Many American families have their dysfunction. But in only one contemporary American family has the racist, misogynistic, ignorant blowhard uncle become the president of the United States. What is that like? Well, we dont have to guess. Because Mary L. Trump, the niece of Donald Trump, has written a bestseller about the horrific family environment that produced him. And this week she talked to Mother Jones about her uncle, her book, and how she came to write it.

After the Trump family went to court to stop the bookand lostit was published last week and has reportedly sold a million copies. This memoir/psychological dissection, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man, is a harrowing account of a man and a clan shaped by ego, rivalry, the pursuit of wealth, and profound pathology. Mary Trumps depiction of her uncle as a broken human beingbroken by his father, Fred, a ruthless patriarch with sociopathic traitsis more explanatory than revelatory. She doesnt show us a Trump we havent already seen. But she explains how and why he became a person more concerned about his TV ratings than the deaths of 140,000 fellow Americans.

I have a bit of a history with Mary Trump going back to 2016. Shortly before Election Day that year, I tracked her down. Throughout the campaign, she had practically no presence within all the stories about Donald Trump and his family. I hoped that she could provide information on him, the family, and their finances. After all, she had been involved in two bitter lawsuits against Trump and his siblingsone over the disposition of Freds estate and one challenging the decision of Trump and his siblings to cut off health insurance for Mary and her brothers families. (Her brother had an infant son at the time with a serious neurological disorder that resulted in tremendous medical bills.) Mary returned my call, expressed her horror at the prospect of her uncle becoming the most powerful man in the world, and explained that Fred, with Donald, had raised a mini-me sociopath. Donald Trump was not the most evil man in the world, she remarked to me; Fred was. But she said she could not speak on the record about any of this. (She has now given me permission to reveal our communications from that time.)

I chased Mary as a source for months and years, sensing she had much to share. I never persuaded her to go public. But now she has done so, and as her book has become a publishing sensation, I was finally able to talk openly with her. And I could ask her why she thanked me in her acknowledgments.

Explaining why she did not come forward at the time of the 2016 election, Mary noted in our interview, I didnt feel it would make a difference. She believed she didnt have that much to offer and would be dismissed as a disgruntled relative still upset over being screwed during the battle over Freds estate. She was also fearful of retribution from the Trump crew: Theyre very vindictive people. She explained that she had forgotten that within the records of her lawsuits were loads of documents detailing Trump family finances. It was when the New York Times came knocking in the spring of 2017, in search of this material, that Mary realized she possessed significant information related to Donald Trump. After persistent coaxing from a Timesreporter, she retrieved the material from her lawyers storage facility and handed it over to the newspaper. About a year later, the Times, using these documents, produced a blockbuster report showing that Trump and his family had committed fraud to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. (The story also revealed that Trump had received about $413 million from his father, far more than the mere pittance of a $1 million loan that he had claimed.) Marys involvement with this project got her thinking: She did have something to say about Trump and her family. Soon she was contemplating writing a book.

In the interview, Mary, who has a PhD in clinical psychology, discussed her main thesis: Fred Trump was a straight-up sociopath who psychologically destroyed his oldest son and her father, Freddy, who wanted to be a commercial pilot rather than take over the family real estate business, and Donald Trump was permanently warped by witnessing this abuse and by other dysfunction within the family. Donald, Mary said, learnedin order to be safe, in order to protect himself from my grandfathers cruelty, he needed to make himself in his dads image, which I think was at the expense of his humanity. My grandfather had no redeeming characteristicsand [Donald Trump] no longer does. She added that there was a point [Trump] wasnt so cruel, not so deliberatively divisive.

One Trump family mystery involves a 1927New York Times story that reported Fred Trump was arrested at a KKK rally and march in Jamaica, Queens. The article didnt say why Fred was detained and gave no indication if he had been there as a supporter or opponent of the KKK. When I asked Mary about this, she replied that she never heard this matter discussed within her family, but she added, I have no doubt which side he wouldve been on. Fred, she explained, was quite anti-Semitic, and, as she has said elsewhere, the n-word was routinely used within her family circle.

She also shared her view that Donald Trump inherited his fathers bigotry. Hes racist, Mary said of her uncle. It has to be said honestly and straightforwardly.

I asked Mary if she could explain Donalds affinity for Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian rulers. And she could: I think he sees in somebody like a Putin or a Kim Jong Un or a Duterte or an Erdoan a person who has a lot of power and by associating with them it sort of confers on him that aura of strength and invincibility. And who cares what that leads to? Concentration camps in China. Or disappearing people. If hes associated with that [power], then it reflects on him.

So could she answer for me a question that Ive pondered for years: Does Donald Trump believe his own lies? After all, does Trump truly think he is the smartest guy of all time, that he knows more than the generals, that hes been more right about the coronavirus pandemic than anyone else, that his polls are great, that he has achieved more than any other president, and blah, blah, blah? Very often he is lying to himself, Mary said. It depends on the circumstances. She continued: The more stress hes under, the more besieged he feels, the more likely it is that the distance between the telling the lie and believing it is the truth is decreasing. Were getting to the point its instantaneous.

I pressed her on this point. Does he lie (so much!) as a means to get what he wants and knows this is what he is doingor is he delusional? Its a combination, she said. Is it just delusion or is it a tactic? I think it might start out as a tactic but it ends up being a delusion because his need to perpetuate a narrative about himselfa very specific narrative about himself as the winner, as always being rightis decades old. Its a defense mechanism to protect him against the reality of who he really isIf he had any insight into that, I dont know that he could bear it.

Mary Trumps book is a deep dive into Trumps damaged psyche, and it does ring trueespecially at a time when Americans are watching him botch the response to a pandemic due to his narcissism, ignorance, and lack of compassion. But does her analysis provide an escape route for her unclehes harming the nation because he was harmed as a child? Does this, I asked Mary, absolve Trump? I cant say this emphatically enough, she replied. Absolutely not. This was not in any way intended to let him off the hook. Hes a responsiblehes responsible for his actions. Hes an adult human being who knows the difference between right and wrong. He just doesnt think it applies to him. But he knows the difference. The point of the analysis of his developmental history was in its explanatory powerEven I feel sympathy for Donald the 2-and-a-half-year-old. A lot of people who end up being horrible criminals when they are adults had very abusive childhoods. You can have sympathy for that child. It does not at all, under any circumstances, diminish their responsibility for what they doHe does not get a pass. He needs to be held to account. Very seriously held to an account when this nightmare were living through is over.

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Watch: Mary Trump on Why Donald Trump Lies, Why He's Racist, and Why She Wrote Her Book - Mother Jones

Which is stunning -- a mountain of exaggerations, half-truths and outright falsehoods constructed by the President as he seeks to invalidate the very notion of facts and truth.

But, the breadth of Trump's commitment to mistruth isn't even the most incredible -- or scary -- part of the Post's new report. That honor goes to this:

"The notion that Trump would exceed 20,000 claims before he finished his term appeared ludicrous when The Fact Checker started this project during the president's first 100 days in office. In that time, Trump averaged fewer than five claims a day, which would have added up to about 7,000 claims in a four-year presidential term. But the tsunami of untruths just keeps looming larger and larger."

As the Post notes, it took Trump 827 days to get to 10,000 "false and misleading claims." He got to 20,000 in just 440 days, meaning that between over that 14-month period, the President of the United States said 23 things a day that weren't factually accurate.

So, consider this: In his first 100 days in office, Trump said, on average, five things that were false or misleading. In his first 827 days in office, he averaged 12 mistruths a day. In the next 440 days -- through July 9 -- he averaged 23 false or misleading claims a day.

It doesn't take a mathematician (which is a good thing for me) to conclude that Trump has ratcheted up his misinformation peddling by almost five times since he entered office. He's not just saying some more things that aren't true every day. He's saying lots more things that aren't true every day.

There are two very important takeaways here:

1) Trump, unlike most politicians, isn't cowed by fact checks that show he is flat wrong in many of the things he says. Quite the contrary: Trump seems to revel in being cast as a purveyor of falsehoods by the mainstream media, believing it beefs up his credibility with his base.

What we have seen over these past few months is that as Trump's political fortunes have slid -- thanks to his botched handling of the pandemic and his tone-deaf response to the Floyd protests -- he has retreated more and more into a fact-free fantasy world of his own making. His pace of mistruths has rapidly increased as the actual facts -- be it on coronavirus cases, his support among people of color or his tumbling poll numbers -- turn more and more against him.

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Here's the most incredible thing about Donald Trump's problem with facts - CNN

Donald Trump has bestowed his good wishes on Ghislaine Maxwell, who faces federal charges for allegedly enabling the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking of minor girls.

At a press conference ostensibly to discuss the coronavirus crisis gripping the US on Tuesday, Trump took questions from reporters, one of whom asked him about Maxwells recent arrest and whether she might implicate some of the powerful men who formed part of Epsteins jet set social circle.

I dont know I havent really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly, Trump responded. I have met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.

Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, was arrested this month and charged with conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and perjury.

Epstein was arrested last July and killed himself in federal jail in August. His death sparked a flurry of speculation about what he knew about the powerful figures from the worlds of politics, science and entertainment with whom he had frequently associated, including figures like Trump, Bill Clinton and Britains Prince Andrew.

In the early 90s, Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, met investment banker and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Their relationship was initially romantic, but it evolved into something more akin to that of Maxwell being a close friend, confidante and personal assistant.

The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, was reportedly introduced to Epstein through their mutual friend Maxwell in 1999, and Epstein reportedly visited the Queens private retreat in Aberdeenshire.

Some have suggested the introduction was made earlier. A 2011letter to the Times of Londonfrom the princes then private secretary, Alastair Watson, suggests Andrew and Epstein knew each other from the early 90s.

Andrew, Maxwell and Epstein are seen together at Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Later that year, Epstein and Maxwell attend a joint birthday party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen.

Andrew and Epstein holiday together and are pictured on a yacht in Phuket, Thailand,surrounded by topless women. The Times of London reported the princes holiday was paid for by Epstein.

In the same year, Virginia Giuffre, then 17, claims to have had sex with Andrew in Maxwells home in Belgravia, London. Giuffre, whose surname was Roberts at the time of the alleged incidents, says she slept with Andrew twice more, at Epsteins New York home and at an orgy on his private island in the Caribbean.

Epstein is jailed for 18 months by a Floridastate court after pleading guilty to prostituting minors.

Soon after his release, Epstein is visited by Andrew in New York. The pair are photographed together in Central Park. Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on 6 December, that appears to show Andrew inside Epsteins Manhattan mansion waving goodbye to a woman from behind a door.

