Politics Now - USA

Trucks with Trump signs and flags surrounded a Biden campaign bus on a Texas highway on Friday and attempted to slow the vehicle down and run it off the road, the Biden campaign said on Saturday. Several video clips posted on social media by both Biden and Trump supporters showed the trucks surrounding the bus. The trucks then tried to slow the bus down and run it off the road before staff called 911, according to the Biden campaign. The president himself appeared to endorse the behavior of his supporters, tweeting a video of the incident on Saturday evening along with the comment “I LOVE TEXAS!” “They’re literally escorting him out of town,” one man says, laughing as he narrates one clip of the incident shared by Trump supporters. Some of the Trump supporters surrounding the Biden campaign bus were armed, according to Democratic state representative Rafael Anchía and other observers. While the vice-presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, was campaigning in Texas that day, she not on th...

"I saw several children choking from the spray," a witness told BuzzFeed News. "People had to choose whether to continue to the polling station or go wash their eyes and skin." Courtesy of Anthony Crider / BuzzFeed News Law enforcement arresting demonstrators participating in a march to the polls. Law enforcement officers in Graham, North Carolina, used pepper spray on people, including young children, who were marching to a local polling station on Saturday, and made multiple arrests. The march, called "I Am Change," was to rally voter participation on the last day of early voting across the country. According to multiple witnesses and a Facebook livestream, Graham Police Department officers unleashed pepper spray on a crowd of about 200 demonstrators after what appeared to be an attempt to shut down the entire rally. Witnesses told BuzzFeed News that officers from the Alamance County Sheriff's Office then arrived at the scene, and law enforcement off...

Former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaBerlin's Madame Tussauds places wax Trump in a dumpster ahead of election New poll shows Biden leading Trump by 6 points in North Carolina Who is 'Anonymous' author Miles Taylor? MORE went viral on Saturday after shooting a three-pointer while on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Joe BidenBiden leads Trump by 8 points nationally: poll Ivanka Trump raises million in a week for father's campaign On The Money: McConnell says Congress will take up stimulus package at start of 2021 | Lawmakers see better prospects for COVID deal after election MORE. Obama made the shot just before leaving a gymnasium in Flint, Mich. While he walks out the door, he appears to tell campaign staff “That’s what I do!” so this was absolutely insane pic.twitter.com/W4JL6LQZxq — Olivia Raisner (@OliviaRaisner) October 31, 2020 Celebrities and social media users quickly shared the clip, with some hoping that the shot it...

At a campaign rally today in Conway, South Carolina, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told the young women in the crowd that they need to have a “traditional family structure” if they want to “go anywhere” in America. The 65 year-old bachelor is running against Jaime Harrison for the U.S. Senate seat from South Carolina when he made the anti-LGBTQ statements at a campaign event. Related: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is begging for help because “they hate my guts” Graham’s comments, broadcast live on Facebook by local ABC affiliate WPDE ABC15, came as he described what he loved about the Amy Coney Barrett, the latest justice to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Graham, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led the effort to rush her confirmation through the Senate, making her Donald Trump’s third successful nominee to the Court. Graham claimed that Justice Barrett is “one of the most qualified people to be nominated” to the Supreme Court in its history, despite her having been fi...

AUSTIN, Texas — Multiple vehicles bearing Trump flags and signs surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus heading from San Antonio to Austin on Friday, forcing campaign officials to scrap two campaign events, according to reports by Democratic officials on Saturday. The vehicles surrounded the bus on busy Interstate 35 and appeared to be attempting to slow it down and force it to the side of the road, according to social media posts from witnesses and accounts by party activists. In one instance, the vehicles pulled in front of the bus and tried to stop in the middle of the highway. Katie Naranjo, chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, tweeted that Trump supporters also “ran into a person’s car, yelling curse words and threats.” The bus was occupied by campaign staff workers, who notified local law enforcement, which assisted the vehicle in reaching its destination, party officials said.

Barack Obama’s basketball career appears to be still going strong. During a campaign stop alongside Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in Flint, Michigan, the former president found himself with a basketball in his hands as he prepared to exit a gym. He dribbled once and took a shot at a 3-pointer from the corner. Swish. so this was absolutely insane pic.twitter.com/W4JL6LQZxq — Olivia Raisner (@OliviaRaisner) October 31, 2020 “That’s what I do!” the president said as he happily exited the floor. We’ll leave you to decipher whether or not that’s a good omen, and for whom. Obama might have been feeling it after an appearance on LeBron James’ HBO show “The Shop,” which aired on Friday. In the episode, the two discussed the fight against racial injustice and activism by NBA players, including their wildcat strike in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. Obama’s shot got the approval of James himself later. Now you just showing out now my friend!! That’s what you do huh?? Ok ok ...

