DNC 2020 Cartoons

Trump campaign adviser: First night of DNC painted America as 'dystopian, racist hellscape'

Democrats stoke division at virtual DNC

Will Americans respond to negative tone presented at first night of the Democratic National Convention? Reaction from Steve Cortes, Trump 2020 campaign senior adviser, and Ed Rendell, former DNC chair.

The speakers on the first night of the Democratic National Convention depicted America as a "dystopian, racist hellscape" rather than the shining city on a hill, Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes told "The Ingraham Angle."
"It was clear that this was for a crowd in Brooklyn, New York, rather than places like Beloit, Wisconsin," Cortes told host Laura Ingraham. "It was catering to Hollywood rather than the heartland. And it was not a celebration of America, it was an indictment of America.
"I will tell you as a proud American I did not even recognize the country that they were describing in this ridiculous long commercial that they put on tonight," he added. "They were describing some sort of dystopian racist hellscape."
Cortes went on to say that as a Hispanic man, there is no greater country in the world in which to exist as an ethnic minority and -- if the Democrats' 'indictment' of America is true -- he does not understand why millions of people from other countries continue to seek asylum in America or enter the U.S. illegally.
"They must be fools, according to the Democratic Party, to want to come to a country that is as systemically racist as the Democrats are trying to get us to believe," he said.
Referring to his fellow guest, former Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, Cortes said that the current Democratic Party does not resemble the party of Rendell's prominence in the 1990s and 2000s.
"This is not your parents' or your grandparents' Democratic Party ..." he said. "Effectively open borders -- they don't use the phrase, but if you decriminalize [illegal] border crossing and offer benefits to illegal aliens that do not belong in the country, and Joe Biden has promised even more than that -- full citizenship in the country to reward them for breaking and entering into our land. These kinds of policies are, within the Democratic Party, the norm. They are not mainstream policies within America,"

Dana Perino on first night of DNC: From 'fired up and ready to go' to 'cooled off and nearly ready for bed'

 

The first night of the Democratic National Convention set a tone of "trying to basically tap the brakes a little bit," Dana Perino judged Monday night.
"I have to say the mood change is deliberate by the Democrats," the former White House press secretary and "Daily Briefing" host said during Fox News' special coverage. "They want to talk about COVID-19 ... they are highlighting people who are the first responders, people who have lost their lives, and their grieving families.
"That [imagery] is deliberate but it is hard to imagine a sustaining a lot of attention on this for the next several days," she added.
Perino then contrasted the mood of the 2020 virtual Democratic convention with the party's 2008 gathering in Denver, where Barack Obama received his first nomination for president.
"What was the great slogan that President Obama had? 'Fired up and ready to go,'" Perino recalled. "This is more like 'Cooled off and nearly ready for bed.'
"I don't know if that will work, but I'm looking forward to seeing how they are going to try to showcase their team," she added. "They've been defined by the Republicans and President Trump for about four weeks, now they are going to have a chance to try to do that. Can they show that they can pull together this new coalition and hold it even after the election?"
"I think that's what I'm looking for the next couple days."

Pentagon investigates drone sighting near Air Force One

Reporters tweeted that multiple people aboard the plane saw “what appeared to be a drone just below the plane”

 

The Air Force is investigating whether a small drone flew close to Air Force One on Sunday before it landed safely at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C.
The White House referred queries to the Pentagon, which confirmed that the incident, which was described by reporters aboard the plane as Mr. Trump was returning from his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J. Sunday evening, was being examined.
“The 89th Airlift Wing is aware of the report. The matter is under review,” said a statement from the Air Force unit which oversees Air Force One operations at Joint Base Andrews, Md. “The 89th Airlift Wing’s C-32A aircraft landed safely without incident.”
Agence France-Presse’s Sebastian Smith tweeted that shortly before landing, Air Force One flew “right over a small object, remarkably close to the president’s plane. Resembled a drone though I’m no expert.” Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs tweeted that multiple people aboard the plane saw “what appeared to be a drone just below the plane.”

