Category Archives: Donald Trump

Covid cases top 5.5m as Joe Biden prepares for big DNC night – US politics live

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David Smith in Washington has an analysis piece for us this morning on that blistering Barack Obama speech last night.

In 2020, Obama was back in the city where the US constitution was drafted and signed. But this time he stood alone at a lectern in the Museum of the American Revolution. Usually presidents go into bat for their own legacy, but the message was that the legacy of George Washington and other founding fathers is now at stake.

Obama’s speeches are often lauded for their poetry but this time his language was cold and muscular, using the word “democracy” 18 times. The man who made famous the slogan “Hope and change” had found that the first of those is not always enough. “I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously,” he said. For a long time the 44th president has declined to use Trump’s name. No more.

Related: Obama's stark message: America must save itself from Trump | Analysis

Associated Press are reporting that the New Mexico city of Las Cruces has agreed to pay $6.5 million to the family of Mexican American man who was choked to death by a police officer.

The settlement calls for the city, 46 miles (74 kilometers) north of the US-Mexico border, to pay the family of Antonio Valenzuela within 30 days and promises the local government will embark on various police reforms. Financial terms of the settlement were not previously disclosed.

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Obama’s stark message: America must save itself from Trump | Analysis

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Analysis: The former president issued an unprecedented attack on his successor as he urged voters to rescue their democracy

Just four years ago, amid balloons, confetti, dry ice smoke and giant TV screens, Donald Trump struck an authoritarian tone as he accepted the nomination at the Republican national convention before a frenzied crowd. It prompted warnings of the impending death of democracy, and the end of America’s gloriously chequered 244-year journey. But no one really believed it.

However, Barack Obama is now clearly taking the fall of Rome theory seriously. No former US president has criticised his successor at a party convention as he did on Wednesday night, and none has warned that his successor “will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win”.

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Trump tacitly endorses baseless QAnon conspiracy theory linked to violence

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President says followers of movement, which claims Trump is fighting ‘deep state’ paedophiles, ‘love our country’

Donald Trump has tacitly endorsed QAnon, a baseless rightwing conspiracy theory identified as a potential domestic terrorism threat by the FBI, claiming its followers “love our country” and “like me very much”.

Followers of the QAnon movement believe without evidence that Trump is fighting a Satanic “deep state” of global elites involved in paedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children.

Yet asked about the theory at Wednesday’s White House press briefing, the US president failed to condemn it. “I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he said. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity.”

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Hillary Clinton to say at DNC: ‘Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line’ – live

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Islamophobe claims RNC chairwoman called her ‘rock star,’ ‘change agent’ for the party

This is Lois Beckett, taking over our politics live blog from our West Coast office.

Anti-Muslim extremist Laura Loomer claims RNC chairwoman called her to congratulate her on her Republican primary win in Florida and to tell her she was a "political rock star" and a "change agent for the Republican Party." The RNC did not offer comment.https://t.co/ONpC9mfOKz

That’s it from me for now. I will be back tonight to cover the third night of the Democratic convention.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

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US Senate report goes beyond Mueller to lay bare Trump campaign’s Russia links

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Bipartisan intelligence panel says that Russian who worked on Trump’s 2016 bid was career spy, amid a stunning range of contacts

A report by the Senate intelligence committee provides a treasure trove of new details about Donald Trump’s relationship with Moscow, and says that a Russian national who worked closely with Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 was a career intelligence officer.

The bipartisan report runs to nearly 1,000 pages and goes further than last year’s investigation into Russian election interference by special prosecutor Robert Mueller. It lays out a stunning web of contacts between Trump, his top election aides and Russian government officials, in the months leading up to the 2016 election.

