White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 21, 2020

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
Rage
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward discussed President Trump’s national and foreign policy decisions. This virtual event was sponsored by Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Week Bookshelf: “Rage” by Bob Woodward | Washington Week | PBS
19 Sep 2020
Legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward of The Washington Post discusses his new book “Rage.” The book chronicles the Trump presidency behind the scenes, including revelations from over a dozen conversations between Woodward and President Trump, in which the president assessed the COVID-19 pandemic differently in private than he did in publicly informing the American people.

Trump urged the GOP-run Senate to consider 'without delay' his upcoming nomination to fill the seat vacated by Justice Ginsburg, who died Friday. Since 1869 nine justices have served on the nation's highest court. 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021', Kennedy tweeted Sunday. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to pack the court with new judgeships in 1937 after watching the high court deal setbacks to his New Deal initiatives. That legislation was unpopular with the public and ultimately stalled. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote on Twitter: 'If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame-duck session -- before a new Senate and President can take office - then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court.' And Sen. Ed Markey tweeted Friday: 'Mitch McConnell set the precedent. No Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election year. Senator Elizabeth Warren, vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as well as former Rep. Beto O'Rourke had already raised the possibility of adding as many as six seats to the nine-seat court, even before Ginberg's death.

'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021': Democrats threaten radical move to pack Supreme Court with extra justices if Trump's nomination goes through and they take the White House and the Senate

Sep. 21 - Democrats have threatened to pack the Supreme Court if Donald Trump's nomination gets confirmed following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
   
The president on Saturday urged the GOP-run Senate to consider 'without delay' his upcoming nomination to fill the seat vacated by Justice Ginsburg, who died Friday after a battle with cancer.
 
The move comes just six weeks before the election and has sparked fierce debate, with many Democrats - as well as some Republicans - insisting the seat must not be filled until after the election..     more    

'President Trump has already made clear that this is about power, pure and simple power,' Joe Biden said Sunday

Joe Biden calls for Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee to be WITHDRAWN if he loses the election in November

Sep. 21 - Former Vice President Joe Biden appealed to Senate Republicans Sunday not to allow President Trump to 'jam' through' a Supreme court pick – and said if he himself wins in November, it should be he who gets to make the selection.   
'This appointment isn't about the past. It's about the future. And the people of this nation are choosing their future right now as they vote,' Biden said in a speech in Philadelphia Sunday.

'To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power, and I don't believe the people of this nation will stand for it,' Biden said.

...After heralding the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Biden said the American people would not stand for what he said would be an 'abuse of power'...      more details

White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 20, 2020

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WATCH LIVE ON SEPTEMBER 19 | 6:30PM ET | C-SPAN
President Trump Campaign Rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina
President Trump speaks at a ‘Great American Comeback’ rally in Fayetteville, NC.

LIVE: Trump hosts 'Great American Comeback' event in Fayetteville, NC
Sep. 20, 2020

US presidential election 2020 odds: Donald Trump betting on a comeback against Joe Biden

Sep. 14 - With less than two months to go until America goes to the polls to vote in the US election, the fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is only just beginning. 

Now that the conventions are behind us – albeit, events that bear no resemblance to previous versions due to the occasion having to take place virtually as a result of the ongoing pandemic – the next date to circle in the calendar is the televised presidential debates, and they’re already causing quite the stir. Biden has asked for the debates to be fact-checked in real time, while Trump has challenged his opponent to agree to a drugs test beforehand to ensure neither speaker was benefitting from any performance enhancements.

There’s every reason for Trump to head into the final leg of the election campaign with confidence having turned things around in the betting when in the unfamiliar position of not being the favourite to win. On the first day of August, Trump’s chances of re-election were the worst of any incumbent President when his odds of winning four more years were 9/5 (35 per cent implied chance) on Betfair Exchange, while Biden was 4/6 (61 per cent). He’s since completed a remarkable turnaround to put himself back in the mix in a betting sense and was briefly favourite at the start of September, with the odds now settling to leave the pair neck and neck, with Biden marginally in front at odds of evens (50 per cent likelihood of victory), compared to Trump who sits at 11/10 (48 per cent probability).

