White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 7, 2020

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Kellyanne Conway acknowledged Joe Biden won the presidential election, one of the most prominent Donald Trump supporters to do so

'It looks like Joe and Kamala will prevail': Trump ultra-loyalist Kellyanne Conway finally admits Biden has won - and says she'd work with the new president if he asked

Dec. 7 - Kellyanne Conway on Friday acknowledged Joe Biden won the presidential election and said she would work with his administration if they needed her.
She is one of the most prominent Donald Trump supporters to acquiesce his rival's victory and her tactic admission comes as the president continues his legal fight to overturn the results.
  
'The president wants to exhaust all of his legal avenues, as he has made clear many times. His team is doing that, and that is his right,' Conway told The 19th.

'If you look at the vote totals in the Electoral College tally, it looks like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will prevail. I assume the electors will certify that and it will be official. We, as a nation, will move forward, because we always do,' she added.
Conway's statement will likely please her husband George and daughter Claudia, who have consistently railed against the Trump administration since he took office.     continue to read

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US Election 2020: Donald Trump to hold ‘victory rally’ in Georgia
Donald Trump will hold a ‘victory rally’ in Georgia to show support for Republicans ahead of the senate election next month.
Published on Dec. 6, 2020

12/5/2020 10:02PM     
Trump Holds Rally in Georgia Ahead of Senate Runoff Election
President Trump held a rally Saturday evening in Valdosta, Ga. for incumbent GOP Sens. Perdue and Loeffler who are fighting to hold onto their seats in a pair of key Jan. 5 runoffs.

DECEMBER 6, 2020
Operation Warp Speed Chief Adviser on COVID-19 Vaccine
On CBS “Face The Nation,” Operation Warp Speed chief scientific adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui talked about the COVID-19 vaccine.

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 6, 2020

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DECEMBER 5, 2020
Campaign 2020President Trump Campaigns for U.S. Senate Runoffs in Georgia
President Trump spoke at a rally in Valdosta, GA in support of Georgia Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both facing a runoff election in early January.


US Election 2020: Trump to rally for senators
Donald Trump will hit the stage, rallying for the Georgia state run-off.

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U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., July 15, 2020.
Trump pushes Georgia governor to help overturn Biden election win

Dec. 5 - President Donald Trump called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday and asked him to convince state legislators to help overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win in Georgia and permit an audit of signatures on absentee ballots.
The request is Trump’s latest attempt to interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential election in a state where two GOP Senate runoff races in January could decide which party controls the Senate. The call was first reported by The Washington Post.

Trump has argued without evidence that Georgia election officials took voter ballots with signatures that didn’t match the ones on file. A recount in Georgia following the election affirmed Biden’s victory and the results have been certified.

The president referenced the call in a tweet on Saturday afternoon, calling for a signature audit of Georgia’s absentee ballots and claiming discrepancies in the process.

“I will easily & quickly win Georgia if Governor @BrianKempGA or the Secretary of State permit a simple signature verification,” Trump wrote. “Has not been done and will show large scale discrepancies. Why are these two “Republicans” saying no? If we win Georgia, everything else falls in place!”     continue to read

A composite image of President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. 

Trump is refusing to concede the election to Biden and reportedly planning a rally on his inauguration day. Here are 9 other famous presidential feuds in history.

Dec. 6 - President-elect Joe Biden's January 20 inauguration looks set to be one of the most awkward transfers of power in US history, with President Donald Trump still refusing to even acknowledge his election loss.
It's been a month since the election was called for Biden, but Trump has refused to concede, and continues to challenge the results of the election.

Trump has also not confirmed whether he will even attend Biden's inauguration. A recent report from The Daily Beast said the president may be planning a rally for the same day instead, as Trump hints at another run in 2024.
 
Biden took a dig at Trump when he told CNN on December 3 he hopes Trump attends to so that "we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos — that he's created — that there is a peaceful transfer of power," but that his predecessor's presence is "of no personal consequence to me."     continue to read

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 5, 2020

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DECEMBER 4, 2020
President-elect Biden Remarks on the November Jobs Report
President-elect Biden delivered remarks on the November 2020 jobs report, which showed 245,000 jobs were created in the month. He called the report “grim,” but went on to say that it “doesn’t have to stay this way.” After his remarks, the president-elect answered a few questions from the press. When asked if he would make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory, he said “no,” just like he thinks “masks don’t have to be mandatory nationwide.”

