memeorandum: Dr. Scott Atlas joins DeSantis for press conference: “We are the only nation among our peer nations that are hysterical about opening schools” (Jennifer Cabrera/Alachua Chronicle)

3:10 PM ET, September 1, 2020

Top Items:

Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation — The social media giant acted against a small network of pages and accounts that directed users to a fake left-leaning news site called Peace Data

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:
As election looms, Russian trolls are targeting Americans again, Facebook says

more at Techmeme »

Barbara Ortutay / Associated Press:
Facebook axes small Russian troll network ahead of election

Discussion: One America News Network

Ben Collins / NBC News:

Trump's ‘plane loaded with thugs’ rumor matches months-old conspiracy theory — The conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump pushed on Monday that a plane “almost completely loaded with thugs” was set to disrupt protests was almost identical to a rumor that went viral on Facebook three months ago.

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The American Independent, The Stranger, Raw Story, Mediaite and Political Wire

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:

The Essence of Late Stage Trumpism — “People that you've never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows. People that...” - Donald J. Trump, the actual president of the United States. — World War II began 80 years ago. The day was commemorated by W.H. Auden in a poem named, appropriately enough, “September 1, 1939”.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, Raw Story, Politico and Fox News

Makena Kelly / The Verge:

Biden campaign launches official Animal Crossing: New Horizons yard signs — It's the campaign's latest foray into online organizing — Starting today, September 1st, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players will be able to deck out their island homes with official Joe Biden yard signs as part …

Discussion: Input, Mashable, Mediaite, Bloomberg and Twitchy

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

Arizona Stands Out From a Mostly Static Presidential Race in Battleground States — State-level polling trends reveal little recent change in 2020 contest, but Biden now leads by 10 in Arizona — Amid unrest in Kenosha, Wis., Biden leads Trump by 9 points, 52% to 43%.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, ABC News, Washington Times, Raw Story, MyNorthwest.com, Political Wire and Balloon Juice

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Biden Expected to Surpass $300 Million Raised in August, Shattering Record — The fund-raising total would exceed previous monthly hauls and is more than double what the former vice president raised in July. — Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to report a record-breaking haul of donations for August …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Political Wire and Redstate

Simon Lewis / Reuters:
Democratic presidential candidate Biden raised record haul of over $300 million in August - report

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Larry Flynt / The Daily Beast:

My Final Farewell to the Falwells — The Hustler publisher, who won a landmark First Amendment legal battle against Jerry Falwell Sr., writes about Jerry Falwell Jr.'s fall from grace—and the Trump of it all. — When I heard that Jerry Falwell Jr. had resigned the presidency of Liberty University …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ruth Graham / New York Times:
Liberty Will Investigate University's Operations Under Jerry Falwell Jr.

Discussion: Liberty News, Raw Story and The National Interest

Margaret Talev / Axios:

Exclusive: Bloomberg group warns Trump will appear to win big on election night — A top Democratic data and analytics firm told “Axios on HBO” it's highly likely that President Trump will appear to have won — potentially in a landslide — on election night, even if he ultimately loses when all the votes are counted.

Discussion: The National Pulse, Vanity Fair, Althouse, CounterPunch, Raw Story and The Daily Caller

David Lauter / Los Angeles Times:

Trump has slipped among key groups that backed him in 2016 — President Trump's support has eroded among key groups of voters who backed him in 2016 — a major reason why he continues to trail former Vice President Joe Biden and a prime motivator for the president's reelection strategy …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite and The Hill

Roger Sollenberger / Salon:

Trump campaign aide was paid $20,000 a month by Bannon nonprofit linked to alleged fraud — Trump campaign's shell game: No reported payments to campaign manager Bill Stepien or drama-prone aide Jason Miller — Senior Trump campaign official Jason Miller appears to have been paid about $20,000 …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jake Gibson / Fox News:

DHS: Portland mayor must ‘prioritize public safety’ or feds will have ‘no choice but to protect’ Americans — Acting Secretary Chad Wolf accused the mayor of standing by ‘passively’ during months of riots — EXCLUSIVE — Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has sent a letter …

Discussion: CNN, National Review, Oregonian, Department of Homeland …, Townhall, The Western Journal, KOIN-TV, Raw Story, IJR, The Daily Caller and Just The News

ABC News:
Trump Traveling to Kenosha amid national unrest

Discussion: Politico

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
DHS Chief Tells Tucker the Feds Are ‘Working On’ Conspiracy Charges Against BLM Leaders

Discussion: Breitbart

The Daily Beast:

Trump White House Warns Colleges: Don't Send Your COVID-Infected Students Home! — In a call on Monday, top officials on the coronavirus task force made it clear that they realize sending students back to school has created a risk of cascading outbreaks. — Top White House officials rang …

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story and Slate

The Times of Israel:

Pompeo nixed filming campaign ad in Israel after Jerusalem speech furor - report — Commercial said canceled after accusations US secretary of state broke the law by filming message for Republican National Convention while on official trip — Plans were scrapped for US Secretary …

Jared Holt / Right Wing Watch: Far-Right Columnist Pat Buchanan Declares Moderate Republicans ‘Lost the Battle’

Meduza.io:

Russian Darkweb shares personal data of nearly every voter in Michigan, plus a million more voters in four other states — Russian Internet users have shared the personal data of nearly every voter in Michigan (7.6 million of the state's 7.8 million voters), as well as the information …

Discussion: kommersant.ru, Techdirt and Detroit Metro Times

Taegan Goddard / Political Wire: Russian Journalists Find U.S. Voter Data on Hacker Site

Margaret Talev / Axios:

