As GOP makes it harder to vote, few Republicans dissent
Geoff Duncan left the room as Senate Republicans approved a bill to block early voting for all but the GOP's most reliable voting bloc. This is what amounts to dissent as Republican lawmakers push a wave of legislation through statehouses across the nation to make voting more difficult. Instead of being a day of celebration, he said, there was a sense that the civil rights movement was sliding backward because of the Republican voting proposals. During Monday's Senate vote, several Republicans who represent competitive metro Atlanta districts didn’t vote, including Sen. Brian Strickland. He had tried to amend the bill in committee to remove provisions scrapping no-excuse absentee voting but was unable to muster enough support.
Republican Party faces defining moment under Trump's shadow
NEW YORK – The Republican Party is facing a defining moment. But what comes next for the Republican Party is anything but clear. Trump’s hold over his adopted party has been all but absolute in his time in office. If he does, the Republican Party could continue to shape itself in his image. “I believe he will have as much hold over the party as he wants to,” said Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist who advised Cruz's 2016 campaign.
One month out, battered Trump campaign faces big challenges
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was also in the room, but not pictured, according to the White House. (Tia Dufour/The White House via AP)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s long-hidden tax returns leaked out. And even the first lady was captured on tape expressing disdain for having to decorate the White House for Christmas. Pence attended a Sept. 26 White House event where Trump announced his Supreme Court pick. Still, Zelizer said it would be premature to count Trump out, with a full month to go until Election Day.
One month out, battered Trump campaign faces big challenges
Trump's reelection team, battered on all sides, now enters the final month of the campaign grappling with deficits in the polls, a shortage of cash and a candidate who is at least temporarily sidelined. Both heads of Trump’s political apparatus — campaign manager Bill Stepien and Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel — tested positive for COVID-19 this week. We have a month to go,” senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press." “He’s losing, and the debate was a disaster, and the campaign is imploding,” said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, a vocal Trump critic. Still, Zelizer said it would be premature to count Trump out, with a full month to go until Election Day.
Cavalier White House approach to COVID catches up to Trump
Crowds of people gathered shoulder to shoulder on the White House South Lawn. Instead, he flouted his own government’s guidelines and helped create a false sense of invulnerability in the White House, an approach that has now failed him as it did a nation where more than 200,000 people have died. And their use, while technically required, wasn’t enforced in the White House either. Even in the hours after the president’s diagnosis, senior White House staff, including chief of staff Mark Meadows and economic adviser Larry Kudlow, walked around the White House complex without wearing masks. The White House, even now, says the face coverings are a matter of “personal choice” for most staffers.