McCarthy says Dems pushing Postal Service 'conspiracy theories' as Pelosi calls members back to town

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy accused Democrats of "pushing conspiracy theories" in accusing President Trump of trying to undermine the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls members back from their August recess to work on legislation to address Trump's alleged threats against the institution.
McCarthy, R-Calif., leveled the allegation against Democrats in a tweet Monday afternoon after Pelosi, D-Calif., charged House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., with setting up a schedule for the legislation.
"Democrats have no shame," McCarthy said. "They are pushing conspiracy theories about the USPS to undermine faith in the election and distract from their own failures. Whether Americans choose to vote in person or vote absentee, I have full confidence in the integrity of our electoral process."
Pelosi Sunday said that she is "calling upon the House to return to session later this week to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman [Carolyn] Maloney’s 'Delivering for America Act,'" a bill that would mandate no cuts to USPS' level of operations compared to what it had at the beginning of the year.
The brewing legislative battle comes as Trump spars with Democrats over efforts in many states to implement universal mail-in voting – the practice of mailing actual mail-in ballots, rather than requests for ballots, to every registered voter. Not every state is setting up universal mail-in voting, and some states have used universal mail-in voting successfully in the past. But some on the right, including the president, have warned that quickly changing states' electoral systems and sending ballots to the addresses of all registered voters – who in many cases have moved or died – could make the election ripe for fraud.
Democrats have cited studies showing that there has been very little mail-in vote fraud in the past, while Republicans have pointed to examples of trouble with universal mail-in voting during the pandemic, including issues in elections in Paterson, N.J., and elsewhere.
Further unnerving Democrats have been actions by the newly-minted Postmaster General Louis Dejoy that critics say have slowed down mail delivery, ostensibly in an effort to save money for the perpetually-in-the-red Post Office, ahead of the November election.
Other comments Trump made in an interview on FOX Business last week – regarding funding provisions for the Post Office that Democrats asked for in negotiations over the latest coronavirus relief package – also alarmed left-leaning legislators.
"If we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money," Trump said. "That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting; they just can’t have it."
Pelosi responded in a joint statement with Senate Minority Leader Chuch Schumer, D-N.Y., Rep. Maloney, D-N.Y., and Sen. Gary Peters D-Mich.: "The president has explicitly stated his intention to manipulate the Postal Service to deny eligible voters access to the ballot in pursuit of his own reelection. Alarmingly, the postmaster general – a Trump mega-donor – has acted as an accomplice in the president’s campaign to cheat in the election, as he launches sweeping new operational changes that degrade delivery standards and delay the mail."
The Post Office, of course, handles vast amounts of mail per day and would likely be able to handle an election-related surge of mail-in ballots without the specific funding provisions Democrats were asking for. And Trump, prone to bluster and off-the-cuff comments that land him in hot water, later walked back his position to an extent, saying that he does not oppose additional funding for USPS but rather has problems with Democrats' other demands related to the coronavirus legislation.
But USPS has warned 46 states and Washington, D.C., that it may not be able to get all mail-in ballots delivered in time to be counted according to those jurisdictions' election laws. In those letters, reported by the Washington Post, USPS recommends that states move up their deadlines for voters to send their mail-in ballots to ensure they are received by Election Day. And a July experiment conducted by CBS with mock ballots resulted in about 3% of those ballots not reaching their destination.
The conflicting statements and anecdotes, and the resulting confusion, are part of the reason why Pelosi and the other Democratic congressional headers are planning a hearing Monday, in which why hope to have DeJoy testify.
"House Democrats ... are ramping up their ongoing investigation by requesting that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Chairman of the USPS Board of Governors Robert Duncan testify at an urgent hearing before the committee on Aug. 24," the Democrats' statement read. "The hearing will examine the sweeping operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service that experts warn could degrade delivery standards, slow the mail and potentially impair the rights of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming November elections."
The Republicans of the House Oversight Committee, however, responded in a Monday statement saying they aimed to "put this conspiracy theory to bed," seemingly meaning in next Monday's hearing.
"The Democrats’ wild and baseless conspiracy theory about the U.S. Postal Service is irresponsible and only undermines the American people’s faith in the integrity of the election and our institutions," House Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer, R-Ky., said. "The Committee on Oversight and Reform has a tremendous opportunity to put this conspiracy theory to bed and I hope my Democratic colleagues will join me in reviewing the facts and identifying areas of reform so that USPS works best for the American people."
Fox News' Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trump campaign slams first night of Democratic convention as a 'Hollywood-produced infomercial'

