'Time for a Cool Head': Germany Urges Trump to Be Calm, while UK Stays Silent

THE GUARDIAN: German foreign minister says US president must refrain from pouring oil on the fire of a tense situation

Germany led European calls for Donald Trump to end his claim that the American election was fraudulent, urging the president and his followers to stop “pouring oil” on the tense situation in the US and noting that “decent losers” were vital to upholding democracy.

The German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, said: “America is more than a one-man show. Anyone who continues to pour oil on the fire in a situation like this is acting irresponsibly. Now is the time to keep a cool head until an independently determined result is available.”

“In order for the result – which has not yet been determined – to be accepted, everyone must first show restraint. Decent losers are more important for the functioning of a democracy than radiant winners.”

Maas said he expected that once the election result was settled, “the USA will probably not return to the international stage with full energy for the time being”, but he added: “The world needs the USA as a force for order, not as a factor of chaos.” » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, October 6, 2020

Trump or Biden: How Divided Is the United States? | To The Point

Who will be the 46th president of the United States? Donald Trump or Joe Biden? Can the winner bring the divided country together? Our guests: Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson (KCRW Berlin), Mosi Secret (freelance Journalist), Matthew Karnitschnig (Politico).

Joe: It's Time for Us to Take a Deep Breath and Move Forward | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Joe Scarborough discusses conservative and liberal division and why the country has to stop regarding elections as the end of the world. Aired on 11/05/2020.

Biden Says He's on Course to Win US Election as Trump Threatens to Fight Outcome

Democrat said ‘it’s clear that we’re winning enough states’ while president seeks to fire up supporters for bitter legal battle

Read the article HERE »

Chris Wallace: Joe Biden 'in a Much Stronger Position' to Win Election

Chris Wallace and Martha MacCallum join 'Bill Hemmer Reports' to discuss paths to victory for both candidates.

Jeh Johnson Reacts to Fences Going Up around White House: It's Unnerving

Former DHS chief Jeh Johnson says he cannot discount the possibility of civil unrest following the election, but hopes that cooler heads will prevail regardless of the outcome.

How Will the Vote Go? Tension Mounts ahead of US Presidential Election

Trump and Biden have been making the most of the final hours of campaigning. This is arguably the most important US election in living memory. The stakes are high for both the candidates, for both of the political parties and indeed for the United States, in their most disunited state since the civil war. Pennsylvania is considered to be the state where the fate of this election is in the balance. Basically, whoever takes Pennsylvania will most likley end up in the Oval Office. Pennsylvania in Biden's home state: but that's no guarantee of success. In 2016, Pennsylvania, with it's 20 Electoral College votes, backed Trump by 48.2%... How will it go this time?

Will the Final Day of the US Campaign Sway the Vote? | Inside Story

The US presidential race is in the home stretch. On Tuesday, Americans will decide between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, who've been in battleground states to win over undecided voters. A record 91 million people have voted early, many by mail, prompting a judge to order postal service managers to ensure all ballots are delivered on time. Will the last-minute campaign rush change the outcome?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Richard Goodstein - Democratic Political Consultant; Todd Belt - Professor, George Washington University; Adolfo Franco - Republican Strategist

The Observer View on the US Election

THE OBSERVER: Another four years of Donald Trump would be a disaster for America. We must hope Biden wins and wins big

The US presidential election on Tuesday is the most momentous in recent modern history. It is a referendum on the personality and leadership of Donald Trump after four extraordinary, disgraceful years. It is a referendum, too, on the future of democracy in America, which appears more imperilled now than at any time since the civil war. Also at issue is America’s future role in the world. Not since 1940 has the US been so isolated and out of step on the key issues of the day.

The very idea that an American election, normally a grand, exemplary expression of the popular will, could be reduced to being about one man is, at some level, obscene. Yet how could it be otherwise? Selfishness, egotism and narcissism are the Trump trademarks. From his first hours in the Oval office, when he lied about the size of his inauguration crowd, Trump has made governing all about him. For this vain, self-obsessed man, the Hail to the Chief presidential anthem should be retitled Hail to Me. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, November 1, 2020

Why Europe Is Praying for Trump to Lose the US Election | DW Analysis

Almost four years of Donald Trump have left America's European allies in a state of shock. He's walked out of important treaties. He's lashed out against America's friends. He has cozied up to authoritarians. He's abandoned the most important international treaties of our time. And he has even threatened NATO — the bedrock of America's global power. It's diplomatic disruption on an unprecedented scale. But even for America's shell-shocked allies, it may not be all bad. So just how much has Trump disrupted transatlantic relations? DW's Chief International Editor Richard Walker explains why Europe is praying for a Joe Biden win in the 2020 US election.

I’m praying for Trump to lose the US election, too. I’m praying for him to lose and be TOTALLY HUMILIATED! – Mark

The US Electoral System Is a Shambles. They Could Learn a Lot from Australia

THE GUARDIAN: Systemic voter suppression and rules still being set for an election within days – this is American exceptionalism

On Monday night the US supreme court voted five to three against allowing more days for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin. Given difficulties in the postal service, Democrats wanted to see ballots that are cast before close of voting on 3 November received and counted for another six days. This decision, only a week before election day, follows a supreme court decision on 19 October, by four votes to four, to decline a bid by state Republican legislators to stop the count in Pennsylvania extending three days. But following Monday’s confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, this could be revisited.

Astonishingly, the US is still settling rules for an election due within days. And a national election is being conducted with a patchwork of state laws and regulations. Further, elected state officials – Republican or Democrat office holders – are making decisions about who goes on the roll, how many voting machines go where and how long postal votes will be counted.

And all subject to appeal to an acutely partisan court.

