Van Jones Fights Back Tears: Result Shows Character Matters

CNN's Van Jones reacts to Joe Biden's election as the 46th president of the United States.

Biden Wins Presidency, Ending Four Tumultuous Years Under Trump

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Joseph R. Biden Jr. achieved victory offering a message of healing and unity. He will return to Washington facing a daunting set of crises.

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, promising to restore political normalcy and a spirit of national unity to confront raging health and economic crises, and making Donald J. Trump a one-term president after four years of tumult in the White House.

Mr. Biden’s victory amounted to a repudiation of Mr. Trump by millions of voters exhausted with his divisive conduct and chaotic administration, and was delivered by an unlikely alliance of women, people of color, old and young voters and a sliver of disaffected Republicans. Mr. Trump is the first incumbent to lose re-election in more than a quarter-century.

The result also provided a history-making moment for Mr. Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, who will become the first woman to serve as vice president. » | Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns | Saturday, November 7, 2020

Steve Bannon Loses Lawyer After Suggesting Beheading of Fauci

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Mr. Bannon, the former adviser to President Trump, said the heads of the F.B.I. director and Dr. Anthony Fauci should be put on pikes, leading Twitter to ban one of his accounts.

Stephen K. Bannon, the former adviser to President Trump who is known for his right-wing extremism, suggested on Thursday that the F.B.I. director and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci should be beheaded, and Twitter responded by banning one of his accounts.

On Friday, a prominent lawyer who was defending Mr. Bannon against fraud charges in federal court in Manhattan abruptly moved to drop him as a client, one person familiar with the matter said.
“Mr. Bannon is in the process of retaining new counsel,” the lawyer, William A. Burck, said in a brief letter to the court, giving no explanation.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Bannon declined to comment. » | Benjamin Weiser, Michael S. Schmidt and William K. Rashbaum | Friday, November 6, 2020

Biden Says 'We're Going to Win This Race' as Election Count Puts Him on the Cusp of Victory

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden has said 'we're going to win this race' as crucial states trend in his favour as vote counting in the US election continues. Biden, who stands on the cusp of victory, said late on Friday he was on track to claim 300 electoral votes. The former vice-president has already urged unity during the count after Donald Trump moved to sow doubt about the election process without presenting any evidence. 'We may be opponents, but we're not enemies,' Biden said. 'We're Americans' 'We're going to win this race': Biden addresses the nation as his lead grows

US Presidential Election: Biden on Cusp of Clinching Victory in Narrow Race

We dissect a week like no other with the latest on the US election. And asking how does America hope to become re-United in the wake of the most bitter election of living memory? Trump's legacy may well be the rise of the far right: his policies and personal attitude have been emboldened and branch of politics long thought to be shamed into silence. No more. With Trump's threats of legal action, and his inflammatory, but it seems baseless claims of election fraud, is he trying to take down the system at the same time as the people vote him out?

Divided States of America? | UpFront

Note: This episode was recorded on Thursday, November 5, 2020.

In this episode of UpFront we ask former Congressman Jack Kingston why the president of the United States is repeatedly claiming, without evidence, that Democrats are "stealing" the election.

And in the Arena, as more than 68 million Americans vote for President Donald Trump, we debate the future of "Trumpism" and ask whether it is time to end the Electoral College.

Donald Trump's Malignant Spell Could Soon Be Broken

THE GUARDIAN: Joe Biden has swept the popular vote, and is on the verge of claiming the electoral college. It’s a momentous achievement

Barring a twist inconceivable even by the standards of 2020, we will soon know the result of the US presidential election – and it will almost certainly be a cause for rejoicing. Donald Trump, the man who has haunted the world’s dreams and sparked a thousand nightmares, has all but lost. On 20 January 2021, he will probably leave the White House – or be removed if necessary. The Trump presidency, a shameful chapter in the history of the republic, will soon be over.