President Donald Trump, in his last sprint of rallies before Election Day, is aggressively accelerating his campaign to spread distrust in the US election and legal systems, laying the groundwork for a potential effort to stop counting votes after Nov. 3. “The whole world, and our nation, is going to be waiting, and waiting, and waiting to hear who won? You’re going to be waiting for weeks?,” Trump asked a crowd of supporters Saturday morning in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There has been a giant spike in early and mail-in voting nationwide because of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly — polls suggest, among Democrats. Because of how some key states like Pennsylvania count votes, that might mean that the election winner is not determined on election night, and it could mean that some states that count absentee ballots late may show initial results that have Trump winning, only for Joe Biden to overtake him as more votes come in. There’s nothing about that that would suggest fraud or...

After being turned away from the Texas Supreme Court, a group of Republicans have filed a new legal challenge to Harris County’s implementation of drive-thru voting sites in federal court, claiming the system set up by County Clerk Chris Hollins (D) encourages an “illegal voting scheme.” Though experts don’t think the plaintiffs have a particularly strong legal argument, the case has been assigned to one of the most conservative judges in the district. The complaint was filed in the Southern District of Texas Houston Division by three state Republican candidates for office and one notoriously litigious GOP operative. The suit wants the court to grant an injunction prohibiting drive-thru voting from continuing, and to reject all ballots cast through the process as being in violation of the Texas Election Code. The result would invalidate more than 117,000 votes from the state’s largest Democratic stronghold. The challenge was initially viewed as futile, but that outlook shifted Saturday...

A caravan of President Donald Trump’s supporters in Texas were filmed harassing a Biden campaign bus en route to an event on Interstate 35 Friday, leading the campaign to cancel several rallies due to safety concerns. The altercation culminated with a Trump supporter in a pickup truck appearing to intentionally sideswipe a Biden campaign volunteer who was attempting to follow the bus. “This is a 1st for me – but we just cancelled a joint event in Pflugerville with [The Biden] campaign, Austin Young Dems, and more, due to security reasons,” wrote Austin City Council member Sheryl Cole. “Unfortunately, Pro-Trump Protestors have escalated well beyond safe limits. Sorry to all who looked forward to this fun event.” This is a 1st for me – but we just cancelled a joint event in Pflugerville w/ @JoeBiden campaign, @AustinYoungDems, & more, due to security reasons. Unfortunately, Pro-Trump Protestors have escalated well beyond safe limits. Sorry to all who looked forward to this fun event....

Is Donald Trump headed to victory in Tuesday’s U.S. election — or is he headed to jail? The first part is easy. Even if many Americans spend this weekend hiding under their beds in fear of what voters will do, all major polls indicate that Democratic candidate Joe Biden will win a clear victory. So, in the absence of anything else to do, I say: let’s relax, walk our dog and play with our kids. But the second part of this question — will Trump eventually end up behind bars — is more complicated. Getting rid of Trump as president is only the first step. Undoing the horrific damage of his deadly presidency will be more difficult. And even more challenging will be to rid the American body politic of the insanity that brought to power what will be remembered as the worst presidency in modern American history. How did this happen in the world’s leading democracy? And how can it be prevented from happening again? The United States will never fully recover from the Trump presidency until he an...

GRAHAM, North Carolina—On the final day of early voting in North Carolina, police in Alamance County pepper-sprayed a group of voters who were marching to the polls, leaving demonstrators injured and vomiting in the streets. At least one journalist was arrested in the chaotic showdown on Saturday in Alamance County, a red county but one that may decide which party controls the state legislature next year. About 250 people—most of them Black—were taking part in an event called I Am Change Legacy March to the Polls and on their penultimate stop before visiting a polling place in downtown Graham when cops intervened. Just after several speakers, including Ian Baltutis, mayor of neighboring Burlington, had addressed the crowd, Alamance County sheriff's deputies dressed in camo, gas masks, and tactical gear stood in formation on the steps of the Historic Courthouse behind the stage. They ordered the protesters to disperse, and announced they would begin arresting people. This story was ...

A Biden campaign event was cancelled in Texas on Friday after reportedly coming under threat from armed Trump supporters, days after the president’s eldest son called on his father’s supporters to “get out there, have some fun”. Don Jr posted a video earlier this week ahead of Democratic VP candidate, Kamala Harris, holding an event in Texas and urged his father’s supporters to show up. He said: “It’d be great if you guys would all get together, head down to McAllen and give Kamala Harris a nice Trump Train welcome." “Get out there, have some fun, enjoy it,” Mr Trump continued. “Don’t forget to vote and bring all of your friends. Let’s show them how strong Texas still is as Trump country. Get out there, guys.” While Senator Harris’s appearance went ahead as planned, local Texas Democrats said they were forced to pull the plug on a gathering scheduled to take place in Pflugerville, a small city about 17 miles north of Austin, due to "security reasons". "Unfortunately...

