Summary
From me and Joan E Greve:
- Donald Trump would not condemn the killings of two protesters in Kenosha. Asked at a news conference about the actions of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with homicide, Trump said “that was an interesting situation” and said that Rittenhouse “was trying to get away from” protesters. Unwilling to disavow Rittenhouse, who had attended a Trump rally not long before he drew his weapon on demonstrators, the president railed against Joe Biden and falsely accused his political opponent of not speaking out against “leftwing” violence.
- The president plans to visit Kenosha tomorrow amid protests there over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Trump said he wouldn’t be meeting with Blake’s family and was put off by their request to have lawyers present. Speaking on CNN, Blake’s father said he was “not going to play politics” with his son’s life.
- Trump continued his threats of action against Portland two days after a reported member of a rightwing group was fatally shot amid a clash with anti-racism protesters, while Democratic leaders in Oregon accused the president of inciting violence.
- The US surpassed 6 million cases of coronavirus, representing nearly a quarter of all cases confirmed worldwide. The country’s death toll currently stands at 183,355.
- A federal appeals court ruled the case against Michael Flynn could continue for now. The justice department has sought to dismiss the charges against Flynn, even though the president’s former national security adviser already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
- Joe Biden accused Trump of exacerbating the difficult problems facing the country. Speaking in Pittsburgh, the Democratic nominee mocked Trump’s attacks against him, saying, “You know me, you know my heart, you know my story, my family’s story. Ask yourself: do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”
Updated
Here’s some more from Jacob Blake Sr’s interview on CNN, along with the family’s lawyer Ben Crump.
Trump said he wouldn’t speak with Blake’s family because they wanted lawyers present. “I don’t know why the President wouldn’t want the family to have their lawyers on the phone. He seems to have lawyers with him when he talks to people,” said Crump.
Pres. Trump said he wouldn’t speak with Jacob Blake’s family if lawyers were present. “I don’t know why the President wouldn’t want the family to have their lawyers on the phone. He seems to have lawyers with him when he talks to people,” says Ben Crump, Blake family attorney. pic.twitter.com/0uNqEkgZeN
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) August 31, 2020
Joe Biden has responded to Trump’s refusal to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse:
In a statement, he said:
Tonight, the President declined to rebuke violence. He wouldn’t even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it.
So once again, I urge the President to join me in saying that while peaceful protest is a right — a necessity — violence is wrong, period. No matter who does it, no matter what political affiliation they have. Period.
If Donald Trump can’t say that, then he is unfit to be President, and his preference for more violence — not less — is clear.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a communications firm to “defeat despair and inspire hope,” bidding out a $250m contract, Politico reports.
Ahead of the elections, with 180,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, HHS wants a firm to help “deliver important public health and economic information the administration can defeat despair, inspire hope and achieve national recovery.”
Several weeks ago, the department sent out to a number of communications firms a “performance work statement,” which lays out what work will be expected of the winning firm. The document says that the vast majority of the money will be spent from now until January.
The document also lists the goals of the contract: “defeat despair and inspire hope, sharing best practices for businesses to operate in the new normal and instill confidence to return to work and restart the economy,” build a “coalition of spokespeople” around the country, provide important public health, therapeutic and vaccine information as the country reopens and give Americans information on the phases of reopening.
“By harnessing the power of traditional, digital and social media, the sports and entertainment industries, public health associations, and other creative partners to deliver important public health and economic information the administration can defeat despair, inspire hope and achieve national recovery,” the document also says.
Donald Trump said he’s not planning to meet with the family of Jacob Blake while visiting the city tomorrow.
On CNN, Jacob Blake Sr, Blake’s father said, “I’m not going to play politics with my son’s life.” The family has been strained by the scrutiny and spotlight that came after Blake was shot, he said. “It’s sad to me how people don’t understand the kind of pressure this family is under,” he said.
His son Jacob Jr, was an individual who, a few weeks ago “was running around laughing. Now that individual cannot move his legs,” he added.
