The US 2020 Presidential Election

[TopHatter]

At the same time Biden comes across like a nice guy but what does he stand for. Didn't come across in this debate.

Rather difficult to come across as a "nice guy" when you're being interrupted every time you start to talk, by a lying gas-lighting asshole.

The next debates will have to explain more clearly what to expect from either in the coming four years.

Again, that would entail Trump being able to do so. He can't. It would also entail Trump shutting the fuck up for 2 straight minutes and letting Biden talk. Trump can't do that either.

The one thing that bugs me is Trump's insistence on fraud with mail in votes. It's like he thinks he's going to lose.

Yes, odd isn't it. I wonder why he would think such a thing. Fortunately for Trump, the vast majority of polls are showing him way ahead of Biden.

Biden however did not show any concern about mail in votes.

That's because mail in voting is safe and past history confirms it. It's Trump that's been lying about any dangers involved with it.

Want to see is a higher voter turnout this time. That will happen with the mail in ballots.

Also a clear win, no lawyers, no courts. NO recounts.

Well then, you might want to look at which side is engaging in the systematic interference and sabotage of the US Postal Service, voter suppression and voter intimidation.

[Double Edge]

Rather difficult to come across as a "nice guy" when you're being interrupted every time you start to talk, by a lying gas-lighting asshole.

Difficult to get your message across but he didn't interrupt as much so nice guy.

Again, that would entail Trump being able to do so. He can't. It would also entail Trump shutting the fuck up for 2 straight minutes and letting Biden talk. Trump can't do that either.

Up to a point it works but that's it. How his side reads the reaction of people to his performance will dictate whether he changes tack.

Yes, odd isn't it. I wonder why he would think such a thing. Fortunately for Trump, the vast majority of polls are showing him way ahead of Biden.

Your link says the opposite.

That judge is what cost Trump the support.

That's because mail in voting is safe and past history confirms it. It's Trump that's been lying about any dangers involved with it.

He mentioned a senator's name as example that there were discrepancies. Was listening to another candidate running for senator who lost and he said the same thing as well.

Thing is the losing candidate always says something was wrong with the process.

Challenge it in court then, how many will do that ? this is when we get to find out. From Indian elections nobody opts for that step.

Well then, you might want to look at which side is engaging in the systematic interference and sabotage of the US Postal Service, voter suppression and voter intimidation.

If people want to vote then they will. Do you expect an increase in turnout this time ? or lower still because of fear of the virus

[tbm3fan]

Texas Governor limits election drop boxes to one per county supposedly to insure a clean election. Some of those counties are pretty big, just like in California, and that would make it a big pain to have to drive to one only. Nonetheless, despite another voting obstacle in the south again, he wants a clean and free election minus the Democrats in Harris County.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/01/polit...ots/index.html

[TopHatter]

Difficult to get your message across but he didn't interrupt as much so nice guy.

Exactly...so how do you expect him to get his message across when Trump keeps interrupting him?

Up to a point it works but that's it. How his side reads the reaction of people to his performance will dictate whether he changes tack.

You clearly haven't been paying attention to Donald Trump for the last 4 years have you.

Your link says the opposite.

That judge is what cost Trump the support.

My posting that link was mostly sarcasm.
Trump's approval ratings have been dropping since COVID laid bare what kind of non-leader he is. That was LONG before "the judge".

He mentioned a senator's name as example that there were discrepancies. Was listening to another candidate running for senator who lost and he said the same thing as well.

NAMES. What are the NAMES. Vague references to "discrepancies" are bullshit.

Thing is the losing candidate always says something was wrong with the process.

That too is bullshit. Where are you getting this crap?

Challenge it in court then, how many will do that ? this is when we get to find out. From Indian elections nobody opts for that step.

And there's the answer *facepalm*

Why the fuck do I do this?

If people want to vote then they will. Do you expect an increase in turnout this time ? or lower still because of fear of the virus

If people can't vote, they won't. If people are prevented from voted, they won't. That's the whole purpose of sabotaging the Post Office and voter suppression and voter intimidation.

I expect an increase in voter turnout, yes. In fact, I'm going to out on a limb and predict a voter turnout percentage greater than even the 57.1% achieved in the 2008 election...possibly as high as 60% or more, something not seen since the 1960's

[Double Edge]

He's having a ball. He's not interested in attracting swing voters. Just holding onto his base.

