An assessment of President Donald Trump‘s election-year Memorial Day weekend would include the following:
Playing multiple rounds of golf in the midst of a pandemic; circulating tweets mocking the physical appearance of some of the most prominent female Democrats in the country; saying his opponent “doesn’t know he’s alive”; promoting an unspecified and unsubstantiated conspiracy theory he calls “Obamagate”; threatening to move the Republican National Convention if the governor can’t promise a “fully occupied” arena this summer; demanding that schools and churches reopen regardless of state-level guidance; spreading a baseless claim that Democrats are seeking to “rig” the election; questioning the mental fitness of his former attorney general; and suggesting without evidence that a cable host he has feuded with was involved in the death of a former aide.
For all that, Democrats found their political weekend consumed by an interview former Vice President Joe Biden gave Friday where he said African-Americans considering voting for Trump “ain’t black.” Within hours, Biden said he regretted having said that; Trump has not said the same about anything he said or tweeted over the weekend.
It’s the latest example of a dynamic Republicans have learned to relish and Democrats can’t help but lament.
Trump says and does so many outrageous things with such regularity that most blur past the news cycle too fast for him to even be asked to explain himself, much less apologize. Biden says and does so few things these days — period — that each takes on outsized importance.
Biden’s first public appearance in two months — he wore a mask, while Trump has not when reporters’ cameras are present — points toward a resumption of campaign activity on his side. Trump, of course, has already been in something close to campaign mode for weeks.
Even if Biden matches Trump in campaign output — which isn’t likely anytime soon — he still is likely to see a different set of standards applied to him by his own party than Trump will have applied to him by his.
A debate about church continued between states and residents over the weekend. On Monday California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued new protocols allowing for some places of worship to reopen at limited capacity.
“This guidance does not obligate places of worship to resume in-person activity. Further, it is strongly recommended that places of worship continue to facilitate remote services and other related activities for those who are vulnerable,” the California press release read, adding that congregants should still wear masks, organizations should rearrange seating to allow for social distancing and staff should undergo temperature checks.
The California guidelines also indicated organizations should: “Strongly consider discontinuing singing, group recitation, and other practices and performances where there is increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets.”
Trump on Friday demanded governors open churches, though the same day a federal appeals court sided with Newsom and rejected an argument from clerics that the governor had been treading on their First Amendment rights with his stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The churches in the lawsuit appealed for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, meaning the high court could easily be the deciding voice in this latest tug of war between individuals, the White House and state authorities.
Despite months of Republicans asserting that the national convention is “full steam ahead,” Trump appears to have thrown a wrench into convention planning by threatening to pull the event from Charlotte, North Carolina, and laying blame squarely on the state’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, for being in a “shutdown mood” that could preclude “full attendance” inside the arena.
“Plans are being made by many thousands of enthusiastic Republicans, and others, to head to beautiful North Carolina in August,” Trump tweeted, adding that he has “love” for the battleground state before shifting the fault onto Cooper. “They must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied. If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site.”
A spokesperson for the governor responded by noting that the city’s and state’s decisions are being informed by “data and science.” Trump later tamped down his threat, writing in another tweet that he has “zero interest” in moving the quadrennial gathering to his resort in Doral, which sits just outside of Miami, and asserting he “would like to stay in N.C.”
Whether Trump would move the convention is still not clear, particularly without facing repercussions since the RNC is locked in a 2018 contract with the city of Charlotte to hold the convention there. Earlier this month, however, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles suggested that the agreement might be subject to change given the unprecedented health crisis. And sources told ABC News there have been discussions about back-up plans, including just bringing delegates into the arena and scaling back many of the events around the convention.
BRINGING AMERICA BACK
Recognizing that risks and restrictions will be remaining for some time, meanwhile, experts and doctors have been establishing new normals to provide health care. Read this story and more by checking out Bringing America Back, an ABC News feature that highlights the day’s top stories in economic recovery and medical preparedness amid the coronavirus pandemic.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News’ “Start Here” Podcast. Tuesday morning’s episode features ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos, who tells us why holiday weekend crowding across the country is causing concern among health officials. ABC News Senior Foreign correspondent Ian Pannell checks in from Mexico as cases continue to rise there — he also explains why Brazil’s rise in cases is especially worrisome. And, ABC News’ Erin Shumaker tells us about her experience taking a contact tracing course.http://apple.co/2HPocUL
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., appears on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., appears on ABC’s “The View.”
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence participate in the a swearing in of the director of national intelligence at 12:45 p.m.. Trump meets with the Secretary of State at 3 p.m. and delivers remarks about protecting seniors with diabetes at 4 p.m.
Pence leads a governors’ video teleconference on the coronavirus response and economic revival at 1 p.m.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a briefing at 2 p.m.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper holds a press conference at 3 p.m.
Former Vice President Joe Biden will attend a virtual finance event.
Download the ABC News app and select “The Note” as an item of interest to receive the day’s sharpest political analysis.
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day’s top stories in politics. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
