US Politics

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Another 787,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week before Christmas, the last snapshot of 2020’s appalling jobs market before the New Year.
Unemployment claims have been rising again in recent weeks to their highest levels since the autumn as surging coronavirus rates have slowed hiring and led to more layoffs. At current levels the weekly claims figures are almost four times their pre-pandemic average.
The latest weekly figure from the Department of Labor was 19,000 lower than the previous week’s 803,000 claims but the average number of claims over the last four weeks is now 836,750, more than the population of the city of Seattle.
The national unemployment rate started the year at 3.6% in January and hit a record high of 14.7% in April as the coronavirus shut down much of the US economy. The unemployment rate has since declined dramatically, it was 6.7% in November, but the recovery has been uneven with women and black, Hispanic and young people still experiencing high levels of unemployment. The numbers of long-term unemployed are rising.
The recent increases in weekly unemployment claims signal more trouble ahead.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 25.7 million workers in the US remain officially unemployed, otherwise out of work due to the pandemic, or have experienced a reduction in work hours or pay.
After months of wrangling Congress has finally brokered a deal to extend unemployment assistance to the millions laid off during the pandemic. The $900bn Covid-19 relief bill will give those receiving unemployment benefits an extra $300 a week and extends two pandemic-specific programs used by about 14 million people. But the delay in the agreement means many across the country face delays in payments and more hardship.
Fernando Comas of Secaucus, New Jersey, worked as a video engineer in the entertainment industry before the pandemic and has been furloughed since March until at least 2021.
Six weeks ago, his benefits were exhausted. He has been unable to receive answers from his state unemployment agency to try to resolve the issue.
“I have a family to feed, a mortgage to pay, a car payment, and I’m a single father of two small girls who rely on me to provide for them,” said Comas, who cannot afford to find other work because his family’s health coverage is still being covered by his employer. “I’m going to lose everything, probably going to be evicted and will start to go to the food banks for food for my family.” More

Kai Kahele had one ambition growing up in Hawaii, and that was to fly airplanes. He achieved that goal by the age of 19, and was happy working as a military and commercial pilot when a family tragedy propelled him into the world of politics.Kahele, an indigenous Hawaiian, was appointed to the state senate in 2016 after the sudden death of his father senator Gil Kahele, 73, a progressive stalwart in the Democrat party for over 40 years. Two day before he died, Kahele’s father had asked him to consider following in his footsteps.“Five years ago I was a working dad, living my dream as a pilot and raising my young family when things changed overnight. I grew up immersed in the progressive values of the Democrat party, but this is not something I planned to do,” Kahele told the Guardian. “I think my dad knew that if there was someone who was going to continue his legacy, and be a leader in the Native Hawaiian community and for the indigenous peoples in our country, that his son was ready. And here I am.”On Sunday, Kahele, 46, will be sworn into Congress as part of the most diverse Democrat freshman classes in US history, with newly elected women outnumbering men two to one. He’ll also be among a record-breaking five Native Americans – three Democrats and two Republicans – in Congress. It was going to be six, until New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, was appointed as secretary to the interior by Joe Biden.[Representation] … sends a message to indigenous peoples around the world that their voices matter“I’m elated because congresswoman Haaland brings to a very important cabinet level position a cultural and historical perspective that’s been missing. Indigenous peoples in this country share a similar history, a history of colonization, oppression and marginalization, and whose economic benefit and social fabric is unfortunately directly dependent on the federal government. I feel like we’re going to be able to do great things for our indigenous communities.”They will have their work cut out, but for the first time many in Indian country are hopeful of meaningful change or at the very least, the end to decades of treaty violations by the US government which has had devastating consequences for life expectancy, political participation and economic opportunities for Native Americans.Currently there are 574 federally recognised sovereign tribal nations located across 35 states, and according to the 2010 census, 5.2 million people or about 2% of the US population identifies as American Indian or Alaskan Native – descendants of those who survived US government policies to kill, remove or assimilate indigenous peoples.In Hawaii, historical land grabs, cultural violations and economic abuses perpetrated by the US government in cahoots with western businessmen are at the root of some of the most difficult and polarizing issues today, according to Kahele. This includes the contested decision to construct a huge telescope on Mauna Kea, the most sacred mountain to Native Hawaiians, as well as water rights amid growing shortages linked to overdevelopment. Native Hawaiians are not currently recognised by the US government as sovereign indigenous people.