After Trump, just moments ago during the news conference that he spoke to the Blakes’ family pastor. Blake Sr noted, “We don’t have a family pastor... I don’t know who he’s talking to.”
Updated
Donald Trump also excused police brutality, saying that cops “choke sometimes and that goes on the evening news for weeks.”
“The tens of thousands of great things they do, nobody writes about that,” the president continued.
It’s an uncomfortable choice of words. The national mobilization against police brutality was sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was literally choked and killed by officers. Following Floyd’s killing, Trump himself took executive actions in June, to establish a federal database on police abuse and set national standards on the use of force. Today, he decried “a war on law enforcement”.
Having railed against Biden for not condemning anti-fascists, and raged against “leftwing political violence”, Trump has obstinately refused to condemn rightwing violence, including the actions of Rittenhouse, one of his supporters.
It is worth emphasizing, again, reporting from my colleague Lois Beckett. “A new database of nearly 900 politically motivated attacks and plots in the United States since 1994 includes just one attack staged by an anti-fascist that led to fatalities. In that case, the single person killed was the perpetrator,” she writes. “Over the same time period, American white supremacists and other rightwing extremists have carried out attacks that left at least 329 victims dead, according to the database.
Read more:
Updated
Trump refuses to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse and blames protesters
Asked about Kyle Rittenhouse, Trump said he was looking into it. “That was an interesting situation,” Trump said. Rittenhouse “was trying to get away from them ... They very violently attacked him.” The president also said that Rittenhouse, 17, who has been charged with homicide in the deaths of two protesters, “probably would’ve been killed” if he had not been armed.
A few weeks before Rittenhouse arrived, armed, in Kenosha, he attended a Trump rally in Des Moines.
Trump’s characterization of Rittenhouse’s action is highly misleading. According to the criminal complaint against Rittenhouse, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, who was killed after Rittenhouse shot him, had followed the teen into a lot and attempted to take his weapon.
Rittenhouse was then chased down the street by several people shouting than he was armed and had shot someone. He shot another man, Anthony Huber, 26, who was trying to wrest the gun away. Both Rosenbaum and Huber died. Rittenhouse has been charged with shooting a third victim, Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, in the arm.
His charges include first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, all while using a deadly weapon.
Updated
Trump is delivering yet another campaign speech, replete with lies, behind the presidential podium during what he’d advertised as a news briefing.
FACT CHECK
“They want to let everybody vote,” Trump said. “If you’re the Boston bomber, they want you to vote.” It’s unclear who “they” are here, but while some Democrats have advocated for allowing incarcerated people to vote, Biden has said that people should have voting rights restored after they’ve completed their sentences.
“I signed an order, it said 10 years in prison” for toppling monuments, Trump said. His executive order emphasizes existing laws that suggest 10 years as a maximum sentence.
Updated
FACT CHECK
Trump has accused Joe Biden of telling a “monstrous lie” that the demonstrators have been peaceful protestors. In fact, the demonstrators decrying police brutality have been overwhelmingly peaceful.
Trump also falsely accused Biden of failing to condemn Antifa, and looting during protests in his speech earlier today. Here is an excerpt from Biden’s speech today in which he condemns looting:
I want to be very clear about all of this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted.
Violence will not bring change, it will only bring destruction. It’s wrong in every way.
The president also accused Democrats of removing the word God from the Pledge of Allegiance. This is highly misleading. During the DNC, at the LGBTQ Caucus meeting and during the Muslim Delegates and Allies Assembly, the words “under God” were omitted from the pledge. But during the primetime DNC broadcasts, the full Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the word God.
Updated
“I also want to provide an update on left-wing political violence,” Trump said. He has not condemned the right-wing violence – including the actions of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who allegedly shot and killed two protesters and injured another at Kenosha this week.
My colleague Lois Beckett has debunked fear-mongering about left-wing political violence here:
Donald Trump speaks at briefing
The president has begun by boasting about the stock market, and his response to the coronavirus pandemic, using a racist term to refer to Covid-19.
