Jamie Dupree

Trump presses states to fully open schools despite virus threat

7/8/2020

President Donald Trump made clear again on Tuesday that a full re-opening of the U.S. economy needs to include schools which are open for business as well, as he used a White House education round table to say the nation is ready to send kids back to school, even with a recent surge in Coronavirus cases in certain states. 'Everybody wants it. The moms want it. The dads want it. The kids want it,' the President said. 'We want to re-open the schools,' Mr. Trump added. 'I want to open the schools quickly and beautifully.' The sentiment has been repeated a number of times by the President, who views schools as an important metric of how the U.S. is handling the Coronavirus outbreak. “This is a disease that's a horrible disease, but young people do extraordinarily well,” as Mr. Trump argues that death rates clearly show children are at a much smaller risk from the virus. In his remarks, the President also telegraphed that he is willing to use the bully pulpit of his office to lean on states which don't opt for fully open schools. 'They think it's going to be good for them politically, so they keep the schools closed,' the President said. 'So we're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools - to get them open.' In his remarks, Mr. Trump specifically noted Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, whose administration ordered schools on Monday to be open for in-person instruction at least five days every week in the new school year. 'Schools should open only after local school districts decide it’s safe for students, staff and teachers to return,' said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who called the Governor's move 'reckless.' The push to re-open schools seems almost certain to result in a clash between local governments and teachers - as well as the unions representing teachers. 'Everyone wants to see schools reopen, but they must reopen safely,' the Texas State Teachers Association said on Tuesday. 'I don’t disagree with the sentiment that the goal should be to have kids on campus,' said Fedrick Ingram, the head of the Florida Education Association, a teachers union. 'But hope isn't a goal,' Ingram added.

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- July 08, 2020 at 03:50AM
Trump presses states to fully open schools despite virus threat
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

White House won't say if Trump backs NASCAR ban on Confederate Flag

7/7/2020

Hours after President Donald Trump went on Twitter and suggested NASACAR had made the wrong decision to ban people from flying the Confederate flag at its races, the White House maintained to reporters that the President had no opinion on whether the race car organization made the right decision. 'He was not making a judgment one way or the other,' said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who faced a series of Confederate flag questions prompted by the President's morning tweet. 'I said from the very top of this briefing that he has not given an opinion one way or the other on that,' as McEnany quickly tired of reporters pressing for clarification on the Confederate flag and NASCAR. 'I'm not going to answer a question a sixth time,' McEnany said at one point. In his tweet, the President pressed Bubba Wallace to apologize over an incident where a rope - seemingly shaped like a noose - was found in his raceway garage. Wallace, who is the only black driver at the top level of NASCAR, refused to get into a back and forth with the President on Twitter. 'Last thing, always deal with the hate being thrown at you with LOVE!' Wallace said in a statement on Twitter. 'Love should come naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate,' Wallace continued. 'Even when it's HATE from the POTUS.' NASCAR also backed their driver. 'NASCAR continues to stand tall with Bubba, our competitors and everyone who makes our sport welcoming and inclusive for all racing fans,' the auto racing group stated. The dustup over the President's tweet obscured a different message from the White House Briefing on Monday, as McEnany chastised reporters for not asking about shootings in cities like New York and Chicago. 'I was asked probably 12 questions about the Confederate flag,' McEnany said. 'I didn't receive one question on the deaths that we got in this country this weekend.

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- July 07, 2020 at 02:50AM
White House won't say if Trump backs NASCAR ban on Confederate Flag
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Supreme Court: States can bind Electoral College voters

7/7/2020

A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that states have the power to force electors to cast votes in the Electoral College which follow the choice of their state's balloting in the race for President. 'A State may enforce an elector’s pledge to support his party’s nominee — and the state voters’ choice — for President,' wrote Justice Elena Kagan for the united Court, leaving in place laws in 32 states which require Electoral College electors to reflect the vote in their states. 'It reflects a longstanding tradition in which electors are not free agents; they are to vote for the candidate whom the State’s voters have chosen,' the Court held. 'We the People rule,' Kagan wrote. The ruling, coming less than four months before the November 2020 elections, addresses one of the possible outcomes of a tight election, where 'rogue electors' could break from their state's choice, and decide to elect another candidate. The Justices heard two cases in this term related to the Electoral College, ruling today on one from Washington State, and then formally disposing of a second from Colorado. 'The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is reversed for the reasons stated in Chiafalo v. Washington,' the Court wrote in a Per Curiam opinion. The full ruling in the Washington case can be found at this link.

