POLITICUSUSA
If you were able to subject yourself to viewing any portion of the Republican National Convention, you surely must have noticed that the image of Donald Trump’s administration portrayed by the loud array of speakers, often Trump’s own family members, was to anyone even casually observant of U.S. politics the past four years, largely at odds with the reality we experienced.
Jim Carrey has slammed Donald Trump in a new op-ed where he calls on Americans to vote for “decency” in November’s elections and brands the President a con man.
The comedian and actor made his argument against Trump in an article for The Atlantic. He drew on his own experience of comedy to point out that the current situation is anything but funny.
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Untold American lives have been ruined by the presidency of Donald Trump. The rule of law is imperiled, our unity has been shattered, the service sector has been obliterated, and major cities are suffering,” Carrey wrote.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are calling for an investigation possible Hatch Act violations that took place during the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month. The Hatch Act prohibits public officials, with the exception of the president and the vice president, from engaging in political activity. Democrats have called on
the Office of Special Counsel to probe actions, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s taped remarks from Jerusalem, they say were designed to bolster President Donald Trump’s campaign.
Donald Trump has repeatedly declared himself the “law and order” candidate, wearing this mantle proudly. At last week’s Republican National Convention, the array of speakers trumpeted this slogan again and again as the dominant chord of Trump’s otherwise ill-defined policy platform.
At least four people have already tested positive for the novel coronavirus after attending the Republican National Convention, according to media reports. Two attendees and two individuals who worked the event have tested positive, says an official release from North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County.
The individuals were isolated.
RNC Communications Director Michael Ahrens said, “Out of roughly 1,000 tests administered, two RNC attendees, despite having negative tests prior to travel, and two Charlotte locals who planned to serve as event support staff tested positive upon arrival. All were sent home.”
A county release states that “approximately 792 COVID-19 tests were conducted among individuals attending or providing support to the Republican National Convention (RNC) Meeting in the City of Charlotte.”
Most people who attended the event did not wear masks.
The news comes after President Donald Trump’s electoral opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, said Trump hosted a “super spreader” event at the White House when he formally accepted his party’s nomination for the presidency.
“Mr. President, Americans are canceling weddings and holding funerals without family. They’re sacrificing so more Americans don’t have to die. But instead of leading by example, you hosted a super spreader event on the South Lawn. When will you take the presidency seriously?” Biden tweeted.
Mr. President, Americans are canceling weddings and holding funerals without family. They're sacrificing so more Americans don't have to die.
But instead of leading by example, you hosted a super spreader event on the South Lawn.
When will you take the presidency seriously? https://t.co/DcVUGsZ9a5
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) says he regrets not wearing a mask to protect himself from contracting the novel coronavirus during the Republican National Convention (RNC). Tillis, who has been vocal about the need to wear face coverings, says he “fell short” by not setting an example and wearing one.
“I’ve stressed the importance of mask wearing throughout this pandemic and have tried to lead by example on this issue, but last night I fell short of my own standard,” Tillis said.
Democratic Party spokesperson Robert Howard criticized Tillis.
“When it comes time to choose between his political career and his principles, Tillis chose what’s best for himself,” Howard said. “Sen. Tillis criticizing others while not following his own words is a perfect encapsulation of why North Carolinians don’t trust Tillis, and why he’ll be out of office this fall.”
Tillis also received heavy criticism from Cal Cunningham, the Senate candidate running to replace him in the upcoming election. In a tweet, Cunningham said Tillis’s actions show “he’s a follower, not a leader.”
Sen. Tillis when he's on camera — “Mr. Independent.”
Sen. Tillis when he thinks the cameras are off — “Mr. Go With The Crowd.”
Why? He’s too weak to show North Carolinians his true character.
Plain and simple: he's a follower, not a leader. https://t.co/PE7fP9BuKT
Donald Trump’s niece thinks the Republican National Convention has tried to whitewash his true character by portraying him inaccurately as a caring, family man.
Mary Trump spoke to MSNBC on the closing night of the convention, when her uncle delivered his acceptance speech. She described a very different man from the one the GOP has promoted.
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The idea of passing him off like a great family man is like trying to pass him off as a great businessman,” she said.
