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Trump administration announces ban on TikTok and WeChat from Sunday – US politics live Trump administration announces ban on TikTok and WeChat from Sunday – US politics live
(32 minutes later)
Apps will be removed from Apple and Google stores following president’s orderApps will be removed from Apple and Google stores following president’s order
In an alternative timeline that you imagine he often thinks about, Tim Kaine would probably be less then fifty days away from standing for election for a second term as vice president. He very much isn’t. But he has this morning urged Virginians to go out and cast their vote, as it is another state, like Minnesota, where early voting starts today.
It looks like it is busy already according to this report.
And with that, I’m now off to an alternative timeline myself, as I’m done for the day. Joan Greve will be with you shortly. Have a great weekend, take care and stay safe.
Stephen Collinson at CNN offers us this review of Joe Biden’s performance at the network’s own town hall last night, saying that the Deomcratic nominee “shows the qualities Trump lacks”
But, as he notes:
Read it here: CNN – Biden shows the qualities Trump lacks at CNN town hall
The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to purge “untrusted” Chinese apps from US digital networks throughout the year, and has called TikTok and WeChat “significant threats”.The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to purge “untrusted” Chinese apps from US digital networks throughout the year, and has called TikTok and WeChat “significant threats”.
TikTok has 100 million users in the United States and is especially popular among younger Americans. It was implicated earlier this year in the dismal attendance at the Trump campaign ‘comeback’ rally in Tulsa.TikTok has 100 million users in the United States and is especially popular among younger Americans. It was implicated earlier this year in the dismal attendance at the Trump campaign ‘comeback’ rally in Tulsa.
At the time Kenya Evelyn in Washington reported for us that K-pop fans and users of TikTok had claimed tickets to the rally in then did not use them, as part of a coordinated effort which helped to leave hundreds of seats empty in a 19,000-capacity venue.At the time Kenya Evelyn in Washington reported for us that K-pop fans and users of TikTok had claimed tickets to the rally in then did not use them, as part of a coordinated effort which helped to leave hundreds of seats empty in a 19,000-capacity venue.
The scheme stemmed from a 11 June tweet from the Trump campaign promoting free registration online and via cellphones. The scheme exploded on the TikTok app, where young users implored followers to join in.The scheme stemmed from a 11 June tweet from the Trump campaign promoting free registration online and via cellphones. The scheme exploded on the TikTok app, where young users implored followers to join in.
“Trump has been actively trying to disenfranchise millions of Americans in so many ways, and to me, this was the protest I was able to perform,” Erin Hoffman, an 18-year-old New Yorker, told the New York Times, adding that she reserved two tickets and persuaded a parent to book two more.“Trump has been actively trying to disenfranchise millions of Americans in so many ways, and to me, this was the protest I was able to perform,” Erin Hoffman, an 18-year-old New Yorker, told the New York Times, adding that she reserved two tickets and persuaded a parent to book two more.
WeChat has had an average of 19 million daily active users in the United States, analytics firms Apptopia said in early August. It is popular among Chinese students, ex-pats and some Americans who have personal or business relationships in China.WeChat has had an average of 19 million daily active users in the United States, analytics firms Apptopia said in early August. It is popular among Chinese students, ex-pats and some Americans who have personal or business relationships in China.
WeChat is an all-in-one mobile app that combines services similar to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Venmo. The app is an essential part of daily life for many in China and boasts more than 1 billion users.WeChat is an all-in-one mobile app that combines services similar to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Venmo. The app is an essential part of daily life for many in China and boasts more than 1 billion users.
Owners ByteDance have been going through the process of trying to sell the US operation of TikTok in a way that will satisfy both the US and the Chinese governments.Owners ByteDance have been going through the process of trying to sell the US operation of TikTok in a way that will satisfy both the US and the Chinese governments.
The US government is currently reviewing the plan for Oracle to acquire its US operation. However, earlier this week, Donald Trump questioned that acquisition.The US government is currently reviewing the plan for Oracle to acquire its US operation. However, earlier this week, Donald Trump questioned that acquisition.
