Category Archives: Democrats

Trump insists ‘I concede nothing’ after tweeting that Biden ‘won’ – live coverage

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The president’s scattershot comments came in a morning Twitter blitz in which he also lashed out at Fox News

Many New York City parents breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that public schools would remain open next week, as Covid-19 testing rates remain below the threshold for closures.

Increasing positivity rates in New York City and state have prompted rollbacks of reopening initiatives, spurring De Blasio to warn on Friday that schools could close again. De Blasio said classrooms would close if the seven-day test positivity rate exceeded 3%.

Today’s indicators are similar to yesterday:

• 117 patients admitted to the hospital
• 937 new cases
• The test positivity 7-day average is 2.57%

Thankfully, schools will remain open on Monday, but we have to keep fighting back with everything we’ve got.

While his aides seek to turn up the pressure on Donald Trump, to force his co-operation with the presidential transition, Joe Biden is going about his business as the president-elect:

JUST IN: President-elect Joe Biden will address the nation on Monday about the state of the economy.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will join Biden from Wilmington, Delaware.

Related: Trump faces growing pressure to start transition as Covid surges across US

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Trump supporters rally in Washington as president refuses to concede – live

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Joe Biden is reportedly poised to choose a woman to lead the Pentagon, an historic decision.

The president-elect’s expected selection, Michele Flournoy, is described by the Associated Press as a “a politically moderate Pentagon veteran … regarded by US officials and political insiders as a top choice for the position.”

Out of his bunker for a second straight day, Donald Trump made a deliberate pass by his supporters in town for today’s Maga rallies in his presidential motorcade before veering off toward Trump National in Sterling, Virginia.

More details from the White House pool report:

POTUS emerged from the south portico at 10am wearing a red hat, blue jacket and blue trousers. He appeared to be holding a newspaper. He got inside the presidential limousine and the motorcade headed out to Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was greeted by applause, cheers, waving and whistles from hundreds of Trump supporters lining both sides of the street. They punched the air, took pictures with phones and held signs that included ‘Best prez ever’ and ‘Stop the steal’.

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‘They know their vote matters’: the Georgia Senate runoffs battle is already on

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Trump’s defeat in the reliably red state has shown Democratic voters the power of their ballot, activists say as they focus on Ossoff and Warnock’s races

Donald Trump may have forced a recount of the votes in Georgia that helped end his presidency, but the activists who organised the surge in turnout that helped defeat him have already turned their attention to two elections that will decide who controls the US Senate and the course of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Tens of millions of dollars are pouring in to the Georgia runoff races, which can be expected to draw Biden back to the campaign trail as voters have the opportunity to make history by defeating the state’s two Republican senators to give the new president control of both houses of Congress.

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Trump repeats false Covid claims and attacks New York governor Cuomo in first remarks since election loss – live

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Congressional dinner shifts to to-go meals after outrage

The dinner for new members of Congress being held by Democrats will be modified, shifting to a to-go food model, after outrage over an indoor meal, said Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill on Friday evening.

Pelosi and other Congress members slammed for holding indoor dinner during pandemic

Congress members are being hit with intense blowback for holding indoor banquets as the coronavirus pandemic worsens and health experts advise Americans against social gatherings.

House Dem and GOP leaders are holding respective dinners for new members.

.@SpeakerPelosi told me it’s safe. “It’s very spaced,” she said and there is enhanced ventilation and the Capitol physician signed off. pic.twitter.com/ZXjf72lnrP

Cancel this event, @SpeakerPelosi — it sets a deadly example while COVID is the worst it's ever been. https://t.co/7HTzFVlhBg

Imagine telling families not to hold Thanksgiving (we shouldn’t) and then doing this. Come. On. https://t.co/ws9k2QDBLU

California, among other states, is begging people not to travel for Thanksgiving, and counties — including Pelosi's district — are shutting down all indoor dining.

