Joe Biden delivered a forceful appeal for national unity from the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, as the nation lurched from crisis to crisis and the president continued to downplay the severity of the coronavirus after being hospitalized for Covid-19.

From the storied civil war battlefield of Gettysburg, a symbol of the divisions that nearly tore the nation in two, Biden cast the election as a “battle for the soul of the nation” and emphasized the stakes this November.

“Today, once again we are a house divided,” Biden said, framed by a row of American flags with the rolling hills of Gettysburg behind him. “But that, my friend, can no longer be. We are facing too many crises. We have too much work to do. We have too bright a future to leave it shipwrecked on the shoals of anger and hate and division.”

In a sweeping speech – one that drew on Abraham Lincoln’s address at the same spot, the site of one of the war’s bloodiest battles, and Lyndon Johnson’s remarks from there one hundred years later – Biden warned of the “cost of division” and his fears that partisanship threatened to undermine the central pillars of American democracy.

Biden vowed to govern as an “American president”, one who would seek bipartisan solutions to the nation’s most consequential problems, including the coronavirus pandemic, racial injustice and economic turmoil.

Though he did not mention Trump by name, Biden’s remarks amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of the president’s leadership in the wake of a global pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans and infected millions more, including the president and a widening circle of White House aides and allies. Lamenting the politicization of science and facts, he called for a national strategy.

“Wearing a mask isn’t a political statement – it’s a scientific recommendation,” Biden said, a surgical mask clenched in his fist. “We can’t undo what has been done. We can’t go back. But we can do better.”



Joe Biden holds up his mask as he speaks in Gettysburg. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

His remarks drew a stark contrast with Trump, who abruptly ended negotiations with Democrats over additional relief as millions of Americans continue to suffer from the financial crisis triggered by the virus.

The move was the latest jolt since the president left the hospital on Monday evening. Earlier on Tuesday, he announced plans to participate in the next presidential debate in Miami on 15 October, which would be exactly two weeks after he tested positive for the virus.

Depending on the severity of Trump’s case, he could still be infectious at the point, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biden told reporters he was “looking forward” to debating Trump next week, but made clear that if the president was still infectious, the debate should not go ahead.

“If he still has Covid, we shouldn’t have a debate,” Biden told reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland. “I think we were gonna have to follow very strict guidelines,” he continued. “Too many people have been infected. It’s a very serious problem, so I will be guided by the guidelines of the Cleveland Clinic and what the docs say is the right thing to do.”

Before his speech, which was held outdoors, the campaign announced that Biden had tested negative for the virus.

Biden also sought to grapple with demands for racial justice and police reform that have continued since the killing of George Floyd in May. He said the legacy of racial injustice in America extends “400 years, to the moment when black men, women, and children were first brought here in chains”.

“If you say we have no need to face racial injustice in this country, you haven’t opened your eyes to the truth in America,” Biden said. “Think about what it takes for a Black person to love America. That is a deep love for this country that for far too long we have never fully recognized.”

But he drew a clear line between support for the protesters and instances of violence in some cities, stating clearly that he supports “law and order” and opposes “defunding the police” – two lines of attack Trump has attempted to level against him.

Four weeks before election day, the speech, one Biden said he worked “very, very, very hard” on, sounded like a closing argument.

“As I look across America today, I’m concerned,” Biden said. “The country is in a dangerous place. Our trust in each other is ebbing. Hope seems elusive.”

But he was optimistic, as ever, about the possibility of forging national unity and finding common ground, acknowledging some may find him naive in the age of hyperpartisanship and political tribalism.

“The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not due to some mysterious force beyond our control. It’s a decision, a choice we make,” he said. “And if we can decide not to cooperate, we can decide to cooperate as well.”

Pennsylvania, where Biden was raised, is a critical presidential battleground. Long a Democratic stronghold, Trump clinched the state in 2016. But new polling shows Biden with a wide lead.

