Trump, Biden finally bury hatchet to talk on coronavirus

WASHINGTON - Democrat Joe Biden and President Donald Trump finally spoke by phone Monday, both sides confirmed, ending days of teasing and squabbling between the presidential election rivals to discuss the national coronavirus upheaval.

The call marked a rare moment of unity for the country seven months before election day and during a frightening health and economic crisis.

"We had a really wonderful warm conversation," centered on the pandemic, Trump said at a regular briefing by his coronavirus task force.

"He gave me his point of view and I fully understood that," Trump said, adding they spoke for about 15 minutes. "I appreciate his calling."

Biden's communication director confirmed the two men had "a good call."

Biden "shared several suggestions for actions" the administration can take "to address the ongoing coronavirus pandemic," Kate Bedingfield said on Twitter.

He also "expressed his appreciation for the spirit of the American people in meeting the challenges facing the nation," she added.

The idea of a telephone call between Trump and Biden, who is self-isolating at home like much of the country, had been in the air for days.

Last week, Trump said he'd "love to speak with" Biden, adding, "I always found him to be a nice guy."

On Thursday, Biden responded that he was "happy to hear he'll take my call."

But if Republican Trump sat all weekend by the phone, he was left disappointed -- and by Monday morning the pair were back to trading barbs.

"What ever happened to that phone call he told the Fake News he wanted to make to me?" Trump complained on Twitter.

Gone was the "nice guy" description -- the tone was back to Trump's default mode when it comes to Biden, whom he has claimed to be losing his mental faculties, smeared with corruption allegations, and nicknamed "Sleepy Joe."

Mocking Biden's suggestion that the Democrats may have to hold their nominating convention online if coronavirus remains a threat this summer, Trump insinuated Biden was dodging having to appear in public.

Hitting back on Twitter, Biden told Trump that whether the Democratic convention is safe to stage or not will "depend on you stepping up and doing what needs to be done to handle this pandemic."

Despite the bickering, the two men still had each other's numbers.

Agence France-Presse

Obama: 'Republican Party cozying up to Russia, ex-KGB boss'

Former U.S. President Barack Obama forcefully rebuked the Republican Party on Friday, criticizing it for divisive politics and its retrenchment in global leadership. 

"What happened to the Republican Party?" Obama asked in a speech at the University of Illinois. 

"They're undermining our alliances, cozying up to Russia," he said. 

The party's "central organizing principle in foreign policy was the fight against communism and now they're cozying up to the former head of the KGB."

The former president's remarks -- which marked his full return to the political stage -- came ahead of series of campaign stops to help fellow Democrats running in pivotal upcoming midterm races. 

Democrats are hoping to ride an anti-Donald Trump "blue wave" to gain seats and secure control of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress, and are also battling for seats in the Senate.

The speech in Obama's home state was a preview of the arguments he is expected to make on the campaign trail. 

He criticized the divisive politics of the Trump era and took aim at recent Republican policy moves such as the $1.5 trillion in tax cuts that ballooned the nation's budget deficit.

"It's supposed to be the party... of fiscal conservatism. Suddenly deficits do not matter," Obama said. 

The former president implored an audience of college students to vote in the upcoming election. Historically, midterms are lightly attended and Obama made a point of reminding his audience that only one in five young people voted in the 2014 midterm election. 

"The biggest threat to our democracy is cynicism," Obama said. 

"You've got to do more than retweet a hashtag, you've got to vote."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New York's undocumented brace for Trump deportations

New York, United States - If I get deported, can my 18-year-old son take care of my youngest child? What should I do if an immigration agent knocks on my door? Do I have the right to a Spanish-speaking lawyer?

These were some of the questions raised by undocumented migrants who met recently at a community center to prepare for the worst after Donald Trump's surprise November 8 presidential election victory.

The Republican, who launched his White House quest denouncing Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and drug traffickers and vowing to build a wall on the southern US border, has threatened to deport millions of undocumented migrants, starting with those with criminal records.

"We still have two months to get organized," said Mexican-born Gonzalo Mercado, the director of the La Colmena community center who organized the event in Staten Island, New York's most conservative borough.

"We don't want to instill fear, but we must prepare for the worst because we don't know what's going to happen," he told the group.

About 40 undocumented immigrants turned out for the late night meeting, anxious about what the future holds.

They are not alone. The Mexican consulate in New York has been flooded with requests for appointments from nationals seeking to legalize their migratory status.

The waiting list for an appointment at New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's office is now four to five months long, despite the Democrat's promise to fight for the rights of the city's undocumented residents.

EMERGENCY PLAN

Cesar Vargas, a young lawyer who is himself undocumented, has drawn up an eight page emergency action plan for undocumented immigrants, which was handed out to the crowd at La Colmena.

The plan includes practical advice.

Only open your door to immigration agents if they have an arrest warrant, it advises. Remain silent if detained, find out who is asking for your detention, don't sign anything without first consulting a lawyer, and request bail.

