Trump Election Trail
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- Mar 19, 2006
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Trump starts to articulate a painful reality: He could lose in 2020
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/17/trump-losing-polls-429986
While President Donald Trump?s advisers have said to ignore national polling, the president?s own words are reflecting what those numbers say.
By MERIDITH MCGRAW
10/17/2020 07:00 AM EDT
He?s mused out loud about an embarrassing 2020 defeat. He?s acknowledged his severe deficit in key polls. And he?s made naked appeals to the critical voting blocs of suburban women and older adults ? two demographics he has struggled to win over.
Just weeks from Election Day, President Donald Trump is saying the quiet part out loud about his own campaign. The president is crisscrossing the country with a packed schedule, flying to some states he won handily in 2016, to deliver a final pitch for a second term ? and making no secret of his own shaky standing.
?Could you imagine if I lose?? Trump said Friday evening at a campaign rally in Macon, Ga. ?My whole life, what am I going to do? I?m going to say, 'I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics.' I?m not going to feel so good. Maybe I?ll have to leave the country. I don?t know.?
Part of the act is tactical, aides say. Trump thrives on being underestimated, and they point to how the president came from behind in 2016. National polls at the time showed Trump lagging against Hillary Clinton in the weeks leading up to the election, yet he continued his marathon of rallies and latched onto news about Clinton that helped him paint a picture of elites in Washington that boosted his campaign. A similar strategy is in play once more, with the president back on the road and focusing his attention on news about the Biden family?s business dealings alongside allegations of his own unfair treatment.
?He campaigns best when he is counterpunching,? said Bryan Lanza, a lobbyist who worked on Trump's 2016 campaign and transition and remains close to the 2020 campaign. ?He?s the running back who runs toward the tackles as opposed to the running back who runs away. We used to say he?s like Rocky Balboa ? he waits for his opponent to punch and then he comes back to deliver the knockout blow.?
Trump aides in this case hope the counterpunch can propel him to a better place in the race. Despite trying to project strength and confidence after his bout with the coronavirus, during which he went on supplemental oxygen and was hospitalized for three nights, the president has openly acknowledged just how far he has slipped. A poll released by Morning Consult on Thursday showed Democratic nominee Joe Biden ahead of Trump by 9 percentage points, and leading in the critical states of Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan.
At campaign stops and in interviews, Trump has been openly grappling with the prospect of a loss and ? like a TV pundit ? articulating why exactly he?s behind.
Although more than half of white women voted for Trump in 2016, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week showed Biden leading Trump by 28 points among suburban women.
So at a rally in the Rust Belt town of Johnstown, Pa., the president aired conversations about the support he has lost from suburban women and continued his pitch to voters who live outside of places like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
?Somebody said, ?I don?t know if the suburban woman likes you.? I said, ?Why??? Trump told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night. ?They said, ?They may not like the way you talk.? But I?m about law and order. I?m about having you safe.?
?So can I ask you to do me a favor? Suburban women, will you please like me?? Trump asked. ?I saved your damn neighborhood.?
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Trump down by 27 points against Biden with people over the age of 65, another key demographic that fueled his 2016 victory.
So while the president was recovering from Covid-19, he released a special video message aimed at his so-called ?favorite people in the word: seniors.?
?I?m a senior,? the 74-year-old said. ?I know you don?t know that. Nobody knows that. Maybe you don?t have to tell them, but I?m a senior.?
But the president still managed to step on his own message days later, when he tweeted out a meme mocking Biden ? who Trump has suggested is senile ? in a nursing home, surrounded by elderly people.
On Friday, he traveled to Fort Myers, Fla., considered a Republican stronghold, to deliver a speech on ?Protecting America?s Seniors.?
?Seniors are under threat from a radical-left movement that seeks to destroy the American way of life,? Trump said. ?We?re not going to allow it.?
Trump?s messaging ? begging for votes, even half-jokingly ? carries risks for the president at this stage of the race.
?He?s taking the wrong approach,? said longtime GOP pollster Frank Luntz. ?He should be talking about earning their support rather than asking them to give him their support. He should be turning that electoral weakness into a strength.?
Over the past week, Trump has discussed the pressure to beat Biden and the potential embarrassment of losing to someone he has called the ?single worst candidate in the history of presidential politics.?
The prospect of a Trump loss ?is when he?s at his best,? said a senior adviser to the Trump campaign. ?It?s a way to fire up our voters and get out the vote.?
Instead of focusing on polling, the president has pointed to crowd sizes at his rallies and the number of people lining the street to catch a glimpse of his motorcade.
?Our level of enthusiasm ? I believe it?s the highest in the history of elections,? Trump said on Friday in Ocala, Fla. ?And his level of enthusiasm,? Trump said of Biden, ?is called nonexistent.?
Trump has embraced the underdog label in the final stretch of the election, claiming the system is working against both him and his base of supporters.
He has latched onto the narrative that the game is rigged, and everything from the TV networks to Big Tech is conspiring against him and his MAGA movement.
The president?s list of how he hasn?t gotten a fair shake grows almost daily. Just hours before his town hall with NBC on Thursday night, the president claimed he was being ?set up? by the network. He tweeted that his campaign was ?not treated fair? by the Commission on Presidential Debates when it chose C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully as the moderator for the then-cancelled second debate.
In speeches this week he has repeatedly grumbled about the effect the coronavirus has had on his economic track record, and has returned, again and again, to complaints about the ?deep state? of bureaucrats in the U.S. government, which he says is conspiring against him.
Trump?s advisers have tried to make the president?s closing message more forward-looking by focusing on his ability to restart the economy after the first Covid-19 shutdowns. But the president has turned to relitigating the past election, sowing doubt about mail-in-ballots, criticizing media coverage and blaming Democrats for everything from urban unrest to a lack of progress on stimulus negotiations.
?It shouldn?t be, ?They targeted me.? It should be what the future will look like for the American family,? Lanza said of Trump?s final pitch to voters.
But with each grievance the president outlines, Trump is building a case for why outside forces, rather than the candidate himself, is to blame for any loss.
One former senior White House official said even the president contracting the coronavirus and losing a week on the campaign trail could be seen as a messaging ?silver lining.?
If he loses, the official said, ?Trump has another excuse.?
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/17/trump-losing-polls-429986
While President Donald Trump?s advisers have said to ignore national polling, the president?s own words are reflecting what those numbers say.
By MERIDITH MCGRAW
10/17/2020 07:00 AM EDT
He?s mused out loud about an embarrassing 2020 defeat. He?s acknowledged his severe deficit in key polls. And he?s made naked appeals to the critical voting blocs of suburban women and older adults ? two demographics he has struggled to win over.
Just weeks from Election Day, President Donald Trump is saying the quiet part out loud about his own campaign. The president is crisscrossing the country with a packed schedule, flying to some states he won handily in 2016, to deliver a final pitch for a second term ? and making no secret of his own shaky standing.
?Could you imagine if I lose?? Trump said Friday evening at a campaign rally in Macon, Ga. ?My whole life, what am I going to do? I?m going to say, 'I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics.' I?m not going to feel so good. Maybe I?ll have to leave the country. I don?t know.?
Part of the act is tactical, aides say. Trump thrives on being underestimated, and they point to how the president came from behind in 2016. National polls at the time showed Trump lagging against Hillary Clinton in the weeks leading up to the election, yet he continued his marathon of rallies and latched onto news about Clinton that helped him paint a picture of elites in Washington that boosted his campaign. A similar strategy is in play once more, with the president back on the road and focusing his attention on news about the Biden family?s business dealings alongside allegations of his own unfair treatment.
?He campaigns best when he is counterpunching,? said Bryan Lanza, a lobbyist who worked on Trump's 2016 campaign and transition and remains close to the 2020 campaign. ?He?s the running back who runs toward the tackles as opposed to the running back who runs away. We used to say he?s like Rocky Balboa ? he waits for his opponent to punch and then he comes back to deliver the knockout blow.?
Trump aides in this case hope the counterpunch can propel him to a better place in the race. Despite trying to project strength and confidence after his bout with the coronavirus, during which he went on supplemental oxygen and was hospitalized for three nights, the president has openly acknowledged just how far he has slipped. A poll released by Morning Consult on Thursday showed Democratic nominee Joe Biden ahead of Trump by 9 percentage points, and leading in the critical states of Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan.
