Evening summary
An updated summary of today’s key politics events, from my colleague Lauren Gambino and me, as we wrap up the politics live blog for this evening.
- After earlier threatening to ban TikTok, a hugely popular social media app owned by a Chinese company, Trump said today that he approved of Microsoft buying part of TikTok’s business, but repeatedly said that the US government should get a cut of the sale price.
- Trump also pushed back on the idea of a full national lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, saying it was not necessary and would do more harm than good.
- For much of the morning and afternoon, Congress did what it does best these days: nothing. Lots of scuttling between the White House and Capitol Hill have failed to achieve much – if any – progress. According to Democratic leaders, negotiations over the next round of coronavirus relief funding remain at an impasse, days after the $600 unemployment benefit expired, leaving millions of Americans in the lurch.
- Fed policymakers said the US economy needs more stimulus funding and more masks.
- The US House intelligence committee launched an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence office, including its actions in Portland, Oregon, and its involvement in other anti-racism protests across the country.
- A Department of Homeland Security intelligence briefing obtained by the Nation suggested that government officials were trying to draw links between leftwing activists dubbed as “antifa” and a foreign power, which would dramatically increase the government’s ability to surveil and search American citizens.
- New York prosecutors argue they are justified in seeking Trump’s tax returns because of public reports of “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization”. In a press briefing, Trump’s only response was to call it a “witch-hunt”.
Updated
A homeland security intelligence report obtained by The Nation shows government officials trying to establish links between left-wing “antifa” activists and a foreign power, which would give the government much more power to search and surveil them.
“They targeted Americans like they’re Al-Qaeda,” a former homeland security official told The Nation’s Ken Klippenstein.
The intelligence report focuses on Americans who fought with Kurdish forces in Syria and are now affiliated with left-wing causes.
“Once someone (or some group) is identified as an agent of a foreign power, they are subject to warrantless search and surveillance in a way that would be illegal and unconstitutional for any other US person,” Steven Aftergood, from the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, told The Nation.
Some of the individuals targeted were linked to “antifa” based on photographers in front of an anti-fascist flag. One of the named targets, Brace Belden, co-hosts a left-wing podcast, The Nation Reported.
Remember how Trump couldn’t actually “declare” Antifa terrorist organization? (Leave aside the category error around “organization.”) Because the relevant law around that requires a nexus to a banned foreign terror group? Well, https://t.co/qz8hjVriZL
— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) August 3, 2020
TikTok users were already making jokes about Trump ‘as your landlord’
Donald Trump first threatened to ban TikTok, a popular social media app owned by a Chinese company, then said that he would not ban it if an American company bought its US operations, but said that he believed the US government deserved a cut of the money from that sale.
At a press conference Monday evening, he said the US government deserved money from the sale because it’s equivalent to the app’s “landlord” or “lease.”
“It’s like the landlord and the tenant. Without the lease, the tenant doesn’t have the value. We’re sort of, in a certain way, the lease. We made it possible to have this great success,” Trump said. “TikTok’s a tremendous success. But a big portion of it is in this country.”
TikTok’s young American users frequently use the platform to criticize the president, including making jokes about what Trump would be like as your landlord given his conduct during the coronavirus epidemic.
It’s not yet clear if Trump’s comments will spark any reaction from TikTok users.
Updated
Trump compares US government to TikTok's 'landlord' or 'lease'
Trump said again that he thinks that the US Treasury should get a “very large percentage” of the price of the sale of part of the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok to an American company, suggesting that the US government is the Chinese app’s “landlord.”
Trump had previously threatened to ban TikTok altogether, though how he would do so is not clear, and then said earlier on Monday that Microsoft or another US company could purchase it before September 15.
If that sale goes through, Trump said, he believes the US Treasury should get a percentage of the money.
“It’s like the landlord and the tenant. Without the lease, the tenant doesn’t have the value. We’re sort of, in a certain way, the lease. We made it possible to have this great success,” Trump said. “TikTok’s a tremendous success. But a big portion of it’s in this country.”
The money the US government should get “would come from the sale,” Trump added. “Whatever the number is, it would come from the sale.”
“Which nobody else would be thinking about but me,” the president added. “But that’s the way I think. It’s very fair.”
Trump, the Real Estate Developer, demands US gets paid for acting as the 'lease' in the landlord-tenant (?) relationship between TikTok and Microsoft negotiations. #Brokers #realtor pic.twitter.com/dhc9D7Bd3b
— EC (@Edward13Cohen) August 3, 2020
The Chinese-owned social media company has been one of the most popular apps in recent years, with rapid growth among Americans teens. The company says it has tens of millions of users in the US and hundreds of millions globally.
Trump made his name in real estate in New York City.
Trump and other administration officials have claimed there are privacy and security reasons to be concerned about Chinese ownership of a video app. On Monday. China’s foreign ministry said it strongly opposed any US actions against Chinese software companies, and it hoped the US could stop its “discriminatory policies”.
Trump’s comments on the US government being owed money for the forced sale of a Chinese company that produces a a product that is popular with Americans came during the same press conference as he used xenophobic terms for the coronavirus, calling it the “China virus” and the “China plague.” Trump officials have routinely blamed the Chinese government for the spread of a pandemic that has killed more people in the United States than in any other country, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
Updated
13 rural hospitals have closed this year
As Trump touts his administration’s efforts to keep rural hospitals functioning during the pandemic, it’s worth noting that the number of rural hospitals that closed permanently this year rose to 13 today, according to the NC Rural Health Research Program.
In all, 130 rural hospitals have closed in the past decade.
Updated
Fact-check: are other countries seeing COVID-19 flare ups like the US?