Slate's Who Counts? series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you. Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to throw out at least 117,000 ballots cast in Harris County, a heavily Democratic area that has experienced an unprecedented surge in early voting this month. The brazen effort to undo legally cast ballots in a diverse, populous county is an eleventh-hour attempt to diminish Joe Biden’s chances of carrying the swing state on Nov. 3. Republicans claim that Harris County’s use of drive-thru voting violates the U.S. Constitution, requiring the judge to throw out every ballot cast this way—more than 117,000 as of Friday. This argument is outrageous and absurd. But the case landed in front of U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, one of the most notoriously partisan conservatives in the federal judiciary. Democrats have good reason to fear that Hanen will order the mass nullification of ballots as early as Nov. 2, when he has scheduled a hearing...

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses supporters at a campaign rally outside Raymond James Stadium on October 29, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. President Donald Trump's campaign rallies led to more than 30,000 coronavirus cases, according to a new paper posted by researchers at Stanford. Researchers looked at 18 Trump rallies held between June 20 and Sept. 22 and analyzed Covid-19 data the weeks following each event. They compared the counties where the events were held to other counties that had a similar trajectory of confirmed Covid-19 cases prior to the rally date. Out of the 18 rallies analyzed, only three were indoors, according to the research. The researchers found that the rallies ultimately resulted in more than 30,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. They also concluded that the rallies likely led to more than 700 deaths, though not necessarily among attendees. The researchers said the findings support the warnings and recommendations of public health officials concerning the risk...

Vice President Mike Pence is not considered a favorite to emerge as the Republican Party's next presidential nominee. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that the suggestion prompted laughter from several sources, while multiple GOP strategists expressed doubt to The Washington Post recently, as well. Mike Lindell, the Minnesota campaign chair for President Trump, said it will simply just "be harder for a career politician to be president going forward," but Alex Conant, who served as the campaign spokesman during Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) 2016 presidential run, thinks Pence's ties to the Trump administration could mean the vice presidency will remain the apex of his political journey. "Trump could be our party's Iraq War," Conant told the Post. "I wonder if four years from now we are nominating someone who had nothing to do with the Trump era." While Conant's larger point may stand, his historical comparison confused some...

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter. By Friday the question in Texas wasn’t whether the state would surpass its overall turnout in 2016—it already had—but by just how much. In the end, Texas blew past its previous record, in the words of Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith, “by the population of Vermont.” That’s a very Texas kind boast, but in this case, the boasting is warranted. For years, the state has ranked near the bottom of the nation in turnout percentage, and Democrats who have toiled to change the state’s political culture have preferred to call it a “non-voting state” rather than a red state. There was no one way this happened. The state has become ever more competitive over the last three election cycles and, put simply, there’s just a lot more to turn out for: A dozen US House seats are conceivably in play; the lower chamber of the Texas legislature is in the balance; former Vice President J...

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said Friday that it would not release more than 100 documents of correspondence between agency employees and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office. Those documents contain details of discussions about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. DIA revealed the existence of the records in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted more than a year ago by BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold. The requests sought “[a]ll records of correspondence between the DIA and the Office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller” that mentioned or referenced Flynn in any way. In a two-page letter to Leopold dated Friday, the agency stated that it would be withholding all of the responsive documents, claiming they were exempt from public disclosure laws. “A search of DIA’s systems of records located 112 records of correspondence responsive to the request above. Upon review, it has been determined that all of the substantive portions of...

Oregon could become the first U.S. state to decriminalize possessing hard drugs like heroin, cocaine and LSD in a ballot measure during Tuesday’s election. If voters pass Measure 110, users found in low-level possession of the substances would have the option of paying $100 fines or attending new, free addiction recovery centers instead of being arrested and facing jail time, The Associated Press reported. The recovery centers would be funded by tax revenue from retail marijuana sales in the state, which was the country’s first to decriminalize marijuana possession. ADVERTISEMENT Yes on 110, the organization sponsoring the ballot measure, stresses that the act does not legalize any drugs. “No change is made in the criminal code for delivery, manufacture, and other commercial drug offenses. These offenses will remain a crime,” according to the website. “No change is made for other crimes that may be associated with drug use, such as driving under the influence and theft.” Approximately ...