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Trump says Michelle Obama is the one ‘in over her head’ – video

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Donald Trump has responded to the scathing speech Michelle Obama delivered at the virtual Democratic National Convention on Monday, in which the former first lady said that Trump is 'clearly in over his head'. In turn, the US president said it was Obama who was in over her head and also criticised her for not delivering her speech live

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Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders and anti-Trump Republicans: day one at the DNC – video highlights

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At the first day of a Democratic national convention unlike any other in history, Michelle Obama urged voters to head to the polls 'like their lives depend on it'. She was joined by many other speakers attacking Donald Trump's presidency. Speaking online because of coronavirus restrictions, the former first lady's words were echoed by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who likened Trump to tyrannical Roman emperor Nero. The first day of the convention was hosted by actor Eva Longoria and featured contributions by George Floyd's family, voters and politicians from across the country and even a former Republican governor

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Bernie Sanders slams Trump at DNC: ‘Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The president golfs’ – video

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In his convention remarks, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders strongly urged his supporters to vote for Joe Biden in the November election, warning that Trump represents a severe threat to US democracy. “Our great nation is now living in an unprecedented moment,” Sanders said, describing this election as the “most important in the modern history of this country”

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Kristin Urquiza blames Trump for her father’s coronavirus death in DNC speech – video

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Urquiza, whose father died from coronavirus, addressed the Democratic convention to condemn Trump’s efforts to downplay the threat posed by the virus.

Urquiza said her father, Mark Anthony Urquiza, voted for Trump in 2016, and he listened to the president when it came to coronavirus

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US politics: virtual Democratic convention to start amid coronavirus crisis – live updates

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Republican senator Lindsey Graham’s Democratic rival in South Carolina’s senate race has now out-raised the incumbent for two consecutive quarters.

Former South Carolina Democratic party chairman Jaime Harrison faces an uphill battle in the Republican stronghold state. The fundraising figures, however, coupled with the racial equity protests and pandemic this year has led Cook Political Report to forecast the race from “likely” to “lean” Republican.

Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington and Julia Louis-Dreyfus will help emcee the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the convention committee announced today.

Each of the celebrities are anchoring one night of the convention. Each night has a theme.

The time has finally come! ...Join me live at the 2020 Democratic National Convention to welcome Joe Biden and Kamala Harris!

Watch it Live: https://t.co/GIf7neWRVo#DemConvention pic.twitter.com/Tddyl7Nlzo

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Louis DeJoy: is Trump’s new post office chief trying to rig the election?

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Since taking office in June, DeJoy has executed sweeping changes at the struggling USPS, leading to delays in mail delivery – and fears mail-in ballots won’t arrive on time

About a month ago, a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier named Mark arrived at his post office in central Pennsylvania and got some shocking news from his station manager. Mark and his coworkers were told they would have to depart the office for deliveries a few hours earlier each day, even if that meant leaving behind much of the day’s mail.

In the weeks that followed, higher-ups at the station instructed carriers to abandon hundreds of pieces of mail in order to depart a mere 10 or 20 minutes earlier. As the days went on, the excess mail started to pile up, and now Mark estimates there are thousands of undelivered letters and packages sitting in his station.

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Sanders: Trump’s effort to hinder mail-in voting ‘a crisis for US democracy’ – live

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At least 23 members of an Oklahoma State University sorority have tested positive for Covid-19, the school said in a statement on Saturday.

The outbreak happened at the off-campus house of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and was detected by rapid-antigen testing done at an off-campus clinic, according to the university.

The coronavirus doesn’t appear to have devastated America’s homeless population to the extent public health officials and advocates for the homeless initially feared.

Johns Hopkins reported 1,029 new deaths on Saturday from the virus in the US. According to the university’s tally, 169,489 people in the US have died from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic with identified cases exceeding 5 million.

“I am shocked, I guess I can say, because it’s a very vulnerable population. I don’t know what we’re going to see in an aftermath,” said Dr. Deborah Borne, who oversees health policy for Covid-19 homeless response at San Francisco’s public health department. “That’s why it’s called a novel virus, because we don’t know.”

More than 200 of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco have tested positive for the virus, and half came from an outbreak at a homeless shelter in April. One homeless person is among the city’s 69 deaths.

