Trump news: President accuses Democrats of anti-Catholic bias at charity event after Biden speaks of his faith

Campaign rages at debates commission plans to add ‘structure’ to next events

Trump rows back and says he 'doesn't know who the Proud Boys are' after debate outrage

Donald Trump and Joe Biden gave back-to-back remarks at the 2020 Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, broadcast virtually from New York, typically a tuxedo affair that during an election year features candidates delivering chummy remarks and discussions of faith during the Catholic charities fundraiser.

This year, the president accused his rival’s party of housing “anti-Catholic bigotry" as he pitched his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, moments after Mr Biden invoked his own Catholic faith.

The former vice president spoke to the “hope and possibility” for America’s future as it emerges from the public health crisis.

Their appearances follows Tuesday’s chaotic debate, though the president’s campaign has pushed against the Commission for Presidential Debates plan to add more “structure” to the next rounds after the opener was marred by constant cross-talk and the president’s interruptions.

His campaign accused the nonpartisan committee of political bias and listed a number of unofficial online polls declaring the president the winner of the first debate. 

Fox News’ anchor Chris Wallace, who moderated the first debate between Mr Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, said it was the president who “bears the primary responsibility for what happened.”

The White House was repeatedly asked to “unambiguously” denounce white supremacy, following remarks by the president at the debate urging nationalist gang the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” during while he dodged demands to condemn white supremacism.

Republicans have distanced themselves from his remarks while the FBI warns that the election and pre-inaugural period could be potential for violent “flashpoint” among right-wing extremists.

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Key points:

• Trump issues partisan attacks on rival party at Catholic fundraiser
• White House asked to denounce white supremacy group
• President attacks Ilhan Omar as crowd chants ‘Lock her up!’
• Trump U-turns on Proud Boys and claims not to know who they are
• Brad Parscale leaves re-election campaign after arrest
• Presidential debate rules to be redrawn after Tuesday’s toxic bout

[1 October 2020 17:00 · Danielle Zoellner]

Press secretary boasts achievements of Judge Amy Coney Barrett

The White House press briefing started on Thursday with Kayleigh McEnany listing the achievements made by Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who is President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court’s vacant seat. 

“Judge Barrett is extremely well qualified … Judge Barrett is not only a qualified jurist but judge of great character,” Ms McEnany said.

“Judge Barrett is full of compassion and empathy and she understand the needs of our nation’s most vulnerable," she added. “Judge Barrett would become the first woman with school-aged children to sit on the Supreme Court.”

But the press secretary’s opening statement faced a fact check, as Ms McEnany claimed Judge Barrett was a Rhodes Scholar, an international postgraduate scholarship awarded to students who study at the University of Oxford. Judge Barrett actually attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. 

[1 October 2020 17:15 · Danielle Zoellner]

Pelosi says Trump keeps her up at night: 'He's authentically a bully'

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she had trouble sleeping after Tuesday night’s debate between Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“As Speaker, people say to me, ‘What keeps you up at night?’” she said at a press conference on Thursday at the Capitol.

"The night of the debate, you saw what keeps me up at night," she said.

Griffin Connolly has the story: 

[1 October 2020 17:46 · Danielle Zoellner]

Trump claims victory in first presidential debate based on ‘compilation of polls’

Donald Trump has again claimed he own the first presidential debate in a tweet on Thursday. 

In the tweet, he said a “compilation of polls” declared him the winner, but he did not specify what polls he was referring to.

A CNN poll, FiveThirtyEight/Ispos poll, Data Progress poll, and CBS News/YouGov poll all declared Joe Biden the winner of the first presidential debate. 

The White House boasted Mr Trump won based on a CSPAN poll, CNN poll, and Telemundo polls.  But those polls were conducted on Twitter, which is an unreliable means to poll people as anyone can answer the poll. 

It was unclear if the president was referring to other polls. 

[1 October 2020 17:59 · Danielle Zoellner]

White House press secretary says Trump condemns white supremacy ‘more than any president in modern history’

[1 October 2020 18:17 · Danielle Zoellner]

White House press briefing goes off the rails as McEnany spars with media over Trump's white supremacist comments

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s relationship with the media appeared to reach a new low on Thursday as she repeatedly threw insults at the press as reporters urged her to “unambiguously” denounce white supremacy.