Updated
Donald Trump’s popularity has continued to decline among armed service members, per the latest Military Times poll.
Active-duty service members have shown a slight preference for Joe Biden over Trump ahead of the elections. About half of those polled (49.9%) had an unfavorable view of the Trump, while about 38% who had a favorable view. About 12% favored a third-party candidate.
The margin of error for the poll of 1,018 active-duty troops surveyed in late July and early August, was up to 2 percent.
Forty-two percent said they “strongly” disapproved of Trump.
Updated
The Republican strategist who orchestrated the “swift boating” of John Kerry in 2004 is behind a new effort to aid Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
Chris LaCivita will run a Super Pac called Preserve America, beginning with a $30m ad campaign in key states, based on Trump’s law-and-order message. According to Politico, the casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus are among Republican mega-donors funding the group.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was a group that emerged in August 2004, as Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who became an anti-war campaigner and then a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, challenged George W Bush in the polls.
Swift boats were small river craft used by the US navy in Vietnam. Kerry, later secretary of state under Barack Obama, captained one.
Today so far
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:
- The White House said Trump would not condemn the killings of two protesters in Kenosha. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president was not weighing in on the alleged actions of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, but Trump will likely be asked about the matter during his press briefing, which is set to start in about an hour. The president also plans to visit Kenosha tomorrow amid protests there over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
- Trump continued his threats of action against Portland two days after a reported member of a right-wing group was fatally shot amid a clash with anti-racism protesters, while Democratic leaders in Oregon accused him of inciting violence.
- The US surpassed 6 million cases of coronavirus, representing nearly a quarter of all cases confirmed worldwide. The country’s death toll currently stands at 183,355.
- A federal appeals court ruled the case against Michael Flynn could continue for now. The justice department has sought to dismiss the charges against Flynn, even though the president’s former national security adviser already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
- Joe Biden accused Trump of exacerbating the difficult problems facing the country. Speaking in Pittsburgh, the Democratic nominee mocked Trump’s attacks against him, saying, “You know me, you know my heart, you know my story, my family’s story. Ask yourself: do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Trump administration: 1 House Democrats: 0 in latest legal round on McGahn
A federal appeals court panel this afternoon once again threw out a lawsuit by House Democrats to compel former White House counsel Don McGahn to appear before a congressional committee.
In a 2-1 ruling, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the House of Representatives lacks the authority under the US Constitution or federal law to ask courts to enforce a subpoena against an executive branch official, the AP writes.
The latest decision comes weeks after the full appeals court rejected the panel’s initial ruling that would have ended the court fight over whether McGahn must testify before the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation of potential obstruction of justice by Donald Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into allegations of collusion between the Trump 2016 election campaign and Russia, and obstruction of justice by the president.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would ask the full appeals court to step in and again revive the lawsuit.
Court cases over the testimony of presidential advisers are rare because the White House and Congress typically reach an agreement.
But Trump directed McGahn not to appear and the Democratic-controlled House filed suit to enforce the subpoena that was first issued in April 2019.
With time running out on the current House session, which ends on January 3, the prospect that McGahn would have to testify already was remote.
House lawmakers had sought McGahn’s testimony because he was a vital witness for Mueller.
Wisconsin Republicans take no action on policing bills
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature took no action in a special session today called by the state’s Democratic governor to pass a package of bills on policing reform just over a week after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in the back in the small city of Kenosha, 40 miles south of Milwaukee on the shore of Lake Michigan.
The ABC News website writes:
Republicans started the session and recessed in both the Senate and Assembly in less than 30 seconds. That satisfied requirements of the law that they meet, even though almost no lawmakers were present. It’s a tactic Republicans used in November when Wisconsin governor Tony Evers tried to force them to take action on gun control bills.
Republicans kept the session open rather than adjourning it, which means they could take action at a later date, although there are no signs they plan to do anything soon.