Andrew quits his role as UK trade envoy following a furore over the Central Park photos.

Allegations that Andrew had sex with Giuffre emerge in court documents in Florida related to Epstein. The papers say she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent under Florida law. Buckingham Palace denies the allegations. The claims against Andrew are later struck from US civil court records following a federal judges ruling.

Andrew is accused of sexual impropriety by a second alleged Epstein victim, Johanna Sjoberg. She claims he touched her breast at the billionaires Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace says the allegations are 'categorically untrue'.

Epstein is found dead in his jail cell after being re-arrested and charged with sex trafficking. A medical examiner says the death was a suicide.

A pilot on Epsteins private jet later that month claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Giuffre.

Andrew takes part in a disastrous BBC TV interview during which he claims he could not have hadsex with Giuffrebecause he was at home aftera visit to Pizza Express in Woking, and that her description of his dancing with her beforehand could not be true because he was unable to sweat, and that he had "no recollection of ever meeting this lady". After several days of negative reaction, Andrew announces he is to step back from public duties 'for the foreseeable future'.

US prosecutor Geoffrey Berman gives a public statement suggesting there has been 'zero cooperation' with the investigation from Andrew.

After Berman again claims the prince has 'completely shut the door' on cooperating with the US investigation in March, lawyers for Andrew insist he has repeatedly offered to cooperate and accuse US prosecutors of misleading the public and breaching confidentiality.

Maxwell, who has seldom been seen in public in recent years, is arrested by the FBIon charges related to Epstein.

Responding to the reporters question, Trump concluded by saying: I dont know the situation with Prince Andrew. Just dont know. Not aware of it.

Prince Andrew has categorically denied claims of sexual misconduct.

One picture taken at the Mar-a-Lago resort in February 2000 shows Trump and his now wife, Melania, with Maxwell and Epstein.

Maxwells trial date has been set for 12 July next year. The 58-year-old faces up to 35 years in federal prison if convicted of all six counts.

Maxwell has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Her lawyers have said she vigorously denies the charges and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Maxwell was arrested at a mansion in New Hampshire in an FBI raid that ended months of speculation about her whereabouts, fueled by rumors of sightings across America and overseas. Prosecutors have contended that she crafted a life in hiding, designed to evade the authorities, while her lawyers say she was in touch with authorities and merely keeping a low profile.

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Donald Trump on Ghislaine Maxwell: 'I wish her well' - The Guardian

WASHINGTON, D.C. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Cleveland is among the cities that will see a surge of federal law enforcement agents in the coming weeks that he said aim to restore safety and peace in U.S. cities.

Trump announced during an event at The White House the expansion of a program, Operation LeGend, to support high crime communities to the greatest extent possible.

The administration intends to send agents to several cities, including personnel from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Homeland Security. Neither the president nor the other participants specifically mentioned Cleveland during the event, though The White House did in an email and in a summary of events on its website.

A source familiar with planning for the initiative in Cleveland said it dovetails with Operation Relentless Pursuit, which U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced in December during a news conference flanked with local and federal law enforcement.

The source differentiated the surge from the agents recently sent to Portland, which raised the alarm of civil rights advocates who said the agents did not identify themselves on their uniforms and detained people without cause before later releasing them without charges.

In Cleveland, were talking about traditional crime fighting, the source said, adding that its not guys in body armor dealing with protesters.

Cleveland officials contacted Wednesday said they were not aware of the anticipated surge.

Trump said the Justice Department-led new program was named in honor of LeGend Taliferro, a 4-year-old boy from Kansas City who was killed in his bed when a gunman opened fire in his apartment complex. Officials launched the initiative there.

The Justice Department will first send more agents to Chicago and Albuquerque. Federal officials plan to send more agents to Cleveland, along with Detroit and Milwaukee, within the next three weeks, according to The White Houses website.

The White House said the program would provide more than $61 million in Justice Department money to help local police departments hire more officers and will permanently reassign roughly 200 agents and deputy marshals to the cities it covers.

This is a different kind of operation, obviously, than the tactical teams we use to defend against riots and mob violence. , U.S. Attorney General William Barr said during the event. And were going to continue to confront mob violence, but the operations were discussing today are very different. They are classic crime fighting.

The presidents announcement comes amidst his campaign for re-election with polls showing him trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Federal law enforcement under Trump has frequently and often misleadingly touted higher crime rates in many major cities in the U.S. that are led by Democratic mayors, in an effort to portray them as lawless war zones.

Cleveland, which has seen higher-than-average homicide rates in recent years, has interestingly not been the target of Trumps public ire like Chicago and other cities, though the Justice Department has devoted resources to combating violent and drug crime in the region. It also remains involved in a court-enforced effort to reform the Cleveland police department.

This rampage of violence shocks the conscience of our nation, and we will not stand by and watch it happen. Cant do that, Trump said Wednesday. The citizens of Chicago are citizens of America, and they have the same right as every other American to live in safety, dignity, and peace. No mother should ever have to cradle her dead child in her arms simply because politicians refuse to do what is necessary to secure their neighborhood and to secure their city.

The source familiar with Clevelands plans said the new surge will temporarily fill the number of positions called for under Operation Relentless Pursuit, the initiative Herdman and others previously announced. The latter includes the addition of more people from several agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF and the marshals to address violent crimes in seven cities, including Cleveland. It also involves having more local police officers serve on federal task forces and offering grants for participating cities to hire additional cops.

While the goal of Operation Relentless Pursuit is to permanently place more federal law enforcement in certain areas, that was not fully completed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the source explained. Thats where Operation LeGend comes in, and the surge of additional agents will address the gaps in the short term for the positions the Justice Department has not filled, the source explained.

Still, without a formal announcement about Cleveland, some local officials appeared taken aback.

Mayor Frank Jacksons administration said in a statement that it has not been made aware of any additional federal law enforcement resources coming to the city.

The Cleveland Division of Police has in the past and will continue to partner with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime in our neighborhoods, the statement continues. In (December), the Division of Police announced the Relentless Pursuit initiative, which is designed to combat violent crimes in our neighborhoods with our federal, state and local partners.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalley also said he wasnt aware of Clevelands involvement in the new federal initiative.

Cleveland Police Patrolmens Association President Jeff Follmer, who represents the rank-and-file officers, said that we werent expecting this.

We have to process the idea of federal agents being sent to Cleveland, he added.

U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, blasted the plan.

The deployment of militarized agents to Cleveland and cities across the country is unconstitutional and reminds us of the actions of dictators and despots of old, Fudge said in a statement. It disregards the right of our cities and states to govern and protect their residents.The President is not trying to protect Americans.Instead, he is attempting to intimidate and silence those who disagree with his policies. These unlawful actions must stop!

Reporters Adam Ferrise and Robert Higgs contributed to this story.

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President Donald Trump, Justice Department say Cleveland will see surge of federal agents to combat crime - cleveland.com

Jason Sattler, Opinion columnist Published 5:30 a.m. ET July 21, 2020 | Updated 9:39 a.m. ET July 21, 2020

Civil rights experts point to long wait times to vote as a sign of growing voter suppression in the U.S. Here's what to expect in the 2020 election. USA TODAY

Trump and Republicans have hacked our democracy beyond accountability and now they're one cancerous liver away from getting everything they want.

How did we end up with the rights of millions of Americans and the fate of American democracy dangling on one cancer prone, 87-year-old Supreme Court justice?

The same way we ended up with a president too busywith corruption, Confederate flags and cans of beansto fight a pandemic. A thoroughly compromised attorney general echoing the presidents lies about mail-in voting in order to preemptively attack the legitimacy of an election.And a cowardly Senate majority that refused its responsibility to remove this president days before the pandemic took a turn for the worse the first time.

The reason were drowning in multiple messes is embarrassingly simple: Minority rule.

Republicans have hacked our democracy beyond accountability. And now that theyre one cancerous liver away from getting everything they want, they have a leader who refuses to be checked and a party that refuses to check him.

Think about the extent of our government's disconnection from America.

The president lost the popular vote by the biggest percentage in 140 years. We have a Supreme Court majority of five justices appointed by Republican presidents elected from 1988 to 2016, though Republicans have only won the presidential popular vote twiceover that period as Democrats won it six times. And the Senate Republican majority represents 15 million fewer Americans than our "minority" Democrats.

A withering minority propped up by polluters, profiteers, and theocratscan maintain power despite repellent policies and a record of undeniable failures that swells daily, like new cases of COVID-19. This minority has figured out that as long as they hold the presidency, the Senateand Supreme Court, they can create a septic system of corruption that allows them to minimize the power of voters, especially the voters they dont want to even try to win over.

Minority rule has become such a given that we rarely even talk about how it warps our politics.

Almost no one doubts that Joe Biden will win the popular vote this November, possibly by millions of votes, yet everyone knows there is an undeniable possibility that Donald Trump could slip through the Electoral College to another term. And if he does, it could easily be due to restrictions on voting passed by legislative majorities in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina where Republicans hold more seats despite winning fewer votes.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Feb. 10, 2020, at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.(Photo: Patrick Semansky/ AP)

Any president with a party that has rigged reality for its pleasure would be dangerous at this point. But a failingTrump, who spent months contesting an election he won, presents an existential risk to democracy, especially when hes surrounded by a force field of minority rule.

You have to ask yourself why Trump, from "law and order" to defending Confederate monuments, is working so hard to pleasepeople who already support him and alienatethe rest and why heis actively opposing effortsto contain this pandemic. Some of it is strategy, sure. Hes always aimed to just be the president of the United White People,and COVID-19 disproportionately kills Latino and black Americans.

Voting Rights: Honor John Lewis with a Senate vote on the voting rights he fought for his whole life

But maybe theres something far more perilous at play.

Are the federal stormtroopers,who appear to be rounding up protesters in Oregon, a preview of voter intimidation tactics in November?And why does Trump keep rewarding Vladimir Putin, despite the possibility that Russia put bounties on the heads of our soldiers?Does it involve some promise for the upcoming election? Maybe this president isnt planning on leaving office, regardless of how this election turns out.

Who's going to stop him?

The Republican senators who acquitted him of an obvious crime and have surrendered their constitutional confirmation power to Trump and his troops of acting officials? The Republican legislatures that pioneered the recent hijacking of our democracy? Attorney General William Barr, whose belief in the limitlessness of Republican executive power may even exceed Trumps?

How about the Supreme Court? Will you bet your democracy on the court that let Trump get away with hiding his taxes until after the election?

Chief Justice John Roberts was the key vote in gutting the Voting Rights Act in 2013,and has been the fifth vote in a series of recent rulings, all wins for Republicans, that restrict voting and force people to risk COVID-19 infection to vote.

