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Tuesday, 1 October 2024:
JD Vance refuses to say Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, sparking the vice presidential debate’s biggest clash. Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz called Senator JD Vance’s non-answer ‘damning’ as the pair sparred over January 6 and Trump’s refusal to concede defeat. The Washington Post, Patrick Marley and Amy Gardner, Tuesday, 1 October 2024: “Sen. JD Vance refused to acknowledge that former president Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, setting off one of the most contentious exchanges in Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate with Gov. Tim Walz. Walz vigorously pressed Vance on the issue near the end of a debate that had otherwise been marked by unusual comity. ‘I would just ask, did he lose the 2020 election?’ Walz asked. ‘Tim, I’m focused on the future,’ Vance said, without addressing the question. ‘That is a damning non-answer,’ Walz responded.” See also, Fact-checking the CBS News vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz, CNN Politics, CNN Staff, published on Wednesday, 2 October 2024.
Wednesday, 2 October 2024:
Judge Unseals New Evidence in Federal Election Case Against Trump. Judge Tanya Chutkan made public portions of a filing by prosecutors setting out their argument for why the case should go forward despite the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity. The New York Times, Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “When told by an aide that Vice President Mike Pence was in peril as the rioting on Capitol Hill escalated on Jan. 6, 2021, President Donald J. Trump replied, ‘So what?’ When one of his lawyers told him that his false claims that the election had been marred by widespread fraud would not hold up in court, Mr. Trump responded, ‘The details don’t matter.’ On a flight with Mr. Trump and his family after the election, an Oval Office assistant heard Mr. Trump say: ‘It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell.’ Those accounts were among new evidence disclosed in a court filing made public on Wednesday in which the special counsel investigating Mr. Trump made his case for why the former president is not immune from prosecution on federal charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Made public by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the Federal District Court in Washington, the 165-page brief was partly redacted but expansive, adding details to the already extensive record of how Mr. Trump lost the race but attempted nonetheless to cling to power. The brief from the prosecution team led by the special counsel, Jack Smith, asserts that there is ample evidence that Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in office were those of a desperate losing candidate rather than official acts of a president that would be considered immune from prosecution under a landmark Supreme Court ruling this summer. ‘The defendant asserts that he is immune from prosecution for his criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election because, he claims, it entailed official conduct,’ prosecutors wrote. ‘Not so. Although the defendant was the incumbent president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.'” See also, Read the Special Counsel’s Newly Unsealed Evidence Against Trump. The New York Times, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “A sprawling legal brief by the special counsel, Jack Smith, that was partly unsealed on Wednesday lays out his case for why former President Donald J. Trump is not immune from prosecution on federal charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. It adds new details to the extensive public record of how Mr. Trump lost the race but attempted nonetheless to cling to power.” See also, Filing in Trump Election Case Fleshes Out Roles of a Sprawling Cast. Donald Trump is the only defendant in the special counsel’s case that charges him with a plot to remain in power after his 2020 loss. But a newly unsealed brief provides fresh details about many other figures. The New York Times, Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage, published on Thursday, 3 October 2024: “When the special counsel, Jack Smith, charged former President Donald J. Trump last year with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, the federal indictment filed in Washington had only one defendant: Mr. Trump himself, who stood accused of working with a small team of conspirators. But in a court filing unsealed on Wednesday, Mr. Smith drew on the actions of a much larger group to tell the tale of how Mr. Trump lost the race but sought to stay in the White House. He populated his brief with a sprawling cast of characters — lawyers, longtime Trump aides, campaign operatives, even some of the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — who all played a supporting role either for or against Mr. Trump’s attempts to cling to power. Most of them were not named in the 165-page filing, and were referred to only by numeric monikers, though many of their identities could be divined from details in the brief. And the sheer scope of the crew was evidenced by the fact that the anonymized references started with Person 1 and went all the way to Person 71.” See also, As rioters stormed the Capitol with Vice President Mike Pence inside, Trump allegedly said ‘So what?’ The Washington Post, Spencer S. Hsu, Josh Dawsey, Tom Jackman, and Amy Gardner, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “President Donald Trump appeared indifferent as rioters stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021, telling an aide ‘So what?’ even after learning security measures were being taken to protect his vice president, prosecutors alleged in an explosive new court filing unsealed Wednesday. The much-anticipated 165-page filing from special counsel Jack Smith offers a searing portrayal of Trump just a month before the 2024 election. It describes in more extensive detail than before how many people — including Vice President Mike Pence, party and state leaders, his own campaign officials, his own campaign lawyers, and others — told Trump there was no proof the election was stolen, and how Trump nonetheless waged a campaign to overturn the result. Prosecutors reconstructed behind-the-scenes interactions, including one in which an aide rushed to the dining room to share with Trump, who had been watching the events on TV and tweeting, that action was being taken to ensure the safety of Pence, who was in the Capitol building. ‘The defendant looked at him and said only, So what?’ the filing alleges.” See also, 5 takeaways from the big new filing on Trump’s 2020 plot to overturn the presidential election. ‘So what,’ ‘Make them riot,’ ‘It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election’ and what it all means legally and politically. The Washington Post, Aaron Blake, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “We just got the most extensive new detail in years about former president Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the 2020 election, in the form of a much-anticipated filing from special counsel Jack Smith. The 165-page partially redacted filing, which was unsealed by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, lays out the evidence Smith’s team would like to present in the long-delayed Jan. 6 federal criminal case against Trump. What evidence Smith can use and what charges can stand are disputed after the Supreme Court recently gave presidents including Trump extensive immunity from criminal prosecution. But the filing also doubles as a sort of blueprint for the case ahead. It features some significant revelations and quotes that could be important not just for the legal battle, but for the 2024 election.” See also, Judge Tanya Chutkan unseals new evidence against Trump in the January 6 election interference case, NPR, Carrie Johnson and Ryan Lucas, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “In a newly unsealed court filing, special counsel Jack Smith provides the most detailed picture yet of his criminal case against Donald Trump for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election and why the former president isn’t immune from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, released the filing, with minor redactions, on Wednesday. The special counsel uses the 165-page document to make his case that Trump’s actions around the election were made in a private capacity and not in his official role as president. The filing comes after the Supreme Court ruled this summer that presidents enjoy broad immunity for official acts while in office, but not for unofficial acts as a candidate or a private citizen.” See also, Prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump election case and accuse him of having ‘resorted to crimes,’ Associated Press, Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and ‘resorted to crimes’ in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a court filing unsealed Wednesday that offers new evidence from the landmark criminal case against the former president. The filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team offers the most comprehensive view to date of what prosecutors intend to prove if the case charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the election reaches trial. Although a months-long congressional investigation and the indictment itself have chronicled in stark detail Trump’s efforts to undo the election, the filing cites previously unknown accounts offered by Trump’s closest aides to paint a portrait of an ‘increasingly desperate’ president who, while losing his grip on the White House, ‘used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.'”
If Trump Wins, Could He Really Use the Justice Department to Jail His Rivals? The New York Times, Emily Bazelon, Marco Hernandez, Mattathias Schwartz, and Bill Marsh, Wednesday, 2 October 2024: “It has become commonplace for Donald Trump to talk about how he will use the Justice Department to punish his enemies should he regain the presidency. He routinely calls for prosecuting his current opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and regularly accuses her and President Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department against him. Though there is no evidence that Biden or Harris had any involvement in the charges Trump faces, relating to the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents, he frequently asserts that these cases justify his plans for retribution. Trump’s threats raise questions about what restraints could prevent him from following through. Since Watergate, when Richard Nixon resigned under threat of impeachment for meddling in an F.B.I. investigation, American presidents have taken pains to distance the White House from the Justice Department’s decisions about whom to investigate and prosecute. (The exception to this was Trump during his first term.) But only norms and precedents, not laws, prevent this. In our system, the attorney general and the director of the F.B.I. sit within the executive branch and answer to the president. How might a politically motivated prosecution actually unfold? The steps below show exactly how Trump could make his threats real — all while staying within the constitutional limits on presidential power.” See also, Why Legal Experts Are Worried About a Second Trump Presidency. In a survey of 50 members of the D.C. legal establishment, many warn that Trump could follow through on his threats to prosecute his political adversaries. The New York Times, Emily Bazelon and Mattathias Schwartz, Wednesday, 2 October 2024.
Continue reading Aftermath of the Trump Administration, October 2024:
Thursday, 3 October 2024:
Trump Says He Would Try Again to Revoke Haitian Immigrants’ Protections. He again disparaged Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, and said he would end their legal status in the country and send them back. His first attempt to do that failed. The New York Times, Maggie Astor, Thursday, 3 October 2024: “Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that, if elected again, he would revoke the legal status of tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants who have been the target of false accusations by the former president and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, over the past month. Mr. Trump’s administration tried to do that during his first term, too, but courts temporarily blocked it, and President Biden’s administration renewed the immigrants’ status after he took office in 2021. The immigrants in question are living and working in the United States legally through the Temporary Protected Status program, which Congress created in 1990 for people from countries experiencing war, natural disasters or other crises. The Department of Homeland Security designates countries for up to 18 months at a time based on the current conditions, and the designation can be renewed indefinitely.”
Fact check: Amid bipartisan praise for Biden hurricane response, Trump falsely claims reviews are ‘universally’ negative, CNN Politics, Daniel Dale, Thursday, 3 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump, seeking to capitalize politically on the devastation from Hurricane Helene, falsely claimed in a social media post on Thursday that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ‘are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina.’ Facts First: Trump is wrong. The Biden administration’s response to the hurricane has received bipartisan praise from political leaders in affected states. That praise has not been universal; there has also been some criticism and some ambivalence. But Trump’s assertion that reviews for the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis have been entirely negative is not true. And this is just the latest Trump false claim on the subject of the administration’s hurricane response.”
Friday, 4 October 2024:
No, Biden didn’t take FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] relief money to use on migrants, but Trump did. Donald Trump falsely accuses President Biden of redirecting disaster funds, a budget maneuver Trump himself approved in 2019. The Washington Post, Glenn Kessler, Friday, 4 October 2024: “Trump has been trying to weaponize the Hurricane Helene relief efforts, accusing the Biden administration of failing to provide adequate assistance. As part of his critique, he claims there is no money available for hurricane relief because it was spent already to handle the surge of migrants at the southern border. ‘They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank,’ Trump charged, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, adding in the additional falsehood that Vice President Kamala Harris wants illegal immigrants to vote for her. As we have explained many times before, this would be against the law and there is no evidence to support this claim. Trump’s claims have been echoed by his supporters, such as billionaire Elon Musk. But Trump is completely wrong. Even though Trump was once president, he still appears to have little clue about the appropriations process. What’s even richer is that when he was president, he did exactly what he claims Biden did — take money from FEMA’s disaster fund to fund migrant programs at the southern border.”
Bruce Springsteen endorses Kamala Harris and calls Trump the ‘most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.’ CBS News, Caitlin Yilek, Friday, 4 October 2024: “Bruce Springsteen endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Thursday, arguing the Democratic nominee supports a more unified and inclusive country while calling former President Donald Trump ‘the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime. ‘Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually and emotionally divided as it does than at this moment. It doesn’t have to be this way,’ the rock star said in a short video shared on social media. He said Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ‘are committed to a vision of this country that respects and includes everyone, regardless of class, religion, race, your political point of view or sexual identity.’ Harris’ proposals, he said, would grow the economy for everyone, not just the wealthy. ‘That’s the vision of America I’ve been consistently writing about for 55 years,’ Springsteen said. ”
Trump falsely touts endorsement from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Bank representative confirms Dimon has not endorsed Trump or any other candidate in the 2024 race. The Guardian, Hugo Lowell, Friday, 4 October 2024: “Donald Trump’s social media post that showed a purported endorsement for the presidency from the JP Morgan chief executive, Jamie Dimon, among the most influential investment bankers on Wall Street, is false, a representative confirmed on Friday. The Truth Social post – what appears to be a screenshot of a tweet with a siren emoji and text claiming Dimon had endorsed Trump, with a photo of Dimon – appeared at 1.56pm ET on Friday, as Trump was flying to Augusta, Georgia, for a campaign event. But Dimon has not endorsed Trump or made any endorsements in the 2024 presidential race, according to a JPMorgan Chase spokesperson. And Dimon has not contributed any money to the Trump campaign or to Trump’s Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. The instant denial from the bank has not led Trump to take down the post, which has more than 3,500 reposts and more than 11,000 likes, even as he distanced himself from the claim when he was confronted about it after he landed in Augusta.”