Joe Biden Says Masks, Coronavirus Vaccines Should Not Be Mandatory

Dec. 4 - President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that neither face masks nor coronavirus vaccines should be mandatory, The Hill reported.

Speaking at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden argued that Americans should not be required by law to take a vaccine or wear a face covering, but noted that he would encourage everyone to do both.

“I don’t think it should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand it to be mandatory. Just like I don’t think masks have to be made mandatory nationwide.”

“I’ll do everything in my power as president of the United States to encourage people to do the right thing and when they do it, demonstrate that it matters,” Biden said.

Biden’s comments come following reports that the first vaccine candidates are about to receive authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Healthcare workers and those at higher risk for serious symptoms will receive the first batch of doses.     more details

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DECEMBER 4, 2020
Campaign 2020
Former President Obama Campaigns for U.S. Senate Candidates in Georgia Virtual Event
Former President Obama joined a virtual event in support of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, both of whom face a runoff election challenging Republican incumbent Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Rep.-Elect Nikema Williams (D-GA) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms provided opening remarks, and former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams served as the moderator. The Democratic Party of Georgia sponsored the event. 

Vice President Mike Pence held a rally in support of Senators David Perdue, left, and Kelly Loeffler in Savannah, Ga., on Friday.

A Gathering Political Storm Hits Georgia, With Trump on the Way

With two crucial Senate seats up for grabs, Mike Pence and Barack Obama joined the fray in support of their party’s candidates, and President Trump is headed there on Saturday.

Dec. 4, ATLANTA — Some of the biggest names in national politics jumped into the fiercely contested runoffs for two Georgia Senate seats on Friday, even as a second recount showed that Joseph R. Biden Jr. had maintained his lead in the state and Republicans braced for a visit by President Trump, who has railed against his loss there with baseless claims of fraud.

With Mr. Trump set to campaign for the two Republican incumbents, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, on Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence and former President Barack Obama held dueling events to underscore the vital stakes in the special elections: If both Republicans are defeated, control of the Senate will shift to Democrats just as Mr. Biden moves into the Oval Office.

Mr. Obama appeared virtually at a turn-out-the-vote event for Jon Ossoff, the Democrat facing Mr. Perdue, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, Ms. Loeffler’s opponent, and spoke of his frustration in seeing his initiatives blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate when he was in office. “If the Senate is controlled by Republicans who are interested in obstruction and gridlock, rather than progress and helping people, they can block just about anything,” Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Pence — with Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler by his side — received a Covid-19 briefing at the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and said later at a rally for the Republican candidates that “we’re going to save the Senate, and then we’re going to save America.”     continue to read

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 4, 2020

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L. Lin Wood speaks at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Trump backers, including Flynn, edge toward a call to 'suspend' Constitution to head off Biden taking office

Dec. 4. -    “I will see you tomorrow at the state Capitol,” attorney and Trump ally L. Lin Wood told the crowd who had gathered to hear him and former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell speak in Alpharetta, Ga., on Wednesday. “Stay mad as hell! We’re not going to take it anymore!”

Though billed as a press conference, the event had the energy of a Trump rally, with tightly packed throngs of the president’s supporters — sporting significantly more MAGA hats than masks — waving flags and breaking into chants of “USA!” and “Lock him up!”...     continue to read

Attorney Lin Wood, member of President Donald Trump's legal team, speaks during a rally on
Trump Campaign Burns Pro-Trump Attorney Telling Trump Voters To Boycott Georgia Runoff

Dec. 3 - In an apparent recognition of the potential political damage its most fervent supporters may pose to the GOP, the Trump campaign on Thursday went after pro-Trump attorney L. Lin Wood, who has touted Trump’s unfounded voter fraud claims to the point of urging Republicans to boycott the Georgia runoff election.   more details

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Potesters are hoping to once again fly their inflatable balloon showing Trump as a baby over the streets of London.
Donald Trump is acting like a spoiled toddler — America must give him a permanent timeout: Mental health experts

Dec. 3 - Jan. 20 cannot get here fast enough. Donald Trump is running wild with his disingenuous and false proclamations of a rigged election, rampant voter fraud and a stolen victory. Unbelievably, he is now claiming that the FBI and Department of Justice contributed to his fantastical claims of voter fraud. We have 50 days to go to survive this madman’s deceitful and harmful rhetoric.

