US General Elections 2020

{{ Watched Trumps interview on Axios on HBO, and rather than say what I think, I thought I'd justleave some of the quotes andlet them speak for themselves. }}

Interviewer- "1000 Americans are dying every day Mr President"
Trump- "Yeah, they're dying, but it is what it is."

(Trump uses a chart he has prepared showing US is doing better than many other countries on number of cases.)

Interviewer- "Im going by death by population, where America is one of the worst, much worse than Germany or..."

Trump- "You can't do that."


Trump- "Let me tell you something about Russia"...(audience awaits the revelation with baited breath)....."It used to be called the Soviet Union."


Interviewer- "You're really saying you've done more than Lyndon Johnson who passsed the civil rights act?"

Trump-"Well, it hasnt worked out too well."

Interviewer- "You're saying you think passing the civil rights act was a bad idea?"


(On being asked why he wished Ghislaine Maxwell well given shehas been charged with child sex trafficking offences)

Trump: "I didn't know that. Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well, I’d wish you well. I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck!”

Won't make a dent. Either you see it or you're blind.

I wonder if Trump can put the FBI onto the Epstein Murder Case? He sure gives the impression he thinks skullduggery was involved. Guess he can’t do anything about it. While Presidents are tremendously powerful they are also powerless. Trump taught me that. See Halfy, I can learn stuff.

{{ Doubt Trump will want it investigated, given his name is in the mix of folk who were friends of Epstein and went and stayed with him where all this was meant to be going on. And given Trump is a self -confessed sexual assaulter of women, and his creepy attitude towards his own daughter I'd be more inclined to think he was involved in Epstein's suicide rather than wants it looked into.}}

Pettytyrant101 wrote:{{ Doubt Trump will want it investigated, given his name is in the mix of folk who were friends of Epstein and went and stayed with him where all this was meant to be going on. And given Trump is a self -confessed sexual assaulter of women, and his creepy attitude towards his own daughter I'd be more inclined to think he was involved in Epstein's suicide rather than wants it looked into.}}

Of course, Trump went to the parties, but he didn’t see anything. He is all knowing and all seeing and all doing, but that doesn’t mean he actually knows anything or sees anything or does anything. It depends on circumstances, I think.

{{ Where's Dave got to? Hope all is well.
Was hoping for his comment on this, just listened to Trump talking about his trade deal with China in reference to which he said that "we made a great trade deal, you see that with the farmers, the farmers are happy, they're not even complaining, in fact my biggest problem is they are so happy they want me to do nothing.'
Now whilst I can quite believe farmers would rather he didnt do anything, I find it much harder to believe the reason is because they are so happy about the current state of affairs rather than in the hope he doesnt make things worse.
Are you feeling happy with Trump and with state of US farming Dave? }}

{{ See Trumps taxes got leaked- he paid a whopping 750 dollars in tax! Claiming his losses were so great he didnt owe any more. No wonder he has been keeping them secret all this time.
Of course he and Fox News are running with it being 'fake news' but if it were, easy way to prove it, release his taxes! Bet they dont. }}

Trump really does have a tweet for every occasion...

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/256466457968381955

He's trying to build Biden up so that there's a higher bar for the opponent making a lower bar for him.

please don't blow it Joe. keep your cool and let the idiot dig his own hole.

{{ Dont worry Figg Trump is digging and digging. Its been a car crash of a debate with Trump just ranting over the top of everyone, Biden, moderator Wallace, its just insanity not a debate. I dont know how it will come across to average Amercians but only one guy so far looks and sounds like a President to me, with policies, plans, and a strong unifying message. Trumps comng over like the mad old guy at the end of the bar. }}

Trump actually had more facts and retorts in his arsenal than I expected. He came across as an uncontrolled bully of course, but not the blithering idiot I was expecting.