Trump reelection: The odds stood against Lincoln for reelection as the Civil War raged on. Will history repeat itself in 2020?

The emergency is here. And minority rule is the culprit.

All we can do now is get every American alive to turn in a ballot as soon as humanly possible. And then, should we be courageous and focused enough to get through this emergency, the real work begins.

The real work looks like restoring the Voting Rights Act in honor of John Lewis. It looks like statehood for Washington and the option of statehood for Puerto Rico. It could even look like a remaking of the Supreme Court so it resembles the will of the people.

And, should we be so lucky, it looks like Ruth Bader Ginsburg having the option to retire in peace.

Jason Sattler, a writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a member of USA TODAYs Board of Contributors and host of "The GOTMFV Show" podcast. Follow him on Twitter:@LOLGOP

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Trump, Ginsburg and the democracy emergency: It's here and minority rule is the culprit - USA TODAY

Longtime media personality Regis Philbin, host of "Live! WIth Regis and Kathie Lee" and "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?," has died. He was 88. USA TODAY

News of Regis Philbin's death shook social media Saturday as his former castmates, stars and even politicians paid tribute to the late TV personality.

The"Who Wants to Be A Millionaire"and "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee"host died Friday of natural causes at 88, his family confirmed in a statement sent to USA TODAY by his representativeLewis Kay.

"We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89thbirthday," his family wrote, remembering"his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about."

Shortly after news of Philbin's death broke, tributes poured in on Twitter and Instagram.

Kathie Lee Gifford, his longtime co-hoston "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee," offered a simple,fitting tribute: "REGIS. There will never be another."

Kelly Ripa, his former co-host on "LiveWith Regis and Kelly," shared an old photo her and Philbin took with Mickey Mouse and Ryan Seacrest and wrote a loving joint tribute with Seacrest.

Regis Philbin dies: The beloved TV host of 'Regis and Kathie Lee' and 'Who Wants to Be A Millionaire' was88

"We are beyond saddened to learn about the loss of Regis Philbin. He was the ultimate class act, bringing his laughter and joy into our homes everyday on Live for more than 23 years," Ripa captioned the photo. "We were beyond lucky to have him as a mentor in our careers and aspire everyday to fill his shoes on the show. We send our deepest love and condolences to his family and hope they can find some comfort in knowing he left the world a better place."

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President Donald Trump recalled Philbin's advice to him once upon a time and offered his condolences to Philbin'swife, Joy Philbin.

"One of the greats in the history of television, Regis Philbin has passed on to even greater airwaves, at 88. He was a fantastic person, and my friend. He kept telling me to run for President," Trump tweeted."Holds the record for most live television, and he did it well. Regis, we love you."

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres recognized Philbin's influence on telvision.

"Regis Philbin spent more time on television than almost anyone. And we were all better for it. Sending love to his family and his fans," she tweeted.

Larry King shared a photo of him and Philbin together and offered his condolences to his family and wife.

"Regis Philbin was such a prolific talent. He could do it all, and we loved him for it. I will miss him every day," King tweeted.

Henry Winkler recalled one of his very first interviews for promoting "Happy Days," the show that catapulted him tofame asArthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, was with Philbin.

Lisa Rinna called Philbin a "great friend and mentor" and noted that she would never forget his "generosity of spirit."

She added: "You changed my life and I will never forget the lessons you taught me. You showed me how to fly. May you Rest In Peace with the angels."

Former Disney CEO, Bob Iger, wrote that he was "heartbroken to hear that a long time colleague & friend, #regisphilbin passed away at the age of 88."

He continued: "Regis graced us with warmth, humor & a self-deprecating wit, always bringing happiness to us all. Our hearts go out to Joy and to his family. Rest In Peace, Regis."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave atribute to Philbin, who was born in the Bronx.

"New York lost a TV legend today. Bronx born and raised, Regis Philbin greeted us for years with our morning coffee and at night after dinner. His humor and enthusiasm touched millions of Americans. My heart goes out to Joy and his loved ones," Cuomo tweeted.

Michael Strahan, who guest hosted "Live! with Regis and Kelly" shared a photo of him and Philbin together and wrote that he was "heartbroken."

"Regis was an incredible man who could light up any room. He always made me feel special no matter if I saw him in the studio or ran into him on the street. Legend and Icon arent strong enough words to describe him," he tweeted.

Josh Gad was saddened by Philbin's passing, writing that "this one hurts."

"A staple in our household growing up, his joy was infectious and his hosting skills among the greatest Ive ever seen. Whether on 'Live'or leading 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'he was always captivating & hilarious," Gad tweeted.

Tony Bennett wrote: "Regis Philbin always made me laugh and I loved being on his show as he made everyone feel so welcome. We will miss him."

Craig Ferguson tweeted: "Awful news. Regis Philbin was a friend and a mentor to me. I will never forget his kindness and support. He truly was a mensch."

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote aboutPhilbin's friendly demeanor.

"Regis Philbin brought humor, warmth and wit into so many homes. Many people who never met him feel as though theyve lost a personal friend and thats a testament to his character," he wrote. "He will be missed."

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'There will never be another': Kathie Lee Gifford, President Trump, more react to Regis Philbin's death - USA TODAY

During "The View," Meghan McCain called out to President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor on her stance. USA TODAY

Meghan McCain is responding to President Donald Trump's insult five years later, in which he doubted her television career potential.

Before joining "The View" in 2017, McCain worked at Fox News as a contributor, eventually co-hosting the afternoon talk show "Outnumbered." After she appeared on Fox's weekday opinion program"The Five" in 2015, Trump criticized the daughter of late senator John McCain on social media, stating that "she will never make it" on TV.

He also urged Fox News to "do so much better."

The 35-year-old TV host responded to the president's 2015tweet on Sunday, re-posting a screenshot of the old post after it resurfaced on an Instagram page called "Tweets That Don't Age Well."

"I forgot Trump even did this," she wrote."I think Im doing okay with the old tv career... fun fact,@theviewabcwon best daytime talk show Emmy while I have been one of the cohosts this year, Trump and The Apprentice never won one, ever."

"The View" recently received an Emmy Award forOutstanding Informative Talk Show last month at the47th annualDaytime Emmys,a ceremony reconfigured due to COVID-19. McCain could hardly contain her excitement at the time, expressing her pride on Twitter.

"CONGRATULATIONS@TheView!" McCaintweeted."Especially our fearless Executive Producer @Brianteta - hosts @WhoopiGoldberg @JoyVBehar @sunny and our incredible producers and entire team!!!!!"

More: Daytime Emmy winners acknowledge COVID-19 epidemic, racial justice efforts in remote ceremony

McCain joined "The View" in October 2017, quickly becoming one of the panel's most outspoken conservative commentators, frequentlybutting heads withJoy Behar and other co-hosts.

Earlier this year, McCain clarified that said sheself-identifies as a"conservative first and foremostbefore being a Republican."

"I'm still in the party and I still vote Republican and I will going forward, but Trump gets nothing from me," she said on"The View"on Jan. 28.

More: Why Meghan McCain is kind of 'grateful' that Donald Trump is president

Contributing: Cydney Henderson

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Meghan McCain responds to Donald Trump's old tweet that she 'will never make it' on TV - USA TODAY

President Trumps re-election team is moving forward with plans to open over a dozen retail properties for voter outreach in communities of colorcommunities that have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus as the pandemic surges around the country.

The team is looking to resume its previously announced plans to open community centers across battleground states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina --places where there have also been significant spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Public health experts such as Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of Public Health and associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix told ABC News it would be irresponsible to open these centers during the height of the pandemic.

"Right now it's not advisable to have any type of activity that's not necessary, where people are interacting indoors, particularly in communities of black and brown that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, Marvasti said. They are getting hospitalized and dying at much higher rates than white Americans. I think it's irresponsible to expose them by having yet another touch point of people interacting in close settings which we know is higher risk in terms of transmitting the virus."

People holding "Blacks for Trump" signs gather along Southern Boulevard as President Donald Trump's motorcade returns to Mar-a-Lago from the Trump International Golf Club located in West Palm Beach, Jan. 18, 2020

The Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign will look to open 15 Black Voices for Trump Community Centers this Summer in several cities across the country such as Philadelphia, Cleveland, Greensboro, Milwaukee, Charlotte and the host city for the former RNC National Convention Jacksonville, Florida.

RNC Senior Communications Advisor for Black Media Affairs Paris Dennard said that the plan for these centers is to get them in accordance with guidance from local officials.

It is based upon local guidance from mayors and what it can be deemed essential and non-essential etc, but the plan is to get those things opened up this summer, Dennard said.

The Trump campaign is also trying to make up ground since the coronavirus epidemic has since significantly hindered not only the campaigns Black Voices for Trump retail shops plans, delaying their openings.

The Trump campaign has invested millions in efforts to reach voters of color over the last year through both television and digital advertisements, including a $10 million Super Bowl ad, and launching multiple coalitions including Black Voices for Trump and Latinos for Trump.

A supporter of the US president hold signs reading "Latinos for Trump" as they attend a "Keep America Great" rally at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 17, 2019.

The centers are places where the Trump campaign staffers would sell merchandise like hats that have the word woke--appropriating a term that signals racial awareness -- on them while also working to register voters while pitching them on the presidents economic record and criminal justice reform bill.

Perhaps more crucially, a key element of the presidents economic pitch to voters of color has evaporated as the pandemic has sent unemployment rates soaring, disproportionately harming communities of color.

RNC Regional Communications Director of Hispanic Outreach Andres Malave said target locations for the centers have been identified all over the state of Florida and the southwestern part of the country for the Latinos for Trump coalition.

Director of Strategic Initiatives for Arizona Trump Victory, Jeremiah Cota shared an image last week showing off a new retail space where a Latinos for Trump center is set to open in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump Victory is ready to launch the first ever #LatinosForTrump community center in the heart of South Phoenix!, Cota wrote.

The Trump campaigns plans to open a new retail spot in Phoenix, Arizona comes as the coronavirus pandemic in the state shows cases slightly decreasing but so is testing. Arizona had its two deadliest days of the pandemic this past week.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference about his administration's response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic at the White House on July 23, 2020, in Washington.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced earlier this month that Arizona bars, gyms and theaters are to be closed again as well as large gatherings were restricted.

Phoenix, Arizona is a heavily populated community of color with 42.6% of residents Latino and 2.6% African American according to 2019 United States Census estimates.