This needs to be moved outside, at least. Even if it can be made safe indoors, it's a terrible example. https://t.co/2nabkx5QpZ

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Who might figure in Joe Biden’s cabinet? Six names tipped for top jobs

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Susan Rice, Michele Flournoy, Doug Jones, Lael Brainard, Vivek Murthy and Heidi Heitkamp are some of the most frequently mentioned in Washington

Cabinet appointment speculation is a time-honored tradition in Washington DC – and despite everything else going on is US politics at the moment, 2020 is no different.

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Joe Biden ignores Trump obstruction to press ahead with cabinet selection

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The president-elect is likely to value Washington experience but must balance the wings of his party and a possibly hostile Senate

Joe Biden’s team is pressing forward with preparations to take over the federal government when his term starts despite virtually no help from Donald Trump’s outgoing administration.

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Nancy Pelosi tells Republicans to ‘stop the circus’ as Trump still refuses to concede – live

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Pope blesses president-elect

Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday, and Biden thanked him for his “blessing and congratulations,” his transition team said in a statement.

Related: Soul of the nation: how Joe Biden's faith will shape his presidency

Here’s where the day stands so far:

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Trump under growing pressure to accept election defeat – US politics live

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Some of Donald Trump’s advisers now say he will likely never concede that he lost the presidential race, according to NBC News.

NBC reports:

‘Do not expect him to concede,’ one top aide said. More likely, the aide said, ‘he’ll say something like, ‘We can’t trust the results, but I’m not contesting them.’’

Another adviser said that after the legal battles and recounts, the closest the president is likely to get to a concession is, ‘he’ll acknowledge the results and that we’ll never know how accurate they are.’

Joe Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania has now surpassed 50,000, after the latest batch of ballots from Allegheny county were posted.

As of this afternoon, Biden leads Donald Trump in Pennsylvania by 50,483, or 0.7% of the total vote in the state.

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‘An embarrassment’: Biden responds to Trump’s refusal to concede election – video

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President-elect Joe Biden says Donald Trump's refusal to concede the presidential election is 'an embarrassment'. Biden was outlining plans for the transition period before he takes office in January 2020 when he was asked what he would say to Americans anxious over Trump's refusal to concede and what it would mean for the country. "Well, I just think it's an embarrassment, quite frankly," Biden said. "I think it will not help the president's legacy." Biden has promised to "get right to work" despite alarm over whether there would be a smooth transition of power


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Can Joe Biden and Kamala Harris unite America after Trump – video explainer

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When Joe Biden formally takes over the presidency in January he will face some of the greatest crises to hit the US in recent history: a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, a devastated economy, a rapidly overheating climate and a deeply fractured nation.

The Guardian's Lauren Gambino looks at how Biden and the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, plan to 'heal' the country after four years of Trumpism – and the challenges they will face with the prospect of having to navigate these times without a majority in the Senate

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The tasks Joe Biden faces: from racial justice to restoring faith in science

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The new president will be busy – especially as he wrestles with the fallout from the Trump administration

As the coronavirus pandemic tore through the US, Joe Biden’s most important promise to the American people was a policy platform taken for granted prior the Trump presidency: believe science.

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Donald Trump fires defense secretary Mark Esper – US politics live

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Another adviser to Donald Trump has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, amid an apparent outbreak among the president’s team.

According to Bloomberg News, David Bossie has now tested positive for the virus.

BREAKING: Trump outside adviser David Bossie tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, sources tell me.

Susan Collins has become one of the few Republican lawmakers to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the presidential election.

“First, I would offer my congratulations to President-elect Biden on his apparent victory – he loves this country, and I wish him every success. Presidential transitions are important, and the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th,” Collins said in a new statement.

My statement on the 2020 Presidential election results: pic.twitter.com/8NY1WpaJpC

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Goodbye Trump, hello Biden: how America is waving goodbye to a shocking, shameful era

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Trump’s brutal policies and spread of misinformation have divided the US. Uniting the country will be Biden’s biggest task

As the result was finally called, the end of his presidency confirmed, Donald Trump teed off on a crisp, autumnal Saturday afternoon at his private golf club in Virginia.

The president was in the midst of a four-day mission to spread baseless misinformation about election integrity in an attempt to subvert US democracy.

