The Hill’s Morning Report – Sponsored by Facebook – Debate chaos as Trump balks at virtual format
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Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 209,725; Tuesday, 210,195; Wednesday, 210,909; Thursday, 211,834; Friday, 212,784.
Deaths worldwide from the coronavirus after 10 months now exceed 1 million.
The debate over the presidential debates rages on, reports The Hill’s politics team. And President Trump is mulling a return to campaign rallies this weekend in Florida and Pennsylvania (The Hill).
To recap a ping-pong 24 hours: Thursday started with the Commission on Presidential Debates announcing that the next presidential debate, which had been scheduled for Thursday next week, would be virtual because of concerns that Trump might still spread COVID-19.
Trump told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo that he would not participate in a virtual format and was pulling out. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien accused the commission of working to protect Biden.
The Hill: The president called Fox Business Network to vent for nearly an hour on Thursday morning. He suggested that Biden would die early on in his administration if elected and called Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) a “monster.”
The Biden campaign responded, calling for the final debate scheduled for Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22 to be changed to a town hall-style format, which was the original format for the second presidential debate in Miami.
But the Trump campaign later pushed back on the notion of scrapping the Florida debate after all, and said the president would participate in both remaining debates if the dates were shifted and conducted in person.
“We agree that this should happen on October 22, and accordingly, the third debate should then be shifted back one week to October 29,” Stepien said in a statement.
However, former Vice President Joe Biden and his campaign team rejected Trump’s effort to rework the debate calendar and formats.
The Hill: The White House doctor says Trump’s coronavirus treatment has concluded and that it will be safe for the president to return to public events beginning Saturday.
NPR: Trump’s campaign chairman, who also has COVID-19, says that with the president’s health clearance from his doctor, there is “no medical reason” to switch the next debate to a virtual format.
The Associated Press: Upshot: Trump-Biden debates uncertain; Oct. 22 still likely.
“We accepted the three dates — Sept. 29, Oct. 15, and Oct. 22 — in June. Trump chose today to pull out of the October 15th debate. Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing,” Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said early on Thursday.
The former vice president then accepted an invitation to instead headline an ABC News town hall event next Thursday in Philadelphia.
The head-spinning developments emerged less than 24 hours after the first and only vice presidential debate between Vice President Pence and Harris.
The Hill: Trump, Biden campaigns clash over debate timing, formats.
The Hill: Trump’s debate calculus.
Niall Stanage, The Memo: If Trump does not debate Biden again, he would forfeit one of the few big-audience opportunities remaining to change the course of a campaign he appears to be losing.
W. James Antle III: Trump, trailing in polls, bets on his base.
Deadline: 59 million people watched the Pence vs. Harris debate, making it the second most-watched vice presidential debate since the event began in 1976, according to Nielsen. The most watched? Biden vs. former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) in 2008, which attracted an audience of 70 million people.
Pollster and GOP political analyst Frank Luntz, who questioned a focus group of self-identified undecided voters immediately following the Pence-Harris event, told Bloomberg TV that the group thought Pence bested Harris in demeanor and “presidential” qualities. They objected to what they saw as the senator’s “condescending” expressions, Luntz told anchor David Westin. “There’s a certain decorum you expect from your candidate and she did not live up to it.”
If Trump walks away from one or both of the remaining debate opportunities, he effectively cedes the election because he is unlikely to close the gap with Biden, who is leading in national and battleground polls, Luntz said (Bloomberg TV).
The Hill: In South Carolina’s Senate race, Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) to take a COVID-19 test before they debate tonight. Graham responded that he has listened to medical experts, followed their advice and “will continue to follow the guidance of my doctors, not my political opponent.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was at the center of a foiled plot by militia members to kidnap her and start a civil war, according to federal law enforcement officials on Thursday. In a dramatic case described as domestic terrorism, authorities announced felony charges against 13 militia members, including some affiliated in the Wolverine Watchmen group, who allegedly embarked on a mission to also attack the state Capitol and target police officers at their homes (Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, The Hill). Whitmer’s orders early this year to impose strict precautions against the coronavirus and Trump’s criticisms of her put the governor in the crosshairs of demonstrators who accused her of tyranny and compared her to Adolf Hitler.
