Trump news: Under-fire postmaster general says he has 'no intention' of returning mail sorting machines
Senate committee interrogates US Postal Service chief as GOP prepares for 2020 convention
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump said he would send law enforcement officers to polling locations for this November's presidential election in comments branded "an attack on America" by a former White House ethics chief.
“We're going to have sheriffs, and we're going to have law enforcement, and we're going to have hopefully US attorneys, and we're going to have everybody and attorney generals (sic),” Mr Trump told Fox News after host Sean Hannity asked if he would have "poll watchers".
Meanwhile, his Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said on Friday there was “no intention” to return mail sorting machines that were removed in recent weeks, after it was reported that at least 671 machines were removed in critical voting states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin and Georgia, among others.
The postmaster general said those machines were “not needed”, while adding that he supports vote-by-mail efforts amid the pandemic.
Mr DeJoy, who has overseen sweeping cuts at the agency following his appointment by the president in June, told a US Senate committee he would be voting by mail in fall elections and insisted that the "American people should feel comfortable that the Postal Service will deliver on this election" despite the president's constant threats to undermine the agency.
On Friday, the president and his family held a funeral service for his brother Robert Trump, who died on 16 August. He was 71. The president held a service in the East Room of the White House.
A group of anti-Trump Republicans have meanwhile seized on the arrest of former Trump campaign chief and senior White House adviser Steve Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty to fraud in an an alleged US-Mexico border wall crowdfunding scheme. He is the subject of an advert targeting Fox News views during next week's 2020 Republican National Convention.
GOP officials and the president are preparing for the event following Joe Biden's official nomination as the Democrats' nominee after his party's week-long convention, during which Democrats and several Republicans condemned the current administration and the president's response to the coronavirus pandemic and economic fallout.
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Final night of Democratic National Convention previews drop from Yang, Buttigieg
As with every day of the Democratic convention, the DNC is slowly dripping out some previews of tonight's speakers. First off the docket today is former presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang, one-time VP hopeful Keisha Lance Bottoms, mayor of Atlanta, and Senator Tammy Baldon.
In a shocking turn of events, not one has so far mentioned Donald Trump. At least not in these preview remarks. That's a complete turnaround from the first three nights' speakers, who wallowed in the "existential crisis" of Donald Trump's presidency and winning back the lost "soul of America".
All heavy stuff.
If these previews are anything to go by, the final night, titled "America's Promise", may be more hopeful and forward looking.
ANDREW YANG
"You might know me as the guy who ran for President talking about math and the future. Unfortunately for all of us, that future is now."
"I have gotten to know both Joe and Kamala on the trail over the past year --the way you really get to know a person when the cameras are off, the crowds are gone, and it's just you and them. They understand the problems we face. They are parents and patriots who want the best for our country. And if we give them the chance, they will fight for us and our families every single day."
FORMER MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (South Bend, Indiana)
"Just over ten years ago, I joined a military where firing me because of who I am wasn't just possible--it was policy. Now in 2020, it is unlawful in America to fire anyone because of who they are or who they love. The very ring on my finger reflects how this country can change."
"Every American must now decide. Can America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that Black lives matter? Will we handle questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and doctors? What will we do to make America into a land where no one who works full time can live in poverty?"
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (Atlanta, Georgia)
"People often think they can't make a difference like our Civil Rights icons, but every person in the movement mattered--those who made the sandwiches, swept the church floors, stuffed the envelopes. They, too, changed America."
"We have cried out for justice, we have gathered in our streets to demand change, and now, we must pass on the gift John Lewis sacrificed to give us, we must register and we must vote."
SENATOR TAMMY BALDWIN (Wisconsin)
"We all have stories like this. Stories about a time when the system was rigged against us. When we were counted out, left out, pushed out. Just think of what we've heard these past four days."
"That's the America we will be with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House. A nation that plans. A nation that builds. A nation that builds back."
'This is private enterprise at its finest': Video shows Trump Jr backing Bannon's crowdfunding campaign as father scrambles to distance himself
Donald Trump Jr praised the "We Build the Wall" crowdfunding campaign in a clip that has resurfaced following the arrest of its founder Brian Kolfage - as the White House attempts to distance his father from the group.
On Thursday, Kolfage was arrested and indicted along with three others, including former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering while raising money for the campaign to build the US-Mexico border wall.
Bannon, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea have been accused of funnelling "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from the online fundraising campaign to Kolfage.
The campaign founder then allegedly took "more than $350,000 (£265,336) in funds" that had been "donated to 'We Build The Wall' for his personal use," the criminal complaint reads.
In a clip from 2018, that was posted on Twitter on Thursday by CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski, the president's eldest child praised Kolfage and the campaign.