All across the country the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-Hispanic black persons, Hispanics and Latinos, and American Indians/Alaska Natives, evidence points to higher rates of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 than among non-Hispanic white persons.

An extensive ABC News, FiveThirtyEight and ABC-owned television stations review found that it was significantly harder to get coronavirus testing in those black and brown communities.

Public health experts have repeatedly said that testing and tracing were key strategies in controlling outbreaks across the country.

Malave said that everyone in the centers and everyone that comes in will be following local and state guidelines.

We follow all local and state guidelines to ensure our field teams, volunteers, and everyone we are working with and sharing our message with can celebrate President Trumps re-election efforts safely," Malave said.

The presidents renewed push to woo voters of color comes amid racial tensions in the county that have boiled over following the death of George Floyd, leading to nation-wide protests calling for racial justice also while being down in national polling.

In late May President Trump tweeted when the looting starts, the shooting starts, a phrase was used by Miami Police Chief Walter Headley using it speaking about violent crime in the segregated city during the civil rights movement in 1967.

Headley said Miami hadn't "faced serious problems with civil uprisings and looting because I've let the word filter down that when the looting starts, the shooting starts," according to the Miami Herald. "We don't mind being accused of police brutality," Headley added.

Headley was also known for cracking down on communities of color with policing policies like stop-and-frisk and his use of patrol dogs.

In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, the results found that Trump has gone from an 18-point lead among white registered voters to a minimal four points now, while 94% of Black registered voters support Biden.

With regards to handling race relations in the country, Biden leads by 25 points, 58-33%.

Earlier this month, the ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 92% of black Americans and 83% of Hispanics disapprove of Trumps handling of race relations.

Despite his position in the polls, Malave said that these coalitions and centers can pay dividends for the re-election for Trump to better his outreach and messaging to communities of color.

So I think it's a really great opportunity right now to continue to drive our message in this community. We have a really solid deck of Latinos for Trump advisory board members from all over the country, Malave said.

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Trump campaign moving forward with opening centers in communities of color amid pandemic - ABC News

President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at the White House, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at the White House, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington.

President Trump has long been a champion of what's been called positive thinking the power to make things that you want to see happen actually happen.

"Affirm it, believe it, visualize it, and it will actualize itself:" Such mantras have characterized much of the Trump story from his childhood, when he first absorbed it from the man who first spoke it, Norman Vincent Peale.

Peale was a minister and author much admired by Trump's father. His most famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking, sold millions of copies in multiple languages and helped spawn a self-help movement and industry that has flourished ever since.

The Trumps attended Peale's Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and Peale officiated at the first of Donald Trump's three marriage ceremonies.

Read more here about Peale and his legacy.

It has been argued that Trump stands as the single most successful practitioner to date of Peale's philosophy. Surely his careers as a builder and businessman, TV reality show star and media-dominating politician seemed to prove what Peale preached: "What the mind can conceive and believe, and the heart desire, you can achieve."

Emulating Peale's ferocious focus on attitude probably helped Trump plow ahead when his presidential prospects seemed hopeless just weeks before Election Day in 2016. The candidate appeared behind in polls and a now-infamous audio recording revealed his toxic comments about women.

But: "There are no hopeless situations," Peale had counseled, "only people who take hopeless attitudes."

Obstacles, Peale taught, should never be a deterrent: "You will find they haven't half the strength you think they have."

Until this year, it is possible Trump took this literally. Arguably, he was getting away with it far more often than not.

He seemed to have been experimenting with this parallel universe approach all his life. It was not just the ups and downs of his business and personal life. It was his dogged insistence that there had only been ups and never any downs. He seemed to be demonstrating that an individual truly could ignore obstacles, defy norms and scoff at official rules and still succeed.

Impeachment? What impeachment?

Even impeachment was not a wall that stopped him but rather a hurdle he managed to clear with the help of his party in the Senate.

Still, never is a long time, and the year 2020 has ultimately brought greater challenges than impeachment.

Our present moment compounds the coronavirus pandemic, ensuing quarantines and economic strains and the moral crisis prompted by the nationally witnessed killing of George Floyd by police.

For months, Trump has tried to deny or minimize the gravity of all of these events. Yet they loom as large as ever and perhaps larger.

In an insightful Politico essay in October 2017, political analyst Michael Kruse found Peale's imprint on every phase of Trump's career. But near the end, Kruse noted that Trump's success story remained unfinished, like an study in which some results have yet to be counted.

"From a scientific perspective," Kruse wrote, "Trump is an incomplete experiment."

Kruse then quoted the self-help author Mitch Horowitz, who called Trump's story an example of what, in at least the short run, "you can attain through self-help, through self-assertion and people's willingness to believe what they think that they see."

To which Kruse added: "Trump's version of his own reality, some insist, ultimately will crash against something more real."

And that something might well be the COVID-19 crisis and the sequence of events that has followed.

Irresistible force v immovable object

Watching the president this week as he renewed his late-afternoon briefings on the virus, we all saw a man much altered from the one who convened similar sessions in the early spring.

For one thing he was alone, no longer surrounded by a posse of doctors and research scientists and responsible officials arrayed on stage in the White House briefing room.

Beyond that, the lone figure of the president seemed besieged and becalmed.

He admitted the situation would get worse before it got better. He gave ground on the mask requirement. He cancelled the Republican National Convention's final night speeches and celebration in Jacksonville, Florida a concession to the persistence of the virus he'd earlier hoped would go away by Easter and insisted had passed its peak in April.

So what happens when positive thinking fails? What happens when the power goes out? In common experience, when the power goes out, it gets darker.

Trump's critics and opponents say that is exactly what we are seeing in America today.

Unable to conquer the combination of pandemic effects and civil unrest by the force of his will and a Twitter blizzard of "alternative facts," Trump is now turning to a set of alternative powers.

In June he sent out law enforcement officers to clear peaceful protesters from the street and park in front of the White House. In July he sent federal officers to police portions of selected cities including Portland, Chicago, Albuquerque and Kansas City where he found the performance of local officials unsatisfactory.

Initial efforts to justify this as the protection of federal property in downtown Portland convinced no one. The White House now says the federal officers from the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration and elsewhere within the Justice Department are going in on behalf of "law and order."

But that is not the perspective of local and state officials, who have not been consulted or even informed in some cases prior to federal officers arriving in camouflage and helmets, wielding wartime weapons and taking street protesters into custody.

The intrusion of these officers is not absolutely unprecedented, but it is exceedingly rare in the peacetime history of this country. As such it is a test of what the legal system will bear, and what the American public will accept.

Former Sen. Gary Hart, a Colorado Democrat, wrote in The New York Times this week that there are documents setting forth emergency powers for a president in the event of a nuclear war or another catastrophe, such as a pandemic.

These alleged powers have not been made public, nor have they been approved by a vote of Congress or blessed by the judicial branch.

A federal officer fires crowd control munitions at Black Lives Matter protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Friday, July 24, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Noah Berger/AP hide caption

A federal officer fires crowd control munitions at Black Lives Matter protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Friday, July 24, 2020, in Portland, Ore.

Some things are known

But some information about these secretive documents has been gathered by researchers and lawyers at the Brennan Center for Criminal Justice at New York University Law School.

That has built a fire under Hart, now 83, one of two surviving members of the Senate investigating committee that revealed in the 1970s the serial abuses by the U.S. intelligence agencies in the Cold War. Hart recalls that in March of this year, Trump himself alluded to powers he thinks he has "that people don't even know about."

It is time, Hart says, that the relevant documents are brought to light and subjected to public debate. Absent such an airing, any president might feel free to invoke secret emergency powers suspending at least some citizens' rights under the Constitution in a moment of emergency.

For Trump, a moment of emergency might include the apparent rejection by the voters in his re-election year.

Among the key takeaways from the interview the president gave Fox News anchor Chris Wallace last week was a flat refusal to promise he would "accept the results" of the election on Nov. 3.

He would not say yes or no. He wanted to wait and see how things went.

After all, losing one's re-election bid might seem to pose an obstacle to a second term but Trump may believe that obstacle might not be half as strong as it appeared.

Originally posted here:

2020 Crises Confront Trump With An Outage In The Power Of Positive Thinking - NPR

Mayors across the United States have rejected Donald Trumps election-season depiction of their cities as awash in violence, and media coverage of peaceful protests in Portland and elsewhere has belied the presidents claims of widespread anarchy.

But for Americans who mainly consume conservative media, Trumps latest evocation of an American carnage, with a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence is as plain as the news flashing across the screen.

The stars of conservative cable TV programs and the biggest conservative news sites and social media accounts have echoed and amplified Trump since he declared himself your president of law and order in an appearance outside the White House in early June.

Over the last week, however, alarm over the security of Americas cities has intensified on the conservative airways.

These vicious, violent, hate-filled, anti-American protesters are also attacking federal buildings, Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show last week. How many stores and parks and statues and public buildings have been destroyed recently by rioters? the Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked last month. Reign of street terrorists, the conservative radio host Mark Levin tweeted with a story about the removal and defacement of statues and monuments.

The Republican senator Tom Cotton, who has been calling for a military crackdown in US cities for two months, found a welcome outlet this week for his message on Sean Hannitys Fox News program, one of the countrys most-watched.

If federal troops are brought in and then of course the mayors and the governors, theyre not stopping the anarchists, and theres chaos in the streets and then they have to fire to protect themselves or others, who gets the blame for that? Hannity asked, describing a scenario in which troops fired on protesters.

Well ultimately the blame lies with the criminals, Cotton replied.

Political analysts see Trumps efforts to create the impression of widespread social unrest which only he can solve as part of a long-shot re-election strategy. Trump trails rival Joe Biden by double digits in polling averages including in key swing states.

Conservative media could help Trump to create an impression of chaos at least for their conservative audience. Media consumption habits have shown strong correlation with basic world outlook. An Axios-Ipsos poll published on Tuesday found that a 62% majority of Fox News watchers believe that statistics tracking US coronavirus cases are overblown, while 48% who reported no main news source thought so. Only 7% of CNN and MSNBC watchers thought so.

Trump has blamed Democrats for creating the climate of chaos he relies on conservative media to help him amplify. Im going to do something that, I can tell you, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week.

Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these Oakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.

US mayors have disputed that depiction, urging the Trump administration to stop treating protesters like criminals and accusing the White House of an abuse of power.

Mayors from 15 of the largest American cities addressed a letter to the attorney general, Bill Barr, and the acting homeland security secretary, Chad Wolf, on Monday.

The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a national uprising and reckoning, the letter said. The majority of the protests have been peaceful and aimed at improving our communities.