Whitmer, who has been in office since last year, on Thursday thanked law enforcement, denounced extremist groups and accused the president of being “complicit” for not condemning right-wing hate groups (Detroit Free Press). Mugshots of the suspects are HERE. Whitmer said authorities informed her of the plot several weeks ago. According to the FBI affidavit, individuals connected with the Watchmen group purchased items including a Taser and night goggles, conducted surveillance at Whitmer’s cottage, and discussed blowing up a bridge to divert police, kidnapping Whitmer, 49, and taking her to Wisconsin to face a “trial” for treason.
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LEADING THE DAY
CONGRESS: The twists and turns surrounding a potential coronavirus stimulus package continued on Thursday as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) refused to accept a stand-alone bill to give aid to the airlines without a comprehensive deal and the president indicated that he is once again open to discussions on a broader bill before Election Day.
Pelosi told reporters during her weekly press conference that the House Democrats will not sign on to a piecemeal approach, including a stand-alone emergency measure to provide federal relief to airlines, which say they will soon lay off thousands of employees. The Speaker continues to argue that more assistance to businesses and individuals hurt by the pandemic requires a large-scale measure from Congress and the president.
“The comment I made to the administration last night was: We’re happy to review what that stand-alone bill would look like as part of a bigger bill — if there is a bigger bill,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. “But there is no stand-alone bill” (The Hill).
According to a Pelosi spokesman, Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke for 40 minutes on Thursday afternoon to determine “whether there is any prospect of an imminent agreement” on a bill, with Mnuchin reaffirming that is what the president wants.
Meanwhile, Trump inched back to the negotiating table on Thursday. In an interview with Fox Business, Trump told Bartiromo that the two sides are “starting to have some very productive talks.” According to Axios, he also told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that he wants to strike a “big deal.”
However, there still remain a number of obstacles. In the most recent proposals, the two sides were roughly $600 billion apart on overall price tags and $250 billion apart on funds for state and local governments — which remains the main sticking point in any deal.
“We were talking about a single bill, a stand-alone bill, and the particulars within a singular bill,” she said. “So the question is: If there were to be a stand-alone bill, what does that look like? And the only point about negotiations is, ain’t gonna be no stand-alone bill unless there’s a bigger bill. And it could be part of that, or it could be in addition to it.”
The Washington Post: White House, Congress continue pressing on economic relief package but Pelosi bristles over Trump approach.
The Associated Press: Stocks climb again on Wall Street with hopes for stimulus.
CNBC: A second wave of layoffs looms as coronavirus stimulus talks stall.
The Associated Press: COVID-19 relief pushes U.S. budget deficit to a record $3.1 trillion.
As talks continue, Pelosi also raised eyebrows on Thursday as she and House Democrats announced they will release legislation today to create a commission to determine whether a president is fit for office amid concerns over Trump’s status with COVID-19.
Pelosi’s office announced that she and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will formally introduce the bill at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Friday morning. Earlier Thursday, she hinted to reporters that “we’re going to be talking about the 25th Amendment” (The Hill).
> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 78, made a stunning comment on Thursday, saying that he has not been at the White House since early August in part because of the lack of seriousness in their handling of the novel coronavirus on the premises.
McConnell made the remark during a stop in Kentucky, saying that while he speaks with Trump frequently, he has not been at the White House since Aug. 6.
“Because my impression was their approach to how to handle this was different from mine and what I insisted we do in the Senate, which was to wear a mask and practice social distancing,” McConnell told reporters.
At a second stop in Kentucky, McConnell added that he had avoided going to the White House because he “personally didn’t feel that they were approaching the protection from this illness in the same way that I thought was appropriate for the Senate.”
The GOP leader’s comments came amid a COVID-19 outbreak at the White House, with Trump, first lady Melania Trump, top aide Hope Hicks and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany among the roughly two dozen people in the Trump orbit to test positive for the virus (The Hill).
McConnell added that the president “seems normal” in their discussions this week (Bloomberg News).
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
MORE 2020 POLITICS: As of Thursday, more than 6.6 million people in the United States had already voted, according to the U.S. Elections Project created by University of Florida Professor Michael McDonald, who tracks early voting using a comprehensive website to display tallies in real time.
In the states that report requests for mail ballots by party, 44 percent have been requested by Democrats and 25.8 percent by Republican voters, according to the U.S. Elections Project.
The Hill’s Reid Wilson reports that Democrats are building a steady lead in early voting, suggesting with 25 days to go that Trump will begin Election Day trailing.
For example, The Associated Press reports that the president’s path to 270 Electoral College votes has narrowed compared with his achievement four years ago in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states and in Pennsylvania.