The Trump campaign blasted the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention as a “Hollywood-produced infomercial,” while warning that the “radical socialist leftist takeover of Joe Biden is complete.”
“Perhaps it was just an oversight, but the first night of the Democrat convention left out the fact that Joe Biden would raise taxes on more than 80 percent of Americans by at least $4 trillion,” Trump campaign national press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement Monday night.
“Also missing was his open borders policy, with amnesty and work permits for 11 million illegal aliens. There was no mention of Joe Biden’s desire to cut police funding, kill ten million energy jobs with a green new deal, or give free healthcare to illegal aliens, but in fairness, it was only the first night,” Gidley said.
Gidley added: “Democrats can try to conceal the dangerous truth with a Hollywood-produced infomercial, but they can’t hide the fact that the radical socialist leftist takeover of Joe Biden is complete.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also accused convention speakers of failing to highlight any Biden policies.
“During this underwhelming DNC, there’s been a whole lot of singing but ZERO explaining of how Joe will create jobs, end riots, stop innocent loss of life in our streets,” McEnany tweeted. “Joe will DESTROY our economy, DEFUND our police, SURRENDER our communities to the anarchists!”
Monday’s event included brief remarks from lawmakers like Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and governors like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—those speeches, though, were weaved in between pre-recorded musical performances from from artists including Leon Bridges and Maggie Rogers, and a video featuring Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising.”
Trump campaign strategist Brad Parscale tweeted during the program: "Is this the Democratic National Convention or a Hollywood award show?”
Meanwhile, when the events wrapped on Monday night, the Trump campaign hosted its first night of “The Real Joe Biden,” a nightly recap of the Democrats’ nightly events at the convention, as part of their rapid response efforts and counter-programming.
The rebuttal was hosted Monday night by Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp and 2020 Strategic Adviser Boris Epshteyn, and will featured guests, including GOP National Spokeswoman Liz Harrington and Citizens United President David Bossie.
Those on Team Trump on Monday night highlighted the fact that the majority of Monday night's events were not focused on Biden and his potential presidency, but on criticizing the Trump administration--an effort which Trump campaign senior adviser Steve Cortes called an "indictment" of the United States.
“They only have an agenda of hating Donald Trump,” Bossie said during the campaign's recap program.  “The American people are smarter than that.”
He added: “They’re going to see that this is an election about big issues and where America is going to be for their children. This is the most important election of our lifetime—this one is consequential.”
In previewing night two of the Democratic Convention, Bossie predicted “more Trump derangement syndrome.”
“They don’t have an agenda. That’s all they have,” he said.
Schlapp weighed in, saying that the Democrats’ “agenda is to transform America as we know it.”
The comments from Team Trump come after night one of the 2020 Democratic Convention, which featured lawmakers, governors, and even former first lady Michelle Obama slamming President Trump and his administration, and making the case for a Joe Biden presidency.
Monday’s event was hosted by actress Eva Longoria, and included brief remarks from lawmakers like Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; and a headliner speech from former first lady Michelle Obama, who warned that Trump is “the wrong president for our country.”
“He has had more than enough time…He is clearly in over his head,” Obama said. “He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.”
She added: “it is what it is.”
Obama went on to warn: “If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can, and they will if we don’t make a change in this election.”
“If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” she said. “I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man guided by faith.”

De Blasio Cop Cartoons

Quarantine requirements may delay return to in-person school

Vacation but not School ?

Shannon Silver had planned to take her family on a trip from her home in Connecticut to visit relatives in Ohio just before the start of the school year for her two children.