“We have an awakened generation of Native Hawaiians that know their past, they understand and speak their language and they’re not turning back… People are split about how to right the wrongs, whether it’s through sovereignty or federal recognition, and part of my role is trying to figure out what the future path looks like. Having a voice in Congress and representation at the table is important.”Representation is also important symbolically, argues Kahele. “It sends a message to indigenous peoples around the world that their voices matter, that their history, language and culture matter, and that you’ll have people fighting for that in the United States of America’s Congress. We can be an example for other countries dealing with these same issues.”VillageKahele was born in 1974 in Miloli’i, an off-the-grid fishing community on the southern tip of the island of Hawaii where households generate electricity through solar panels and collect rain for water. It’s one of the last surviving villages where pre-western migrants from China and Taiwan are believed to have settled.Before politics Kahele’s father Gil was a marine who met his future wife, a flight attendant, on a Hawaiian beach. Kahele and his two siblings grew up with three cousins who were orphaned by a drunk driver.“My dad conveyed to me the experiences he had in the military as a Native Hawaiian travelling through the south in the 1960s seeing segregation and racism through his own eyes. My mum took us on random trips all over the world, made sure we knew there was a bigger world than Hawaii, and would often take me into the cockpit which piqued my interest at a very early age.”He’ll join Congress as a lieutenant colonel with the Hawaii air national guard and will continue to fly part time with Hawaiian Airlines. (His wife Maria is a flight attendant, and they have three daughters, aged four, six and 16.)Kahele served as the state senate majority leader and chaired the committee on land and water amid growing demands from Native communities for environmental justice. The climate crisis is also omnipresent in Hawaii, and islands across the world, as rising sea levels and temperatures are devastating coral reefs and fish stocks, as well as threatening the existence of coastal communities.“A few metres of sea could wipe out Waikiki, the economic engine of Hawaii. On islands across the Pacific, most of the population lives near the ocean, around the shoreline you have the roads and homes on the verge of collapsing. We need to reimagine and rethink how our communities will look like in the future… when you need to use natural resources to feed your families, you need to understand the changes in climate and environment to survive. That’s where I come from.”He’s hopeful that America will start to take concrete steps forwards after four years of backtracking. “Joe Biden’s climate plan is definitely 100% better than the Trump plan. Just the fact that we’ll re-enter Paris is huge, so is having climate change champion Deb Haaland at the cabinet level and leading an agency that will make critical decisions.”The geographical isolation of Hawaii, which is situated 2,500 miles from the mainland, has somewhat protected islanders from the worst of the Covid health crisis. But, the economic fallout has been devastating, and has renewed questions about the over-reliance on tourism – especially as natural resources like beaches and clean water are under threat from the climate crisis, over development and environmental degradation.Amid mass layoffs, the pandemic has increased food insecurity by 50% in Hawaii, with a quarter of people currently struggling with hunger; Native Hawaiians are disproportionately affected.“Covid has been devastating to our economy which lives and breathes almost exclusively from tourism, and it’s been detrimental to the social fabric of our community, exposing many of the deep known issues in Hawaii. We need to diversify, we need to be more sustainable.“A lot of people are hurting and face great uncertainty and fear about the future. I see a migration of people leaving Hawaii for the mainland [for work], the brain drain of teachers, doctors, firefighters doesn’t help our economy or social structure.”Kahele is firmly on the party’s left, an advocate for the Green New Deal, Medicare for all and universal preschool education – policies dismissed as radical by many on the right. He’s been assigned to the congressional transportation and infrastructure committee and hopes that they will pass a transformational green package advocated by lawmakers like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.“Why do we have to label these changes as radical, this is where we need to go as a country, in order to invest in every young child, and to rebuild and strengthen our country … I can’t wait to say a hui hou – which in Hawaii means see you later – to President Trump on January 20th. It’s time to move on.” More