Let us be clear: Joe Biden won the election fair and square in what has arguably been the most scrutinized election in recent U.S. history. Trump has filed baseless and frivolous lawsuits and not a shred of evidence of massive voter fraud has been offered. In fact, his attorneys, with their bar licenses on the line, have repeatedly stated on the record, “This is not a fraud case.” Yet Trump persists with his attention-seeking rants and raves.     continue to read

White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah resigns
Rumors are swirling over her next move

Dec. 3 - White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah announced her resignation on Thursday, issuing a statement expressing her pride in being a part of the accomplishments made by the Trump administration.

What are the details?
Farah, 31, entered the administration as press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence in 2017, then transferred to the same role at the Pentagon before returning to the White House to serve as communications director.

In a statement regarding her departure, Farah expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve her country. While she did not mention President Donald Trump directly in her statement, she did point to a litany of his achievements and said that working for his administration was "the honor of a lifetime."

"Under this Administration, the ISIS caliphate was destroyed, American hostages were returned home, NATO is stronger than ever, we've brokered historic Middle East peace deals, and I was on the ground in Kabul for the announcement of a historic peace deal between the Afghan Government and the Taliban aimed at ending America's war," she wrote.     continue to read

PBS NewsHour full episode, Dec. 3, 2020
Dec. 4, 2020
Thursday on the NewsHour, COVID-19 kills more in the U.S. in a single day than ever before, the history-making moment of Kamala Harris' election as vice president, pressure on the incoming Biden White House to choose a diverse staff, and how China's economic rise comes with a human cost.

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 3, 2020

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DECEMBER 2, 2020
Campaign 2020President Trump Statement on 2020 Vote
The White House posted remarks on Facebook from President Trump about his view of voting and election security in the 2020 election. In the recorded statement, the president provided examples of what he described as fraudulent activity related to mail-in voting in several swing states. 

Trump Escalates Baseless Attacks on Election
Date Published on December 2, 2020

This is quite the lede from the Washington Post:

“Escalating his attack on democracy from within the White House, President Trump on Wednesday distributed an astonishing 46-minute video rant filled with baseless allegations of voter fraud and outright falsehoods in which he declared the nation’s election system ‘under coordinated assault and siege’ and argued that it was ‘statistically impossible’ for him to have lost to President-elect Joe Biden.”

“Standing behind the presidential lectern in the Diplomatic Reception Room and flanked by the flags of his office and of the country whose Constitution he swore an oath to uphold, Trump tried to leverage the power of the presidency to subvert the vote and overturn the election results.”     source

Speculation over a 2024 run by Trump has been rife, but he has not publicly discussed it until now.
Donald Trump suggests 2024 presidential bid: 'I'll see you in four years'

President makes comments to Republicans at a White House reception, where video shows dozens of people crammed together without masks

Dec. 3 - Donald Trump has floated the idea of running for president again in 2024 at a holiday reception at the White House on Tuesday evening.

“It’s been an amazing four years,” Trump told the crowd, which included many Republican National Committee members. “We’re trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”

Trump’s comments appeared to acknowledge that he thought he could have lost the election. While speculation about a presidential run in 2024 has been rife, and many US politics watchers expect him to declare a bid soon, he has not spoken publicly about it before.     continue to read

Related Articles:
Trump will cast a long shadow over Republican party despite defeat

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Trump spars with top Georgia Republicans over voting results
Dec. 1 -Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who are both Republicans, rebuffed President Donald Trump's calls to overturn the state's election results more than a week after they certified Joe Biden as the winner.
Source: CNN

PBS NewsHour full episode, Dec. 2, 2020
Dec. 3, 2020
Wednesday on the NewsHour, Britain approves a COVID-19 vaccine bringing questions about a U.S. plan, a top Georgia official warns of the dangers of election fraud claims by Republicans, and a Renaissance master painter has her day centuries later.

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 2, 2020

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CDC’s Advisory Committee On Immunization Practices Holds Emergency Meeting About Coronavirus Vaccine
The group advises the federal government on vaccines, including who will get the vaccines and how they'll be given.

Dec. 1, PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met Tuesday on an emergency basis because emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine could be coming soon.

The committee recommended that health care workers and long-term care facility residents receive the vaccine first, according to CBS News.

“We now have two different vaccines — one from Pfizer and one from Moderna — that appear to be safe and effective. Both organizations have applied for EUA status. And we expect that the Pfizer vaccine ruling would come next week. So there is an urgency,” says Dr. Marc Itskowitz, a primary care internist at the Allegheny Health Network.

