Trump Denies He Had a Stroke, and Doctor Agrees: Campaign Update
Anti-Trump Republicans Target Florida: Campaign Update
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s doctor said he had not suffered or been evaluated for a stroke. Democratic nominee Joe Biden is staying away from Wisconsin, for now. And the Biden campaign is now on Animal Crossing.
There are 63 days until the election.
Other Developments:
Trump’s Doctor Denies He Had a Stroke
Trump’s doctor said Tuesday that the president had not suffered or been evaluated for a stroke or cardiovascular event amid persistent rumors that he sought emergency medical assistance during an unannounced visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in November 2019.
“I can confirm that President Trump has not experienced nor been evaluated for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke), transient ischemic attack (mini stroke), or any acute cardiovascular emergencies, as have been incorrectly reported in the media,” presidential physician Sean Conley said in a statement.
Trump seemed concerned about reports about his health on Tuesday, tweeting that an unspecified person was “trying to say” he had sought medical treatment for mini-strokes that “never happened.” The White House and the president have repeatedly denied that Trump went to Walter Reed because of an emergency issue, and say the 74-year-old president is in good health.
The president may have been responding to reports that New York Times journalist Michel Schmidt’s forthcoming book contains the assertion that Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume presidential powers during Trump’s Walter Reed visit. But Schmidt did not mention fear the president had suffered from a particular ailment and said his book says nothing about mini-strokes.
Mystery novelist Don Winslow did claim Trump had suffered from a series of mini-strokes in a tweet more than a month ago, claiming he had received “three communications” from “whistleblowers” inside the Trump administration. But Winslow has not provided further substantiation, and it is unclear if that is what the president was responding to. -- Justin Sink
Biden Stays Away From Wisconsin, for Now (2:52 p.m.)
Democratic nominee Joe Biden will head to Wisconsin “very soon,” but not necessarily to the site of recent deadly protests, a spokeswoman said.
In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday, senior adviser Symone Sanders said the candidate is “looking forward to going to Wisconsin very soon” but has not decided when.
“We’re looking forward to getting back to the state, all throughout the state,” she said.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday visited Kenosha, even though the president of the local chapter of the NAACP and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, had asked him to reconsider the trip to the city where a teenager has been charged with the shooting deaths of two protesters.
“I would not like to see either candidate here,” said Kenosha NAACP President Anthony Davis in an interview Tuesday. “We have our own issues here in Kenosha. We’re somewhat of a bedroom community. We need this time. We don’t need to be having candidates come here and talking to the people.”
Sanders would not say whether Biden plans to visit Kenosha specifically, saying she had “no news to break” on that. But for his remarks criticizing Trump’s response to deadly protests on Monday, Biden went to western Pennsylvania instead. -- Jennifer Epstein
Biden Campaign Reaches Out to Voters on Animal Crossing (1:58 p.m.)
The Biden campaign is looking to meet young voters where they are -- on their Nintendo Switches playing Animal Crossing.
Players can now put Biden and Biden-Harris yard signs in front of their island homes in the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as first reported by The Verge.
The signs are another new way for the campaign to reach out to voters as the coronavirus pandemic has curbed many of the traditional campaigning tactics.
Animal Crossing exploded in popularity when the newest version was released in March at the beginning of the pandemic as a way for friends to interact while quarantined inside their homes. Players can create their own islands and visit the islands of friends.
Players can download the signs by scanning the campaign’s QR codes on the Nintendo Switch Online app. -- Emma Kinery
Jill Biden Takes Lead on Schools at Campaign Events (1:05 p.m.)
Jill Biden visited a school in Delaware Tuesday as she continues to be the top surrogate on education for the Biden campaign.
In a visit to Evan G. Shortlidge Elementary in Wilmington, which will open virtually next week, the wife of Democratic nominee Joe Biden and former high school and community college teacher said she can’t wait to get back to teaching but that reopening schools must be done safely.
“Every educator feels excited,” she said. “I’m dying to get back to my classroom.”