At campaign stops and in interviews, Trump has been openly grappling with the prospect of a loss and ? like a TV pundit ? articulating why exactly he?s behind.
Although more than half of white women voted for Trump in 2016, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week showed Biden leading Trump by 28 points among suburban women.
So at a rally in the Rust Belt town of Johnstown, Pa., the president aired conversations about the support he has lost from suburban women and continued his pitch to voters who live outside of places like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
?Somebody said, ?I don?t know if the suburban woman likes you.? I said, ?Why??? Trump told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night. ?They said, ?They may not like the way you talk.? But I?m about law and order. I?m about having you safe.?
?So can I ask you to do me a favor? Suburban women, will you please like me?? Trump asked. ?I saved your damn neighborhood.?
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Trump down by 27 points against Biden with people over the age of 65, another key demographic that fueled his 2016 victory.
So while the president was recovering from Covid-19, he released a special video message aimed at his so-called ?favorite people in the word: seniors.?
?I?m a senior,? the 74-year-old said. ?I know you don?t know that. Nobody knows that. Maybe you don?t have to tell them, but I?m a senior.?
But the president still managed to step on his own message days later, when he tweeted out a meme mocking Biden ? who Trump has suggested is senile ? in a nursing home, surrounded by elderly people.
On Friday, he traveled to Fort Myers, Fla., considered a Republican stronghold, to deliver a speech on ?Protecting America?s Seniors.?
?Seniors are under threat from a radical-left movement that seeks to destroy the American way of life,? Trump said. ?We?re not going to allow it.?
Trump?s messaging ? begging for votes, even half-jokingly ? carries risks for the president at this stage of the race.
?He?s taking the wrong approach,? said longtime GOP pollster Frank Luntz. ?He should be talking about earning their support rather than asking them to give him their support. He should be turning that electoral weakness into a strength.?
Over the past week, Trump has discussed the pressure to beat Biden and the potential embarrassment of losing to someone he has called the ?single worst candidate in the history of presidential politics.?
The prospect of a Trump loss ?is when he?s at his best,? said a senior adviser to the Trump campaign. ?It?s a way to fire up our voters and get out the vote.?
Instead of focusing on polling, the president has pointed to crowd sizes at his rallies and the number of people lining the street to catch a glimpse of his motorcade.
?Our level of enthusiasm ? I believe it?s the highest in the history of elections,? Trump said on Friday in Ocala, Fla. ?And his level of enthusiasm,? Trump said of Biden, ?is called nonexistent.?
Trump has embraced the underdog label in the final stretch of the election, claiming the system is working against both him and his base of supporters.
He has latched onto the narrative that the game is rigged, and everything from the TV networks to Big Tech is conspiring against him and his MAGA movement.
The president?s list of how he hasn?t gotten a fair shake grows almost daily. Just hours before his town hall with NBC on Thursday night, the president claimed he was being ?set up? by the network. He tweeted that his campaign was ?not treated fair? by the Commission on Presidential Debates when it chose C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully as the moderator for the then-cancelled second debate.
In speeches this week he has repeatedly grumbled about the effect the coronavirus has had on his economic track record, and has returned, again and again, to complaints about the ?deep state? of bureaucrats in the U.S. government, which he says is conspiring against him.
Trump?s advisers have tried to make the president?s closing message more forward-looking by focusing on his ability to restart the economy after the first Covid-19 shutdowns. But the president has turned to relitigating the past election, sowing doubt about mail-in-ballots, criticizing media coverage and blaming Democrats for everything from urban unrest to a lack of progress on stimulus negotiations.
?It shouldn?t be, ?They targeted me.? It should be what the future will look like for the American family,? Lanza said of Trump?s final pitch to voters.
But with each grievance the president outlines, Trump is building a case for why outside forces, rather than the candidate himself, is to blame for any loss.
One former senior White House official said even the president contracting the coronavirus and losing a week on the campaign trail could be seen as a messaging ?silver lining.?
If he loses, the official said, ?Trump has another excuse.?
- Mar 19, 2006
- 38,197
- 370
- 83
- 74
Trump fires back at Sasse after town hall criticism
The president called the Nebraska Republican a "liability" to their party.
By EVAN SEMONES
10/17/2020 11:47 AM EDT
Donald Trump on Saturday fired back at fellow Republican Ben Sasse after the Nebraska senator was recorded chastising the president during a town hall earlier this week.
?The least effective of our 53 Republican Senators, and a person who truly doesn?t have what it takes to be great, is Little Ben Sasse of Nebraska,? Trump tweeted, calling him a "liability" to their party.
While Trump has never shied away from responding to criticism, his attacks on Sasse come amid dismal poll numbers that threaten to imperil his presidency and Republicans? slim majority in the Senate, as well as further efforts from Republicans nationwide to distance themselves from the incumbent president.
Trump continued to lay into Sasse, who has voted regularly to support the president?s agenda but also spoken out against his actions, by accusing the senator of being a ?RINO? (Republican in name only) who only felt empowered to speak up after winning his own primary.
James Wegmann, a spokesman for Sasse, responded to Trump?s tweets, saying the senator has voiced the same remarks he made to constituents to the president directly.
?Ben is focused on defending the Republican Senate majority, and he's not going to waste a single minute on tweets,? Wegmann said.
The leaked nine-minute recording of Sasse's remarks during a telephone town hall with his constituents Wednesday was first reported by the Washington Examiner and later confirmed by his office.
?I?m now looking at the possibility of a Republican blood bath in the Senate, and that?s why I?ve never been on the Trump train,? Sasse reportedly said during the call. ?It?s why I didn?t agree to be on his re-election committee, and it?s why I?m not campaigning for him.?
During the call, Sasse also laid into the president for turning a blind eye to human rights and treating the Covid-19 pandemic "like a PR crisis."
"The way he kisses dictators' butts. I mean, the way he ignores that the Uyghurs are in literal concentration camps in Xinjiang right now. He hasn't lifted a finger on behalf of the Hong Kongers," Sasse said. "He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He's flirted with White supremacists."
In May, Sasse handily defeated his Republican challenger Matt Innis, a Trump loyalist, winning 75 percent of the primary vote.
Sasse is widely expected to cruise to re-election in November after his Democratic opponent, Chris Janicek, was disavowed by his party for sending sexually charged messages to a campaign staffer.
Trump endorsed Sasse in Sept. 2019.
The president called the Nebraska Republican a "liability" to their party.
By EVAN SEMONES
10/17/2020 11:47 AM EDT
Donald Trump on Saturday fired back at fellow Republican Ben Sasse after the Nebraska senator was recorded chastising the president during a town hall earlier this week.
?The least effective of our 53 Republican Senators, and a person who truly doesn?t have what it takes to be great, is Little Ben Sasse of Nebraska,? Trump tweeted, calling him a "liability" to their party.
While Trump has never shied away from responding to criticism, his attacks on Sasse come amid dismal poll numbers that threaten to imperil his presidency and Republicans? slim majority in the Senate, as well as further efforts from Republicans nationwide to distance themselves from the incumbent president.
Trump continued to lay into Sasse, who has voted regularly to support the president?s agenda but also spoken out against his actions, by accusing the senator of being a ?RINO? (Republican in name only) who only felt empowered to speak up after winning his own primary.
James Wegmann, a spokesman for Sasse, responded to Trump?s tweets, saying the senator has voiced the same remarks he made to constituents to the president directly.
?Ben is focused on defending the Republican Senate majority, and he's not going to waste a single minute on tweets,? Wegmann said.
The leaked nine-minute recording of Sasse's remarks during a telephone town hall with his constituents Wednesday was first reported by the Washington Examiner and later confirmed by his office.
?I?m now looking at the possibility of a Republican blood bath in the Senate, and that?s why I?ve never been on the Trump train,? Sasse reportedly said during the call. ?It?s why I didn?t agree to be on his re-election committee, and it?s why I?m not campaigning for him.?
During the call, Sasse also laid into the president for turning a blind eye to human rights and treating the Covid-19 pandemic "like a PR crisis."
