29.03.2024

Donald Jr mocks Biden as Republicans close first night of 2020 convention

Donald Trump claimed that Democrats want no guns, gas or God as he formally secured the GOP nomination for a second term at 2020 Republican National Convention. The president alleged that the country was more divided under Barack Obama and suggested Democrats boosted his poll numbers following the party’s convention last week.

His appearance at the RNC came after Twitter placed a disclaimer another one of his posts criticising Democrats’ promotion of ballot drop boxes. His post violated the company’s «civic and election integrity» rules.

The row followed new of the departure of Kellyanne Conway, the US president’s chief advisor, from the White House. She’ll exit the building two months before Election Day.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in New York have confirmed investigations into the president’s business and financial records, a probe in which Eric Trump – the president’s son – has refused to comply, court documents show.

Investigations follow testimony from the president’s former longtime attorney Michael Cohen, who suggested the president has inflated his assets to avoid tax penalties.

In their first prime-time broadcast of the 2020 convention, Republicans condemned socialism, defunding police departments, ending cash bail for violent offenders, and the abolition of the suburbs – proposals that aren’t on the Democratic ticket.

The party has prioritised attacks against rival Joe Biden for progressive members of the party (that he has also been criticised for dismissing) to amplify red scares and visions of a crumbling America under Democratic presidency.

Campaign officials said the event would respond to what they called a «dark» Democratic convention.

Segments also highlighted the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic but did not address the more than 175,000 Americans who have died, far more than any other country.

The GOP also gave ample space for several people of colour to deliver remarks, in an effort to strike back against widely reported and decades-long-standing accusations that the president is racist.

Kellyanne Conway leaves White House

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said late on Sunday that she will be leaving the administration of Donald Trump at the end of August, citing the need to focus on her family.

“I will be transitioning from the White House at the end of this month”, she said in a statement.

Her departure, about two months before Mr Trump seeks re-election, comes at a crucial time for the president. It leaves him without one of his more passionate spokespersons about his political and policy choices.

Ms Conway was his third campaign manager in 2016 and has been one of Mr Trump’s most loyal and outspoken defenders in public and on cable news.

She was also the first woman to successfully manage a presidential campaign to victory.

Twitter on Sunday placed a disclaimer on Donald Trump’s tweet criticising the promotion of drop boxes by Democrats as an option for voters, saying the tweet violated the company’s “civic and election integrity” rules.

“So now the Democrats are using Mail Drop Boxes, which are a voter security disaster. Among other things, they make it possible for a person to vote multiple times. Also, who controls them, are they placed in Republican or Democrat areas? They are not Covid sanitized. A big fraud!” Mr Trump said in a tweet posted on Sunday morning.

Twitter, in a disclaimer attached to the tweet, said: “This tweet violated the Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the tweet to remain accessible.”

The social media company’s civic integrity policy states that: “You may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes.

“This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process.”

The restriction prevents other Twitter users from liking or responding to Mr Trump’s tweet.

Democrats across the country are promoting drop boxes as a convenient and reliable option for voters who do not want to entrust their ballots to the US Postal Service. Republican officials in other states have prevented their use.

Trump announces emergency authorisation of convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19, despite fears over lack of data
The US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorisation for the use of convalescent plasma to treat coronavirus patients on Sunday, despite top experts urging caution over its use.

Announcing the move, Donald Trump called it a “truly historic breakthrough” in the fight against the virus, which he had been “looking to do for a long time.”

“This is a powerful therapy. Today’s action will dramatically expand access to this treatment,“ Mr Trump said. ”The FDA really stepped up, especially in the last few days,“ the president said.

While Kellyanne Conway has announced her departure from the White House, her husband and high-profile Trump critic George Conway has revealed he is stepping back from his role in the Lincoln Project, a project with the stated mission to “defeat Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box”.

The decisions by the Conways come a day after their 15-year-old daughter, Claudia, said on Twitter that she was seeking “emancipation” from her parents. Claudia has previously been outspoken on social media against her parents’ views.

In a public feud with Kellyanne Conway’s spouse last year, Mr Trump called him a “wack job” and a “husband from hell”, prompting George Conway to say Trump was mentally unfit for his office.

On Sunday, Kellyanne Conway described her time in the administration, and previously with the 2016 campaign, as “heady” and “humbling”.

She had survived several rounds of staff turnovers in an often chaotic and drama-ridden White House.

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