{{ He sounded pretty idiotic to me, he had retorts sure, unsubstantive ones full of bile and division- the last thing your country needs right now. When given the opportunity to denounce white supremecists he didnt. On Covid he was idiotic and I thought Biden did well pointing out all the lies he has said about the virus to the cost of US lives. I also thought adressing the audience was a better tactic than ranting at your opponent and even the moderator.
I think Wallace had a near impossible job and for future debates the moderator should have the ability to mute the mics and enforce the 2 minute UNINTERRUPPTED.
I dont think either candidate landed the knock out blow however, but Trump for me came across for what he is, a bully with no substance. }}

He sounded like the blustering school bully who when caught out hitting his school-mate tries to lie and cheat and insult his way out of trouble. He sounded like a juvenile delinquent with anger management issues. Poor Biden, he hardly kept his cool, but which normal human being could trying to combat that amount of lunacy. truly embarrassing. terrible. It was not like looking at two adults.

{{ Round up of the worlds press reaction from the BBC-

UK- The Guardian described it as a "national humiliation".
"The rest of the world - and future historians - will presumably look at it and weep," the paper wrote, adding that Mr Biden was the only man who looked "remotely presidential" on the stage and saying that if Mr Trump was re-elected in November, "this dark, horrifying, unwatchable fever dream will surely be the first line of America's obituary."
The Times in the UK wrote, "The clearest loser from the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was America."
The Financial Times highlighted how the president had stoked lies about voter fraud and urged his supporters to carefully watch polling stations. "'Dog-whistling' is the politico-speak for such language, but it implies subtlety. Mr Trump was blatant," it wrote.

France- "Chaotic, childish, gruelling" - that's how French newspaper Libération described Tuesday's debate. Le Monde agreed, calling it a "terrible storm"
Le Figaro said Mr Biden had "systematically refused to play his opponent's game".

Germany- Der Spiegel's analysis of the debate is headlined "A TV duel like a car accident".
"Most importantly, it showed that America has a president whose behaviour stands out and who lacks self-control - but that's not exactly news," it wrote.
Mr Biden in contrast was not an exciting candidate but "at least someone with common sense and a stable personality" who would "bring something like normalcy back to the White House".

Italy- "Never had American politics sunk so low," La Repubblica's US correspondent wrote.
Il Corriere della Sera meanwhile said President Trump's refusal to condemn white supremacy was "a message for Black America".

India- Hindi-language news channel AajTak accused both candidates of "mud-slinging", while broadcaster Times Now said the debate was "marred with personal jibes and political barbs".
The Times of India, the country's largest-selling English-language newspaper, which compared the debate to "mud-wrestling".
"The US embarrassed itself before the world for 100 minutes," it wrote.


It amazes me that its only taken 4 years for America to go from a repsected world leader to an ineffective, useless global joke of a country. }}

Those cracks about Biden's sons was the most disgusting thing Trump has ever said, and he has said a lot of repulsive things. It made my flesh creep. He truly is like an evil toddler, it is not normal. How could a normal person debate with that shit?

Having taught nasty kids before I can say that the first time you are exposed to it you are knocked off balance. Then you have time to think and compose responses and you can get it under control. But every kid is different and you have to go through the same process again.

I think Biden will do much better on the next debate, and I almost regret that the debate committee will be taking steps (like cutting microphones) to rein in Trump's tendencies. It would be nice to see an adult slap him down. Chris Wallace did some of that. I don't know if Biden has it in him to do what needs to be done.

I don't think Biden has it either, but his running mate does, and she is really the one to watch if Biden wins she may be the next president sooner rather than later. With all the best will in the world, he is really too old to be tackling this enormous crisis, it would exhaust a 40 year old. But good on him for trying. I wish him well.

Yep. When she was selected she gave a very warm introductory speech which proved she had the goods. She had a high unlikability quotient before that due to what inevitably happens whenever a woman is strong, but she demonstrated a lot of adaptability in that speech.