Migrants were urged to write down passport and contact information for their relatives, as well as any medical insurance, bank, vehicle and home insurance information.

Keep it in a secret place, they were told.

Vargas also advised parents to prepare a notarized document appointing a legal guardian for their children if they themselves are deported, to prevent minors from falling into the hands of the state.

Claudia, a 39-year-old Mexican immigrant who works as a housekeeper, came to the meeting with her husband and one of their two US-born children.

Would her 18-year-old son be allowed to take care of her 10-year-old? she asked.

Vargas's brother Carlos, an advisor on immigration matters for the Borough of Staten Island, told Claudia he thought so, but wasn't sure.

Claudia, who would not give her last name, said her biggest worry was that her husband, a day laborer, would not be able to provide for the family.

"For example, there are companies that now won't hire people without papers," she said.

Trump's election was traumatic for Jovita Mendoza, a 40-year-old single mother who has lived in the United States for 17 years, working two jobs and paying US taxes on both.

"I began to cry when I spoke to my sons. I told them that if they kick me out they'll have to study hard, that they shouldn't worry about me."

Her eldest son consoled her, telling his mother that if Trump is true to his word "we'll stay together."

MORE THAN PRETTY WORDS

Vargas said he and other activists are compiling a list of lawyers who are willing to represent detained undocumented migrants for free in an emergency.

About a half million undocumented immigrants, most of them Mexican, live in New York, America's most diverse city.

It is one of several US cities that have promised undocumented migrants "sanctuary," directing city workers not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

But Vargas urged those in the audience to take the promises of official support with a grain of salt, noting that De Blasio is running for re-election next year.

"Right now the mayor and the governor have pretty words to say, because 2017 is an election year," he said. "We want actions to be put behind their words."

Vargas, who came to the United States as a child and managed to get a law degree that allows him to practice despite being undocumented, promised an offensive strategy "starting January 20," when Trump takes office as president.

Vargas also urged the migrants to denounce any racist incidents they may encounter in public, in stores and at schools. Such cases appear to have increased since Trump's election.

Several people in the group complained about an elderly American known to chase down teens and adults in his car while yelling "Go back to your country!" and "Immigrants don't belong here!"

lbc/ch/jm/ec

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Obama says Trump 'unfit' to be president

WASHINGTON - In a searing and virtually unprecedented presidential rebuke, Barack Obama declared embattled Republican White House nominee Donald Trump "unfit" to be president Tuesday and called on party leaders to disown him.

Obama piled on as Trump's campaign reeled from multiple self-inflicted scandals, calling the 70-year-old mogul "woefully unprepared" and "unfit to serve as president."

"He keeps proving it," said Obama, standing alongside the prime minister of Singapore and casting aside any pretense of domestic unity.

In recent days, Trump has criticized Muslims, babies, firefighters and the military, prompting his wincing Republican backers to issue awkward denunciations.

Congressman Richard Hanna went one step further, becoming the first Republican lawmaker to say he will vote for Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, in November.

"I find Trump deeply flawed in endless ways," Hanna wrote in a newspaper editorial announcing his decision.

Obama turned up the heat on Republicans who appear increasingly ill at ease with Trump but have not withdrawn their endorsement.

"This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe," Obama said. "This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he's making."

"There has to be a point in which you say: 'This is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party.'"

"There has to come a point at which you say 'enough'," he said.

"The alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party, effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by Mr Trump."

TRUMP HITS BACK

Leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain may have been given further pause by Trump's refusal to reciprocate their endorsements.

Trump won the Republican primary handily, but is trailing Clinton in general election polls by around four percentage points.

Obama has already endorsed his fellow Democrat and has repeatedly pilloried Trump's populism.

But his comments in the East Room of the White House -- where Abraham Lincoln lay in state and Theodore Roosevelt today casts a painted gaze -- are a significant and highly personal escalation of presidential rhetoric.

Last week, Obama addressed the Democratic convention in Philadelphia and painted this election as a choice not between a Democrat and Republican, but a Democrat and a demagogue who threatens democracy.

"There have been Republican presidents with whom I've disagreed with, but I didn't have a doubt that they could function as president," Obama said Tuesday.

Turning to his 2012 and 2008 election opponents, Obama said "Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldn't do the job."

Trump hit back at Obama in a written statement, describing his two terms in office as an example of "failed leadership."

GOLD STAR FIGHT

Obama's comments came amid a roiling war of words between Trump and the father of a slain US soldier who rebuked the Republican nominee as having "sacrificed nothing."

"The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job," said Obama.

On the campaign trail on Tuesday, Trump further dropped jaws by telling a mother and her crying baby to leave a rally and saying he "always wanted to get a Purple Heart," after being given one by a military veteran who supports him.

The military honor is given by a sitting president to a member of the armed forces who is killed or wounded in combat.

