Donald Trump has claimed it is a ‘great day’ for George Floyd, after the US posted better than expected job numbers. ‘Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying: “This is a great thing happening for our country,”’ the US president said of Floyd, who died while being restrained by police last week
The Rev Al Sharpton gave a eulogy at a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis and hit out at Donald Trump for posing with a Bible in front of a church in Washington DC. 'We cannot use Bibles as a prop,' Sharpton said. 'For those that have agendas that are not about justice, this family will not let you use George as a prop.' The US president sparked outrage from religious leaders, top Democrats in Congress and others when he visited the church across from the White House and posed holding a Bible after law enforcement officers cleared protesters using teargas
With protests over police brutality and the death of George Flloyd continuing around the US today, a short report from our voting rights editor on events this afternoon in Brooklyn, New York City:
Thousands of protestors converged on Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza today for a memorial for George Floyd. The event was attended by Floyd’s brother, Terrence, who addressed the crowd with calls for solidarity and peaceful protest in memory of his brother.
Emotional and heartfelt speech from George’s Floyd’s brother Terrence today at the memorial in Cadman Plaza. #blacklivesmatter #powertothepeople #georgefloyd pic.twitter.com/UpE5J6euor
Rev Al Sharpton also used his eulogy at the memorial service for George Floyd to announce that, with the Floyd family, he would organise a march on Washington on 28 August to demand reform of the criminal justice system.
Continue reading...John Allen warns that politicisation of the military could be the beginning of the end of ‘the American experiment’
The retired marine general who led the global coalition against Isis and commanded US forces in Afghanistan has warned that Donald Trump’s actions this week could start a US “ slide into illiberalism” and the beginning of the end of “the American experiment”.
In denouncing the president for his response to the George Floyd protests, John Allen became the latest in a string of venerable military figures to have gone public over what they describe as the threat posed by Trump to the non-political nature of the armed forces, and more broadly to US democracy.
Continue reading...Audit probed energy company Burisma, of which Biden was a board member from 2014-2019
An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden, the former prosecutor general, who had launched the audit, told Reuters.
Ruslan Ryaboshapka was in the spotlight last year as the man who would decide whether to launch an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter, in what became a key issue in the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Despite the pandemic, the president can’t wait to get back packed rallies while his Democratic rival practices caution. Each thinks he has a winning strategy
Donald Trump wants to be nominated by a Republican national convention with all the trappings of a normal, packed event: the thronging crowds, the balloon drop, the scores of sideshow events. Meanwhile, former vice-president Joe Biden and senior Democratic officials are strongly considering a partially or completely virtual convention.
Related: Can Joe Biden convince protesters he would be a 'transformational' president?
Continue reading...‘It’s not enough to just be better than Trump’ Democratic hopeful told amid anti-racist uprising sparked by killing of George Floyd
Hours before peaceful protests against police brutality were forcibly dispersed so that Donald Trump could pose with a Bible in front of St John’s church, Joe Biden also went to church.
Head bowed, Biden prayed with community leaders at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware. For days the nation had been convulsed over the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man pinned under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer for a fatal eight minutes and 46 seconds.
Continue reading...Decision to run opinion piece from Republican senator Tom Cotton sparks criticism from staff who say it puts people in danger
The New York Times’ decision to run an op-ed from the Republican senator Tom Cotton titled “Send in the troops” is drawing widespread criticism, including from Times staff.
In the piece, Cotton called for the use of US military troops to quell civil unrest, and indicated the president would be justified in doing so under the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Continue reading...James Mattis accuses Trump of dividing US and ordering military to violate constitutional rights of Americans
Associated Press are reporting that more than 10,000 people have now been arrested in protests against racism and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death. It’s not an official figure, but comes from their own tally of arrest reports.
The AP figures show that Los Angeles has had more than a quarter of the national arrests, followed by New York, Dallas and Philadelphia. Many of the arrests have been for low-level offences such as curfew violations and failure to disperse. Hundreds were arrested on burglary and looting charges.
If you’ve been following the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on social media you may have been surprised this morning by a sudden flood of Korean characters and the repeated phrase: “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”
The source of this is the world’s biggest K-Pop band, BTS, who posted on social media this morning:
우리는 인종차별에 반대합니다.
우리는 폭력에 반대합니다.
나, 당신, 우리 모두는 존중받을 권리가 있습니다. 함께 하겠습니다.
We stand against racial discrimination.
We condemn violence.
You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.#BlackLivesMatter
In Los Angeles, thousands took to the streets. Mayor Eric Garcetti took a knee with protestors, even as crowds chanted, “defund the police”.
In New York, thousands of protesters defied curfew and remained on the streets, as officers began making arrests.
Continue reading...More than 100,000 have died in a pandemic and troops are on the streets. The rate of fresh affronts has outpaced the ability to digest them
The sheer tumult of the Trump era, the unceasing torrent of events that were unthinkable even hours before, has left a nation constantly off balance, unable to find its bearing and grasp how far it has traveled.
