Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
October 21, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Trump walks out of 60 Minutes Lesley Stahl interview, threatens to release own tape . . . President Trump abruptly ended his 60 Minutes interview on Tuesday because he did not like the tough questions posed by CBS journalist Lesley Stahl, who quizzed him on his response to the coronavirus pandemic and questioned the size of his campaign rally crowds, according to a new report. The president walked out of the sit-down just 45 minutes into the
meeting, telling the network he believed he had given them enough material before accusing them of being biased towards Democratic rival Joe Biden. He then threatened to release footage of the encounter before its scheduled airtime on Sunday, aiming to expose the 'fake and biased' interview without further elaborating on what went wrong. Trump cut the interview short because he was unhappy with Stahl's hardball approach and was worried the discussion would be edited to portray him in an
unflattering light. Stahl had reportedly prefaced the conversation by asking Trump if he was 'ready for a tough interview', before grilling him on his administration's handling of the pandemic and his exchanges with Dr Anthony Fauci. Daily Mail
60 Minutes is not a news program. It's more like a documentary. They selectively edit footage to create the story they want to tell. No doubt, one very unfavorable to Trump.
More states see rising Covid hospitalizations . . . The United States is going deeper into a third surge of coronavirus infections, driven mostly by states in the Midwest. States such as South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Nevada, have reported skyrocketing test positivity rates. The weekly average rate in South Dakota exceeds 37%, and the rates in Wisconsin and Nevada are about 25% and 46%, respectively. The weekly average of new
daily cases in the U.S. was above 58,300 as of Monday, a level not seen since early August, and is climbing toward the summer peak, with 67,200 new cases on July 22. Washington Examiner
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FBI has Hunter Biden's laptop . . . The FBI is in possession of the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden which contained emails revealing his foreign business dealings, including contacts in Ukraine and China, two senior administration officials told Fox News Tuesday. The FBI declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation into the laptop or the emails, as is standard practice. The FBI and
Justice Department officials concur with an assessment from Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe that the laptop is not part of a Russian disinformation campaign targeting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Fox News
Photo shows Joe Biden meeting Hunters alleged business partner from Kazakhstan . . . A new photograph has emerged of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden posing with Hunter Biden and Kenes Rakishev, a Kazakh oligarch who reportedly worked with the former veep’s scandal-scarred son. The snap, first published by a Kazakhstani anti-corruption website in 2019, follows last week’s bombshell Post exposés detailing
Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and a report claiming Rakishev paid the Biden scion as a go-between to broker US investments. New York Post
Pollster who predicted Trump 2016 win says he'll win again . . . The pollster who predicted the 2016 election result says is on track to win the presidency again bolstered by his 'hidden' support. Trafalgar Group chief pollster Robert Cahaly says Trump is likely to be re-elected based off polls from this month that show him in a slight lead in key states. Cahaly says those polls don't include Trump's 'hidden' fans who do not want to
identify themselves by participating in polls for fear of retribution for supporting Trump. Daily Mail
It doesn’t matter. They love him anyway. Or at least, they don’t want to do anything that would interfere with him defeating President Trump. Anyway, some good video of Joe Biden biting the hand that feeds him.
How the Trump campaign frittered away $1 billion . . . President Donald Trump´s sprawling political operation has raised well over $1 billion since he took the White House in 2017 - and already burned through a lot of it. Trump's campaign has fallen behind that of rival Joe Biden after a series of costly purchases - and is now having to cancel ad buys as the Democrats look set to outspend him two-to-one. Trump bought a $10
million Super Bowl ad when he didn't yet have a challenger, while aides made flashy displays of their newfound wealth - including a fleet of luxury vehicles purchased by Brad Parscale, his former campaign manager. Trump also tapped his political organization to cover exorbitant legal fees related to his impeachment. The campaign also spent $100,000 on copies of Donald Trump Jr.'s book 'Triggered', helping it become a bestseller, as well as $35.9 million on Trump merchandise. Associated Press
Video || Trump's greatest hits from his rally Monday in Prescott, Arizona . . . President Trump was pretty fiery during this rally. I do think it’s going to occur to people that this guy bolted out of his Covid bed while Biden continues to skulk around in a mask. It’s just a basic human characteristic — a basic mammalian characteristic — to want strength and shows of strength from a leader. Biden’s basement strategy is a bad idea. White House Dossier
Trump urged to let Biden do the talking in Thursday debate . . .
Trump has a chance to walk away with a win in Thursday night’s final debate if he can step back and allow Biden to talk himself into trouble, according to Republican strategists, debate experts, and his unofficial coaches at Fox News. Sam Nunberg, a senior aide to Trump during the 2016 campaign, said the president
needed to lay out competing visions for America’s future in a “non-bullying” manner. The new rules would help, he added. “Anything Biden says, even though he likes to package it as a moderate, is actually radical. His policy proposals are not popular,” he said. Washington Examiner
Melania cancels campaign appearance with president due to lingering Covid
symptoms
Obama begins campaigning for Biden today . . . There were lots of logical states for Joe Biden to roll out the biggest weapon in his campaign arsenal. He chose to deploy former President Barack Obama to Pennsylvania for the latter's first in-person event in 2020. On Wednesday, Obama will hold a drive-in rally in Philadelphia, and he will talk directly to Black voters — and Black men specifically — according to the Biden campaign. The
former president is also expected to discuss the importance of making a plan to vote early. Politico
Um, I'm not sure this is going to help. The Left doesn't like him much, and Republicans can't stand him. His presidency was a nightmare.
