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Category: Politics

  • ‘Going to hire Dr. Fauci and fire Donald Trump’: Biden

    ‘Going to hire Dr. Fauci and fire Donald Trump’: Biden

    Biden’s remarks came after Trump suggested at a rally in Florida late Sunday that he might try to dismiss Fauci from his post at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases following the election….reports Asian Lite News

    Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has defended Anthony Fauci after US President Donald Trump suggested he might fire America’s top infectious disease expert after Election Day.

    “Last night, Trump said he was going to fire Fauci. Isn’t that wonderful?” Xinhua news agency quoted Biden as saying during a drive-in rally in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday.

    “I’ve got a better idea. Elect me, and I’m going to hire Dr. Fauci and we’re going to fire Donald Trump,” said Biden.

    Biden’s remarks came after Trump suggested at a rally in Florida late Sunday that he might try to dismiss Fauci from his post at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases following the election.

    “Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Trump said when the crowd broke out into chants of “fire Fauci”.

    “I appreciate the advice… He’s a nice man though. He’s been wrong on a lot,” Trump said.

    Former President Barack Obama also slammed Trump’s suggestion on Monday while addressing a rally in Atlanta.

    “One of the few people in this administration who’s been taking this seriously all along and what’d he say? His second-term plan is to fire that guy,” Obama said.

    “They’ve already said they’re not going to contain the pandemic. Now they want to fire the one person who can actually help them contain the pandemic,” he said.

    The Trump administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic remains a major issue of this year’s election.

    The country’s overall caseload has reached 9,284,261, while the death toll stood at 231,507 , both tallies the highest in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

    Also read:Trump Hints Firing Fauci After Election Results

  • Biden tops Trump by 10 points in national poll

    Biden tops Trump by 10 points in national poll

    This final pre-election poll found that Biden was ahead of Trump by six points, 51 per cent to 45 per cent, in 12 combined battleground states…reports Asian Lite News

    • Joe Biden.

    2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads US President Donald Trump by 10 percentage points nationally, according to a new poll.

    Biden’s support stands at 52 per cent to Trump’s 42 per cent among national registered voters, the NBC News and Wall Street Journal poll showed as Election day is just two days away, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

    This final pre-election poll found that Biden was ahead of Trump by six points, 51 per cent to 45 per cent, in 12 combined battleground states, namely Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

    The poll, which was conducted from October 29 to 31, also showed that Biden had the advantage over Trump among Black voters (87 per cent to 5 per cent), young voters ages between 18 and 34 (60 per cent to 32 per cent), seniors (58 per cent to 35 per cent), women (57 per cent to 37 per cent), whites with college degrees (56 per cent to 41 per cent) and independents (51 per cent to 36 per cent).

    Trump, however, maintained the edge among white voters (51 per cent to 45 per cent) and whites without degrees (58 per cent to 37 per cent).

    The poll found that 57 per cent of voters disprove Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 55 per cent in the poll approve his administration’s dealing with the economy.

    The poll was released as both presidential candidates making last-ditch effort to secure ballots in battleground states. Biden would visit Pennsylvania on Sunday, as Trump had planned five rallies in five key states — Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

    Also read:US election: Melania Trump makes rare joint rally appearance

  • Labour Suspends Ex-Leader Jeremy Corbyn

    Labour Suspends Ex-Leader Jeremy Corbyn

    Jeremy Corbyn

    UK’s Labour Party on Thursday suspended Jeremy Corbyn from the party over his reaction to a highly critical report on anti-Semitism, the media reported.

    According to BBC report, the human rights watchdog found Labour responsible for “unlawful” harassment and discrimination during Mr Corbyn’s years in charge of the party.

    But Mr Corbyn later said the scale of anti-Semitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated” by opponents, the report said.

    The Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer suspended Mr Corbyn “for a failure to retract” his words.

    Mr Corbyn reacted by calling the move “political” and promised to “strongly contest” it, it was reported.