The outcome in those states may remain uncertain for days after Nov. 3 because of deadlines for mail voting and state laws barring officials from counting ballots before Election Day.
The Associated Press: Biden, Harris aim to tip battleground Arizona for Democrats.
****
NATIONAL SECURITY: Washington scrambled to make sense Thursday of Trump’s plans for Afghanistan after he said all U.S. troops “should” be “home by Christmas.” The suggestion, delivered in a Wednesday evening tweet, came just hours after his own national security adviser said the U.S. military would draw down to about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan by early next year. Trump tells voters while campaigning that troop withdrawals are part of his 2016 promise to end so-called forever wars (The Hill).
> Congressional races in crosshairs: The nation’s top intelligence official told lawmakers last month that the number of members of Congress subject to foreign election interference is higher than previously known, sources told The Hill. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe gave a ballpark estimate of dozens to around 50 members of Congress targeted, but he declined to identify who they are or how the interference is occurring.
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-staging.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-staging.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
OPINION
Airline workers are essential. Will Congress keep them flying? by Faye Malarkey Black, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2Ib0YcC
How the Democrats can pack the court and de-escalate at the same time, by D. Benjamin Barros, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2GMcAly
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WHERE AND WHEN
The House meets at 10 a.m.
The Senate holds a pro forma session at 10 a.m. The full chamber has recessed for legislative business until Oct. 19.
The president is at the White House recovering from COVID-19. His doctor said he expects Trump to be ready for a “return to public engagements” after Saturday, his 10th day since diagnosis with the coronavirus.
The vice president had been scheduled to vote in Indiana today, but postponed that trip. He will be in Washington today. On Saturday, Pence will campaign in Orlando, Fla., and on Monday he will be in Columbus, Ohio.
Biden-Harris campaign events: The former vice president will campaign in Las Vegas today with two events, including an afternoon speech at a drive-in event.
Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://digital-staging.thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. ET at Rising on YouTube.
ELSEWHERE
➔ NOBEL PEACE PRIZE: The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) became the 2020 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize early this morning for its work to address worldwide hunger. In 2019, the humanitarian organization gave aid to 100 million people across 88 countries. “I think this is the first time in my life I’ve been without words,” WFP’s head David Beasley told The Associated Press. “I was just so shocked and surprised.” Here are some of the many candidates promoted for the esteemed prize this year (including Trump): (Time).
➔ CORONAVIRUS: In the United States, the daily caseload of the virus has hit its highest level since mid-August, worrying state officials (The Wall Street Journal). … “Saturday Night Live” on Thursday dropped Morgan Wallen, a country music singer, as its musical act for this weekend’s show after he broke COVID-19 protocols for the show. In a video posted on social media on Thursday, Wallen apologized for breaking the show’s rules. He was shown on TikTok maskless while at a crowded bar and a party last weekend in Alabama. Comedian Bill Burr will host Saturday’s show (The Associated Press). … Airbnb announced on Thursday that hosts must comply with new enhanced cleaning procedures in a bid to attract and calm the nerves of guests during the COVID-19 pandemic (The Associated Press). … The NFL is moving Sunday’s game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills to Tuesday night at 6 p.m., under the condition that there are no more positive tests in the Titans organization. If there are, the game will be postponed (ESPN).
➔ HURRICANE DELTA: Forecasters said Delta would likely crash ashore this evening somewhere on southwest Louisiana’s coast. The question was whether it would remain at devastating Category 3 strength, with top winds of 120 mph, or begin to weaken (The Associated Press).
THE CLOSER
And finally … Bravo to the winners of this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Relying on savvy guesses (along with some grade-A Googling), readers knew their history about presidential illnesses.
Here are all the quiz kings and queens out there who aced this week’s quiz: Patrick Kavanagh, Donna Nackers, Terry Pflaumer, Michael E. Nix, Sandy Walters, Eric Chapman, J. Patrick White, John Donato, Candi Cee, Ki Harvey, William Chittam, Pam Manges and Ricca C. Slone.
They knew that a 1944 memo written by a surgeon who examined former President Franklin D. Roosevelt saying that he would not survive four more years in the White House was made public in 2011.
Former President William Henry Harrison, who died 32 days into his presidency, succumbed to pneumonia nine days after becoming ill.
Former President Woodrow Wilson (pictured below) did not suffer from prostate cancer during his two terms in office.
Finally, former President Grover Cleveland had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from the roof of his mouth on a friend’s yacht under the guise of a vacation intended to hide the surgery.
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