True, it is taking longer than we might have liked. There was to be no swift moment of euphoria and elation, an unambiguous landslide announced on election night with a drumroll and fireworks display. Instead, thanks to a pandemic that meant two in three Democrats voted by slower-to-count mail-in ballots, it’s set to be a win in increments, a verdict delivered in slow motion. Nor was there the hoped-for “blue wave” that might have carried the Democrats to a majority in the US Senate (though there is, just, a way that could yet happen). As a result, it will be hard for Joe Biden to do what so urgently needs to be done, whether that’s tackling the climate crisis, racial injustice, economic inequality, America’s parlous infrastructure or its dysfunctional and vulnerable electoral machinery. And it is glumly true that even if Trump is banished from the Oval Office, Trumpism will live on in the United States. » | Jonathan Freedland | Friday, November 6, 2020

Kommentar zu Trumps Präsidentschaft: Jetzt wartet die Endabrechnung

TAGES ANZEIGER: Donald Trump wird sich in schlechter Gesellschaft befinden, wenn die Bilanz seiner tumultartigen Präsidentschaft gezogen wird.

Noch steht ein Ergebnis nicht fest, am Horizont aber zeichnen sich das Ende der Präsidentschaft Donald Trumps sowie die Einschwörung des Demokraten Joe Biden als neuen amerikanischen Präsidenten im Januar 2021 ab (hier gehts zum Ticker zur US-Präsidentschaftswahl). Trump teilte damit das Schicksal Jimmy Carters und George Herbert Walker Bushs, die ebenfalls nach nur einer Amtszeit das Weisse Haus räumen mussten.

Einen Exorzismus der bösen Geister, die Trump rief, hat diese Wahl jedoch nicht geleistet. Eine Reinigung des politischen Systems, die doch so bitter nötig gewesen wäre, steht aus.

Darin manifestiert sich gleichermassen ein profundes Versagen der Demokratischen Partei wie auch die traurige Tatsache, dass die republikanische Basis offensichtlich gewillt ist, antidemokratisches und autoritäres Benehmen trotz des beträchtlichen Schadens für Staat und Gesellschaft zu dulden oder gar zu unterstützen, solange es der Machterhaltung dient. » | Meinung | Martin Kilian aus Washington | Freitag, 6. November 2020

Trump, McCain, Bush and Carter: Different Reactions to Bad Election Results

Speeches from candidates conceding defeat in past US elections have been resurfacing after Donald Trump’s latest address as the 2020 result looms. Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump falsely referred to legally cast mail-in ballots as illegitimate, and made unsubstantiated claims that pollsters got results ‘knowingly wrong’ and that the election was being stolen

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — November 6, 2020

'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

"No Elected Republican Will Stand behind Trump's Statement": Santorum Weighs in on Trump Briefing

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) reacts to President Donald Trump's address from the White House press briefing room. Santorum said it was "very disappointing and shocking" to hear the allegations and hoped Republicans would defend the election's integrity.

Trump Reportedly Defied Aides with His Chaotic Election Attacks | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

In a move criticized by many in his own party, Trump issued a slew of false and damaging attacks on the integrity of the election defying the advice of White House staff. Ashley Parker and Alexi McCammond share what they've learned from their sources. Aired on 11/05/2020.

In Torrent of Falsehoods, Trump Claims Election Is Being Stolen

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Most television networks cut away from the statement President Trump gave Thursday night from the White House briefing room on the grounds that what he was saying was not true.

WASHINGTON — Even for President Trump, it was an imagined version of reality, one in which he was not losing but the victim of a wide-ranging conspiracy stretching across the country in multiple cities, counties and states, involving untold numbers of people all somehow collaborating to steal the election in ways he could not actually explain.

Never mind that Mr. Trump presented not a shred of evidence during his first public appearance since late on election night or that few senior Republican officeholders endorsed his false claims of far-reaching fraud. A presidency born in a lie about Barack Obama’s birthplace appeared on the edge of ending in a lie about his own faltering bid for re-election.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” Mr. Trump said Thursday night in an unusually subdued, 17-minute televised statement from the lectern in the White House briefing room, complaining that Democrats, the news media, pollsters, big technology companies and nonpartisan election workers had all corruptly sought to deny him a second term.