Where this is not the case, it still does not justify the use of federal forces. Unilaterally deploying these paramilitary-type forces into our cities is wholly inconsistent with our system of democracy and our most basic values.

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American carnage: how conservative media amplify Trump's theme of chaos - The Guardian

The White House announced last week it wants to end the $600 weekly unemployment checks Americans' have received during the pandemic and replace them with payments of up to 70% of a worker's previous wages.

But the National Association of State Workforce Agencies warned Congress that it would take the majority of states between 8 and 20 weeks to transition to this more complex method of calculating individuals' benefits, according to a memo obtained by NPR.

Under President Donald Trump's proposed system, Americans' average weekly federal unemployment would drop to about $200.

State unemployment systems have already struggled to meet the demand of the approximately 30 million Americans currently on unemployment, in part because of outdated technology. Officials say switching to a system based on partial wage reimbursement would involve a more complicated and time-consuming process of gathering information about every unemployed person's former wages.

Trump's Department of Labor told Congress in May that it "strongly" opposed unemployment based on previous wages because it would be "exceedingly difficult if not impossible to implement."

Republicans have for months warned that the $600 unemployment payments, which were passed in March under the CARES Act and expire next week, will discourage many Americans from going back to work. But prominent economists who've studied the issue in recent weeks say there's no significant evidence the elevated benefits are discouraging workers from getting new jobs. Economists also say the cut in unemployment could mean millions of fewer jobs are created in the coming year.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows insisted last week that the technological issues won't prevent timely delivery of unemployment going forward.

Democrats are pushing to extend the $600 unemployment benefits and argue that reducing or delaying the elevated cash assistance will have devastating ripple effects on Americans and the economy.

"With their outdated technology, it would take states weeks to implement any change to the $600 boost," Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, said last week. "This would cause significant disruption. The only option that ensures families can pay August rent is extending the $600."

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Officials warn it will take months to implement Trump's reduced unemployment benefits - Business Insider - Business Insider

Bill Hagerty was expected to coast to his party's nomination after the President endorsed him a year ago. But with less than two weeks to go before the Republican primary election, Trump's former US ambassador to Japan is facing a fierce challenge marked by a late infusion of ad spending, high-profile endorsements and rallies crisscrossing the state.

Dr. Manny Sethi and Hagerty traded attacks in separate phone interviews on Thursday, directly aiming their messages at the Republicans who will decide the August 6 primary.

Hagerty depicted Sethi, an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as a "phony conservative" who supported Trump only when it was "convenient." Sethi fired back that Hagerty, who founded a private equity firm, is a "Washington insider" and a "Mitt Romney Republican."

The primary will test the power of Trump's endorsement in the deep red state, as his political standing has deteriorated over his handling of the coronavirus crisis. It resembles the political battles of the past, with libertarian and tea party-aligned conservatives taking on party leaders and the GOP establishment in divisive primaries that at times threatened their party's hold on critical Senate seats.

Sethi's campaign has been bolstered by the support of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who appears in an ad for the Protect Freedom PAC, which has dropped more than $800,000 in the race -- more than any other outside group, according to Kantar's Campaign Media Analysis Group.

"The race was a bit of a sleeper," said Paul, who went to medical school with Sethi's medical partner and believes the candidate will "stand up when leadership wants to spend too much money."

"Really in the last couple of weeks, things have really sprung his direction," Paul added.

While Sethi has the backing of Paul, Texas' Sen. Ted Cruz and former Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina -- a trio who frequently battled party leaders in Senate races during the Obama years -- Hagerty has the support of Trump and Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

GOP sources said Paul's tactics have annoyed Tennessee Republicans, particularly Blackburn. In an ad running in the state, Paul, staring into the camera, says: "Tennessee is too conservative a state to keep sending Democrats in Republican clothing to represent Tennessee."

The ad angered Blackburn, multiple sources said. When asked if she thought Paul's and Cruz's efforts in the state were helpful, Blackburn replied, "Probably not."

Tennessee's Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, whose retirement has sparked the primary fight, told CNN that Paul's ad "basically says Tennesseans need to stop electing Democrats dressed as Republicans. So, I don't wear a dress ... and my voting record in support of Trump is 90% and his is 69%."

Party leaders are watching the primary developments closely, as they cannot afford to jeopardize a Senate seat in a state Trump carried by 26 points in 2016.

"I'll acknowledge the polls have gotten tighter, but we're going win Tennessee," said Indiana's Sen. Todd Young, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is officially neutral in the primary.

A deep red state

The winner of the Republican primary will be favored to win the Senate seat in this deeply conservative state. In 2018, Blackburn beat Phil Bredesen, a popular former Democratic governor, by more than 10 points. There are 15 Republicans on the ballot for the Senate nomination in 2020, including Hagerty, Sethi and two other doctors, George Flinn and Byron Bush.

Nevada's Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said she would not speculate on whether the Democrats would have a better shot at winning the general election if Hagerty loses. "I just know that we have a good candidate and we'll go from there," she said.

Since June, the GOP campaigns and other conservative groups have spent more than $9 million on TV, digital and radio ads, about 10 times what they spent in the previous seven months of the campaign, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group. In the past week, radio host Mark Levin and Blackburn have gotten off the sidelines, respectively endorsing Sethi and Hagerty. And on Friday, two Republicans with presidential ambitions -- Cruz and Cotton -- respectively campaigned with Sethi and Hagerty in several rallies across the state.

"We need strong conservatives and we need fighters," Cruz told CNN. Asked if Trump made a mistake in backing Hagerty, Cruz said: "I think Dr. Manny is by far the better choice."

At a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Friday, Cotton mentioned Hagerty's support during a firestorm of controversy following an op-ed the senator had written in the New York Times, arguing that a president has the authority to use the military to quell civil unrest in America.

"Bill Hagerty stood with me," Cotton said. The senator also argued that Hagerty will stand up to China, too.

Trading barbs as they court the conservative base

In the interview with CNN, Hagerty sought to distance himself from associations with establishment Republicans and attacked Sethi for not doing more to help Trump get elected. While the former ambassador strongly supported Romney during the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, Hagerty indicated that he has since had a change of heart.

"You've got senators like Mitt Romney, who, frankly, have lost their way," Hagerty told CNN, pointing to Romney's decision to march with Black Lives Matter protesters following the police killing of George Floyd. Hagerty called BLM "a Marxist organization" that is "against the nuclear family" and "anti-Semitic."

"If you disagree with them, they don't hesitate to use violence," Hagerty said. "That's not the kind of group that I think our leaders should be standing with."

When asked what he thought of Alexander, the former governor and long-serving senator, Hagerty said, "Senator Alexander is somebody that I don't agree with." He pointed out that Alexander opposed Trump's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization for allegedly being too influenced by China. Hagerty added that he agrees with Trump on the need to reopen schools, alleging that Alexander has "taken a different position." Alexander, chairman of the Senate committee that oversees education policy, has been reticent to offer dictates from Washington to fully open up schools, as Trump has done.

"Tennesseans can trust me to stand with Senator Blackburn and President Trump," said Hagerty. "That's been my track record."

Alexander told CNN he doesn't know if there's a candidate "who President Trump has more respect for than Bill Hagerty" and pointed out that Blackburn's endorsement will also help Hagerty in the primary.

"My experience is Tennesseans didn't elect me to tell them how to vote," Alexander said.

Pushing back on attacks for being insufficiently supportive of Trump, Sethi pointed out that he had given $10,000 to a Tennessee Republican Party victory account in 2016 and noted that Hagerty had first supported former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the presidential race.

"We are on the verge of a historical upset in Tennessee politics of finally defeating the Republican establishment in Tennessee," Sethi said. "I think it's the first time that a true conservative can win here in a US Senate race."

There appears to be little disagreement between the two candidates on how to address the coronavirus crisis. Hagerty called Trump's response to the pandemic "excellent," while Sethi said Trump has "done the best that you could really do in this situation" and blamed the "left-wing media" and others who "want him to fail."

In their interviews, the two candidates spent much of their time attacking each other or defending themselves from the slights made by the other.

Hagerty said Sethi donated to ActBlue, the online portal for Democratic candidates. His $50 donation was made a dozen years ago to support a family friend, Sethi said.

Hagerty charged that Sethi had applied for a White House fellowship, a nonpartisan program, under President Barack Obama. Sethi countered that Hagerty had served on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Sethi took Hagerty's attacks as a positive sign for his campaign.

"I think we're winning," Sethi told CNN. "Based on the fact that they're throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us, I think they're in deep trouble, and they know it."

Hagerty also projected confidence before Election Day. He said Democrats are "pushing us off the cliff into socialism" by proposing policies like "Medicare for All," the Green New Deal and "doing away with law enforcement altogether."

"I'm so dismayed by weak-kneed Republicans that will not stand up to this, that won't be the strong voice that we need," Hagerty said.

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US Senate primary in Tennessee pits Trump's candidate against conservative insurgency - CNN

Donald Trump has vowed to send federal officers to several American cities led by Democrats in what critics say is an attempt to play the law and order card to boost his bid for re-election.

The presidents threat came after a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests in Portland, Oregon, that involved unmarked cars and unidentified forces in camouflage.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump identified New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland as places in need of federal agents, describing those cities mayors as liberal Democrats.

Were sending law enforcement, he said. We cant let this happen to the cities.

Singling out Chicago, where more than 63 people were shot, 12 fatally, over the weekend, Trump pivoted to an attack on his election rival, Joe Biden. And you add it up over the summer this is worse than Afghanistan, by far. This is worse than anything anyone has ever seen. All run by the same liberal Democrats. And you know what? If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell. And were not going to let it go to hell.

Struggling against Biden in the opinion polls, Trump has leaned into a dark and divisive theme reminiscent of his fellow Republican Richard Nixon in 1968. I am your president of law and order, he declared in the White House Rose Garden on 1 June, shortly before park police and national guard troops fired teargas and chased peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square so he could stage a photo op outside a historic church.

Since then he has repeatedly and falsely accused Biden of planning to defund the police and effectively surrender cities and suburbs to violent criminals. The conservative Fox News network, meanwhile, has been giving emphasis to coverage of inner-city violence rather the coronavirus pandemic.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said: He took longer than I thought he would to start emphasising law and order. But I bet he starts at the convention. Its going to be one of the key themes of the convention. These crazy liberals are causing problems again.

Such a strategy is certainly a candidate for explaining the fresh crackdown in major cities, Sabato added. Ill tell you what it really is, though. It is an unmistakeable hint of what a second Trump term will be like. Therell be no hesitation to do any of this.