Axios-Ipsos poll: Most expect quick election results — One in three Americans thinks we'll know who won the presidential election on the night of Nov. 3, and six in 10 expect the winner to be announced within a couple of days, our new poll finds. — Why it matters: The gap between public expectations …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Hill and Political Wire

Sam Baker / Axios:
Axios-Ipsos poll: A harsh verdict for government's coronavirus response

Discussion: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

Trump Needs His Own Sister Souljah Moment — The president must condemn those responsible for violence and disavow those who act in his name. Easy, right? — I want to make a prediction about the election in November. — Here it is: If Joe Biden wins, it will be, in part …

Discussion: New Republic, Real Clear Politics, Slate, NBC News, CounterPunch, Reuters, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Federalist, Balloon Juice, Redstate, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Townhall

Alana Wise / NPR:

Trump Defends Kenosha Shooting Suspect — President Trump on Monday declined to condemn the actions of the suspected 17-year-old shooter of three protesters against police brutality in Kenosha, Wis., claiming, without evidence, that it appeared the gunman was acting in self defense.

Discussion: Redstate, Townhall, Washington Post, The Hill, Twitchy, Politico, The Guardian, ArkansasTimes and Washington Times

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Trump goes all in and defends White violence

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Joe Biden for President, Breitbart, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Fox News, Daily Kos, IJR, Twitchy, Mediaite and Washington Times

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:

Biden's GOP endorsements show the cracks in Trump's coalition — (CNN)Joe Biden is attracting more crossover endorsements from prominent members of the opposing party than any other presidential candidate from either side in decades. That doesn't guarantee the former vice president victory in November …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Hill, Newsbusters, American Prospect, CounterPunch, New York Post, Political Wire and Daily Kos

Ben Jacobs / VICE:

Kanye West's Campaign Is Filled to the Brim With GOP Operatives — A lawyer linked to the campaign worked to make women have vaginal ultrasounds before getting an abortion. Another shared “White Lives Matter” content. — BJ — Kanye West's presidential campaign still hasn't filed …

New York Times:

It Has Come to This: Ignore the C.D.C. — The agency's new guidelines are wrong, so states have to step up on their own to suppress the coronavirus. — Harold Varmus is a former director of the National Institutes of Health. Rajiv Shah is the president of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Discussion: National Review

Isaac Arnsdorf / ProPublica:

Now in Government Food Aid Boxes: A Letter From Donald Trump — Democrats say the letter violates the law against using government resources to campaign. It's just the latest example of President Trump using his office to boost his reelection hopes.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and Political Wire

Julie Zauzmer / Washington Post:

D.C. committee recommends stripping the names of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key and others from city government buildings — A committee reporting to D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser recommends renaming dozens of public schools, parks and government buildings in the nation's capital …

Discussion: Townhall

Paul LeBlanc / CNN:

Pence was on standby to ‘take over’ during Trump's unannounced Walter Reed visit, new book reports — Washington (CNN)Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency during President Donald Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019 …

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Forbes, Deadline, IJR, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

David Siders / Politico:

An unlikely state tightens up — Minnesota, which once looked like a vanity project for Donald Trump, is suddenly emerging as a critical test of his effort to turn his campaign around. — Interviews with more than a dozen officials and strategists from both parties in recent days depict …

Discussion: The Federalist, The Hill and FiveThirtyEight

Dave Levinthal / Business Insider:

Legal insiders brace for a world where Trump loses in November and the ex-president faces down a slew of reinvigorated court fights — More than a dozen legal experts and practitioners tell Insider that President Donald Trump's many legal fights are primed to cause him headaches should he lose the 2020 presidential election.

Mackenzie Mays / Politico:

California lawmaker brings newborn to Assembly floor after being denied proxy vote — SACRAMENTO — While remote voting was allowed in the California State Senate on Monday, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who gave birth in late July, said Assembly leadership denied her request to vote by proxy despite Covid-19 concerns.

Discussion: The Hill

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Over and over, Trump has focused on Black Lives Matter as a target of derision or violence — He's done so since before he was elected. — During his time in politics, President Trump has frequently been accused of criticizing his opponents for things of which he himself is guilty.

Discussion: Redstate, HuffPost, National Review, Vanity Fair, One America News Network, Raw Story and WisPolitics.com

Jordan Libowitz / CREW:

Trump's IRS Chief Has Made Hundreds of Thousands from Trump Properties While in Office — Charles Rettig, the Trump-appointed IRS Commissioner who has refused to release President Trump's tax returns, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars renting out Trump properties while in office, according to documents obtained by CREW.

Discussion: KTLA, NPR and Wall Street Journal

David Reddish / Queerty:

oh lord Gay Trumper Richard Grenell lands new job...working for an anti-LGBTQ legal group — Not long after declaring Donald Trump the most pro-gay president in American history (yeah, right), former US Ambassador Richard Grenell has announced his latest employment gig.

Jesmyn Ward / Vanity Fair:

Jesmyn Ward on Her Husband's Death and Grief During COVID-19 — The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief. — My Beloved died in January.

New York Times:

As Guns Get Drawn at Protest Sites, Demonstrators Fear a Volatile New Phase — As right-wing groups increasingly move to confront unrest in cities, clashes are breaking out between demonstrators with starkly different views on how to keep cities safe. — PORTLAND, Ore. — For months …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Hill, TheBlaze, Real Clear Politics, Twitchy and Forbes, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

Last 24 hours reveal the stark differences between Trump and Biden — WASHINGTON — In one of the most revealing 24 hours of the general election and the sprint to Election Day, one presidential nominee condemned violence and destruction from all sides of the political spectrum.