Republican Party

Pandemonium Inside the White House as Trump Contracts COVID-19 | Vanity Fair

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“No One Knows Where This Is Going to Go”: Pandemonium Inside the White House as Trump Contracts COVID-19 | Vanity Fair

Donald Trump, Melania, and Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19. “There are so many threads to pull. No one knows where this is going to go,” a stunned former West Wing official told me. 

The biggest unknown is the state of the president’s health. This morning the New York Times reported that Trump is exhibiting “coldlike symptoms.” Two Republicans in close contact with the White House told me that Trump’s symptoms have included a cough and fever. Melania is said to be asymptomatic. “They are worried about the president because of his age,” one of the sources said. Sources said Trump will likely want to be seen in public as soon as possible to blunt the narrative that he is sidelined by the virus he’s spent the last six months downplaying. “He’s going to want to get out there a lot sooner than people think,” the former official said. “But it will be hard to hide if he’s sick. Also, who will want to be in a room with him?” The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

It's crazy but somewhat predictable. Coronavirus is a nasty thing, but it seems like social distancing and masks has made a difference and helped reduce the spread. Hopefully the President has learned his lesson.

 

Will Anyone Care? | The New Yorker

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Donald Trump Barely Pays Any Taxes: Will Anyone Care? | The New Yorker

Three enterprising reporters for the New York Times published a bombshell report Sunday evening on Donald Trump’s financial life, making it clear that the President of the United States is a desperate, cash-hungry grifter who paid no federal income taxes at all in ten of the fifteen years leading up to his run for office and has, in his frenzied quest to stay afloat, “propped up his sagging bottom line” by exploiting his office.

Readers learn that Trump, who inherited an immense fortune from his father, found countless ways to squander his capital. And, like his old man, he also found countless ways to short the government, including, according to the Times, paying his daughter Ivanka legally dubious consulting fees. At the same time, Trump has accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in debt that he must soon repay. He is an almost comically inept businessman; he is the sum of his debt and bankruptcies. Nearly everything he touches turns to lead. Were it not for his investments in Trump Tower, “The Apprentice,” and little else—and were it not for the tireless ministrations of his accountants—he would likely be on his back. The question is: Will anyone care?

A Disputed Election, a Constitutional Crisis, Polarisation … Welcome To 1876

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A Disputed Election, a Constitutional Crisis, Polarisation … Welcome To 1876

As Donald Trump warns inaccurately of voter fraud and polls show the unpopular president staying within touching distance of Democrat Joe Biden, the prospect of an unresolved US election draws horribly near, especially as the impact of the coronavirus is widely seen as likely to delay a result by days, if not weeks.

Across the political spectrum, pundits are predicting what may happen should Trump refuse to surrender power. The speculation is tantalising but the short answer is that nobody has a clue.

History does provide some sort of guide. There have been inconclusive US elections before. They were resolved, but not by any constitutional mechanism and the consequences of such brutal political contests have been severe indeed.

This is a very interesting read as we go into what promises to be a crazy and brutal political cycle.

Donald John Trump proves to be childlike and dangerous again 👨🏼‍💼

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Donald John Trump proves to be childlike and dangerous again 👨🏼‍💼

I can’t believe that the President could even hesitate to say that he wouldn’t voluntarily step down if the election doesn’t go his way. While any close election has its questions on which ballots are counted and disputes over the law, when ultimately an election is finalized, it is final and we must all accept it. That’s not saying that people shouldn’t lobby for policies they support or even campaign for the next election for their preferred candidate but we all live under the system put forward by our elected officials, like it or not.

NPR

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Republican Leaders Reject Trump Hedging On Transfer Of Power In War Over Confide : NPR

No votes have been counted in the election of 2020, but a battle is already raging over the integrity of the tally and the process that will follow.

President Trump suggested he might not accept the election results if Democratic nominee Joe Biden is declared the winner.

"We're going to have to see what happens. You know that," he said on Wednesday evening in response to a question about whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

 

Trump Campaign Is Reportedly Plotting to “Bypass” a Biden Win | Vanity Fair

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Trump Campaign Is Reportedly Plotting to “Bypass” a Biden Win | Vanity Fair

Now the Trump campaign is said to be considering another, even more outrageous approach: In a thorough and deeply disconcerting piece about the constitutional crisis that may await us between November 3 and the inauguration in January, the Atlantic’s Barton Gellman reports that the Trump campaign has been discussing “contingency plans to bypass the election results and appoint local electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority.” Citing the president’s baseless claims of fraud, Team Trump could ask GOP-controlled state governments to choose electors, completely ignoring an unfavorable or uncertain popular vote, state and national Republican sources told Gellman.

In your guts you know he's nuts. Can you imagine the political backlash if a state even tried to do that? Or the court challenges that would raise? That power may exist but I can't imagine anybody wanting to touch that.