T he way that Marian Belk describes it, people her age were asleep four years ago — politically speaking. Barack Obama had just finished his second term and it appeared as though Hillary Clinton was going to replace him. Many of them stayed home. “We were complacent,” says the 26-year-old North Carolina native, who works in the hospitality industry in Raleigh, North Carolina’s state capital. “I think this year is just totally different.” “I guess we all kind of woke up at the same time. Not just because of what we’ve been through over the last four years with Donald Trump, but this year in particular. I think millennials understand this is our moment to set a course for our country.” She is not alone. North Carolina has seen record-breaking numbers of young voters cast their ballots early this year. Some 462,000 people between the ages of 18 and 29 — an alliance of Generation Z and millennials —have already voted. That has more than doubled their share of the electorate since the last ...

The current poverty line for a family of four is $26,200: People with incomes between $10,000 and $30,000 — nearly one-quarter of Americans — are among those scheduled to pay a higher average tax rate in 2021 than in years before the tax “cut” was passed. The C.B.O. and Joint Committee estimated that those with an income of $20,000 to $30,000 would owe an extra $365 next year — these are people who are struggling just to pay rent and put food on the table. Of course, the poor have never mattered much to the Republican Party, but those on the edge of poverty have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic and the recession its caused, so Trump’s planned tax increases seem especially heartless, and impractical, when you consider that their higher tax payments, while a huge burden for them, will add little to the budget. By 2027, when the law’s provisions are set to be fully enacted, with the stealth tax increases complete, the country will be neatly divided into two groups: Those making ...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday slammed the “spinelessness” of embattled Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), tweeting that he was “at the top when it comes to folding on your own values like a wet napkin.” Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Graham ― who was a fierce critic of Donald Trump before the 2016 election, and has become a staunch supporter ever since ― after he suggested during his final debate against Democratic candidate Jaime Harrison that his rival would go “down the AOC road” on climate policy and destroy the economy. Harrison, for the record, does not support Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal. The New York Democrat pulled no punches with her response to Graham, writing: .@LindseyGrahamSC I’m not sure you believe in *anything* except preserving yourself. & let’s not get started on your climate denial. I’ve seen a lot of spinelessness in DC, but you’re at the top when it comes to folding on your own values like a wet napkin. SC deserves better. https://t.co/daiXUObkTX —...

A college student drove 20 hours from Washington DC to Fort Worth, Texas in order to vote after her mail-in ballot never arrived. Meredith Reilly, 20, drove nearly 1,400 miles with her friend, Zachary Houdek, also 20, after applying for absentee ballots in August but never hearing back, according to CNN. Reilly was ultimately cast her ballot at Tarrant County College's Trinity River Campus in Fort Worth, one of the county's 50 early voting centers, the Star Telegram reported. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A college student drove 20 hours from Washington DC to Fort Worth, Texas, in order to vote after her mail-in ballot never arrived. Meredith Reilly, 20, drove nearly 1,400 miles with her friend, Zachary Houdek, also 20, after they both submitted applications for absentee ballots in August but hadn't heard back, according to CNN. Reilly had applied for an absentee ballot from the Tarrant County Elections Administration but never heard back, while Houdek had ...

President Donald Trump told supporters at a closed-door event in Nashville that his campaign expects to dispute individual ballots, reported The Washington Post. In several states, Republicans have argued that ballots received after Election Day should not be counted, and in others, signature verification is expected to be a key issue. Trump has for months trailed Biden in the polls and stirred fears of widespread voter fraud that have been rebutted by election officials. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Trump told donors in Nashville last week that he would have his own "team" and law enforcement monitoring polling places, and that his campaign is poised to challenge individual ballots, The Washington Post reported. The president told supporters at the closed-door fundraiser that "my biggest risk of losing is probably fraud," according to a person present who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Post. In other remarks at the event...

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Joe Biden’s presidential campaign canceled a Friday event in Austin, Texas, after harassment from a pro-Trump contingent. Texas has emerged as a battleground state in Tuesday’s presidential election, with polls showing the typically Republican stronghold now only marginally favoring President Donald Trump. The Biden campaign scheduled a Friday event in the state, in a bid to drum up last-minute support. But when the Biden campaign bus drove to Austin, it was greeted by a blockade of pro-Trump demonstrators, leading to what one Texas House representative described as an escalation “well beyond safe limits.” The cancelation comes amid national anxiety about voter intimidation, a tactic the Trump campaign has implicitly endorsed. Historian Dr. Eric Cervini was driving to help with the Biden campaign stop when he filmed a line of pickup trucks along the highway, many of them flying Trump flags. The drivers were “waiting to ambush the Biden/Harris campaign bus as it traveled from San Antoni...