"This was much easier," Trump remarked.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Clinton says Trump dangerous, unfit to be commander in chief

 

SAN DIEGO - US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton tore into her likely election rival Donald Trump as never before Thursday, saying his foreign policy is dangerously incoherent and labeling him unfit for office.

"He is temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility," Clinton said, cranking up the rhetoric in what is already a deeply acrimonious election.

"This is not someone who should ever have the nuclear codes."

Americans will go to the polls on November 8 to elect a new president, replacing Barack Obama, who steps down after eight years in office.

Clinton and Trump are all but assured to be the Democratic and Republican party nominees.

Clinton, who has formerly served as secretary of state, first lady and a US senator, is vying to become the first female president in America's 239-year history.

Trump, a 69-year-old celebrity real estate mogul, burst onto the political scene last year, leveraging his fame to garner media coverage and dispelling much more experienced Republican rivals.

But in the process Trump has rejected many of the central tenets of foreign policy endorsed by both major parties.

He has questioned the utility of NATO, expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and appeared cavalier about the prospect of nuclear weapons proliferation.

Clinton in turn ridiculed her foe -- painting him as a thin-skinned neophyte -- and voiced incredulity at his views.

"I will leave it to the psychiatrists to explain his affection for tyrants," she said, while trying to showcase her own grasp of world affairs.

"Even if I weren't in this race, I'd be doing everything I could to make sure Donald Trump never becomes president because I believe he will take our country down a truly dangerous path," she told an audience in San Diego, California.

BRUTAL FIGHT

Clinton's fiery speech foreshadows what is certain to be one of the most vitriolic US elections in living memory.

With the two major parties deeply divided after rancorous primary campaigns, both leaders are likely to use a common enemy to unify supporters.

As she was speaking, Trump tweeted: "Bad performance by Crooked Hillary Clinton! Reading poorly from the teleprompter! She doesn't even look presidential!"

By taking on Trump on national security, Clinton is trying to move the battle to favorable terrain, according to Geoffrey Skelley of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

"She definitely does best against Trump on issues of security, foreign policy," he said.

"It's something that she thinks is going to be a key driver in the end to her winning, that people are going to decide that -- even if they are uncertain about Clinton -- that she is the safer choice."

On Thursday, Trump got some succor, winning the endorsement of Republican Paul Ryan, speaker of the House of Representatives.

But even as Trump wins the backing of Republicans in Congress, many party acolytes who take pride in Republicans' traditionally strong national security credentials are hostile to Trump leading the party.

Clinton will hope her message resonates with military families and establishment Republicans -- prominent in vital battleground states like Virginia and North Carolina.

Some of her message appeared tailored to them.

"Imagine Donald Trump sitting in the situation room making life or death decisions on behalf of the United States," Clinton said. "Imagine him deciding whether to send your spouses or children into battle."

"Imagine if he had not just his Twitter account at his disposal when he's angry but America's entire arsenal. Do we want him making those calls? Someone thin-skinned and quick to anger who lashes out at the smallest criticism? Do we want his finger anywhere near the button?"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Second Republican quits White House race

WASHINGTON, United States - The man once considered a rising star of the Republican Party said Monday he is pulling out of the race for the White House, appearing to take a swipe at frontrunner Donald Trump.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was just the latest victim of Trump's surprise surge in the polls to win the Republican nomination for 2016.

"Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field," Walker said in Madison, Wisconsin.

"With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately."

Walker said that he was disappointed that the crowded field was full of personal sniping and not a positive focus -- in a not-particularly veiled reference to Trump.

"In the end, I believe that the voters want to be for something, and not against someone. Instead of talking about how bad things are, we want to hear how we can make them better. We need to get back to the basics of our party," he stressed.

Of the 17 initial Republican candidates, 15 remain after Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, dropped out on September 11.

The 47-year-old Walker started the year with a bang and was even leading in some polls in the spring.

But his star has been on the wane since, coinciding with the emergence of Trump as a genuine contender for the Republican ticket.

Walker's approval rating has plummeted, falling to nearly zero in a CNN poll published Sunday.

Terry Sullivan, campaign manager for rival Marco Rubio, said that he believed Walker was quitting the race for one simple reason.

"People don't stop running for president because they run out of ideas... they stop running because they run out of money," Sullivan said at a National Review event.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Former tech executive Carly Fiorina enters presidential race

WASHINGTON - Former technology executive Carly Fiorina formally entered the 2016 presidential race on Monday, launching a Republican White House bid in a morning announcement that highlighted her role as a leading critic of Democratic contender Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. is the only woman in the crowded field of major GOP candidates. She has never held elected office, but she could play a prominent role in the GOP's push to broaden its appeal with women in 2016. Democrats have won the female vote in every presidential election since 1988.

Fiorina announced her campaign in an online video posted roughly the same time she confirmed her intentions with ABC's "Good Morning America." Clinton played a prominent role in both.

source: newsday.com