Sunday, 6 October 2024:
Trump’s Speeches, Increasingly Angry and Rambling, Reignite the Question of Age. With the passage of time, the 78-year-old former president’s speeches have grown darker, harsher, longer, angrier, less focused, more profane, and increasingly fixated on the past, according to a review of his public appearances over the years. The New York Times, Peter Baker and Dylan Freedman, Sunday, 6 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump vividly recounted how the audience at his climactic debate with Vice President Kamala Harris was on his side. Except that there was no audience. The debate was held in an empty hall. No one ‘went crazy,’ as Mr. Trump put it, because no one was there. Anyone can misremember, of course. But the debate had been just a week earlier and a fairly memorable moment. And it was hardly the only time Mr. Trump has seemed confused, forgetful, incoherent or disconnected from reality lately. In fact, it happens so often these days that it no longer even generates much attention. He rambles, he repeats himself, he roams from thought to thought — some of them hard to understand, some of them unfinished, some of them factually fantastical. He voices outlandish claims that seem to be made up out of whole cloth. He digresses into bizarre tangents about golf, about sharks, about his own ‘beautiful’ body. He relishes ‘a great day in Louisiana’ after spending the day in Georgia. He expresses fear that North Korea is ‘trying to kill me’ when he presumably means Iran. As late as last month, Mr. Trump was still speaking as if he were running against President Biden, five weeks after his withdrawal from the race.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson won’t say Biden won the 2020 presidential election, raising worries about 2024’s process. During a testy exchange on ABC News, the House speaker wouldn’t say Donald Trump lost in 2020, saying that the question was a ‘gotcha game’ by the media. The Washington Post, Mariana Alfaro, Sunday, 6 October 2024: “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wouldn’t acknowledge Sunday that Joe Biden won the 2020 election when asked directly about the election denialism that former president Donald Trump continues to promote on the campaign trail. During a testy exchange on ABC News’s ‘This Week,’ host George Stephanopoulos asked Johnson if he could say ‘unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Trump lost.’ Johnson declined, saying only that ‘this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with mainstream Republicans. It’s a gotcha game.’ ‘So like Vance, you can’t say,’ Stephanopoulos replied — referencing GOP vice-presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), who during a debate last week also avoided answering whether Biden won the election, setting off one of the night’s most memorable exchanges.”
Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about the Hurricane Helene response, CNN Politics, Daniel Dale, Sunday, 6 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump has delivered a barrage of lies and distortions about the federal response to Hurricane Helene. While various misinformation about the response has spread widely without Trump’s involvement, the Republican presidential nominee has been one of the country’s leading deceivers on the subject. Over a span of six days, in public comments and social media posts, Trump has used his powerful megaphone to endorse or invent false or unsubstantiated claims. The chief targets of his hurricane-related dishonesty have been Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent in the November presidential election, and President Joe Biden.”
JD Vance says the Trump administration would end funding to Planned Parenthood, The Washington Post, Mariana Alfaro and Ariana Eunjung Cha, Sunday, 6 October 2024: “Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), former president Donald Trump’s running mate, said that if elected, Trump would seek to end federal money for Planned Parenthood. ‘We don’t think that taxpayers should fund late-term abortions,’ Vance told RealClearPolitics on Saturday night. ‘That has been a consistent view of the Trump campaign the first time around; it will remain a consistent view.’ Vance’s comments on Saturday against one of the biggest reproductive health-care providers in the nation stand in stark contrast to recent positioning by himself, Trump and other Republicans on the issue of reproductive rights.”
Monday, 7 October 2024:
Trump suggests undocumented immigrants who commit murder have ‘bad genes,’ CNN Politics, Kate Sullivan, Monday, 7 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump on Monday suggested undocumented immigrants who commit murder have ‘bad genes,’ in the latest example of the former president using dehumanizing rhetoric as he tries to stoke fears about those in the country illegally. In a radio interview on ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show,’ Trump again distorted statistics on immigration and crime to attack Vice President Kamala Harris as he falsely claimed she was ‘allowing people to come through an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers.’ ‘You know, now, a murderer, I believe this – it’s in their genes. And we got bad, a lot of bad genes in our country right now,’ Trump said.” See also, Trump on immigrants:; ‘We got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.’ The former president went after immigrants on Monday, linking crime to genetics. Politico, Emmy Martin, Monday, 7 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump used increasingly harsh rhetoric to attack immigrants, suggesting on Monday during an interview that immigrants commit horrendous crimes because ‘it’s in their genes.’ ‘How about allowing people to come to an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers, many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States. You know now a murder, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now,’ he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. Trump also said Vice President Kamala Harris ‘wants to go into a Communist Party-type system’ to ‘feed people governmentally.’ Trump’s suggestion that immigrants are predisposed to violence is an escalation of his recent rhetoric against migrants, which he has used consistently on the campaign trail, assuring mass deportations if he wins the presidency. But Monday’s statement also reflects Trump’s previous anti-immigrant rhetoric, including comments last year that ‘they’re poisoning the blood of our country.’ The White House condemned Trump’s statement for ‘echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists.'” See also, Trump’s outrageously false claim of 13,000 migrant murderers ‘on the loose,’ Convicted killers not held in ICE’s limited facilities are serving their time in state or federal prisons. The Washington Post, Glenn Kessler, published on Wednesday, 3 October 2024.
Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Appeal in Texas Abortion Case. The administration said a state abortion law conflicted with a federal law requiring emergency care. The court similarly sidestepped a case from Idaho in June. The New York Times, Adam Liptak, Monday, 7 October 2024: “The Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from the Biden administration urging the justices to allow some emergency abortions in Texas. The administration said that Texas’ strict abortion law conflicted with a 1986 federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, that requires emergency rooms in hospitals that receive federal money to provide some forms of emergency care. The court’s brief order gave no reasons, which is standard practice when the justices reject petitions seeking review. There were no noted dissents. The order let stand a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that said the federal law did not apply to emergency abortions.” See also, Supreme Court declines to intervene in Texas emergency abortion case. The justices rejected the Biden administration’s request to block a lower court ruling barring emergency abortions that would conflict with state law. The Washington Post, Ann E. Marimow and Caroline Kitchener, Monday, 7 October 2024: “The Supreme Court on Monday refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions when the procedure would conflict with the state’s strict abortion ban. The justices left in place a lower-court ruling that rejected the Biden administration’s claim that federal law requires access to emergency abortion care even in states that restrict the procedure. As is common when the court refuses to review a lower court’s decision, the order — issued on the first day of the Supreme Court’s new term — did not explain the justices’ reasoning. There were no noted dissents.” See also, Supreme Court declines Biden’s appeal in Texas emergency abortion case, Associated Press, Lindsay Whitehurst and Jamie Stengle, Monday, 7 October 2024: “A court order that says hospitals cannot federally be required to provide pregnancy terminations when they violate a Texas abortion ban will stay for now, the Supreme Court said Monday. The decision is another setback for opponents of Texas’ abortion ban, which for two years has withstood multiple legal challenges, including from women who had serious pregnancy complications and have been turned away by doctors. It left Texas as the only state where the Biden administration is unable to enforce its interpretation of a federal law in an effort to ensure women still have access to emergency abortions when their health or life is at risk. The justices did not detail their reasoning for keeping in place a lower court order, and there were no publicly noted dissents. Texas had asked the justices to leave the order in place while the Biden administration had asked the justices to throw it out.”
Tuesday, 8 October 2024:
Book Revives Questions About Trump’s Ties to Putin. The journalist Bob Woodward cited an unnamed aide saying that Donald Trump had spoken to Vladimir Putin as many as seven times since leaving office. Multiple sources say they cannot confirm that report. The New York Times, Peter Baker, Tuesday, 8 October 2024: “Just weeks ahead of an election, Americans are once again being confronted with a familiar if vexing question that has never been definitively resolved: What is up with former President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia? Eight years almost to the day after American intelligence agencies publicly warned voters that Russia was trying to interfere in the 2016 campaign, a new attention-grabbing book on Tuesday revived the mystery of the relationship between the two by reporting that they secretly have been in touch over the last few years. The book by the journalist Bob Woodward cited an unnamed aide saying that the former president and current Republican nominee had spoken with Mr. Putin as many as seven times since leaving office in 2021, even as Mr. Trump was pressuring Republicans to block military aid to Ukraine to fight Russian invaders. The book also said that Mr. Trump, while still in office in 2020, sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Mr. Putin early in the pandemic for his personal use. While other journalists were not able to confirm the post-White House contacts on Tuesday, the report roiled the presidential campaign and set Washington buzzing. Former presidents often speak with foreign leaders, but it would be highly unusual for one to talk with an avowed adversary of the United States on the opposite side of a war without clearing it with the White House or State Department first.” See also, New Bob Woodward book reveals candid behind-the-scenes conversations of Biden, Trump, Harris, and Putin, CNN Politics, Jamie Gangel, Jeremy Herb, and Elizabeth Stuart, Tuesday, 8 October 2024.
Trump administration protected Brett Kavanaugh from full FBI investigation. Inquiry by Sheldon Whitehouse found White House and FBI ‘misled’ about inquiry into the supreme court nominee. The Guardian, Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Tuesday, 8 October 2024: “The Trump administration protected Brett Kavanaugh from facing a full FBI investigation in the wake of serious allegations that he sexually assaulted two women – once in high school and once in college – during his controversial 2018 Senate confirmation to become a supreme court justice, according to a new report. An investigation led by the Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse also found that both the Trump White House and the FBI ‘misled the public and the Senate’ about the scope of the investigation it did conduct into the sexual assault allegations by falsely claiming that the FBI had conducted its investigation thoroughly and ‘by the book.’ Kavanaugh’s confirmation by the Senate seemed to be in doubt after Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, alleged he had sexually assaulted her while the two were in high school. A classmate at Yale, named Deborah Ramirez, alleged in a report published by the New Yorker that Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent. Kavanaugh denied both allegations.” See also, Internal emails dispute Trump’s claims that the FBI had ‘free rein’ to probe allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, new report says, CNN Politics, Tierney Sneed, Tuesday, 8 October 2024: “Then-President Donald Trump’s claims in 2018 that the FBI would have full leeway to investigate sexual assault allegations about his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appeared to confuse the agency, according to internal communications cited in a Senate Democrat’s new report. The investigation into the allegations – which Kavanaugh has vehemently denied – was sought after an emotional hearing with his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, prompted some crucial senators to balk at confirming the nominee. The White House, however, instructed the FBI to only interview 10 witnesses, according to the report. The FBI was also not given authority to seek out other witnesses who might have corroborating information, nor did it have permission to go beyond the specific subject areas outlined by the White House for questioning the witnesses.”
Florida is threatening to prosecute TV stations over an abortion rights ad. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chief calls it ‘dangerous,’ CNN Business, Brian Stelter and Liam Reilly, Tuesday, 8 October 2024: “In a move that critics are calling a flagrant abuse of power, Florida’s Department of Health is threatening to bring criminal charges against local TV stations airing a campaign ad to overturn the state’s six-week abortion ban signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The unusual warning from the Republican-controlled state agency prompted the Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission to step in on Tuesday. Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC chair, said that stations should not be intimidated for airing political ads. ‘The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,’ Rosenworcel said in a statement. ‘Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.’ The FCC’s show of support for the stations is noteworthy given the federal agency controls broadcast station licenses across the country.” See also, Florida threatens to criminally charge TV stations airing abortion rights ad. The Florida health department is demanding stations pull the ad, which urges voters to defeat the state’s six-week abortion ban at the polls, The Washington Post, Ben Brasch, published on Wednesday, 9 October 2024: “Florida’s health department threatened criminal charges for television stations that run a political ad calling for the repeal of the state’s six-week abortion ban, one of the nation’s strictest. At least two stations received cease-and-desist letters Thursday written by John Wilson, general counsel from the Florida Department of Health, demanding they pull the advertisement. Management for WCJB in Gainesville and WFLA in Tampa were not immediately available for comment Wednesday. The health department and office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) did not respond to requests for comment. Wilson wrote that running the 30-second spot was a violation of Florida’s ‘sanitary nuisance’ law, which is commonly used to charge people with overflowing septic tanks or unclean slaughterhouses. He ordered the stations to remove the ads within 24 hours or open themselves up to a second-degree misdemeanor charge, which in Florida carries a sentence of imprisonment up to 60 days and a fine up to $500. In the ad, Caroline Williams describes how Florida’s current abortion ban would have put her in an early grave if it had been enacted a couple of years ago. ‘Doctors knew that if I did not end my pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life and my daughter would lose her mom. Florida has now banned abortion, even in cases like mine,’ she says in the ad.”
Wednesday, 9 October 2024:
Trump’s Remarks on Migrants Illustrate His Obsession With Genes. In discussing migrants and genes, the former president used language that reflected his decades-long belief that bloodlines determine a person’s capacity for success or violence. The New York Times, Michael Gold, Wednesday, 9 October 2024: “With the presidential race in its closing weeks, Donald J. Trump’s language has grown increasingly strident on the issue of immigration. But as he continues to demonize undocumented migrants as violent criminals, the former president is also reviving another old habit: invoking his long-held fascination with genes and genetics. For decades, including long before he became a political figure, Mr. Trump has been publicly obsessed with bloodlines and his stated belief that genetics are the best predictor of a person’s success. He has repeatedly commented on what he described as his, his family’s and his supporters’ good genes, and on others’ bad genes…. Mr. Trump … has a pattern of using dehumanizing language to describe undocumented immigrants. He has repeatedly referred to immigrants who commit crimes as ‘animals.’ At a rally in Ohio in March, he was even more explicit. ‘I don’t know if you call them people,’ he said of immigrants accused of crimes. ‘In some cases, they’re not people, in my opinion.’… His remarks on Monday in some ways echoed his repeated assertion last year that undocumented immigrants were ‘poisoning the blood of our country,’ a phrase criticized by many for evoking the ideology of eugenics promulgated by Nazis in Germany and white supremacists in the United States.”
Thursday, 10 October 2024:
Judge gives Trump one week to appeal her ruling releasing evidence in special counsel’s January 6 investigation, CNN Politics, Tierney Sneed, Thursday, 10 October 2024: “The judge in the federal January 6, 2021, criminal case against Donald Trump will wait at least seven days before releasing exhibits containing evidence that special counsel Jack Smith is using to argue that the former president is not immune from prosecution. Trump opposes the release of the heavily redacted exhibits related to the sprawling 165-page brief in which Smith laid out the election subversion case. ‘There should be no further disclosures at this time of the so-called ‘evidence’ that the Special Counsel’s Office has unlawfully cherry-picked and mischaracterized—during early voting in the 2024 Presidential election—in connection with an improper Presidential immunity filing that has no basis in criminal procedure or judicial precedent,’ Trump said in a court filing Thursday. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan said later Thursday that she would okay prosecutors’ proposed redactions to the exhibits, but that she was pausing the ruling to release them at the request of Trump, who opposed any disclosure of the exhibits. Trump argued earlier Thursday that if the judge was inclined to release the exhibits, he should have time to ‘evaluate litigation options.'”
