Stolen Equipment Gives Trump Fodder On Vote: Campaign Update
YouTube Posts Mirror Biden, Trump Strategies: Campaign Update
(Bloomberg) -- Stolen election equipment in Pennsylvania gives President Donald Trump ammunition for attack on voting integrity. State media in Russia, Iran and China used their news sites and Twitter feeds to mock the U.S. after the first presidential debate. And Democratic nominee Joe Biden was endorsed by two more labor unions.
There are 34 days until the election and 75 days until the Electoral College meets.
Other Developments:
Stolen Equipment Helps Trump Push Vote Fraud Claims
Trump has already claimed there is fraud and corruption in Pennsylvania’s election. Now comes potentially more ammunition with a report that a laptop and several memory sticks used to program Philadelphia’s voting machines were stolen.
The equipment appeared to be taken this week from a city warehouse, prompting an investigation and review to ensure voting machines couldn’t be compromised, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Wednesday. Mayor Jim Kenney said the theft shouldn’t deter anyone from voting or from “having confidence in the security of this election,” the newspaper said.
But the revelation comes as the Trump campaign is threatening to sue the city for access to satellite election offices that were opened this week for voters to request and cast ballots. While Trump complained during last night’s debate that poll watchers were denied access because “bad things happen in Philadelphia,” city commissioners said no poll watchers were certified -- and that by law, they can only observe polling places on Election Day.
Trump has raised red flags over an announcement by federal prosecutors last week that nine military ballots were discarded and recovered in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, including seven votes for him. Trump has used the incident to question mail-in ballots, but Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said a temporary contractor who wasn’t properly trained made a mistake.
“From the initial reports we’ve been given, this was a bad error, this was not intentional fraud,” Boockvar told reporters Wednesday.
Foreign Media Mocks the U.S. After Caustic Debate (6:30 p.m.)
State media in Russia, Iran and China used their news sites and Twitter feeds to mock the U.S. and create doubt about its democratic system after Tuesday’s contentious presidential debate.
These outlets and accounts have been “celebrating just how dysfunctional and chaotic our democracy appears to be to be after that debate,” said Bret Schafer, the media and digital disinformation fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, where he has watched states promote various narratives in the aftermath of Tuesday evening’s debate.
Russia, which U.S. intelligence has assessed is attempting to hurt Biden in the election, used its coverage of the debate to try to fuel divisions among Democrats. Kremlin-linked media also used the debate in an attempt to denigrate fact checking and mainstream media, as part of a narrative aimed at “eroding trust in everything you’re seeing,” Schafer said. On Twitter, Russian media mocked the U.S. with memes.
China’s state media -- which characterized the debate as “noise and quarreling” and “an all-out hostile confrontation between two 70-year-olds” -- characterized the night as revealing “the accelerating loss of advantages of the U.S. political system.” Similarly, Iranian media cast Americans as losers of the debate and quoted Iranian president Hassan Rouhani saying that the event revealed the U.S.’s “difficult situation” with respect to domestic failures and foreign policy. -- Alyza Sebenius
Biden Gets the Nod From Two More Unions (3:40 p.m.)
Biden picked up the support of two more labor unions, a key voting bloc he’s trying to win back from Trump.
During a visit to a heavy equipment operator training school in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania, the Biden campaign announced he has been endorsed by the International Union of Operating Engineers and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Both cited the Democratic nominee’s commitment to rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and history of supporting labor unions.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the president and vice president that our nation needs right now,” said Doug McCarron, general president of UBC. “They share our values, have the experience and expertise to fix the problems facing this country, and above all else have the temperament and empathy to help our divided nation unify and heal.”
Support among blue-collar workers helped Trump narrowly win Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2016. Biden said Democrats failed to reach out to those voters, who had previously been solidly behind the party. This year, Biden has been endorsed by most of the major U.S. unions.
One caveat: Being endorsed by the union leaders doesn’t necessarily translate into votes from all the union members. -- Emma Kinery
Trump, Biden Tied in South Carolina (3:08 p.m.)
The list of reliably Republican states that are morphing into second-tier battlegrounds keeps getting longer, with South Carolina the latest to unexpectedly pop up.
In a Quinnipiac University poll of South Carolina released Wednesday, 48% of likely voters backed Trump, while 47% backed Biden, well within the margin of error. It also showed Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham tied with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, 48-48.
South Carolina, which Trump won by 14 points in 2016, hasn’t backed the Democratic presidential candidate since 1976. The last time a Democratic Senate candidate won there was in 1998.
Recent polls have also shown Biden unexpectedly competitive in Georgia, Ohio and Iowa.
The poll of 1,123 likely voters in South Carolina was conducted Sept. 23-27, before the debate. It has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
Debate Sets Record for Crosstalk (1:53 p.m.)
The people transcribing Tuesday’s debate had their work cut out for them.
Trump’s aggressive approach to debating, including interrupting and talking over Biden and moderator Chris Wallace, made it hard to note who was talking in transcripts.
Those moments are typically labeled “crosstalk” in transcripts, and there were 73 of them Tuesday -- far more than at any other recent debate.
By comparison, Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had 35 moments of crosstalk at their first debate, nine at their second and three at their third.