    Sir Keir Starmer

    “I will strongly contest the political intervention to suspend me. I’ve made absolutely clear that those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour Party are wrong. It’s also undeniable that a false impression has been created of the number of members accused of antisemitism, as polling shows: that is what has been overstated, not the seriousness of the problem.I will continue to support a zero tolerance policy towards all forms of racism. And I urge all members to stay calm and focused – while this problem is resolved amicably, as I believe it will be – to defeat this awful government, which is further impoverishing the poorest in our society,” Mr Corbyn said in a statement.

  • Biden casts ballot in home state

    Biden casts ballot in home state

    “Well, we just voted,” Biden said on Wednesday, holding his wife Jill’s hand as the couple emerged from the Carvel State Office Building in the former Vice President’s hometown of Wilmington…reports Asian Lite News

    Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has cast an early ballot in his home state of Delaware for the November 3 election, saying that he will work with the Republicans on improving the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to give Americans better healthcare.

    “Well, we just voted,” Biden said on Wednesday, holding his wife Jill’s hand as the couple emerged from the Carvel State Office Building in the former Vice President’s hometown of Wilmington.

    Regarding the ACA, also known as Obamacare, the former vice president said: “I do have a proposal that relates to how we can improve the Affordable Care Act beyond what it was before, which Barack (Obama) and I wanted to do at the time to add a public option, allowing people to keep their private insurance, if that’s what they want to do, making it more affordable to get a better plan,” Xinhua news agency reported.

    On October 24, President Donald Trump had also voted in Palm Beach, Florida, the state to which he changed his resident status from his native New York in 2019.

    The President said he “voted for a guy named Trump”.

    • Trump, Biden trade early jabs in first presidential debate.

    As of Wednesday afternoon, over 75 million votes have been cast, which represents more than half the 138.8 million ballots cast during the entirety of the 2016 election cycle, according to the US Election Project, a turnout-tracking database.

    Among those ballots, over 25 million were cast in-person, while nearly 50 million were mailed-in.

    The pandemic coupled with both parties’ campaigns to get their most ardent supporters to vote early has led to a surge in early votes across the nation, and across demographic groups.

    Meanwhile, a CNN poll released on Wednesday revealed that Biden currently had a substantial lead over Trump, with 54 per cent of the registered voters supporting the former Vice President, while 42 per cent backed the President.

    Also read:Biden to campaign in Iowa for 1st time

  • US election: Republicans need electoral votes from toss-up states

    US election: Republicans need electoral votes from toss-up states

    Republicans have to do hard work as they have 163 electoral votes in the Solid, Likely and Lean categories and would need 85 (100%) electoral votes from the Toss Up column plus 22 votes from the Lean Democrat column…reports Asian Lite News

    Democrats in the US are sitting pretty with 290 electoral votes while Republicans have 163 electoral votes and would need votes from the toss up states and the Democrat column in the Presidential elections.

    As per the Cook Political Report of 2020 Electoral College Ratings, Democrats have 188 electoral votes from 14 states in the Solid Democrat column in California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), Washington DC (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine 1st CD (1, Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), New Mexico (5), New York (29), Oregon (7), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), and Washington (12).

    Democrats have 290 electoral votes in the Solid, Likely and Lean categories and would need 0 electoral votes from the Toss Up column, the report said.

    In the likely Democrat column there are 3 states with 24 Electoral Votes, Colorado (9), Maine (2) and Virginia (13).

    The lean democrat column has 7 states with 78 Electoral Votes. These include Arizona (11), Michigan (16), Minnesota (10), Nebraska 2nd CD (1), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4), Pennsylvania (20) and Wisconsin (10).

    There are five toss up states with 85 Electoral Votes including Florida (29), Georgia (16), Iowa (6), Maine 2nd CD (1), North Carolina (15) and Ohio (18).

    Republicans have to do hard work as they have 163 electoral votes in the Solid, Likely and Lean categories and would need 85 (100%) electoral votes from the Toss Up column plus 22 votes from the Lean Democrat column.

    There are 13 Solid Republican states with 77 Electoral Votes including Alabama (9), Arkansas (6), Idaho (4), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Nebraska (2), Nebraska 1st CD (1), Nebraska 3rd CD (1), North Dakota (3) Oklahoma (7), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), West Virginia (5) and Wyoming (3).