"The way he kisses dictators' butts. I mean, the way he ignores that the Uyghurs are in literal concentration camps in Xinjiang right now. He hasn't lifted a finger on behalf of the Hong Kongers," Sasse said. "He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He's flirted with White supremacists."
In May, Sasse handily defeated his Republican challenger Matt Innis, a Trump loyalist, winning 75 percent of the primary vote.
Sasse is widely expected to cruise to re-election in November after his Democratic opponent, Chris Janicek, was disavowed by his party for sending sexually charged messages to a campaign staffer.
Trump endorsed Sasse in Sept. 2019.
- Mar 19, 2006
- 38,197
- 370
- 83
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Trump: Biden will 'listen to the scientists' if elected
BY ARIS FOLLEY - 10/19/20 07:43 AM EDT
https://thehill.com/homenews/521638-trump-biden-will-listen-to-the-scientists-if-elected
President Trump mockingly warned at his rally in Nevada late Sunday that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would ?listen to the scientists? if elected and there would be more lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Trump told attendees in Carson City that supporters of his opponent would surrender their ?future to the virus,? saying: ?He?s gonna want to lockdown.?
?He?ll listen to the scientists,? Trump added in a mocking tone before saying, ?If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression instead ? we?re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.?
He also took aim at Democratic governors, accusing them of ?keeping their states closed? with preventative measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which Johns Hopkins University data shows has led to more than 8.1 million cases in the U.S. and more than 219,000 deaths.
A spokesperson for Biden?s campaign, Andrew Bates, pushed back on the president's comments in a statement on Twitter late Sunday, saying the claims are ?tellingly out of touch and the polar opposite of reality.?
?Trump crashed the strong economy he inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration by lying about and attacking the science, and layoffs are rising. Meanwhile, Joe Biden would create millions more jobs than Trump,? Bates added.
Trump also warned during his rally on Sunday that ?the Christmas season will be canceled? if Biden wins in November.
?The Christmas season will be cancelled. Look, remember I said we?re going to bring back Christmas? The name. Remember? We brought it back. Remember?? he asked.
"They?d say, 'Have a great season.' I say, 'No, I don?t want to have a great season. I want to say 'merry Christmas.' Say 'merry Christmas.' Now, they?re all saying 'merry Christmas,' " he added.
Trump has dug his heels into opposing political correctness as part of his campaigns in 2016 and 2020, particularly when it comes to Christmas. During his campaign, as well as his presidency, Trump has often railed against what he has called ?the war on Christmas? in an appeal to evangelical and Christian conservative voters
BY ARIS FOLLEY - 10/19/20 07:43 AM EDT
https://thehill.com/homenews/521638-trump-biden-will-listen-to-the-scientists-if-elected
President Trump mockingly warned at his rally in Nevada late Sunday that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would ?listen to the scientists? if elected and there would be more lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Trump told attendees in Carson City that supporters of his opponent would surrender their ?future to the virus,? saying: ?He?s gonna want to lockdown.?
?He?ll listen to the scientists,? Trump added in a mocking tone before saying, ?If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression instead ? we?re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.?
He also took aim at Democratic governors, accusing them of ?keeping their states closed? with preventative measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which Johns Hopkins University data shows has led to more than 8.1 million cases in the U.S. and more than 219,000 deaths.
A spokesperson for Biden?s campaign, Andrew Bates, pushed back on the president's comments in a statement on Twitter late Sunday, saying the claims are ?tellingly out of touch and the polar opposite of reality.?
?Trump crashed the strong economy he inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration by lying about and attacking the science, and layoffs are rising. Meanwhile, Joe Biden would create millions more jobs than Trump,? Bates added.
Trump also warned during his rally on Sunday that ?the Christmas season will be canceled? if Biden wins in November.
?The Christmas season will be cancelled. Look, remember I said we?re going to bring back Christmas? The name. Remember? We brought it back. Remember?? he asked.
"They?d say, 'Have a great season.' I say, 'No, I don?t want to have a great season. I want to say 'merry Christmas.' Say 'merry Christmas.' Now, they?re all saying 'merry Christmas,' " he added.
Trump has dug his heels into opposing political correctness as part of his campaigns in 2016 and 2020, particularly when it comes to Christmas. During his campaign, as well as his presidency, Trump has often railed against what he has called ?the war on Christmas? in an appeal to evangelical and Christian conservative voters
- Mar 19, 2006
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'A Republican bloodbath': GOP senators voice fears of a painful Trump defeat
The new wave of Republican anxiety did not yield any perceivable course correction from the president, who directed fire right back at concerned GOP senators.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/20...ors-voice-fears-painful-trump-defeat-n1243804
Oct. 19, 2020, 9:45 AM EDT
By Sahil Kapur
WASHINGTON ? Republican senators are increasingly voicing fears that President Donald Trump could lose the election, and some are openly fretting that he?ll turn the party's candidates into electoral roadkill and are distancing themselves from him to an unusual extent.
A weekend of agonizing from Republicans did not yield any perceivable course correction from Trump as he continued his inflammatory rhetoric on the campaign trail and directed some of his fire right back at anxious GOP senators on Twitter.
Pointed warnings of electoral defeat have come in recent days from Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. All are former Trump critics turned allies who reliably vote with the president.
?I?m worried that if President Trump loses ? as looks likely ? that he?s going to take the Senate down with him,? Sasse said in a conference call with constituents last week, according to audio first reported on Thursday by the Washington Examiner. ?I?m now looking at the possibility of a Republican bloodbath in the Senate.?
The elevated fears come as Democrat Joe Biden leads Trump by more than 9 points in the NBC News national polling average, and as some forecasters say Democrats are likely to secure control of Congress. The grim GOP outlook follows Trump?s widely criticized debate showing, hospitalization for Covid and a failure to secure an economic stimulus package.
?I hope that they're having a moment of moral clarity. I think they're realizing that the Trump show is almost over,? said Olivia Troye, a former homeland security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence who served on the White House coronavirus task force. ?They have ridden the Trump wave long enough. But I think it's no longer helpful to do that for them.?
Troye, a longtime Republican, says she plans to vote for Biden and Democrats down the ballot this fall. ?There needs to be a significant change,? she said, and insisted that Sasse represents the misgivings of many party elites who are afraid to speak up.
At the Supreme Court hearing last Thursday for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Trump golfing partner who is in a close re-election battle himself, told Democrats, ?Y?all have a good chance of winning the White House.?
Cruz, a Trump rival in 2016 and now a staunch ally, said recently on CNBC that if Americans are angry and depressed, ?we could lose the White House and both houses of Congress," and the 2020 election ?could be a bloodbath of Watergate proportions.?
The remarks also represent a jockeying for position in an anticipated post-Trump world, when the party will have to chart a new path. As others in the GOP cozy up to far-right conspiracy movements like QAnon, Sasse suggested in his remarks that he wants to excise some of the party's Trumpian elements.
Sasse unloaded on Trump, saying that he ?kisses dictators' butts,? mistreats women, ?mocks evangelicals behind closed doors? and has ?flirted with white supremacists.? He said that Trump?s family ?has treated the presidency like a business opportunity,? and that Trump refused to take the coronavirus seriously for ?months? and instead ?treated it like a news cycle PR crisis rather than a multi-year public health challenge.?
Liam Donovan, a lobbyist and former Republican operative, said the remarks ?strike me less as panic and more as resignation setting in.?
?Even then only Sasse has been critical of the president. Cruz is essentially pre-spinning the loss and laying the blame with Democrats,? he said. ?Both suggest the writing is on the wall, but otherwise very different tacks.?
Trump lashed back Saturday in a series of tweets, saying that Sasse has returned to his ?stupid and obnoxious ways? after being ?nice? to him in recent years and earning his endorsement, which helped Sasse win renomination to his Senate seat in May.
?Little Ben is a liability to the Republican Party, and an embarrassment to the Great State of Nebraska,? Trump wrote. ?Other than that, he?s just a wonderful guy!?
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who trails his Democratic opponent Cal Cunningham in a competitive race, is openly contemplating Trump?s defeat and orienting his messaging around it.