“Their silence on this issue, their inaction on this issue, sides with white supremacists,” said Democratic state Rep. David Bowen, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, at a news conference Monday urging Republicans to pass the bills.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, on the same day Evers called the special session, said he intends to convene a task force on “racial disparities, educational opportunities, public safety, and police policies and standards.” Vos on Monday decried the special session as “divisive and partisan politics” and instead said the task force, to be chaired by a Republican who is white, was “an opportunity to bring people together to find solutions.”
Last week, Republican state senator Van Wanggaard, a retired police officer and one of Evers’ loudest critics, proposed that state aid be cut to any community that reduces police budgets.
Evers decried the inaction, saying the people of Wisconsin don’t want another task force or more delays.
“It’s disappointing that there’s no sense of urgency from Republicans, and it’s a let down to all the people who are asking us to lead,” Evers said.
A Republican congressional nominee in Alabama is facing criticism for a weekend social media post, which he later deleted, of a meme that appeared to support a teenager charged with killing two people, and wounding a third, when confronting protesters in Wisconsin.
Barry Moore, the Republican nominee for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, posted a meme Saturday that depicted Kyle Rittenhouse carrying a rifle with the caption “fought back” and what appeared to be two other people slumped on the ground during protests with the caption, “didn’t fight back”, the Associated Press writes.
Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, faces homicide charges in connection with the deaths of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin and the wounding of another.
Rittenhouse, armed with an AR-15 style rifle, joined several other armed people in Kenosha, claiming to be protecting businesses on Tuesday, two days after a police shooting that left Jacob Blake, a Black man, paralyzed.
Moore later deleted the post and apologized for its graphic nature, saying he should have expressed his feelings “in words, not just with a meme.”
“Mr. Moore’s decision to share a post defending Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions was wrong ... As our nation grapples with ending systemic inequality, we need leaders committed to fairness and compassion, not ones who stoke division,” Phyllis Harvey-Hall, the Democratic in the race, said in a statement about the post.
The Alabama Democratic Party called the post “offensive and indefensible.”
Moore wrote a follow-up post calling the situation complicated and that he was “troubled that a young man felt compelled to take up arms to protect lives and property.”
Moore and Harvey-Hall are competing for the congressional seat currently held by U.S. Representative Martha Roby. Roby did not seek re-election.
Updated
The president has commented personally on Joe Biden’s speech, now, having previously retweeted a campaign tweet.
Just watched what Biden had to say. To me, he’s blaming the Police far more than he’s blaming the Rioters, Anarchists, Agitators, and Looters, which he could never blame or he would lose the Radical Left Bernie supports!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2020
And continues to plug his fave TV police procedural.
LAW & ORDER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2020
The Trump campaign has responded to Joe Biden’s speech, in which the Democratic nominee argued the president was exacerbating the difficult problems currently facing the country.
Joe Biden says "You won't be safe in Joe Biden's America!" pic.twitter.com/wSKe4N1XzF
— Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) August 31, 2020
But rather than respond to the substance of Biden’s criticism, the Trump campaign instead tweeted a three-second video of the Democrat saying, “You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America.”
But Biden was actually quoting the president’s attacks on him. The full quote from Biden was, “Since they have no agenda or vision for a second term, Trump and Pence are running on this: ‘You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America’. And what’s their proof? The violence you’re seeing in Donald Trump’s America.”
Kenosha’s Democratic mayor said he did not know if he would meet with Trump tomorrow, when the president visits the Wisconsin city.
Mayor John Antaramian was asked if he thought Trump was using the city as a political prop while protests continue over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Antaramian sidestepped that question, instead saying he is hoping for peace for the city as it works to combat racism.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked earlier today if Trump was going to Kenosha partly because Wisconsin is a swing state, but McEnany insisted the president simply wanted to go where Americans are “hurting.”
Democratic nominee Joe Biden said in his Pittsburgh speech that more police officers have died from coronavirus than have been killed in the line of duty this year.
That is true, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Since the start of the pandemic, 93 police officers have died from coronavirus, while 80 officers have died from other causes, such as gunshot wounds, car accidents and vehicular assaults.