A Stern Obama Tells Black Men to Drop ‘Excuses’ and Support Harris. Before speaking at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, the former president spoke directly to Black male voters in an effort to bolster flagging support. The New York Times, Erica L. Green and Katie Rogers, Thursday, 10 October 2024: “Former President Barack Obama traveled to Pittsburgh on Thursday to urge voters there to choose Vice President Kamala Harris in November, aiming a message at one group in particular: Black men. The decision voters have between the vice president and former President Donald J. Trump, her Republican opponent, ‘isn’t a close call,’ Mr. Obama said as he visited with a group of campaign volunteers and officials at a field office just ahead of his appearance at a Harris rally. His message was for Black male voters whom he said might not be yet on board with Ms. Harris. Citing ‘reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities,’ he called out what he said was flagging enthusiasm for Ms. Harris compared with the support he received when he was running for the presidency in 2008. ‘You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘I’ve got a problem with that. Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that,’ Mr. Obama continued, adding that the ‘women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time. ‘When we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting.’ The stern words from the former president were meant to address worrying signs for Ms. Harris, including that her support among Black voters is still lower than what President Biden received when he won the state in 2020, according to a poll last month from The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College. Ms. Harris’s advisers and a raft of Democratic strategists believe that if anyone can lift Black voter turnout, it is Mr. Obama.”
The Case for Kamala Harris, The Atlantic, Thursday, 10 October 2024: “For the third time in eight years, Americans have to decide whether they want Donald Trump to be their president. No voter could be ignorant by now of who he is. Opinions about Trump aren’t just hardened—they’re dried out and exhausted. The man’s character has been in our faces for so long, blatant and unchanging, that it kills the possibility of new thoughts, which explains the strange mix of boredom and dread in our politics. Whenever Trump senses any waning of public attention, he’ll call his opponent a disgusting name, or dishonor the memory of fallen soldiers, or threaten to overturn the election if he loses, or vow to rule like a dictator if he wins. He knows that nothing he says is likely to change anyone’s views. Almost half the electorate supported Trump in 2016, and supported him again in 2020. This same split seems likely on November 5. Trump’s support is fixed and impervious to argument. This election, like the last two, will be decided by an absurdly small percentage of voters in a handful of states. Because one of the most personally malignant and politically dangerous candidates in American history was on the ballot, The Atlantic endorsed Trump’s previous Democratic opponents—only the third and fourth endorsements since the magazine’s founding, in 1857. Of all Trump’s insults, cruelties, abuses of power, corrupt dealings, and crimes, the event that proved the essential rightness of the endorsements of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden took place on January 6, 2021, when Trump became the first American president to try to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power.”
Major papers are giving Trump’s January 6 indictment dramatically less attention than they did Hillary Clinton’s server, Media Matters, Matt Gertz, Thursday, 10 October 2024: “In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, major newspapers are giving former President Donald Trump’s federal criminal indictment for alleged crimes related to the January 6 insurrection a fraction of the coverage they gave former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server in 2016, according to a new Media Matters study. Media Matters reviewed print coverage in five newspapers — Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post — for stories mentioning Trump’s indictment in the week following U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s October 2 unsealing of special counsel Jack Smith’s latest filing, which reveals damning new evidence of the former president’s alleged crimes. We found the papers ran 26 combined articles mentioning Trump’s indictment in the week after the unsealing of Smith’s filing. But those same papers published 100 combined articles — nearly 4 times as many — that mentioned Clinton’s server in the week after then-FBI Director James Comey’s notorious October 28, 2016, letter on new developments in that probe, as we documented in a 2016 study. The papers ran more than 6 times as many combined front-page stories that mentioned Clinton’s server (46) as they did front-page stories that mentioned Trump’s indictment (7) over those periods.”
Friday, 11 October 2024:
As Trump Arrives, Aurora Insists It’s Not the ‘War Zone’ He Sees. The former president held a rally in a Colorado city he falsely claims was overtaken by violent immigrants from Venezuela. The city’s leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, tried to preemptively fact-check him. The New York Times, Jonathan Weisman, Friday, 11 October 2024: “Mike Coffman, the conservative Republican mayor of Aurora, Colo., had a message for former President Donald J. Trump before the Republican nominee for the White House came on Friday to a city he has repeatedly painted as having been taken over by vicious migrant street thugs. The visit, Mr. Coffman said in a statement to The Times, ‘is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city — not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs. My public offer to show him our community and meet with our police chief for a briefing still stands.’ It is not a message likely to get through. In the closing weeks of Mr. Trump’s campaign, his efforts to demonize immigrants, whether they are from Venezuela, Haiti or elsewhere, have gotten ever more lurid — and more impervious to the facts, even those provided by Republican allies such as Mr. Coffman. Last month, the former president began portraying Aurora, a sprawling suburb of Denver, population 404,219, as “a war zone” overrun by a violent Venezuelan street gang, Tren de Aragua.” See also, Trump Rally in Aurora, Colorado, Is Marked by Nativist Attacks. The former president continued to make claims about the city that have been disputed by local officials, including its Republican mayor. The New York Times, Michael Gold and Jonathan Weisman, Friday, 11 October 2024. See also, Trump rallies in Aurora, Colorado–a city he has demonized as overrun by migrant crime, NPR, Bente Birkeland, Friday, 11 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump brought his hardline immigration message to the city of Aurora, Colorado on Friday, a community he has demonized as overrun by migrant crime — despite pushback from local leaders. In recent weeks Trump has repeatedly name-checked Aurora at speeches and on the debate stage – likening the Denver suburb to a ‘war zone.’ He’s amplified claims that a Venezuelan gang has taken over apartment buildings in the city, a situation that elected Republican and Democratic leaders on the ground have said has been overblown and is being dealt with by local and federal law enforcement. For nearly 90 minutes, Trump doubled down on that message as he was flanked on stage by the mugshots of undocumented migrants that officials have accused of crimes. He announced that if elected again, he would enact a nationwide effort dubbed ‘Operation Aurora’ to target undocumented migrant gang members for arrest and deportation. Trump said the program would be based on the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority that allows a president to detain or deport members of an enemy nation.” See also, We watched 20 Trump rallies. His racist, anti-immigrant messaging is getting darker, Politico, Myah Ward, published on Saturday, 12 October 2024: “Donald Trump vowed to ‘rescue’ the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, from the rapists, ‘blood thirsty criminals,’ and ‘most violent people on earth’ he insists are ruining the ‘fabric’ of the country and its culture: immigrants. Trump’s message in Aurora, a city that has become a central part of his campaign speeches in the final stretch to Election Day, marks another example of how the former president has escalated his xenophobic and racist rhetoric against migrants and minority groups he says are genetically predisposed to commit crimes. The supposed threat migrants pose is the core part of the former president’s closing argument, as he promises his base that he’s the one who can save the country from a group of people he calls ‘animals,’ ‘stone cold killers,’ the ‘worst people,’ and the ‘enemy from within.'”
Vance, Given 5 Chances to Say Trump Lost in 2020, Takes None. In an interview with The New York Times, Senator JD Vance repeatedly refused to acknowledge Donald Trump’s defeat and said he would not have certified the 2020 results. The New York Times, Michael C. Bender, Friday, 11 October 2024: “Heading into the final three weeks of the 2024 election, Senator JD Vance of Ohio will still not say whether his running mate won or lost the last race for the White House. In an interview with The New York Times that will be published on Saturday, Mr. Vance repeatedly refused to acknowledge former President Donald J. Trump’s defeat and went to even greater lengths to avoid doing so than he did during the vice-presidential debate earlier this month. When asked about the previous election during an hourlong interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, a host of ‘The Interview,’ a Times podcast published each Saturday, the Republican vice-presidential nominee responded that he was ‘focused on the future.’ It was the same phrase he used to evade the same question during his debate with his Democratic rival, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.”
Inside Donald Trump’s Shadow Presidency. In the years since he left the White House, former President Donald Trump has remained a force in international politics, meeting with a number of foreign leaders and operating out of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The New York Times, Peter Baker, Friday, 11 October 2024: “In the nearly four years since he left the White House, Mr. Trump has acted as something of a shadow president on international affairs operating out of what he used to call the Winter White House at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Even before he kicked off a comeback bid to reclaim his old office, foreign governments realized that Mr. Trump was still a force in American politics and that they needed to take him into account in their dealings with the United States. Now that he is the Republican nominee for president in next month’s election, foreign leaders have been playing up to Mr. Trump even more. A parade of world leaders has made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago or to Trump Tower in New York, including the leaders of Ukraine, Israel, Poland, Hungary, Argentina, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The crown prince of Saudi Arabia rang up Mr. Trump’s cellphone. The newly elected prime minister of Britain dropped by last month for dinner.”
Saturday, 12 October 2024:
Trump is ‘fascist to the core,’ Retired General Mark A. Milley says in Bob Woodward book. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says Trump is ‘the most dangerous person to this country,’ echoing dire warnings of others in national security circles. The Washington Post, Ruby Cramer, Saturday, 12 October 2024: “Retired Gen. Mark A. Milley warned that former president Donald Trump is a ‘fascist to the core’ and ‘the most dangerous person to this country’ in new comments voicing his mounting alarm at the prospect of the Republican nominee’s election to another term, according to a forthcoming book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward Milley, 66, served for more than a year as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump before continuing in the role under President Joe Biden. Upon stepping down in September 2023 after more than 40 years in the military, Milley laid out his apparent concerns about Trump in a pointed retirement speech. ‘We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, to a tyrant or dictator or wannabe dictator,’ he said. Woodward’s new book, ‘War,’ due out Tuesday, follows Milley in the years after the Trump administration as he wrestles with escalating fears over the president he once served.”
Sunday, 13 October 2024:
Trump tested the limits on using the military at home. If elected again, he plans to go further. He suggests he’ll use the military on ‘the enemy from within’ the US if he’s reelected. Associated Press, Stephen Groves, Sunday, 13 November 2024: “During his first term as president, Donald Trump tested the limits of how he could use the military to achieve policy goals. If given a second term, the Republican and his allies are preparing to go much further, reimagining the military as an all-powerful tool to deploy on U.S. soil. He has pledged to recall thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He has explored using troops for domestic policy priorities such as deportations and confronting civil unrest. He has talked of weeding out military officers who are ideologically opposed to him. Trump’s vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in U.S. society, carrying grave implications for both the country’s place in the world and the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military.”
Monday, 14 October 2024:
Trump sparks outrage after calling for army to handle domestic enemies on election day. Democrats condemn Trump for saying armed forces should turn against the ‘enemy within’ when voters go to polls. The Guardian, Robert Tait, Monday, 14 October 2024: “Donald Trump has provoked an angry backlash from Democrats after calling for the US armed forces to be turned against his political adversaries when voters go to the polls at next month’s presidential election. In comments that added further fuel to fears of an authoritarian crackdown if he recaptures the White House, the Republican nominee said the military or national guard should be deployed against opponents that he called ‘the enemy within’ when the election takes place on 5 November. He singled out the California congressman, Adam Schiff, who was the lead prosecutor in the ex-president’s first impeachment trial, as posing a bigger threat to a free and fair election than foreign terrorists or illegal immigrants, his usual prime target for abuse.” See also, Trump suggests using the military against the ‘enemy from within’ on Election Day, CNN Politics, Veronica Stracqualursi, Monday, 14 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump suggested using the military to handle what he called ‘the enemy from within’ on Election Day, saying that he isn’t worried about chaos from his supporters or foreign actors, but instead from ‘radical left lunatics. I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics,’ Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’ ‘I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen,’ he added.” See also, Trump Escalates Threats to Political Opponents He Deems the ‘Enemy.’ Never before has a presidential nominee openly suggested turning the military on Americans simply because they oppose his candidacy. With voting underway, Donald Trump has turned to dark vows of retribution. The New York Times, Lisa Lerer and Michael Gold, published on Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “With three weeks left before Election Day, former President Donald J. Trump is pushing to the forefront of his campaign a menacing political threat: that he would use the power of the presidency to crush those who disagree with him. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Mr. Trump framed Democrats as a pernicious ‘enemy from within’ that would cause chaos on Election Day that he speculated the National Guard might need to handle. A day later, he closed his remarks to a crowd at what was billed as a town hall in Pennsylvania with a stark message about his political opponents. ‘They are so bad and frankly, they’re evil,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘They’re evil. What they’ve done, they’ve weaponized, they’ve weaponized our elections. They’ve done things that nobody thought was even possible.’ And on Tuesday, he once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power when pressed by an interviewer at an economic forum in Chicago. With early voting underway in key battlegrounds, the race for the White House is moving toward Election Day in an extraordinary and sobering fashion. Mr. Trump has long flirted with, if not openly endorsed, anti-democratic tendencies with his continued refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, embrace of conspiracy theories of large-scale voter fraud and accusations that the justice system is being weaponized against him. He has praised leaders including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary for being authoritarian strongmen. But never before has a presidential nominee — let alone a former president — openly suggested turning the military on American citizens simply because they oppose his candidacy. As he escalates his threats of political retribution, Mr. Trump is offering voters the choice of a very different, and far less democratic, form of American government. ‘There is not a case in American history where a presidential candidate has run for office on a promise that they would exact retribution against anyone they perceive as not supporting them in the campaign,’ said Ian Bassin, a former associate White House counsel under Barack Obama who leads the advocacy group Protect Democracy. ‘It’s so fundamentally, outrageously beyond the pale of how this country has worked that it’s hard to articulate how insane it is.'”