?The best check on a Biden presidency is for Republicans to have a majority in the Senate. And I do think 'checks and balances' does resonate with North Carolina voters,? he told Politico.
Garland Tucker, a retired Raleigh financier who briefly challenged Tillis in the Republican primary before ending his bid early and endorsing him, told NBC News that there is ?apprehension? in the party that Trump could lose.
?Any conservative and any Republican fears that could be the case,? he said. But several days ago, he predicted ?a very close election? that could tighten if Trump ?has a successful next three weeks.?
Tucker said he remained optimistic that Trump would win but added that Republican candidates are in trouble if he doesn?t. ?The weaker President Trump is at the top of the ticket, the more likely it is that we lose the Senate majority,? he said. ?The two are pretty inextricably combined.?
The fears were compounded on Friday when Trump tore into Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a 24-year GOP incumbent fighting for her political life, for opposing Barrett's Supreme Court nomination this close to an election. ?Well, she didn?t support Healthcare or my opening up 5000 square miles of Ocean to Maine, so why should this be any different,? he tweeted. ?Not worth the work!?
To some GOP operatives, the tweet was a slapdash rant that further jeopardized a potentially pivotal Senate seat, as Collins has no path if Trump supporters don?t vote for her. But to Trump allies, his reaction was understandable given that Collins was not willing to support Barrett.
?It?s disappointing that Collins wouldn?t back Barrett, or feels she can?t,? Tucker said. ?And I?m sure he?s frustrated.?
The new wave of Republican anxiety did not yield any perceivable course correction from the president, who directed fire right back at concerned GOP senators.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/20...ors-voice-fears-painful-trump-defeat-n1243804
Oct. 19, 2020, 9:45 AM EDT
By Sahil Kapur
WASHINGTON ? Republican senators are increasingly voicing fears that President Donald Trump could lose the election, and some are openly fretting that he?ll turn the party's candidates into electoral roadkill and are distancing themselves from him to an unusual extent.
A weekend of agonizing from Republicans did not yield any perceivable course correction from Trump as he continued his inflammatory rhetoric on the campaign trail and directed some of his fire right back at anxious GOP senators on Twitter.
Pointed warnings of electoral defeat have come in recent days from Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. All are former Trump critics turned allies who reliably vote with the president.
?I?m worried that if President Trump loses ? as looks likely ? that he?s going to take the Senate down with him,? Sasse said in a conference call with constituents last week, according to audio first reported on Thursday by the Washington Examiner. ?I?m now looking at the possibility of a Republican bloodbath in the Senate.?
The elevated fears come as Democrat Joe Biden leads Trump by more than 9 points in the NBC News national polling average, and as some forecasters say Democrats are likely to secure control of Congress. The grim GOP outlook follows Trump?s widely criticized debate showing, hospitalization for Covid and a failure to secure an economic stimulus package.
?I hope that they're having a moment of moral clarity. I think they're realizing that the Trump show is almost over,? said Olivia Troye, a former homeland security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence who served on the White House coronavirus task force. ?They have ridden the Trump wave long enough. But I think it's no longer helpful to do that for them.?
Troye, a longtime Republican, says she plans to vote for Biden and Democrats down the ballot this fall. ?There needs to be a significant change,? she said, and insisted that Sasse represents the misgivings of many party elites who are afraid to speak up.
At the Supreme Court hearing last Thursday for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Trump golfing partner who is in a close re-election battle himself, told Democrats, ?Y?all have a good chance of winning the White House.?
Cruz, a Trump rival in 2016 and now a staunch ally, said recently on CNBC that if Americans are angry and depressed, ?we could lose the White House and both houses of Congress," and the 2020 election ?could be a bloodbath of Watergate proportions.?
The remarks also represent a jockeying for position in an anticipated post-Trump world, when the party will have to chart a new path. As others in the GOP cozy up to far-right conspiracy movements like QAnon, Sasse suggested in his remarks that he wants to excise some of the party's Trumpian elements.
Sasse unloaded on Trump, saying that he ?kisses dictators' butts,? mistreats women, ?mocks evangelicals behind closed doors? and has ?flirted with white supremacists.? He said that Trump?s family ?has treated the presidency like a business opportunity,? and that Trump refused to take the coronavirus seriously for ?months? and instead ?treated it like a news cycle PR crisis rather than a multi-year public health challenge.?
Liam Donovan, a lobbyist and former Republican operative, said the remarks ?strike me less as panic and more as resignation setting in.?
?Even then only Sasse has been critical of the president. Cruz is essentially pre-spinning the loss and laying the blame with Democrats,? he said. ?Both suggest the writing is on the wall, but otherwise very different tacks.?
Trump lashed back Saturday in a series of tweets, saying that Sasse has returned to his ?stupid and obnoxious ways? after being ?nice? to him in recent years and earning his endorsement, which helped Sasse win renomination to his Senate seat in May.
?Little Ben is a liability to the Republican Party, and an embarrassment to the Great State of Nebraska,? Trump wrote. ?Other than that, he?s just a wonderful guy!?
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who trails his Democratic opponent Cal Cunningham in a competitive race, is openly contemplating Trump?s defeat and orienting his messaging around it.
?The best check on a Biden presidency is for Republicans to have a majority in the Senate. And I do think 'checks and balances' does resonate with North Carolina voters,? he told Politico.
Garland Tucker, a retired Raleigh financier who briefly challenged Tillis in the Republican primary before ending his bid early and endorsing him, told NBC News that there is ?apprehension? in the party that Trump could lose.
?Any conservative and any Republican fears that could be the case,? he said. But several days ago, he predicted ?a very close election? that could tighten if Trump ?has a successful next three weeks.?
Tucker said he remained optimistic that Trump would win but added that Republican candidates are in trouble if he doesn?t. ?The weaker President Trump is at the top of the ticket, the more likely it is that we lose the Senate majority,? he said. ?The two are pretty inextricably combined.?
The fears were compounded on Friday when Trump tore into Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a 24-year GOP incumbent fighting for her political life, for opposing Barrett's Supreme Court nomination this close to an election. ?Well, she didn?t support Healthcare or my opening up 5000 square miles of Ocean to Maine, so why should this be any different,? he tweeted. ?Not worth the work!?
To some GOP operatives, the tweet was a slapdash rant that further jeopardized a potentially pivotal Senate seat, as Collins has no path if Trump supporters don?t vote for her. But to Trump allies, his reaction was understandable given that Collins was not willing to support Barrett.
?It?s disappointing that Collins wouldn?t back Barrett, or feels she can?t,? Tucker said. ?And I?m sure he?s frustrated.?
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Trump campaign demands change to final debate topics
BY MORGAN CHALFANT - 10/19/20 04:33 PM EDT
https://thehill.com/homenews/admini...ampaign-demands-change-to-final-debate-topics
The Trump campaign is demanding that the Commission on Presidential Debates adjust the topics for the final presidential debate so that the meeting focuses on foreign policy.
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien penned a letter to the commission Monday raising objections with the topics announced by moderator and NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker last week, saying the commission should observe ?long-standing custom? by making foreign policy the central focus of Thursday?s debate. Stepien also claimed the campaigns had agreed to the third debate being focused on foreign policy.
?As is the long-standing custom, and as has been promised by the Commission on Presidential Debates, we had expected that foreign policy would be the central focus of the October 22 debate. We urge you to recalibrate the topics and return to subjects which had already been confirmed,? Stepien wrote.
Stepien accused Democratic nominee Joe Biden of being ?desperate to avoid conversations about his own foreign policy record? and said the commission was trying to alter the course of the final debate in order to ?insulate Biden from his own history.?
?The Commission?s pro-Biden antics have turned the entire debate season into a fiasco and it is little wonder why the public has lost faith in its objectivity,? he wrote.
Biden?s campaign, however, says that there was a prior agreement that the moderator would select the topics and that the Trump campaign is lying so that Trump could sidestep questions about his administration?s ?disastrous? response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The campaigns and the Commission agreed months ago that the debate moderator would choose the topics,? said national press secretary TJ Ducklo. ?The Trump campaign is lying about that now because Donald Trump is afraid to face more questions about his disastrous COVID response. As usual, the president is more concerned with the rules of a debate than he is getting a nation in crisis the help it needs."