This is American exceptionalism. It confirms the proposition that the US is simply not a democracy, not in the sense western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada are democracies. The point is already made by the electoral college, which in two of the past five presidential elections transmuted Democratic majorities – half a million for Al Gore, 3m for Hillary Clinton – into Republican wins. » | Bob Carr | Thursday, October 29, 2020

The Guardian View on the 2020 US Elections: It’s Time to Dump Trump. America’s Only Hope Is Joe Biden

THE GUARDIAN: Four years of deranged and unpredictable behaviour is proof that the current US president is uniquely unsuited to the job

Donald Trump’s presidency has been a horror show that is ending with a pandemic that is out of control, an economic recession and deepening political polarisation. Mr Trump is the author of this disastrous denouement. He is also the political leader least equipped to deal with it. Democracy in the United States has been damaged by Mr Trump’s first term. It may not survive four more years.

If the Guardian had a vote, it would be cast to elect Joe Biden as president next Tuesday. Mr Biden has what it takes to lead the United States. Mr Trump does not. Mr Biden cares about his nation’s history, its people, its constitutional principles and its place in the world. Mr Trump does not. Mr Biden wants to unite a divided country. Mr Trump stokes an anger that is wearing it down.

The Republican presidential nominee is not, and has never been, a fit and proper person for the presidency. He has been credibly accused of rape. He displays a brazen disregard for legal norms. In office, he has propagated lies and ignorance. It is astonishing that his financial interests appear to sway his outlook on the national interest. His government is cruel and mean. It effectively sanctioned the kidnapping and orphaning of migrant children by detaining them and deporting their parents. He has vilified whistleblowers and venerated war criminals.

Mr Trump trades in racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. Telling the Proud Boys, a far-right group that has endorsed violence, to “stand back and stand by” was, in the words of Mr Biden, “a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn”. From the Muslim ban to building a wall on the Mexican border, the president is grounding his base in white supremacy. With an agenda of corporate deregulation and tax giveaways for the rich, Mr Trump is filling the swamp, not draining it. » | Guardian view | Tuesday, October 27, 2020

US Election: Do You Need Jesus to Win the White House? - BBC News

White evangelicals helped Donald Trump win the White House in 2016 but a different type of Christian voter could tip the result this time.

World Service Global Religion reporter Lebo Diseko asked a diverse group of Christians in North Carolina about what role their faith plays in how they pick a president.

Full Interview: Senator Kamala Harris, Democratic VP Nominee, Talks with Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Senator Kamala Harris, Democratic vice presidential nominee, talks with Rachel Maddow about the campaign, the coronavirus, the Supreme Court, and a certain fly. Aired on 10/14/2020.

US Election: What a Biden or Trump Victory Could Mean for Britain

THE GUARDIAN: It could be the most significant election for US foreign policy since 1940, with huge implications for the UK

The British government has a long history of misreading America – from Lord Palmerston expecting the Confederacy to survive the civil war, to Ernie Bevin being shocked that the US would not pay the UK’s postwar bills, to Tony Blair believing in 2003 that he could ride the US military tiger in Iraq and create a democracy.

Few serving or former British diplomats are confidently predicting the outcome of this November’s presidential election, or even whether an increasingly erratic Donald Trump will accept the result as legitimate. The collective delusion about the 2016 election hangs heavy.

Between now and polling day, two fears will stalk the Foreign Office. The first is of a late October surprise – a Trump military showstopper in the Middle East or the South China Sea, designed to convulse America. The betting is that caution will prevail. “Trump talks very tough, but he has a habit of not following through” said Peter Ricketts, the former UK national security adviser.

The second is of a November impasse – a constitutional crisis as Trump disputes the result. One former Foreign Office staff member said: “It is noticeable that Trump’s most consistent message this election is that it is rigged.” Kim Darroch, the former UK ambassador to Washington and an early Trump sceptic, notes all the preparations being made for a challenge in the supreme court.

All observers agree that if the US can reach a consensus on the outcome, it will be the most consequential election for American foreign policy since 1940. The implications, in turn, for the UK and for the kind of government Boris Johnson will lead are enormous. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Thursday, October 15, 2020

Trump's Mysterious Recovery: Will Covid Decide the US Election? | To The Point

After testing positive for Covid-19, Donald Trump is back in the White House, promising vaccines and a cure to the virus free for all. Will the virus now decide the upcoming election? Our guests: Rachel Tausendfreund (German Marshall Fund), William Glucroft (DW), Julia Fischer (science journalist).

America’s Pandemic Election: What Could Go Wrong? | The Economist

America’s 2020 presidential election will be a contest like no other. From the effects of mass mail-in voting to the threat of disinformation and delayed results—how ugly could it get?

Cindy McCain Rebukes Trump and Publicly Endorses Joe Biden for President

THE GUARDIAN: McCain was motivated in part by Trump’s recent comments on the military, where he called war heroes ‘losers’ and ‘suckers’

Cindy McCain has endorsed Joe Biden for president, a stunning rebuke of Donald Trump by the widow of the Republican party’s 2008 nominee.

Cindy McCain tweeted on Tuesday: “My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. There’s only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is Joe Biden.” » | Guardian staff and agencies | Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Not Even Tucker Carlson Is with Trump on Delaying Election | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Trump suggested delaying the 2020 election, and not even Tucker Carlson would back him up on that. NPR White House Correspondent Tamara Keith reacts. Aired on 7/30/2020.

Trump: 'I Don’t Want to Delay, I Want an Election'

Donald Trump has denied he is pushing to delay the US election in November, repeating his claim voting by mail from home would cause extensive problems determining the result. 'Do I want to see a date change? No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election. This election will be the most rigged election in history, if that happens,' he said