Senate to vote Monday on Amy Coney Barrett nomination . . . The Senate will vote Monday on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. “With regard to the Supreme Court justice … we’ll be voting to confirm justice-to-be Barrett next Monday,” McConnell said during a weekly press conference. “I think that will be another signature accomplishment in our effort to put on the
courts, the federal courts, men and women that believe in the quaint notion that maybe the job of a judge is to actually follow the law,” he said. White House Dossier
Majority back confirming Amy Coney Barrett . . . Polls show that confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court is generally popular with voters. A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows that a slight majority of voters, 51 percent, think the Senate
should vote to confirm her nomination, far greater than the 28 percent who say the Senate should vote not to confirm her. A little more than 2 in 10 voters, 21 percent, don’t have an opinion. Politico
Schumer declines to back Feinstein after her ACB hearing performance . . . Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he has had a “serious talk” with fellow Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein following last week’s Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. “I’ve had a long and serious talk with Senator Feinstein. That’s all I’m going to say about it right now,” Schumer told reporters at
a news conference, The Washington Post reported. Feinstein, the 87-year-old senior senator from California, serves as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the panel before which Barrett appeared. Fox News
She wasn't mean enough.
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Retailers secure stores as worries about election unrest mount . . . While still open for shoppers, stores like Gucci, H&M, and Nordstrom are also boarded up after looters targeted the city's famed retail district in the spring and summer, when protests gripped more than 100 U.S. cities. As security experts warn that the U.S. presidential election could spark renewed civil unrest, those stores remain clad in
plywood as retailers seek to keep property and employees safe in the event street violence flares anew. Reuters
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Lagos locked down after protestors fired on . . . Lagos was under a round-the-clock curfew on Wednesday enforced by police roadblocks, as smoke rose from a flashpoint area in Nigeria’s biggest city where soldiers shot at protesters the previous evening, witnesses said. The Lagos state governor said 30 people were hurt in the shooting at a toll gate in the Lekki district, a focal point of nearly two weeks of nationwide protests
against allegations of systematic police brutality. Four witnesses said soldiers had fired the bullets and at least two people had been shot. Reuters
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Mnuchin, Pelosi make progress on stimulus deal but McConnell doesn't want it . . . Pelosi’s office signaled that while the parties are “closer to an agreement,” there remain key differences requiring another transfer of proposals — and more time consumed as Nov. 3 quickly approaches. The pair is scheduled to talk again on Wednesday. But during a closed-door lunch that same day, McConnell privately told GOP senators that he
had warned the White House not to cut a deal with Pelosi right before the election because it could disrupt the Senate’s plan to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. The Hill
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Officer shot during Breonna Taylor incident said her death not related to race . . . Jonathan Mattingly felt "mostly frustration" as he watched months of protests across the country in reaction to Taylor's death. "There was so much misinformation out, all these false narratives," said Mattingly, who fired his weapon six times the night Taylor, a 26-year-old certified emergency medical technician, died in March. "This is not
relatable to George Floyd. It's nothing like it. This is not Ahmaud Arbery, it's nothing like it," he said. "It's not a race thing, like people wanna try to make it to be ... This is the point where we're doing our job, we return fire. ABC News
Michael Savage under fire for attack on Limbaugh . . . Radio host Michael Savage took heat on social media earlier this week for comments he made after Rush Limbaugh's emotional cancer update. "Limbaugh's crying about his cancer on air! Worst 15 minutes in radio history!" Savage wrote on Twitter. "Spilled a large coffee all over counter and floor. I PROMISE MY AUDIENCE THIS- I WILL NOT DRAG YOU DOWN WITH ME! Best wishes RUSH,
but stop and leave the stage with dignity." "Compare this to Lou Gehrig in Yankee Stadium," he continued. Fox News
Avengers stars defend Chris Platt over religious, conservative views . . . Chris Pratt's Marvel co-stars Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr have rallied to defend the actor after so-called woke warriors slammed his conservative political beliefs and Christian faith. Pratt came under fire over the weekend from critics questioning why he has not been more politically engaged about current events - given his platform as one of Hollywood's biggest
names. The critics branded him 'Hollywood's Worst Chris' as they pointed to his involvement in a conservative church as evidence that he's secretly a fan of President Donald Trump. Daily Mail
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Rapper 50 Cent back Trump: "I don't want to be 20 Cent" . . . Entertainer 50 Cent is standing his ground over recent comments about Joseph R. Biden’s tax plans. The famous rapper/actor, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, told critics, “Yeah, I don’t want to be 20 Cent. 62% is a very, very, bad idea. I don’t
like it,” on Tuesday. Mr. Jackson made headlines less than 24 hours earlier by tweeting, “What the f—! I’m out. F— New York Knicks never win anyway. I don’t care if Trump doesn’t like black people. 62% are you out of ya f—ing mind?” Washington Times
Apparently, unlike Democrats on Capitol Hill, rappers are good at math.
Elizabeth Warren: Trump could cause extinction of all life . . . Sen. Elizabeth Warren brought a truly apocalyptic warning to Minnesota in her attempts to get voters to support Joe Biden. The Massachusetts Democrat told students in St. Paul over the weekend that “all life” would be subject to
extinction if President Trump wins reelection in November. “He withdraws from the Paris Climate Accord; he’s put a coal lobbyist in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency. Donald Trump threatens the existence of human life, of all life, on this planet. And on November 3 we will hold Donald Trump accountable!” Washington Times
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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