Given multiple opportunities at the press conference to condemn groups such as the Proud Boys on behalf of Donald Trump, Ms McEnany refused, pointing instead to numerous past statements from Mr Trump and the White House calling for the federal execution of a white supremacist and stronger prosecutions for members of the Ku Klux Klan, among other similar areas.

“He has condemned white supremacy more than any president in modern history,” Ms McEnany declared.

Griffin Connolly has the full report of the presser: 

[1 October 2020 18:40 · Danielle Zoellner]

Trump again tells supporters to commit electoral fraud

Donald Trump not only called out to white supremacists as he debated with Joe Biden this week, but also for his supporters “to go into the polls and watch” proceedings take place.

In making that plea on Tuesday night, the president once again alluded to widespread election fraud taking place across the United States, without any basis, as he called on his base to stage an intervention.

For Trump supporters to do so, would amount to election fraud of its own, with official poll workers typically requiring certification.  

Gino Spocchia reports: 

[1 October 2020 18:57 · Danielle Zoellner]

Quinn Simmons: American cyclist suspended by team after pro-Trump comments

An American cyclist has been suspended from the Trek-Segafredo team after he posted several comments on social media in support of President Donald Trump that the team deemed divisive, incendiary, and detrimental.

Quinn Simmons, a 2019 junior road race world champion, was suspended on Thursday after he replied to a Netherlands journalist on Twitter who was criticising the US president.

"Trek-Segafredo is an organisation that values inclusivity and supports a more diverse and equitable sport for all athletes. While we support the right to free speech, we will hold people accountable for their words and actions," read the Trek-Segafredo statement.

Full report here: 

[1 October 2020 20:09 · Danielle Zoellner]

Commission has ‘not ruled out’ changes it might make for next presidential debate

The Commission on Presidential Debates “has not ruled out” anything it might enact for the next two presidential debates, CNN reports.

A source informed the news site that the commission was considering various options for what the next two debates might look like. No firm decisions have been made.

This comes after the first presidential debate on Tuesday became a shouting match between the two candidates. Moderator Chris Wallace attempted to keep the candidates, specifically Donald Trump, from interrupting their competitor.

Following the debate, people called for a change in formatting or for a cancellation of the next two debates.

Critics said the debate provided no insights into what each candidate stood for, which made it unhelpful for undecided voters.

Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday that he would accept no rule changes to the upcoming debates because he “easily won” the first one, but polling about who won has suggested otherwise.

Here is The Independent’s analysis of the first presidential debate: 

[1 October 2020 20:30 · Danielle Zoellner]

White House can't identify mystery river where Trump claims ballots were dumped

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany folded under a simple question regarding a claim Donald Trump made that mail-in ballots for the 2020 US election were being dumped in rivers and creeks.  

"Where is the river?" the reporter asked.  

Ms McEnany, rather than answering the question, launched into a defensive tirade accusing the reporter of "missing the forest for the trees" and accusing him and others of lacking "journalistic curiosity."  

"The other day [Mr Trump] said 'they found a lot of ballots in a river.' Who is they?" the reporter asked. "Who is 'they,' that found those ballots, and where is this river, anywhere in this country?" 

Graig Graziosi reports: 

[1 October 2020 20:41 · Danielle Zoellner]

Senator Scott comments on Trump’s white supremacy comments

Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, has reportedly spoken to both the White House and chief of staff Mark Meadows about concerns he had about Donald Trump’s white supremacy comments. 

Mr Trump made headlines during the debate when he was asked to condemn white supremacy. But the president was not able to make an unambiguous statement on the matter.

“Senator Scott communicated his concerns immediately with the White House following the debate, heard from the White House earlier today, and spoke with Mark Meadows recently as well,” the statement read. 

Mr Scott is the only Republican senator who is black. 

When asked about Mr Trump’s white supremacy comments, specifically relating to the Proud Boys, the senator said the president “misspoke”. 

But White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Thursday that the president did not misspeak during the debate. She claimed he was clear about condemning white supremacy. But the president’s “stand down, stand by” debate comment appeared to please members of the Proud Boys.