Stephen Miller has fleshed out plans in a NBC News interview to rev up President Trump’s restrictive immigration agenda if he wins re-election next week.
Miller “outlined four major priorities: limiting asylum grants, punishing and outlawing so-called sanctuary cities, expanding the so-called travel ban with tougher screening for visa applicants and slapping new limits on work visas.”
The objective, he said, is “raising and enhancing the standard for entry” to the United States.
Donald Trump Jr. repeatedly claimed in a Fox News interview on Thursday night that coronavirus deaths had dropped to “almost nothing”—despite the fact that more than 1,000 Americans had died from the virus already that day.
President Trump mocked Fox News host Laura Ingraham for being “politically correct” because she was wearing a mask at his Michigan rally.
“Our doctors get more money if someone dies from Covid. You know that, right? I mean, our doctors are very smart people.” — President Trump, pushing a baseless conspiracy theory at a Michigan campaign rally.
“Coronavirus cases are surging in every competitive state before Election Day, offering irrefutable evidence against President Trump’s closing argument that the pandemic is nearly over and restrictions are no longer necessary,” the Washington Post reports.
“In the 13 states deemed competitive by the Cook Political Report, the weekly average of new cases reported daily has jumped 45 percent over the past two weeks.”
President Trump made a revealing plea at 3 a.m. ET to the Supreme Court’s justices:
“If Sleepy Joe Biden is actually elected President, the 4 Justices (plus1) that helped make such a ridiculous win possible would be relegated to sitting on not only a heavily PACKED COURT, but probably a REVOLVING COURT as well. At least the many new Justices will be Radical Left!”
Jonathan Chait: “This is a classic Trump appeal, formulated in terms of self-interest, which is the only form of motivation he believes humans are capable of acting upon. Trump is arguing that the Court should rule in his favor, because if Joe Biden wins, he will dilute the power of its incumbent members — either by packing the courts, or by implementing a reform that would rotate federal judges through the Supreme Court.”
CNN: “Likely shift from red to blue: Some people call this the ‘red mirage or the ‘blue shift,’ where early results favor Trump but later ballots even things out and might even put Biden ahead once all the results are tallied.”
“This dynamic is expected in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where they don’t process absentee ballots before Election Day. Early waves of results will likely come from ballots cast on Election Day and from outside the state’s population centers, which are expected to favor Trump…”
“Likely shift from blue to red: Some people call this the ‘blue mirage’ or the ‘red shift.’ This is when the first waves of results disproportionately favor Biden, only to be followed by more Trump-friendly ballots later on. This is most likely to occur in the states that start processing mail-ballots weeks before Election Day.”
“The most critical states where experts believe this will happen are Florida and North Carolina. Election officials in these states say the first results to become public after the polls close will be large batches of absentee ballots and in-person early votes, which have been quite favorable to Democrats. As the night drags on, Election Day ballots will trickle in, helping Trump’s margins.”
Politico: “The man who literally wrote the laws on presidential transitions is now running one — and it could be the country’s most difficult handover of power since the Great Depression, with dueling health and economic crises as well as an unpredictable incumbent who may throw wrenches into the process.”
“Ted Kaufman, Biden’s longtime chief of staff in the Senate and head of his 2020 transition effort, likely has more control over a future Biden administration than anyone other than the Democratic presidential nominee himself. That makes him one of the most popular men in Washington now, as job seekers angle for potential posts and lobbyists try to divine his intentions.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says he expects Congress to move another coronavirus relief package “right at the beginning” of 2021, breaking from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who told reporters Thursday she wants to get a deal in the lame-duck session, The Hill reports.
Said McConnell: “We probably need to do another package, certainly more modest than the $3 trillion Nancy Pelosi package. I think that’ll be something we’ll need to do right at the beginning of the year.”
“President Trump has dispensed with intelligence briefings from a career analyst in favor of updates from political appointees including John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence and a longtime partisan defender of his, in the closing weeks of an election targeted by intensifying foreign interference,” the New York Times reports.
“Elizabeth Warren wants to be Joe Biden’s Treasury secretary and will make her case for it if he wins next week, according to three Democratic officials who have spoken with her inner circle,” Politico reports.
“Warren’s moves could set up the marquee fight between the party’s left and its center over what will be one of the most consequential Cabinet roles in the next administration. The Treasury Department will be tasked with steering the U.S. economy out of a deep recession, even as the country continues to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic.”
NBC News: “While Americans are just days from deciding whether to re-elect Trump, Robert O’Brien has spent months laying the groundwork for an elevated role in a second term. Officials have said since the summer that Trump has made it clear that Defense Secretary Mark Esper will be out after the election, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo isn’t expected to remain in the administration for another full term.”
“But O’Brien has signaled that he intends to remain a fixture in Republican circles even if Trump loses Tuesday, telling some confidants that he might seek public office himself, including perhaps the presidency.”
Susan Glasser: “In many ways, the whole Trump Presidency can be encapsulated in the past few days and weeks. It is self-dealing, denialism, dishonesty, and deflection. It is narcissism, recklessness, and disregard for the public good—and for democracy itself. There is nothing and no one he has not corrupted—or tried to. Even the remaining uncertainty about the election’s outcome is a product of Trump’s cynical, self-serving, and dangerous assault on the political system. Washington can read the polls, but after four years there’s still no poll that can fully account for this President. Folks, it ain’t over till it’s over.”
Garrett Graff: “In interviews, historians, government legal experts, national security leaders and people close to the administration have a prediction that will disquiet his critics: The Trump Era is unlikely to end when the Trump presidency ends. They envision a post-presidency as disruptive and norm-busting as his presidency has been—one that could make his successor’s job much harder. They outline a picture of a man who might formally leave office only to establish himself as the president-for-life amid his own bubble of admirers—controlling Republican politics and sowing chaos in the U.S. and around the world long after he’s officially left office.”
“A president unwilling to respect boundaries in office is almost certain to cross them out of office. Experts envision some likely scenarios—a much-rumored TV show and plans to use his properties to profit off his lifetime Secret Service protection, perhaps even continuing to troll the Biden administration from his hotel down Pennsylvania Avenue—and some troubling if less certain ones, like literally selling U.S. secrets or influence to foreign governments.”
“Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party is something few could have imagined when he launched what seemed an unlikely bid for the 2016 nomination,” USA Today reports.
“But even if Trump loses reelection Tuesday, his grip on the GOP is now strong enough that it could take some time before the party figures out a path forward.”
Said GOP consultant Brendan Buck: “I do not think this is a party that is ready to grapple with what it’s been doing or reassess itself anytime soon.”
If ever a “serpent” has been a threat to the human species, Miller is that dangerous snake. He should be defanged and thrown in a pit for all our safety.
John Kowalko