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- July 07, 2020 at 02:50AM
Supreme Court: States can bind Electoral College voters
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump to try outdoor rally in New Hampshire on Saturday

7/6/2020

After a much lower than expected turnout last month at his first campaign rally since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump has decided to hold an outdoor campaign rally, setting a gathering for this coming Saturday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The tarmac rally at the former Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire could well be a blueprint for other campaign stops by the President, as he tries to get his campaign rallies going again, despite the virus outbreak. The announcement of the Saturday night rally came as the President again downplayed the severity of the virus, which has claimed over 130,000 American lives. In a July Fourth speech, the President again said a recent bump in cases was due more to extra testing, adding '99 percent of which are totally harmless,' flying in the face of data showing thousands more people have been hospitalized in recent weeks. The President gave two outdoor speeches over the weekend, one at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, then other from the White House to honor July Fourth. So far, the President's campaign destinations have not exactly been the most important swing states in the 2020 race, as he's been to Oklahoma, South Dakota, and then New Hampshire on Saturday. But the decision to hold an outdoor rally also comes as polling continues to show a strong edge in November for former Vice President Joe Biden. On Sunday, the President was watching Fox News - and was not happy about a segment on the November race - where the discussion centered on poll numbers showing Biden with a double digit lead nationally. 'Fox News gladly puts up the phony suppression polls as soon as they come out,' the President grumbled on Twitter, again registering his disappointment with his favorite cable news network. 'We are leading in the REAL polls,' the President tweeted, as he has called on Fox to fire their 'Fake Pollster.' The latest polls certainly show an uphill fight for the President. While the President seems to be more than ready to resume campaigning, former Vice President Joe Biden continues to ride out the virus outbreak at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. 'We remain locked in the battle for the soul of this nation, but believe me, truly, it’s a battle we can and we will win if we act together,' Biden said in a July Fourth speech from his house. 'I don’t want to jinx myself. I know the polling data is very good, but I think it’s really early,' Biden told reporters last week during an event in Delaware. 'It’s much too early to make any judgment. I think we’ve got a whole lot more work to do,' Biden added.

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- July 06, 2020 at 02:49AM
Trump to try outdoor rally in New Hampshire on Saturday
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump heralds jobless rate drop to 11.1 percent in June

7/2/2020

The rebound of the U.S. economy continued in the month of June with 4.8 million people gaining work last month while states moved to drop Coronavirus restrictions on businesses, bringing the nation's unemployment rate down to 11.1 percent, but not erasing massive job losses in March and April to the virus outbreak. 'Today’s announcement proves that our economy is roaring back,' President Trump said in the White House Briefing Room, as he trumpeted the job gains. 'It's coming back faster, bigger, and better than we all thought possible,' the President added. In all, the economy has regained 7.5 million jobs in May and June - but that's still far short of the nearly 20.8 million jobs lost in March and April as the Coronavirus forced various states to shut down most economic activity. Taking no questions during an appearance in the White House Briefing Room, President Trump rattled off the positive points from Thursday's jobs report, as the nation's unemployment rate has dropped back from a high of 14.7 percent in April. 'The crisis is being handled,' Mr. Trump said of the virus outbreak, as he downplayed the recent growth in virus cases across the south and southwest. 'We're putting out the fires,' the President said, without getting into details of case increases led by California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida, as all four of those states have reimposed some virus restrictions on businesses in recent days. 'The stock market is soaring with the best gains in over 20 years,' the President told reporters. While GOP lawmakers joined in heralding the latest economic news, some also pressed the President to agree to more aid for workers hit hard by the virus outbreak. 'While this report is certainly a cause for optimism in terms of our economic recovery, we're not close to being out of the woods yet,' said Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). Portman has championed a plan to give a $450 a week bonus to workers returning to their jobs, as a way to boost incentives for economic growth. It's one many plans under consideration, as Senate Republicans say they will take up a broader economic relief package later this month.

