Democratic presidential candidate says suspect who killed 22 people earlier this month was inspired by Trump’s rhetoric
The deaths of 22 people in the El Paso shooting earlier this month made clear “the real consequence and cost of Donald Trump”, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said on Sunday.
Related: 'Rigging the game': Stacey Abrams kicks off campaign to fight voter suppression
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That’s all our live coverage for today, thanks for following along. Some key links and developments from the day:
The president says he is dining tonight with Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO:
Having dinner tonight with Tim Cook of Apple. They will be spending vast sums of money in the U.S. Great!
President Donald Trump called Apple CEO Tim Cook "Tim Apple" during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/B6z3tzeBeO
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Several more Democratic presidential candidates have issues statements condemning Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s planned trip.
I don't believe any nation should deny entry to elected Members of Congress, period. It’s an affront to the United States. Open and engaged foreign relations are critical to advancing U.S. interests. Trump is playing politics as he weakens our global leadership. https://t.co/UnMt9Tsd7Q
It’s appalling that President Trump continues to attack two sitting Congresswomen and encouraged another country to deny U.S. officials entry. Trump's behavior is unacceptable, dangerous, and un-American. Israel's decision should be reversed immediately. https://t.co/jHd0VYVJ1u
Nancy Pelosi has put out a statement saying she is “deeply saddened” by Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s trip.
“As one who loves Israel, I am deeply saddened by the news that Israel has decided to prevent Members of Congress from entering the country,” the House speaker said.
Continue reading...Donald Trump had said letting in high-profile pair would ‘show great weakness’
Israel has announced it will block the US congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country after public pressure from Donald Trump.
“It’s unacceptable to allow the entrance to the country of those who wish to harm the state of Israel,” Israel’s interior ministry said.
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Donald Trump is linking US-China trade talks with the Hong Kong protests on Twitter, suggesting that if the China government wants to work out a deal it has to “humanely” work with the protestors.
Whereas investors and foreign leaders have blamed uncertainty around trade negotiations between the US and China is triggering economic volatility around the world, Trump has insisted that negotiations between himself and China’s Xi Jinping are going well and that Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed chairman that Trump nominated in 2017, is to blame.
I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a “tough business.” I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?
..deferral to December. It actually helps China more than us, but will be reciprocated. Millions of jobs are being lost in China to other non-Tariffed countries. Thousands of companies are leaving. Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!
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Federal agents descended upon the private island of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein as part of an ongoing investigation into the late financier, the FBI announced Monday.
Epstein died of an apparent suicide on Saturday while in federal custody at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center after being arrested on federal sex trafficking charges last month.
The New York Police Department is investigating attacks on Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn early Monday morning as a hate crime.
The hate crimes unit and local precinct are investigating the assaults, which were carried out against at least three people between the ages of 56 and 71.
Continue reading...The Republicans have dominated the state for 30 years, but a host of retirements and a rise in Hispanic voters may mean that Texas becomes a battleground again as Democrats seek a path to power.
Sri Preston Kulkarni has just moved into his campaign headquarters, which for now could hardly be more bland: a faceless office with blinds on the windows in a tucked-away suburban Houston business park.
Not far away, though, are a Muslim community centre, a Korean market, Hindu temples, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian and Mexican restaurants – reminders that this sprawling Texas metropolis is one of the most diverse urban areas in the nation.
Continue reading...The former vice-president’s folksy charm went down well at the state fair – but critics say the party needs a bolder 2020 candidate
Joe Biden hardly seemed to be sweating.
He was standing on a small wooden stage at the Iowa state fair, a large crowd around him, no shade in sight. He wore a dark polo and his signature aviator sunglasses, and spoke with a vigor that was absent in his first two Democratic debate performances. But while his audience perspired in the oppressive August sun, cooling themselves with paper fans, Biden seemed at ease.
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Beto O’Rourke has said that Donald Trump is a white supremacist.
The former El Paso representative earlier spoke at a rally protesting the president’s visit.
Donald Trump has been very clear about who he wants to keep out of this country — with walls and cages and militarization and torture and cruelty. We in El Paso have borne the brunt of that, but we in El Paso are standing up to that. https://t.co/nEdgJvfwwy
Trump just posted photos from his visit to a hospital in Dayton, where the press pool was not allowed because it was “not a photo op”
White House @presssec says reporters were not included in Dayton hospital visit "because the visit was not 'a photo opp’" https://t.co/LKkI3bOkm5
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Emerald Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, urges the New York Police Department to follow through with the firing of officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of her father in July, 2014.
WATCH: Emerald Gardner, the daughter of Eric Garner, reacts to news that administrative judge recommends that NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo should be fired.