"Brian thanks so much for all your sacrifices, doing this and showing really what capitalism's all about," he said. "This is private enterprise at its finest. Doing it better, faster, cheaper than anything else.
James Crump reports.
BREAKING: Trump vows to pull troops from Iraq 'shortly;
Donald Trump told the new prime minister of Iraq that the US would withdraw troops from the country "shortly".
"We were there, and now we're getting out. We'll be leaving shortly," Trump told reporters at the White House, according to The Hill.
"We have been taking our troops out of Iraq fairly rapidly, and we look forward to the day when we don't have to be there."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that the would be withdrawn "as soon as we can complete the mission".
"The president has made very clear he wants to get our forces down to the lowest level as quickly as we possibly can. That's the mission he's given us, and we're working with Iraqis to achieve that," Pompeo said.
'It's all riding on Wisconsin', says Pelosi on final day of the Democratic convention
Nancy Pelosi had an ominous warning for more than 100 Democrats on the last day of the party's national convention: "No pressure, it's all riding on Wisconsin," she said. "No pressure."
Pelosi was speaking during a virtual meeting alongside former attorney general Eric Holder, who echoed the sentiment.
"The road to the presidency runs through Wisconsin," Mr Holder said. "The fate of the United States, the fate of the western world, is on your shoulders. Not too much pressure."
Republican senator Bill Cassidy tests positive for coronavirus
Republican senator Bill Cassidy has tested positive for Covid-19, after he was exposed to someone infected with the virus.
On Thursday, Mr Cassidy's office announced that he had become just the second senator to have contracted coronavirus, after Republican Rand Paul tested positive for Covid-19 in April, according to CNBC.
The senator confirmed that he will now quarantine for 14 days and notify anyone he has been in contact with recently, but the 62-year-old did not reveal the severity of his symptoms.
In a statement, Mr Cassidy, who represents Louisiana, said: "I am strictly following the direction of our medical experts and strongly encourage others to do the same."
James Crump reports.
BREAKING: Steve Bannon blames fraud charge on people trying to stop border wall as he leaves court
Steve Bannon has claimed that federal charges brought against him and three other men in an allegedly fraudulent crowdfunding campaign are an attempt to "stop people who want to build" a US-Mexico border wall supported by Donald Trump.
"This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall," the president's former adviser said as he left US District Court in New York, where he pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on Thursday. He faces up to 40 years in prison, if convicted.
Follow the story as it unfolds.
Trump praises 'incredible people' at Pennsylvania rally for defying state 'shutdown' orders
Donald Trump praised supporters on Thursday as "incredible people" for defying the state's "shutdown" orders and social distancing guidelines while gathered for a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, a key swing state he boldly predicted he will win come Election Day.
"Based on the crowd outside it looks to me like we're going to win this thing," the president said near Scranton, eliciting a round of loud cheers and whistles.
"I think, by the way, by a lot. But your governor has you in a shutdown. Like, what's going on?" he said of Democratic Governor Tom Wolf.
"How did they all get out there?" Mr Trump asked, pointing off stage to his left, in the direction of supporters who had gathered for his rally speech outside the venue in the town of Old Forge. "And they were not socially distanced, I can tell you. We'll have to -- on the way back, they'll still be there. Because they're incredible people."
As the president continues his counter-programming tour of official events and campaign rallies in swing states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, he and his backers have grown increasingly cavalier about observing health guidelines such as wearing masks and socially distancing -- though cameras did catch some of the Thursday attendees with masks over their noses and mouths.
Griffin Connolly reports.
Former Navy Seal who killed Osama bin Laden 'banned' from Delta Air Lines after not wearing mask
The former Navy Seal who shot and killed Osama bin Laden has sparked controversy online after he bragged about not wearing a face mask on a recent flight -- a claim that has apparently seen him banned from Delta Air Lines.
Robert O'Neill, 44, a former US Navy SEAL Team Six member, tweeted an image of himself on a flight where he was seen smiling in his seat without a mask.
"I'm not a p***y," he wrote in the since-deleted tweet.
The image sparked a backlash and was shared widely online. This encouraged Delta Air Lines, the airline Mr O'Neill was on, to allegedly ban him from future flights, according to a tweet shared by the former SEAL.
"I just got banned from @Delta for posting a picture. Wow," Mr O'Neill wrote.
Danielle Zoellner reports.
ANALYSIS: Trump takes Plan B re-election sales pitch for a test drive in Scranton
After several morose months amid a spreading virus and unrest that drove down his poll numbers, Donald Trump is slowly getting his campaign groove back.
The Independent's Washington Bureau Chief, John T Bennett, wades into the new attack lines unveiled by Trump in Pennsylvania as the president shifted his re-election bid to plan B.
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