Biden held a 12-point lead over Trump among all registered Pennsylvania voters, according to a Monmouth University poll released on Tuesday – powered by his strength in the Philadelphia suburbs and his growth in support among people of color.

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/06/joe-biden-gettysburg-speech-unity

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The Lincoln Project, an independent expenditure group created by never-Trump Republicans, is also full steam ahead.

The hardball approach to the president as he recovers gives Biden air cover as he pulls back on negative spots, enabling him to project empathy and a reverence for norms. At the same time, it allows his supporters — who have a different calculus — to continue their no-holds-barred ad strategy against Trump. The president’s team is already seeking to leverage his battle with the coronavirus for political advantage.

“Over the course of the weekend, it became very clear that Trump wasn’t going to change his behavior and was going to continue to put people at risk,” said Josh Schwerin, the communications director for Priorities USA. “It became quickly apparent that there was no reason for us to change course.”

Even before Trump left the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, some political operatives at outside groups said the Biden campaign should also dispense with the civility and fire away at the president. After all, they said, Trump is still whacking Biden with negative ads.

“They’ve continued to attack Joe Biden on social media, on paid media, on digital advertising, using all the mechanisms of their campaign,” said Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project. “Unilateral disarmament is never a good idea and I’m hopeful that the Biden campaign will recognize this in the next 24 hours and get back on the ball here to make sure the playing field does not become unbalanced.”

The Trump campaign, which flatly rejected taking its own negative ads off the air, also called the move by Biden insincere, saying negative ads were still airing. “Joe Biden’s negative ads did not come down and were still running three days later,” said Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s communications director. “If the rule is you don’t attack the guy in the hospital, why would the president pull down his own ads?”

But data from the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics that was shared with POLITICO show that Biden’s negative ad traffic decreased dramatically. On Oct. 1, the day before the president’s diagnosis became public, the campaign aired over 300 spots nationwide that the tracker classified as negative, 2,100 positive spots and 7,100 “contrast” spots, more of a gray-zone classification.

On Oct. 3, the day following the president’s hospitalization, the campaign aired just 29 spots classified as negative, a bit under 1,400 contrast spots and nearly 3,700 positive spots. The remaining trickle of ads coded as negative are likely a result of stations being slow to pull content, a common occurrence in last-minute changes to large TV campaigns.

On Monday, the first full weekday after following Trump’s hospitalization (and the day he left Walter Reed), the campaign aired 2 negative spots, 1,400 contrast spots and 7,400 positive ones.

Some Biden supporters, including Wilson, told POLITICO they believe that now is the perfect time to draw a contrast between the former vice president’s cautious approach toward Covid-19 and Trump’s recklessness in handling it, even within his own ranks. But others were unperturbed by the campaign’s decision, assuming the decision likely was made by Biden himself.

“I think it’s a safe bet that this came from the candidate,” Schwerin said. “Some of these decisions are not about what helps us win tomorrow … and if Biden thought that it was the wrong thing to be attacking his opponent while he was in the hospital, I understand that.”

Some Democrats have argued that it’s a smart strategic shift for Biden to shelve the attack ads because positive spots are the most persuasive to swing voters.

“The ads that test the best are positive ads that are very specific about what Joe Biden will do as president,” said Steve Schale, executive director of the pro-Biden super PAC Unite the Country. “In some elections, you have to disqualify the incumbent. In this election, the incumbent has basically been disqualified. He did it on his own.”

Chuck Rocha, a former Bernie Sanders aide who founded the pro-Biden Nuestro PAC, said he is planning to send out negative direct mail that takes aim at the issue at hand. He described the theme as being: “If Donald Trump can’t take care of himself, how do we expect him to take care of America?”

Still, Rocha said, he supports the Biden campaign’s decision to stay above the fray itself: “I think it’s the right idea for Biden to not go negative because that’s what you have super PACs for.”

Tara McGowan, the CEO of ACRONYM, agreed: “As a super PAC that exists for the sole purpose of filling gaps the campaign cannot fill, it is our job to not cede the online news feeds to Trump or the right-wing media at this critical time.”