    The likely Republican are 7 states with 48 electoral votes of Alaska (3), Indiana (11), Kansas (6), Missouri (10), Montana (3), South Carolina (9) and Utah (6).

    The lean Republican state is Texas with 38 electoral votes. Republicans need 100 per cent electoral votes from the five toss up states of Florida, Gerogia, Iowa, Maine 2nd CD, North Carolina and Ohio.

    They also need 22 votes from the lean Democrat states of Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

    According to the report, 48 states and the District of Columbia each allocate their Electoral College votes on a winner-take-all basis. Maine and Nebraska each award two electoral votes to the statewide winner and one electoral vote to the winner in each congressional district.

    Also read:Trump expresses disappointment in collapse of Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire

  • Biden to campaign in Iowa for 1st time

    Biden to campaign in Iowa for 1st time

    The state swung in favour for the Obama-Biden presidential ticket in 2008 and 2012, before flipping to Trump in 2016…reports Asian Lite News

    • Joe Biden.

    For the first time since he won the Democratic Party’s nomination for the November 3 presidential election, Joe Biden is set to campaign in Iowa this week, another battleground state which President Donald Trump won in 2016.

    In a statement on Monday, Biden’s campaign said that he “will travel to Iowa and discuss bringing Americans together to address the crises facing the country and win the battle for the soul of the nation”, The Hill news website reported.

    The state swung in favour for the Obama-Biden presidential ticket in 2008 and 2012, before flipping to Trump in 2016.

    Trump won 51.15 per cent of the votes in the 2016 presidential election, while his then Democratic rival garnered 41.74 per cent of the ballots.

    Latest polls have revealed that Biden and Trump were neck-and-neck in Iowa.

    In a New York Times-Siena College poll released on October 21, Biden was leading by three points against Trump or 46 per cent to 43 per cent.

    Another poll conducted by Monmouth University revealed that the former Vice President led the President by 50 per cent to 47 per cent.

    Also read:Biden leads in Florida, N.Carolina: Polls

  • Biden leads in Florida, N.Carolina: Polls

    Biden leads in Florida, N.Carolina: Polls

    In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won Florida by 49.02 per cent of the votes, while his then Democratic rival Hillary Clinton came in close with 47.82 per cent of the ballots…reports Asian Lite News

    • Joe Biden.

    New tracker polls have revealed that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was leading against US President Donald Trump in the two battleground states of Florida and North Carolina.

    In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won Florida by 49.02 per cent of the votes, while his then Democratic rival Hillary Clinton came in close with 47.82 per cent of the ballots.

    Trump also won North Carolina with 49.83 per cent of the votes, while Clinton garnered 46.17 per cent.

    The CBS News Battleground Tracker polls released on Sunday showed Biden having a 50-48 edge over Trump in Florida and a 51-47 advantage in North Carolina, reports The Hill news website.

    In the two states, a majority (61 per cent) of those who have already cast their ballots in early voting said they voted for Biden.

    The President meanwhile, had majority support among the registered voters who are yet to cast their ballots.

    Meanwhile, the latest Quinnipiac University poll national released on October 23 showed Biden with a 10-point advantage, and a RealClearPolitics polling average revealed that the former Vice President was leading by 8.1 percentage points.

    According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on October 21, Biden was in the lead with support from 49 per cent of registered voters, while Trump had the backing of 45 per cent, The Hill news agency reported.

    Also read:Biden sets television spending record

  • Early voting breaks record week before US election 2020

    Early voting breaks record week before US election 2020

    Registered Democrat voters were leading with 51 per cent of the total ballots cast, while Republicans made up for 31 per cent…reports Asian Lite News

    • Wearing masks, voters line up with social distance to vote during the in-person early voting outside a polling station in Madison Square Garden in New York, the United States, Oct. 24, 2020. Early voting began across New York State on Saturday, offering voters nine days to cast their ballots prior to Election Day. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

    The number of people who have already cast their ballots in the early voting for the November 3 US presidential election has hit a record 58.6 million, with just nine days remaining for Election Day.

    The figure revealed on Sunday has surpassed the total number of people who submitted early or absentee ballots in the 2016 contest for the White House, The Hill news website reported.

