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Trump reportedly calls Egypt's president his 'favorite dictator' – live Trump reportedly calls Egypt's president his 'favorite dictator' – as it happened
(about 1 year later)
That’s all for today, thanks for following along with our live coverage. Some links and key events from the day:
A Taliban negotiating team reportedly arrived in Russia just days after Trump said potential peace talks with the group were “dead”.
Democratic presidential candidates criticized the lack of debate questions on abortion.
Joe Biden said in Houston that he would release his medical records before the first vote of the primaries.
The Democratic National Committee announced that the fourth primary debate would take place on 15 October (with the possibility for a second night) in Westerville, Ohio.
Trump reportedly referred to Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as his “favorite dictator” during last month’s G-7 summit.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, told donors at a fundraising event last month that she got her moral compass from her father.
The climate activist Greta Thunberg held a protest at the White House, where she and other young environmental advocates called for immediate action to address climate change.
House Democrats are pushing to have Jeff Sessions testify in the House judiciary committee’s ongoing impeachment probe of Trump.
Rights groups sued the Trump administration to stop the release of citizenship data that could be used to benefit the GOP in redistricting.
Harvard University received nearly $9m in donations from the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before his 2008 guilty plea to sex charges.
The US government considered using fentanyl for executions, according to a Reuters report out today:
Exclusive: While battling opioid crisis, U.S. government weighed using fentanyl for executions | Article [AMP] | Reuters https://t.co/T81q2yQ06k
The US Department of Justice examined using fentanyl in lethal injections despite the fact that it was an untested use of the powerful, addictive opioid fueling a national crisis of overdose fatalities, the agency reported:
The department revealed it had contemplated using the drug in a court filing last month, which has not been previously reported.
In the end, it decided against adopting the drug for executions. Attorney General William Barr announced in July his department instead would use pentobarbital, a barbiturate, when it resumes federal executions later this year, ending a de facto moratorium on the punishment put in place by the administration of US President Barack Obama.
But the special consideration given to the possibilities of fentanyl, even as federal agents were focused on seizing illegal imports of the synthetic opioid, show how much has changed since the federal government last carried out an execution nearly 20 years ago.
Many pharmaceutical companies have since put tight controls on their distribution channels to stop their drugs being used in executions.
The president is talking about vaping again:
While I like the Vaping alternative to Cigarettes, we need to make sure this alternative is SAFE for ALL! Let’s get counterfeits off the market, and keep young children from Vaping!
Trump said earlier this week that his administration will propose banning thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes to combat a recent surge in underage vaping.
Here’s what you need to know about the recent concerns about the dangers of vaping, from the Guardian’s health editor:
Vaping deaths in the US: what do you need to know?
Rights groups have filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from collecting government records for the production of data concerning the citizenship status of every person living in the country, NPR is reporting:
BREAKING: Groups are suing to block the Trump administration from producing citizenship data that may politically benefit Republicans. @MALDEF & @AAAJ_AAJC file the 1st lawsuit in response to President Trump's executive order on citizenship information👇https://t.co/oQLQP36AXo
The lawsuit from Latinx advocacy groups is the first legal challenge to the president’s executive order in July seeking citizenship data. There have been growing concerns that the citizenship records would be used by state redistricting officials to redraw voting districts in a way that gives the GOP advantages in future elections.
Here’s the complaint:
2. Here's the complaint @MALDEF & @AAAJ_AAJC filed with U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on behalf of @LUPE_rgv& @PromiseAZAction👇https://t.co/KztQpLS9jw
The case follows a protracted legal battle surrounding Trump’s effort to put a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.
There has been ongoing scrutiny today of the Trump administration’s widely criticized effort to effectively end asylum at the US-Mexico border for nearly all migrants:
This is effectively just a way to end asylum at the southern border. https://t.co/7hTy7tJaNJ
Asylum saves lives. It is not a legal loophole or a way to game the immigration system. It exists because for some people, home is a death sentence. https://t.co/rlRvpmrdSU pic.twitter.com/3KAxP1hNCQ
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, told the AP today that the Supreme Court’s decision to allow sweeping regulations to take effect while litigation continued was a big win for the government: “There’s no underselling it.”
The policy is considered the most significant change to asylum policy since its establishment in 1980. More from the AP:
The new policy will deny asylum to nearly all migrants arriving at the southern border who aren’t from Mexico because it disallows anyone who passes through another country without first seeking and failing to obtain asylum there. While officials say it’s a crucial effort to help ease strain on the system, it’s also a potentially potent deterrent.