“This is a case where they’re trying to steal an election,” he said. “They’re trying to rig an election, and we can’t let that happen.” » | Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman | Thursday, November 5, 2020

Trump May Have Broken His Own Record for Most Dangerous Lies in One Speech

THE GUARDIAN: In 16 minutes, the liar-in-chief offered a downright dishonest take on the election that risked inciting violence

It seemed like a desperate last stand from a fearful strongman who can feel power slipping inexorably away.

The US president on Thursday returned to the White House briefing room, scene of past triumphs such as that time he proposed bleach as a cure for coronavirus and that other time he condemned QAnon with the words “They like me”.

Trump offered a downright dangerous and dishonest take on this week’s election that current vote counting trends suggest he will lose. It was possibly an attempt to intimidate and deter TV networks from declaring a winner in the next few hours.

It also risked inciting protests and violence from supporters encouraged to view Joe Biden as an illegitimate president-elect.

Sombre and downbeat, Trump made false claims from a prepared statement ( is that better or worse than ad-libbing lies?) » | David Smith in Washington | Friday, October 6, 2020

Trump’s Favorite TV Network Is Post-parody

THE ATLANTIC: One America News is the straight truth for Trump fans, and completely surreal for everyone else.

One america news, or OAN, or OANN—whichever you like, it’s all the same thing—is Donald Trump’s favorite cable-news channel. Mostly this is because One America News seems to agree with Trump about everything, in the same way a dog agrees to chase its own tail. Every day, Trump does something that catches OAN’s attention, and it’s off to the races. He’s part ringleader, part muse. If you’re wondering just how deep the fealty goes, consider this actual headline that ran on oann.com at the end of March, when Trump was still in his denial phase about the coronavirus: “President Handling Emergency Well in First Term.” So well, in fact, we should just give him that second term right now, wouldn’t you say? Every so often, Trump and Fox News have a lover’s spat, and this is when he really turns on the charm toward OAN—retweeting its praise of him, calling on its correspondents at press briefings two days in a row. Or, to put the relationship in tabloid terms familiar to Trump: He treats OAN like his sidepiece, and Fox News like a future ex-wife. » | Devin Gordon | Tuesday, May 19, 2020 (Shadowland *) * This article is part of “Shadowland,” a project about conspiracy thinking in America.

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).

Trump Lies in the White House Briefing Room, and the Networks Pull the Plug.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump broke a two-day silence with reporters to deliver a brief statement filled with lies about the election process as workers in a handful of states continue to tabulate vote tallies in the presidential race.

The president painted the election results so far as part of a broad conspiracy to deprive him of winning a second term by Democrats, election officials in various cities and the media.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” Mr. Trump said shortly after he took the podium in the White House briefing room, a false statement that cast aspersion on the rest of the election. He offered no evidence. » | Maggie Haberman and Michael M. Grynbaum | Friday, October 6, 2020

The Disinformation Is Coming From Inside the White House »

Steve Bannon Suspended from Twitter, Faces YouTube Removal after Urging Violence against US Officials

THE GUARDIAN: Steve Bannon, Trump’s former top adviser, has been suspended from Twitter and had a YouTube removed after he called for the beheading of Anthony Fauci and Christopher Wray.

Bannon urged violence against the nation’s leading coronavirus expert and the FBI director on his “war room” show where he asserted that the president would win re-election and that he should fire the two officials in his second term, Media Matters reported. Bannon then said: “I’d put the heads on pikes, right, I’d put them at the two corners of the White House as a warning to federal bureaucrats. You either get with the program or you’re gone – time to stop playing games.” » | Sam Levin | Friday, October 6, 2020

Lyon, 1897: Snow Fight – Bataille de neige – L’œuvre cinématographique des frères Lumière

A large number of characters fight with snowballs. In the middle of this mêlée, a cyclist appears on whom everyone throws balls and who ends up rolling on the ground; he gets up and dodges sharply with his bicycle and the battle starts all over again. Date: January 31, 1897 - February 7, 1897 Location: France, Lyon

L’œuvre cinématographique des frères Lumière »

Read the NYT article HERE »