That's why he went with that SC judge.

He did score against Biden on law & order but Biden gets him back on the mail vote thing.

Why so scared of mail votes. If the people are for you then more the merrier

I called it a draw because neither side attracted any one just appealed to their base.

He has big rallies, the Dems keep it small. They're counting on the mail votes.

Those sub-urban moms who went with him last time. Which way will they go this time.

Health care, women's rights is what people say Trump has passed on with this judge.

But he's big on law & order. Does that balance things out.

[TopHatter]

He's having a ball. He's not interested in attracting swing voters. Just holding onto his base.

Since Day One, yes.

Why so scared of mail votes. If the people are for you then more the merrier

Because Trump voters, typically being science-deniers, are more likely to vote in person because COVID is a hoax at best and harmless at worst, according to their cult Leader, whom they will follow straight off a cliff.

Science believers on the other hand, are more likely to avoid public places, especially crowded public places, because they get their COVID information from actual scientists, not ex-game show hosts and failed businessmen, and are more likely to vote for Trump.

This is of course ignores the older and rural voters, many of whom depend on mail-in ballots, but are also more likely to voter for Trump. This is something that GOP leaders are painfully well aware of, but Trump is not. Of course, nobody ever accused Trump of being intelligent. Cunning like a sexual predator, yes, but not intelligent.

I called it a draw because neither side attracted any one just appealed to their base.

He has big rallies, the Dems keep it small. They're counting on the mail votes.

Those sub-urban moms who went with him last time. Which way will they go this time.

Health care, women's rights is what people say Trump has passed on with this judge.

But he's big on law & order. Does that balance things out.

Interesting view on this but almost entirely wrong.

[TopHatter]

Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army General Fired After Mocking Biden, Endorses Biden

Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Thursday endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

The endorsement came roughly 10 years after then-President Barack Obama fired McChrystal following a Rolling Stone profile of the general in which he mocked Biden and other administration officials.

Biden, if elected in November, “would surround himself with an effective team of good people,” McChrystal said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“I think he would set a tone in which he brings out the best of people,” McChrystal continued. “Again, not everybody will agree with every policy ― nobody ever will ― and that’s healthy in a democracy. But we have to believe in our values. You have to believe that your commander-in-chief, at the end of the day, is someone you can trust. And I can trust Joe Biden.”

McChrystal led the Joint Special Operations Command in the mid-2000s under President George W. Bush. He served as commander of the International Security Assistance force for just over a year under Obama before being forced to resign in June 2010, a day after Rolling Stone published an article online in which McChrystal and his staff made disparaging comments about Biden and criticized Obama’s leadership.

In the Rolling Stone story, McChrystal and his staff expressed frustration with reporter Michael Hastings’ questions about Biden.

“Are you asking about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal said with a laugh. “Who’s that?”

“Biden?” a top adviser chimed in. “Did you say: Bite Me?”

McChrystal apologized soon after the story was published.

“I extend my sincerest apology for this profile,” he said in a statement at the time. “It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard.”

Obama denied firing McChrystal for the remarks, instead saying the general was dismissed because of differences in Afghan war strategy.

“I don’t think we can sustain that unity of effort and achieve our objectives in Afghanistan without making this change,” Obama told reporters at the time.

McChrystal has made clear that he’s no fan of President Donald Trump. He called Trump dishonest and immoral during a 2018 interview with ABC News.

“If we want to be governed by someone we wouldn’t do a business deal with because their background is so shady ― if we’re willing to do that ― then that’s in conflict with who I think we are,” McChrystal said. “And so I think it’s necessary at those times to take a stand.”
___________

I lost count, how many ex-flag officers have endorsed Donald Trump? I mean, not that Trump-loving conservatives appear to give a shit about the military these days, but still there's gotta be a few...right?

[TopHatter]

Trump condemns 'all White supremacists' after refusing to do so at presidential debate

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump condemned "all White supremacists" Thursday evening after pointedly refusing to do so at Tuesday's presidential debate and in the days since.

"I condemn the KKK, I condemn all White supremacists, I condemn the Proud Boys. I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity, before he again appeared to equate violence by far-left groups with White supremacists, who his own FBI director says are the largest top domestic terror concern.