But she and her husband reversed course when people traveling from Ohio were added to a list of those who must quarantine for 14 days upon entering Connecticut. That requirement might have meant her 10-year-old son would miss the first day of sixth grade at St. Matthew School in Bristol.

“We weren’t going to do that, especially at the beginning of the school year,” Silver said. “Plus, he really didn’t want to miss the last two weeks of summer by having to quarantine.”

The family instead went to see other relatives in Colorado, which wasn’t on the list.

As states around the country require visitors from areas with high rates of coronavirus infections to quarantine upon arrival, children taking end-of-summer vacations to hot spots are facing the possibility of being forced to skip the start of in-person learning at their schools.

More than a dozen states have such travel advisories, including many in the Northeast along with Alaska, Kentucky and Ohio.

More than 30 states are on the list issued by Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in an attempt to prevent another surge of COVID-19 in the region, which was among the hardest hit early in the pandemic. As schools in the Northeast prepare to open early next month, officials are urging parents to be mindful of that guidance while planning any Labor Day getaways.

In Connecticut, where infection numbers are among the lowest in the country, more than half of schools are planning to open for in-person learning. Gov. Ned Lamont made it clear this month that neither students nor teachers would be exempt from quarantine if they visit a hot spot.

“Don’t go to South Florida; don’t go to Phoenix, Arizona, and skip El Paso, Texas, and I would stay away from Southern California for a while too,” said Lamont, a Democrat. “I would stay close to home. I think there are some amazing places you can visit here and do it a lot safer.”

Bill Smith, a high school teacher at Southern Regional High School in Ocean County, New Jersey, said he canceled a research trip that was planned as part of his graduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

“This is the first summer in years that I have not traveled outside of the state,” Smith said. “I have been more than happy to follow any and all guidelines that help protect the health and safety of those around me.”

Pat Toben-Cropper, of Herndon, Virginia, is planning to drive her daughter, Kylie Cropper, back to college this month at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College in Manchester, New Hampshire. She said because of the travel advisories in the Northeast, she was unable to get a hotel reservation north of Pennsylvania.

“It became this logistical nightmare,” she said.

But enforcing the rules can be challenging. In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said recently he can’t bar people from traveling and hoped they would heed the quarantine advice. New York has been stopping some out-of-state travelers at checkpoints to ensure they are abiding by the quarantine — a move that has come under criticism.

Both New York and New Jersey also are holding out hope for many school districts to offer in-person learning this fall, although Murphy recently authorized the state’s more than 600 school districts to implement virtual options.

New Jersey’s school reopening plan doesn’t directly address students who are in quarantine when the year begins.

Some school districts, like Willingboro, have reminded families to quarantine if they’re returning from states listed on the advisory. Others, like the state’s largest in Newark, don’t directly mention the advisory in their return-to-school plans.

Nancy Deering, the ombudsman for Newark’s public schools, said the plan is “fluid” and guidance could be added at some point. She pointed to the fact that teachers and staff must produce a negative test and undergo a symptom screening to return to school in person.

But schools will simply have to trust that students who have traveled to hot spots are coming clean and following the rules.

Walter Willett, the superintendent of schools in Tolland, Connecticut, said he fears that students might lie, so they can attend in-person classes. His schools are making sure that every class has an online learning option and will try to ensure kids don’t miss a beat if they need to quarantine.

“We have to be vigilant in protecting each other and, please, if you are in one of these situations, know that you will be supported. It’s important for the families to know that we have remote learning, online learning for them and that it’s not a permanent thing,” Willett said.

Many of the travel restrictions in place are moving targets, complicating planning for families. Last week, for instance, a handful of states were removed — including nearby Rhode Island and the Silvers’ destination of Ohio — and a few more added to the tristate area’s list.

Erin McCall, of Avon, Connecticut, said she also was going to postpone a trip to Ohio, before it was removed from the list. She said she now plans to keep her son home this fall anyway because the safety line always seems to be moving.

“Everything is put on hold, vacation, going back to school, because everything is changing so rapidly,” she said. “If I had more confidence in the school system and its ability to sterilize everything and make everything safe, then maybe I’d change my plans. But I don’t.”