A fact-check on a frequent theme of Trump’s recent press conferences:
Updated
Trump is touting statistics about ‘telehealth’
Trump is sharing a series of statistics about how many more Americans done medical appointments remotely during the pandemic. “Telehealth has been incredible,” he says.
Updated
Trump pushes back against the idea of a lockdown
In his press conference this afternoon, Trump appeared to respond to a federal reserve official who argued yesterday that there needs to be a nationwide lockdown for a month or more to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“It’s important for all Americans to understand that a permanent lockdown is not a viable path towards producing the result that you want,” Trump said this afternoon, arguing that lockdowns cause more harm than good.
He emphasized that he wanted schools to open.
Still waiting on the Trump press conference
This is Lois Beckett picking up our live politics coverage from our West Coast office.
The White House announced a press conference earlier today, slated for 5 pm, but it has not started yet.
The White House has added a 5 PM "news conference" to Trump's schedule.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 3, 2020
Updated
Afternoon summary
Before I hand the blog over to my colleague Lois for Trump’s press conference, here’s a quick summary of what’s happened so far today:
- For much of the morning and afternoon, Congress has been doing what is does best these days: nothing. Lots of scuttling between the White House and Capitol Hill have failed to achieve much – if any – progress. According to Democratic leaders, negotiations over the next round of coronavirus relief funding remain at an impasse, days after the $600 unemployment benefit expired leaving millions of Americans in the lurch.
- Fed policymakers said the US economy needs more stimulus funding and more masks
- The US House Intelligence Committee launched an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence office, including its actions in Portland, Oregon, and its involvement in other anti-racism protests across the country.
The Guardian’s Mario Koran sends this dispatch on how Southern California’s Imperial County, bordered by Arizona to the east and Mexico to the south, “became an early poster child for the disproportionate toll coronavirus has taken on communities of color.”
In the rural, arid county, coronavirus has exacerbated long standing inequities and made the virus all the more difficult to combat. California governor Newsom said today that more than 650 patients have had to be airlifted to neighboring counties with more capacity to treat patients, some transported as far as the Bay area, 600 miles north.
In response, said Newsom, the state launched strike teams, flooding the zone with resources and technical support and pushing reluctant county officials to scale back plans to reopen the economy.
The efforts have appeared to have shown up in the numbers. The positivity rate for those tested is at 11.2% -- still higher than the state average of 7%, but far below its peak in June of 33%.
Now, the state is launching similar efforts to address needs in California’s central valley, the state’s new hotspot, which last week saw the state’s first death of a teenager from coronavirus. Like Imperial County, the central valley is largely agricultural, home to a high number of Latinos and essential workers who are disproportionately represented in coronavirus cases and deaths.
The state is allocating $52 million to expand contact tracing and disease investigation efforts in the central valley, as well as an additional $6.5 million from philanthropy to help vulnerable residents pay for food, rent and utilities.
“Disproportionately this disease is impacting the Latino community, the communities in the Central Valley. I hope we can paint a picture of how impactful this has been on the Latinx community. That’s why we’re disproportionately focusing on farmworkers, essential workers” Newsom said.
Meantime, hospitalizations and admissions to ICU are trending downward in California, a positive sign. The steady count of new fatalities, however, make clear the state is not out of harm’s way.
Today's #COVID19 update:
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 3, 2020
- 148,721 tests reported
- Positive cases: 5,739
- 7 day average caseload: 7,764
- Average positivity rate dropped slightly to 7.0%
Sadly, 32 fatalities were reported.
We’re seeing modest declines overall--but we’re not out of the woods. WEAR YOUR MASK.
Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Republicans, both El Paso shooting.
Cornyn, who is running for re-election this year, called it an “act of terrorism tried to drive a wedge in this wonderful community and failed.
What happened in El Paso a year ago today is unspeakable and heartbreaking – we will never forget the 23 Texans who lost their lives that day and the dozens of others wounded. pic.twitter.com/TwkzAGDQSf
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) August 3, 2020
Cruz called the killer a “deranged white supremacist.”
One year ago, a deranged white supremacist committed an act of unspeakable evil that shook El Paso and left the nation weeping. Today we remember the 23 people who lost their lives, and their families and loved ones who carry the weight of this day on their hearts. #ElPasoStrong
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) August 3, 2020
The state of negotiations is ... not great.
According to reporters staking out the ongoing discussions, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and White House officials have yet to even broach the beginning of what could possibly become a deal.
Both sides are digging in.
Here’s what you need to know from the @SpeakerPelosi/@SenSchumer post-meeting availability: SCHUMER said Rs are sticking to their position on enhanced unemployment insurance. They said they spoke mostly about school money
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) August 3, 2020
aug. 3 and they said they’re still feeling each other out
Mask, Meadows?
No breakthrough on federal unemployment insurance talks on Capitol Hill so far. More on the latest shortly.
But first this:
Mnuchin & Meadows after today’s mtg, photo courtesy @karoun pic.twitter.com/z0WW9we6Lf
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) August 3, 2020
US economy needs more stimulus and more masks, Fed policymakers say
The US economy, battered by a the new, worrying phase in the spread of Covid-19, needs increased government spending to tide over households and businesses and broader use of masks to better control the virus, several US central bankers said earlier today.
The calls for increased government intervention came as US lawmakers and the White House resumed talks on a new government relief package, including a possible extension of unemployment benefits that expired on Friday. Two hours of talks in Washington this morning did not produce a deal.
“Four months ago, when we did the first stimulus, we thought the economy faced a pothole and the stimulus put a plate over it so we could navigate. Now escalation of the virus may be making that pothole into a sinkhole and creating a need for a longer plate,” Richmond Federal Reserve Bank president Thomas Barkin said in webcast remarks to the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Reuters writes.
