memeorandum: Abbott's order closing ballot drop-off sites is voter suppression

11:10 PM ET, October 3, 2020

Top Items:

The White House Is Spreading Virus and Lies — The White House is at war with the virus, with itself, and with reality — though not necessarily in that order. — With President Trump hospitalized for COVID-19 at Walter Reed medical center, officials spent Saturday sowing doubt …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Twin Cities, Mother Jones, Deadline and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“This Is Spiraling Out of Control”: Allies Panic About Trump's Hospital Stay as White House Deflects — The White House's history of lying makes it difficult to assess the truth of Trump's condition. But allies are bracing for an election blowout, and at least one G-7 nation is predicting president Ivanka.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Twitchy

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Maggie Haberman on the Fallout from Trump's Hospitalization — On Saturday, the day after President Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with symptoms of covid-19, the country remained in a state of confusion about his medical status.

Discussion: New York Times, The Sun, Political Wire, Raw Story, Associated Press, Vanity Fair and Slate

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Covering a cover-up in real time — What is the actual state of President Trump's health — now and over the past 24 hours? — Why it matters: It's one of the most high-stakes questions in the world, and I cannot answer it, despite having spent since 5 a.m. on Friday on my phone with sources inside and close to the White House.

Discussion: Slate, BuzzFeed News, The Daily Caller and STAT

Washington Post:

Little evidence that White House has offered contact tracing, guidance to hundreds potentially exposed — Hours before President Trump tested positive for the novel coronavirus and just one day before he was admitted to the hospital, he mingled with more than 200 people at his New Jersey golf club for a campaign fundraiser.

Discussion: Politico

Associated Press:

Official: Next 48 hours critical for Trump on virus fight — BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Donald Trump went through a “very concerning” period Friday and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care as he battles the coronavirus at a military hospital, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Saturday.

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, BuzzFeed News, CNN, STAT, The Sun, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Dot, Twin Cities, NPR, KXAN-TV, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, KSNG-TV, Slate, Associated Press, Reuters and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:

How the everyday chaos of reporting on the Trump White House played out for the world to see Saturday — The dispatches began routinely enough for an out-of-the-ordinary day, with Pool Report #2 from Cheryl Bolen, the Bloomberg White House reporter on pool duty Saturday.

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

ABC News:

Trump family, aides flouted Cleveland hotel mask mandate ahead of debate — Trump's entourage spent several hours at a hotel ahead of Tuesday's debate. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — Hours before they were seen watching Tuesday's presidential debate without masks …

New York Times:

A White House Long in Denial Confronts Reality — The infections were a byproduct, former aides said, of the recklessness and top-down culture of fear that President Trump created at the White House and throughout his administration. — WASHINGTON — As America locked down this spring during …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Biden looks to seal election after Trump's week from hell — Joe Biden is on the campaign trail. Donald Trump is in the hospital. — In a role reversal, the president who mocked his rival for being weak and hiding “in his basement” is stuck in isolation under doctors' supervision …

Discussion: Redstate, Mediaite, Political Wire, Al Jazeera, CBS Philly, Fox News, Associated Press, Breitbart, Real Clear Politics and WCDC-TV

Washington Post: An army of doctors. Access to an experimental drug. A special patient gets special care.

CNN:
Advisers made last-minute push to get reluctant Trump to Walter Reed

Discussion: ABC News, Vox and CNBC

Associated Press:
Trump said to be improving but next 48 hours ‘critical’

Discussion: NBC Boston

Washington Post: Rose Garden event suspected of virus outbreak alarms D.C. officials

Los Angeles Times:
New questions emerge about timing and severity of President Trump's coronavirus infection

Discussion: Investor's Business Daily

Reuters:
White House chief of staff says Trump is doing very well

Discussion: New York Times and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Biden campaign says it will now disclose the result of every coronavirus test

Discussion: Bloomberg, Axios, Fox News, abc7NY, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NBC Boston, CNN, Mother Jones, Real Clear Politics, Common Dreams, KXAN-TV and CBS Philly

Michael Ruiz / Fox News:
President Trump completes second dose of the Remdesivir drug; doc reports ‘substantial progress’

Discussion: The Hill and OpsLens

CNN:
Attorney General Barr chooses not to quarantine despite possible exposure to Covid-19

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Daily Beast, Florida Politics, PinkNews, ABC7, UPI, Gothamist and BuzzFeed News

Wall Street Journal:
White House Gives Mixed Signals on Trump's Health

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, Breitbart, TMZ.com, Denver Post, The Week, Vox and One America News Network

New York Times:
Covid-19 Live Updates: Trump Is Hospitalized as More Aides Test Positive