The surge in support for Trump has resulted in him overtaking Biden in terms of the volume of money bet on each candidate... continue to read

Ricin Discovered In Mail Intended For White House

Sep. 20 - Federal authorities are investigating after ricin, a deadly toxin, was discovered in mail intended for the White House.
The Secret Service intercepted the envelope which was positively identified with mail meant for the White House, law enforcement sources tell NPR. The ricin never made it to White House grounds, but authorities are still searching for other undiscovered dangerous packages that may be linked to the ricin.

Law enforcement sources also said investigators are narrowing down suspects, but have made no arrests.

Both the White House and Secret Service are declining to comment.

Ricin, a toxin derived from castor seeds, has been previously sent to public officials and politicians, including to President Obama in 2013. A man from Tupelo, Mississippi was sentenced to 25 years in prison in that case.

In 2018, the FBI arrested a Utah man they believed sent castor seeds in two envelopes addressed to the Pentagon.      source

White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 19, 2020

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FBI Director Chris Wray said Russia and its proxies seek to sow 'divisiveness and discord' and 'primarily to denigrate Vice President Biden'

Donald Trump hinted he might fire FBI director Chris Wray after he publicly split from the president on 'antifa' and warned Russia has a 'very active' effort to discredit Joe Biden. Wray testified under oath to Congress Thursday that antifa was 'a movement' and not 'an organization,' contradicting Trump's demand that it be designated a domestic terrorist organization. As he left the White House Friday to head for a campaign rally in Minnesota, Trump was asked if he was considering firing Wray and said: 'We're looking at a lot of different things. I did not like his answer the other day.'

Donald Trump hints at FIRING FBI boss Chris Wray for saying Russia is interfering to hurt Joe Biden and antifa is 'not an organization'

Sep. 19 - Donald Trump hinted he might fire FBI director Chris Wray Friday after he publicly split from the president on 'antifa' and warned Russia has a 'very active' effort to discredit Joe Biden.

Wray testified under oath to Congress Thursday that antifa was 'a movement' and not 'an organization,' contradicting Trump's demand that it be designated a domestic terrorist organization.

As he left the White House Friday to head for a campaign rally in Minnesota, Trump was asked if he was considering firing Wray.

He replied: 'We're looking at a lot of different things. I did not like his answer the other day.'
'I disagreed with him on those very important points,' he said.

'China is the top of the list. The big problem is China and why he doesn't want to say that, that certainly bothers me.

'Antifa is a bad group, they are criminals and anarchists and they are looters and rioters and everything else. I wonder why he is not saying that.'

Trump removed his first FBI director, James Comey, in May 2017, an action which set off the Robert Mueller probe. Only one other FBI director had been fired before, when Bill Clinton removed William Sessions in 1993.

In a White House briefing just before he boarded Marine One, Trump had been asked about both Wray and Dr. Robert Redfield, the CDC director he slapped down on Thursday for saying vaccines will not be available until late next spring at the earliest, forcing the medical expert into a walkback.   continue to read

Biden’s polling lead nears magic number
The former vice president is above or close to majority support in enough states to win the Electoral College.

Sep. 19 - ...“It’s always hard to convince someone who’s made a decision to do something not to do it,” said Schale, the longtime Biden ally. “And I think the other challenge Trump has is he wasn’t an incumbent [in 2016]. There wasn’t a record, and — historically — job approval matters in these things. He’s in the mid-40s in a lot of these states.”

As an incumbent with low approval ratings, Trump has fewer remaining opportunities lefto make the kinds of gains he needs, particularly with voting already underway in a handful of states — and set to begin soon in many others.
“Even if you were talking about a race being 48 [percent] Trump, 46 Biden — you wouldn’t feel bad about Biden’s chances in that scenario because he’s the challenger, and you want the incumbent to be at 50 or above. Especially if there’s not a significant third-party vote this time,” said McHenry. “So, if you’re looking at it from that perspective, really, Trump is running against 50. And whether he’s within 2 or 3 of Biden, you would want to see him making some gains sooner rather than later.

“I still think that this race can wind up turning on the first debate,” he added. “I’d be hesitant to make any bold predictions about the presidential race until we see what happens there.”     source

Bad Omen: Another Poll Shows Susan Collins Trailing In Maine

Sep. 18 -...Kavanaugh and impeachment were the two biggest votes Collins has taken during Trump’s presidency. She tried to finesse the latter by joining Romney in calling for the Senate to hear testimony from witnesses, but that got lost in the shuffle of the final vote to acquit, which she joined. There was no good option for her: If she had joined Romney as well in voting to remove, her Republican base in Maine would have collapsed.