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End of an era: has coronavirus killed the political convention for good?

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With Democrats and Republicans holding no in-person conventions this year, some have called to ditch them completely – but others say they’re a vital political tool

There won’t be any huge balloon drops at the Democratic or Republican party conventions this year. Presidential candidates will not get the chance to accept their nominations in front of massive, cheering crowds. Political reporters and strategists will not descend on a carefully selected American city to kick off the final stretch of the 2020 presidential election.

And some in Washington say those changes may be for the best.

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Robert Trump: brother of president Donald Trump dies aged 71

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President confirms his younger brother has died after being taken to hospital in New York

Donald Trump’s younger brother, Robert Trump, died on Saturday night aged 71 after being hospitalised in New York, the president said in a statement.

The president on Friday visited his brother in hospital after White House officials said Robert had become seriously ill. Officials did not immediately release a cause of death.

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Why Germany would be especially happy to see the back of Trump | John Kampfner

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The competence embodied in Merkel provokes loathing from the US president

Donald Trump has declared war on Germany. In a manner of speaking. Europe’s most important country, potentially America’s most valuable partner, has in the mind of the president become an adversary. Of all Trump’s many foreign policy disasters, this is perhaps his most significant.

In late July, it was announced that retired army colonel Douglas Macgregor, a decorated combat veteran, would become the next ambassador to Berlin. Macgregor is a regular contributor to Trump’s favourite channel of information, Fox News. He has variously suggested that the US border guard should shoot people if they tried to enter illegally from Mexico; described eastern Ukrainians as “Russians”; defended Serbia’s actions against a “Muslim drug mafia” in Kosovo; and criticised Germany for giving “millions of unwanted Muslim invaders” welfare benefits rather than providing more funding for its armed services.

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Watchdog to investigate US Postal Service changes ahead of election – live

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Donald Trump has spent the early part of today retweeting stories that promote the (unproven) theory that mail-in voting is subject to widescale fraud.

The president retweeted allegations of voting fraud in Paterson, New Jersey, along with the comment: “The Democrats know the 2020 Election will be a fraudulent mess. Will maybe never know who won!”

The Democrats know the 2020 Election will be a fraudulent mess. Will maybe never know who won! https://t.co/tEWKJ5NcUj

Good morning. We start this morning with news that the United States Postal Service’s inspector general will investigate claims that recent changes could affect this November’s presidential election.

Donald Trump has long issued baseless claims that mail-in voting is ripe for fraud and there are real concerns that cuts to the service could weaken the agency and mail-in ballots may not arrive on time to be counted.

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Speculation grows over pardon for Edward Snowden after Trump remarks

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  • Trump: ‘A lot of people think he is not being treated fairly’
  • Congressman calls for Trump to pardon NSA whistleblower

Speculation is growing over whether Donald Trump might pardon Edward Snowden after the US president told an interviewer that the exiled former intelligence operative was “not being treated fairly”.

Related: Edward Snowden on 9/11 and why he joined the army: ‘Now, finally, there was a fight’

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Reporter asks Trump: ‘Do you regret all your lying?’ – video

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The Huffington Post’s White House correspondent, SV Dáte, broke from the usual question and answer protocol at President Trump's press briefings, posing a simple, yet cutting question: 'Mr President, after three-and-a-half years, do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?' Trump initially responded with his own question, 'All the what?', before ignoring Dáte and moving on to the next question

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As he struggles in the polls, Trump reaches for the racist playbook again

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The US president began his political career with the ‘birtherism’ lie about Obama. He’s doing the same once more

“Mr President,” a reporter asked on Thursday. “After three and a half years, do you regret, at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?”

A disbelieving Trump asked: “All the what?”

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris call for nationwide mask mandate – live

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Just hours after Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate, in her home state of California fierce speculation had already begun as to who might replace her in the Senate if she wins a spot in the White House.

Related: If Kamala Harris wins, who might fill her California Senate seat?

From Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Julian Borger in Washington:

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.

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