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- July 02, 2020 at 11:50PM
Trump heralds jobless rate drop to 11.1 percent in June
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

U.S. sets another single day record for new virus cases

7/1/2020

A day after Dr. Anthony Fauci told Senators he was worried that daily counts of new Coronavirus cases could skyrocket to 100,000 nationwide, the U.S. registered over 52,000 new virus cases on Wednesday, with continued growth in California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. 'COVID-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate,' said Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) of California, whose state reported 9,740 new cases of the virus on Wednesday. California joined Arizona, Texas, Florida and other states in pulling back on re-opening plans, as new restrictions will be placed on restaurants, movie theaters, museums, and bars. 'Our outbreak is accelerating,' said Dr. Caitlin Rivers of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 'We need to face this head on.' In mid-June, the U.S. had a 7-day rolling average of 21,500 new virus cases a day. In barely two weeks, that nearly doubled to over 40,000 cases a day. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Arizona for meetings with state officials on the outbreak there, as Arizona has not only been reporting more virus cases, but also more deaths. 'You are safer at home,' Gov. Doug Ducey (R) bluntly told Arizona residents during a tarmac news conference with the Vice President. As he did on Sunday in Texas, the Vice President urged Americans to wear a face covering to help slow the spread of the virus. 'Wear a mask when indicated by state or local authorities,' Pence said. Pence announced that the Arizona Governor had asked for 500 medical personnel to help deal with rising hospitalizations for the Coronavirus, as the Vice President also said temporary medical facilities might be provided as well. Back at the White House, President Trump was not caught up in the worries about the rising case levels, again confidently saying that the United States would be able to survive the best punch from the virus. 'I think at some point, that's just going to sort of disappear, I hope,' the President told Fox Business in an interview.

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- July 01, 2020 at 10:50PM
U.S. sets another single day record for new virus cases
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump vows veto of bill changing Confederate base names

7/1/2020

President Donald Trump is digging in his heels against efforts in the Congress to have the U.S. military change the names of installations which honor generals and leaders of the Confederacy, as the President said he would veto any bill containing such a provision in order to defend the cultural heritage of the South. In a tweet, the President named Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and Fort Lee in Virginia, as examples of the base names which he wants to leave in place, arguing the memorials to Confederate generals should not be changed. 'I will veto the Defense Authorization Bill,' the President wrote on Twitter just before midnight on Tuesday night. That yearly defense policy bill contains a bipartisan provision which gives the Pentagon the go-ahead to change names like Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, and other facilities named for Confederate leaders. 'Is Donald Trump running to be the President of the Confederacy or what?' said Democratic strategist Jim Manley. On the Senate floor Wednesday, Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) scoffed at the President's threat. 'This is typical bluster from President Trump,' Schumer said, predicting the President would not veto the defense bill because of all of the needed Pentagon provisions. The President's veto threat comes as the Navy and Marine Corps have already said they would remove displays of the Confederate flag from any of their bases. 'Trump is on the wrong & racist side of history,' tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). 'Bill after bill with billions - even trillions - in spending, he won’t veto,' said Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI). 'But removing the names of treasonous Confederate generals, he won’t stand for that.' While President Trump has repeatedly made public statements against the idea of taking down Confederate statues, that keeps happening here and there across the South. The latest monument came down Tuesday night in Rockdale County, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. That monument was put up in 1913.

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- July 01, 2020 at 10:50PM
Trump vows veto of bill changing Confederate base names
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

June brings trio of defeats for Trump-backed candidates

7/1/2020

Republican Congressman Scott Tipton of Colorado lost his GOP primary on Tuesday night, the third time in less than a month that a candidate backed by President Donald Trump had been defeated in a race for Congress. Tipton, a five-term Republican Congressman whose district covers basically the western half of Colorado, was defeated by a more conservative challenger Lauren Boebert. Boebert, a gun rights enthusiast and QAnon conspiracy theory supporter, had gained notoriety for violating Coronavirus restrictions by opening her restaurant. President Trump had tweeted out his support for Tipton two times during the past six months - but that wasn't enough to save him from Boebert's challenge from the right. Up until June of this year, President Trump had sported an unblemished record from his endorsements in special elections and GOP primaries, something which the GOP touted in a series of tweets. But that changed suddenly in early June, when Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) lost a GOP convention vote to get on the November ballot, despite having the backing of both President Trump and the head of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. Last week, a candidate backed by the President and his chief of staff - ex-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) - was defeated in a primary for COngress in North Carolina. Tipton's loss made it three defeats for the President, as now five sitting members of Congress have been defeated in their bids for re-election. Three are Republicans and two are Democrats.

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- July 01, 2020 at 10:50PM
June brings trio of defeats for Trump-backed candidates
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider