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...Category Archives: US elections 2020
Warren and Sanders give rivals Bonnie and Clyde treatment during fiery debate
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.
Continue reading...Democratic debates: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren among 10 candidates set to face off – live
Ten of the 20 candidates participating in the debates, which are hosted by CNN, will appear on the debate stage tonight in Detroit
The main attraction tonight is the duel on the left between septuagenarian senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In football or soccer terms, it’s like a local derby. Could it turn nasty?
Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan, said: “The key $10,000 question is whether the friendship lasts for the two hours of the debate because they’re colleagues and they have not gone negative with each other on the campaign trail. When you get on the stage under the bright lights, it could certainly change.
“I think Sanders has the incentive to do that, frankly, because he fared much better in the last cycle. He’s slipping to almost single digits now. If anyone needs to make a move and have the focus on the campaign it’s Sanders and, by going negative against Warren, that could be the way.”
Kall, editor of the book Debating the Donald, added: “I think she would be hesitant to respond and we saw in the first debate there were many instances where she could have interjected herself forcefully into the debate but she kind of disappeared for an hour. So if she doesn’t respond, it could be successful for him and put some more spotlight on him, which has been lacking in the last several weeks or months of this campaign.”
The debate’s proximity to Flint, Michigan, has thrown a spotlight on the need for candidates to better flesh out their plans to ensure safe drinking water and fight environmental racism.
The facts are clear: climate change and pollution disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color — and are major contributors to ongoing economic and racial inequality.
Today, I’m releasing my plan to build a just and inclusive clean energy economy. pic.twitter.com/qfb7xznEJd
‘Own up to reality’: 2020 Democrats urged to confront US racial divide
As the NAACP gathered in Detroit, leaders warned presidential hopefuls not to shy away as Trump fans the flames
In August 2016, Donald Trump stood before an overwhelmingly white crowd in Dimondale, Michigan, and asked black people for their votes.
Related: Trump 'rat-infested' attack on Elijah Cummings was racist, Pelosi says
Continue reading...Supreme court allows Trump to use $2.5bn in Pentagon funds on border wall – live
White House announces an asylum deal with Guatemala three days after Trump threatened tariffs, among other sanctions, if it did not sign on
The president is celebrating the supreme court’s decision to allow him to spend $2.5bn on the border wall:
Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!
This wall won't make anyone any more secure. It's a futile exercise to massage your ego, and advance your racist agenda.
We should be spending this $2.5bn of our tax payers money on housing for homeless people, mental health for veterans, and healthcare for those who are unwell.
The case is not about whether the challenged border barrier construction plan is wise or unwise. It is not about whether the plan is the right or wrong policy response to existing conditions at the southern border of the United States. Instead, this case presents strict legal questions regarding whether the proposed plan for funding border barrier construction exceeds the executive branch’s lawful authority.”
The case the Supreme Court ruled on began after the 35-day partial government shutdown that started in December of last year. Trump ended the shutdown in February after Congress gave him approximately $1.4 billion in border wall funding. But the amount was far less than the $5.7 billion he was seeking, and Trump then declared a national emergency to take cash from other government accounts to use to construct sections of wall.
The money Trump identified includes $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion in Defense Department money and $600 million from the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund.
The Supreme Court has said the Trump administration can spend $2.5bn in Pentagon funds on the border wall:
JUST IN: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to spend $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds on border wall pic.twitter.com/JVxFusMf41
NOW: In a divided decision, the Supreme Court rules the Trump administration can begin using some of the contested federal funds Trump redirected for border wall construction — the court granted the admin's request to stay a lower court injunction https://t.co/SSEU48JLNU pic.twitter.com/DPijozmm8B
Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan would have denied the stay and left in place the injunction blocking the admin from using the funds while the case went forward; Breyer would have let the govt finalize contracts, but also blocked construction during the litigation
Continue reading...2020 Democrats renew calls for impeachment after Mueller testimony
Warren urged House to rise ‘above politics’ and launch proceedings against Trump while Biden said president ‘should be tried’
Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren urged the House of Representatives to rise “above politics” and launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump after the former special counsel Robert Mueller testified that his report on Russian election interference did not exonerate the president.
The candidates, speaking on Wednesday at the annual convention of the NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, said Mueller’s testimony highlighted the urgency for brining articles of impeachment against a president whose bigotry while in office has harmed communities of color.
Continue reading...Mueller on Trump’s praise of Wikileaks: ‘Problematic is an understatement’ – live
Mueller discussed Trump’s many documented instances of praising the site during testimony before House intelligence committee
Mueller emphasized in his testimony to the House intelligence committee that Russian election interference remains ongoing.
WATCH: Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 election:
“It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.”https://t.co/m9KGQtGMJ7 pic.twitter.com/s1Aa1nyLsU
Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement that Mueller’s testimony revealed the “troubling deficiencies of the special counsel’s investigation.”
“The testimony revealed that this probe was conducted by a small group of politically biased prosecutors who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia,” the president’s lawyer said. “The American people understand that this issue is over. They also understand that the case is closed.”
...who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It is also clear that the Special Counsel conducted his two-year investigation unimpeded.
Continue reading...Budget deal: Republicans and Democrats agree to raise debt ceiling – as it happened
The US was on track to run out of money in September if there was no deal
We’re ending our live coverage for the day, thanks for following along. Tune in tomorrow for what is sure to be a busy day as DC braces for Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony this week. Here are some key events and links from the day:
Here’s a story from today about a neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee that apparently collectively organized to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) from detaining a man:
When we #ProtectEachOther we win ✊https://t.co/uK9e1vFZBe
I’m outside a home in Hermitage where neighbors say ICE agents tried to take a man from his home early this morning. Neighbors say the man was in his van with his young son and they stayed there for 4 hours or so. Neighbors say they refused to let agents take the man.
Continue reading...Trump praises ‘incredible’ crowd who chanted ‘send her back’ at Ilhan Omar – live
President abandons disavowal of racist chants aimed at the congresswoman, saying ‘she’s lucky to be where she is’
Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have introduced a resolution that would designate the far-left group Antifa as a hate group.
Trump said during his comments to reporters in the Oval Office that the White House is trying to get rapper A$AP Rocky released from Swedish detention.
Pres. Trump on ASAP Rocky's case: "I personally don't know ASAP Rocky, but I can tell you that he has tremendous support. from the African-American community .. and when when I say African-American, I really can really say from everybody in this country because we are all one" pic.twitter.com/D95q2ZMGBc
Continue reading...‘Despicable’: Democrats condemn Trump over rally’s Ilhan Omar chant
Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren denounced the president after rally erupted into chants of ‘send her back’
Democrats have rushed to condemn Donald Trump after his supporters erupted into chants of “send her back” at the mention of Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, one of the targets of the president’s recent racist tweets.
Presidential candidates and senior members of Congress called the chant at a Trump rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night “despicable” and “vile”. Some expressed fears for Omar’s safety.
Continue reading...Democrat Ilhan Omar says Donald Trump is a ‘fascist’ – video
Representative Ilhan Omar has responded to Donald Trump's criticism of her as well as the chanting of 'send her back', which was heard at a Trump rally in North Carolina. Speaking at Capitol Hill on Thursday, she said 'we have said this president is racist' before later adding that she believes Trump 'is a fascist'.
Earlier, Trump was asked about the crowd's shouting at his rally and claimed that he 'disagrees' with the chanting directed at the Democrat.
Continue reading...Trump says he ‘disagrees’ with racist chant against Ilhan Omar – video
Donald Trump has attempted to distance himself from the racist chanting that broke out at his rally in North Carolina on Wednesday. After the president mentioned Democrat Ilhan Omar, the crowd began chanting: 'Send her back'. Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said that he started speaking 'very quickly' in an attempt to defuse the chanting. Adding that: 'I was not happy with it - I disagree with it.'
Continue reading...Trump rally crowd chants ‘send her back’ after president attacks Ilhan Omar
Chant follows Trump’s racist tweets targeting Omar and three other Democratic congresswomen of color
Goaded on by the president, a crowd at a Donald Trump rally on Wednesday night chanted “send her back! send her back!” in reference to Ilhan Omar, a US congresswoman who arrived almost 30 years ago as a child refugee in the United States.
Trump used the 2020 campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina, to attack Omar and three other Democratic congresswomen – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – calling them “hate-filled extremists”. The group, which calls itself “the Squad”, has been the focus of racist attacks by the president this week, kickstarted by tweets posted Sunday in which he said the lawmakers, all women of color, should “go back” to other countries.