“Conceptually I can tell you that I don’t like that,” Trump told a news conference on Wednesday when asked about a reported proposal to give Oracle only a minority share. “I’m not prepared to sign off on anything. They’re going to be reporting to me tomorrow morning and I’ll let you know.”“Conceptually I can tell you that I don’t like that,” Trump told a news conference on Wednesday when asked about a reported proposal to give Oracle only a minority share. “I’m not prepared to sign off on anything. They’re going to be reporting to me tomorrow morning and I’ll let you know.”
Trump said he would be briefed about a proposal that calls for Oracle to become a “trusted technology provider” for TikTok’s American operations, but he did not favour the idea of having the Chinese firm retain control. “It has to be 100% as far as national security is concerned,” Trump said. “I have to see the deal.”Trump said he would be briefed about a proposal that calls for Oracle to become a “trusted technology provider” for TikTok’s American operations, but he did not favour the idea of having the Chinese firm retain control. “It has to be 100% as far as national security is concerned,” Trump said. “I have to see the deal.”
In August TikTok announced that it was to sue the US government over Trump’s executive order. In a blogpost, TikTok said it strongly disagreed with the White House’s position that the company was a national security threat, saying it had “taken extraordinary measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok’s US user data”.In August TikTok announced that it was to sue the US government over Trump’s executive order. In a blogpost, TikTok said it strongly disagreed with the White House’s position that the company was a national security threat, saying it had “taken extraordinary measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok’s US user data”.
Chief executive Kevin Mayer subsequently resigned at the end of August.Chief executive Kevin Mayer subsequently resigned at the end of August.
“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” his resignation letter to employees said.“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” his resignation letter to employees said.
“Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company.”“Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company.”
In a statement, TikTok thanked Mayer for his time and wished him well. “We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision,” it said.In a statement, TikTok thanked Mayer for his time and wished him well. “We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision,” it said.
Speaking of polling, the New York Times widget on how polling might translate to Electoral College votes tells an interesting story today. They break it out into three separate categories.Speaking of polling, the New York Times widget on how polling might translate to Electoral College votes tells an interesting story today. They break it out into three separate categories.
If you only count states where one candidate or the other leads in the polls by at least three points, Joe Biden accumulates 291 Electoral College votes, easily enough to put him into the White House.If you only count states where one candidate or the other leads in the polls by at least three points, Joe Biden accumulates 291 Electoral College votes, easily enough to put him into the White House.
If the polls translate exactly to the results – which the New York Times says they clearly won’t – then Biden romps home with 353 votes to Donald Trump’s 185.If the polls translate exactly to the results – which the New York Times says they clearly won’t – then Biden romps home with 353 votes to Donald Trump’s 185.
However, the one that will be giving Democratic strategists heart palpitation is the last one. They calculate what would happen with the Electoral College “if state polls are as wrong as they were in 2016”. That sees Trump re-elected 278-260.However, the one that will be giving Democratic strategists heart palpitation is the last one. They calculate what would happen with the Electoral College “if state polls are as wrong as they were in 2016”. That sees Trump re-elected 278-260.
In this week’s Politics Weekly Extra podcast, Jonathan Freedland speaks with our Washington DC bureau chief David Smith about why Joe Biden is seemingly doing better than Hillary Clinton did in the polls in 2016. You can listen to it here:In this week’s Politics Weekly Extra podcast, Jonathan Freedland speaks with our Washington DC bureau chief David Smith about why Joe Biden is seemingly doing better than Hillary Clinton did in the polls in 2016. You can listen to it here:
Meanwhile, in a court in London, it appears that Julian Assange’s lawyer has this morning claimed that Assange was informed that Donald Trump would offer him a pardon if he could confirm that Russia was not the source of the DNC leaks.Meanwhile, in a court in London, it appears that Julian Assange’s lawyer has this morning claimed that Assange was informed that Donald Trump would offer him a pardon if he could confirm that Russia was not the source of the DNC leaks.
Assange’s lawyer, report Reuters, said she observed a meeting where former Republican US Representative Dana Rohrabacher and Charles Johnson, an associate known to have close ties to the Trump campaign, made the offer.Assange’s lawyer, report Reuters, said she observed a meeting where former Republican US Representative Dana Rohrabacher and Charles Johnson, an associate known to have close ties to the Trump campaign, made the offer.