Trump sways and bops to music for 39 minutes in bizarre town hall episode. Vice President Kamala Harris has called Trump, 78, unstable and questioned his mental acuity. The Washington Post, Marianne LeVine, Monday, 14 October 2024: “The town hall, moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R), began with questions from preselected attendees for the former president. Donald Trump offered meandering answers on how he would address housing affordability and help small businesses. But it took a sudden turn after two attendees required medical attention. And so Trump, after jokingly asking the crowd whether ‘anybody else would like to faint,’ took a different approach. ‘Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?’ he said. For 39 minutes, Trump swayed, bopped — sometimes stopping to speak — as he turned the event into almost a living-room listening session of his favorite songs from his self-curated rally playlist.”
Kamala Harris slams Trump as ‘unhinged’ as they trade attacks in Pennsylvania. Trying out a new tactic in Western Pennsylvania, Harris ordered her aides to roll the tape on giant jumbotron screens to show clips of Trump making inflammatory statements and threats. The Washington Post, Maeve Reston and Marianne LeVine, Monday, 14 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris portrayed Donald Trump as dangerous and “unhinged” at a rally Monday night, arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision granting presidents broad immunity for their official acts has significantly raised the stakes for a second Trump presidency. Trying out a new tactic here in Western Pennsylvania, Harris ordered her aides to roll the tape on giant jumbotron screens inside the Erie rally hall to show clips of Trump making inflammatory statements and threats at his rallies and in a recent interview. Watching the former president speak, many in the crowd booed, and some shouted, ‘He’s a criminal!’ Harris argued that Americans should be alarmed that Trump has threatened to jail his opponents and that he has described some fellow Americans as ‘the enemy from within.'” See also, Kamala Harris warns ‘unhinged’ Trump is out for total power, CNN Politics, Stephen Collinson, published on Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “Kamala Harris is responding to Democratic panic about her White House prospects by turning up the heat on Donald Trump. The vice president warned Monday that the ex-president was ‘unstable,’ ‘unhinged’ and out for ‘unchecked power’ as she sent a jolt of urgency though her campaign with 21 days to go. ‘Watch his rallies. Listen to his words. He tells us who he is, and he tells us what he would do if he is elected president,’ Harris told a large crowd in Pennsylvania after a weekend when Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric reached chilling new levels and hinted at the extreme nature of his potential second term.”
Trump’s protests aside, his agenda has plenty of overlap with Project 2025, Associated Press, Bill Barrow, Monday, 14 October 2024: “Donald Trump insists that Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page blueprint for a hard-right turn in American government and society, does not reflect his priorities for a White House encore. ‘I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it — purposefully,’ the Republican presidential nominee said Sept. 10 on the debate stage. Yet from economics, immigration and education policy to civil rights and foreign affairs, there are common ideas and shared ideology between Project 2025 and Trump’s outline for another term — from his official ‘Agenda 47’ slate, the Republican platform he personally approved and his other statements. There are also differences: Project 2025, led by the Heritage Foundation and written by many conservatives who worked in or with Trump’s administration, offers more particulars on some issues than the former president.”
Tuesday, 15 October 2024:
Judge Blocks Hand-Counting of Election Ballots in Georgia. The ruling was confined to the current election, halting the measure from going into effect for 2024 while the judge further weighs its merits in the future, The New York Times, Nick Corasaniti, Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “A county judge in Georgia on Tuesday blocked a new rule mandating a hand count of election ballots across the state. Enacting such a sweeping change for the November election, he said, was ‘too much, too late.’ Judge Robert C.I. McBurney did not, however, knock down the rule outright; his decision was confined to the current election, halting the rule from taking effect for 2024 while he further weighs its merits. The rule, passed last month by the State Election Board, would have required poll workers across Georgia to break open sealed containers of ballots and count them by hand to ensure that the total number of ballots matched the total counted by tabulating machines. (It would not have required officials to tally for whom the ballots were cast.) But Judge McBurney agreed with challenges from several county election boards that the rule was made too close to the election.” See also, Georgia judge blocks requirement that counties hand-count ballots. Critics said the new requirement, instituted by a pro-Trump majority on the state election board, would have almost certainly led to errors and could have disrupted the process of certifying the vote in a crucial battleground. The Washington Post, Amy Gardner, Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “A Georgia judge on Tuesday blocked a new rule implemented by the Georgia State Election Board that would have required county election workers to hand-count the number of ballots cast in each precinct and that critics said threatened to upend the November election by delaying the reporting of results. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Tuesday that the rule, approved by a pro-Trump majority of the state board, is ‘too much, too late’ — especially as it comes without accompanying instructions on how the rule was to be implemented by county election staffs. The election is already underway in Georgia, with Tuesday marking the first day of early voting. The temporary injunction does not mean the rule can’t go into effect eventually, but delays full consideration of the rule’s legality until after the election.”
Georgia Judge Rules Local Officials Cannot Refuse to Certify Election Results. The ruling cuts at the heart of a key argument made by right-wing activists since the 2020 election, when Donald Trump sought to disrupt the certification process as part of his bid to subvert the results. The New York Times, Nick Corasaniti, Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “A county judge in Georgia has rejected an argument by allies of former President Donald J. Trump that local election officials have the power to refuse to certify election results, finding the process to be mandatory and one that must meet critical deadlines. The ruling cuts at the heart of a key argument from right-wing activists following the 2020 election, when Mr. Trump sought to disrupt the certification process as part of his bid to subvert the results. In years since, right-wing groups have been seeking much broader authority and power over the certification process, an ambitious — and legally dubious — attempt to reimagine decades of settled law.” See also, Georgia judge rules local election board members cannot refuse to certify election results and cannot require poll workers to hand count the number of ballots cast, NPR, Sam Gringlas, Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “Local election board members in Georgia cannot refuse to certify election results in any scenario, even if they report concerns about fraud or errors, a state judge ruled Tuesday. ‘If election superintendents were, as Plaintiff urges, free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge and so — because of a unilateral determination of error or fraud — refuse to certify election results, Georgia voters would be silenced,’ Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his decision. ‘Our Constitution and our Election Code do not allow for that to happen.’ In a separate ruling, McBurney also temporarily blocked a last-minute rule requiring poll workers to hand count the number of ballots cast on Election Day. Both decisions were rebukes to the Republican-led Georgia State Election Board.”
Five Takeaways From Kamala Harris’s Interview With Charlamagne Tha God. During a free-flowing interview that was by turns friendly and pointed, the vice president went beyond her previous remarks in casting Donald Trump as an authoritarian. The New York Times, Nicholas Nehamas and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Tuesday, 15 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris agreed on Tuesday with the radio host Charlamagne Tha God that former President Donald J. Trump was a fascist, going a step further than she had before in casting her Republican rival as a dangerous authoritarian leader. During a free-flowing interview that often spoke to the concerns of Black Americans, Ms. Harris was contrasting her vision for the nation with Mr. Trump’s when Charlamagne jumped in to say: ‘The other is about fascism. Why can’t we just say it?’ ‘Yes, we can say that,’ Ms. Harris replied. Her comments came days after it was revealed that Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Mr. Trump, had called the former president ‘a fascist to the core,’ according to a new book from the journalist Bob Woodward.”
Wednesday, 16 October 2024:
6 Takeaways From Harris’s Contentious Interview on Fox News. Pressed and often interrupted by Bret Baier, the vice president opened up a little more distance from President Biden and defended her position on immigration and border security. The New York Times, Nicholas Nehamas and Katie Rogers, Wednesday, 16 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris sat for the most adversarial interview of her campaign on Wednesday, sparring with the Fox News anchor Bret Baier over the border, President Biden’s mental fitness and whether former President Donald J. Trump is a threat to American democracy. For a Democratic presidential candidate, appearing on Fox News is about as close as going into the lion’s den as it gets. On Wednesday, the lion was Mr. Baier, who repeatedly interrupted the vice president and tried to talk over her. But Ms. Harris — giving her first interview on Fox News in an attempt to reach millions of voters, especially conservative-leaning women, who have probably not heard much of her message — largely steered the conversation in her preferred direction.” See also, Kamala Harris clashes with Fox News host Bret Baier in contentious interview, The Washington Post, Maeve Reston, Wednesday, 16 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris, under pressure to broaden her appeal to Republicans and conservatives with Election Day fast approaching, sat for a contentious interview with Fox News where she said more bluntly than before that her presidency would not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s. The interview with Fox chief political anchor Bret Baier, which also featured a testy back-and-forth on immigration, represented a calculated gamble for Harris, given Fox’s role as a conservative-leaning network that is one of the top news sources for Republicans. It offered her a chance to refashion a recent comment on ABC’s “The View” that she could not think of anything she would do differently from Biden, a remark that even many Democrats strategists viewed as a misstep. ‘Let me be very clear — my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and like every new president that comes in to office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas,’ Harris said. ‘I represent a new generation of leadership.’ From the first few minutes of the interview, Baier sought to put Harris on the defensive with aggressive questions about the Biden administration’s record on immigration, a top issue for many Republican voters.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith argues in a new filing that Donald Trump bears responsibility for January 6 attack. Smith says Trump ‘willfully caused his supporters to obstruct and attempt to obstruct’ the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. NBC News, Ryan J. Reilly, Wednesday, 16 October 2024: “A team of federal prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith said in a filing Wednesday that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump bears responsibility for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a filing responding to Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, Smith’s team said it ‘is incorrect’ for Trump’s team to assert that the superseding indictment returned against Trump in August does not show that Trump bears responsibility for the events of Jan. 6. Trump, Smith’s team said, ‘willfully caused others’ to obstruct the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory by repeating his false claims of election fraud and giving ‘false hope’ to his supporters who believed that then-Vice President Mike Pence might overturn the election, and by “pressuring” Pence and legislators to accept fraudulent certificates as part of the fake electors scheme. ‘Those allegations link the defendant’s actions on January 6 directly to his efforts to corruptly obstruct the certification proceeding,’ Smith’s team wrote.”
Georgia judge invalidates more controversial election rules. Fulton county Judge Thomas Cox ruled to invalidate seven rules total. ABC News, Olivia Rubin, Wednesday, 16 October 2024: “One day after a Georgia judge invalidated the state’s controversial ‘hand count’ rule, a separate judge Wednesday evening invalidated even more rules that were passed by the Republican-led state election board, declaring them ‘unlawful and void.’ Fulton County Judge Thomas Cox ruled after an hours-long hearing to invalidate seven rules total, including the hand count rule, finding in part that the board did not have the authority to enact them. Cox made clear that the State of Georgia and the State Election Board ‘are hereby DIRECTED TO IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THESE RULES FROM THEIR ROLES AND OFFICIAL REPORTING’ and to ‘IMMEDIATELY INFORM ALL STATE AND LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS THAT THESE RULES ARE VOID AND ARE NOT TO BE FOLLOWED,’ in his decision.”
JD Vance says Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election. The Washington Post, Meryl Kornfiels and Patrick Svitek, Wednesday, 16 October 2024: “Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance asserted Wednesday for the first time since joining the Republican ticket that Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election after previously sidestepping questions from reporters and his opponent on the debate stage over two weeks ago.”
Under Trump, U.S. Prisons Offered Gender-Affirming Care. The Trump administration’s approach is notable in light of a campaign ad that slams Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners and migrants. The New York Times, Glenn Thrush, Wednesday, 16 October 2024: “A campaign ad released by former President Donald J. Trump in battleground states slams Vice President Harris for supporting taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners and migrants, concluding: ‘Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.’ But the Trump administration’s record on providing services for transgender people in the sprawling federal prison system, which houses thousands of undocumented immigrants awaiting trial or deportation, is more nuanced than the 30-second spot suggests. Trump appointees at the Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Justice Department, provided an array of gender-affirming treatments, including hormone therapy, for a small group of inmates who requested it during Mr. Trump’s four years in office.”
Thursday, 17 October 2024:
A new book by Michael Tackett says Mitch McConnell called Trump ‘stupid’ and ‘despicable’ in private after the 2020 election, Associated Press, Mary Clare Jalonick, Thursday, 17 October 2024: “Mitch McConnell said after the 2020 election that then-President Donald Trump was ‘stupid as well as being ill-tempered,’ a ‘despicable human being’ and a ‘narcissist,’ according to excerpts from a new biography of the Senate Republican leader that will be released this month. McConnell made the remarks in private as part of a series of personal oral histories that he made available to Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press. Tackett’s book, ‘The Price of Power,’ draws from almost three decades of McConnell’s recorded diaries and from years of interviews with the normally reticent Kentucky Republican. The animosity between Trump and McConnell is well known — Trump once called McConnell ‘a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.’ But McConnell’s private comments are by far his most brutal assessment of the former president and could be seized on by Democrats before the Nov. 5 election. The biography will be released Oct. 29, one week before Election Day that will decide if Trump returns to the White House.”