The White House initially showed no signs of backing down from Trump's refusal to condemn White supremacists during Tuesday's debate, despite pleas from some Republican allies to clarify his comments.
Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany would not give a declarative statement denouncing White supremacists, instead pointing to the President's past comments and insisting that he had not misspoken during the debate or after."The President, specifically, verbatim, was asked (Wednesday): 'White supremacy -- do you denounce them?' To which he responded, 'I have always denounced any form of that,' " McEnany said. "Those are the facts."

But McEnany excluded the fact that when Trump was asked if he condemned White supremacists on Tuesday, he had appeared to equate violence by far-left groups with White supremacy.
During the debate, the President also told the Proud Boys -- a far-right group the Anti-Defamation League calls misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration -- to "stand back and stand by."
"Who would you like me to condemn?" Trump said. Challenger Joe Biden could be heard twice saying, "Proud Boys."

"Proud Boys -- stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem," Trump continued.
Although Trump has reluctantly condemned the Ku Klux Klan and White supremacists in the past, he memorably said "both sides" were to blame for racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, has frequently downplayed the threat from White supremacists during his term in office and has made stoking racial tensions a key part of his reelection strategy.

In contrast, the Trump administration has portrayed antifa and anarchists as a top threat to the US equivalent to that of the KKK, recently making a campaign promise to prosecute both the KKK and antifa as terrorist organizations. In reality, White supremacists will remain the most "persistent and lethal threat" in the United States through 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security draft documents. The most recent draft report predicts an "elevated threat environment at least through" early next year, concluding that some US-based violent extremists have capitalized on increased social and political tensions in 2020.
___________

Looks like somebody finally got through that stupid thick skull of his that his open support for racist terrorist groups tends to make at least some Americans uncomfortable.

Unfortunately it's a little late, as the Proud Boys now (correctly) view Trump as their general, they've got their orders, and are probably nodding and winking at his "condemnation".

Meanwhile, the security agencies of this nation that brief him have almost certainly informed him about the "most "persistent and lethal threat" in the United States through 2021", which would one of the most prominent these days, the Proud Boys, but Donnie Dumbshit doesn't know much about them....

[tbm3fan]

Trump and his wife test Positive

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/01/polit...rus/index.html

Sorry but I can't feel bad for anyone who decides to ignore the seriousness of this virus. Have always felt that if you want to play with fire then you need to be ready to pay the price if it is called in. I'm sorry but it is poetic justice.

Quarantine now and 33 days before the election and he has HPB and is quite overweight. Question is if he has diabetes II which he would never permit release of that piece of information.

Next debate Oct. 15th.

Next Rally???

I will say one more thing and that is this virus is amazing as it just crossed species again.

[DOR]

Trump and his wife test Positive

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/01/polit...rus/index.html


I will say one more thing and that is this virus is amazing as it just crossed species again.

Karma is a stone-cold bitch.
Do not piss Her off.

Poetic justice, indeed.

[Albany Rifles]

Latest updates....

He appeared at fundraiser at his golf course yesterday showing cold-like symptoms....where no one took any precautions.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10...rsey-golf-club

[TopHatter]

‘This is the worst nightmare for the Trump campaign’

Donald Trump had done everything possible to shift the focus of the presidential campaign away from his handling of the coronavirus.

His own infection nowensures that he can’t – pulling Trump off the road 32 days before the election, throwing debates into question and fixing the public attention’s more squarely than ever on a pandemic dragging down hisprospects for a second term.

A president who once seemed impervious to October surprises is suddenly confronting one big enough to alter the outcome of the election.
“The campaign as we knew it is over,” said Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist in Washington. “This is the worst nightmare for the Trump campaign.”

Practically speaking, Trump’s announcement early Friday that he tested positive for the coronavirus will immediately remove him from in-person campaigning, though for how long is unclear. Sean Conley, Trump's physician, said in a memo that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive, “plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” and the White House removed a planned campaign rally on Friday night in Florida from Trump’s daily schedule.

Trump’s inability to hold rallies, even for a brief period, will hobble a campaign that has defined itself by its large, in-person gatherings, even during the pandemic. The second presidential debate, now scheduled for Oct. 15, is in doubt. And Trump’s positive test will heighten scrutiny of the vice presidential debate scheduled for next week.

Officials with the Commission on Presidential Debates declined to comment on what the president’s diagnosis means for the schedule and format of upcoming forums. The second of three scheduled presidential debates is slated for Oct. 15 in Miami.