Here's the data on Biden's stat about cops dying of COVID vs. on patrol, h/t @jeneps. https://t.co/QKZCqxE81Mhttps://t.co/NlwoM2QE1q pic.twitter.com/np3BUP39YJ
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) August 31, 2020
Trump is 'poisoning our very democracy,' Biden says
Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Trump had acted “subservient” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling his behavior “humiliating and embarrassing” for the country.
Specifically addressing voters in Pennsylvania, where energy is a major job provider, Biden repeatedly said, “I am not banning fracking. Let me say that again. I am not banning fracking. No matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me.”
Biden accused Trump of failing to lead as the country faces crises on multiple fronts, arguing the president is running a campaign based solely on fear.
“The current president wants you to live in fear,” Biden said. “He advertises himself as a figure of order. He isn’t.”
The Democratic nominee asserted the president was “poisoning” American values and even “poisoning our very democracy.”
Democratic nominee Joe Biden repeatedly posed this question in his Pittsburgh speech: “Do you really feel safer under Trump?”
Biden lambasted Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent protests against racism and police brutality.
Despite Trump’s claims that he will protect law enforcement officers, more cops have died from coronavirus than have been killed on patrol this year, Biden noted.
Biden: 'Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?'
Joe Biden mocked efforts by the president and his allies to paint the Democratic nominee as a socialist who is rooting for violence.
“You know me, you know my heart, you know my story, my family’s story. Ask yourself: do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?” Biden said.
The Democratic nominee once again pointed out that the president’s warnings of danger in “Joe Biden’s America” overlook the violence happening right now, in Donald Trump’s America.
“The simple truth is that Donald Trump failed to protect America, so now he’s trying to scare America,” Biden said.
Biden accuses Trump of 'fanning the flames' of division
Speaking in Pittsburgh, Democratic nominee Joe Biden attacked Trump’s handling of the recent protests against racism and police brutality.
Biden said the president is “incapable of telling us the truth,” making him uniquely ill-suited to lead the country through the multiple crises it faces right now.
The Democratic nominee went on to accuse Trump of “fanning the flames rather than fighting the flames” of division in the country.
Biden also condemned recent violence, saying those who are “looting” and “rioting” should not be compared to peaceful protesters.
“None of this is protesting,” Biden said. “It’s lawlessness, plain and simple.”
Updated
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also outlandishly claimed Trump had not seen a video of his supporters using paintballs and pepper spray against Portland protesters.
Here’s the catch: the president himself tweeted out the video this weekend.
The caption of the video reads, “Trump people unload paintballs and pepper spray. They shot me too.”
Democrats were quick to criticize Trump for refusing to condemn the shooting of protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
From Democratic Senator Chris Murphy:
Why? Because the President's plan is to take no steps to reduce the chaos, unrest, and violence. His entire campaign strategy depends fanning the flames of of violence. https://t.co/I04hT2vN85
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 31, 2020
From the former acting solicitor general under Barack Obama:
Wow. LAW & ORDER, indeed.
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) August 31, 2020
I hope Trump keeps talking about protecting people from violence. ORDER is so obviously a point in favor of Biden, come to think of it, it's just like LAW. https://t.co/5mZmUPj2AD
From a Democratic strategist:
The law and order president won’t condemn murder. https://t.co/JavZVQzQzZ
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) August 31, 2020
Trump will not condemn shooting of Kenosha protesters, White House says
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump would not condemn the shooting of protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
McEnany was asked if the president would condemn the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who has been charged with fatally shooting two protesters.
Reporter asks if President Trump condemns the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged for killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 31, 2020
McEnany: "The president is not going to weigh in on that" https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/TcPrKXS1oo
“The president is not going to, again, weigh in on that,” McEnany said.
The press secretary indicated Trump may address the issue later today, during a briefing that was not on the president’s original schedule.