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Republicans back Trump challenge to Biden election victory

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Donald Trump’s resolve not to accept the result of the presidential election appeared unshaken on Sunday, as he continued to promote conspiracy theories about the vote, with little outward sign that anyone in his inner circle was prepared to talk him into conceding.

Related: Who will tell Trump to go? Not Melania or Jared, reports say

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Biden and Harris release first public schedule as they begin transition – US election live

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Here are some details on the reaction to Biden’s win in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and other Pacific nations, from Ben Doherty, the Guardian’s Pacific editor:

Joe Biden’s presidential ascension had not even been settled when Fiji’s forthright prime minister was already urging greater US action on climate change from the incoming American leader.

Related: Pacific nations herald Biden presidency amid hope for action on climate emergency

There are a number of troubling statistics out today on the current state of Covid-19 in the US, the most urgent crisis Biden will inherit. Reuters has published an analysis of where things stand in the worsening pandemic in America, as the country nears 10m cases, becoming the first nation in the world to surpass that figure. Some specifics from the news agency’s report:

Related: Coronavirus live news: US nears 10m cases as global infections pass 50m

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The meaning of Kamala Harris: the woman who will break new ground as vice-president

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The former prosecutor and senator is the first woman to fill her upcoming White House role. What does her life so far tell us about how she will govern?

Kamala Harris has spent her life crashing through glass ceilings and accumulating “firsts”. She was the first female district attorney of San Francisco, the first female attorney general of California, the first Indian American in the US Senate, the first Indian American candidate of a major party to run for vice-president. Soon she will become the first female vice-president. If Joe Biden only serves one term, as expected, there is a chance that in 2024 she could become the first black female president.

The problem with phrases like “first black female president” is that they confine the California senator to the sort of boxes she has always tried to avoid. “When I first ran for office that was one of the things that I struggled with, which is that you are forced through that process to define yourself in a way that you fit neatly into the compartment that other people have created,” she told the Washington Post last year. “I am who I am … You might need to figure it out, but I’m fine with it.” She does not agonise over her identity – she simply calls herself a “proud American”.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ends truce by warning ‘incompetent’ Democratic party

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New York representative denies Movement for Black Lives and Green New Deal cost seats

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has criticised the Democratic party for incompetence in a no-holds-barred, post-election interview with the New York Times, warning that if the Biden administration does not put progressives in top positions, the party would lose big in the 2022 midterm elections.

Signaling that the internal moratorium in place while the Democrats worked to defeat Donald Trump was over, the leftwing New York representative sharply rejected the notion advanced by some Democrats that progressive messaging around the Movement for Black Lives and the Green New Deal led to the party’s loss of congressional seats in last week’s election.

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Democrats left to sift through aftermath of ‘blue wave’ that never crested

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Once united over shared priority of removing Trump from office, Democrats now anxious and uncertain after unexpected losses

Joe Biden secured a historic presidential victory on Saturday yet some Democrats have spent the tense days since the election engulfed in recriminations, finger-pointing and infighting as they sift through the aftermath of expectations of a “blue wave” that never crested.

Long-simmering tensions between moderate Democrats who represent conservative districts and progressives who have massive online followings erupted into public view, after a series of unexpected losses in parts of the country where the president proved surprisingly resilient.

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‘Spread the faith’: Biden and Harris victory speeches offer message of unity – video highlights

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have offered a message of unity as the pair spoke following their election victory. Harris, who will be the first woman to be vice-president, paid tribute to her mother. For Biden, his speech was an opportunity to offer an olive branch to his political rivals after nearly four years of division under Donald Trump

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With humility and empathy, Biden speech seeks to make America sane again | David Smith’s sketch

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Sketch: In his victory speech, the president-elect proved himself the right person at the right time for an ailing country

Joe Biden ran jauntily on to the stage, wearing a black face mask but suddenly looking several years younger. Looking, in fact, like millions of Americans felt, with burdens to bear but a spring in his step.

The new US president-elect offered a Saturday night speech that did not brag or name call, did not demonise immigrants and people of colour, did not send TV networks and social media into meltdown and did not murder the English language.

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