RootsAction.org, a progressive 501(c)4 backing Biden, is likewise not ditching its negative digital ad campaign. On the contrary, Norman Solomon, co-founder of the organization, said it is expanding into three additional battleground states: Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Iowa.

“We haven’t changed anything about the content of our messaging because nothing has changed about the threat of another four years,” he said. “We’re not mitigating our criticism of what Trump has done or the danger he poses for the future.”

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/06/trump-negative-ads-super-pacs-426894

Joe Biden has been raising eyebrows again with remarks he made to a group of “beautiful young ladies” during a campaign stop in Miami.

While paying a visit on Monday to the Little Haiti Cultural Center, Biden closed his remarks by quipping to the crowd, “the good news is, for me, I’m here. The bad news for you is I’m coming back.”

He then spotted a gathering of young girls to the side.

BIDEN SUGGESTS PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO QUARANTINE BECAUSE ‘SOME BLACK WOMAN WAS ABLE TO STACK THE GROCERY SHELF’ IN VIRAL CLIP

“And I want to see these beautiful young ladies- I want to see them dancing when they’re four years older too,” Biden pointed, sparking laughs from attendees.

Cell phone footage from another angle of Biden’s remarks shows who the former VP was addressing, which appeared to be two young girls sitting off to the side.

The footage went viral, sparking allegations from some of “creepy” behavior.

When asked for comment, the Biden campaign provided a link to Article II of the U.S. Constitution and highlighted, “He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years.”

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These weren’t the only Biden remarks that caused a stir on social media this week. A resurfaced clip from a September 15 campaign event showed the Democratic nominee suggesting why people were able to quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic.

“They’re saying, ‘Jeez, the reason I was able to stay sequestered in my home is because some Black woman was able to stack the grocery shelf,'” Biden is heard saying in the clip.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-raises-eyebrows-when-he-tells-these-beautiful-young-ladies-he-wants-to-see-them-dancing-when-theyre-four-years-older

The Food and Drug Administration laid out updated safety standards Tuesday for makers of Covid-19 vaccines after the White House blocked their formal release, the latest political tug-of-war between the Trump administration and the government’s public health scientists.

In briefing documents posted on its website, the FDA said vaccine makers should follow trial participants for at least two months to rule out safety issues before seeking emergency approval. That requirement would almost certainly preclude the introduction of a vaccine before Nov. 3.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted a vaccine could be authorized before Election Day, even though top government scientists working on the effort have said that timeline is very unlikely. On Monday Trump said vaccines are coming “momentarily,” in a video recorded after he returned to the White House. 

Former FDA officials have warned that public perception that a vaccine was being rushed out for political reasons could derail efforts to vaccinate millions of Americans.

A senior administration official confirmed to the AP on Monday that the White House had blocked FDA’s plans to formally publish the safety guidelines based on the 2-month data requirement, arguing there was “no clinical or medical reason” for it.

But the FDA tucked the information into a memo posted ahead of an Oct. 22 meeting of its outside vaccine advisory panel. The group of non-governmental experts is scheduled to discuss general standards for coronavirus vaccines, part of FDA’s effort to publicize its process and rationale for vaccine reviews. While information prepared for such panels does not carry the weight of a formal FDA guidance document, the release of the information makes clear the FDA plans to impose the safety standards for any vaccine seeking an expedited path to market. 

To meet the FDA’s threshold, companies would need to submit two months of follow-up from half of their trial participants after they receive their last vaccine dose to show there are no major side effects or health problems. Because vaccines are normally given to otherwise healthy people the FDA requires strict evidence of their safety.

The requirements are aimed at companies seeking rapid approval through the FDA’s emergency authorization pathway. That accelerated process, reserved for health emergencies, allows medical products onto the market based on a lower bar than traditional FDA approval. 

Initial doses of vaccines for emergency use would likely be reserved for medical workers and people with health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to coronavirus. Full FDA approval for the general population will require significantly more data and is not expected until mid-2021.

