Politics Election category, Page 304
GOP criticism muted on Trump’s handling of protestsVideo
WASHINGTON — Most Republicans continued Tuesday to avoid any criticism of President Donald Trump, though a handful of GOP senators spoke out against police use of tear gas to clear peaceful demonstrators from a park near the White House so Trump could walk to a nearby church and pose with...
Nadler seeks to punish Attorney General William Barr for not testifying
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee squared off against Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday to counter what Democrats say is continued defiance of Congress for refusing to testify at a Justice Department oversight hearing. Chairman Jerrold Nadler announced that he would introduce legislation this week to slash the budget...
Trump tries religious gestures to hike support amid protestsVideo
WASHINGTON — Cloaking himself in religion for the second day in a row, President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to seize the moral authority to justify his hard line against demonstrators protesting the killing of another black man in police custody and at the same time mobilize his religious conservative base....
Trump’s actions render Trudeau speechless for 21 secondsVideo
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Canadians are watching what’s unfolding in the United States with “horror and consternation” and he paused for 21 seconds when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump and the use of tear gas against protesters to clear the way for a...
Biden to hit Trump as more focused on ‘power than principle’
Joe Biden plans to blister President Donald Trump for directing authorities to drive back peaceful protesters outside the White House “in order to stage a photo op,” saying Tuesday that the commander in chief “is more interested in power than in principle.” The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is delivering a...
Biden looks to clinch nomination as 7 states, D.C. voteVideo
MONTCLAIR, N.J. — Joe Biden could seize the number of delegates needed to formally clinch the Democrats’ presidential nomination on Tuesday as seven states and the District of Columbia push through a pandemic and exploding racial tensions to host the largest slate of primary elections in almost three months. Voters...
D.C. Episcopal bishop: ‘I am outraged’ by Trump church visitVideo
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington sharply criticized President Donald Trump for staging a visit to the historic St. John’s Church across from the White House, where he held up a Bible after authorities had cleared the area of peaceful protesters. The Rev. Mariann Budde, whose diocese St....
Twitter hides Tweet from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for policy violation
Twitter Inc. says that Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, violated the company’s policy around glorifying violence in a tweet posted Monday. In the tweet, Gaetz called the far-left, anti-fascist protesters known as Antifa “terrorists.” He then asked, “can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle...
Trump slams governors as ‘weak,’ urges crackdown on protests
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday derided many governors as “weak” and demanded tougher crackdowns on burning and stealing among some demonstrations in the aftermath of violent protests in dozens of American cities. Trump spoke to governors on a video teleconference that also included law enforcement and national security...
Primaries become test run for campaigning during coronavirus
HARRISBURG — Tuesday’s primaries in eight states are the biggest test to date of campaigning during the coronavirus era, a way for parties to test-drive new ways of getting out the vote during a time when it can be dangerous to leave your home. Voters from Pennsylvania to Iowa to...
Biden ally sees Klobuchar as less likely Biden running mate
WASHINGTON — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar seems a less likely choice to become Joe Biden’s running mate on his presidential ticket following this week’s death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis, a key ally of the former vice president said. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., told reporters on...
Trump, N.C. governor speak about GOP convention details
RALEIGH, N.C. — President Donald Trump and North Carolina’s governor disagreed on Friday over the viability of a full-fledged Republican National Convention, the governor’s office said, as Trump does not want to see signs of the pandemic in his renomination audience. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Trump spoke by phone,...
Trump WHO funding cut prompts criticism as virus spreads
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s announcement he was cutting U.S. funding for the World Health Organization prompted criticism Saturday, as spiking infection rates in India and elsewhere served as a reminder the global pandemic is far from contained. Trump on Friday charged that the WHO didn’t respond adequately to the...
How Twitter made its own rules for Trump to break
When Twitter slapped a warning label over President Donald Trump’s tweet Thursday night about riots in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, the company’s official explanation was that the president had violated a rule prohibiting “glorification of violence.” But that justification doesn’t explain why Twitter chose to leave the tweet on the site...
Lindsey Graham urges older judges to retire so GOP can fill openings
WASHINGTON — Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is publicly urging federal judges in their mid-60s or older to step aside so President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans can fill the vacancies with conservative jurists. Graham’s comments, in an interview Thursday with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt,...
Pennsylvania House virus notification dispute mirrors growing divide in state politics
The growing divide in the Pennsylvania Legislature loomed large this week with the news that a Republican House member’s coronavirus diagnosis was not shared with Democrats. House Democrats say they were stunned to learn Wednesday that state Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin County, was diagnosed with covid-19 on May 20. Political...
Trump escalating war on Twitter, social media protectionsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump escalated his war on social media companies Thursday, signing an executive order challenging the liability protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. Still, the move appears to be more about politics than substance, as the president aims to rally...
Texas court: Coronavirus fear alone not enough for mail balloting
AUSTIN — Texas officials fighting to block widespread mail-in voting during the pandemic claimed victory after the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday that a lack of immunity to the coronavirus doesn’t qualify someone to cast a ballot by mail. The decision was unanimous by the Texas Supreme Court, which is...
Biden: Wolf doing ‘one hell of a job’ during coronavirus pandemic
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Gov. Tom Wolf traded compliments Wednesday morning while discussing what the country needs to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and a Scranton native, spoke with the governor just hours after Wolf formally endorsed the Democrat’s bid to oust President...
House Republicans sue Nancy Pelosi to block proxy voting rule
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with 20 other Republicans and four constituents, challenged the constitutionality of proxy voting in the chamber on Tuesday with a lawsuit aimed at Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The plaintiffs claim that the transition to proxy voting — spurred by the coronavirus pandemic —...
In a first, Twitter adds fact-check warnings to Trump tweets
For the first time, Twitter has flagged some of President Donald Trump’s tweets with a fact-check warning. On Tuesday, Twitter added a warning phrase to two Trump tweets that called mail-in ballots “fraudulent” and predicted that “mail boxes will be robbed,” among other things. Under the tweets, there is now...
Trump’s convention demand comes amid Charlotte coronavirus surgeVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Donald Trump’s demand for a full-capacity Republican convention in August is putting pressure on North Carolina health officials — and local Republicans — as coronavirus cases surge in the host county and statewide. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration has refused to give in, though, responding with...
On Memorial Day, Trump insults Marine Corps veteran Conor Lamb by calling him ‘American fraud’
On Memorial Day, President Trump called Marine reserve officer and Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb an “American fraud” on Twitter. Almost a week before the state’s primary, Trump threw his support toward Sean Parnell, an Army combat veteran from Cranberry, who is running for Lamb’s seat in the 17th Congressional District....
Biden makes 1st in-person appearance in more than 2 monthsVideo
NEW CASTLE, Del. — Joe Biden made his first in-person appearance in more than two months on Monday as he marked Memorial Day by laying a wreath at a veterans park near his Delaware home. Since abruptly canceling a March 10 rally in Cleveland at the onset of the coronavirus...
Trump threatens to move RNC without assurances from governor
President Donald Trump threatened Monday to pull the Republican National Convention out of North Carolina if the state’s Democratic governor doesn’t immediately sign off on allowing a full-capacity gathering in August despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Trump’s tweets about the RNC, planned for Charlotte, come just two days after North...