{{ Both of them looked like what they were, two old white men. Trump is trying to make some sort of 50's patche nightmare America, where the commies and socialists are evil bad guys under your bed waiting to corrupt your family. And that the blacks and immigrants will get into your neighberhood and suburbs and rape your wives and daughters and burn your house down. And you're only protection are militia of good proud patriotic white Americans armed to the teeth. Climate change doesnt exists and America will be a manufacturing powerhouse again full of mines and steel plants and car factories and oil will flow as all those pesky modern enviromental standards are taken away.
And Biden, who seems a decent human being, he too is as you say Figg, getting on for the pressures of the job, he stumbles often on words, his recollection for numbers and individual facts is often stumbling and he is also a piece of a past America that is not coming back either, one of civil discord, and disagreeing passionately with your opposition before going out with your families together for a meal. Both men are looking backward, because that's what happens with age, there's far less left ahead so you look back.

On the same nght the US debate was going on there was another leaders debate being televised, in New Zealand. The contrast speaks for itself, this is what a modern democracy looks like, America looks past it, dated, lost in an imagined glory of its own past and quickly being left behind by the world. }}

I agree Petty, but America could have the first Black female president. So the past representing Biden is also looking forward. Biden represents the safe past, stability and the status quo, after Trump maybe that is needed for a bit, a breathing space where a lot of spooked folks can settle down for a bit and regroup.

{{ If she does end up President because of Biden's age then its only by default not choice of the people. It's also impossible to imagine in the America we see that instead of Trump/Biden it could have been between two women, half Trump and Biden's age, and the fact I find it inconvecivable for America to reach this level of acceptance of women as leaders shows for me how far behind American society is in terms of its democracy. Even Scotland which doesnt have its own democracy, if I look at my Parliament I see as party leaders two women- one married to her wife and who have a child together, the other married to her husband, one straight male and one homosexual male leader, and at no point in our politics, reporting of our politics or in everday life is their gender, sexual preference, martial state, religous beliefs a single part of the political discord. It just doesnt happen, when it comes to their politics yes plenty to fght about but nobody cares about the rest any more.
Where America once led as the beacon of democracy its now faded and been outshone by other more progressive and evolved democracies. }}

Though to be fair the clean democracy that America was know for was largely a product of less than a century, coming out of the 1900's where political machines would pay people for each time they voted (I mean in the same election), or even earlier where feuds involving colorful journalism got so bad that Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel. Even after the blatantly corrupt period Chicago and New York were basically run behind the scenes by mafia or variations of it.

So I think there's a chance America can come back from this. Been here before.

Holy shit:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/trump-coronavirus-walter-reed-medical-center-moved-b750697.html

...Sounds like those 'mild symptoms' progressed quikcly.

Whilst I think Trump has been an utter failure as President and comes across as a narcissistic raging moron most of the time (not even touching on his corrupt business dealings and racism) I wouldn't wish this illness on anyone (I want Trump to loose the election legitimately and due to his actions or lack thereof, not due to outside factors such as this horrible pandemic), least of all someone in such a stressful and important job, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum Trump falling severely ill at the point in the presidential campaign is very serious and horrifying news indeed.

Worth remembering that Boris Johnson was initially evacuated to hospital as a precautionary measure and his initially mild symptoms were reported to grew quickly very severe (IIRC ending up on a ventilator...)...Trump is 20(ish) years older, overweight ,under a huge amount of stress and already subject to many rumours regarding his failing health...he's also a serial liar, and only cares about winning the re-election (and I think at this point even he has given up on the idea of winning the popular vote legitimately)...I wonder how his hardcore fanbase are reacting to this news (more than a few conspiracy theorists and anti vaxxers are in that group...).

Herman Cain passed away from Covid several days after his condition was publicly announced to be serious, it's probably safe to assume several other high ranking members of the US Cabinet have likely tested positive as well...

You're a bigger man that I am. I want him to suffer. Dying would get too complicated.