“Quickly pulling away the support that consumers and businesses are receiving would be a pretty traumatic move for what’s happening in the economy.”
Echoing those sentiments, though in slightly different terms, were Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard.
Kaplan pushed back on the notion that the extra $600 weekly benefits to the unemployed had made it harder for businesses to hire, while Bullard said earlier efforts to keep businesses and households whole through the crisis have paid off so far.
“We’ve looked at a number of studies, we’ve done our own work: we don’t see it as much in the data but I can tell you I’m hearing it from business people,” Kaplan told Bloomberg TV earlier Monday when asked about whether the enhanced jobless aid was deterring people from returning to work.
“While it may have made it hard for certain individual businesses to hire, it has helped create jobs, because it has helped bolster consumer spending, so the net effect still has probably been positive for the economy for employment.”
Kaplan also said he did not agree with his colleague, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, who at the weekend said he thought the US economy should shut back down again for four to six weeks to suppress spread of Covid-19.
Instead, Kaplan said, universal mask-wearing could substantially mute transmission of the virus without a widespread lockdown. “I think we are going to have to learn to live with this virus. We are going to have to learn to re-engage in our daily activities but still control the virus,” he said. “Widespread mask-wearing is essential to that.”
The US House Intelligence Committee launched an investigation today into the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence office, including its actions in Portland, Oregon, and its involvement in other anti-racism protests across the country.
“The reporting regarding the monitoring of peaceful protesters, creating and disseminating intelligence reports about journalists and protesters, and potential exploitation of electronic devices is deeply troubling,” Committee Chairman Adam Schiff wrote in a letter to top DHS officials, Reuters reports.
The battle between Donald Trump and New York’s Manhattan DA Cy Vance is quite the dust-up. And we’re fewer than 100 days from the election.
Some reactions to the news earlier that New York prosecutors argue they are justified in seeking Trump’s tax returns because of public reports of “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.
District Attorney Vance is seeking eight years of the Republican president’s personal and corporate tax records, AP reminds us.
No one is above the law: “Every day that goes by is another day [Trump] effectively achieves the ‘temporary absolute immunity’” from criminal investigation:
— Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) August 3, 2020
Prosecutor seeking Trump's taxes cites probe of his business https://t.co/WXpdWAWhEK
And this:
All the “law and order” folks are completely supportive of the Manhattan D.A.’s need for Trump’s tax returns since he is under *active criminal investigation* for tax and insurance fraud, amirite?
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) August 3, 2020
🦗
Updated
Former senate majority leader Harry Reid, a godfather of Democratic politics in Nevada, issued a blistering statement in response to Trump’s attacks on the state’s effort to expand vote-by-mail ahead of the November election.
Donald Trump has no integrity and no scruples. That’s why he’s lying about our state leaders and threatening a bogus lawsuit simply because Democrats made it easier for people to vote,” Reid said. “His desperate tweets are the clearest sign he knows he’s going to lose in November. Trump should be more focused on preventing more deaths from this global pandemic and ensuring our economy recovers.”
Once a swing state, Nevada has become increasingly Democratic, a shift that is due in no small part to the “Reid Machine.” Even in retirement, he has continued to help Democrats take control of the state at every level.
In 2016, it elected the nation’s first Latina senator. In 2018, Democrat Jacky Rosen ousted incumbent Republican senator Dean Heller, while Democrat Steve Sisolak won the governor’s race, replacing a Republican who was term-limited.
Top US public health expert Anthony Fauci has again warned against re-opening schools in states where coronavirus cases are surging.
Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert in the nation, made the comments during a video conference on Monday with physicians and medical students at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, according to the Associated Press.
He said the “default principle” should be to return children to school in the fall but insisting that “every child has to go back to school is not really realizing the fact that we have such a diversity of viral activity.”
In some areas it may not be prudent to send children back to school until the outbreak is more contained, he explained.
Trump on Monday told reporters that he does not always agree with Fauci, accusing him of changing his position on a travel ban from China and the efficacy of face masks. He added that the men have a good rapport and that he likes Fauci.
Updated
Early afternoon summary
It’s been another fascinating day in US political news and there’s more to come, so do stay tuned.
Here’s what’s been happening so far today:
- New York prosecutors argue they are justified in seeking Trump’s tax returns because of public reports of “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.”
- Trump threatens a ban on Tik Tok, the Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance of Beijing, unless company is purchased by 15 September.
- Barack Obama is revving up on the 2020 campaign trail, after his official, in-person chat with Joe Biden last week. Obama has just endorsed 118 Democrats in various races.
- New Jersey US district court judge Esther Salas issued her first public statement in a video since a lawyer, known for posting anti-feminist screeds and who had trolled Salas with misogynist and racist messages, came to her New Jersey home and shot dead her son and wounded her husband. Salas called for greater protection for judges’ personal details.
New York prosecutors argue they are justified in seeking Trump’s tax returns because of public reports of “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.”
Expanding on our earlier post, lawyers from the Manhattan district attorney’s office argued that in court on Monday.
The Associated Press has more:
Manhattan District Attorney District Attorney Cyrus Vance is seeking eight years of the Republican president’s personal and corporate tax records, but has disclosed little about what prompted him to request the records, other than part of the investigation is related to payoffs made to women to keep them quiet about alleged affairs with Trump.
In their court filing Monday, though, attorneys for Vance said Trump’s arguments that the subpoena was too broad stemmed from “the false premise” that the probe was limited to so-called “hush-money” payments.
“This Court is already aware that this assertion is fatally undermined by undisputed information in the public record,” Vance’s lawyers wrote.