Millions of lives across America and the world were touched by Donald Trump’s unlikely candidacy and presidency.But some were upended completely, resulting in life-changing or career-ending experiences and instant fame or notoriety as four incredibly tumultuous and norm-shattering years played out.Here are 20 examples of those who emerged from relative obscurity to become “stars” of the Trump era.The lawyer: Michael AvenattiThe “smashmouth” lawyer represented Stormy Daniels, an adult film actor, in her lawsuits against Donald Trump and relished goading the US president’s children on social media with the hashtag “#Basta”, meaning “enough”. He even flirted with running for president. But his relationship with Daniels soured and his fall from grace was complete in February when he was convicted of trying to extort more than $20m from Nike. The political guru: Steve BannonThe former naval officer and rightwing media executive went from marginal status to arguably the second most powerful man in Washington. Chairman of Trump’s election campaign and briefly White House chief strategist, he was doomed by clashes with the president’s daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Branded “Sloppy Steve” by Trump, he faded into the background and in August was arrested and charged with fraud over an online fundraising scheme to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.The unexpected politician: Juli BriskmanA split-second decision changed everything. In 2017 Briskman gave the middle finger to Trump as she cycled alongside the president’s motorcade outside his golf club in Virginia. Photos of the incident went viral and the marketing company she worked for swiftly dismissed her. Two years later, Briskman ran for election to the Loudoun county board of supervisors and won, ousting a Republican. It was a neat symbol of how the Trump years caused a political awakening among ordinary citizens.The comic: Sarah CooperRelatively late in the Trump’s presidency, comedian Sarah Cooper became an internet sensation by posting videos of her lip-syncs to the president’s remarks, complete with hilarious facial expressions. Her meteoric rise earned her a slot at the virtual Democratic national convention. Cooper told the New York Times: “My success is forever linked to this person that I absolutely hate.”The odd couple: George and Kellyanne ConwayThe marriage of lawyer George Conway, one of Trump’s most ardent critics, and Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to run a winning presidential campaign, was the most intriguing in Washington. George gained attention with sardonic tweets and occasional interviews as Kellyanne staunchly defended the president’s “alternative facts” and other offences before quitting in August this year.The soldier: Michael FlynnThe retired three-star army lieutenant-general led a “Lock her up!” chant about Hillary Clinton at the Republican national convention but spent just 23 days as Trump’s national security adviser. He twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia and faced a possible prison term, only to be granted a pardon by Trump. He is now urging the president to declare martial law in an effort to overturn the 2020 election result.The heroine: Christine Blasey FordOne of the most divisive moments of a divisive presidency came in September 2018 when psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford appeared before a Senate committee to quietly but firmly accuse Judge Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Trump for the supreme court, of sexual assault in 1982. “I am here today not because I want to be,” she said. “I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty.” Kavanaugh was confirmed.The music man: Rob GoldstoneThe Manchester-born tabloid journalist turned music publicist was catapulted into the spotlight by his email setting up a Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer in June 2016. Goldstone voluntarily testified to multiple congressional committees, special counsel Robert Mueller’s team and a grand jury. He later published a memoir and launched a podcast.The Trump cheerleader: Kimberly GuilfoyleThe ex-wife of Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, and former Fox News personality became a prominent Trump cheerleader and girlfriend of his eldest son, Don Jr. She spoke often at campaign rallies but her greatest moment came at this year’s virtual Republican national convention when her high-octane speech (to an empty room) including a primal scream: “The best is yet to come!”The reporter: Maggie HabermanMedia columnist Ben Smith wrote that his New York Times colleague had “one of the most astonishing runs in the history of American journalism”. The hugely prolific Haberman, who joined the paper with little fanfare in 2015, produced many of the greatest scoops about Trump’s presidency, during which journalism never seemed more vital. She landed a book deal with publication due in 2022.The PR: Hope HicksA former model, she joined Trump’s election campaign in 2015 at the age of 26 and was with him all the way, eventually becoming communications director at the White House. She then left for the Fox Corporation, only to return earlier this year and, in October, she made rare public remarks at a Trump rally in Florida. She also tested positive for the coronavirus.The witness: Fiona HillA coalminer’s daughter from County Durham in the UK, she became senior director for Europe and Russia in the White House national security council and an eyewitness to Trump’s encounters with President Vladimir Putin. Hill became a political star during Trump’s impeachment hearings with her cool, meticulous testimony, urging Republicans to stop pushing the “fictional narrative” that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.The dignified father: Khizr KhanBefore the 2016 election, Khan stood at the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia and told how his son, an American Muslim and army captain, died in Iraq, then delivered a searing critique of Trump’s threats to ban Muslim immigrants. Spurred into action, he carried out more than 280 speaking engagements in America and beyond, including the Democratic convention in 2020.The pillow guy: Mike LindellThe chief executive of pillow maker MyPillow became a major Trump donor and cheerleader at his campaign rallies. He chaired the president’s re-election effort in Lindell’s native Minnesota. When that effort failed, Lindell reportedly said he had spent more than $1m to bankroll efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory and called for Trump to declare martial