Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew announced he had tested positive for COVID-19, a day after he attended his father’s bizarre “election fraud” press conference, according to the New York Times.
Trump’s Disgraceful Gambit
National Review: “The Rudy Giuliani–led press conference at the RNC yesterday was the most outlandish and irresponsible performance ever by a group of lawyers representing a president of the United States.”
“If Giuliani’s charge of a “national conspiracy” to produce fraudulent votes in Democratic cities around the country wasn’t far-fetched enough, attorney Sidney Powell ratcheted it up with the allegation that Communist-designed election machinery was used to change the vote from a Trump landslide to a narrow Biden victory. An obvious question is why, if you can manipulate the vote count via machine, you’d need to bother with old-fashioned fraudulent ballots. Powell’s story is that the surprisingly strong Trump turnout “broke the algorithm” of the corrupted machines, and then the fraudulent ballots were desperately hauled in to make up the difference.”
“This is lawyering worthy of the comments section of Breitbart News.”
Janet Yellen Seems Headed for Treasury
Joe Biden said his choice for Treasury secretary would win wide praise among Democrats, Politico reports.
Said Biden: “You’ll find it is someone who I think is — will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party, from the progressive to the moderate coalitions.”
“The ONLY name among current candidates that fits this description is former Fed Chair Janet Yellen… Lael Brainard does not (though she really should.) Neither does Roger Ferguson, a former vice chair of the Fed and head of TIAA-Cref. Neither of those people would satisfy strong progressives.”
Warren and Sanders Unlikely to Make Biden Cabinet
“Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, leaders of the Democratic Party’s left wing, are at risk of being excluded from the senior ranks of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration as the incoming president balances the demands of his party’s progressive base against the political realities of a narrowly divided Senate,” the AP reports.
“The liberal New England senators remain interested in serving in Biden’s Cabinet, but even some of their allies recognize they face major political hurdles getting there. Sensing disappointment, progressive leaders have reluctantly begun to express support for less-controversial alternatives.”
Do Trump’s Lawyers Know What They’re Doing?
The affidavit that Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell insists proves that many precincts in Michigan have more votes than actual voters was actually based on data from Minnesota, John Hinderaker reports.
Biden Won Using Clinton’s Playbook
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Rick Scott Tests Positive
Sen Rick Scott (R-FL) announced he tested positive for COVID-19.
Trump’s Antics Show Contempt for His Own Voters
Jonathan Bernstein: “I’m hardly the first to say this, but one thing remains clear about Donald Trump as a politician: No one has more contempt for his supporters than the president himself and those around him.”
“Trump is currently taking his allies through a crash course in disdain for democracy. He’s inventing, repeating or embellishing entirely false accusations about fraud. He’s asking the courts to toss out hundreds of thousands of legal votes for basically no reason. He’s demanding that the election results be overturned altogether by Republican officials — judges in some cases, election administrators in others, or even state legislators in an extreme scenario. It could hardly be more unconstitutional and undemocratic. Oh, and it’s entirely impractical: Trump’s legal and political strategies have no realistic chance of working…”
“Trump and his allies are treating their own supporters as if they were the easiest marks in the world, willing to fall for whatever wild claims the president can come up with to keep their resentment boiling and their donations flowing. And while it’s true that some Democratic politicians have said nasty things over the years about rank-and-file Trump voters, none of them has ever reached that level of contempt.”
We Didn’t Get Here By Accident
First Read: “Over the last four years, we’ve seen Republican leaders in Congress — a separate and equally powerful branch of government — assist Trump, appease him or stay silent.”
“We’ve seen how conservative media paints a radically different view of American politics than other news outlets do.”
“We’ve seen how many Trump administration officials put service to the president ahead of service to the public.”
“And we’ve seen a president who has consistently demonstrated that he puts his own political interests first.”
Trump Voters Say There’s ‘No Way’ He Lost
Reuters: “In interviews with 50 Trump voters, all said they believed the election was rigged or in some way illegitimate. Of those, 20 said they would consider accepting Biden as their president, but only in light of proof that the election was conducted fairly. Most repeated debunked conspiracy theories espoused by Trump, Republican officials and conservative media claiming that millions of votes were dishonestly switched to Biden in key states by biased poll workers and hacked voting machines.”