They said public reporting demonstrates that at the time the subpoena was issues “there were public allegations of possible criminal activity at Plaintiff’s New York County-based Trump Organization dating back over a decade.”
These reports describe transactions involving individual and corporate actors based in New York County, but whose conduct at times extended beyond New York’s borders. This possible criminal activity occurred within the applicable statutes of limitations, particularly if the transactions involved a continuing pattern of conduct,” the lawyers said.
The lawyers urged Judge Victor Marrero to swiftly reject Trump’s arguments, saying the baseless claims were threatening the investigation. Marrero, who ruled against Trump last year, has scheduled arguments to be fully submitted by mid-August.
“Every day that goes by is another day Plaintiff effectively achieves the ‘temporary absolute immunity’ that was rejected by this Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court,” Vance’s lawyers said.
Updated
Trump threatens Tik Tok ban unless company is purchased by 15 September
Trump just answered questions from reporters at the White House, expanding on his threat to ban Tik Tok, disagreeing with Fauci, and again promoting hydroxychloroquine, even as top administration officials acknowledge that there is no evidence the drug is an effective treatment for the virus.
Responding to a handful of questions on Monday afternoon, Trump said the social media platform Tik Tok must be sold to Microsoft or another company by 15 September or it will be shut down in US. He also said the Treasury should receive payment as a portion of any deal between the social media platform and a US company.
He then said that hydroxychloroquine was only “politically toxic” because he promoted it and noted that he took the drug with no side effects. He also never tested positive for the virus.
“I don’t agree with Fauci on everything,” Trump said when pressed on why he disagrees with the top infectious disease doctor on the efficacy hydroxychloroquine.
Pressed on why the US has so many deaths, Trump responded that the nation has done an “amazing job”.
The president also claimed that he was “very involved” with the ongoing negotiations on Capitol Hill.
Updated
This is setting the bar a little low, but Trump gets a green bar for keeping his promise to say Merry Christmas instead of the more universal Happy Holidays.
As a candidate, Trump said, "We're going to be saying Merry Christmas at every store. You can leave (happy holidays) at the corner." Retailers continue to use the phrase "Happy Holidays," but as president, Trump has stayed away from using the term. https://t.co/bjEKQgsKTj pic.twitter.com/PPND4DUGPV
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) August 3, 2020
Filing suggests Manhattan DA is investigating Trump and his company
In a new federal court filing, the Manhattan district attorney’s office suggested for the first time that it is investigating Trump and his company for possible fraud, the New York Times is reporting.
According to the Times: “The office of the district attorney, Cyrus Vance, made the disclosure in a new federal court filing arguing Mr. Trump should have to comply with its subpoena seeking eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns. Mr. Trump has asked a judge to declare the subpoena invalid.
The prosecutors did not directly identify the focus of their inquiry but said that “undisputed” news reports last year about Mr. Trump’s business practices make it clear that the office had a legal basis for the subpoena.”
Read the full tory here.
Updated
House Democrats are escalating their investigation into the firing of Steve Linick, who led office of the inspector general at the State Department, issuing four subpoenas for top aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump suddenly fired Linick in May at the urging of Pompeo. At the time, Democrats announced an investigation into the firing, saying it “may be an act of illegal retaliation.”
BREAKING: House Democrats have subpoenaed four top aides to Secretary POMPEO, citing resistance to appearing for depositions about the firing of inspector general Steve LINICK.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 3, 2020
Democrats say Linick had been conducing an investigation that examined whether Pompeo and his wife improperly used government resources, which the secretary of state has repeatedly denied. Pompeo recently called Linick a “bad actor” who wasn’t fulfilling the role of inspector general.
The state department has long resisted oversight by Congress, including, Democrats say, their requests for interviews.
Read more from Politico here.
Updated
On the anniversary of the El Paso massacre, Biden has renewed his call for Americans to stand up to the “forces of white supremacy” and “the plague of gun violence” that have traumatized the nation.
In a three-and-a-half-minute video statement marking the occasion, Biden said the gunman chose El Paso because “it is a city defined by its diversity – a city that celebrates its rich Hispanic heritage and its close friendship with the people of Ciudad Juarez.”
“The gunman thought his hatred of Latinos and immigrants would prove more powerful than the culture and vibrancy of these communities strengthened by their connection,” Biden said. “He was wrong.”
Biden continued: “This anniversary is a moment to re-summon the purpose we felt one year ago — and to recommit to the battle for the soul of this nation – a battle against the forces of white supremacy that are part of the very foundations of our nation — but which this president has encouraged and emboldened, a battle against the spread of hatred’s poisonous ideas in every form.”
He also called for banning “weapons of war” and holding gun manufacturers accountable.
In his remarks, Biden shared lessons from his own experience losing his family members, first his daughter and wife in a car accident, and decades later, his eldest son to cancer.
“The day will come when the memory of your loved one brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye,” he said, repeating a maxim he has used over the years. “That day will come. My prayer for you is that it comes to you sooner rather than later. But it will come.”
Biden’s campaign believes his empathy is one of his greatest strengths against a president who struggled to express sympathy for the death of nearly 150,000 Americans and the financial hardships facing countless more in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The White House has not yet issued a statement.
Obama endorses 118 Democrats running in 2020
Barack Obama on Monday announced a first wave of endorsements to support Democrats running for federal, statewide and state legislative offices.
I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats,” Obama said. “Together, these candidates will help us redeem our country’s promise by sticking up for working people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans—not just those at the top. They make me optimistic not just about our party’s chances in November, but about our country’s future long after that. So if you’re in one of their districts or states, make sure you vote for them this fall. And if you can, vote early—by mail or in person.
The list includes 118 candidates in 17 states.