An FDA spokeswoman said Tuesday the vaccine guidelines are still “under review” but added that “the FDA has already communicated with individual manufacturers about its expectations.”

The White House’s attempt to block the information’s release follows a string of instances in which the Trump administration has undercut its own medical experts working to combat the pandemic. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has been attempting to shore up public confidence in the vaccine review process for weeks, vowing that career scientists, not politicians, will decide if the shots are safe and effective.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has stoked excitement by saying that he expects data on whether the company’s candidate works to be ready in late October. But a number of variables would still have to align for the company to submit, and the FDA to review and greenlight, a vaccine application before Nov. 3. Pfizer’s competitors Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are working on longer research timelines.

Vaccine development typically takes years, but the U.S. government has invested billions in efforts to accelerate the process and help multiple drugmakers prepare multiple candidates. All the doses will be purchased by the federal government for use vaccinating the U.S. population.

Beyond exposing the rift between the White House and FDA, the release of the information may have limited practical effect.

FDA scientists have been discussing the guidelines publicly for weeks and have made clear that the recommendations have already been shared with each of the vaccine developers.

“The companies know what we’re expecting,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the head of FDA’s vaccine division, in an online interview last week with the nonprofit Friends of Cancer Research. 

Instead, Marks said, releasing the guidelines was “an attempt to help the public see what we’re requiring of COVID-19 vaccines.” He added that the guidelines would explain that all upcoming vaccines would be reviewed by FDA’s independent panel of outside vaccine advisers, before the agency makes its own final decision. 

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/06/fda-posts-vaccine-guidelines-blocked-by-white-house.html

Airline stocks and shares of Boeing tumbled Tuesday afternoon after President Donald Trump called off talks with Democrats for a national stimulus package until after the election, closing the main avenue for carriers battered by the pandemic to receive more aid.

American AirlinesUnited Airlines and other U.S. carriers began furloughing more than 32,000 workers last week. Airlines had agreed to not cut any jobs until after Oct. 1 under the terms of $25 billion in federal payroll support passed in March.

Carriers’ executives and labor unions were pleading for more aid in Washington in recent weeks. The proposal won bipartisan support but remained stuck as Democrats in Congress and the Trump administration failed to reach a national coronavirus package that could have included more aid.

Airlines that started furloughing their workers said they would reverse course if more aid was approved.

American’s shares were down 4%, United’s fell by 2.6%. Shares of Southwest Airlines, which asked its unionized employees to take pay cuts in order to avoid furloughs through the end of next year, were down 2.5%. Delta Air Lines was down 2.4% in the last hour of the session.

Boeing shares, already down on the day after issuing a downbeat aircraft demand forecast, were trading close to 6% lower after Trump’s announcement pausing stimulus talks.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/06/boeing-airline-stocks-tumble-after-trump-calls-off-pandemic-stimulus-talks-until-after-election.html

Pentagon officials are conducting additional contact tracing and taking other precautions “to protect the force and the mission,” said Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman.

“Out of an abundance of caution, all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning,” Hoffman said Tuesday afternoon. “No Pentagon contacts have exhibited symptoms and we have no additional positive tests to report at this time.”

Ray was among several military leaders who attended an event at the White House on Sept. 27 celebrating Gold Star families. A day earlier, the White House held an outdoor event as President Donald Trump officially nominated Amy Coney Barrett to be the next Supreme Court justice. Many people who attended have since tested positive, including Trump himself.

The admiral felt “mild symptoms” this weekend and got tested Monday, according to a Coast Guard statement.

Not all of the military’s leaders are under quarantine. Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite were traveling last week and did not attend the Pentagon meetings with Ray.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz has also been on travel and has not been in contact with Ray, spokesperson Jay Guyer said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff includes the chairman, vice chairman, and the four-star heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Guard and Space Force.

