A new Bangor Daily News-Digital Research poll in Maine finds Sara Gideon (D) edging Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 44% to 43%.
Quote of the Day
“It’s insane that he would return to the White House and jeopardize his staff’s health when we are still learning of new cases among senior staff. This place is a cesspool.”
— A White House staffer, quoted by Axios.
Biden Holds Double-Digit National Lead
A new SurveyUSA poll finds Joe Biden leading Donald Trump nationally, 53% to 43%.
More interesting: In interviews completed after Trump had been helicoptered to Walter Reed Medical Center, Biden appears to have consolidated support, leading by 16 points among likely voters interviewed most recently, 56% to 40%.
Goldman Sachs Says ‘Blue Wave’ Good for Economy
“President Trump is once again warning voters that Democrats would “shut our economy and jobs down” if they win in November,” CNN reports.
“Goldman Sachs is telling its clients the exact opposite… Goldman economists pointed out that polls ‘suggest a blue wave in which Democrats gain unified control of Washington is becoming more likely’ — and they’re not suggesting investors dump stocks.”
In fact, “all else equal, such a blue wave would likely prompt us to upgrade our forecasts.”
Senior Pentagon Leadership in Quarantine
The top US general, Gen. Mark Milley, and several members of the senior Pentagon leadership are quarantining after a top Coast Guard official tested positive for coronavirus, CNN reports.
Doctor Says Trump Reports No COVID-19 Symptoms
White House physician Sean Conley said President Trump was not reporting any coronavirus symptoms Tuesday and is doing “extremely well,” Axios reports.
The Life and the Run
Just published: Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now by Evan Osnos.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Osnos, Evan (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 185 Pages - 10/06/2020 (Publication Date) - Scribner (Publisher)
Facebook, Twitter Take Action on False Trump Post
Facebook on Tuesday removed a post from President Trump in which he falsely claimed that COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu, Axios reports.
Twitter labeled the tweet for violating its rules about “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information,” but left it up because it may be “in the public’s interest.”
A Key Fix for an Unthinkable Election Disaster
Rick Hasen: “With coronavirus infections raging through the White House and the state of the President’s health unclear, it’s time to face up to an unsettling reality. We need to start thinking about what to do if the disease incapacitates or kills President Donald Trump or his opponent, Joe Biden — or even both of them — between now and January 6, 2021, when Congress meets to count Electoral College votes.”
“These scenarios may be unlikely, but they need to be considered because being unprepared for any of them would be a calamity for our democracy.”
“There is one thing each state can do now to minimize the risk: pass a law providing that voters’ votes for a deceased or incapacitated presidential candidate count toward a replacement chosen by that candidate’s party, and that state’s electoral college votes for the deceased or incapacitated candidate also go to the party replacement.”
Trump Plans to Attend Next Week’s Debate
President Trump plans to attend and participate in the presidential debate in Miami next week, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Judge Extends Arizona Registration Deadline
“A federal judge extended the voter registration deadline in Arizona from October 5 to October 23 on Monday, ruling in favor of two advocacy groups who sued to push the deadline back due to the coronavirus pandemic,” CBS News reports.
Another Trump Aide Tests Positive
Another President Trump staffer, a member of the military personnel assigned to support the president, tested positive for Covid-19 this weekend, Forbes reports.
Trump Doubles-Down on Losing Message
Aaron Blake: “Over the last few days, Trump has offered what amounts to remarkable and dumbfounding double-down on his coronavirus messaging: downplaying it, having his doctors hide information, taking a joyride that could endanger the people riding in the car with him, demonstrably removing his mask upon returning to the White House, and sending a series of tweets urging people not to be ‘afraid’ of the virus and rekindling his long-abandoned comparisons to the flu.”
“The thing is, though: None of it was working before. And there’s precious little reason to believe it will now.”
Trump Wants to Give Nationwide Televised Address
New York Times: “Mr. Trump was considering some kind of a nationwide televised address, two people familiar with the discussions said. But while there were no new reports of him needing oxygen, he was still sounding somewhat short of breath in conversations, another person said.”
The Worst Photo Op Ever
Tim Miller: “Trump had a choice: he could have gone for the sympathy vote; he could have shown a flash of empathy. According to the NYT, some campaign staffers thought that if Trump recovered quickly and then appeared sympathetic to the public in how he talked about his own experience and that of millions of other Americans, he could have something of a political reset.'”
“In TrumpWorld, though, empathy is for cucks, so he opted for STRENGTH instead. Or at least the video version.”
“But as he stood there, maskless, breathing heavily, and about to enter a White house ravaged by the pandemic, Trump didn’t look strong. He looked reckless. He looked sick. He looked like a man whose presidency was in the last stages of decadence.”
Vulnerable Senators Play Down Supreme Court Shift
ABC News: “On the campaign trail, rather than touting that prospect, several prominent Republican senators up for reelection are downplaying a possible conservative shift on the court in an attempt to avoid a potential backlash on Election Day.”
“Some incumbents appear to be minimizing the implications of Barrett’s addition to the court, arguing that even with six conservative justices — three nominated by Trump — the court might not always rule in favor of the GOP’s core policy goals.”
Confinement Was Not an Option for Trump
“President Trump is incurring significant risks, physically and politically, by leaving the protective care of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a White House that is less a safe space than a hot zone.” the New York Times reports.
“Yet sitting still — much less resting in bed — was never really an option for a president who often equates mobility, the power to control his own movement and hence his message, with survival.”
“By midday Monday, Mr. Trump made it clear he would soon be moving on from Walter Reed, and moving forward with his campaign, even as medical experts warned that the course of his illness is unpredictable in a man of his age and weight.”
Trump Federal Prosecutors Are Overwhelmingly White Men
“The nation’s top federal prosecutors have become less diverse under President Trump than under his three predecessors, leaving white men overwhelmingly in charge at a time of national demonstrations over racial inequality and the fairness of the criminal justice system,” the AP reports.
“Eighty-five percent of his Senate-confirmed U.S attorneys are white men, according to AP’s analysis, compared with 58% in Democratic President Barack Obama’s eight years, 73% during Republican George W. Bush’s two terms and at most 63% under Democrat Bill Clinton.”