“The proposal put forward by Congressman Rohrabacher was that Mr. Assange identify the source for the 2016 election publications in return for some form of pardon,” Robinson said in a witness statement given to the court.“The proposal put forward by Congressman Rohrabacher was that Mr. Assange identify the source for the 2016 election publications in return for some form of pardon,” Robinson said in a witness statement given to the court.
Australian-born Assange, 49, is fighting to stop being sent to the US, where he is charged with conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.Australian-born Assange, 49, is fighting to stop being sent to the US, where he is charged with conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.
Secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross has now issued an official confirmation that the commerce department plans to “prohibit WeChat and TikTok transactions to protect the national security of the United States”. The statement says:Secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross has now issued an official confirmation that the commerce department plans to “prohibit WeChat and TikTok transactions to protect the national security of the United States”. The statement says:
The statement goes on to say that as of September 20, 2020, the following transactions are prohibited:The statement goes on to say that as of September 20, 2020, the following transactions are prohibited:
Any provision of service to distribute or maintain the WeChat or TikTok mobile applications, constituent code, or application updates through an online mobile application store in the USAny provision of service to distribute or maintain the WeChat or TikTok mobile applications, constituent code, or application updates through an online mobile application store in the US
Any provision of services through the WeChat mobile application for the purpose of transferring funds or processing payments within the USAny provision of services through the WeChat mobile application for the purpose of transferring funds or processing payments within the US
The statement adds that as of September 20, 2020, for WeChat and as of November 12, 2020, for TikTok, the following transactions are prohibited:The statement adds that 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 USAny provision of internet hosting services enabling the functioning or optimization of the mobile application in the US
Any provision of content delivery network services enabling the functioning or optimization of the mobile application in the USAny provision of content delivery network services enabling the functioning or optimization of the mobile application in the US
Any provision directly contracted or arranged internet transit or peering services enabling the function or optimization of the mobile application within the USAny provision directly contracted or arranged internet transit or peering services enabling the function or optimization of the mobile application within the US
Any utilization of the mobile application’s constituent code, functions, or services in the functioning of software or services developed and/or accessible within the USAny utilization of the mobile application’s constituent code, functions, or services in the functioning of software or services developed and/or accessible within the US
It also quotes Barr as saying:It also quotes Barr as saying:
Reuters have just posted up an exclusive where they report that the US commerce department plans to issue an order today that will bar people in the US from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on 20 September. David Shepardson writes:Reuters have just posted up an exclusive where they report that the US commerce department plans to issue an order today that will bar people in the US from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on 20 September. David Shepardson writes:
Read it here: Reuters – Trump to block US downloads of TikTok, WeChat on Sunda - officialsRead it here: Reuters – Trump to block US downloads of TikTok, WeChat on Sunda - officials
Texas is a big prize in a US presidential election - only California sends more electors than Texas’ 36. In 2016 the Lone Star state voted for Donald Trump, and a Democratic nominee hasn’t carried the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976. But one question constantly raised is the extent to which voter suppression keeps it a red state. Alexandra Villarreal reports for us:Texas is a big prize in a US presidential election - only California sends more electors than Texas’ 36. In 2016 the Lone Star state voted for Donald Trump, and a Democratic nominee hasn’t carried the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976. But one question constantly raised is the extent to which voter suppression keeps it a red state. Alexandra Villarreal reports for us:
Read it here: Texas is a ‘voter suppression’ state and one of the hardest places to vote. Will it help Trump win?Read it here: Texas is a ‘voter suppression’ state and one of the hardest places to vote. Will it help Trump win?
White House press secretary Kayliegh McEnany has come out this morning attacking Vanity Fair for an “inaccurate and disgusting partisan hit job”.
Without being too glib about it, she possibly needed to be more specific about which article has aggravated her. The reference to the nation’s health makes me suspect she maybe means Bess Levin’s piece “Of course Trump nixed a masks plan that could’ve eradicated Covid-19 in April”.
Based off the reports yesterday that the Washington Post had seen documents showing that the USPS was in an advanced stage of planning the distribution of free face masks to the US population before the scheme was halted, Levin writes:
Or perhaps it might have been this one: “That’s Their Problem”: How Jared Kushner let the markets decide America’s Covid-19 fate. Katherine Eban’s piece from yesterday says:
Vanity Fair also published online yesterday Dan Alexander’s exposé titled “One of the most significant potential conflicts of interest in American history”: how everyone from foreign governments to federal contractors is quietly lining Trump’s pockets. That presumably didn’t win many fans at the White House either. So take your pick, I guess?