The Trump administration sent federal officers into Portland after weeks of protests there over police brutality and racial injustice that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Last week, videos showed unidentified federal personnel taking people off the street and driving them away in black minivans.

Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, defended the actions in a tweet on Sunday: Law and Order a cornerstone of American society is under siege in Portland.

On Monday the Chicago Tribune newspaper reported that the Department of Homeland Security was making plans to deploy about 150 agents in the city where police defending a statue clashed with demonstrators on Friday.

Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago and a Democrat, told the Associated Press: I have great concerns about that in particular, given the track record in the city of Portland. I have talked to the mayor of Portland [and] we dont need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the street and holding them, I think, unlawfully.

Political leaders in Oakland, California, were quick to condemn Trumps suggestion federal agents could deploy to their city. Oakland needs Covid relief not troops from our president, Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement. He should stop slandering diverse, progressive cities like Oakland in his racist dog whistles and divisive campaign tactics.

Stay away from Oakland, tweeted the Democratic congresswoman Barbara Lee.

The issue has laid bare the binary choice for voters in November. Democrats, warning of a threat to civil liberties, called for Chad Wolf, acting secretary of Homeland Security, to quit. Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia said Wolf was overseeing authoritarian abuses that betray our bedrock principles and would horrify our nations Founders.

He added: Ordering the occupation of US cities, seeking the escalation of violence, and intentionally risking American lives over peaceful protests and graffiti is unfathomable and unacceptable. Secretary Wolf must resign immediately or be fired.

The House committee chairmen Jerry Nadler, Adam Smith and Bennie Thompson said in a joint statement: The Trump administration continues to weaponize federal law enforcement for its own agenda. Like we saw in Lafayette [Square], rather than supporting and protecting the American people, we are witnessing the oppression of peaceful protesters by our own government.

Not only do their action[s] undermine civil rights and sow fear and discord across the country, but in this case, they sully the reputation of members of our armed forces who were not involved.

And the congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan wrote on Twitter: Theyll have to arrest me first if they think theyre going to illegally lay their hands on my residents.

The sinister events in Portland have renewed fears about creeping authoritarianism from Trumps White House.

Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, has called for peaceful civil disobedience. Stormtrooper tactics have no place in a free society, he said. The apparent deployment of the military for domestic law enforcement violates the Posse Comitatus Act in the absence of a genuine insurrection, and the claim that such deployment is genuinely necessary to preserve order does not meet the laugh test.

The administration is violating the first amendment on a regular basis now, thereby endangering all our liberties.

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Trump's vow to send federal officers to US cities is election ploy, critics say - The Guardian

President Donald Trump is once again out on the links today at his Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, VA.

His golfing partner on the day is Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to the report from the White House Press Pool, which is evidently having less fun than President Trump. The pool report notes the assigned press is holding on the sunny, sweltering sidewalk outside the Italian restaurant at the nearby strip mall.

Before heading out to golf, the Commander-in-Tweet had two messages for his constituents. The President warmed up with an all-caps vow to Make America Great Again!

He then explained his thinking on the situation in Portland, Oregon, where street protests have taken place for more than 50 straight days. The President has deployed federal agents to protect property there, much to the chagrin of local politicians.

We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it. Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action.

The President noted, These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!

Well update the communications as more roll in. The tweetstorm so far:

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President Donald Trump Tweetstorm The Sunday Edition - Deadline

Over the last week, the hottest issue in national politics has been President Trumps ability to repeat five words in order people, woman, man, camera, TV a performance on a dementia test that Mr. Trump has called amazing.

Democrats, especially the educational elite, have been having a grand old time making fun of Mr. Trump and have pointed out that he would have been better off not mentioning the fact that he took a screening test for dementia in the first place.

But is that true? Mr. Trump, in fact, may be winning the public relations cycle, however inadvertently.

In Portland, quasi-military units of the Department of Homeland Security, anonymous in their camouflage uniforms marked only with the word Police, have swept people into unmarked vans for being in the vicinity of demonstrations, beaten peaceful protesters, and shot people with potentially fatal impact munitions without provocation, fracturing one persons skull.

The deployment of federal agents with guns to crack down on demonstrators is not just a ham-handed publicity stunt that will likely result in needless civil rights violations and injuries. It is an attempt by the president to use a personal paramilitary force on the streets of Americas cities to do as he sees fit. After Portland, who knows where else Mr. Trump will use his private military.

In this context, anything that distracts attention from the presidents abuses of power in Portland is a good thing for him. And whether or not he can count backward from 100 by sevens is a brilliant diversion, even if Mr. Trump stumbled into it.

That we fall for this unintentional circus act is not an aberration. It is, instead, just the latest version of the competency trap that Democratic elites have fallen into repeatedly regarding Mr. Trump. Indeed, we have a history of underestimating Republican politicians because of their supposed or real incompetence. Ronald Reagan was the B-movie actor, derided as not smart enough to be president. We underestimated George W. Bush as a lightweight son of his accomplished father, a failure in business and comically prone to malapropisms.

We should know better. But with Mr. Trump, the bait is too enticing. Remember how there has never been anyone more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president? Remember the New Yorker cartoon after the election mocking an airplane passenger offering to fly the plane because those smug pilots have lost touch with regular passengers like us?

These were spectacular examples of the Democratic elite missing the point. As the onetime party of the workers has increasingly become the party of the well educated, many have come to assume that academic intelligence and policy expertise are crucial qualifications to rule. But the point of a democracy is not to select the smartest people. The point is to make elected officials accountable to the people. Voters choose the candidates who (they think) best represent them. For many people, that means the person who (they think) is most like them, best understands the challenges they face, sees the world most like them or shares their policy preferences.

If you want to vote for the person who you think is most competent based on intelligence, judgment and experience thats fine. But very few people actually believe that the presidency should be based on cognitive ability or rsum. Democrats vote for Democrats, Republicans vote for Republicans and both sides use the competency argument when it suits them.

Would I vote for an inexperienced candidate who went to an undistinguished college and supported abortion rights, criminal justice reform and free preschool over a former governor and cabinet official with a degree from an elite law school who opposed all of them? Of course I would.

Or, to put it another way, it can feel good to poke fun at Donald Trumps incoherence, narcissism and singular ability to embarrass himself. But he is also launching a deadly serious attack on our democratic values.

Lets not forget which one is more important.

James Kwak is a law professor at the University of Connecticut and the chair of the board of the Southern Center for Human Rights. His latest book is Take Back Our Party: Restoring the Democratic Legacy.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Democrats, Dont Take the Bait on Trumps Memory Test - The New York Times

The common thread in these twin confrontations is that they pit Republican officials who rely on support primarily from exurban, small-town, and rural voters against major metropolitan areas that favor Democrats. In the process, these RepublicansTrump in particularmay be hoping to rally their nonurban voter base by defining themselves explicitly in opposition to the cities. Trump is likely to underscore that message in his White House speech this afternoon on combating violent crime in American cities.

Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes: Nothing can justify the attack on Portland

In deploying federal forces, Trump appears to be trying to provoke clashes with protesters, which he can use to convince white suburban voters that hes the last line of defense between them and the chaos allegedly incubating in cities, Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor, told me. Referring to the street battle between construction workers and anti-war protesters in Manhattan in 1970, Emanuel said, Trump is trying to create his own hard-hat riot, and they are wearing [law-enforcement] helmets.

The political risk for Republicans in that strategy, many political observers told me, is not only that it could provoke more opposition from residents in the city centers, but that it could also accelerate the shift toward Democrats in the large, well-educated, and more and more diverse inner suburbs around the major cities. Over time, the larger denser suburbs have become like cities and throw in with the citiesthey dont identify as much with the less-populated areas, says Robert Lang, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institutions Metropolitan Policy Program and a co-author of the upcoming book Blue Metros, Red States.

The two conflicts between cities and Republican leaders represent the culmination of long-running trends. Tensions between GOP-controlled state governments and Democratic-led cities notably intensified after the 2010 midterm election, which delivered to Republicans unified control of the statehouse and governorship in about two dozen states. Since then, states have moved much more frequently than before to overturn city policies, such as those establishing paid sick leave, regulating gun sales, and imposing rent control.

These disputes generated national headlines when the Republican governor and state legislature in North Carolina approved legislation known as the bathroom bill in 2016, overturning a Charlotte city ordinance meant to guarantee equal rights for trans individuals. While Democratic states have occasionally overturned local actions, Briffault wrote in a 2018 analysis, the preponderance of preemptive actions and proposals have been advanced by Republican-dominated state governments.

From the start, the response to the coronavirus outbreak in many of the states with GOP governors has followed this pattern. In some northern states, including Ohio, Maryland, and Massachusetts, GOP governors moved quickly to lock down the economy. Elsewhere, that didnt happen: In Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Arizonaamong othersRepublican governors rejected pleas in March from big-city mayors to shut down the economy as the virus spread, and agreed only after Trump reluctantly acknowledged the need for closures.

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Trump Is Determined to Split the Country in Two - The Atlantic

The federal government had executed just three men in the last half century until July, when it executed three in a single week. President Trump has long extolled the death penalty, and last month, Attorney General William Barr set dates for four men. We owe it to the victims of these horrific crimes, and to the families left behind, to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system, Barr said in a statement.

The first man on Barrs list was Daniel Lewis Lee, who was convicted of helping to kill William Mueller, Nancy Mueller, and Nancys 8-year-old daughter Sarah Powell, in 1996. According to prosecutors, the three were shot with a stun gun and then drowned during a robbery by members of a white supremacist group. Several of Nancy and Sarahs relatives opposed Lees execution, but wanted to attend. Feeling they could not travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they unsuccessfully sued to stop it. In the end, they did not witness Lees death, but William Muellers son, Scott Mueller, did attend.

Lees death was scheduled for 4 p.m., on Monday, July 13, but legal fights over the governments lethal injection plan continued into the night, and his time of death was 8:07 a.m., on Tuesday. According to the federal Bureau of Prisons, Lee spent four hours strapped to the gurney.

We tracked down a broad array of those connected to the event, to present a three-dimensional account of the first federal execution in 17 years.

Monica Veillette, niece and cousin of murder victims Nancy Mueller and Sarah Powell: When they announced the new execution date, we thought it was likely a mistake, that someone had not considered how many people would need to travel during a pandemic. Someone called from the Bureau of Prisons to set up our plane tickets and hotels; they handle everything from the minute you arrive.

I kept asking him about COVID precautions and he said hed get answers. He said that he and his wife were scared even to go buy pet food. I said, Imagine flying across the country and going into a prison. He apologized profusely for pushing us to make arrangements. He has a boss to answer to. I felt so sorry for him. And for everyone at the prison.