Continue reading...Beto O’Rourke’s ancestors were slaveholders, records reveal
Exclusive: O’Rourke addresses family history for the first time and admits that he and his children are ‘beneficiaries’ of slaveholding
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke recently delivered an impassioned speech while meeting with the Gullah-Geechee Nation, an organization of African Americans whose ancestors were enslaved on plantations from Florida to South Carolina.
The speech in Beaufort followed one attendee’s question about whether O’Rourke supports reparations, the idea of compensation for the descendants of slaves.
Continue reading...Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid Epstein plea deal scandal – live
Acosta was under fire for having granted Jeffrey Epstein immunity from federal prosecution in 2008, following sex trafficking ring investigation
Another big House vote this afternoon.
With a 402-12 vote, Congress approved a bill that would ensure funding for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
Jon Stewart says he looks forward to signing ceremony for bill funding 9/11 first responders compensation fund: "We'll all be here for that one final moment—not of celebration, but of relief. Let them exhale." https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/p7PI4cLDOc
The House has just voted to limit Trump’s authority to make war in Iran as part of a bill which also restricts the president’s budget request for the Pentagon.
Republicans joined the majority Democrats for a 251-170 vote.
Trump said last month he believes he does not need congressional approval to strike Iran. The vote Friday amounted to a pointed and bipartisan rebuttal — led by strange ideological bedfellows, Representatives Ro Khanna, a liberal Democrat from California, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of Trump’s most strident Republican allies in Congress.
“When this passes, it will be a clear statement from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that this country is tired of endless wars, that we do not want another war in the Middle East,” Khanna said before the amendment vote.
Continue reading...Disabled voters left behind in push to amp up 2020 security, advocates say
Hand-marked paper ballots are widely seen as most secure, but advocates say voting machines are best for disabled access
Russian attacks on American democracy in 2016, carried out over the internet, have triggered a national debate over the use of technology in the United States’ upcoming 2020 elections.
But some of the best ways to beef up the security of the voting process and fight off future cyber-attacks could have an unintended consequence: limiting access to the vote for people with disabilities.
Continue reading...Judge blocks justice department from changing lawyers in US census case – as it happened
In what experts called a troubling move, the agency had announced over the weekend that it was appointing a new team of lawyers
Wrapping up tonight’s live politics coverage. Here’s an updated summary of the day’s key developments from today’s bloggers, Lois Beckett and Sabrina Siddiqui.
Early today, billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer formally launched his campaign for president.
The reaction from some progressives has not been positive.
if i were a liberal billionaire with a $100 millions to burn i'd spend it on a nationwide voter registration drive instead of a vanity presidential campaign
hiring and training thousands of people to identify and register nonvoters and bring them to the polls is probably the single most effective thing you could do ahead of 2020 but then i'm not a billionaire hedge fund manager
Continue reading...Billionaire Tom Steyer makes 2020 U-turn and announces run for president
- Steyer, Democrats’ largest donor, says he will run after all
- Activist favors Trump impeachment and climate crisis action
Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer has formally launched his campaign for president, making a late entry into the sprawling 2020 Democratic field that has already held its first round of primary debates.
Related: Donald Trump: we will no longer deal with the British ambassador
Continue reading...Biden jabs leftwing Democrats and says Trump a bully he’d ‘smack in the mouth’
Democratic frontrunner defends ‘centre-left’ credentials but admits he wasn’t prepared for debate attack from Kamala Harris
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, hit out at the Democratic party’s left wing on Friday, suggesting firebrand progressives cannot win in battleground states.
Biden meanwhile admitted he wasn’t prepared for the attack by rising challenger Senator Kamala Harris on his historic handling of race issues in the first primary debates last week – and said Donald Trump was a bully and he would “smack him in the mouth”.
Continue reading...Is a new generation taking over the Democratic party? – podcast
Kamala Harris was the big winner of the first round of Democratic party debates in the US. This week, her poll numbers surged and so did donations to her campaign. But as Lauren Gambino in Washington notes, it was bad news for the frontrunners as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders faltered. Also today: Daniel Boffey on the new cast of characters taking over the EU’s top jobs
The race for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination is intensifying after two rounds of televised debates in which the candidates squared up to each other on major issues and their past records. The big winner was the California senator Kamala Harris, who denounced the record of the frontrunner, Joe Biden, on race.
The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino joins Anushka Asthana to look across the diverse field of potential presidential nominees and the debates that highlighted the generational and ideological divides in the party.
Continue reading...