The more significant problem for Trump is that, now Covid-positive, it will prove almost impossible for him to steer public attention away from his biggest political liability. Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic by a wide margin. And cable news is going wall-to-wall with coverage of that — not U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, mail-in balloting or Trump’s latest outrage.

It is a perilous way to finish the campaign for a candidate already trailing in the polls. In the most conspicuous way imaginable, the positive test publicly undermines so much of Trump’s rhetoric about the virus — from his faith in hydroxychloroquine to his cavalier pronouncements about a vaccine and his dismissal of Covid-19 as a disease that “affects virtually nobody.”

It was just this week, during the first presidential debate, that Trump mocked Biden for his mask-wearing, saying, “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask.”

Trump’s announcement of his positive test undercuts constant GOP criticism of Biden’s decision to limit his own public appearances and choice to cloister for stretches at his home in Delaware. It also diminishes the effectiveness of Republican charges that Biden’s cautious approach to travel is primarily designed to shield the 77-year-old Democratic nominee from public scrutiny.

Trump’s illness, one Republican campaign consultant who worked in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush White Houses predicted, will be viewed as validating “Biden hiding out in [a] bunker for preventative reasons,” and not, as Republicans had maintained, the “onset of dementia.”

Rob Stutzman, a Republican political strategist who has been critical of Trump, described it as a “devastating blow” to the Trump campaign, “the ultimate rebuke to his callous mishandling of Covid.”

The full extent of the political fallout is unclear. If Trump becomes seriously ill,it stands to underscore Democratic arguments about his coronavirus leadership and mar the strong-man image he assiduously cultivates. If the physical consequences are less severe, he might find an opportunity to downplay the seriousness of the disease. An illness could also serve to humanize one of the coarsest presidents in history.

In either scenario, the positive test will put enormous pressure on a White House known for its secrecy, chaotic internal operations and loose relationship with the truth to avoid any misstep or public confusion that could affect the campaign.

There was uncertainty Friday within the president’s political orbit about what this means for his re-election prospects. Some White House aides were eager for the president to go on TV and address the nation.

"Folks are kind of like, ‘What now? What does this mean for what we're trying to do here with 32 days left?‘" said a senior Trump campaign official. "I don't want to say this hit us by surprise because we knew the risks. [Trump] wanted to campaign and be out there with the people, so we tailored the campaign to the president's wishes. This definitely changes our plans, though."

Four years ago this month, Trump weathered both the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape and the Obama administration’s assertionthat Russia was meddling in the election. The implications of those events were widely overestimated.

“Something upends the campaign every day and it is not yet possible to see how this plays out,” said Mathew Littman, a Democratic strategist and former Biden speechwriter. “I hope Trump gets healthy and then loses by a lot. Trump was already in deep trouble in this campaign with no real plan to turn this around.”

But it is also more than that, with potential health, national security and financial implications that will reverberate beyond the campaign. International financial markets were shaken overnight.

“This is a geopolitical event,” Stutzman said. “Our enemies are watching. If he falls gravely ill, the chaos could multiply … If Americans of any political stripe reflect on this news, they should be shaken.”

Trump is overweight and, at 74, at higher risk for severe illness. But Conley said in his memo that Trump and the first lady are “both well at this time." The likelihood, doctors said, is that he will recover.

Robert O'Brien, the president's top aide on foreign policy, returned to the White House in August after a mild case of Covid-19. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro also tested positive – in Bolsonaro’s case, like Trump’s, after long downplaying the virus’ severity.

But even the possibility that Trump might become seriously ill had strategists in both parties discussing the potential implications of succession or the 25th Amendment, under which Trump, if medically incapacitated, could transfer power temporarily to Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence has tested negative for Covid-19, his spokesperson said Friday, hours after the president revealed he had contracted the coronavirus.
________

Let's get one thing out of the way first: The possibility that Trump's COVID diagnosis is a hoax, a ruse de guerre from a man that uses "shiny object" distractions to keep the public from concentrating on his many failures, in particular to get him out of the 2 remaining debates that will absolutely not tolerate his usual crackhead behavior. Then there are other considerations:

1. Voter "sandbagging" (why vote if he's dying?)
2. In two weeks he'll pretend he recovered and it wasn't a big deal. (See? It's not that bad!)
3. Look over here forget about my taxes and unabashed support for, and leadership of, white supremacist terrorist groups!
4. A way to resign and save face
5. As mentioned, a way to duck the debates

Naturally we can't trust a single thing coming out of the White House without some kind of independent confirmation. Even "doctor's notes" are suspect, given Trump's doctor playing fast and loose with the truth, and Trump's penchant for outright faking doctor's notes.

