Trump news: President calls out ‘Barack Hussain Obama’ as supporter at Florida rally appears to make ‘white power’ symbol

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Donald Trump calls India's air "filthy"

Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail on Friday with a rally targeting senior voters at The Villages retirement community in Florida.

Trump made eyebrow-raising claims like Biden taking away seniors' air conditioning and remembering Barack Hussain Obama, as a member of the crowd appeared to make the so-called "white power" dog whistle in the background.

Biden, meanwhile, returned to his home state of Delaware to outline his coronavirus pandemic plan a day after the US hit a record for the number of new Covid-19 cases, announcing a mask mandate on all interstate transportation and in all federal buildings.

The candidates were coming off their final in-person debate, which turned out to be a remarkably civil affair with lower ratings than their previous encounter.

Trump was also back to work in the White House to announce an historic peace deal between Israel and Sudan, with five more - including Saudi Arabia - expected to be announced after the dam broke with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in recent weeks.

Trump tried to get Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Biden on a phone call in front of reporters. Bibi did not take the bait, with commentators noting that he is probably keeping a keen eye on the current polling numbers.

Veteran GOP pollster Frank Luntz said that Trump may have won the battle of the last debate, but Biden has won the war. He says it's "impossible" for the president turning around voter sentiment this late in the election cycle.

Trump is also up against a campaign that has broken all records for its spend on television and digital advertising in a presidential election, with still more than a week to go before polls close.  

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Key Points

• Trump’s video montage of Biden’s fracking ban comments viewed 11 million times
• Trump claims if Biden wins election US seniors will have no AC during the summer or heat in winter
• Biden outlines plans to beat Covid-19
• Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignores Trump's push to attack Biden during historic Sudan peace announcement
• Bidens claims debate win in snap polling
• Four key takeaways from the final face-off between the candidates

[22 October 2020 12:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Biden breaks silence on Giuliani’s ‘desperate smear campaign’ against his son

The Democratic challenger has said the freshly-disgraced Rudy Giuliani’s claims his son Hunter enriched himself using the family name are "garbage", rubbishing The New York Post’s story based on emails retrieved from a laptop said to belong to Biden Jr that the tabloid was handed by Giuliani after it was left at a Delaware repair shop.

It comes as the Delaware Department of Justice confirmed to The Independent that it has referred to the FBI the latest claims from Giuliani that possible evidence of child endangerment was also found on the laptop.

When asked if there was any legitimacy to a Homeland Security report alleging his son profitted from the former vice president's name, Biden Sr said there was "none whatsoever" and that the “vast majority of intelligence people” said there was no basis to the claims.

"This is the same garbage Rudy Giuliani, Trump's henchman, it's a last-ditch effort in this desperate campaign to smear me and my family," Biden told Milwaukee's WISN 12 News.

Justin Vallejo has more.

[22 October 2020 12:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

White House chief of staff dodges question on Trump’s secret Chinese bank account

“There's more of a Joe Biden-China connection than there is a president Donald Trump-China connection," Mark Meadows said yesterday, convinving precisely no one and inspiring only more hollow laughter in the dark.

Louise Hall has more.

[22 October 2020 12:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Amy Coney Barrett’s ‘moral relativism’ should rule her out of Supreme Court seat, Catholic newspaper says

In a new editorial, the staff of the progressive-leaning National Catholic Reporter has called on the Senate to reject Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court based on her responses during the confirmation hearings to questions on the climate crisis, also taking exception in light of the Senate’s treatment of an open court seat when Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016.

“The hypocrisy is rank, and it is impossible to see how rushing this nomination will be good for our democracy,” the editorial reads, calling out Republicans’ “double standard” for blocking Obama from filling Justice Scalia’s seat so close to the election in 2016 while readily agreeing to Trump’s nomination in 2020.

“Barrett is not responsible for [Senate majority leader Mitch] McConnell's behaviour, but she has allowed herself to be a vehicle for his agenda and that of President Donald Trump,” the paper declares.

Danielle Zoellner has more.

[22 October 2020 13:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Melania Trump recorded discussing Beyonce Vogue cover and decision to use black photographer 

Former aide to the the first lady Stephanie Winston Wolkoff is back with more recorded phone calls - the latest of which, handed to NBC, finds Melania bemoaning Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s decision to devote the fabled September issue of 2018 to the black superstar.

Sophie Gallagher has this report.

[22 October 2020 13:10 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump trails White House cut of 60 Minutes intervew as ‘first in television history’

This is just utterly deranged behaviour and a major escalation of his war on the media.

[22 October 2020 13:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Mitt Romney has already voted and it wasn’t for Trump 

The lone Republican to back this president’s impeachment way back in February is not endorsing him this time around, you will not be altogether suprised to learn.

We assume that means he cast his ballot for Biden - rather than a commander-in-chief he considers “dangerous” - but his office in Utah isn’t saying.

John T Bennet has this report.

[22 October 2020 13:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump allies attack debate moderator Kristen Welker ahead of broadcast

The president’s son and the White House communications director have both been busy on Fox this morning laying the groundwork for their boss’s failure in Nashville tonight. 

The idea that Biden has questions to answer on China is just utterly laughable given the news of Trump’s secret Beijing bank account.

[22 October 2020 13:50 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump accused of lying over economy in first 60 Minutes clip as Biden pressed on ‘court packing’

The first clips are here of Lesley Stahl’s interviews with candidates, with the president visibly getting angry when confronted by the presenter and his Democratic challenger saying a non-partisan panel is needed to rule on the reorganisation of a Supreme Court that has got “all out of whack”.

Alex Woodward has this report.

[22 October 2020 14:10 · Joe Sommerlad]

Mel Brooks endorses Biden citing pandemic: ‘Donald Trump’s not doing a damn thing about it'

A more exciting nod for the Democrat came yesterday when the 94-year-old comedy legend - famed for directing The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs and, of course, Robin Hood: Men in Tights - appeared in his first-ever political ad, attacking Trump for his abject failure to address the coronavirus, which means he cannot spend time with his son or grandson due to the threat posed by his age.

Clemence Michallon has this rare serious intervention from one of the great humans.

[22 October 2020 14:34 · Gino Spocchia]

Lesley Stahl calls out Trump for lying about the economy: 'You know thats not true'

Here’s a preview from the Republican president’s highly anticipated interview with CBS reporter Lesley Stahl, in which the 60 minutes  host berates his claims about the American economy under his presidency. 

“We created the greatest economy in the history of our country,” he said.

Lesley Stahl responded: “You know that’s not true.”

Mr Trump has threatened to release his own recordings of the interview with Ms Stahl, which is due to air on Sunday night, whilst claiming that she led a “vicious attempted ‘takeout’” in their recent interview at the White House.