The group advises the federal government on vaccines, including who will get the vaccines and how they’ll be given. The committee looks at priority groups, risks and benefits, and dosing schedules, especially in the initial rollout.     continue to read


RELATED STORY:
 Who Gets The Coronavirus Vaccine First?

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ECEMBER 1, 2020
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Powell Testify on COVID-19 Response
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified on the response of their respective agencies to the coronavirus pandemic. Secretary Mnuchin and Chair Powell called on Congress to take additional action to pass coronavirus pandemic economic relief, which they said could create a financial “bridge” until the dissemination of a COVID-19 vaccine. Secretary Mnuchin also responded to criticism of his decision in November to end several Federal Reserve emergency loan programs.

William Barr, left, and Donald Trump. 

Top Trump ally Attorney General Bill Barr rejects election fraud claims

US Attorney General William Barr says his justice department has found no proof to back President Donald Trump's claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

Dec. 2 - "To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election," said the top US law enforcement agent.

His comments are seen as a big blow to Trump, who has not accepted defeat.

He and his campaign have filed lawsuits in states that he lost, as they begin certifying Joe Biden as the winner.

President-elect Biden defeated the incumbent by a margin of 306 to 232 votes in the US electoral college, which chooses the US president. And in the popular vote, Biden won at least 6.2 million more votes than Trump.     continue to read

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Whistleblowers: Postal Service labeled Trump mail ‘Undeliverable,’ 388,000 ballots backdated, ‘disappear’

Dec. 1 - Several whistleblowers on Tuesday cast new uncertainty on the 2020 election process, claiming up to 288,000 ballots disappeared, another 100,000 were improperly backdated, and mail promoting President Trump was junked while mail for Joe Biden was delivered.

In the most extraordinary report, a U.S. Postal Service contractor said his trailer full of 144,000-288,000 completed mail-in ballots, which he drove between New York and Pennsylvania, disappeared after he delivered it to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, depot.

Another claimed that ballots were backdated by postal workers, and in Traverse City, Michigan, Trump campaign mail was put in bins labeled “Undeliverable Bulk Business Mail” while the same type of mail for Joe Biden was ordered to be delivered on time.     continue to read

PBS NewsHour Weekend Full Episode December 1, 2020
Dec. 2, 2020
Tuesday on the NewsHour, a look at what President-elect Joe Biden and his team say about their plan to revive the economy, a CDC committee recommends who should receive the earliest doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and why the pandemic is forcing millennials to move in with their parents.

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 1, 2020

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Mitch McConnell is still playing hardball on coronavirus relief

Dec. 1 - It's been four months since Congress' coronavirus relief bill expired, and the Senate and House still seem no closer to agreeing on a new one.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and the White House have debated for months over what to include in the next stimulus package, with Senate Republicans seeking a far smaller bill than Democrats. But McConnell said Monday that some Democrats are now willing to accept "half a loaf" rather than delay relief any longer, pushing the onus on Pelosi to bring a smaller package to the House.

House Democrats passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill months ago, while Senate Republicans have refused to accept a price tag anywhere close to that. But McConnell said Monday that "there is no reason" Congress shouldn't pass something by the end of the year, especially since some Democrats seem willing to accept Republicans' slimmer proposals; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), for example, said Monday that "both sides are going to have to compromise."     continue to read

At White House Nov. 13, 2020

Have Trump Republican leaders no sense of decency?
Our View: On President-elect Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and other top Republicans appear determined to remain spineless until the end.


Nov. 30 - It now seems tragically clear that Americans might never see a "have-you-no-sense-of-decency?" moment coming from national Republican leaders fed up with President Donald Trump's destructive assault on democracy borne of his pique for losing the election.

Those words — uttered by Army lawyer Joseph Welch to Sen. Joe McCarthy, R-Wis., during a 1954 congressional hearing — unmasked a bullying demagogue engaged in a crusade of smears and investigations that history now calls McCarthyism.
 
And what of Trumpism? For four weeks after Election Day, the defeated incumbent has spun fanciful conspiracy theories of a "rigged" and "fraudulent" election, all the while convincing tens of millions of followers that America's presidential vote was a scam. Amid this (mostly inept) assault on the democratic process, top GOP officials like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have remained silent.     continue to read

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Former Obama adviser reacts to McConnell quoting him on Senate floor
Erin Burnett Out Front
Austan Goolsbee, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, responds to being quoted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor regarding a Covid-19 stimulus deal.
Source: CNN