“We’ve waited 5 years... Commissioner O’Neill, fire Pantaleo.” pic.twitter.com/WE4R1wMLsY
The former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who resigned from the post in 2018, has replied directly (via Twitter, also) to the president’s offensive tweet earlier about congressman Elijah Cummings suffering an intruder at his house in Baltimore last weekend.
This is so unnecessary.
Continue reading...Congresswoman mocks ‘send her back’ comments with Instagram post of trip to Ghana with House speaker
The congresswoman Ilhan Omar took a swipe at Donald Trump on Thursday, posting a photo on Instagram of herself and Nancy Pelosi in Ghana with the caption: “They said ‘send her back’ but Speaker Pelosi didn’t just make arrangement to send me back, she went back with me.”
The photo came from a congressional trip to the African country this week, in observance of the American slave trade’s 400th anniversary. The two women were joined by the civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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As Trump carries on with his rally in North Carolina, we’re going to wrap up the liveblog for today. Check The Guardian’s homepage for updates.
Congressman Will Hurd of Texas, a critic of Trump and one of the few Republican lawmakers who voted to condemn Trump’s racist attacks, announced that he will not be seeking reelection in order to “pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress”.
I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security. https://t.co/GeZ4Hh264f
Continue reading...Delivering what must have been one of the most cryptic gaffes of his career, Joe Biden caused mass confusion during the final moment of the latest Democratic debate, after he apparently urged viewers to visit a website that does not exist. Biden laid out his 2020 vision before telling those watching: 'If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330.' He had in fact meant to refer them to a phone number
Continue reading...Joe Biden was the central target as 10 Democratic presidential candidates clashed in Detroit on Wednesday in the party's second 2020 debate. The former vice-president stood his ground against criticism of his healthcare and immigration plans, unlike in last month’s debate when he visibly struggled to defend his record
Continue reading...Joe Biden was the central target as 10 Democratic presidential candidates took the stage for the second debate in Detroit on Wednesday, with rivals attempting to knock the former vice-president from his frontrunner status.
Unlike last month’s debate in Miami, however, where Biden visibly struggled to defend his decades-old record, this time Biden was ready for the fight.
Continue reading...With her talk of harnessing love, her Hollywood friends and background in spiritual guidance and self-help books, many instantly wrote Marianne Williamson off as a joke candidate for the presidency after she jumped into the race.
But she has proved curiously magnetic during the brief moments she’s actually been able to speak from her lectern, literally on the fringe, at the televised Democratic primary debates so far.
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The president is back on Twitter, defending himself against accusations of racism by calling himself the “least racist person in the world” and insulting the intelligence of one of the most prominent black TV journalists in the US.
....or is he too dumb (stupid} to understand that. No wonder CNN’s ratings (MSNBC’s also) have gone down the tubes - and will stay there until they bring credibility back to the newsroom. Don’t hold your breath!
Related: 'His only tool is racism': why Trump's bigoted tirade could be a vote winner
Ohio representative Tim Ryan’s campaign has issued a statement about his decision to not put his hand over his heart during the national anthem at the Democratic debate last night, saying it was an accident.
Congressman Ryan wasn’t protesting and didn’t mean to make any statement last night in Detroit, it was a moment of absentmindedness while on a debate stage that won’t happen again. He was, in fact, singing along with the choir to honor our country. Congressman Ryan loves our country and will continue to honor the flag during the anthem in future events, as he has in countless events in the past.
Rep. Tim Ryan didn’t put his hand over his heart during the national anthem. I guess he’s appealing to the Kaepernick wing of the Democratic Party.
Happening now: Will any of the Dems take a knee for the national anthem?
Continue reading...Marianne Williamson was the most-searched candidate during the live broadcast, according to Google. The New Age author was widely written off as a joke when she entered the Democratic presidential contest and, while she remains a fringe candidate, she received praise for her answers last night on race, environmental justice and slavery reparations. Here is a look at her best moments during the debate
Continue reading...The leading progressive candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination came under withering attack from moderates on Tuesday in a second debate that reflected the party's struggle between a call for revolutionary policies and a desperate desire to defeat Donald Trump
Continue reading...Analysis: pair were dominant at event showcasing Democratic party’s split personality, pitting progressives against moderates
Bonnie and Clyde. Mulder and Scully. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. On Tuesday night it was Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who, defying predictions that they would turn on each other, instead formed a leftwing tag team against the forces of moderation at the latest Democratic primary debate on Tuesday.
Warren and Sanders stood centre stage in the ornate Fox Theatre in Detroit, had the most speaking time – more than 35 minutes between them – produced the best lines of the night (with the possible exception of self-help guru and long-shot candidate Marianne Williamson) and had all the appearance of incumbents fending off pesky challengers. Barack Obama’s party this isn’t.
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