill in Rifle, Colorado, which is just too perfect.
Kayleigh McEnany: ‘This president is the most informed person on planet earth’
Trump’s press secretary was it again yesterday, blaming possibly-mythic “rogue intelligence agents” for spreading the story about the Kremlin plot to sow unrest by having the Taliban pick off American and British troops in the Middle East.
Trump’s press secretary was it again yesterday, blaming possibly-mythic “rogue intelligence agents” for spreading the story about the Kremlin plot to sow unrest by having the Taliban pick off American and British troops in the Middle East.
She wouldn’t say whether the report had indeed been included in the president’s daily briefing on 27 February and gone unread as rumoured but did say he is at last up to speed on the matter, following a hectic weekend of golfing commitments.
This quote is, meanwhile, an instant Hall-of-Famer:
Here’s John T Bennett’s report on McEnany’s latest media circus.
House Democrats underwhelmed by administration Russia briefing and demand 'intelligence perspective'
A day after the Republicans, top Democrats like House majority leader Steny Hoyer, Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, Armed Services Committee chair Adam Smith and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Eliot Engel were briefed by the Trump administration on its Russian intelligence on the bounty story.
They were left distinctly unimpressed - and said so.
Here’s Griffin Connolly’s report.
A day after the Republicans, top Democrats like House majority leader Steny Hoyer, Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, Armed Services Committee chair Adam Smith and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Eliot Engel were briefed by the Trump administration on its Russian intelligence on the bounty story.
They were left distinctly unimpressed - and said so.
Here’s Griffin Connolly’s report.
Families of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan demand answers on Russian bounty plot
The revelations exposed by The New York Times have already taken a significant emotional toll on military families who lost sons and daughters in the Middle East, as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow found out when she interviewed grieving mother Shawn Gregoire last night.
The revelations exposed by The New York Times have already taken a significant emotional toll on military families who lost sons and daughters in the Middle East, as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow found out when she interviewed grieving mother Shawn Gregoire last night.
Here's Richard Hall's report on the urgent need for answers.
Trump a ‘coward or complicit’ over Russia bounty claims, says ex-Navy SEAL in new ad
Here's Graig Graziosi on Dr Dan Barkhuff's contribution to the latest quick-turnaround Lincoln Project video, hitting Trump where it hurts.
They're getting better and better at this.
Here's Graig Graziosi on Dr Dan Barkhuff's contribution to the latest quick-turnaround Lincoln Project video, hitting Trump where it hurts.
They're getting better and better at this.
Senator slams Trump for undermining experts as Republicans pledge
Judging by his tweets this morning, the president is clearly more concerned with TV ratings than battling the pandemic, which he appears determined to ignore.
Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy was on Anderson Cooper’s show last night and attacking the president for undermining his task force disease experts like Dr Fauci and Dr Deborah Birx, saying: “It's almost as if we have two different federal governments”.
On the other side of the upper chamber, Senate Republicans are suggesting a new coronavirus bailout package could come at the end of July.
Here’s Griffin Connolly with more.
Trump says Russia bounty plot 'just another made up by Fake News tale'
The president insists this latest scandal is all a "hoax", which he also said about climate change, his impeachment, the coronavirus and almost every other unflattering news story concerning him.
Here he is immediately validating Chris Murphy's comments last night about his using the "culture wars" as a distraction.
The president insists this latest scandal is all a "hoax", which he also said about climate change, his impeachment, the coronavirus and almost every other unflattering news story concerning him.
Here he is immediately validating Chris Murphy's comments last night about his using the "culture wars" as a distraction.
Eric Trump labels Biden’s critique of his father ‘very genetic’
The president has been busy retweeting his middle child this morning as part of his flailing attempts to hit back at Diamond Joe and stir up unfounded paranoia about voter fraud.
But here's a piece of idiocy he'd been well-advised to give a wide berth to.
The president has been busy retweeting his middle child this morning as part of his flailing attempts to hit back at Diamond Joe and stir up unfounded paranoia about voter fraud.
But here's a piece of idiocy he'd been well-advised to give a wide berth to.
Trump cancels Alabama rally over coronavirus fears and reshuffles campaign team after Tulsa debacle
The president has decided against going to the south to endorse Tommy Tuberville, a former university football coach, in the state’s GOP senatorial elections against his own former attorney general, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions.