“Many voters interviewed by Reuters said they formed their opinions by watching emergent right-wing media outlets such as Newsmax and One American News Network that have amplified Trump’s fraud claims. Some have boycotted Fox News out of anger that the network called Biden the election winner and that some of its news anchors – in contrast to its opinion show stars – have been skeptical of Trump’s fraud allegations.”
Geraldo Rivera Wants to Name Vaccine After Trump
Geraldo Rivera suggested on Fox News that we name the coronavirus vaccine after President Trump to soften the blow of his election defeat.
Said Rivera: “It would be a nice gesture to him and years from now it would become kind of a generic name. Have you got your trump yet, I got my trump, I’m fine. I wished we could honor him in that way.”
Trump and Giuliani are the Republican Party
Jennifer Rubin: “Let us not dwell on the details. Or on the shamefulness of state bar authorities in failing to sanction such unprofessional conduct. Or on Giuliani’s hair dye that ran down from each sideburn. What is clear is that this is the level of sheer insanity and irrational propaganda that passes for Republican ‘thinking.’ Plainly, Giuliani is representing the president’s views, and because the vast majority of Republicans say Trump should be allowed to exhaust his legal claims, his performance has, in effect, been endorsed by Republican House and Senate leadership, much of right-wing media and the Republican National Committee.”
Last Gasps of a Dying Campaign
“President Trump and his allies are taking increasingly frantic steps to subvert the results of the 2020 election, including summoning state legislators to the White House as part of a longshot bid to overturn Joe Biden’s victory,” the AP reports.
“Among other last-ditch tactics: personally calling local election officials who are trying to rescind their certification votes in Michigan, suggesting in a legal challenge that Pennsylvania set aside the popular vote there and pressuring county officials in Arizona to delay certifying vote tallies.”
“Election law experts see it as the last, dying gasps of the Trump campaign and say Biden is certain to walk into the Oval Office come January. But there is great concern that Trump’s effort is doing real damage to public faith in the integrity of U.S. elections.”
Trump Is On An Island
“Most of President Trump’s closest advisers have completely distanced themselves from his legal effort and are avoiding his lawyers to avoid being swept into their courtroom dramas,” Axios reports.
“Some of the president’s advisers act like they think he can still overturn the election results — because they remain on the payroll and don’t have another choice. But talk to them privately, and many say Rudy Giuliani and his team are on a dead-end path.”
The Media Filter Bubble Is Getting Worse
Axios: “The media remains fairly clueless about the America that exists outside of the big cities, where most political writers and editors live. The coverage missed badly the surge in Trump voters in places obvious (rural America) and less obvious (Hispanic-heavy border towns in Texas).”
“Let’s be honest: Many of us under-appreciated the appeal of Trump’s anti-socialism message and the backlash against the defund-the-police rhetoric on the left.”
“The media (and many Democrats) are fairly clueless about the needs, wants and trends of Hispanic voters. Top Latinos warned about overlooking and misreading the fastest-growing population in America — but most didn’t listen. Hispanics will shape huge chunks of America’s political future, so a course correction is in order.”
Democrats Demand Briefing from GSA Chief
Politico: “Four senior House Democrats are demanding that GSA Administrator Emily Murphy brief them Monday on the reason she has yet to ascertain Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election, warning that her answers will determine whether they intend to haul her to Capitol Hill for a public hearing.”
GOP Senate Signals It Will Confirm Biden Cabinet
“Senate Republicans are signaling they will confirm most of President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks in January — a rare bright spot for a White House that may clash with a GOP majority for years to come,” Politico reports.
“Many Republicans won’t even publicly concede that Biden will be the next president while President Donald Trump fights to overturn the election results. But a critical mass of GOP senators said in interviews that Biden has the right to his Cabinet, indicating he may be able to staff his administration largely to his liking.”
Romney Slams Trump on Election Tactics
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Twitter:
“Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy, the president has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election. It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American president.”