A White House official reportedly dismissed concerns about a lack of Coronavirus safety measures at the President’s speech on Thursday be saying everybody would catch it eventually.
Donald Trump delivered his Republican National Convention speech from the White House lawn in front of a large crowd. There were few masks apparent and no social distancing.
CNN’s Jim Acosta reported on the extraordinary remark from one official about the event. He spoke to the network’s Wolf Blitzer.
“Yeah, Wolf, we not only heard a lot of gas lighting tonight, we possibly saw and witnessed some super-spreading from this event,” Acosta said.
Watch the video:
On the lack of social distancing or face masks at Trump’s #RNC2020 acceptance speech in the middle of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, a senior White House official tells @Acosta: “Everybody is going to catch this thing eventually.” 🤯 pic.twitter.com/0T5e6r3BSx
The Biden campaign has unveiled a new ad that will air on major networks tonight, the final night of the Republican National Convention when Donald Trump formally accepts his party’s nomination.
The ad, entitled “Keep Up”, portrays a positive vision of the United States and of former Vice President Joe Biden. While there is narration, Biden provides much of the ad’s commentary himself.
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America’s an idea,” Biden says. An idea stronger than any army, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant.”
Mark Meadows has dismissed potential violations of the Hatch Act at the Republican National Convention by claiming nobody actually cares if that law is broken.
The Hatch Act forbids federal officials from participating in political activity while performing their official function. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may have violated the act with his RNC speech on Tuesday.
But Meadows, the White House chief of staff, told Politico‘s Playbook that nobody beyond the Washington, D.C. bubble even cared about the possible lawbreaking.
Meadows said that for the “
the vast majority” of Americans “nobody outside of the beltway really cares.”
Joe Walsh contrasted the Republican National Convention with its Democratic counterpart on Monday and highlighted that RNC speakers don’t seem to be humanizing Donald Trump.
The conservative, who strongly opposes the President, drew a distinction between the personal stories offered about former Vice President Joe Biden and the apparent lack of similar sentiments about Trump.
“Last week, every speaker spoke about Joe Biden the man, the friend, the father, the brother,” Walsh tweeted on Wednesday.
Last week, every speaker spoke about Joe Biden the man, the friend, the father, the brother. So far this week, not one speaker has spoken about Donald Trump the man, the friend, the father, the brother. Not one.
Joaquin Castro has launched an investigation of Mike Pompeo’s speech to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. The Secretary of State may have violated the Hatch Act.
The Hatch Act forbids federal officials from participating in political events, like conventions, while performing official duties. Pompeo recorded his speech from Jerusalem, where he was fulfilling his diplomatic function.
Rep. Castro, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs panel’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said he would investigate the matter.
He outlined his concerns in a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that a sitting U.S. Secretary of State, America’s top diplomat, would use official taxpayer-funded business to participate in a political party convention, particularly after the State Department published guidance that explicitly prohibits such activity,” Castro said.
Donald Trump did not bring peace to the Middle East, despite what his son Eric told the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. The transparently false claim was quickly dismissed.
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My father rebuilt the mighty American military – added new jets, aircraft carriers. He increased wages for our incredible men and women in uniform, and expanded the military defense budget to $721 billion per year,” Eric Trump said.
Former Utah legislator
Sheryl Allen has called on the Republican National Committee (RNC) to remove 4th Congressional District candidate Burgess Owens from its list of speakers because Owens is a QAnon conspiracy theorist. Owens had claimed not to subscribe to QAnon despite appearing on “The Common Sense Show,” a program on the Patriots’ Soapbox News Network Archive YouTube channel that is connected to the group, earlier this summer.
A former Director of the Office of Government Ethics has issued a stark warning about what he described as “Fascist” language at this week’s Republican National Convention.
Walter Shaub took to Twitter on Tuesday that explain why fact checking the RNC would not be effective in tackling the speakers’ visceral appeal to certain sections of the public.
“Fact checking won’t work,” Shaub said. “Akin to a tonal language, Fascist is about sounds, not words. I say akin because the key is the grunts and yells, not tones.”