Stepien's letter comes days after Welker announced that the topics of the debate would be fighting the coronavirus pandemic, American families, race in America, climate change, national security, and leadership.
Trump?s campaign has consistently claimed that the Commission on Presidential Debates, which describes itself as a nonpartisan panel, is working to assist Biden in the debates.
The Trump campaign has pushed back against the commission?s decision to consider changes to the debate rules after the first debate, moderated by Fox News?s Chris Wallace, descended into chaos as Trump repeatedly interrupted him and Biden.
The commission also canceled the second debate, originally scheduled for Oct. 15, after Trump objected to new plans making the meeting virtual for health concerns after Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Stepien?s letter does not threaten to pull out of the third debate, but it could raise questions about the president?s plans to appear if the commission does not agree to adjust the topics. Representatives for the commission did not immediately return a request for comment Monday afternoon.
Trump has already gone after Welker repeatedly ahead of the debate in preemptively arguing that it will be unfair. During a campaign rally in Arizona on Monday afternoon, Trump described Welker as a ?radical Democrat? and said she would be ?no good.?
Trump is currently trailing Biden in national and swing-state polling, roughly two weeks before Election Day. Trump?s first debate performance was widely viewed by Republicans as a missed opportunity in which Trump may have hurt his standing with swing voters. Thursday?s debate will mark one of the last opportunities for Trump to try to draw a contrast with Biden as voters head to the polls.
BY MORGAN CHALFANT - 10/19/20 04:33 PM EDT
https://thehill.com/homenews/admini...ampaign-demands-change-to-final-debate-topics
The Trump campaign is demanding that the Commission on Presidential Debates adjust the topics for the final presidential debate so that the meeting focuses on foreign policy.
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien penned a letter to the commission Monday raising objections with the topics announced by moderator and NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker last week, saying the commission should observe ?long-standing custom? by making foreign policy the central focus of Thursday?s debate. Stepien also claimed the campaigns had agreed to the third debate being focused on foreign policy.
?As is the long-standing custom, and as has been promised by the Commission on Presidential Debates, we had expected that foreign policy would be the central focus of the October 22 debate. We urge you to recalibrate the topics and return to subjects which had already been confirmed,? Stepien wrote.
Stepien accused Democratic nominee Joe Biden of being ?desperate to avoid conversations about his own foreign policy record? and said the commission was trying to alter the course of the final debate in order to ?insulate Biden from his own history.?
?The Commission?s pro-Biden antics have turned the entire debate season into a fiasco and it is little wonder why the public has lost faith in its objectivity,? he wrote.
Biden?s campaign, however, says that there was a prior agreement that the moderator would select the topics and that the Trump campaign is lying so that Trump could sidestep questions about his administration?s ?disastrous? response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The campaigns and the Commission agreed months ago that the debate moderator would choose the topics,? said national press secretary TJ Ducklo. ?The Trump campaign is lying about that now because Donald Trump is afraid to face more questions about his disastrous COVID response. As usual, the president is more concerned with the rules of a debate than he is getting a nation in crisis the help it needs."
Stepien's letter comes days after Welker announced that the topics of the debate would be fighting the coronavirus pandemic, American families, race in America, climate change, national security, and leadership.
Trump?s campaign has consistently claimed that the Commission on Presidential Debates, which describes itself as a nonpartisan panel, is working to assist Biden in the debates.
The Trump campaign has pushed back against the commission?s decision to consider changes to the debate rules after the first debate, moderated by Fox News?s Chris Wallace, descended into chaos as Trump repeatedly interrupted him and Biden.
The commission also canceled the second debate, originally scheduled for Oct. 15, after Trump objected to new plans making the meeting virtual for health concerns after Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Stepien?s letter does not threaten to pull out of the third debate, but it could raise questions about the president?s plans to appear if the commission does not agree to adjust the topics. Representatives for the commission did not immediately return a request for comment Monday afternoon.
Trump has already gone after Welker repeatedly ahead of the debate in preemptively arguing that it will be unfair. During a campaign rally in Arizona on Monday afternoon, Trump described Welker as a ?radical Democrat? and said she would be ?no good.?
Trump is currently trailing Biden in national and swing-state polling, roughly two weeks before Election Day. Trump?s first debate performance was widely viewed by Republicans as a missed opportunity in which Trump may have hurt his standing with swing voters. Thursday?s debate will mark one of the last opportunities for Trump to try to draw a contrast with Biden as voters head to the polls.
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Trump urged to let Biden do the talking in final debate
The president has a chance to walk away with a win in Thursday night?s final debate if he can step back and allow Biden to talk himself into trouble, according to Republican strategists, debate experts, and his unofficial coaches at Fox News.
Rob Crilly
| 1h ago
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-urged-to-let-biden-do-the-talking-in-final-debate
President Trump has a chance to walk away with a win in Thursday night?s final debate if he can step back and allow Biden to talk himself into trouble, according to Republican strategists, debate experts, and his unofficial coaches at Fox News.
The debate, in Nashville, Tennessee, comes with new rules and muted microphones following the first debate, which was marked by repeated interruptions.
Sam Nunberg, a senior aide to Trump during the 2016 campaign, said the president needed to lay out competing visions for America?s future in a ?non-bullying? manner. The new rules would help, he added.
?Anything Biden says, even though he likes to package it as a moderate, is actually radical. His policy proposals are not popular,? he said.
?Republicans win when we argue the issues. Democrats win when we get into personalities.?
The first debate, held in Cleveland, Ohio, was dominated by Trump?s effort to derail Biden?s train of thought with repeated interruptions. Although Republicans declared him the winner, his hectoring approach dominated the headlines and let his opponent off the hook, according to some.
The Trump campaign has been trying to change the election from a referendum on the president?s performance to a choice between two candidates with different plans for the country.
With less than two weeks before Election Day, the final debate offers a chance to convince a prime-time audience that Biden is a radical socialist, gain momentum, and claw back some of the poll deficit.
On Tuesday morning, during a live TV interview, he was told he needed to change his strategy.
A telephone interview for Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning turned into live debate prep as hosts Brian Kilmeade and Will Cain tried to coach the president in how to let Biden talk himself into trouble.
Kilmeade suggested modeling his approach on the vice president, who successfully parried and pivoted his way through a debate with Kamala Harris to make sure he changed the subject to get to his favorite issues.
?I do my own debating, and I do fine,? replied Trump.
Cain tried again. He said: ?After that last debate, there are many who suggested that if you just let Joe Biden share his ideas, America might not be too keen on those ideas.?
?Well, I may do that. If you let him talk, he may lose his train of thought because he?s gonzo,? said Trump. ?And I understand that. But I also understand that as he?s going down the line and issuing lies, generally, it?s OK to really attack that.?
Trump also expressed his frustration that the debate will not focus on foreign policy, traditionally the theme of the final debate, an area that he believes would have given him multiple ways to attack Biden?s record in the Obama administration.
?We're talking about things that are not foreign policy. And frankly, it was a change that they made that was far bigger than the mute button,? he told Fox News.
A source close to the campaign, who was not authorized to discuss debate preparation, said: ?There are ways to do this. He has to focus on answering the questions he wants to answer, not necessarily answer the ones that are asked."
Erick Sanchez, who was traveling press secretary for Democratic challenger Andrew Yang during the primaries and co-founder of United Public Affairs, said he did not expect Trump to change his strategy now.
?The key is, you want to look presidential, you want to be measured, thoughtful,? he said.
?But that?s never been Donald Trump at any point."
?In spite of that, his base gives him high poll numbers. He?s in a bubble that tells him he?s incredible, and he is going to be thinking about how the polls were wrong in 2016, so I feel it will likely be more of the same.?
The president has a chance to walk away with a win in Thursday night?s final debate if he can step back and allow Biden to talk himself into trouble, according to Republican strategists, debate experts, and his unofficial coaches at Fox News.
Rob Crilly
| 1h ago
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-urged-to-let-biden-do-the-talking-in-final-debate
President Trump has a chance to walk away with a win in Thursday night?s final debate if he can step back and allow Biden to talk himself into trouble, according to Republican strategists, debate experts, and his unofficial coaches at Fox News.