A senior defense official said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday did not yet have his test results back as of Tuesday afternoon. Beyond the Joint Chiefs, other leaders who took part in the meetings and are under self-quarantine include U.S. Cyber Command chief Gen. Paul Nakasone and Gen. Gary Thomas, assistant Marine Corps commandant, a third defense official said.

Milley and Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten get tested “on a regular basis” for Covid-19, the first defense official said, adding that the length of military leaders’ quarantine period will be “conditions-based.”

“Anybody we know on the Joint Staff who was in contact with Adm. Ray has been tested and is observing CDC protocol,” the official said.

All of the Joint Chiefs have the ability to do their jobs from wherever they are working, the official said.

“There is no change to the operational readiness or mission capability of the U.S. Armed Forces,” Hoffman said. “Senior military leaders are able to remain fully mission capable and perform their duties from an alternative work location.”

This week’s developments mark the Joint Chiefs’ second brush with coronavirus.

In May, Gen. Joseph Lengyel, then the head of the National Guard, tested positive when visiting the White House, although a subsequent test showed he was negative.

That same week, Gilday self-quarantined after coming into contact with a family member who had tested positive.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/06/coast-guard-covid-positive-426799

When asked about the effects of the coronavirus, 40% of respondents said they think things are getting better, while 42% answered that they believe they are getting worse. In the previous survey, 46% of voters said they believed the situation was improving, while 34% thought it was getting worse.

Voters are most pessimistic in Wisconsin, which has endured a troubling recent spike in infections. In the state, 59% of respondents this week said they think the effects of the outbreak are getting worse.

Swing-state voters continue to give Trump poor marks on how he has managed the pandemic. Only 46% of respondents approve of how he is handling the coronavirus, while 54% disapprove. 

A majority — 53% — said they think Biden and Democrats would do a better job handling the virus, versus 47% who chose Trump and Republicans. 

The president downplayed the severity of the disease in recent days, even after he received an experimental treatment at the hospital, an outbreak spread among his White House staff and campaign advisors and the American death toll topped 210,000.

In a video posted to Twitter on Monday night, Trump told Americans not to let the virus “dominate” their lives. As he still tries to fight off the infection, Trump claimed he might be “immune” to the disease.

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Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/06/2020-election-polls-biden-leads-trump-after-debate-coronavirus-diagnosis.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has blocked new Food and Drug Administration guidelines on bringing potential vaccines for COVID-19 to market that would almost certainly have prevented their introduction before the Nov. 3 election.

At issue was the FDA’s planned instruction that vaccine developers follow patients enrolled in their trials for at least two months to rule out safety issues before seeking emergency approval from the agency. A senior administration confirmed the move Monday evening, saying the White House believed there was “no clinical or medical reason” for the additional requirement.

The White House action was first reported by The New York Times.

The intervention by Trump officials is the latest example of the administration undercutting its own medical experts working to combat the pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has been attempting to shore up public confidence in the FDA’s vaccine review for weeks, vowing that career scientists, not politicians, will decide if the shots are safe and effective for mass vaccination.

But President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that a vaccine could be authorized before Election Day, even though top government scientists working on the administration’s vaccine effort have stated that that timeline is very unlikely.

Last week seven former FDA commissioners blasted the administration for “undermining the credibility” of the FDA in a Washington Post op-ed and called for the release of the pending vaccine guidelines. The former FDA chiefs warned that public perceptions that a vaccine was rushed out for political reasons could derail efforts to vaccinate millions of Americans.

Beyond the damaging optics of overruling its own FDA, the practical impact of the White House move to block the guidelines could be relatively small.

Only one drugmaker, Pfizer, has suggested it could have data on the safety and effectiveness of its vaccine before Election Day. And a number of variables would still have to align for the company to submit, and the FDA to review and approve, a vaccine application before Nov. 3. Pfizer’s competitors Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are working on longer researcher timelines.

Additionally, FDA scientists have been discussing the contents of the guidelines publicly for weeks and have made clear that the recommendations have already been shared with each of the vaccine developers.