Both in this poll and in a recent one from Quinnipiac, Collins is running ahead of Trump — just not by enough to actually put her in front of Gideon. Biden leads the president 55/38 in the Times survey and 59/38 in the Quinnipiac poll; Gideon led Collins 54/42(!) in that latter one. That result was an outlier, but note that Gideon has led Collins in every public poll of Maine taken this year, typically by five points or so, which is unsurprising given the margins Biden consistently enjoys over Trump there. Clearly the president is weighing down Collins, not just on culture-war stuff like Kavanaugh or impeachment but on the pandemic too. The Times finds that Maine voters favor Biden 60/35 when asked whether he or Trump would handle COVID best.

What does this mean for the big picture in the Senate? As of this morning FiveThirtyEight’s model sees Democrats as a favorite to have a majority next year:     view source

White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 18, 2020

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【精華】嘴上說要和平、邊境狂增兵... 陸釋善意印反嗆「被洗腦雙面諜」？　
印前線防彈衣「大陸製造」尷尬了？
17 Sep 2020

Chinese targeting India in US hack net
US justice department charges 5 Chinese nationals for computer hacking

Sep. 18 - The US justice department has charged five Chinese citizens with hacking over a 100 companies and institutions in America and abroad, including the Indian government’s networks, and stealing valuable software data and business intelligence.
 
Deputy US attorney-general Jeffrey Rosen on Wednesday announced three indictments have been unsealed that collectively charge five Chinese nationals with computer hacking and two Malaysian nationals for helping some of those hackers target victims and sell the fruits of their crime.

“The department of justice has used every tool available to disrupt the illegal computer intrusions and cyber attacks by these Chinese citizens. Regrettably, the Chinese Communist Party has chosen a different path — of making China safe for cyber-criminals so long as they attack computers outside China and steal intellectual property helpful to China,” Rosen said.

“In about 2019, the conspirators compromised Government of lndia websites, as well as virtual private networks and database servers supporting the Government of India. The conspirators used VPS PROVIDER servers to connect to an Open VPN network owned by the Government of India,” the indictment said. In the attacks, the conspirators installed “Cobalt Strike” malware on Indian government-protected computers, it added.     source

伊朗否认欲暗杀美大使 特朗普：
若遭袭将千倍奉还！20200916 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
16 Sep 2020

US Troop Drawdown in Iraq Is Double-Edged Sword for Iran
US force reduction in Iraq reinforces the oft-used narrative that Iran is impervious to American imperialism but conversely undermines the efficacy of Supreme Leader Khamenei’s domestically-driven “Crusader” propaganda.

Sep. 17 - Furious over the targeted killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani by the US military in Bagdad, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei demanded in January that “the Americans’ corruption-stirring presence should come to an end” in Iraq. As it happens, Christmas came early for Khamenei, at least in part.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, announced on September 9 a drawdown of US troops in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000. This statement comes as President Donald Trump attempts to bolster his November reelection by making good on previous campaign promises to withdraw the military from foreign entanglements.

Ayatollah Khamenei stands to secure a public relations victory from the drawdown. It not only reinforces the oft-used narrative that Iran is impervious to American imperialism but also allows Iranian leadership to flaunt its prowess in asymmetrical tactics and resistance politics.

Conversely, though, a US force reduction in Iraq undermines the efficacy of Khamenei’s domestically-driven “Crusader” propaganda.     more

White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 17, 2020

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 Trump says CDC Director Robert Redfield 'confused' about coronavirus vaccine, mask efficacy. Redfield responded.

Sep. 16 - WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention misspoke when he testified that a coronavirus vaccine might not be widely available until next year and that face masks are a more effective way of fighting the disease.

“I believe he was confused,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Dr. Robert Redfield told a Senate panel on Wednesday that a limited supply of coronavirus vaccine may be available between November and December, but that it was unlikely to be available to the general public until the summer or fall of next year. His remarks contradicted Trump, who has said a vaccine could be available by the end of the year, perhaps by the Nov. 3 election.

Redfield also testified that wearing a face mask might offer more protection against the spread of coronavirus than a vaccine.     mor

Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden

Sep. 16 - Senate Republicans are signaling they are open to cutting deals with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden if he wins the White House in November.