It’s worth noting that Trump has repeatedly “weighed in” on the fatal shooting of a reported member of a right-wing group in Portland since it happened on Saturday night.
Trump does not currently plan to meet with Blake family, White House says
Trump does not currently plan to meet Jacob Blake’s family when he visits Kenosha, Wisconsin, tomorrow, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.
The president is expected to meet with local law enforcement officials and tour damaged property, as protests continue over the police shooting of Blake.
McEnany said Trump condemns all acts of violence, but she also attacked Democratic lawmakers, arguing they need to “step up” to stop violence on the left.
It’s worth noting that Democratic nominee Joe Biden has repeatedly condemned the recent violence.
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- The US surpassed 6 million cases of coronavirus, representing nearly a quarter of all cases confirmed worldwide. The country’s death toll currently stands at 183,203.
- A federal appeals court ruled the case against Michael Flynn could continue for now. The justice department has sought to dismiss the charges against Flynn, even though the president’s former national security adviser already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
- Trump continued his threats of action against Portland two days after a reported member of a right-wing group was fatally shot amid a clash with anti-racism protesters. The president also plans to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, tomorrow amid protests there over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
US surpasses 6 million cases of coronavirus
The US has now confirmed more than 6 million cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the US has reported 6,006,327 cases of the virus, representing nearly a quarter of the worldwide number of cases.
The data also shows that at least 183,203 Americans have died from coronavirus, giving the US a far higher death toll than any other country in the world.
Appeals court keeps Michael Flynn's case alive
A federal appeals court has ruled that the prosecution of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, may continue for now.
The court also ruled that Judge Emmet Sullivan was justified in appointing a former judge to scrutinize the justice department’s request to dismiss the case.
ALSO: The court rules Sullivan was justified in appointing an amicus to help advise his decision on the dismissal of the Flynn case. pic.twitter.com/5UvrBdfHZm
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 31, 2020
The justice department sought to dismiss the charges against Flynn in May, even though the former official had already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
The move put Sullivan in the difficult decision of having to determine whether to move forward with sentencing, and it also sparked accusations that the Trump administration was politicizing the justice department.
A White House spokesperson said chief of staff Mark Meadows has repeatedly reached out to Jacob Blake’s family, contradicting earlier comments from attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Blakes.
Mr. Crump may be misinformed, but this is false. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has reached out on behalf of POTUS and left multiple messages with the family since last week. He's also spoken several times with Julia Jackson's pastor, as recently as this morning. https://t.co/LHIvvN8URA
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) August 31, 2020
Adviser Ben Williamson said, “Mr. Crump may be misinformed, but this is false. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has reached out on behalf of POTUS and left multiple messages with the family since last week. He’s also spoken several times with Julia Jackson’s pastor, as recently as this morning.”
Crump said this morning that his office had not been contacted by the president, who is visiting Kenosha tomorrow.
Joe Biden is en route to Pittsburgh, where the Democratic nominee will soon deliver a speech criticizing Trump’s response to recent violence in Kenosha and Portland.
.@JoeBiden boards a plane in Delaware en route to his campaign speech today in Pittsburgh, PA pic.twitter.com/BFBC5GWnJq
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) August 31, 2020
With only two months to go until the presidential election, Biden now has a traveling press pool following all of his movements.
A day before Trump’s visit to Kenosha, a lawyer representing Jacob Blake said he has not heard from the president.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who has been working with the Blake family, told MSNBC that his office has received no calls from the White House.
Blake family attorney Ben Crump tells @HallieJackson: “My office received no calls [from the White House] to set up any kind of meeting. I know when Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris wanted to make contact, they simply called my office and we coordinated such a meeting.”
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) August 31, 2020
The president is expected to visit Kenosha tomorrow, days after Blake was repeatedly shot in the back by police.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former adviser to Melania Trump who has written a book about the first lady, said the entire Trump family is tainted by “deceit” and “deception.”
Winston Wolkoff spoke to ABC News a day before her book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, is set to be published.