“There’s no there there to get all excited about this guidance,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the head of FDA’s vaccine division, in an online interview last week with the nonprofit Friends of Cancer Research. “The companies know what we’re expecting.”

Instead, Marks said, releasing the guidelines was “an attempt to help the public see what we’re requiring of COVID-19 vaccines.” He added that the guidelines would explain that all upcoming vaccines would be reviewed by FDA’s independent panel of vaccine advisers, before the agency makes its own final decision.

Marks explained Monday that the two months of safety follow-up for vaccines is important because the most serious side effects connected with shots often occur in the first several weeks after vaccination.

“The safety profile of a vaccine that’s going to be used in millions of people has to be incredibly clean,” Marks said in an online discussion with the Journal of American Medical Association.

When asked about the potential timing for a first vaccine, Marks said an emergency authorization could come “before the end of the year.”

The guidelines blocked by the White House are a type of nonbinding document that the FDA routinely uses to advise companies on research and regulatory standards for medical products.

The FDA released its initial expectations for COVID-19 vaccines in June. Among other metrics, the agency said any vaccine would have to be at least 50% protective against the virus. But the guidelines didn’t spell out the conditions under which the FDA would use its emergency authorization powers to speed up the availability of a vaccine. Under emergency review, medical products face a lower standard that merely requires that their expected benefits outweigh their risks for use during a public health crisis.

The lack of specifics around using the emergency authorization for a vaccine became a flashpoint for outside experts, physicians and even politicians. FDA officials then began drafting a second guidance document with additional details.

Among other things, the guidelines would have made clear that any vaccine approved through the emergency pathway would still need to meet FDA’s preset safety and effectiveness standards. Instead, the expedited process would be used to bypass certain logistical and regulatory hurdles, such as the thousands of pages of manufacturing documentation normally required for a traditional vaccine application.

FDA emergency authorization for a vaccine would likely limit initial use to medical and other frontline workers, nursing homes and people most at risk of catching or becoming seriously ill from the virus. The vaccine would have to undergo review for full FDA approval, a monthslong process, before being approved for the general population

The FDA has faced criticism for allowing emergency use of some COVID-19 treatments backed by little evidence, but FDA officials have made clear that vaccines would face additional standards. Vaccines, unlike therapies, are given to healthy people and thus usually require more proof.

But Trump made clear last month that he was skeptical of any regulatory changes that might delay a vaccine’s authorization, even if those changes are aimed at increasing public trust.

“I think that was a political move more than anything else,” he said then, arguing that that the companies testing the vaccines, such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna, are capable of determining whether they work. “I have tremendous trust in these massive companies,” he said.

The senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the action, said the White House was intent on getting a safe vaccine to market and wanted to make sure “additional loopholes” weren’t added that would slow down the process.

FDA spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment Monday night.

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NBC’s town hall featuring Joe Biden did not receive the warmest reception on Monday night.

The outdoor, televised event, which aired on both NBC and MSNBC, took place in the swing state of Florida and moderator Lester Holt told viewers that all of the Miami attendees were “undecided voters.”

BIDEN’S WIFE PULLS HIM AWAY FROM REPORTERS IN SOCIAL-DISTANCING REMINDER

Holt kicked off the town hall by asking him to react to President Trump’s departure from Walter Reed Medical Center and grilled him by asking if he was “surprised” by Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis; if he thought the president’s medical team were “forthcoming” with information about his condition and whether he “trusts” their assessment; if he had “a moment of pause, of worry” when he first heard about the diagnosis following the first presidential debate; if he would “pledge to transparency” as president regarding his own potential health issues. and if he believes Trump “bears responsibility” for contracting the coronavirus.

