Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
November 16, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Trump's near-concession on Twitter shows he recognizes defeat, say allies . . . President Trump is coming to grips with his re-election defeat, according to aides and advisers, even as he continues to publicly discredit the outcome and delay the start of the official transition to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. Trump began a tweet Sunday morning with the phrase “He won,” interpreted by even fellow Republicans as a possible
concession. “I think that’s a start of an acknowledgment,” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said on “Meet the Press.” After news organizations published stories saying Trump had acknowledged defeat for the first time, the president followed up with a tweet proclaiming, “I concede NOTHING!” But pressure is growing both from Biden’s team and from within Trump’s party for the government to begin the formal transition process, delayed by the president’s refusal to concede. Bloomberg
The first tweet included a comment that Biden "won." My take is that this was a Freudian slip revealing that Trump understands the game is over.
Thanksgiving canceled by Washington Gov. Inslee . . . Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will implement new sweeping restrictions on businesses and activities as the state reported over 2,000 cases a day over the weekend and average coronavirus cases in the state have doubled in the past two weeks. Inslee is cracking down on indoor gatherings ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, noting
that gathering with those outside your home will be banned unless everyone involved quarantines for two weeks and tests negative for the virus. Fox Business
Christmas canceled by Jake Tapper . . . CNN "State of the Union" host Jake Tapper suggested during a Sunday interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci that Christmas is "probably not gonna be possible" this year as medical experts warn of COVID-19 spikes caused by widespread indoor holiday gatherings. "You can approach a degree of normality while still doing some fundamental health things that synergize with the
vaccine to get us back to normal," Fauci said. Fox News
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Trump supporters attacked with fireworks in Washington after MAGA march . . . Police have arrested a suspect in connection with fireworks that went off at a D.C. restaurant, hitting Trump supporters after Saturday’s “MAGA Million March,” according to reports. A video of the incident shows a large crowd descending on P.J. Clarke’s restaurant just a few blocks away from the White House. Amid a heated confrontation
between a small group of Trump supporters and a hostile crowd, someone sets off fireworks that explode on the patio. Fox News
Where is right wing mob that was supposed to light up the country if Trump lost? Instead, leftists are committing violence — after they WON.
Ivanka and Don Jr. blast media for not covering violence against Trump backers . . . Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. defended their father's most staunch supporters on Sunday as they excoriated those who exhibit violence against conservatives and lashed out at the media for exacerbating the problem by not covering these violent clashes enough. 'The media's near total silence about the physical violence being perpetrated against conservatives is
shameful & dangerous,' Ivanka Trump, who serves as a White House senior adviser, tweeted Sunday morning. 'Just image (sic) the outrage and indignation if this went the other way,' she continued. Daily Mail
Trump campaign pares back Pa. lawsuit . . . President Donald Trump’s campaign has dramatically scaled back its federal lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania, dropping legal claims stemming from observers who assert they were blocked from viewing vote-counting in counties dominated by Democrats. Politico
Trump legal team claims voting machines rigged . . . President Trump’s legal team on Sunday said accusations of rigged voting machines not only cast doubt on the election results but also demand a national security investigation. Dominion Voting Systems‘ widely used ballot-scanning machines and vote tabulation software are suspected of inflating vote totals for presumed President-elect Joseph R. Biden. Those suspicions so
far are not fully substantiated. The company, however, is not a stranger to election integrity concerns, including a corporate lineage with links to the late Venezuelan socialist strongman Hugo Chavez. Washington Times
Video || Media celebrate Trump loss, even to the point of crying
Biden fills legal posts with systemic racism experts . . . When it comes to economic policy, President-elect Joe Biden is putting racial disparities high on the agenda as he assembles his administration.
The incoming president tapped Mehrsa Baradaran, whose book “The Color of Money” is a key reference on the racial wealth gap, to prepare the Treasury Department for the transition. She’s joined by Lisa Cook, an economist at Michigan State University, on the “landing team” for the Federal Reserve and banking and securities regulators.
They are among more than 500 experts who will focus on race. Bloomberg
That's weird. There is no systemic racism in this country.
Biden advisers say they oppose national lockdown . . . Two members of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board said they are opposed to a blanket lockdown for the entire country, favoring local measures to target hot spots. During an interview with Fox News Sunday, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, co-chairman of the advisory board, told Chris Wallace that "the way we think about
lockdowns is different now" and the new administration is "not thinking of a national lockdown." Washington Examiner
GOP swing state leaders will not flip Electoral College votes to Trump . . . GOP leadership in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin say they won't participate in legally suspicious schemes to flip their state's electors for Donald Trump. Comments from leaders in these swing states that went blue this year effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House. State
GOP lawmakers in the four key battleground states that swung blue this election have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors. Daily Mail
Georgia Senate candidate won't say whether he attended Castro speech . . . CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Democratic Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock about a 1995 speech by former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro given at a church he worked at as a youth pastor. Warnock has drawn fire from his opponent, Republican Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, for the fact that he was a youth pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem,
New York when Castro gave a speech there. While Fox News reported that the church’s pastor praised Castro and attendees chanted “Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!” Warnock’s campaign has so far refused to confirm or deny that the Senate candidate was in attendance. Daily Caller
Biden pressured by Left to erase student debt . . . Not like we have a federal budget deficit or anything. Just add that to the tab, waitress, thank you. According to the Washington Examiner: “President-elect Joe Biden vowed to erase billions of dollars in student loan debt while campaigning for the high office and is now under pressure from the political Left to make good on the promise.