Earlene Peterson, mother and grandmother of Mueller and Powell: I have a heart condition and a lung condition. I havent been anywhere since the tenth of March, not to church, not to Wal-Mart. I went to my doctor and she had a fit, she said, You are not to go.

Monica Veillette: We have a very large family and Im sure some people supported the execution. I dont want to say how anyone else feels is wrong because grief is a horrible thing to live with.

Scott Mueller, the son of victim William Mueller: To be honest with you, Id rather not talk about it. I want to just keep my stuff to myself, if you dont mind. I feel justice was served. As far as Earlenes family, theyve dominated the whole thing for 25 years, and I wasnt heard of until execution time. I love them, they love me, and we just have a difference of opinion I guess. I wouldnt wish this experience on anyone.

Lee was tried alongside a man named Chevie Kehoe, whom the trial judge described as the ringleader of the murders and the one directly responsible for the eight-year-olds death. Kehoe received a life sentence. Lees lawyers have argued that Lee played a limited role in the crime and was unfairly sentenced using a psychological test that portrayed him as a psychopath.

Earlene Peterson: At the trial, Lee looked more guilty, with a neck tattoo and a missing eye, while Chevie Kehoe had a suit and tie. But you could tell Daniel was the follower, and Chevie was the leader.

Monica Veillette: We never hear about Chevie Kehoe, unless hes moved from one prison to another. We have closure. But with Daniel Lee its been a continuous compounding of our grief, to bear the burden that another human being is going to be killed in your name. We were bombarded with messages of support. People said, I bet you all are so happy. Dealing with all those well-meaning friends and loved ones was so hard. We sued to get the execution postponed because of the pandemic, and the government called our familys fears frivolous. It made me cry more than anything thus far, to be called frivolous by the people who had said they were doing this for us. It felt so cruel.

Scott Taylor, spokesperson, Bureau of Prisons (in an emailed statement): We are deeply concerned for the health and welfare of those inmates who are entrusted to our care, and for our staff, their families, and the communities we live and work in. It is our highest priority to continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our facilities.

Monica Veillette: The BOP staffer I spoke to had no answers, and said they wouldnt give us anything in writing about COVID precautions, because they said it could be discoverable in court.

As it became clear they werent going to stop the execution, we had to make an agonizing decision. We wanted to be present to say, This is not being done in Sarah and Nancys name, and to let that be the final moment in their story. But what if I went and I was asymptomatic and hugged my grandma, because who would not be able to hug their grandma in that situation, and then my grandma gets sick?

I was still thinking about going as late as Saturday night. When my flight left on Sunday, I knew there was no turning back, and I cried.

Earlene Peterson: My son was going to drive me from Arkansas. My family was having a cow, my church, my friends: No, no, no, you cant do it. So in the end I chose safety.

Ruth Friedman, attorney for Daniel Lee: His lawyers were not in Terre Haute. Im at a worrisome age with a worrisome underlying condition. On the one hand, it felt terrible. On the other, it was good that we could be at our desks to litigate. There were so many problems with this case, and we were getting information from the government in dribs and drabs, and then we were trying to get the courts to pay attention. I couldnt imagine what hours Id spend on a plane, much less driving from Washington, D.C., to Indiana.

Tim Evans, reporter, The Indianapolis Star: As a journalist, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but as a person I was nervous. Part of me thought I wouldnt mind if it didnt happen.

Terre Haute prisoner who declined to be named and is not on death row: We tend to start preparing about two weeks out. One of the guys Im friends with had to power-wash the death house, the entire outside of it. Other guys had to weed the area around it. The bigwigs were coming and they wanted it all to look pristine. Its like a show for them.

On Monday morning around 10:30 a.m., an administrator called a meeting about what he called the festivities. He told us to get our trays from the cafeteria, eat as fast as you can, get everything you want to take to read, your radio, blankets, and then we had to go to the old Unicor building or the chapel to be locked down. They were trying to block us from seeing the transport of the prisoner to the execution chamber but a lot of us saw it anyway. They made us dress in our greens, like it was fancy.

On Monday morning, federal judge Tanya Chutkan ordered that the government could not carry out the executions while federal death row prisoners continued to contest the lethal injection protocol. The Department of Justice immediately appealed above Chutkan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit., but it was already apparent that the Supreme Court would have the final say.

Abraham Bonowitz, anti-death-penalty activist, Death Penalty Action: The state police put up the sawhorse barrier things on the roads around the prison. They had official protest sites one for pro-death penalty protesters and one for anti-death penalty protesters. But you couldnt bring your phones there so we set up at the busiest intersection on US 41, and negotiated a place for our people to park at the nearby funeral home. For a while it was just waiting. By 9 p.m., everyone was just sitting with their phones, refreshing and refreshing the Supreme Court docket page.

Tim Evans, reporter: We went through security checks and they took our phones and we sat down and waited. Around 6 p.m. or so they told us it was going to be awhile, and we left for dinner, came back. Between 9 and 10 they told us it was going to be awhile again and they recommended that the local reporters go home and everyone else get a hotel.

Terre Haute prisoner: Nobody was trying to look outsideit was dark. Everybody was starting to get real pissed off, there was no reason we couldnt go back to our units. No email, phones. Everyone felt that with COVID we didnt need anymore to deal with.

Monica Veillette, family member of victims: I spent Monday night in the part of my living room with the best reception, with my phone plugged in, the ringer turned up high, afraid to walk away or eat or shower or go to the bathroom, scouring the news sites, the Supreme Court website, reading the briefings. I lit a candle.

A little before 11:30 p.m., EST, the D.C. appeals court kept the stay in place and set a schedule to hear further arguments on the lethal injection protocol. It appeared the execution would not go ahead.

Ruth Friedman, defense attorney: We knew it wasnt really over. But when the appeals court upholds unanimously shortly before midnight, that would seem to have meaning.

Tim Evans, reporter: When they told us to leave, one reporter slept in her car. I checked into a hotel, but I was pretty wound up and I tweeted and watched cooking shows. I texted my wife: Do you really think RBG and the other Supremes are up? Around 2 a.m. I decided to get under the covers.

Essays by people in prison and others who have experience with the criminal justice system

Shortly after 2 a.m.., the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn Judge Chutkan's stay, declaring that her last-minute intervention...should be the extreme exception, not the norm. Lees lawyers continued to argue that Lees execution could not be carried out because a stay remained in place (and legal experts have since questioned whether it was lawful for the prison to proceed). The federal Department of Justice argued that the execution could proceed, and filed a motion to formally lift the stay.

Ruth Friedman, defense attorney: For four hours, we were trying to get information and also tell the prison there was a stay in place. Were calling the prison. We did speak to Lee at one point. He was by himself in his cell, hed given his belongings away so he had no books or anything. We called later and they said we couldnt talk to him, and I think its because it was starting.

Tim Evans, reporter: At 2:18 I got the text: Please make your way back to the Media Center we will be resuming the execution at approximately 4 a.m. I slammed a Diet Coke and drove over. It was really dark and there was a lot of dew on the ground, and a lot of big spotlights on the building where we were headed. There were armed guards with bulletproof vests. Inside, there were several viewing rooms, each with its own door and a small bathroom. It was dead silent, which was eerie for a bunch of journalists. We waited in the room for so long I started counting the concrete blocks in the wall. There were two windows covered with a curtain. Everyone was afraid to get up to go to the bathroom because at any moment the curtain could go up.

Earlene Peterson, family member of victims: I was praying all night in my war room, where I have my Bible and computer.

Terre Haute prisoner: We just wanted to go to bed. We got sack lunches, cold breakfasts. The officers were getting really aggravated because it just dragged on and on, but eventually a secretary brought a small television, so we could watch the news and some movies: Remember the Titans, Bruce Almighty. People tried their best to stay awake, because we didnt have beds and there were cockroaches all over the floor.

Scott Taylor, spokesman, Bureau of Prisons: Mr. Lee was restrained for approximately 4 hours, during which he had access to his spiritual advisor and was able to have moments of prayer.

Ruth Friedman, defense attorney: I didnt know they had started the execution until the media reported he was dead.

Tim Evans, reporter: After a while, from inside the witnessing room, you could hear the birds making the sounds they make just before the sun comes up. I drew little pictures of the room. Finally we heard a knock on the door and found out there was another last-minute appeal. We learned it was around 6:40, meaning wed been in there more than two hours. Around 7:45, the curtain started to go up.

Lee was laying with his feet toward our windows, on what looks like an exam table, and there were little arm wings that folded out and his arms were strapped there, with four or five straps on each arm, and he had an IV in the crook of his left elbow and the back of his right hand.

He kind of raised up and gave us a what-for look. My perception of the look was: who are you and why are you here to watch me die? Thats probably me projecting. It was a hard stare.

Its kinda bizarre when I think back on it, but everybody got up to look like it was a zoo and all of us started scribbling notes.

Adam Pinsker, reporter, WTIU: There were several men with him, only one wearing protective gear. They were wearing nice suits, and one of them asked Lee if he wanted to make a last statement.

The Bureau of Prisons would not provide text of Lees final statement, though pieces of it appeared in media coverage.

A detailed, up-to-date schedule of upcoming executions in the United States

Daniel Lewis Lee, according to reporter Adam Pinskers notes: Im not perfect, but Im not a murderer. I was halfway across the country when this happened. I think you know what my first and last meals were. Youre killing an innocent man.

Although much of the evidence around Lees precise role was circumstantial, the trial judge cited later testimony that Kehoe said Lee participated in the deaths of the adult victims but not the 8-year-old.

Tim Evans, reporter: And then he leaned his head back down onto the gurney. The marshal picked up a phone, didnt dial. The drugs started, and he didnt seem to be suffering. At one point he pulled his head up a little. His hand twitched. A couple times his lips fluttered. After the last time I saw his chest rise, he laid still for several minutes. I stepped back and said a little prayer to watch over his soul and to give me courage and clarity; I needed to take my eyes off of it for a minute and this was a good excuse to do that.

Pinsker: I think he breathed like five times. The men with him didnt move. One of them looked straight ahead. I kept focusing on his right hand, because it was closest to me. It lost color, it was pale in the last minutes of the execution, as white as a sheet of paper. It did seem like a long twenty minutes.

Evans: A guy from the prison pronounced him dead and the curtain started dropping again. I left, got my phone, and dictated a few sentences to my editor to add to the story. Lee didnt apologize at all and I wonder if that made it easier for me to detach. If hed been apologetic, would that have still been the case? Also, it was like this weird theme park thing. You had to wait to get in. You had this deplorable villain and justice was served. After all this waiting, the ride was over real quick and then they shuffled you out and brought the next group in the next day. Ive slept pretty well the last couple nights, but last night I was wandering around the house and, wondering, if I looked out that window, would I see him looking back at me like he did?

Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr: Today, Lee finally faced the justice he deserved. The American people have made the considered choice to permit capital punishment for the most egregious federal crimes, and justice was done today in implementing the sentence for Lees horrific offenses.

Evans: As we were leaving, we asked how long had Lee been in there. Because we had been in there for four hours. And they said hed been brought in before us and hed been strapped to the table that whole time. Hed been in that room that long. Which that seems pretty rough.

Ruth Friedman, defense attorney: We were shocked that he was executed. Our team was very tired, very angry, and sad. This was a person to us. He was portrayed as a psychopath, but we know he is not. We knew his kindness, his humor, his pain. We were not able to present in court his history, his traumas as a child, and there are things we now want to honor about his privacy, even though hes gone. But its like any loss; at first its hard to believe the person is gone.

Earlene Peterson, family member of victims: I sobbed. Im a mother, I lost my grandbaby and my daughter, so I know how his mother felt.

Scott Mueller, family member who witnessed the execution: It didnt give me any more closure than I had. Ill have closure when I see my dad in heaven.

Bureau of Prisons staff member who declined to be identified: I cant really tell you anything. Its one of those things thats engrained. But the way that everything transpired with it taking so long, is 100 percent because of the attorneys filing the things that they were filing at the last minute. This is a process, a system, and because of politics it got bogged down for 17 years, but until those sentences get changed to something else, this is whats supposed to happen. Thats as apolitical an opinion as you can get.

Priscilla Hutton, spiritual minister to a man on death row: The death row officers don't change very much, so they get to know these people, and when I talk to them, they are very uncomfortable with carrying these executions out.

Terre Haute prisoner: The staff was pissed too. Afterwards, the administrator apologized to everyone for the fiasco. We didnt get back to our halls till after 8 a.m. Wed had no sleep or shower. It was absolutely a mess. Some of the prisoners were for the executions, some against. Im on the fence honestly. He killed a child, and I have children. But at the same time I do believe in God and its not my place to judge him. But most of us didnt care and just wanted the executions to be over; it was like we were being punished.

Earlene Peterson, family member of victims: They say theyre doing it for us but theyre liars, lying through their teeth. They treated us as if we didnt exist. Im disappointed the president didnt contact me, since I am a loyal voter for him. I feel that Trump has done a good job, and Im hoping and praying he didnt use this politically. I dont want to believe that. I really feel in my heart the government let me down.

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An Oral History of the First Federal Execution Under Donald Trump - The Marshall Project

President Donald Trump will throw out the first pitch before the Red Sox-Yankees game on Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium, he told reporters at The White House on Thursday. The rivals are scheduled for a 7:07 p.m. first pitch on FOX that night.

Answering a question about the start of baseball season, Trump said Yankees president Randy Levine had invited him to throw out a first pitch later this summer. A Yankees official confirmed to NJ.coms Brendan Kuty that Trump had been invited.

Baseball, as an example, youre going to be at an empty stadium, Trump told reporters in Washington, D.C. Ive agreed... Randy Levine is a great friend of mine, from the Yankees. He asked me to throw out the first pitch. I think Im doing that on Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium. I said, Hows the crowd going to be?' Its like, you dont have a crowd. There is no such thing.

Its going to be interesting, Mariano, Trump said, turning to former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who was in attendance. Hes not used to that. Ive been to many games where he walks in and the place goes crazy. I think it would be just as good without the crowd. You were just born with it. Some people are born with it.

On Tuesday morning, Trump sent a tweet discouraging national anthem protests after multiple members of the Giants, including manager Gabe Kapler and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, kneeled during the anthem before an exhibition game against the Athletics.

Looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me! Trump tweeted.

Asked about the teams policy on anthem protests earlier this week, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said he did not believe any players were planning on kneeling this season but vowed support for any type of demonstrations.

We havent told players you have to do anything, Roenicke said. Weve given them the rights, which is what this country is all about, and the freedom to do what they feel strongly about. We have said what we think and what we would like them to do, but we have also given them the opportunity to express themselves.

This organization is okay with it, he continued. If they want to take a knee, they can take a knee. I dont know that anybodys going to do that, but if they want to, we support them in whatever they want to do.

Related links:

Boston Red Sox dont anticipate national anthem protests but vow to support players who kneel: If they want to take a knee, they can take a knee

National anthem protest: Gabe Kapler, Mike Yastrzemski among San Francisco Giants taking a knee (video)

Dr. Anthony Fauci to throw out first pitch of MLB season before Yankees-Nationals game Thursday night

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President Donald Trump says hell throw out first pitch before Red Sox-Yankees game on Aug. 15 - MassLive.com

Earlier this month, Ghislaine Maxwells arrest in New Hampshire immediately prompted speculation about which other high-profile figures could be implicated in connection to Jeffrey Epsteins sexual abuse. The socialite and longtime Epstein associate has denied charges of trafficking minors and perjury, but a federal judge denied her bail last week and she continues to be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. As with Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, Donald Trumps relationship with Epstein and Maxwell has shown up in various reports and photographs over the years. But rather than attempt to distance himself from Maxwell during a coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, Trump offered a limp embrace.

I dont know, he shrugged, after a reporter asked whether he thought Maxwell would reveal which powerful men were involved in Epsteins trafficking ring. I havent really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly.

Ive met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach, but I wish her well, he continued. Whatever it is.

Even the ultraconservative Trump ally Chip Roy, the Republican congressman from Texas, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning, This is unacceptably obtuse for a woman accused of the most morally depraved of crimes.

And while the remarks were a rich sound bite for those whove been tracing out Maxwell and Epsteins associations in all their still-emerging detail, they were also a reminder of their history with Trump thats already known. The Palm Beach milieu that Trump mentioned was the occasion for his early relationship with Epstein: as the New York Times pointed out, he told reporters at the White House last July that he knew Epstein like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. The paper reported last year that Trump and Epstein hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago in 1992 with a guest list comprising the two of them and 28 girls. The Florida businessman George Houraney told the Times that he organized the event and told Trump, Look, Donald, I know Jeff really well, I cant have him going after younger girls. Houraney said Trump dismissed the warning.

It wasnt the only such interaction between the two men, whod overlapped in social and business circles for years. Last year, MSNBCs Morning Joe aired newly found footage of Trump and Epstein laughing together while watching dozens of NFL cheerleaders dance at a Mar-a-Lago party in 1992.

Ive known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. Hes a lot of fun to be with, Trump told New York magazine in 2002. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about itJeffrey enjoys his social life.

Last year, though, after Epstein was arrested, Trump told reporters, I had a falling-out with him. I havent spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. The full nature and timing of any conflict still isnt clear, but Trump called Epsteins private Caribbean island an absolute cesspool in 2015 and told reporters to ask Andrew about it.

Photos of Trump with Epstein and Maxwell continue to circulate, especially in recent weeks since Maxwells arrest. Fox News cropped Trump out of one image of the three along with Melania following the arrest. Sure enough, Geraldo Rivera leapt to Trump and Maxwells defense on Wednesday morning:

After Trump pardoned Roger Stone earlier this month, there were also some murmurs that his statement of affection for Maxwell might be more than offhanded.

A Justice Department prosecutor told Politico, in the aftermath of the Stone pardon, it reeks of the president indicating to her that he might reward her if shell stay silent about whatever she knows about him.

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Whats Going On With Ghislaine Maxwell and Donald Trump? - Vanity Fair

Donald Trump Jr. campaigned Thursday in Sandy with Utahs 4th Congressional District candidate Burgess Owens and commemorated the upcoming Pioneer Day holiday.

Owens, a former NFL player originally from Tallahassee, FL, and founder of a nonprofit that assists incarcerated youths, won the Republican nomination for the seat during Utahs June 30 primary, defeating former Utah Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, former talk radio host Jay JayMac McFarland and entrepreneur Trent Christensen.

This (Trump) family is going to go down in history as having such a big impact on our nation, Owens said as he introduced Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is Trump Jr.s girlfriend.

Trump Jr., the eldest child of President Donald Trump, met with Owens and a few dozen of Owens campaign volunteers at Colonial Flag in Sandy and thanked the volunteers for supporting the Republican candidate.

Burgess, I want to congratulate you on everything, Trump Jr. said. Its truly an amazing story, given what tomorrow is for the state of Utah and for the LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) community. Who is more of a pioneer than this? I mean, this is truly a modern-day pioneer story; to leave the south to come out here.

Its awesome to see someone like you, Burgess, to step up, to go in and be fearless, Trump Jr. continued. To be a pioneer. To say what needs to be said, to do what needs to be done. To do that despite the resistance that youre going to get as a conservative, even in this state, from our friends in the media and others. Its truly awesome to watch that.

Trump Jr. said he saw Owens background as similar to my fathers in the sense that Owens has had a successful life and doesnt need this job.

You can only throw stones from the sideline for so long before you actually have to get in the game, he said. And we need more of you that are willing to get in the game, whose turn its not, where it isnt just the natural progression.

Two of Owens Republican primary opponents, Coleman and Christensen, attended Thursdays event in support of the candidate.

During a conference call with reporters on Thursday before the event in Sandy, Trump Jr. said he came to Utah ahead of Pioneer Day to highlight the Trumps commitment to preserve (the) American freedoms (and) values ... (of) members of the LDS community and recognize how the LDS faith has contributed to shape this nation through their pioneering spirit.

While in Washington, D.C. they may call people like my father and myself outsiders, here in the West, they actually call (us) pioneers, Trump Jr. said. Outsiders and pioneers are people who embody the innovative spirit, curiosity and optimism thats uniquely American.

Trump Jr. said Pioneer Day is a celebration of the brilliance, bravery and perseverance that makes up the LDS community, and the freedoms that allow every person to worship freely and embrace the American dream.

Protecting those freedoms is at stake (on) Election Day, he said, adding that former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was too busy embracing the radical socialist agenda and clearly more worried about undermining Americas fundamental freedoms and appeasing the far left, and ultimately not really (interested in) standing up for religious communities who embody the true American spirit.

Owens, who repeated Thursday that he is running to win back the United States House of Representatives from Democrats, will compete against incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, during the November general election.

Connor Richards covers government, the environment and south Utah County for the Daily Herald. He can be reached at crichards@heraldextra.com and 801-344-2599.

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Donald Trump, Jr. campaigns in support of Utah 4th District candidate Burgess Owens - Daily Herald