Winston Wolkoff said she’s still “working with investigators” in connection to possible financial crimes tied to Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
“It was amateur hour then, and it’s amateur hour now, and I think it’s really frightening for our country,” she told ABC. “Everyone does need to know what … this presidency is doing and what this propaganda machine behind this man at the White House is doing,”
Winston Wolkoff would not confirm or deny reports that she taped some of her conversations with the first lady, but she declined to provide ABC with any documents to back up her allegations, all of which Melania Trump’s team has denied.
Updated
Biden: Trump 'sows chaos rather than providing order'
In his Pittsburgh speech today, Democratic nominee Joe Biden will accuse Trump of sparking violence in the US.
“This president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country,” Biden will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by his campaign. “He can’t stop the violence – because for years he has fomented it.”
Biden will also criticize the president for failing to condemn recent violence from some of his supporters.
“He may believe mouthing the words law and order makes him strong, but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows you how weak he is,” Biden will say.
The Democratic nominee will go on to list a number of crises currently facing the country, including the coronavirus pandemic and the national reckoning over racism.
Biden will say, “The common thread? An incumbent president who makes things worse, not better. An incumbent president who sows chaos rather than providing order.”
Trump will also visit Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, the president’s campaign just announced.
Trump will deliver remarks at 7 pm ET on Thursday, three days after Democratic nominee Joe Biden is scheduled to make an appearance in Pittsburgh.
The president carried Pennsylvania by less than 1 point in 2016, but recent polls have indicated Biden has the advantage in the swing state, where he was born.
In his Pittsburgh speech today, Biden is expected to blame Trump for the recent violence in Kenosha and Portland.
Updated
Trump intends to visit Kenosha tomorrow as the Wisconsin city continues to grapple with fallout from the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The president, who has taken advantage of every possible opportunity in recent weeks to attack Democratic nominee Joe Biden, will also be visiting a key swing state that could determine the winner of the presidential election.
The Guardian’s Chris McGreal reports from one swing county in Wisconsin:
The president’s challenge in November is not only to hold on to those who supported him last time but to win over new voters to offset the increased determination by Democrats in the Wisconsin’s larger cities to vote this time and a shift away from him in some conservative suburbs.
Trump has his work cut out in rural Forest county, in the upper reaches of rural Wisconsin, which has consistently backed presidential election winners of either party in recent times.
His support remains soft in the county among some of those who voted for him before ... and who have long criticised his erratic leadership, confrontational tweets and outright lies but who remained loyal because they said the economy was strong. The only plus for Trump is there is little evidence of widespread enthusiasm for Biden.
Terri Burl, the Republican county chair until last month, concedes that Trump is struggling.
‘It’s a coin toss here with Wisconsin. Things are a little more ominous now for us. But I’m not a pessimist. I’m an optimist. The word out there is that we just have to stay positive, we have to get a positive message out,’ said Burl, a former social worker.
But it’s hard to push the positive in the middle of a pandemic, mass unemployment and a tanking economy.
Trump continues attacks on Portland ahead of Kenosha visit
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Donald Trump is continuing his attacks on Portland this morning, two days after a reported member of a right-wing group was shot dead amid a clash between a group of the president’s supporters and anti-racism protesters in the Oregon city.
“Portland is a mess, and it has been for many years. If this joke of a mayor doesn’t clean it up, we will go in and do it for them!” Trump said.
Portland is a mess, and it has been for many years. If this joke of a mayor doesn’t clean it up, we will go in and do it for them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2020
Oregon’s Democratic governor, Kate Brown, accused Trump of having “encouraged division and stoked violence” in her state.
The president’s planned trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, tomorrow has sparked concerns that he will only further inflame tensions in the city as protests continue over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden has cited Trump’s response to the recent violence as another indication why he is not fit to be president.
“Donald Trump has been president for almost four years,” Biden said in a statement yesterday. “The temperature in the country is higher, tensions run stronger, divisions run deeper. And all of us are less safe because Donald Trump can’t do the job of the American president.”