The debate, in Nashville, Tennessee, comes with new rules and muted microphones following the first debate, which was marked by repeated interruptions.
Sam Nunberg, a senior aide to Trump during the 2016 campaign, said the president needed to lay out competing visions for America?s future in a ?non-bullying? manner. The new rules would help, he added.
?Anything Biden says, even though he likes to package it as a moderate, is actually radical. His policy proposals are not popular,? he said.
?Republicans win when we argue the issues. Democrats win when we get into personalities.?
The first debate, held in Cleveland, Ohio, was dominated by Trump?s effort to derail Biden?s train of thought with repeated interruptions. Although Republicans declared him the winner, his hectoring approach dominated the headlines and let his opponent off the hook, according to some.
The Trump campaign has been trying to change the election from a referendum on the president?s performance to a choice between two candidates with different plans for the country.
With less than two weeks before Election Day, the final debate offers a chance to convince a prime-time audience that Biden is a radical socialist, gain momentum, and claw back some of the poll deficit.
On Tuesday morning, during a live TV interview, he was told he needed to change his strategy.
A telephone interview for Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning turned into live debate prep as hosts Brian Kilmeade and Will Cain tried to coach the president in how to let Biden talk himself into trouble.
Kilmeade suggested modeling his approach on the vice president, who successfully parried and pivoted his way through a debate with Kamala Harris to make sure he changed the subject to get to his favorite issues.
?I do my own debating, and I do fine,? replied Trump.
Cain tried again. He said: ?After that last debate, there are many who suggested that if you just let Joe Biden share his ideas, America might not be too keen on those ideas.?
?Well, I may do that. If you let him talk, he may lose his train of thought because he?s gonzo,? said Trump. ?And I understand that. But I also understand that as he?s going down the line and issuing lies, generally, it?s OK to really attack that.?
Trump also expressed his frustration that the debate will not focus on foreign policy, traditionally the theme of the final debate, an area that he believes would have given him multiple ways to attack Biden?s record in the Obama administration.
?We're talking about things that are not foreign policy. And frankly, it was a change that they made that was far bigger than the mute button,? he told Fox News.
A source close to the campaign, who was not authorized to discuss debate preparation, said: ?There are ways to do this. He has to focus on answering the questions he wants to answer, not necessarily answer the ones that are asked."
Erick Sanchez, who was traveling press secretary for Democratic challenger Andrew Yang during the primaries and co-founder of United Public Affairs, said he did not expect Trump to change his strategy now.
?The key is, you want to look presidential, you want to be measured, thoughtful,? he said.
?But that?s never been Donald Trump at any point."
?In spite of that, his base gives him high poll numbers. He?s in a bubble that tells him he?s incredible, and he is going to be thinking about how the polls were wrong in 2016, so I feel it will likely be more of the same.?
Trump cant help but interrupt Biden. When he wont be allowed to derail this debate, he will once again claim that it was slanted against him.
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Trump Taunts Lesley Stahl of ?60 Minutes? After Cutting Off Interview
Two weeks from Election Day, the president picked a fight with the country?s most popular television news program.
By Michael M. Grynbaum and Maggie Haberman
Oct. 20, 2020, 7:00 p.m. ET
President Trump abruptly cut off an interview with the ?60 Minutes? star Lesley Stahl at the White House on Tuesday and then taunted her on Twitter, posting a short behind-the-scenes video of her at the taping and noting that she had not been wearing a mask in the clip.
Mr. Trump then threatened to post his interview with Ms. Stahl ahead of its intended broadcast time on Sunday evening, calling it ?FAKE and BIASED.?
The spectacle of a president, two weeks from Election Day, picking a fight with the nation?s most popular television news program began on Tuesday after Mr. Trump grew irritated with Ms. Stahl?s questions, according to two people familiar with the circumstances of the taping.
One person briefed on what took place said that Mr. Trump had spent more than 45 minutes filming with Ms. Stahl and her CBS News crew, and that the taping had not wrapped up when the president?s aides had expected it to.
So Mr. Trump cut the interview short and then declined to participate in a ?walk and talk? segment with Ms. Stahl and Vice President Mike Pence, the people said.
It appeared that Ms. Stahl?s approach did not sit well with the president. Hours later, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that he was considering posting the interview with Ms. Stahl ?PRIOR TO AIRTIME!? He described it as a ?terrible Electoral Intrusion? and suggested that his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr., had been treated less harshly by journalistic interlocutors.
At a rally in Erie, Pa., on Tuesday night, the president told supporters, ?You have to watch what we do to ?60 Minutes,? you?ll get such a kick out of it,? adding, ?Lesley Stahl is not going to be happy.?
On Twitter, Mr. Trump also posted a six-second video clip of Ms. Stahl at the White House, writing: ?Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come.?
In fact, Ms. Stahl had worn a mask at the White House up until the start of her taping with Mr. Trump, including when she first greeted the president, according to a person familiar with the interview.
The video posted on Mr. Trump?s Twitter feed showed Ms. Stahl immediately after the interview ended, as she conferred with two of her CBS producers, both of whom were wearing masks. The CBS crew was tested for the coronavirus before entering the White House on Tuesday, the person said.
Ms. Stahl has interviewed Mr. Trump twice since the 2016 election, including his first televised interview after winning the presidency. She also filmed with Mr. Trump at the White House in October 2018. Ms. Stahl was hospitalized with the coronavirus in the spring and has since recovered.
The president and Mr. Pence were participating in a ?60 Minutes? episode set to air on Sunday evening. The episode is also expected to feature interviews with Mr. Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California.
Mr. Biden taped his interview with the ?CBS Evening News? anchor Norah O?Donnell on Monday. He has not yet tweeted about it.
Two weeks from Election Day, the president picked a fight with the country?s most popular television news program.
By Michael M. Grynbaum and Maggie Haberman
Oct. 20, 2020, 7:00 p.m. ET
President Trump abruptly cut off an interview with the ?60 Minutes? star Lesley Stahl at the White House on Tuesday and then taunted her on Twitter, posting a short behind-the-scenes video of her at the taping and noting that she had not been wearing a mask in the clip.
Mr. Trump then threatened to post his interview with Ms. Stahl ahead of its intended broadcast time on Sunday evening, calling it ?FAKE and BIASED.?
The spectacle of a president, two weeks from Election Day, picking a fight with the nation?s most popular television news program began on Tuesday after Mr. Trump grew irritated with Ms. Stahl?s questions, according to two people familiar with the circumstances of the taping.
One person briefed on what took place said that Mr. Trump had spent more than 45 minutes filming with Ms. Stahl and her CBS News crew, and that the taping had not wrapped up when the president?s aides had expected it to.
So Mr. Trump cut the interview short and then declined to participate in a ?walk and talk? segment with Ms. Stahl and Vice President Mike Pence, the people said.
It appeared that Ms. Stahl?s approach did not sit well with the president. Hours later, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that he was considering posting the interview with Ms. Stahl ?PRIOR TO AIRTIME!? He described it as a ?terrible Electoral Intrusion? and suggested that his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr., had been treated less harshly by journalistic interlocutors.
At a rally in Erie, Pa., on Tuesday night, the president told supporters, ?You have to watch what we do to ?60 Minutes,? you?ll get such a kick out of it,? adding, ?Lesley Stahl is not going to be happy.?
On Twitter, Mr. Trump also posted a six-second video clip of Ms. Stahl at the White House, writing: ?Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come.?
In fact, Ms. Stahl had worn a mask at the White House up until the start of her taping with Mr. Trump, including when she first greeted the president, according to a person familiar with the interview.
The video posted on Mr. Trump?s Twitter feed showed Ms. Stahl immediately after the interview ended, as she conferred with two of her CBS producers, both of whom were wearing masks. The CBS crew was tested for the coronavirus before entering the White House on Tuesday, the person said.
Ms. Stahl has interviewed Mr. Trump twice since the 2016 election, including his first televised interview after winning the presidency. She also filmed with Mr. Trump at the White House in October 2018. Ms. Stahl was hospitalized with the coronavirus in the spring and has since recovered.