Meanwhile, Trump’s re-election team have swapped out Michael Glassner as chief operating officer, pushing him to a legal role and replacing him with treasurer Jeff DeWitt, the move presumably revenge for Glassner’s failure to whip up a crowd for the president’s “comeback” rally in Oklahoma.
Here’s Chris Riotta on Alabama.
The president has decided against going to the south to endorse Tommy Tuberville, a former university football coach, in the state’s GOP senatorial elections against his own former attorney general, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions.
Meanwhile, Trump’s re-election team have swapped out Michael Glassner as chief operating officer, pushing him to a legal role and replacing him with treasurer Jeff DeWitt, the move presumably revenge for Glassner’s failure to whip up a crowd for the president’s “comeback” rally in Oklahoma.
Here’s Chris Riotta on Alabama.
'A brand in his own right'
Glassner might be taking the blame for Tulsa but arguably the buck really stops with Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale, who stirred up the hype by trumpeting the news of 1m ticket registrations in the run-up to the event, only for the majority of those to prove to have been taken up by TikTok and K-Pop hoaxers who had no intention of showing up.
Here's further reason to doubt Parscale: as James Carville warned, he's been using his position to promote himself at the campaign's expense.
Glassner might be taking the blame for Tulsa but arguably the buck really stops with Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale, who stirred up the hype by trumpeting the news of 1m ticket registrations in the run-up to the event, only for the majority of those to prove to have been taken up by TikTok and K-Pop hoaxers who had no intention of showing up.
Here's further reason to doubt Parscale: as James Carville warned, he's been using his position to promote himself at the campaign's expense.
Joe Biden says he won’t hold campaign rallies during pandemic
Trump may have cancelled his appearance in Alabama but he is pressing ahead with his Fourth of July fireworks display at Mount Rushmore over the weekend.
His challenger though says he won't risk endangering the public by following suit and will listen to the doctors instead.
Andrew Naughtie has this one.
Trump may have cancelled his appearance in Alabama but he is pressing ahead with his Fourth of July fireworks display at Mount Rushmore over the weekend.
His challenger though says he won't risk endangering the public by following suit and will listen to the doctors instead.
Andrew Naughtie has this one.
Trump niece's tell-all book temporarily blocked by judge
New York State Supreme Court judge Hal Greenwald has temporarily blocked the publication of a tell-all book about president Donald Trump written by his niece Mary.
Too Much and Never Enough was scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster on 28 July, but has had its release blocked, as the judge wants arguments to be made in court.
Judge Greenwald sided with the president’s brother, Robert Trump, who is attempting to get the release of the book banned, by arguing that it breaches a confidentiality agreement relating to the estate of his father, Fred Trump.
James Crump has more on this.
Trump frustrated by Russia saga's refusal to go away
The president sounding here every bit the belligerent senior you would shuffle down the platform to avoid as he continues his efforts to downplay the bounty scandal:
My colleague Andrew Feinberg meanwhile has this expert demolition of Trump's latest rather desperate attempt to bash Biden.
Fox News fires anchor Ed Henry after sexual misconduct allegation
This just in:
Here's Danielle Zoellner's report.
This just in:
Here's Danielle Zoellner's report.
Trump rages as New York passes budget with police cuts but AOC says it doesn’t go far enough
The president is predictably incensed after New York City’s Council voted to pass its 2021 police budget, which includes an almost $484m (£390m) cut to the NYPD's bduget.
More than doubling that figure, Trump doesn't miss a chance to attack Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Black Lives Matter movement for having the audacity to oppose senseless law enforcement violence.
The president is predictably incensed after New York City’s Council voted to pass its 2021 police budget, which includes an almost $484m (£390m) cut to the NYPD's bduget.
More than doubling that figure, Trump doesn't miss a chance to attack Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Black Lives Matter movement for having the audacity to oppose senseless law enforcement violence.
Progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, however, has condemned the NYPD budget cut, saying it does not meet protesters’ demands over defunding.
“These proposed ‘cuts’ to the NYPD budget are a disingenuous illusion”, Ocasio-Cortez says in a statement. “This is not a victory.”
Gino Spocchia picks up her argument.
Seattle police clear occupied zone after mayor issues executive order
The city's police department has begun vacating the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone after Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an executive order to vacate the area following a deadly shooting in the police-free encampment.
Here's Chris Riotta with the latest.
The city's police department has begun vacating the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone after Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an executive order to vacate the area following a deadly shooting in the police-free encampment.
Here's Chris Riotta with the latest.