A firefighter died battling a wildfire in the San Bernardino National Forest in California, the US Forest Service said Friday.
The death occurred on Thursday as crews battled the El Dorado Fire, the agency said in a news release.
The name of the firefighter was being withheld until family members are notified. The cause of the death was under investigation.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the family, friends and fellow firefighters during this time,” spokesperson Zach Behrens said in the release.
The Associated Press report that the El Dorado Fire broke out in southern California on 5 September, and has burned more than 19,000 acres (7,700 hectares), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It was about 66% contained.
Here’s the first fruits of the $100 million Florida ad blitz that Mike Bloomberg is throwing behind Joe Biden. The ad from Priorities USA Action plays clips of Donald Trump’s statements that the coronavirus is going to go away, that numbers will be low, and that he likes to play down the virus against a chart of the nation’s rising death toll.
Daniel Strauss in Washington reports for us on one person who is almost certain to win their November election – Marjorie Taylor Greene:
Read more here: QAnon conspiracy theorist to feel warm embrace of Republicans in Congress
Graphic photos that surfaced online this week appear to show deep bruises on the face of a Black man who died following a police chase in Louisiana last year, raising new questions about whether his injuries were caused by the crash that ended the chase or an ensuing struggle with state troopers.
The family of 49-year-old Ronald Greene also released images of the SUV involved in the May 2019 crash showing that the vehicle appeared to have sustained only minor damage to its driver’s side.
“We were told that he died in a high-speed chase of head injuries after crashing into a tree,” Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, say. “There was no major damage to the car.”
The Associated Press report that the juxtaposition fueled calls for state police to release body-camera footage of the chase and what the agency recently acknowledged was a “struggle” to take Greene into custody after he drove off the road in rural northern Louisiana near Monroe. State Police have declined to release the video or comment on the photos due to ongoing investigations of Greene’s death.
“These photos are atrocious,” said Eugene W. Collins, president of the Baton Rouge branch of the NAACP, who posted images of Greene’s body on his Facebook page. “We have to believe that, from Day One, the Louisiana State Police were not honest with the public.”
The two graphic photos – which we’ve opted not to publish – appear to have been taken in a medical setting and show apparent bruises and cuts to Greene’s face and scalp were provided by his family and had previously been shared on their social media.
Attorneys for Greene’s family said the images were consistent with the injuries identified in an independent autopsy they commissioned. Portions of it describe “blunt force injuries to the head/face; facial lacerations, abrasions, contusions” and multiple “scalp lacerations.”
Greene’s death was ruled accidental and attributed to cardiac arrest. It has drawn new attention in recent months amid a national reckoning about racial inequality and police misconduct sparked by the widespread Black Lives Matter protest movement.
Greene’s family filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit in May alleging troopers “brutalized” Greene, used a stun gun on him three times and “left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest” before covering up his actual cause of death.
While more than a year has passed since the crash, the State Police have offered no public accounting of what caused Greene’s death.
Departing US ambassador to China Terry Branstad has blamed Beijing in public for the spread of the coronavirus beyond its initial source late last year.
The former Iowa governor told CNN “What could have been contained in Wuhan ended up becoming a worldwide pandemic. [The] Chinese system was such that they covered it up and even penalized the doctors who pointed it out at the beginning. It’s really I think the communist system of China, and their unwillingness to admit wrongdoing that caused this whole thing to happen. And that’s the tragedy of it”
Branstad is expected to campaign for Donald Trump when he returns to the US, having served as ambassador since 2017 during a period when relations between the US and China have become quite tense.
“I think you always, as far as diplomacy is concerned, you want to build relationships with people. President Xi is a very strong leader for China, but this is a communist, authoritarian system, and unfortunately we have very different systems.”
He also said that the Chinese had misled the US president, who was initially willing to believe “what (China) said about the virus, and then he and the rest of the world found out what they said was not true.”
“Interest for people around the world in working with and supporting China has gone down dramatically, not just in the United States.”
Over at Reuters, Joseph Ax has written a scene-setter for today’s campaigning, when both president Donald Trump and Joe Biden will travel to the key midwestern state of Minnesota. Early voting for November’s election begins there today.