The rule falls most heavily on Central Americans, mainly Hondurans and Guatemalans, because they account for most people arrested or stopped at the border.
Juan Carlos Perla, 36, said Friday that many asylum seekers from his native El Salvador have returned, including cousins who have stayed with him in a rented two-room house with donated furniture on the distant outskirts of Tijuana.
“People know that they aren’t going to be allowed in. They’re desperate. Many don’t like it here. Life here isn’t easy,” he said.
But it’s also an enormous setback for other asylum seekers, including many Africans, Haitians and Cubans who try to enter the United States via Mexico.
Mark Sanford, a South Carolina Republican and former governor, is considering taking legal action to appear on the presidential primary ballot:
NEW: @MarkSanford is "looking at options" to appear on the S.C. GOP presidential primary ballot. It could include taking legal action against his home state Republican Party. https://t.co/2rf8DfGdi2
He said today he was “looking at options”, which could include some kind of legal action against the state Republican party in South Carolina. Sanford announced his bid for president last week. Here’s what he told The State, a South Carolina newspaper:
I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t like that particular angle. It’s just never been my default setting — people see something goes wrong, they sue somebody. I like to look for other ways to resolve issues ...
[But] any number of people have called suggesting [legal action]. I’m listening and I would just say, ‘stay tuned.’”
Mike Pence previously argued that being gay was a “choice” and a “learned behavior”, according to a new report from CNN on the vice president’s anti-LGBT record:
NEW: I did a deep dive into Pence's record on LGBT issues with the admin. now denying he is anti-gay. I found a 1990s fight against a ordinance to protect gays from discrimination where Pence said homosexuality was "a choice" or "learned behavior." https://t.co/EskwTTFa83
CNN’s investigation comes after the White House claimed that the vice president was not “anti-gay” last week, citing as proof the fact that he was having lunch with the gay Irish prime minister and his partner:
For all of you who still think our @VP is anti-gay, I point you to his and the @SecondLady’s schedule tomorrow where they will join Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett for lunch in Ireland. 🇮🇪 @merrionstreet pic.twitter.com/Cj5kMpln0U
Here’s how Pence previously argued against anti-discrimination proposals:
In 1993, Lafayette, Indiana's city council was trying to become the first city in the state to ban discrimination against gays and bisexuals. Pence argued against it on policy grounds saying unlike being black, Americans choose or learn to be gay.https://t.co/EskwTTFa83 pic.twitter.com/fM9KV8U4MW
A Pence spokesperson responded to CNN with a statement saying the vice president “has always opposed discrimination in any form and defends the Constitution’s protection of the rights of all Americans regardless of race, sex or religion”.
Here’s what Pence has been up to today:
Here's Mike Pence making bizarre facial expressions while telling a story today about American Pharoah purportedly biting him. The manager of the farm where the incident allegedly occurred has already gone on record to say it never happened: https://t.co/G6KeVBNbK6 pic.twitter.com/PPBMI5qICC
Hi all - Sam Levin here in Los Angeles, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.Hi all - Sam Levin here in Los Angeles, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.
House Democrats are pushing to have Jeff Sessions testify in the House judiciary committee’s ongoing impeachment probe of Trump, the Washington Post has just reported:House Democrats are pushing to have Jeff Sessions testify in the House judiciary committee’s ongoing impeachment probe of Trump, the Washington Post has just reported:
SCOOPLET: House Dems are pursuing Trump’s favorite ex-Cabinet official JEFF SESSIONS for testimony in impeachment probe of Trump. https://t.co/ZfbbqlZ6RHSCOOPLET: House Dems are pursuing Trump’s favorite ex-Cabinet official JEFF SESSIONS for testimony in impeachment probe of Trump. https://t.co/ZfbbqlZ6RH
A lawyer for the former attorney general told the Post:A lawyer for the former attorney general told the Post:
I have made clear that Attorney General Sessions will not appear except under compulsion of a congressional subpoena.”I have made clear that Attorney General Sessions will not appear except under compulsion of a congressional subpoena.”
Sessions had a famously rocky relationship with the president, who ended up publicly mocking him and then firing him last year.Sessions had a famously rocky relationship with the president, who ended up publicly mocking him and then firing him last year.
There has been no subpoena issued for Sessions so far, according to the Post’s report.There has been no subpoena issued for Sessions so far, according to the Post’s report.