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, BuzzFeed News, Politico, Axios, Breitbart, ABC News, Common Dreams, NPR, Daily Kos, New York Post, Conservative News Today, KXAN-TV, TheBlaze, Florida Politics, Occupy Democrats, Al Jazeera, IJR, Balloon Juice, The Guardian, Twin Cities, ABC7 and Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:
White House gives confusing and incomplete answers about Trump's health as president says he is ‘feeling well’

Discussion: The Guardian, Bloomberg, NPR, Mediaite, Raw Story and The Dispatch

Axios:
The GOP's great depression

Discussion: Reuters, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, The Hill, Associated Press, New York Times, Political Wire and The Week

Associated Press: Trump's diagnosis shows US vulnerability to the coronavirus

Briana Reilly / madison.com:

After testing positive for COVID-19, Ron Johnson says he's still against mask mandates — After testing positive for COVID-19, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said his view on mask mandates hasn't changed, as Wisconsin Republican leaders have voiced their support for striking down the state's order requiring face coverings be worn.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, Law & Crime, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Hill and Politico

Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:
Sen. Chuck Grassley won't seek coronavirus test after attending meeting with infected senator

Discussion: ABC News, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, New York Post, USA Today and TheBlaze

Justin Rohrlich / The Daily Beast:
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Went to Oktoberfest Party While Awaiting COVID-19 Test Results

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Claudia Grisales / NPR:
McConnell Seeks Agreement To Delay Senate's Return Amid Positive Coronavirus Tests

Jake Sherman / Politico:
The virus slams into a broken Washington

Discussion: The Hill

Tony Plohetski / Austin American-Statesman:

Texas Attorney Ken Paxton took bribes, abused office, executives in his office say — Top aides of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have asked federal law enforcement authorities to investigate allegations of improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other potential crimes against the state's top lawyer.

Discussion: KVUE-TV, The Hill, Raw Story and Political Wire

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

ABC News says staff that came into contact with Christie will ‘self isolate for 14 days’ — New York (CNN)ABC News staffers who were in direct contact with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will quarantine for 14 days, a spokesperson for the network said in a statement Saturday …

Discussion: Variety, more at Mediagazer »

Chris McGreal / The Guardian:
'It's a hoax. There's no pandemic': Trump's base stays loyal as president fights Covid

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:
Chris Christie checks into hospital as a precaution after positive Covid-19 test

Discussion: CNBC, National Review, Townhall, Politico, Slate, Associated Press, Florida Politics, The Dispatch, The Hill, Forbes, Deadline, KXAN-TV and CBS News

Miranda Devine / New York Post:

'I'm going to beat this,' Trump tells Rudy Giuliani of COVID-19 during phone call — President Donald Trump phoned Rudy Giuliani from his hospital bed Saturday afternoon to declare he feels so healthy, “I could get out of here right now.” — The former Big Apple mayor said his friend …

Discussion: Redstate, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and TheBlaze

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Poll Finds Voters in Two Crucial States Repelled by Trump's Debate Behavior — NEW YORK TIMES/ — SIENA COLLEGE POLL — Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in Florida and Pennsylvania. Both states are crucial to Mr. Trump's re-election chances. — 2016 Election Result NYT/Siena — Pennsylvania

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Hill, The American Independent, Florida Politics, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and Politico

Mary Papenfuss / HuffPost:

Tucker Carlson Compares Trump To A Sexual Assault Victim — Saying Trump should have taken pecautions against COVID-19 is the same as blaming an assault victim for “dressing provocatively,” the Fox News host said. — Fox News host Tucker Carlson dropped a crass comparison Friday as he insisted that …

Jay Cannon / USA Today:

We're paying a lot of attention to Trump's case, but the US just recorded the most daily COVID-19 infections in nearly 2 months … The news of President Donald Trump and members of his inner circle testing positive for COVID-19 has sent shock waves across the country, but it's …

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Sex Scandal Roils North Carolina Senate Race — North Carolina has played a key role in Democrats' hopes to take control of the Senate this year. Republican Thom Tillis is considered an uninspiring figure, while the Democrats seemed to have found a strong challenger in veteran Cal Cunningham.

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Beast, NBC News and Vox

Politico:
Sexts and coronavirus: Must-win Senate race upended down the stretch

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Raleigh News & Observer, ABC11, National File, Reuters, Townhall, CNN, Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Big League Politics, Axios and Talking Points Memo

Houston Chronicle:

Abbott's order closing ballot drop-off sites is voter suppression — plain and simple. — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announcing expanded reopening of many Texas businesses in most of the state. Abbott, however, said bars will remain closed. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman/TNS)

Discussion: The Texas Tribune and Off the Kuff