Trump, who trails Biden in national polls, is making a bid to capture the state he narrowly lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 while winning neighboring Wisconsin.
Recent opinion polls in Minnesota have given Biden a solid lead; the poll-tracking website RealClearPolitics showed Biden up by an average of 10.2 points as of Thursday.
Biden’s polling advantage underscores the extent to which the current electoral map favors the former vice president. He leads in all three former industrial “Rust Belt” states that Trump flipped from the Democratic column on his way to victory in 2016: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally at an airport in Bemidji, Minnesota, in the evening. Earlier in the day, Biden will tour a union training center in Duluth before delivering a speech.
The state was the flashpoint for a summer of protests about racism in the US, when George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for minutes even after he appeared to lose consciousness, sparking Black Lives Matter protests around the globe.
Biden has denounced the violence at some protests while expressing support for the protesters’ objections to racism and police brutality. He has blamed Trump’s divisive rhetoric for inflaming the situation.
Joe Biden was at a televised town hall last night, and returned to the them that he would trust what scientists tell him about a coronavirus vaccine, but not trust what Donald Trump says about the science. Trump has repeatedly hyped up treatments against coronavirus, and has been criticised for failing to follow evidence and science in his administration’s response to the Covid crisis.
Glenn Thrush at the New York Times has overnight described the Biden performance as “sturdy, if not especially electrifying”. His verdict:
A prominent American former magazine columnist who accused Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s has joined a chorus of voices supporting the latest woman to accuse Trump of sexually assaulting her, Amy Dorris.
E Jean Carroll, a writer and longtime columnist for Elle magazine who has accused Trump of rape and defamation, said Dorris had added to the voices of dozens of women whose descriptions of sexual misconduct by Trump bear striking similarities.
“Dear Amy Dorris: Hail, Gallant Woman!” Carroll wrote on Twitter. “When you came forward today with your story about @realDonaldTrump, you came forward in support of ALL WOMEN. Ravishing regards, E. Jean.”
Carroll linked to a recent interview she conducted with Karena Virginia, who alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her at the same tennis tournament a year after Dorris was there.
Read more here: ‘Hail, gallant woman’: Amy Dorris praised for coming forward with Trump assault allegation
Good morning, and welcome to Friday’s edition of our live blog on US politics. Here’s a catch-up on what happened yesterday and overnight, and a bit on what is slated to happen today:
There were 849 new coronavirus deaths and 45,391 new cases reported in the US yesterday. The average number of new daily cases is down around 1% on the fortnight before, but yesterday is only the second time since 6 September that the number of new cases has leapt above 40,000. There are now fifteen states which have had a worrying daily average of at least 15 new cases per 100,000 people for the last week.
Joe Biden told a televised town hall that the president’s pandemic response is “close to criminal”. “I don’t trust the president on vaccines. I trust Dr Fauci” he said.
It has been reported that guidance about coronavirus testing posted in August on the CDC website was not written by the agency’s scientists, and was posted despite their objections.
Donald Trump attacked a Pulitzer Prize-winning education project on slavery and announced his own “patriotic education” plan. Critics condemned his rewrite of America’s legacy of racism. Nikole Hannah-Jones, the writer behind the 1619 Project, noted that Trump’s White House Conference on American History has “not a single Black historian on it”.
Amy Dorris came forward to claim that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in 1997. She’s been praised by some of the 26 other women who have made similar accusations against the president.
FBI chief Chris Wray warned of Russian interference in the elections, citing a “steady drumbeat of misinformation” that he said he feared could undermine confidence in the result.
Eric Trump said through his lawyers that he is willing to be interviewed by the New York attorney general’s office for its investigation into the Trump Organization – after the election.
Wildfires continued to burn across the US west coast, with smoke reaching as far as Europe. Forecast rain for the Pacific north-west prompted hopes of improved fire-fighting conditions in Washington state and Oregon.
The president will receive his intelligence briefing and then Trump will speak at a Great American Comeback event in Bemidji, Minnesota.
Biden is also campaiging in Minnesota, traveling to Duluth to tour a union training center and deliver a speech.
I’m Martin Belam and you can get in touch with me via email: martin.belam@theguardian.com