Among them were five Senate candidates including Sara Gideon, who is challenging Senator Susan Collins in Maine and Jaime Harrison, who is challenging Senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. He endorsed a number of House freshman who defeated Republicans in 2018 and are in competitive races to keep their seats, including Virginia congresswoman Elaine Luria and Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, and South Carolina congressman Joe Cunningham.
He also backed New York upstarts Jamaal Bowman, who unseated Eliot Engel, a 16-term incumbent, to win the Democratic nomination, and Mondaire Jones, who won an open seat and is poised to be one of the first openly gay, Black members of Congress.
I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats. If you’re in one of their districts or states, make sure you vote for them this fall. And if you can, vote early—by mail or in person. https://t.co/PSm3Rf3wkF pic.twitter.com/7RXrJriBz8
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 3, 2020
According to a statement issued by Obama’s office, the candidates were selected because their election met certain priorities: helping Democrats regain control of the US Senate and hold the House majority; advancing efforts to more fairly re-draw Congressional districts in 2021; supporting veterans of his campaigns or officials who worked in his administration; and promoting a “diverse, emerging leaders for this time”.
I'm excited to earn the endorsement of @BarackObama He understands firsthand the responsibility of public service & what it means to bring people together. He knows that I work hard for the people of #VA07 & our country. I am grateful for his support as we head toward November. pic.twitter.com/FJs6r41Uh0
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerVA07) August 3, 2020
In the past, Obama has introduced his endorsements in waves, and more are likely to follow.
Obama is expected to become more involved in the campaign as the election nears. He remains one of the most popular figures in Democratic politics, and his endorsement of Joe Biden, his former vice president, helped boost the candidate’s online presence.
Last week, Obama delivered a pointed repudiation of efforts to undermine voting rights and ballot access, assailing the Trump administration in a eulogy for civil rights leader John Lewis.
Updated
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doubled down on her criticism of Dr Deborah Birx on Monday, telling CNN that Birx has “enabled” Trump to spread misinformation on the virus.
“I don’t have confidence in anyone who stands there while the president says, ‘Swallow Lysol and it’s going to cure your virus,’” she told CNN, joining the network from the US Capitol, where negotiations remain in a state of limbo.
“There has to be some responsibility. So, if the president is saying these things, who is advising him that this is okay and enabling that to happen while millions of people have died?” Pelosi said.
According to data tabulated by Johns Hopkins, nearly 155,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus as of Monday morning.
Pelosi’s comments come after Trump assailed her on Twitter as “crazy” and complained that she had “said horrible things” about Birx. In the tweet, he also appeared to criticize Birx for the first time publicly.
In the interview, Pelosi said Democrats are not willing to negotiate on the $600 unemployment benefit.
“A building is on fire and they are deciding how much water they want to have in the bucket. This is very important,” she said. “Millions of people could have fallen into poverty without this $600.”
She accused Republicans were being “so fussy” about anecdotal evidence of Americans not going back to work because they might earn more in unemployment and yet “so cavalier about big money going to companies that really shouldn’t be having it.”
Updated
Here is a little motivational post for those struggling with the grim state of affairs on this Monday morning.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky has finished her 100-mile ultramarathon after being sworn in this weekend – mid-run!
Just now @judgekarofsky has been sworn in as the newest Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. Karofsky is holding an outdoor swearing in ceremony 35 miles into a 100 mile run. @SpectrumNews1WI pic.twitter.com/pCZKyohE3E
— Jeffrey Dahdah (@jeff_dahdah) August 1, 2020
Karofsky finished the run on Sunday. It took the justice 34 hours to complete the course, which included an extra 3 miles at the end, after a closure on the route forced runners to clock three extra miles before reaching the finish line.
She was sworn in at the 35-mile marker on Saturday. State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet administered the oath of office in Basco, about 15 miles outside of Madison.
Karofsky narrowly defeated incumbent Daniel Kelly in the state’s April election, a coup for liberal activists who feared the pandemic might dampen turnout. Her victory narrowed the court’s conservative majority to 4-3.
34 hours. ~103 miles.
— Justice Jill Karofsky (@judgekarofsky) August 2, 2020
And ready for 10 years on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.#AlwaysRunning https://t.co/ScLigY1lpH
“34 hours. ~103 miles. And ready for 10 years on the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” she tweeted on Sunday.
Updated
Randomized Covid-19 testing will reportedly begin across the executive complex.
“Failure to report to testing will be considered a refusal to test,” according to an email sent to staff on Monday morning, Politico reported.
NEW: White House staff received an email this morning notifying them of random Covid-19 testing beginning today across the executive complex. Per the email, “Failure to report to testing will be considered a refusal to test.”
— Gabby Orr (@GabbyOrr_) August 3, 2020
Trump is atwitter this morning, airing his usually stream of mixed-caps and all-caps grievances against political enemies, real and perceived.
In his latest missile about the coronavirus pandemic, Trump attacked two of the nation’s most prominent female leaders responsible for navigating the coronavirus pandemic: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Dr Deborah Birx, who leads the White House’s coronavirus task force.
In the tweet, Trump said Birx “took the bait & hit us,” apparently referring to her comment that the virus was “extraordinarily” widespread in the US, an unusually grim assessment for Birx. In a vague exclamation, Trump added: “Pathetic!”
So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines & Therapeutics. In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020
As context, Pelosi on Sunday told ABC’s This Week that she no longer had confidence in Birx, who has forcefully defended the White House’s handling of the pandemic despite its failure to contain the rapidly-spreading contagion.
Pelosi said Trump had spread disinformation about the virus and that Birx was his “appointee.” As such, she said, “I don’t have confidence there, no.”