That’s it from me this week. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take over the blog for the next few hours.That’s it from me this week. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:Here’s where the day stands so far:
The climate activist Greta Thunberg held a protest at the White House, where she and other young environmental advocates called for immediate action to address climate change.The climate activist Greta Thunberg held a protest at the White House, where she and other young environmental advocates called for immediate action to address climate change.
The Democratic National Committee announced that the fourth primary debate would take place on October 15 (with the possibility for a second night) in Westerville, Ohio.The Democratic National Committee announced that the fourth primary debate would take place on October 15 (with the possibility for a second night) in Westerville, Ohio.
Joe Biden pledged that he would release his medical records before primary voting starts. He made the promise just a day after one of his opponents, Julián Castro, appeared to make a crack at the former vice president’s age during last night’s debate.Joe Biden pledged that he would release his medical records before primary voting starts. He made the promise just a day after one of his opponents, Julián Castro, appeared to make a crack at the former vice president’s age during last night’s debate.
Taliban negotiators have reportedly arrived in Russia just days after Trump declared peace talks with the group to be “dead.”Taliban negotiators have reportedly arrived in Russia just days after Trump declared peace talks with the group to be “dead.”
Trump reportedly referred to Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as his “favorite dictator” during last month’s G-7 summit.Trump reportedly referred to Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as his “favorite dictator” during last month’s G-7 summit.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, told donors at a fundraising event last month that she got her moral compass from her father. (Yes. Really.)Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, told donors at a fundraising event last month that she got her moral compass from her father. (Yes. Really.)
Sam will have more on the news of the day. Have a wonderful weekend, live blog readers.Sam will have more on the news of the day. Have a wonderful weekend, live blog readers.
Trump’s appearance at the G-7 summit last month has already been criticized for the president skipping a climate session and making unsubstantiated claims about China reaching out to US officials to discuss trade. And now, a report has emerged that Trump praised Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, during the trip.Trump’s appearance at the G-7 summit last month has already been criticized for the president skipping a climate session and making unsubstantiated claims about China reaching out to US officials to discuss trade. And now, a report has emerged that Trump praised Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, during the trip.
The Wall Street Journal reports:The Wall Street Journal reports:
Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in a loud voice: ‘Where’s my favorite dictator?’ Several people who were in the room at the time said they heard the question.Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in a loud voice: ‘Where’s my favorite dictator?’ Several people who were in the room at the time said they heard the question.
The witnesses said they believed the president made the comment jokingly, but said his question was met by a stunned silence.The witnesses said they believed the president made the comment jokingly, but said his question was met by a stunned silence.
It couldn’t be determined whether Mr. Sisi was present or heard the remark. ...It couldn’t be determined whether Mr. Sisi was present or heard the remark. ...
Even if lighthearted, Mr. Trump’s quip drew attention to an uncomfortable facet of the U.S.-Egypt relationship. ...Even if lighthearted, Mr. Trump’s quip drew attention to an uncomfortable facet of the U.S.-Egypt relationship. ...
The White House hasn’t publicly admonished the Egyptian government for its human-rights record. Egypt has defended its actions, saying it is fighting extremists.The White House hasn’t publicly admonished the Egyptian government for its human-rights record. Egypt has defended its actions, saying it is fighting extremists.
More from Joe Biden’s second day in Houston: the former vice president mocked those who have grilled him about comments from early in his Senate career.More from Joe Biden’s second day in Houston: the former vice president mocked those who have grilled him about comments from early in his Senate career.
“This is about the future, this is not about the past,” Biden said at a fundraiser, according to a pool report. “I love it when people say in 1972 you said ...” he added to laughs from the crowd.“This is about the future, this is not about the past,” Biden said at a fundraiser, according to a pool report. “I love it when people say in 1972 you said ...” he added to laughs from the crowd.
The comment appeared to reference Linsey Davis’ question from the Democratic debate a day earlier. The ABC News moderator asked Biden about this 1975 quote defending his opposition to federally mandated busing to racially integrate schools: “I don’t feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation. And I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago.”The comment appeared to reference Linsey Davis’ question from the Democratic debate a day earlier. The ABC News moderator asked Biden about this 1975 quote defending his opposition to federally mandated busing to racially integrate schools: “I don’t feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation. And I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago.”
The answer Biden offered in response was described by commentators as everything from “baffling” to “racist.” And for some, it resurfaced a question that has come up repeatedly: has Biden adequately realized the faulty logic in his past ways of thinking about race?The answer Biden offered in response was described by commentators as everything from “baffling” to “racist.” And for some, it resurfaced a question that has come up repeatedly: has Biden adequately realized the faulty logic in his past ways of thinking about race?
