There are any number of political figures who can claim the mantle of Trumpism. And with smoother edges and slightly broader messaging, there’s a potential winning coalition for Trumpism without Trump.
Now what happens for Joe Biden? He takes over leadership of a badly fractured nation. And he will have to manage the deep fractures in his own party as centrists and the left wing fight over the meaning of this victory.
That will first play out during the transition in a battle over personnel. Who gets the big slots in the Biden administration will shape the next four years and tell us who has the upper hand in the party.
At the same time, Biden will have to manage a spiraling pandemic, a deep economic crisis, social justice challenges, and a potentially divided government.
This is a great victory for him personally, but Joe Biden’s biggest challenge begins right now.
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Scott Reed, the senior political strategist at the US Chamber of Commerce, confirms @maggieNYT reporting that he has resigned, due to the “leftward movement and constant Trump bashing of the Chamber.”
Reed says the Chamber’s Tom Donohue and Suzanne Clark blocked him from spending money on Senate GOP races: “They would not let me spend Senate money down the home stretch,” he said.
Reed says the campaign funds at issue would have been “enough to hold the Senate GOP,” but he was not allowed to spend it. A US Chamber spokesman says it will have a statement out shortly on this.
Huge investigation here - and a rare look at FinCen suspicious activity reports that track illicit money flows around the world: FinCEN Files Show Criminals Moved Billions As Banks Watched buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
Statement on this from the Bank Policy Institute now: “It does not make sense that the basis for media allegations that banks knowingly hid illegal activity consisted solely of Suspicious Activity Reports that those banks filed alerting law enforcement to that very activity.“
2. “Clearly, there is more to this story, but unfortunately the reporting failed to unearth it, and the banks are legally prohibited from telling their side.“
Just spoke to a senior administration official about the state of play on Oracle/Tik Tok right now. SAO said: No former CFIUS committee meetings yet, but Steven Mnuchin is holed up on the phones trying to work this out with his team. “No final decisions have been made.”
SAO: There is still “a chance” for an Oracle/Tik Tok deal by Monday.
But SAO also said: “WeChat is dead in the United States.”
As news breaks on Tik Tok and We Chat this morning, note the different date for Tik Tok. According to the Commerce release, the fullest ban on TiknTok doesn’t come until Nov. 12 - after the election. This would allow Trump to avoid a massive backlash from users before voting.
As of September 20, 2020, for WeChat and as of November 12, 2020, for TikTok, the following transactions are prohibited:
Any provision of internet hosting services enabling the functioning or optimization of the mobile application in the U.S.
Any provision of content delivery network services enabling functioning or optimization of the mobile application in U.S.;
Any provision directly contracted or arranged internet transit or peering services enabling the function or optimization of the mobile application w/in US
DOJ says NFL player Joshua J. Bellamy, 31, of St. Petersburg, FL was arrested + charged in connection with obtaining millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. He allegedly purchased over $104,000 in luxury goods using proceeds, including Dior + Gucci. justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
DOJ: He is also alleged to have spent approximately $62,774 in PPP loan proceeds at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and to have withdrawn over $302,000. Bellamy also allegedly sought PPP loans on behalf of his family members and close associates.
DOJ: Bellamy and other conspirators in the scheme are alleged to have applied for PPP loans that are together worth more than $24 million dollars. Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.4 million.
After night one of the Republican National Convention last night it’s clear that in 2020 we have two national parties engaged in the politics of apocalypse.
Last week, the Democrats told you that a Trump victory threatens the Constitution and democracy itself. Last night, the Republicans told you a Biden victory threatens to unleash violence and destroy Western Civilization itself.
I’m old enough to remember when a tough convention speech was based on the idea that the other party was a bunch of clowns with fuzzy headed policy ideas. This... is not that.