President Trump made fun of Senator Kamala Harris’s laughter, called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “crazy” and said one of his female interviewers was “crazed,” yet insisted at a Pennsylvania rally on Monday that suburban women will support his re-election, Bloomberg reports.
60 Minutes Interviews Get High Ratings
Variety: “The dual Biden and Trump interviews, the latter of which the President cut short, drew a total of 16.8 million total viewers on CBS and scored a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49, per Nielsen time adjusted fast national numbers. That represents the most viewers to tune in since the infamous Stormy Daniels interview from March two years ago.”
News Media Adopts Trump’s Framing of Climate Policy
Emily Atkin, proprietor of the excellent Heated newsletter, analyzed 30 news articles about Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s climate policy exchange at the last debate.
All 30 discussed how Biden’s climate policy could harm the oil industry. Only five discussed how Trump’s climate policy — which is non-existent — could harm all of us.
How Delayed Is Your Mail-In Ballot?
Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. Postal Service has urged voters to mail in their presidential ballots at least a week before their state’s due date in order to be counted. But that might not be enough time.”
“Of the 29 states that require mail-in ballots to arrive on or before election day, 28 have since late July seen periods of average delivery times exceeding six days, the Journal analysis found. Among them are battleground states like Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia.”
Senate Candidate In Hospital for Emergency Surgery
U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis (R) is undergoing emergency surgery Monday for a severe internal hernia, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“The former congressman was experiencing abdominal pain and was hurried into the emergency room Monday morning for tests. Doctors determined he had a hernia, which could be life-threatening if it’s not treated fast.”
Democrats Urge Bloomberg to Spend on Senate Races
“Democratic fundraisers are privately urging billionaire former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg and his team to invest in hotly contested Senate races with just over a week until Election Day,” CNBC reports.
“The pleas come as a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell floods these races with cash on behalf of the GOP candidates.”
Pompeo Under Investigation for Speech
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is under investigation for potentially violating a federal law that forbids federal employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or while inside federal buildings over his address to the Republican convention in August,” CNN reports.
Fauci Says We’re Still In First Wave
Dr Anthony Fauci told Yahoo News the country is still experiencing its first wave of coronavirus infections, as cases surge in dozens of states.
Said Fauci: “I look at it more as an elongated and exacerbation of the original first wave. We never really cleared and got down to a very low baseline… No matter how you look at it, it’s not good news.”
White House Planning Large Event for Amy Coney Barrett
Playbook: “The White House is actually considering holding a large-scale event on the South Lawn this evening to honor Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. A source told us the guest list is not small.”
The unveiling Barrett’s nomination at the White House turned into a superspreader event for the novel coronovirus with even President Trump getting sick.
Barrett is likely to be confirmed to the Supreme Court in a 7:25 p.m. ET vote.
Trump Appointee Resigns Over Civil Service Order
“The Trump administration-appointed head of a key advisory council on the civil service has resigned over an executive order to strip away protections against political interference in hiring and firing for a large portion of the career federal workforce,” the Washington Post reports.
Pence Won’t Preside Over Senate for Barrett Vote
Politico: “Unless multiple Republican senators are absent, a highly unlikely scenario, Barrett has the votes to be confirmed without Pence breaking a tie. Fifty-two GOP senators are expected to support Barrett’s final confirmation.”
Pence will be campaigning in Minnesota instead.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“We’re rounding the turn. You know, all they want to talk about is Covid. By the way, on November 4, you won’t be hearing so much about it. ‘Covid Covid Covid Covid.'”
— President Trump, speaking at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as new U.S. infections hit record levels.
Trump Supporters Now Want to Lock Biden Up
A loud chant of “Lock him up!” broke out at President Trump’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as the president attacked Joe Biden.
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Kushner Says Blacks Must ‘Want to Be Successful’
Jared Kushner told Fox & Friends that Black people must “want to be successful” in order for President Trump’s policies to help them.
Said Kushner: “One thing we’ve seen in a lot of the Black community, which is mostly Democrat, is that President Trump’s policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they’re complaining about. But he can’t want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.”
New Battleground State Polls
From Data for Progress:
- TEXAS: Biden 49%, Trump 48%
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
- GEORGIA: Biden 47%, Trump 46%
From YouGov:
- MICHIGAN: Biden 52%, Trump 42%
- PENNSYLVANIA: Biden 52%, Trump 44%
- WISCONSIN: Biden 53%, Trump 43%
Why Many Americans Don’t Vote
FiveThirtyEight: “In any given election, between 35 and 60 percent of eligible voters don’t cast a ballot. It’s not that hard to understand why. Our system doesn’t make it particularly easy to vote, and the decision to carve out a few hours to cast a ballot requires a sense of motivation that’s hard for some Americans to muster every two or four years — enthusiasm about the candidates, belief in the importance of voting itself, a sense that anything can change as the result of a single vote.”
“But who does — and doesn’t — vote is complex. Most Americans don’t fall neatly into any one category. Instead, as we found in our new poll with Ipsos, most… vote inconsistently, or at moments when they feel like their vote has a chance to make a difference, or when the stakes of not voting are just too high, which is how many Americans describe this upcoming election.”
Weekly Average of Virus Infections Hit New High
The seven-day moving average of new daily coronavirus cases stood at 68,767 after Sunday — a level not seen since the highest peak in late July, according to CNN’s analysis of data by Johns Hopkins University.
First Read: The 2020 campaign is closing on the coronavirus.