Fact checking won't work. Akin to a tonal language, Fascist is about sounds, not words. I say akin because the key is the grunts and yells, not tones. It's a gruntyell language that seeks to stir emotions, not thoughts. The problem with fact checks is they don't address emotions.
The Biden campaign has slammed Mike Pompeo’s upcoming speech at the Republican National Convention because he will broadcast it from Jerusalem, breaking diplomatic protocol.
The Secretary of State intends to speak to the RNC on Tuesday despite the fact the nation’s chief diplomat is not supposed to appear at political events and it may be a violation of the Hatch Act.
On Tuesday, the Biden campaign issued a strong statement condemning Pompeos’ decision.
“Secretary Pompeo’s decision to address the Republican Convention from Jerusalem isn’t just an abuse of taxpayer dollars, it undermines the critical work being done by the State Department,” said Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield.
“Every day America’s diplomats abroad proudly represent our country — not a political party — but Mike Pompeo’s repeated and blatant use of his office for overtly political purposes only serves to undercut their work, and it further weakens the critical alliances and global relationships that have already been so badly damaged by this administration’s recklessness.”
“Making this inherently partisan address from Jerusalem is also the latest instance of this administration seeking to use Israel as a political wedge issue, when the historic bipartisan support in Washington for Israel and her security should never be subordinated to politicization for personal gain,” Bedingfield said.
“Even by this administration’s abysmally low standards, Secretary Pompeo’s decision to serve as an errand boy for the President’s re-election on a taxpayer-funded diplomatic mission, and his decision to use one of our closest partners as a political prop in the process, is absolutely disgraceful.”
Separately, NBC News reports that American diplomats are “aghast” at Pompeo’s decision.
“Pompeo is clearly ensuring the State Department is politicized by using his position to carry out what is basically a partisan mission,” former Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the network.
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Michael Cohen has recorded a series of ads criticizing Donald Trump that will air during this week’s Republican National Convention. They will paint the President as a liar.
Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, announced on Twitter that the ads would air during the Republican Party’s key 2020 election event, where the President is expected to speak every day.
“Later this week, he’s going to stand up and blatantly lie to you. I’m here to tell you he can’t be trusted — and you shouldn’t believe a word he utters,” Cohen says in the ad released on Sunday.
The people who know Donald Trump best are sounding the alarm: our country cannot survive four more years of a Trump presidency.
In our latest ad, a former member of his inner circle & "fixer" — @MichaelCohen212 — has a dire warning for us all. #RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/suPUODOdwz
A longtime Republican pollster struggled to explain what the party stands for under Donald Trump in a recent interview. Frank Luntz seemed blunt in his failure to point to a coherent platform.
Luntz was approached by Politico‘s Tim Alberta as he tried to answer a question about what the GOP stands for in his recent piece. He’s a well-regarded “guru” for the party’s politicians.
His answer may point to the ongoing difficulties Republicans are facing.
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You know I don’t have a history of dodging questions. But I don’t know how to answer that. There is no consistent philosophy,” Luntz told Alberta.
The state of North Carolina will relax its restrictions on public gatherings for the Republican National Convention (RNC) scheduled August 21 – 24.
The state’s health director and chief medical officer, Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, said the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in a letter to the RNC that restrictions on gatherings of more than 10 people will need to be relaxed for the event.
Donald Trump has suggested that keeping schools closed could cost more lives than reopening them, despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic’s mounting death toll.
The President is still pushing to reopen the nation’s schools but many are uneasy about the prospect. Nonetheless, he repeated his insistence on Thursday.
Trump said “a=&0=&permanent shutdown was never the strategy, which would ultimately lead to greater mortality and irreversible harm.”
Though he didn’t offer any evidence to support the claim that keeping schools closed would lead to a higher mortality rate, it’s consistent with his claims about the cure not being worse than the disease.
“Reopening our schools is also critical to ensuring that parents can go to work and provide for their families,” he said.
“It’s a tremendous problem. It’s a tremendous problem. Schools have to open safely.”
The President called teachers “essential workers” – a classification that other countries fighting the virus have not considered appropriate. He also said “every district should be actively making preparations to open.”
In stark contrast to his rhetoric on school reopening, Trump
cancelled the Florida portion of the Republican National Convention