So while I have a well known loathing for conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists, I also trust Donald Trump as far as I can throw the White House.

Having said that, it's more than likely that Trump does indeed have COVID-19, is exhibiting only mild symptoms and will likely recover. Which is all the more remarkable given what an unhealthy fat blob of shit he is.

The question is, will this help or hinder his reelection campaign.

[tbm3fan]

The question is, will this help or hinder his reelection campaign.

He will ask for a postponement because he was cheated. Stay tuned...

[JRT]

President Donald Trump Heading To Walter Reed Medical Center, Being Treated For COVID-19 With Experimental Antibody Cocktail

By Stephanie Stahl
October 2, 2020 at 5:42 pm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — President Donald Trump will be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for evaluation on Friday night and will be there for the next few days. He is being treated for COVID-19 with an experimental antibody cocktail.

Dr. Sean Conley, the White House doctor, says the president remains fatigued, but in good spirits, and adds First Lady Melania Trump is well with only a mild cough and headache.

The memo says, as a precautionary measure, the president received a single 8-gram dose of Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail, an IV given to boost the immune system.

President Trump was also given zinc, vitamin D, famotidine — an antacid — and also melatonin and aspirin.

Trump sounded congested in a phone interview with Fox News on Thursday night, hours before announcing his positive COVID-19 test results.

The 74-year-old president is at-risk for complications because of his age and being obese.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eight out of ten COVID-19 related deaths in the United States have been among adults 65 and older.

“Most people who have a serious infection tend to be older, but most older people still recover completely from this infection,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said.

The White House says the president and first lady have mild symptoms, for which there are no treatments.

“There’s no reason he couldn’t take phone calls or conduct virtual meetings,” said Dr. Eric Sachinwalla, an infectious disease expert at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia.

Sachinwalla says a fever and difficulty breathing are indications the virus is becoming more dangerous and a threat to the lungs.

“We usually see that within the first week,” Sachinwalla said.

The White House is doing contact tracing, especially for people who were on Air Force One, because the virus is more easily spread by people without masks who are in close contact for a period of time.

“From the time when they’re exposed to the time they develop symptoms, it’s about four to six days,” Farley said.

The virus can be spread before symptoms appear, even when tests are negative.

So what about the supporters who were with the president in Bedminster, New Jersey for an event on Thursday and in Harrisburg on Saturday?

“I think the people that were at those events need to potentially be evaluated,” Sachinwalla said.

Anyone who has direct contact with someone with tests positive for COVID-19 is supposed to self-quarantine for 14 days.


.

...

[DOR]

Let's get one thing out of the way first: The possibility that Trump's COVID diagnosis is a hoax, a ruse de guerre from a man that uses "shiny object" distractions to keep the public from concentrating on his many failures, in particular to get him out of the 2 remaining debates that will absolutely not tolerate his usual crackhead behavior. Then there are other considerations:

1. Voter "sandbagging" (why vote if he's dying?)
2. In two weeks he'll pretend he recovered and it wasn't a big deal. (See? It's not that bad!)
3. Look over here forget about my taxes and unabashed support for, and leadership of, white supremacist terrorist groups!
4. A way to resign and save face
5. As mentioned, a way to duck the debates

Naturally we can't trust a single thing coming out of the White House without some kind of independent confirmation. Even "doctor's notes" are suspect, given Trump's doctor playing fast and loose with the truth, and Trump's penchant for outright faking doctor's notes.

So while I have a well known loathing for conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists, I also trust Donald Trump as far as I can throw the White House.

Having said that, it's more than likely that Trump does indeed have COVID-19, is exhibiting only mild symptoms and will likely recover. Which is all the more remarkable given what an unhealthy fat blob of shit he is.

The question is, will this help or hinder his reelection campaign.

Spot on.
Excellent analysis.

The geopolitical commentator seemed to stretch he “danger to the nation” aspect, and the GOPers’ shock — SHOCK, I tell you! — that something everyone knows is just a hoax could lay low the Big Man Himself is priceless.

White House now needs to be empty, for cleaning.