BIDEN SUGGESTS PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO QUARANTINE BECAUSE ‘SOME BLACK WOMAN WAS ABLE TO STACK THE GROCERY SHELF’ IN VIRAL CLIP 

Then the “undecided voters” were able to speak to the former vice president one-on-one. Of the roughly eleven voters who were able to ask questions, one was described as “leaning” towards Biden, one was described as a “registered Republican” that was also “leaning” towards Biden, one was described as a former registered Republican who “voted for Hillary Clinton” and other one voted for Clinton in 2016 but he, too, according to Holt, voted for Republicans “in the past.” None of the attendees were described as a Trump voter or “leaning” towards voting for the incumbent president.

All of their questions were primarily focused on Biden’s plans as president rather than tough questions that challenged the candidate on his 47-year record.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a NBC Town Hall at Pérez Art Museum, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Miami, with Lester Holt at right. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Critics took notice of the not-so-stimulating exchange between Biden and the voters.

“NBC’s town hall with Joe Biden & ‘undecided voters’ in Miami didn’t seem to have undecided voters. Nor was it much of a Miami town hall, which would have way more yelling & pointed questions. It was a TV show that doubled as a Biden infomercial. Can’t blame him for doing it,” Politico reporter Marc Caputo reacted.

CNN PANNED FOR ‘SOFTBALL’ BIDEN TOWN HALL: THIS ISN’T GETTING HIM READY FOR THE DEBATES

“The townhall questions for Biden are pretty underwhelming thus far,” McClatchy political correspondent David Catanese tweeted.

“I just watched that entire, hour-long NBC News townhall with Joe Biden. No questions about whether he will pack the court, nuke the filibuster, or add DC and Puerto Rico as states,” Daily Caller’s Greg Price said, later adding, “There were also no questions about China.”

The Biden town hall was even knocked by one of Biden’s own supporters.

BIDEN SPOKESMAN RIPS NY TIMES REPORT CLAIMING CAMPAIGN IS ‘CAGEY ON HEALTH QUESTIONS’

“The media never learns. NBC just spent the first 12 mins of @JoeBiden’s town hall talking about Trump. Damn,” Democratic activist Chris Jackson reacted.

Others took aim at Holt for asking Biden if he “regrets” the “divisive” rhetoric he expressed during the first presidential debate last week.

MSNBC HOST RACHEL MADDOW URGES VIEWERS TO WISH TRUMP A SPEEDY RECOVERY

“Lester Holt is trying to ‘both sides’ the first presidential debate and criticizing Joe Biden for calling Trump a clown at this townhall. Insane,” progressive commentator Hasan Piker tweeted.

“Hey, Lester Holt… Donald Trump is a clown. Apparently, so are you,” Bishop Talbert Swan wrote.

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Last month, CNN was similarly criticized for its friendly town hall with Biden, which came just days after President Trump faced tough questions at an ABC News-hosted event.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/nbc-town-hall-panned-as-biden-infomercial-the-undecided-voters-didnt-seem-undecided

A video posted on Twitter by President Donald Trump‘s re-election campaign was removed from the social media platform for violating copyright rules.

The footage superimposed Trump’s head on the body of San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who scored a spectacular touchdown on Sunday, leaping over Philadelphia Eagles safety Marcus Epps to cap a 38-yard run in the 49ers’ 25-20 home loss.

In the video, which was posted by Team Trump, the official Twitter account for the Trump campaign, an illustration from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention displaying COVID-19’s structure was superimposed on Epps, seemingly implying Trump had hurdled over coronavirus as easily as Aiyuk and jumped over Epps on his way to score.

Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday, after announcing that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had both tested positive to coronavirus. However, he was released on Monday and returned to Washington, D.C. shortly after urging Americans not to live in fear of COVID-19.

“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he tweeted.

“Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs and knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago.”

The footage posted by the Trump Campaign continued with the president’s face superimposed on Aiyuk celebrating his touchdown in the end zone, before showing footage from ITV News of an anti-Trump protester shouting “No” during the president inauguration back in January 2017.

Much like Trump’s time in hospital, however, the video was a short-lived affair. On Monday night, following “a report from the copyright owner,” Twitter disabled playback of the video. The social media platform, however, did not indicate whether the complaint had come from the NFL, ITV News or another party.