Kamala Harris calls out Trump for ‘gaslighting’ Americans about January 6 attack. Kamala Harris chided Donald Trump for his revisionist history on the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol after he said it was a ‘day of love.’ The Washington Post, Maeve Reston, Thursday, 17 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris chided Donald Trump on Thursday for his revisionist history on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — accusing him of ‘gaslighting’ the American people with his recent assertion that it was a ‘day of love.’ As she attempts to broaden her appeal to Republicans and conservatives in the final weeks of the campaign, Harris has been calling on Americans to choose ‘country over party’ by voting for her. Driving that argument, she has charged that the former president would endanger democratic institutions, seek to jail his opponents and undermine the Constitution. She played a clip at her first rally this week showing Trump telling Fox News that he was more concerned about the ‘enemy within’ — referring to Americans he described as ‘radical left lunatics’ — than outside agitators. She has expressed disbelief that he went on in that interview to suggest that the military could rein in his political opponents. And at all her rallies this week — including here in Wisconsin — Harris has said Trump is ‘unstable’ and ‘seeking unchecked power.'”
Friday, 18 October 2024:
Judge Tanya Chutkan Releases Redacted Trove of Evidence in Trump Election Case. The former president’s legal team had objected to any release of material, saying it would amount to election interference. The New York Times, Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage, Friday, 18 October 2024: “A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of a heavily redacted trove of evidence supporting the contention by federal prosecutors that former President Donald J. Trump illegally sought to overturn the 2020 election. In ordering the release, the judge was rejecting objections by Mr. Trump’s legal team that making even a largely blanked-out version of the material public now would constitute interference in the presidential election. The materials — a four-part appendix to a lengthy brief recently filed by the special counsel, Jack Smith — consisted of 1,889 pages. But most of it was redacted and can only be seen by the parties involved in the case. The remainder appeared to consist almost entirely of previously released memos, social media postings, transcripts and other known materials. Earlier this month, Mr. Smith had proposed releasing already public material like Mr. Trump’s social media posts from the post-election period, but blacking out nonpublic portions of sensitive files like transcripts of grand jury witness testimony. Mr. Trump’s legal team had asked the judge, Tanya S. Chutkan of the Federal District Court in Washington, to delay releasing the materials until after the election, citing its potential impact on voters. But Judge Chutkan, in an opinion issued late Thursday, rejected that objection, hewing to her consistent line that she would pay no attention to Mr. Trump’s campaign schedule in making legal decisions. She also argued that withholding material the public otherwise had a right to see because of the pending election could itself be seen as manipulating voters. ‘If the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute — or appear to be — election interference,’ the judge wrote.” See also, Appendix of source materials unsealed in Trump January 6 prosecution. Trump had sought to keep the material under wraps until after the election. There wasn’t much new in them. The Washington Post, Spencer S. Hsu, Perry Stein, and Aaron Blake, Friday, 18 October 2024: “U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on Friday unsealed the appendix of source materials underpinning special counsel Jack Smith’s massive legal filing that detailed the evidence collected against Donald Trump in the federal D.C. election interference case — though the document was heavily redacted and appeared to contain few new revelations. The unsealed and unredacted portions of the 1,889-page appendix included transcripts of interviews with the legislative committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, excerpts from former vice president Mike Pence’s autobiography, a transcript of a Trump White House news briefing after the election in November 2020 and a transcript of a 2023 CNN town hall interview with the former president. Trump’s legal team had opposed making the materials public so soon, arguing that Chutkan’s releasing them now could appear as though the court was trying to affect the upcoming election. But Chutkan disagreed, saying that withholding the documents could amount to election interference. Prosecutors had said the appendix would include information and quotations from public material, but information from nonpublic sources such as grand jury transcripts, witness interview reports and sealed search warrant returns would remain under wraps. And in the end, the document was so heavily redacted that it did little to alter public understanding; even Trump’s public tweets were posted under seal.”
Trump Tries to Rewrite the History of January 6 in Campaign’s Final Stretch. Donald Trump amplified a conspiracy theory that the federal government had staged the Capitol attack and compared jailed rioters to people of Japanese descent in internment camps. The New York Times, Maggie Haberman, Michael Gold, and Ruth Iglelnik, Friday, 18 October 2024: “Donald J. Trump on Friday tried to revise the history of the deadly attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, as new details in the federal prosecution against him were made public by the judge in the case. His attempt to recast the events of Jan. 6, 2021, came on the same day that he compared his supporters who were arrested, convicted and imprisoned for their actions at the Capitol to the victims of the Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II. And it followed a recent remark in which Mr. Trump declared Jan. 6 a day of ‘love.’ The former president made his comments about Jan. 6 and its aftermath at a time when, just weeks before Election Day, uncommitted voters in battleground states tell pollsters that among their top concerns is that they view him as a threat to democracy. On Friday, on his website Truth Social, Mr. Trump amplified a conspiracy theory that the attack on the Capitol was staged by the federal government, and he promoted his false claims that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election. He reposted a meme that a user had originally posted on Thursday, which read: ‘January 6 will go down in history as the day the government staged a riot to cover up the fact that they certified a fraudulent election.’ Those words appeared over two images of people swarming the outside of the Capitol building that day and waving American flags.”
Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. The former president has brought dehumanizing language into US presidential politics. The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum, Friday, 18 October 2024: “Rhetoric has a history. The words democracy and tyranny were debated in ancient Greece; the phrase separation of powers became important in the 17th and 18th centuries. The word vermin, as a political term, dates from the 1930s and ’40s, when both fascists and communists liked to describe their political enemies as vermin, parasites, and blood infections, as well as insects, weeds, dirt, and animals. The term has been revived and reanimated, in an American presidential campaign, with Donald Trump’s description of his opponents as ‘radical-left thugs’ who ‘live like vermin.’ This language isn’t merely ugly or repellent: These words belong to a particular tradition. Adolf Hitler used these kinds of terms often. In 1938, he praised his compatriots who had helped ‘cleanse Germany of all those parasites who drank at the well of the despair of the Fatherland and the People.’ In occupied Warsaw, a 1941 poster displayed a drawing of a louse with a caricature of a Jewish face. The slogan: ‘Jews are lice: they cause typhus.’ Germans, by contrast, were clean, pure, healthy, and vermin-free. Hitler once described the Nazi flag as ‘the victorious sign of freedom and the purity of our blood.'”
Saturday, 19 October 2024:
At a Pennsylvania Rally, Trump Descends to New Levels of Vulgarity. The Republican nominee repeated crude insults, and his supporters relished each moment. The New York Times, Michael Gold, Saturday, 19 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday spewed crude and vulgar remarks at a rally in Pennsylvania that included an off-color remark about a famous golfer’s penis size and a coarse insult about Vice President Kamala Harris. The performance, 17 days before the election in a critical battleground state, added to the impression of the Republican nominee as increasingly unfiltered and undisciplined. It comes as some of Mr. Trump’s allies and aides worry that Mr. Trump’s temperament and crass style are alienating undecided voters. It was unclear if the outbursts and insults were an expression of his frustration as the campaign grinds on or of his reflexive desire to entertain his crowds. At her own events on Saturday, Ms. Harris called attention to Mr. Trump’s temperament and his tendency to ‘go off script and ramble.’ Mr. Trump opened his speech at the airport in Latrobe, Pa., with 12 minutes of reminiscing about the golfer Arnold Palmer, who grew up in the Western Pennsylvania town and for whom the airport was named. His monologue culminated in lewd remarks about the size of Mr. Palmer’s penis. Moments later, Mr. Trump gave the crowd an opportunity to call out a profanity. He went on to use that four-letter word to describe Ms. Harris. ‘Such a horrible four years,’ Mr. Trump said, referring to the Biden-Harris administration, as he surveyed the crowd of hundreds of people in front of him. ‘We had a horrible — think of the — everything they touch turns to —.’ Many in his audience — which was mostly made up of adults but included some children, infants and teenagers — eagerly filled in the blank, shouting, ‘Shit!’ Minutes later, Mr. Trump urged his supporters to vote, telling them that they had to send a crude message to Ms. Harris: ‘We can’t stand you, you’re a shit vice president.'”
Sunday, 20 October 2024:
Four of Trump’s Most Meandering Remarks This Week, The New York Times, Michael C. Bender, Sunday, 20 October 2024: “One of the truisms of Trump World is that being viewed as boring is a sin more deadly than being wrong. On the campaign trail, former President Donald J. Trump often takes that to mean he must go off-script and veer off message. His critics say such detours are a troubling sign of his incoherence and raise questions about his age and cognitive health. Many of his supporters and allies see his circular way of speaking, which he calls ‘the weave,’ as entertaining and not alarming. The partisan debate over the implications of Mr. Trump’s meandering speech has only intensified in the final stage of the race.”
Monday, 21 October 2024:
Central Park 5 Sue Trump for Defamation Over Debate Comments. Donald Trumps remarks during the presidential debate are part of a ‘continuing pattern’ of false statements designed to ‘make the men suffer,’ the lawsuit charged. The New York Times, Jeffery C. Mays, Monday, 21 October 2024: “Five Black and Latino men who were wrongly convicted as teenagers and later exonerated in the rape and assault of a jogger in Central Park sued former President Donald J. Trump in federal court on Monday, saying he defamed them during a nationally televised debate. The men, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Antron McCray, became known as the Central Park Five after the 1989 attack, in a case that drew international attention and inflamed racial tensions in New York City. Collectively, they spent decades in prison before being cleared by DNA evidence and another man’s confession. During the presidential debate in September between Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Ms. Harris noted that Mr. Trump, who was then a prominent real estate developer, took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times calling for the death penalty in the case. She said it demonstrated the way that Mr. Trump had long ‘attempted to use race to divide the American people.’ In response, Mr. Trump falsely said that the men had pleaded guilty to the crime and that someone had been killed during the attack.” See also, Exonerated Central Park Five sue Trump for defamation over debate remarks. The Central Park Five alleged in a federal lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania that Donald Trump falsely claimed they pleaded guilty to the 1989 attack. The Washington Post, Shayna Jacobs, Monday, 21 October 2024: “A group of men who were exonerated in the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park in 1989 have sued Donald Trump for continuing to suggest that they are guilty, including at the presidential debate in Philadelphia last month. The Central Park Five alleged in a federal defamation lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania that Trump falsely claimed during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris that the men pleaded guilty after being charged in the case as teenagers and that they had killed someone. The defendants in fact were cleared of wrongdoing. And the victim of the infamous attack suffered life-threatening injuries but survived. At the time of the crime, Trump took out a full-page newspaper ad calling for a return of the death penalty in New York, a move widely seen as a reaction to the attack on the jogger, directed at those who had committed the assault.” See also, The Central Park 5 are suing Trump over comments he made in the Philadelphia debate, NPR, Jaclyn Diaz, Monday, 21 October 2024: “Members of the Central Park Five (also called the Exonerated Five) are suing former President Donald Trump for defamation over comments he made during last month’s presidential debate, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday. The five, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown (formerly Antron McCray), and Korey Wise, were wrongfully convicted in 1989 of a brutal assault on a New York jogger in Central Park. They were just teens then and ultimately spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit before being exonerated by DNA and the confession of a convicted rapist and murderer. But during the September debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Trump said that at the time the teenagers ‘admitted – they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately.’ The victim in the case is still alive and deals with lingering health effects from her attack. The five never pled guilty for the crimes they were charged with. The lawsuit alleges that Trump defamed the men, ‘cast them in a harmful false light and intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them,’ attorney Shanin Specter said in a statement. ‘The Plaintiffs seek to correct the record and clear their names once again,’ Specter said. The five men are looking for a trial by jury and for Trump to pay an undetermined amount in compensatory damages, punitive damages and other costs, the lawsuit says.”
Trump repeats debunked lies about FEMA’s hurricane response during North Carolina visit, CNN Politics, Daniel Dale, Monday, 21 October 2024: “Former President Donald Trump used a Monday visit to North Carolina to repeat debunked lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene. Speaking to reporters in a hard-hit community near Asheville, Trump kept repeating a false claim that was widely debunked when he made it earlier in October – his assertion that the Federal Emergency Management Agency took money that was supposed to go to disaster relief and instead spent it on migrants who entered the country illegally, leaving the agency with no funds to help Americans.”
Trump Ratchets Up Threats on the Media. Presidents are not all-powerful, but, if elected, Donald Trump would have some influence with the federal regulators who oversee major television networks. The New York Times, Michael M. Grynbaum and David McCabe, Monday, 21 October 2024: “Threatening the news media is nothing new for former President Donald J. Trump. He has accused major news outlets of defamation, blocked journalists from rallies and White House events, goaded followers into profane chants about CNN and popularized the term ‘fake news,’ now embraced by autocrats around the world. Even by those standards, though, his latest anti-media obsession — stripping television networks of their ability to broadcast the news because of coverage he doesn’t like — stands out. ‘CBS should lose its license,’ Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform last week. ’60 Minutes should be immediately taken off the air.’ He has repeated his demands in speeches and in interviews, echoing his earlier calls for ABC’s license to be ‘terminated’ because of his displeasure with how the network handled his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. On Sunday, Mr. Trump ratcheted up his threats against CBS. ‘We’re going to subpoena their records,’ he told Fox News in an interview, repeating his claim that the network’s edit of Ms. Harris’s recent appearance on ’60 Minutes’ was misleading. Asked if revoking a broadcast license was a ‘drastic punishment,’ Mr. Trump did not answer directly, instead lobbing a string of insults at Ms. Harris, whom he called ‘incompetent’ and ‘a Marxist.'”