President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney had only 18 at their first debate, three at their second and nine at their third. -- Phil Kuntz
Biden Campaign Selling ‘Shut Up, Man’ Shirts (12:13 p.m.)
The Biden campaign moved quickly after the debate to capitalize on one of his retorts to Trump.
Early in the debate, Trump began interrupting Biden, seeking to throw him off, at one point talking over him as he tried to discuss the Supreme Court opening.
“Will you shut up, man?” Biden said. “This is so unpresidential.”
On Twitter, Biden supporters immediately began calling for a T-shirt with the words on it. Independent designers sprang into action, putting “Will You Shut Up Man?” shirts on sale within hours. The Biden campaign followed suit, with a black T-shirt featuring the words in all caps across Trump’s face.
The shirt is selling for $30, which is counted as a small-dollar donation to the Biden campaign.
Harvard Republicans Back Trump This Time Around (11:13 a.m.)
After sitting out the election for the first time in 128 years in 2016, Harvard Republicans decided to endorse Trump on Wednesday, just hours after the first presidential debate.
The Harvard Republican Club made headlines for refusing to support Trump four years ago, and some conservative undergrads had been lobbying for it to reverse course this time, according to the Harvard Crimson.
In an open letter, the group’s executive board praised Trump’s record on foreign policy and taxes and his commitment to fighting for an “enduring moral order.” The letter also praised Trump’s “careful prudence in all decisions,” arguing that Democrats have “abandoned truth in favor of a radicalized view of a relative reality.”
“After spirited conversation, our board has concluded that President Trump upheld many of his campaign promises to unwaveringly press for the interests of all Americans,” the endorsement from the group’s executive board reads.
Muslims Praise Biden’s Use of Arabic Saying
Biden’s use of a common Arabic saying during Tuesday’s debate delighted Muslims online.
During a question about his taxes, Trump argued that a New York Times report was incorrect and that voters would know that when they see his tax returns, which he has long promised to release eventually.
“When?” Biden said. “Inshallah?”
Loosely translated as “God willing,” “inshallah” is used by Muslims to refer to events that may happen in the future. But in everyday speech it’s also sometimes used ironically, as a joking way of saying something is not going to happen.
The moment was widely noted by Muslims online, who called it a pitch-perfect use.
“Not only did Biden say ‘Inshallah,’ he used it in the colloquial context meaning ‘not really,’” said Shahed Amanullah, managing director of the Frost Capital equity fund, on Twitter.
Nevada Attorney General Warns Trump’s Poll Watchers They could Face Prosecution (9:18 a.m.)
People who heed Trump’s request at the debate to show up at the polls and “watch very carefully” could be prosecuted for voter intimidation, the attorney general of Nevada warned Wednesday.
“Trump also told ‘his supporters’ to ‘go into the polls and watch very carefully.’ But he wasn’t talking about poll watching. He was talking about voter intimidation,” Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a tweet. “FYI -- voter intimidation is illegal in Nevada. Believe me when I say it: You do it, and you will be prosecuted.”
When asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace whether he would encourage his supporters to stay calm and not cause unrest while waiting for the certified election outcome, Trump said he would strongly urge them to monitor voters at polling sites for “bad things.”
Republican officials are recruiting 50,000 poll watchers, claiming they want to prevent Democrats from “stealing” the election. The Virginia attorney general last week issued an opinion reminding people of the illegality of voter intimidation after supporters of the president gathered outside of an early polling site in Fairfax County. -- Emma Kinery
Biden Ad Highlights Trump’s Call to Proud Boys to ‘Stand By’ (8:32 a.m.)
The Biden campaign has produced an ad highlighting Trump’s call to the far-right Proud Boys to “stand by” as members of the violent group embraced the moment.
“There’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night,” Biden says in a Twitter post accompanying the ad, released early Wednesday.
The ad shows torch-bearing marchers in the street, followed by Trump’s remark during the Tuesday debate that members of the group should “stand back and stand by” when he was asked by moderator Chris Wallace to disavow white supremacists.
The Proud Boys are applauding Trump’s comment. One known social media account for the group made “Stand back. Stand by” part of its new logo, according to NBC News. -- Todd Shields and Kathleen Hunter
Post-Debate YouTube Strategies Mirror Campaigns (6:58 a.m.)
President Donald Trump’s campaign highlighted confrontational moments at the debate on YouTube, while Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s camp picked two calmer clips.
In an echo of the aggressive campaign and debate strategies, the Trump campaign posted nearly 22 clips on YouTube in the hours after the debate showing him attacking Biden over his son, Hunter; the Obama administration’s handling of the H1N1 virus; and his support for a 1990s crime bill, among other things.
“President Trump rips Joe Biden for his horrible treatment of Black Americans and his racist comments,” read the title of one video.
The Biden campaign’s videos, meantime, echoed his effort to present himself as a calming influence. In one, Biden urges people to vote and notes that even if Trump cries foul over mail-in ballots, they will still be counted. In another, he criticizes Trump’s coronavirus response.
“Joe Biden on Trump’s Lack of a Covid-19 Plan,” the video was titled.
Coming Up:
Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence will debate on Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City.
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