The president and Mr. Pence were participating in a ?60 Minutes? episode set to air on Sunday evening. The episode is also expected to feature interviews with Mr. Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California.
Mr. Biden taped his interview with the ?CBS Evening News? anchor Norah O?Donnell on Monday. He has not yet tweeted about it.
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Trump says he's sending in his lawyers as soon as the election ends to review swing state votes
Trump told reporters, "We're going to go in night of, as soon as that election is over, we're going in with our lawyers."
www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-begins-rally-blitz-playing-hits-lamenting-cold-n1245691
Nov. 1, 2020, 1:21 PM EST / Updated Nov. 2, 2020, 4:50 PM EST
By Allan Smith
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he's sending in his lawyers as soon as the election ends Tuesday, his latest attack on the legitimacy of this week's unprecedented vote count.
After landing in North Carolina on Sunday evening, Trump was asked about a report published Sunday in Axios that said he could try to prematurely declare victory on Election Day. Trump denied that he would do so, but he lamented Supreme Court rulings that allowed for Pennsylvania and North Carolina to count absentee ballots that are postmarked before Election Day but arrive shortly after Tuesday.
"I think it was a terrible decision for our country. And I think it was a very dangerous decision for our country," Trump said. "Because you're going to have one or two or three states, depending on how it ends up, where they're tabulating ballots and the rest of the world is waiting to find out. And I think there's great danger to it, and I think a lot of fraud and misuse can take place. I think it's a terrible decision by the Supreme Court. A terrible decision."
Trump's claims of widespread fraud connected to mail-in voting have been repeatedly debunked.
"Now, I don't know if that's going to be changed, because we're going to go in night of, as soon as that election is over, we're going in with our lawyers," Trump continued, adding: "I don't think it's fair that we have to wait a long period of time after the election. Should've gotten their ballots in a long time before that. Could've gotten their ballots in a month ago. I think it's a ridiculous decision."
Pennsylvania and North Carolina are two of the most hotly contested swing states. In Pennsylvania specifically, election officials aren't allowed to ready the ballots for tabulation ahead of polls' closing ? a process known as "pre-canvassing" ? that would help speed up the counting process.
Earlier Sunday, at a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, Trump sought to discredit absentee ballots as election officials in some states have cautioned that it may take days to complete the count.
"We should know the result of the election by the evening of November 3rd," Trump said.
With early voting setting records as states have expanded the ability to use it, nearly 100 million people have already cast their ballots. Polls show Democratic nominee Joe Biden with a large lead among early voters in key states, while Trump maintains a significant advantage among those who have yet to vote.
The candidates spent Sunday making their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday's election. Trump made stops in Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Biden, meanwhile, held multiple events in Philadelphia as he seeks to win Pennsylvania.
Asked in Philadelphia about the Axios report, Biden shot back, "The president's not going to steal this election."
Trump and his allies have in recent days amplified rhetoric calling into question the legitimacy of Tuesday's vote. On ABC News' "This Week," Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller baselessly claimed Sunday that Democrats will seek to "steal" the election back from Trump if he holds a lead in some key swing states Tuesday.
Election officials from both parties have tried to reassure voters about the legitimacy of the count, which they said could last for days as mailed-in ballots trickle in. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, responded to Trump's Election Day legal threat in a tweet noting that the Trump campaign has lost three voting-related lawsuits against the state.
FACT CHECK: Our elections are over when all the votes are counted.
But if your lawyers want to try us, we?d be happy to defeat you in court one more time.
Quote Tweet
Daniel Dale
@ddale8
? Nov 1
Trump on Pennsylvania ballots being counted if they arrive up to three days after Election Day: "We're going to go in the night of. As soon as that election's over, we?re going in with our lawyers."
Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the Republican nominee for governor, called Miller's comment "garbage."
"Hey guys, please ignore this type of garbage," he tweeted. "The truth is that elections are never decided on election night. ... It really doesn't matter who is ahead on election night, it only matters when every eligible vote is counted and each county canvasses and certifies the vote totals."
On CNN's "State of the Union," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said "it is going to take time to count" the firehose of absentee ballots.
"It's more important that we get a count that's accurate than a count that is fast," she said.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that voters should "ignore the hype" around what will happen with the ballots.
"Just get your ballots in today," she said.
Trump began his Sunday spree in Michigan, where he held a midday rally in snowy Washington Township and played the greatest hits of his campaign as temperatures dropped to 29 degrees with the wind chill. In Iowa, he also highlighted the weather, lamenting the windy conditions.
Trump went through his usual rally set list, blasting Democratic policy proposals, criticizing Biden's fitness and assailing so-called cancel culture.
Trump attacked Biden as "agitated" and "angry" because "he's losing," even though Biden leads in most national and swing state polling.
Speaking Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, Biden referred to how close Pennsylvania was in 2016, when Trump won by just about 44,000 votes.
"So every single vote matters," Biden said. "The power to change this country is literally in your hands."
"I don't care how hard Donald Trump tries, there's nothing he can do to stop this country from voting," he said, saying it is "time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home."
Biden criticized Trump's handling of the pandemic and race relations, saying, "It's time to breathe some life back into this nation."
"We're tired of the tweets, the anger, the hate, the irresponsibility," he said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
Biden ripped into Trump at his last rally of the day, calling him a "virus" and pushing for Pennsylvanians who have yet to return their absentee ballots to do so immediately.
"I'll never wave the white flag," Biden said of Trump's pandemic response. "We're going to beat this virus. We're going to get it under control. To beat the virus, we first have to beat Donald Trump. He's the virus."
During his first rally, Trump also referred to an incident over the weekend when a group of Trump supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus with their vehicles in Texas. Video showed two cars colliding, and the Biden campaign said the pro-Trump trucks tried to run the bus off the road as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin.
"You see the way our people, they ? you know, they were protecting his bus yesterday," Trump said. "Because they're nice. So his bus ? they had hundreds of cars, Trump, Trump, Trump and the American flag. You see Trump and the American flag. Do you ever notice when you see the other side ? I don't even see much of the other side."
Biden responded to the incident later Sunday afternoon during an event with Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa. Biden noted that Trump promoted a video of the episode in a tweet praising his supporters.
"Folks, that's not who we are," he said. "We are so much better than this. We're so much better than this. It's not who we are."
In Michigan, Trump repeatedly complained about how cold he was, saying he hadn't brought the proper coat for the event. He said the rally amounted to "a contest to see whether or not we can all stand it."
Trump later claimed that Biden would tap Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to oversee U.S. immigration, and he asked why the Justice Department wasn't investigating Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Trump also bashed Democratic governors for their efforts to contain the coronavirus, including Whitmer.
Cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in most states.
"We're not having any lockdowns, that I can tell you," Trump said.
Trump told reporters, "We're going to go in night of, as soon as that election is over, we're going in with our lawyers."
www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-begins-rally-blitz-playing-hits-lamenting-cold-n1245691
Nov. 1, 2020, 1:21 PM EST / Updated Nov. 2, 2020, 4:50 PM EST
By Allan Smith
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he's sending in his lawyers as soon as the election ends Tuesday, his latest attack on the legitimacy of this week's unprecedented vote count.
After landing in North Carolina on Sunday evening, Trump was asked about a report published Sunday in Axios that said he could try to prematurely declare victory on Election Day. Trump denied that he would do so, but he lamented Supreme Court rulings that allowed for Pennsylvania and North Carolina to count absentee ballots that are postmarked before Election Day but arrive shortly after Tuesday.
"I think it was a terrible decision for our country. And I think it was a very dangerous decision for our country," Trump said. "Because you're going to have one or two or three states, depending on how it ends up, where they're tabulating ballots and the rest of the world is waiting to find out. And I think there's great danger to it, and I think a lot of fraud and misuse can take place. I think it's a terrible decision by the Supreme Court. A terrible decision."
Trump's claims of widespread fraud connected to mail-in voting have been repeatedly debunked.
"Now, I don't know if that's going to be changed, because we're going to go in night of, as soon as that election is over, we're going in with our lawyers," Trump continued, adding: "I don't think it's fair that we have to wait a long period of time after the election. Should've gotten their ballots in a long time before that. Could've gotten their ballots in a month ago. I think it's a ridiculous decision."
