By Holly Thomas
SICK TRUMP CUTS COVID AID TALK President Donald Trump announced he is giving up on congressional negotiations over another coronavirus stimulus package until after the Nov. 3 presidential election, delaying critical aid to millions and handing Democrats a potent line of attack amid a devastating pandemic. “Immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. As his Democratic rival Joe Biden pointed out, Trump’s announcement is a huge blow for thousands of airline workers facing layoffs, millions of small businesses, and 26 million unemployed Americans. Later, in a frenzy of tweets, Trump bizarrely suggested he might backtrack. [HuffPost]
STEPHEN MILLER TESTS POSITIVE Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior speechwriter, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the latest of several people in Trump’s inner circle who have been confirmed to have COVID-19 in the past week. Miller is among those who helped the president prepare for last week’s debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden. [HuffPost]
CDC: PENCE ISN’T A ‘CLOSE CONTACT’ OF TRUMP The CDC says it does not consider Vice President Mike Pence a “close contact” of Trump and he can safely participate in Wednesday’s vice presidential debate. CDC Director Robert Redfield wrote in a memo that after consultation with White House physician Jesse Schonau and given Schonau’s description of Pence’s movements, “the Vice President is not a close contact of any known person with COVID-19.” Trump surrogates meanwhile, who were in close proximity to the president around the time of his COVID-19 diagnosis and should be quarantining, are hitting the campaign trail. [HuffPost]
BIDEN: NEXT DEBATE SHOULDN’T HAPPEN IF TRUMP IS SICK Biden said he and Trump should not have their scheduled debate on Oct. 15 if Trump is still sick with the coronavirus. “If he still has COVID we shouldn’t have a debate,” Biden told reporters. Biden also invoked powerful words about racial injustice from NBA coach Doc Rivers while speaking in Gettysburg. He stressed the need for America to face its ugly history while keeping communities safe ― citing significant voices including Rivers and others who have called for justice in recent months. [Reuters]
LINCOLN PROJECT TROLLS TRUMP WITH ‘EVITA’ PARODY Trump marked his return to the White House from hospitalization for the coronavirus with a photo-op at the Truman Balcony ― a scene his critics likened to the iconic moment from the musical “Evita.” The Lincoln Project ― a group of never-Trump Republicans ― released “Covita,” a parody based on the musical’s showstopper. Asked on Twitter who sang the track, co-founder Rick Wilson responded: “I’ll never tell.” Patti LuPone, who won a Tony as Eva Peron, also weighed in on Trump’s balcony appearance on social media. [HuffPost]
COUPLE WHO WAVED GUNS AT PROTESTERS INDICTED A grand jury indicted the St. Louis couple who displayed guns while hundreds of racial injustice protesters marched on their private street. Mark McCloskey, 63, and his wife Patricia McCloskey, 6, both attorneys, have become folk heroes among some conservatives. They were featured speakers on the first night of the Republican National Convention, and have accused the “leftist” Democratic St. Louis leadership for their plight. [AP]
TOP U.S. GENERALS QUARANTINING Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several other top military leaders are reportedly quarantining after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for the coronavirus. Though Milley has so far tested negative for the virus, he and other defense officials are taking precautionary measures after the vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Charles Ray, tested positive on Monday. The Coast Guard said Ray is quarantining at home and officials have started contact tracing. Ray recently attended several meetings at the Pentagon. [HuffPost]
FACEBOOK BANS GROUPS AND PAGES AFFILIATED WITH QANON Facebook said it would ban all groups, pages and Instagram accounts that openly identify with QAnon. The shift strengthens an August decision by the tech company to remove QAnon pages that celebrated violence, although that move was seen by many — including Facebook employees — as too lax to stop the spread of pernicious misinformation. Facebook said that, although it has been active removing QAnon content that celebrated violence, other material “tied to different forms of real world harm” would no longer be welcome on the platform. [HuffPost]
EX-CIA DIRECTOR GIVES CHILLING WARNING ON 4 MORE YEARS Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA under President George W. Bush, is warning about the toll of four more years of Trump. “If there is another term for President Trump, I don’t know what will happen to America,” Hayden said in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump. Hayden cited Trump’s disregard for the truth, his refusal to act against violent white supremacist groups and his disregard for America’s allies as reasons the nation could be in jeopardy. Hayden endorsed Joe Biden for president. [HuffPost]
POLL: VOTERS GIVE AMY CONEY BARRETT NARROWLY POSITIVEMARKS Registered voters give narrowly positive ratings to Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds, but say that hearings for her confirmation should wait until after the election. Voters approve of Barrett’s nomination 46% to 42%. For comparison, in February 2017 voters said by a much broader 17-point margin that the Senate should vote to confirm then-nominee Neil Gorsuch.) Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports Barrett served as a “handmaid” in a male-dominated Christian group while in law school.[HuffPost]
BIDEN WILL MAKE ROE V WADE ‘LAW OF THE LAND’ At a town hall in Miami, Biden was asked about his plan for protecting abortion access in light of Trump’s nomination of conservative Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. “Number one, we don’t know exactly what she will do, though the expectation is that she will move to overrule Roe,” Biden said. “The only responsible response to that would be to pass legislation making Roe the law of the land. That’s what I would do.” Biden says on his website that in addition to codifying Roe into federal law, he would use his Justice Department to stop state laws that violate the constitutional right to an abortion. [HuffPost]
‘TECHNICAL CONCERNS’ HINDER BILL TARGETING WHITE SUPREMACISTS Senate Republicans prevented a vote on the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act last week. The bill, which passed the House unanimously, would establish offices in the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI dedicated to combating the rising threat of far-right extremist violence. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — a close Trump ally who, like the president, recently tested positive for COVID-19 — blocked the bill. A spokesperson said senators have “technical concerns.” [HuffPost]