For some, the answer is a resounding “no.” From a Time editor-at-large:For some, the answer is a resounding “no.” From a Time editor-at-large:
Here is my transcript of Joe Biden's record player moment.Asked about his past comments denying responsibility, as a white man, for America's sins, he gives an answer insinuating that black parents don't know how to raise kids. pic.twitter.com/Z39NtsiVkdHere is my transcript of Joe Biden's record player moment.Asked about his past comments denying responsibility, as a white man, for America's sins, he gives an answer insinuating that black parents don't know how to raise kids. pic.twitter.com/Z39NtsiVkd
From an MSNBC analyst and former campaign aide to Hillary Clinton:From an MSNBC analyst and former campaign aide to Hillary Clinton:
I like Joe Biden but his slavery answer was no bueno and I’m a bit disappointed I’m one of the only people saying so today. https://t.co/3LEHnAknvBI like Joe Biden but his slavery answer was no bueno and I’m a bit disappointed I’m one of the only people saying so today. https://t.co/3LEHnAknvB
From a Rolling Stone writer:From a Rolling Stone writer:
Yes, I’m serious. We have a racist president with racist policies, and Democrats need an antiracist nominee. @JoeBiden keeps showing us that he isn’t up to the task. His debate meltdown proved that once again. He should step aside. The stakes are too high. https://t.co/PaZ48R9dxoYes, I’m serious. We have a racist president with racist policies, and Democrats need an antiracist nominee. @JoeBiden keeps showing us that he isn’t up to the task. His debate meltdown proved that once again. He should step aside. The stakes are too high. https://t.co/PaZ48R9dxo
When asked about releasing his medical records, Joe Biden made this somewhat odd joke to a HuffPost reporter.
Asked if he’ll release his medical records to address concerns raised by rivals, Biden jokes to me, “What the hell concerns. Man, you wanna wrestle?”He adds he’ll release them “when I get the next physical, before there’s a first vote.”
Joe Biden said in Houston that he would release his medical records before the first vote of the primaries, the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports.
The former vice president also told reporters a day after the third Democratic debate that he considered questions about his age to be fair in the context of the primary.
The comments come one night after Julián Castro appeared to make a crack about Biden’s age by asking him, “Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?”
But as the blog reported earlier today, some of Biden’s advisers appear to be taking less of a “live and let live” approach to Castro’s criticism.
On @CNN right now, @SymoneDSanders coming for Castro: says there were 9 candidates interested in a substantive policy debate and one, Castro, wanted to take "personal and cheap and frankly factually incorrect shots at" Biden.
He’s baaaack! Just days after being unceremoniously ousted via tweet from his job as Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton is resuming his political activities and endorsing Republican lawmakers who share his hawkish worldview.
Reuters reports:
Bolton retook the reins of the John Bolton PAC and the John Bolton Super Pact, two groups he had headed before joining the White House 17 months ago. ...
As part of the resumption of his political action groups, Bolton announced the endorsement of five Republicans running in the November 2020 elections.
They are Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin of New York.
Each candidate received $10,000 in contributions from the Bolton groups for a total of $50,000.
‘The experience that these incumbent members of Congress have provides them with a remarkable understanding and knowledge of the threats we face from international terrorism and rogue regimes such as Iran and North Korea,’ Bolton said in a statement.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has weighed in on the (potential) Senate primary in Massachusetts.
One of AOC’s colleagues, Joe Kennedy, is weighing a primary challenge against the incumbent senator, Ed Markey. Kennedy has argued it’s time for a generational change away from the 73-year-old Markey.
But that argument may now be undercut with AOC endorsing Markey, who has been a key co-sponsor of the Green New Deal alongside the congresswoman.
“Ed Markey, I know, is one of the strongest progressives that we have in the United States Senate,” AOC said in an endorsement video.
“And in a time right now, when we have to have conversations not just about holding this administration accountable but changing the Democratic Party for the future, Ed Markey has a very critical role in making sure that climate change, as well as a bevy of other issues — health care and beyond — are critical core issues in how we fight for working people and working families in the United States.”