Birx, responding to the criticism in interview on CNN’s State of the Union, said: “I have never been called Pollyanna-ish or non-scientific or non-data-driven, and I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of utilizing data to really implement better programs to save more lives.”
In the same interview, Birx warned that the US had entered a new phase of the pandemic and sounded the alarm that the virus was far more widespread than it had been earlier this year, when the outbreaks were concentrated in a few urban centers.
“What we are seeing today is different from March and April,” she said. “It is extraordinarily widespread. It’s into the rural as equal urban areas.”
Throughout the pandemic Trump has ignored, dismissed and disparaged the medical professionals and public health experts around him. He has sparred most prominently with Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who has won the nation’s trust with his frank assessments.
During a congressional hearing last week, Facui told lawmakers that the US had seen more cases than many European nations because it had only shut down a fraction of its economy, which depended largely on the state or locality.
“Wrong!” Trump said, sharing a video of the exchange. He added: “We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases.”
This statement is illogical. If there were fewer tests, there would not be fewer cases of Covid-19. There would only be fewer confirmed cases of the virus. Public health officials have said that the high rate of positive tests is an indication that far more Americans have been infected than are being tested.
Donald Trump has once again said the quiet part out loud.
In a tweet reacting to a decision by Nevada state lawmakers to allow mail in ballots to be sent to all active voters ahead of the November election, Trump said the legislation “made it impossible for Republicans to win the state”.
In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court! https://t.co/cNSPINgCY7
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020
On Sunday night, Nevada state lawmakers approved a measure that would automatically send voters mail ballots ahead of the November election in light of safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill now goes to governor Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, who is expected to sign it. Nevada will join seven states, including California and Vermont, which have already moved to adopt automatic mail ballot policies, according to the AP.
Despite claims by Trump and Republicans that vote by mail risks compromising the integrity of the election result, Nevada’s secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, told lawmakers last week that she wasn’t aware of any fraud occurring the June primary, during which the state mailed voters absentee ballots and only opened a handful of polling places.
Republicans are challenging attempts to expand vote by mail in court. In a tweet on Sunday, Trump called the effort “outrageous” and said it must be met with “immediate litigation.”
Updated
Texas congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, has released a statement on the one year anniversary of what was the deadliest attack on Hispanics in the US in modern history.
I’m posting her statement in full, including the names of the 23 victims killed. I encourage everyone to read our piece by Claudia Tristán, who spoke to the congresswoman.
“One year ago, our community and the nation were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of domestic terrorism fueled by racism and xenophobia that killed 23 beautiful souls, injured 22, and devastated all of us.
“Today will be painful for El Pasoans, especially for the survivors and the loved ones of those who were killed, but as we grieve and heal together apart, we must continue to face hate with love and confront xenophobia by treating the stranger with dignity and hospitality.
“El Paso families have the right to live free from fear, and I will continue to honor the victims and survivors with action; fighting to end the gun violence and hate epidemics that plague our nation.”
In memory of André Pablo Anchondo, Jordan Kae Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Leonardo Campos Jr., Maribel Hernandez-Loya, Adolfo Cerros Hernández, Sara Esther Regalado Monreal, Guillermo “Coach Memo” Garcia, Angelina Silva Englisbee, Maria Muñoz Flores, Raul Estrada Flores, Gerhard Alexander Hoffmann, David Alvah Johnson, Luis Alfonso Juarez, Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, Ivan Manzano, Gloria Irma Marquez, Elsa L. Mendoza, Margie Reckard, Javier Amir Rodriguez, Teresa Trinidad Sanchez Guerra and Juan De Dios Velazquez.
Hello! Lauren Gambino in Washington, taking over for Martin.
We’re keeping on eye on Capitol Hill, where negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package appear at a standstill.
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has unloaded a new series of ads attacking Biden as a Trojan horse for the progressive left. It’s a hard sell: Biden won the primary by running decidedly to the center of his progressive rivals.
One ad features a woman sitting on a bed in a dimly lit room holding a series of posters while ominous music plays. The woman, a mother of four, doesn’t speak and one placard explains why: “I’m afraid to say this out loud…” The other cards accuse Biden of wanting to raise taxes, deliver amnesty to undocumented Americans and embracing the far-left.
On Fox News this morning, his newly installed campaign manager Bill Stepien said: “In that ad, you see exactly what a Joe Biden administration will bring to America.”
Campaign Manager @BillStepien: Joe Biden is “an empty vessel of the Radical Left” pic.twitter.com/zxREmywTjM
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 3, 2020
Trump has struggled to “define” Biden, branding him with various nicknames, Sleepy Joe, among them. He’s mocked Biden’s mental faculties, accused him of being “soft” on China and a socialist in disguise, while warning that a Biden presidency would usher in a wave of crime and eliminate the suburbs. All of the attacks, mostly false, have not helped Trump distract from his failure to contain the coronavirus, which is still spreading rapidly in states throughout the south and the west.
On Thursday, the Biden campaign his back, noting that many of the claims in the new Trump campaign ads are categorically false. Biden does not want to defund the police nor does he want to “eliminate” the suburbs, where voters are abandoning Republicans.
“The American people know Joe Biden. And after seven consecutive months of failed leadership during the worst public health crisis in generations, they know that our nation’s capacity to join the rest of the world in beating back COVID-19 has been crippled by one overriding burden: Donald Trump,” said campaign spokesman Andrew Bates. “That’s why the Trump campaign is locked in a sad and pathetic cycle of bimonthly, shambolic message ‘resets’ – all of which are based on the same recycled lies that voters have seen through countless times before.”