In recent weeks, Jill Biden has taken a highly visible role on education, criticizing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s push to reopen schools quickly, giving her convention speech from her old classroom at Brandywine High School, and calling for school reopenings to be done under the guidance of public health experts with input from teachers.
Biden taught community college when her husband was vice president and has said she will return to teaching if her husband is elected.
Environmentalists Call on Biden to Swear Off Fossil Fuel Executives (10:10 a.m.)
Scores of progressive and environmental groups are calling on Joe Biden to kick fossil fuel executives, lobbyists and representatives out of his inner circle -- and, if he is elected, keep them out of his administration.
The demand was delivered in a letter to Biden from 145 organizations, including MoveOn, Oil Change U.S., and the influential Sunrise Movement and Data for Progress, which have helped propel the Green New Deal.
“People who left government to serve on a fossil fuel industry board, enrich themselves as oil and gas advisers, receive funding from fossil fuel companies to espouse ‘reasonable’ climate positions, or work with industry front groups should have no role in a Biden administration or campaign,” the groups said. “Ruling out positions for fossil fuel executives, lobbyists, and representatives is a critical way to show your commitment to a future that prioritizes people, not polluters.”
The effort underscores tension between the Democratic Party’s moderate nominee and the progressives and climate activists Biden needs to win the presidency -- and foreshadows potential fights over environmental policy if he prevails. -- Jennifer Dlouhy
Anti-Trump Republicans Target Florida Voters (7:20 a.m.)
A group of anti-Trump Republicans plans to spend at least $8 million targeting persuadable GOP voters in Florida.
Advised by Mike Murphy, a longtime aide to former Governor Jeb Bush, Republican Voters Against Trump is targeting 450,000 independents and so-called “soft Republican” voters in the Sunshine State that it believes are open to backing Biden.
Project Orange Crush, as the effort is called, will use social media and online, cable and broadcast advertising to reach those voters.
“We will both feature real Republican voters who oppose Donald Trump’s re-election, as well as issue based advertising about Trump and Biden, targeted to these voters,” the group wrote in a memo about the effort.
Biden is ahead of Trump by 3.7 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics average of Florida polls.
Trump Feuds With Portland Mayor Over ‘Decades’
Trump is feuding with the mayor of Portland, Oregon, over how long protests have been happening and who is to blame.
In a press conference Monday afternoon, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler blamed Trump for recent outbreaks of violence at protests.
“Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence?” he said. “It’s you who have created the hate and the division.”
But in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News later that day, Trump falsely claimed that Portland has seen violent protests “for decades.”
“Portland’s been burning for many years,” Trump said. “For decades it’s been burning.”
The protests at the federal courthouse in Portland started in late May in response to the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
The city has seen an uptick in protests since Trump was elected in 2016. Demonstrations have sometimes turned violent due to clashes between the far-right Patriot Prayer group and far-left counter-protesters known as Antifa. A Patriot Prayer member was shot dead over the weekend.
Trump pulled back federal law enforcement officials who clashed with protesters in late July but has since threatened to send them back to the city.
Biden Ad Highlights Black Lives Matter Protester
A new ad from the Biden campaign features a college student talking about her work with Black Lives Matter.
Released in both 30-second and one-minute versions, the ad shows Duke University student Adrianna Williams talking about protests she’s attended in Tallahassee, Florida.
“These protests are not just about police brutality anymore,” says Williams, co-chair of Black Students for Biden. “They’re about addressing systemic racism and economic disparities across our country. And I think electing Joe Biden is essential to addressing these issues and getting meaningful change.”
First aired during the Video Music Awards on MTV on Sunday night, the ad comes as Biden and Trump are sparring over Black Lives Matters protests.
In a speech in western Pennsylvania Monday, Biden condemned recent outbreaks of violence at the protests and argued that Trump’s rhetoric has made things worse. Later in the day, Trump declined to criticize a teen suspected of shooting two people and wounding a third at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, suggesting the teen acted in self defense.
Coming Up:
Trump is heading to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has been roiled by protests that have turned violent in recent days, on Tuesday.
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