White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 16, 2020

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed the 'dawn of a new Middle East' when he presided over the signing of historic diplomatic deals between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in a deal designed to boost his reputation as a statesman. 'We're here this afternoon to change the course of history. After decades of division and conflict we mark up the dawn of a new Middle East. Thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries. We take a major stride toward a future in which people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity,' Trump said in his remarks. The president said more nations will follow suit in signing the accord that normalizes relations between the Jewish state and the Arab nations.

Donald Trump hails 'dawn of a new Middle East' as leaders of Israel, UAE and Bahrain sign peace deal at the White House and says he believes Saudi Arabia will ALSO recognize Israel

Sep. 16 - President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed the 'dawn of a new Middle East' when he presided over the signing of historic diplomatic deals between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in a deal designed to boost his reputation as a statesman
.
'We're here this afternoon to change the course of history. After decades of division and conflict we mark up the dawn of a new Middle East. Thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries. We take a major stride toward a future in which people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity,' Trump said in his remarks.

The president said more nations will follow suit in signing the accord that normalizes relations between the Jewish state and the Arab nations. Later in the day, as he left the White House to travel to Philadelphia, he said he believed Saudi Arabia would too.

'These agreements prove that the nations of the region are breaking free from the failed approaches of the past. Today signing sets history on a new course. And there will be other countries very very soon, that will follow these great leaders,' the president said.
 
Trump emphasized the historic nature of the agreement.

'Today the world sees that they're choosing cooperation over conflict. Friendship over emnity, prosperity over poverty, and hope over despair. They are choosing a future in which Arabs and Israelis Muslims, Jews and Christians could live together pray together, and dream together side by side in harmony community and peace,' he said.

Earlier he described it as: 'This is peace in the Middle East without blood all over the sand.'     more

Two Gulf nations recognized Israel at the White House. Here's what's in it for all sides

Sep. 15 - Jerusalem (CNN)President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday joined the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House to mark historic normalization agreements between Israel and the two Arab countries.

Trump hailed the occasion, claiming the signing of the Abraham Accords will "change the course of history," and marks "the dawn of a new Middle East."

"Together these agreements will serve as the foundation for a comprehensive peace across the entire region, something which nobody thought was possible, certainly not in this day and age," Trump said. "These agreements prove that the nations of the region are breaking free from failed approaches of the past. Today's signing sets history on a new course and there will be other countries very very soon that will follow these great leaders."Netanyahu described the day as a "pivot of history, a new dawn of peace."

The last time such a ceremony took place in Washington was in 1994, when President Bill Clinton looked on as Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian King Hussein signed a declaration that paved the way for a peace deal months later.

For Trump, the timing was crucial. Less than two months before an election in which he trails in the polls, normalization agreements between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain are major foreign policy achievements, even if the region was gradually moving towards these relationships regardless of who occupied the White House.     source

White House News (白宮消息) | Sep. 15, 2020

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Trump in Arizona: Air Force One leaves Phoenix Sky Harbor following Latinos for Trump event

Sep. 14 - On Monday, President Donald Trump arrived for his fifth trip to Arizona this year. The president will attend a roundtable billed as Latinos for Trump. This story will update throughout the day with the details of his visit.

WATCH LIVE: President Trump Hosts Latinos for Trump Roundtable in Phoenix, AZ
Sep. 14, 2020

Donald Trump defies coronavirus rules as ‘peaceful protest’ rallies grow
Donald Trump’s campaign insisted that it takes appropriate health precautions, including handing out masks and hand sanitizer and checking the temperatures of rallygoers.

Sep. 15 - President Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate. But that hasn’t stopped him and his campaign from openly defying state emergency orders and flouting his own administration’s coronavirus guidelines as he holds ever-growing rallies in battleground states.

Democratic governors and local leaders have urged the president to reconsider the events, warning that he’s putting lives at risk. But they have largely not tried to block the gatherings of thousands of people, which Trump and his team deem “peaceful protests” protected by the First Amendment.

“If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States,” Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said in a statement.

Trump’s refusal to abide by health guidelines — even those crafted by his own administration — underscores the extent to which he believes projecting an image of normalcy is vital to winning in November, even as the country approaches 200,000 deaths from Covid-19...     more

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after arriving in McClellan Park, California, US(REUTERS)