Judge Esther Salas releases emotional video message about shooting of her son
Two weeks ago, my life as I knew it changed in an instant. And my family will never be the same. A madman, who I believe was targeting me because of my position as a federal judge, came to my house.
So begins an incredibly powerful video statement released this morning by Judge Esther Salas, recalling the 19 July shooting at her house which killed her son and injured her husband.
With her voice breaking with emotion at times, in the very raw nine minute video Salas describes how 20 year old Daniel was shot by the caller to their home, in what is believed to have been a targeted attack. Roy Den Hollander, later found dead by suicide, attacked her family while posing as a FedEx driver.
The New Jersey federal judge uses the message to call for more protection for people in her position, saying: “I am begging those who are in power to do something. For my family, the threat was real and the free flow of information from the Internet allowed this sick and depraved human being to find all our personal information and target us.”
Updated
Domenico Montanaro has a piece over at NPR looking at the latest polling for November with a blistering opening: “It’s hard to believe that the hole president Trump dug for himself could get deeper, but it has.”
Montanaro says:
A record and widening majority of Americans disapprove of the job he’s doing when it comes to handling the coronavirus pandemic; he gets poor scores on race relations; he’s seen a suburban erosion despite efforts to win over suburban voters with fear; and all that has led to a worsened outlook for Trump against Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election. As a result, in the past month and a half, the latest NPR analysis of the Electoral College has several states shifting in Biden’s favor, and he now has a 297-170 advantage over Trump with exactly three months to go until Election Day.
The big shift is that Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Nevada and Florida - that’s 59 electoral college votes between them - have moved from toss-up territory into leaning towards the Democrats.
Read it here: NPR – 2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes
I mentioned earlier about Republicans being keen to use Joe Biden’s VP pick as an attack line, and senior advisor to the Trump campaign Jason Miller was doing just that last night, trying to ramp up the stakes by describing the choice as “his political living will”
“He’s already said he’s going to be a transition candidate on to the next generation. He’s refused to say that he would run for a second term, so it really does matter who is picked” Miller told Fox News on Sunday.
He went on, as the Trump angle often is, to try to link Biden with what Miller described as “the radical left-wing mob” of the Democratic party, naming Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar as the “power centre” of a potential Biden presidency.
Continued concerns about the health of Ruth Bader Ginsburg have reignited the discussion around what happens around appointments to the Supreme Court during an election year. Sahil Kapur has been looking at this for NBC News this morning, and quoting some combative Democratic Party words over the prospect of there being a tussle over appointments in what are potentially the last months of the current administration.
Sen. Tim Kaine is quoted as saying “We knew basically they [Republicans] were lying in 2016, when they said, ‘Oh, we can’t do this because it’s an election year.’ We knew they didn’t want to do it because it was President Obama.”
NBC News say they have had sight of a document from the the Democratic National Committee promising “structural court reforms to increase transparency and accountability.”
Kaine said the party wouldn’t rule out adding seats to the high court in the future if the Republicans attempt to stack it in their favour. “If they show that they’re unwilling to respect precedent, rules and history, then they can’t feign surprise when others talk about using a statutory option that we have that’s fully constitutional in our availability.”
Read it here: NBC News – Democrats warn GOP: Don’t fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 or we’ll retaliate
It is the anniversary of the mass shooting that killed 23 people last year in the Texas border town of El Paso. Claudia Tristán has been there for us as the Hispanic community remembers the tragic loss of life, and the impact of the attack.
A year on it still pains people in El Paso that race was allegedly a leading motive for the suspect, who survived and is now awaiting trial on federal hate crimes, which he denies. The shooting was crushing. But also infuriating, firstly because El Paso had become one of the cities caught up in Donald Trump’s battle against migrants and asylum seekers crossing the border into the US, drawing negative attention. Secondly, because key figures ignored the racial element of the attack.
Read it here: ‘It was fueled by hate and bigotry’: one year on from the El Paso shooting
The timetable may have slipped a little, but we are expecting Joe Biden to announce his VP pick possibly as soon as this week, maybe next week - and Annie Linskey has written about the situation for the Washington Post this morning.
It’s a fascinating piece looking at how the wide field and lengthy selection process has, as she puts it, allowed “Trump’s campaign an opening to dig up dirt and launch attacks on potential rivals.”
The pledge to pick a woman, and the growing expectation that in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement’s domination of the political agenda this summer it should be a woman of color, has put the spotlight on a series of high-profile Democratic women, and not always in a positive way.
Linskey quotes Donna Brazile, a former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, saying “It’s been relentless. It’s been unfortunate. But I must say it’s been predictable. It’s extremely disappointing, because many of these attacks . . . are being made by Democratic men who should know better. I would hope that in this selection process, we are mindful that Black women — and women of color — deserve respect.”
Linskey writes:
The increasing nastiness is fueled by a sense, even among Biden’s closest advisers, that Biden is entering the final phase of the search without a clear favorite. Rather than a traditional “shortlist” of three candidates, people close to the process expect him to interview five or six finalists for the position.
Several people interviewed said the delay has intensified currents, many of them sexist, that have been swirling for weeks. The resulting backbiting risks inflaming divisions within the party that complicated the 2016 campaign — but that Biden has worked to coalesce since locking down the nomination in the spring.
As Linskey observes, the decision will make history by potentially installing the first female vice president, and putting her in pole position to run for president in 2024 should Biden win and, as expected, not bid for a second term due to his age.
Read it here: Washington Post – Biden’s delay in choosing a running mate intensifies jockeying between potential picks
The coronavirus pandemic may have disrupted campaigning for November’s election, and it has also had an impact on activist groups trying to raise awareness in the US of the climate emergency gripping the planet. The US is currently experiencing the two extremes of Hurricane Isaias on the east coast, and raging wildfires on the west coast.