After returning to the White House, Trump hinted he would resume his campaigning ahead of the presidential elections on November 3, tweeting he “will be back on the campaign trail soon.”

Trump wore a mask as he left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but removed it when he posed for photographs upon returning to the White House even though, according to CDC guidelines, he should remain in isolation for at least 10 days after his diagnosis, which came late on Thursday night.

The president’s personal physician, Sean Conley, conceded that while Trump had met the discharge requirements, he was “not entirely out of the woods yet.”

On Sunday, Conley explained the president was undergoing a steroid therapy deployed to tackle severe cases of the virus.

Trump has been prescribed the anti-inflammatory steroid dexamethasone, Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody therapy REGN-COV, which mimics the proteins the body creates to fight infection, and the antiviral drug remdesivir.

However, Conley wouldn’t confirm when the president last tested negative for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Trump’s progress did not mean he had overcome the virus.

“The issue is that he’s still early enough in the disease that it’s no secret that if you look at the clinical course of people sometimes, when you’re five to eight days in, you can have a reversal,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday.

As of Tuesday morning over 7.45 million cases of coronavirus had been reported in the U.S., by far the highest tally of any country in the world.

Of the over 1.04 million deaths recorded worldwide so far, more than 210,000 have been in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the outbreak using combined data sources.

There have been almost 35.5 million confirmed cases globally since the outbreak of coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, a city located in China’s central Hubei province, late last year.

Newsweek has contacted the NFL and Twitter for comment.

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Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/twitter-removes-donald-trump-campaign-video-san-francisco-49ers-1536575

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Vice President Pence face off in their only debate Wednesday.

Caroline Amenabar/NPR; Gage Skidmore/Flickr


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Caroline Amenabar/NPR; Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Vice President Pence face off in their only debate Wednesday.

Caroline Amenabar/NPR; Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Plexiglass will separate Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris of California, the Democratic nominee, during their vice presidential debate on Wednesday.

That’s a precaution as a result of a cluster of coronavirus cases from the White House affecting President Trump and a number of aides and associates.

Pence has tested negative for the virus, but his proximity to others — including at a Rose Garden ceremony on Sept. 26 — has raised concerns about his health status and potential for spreading the virus to others. Pence worked from home in recent days.

The use of a plexiglass divider was requested by the campaign of Harris and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and the Commission on Presidential Debates agreed to the change. A Pence spokeswoman reportedly mocked the plexiglass, calling it a “fortress.” The divider follows a request from the Biden campaign to sit Harris and Pence farther apart, Politico reported.

Wednesday’s event follows Trump and Biden’s chaotic and off-the-rails presidential debate last week, and it is the sole matchup between the vice presidential candidates.

Here are the details of Wednesday’s debate:

When? 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. (You can listen to the debate on NPR, and we’ll have a livestream video online.)

Where? The University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

The university offered a lottery for fewer than 100 students to represent the campus inside the debate site. The school stressed that attendees will be spaced out and that face masks will be required.

Who’s moderating? Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief, USA Today.

What’s the format? The debate will be divided into nine 10-minute sections. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to the opening question in each segment.

Topics? Page hasn’t released a list of topics.

But it’s extremely likely that the coronavirus crisis will be front and center at this debate, particularly because of the president’s health and the fact that Pence served as the head of the coronavirus task force. He’ll have to defend the administration’s response to the pandemic, which has now claimed the lives of more than 210,000 Americans.

For her part, Harris, a former prosecutor who gained national attention for her grilling of witnesses in the Senate, may have to walk a delicate line between attacking Pence and the administration’s policies while the president recovers from the virus.

Will there be more debates? Two more Trump-Biden debates are scheduled, but given the president’s health, their status and any format changes are unclear:

  • Oct. 15: second presidential debate
  • Oct. 22: third presidential debate

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2020/10/06/919107935/pence-and-harris-debate-wednesday-heres-what-you-need-to-know