    Registered Democrat voters were leading with 51 per cent of the total ballots cast, while Republicans made up for 31 per cent.

    Reacting to the voter percentage, Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, said: “The huge majority of President Trump’s supporters are planning to vote on Election Day and Democrats are going to be short of the early vote marks they need in key battleground states.

    “They know it, so no one should be fooled by this early vote narrative,”

    The campaign of Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden was yet to comment on the record turnout figure.

    In the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, more Americans were choosing to vote by mail than ever before.

    Meanwhile, the latest Quinnipiac University poll national released on October 23 showed Biden with a 10-point advantage, and a RealClearPolitics polling average revealed that the former Vice President was leading by 8.1 percentage points.

    According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on October 21, Biden was in the lead with support from 49 per cent of registered voters, while Trump had the backing of 45 per cent, The Hill news agency reported.

    Also read:Early voting kicks off in New York state

  • Police officers must remain ‘apolitical’, NYC Mayor warns

    Police officers must remain ‘apolitical’, NYC Mayor warns

    NYPD News on Sunday retweeted a video in which police officers in Flatbush, a neighbourhood in Brooklyn, were allegedly saying “Trump 2020” over and over again on their patrol car’s speaker…reports Asian Lite News

    New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warning that “any NYPD Officer pushing any political agenda while on duty will face consequences”.

    While retweeting a New York Police Department (NYPD) post saying that “police officers must remain apolitical”, the Mayor said on Sunday: “We will act fast here, and this will not be tolerated,” Xinhua news agency reported.

    NYPD News on Sunday retweeted a video in which police officers in Flatbush, a neighbourhood in Brooklyn, were allegedly saying “Trump 2020” over and over again on their patrol car’s speaker when the early voting of the general election started in New York City on October 24.

    “We are aware of this video and it is under investigation by our Brooklyn South Investigation Unit,” said NYPD News.

    The video was first tweeted by Talia Jane, who identifies as an independent reporter, saying that the police “stopped when someone started filming but couldn’t resist one more — in violation of the NYPD’s policy against endorsing candidates on duty”.

    Last week, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan had said that the department was devoting more resources to the election this year than in previous years because of the nature of the current presidential race.

    Officers were dispatched to monitor 88 polling places offering early voting and will be dispatched to 1,201 polling stations around the city on November 3, Election Day, including 708 public schools and new polling sites at Madison Square Garden and Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

    Nationwide, early voting rates have dramatically surged this year, as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, campaigned for the White House.

    Also read:Trump campaigns in 3 swing states

  • Pence stays in battleground despite aide’s Covid-19 diagnosis

    Pence stays in battleground despite aide’s Covid-19 diagnosis

    US President Donald Trump’s running mate will not self-isolate, although he is a close contact of the VP chief of staff, Marc Short…reports Asian Lite News

    • US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at Republican National Convention.

    US Vice-President Mike Pence plans to maintain a busy election campaign schedule despite being exposed to a senior aide who has tested positive for Covid-19, his spokesman says.

    US President Donald Trump’s running mate will not self-isolate, although he is a close contact of the VP chief of staff, Marc Short.

    Pence and his wife both tested negative on Sunday, his office said. Covid-19 has become a key battleground ahead of the November 3 election, the BBC reported.

    About 57 million ballots have already been cast in early voting, a record figure largely spurred by the pandemic.

    Trump’s Democratic challenger, former Vice-President Joe Biden, holds an average eight-point lead in national polls. But the race is much closer in several important swing states.

    • United States Vice President Mike Pence (Photo: White House/IANS)

    Pence – who leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force – and his wife, Karen, remained “in good health”, his spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement.

    “While Vice-President Pence is considered a close contact with Short, in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, the vice-president will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines for essential personnel,” he added.

    Those measures include regular monitoring for symptoms and mask-wearing. CDC guidelines also state that those who have had close contact with someone who has Covid-19 should self-isolate for 14 days.

    Speaking on CNN, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Pence continued to perform “essential” duties as vice-president, but did not explain how his campaign activities could be classified as “essential”.

    Also read:Mike Pence’s top aide tests Covid-19 positive