Lauren Aratani has written for us today about how young activists are adapting their tactics to get the message across during a pandemic and at a time when the Black Lives Matter protest movements have heightened awareness of racial injustices.
You can read it here: With big rallies cancelled, young climate activists are adapting election tactics
Auction site Moments In Time has been generating a lot of publicity this morning about the planned sale of a hand-written letter from civil rights icon Rosa Parks which mentions Rev. Martin Luther King Jr in the course of it.
Priced at $54,000, the letter, dated 6 October 1981, was sent to a Mr. Kessler more than a decade after King’s assassination.
“I admired and respected him as a truly great man committed and dedicated to freedom, peace and equality for all oppressed humanity,” Parks writes about King in the letter. “He was a leader of the masses in Montgomery, Alabama and the nation.”
The auction house claims that it is rare to find a hand-written letter from Parks, and even rarer for it to directly mention King. Parks passed away in 2005.
Somewhat awkwardly, however, the website is advertising it alongside what it claims is the only known jointly signed photo of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, which feels rather ill-at-ease next to the mentions of civil rights activists Parks and King.
Lord & Taylor, one of America’s oldest department stores, files for bankruptcy
One company that the coronavirus bailout measures could be coming too late for is Lord & Taylor, one of America’s oldest department stores, which has filed for bankruptcy.
In an announcement on its website the company said it was looking for a new owner.
Established in 1826, Lord & Taylor has long been a trailblazing brand. We are America’s oldest department store, the first to offer personal shopping, the first to open a branch store – and the first to have a female president. Today, we announced our search for a new owner who believes in our legacy and values. Part of our announcement also includes filing for Chapter 11 protection to overcome the unprecedented strain the Covid-19 pandemic has placed on our business. This strategy is part of our fierce commitment to preserve a nearly 200-year-old brand that has served local communities and loyal customers for generations.
Like many retailers, the Associated Press reports, Lord & Taylor was already struggling with the shift to online shopping even before the pandemic struck. Last year, it sold its flagship building on New York’s Fifth Avenue after more than a century in the 11-story building.
As many people have switched to working at home, brands that sell clothes targeted at offices workers have had a particularly hard time. As of July 23, roughly 40 retailers, including big and small companies, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy so far this year. That exceeds the number of retail bankruptcies for all of last year. About two dozen of them have sought bankruptcy protection since the pandemic started.
Slow, grinding negotiations on a huge Covid-19 relief bill are set to resume, reports Andrew Taylor in Washington for the Associated Press. The path forward, though, promises to be a challenge.
Both the Trump administration team and top Democrats reported some progress over the weekend, even as they highlighted their differences.
The lapse of the $600-per-week supplemental Covid-19 jobless benefit and the beginning of school season are only highlighting the urgency, and several more days of talks are expected.
The White House is said to be seeking opportunities to boost the perceived personal impact of Donald Trump, like sending another round of $1,200 stimulus payments and extending the supplemental jobless benefit and partial eviction ban.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi is looking for money for state and local governments, unemployment benefits and food aid.
Appearances by the principal negotiators on Sunday’s news shows featured continued political shots by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows at Pelosi for turning down a one-week extension of the $600 benefit in talks last week. He spent much of his time on CBS’ Face The Nation attacking her for opposing a piecemeal approach. She is insisting on a complete package.
Areas of agreement already include the $1,200 direct payment and changes to the Paycheck Protection Program to permit especially hard-hit businesses to obtain another loan under generous forgiveness terms.
But the terms and structure of the unemployment benefit remains a huge sticking point, negotiators said Sunday, and Meadows hasn’t made any concessions on the almost $1 trillion Pelosi wants for state and local governments grappling with pandemic-related revenue losses.
“We still have a long ways to go,” Meadows said, adding, “I’m not optimistic that there will be a solution in the very near term.”
Pelosi said she’d consider reducing the $600 benefit for states with lower unemployment rates. Republicans want to cut the benefit to encourage beneficiaries to return to work and say it is bad policy since it pays many jobless people more money than they made at their previous jobs.
Another sticking point is that Republicans want to give more school aid to systems that are restarting with in-school learning, even as Dr. Deborah Birx, Trump’s top coronavirus adviser, cautioned that schools in areas with spikes in cases should delay reopening
“In the areas where we have this widespread case increase, we need to stop the cases, and then we can talk about safely reopening,” Birx said on This Week.
Good morning, welcome to our live coverage of US politics, the Black Lives Matter protest movement and the coronavirus crisis for today
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The US recorded just under 50,000 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, the lowest daily figure since 5 July. There were 478 deaths reported. The numbers are heading in the right direction, but Sunday’s figures are usually lower for logistical reasons – some jurisdictions do not report numbers at all. 5 July was also a Sunday, coming during the holiday weekend
- July was the worst month of the coronavirus pandemic so far for many countries. The US reported a record 1.87 million cases in July, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, more than twice the figure for the previous record month. US infections account for more than a quarter of the global total
- An investigation has shown that anti-abortion centers received at least $4m from US coronavirus bailout funds. The future of the coronavirus bailout remains gridlocked on Capitol Hill, with negotiations proving fruitless over the weekend
- The TikTok story is moving, with some blunt Chinese reaction to the repeated threats from the Trump administration to ban the app from US phones
- The statue of Hannah Duston in New England is attracting a backlash. It depicts her holding a hatchet in one hand and a fistful of scalps in the other
- President Donald Trump is signing an executive order this morning about hiring American in the tech sector and has lunch with vice president Mike Pence. Joe Biden is attending a virtual fundraiser
I’ll be around for a couple of hours - you get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