The developments of the past 24 hours were a reminder of how slippery the downward slope has been.
Continue reading...Joe Biden has addressed the killing of George Floyd and the protests that his death has sparked. During a speech in Philadelphia, the Democratic presidential candidate said Floyd’s last words, 'I can’t breathe', were a 'wake-up call for our nation'. Biden also sought to draw a clear distinction between himself and Donald Trump, saying the US president was 'part of the problem'
Continue reading...Abandoned by mainstream Republicans for his racist rhetoric, the Iowa congressman finds himself in a nightmare situation
This might actually be the year Iowa Republican congressman Steve King loses re-election.
King, the conservative congressman who’s been repeatedly reprimanded by leaders in his own party for racist rhetoric and interactions with white nationalists, finds himself in a nightmare situation for an incumbent congressman.
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Bobby Rush, an Illinois congressman and a Civil Rights era leader who co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers in 1967, responded to Trump’s Rose Garden address with this:
We are living in a police state. https://t.co/YjO8x7QZjt
The Episcopal bishop of DC told The Washington Post that she was “outraged” after the officers cleared peaceful protestors gathered near the White House with tear gas and rubber bullets, to clear the way for Donald Trump to take photos outside St. John’s Church.
The Episcopal bishop of DC – who oversees the DC church Trump just stopped at – tells the @washingtonpost she is "outraged" and that neither she nor the rector was asked or told… “that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop.." 1/3
"We so disassociate ourselves from the messages of this president. We hold the teachings of our sacred texts to be so so grounding to our lives and everything we do and it is about love of neighbor and sacrificial love and justice." @Mebudde Bishop Mariann Budde 3/3
Continue reading...Facebook employees are staging a rebellion over Mark Zuckerberg’s refusal to act against Donald Trump, expressing their dissatisfaction with their boss on social media in a rare public display of dissent and, in some cases, staging a “virtual” walkout.
Disagreement came from employees at all levels of the company, including some senior staff. Particular criticism was levelled at Zuckerberg’s personal decision to leave up the Facebook version of a tweet sent by Trump in which the president appeared to encourage police to shoot rioters. By contrast, Twitter hid the message behind a warning.
Continue reading...Trump is sowing doubt about mail-in voting at a time when it may be the safest way for people to cast their ballots
Donald Trump is escalating baseless attacks on mail-in voting in what appears to be an obvious effort to sow doubt about the fairness of the 2020 election.
The president has long made false accusations about voter fraud, claiming without evidence that 3-5 million Americans voted illegally in the 2016 election. But his barrage against mail-in voting is particularly alarming ahead of an election during the Covid-19 pandemic, where there is likely to be severely limited in-person voting and many Americans will probably vote by mail for the first time. Advocates worry voters who don’t want to risk their health and vote in person could also be swayed by Trump’s rhetoric, not feel comfortable voting by mail, and simply choose not to vote at all.
Continue reading...The country’s most reliable voting bloc are also the most vulnerable to the virus, which looks to be benefiting Biden
At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden last week, a maskless Donald Trump appealed directly to a constituency that could determine his political fate in November’s election: America’s seniors.
Related: Biden sets solemn tone as Trump waits 15 hours to mark Covid-19 milestone
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A striking detail from tonight’s coverage has been reports that as protesters surged towards the White House on Friday night, US president Donald Trump, his wife Melania and son Barron briefly retreated to the Presidential Emergency Operations Centre – a fortified bunker-like structure beneath the residence.
The last time a US head of state was publicly known to have used the bunker was on 11 September, 2001, where senior members of the George W Bush administration spent that day after their west wing offices were evacuated. There are no other public reports of presidents needing to use the area since - the New York Times, which first reported this detail, says “it has not been used much, if at all” since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it notes the area has since been strengthened to withstand the impact of a passenger jet.
Related: Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House
My colleague Julian Borger in Washington DC has just filed this update on a tense evening the capital.
Multiple fires broke out near the White House late on Sunday evening, as angry protesters gathered in Washington DC for the third night in a row following the death of George Floyd.
Sunday evening’s protests in front of the White House started relatively cheerfully, with a crowd of a few thousand in Lafayette park. Earlier in the day, demonstrators had marched through the city’s downtown, chanting “George Floyd! Say his name!” and “No Justice! No Peace!”
Related: Fires light up Washington DC on third night of George Floyd protests
Continue reading...The president’s account is a 24/7 window into his psyche, with even his rage at having his posts factchecked expressed via tweet
It has been one of the greatest love affairs in American politics.
Related: Twitter taking on Trump's lies? About time too | John Naughton
Continue reading...A top FBI lawyer who was criticised on Fox News for his role in the investigation of Michael Flynn has resigned after being asked to do so by senior figures at the Department of Justice, NBC News reported on Saturday.
Related: What is 'Obamagate' and why is Trump so worked up about it?
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