“In the event that Republicans hold the Senate and block much of his progressive legislative agenda, lessening student debt is one of the largest goals Biden could pursue unilaterally. White House Dossier
As several of my readers pointed out, what about those who worked hard and paid their debts? Do they get their money back?
Obama to Trump: "Think beyond your own ego" and concede the election . . . Barack Obama called on President Trump to “think beyond your own ego” and finally concede to Joe Biden, accusing Trump of “delegitimizing” not just Joe Biden but democracy itself.
“A president is a public servant,” Obama lectured. “They are temporary occupants of the office, by design. When your time is up then it is your job to put the country first and think beyond your own ego, and your own interests, and your own disappointments.”
A constitutional scholar indeed! White House Dossier
Kind of strange for Barack Obama to tell someone to think beyond his ego. And truly bizarre for him to discuss efforts to delegitimize democracy and the winning presidential candidate after Democrats spent four years doing this to Trump.
Jim Acosta says Trump will be just "another crackpot on the Internet" after Jan. 20 . . . CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta said that President Donald Trump will become “another crackpot on the internet” after he leaves office. Acosta appeared Friday night on “Anderson Cooper 360” to discuss Trump’s Rose Garden statement about Operation Warp Speed and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Daily Caller
How is that no one in mainstream journalism protests this kind of opinion making by a supposedly neutral reporter? Because they all think their opinions are "facts."
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Expert: China delighted with Biden win and helped arrange it . . . Beijing is pleased with several news outlets calling the 2020 presidential race for Democrat Joe Biden, China expert Gordon Chang said on Sunday. Speaking on “The Cats Roundtable” radio show on WABC 770AM hosted by John Catsimatidis, Chang said, “I think China is very happy with how things turned out, because Beijing worked very hard to get the
vice president elected” by malicious and massive attacks on President Donald Trump through a public disinformation campaign. Chang said “that Twitter took down 174,000 fake Chinese accounts in June alone, which shows you the size of China’s effort. And they were working for Biden even during the Democratic nomination process, because they were favoring him over Bernie Sanders.” Newsmax
Trump was accused of cozying up to dictators. But nothing will make them feel more cozy and comfortable than a victory by this weak man and his leftist future vice president.
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Category 4 hurricane barrels toward Central America . . . An “extremely dangerous” Category 4 Hurricane Iota was sweeping early Monday across the western Caribbean toward Central America, where it is expected to make landfall in the same region battered by Hurricane Eta last week, forecasters said. The rapidly strengthening Iota could wind up as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane by the time it reaches land, forecasters
said. New York Post
Why on earth would you call a hurricane "iota"?
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World stocks head for record high . . . Global stocks eyed a fresh record high on Monday as signs of economic recovery in Asia, strong corporate earnings and additional positive data about a COVID-19 vaccine boosted investor sentiment. U.S. stock futures pointed to a stronger open on Wall Street, up 1.2%, extending gains after pharma company Moderna said its prospective vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing the illness
which has ravaged economies across the globe. Reuters
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Trump allies exploring Newsmax buyout . . . For nearly two years, allies of President Trump have been exploring ways to build up a formidable competitor to Fox News. One target they recently zeroed in on: the fledgling pro-Trump cable channel Newsmax TV, part of a larger effort that could also include a streaming-video service. Newsmax’s viewership has risen sharply since Election Day, as it wins over viewers loyal to Mr.
Trump who are frustrated that Fox News and other networks have declared Democrat Joe Biden the president-elect. Newsmax hosts have promoted Mr. Trump’s claims that the election was stolen. Wall Street Journal
SpaceX Resilience takes off . . . SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company. The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one
Japanese, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top was due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. USA Today
Dustin Johnson wins Masters with lowest score in tournament history . . . Johnson closed with a 4-under 68 and finished at 20-under 268, breaking by two shots the record set by Woods in 1997 and matched by Jordan Spieth in 2015. He had only four bogeys in 72 holes, another record, this one held by Jack Nicklaus and Jimmy Demaret. He missed only 12 greens all week, a record last set by Woods. All that mattered was that green
jacket. ESPN
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Kellyanne Conway daughter Claudia auditions for "American Idol . . . Claudia Conway is hoping to go from social media icon to “American Idol.” The 16-year-old, known for her critiques of mom and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway as well as President Trump, took to TikTok Sunday to share she’s auditioning for the singing competition staple. “Hey guys, I’m here at ‘American Idol’ confessional,” a dressed up Conway said
before pivoting the camera to a cheering video crew. “I met Ryan Seacrest today and I have my audition soon." New York Daily News
What a train wreck.
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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