Last night’s Democratic debate included no questions on how the candidates would protect reproductive rights as states like Alabama and Missouri attempt to pass severe restrictions on the procedure. And the candidates took notice:
Reproductive rights are under attack across our nation and it should have been discussed last night. pic.twitter.com/rDOyXZxJAg
Since it didn’t come up in tonight’s #DemDebate, at this moment when women’s reproductive freedom is under attack, I wanted to say I trust women to make their own decisions about their health. It’s important we all keep taking about it.
Three hours, not one question on abortion—with women's rights under attack across our country.
The oversight was particularly notable given that this was the first debate since Kirsten Gillibrand dropped out of the race. The New York senator centered her campaign around issues like abortion and paid family leave.
A former campaign adviser to Gillibrand said the lack of abortion questions demonstrated why the race needed a candidate dedicated to the issue.
Reproductive rights are under greater threat than they've been since before Roe v. Wade.We've had a three-hour, 10-candidate #DemDebate for the presidency and not a single question *or mention* about that crisis.But ok. We don't need a candidate who runs on women's rights.
A Taliban negotiating team has reportedly arrived in Russia just days after Trump said potential peace talks with the group were “dead.”
The AP reports:
Russian state news agency Tass cited the Taliban’s Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying the delegation had held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for Afghanistan.
The visit also was confirmed to The Associated Press by a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
It was the Taliban’s first international visit following the collapse of talks with Washington. The team was being led by Mullah Sher Mohammad Stanikzai.
This may well be the most terrifying thing you read on this Friday the 13th. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, told a group of donors last month that she got her moral compass from her father.
Politico has more:
At a mid-August fundraiser in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Ivanka Trump was asked to name the personality traits she inherited most from her parents.
Without much of a pause, Trump told the crowd of roughly 120 high-end donors that her mother gave her an example of how to be a powerful, successful woman.
And her father? He passed onto her his moral compass, she said, according to two event attendees.
The exchange was part of a broader conversation about Ivanka Trump’s life in Washington and the White House during a swanky retreat organized by Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the Wyoming mountains. Her appearance signaled an informal effort by the Trump campaign, family and top aides to woo donors this election cycle by sharing intimate, colorful details about this atypical White House.
The New York Times and CNN, who will host the next Democratic debate, announced it will take place on October 15 (with the possibility for a second night) in Westerville, Ohio.
JUST ANNOUNCED: @nytimes and @CNN will co-host the next Democratic presidential debate in Westerville, Ohio on October 15.Read more on the debate here. https://t.co/8g7kSaoiPD
Westerville is just outside of Columbus, and the host outlets said the debate would occur on the campus of Otterbein University, a private liberal arts college.
The Democratic National Committee did not initially confirm the debate would be two nights, but that seems likely now that 11 candidates appear to have qualified. Other candidates have until Oct. 1 to qualify.
The moderators will be CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett as well as the Times’ national editor, Marc Lacey. The Times noted it will be the first debate the newspaper has planned and hosted in more than a decade.
Bianca Pattison and Claire MacQueen, both 14, left in the middle of art class with paint still on their hands to attend the Greta Thunberg’s climate rally at the White House.
Bianca Pattison and Claire MacQueen, both 14, left in the middle of art class with paint still on their hands to strike for #climate pic.twitter.com/1GYnt4cFzT
“I think a lot of the people I’m friends with are quite worried we’re not going to get to experience things our parents got to experience with their kids when we were growing up,” Pattison said, noting trips she’s taken with her family to islands and colder climates.
“For me, it’s not necessarily what will happen to humans but so many animals and ecosystems that are affected by what we’ve done,” MacQueen added.
It turns out there are millions of Americans who want to spend more than two hours hearing 10 Democratic candidates discus their campaign platforms, which ... kind of surprises this blogger.
The early ratings are in for last night’s Democratic debate, and ABC executives are likely quite happy with them. CNN reports:
Thursday night’s debate featuring ten presidential candidates averaged 14 million viewers across ABC and Univision. The debate ratings were head and shoulders above everything else on TV Thursday night. ...
With 14 million people watching on TV, the debate ranked behind the record-setting NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo debate in June, but ahead of most other Democratic primary debates in TV history.
For comparison’s sake, the third Democratic debate of the 2016 cycle, which also took place on ABC, averaged 8 million total viewers. But it was held on a Saturday night, traditionally a low-rated night for TV viewing, and there is more interest in the primary this time around.
As CNN notes, it seems that the switch to a one-night-only event came as a relief to viewers, but that will likely be a short-lived reprieve. With Tom Steyer saying he has qualified for the fourth debate, the next match will almost certainly be spread across two nights.