Tuesday, 22 October 2024:
As Election Nears, John Kelly, the Trump White House’s Longest-Serving Chief of Staff, Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator. Kelly said he believed Donald Trump met the definition of a fascist. The New York Times, Michael S. Schmidt, Tuesday, 22 October 2024: “Few top officials spent more time behind closed doors in the White House with President Donald J. Trump than John F. Kelly, the former Marine general who was his longest-serving chief of staff. With Election Day looming, Mr. Kelly — deeply bothered by Mr. Trump’s recent comments about employing the military against his domestic opponents — agreed to three on-the-record, recorded discussions with a reporter for The New York Times about the former president, providing some of his most wide-ranging comments yet about Mr. Trump’s fitness and character…. In the interviews, Mr. Kelly expanded on his previously expressed concerns and stressed that voters, in his view, should consider fitness and character when selecting a president, even more than a candidate’s stances on the issues. ‘In many cases, I would agree with some of his policies,’ he said, stressing that as a former military officer he was not endorsing any candidate. ‘But again, it’s a very dangerous thing to have the wrong person elected to high office.’ He said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law. He discussed and confirmed previous reports that Mr. Trump had made admiring statements about Hitler, had expressed contempt for disabled veterans and had characterized those who died on the battlefield for the United States as ‘losers’ and ‘suckers’ — comments first reported in 2020 by The Atlantic.”
Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had.’ The Republican nominee’s preoccupation with dictators, and his disdain for the American military, is deepening. The Atlantic, Jeffery Goldberg, Tuesday, 22 October 2024: “Trump has frequently voiced his disdain for those who serve in the military and for their devotion to duty, honor, and sacrifice. Former generals who have worked for Trump say that the sole military virtue he prizes is obedience. As his presidency drew to a close, and in the years since, he has become more and more interested in the advantages of dictatorship, and the absolute control over the military that he believes it would deliver. ‘I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,’ Trump said in a private conversation in the White House, according to two people who heard him say this. ‘People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.’… A desire to force U.S. military leaders to be obedient to him and not the Constitution is one of the constant themes of Trump’s military-related discourse. Former officials have also cited other recurring themes: his denigration of military service, his ignorance of the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his admiration for brutality and anti-democratic norms of behavior, and his contempt for wounded veterans and for soldiers who fell in battle.”
Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punish perceived enemies, NPR, Tom Dreisbach, Tuesday, 22 October 2024: “With just two weeks remaining until the presidential election, former President Donald Trump has used his most recent appearances on podcast and cable interviews to escalate attacks on fellow Americans whom he calls ‘the enemy from within.’ In one recent interview, Trump said that if ‘radical left lunatics’ disrupt the election, ‘it should be very easily handled by — if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.’ That statement, on Fox News, was not the first time Trump has expressed support for using government force against domestic political rivals. Since 2022, when he began preparing for the presidential campaign, Trump has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish his perceived opponents, NPR has found.”
The Many Links Between Project 2025 and Trump’s World, The New York Times, Elena Shao and Ashley Wu, Tuesday, 22 October 2024: “Former president Donald J. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he had nothing to do with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy initiative to reshape the federal government. Mr. Trump has said that he has not read its proposals and does not know who is behind it. But Project 2025 has numerous ties to Mr. Trump and his campaign, a New York Times analysis has found. The people behind Project 2025 are no strangers to the former president. The Heritage Foundation’s president, Kevin D. Roberts, and a co-founder, Edwin J. Feulner, have each personally met with Mr. Trump. And the analysis of the Project 2025 playbook and its 307 authors and contributors revealed that well over half of them had been in Mr. Trump’s administration or on his campaign or transition teams. Large portions of the ‘Mandate for Leadership,’ the driving document behind Project 2025, were written by longtime Trump loyalists who were advisers to Mr. Trump during his first term.”
JD Vance Vows an End to Programs for Legal Immigrants. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants live and work in the United States through programs that give them temporary legal status. In the border state of Arizona, JD Vance vowed they would stop. The New York Times, Chris Cameron, Tuesday, 22 October 2024: “Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, escalated Mr. Trump’s attacks against legal immigration on Tuesday, vowing to end programs that authorize hundreds of thousands of immigrants to live and work in the United States. ‘What Donald Trump has proposed doing is we’re going to stop doing mass parole. We’re going to stop doing mass grants of Temporary Protected Status,’ Mr. Vance said at a campaign event in Peoria, Ariz. ‘Of course, you’re going to have people fleeing from tyranny, but that happens on a case-by-case basis, not by waving the magic government wand.'”
Wednesday, 23 October 2024:
Harris Calls Trump’s Reported Remarks on Hitler and Nazis ‘Deeply Troubling.’ The vice president seized on reports in which John Kelly, a former chief of staff to Donald Trump, recounted explosive comments by Mr. Trump and said he met the definition of a “fascist.” The New York Times, Katie Rogers and Nicholas Nehamas, Wednesday, 23 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that former President Donald J. Trump’s reported comments praising Nazi generals offered ‘a window into who Donald Trump really is,’ calling it ‘deeply troubling’ that her Republican rival had apparently invoked Hitler in conversations with one of his former chiefs of staff, John F. Kelly. Ms. Harris and her campaign have pounced on Mr. Kelly’s comments, recounted in recent news stories and in on-the-record interviews, in the hopes that she will benefit with undecided voters and a slice of conservative-leaning ones by refreshing their memories of a Trump presidency 13 days before Election Day. In her brief remarks, delivered at the vice president’s residency in Washington, Ms. Harris warned that Mr. Trump had grown ‘increasingly unhinged and unstable’ and said that he would require that the U.S. military ‘be loyal to him personally,’ even if Mr. Trump did not obey the law during the course of a second term. ‘It is clear, from John Kelly’s words, that Trump is someone who, I quote, ‘certainly falls into the general definition of fascist,’ Ms. Harris said.” See also, Kamala Harris says she concurs with assessment that Trump is a fascist. John F. Kelly, a retired Marine general who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff, said in a recent interview that Trump seeks unfettered power. The Washington Post, Tyler Pager, Patrick Svitek, and Jonathan Edwards, Wednesday, 23 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday she believes former president Donald Trump is a fascist, agreeing with the assessment of a growing number of Trump’s former top aides as she escalated her warnings about the Republican nominee’s character and fitness for office less than two weeks before Election Day. Asked directly during a CNN town hall whether she thinks that Trump is a fascist, Harris said, ‘Yes, I do. Yes, I do.’ Later, discussing voters concerned about the war in Gaza, the vice president said: ‘I also do know that for many people who care about this issue, they also care about bringing down the price of groceries. They also care about our democracy and not having a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.’ Harris’s comments came a day after a statement by Trump’s former White House chief of staff John F. Kelly that Trump meets the definition of a fascist, intensifying a debate over whether Trump has authoritarian tendencies and would abuse governmental power in a second term. Kelly, a retired Marine general, told the New York Times that Trump’s desire for unfettered power and other qualities fit the fascist label.” See also, Kamala Harris says Trump ‘is a fascist’ after John Kelly says he wanted generals like Hitler’s, Associated Press, Dan Merica, Wednesday, 23 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she believes that Donald Trump ‘is a fascist’ after his longest-serving chief of staff said the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office and put personal loyalty above the Constitution. Harris seized on comments by former chief of staff John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, about his former boss in interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic published Tuesday warning that the Republican nominee meets the definition of a fascist and that while in office he suggested that the Nazi leader ‘did some good things.’ Speaking at a CNN town hall, Harris said they offer a window into who the former president ‘really is’ and the kind of commander in chief he would be.”
L.A. Times Editorial Chief Quits After Owner Blocks Harris Endorsement. Mariel Garza said the editorial board was prepared to endorse Kamala Harris, but the paper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, decided not to make an endorsement in the presidential race. The New York Times, Katie Robertson, Wednesday, 23 October 2024: “The head of The Los Angeles Times’s editorial board resigned on Wednesday after the paper’s owner quashed a presidential endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris. In an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, Mariel Garza, who held the title editorials editor, said she had quit because ‘I want to make it clear that I am not OK with us being silent. In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.’ Ms. Garza said that the editorial board had planned to endorse Ms. Harris, but that Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of The Los Angeles Times, decided this month that the newspaper would not make any endorsement for president. The paper did not explain to readers why it was not issuing an endorsement.”
Justice Department Warns Elon Musk That His $1 Million Giveaway Might Be Illegal. Musk’s super PAC, which supports Donald Trump’s presidential bid, is giving cash prizes to registered voters who sign a petition. The New York Times, Theodore Schleifer and Glenn Thrush, Wednesday, 23 October 2024: “The Justice Department sent a letter to the super PAC founded by Elon Musk this week warning that awarding $1 million to registered voters who signed a petition might violate federal laws against paying voters, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Similar warning letters from the department’s public integrity unit have been sent to businesses and organizations that tied promotions to voting and are intended to suggest that continuing such an activity could result in a criminal investigation. The letters typically do not outline the department’s next steps and are intended to force the recipient to make changes to conform with the law.”
Thursday, 24 October 2024:
Trump Says He’ll Fire Jack Smith, Special counsel Who Indicted Him, if He Wins Again. The former president’s remarks to a conservative radio host were his most pointed about the special counsel, Jack Smith, if he returns to the White House. The New York Times, Maggie Haberman, Michael Gold, and Alan Feuer, Thursday, 24 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump said on Thursday that if elected again he would in ‘two seconds’ fire the special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought two federal indictments against him in the past 18 months. Mr. Trump, who has been charged by Mr. Smith with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss and illegally holding on to classified material after leaving office, made the comments in an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt less than two weeks before Election Day. ‘I would fire him within two seconds,’ Mr. Trump said, in response to a question about whether he would do so. He called Mr. Smith ‘crooked,’ a word he uses against most of his opponents. Mr. Trump’s remarks were the sharpest he’s made about what could become of the federal cases he is facing should he win another term in office. The comments followed months of verbal attacks on Mr. Smith, whom he has referred to repeatedly as ‘a thug’ and other insults.” See also, Trump says he’d ‘fire’ special counsel Jack Smith in ‘two seconds’ if elected again. Smith has led the Justice Department’s investigations into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the hoarding of classified documents. The Washington Post, Amy B Wang and Meryl Kornfield, Thursday, 24 October 2024: “Former president Donald Trump said Thursday that he would “fire” special counsel Jack Smith on his first day back in the White House if he is elected again, making clear that he would push to drop a pair of federal cases against him. In an interview Thursday morning with conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt, Trump was asked what he would do if he had to choose between firing Smith or pardoning himself at the start of a second term.”
Tucker Carlson tells Georgia rally ‘dad’ Trump will give Harris a ‘spanking.’ ‘Daddy’s home!’ the crowd chanted when Donald Trump took the stage in the swing state of Georgia less than two weeks from Election Day. The Washington Post, Hannah Knowles, Thursday, 24 October 2024: “Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson warmed up the crowd at Donald Trump’s rally here Wednesday night with a dark metaphor, bashing Vice President Kamala Harris and declaring that ‘dad’ was coming home to mete out discipline. ‘He’s pissed!’ Carlson said to extended cheers. ‘Dad is pissed. … And when dad gets home, you know what he says? ‘You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl, and you’re getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it’s not going to hurt me more than it hurts you,’ Tucker added. ‘No, it’s not. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You’re getting a vigorous spanking because you’ve been a bad girl, and it has to be this way.'”
The Group at the Center of Trump’s Planning for a Second Term Is One You Haven’t Heard Of. America First Policy Institute didn’t even exist four years ago. But it is poised to be more influential than Project 2025. The New York Times, Ken Bensinger and David A. Fahrenthold, Thursday, 24 October 2024: “Late this summer, a prominent right-wing think tank invited conservatives from around the country to learn how to work in a second Donald J. Trump administration. In a series of training sessions in Washington, former Trump officials shared strategies with attendees for combating leftist civil servants in the federal government and dealing with the mainstream media. Participants were sent home with a thick binder of materials for further study. One section’s title: ‘Tales From the Swamp: How Federal Bureaucrats Resisted President Trump.’ The classes could easily have been the work of Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint and personnel project that was created by loyalists to Mr. Trump and that has been turned into a political cudgel by Democrats seeking to link its most radical prescriptions to the former president. But the meetings had nothing to do with that enterprise or its principal backer, the Heritage Foundation. Instead, they were the work of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank that has, with little fanfare or scrutiny, installed itself as the Trump campaign’s primary partner in making concrete plans to wield power again. Founded by three wealthy Texans in late 2020, the group, known as A.F.P.I., has quickly inserted itself into nearly every corner of Mr. Trump’s political machine, and is closer than any other outside player in his planning for a second term.”
Friday, 25 October 2024:
The Washington Post says it will not endorse a candidate for president. Publisher William Lewis explained the decision as a return to the newspaper’s roots. The Washington Post, Manuel Roig-Franzia and Laura Wagner, Friday, 25 October 2024: “The Washington Post’s publisher said Friday that the paper will not make an endorsement in this year’s presidential contest, for the first time in 36 years, or in future presidential races. The decision, announced 11 days before an election that most polls show as too close to call, drew immediate and heated condemnation from a wide swath of subscribers, political figures and media commentators. Robert Kagan, a longtime Post columnist and editor-at-large in the opinion department, resigned in protest, and a group of 11 Washington Post columnists co-signed an article condemning the decision. Angry readers and sources flooded the email inboxes of numerous staffers with complaints. In a column published on The Post’s website Friday, publisher and CEO William Lewis described the decision as a return to the newspaper’s roots of non-endorsement. The Post did not begin regularly endorsing presidential candidates until 1976, when the paper endorsed Jimmy Carter ‘for understandable reasons at the time,’ Lewis wrote…. Within hours of the announcement, a group of Washington Post columnists, including Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene Robinson and former deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus, called the decision ‘a terrible mistake,’ writing, ‘This is a moment for the institution to be making clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, and the threat that Donald Trump poses to them — the precise points The Post made in endorsing Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.’ Washington Post legends Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein issued a statement saying: ‘We respect the traditional independence of the editorial page, but this decision 12 days out from the 2024 presidential election ignores the Washington Post’s own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy. Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, the Washington Post’s news operation has used its abundant resources to rigorously investigate the danger and damage a second Trump presidency could cause to the future of American democracy and that makes this decision even more surprising and disappointing, especially this late in the electoral process.’ The Post decision marks the second time this week that a major media organization has declined to issue an endorsement in the race between the Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump, and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, after years of making such endorsements. Earlier this week, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, blocked a planned endorsement of Harris, prompting the resignation of the newspaper’s editorials editor. An endorsement of Harris had been drafted by Post editorial page staffers but had yet to be published, according to two people who were briefed on the sequence of events and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The decision to no longer publish presidential endorsements was made by The Post’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to four people who were briefed on the decision.” See also, Washington Post Says It Will Stop Endorsing Presidential Candidates. The decision was made by Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. The New York Times, Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson, Friday, 25 October 2024: “A debate inside The Washington Post continued for days among its top leaders: Should it make an endorsement in the presidential race, continuing a decades-long tradition? In the end, Jeff Bezos, the paper’s billionaire owner, decided that the answer was no. On Friday, Will Lewis, The Post’s chief executive, told the newsroom that the paper would no longer endorse presidential candidates. His announcement came after the debate and decision by Mr. Bezos, a person with knowledge of the talks said. By that time, the paper’s opinion section had drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to four people with knowledge of the process. ‘The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election,’ Mr. Lewis wrote in a note to the staff. ‘Nor in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.’ The Post had endorsed presidential candidates since 1976, Mr. Lewis wrote, when it gave its stamp of approval to Jimmy Carter, who went on to win the election. Before that, it generally did not make presidential endorsements, though it made an exception in 1952 to back Dwight Eisenhower.” See also, For the Washington Post, the wrong choice at the worst possible time, The Washington Post, Ruth Marcus, Friday, 25 October 2024: “I love The Washington Post, deep in my bones. Last month marked my 40th year of proud work for the institution, in the newsroom and in the Opinions section. I have never been more disappointed in the newspaper than I am today, with the tragically flawed decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential race. At a moment when The Post should have been stepping forward to sound the clarion call about the multiple dangers that Donald Trump poses to the nation and the world, it has chosen instead to pull back. That is the wrong choice at the worst possible time…. This is not the time to make such a shift. It is the time to speak out, as loudly and convincingly as possible, to make the case that we made in 2016 and again in 2020: that Trump is dangerously unfit to hold the highest office in the land. This was The Post on Oct. 13, 2016: ‘Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is dreadful, that is true — uniquely unqualified as a presidential candidate. If we believed that Ms. Clinton were the lesser of two evils, we might well urge you to vote for her anyway — that is how strongly we feel about Mr. Trump,’ the editorial board wrote in endorsing Hillary Clinton. Trump, it … said, ‘has shown himself to be bigoted, ignorant, deceitful, narcissistic, vengeful, petty, misogynistic, fiscally reckless, intellectually lazy, contemptuous of democracy and enamored of America’s enemies. As president, he would pose a grave danger to the nation and the world.’ Every word of that proved sadly true.”
Trump Is Telling Us What He Would Do. Believe Him. The former president’s most disturbing statements are not bluster. They are a road map to what he will do if elected again. The New York Times, The Editorial Board, Friday, 25 October 2024: “Donald Trump has described at length the dangerous and disturbing actions he says he will take if he wins the presidency. His rallies offer a steady stream of such promises and threats — things like prosecuting political opponents and using the military against U.S. citizens. These statements are so outrageous and outlandish, so openly in conflict with the norms and values of American democracy that many find them hard to regard as anything but empty bluster. We have two words for American voters: Believe him…. Trump says he will use the Justice Department to punish people he doesn’t like. Believe him…. Trump says he will round up and deport millions of immigrants. Believe him…. Trump says he will deploy the American military against U.S. citizens. Believe him…. Trump says he will allow vigilante violence to end crime. Believe him…. Trump says he will order the military to strike foreign civilian targets if the United States is attacked. Believe him…. Trump says he will punish blue states by withholding disaster relief. Believe him…. Trump says he will use ideological tests to decide which public schools get federal money. Believe him…. Trump says he will abandon U.S. allies. Believe him….”
What’s at Stake in the 2024 Election. A 14-day series highlighting our best coverage of the most important issues in this election. The New York Times, Friday, 25 October 2024.
Kamala Harris for president | Endorsement. There has never been a more important presidential election in our lifetime. the road to the White House may well run through Pennsylvania, and every vote matters. The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Editorial Board, Friday, 25 October 2024: “Voters face an easy but tectonic choice in the race for the White House. Will they choose the first woman or the oldest man to be the next president? Will they choose the prosecutor or the convict? Will they choose the candidate who supports restoring Roe v. Wade, or the man who bragged about overturning it? Will they choose the candidate with a tax plan to help the middle class or the one who wants to help the superrich? Will they choose the candidate who backs a tough bipartisan immigration law or the guy who killed the measure? Will they choose the candidate who wants to combat climate change or the one who thinks it is a hoax? Will they choose the candidate who upholds the peaceful transfer of power or the one who summoned a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol? Will they choose the candidate who stands up to Vladimir Putin or the one who said Russia could do ‘whatever the hell they want?’ Will they choose the candidate who champions education, health care for all, and sensible gun safety laws, or the person who wants to close the U.S. Department of Education, repeal Obamacare, and told supporters after a school shooting to ‘get over it?’ Will they choose the candidate who supports the working class or the one who is anti-union and opposed raising the minimum wage? Will they choose a woman of color who wants to unite the country, or a man with a history of misogynistic, racist, and divisive comments and actions? Will they choose the candidate who supports LGBTQ rights or the one who wants to roll back protections for the gay community? Will they choose the candidate who will uphold the presidential oath, or the one who was impeached twice for high crimes and misdemeanors, profited from the White House, dangled pardons to cronies, and was indicted four times? This baker’s dozen list could go on, but the choice is clear and obvious. Vice President Kamala Harris wants to help all Americans. Donald Trump wants to help himself. That is why The Inquirer endorses Kamala Devi Harris to be the 47th president of the United States.”
Ex-Trump aides emerge to back Kelly’s harsh warnings. The letter from former White House officials comes as Harris is leaning into her closing argument that Trump is a threat to democracy. Politico, Meredith McGraw, Friday, 25 October 2024: “More than a dozen former Trump administration officials on Friday came out in support of former chief of staff John Kelly, who went on the record this week to say the former president fits the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator and has no concept of the Constitution. In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, ‘this is who Donald Trump is.’ ‘The revelations General Kelly brought forward are disturbing and shocking. But because we know Trump and have worked for and alongside him, we were sadly not surprised by what General Kelly had to say,’ the letter states. ‘We applaud General Kelly for highlighting in stark details the danger of a second Trump term. Like General Kelly, we did not take the decision to come forward lightly. We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments’ the letter states. ‘Everyone should heed General Kelly’s warning.'” See also, 13 Former Trump administration officials sign open letter backing up John Kelly’s criticism of Trump. Kelly told the New York Times that Trump meets the definition of a fascist and also said he observed the former president on multiple occasions praising Adolf Hitler. NBC News, Megan Lebowitz, Friday, 25 October 2024: “Thirteen former Trump White House officials signed an open letter backing up former Trump chief of staff John Kelly, who told the New York Times that Trump fits the definition of a fascist. ‘We applaud General Kelly for highlighting in stark details the danger of a second Trump term. Like General Kelly, we did not take the decision to come forward lightly,’ the letter said. ‘We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments.’ Politico was first to report on the letter. The letter, released by the Harris campaign, is signed by former officials including former press secretary Stephanie Grisham, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security Miles Taylor, and Olivia Troye, former national security adviser to Mike Pence. All three former Trump administration officials have become high-profile critics of his after his presidency ended. Troye and Grisham spoke at the Democratic National Convention this year. Troye was also one of the signatories of a letter in August from over 200 Republican officials backing Vice President Kamala Harris for president.” See also, 13 Ex-Trump Aides Back John Kelly’s ‘Dictator’ Warning, Saying Trump Seeks ‘Absolute, Unchecked Power.’ In a letter, the former aides wrote, ‘For the good of our country, our democracy, and our Constitution, we are asking you to listen closely and carefully to General Kelly’s warning.’ The New York Times, Tim Balk, Friday, 25 October 2024: “Thirteen former Trump administration officials released an open letter on Friday amplifying warnings from John F. Kelly, Donald J. Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, that the former president would rule like a dictator if he returned to office. The former officials wrote that they were shocked but “not surprised” after Mr. Kelly, a former Marine general, told The New York Times that Mr. Trump had said more than once that “Hitler did some good things” and had complained that U.S. generals were not sufficiently loyal to him. ‘This is who Donald Trump is,’ wrote the 13, all ‘lifelong Republicans,’ according to the letter. ‘Donald Trump’s disdain for the American military and admiration for dictators like Hitler is rooted in his desire for absolute, unchecked power.’ The letter did not describe any of the former officials hearing Mr. Trump speaking glowingly of Hitler, the Nazi dictator who presided over the systematic slaughter of six million Jews and millions of others.”
NASA chief calls for investigation into report that Musk and Putin have spoken regularly, CNN, Shania Shelton, Friday, 25 October 2024: “NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Friday called for an investigation into a Wall Street Journal report that SpaceX founder and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been in ‘regular contact’ since late 2022. The report, which said the SpaceX founder has discussed ‘personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions’ with the Russian leader, raises national security concerns as SpaceX’s relationships with NASA and the US military may have granted Musk access to sensitive government information and US intelligence. ‘I don’t know that that story is true. I think it should be investigated,’ Nelson told Semafor’s Burgess Everett. ‘If the story is true that there have been multiple conversations between Elon Musk and the president of Russia, then I think that would be concerning, particularly for NASA, for the Department of Defense, for some of the intelligence agencies.’ Some US officials have raised counterintelligence concerns in the last year about Musk’s interactions with US adversaries like Russia, but the US intelligence community is wary of looking into those interactions because Musk is an American citizen, an official familiar with the matter told CNN. Several White House officials told the Journal they weren’t aware of the contact between Musk and Putin, and the paper said knowledge of the discussions ‘appears to be a closely held secret in government.’ The discussions were confirmed to the Journal by several current and former US, European and Russian officials. In one instance, the newspaper cited a request from Putin to Musk not to activate his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan ‘as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.'”
Biden Apologizes for U.S. Abuse of Indian Children, Calling It ‘a Sin on Our Soul.’ From the early 1900s to the late 1960s, the federal government forced Native American children into boarding schools where they faced abuse and neglect that led in some cases to death. The New York Times, Peter Baker and Aishvarya Kavi, Friday, 25 October 2024: “President Biden ventured into Native American territory on Friday to offer a formal apology on behalf of the U.S. government for the mistreatment of generations of children who were taken away from their families in an effort to strip them of their culture, history and language. During a visit to the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, Mr. Biden decried what he called ‘a sin on our soul’ and promised to do more to make up for the federal government’s former policy of forcibly removing Native American children and putting them in boarding schools where they faced abuse and neglect that led in some cases to death. ‘The federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened — until today,’ the president told a cheering crowd that included families afflicted by the policy. ‘I formally apologize as president of the United States of America for what we did. I formally apologize. It’s long overdue.’ He added that ‘quite frankly, there’s no excuse that this apology took 50 years to make’ and acknowledged that it could only mean so much after so long. ‘I know no apology can or will make up for what was lost during the darkness of the federal boarding school policy,’ Mr. Biden said. ‘But today, we’re finally moving forward into the light.’ Mr. Biden’s visit culminated years of study and discussion by his administration led by Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American interior secretary, whose own family was affected by a practice that lasted from the early 1800s to the late 1960s. An investigative report by her department in July found that at least 19,000 Native children were sent to federal boarding schools, and nearly 1,000 died while attending them.”
Former Model Accuses Donald Trump of Groping Her in 1993. The swimsuit model Stacey Williams said Jeffrey Epstein took her to Trump Tower, where the future president groped her. Mr. Trump’s campaign denied it. The New York Times, Matthew Goldstein and Emily Steel, Friday, 25 October 2024: “One day in 1993, the financier Jeffrey Epstein [took] a model named Stacey Williams to Trump Tower in Manhattan to say hello to the building’s owner, Donald J. Trump. As he and Mr. Epstein chatted, Mr. Trump groped Ms. Williams, she said. Ms. Williams, a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, made the accusation this week in an interview with The New York Times and on a Zoom event in which several women said they had been victims of sexual misconduct by Mr. Trump. The women, some of whom had previously made their allegations in public, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. The Times spoke to two of Ms. Williams’s friends, who said she had previously told them about the assault. Mr. Trump’s campaign denied on Friday that it ever happened, calling the allegations ‘unequivocally false’ and politically motivated. Ms. Williams is the latest of more than a dozen women to accuse the former president of sexual abuse and misconduct. Last year, for example, a New York jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said Mr. Trump raped her in the dressing room of a department store. Mr. Trump was also once caught on tape boasting about assaulting women.”
Saturday, 26 October 2024:
Elon Musk, enemy of ‘open borders,’ launched his career working illegally. Investors in Musk’s first company worried about ‘our founder being deported’ and gave him a deadline for obtaining a work visa. The Washington Post, Maria Sacchetti, Faiz Siddiqui, and Nick Miroff, Saturday, 26 October 2024: “Long before he became one of Donald Trump’s biggest donors and campaign surrogates, South African-born Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States as he launched his entrepreneurial career after ditching a graduate studies program in California, according to former business associates, court records and company documents obtained by The Washington Post. Musk in recent months has amplified the Republican presidential candidate’s claims that ‘open borders’ and undocumented immigrants are destroying America, broadcasting those views to more than 200 million followers on the site formerly known as Twitter, which Musk bought in 2022 and later renamed X. What Musk has not publicly disclosed is that he did not have the legal right to work while building the company that became Zip2, which sold for about $300 million in 1999. It was Musk’s steppingstone to Tesla and the other ventures that have made him the world’s wealthiest person — and arguably America’s most successful immigrant.”
Sunday, 27 October 2024:
Trump at Madison Square Garden: A Closing Carnival of Grievances, Misogyny, and Racism. The inflammatory rally was a capstone for an increasingly aggrieved campaign for Donald Trump, whose rhetoric has grown darker and more menacing. The New York Times, Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman, and Michael Gold, Sunday, 27 October 2024: “Donald J. Trump’s closing rally at Madison Square Garden on the second to last Sunday before the election was a release of rage at a political and legal system that impeached, indicted and convicted him, a vivid and at times racist display of the dark energy animating the MAGA movement. A comic kicked off the rally by dismissing Puerto Rico as a ‘floating island of garbage,’ then mocked Hispanics as failing to use birth control, Jews as cheap and Palestinians as rock-throwers, and called out a Black man in the audience with a reference to watermelon. Another speaker likened Vice President Kamala Harris to a prostitute with ‘pimp handlers.’ A third called her ‘the Antichrist.’ And the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked Ms. Harris — the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father — with a made-up ethnicity, saying she was vying to become ‘the first Samoan-Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.’ By the time the former president himself took the stage, an event billed as delivering the closing message of his campaign, with nine days left in a tossup race, had instead become a carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism.” See also, Trump’s Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults, Associated Press, Jill Colvin and Michelle L. Price, Sunday, 27 October 2024: “Donald Trump hosted a rally featuring crude and racist insults at New York’s Madison Square Garden, turning what his campaign had dubbed as the event where he would deliver his closing message into an illustration of what turns off his critics. With just over a week before Election Day, speakers at the rally Sunday night labeled Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage,’ called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris ‘the devil,’ and said the woman vying to become the first woman and Black woman president had begun her career as a prostitute. ‘I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,’ said Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comic whose set also included lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and Black people, all key constituencies in the election just nine days away.” See also, Trump’s New York homecoming sparks backlash over racist and vulgar remarks. A pro-Trump comedian’s racist daitribe drew widespread condemnation. Politico, Meridith McGraw and Lisa Kashinsky, Sunday, 27 October 2024: “Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, billed as a triumphant homecoming, turned into a political fiasco on Sunday night as a pro-Trump comedian’s racist diatribe drew furious condemnation, including from prominent Republicans. The rally, held just more than a week before Election Day, was intended to serve as a platform for Trump to make his closing argument. But the racist slurs and vulgarity of the former president’s opening acts were so striking — and sparked such backlash — that his campaign was left on the defensive and issued a disavowal. The event began with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, host of the “Kill Tony” podcast, who opened the rally with a set replete with slurs about Latinos, African Americans and other groups that Trump’s campaign is actively targeting to turn out for the former president.Latinos ‘love making babies. There’s no pulling out. They come inside, just like they do to our country,’ Hinchcliffe said to laughter inside the arena. He added: ‘There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.'” See also, Racist Remarks and Insults Mark Trump’s Madison Square Garden Rally. Many of the speakers at Donald Trump’s rally in the heart of solidly blue New York struck offensive and vulgar notes, which Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign moved quickly to elevate and Denounce. Melania Trump, a surprise guest, introduced her husband to the stage. The New York Times, Michael Gold, Sunday, 27 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump closed his hourslong Madison Square Garden rally after a marathon of speeches that began with a series of warm-up speakers who delivered a litany of racist remarks, vulgar insults and profanity-laden comments. Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian who was one of the early speakers, called Puerto Rico an ‘island of garbage’ in a set that also included derogatory remarks about Latinos generally, African Americans, Palestinians and Jews.”
Amid Talk of Fascism, Trump’s Threats and Language Evoke a Grim Past. Plenty of presidents have been called dictators by their political opponents, but none until now has been publicly accused of being a ‘fascist’ by his own handpicked advisers. The New York Times, Peter Baker, Sunday, 27 October 2024: “When former President Donald J. Trump’s longest serving chief of staff said the other day that his old boss ‘falls into the general definition of fascist,’ Mr. Trump let loose with the insults, assailing his onetime right hand as a ‘total degenerate,’ a ‘LOWLIFE’ and a ‘bad General.’ What Mr. Trump did not do, at least at first, was actually deny that he was or aspired to be a fascist. Any other politician might consider that a damning denunciation worth rebutting. Only when asked days later did he directly dismiss the idea. But in the nine years that he has been running for or serving as president, Mr. Trump has regularly evoked the language, history and motifs of fascism without hesitation or evident concern about how it would make him look. While presidents have pushed the boundaries of power, and in some cases abused it outright, no American commander in chief over the past couple of centuries has so aggressively sought to discredit the institutions of democracy at home while so openly embracing and envying dictators abroad.”
Tuesday, 29 October 2024:
Inside Trump’s Truth Social Conspiracy Theory Machine. An analysis of Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts reveals the paranoid and unfounded content the former president creates and amplifies each day. The New York Times, Neil Bedi, Lazaro Gamio, Ishaan Jhaveri, Devon Lum, Haley Willis, and Karen Yourish, Tuesday, 29 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump’s penchant for amplifying easily debunked conspiracy theories is well known. But an extensive analysis of his posts and reposts on Truth Social reveals a candidate who promotes these sinister theories at a scale and frequency well beyond his already infamous playbook. The New York Times’s examination of Mr. Trump’s activity on Truth Social shows that, often multiple times a day, the former president is concocting or promoting dark, paranoid material and pushing it out to his millions of followers. Mr. Trump is so hungry for this content that he appears to be willing to share outlandish information from anyone, including both well-known conspiracists and anonymous accounts that tag him. The Times analyzed thousands of Mr. Trump’s posts and reposts over a six-month period in 2024 and found that at least 330 of them met two tightly defined and striking criteria: They each described both a false, secretive plot against Mr. Trump or the American people and a specific entity supposedly responsible for it. The unfounded theories ranged from suggestions that the F.B.I. had ordered his assassination to accusations that government officials had orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.”
My Fellow Republicans, It’s Time to Say ‘Enough’ With Trump, The New York Times, J. Michael Luttig, Tuesday, 29 October 2024: “We Americans live in faith with our Constitution and with the past generations of Americans who swore to protect it and fought to defend it. One week from today, we will decide whether Donald Trump is fit to be president of the United States again. He is not. When we entrusted our Constitution and our democracy to him before, he betrayed us. Campaigning for the presidency again, he now promises to exact vengeance against his fellow Americans whom he deems ‘the enemy from within,’ those who have dared to challenge his betrayal, an enemies list that includes Republicans and Democrats alike. There could be no higher duty of American citizenship than to decisively repudiate a man who betrayed the nation when he was previously entrusted with the highest office in the land and now threatens the persecution of American citizens who have crossed him. In the almost 250 years since the founding of the nation, no president before Donald Trump has ever so betrayed America.”
In Closing, Harris Casts Herself as the unifier and Trump as a ‘Petty Tyrant.’ In a plain-spoken but forceful speech at the Ellipse in Washington, Kamala Harris presented herself as a protector of the public good and used the arc of history to attack her Republican rival. The New York Times, Katie Rogers and Reid J. Epstein, Tuesday, 29 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris used the last major speech of her campaign to unleash a fiery broadside against former President Donald J. Trump, calling her rival ‘consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power’ and presenting herself as a fighter who would usher in a new generation of leadership. In a speech in front of what her campaign said was around 75,000 people assembled at the Ellipse, a park just south of the White House in Washington, Ms. Harris sharpened her case, gesturing to the nation’s seat of power and bringing up the specter of a riot that had unfolded less than two miles to the east.”
Wednesday, 30 October 2024:
People Who Were Once Top Advisers to Trump Now Call Him ‘Liar,’ ‘Fascist,’ and ‘Unfit.’ Many of those who served in former President Donald Trump’s administration–especially his generals, ambassadors, and other national security officials–have since turned on Mr. Trump. The New York Times, Michael D. Shear and June Kim, Wednesday, 30 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump often brags about hiring ‘the best people.’ But the breadth of the criticism aimed at Mr. Trump, especially from his own former military and national security officials, sets him apart from any modern president. John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who served as Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, recently called his former boss ‘an authoritarian,’ saying he ‘admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.’ Mark Milley, the country’s top military official during the last two years of Mr. Trump’s presidency, privately told the journalist Bob Woodward that Mr. Trump is a ‘fascist to the core’ and said his pursuit of another four years in office makes him ‘the most dangerous person to this country,’ Mr. Woodward revealed in a recent book.”
Supreme Court Allows Virginia to Purge Possibly Ineligible Voters for Now. A divided court sided with Republicans, allowing the state to cull about 1,600 voters less than a week before Election Day. The New York Times, Abbie VanSickle, Wednesday, 30 October 2024: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Virginia to purge about 1,600 people from its voter rolls, handing a temporary victory to Republican officials in the state who said the move was necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting. The decision was provisional as the case moves forward, though it will apply to the election next week. The order, which did not include a vote count, gave no reasoning and was unsigned, as is typical in cases decided on the emergency docket. But it noted that Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the state’s request to continue the voter purge. Virginia asked the court to intervene after lower courts halted the program, saying that federal law banned states from removing voters so close to an election. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Republican of Virginia, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling, heralding it as ‘a victory for commonsense and election fairness.'” See also, Supreme Court’s conservative justices leave in place Virginia’s purge of voter registrations, Associated Press, Mark Sherman and Denise Lavoie, Wednesday, 30 October 2024: “The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday left in place Virginia’s purge of voter registrations that the state says is aimed at stopping people who are not U.S. citizens from voting. One Virginian, whose registration was canceled despite living in the state her entire life, called the purge ‘a very bad October surprise.’ The high court, over the dissents of the three liberal justices, granted an emergency appeal from Virginia’s Republican administration led by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The court provided no rationale for its action, which is typical in emergency appeals. The justices acted on Virginia’s appeal after a federal judge found that the state illegally purged more than 1,600 voter registrations in the past two months. A federal appeals court had previously allowed the judge’s order to remain in effect.”
Thursday, 31 October 2024:
Trump Says He’ll Protect Women, “Whether The Women Like It or Not,’ Evoking His History of Misogyny, The New York Times, Nicholas Nehamas and Erica L. Green, Thursday, 31 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump said at a rally on Wednesday that he would protect American women ‘whether the women like it or not’ — remarks that he cast as paternal but only served as reminders to many of his critics of his history of misogynistic statements and a civil court case that found him liable for sexual abuse. Speaking near Green Bay, Wis., Mr. Trump told the crowd that his advisers had urged him to stop using a well-worn rally line about his desire to protect women, saying they had called it ‘inappropriate.'” See also, Kamala Harris rebukes Trump for saying he will protect women whether they ‘like it or not,’ Harris and others criticized Trump’s remarks, saying they evoked the idea that Trump believes he can make decisions for women. The Washington Post, Justine McDaniel, Thursday, 31 October 2024: “Vice President Kamala Harris chastised Donald Trump on Thursday after the former president said he would protect women whether they ‘like it or not,’ calling the comments ‘very offensive’ and reflective of an individual who doesn’t understand women. Harris told reporters that the remarks revealed how Trump sees women and showed a disregard for their autonomy. Her criticism added to a backlash from critics who have seized on the comment, characterizing it as a demonstration of Trump’s long history of misogynistic statements and a reminder of the civil court case that found him liable for sexual abuse. ‘It actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,’ Harris told reporters in Madison, Wisconsin, before her departure for a campaign swing in western battleground states.” See also, Kamala Harris says Trump’s comment that he will protect women whether they like it or not ‘is offensive to everybody,’ Associated Press, Will Weissert and Colleen Long, Thursday, 31 October 2024: “Kamala Harris said Thursday that Donald Trump’s comment that he would protect women whether they ‘like it or not’ shows that the Republican presidential nominee does not understand women’s rights ‘to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies. I think it’s offensive to everybody, by the way,’ Harris said before she set out to spend the day campaigning in the Western battleground states of Arizona and Nevada. She followed up those remarks at her rally in Phoenix: ‘He simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to know what’s in their own best interests and make decisions accordingly. But we trust women.'”
Trump and Vance Escalate Efforts to Sow Doubts on Pennsylvania Voting. They made false attacks about the security of the election in Pennsylvania, the battleground state with the most electoral college votes. The New York Times, Nick Corasaniti and Michael Gold, Thursday, 31 October 2024: “Former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, escalated their false attacks about the security of the Pennsylvania elections on Thursday, ramping up baseless accusations about voter fraud that could erode confidence of the results in one of the most critical battleground states.”
Even though the Trump administration has been out of office since January 2021, I am continuing to post summaries of the daily political news and major stories relating to this tragic and dangerous period in US history. I try to focus on the differences between the Trump administration and the Biden administration and on the ongoing toxic residual effects of the Trump administration and Republicans. I usually post throughout the day and let the news settle for a day or so before posting.
I created Muckraker Farm in 2014 as a place to post muckraking (investigative) journalism going back to the 19th century. I hope to return to this original project soon. You can find these muckraking pieces under the Home Page link at the top of this site. Thanks for reading!