Pennsylvania and North Carolina are two of the most hotly contested swing states. In Pennsylvania specifically, election officials aren't allowed to ready the ballots for tabulation ahead of polls' closing ? a process known as "pre-canvassing" ? that would help speed up the counting process.
Earlier Sunday, at a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, Trump sought to discredit absentee ballots as election officials in some states have cautioned that it may take days to complete the count.
"We should know the result of the election by the evening of November 3rd," Trump said.
With early voting setting records as states have expanded the ability to use it, nearly 100 million people have already cast their ballots. Polls show Democratic nominee Joe Biden with a large lead among early voters in key states, while Trump maintains a significant advantage among those who have yet to vote.
The candidates spent Sunday making their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday's election. Trump made stops in Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Biden, meanwhile, held multiple events in Philadelphia as he seeks to win Pennsylvania.
Asked in Philadelphia about the Axios report, Biden shot back, "The president's not going to steal this election."
Trump and his allies have in recent days amplified rhetoric calling into question the legitimacy of Tuesday's vote. On ABC News' "This Week," Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller baselessly claimed Sunday that Democrats will seek to "steal" the election back from Trump if he holds a lead in some key swing states Tuesday.
Election officials from both parties have tried to reassure voters about the legitimacy of the count, which they said could last for days as mailed-in ballots trickle in. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, responded to Trump's Election Day legal threat in a tweet noting that the Trump campaign has lost three voting-related lawsuits against the state.
FACT CHECK: Our elections are over when all the votes are counted.
But if your lawyers want to try us, we?d be happy to defeat you in court one more time.
Quote Tweet
Daniel Dale
@ddale8
? Nov 1
Trump on Pennsylvania ballots being counted if they arrive up to three days after Election Day: "We're going to go in the night of. As soon as that election's over, we?re going in with our lawyers."
Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the Republican nominee for governor, called Miller's comment "garbage."
"Hey guys, please ignore this type of garbage," he tweeted. "The truth is that elections are never decided on election night. ... It really doesn't matter who is ahead on election night, it only matters when every eligible vote is counted and each county canvasses and certifies the vote totals."
On CNN's "State of the Union," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said "it is going to take time to count" the firehose of absentee ballots.
"It's more important that we get a count that's accurate than a count that is fast," she said.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that voters should "ignore the hype" around what will happen with the ballots.
"Just get your ballots in today," she said.
Trump began his Sunday spree in Michigan, where he held a midday rally in snowy Washington Township and played the greatest hits of his campaign as temperatures dropped to 29 degrees with the wind chill. In Iowa, he also highlighted the weather, lamenting the windy conditions.
Trump went through his usual rally set list, blasting Democratic policy proposals, criticizing Biden's fitness and assailing so-called cancel culture.
Trump attacked Biden as "agitated" and "angry" because "he's losing," even though Biden leads in most national and swing state polling.
Speaking Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, Biden referred to how close Pennsylvania was in 2016, when Trump won by just about 44,000 votes.
"So every single vote matters," Biden said. "The power to change this country is literally in your hands."
"I don't care how hard Donald Trump tries, there's nothing he can do to stop this country from voting," he said, saying it is "time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home."
Biden criticized Trump's handling of the pandemic and race relations, saying, "It's time to breathe some life back into this nation."
"We're tired of the tweets, the anger, the hate, the irresponsibility," he said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
Biden ripped into Trump at his last rally of the day, calling him a "virus" and pushing for Pennsylvanians who have yet to return their absentee ballots to do so immediately.
"I'll never wave the white flag," Biden said of Trump's pandemic response. "We're going to beat this virus. We're going to get it under control. To beat the virus, we first have to beat Donald Trump. He's the virus."
During his first rally, Trump also referred to an incident over the weekend when a group of Trump supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus with their vehicles in Texas. Video showed two cars colliding, and the Biden campaign said the pro-Trump trucks tried to run the bus off the road as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin.
"You see the way our people, they ? you know, they were protecting his bus yesterday," Trump said. "Because they're nice. So his bus ? they had hundreds of cars, Trump, Trump, Trump and the American flag. You see Trump and the American flag. Do you ever notice when you see the other side ? I don't even see much of the other side."
Biden responded to the incident later Sunday afternoon during an event with Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa. Biden noted that Trump promoted a video of the episode in a tweet praising his supporters.
"Folks, that's not who we are," he said. "We are so much better than this. We're so much better than this. It's not who we are."
In Michigan, Trump repeatedly complained about how cold he was, saying he hadn't brought the proper coat for the event. He said the rally amounted to "a contest to see whether or not we can all stand it."
Trump later claimed that Biden would tap Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to oversee U.S. immigration, and he asked why the Justice Department wasn't investigating Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Trump also bashed Democratic governors for their efforts to contain the coronavirus, including Whitmer.
Cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in most states.
"We're not having any lockdowns, that I can tell you," Trump said.
- Mar 19, 2006
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British gambler bets $5 million on Trump in biggest-ever political wager
A British gambler has reportedly staked $5 million on President Trump winning Tuesday?s election ? a wager believed to be the largest-ever political bet.
The former banker used private bookmakers registered on the Caribbean island of Curacao for the bet at odds of 37/20 ? meaning he could get a $15 million payout, sources told the Sun.
The mystery gambler confidently went all-in after consulting with ?Trump camp insiders,? according to the report.
?Word of this bet has done the rounds and we think it?s the biggest ever made on politics,? one betting industry source told the UK paper.
While illegal in the US, betting on politics is popular in the UK and many other countries ? and the 2020 election is shaping up to be the biggest betting event of all time.
https://nypost.com/2020/11/03/mystery-brit-gambles-5m-on-trump-win-in-record-setting-bet/
A British gambler has reportedly staked $5 million on President Trump winning Tuesday?s election ? a wager believed to be the largest-ever political bet.
The former banker used private bookmakers registered on the Caribbean island of Curacao for the bet at odds of 37/20 ? meaning he could get a $15 million payout, sources told the Sun.
The mystery gambler confidently went all-in after consulting with ?Trump camp insiders,? according to the report.
?Word of this bet has done the rounds and we think it?s the biggest ever made on politics,? one betting industry source told the UK paper.
While illegal in the US, betting on politics is popular in the UK and many other countries ? and the 2020 election is shaping up to be the biggest betting event of all time.
https://nypost.com/2020/11/03/mystery-brit-gambles-5m-on-trump-win-in-record-setting-bet/
- Mar 19, 2006
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Key States Still Too Close to Call: Live Election Updates
By Intelligencer Staff
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/art...-biden-trump-voting-issues-polls-results.html
By Intelligencer Staff
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/art...-biden-trump-voting-issues-polls-results.html
- Mar 19, 2006
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Election results updates: Gap between Trump, Biden closes in both Pennsylvania, Georgia
Savannah Behrmann
USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...rump-battleground-states-lawsuits/6167859002/
Savannah Behrmann
USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...rump-battleground-states-lawsuits/6167859002/
- Mar 19, 2006
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Election results update:Biden takes slight lead in Georgia as Trump's edge in Pennsylvania dwindlesSavannah Behrmann
USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...trump-georgia-pennsylvania-nevada/6183784002/
USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...trump-georgia-pennsylvania-nevada/6183784002/
- Mar 19, 2006
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Election 2020: A look at the Trump campaign election lawsuits and where they stand
The campaign has filed suits in several battleground states.
ByMeredith Deliso
November 5, 2020, 8:31 PM
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ele...ign-election-lawsuits-stand/story?id=74041748
The campaign has filed suits in several battleground states.
ByMeredith Deliso
November 5, 2020, 8:31 PM
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ele...ign-election-lawsuits-stand/story?id=74041748
WHAT?!! Looking for easy money and got conned by the Trump group instead? Quelle surprise!
Thoughts and prayers.
Peace!
- Mar 19, 2006
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Election results update: Biden on the verge of winning presidency, expands lead in Nevada, Georgia to hold recount
Savannah Behrmann
USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...trump-georgia-pennsylvania-nevada/6183784002/
Savannah Behrmann
USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...trump-georgia-pennsylvania-nevada/6183784002/