law in Minnesota.The late-night host: Trevor NoahThe South African comedian had big shoes to fill, taking over from Jon Stewart as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show in 2015. But Noah won plaudits not only for his sense of humor but his deadly serious monologues – and global perspective – on topics such as the Black Lives Matter protests and interviews with figures such as Barack Obama.The FBI agents: Lisa Page and Peter StrzokStrzok was among leaders of the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. But he was fired from the FBI when it revealed he had been swapping anti-Trump text messages with Page, with whom he was having an extramarital affair (she also left the FBI). After lying low, Stzrok published a memoir, entitled Compromised, and Page resurfaced on Twitter.The Mooch: Anthony ScaramucciThe little-known banker and hedge fund founder was hired by Trump as communications director in 2017, despite the objections of the press secretary, Sean Spicer, who resigned in protest. Scaramucci’s debut in the briefing room was flamboyantly swaggering and ended with an air kiss to the press corps. “The Mooch” lasted just 11 days, felled by an indiscreet interview, but re-emerged as a trenchant Trump critic.The press secretary: Sean SpicerTrump ran through four White House press secretaries but none captured the imagination like Spicer, with an assist from Melissa McCarthy on Saturday Night Live. His debut briefing in an ill-fitting suit included the false claim that Trump had the biggest inauguration crowd ever. Spicer went on to write books and become a host on the pro-Trump TV channel Newsmax.The interviewer: Jonathan SwanThe Australian political reporter, formerly at the Sydney Morning Herald, moved to the US in 2014 to work as a congressional aide. He joined the Axios website in 2016 and became a must-read for both political news and palace intrigue. Swan won plaudits in 2020 for subjecting Trump to a grilling rivalled only by Chris Wallace of Fox News; Swan’s perplexed expressions proved irresistible to meme makers.The immigrant: Alexander VindmanThe national security aide, whose family fled the Soviet Union when he was three, offered key testimony during the Trump impeachment hearings and, in apparent retaliation, was ousted from his job on the national security council. Vindman announced his retirement in July and is writing a memoir called Here, Right Matters: An American Story. More

Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 relief checks to Americans struggling financially with the pandemic was all but dead after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that a proposal from Democrats had “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate”.Declaring that he would not be “bullied” by Democrats into quickly approving the measure, McConnell effectively denied a final request for legislative action by the president in the waning days of his administration.“We just approved almost a trillion dollars in aid a few days ago,” McConnell said, referring to the passage of a massive $900bn stimulus package that included $600 direct payments to most American adults. “It struck a balance between broad support for all kinds of households and a lot more targeted relief for those who need help most.”Trump, who remained mostly on the sidelines during the negotiations, nearly derailed the agreement when he demanded Congress more than triple the size of the direct payments from $600 to $2,000. He ultimately relented and signed the bill into law on Sunday. But he has continued to press Congress to act, writing on Twitter that “$600 IS NOT ENOUGH”. He has also called Republicans “pathetic” for failing to act, and suggested their inaction amounted to a political “death wish”.“$2000 ASAP!” Trump demanded again on Wednesday before McConnell appeared to extinguish the possibility.Democrats have eagerly embraced Trump’s call to bolster the payments and on Monday, the House approved a bill that would send $2,000 stimulus checks to Americans. But on Tuesday, McConnell prevented Democrats from bringing the House bill to the floor for consideration, instead offering a vague assurance that Senate would “begin the process” of discussing the $2,000 checks.He said the measure would be considered alongside with unrelated items that would almost certainly doom the legislation, including an investigation of election security to root out voter fraud, which Trump has baselessly claimed tainted the presidential vote count, and the removal of legal protections for social media platforms.Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday called McConnell’s plan to tie the checks to the election security and social media provisions a “way to kill the bill”.“There is no other game in town but the House bill,” Schumer said in a floor speech, imploring McConnell to allow a vote on the House bill. “The only way, the only way, to get the American people the $2,000 checks they need is to pass the House bill and to pass it now.”When he finished, Schumer again attempted to bring the House bill to the floor for a vote on Wednesday, but McConnell again objected, dismissing it as a Democratic proposal led by the House.But the effort is not only backed by Democrats. Weeks ago, progressive senator Bernie Sanders joined forces with conservative senator Josh Hawley to demand Congress include direct payments as part of any bipartisan stimulus agreement. After the checks were adopted, they continued to push Congress to dramatically increase the size of the checks.Trump’s support has further shifted the calculus among Republicans, who previously demanded that Democrats pare back their coronavirus relief proposal to keep costs under $1tn. Loath to defy the president, many Republican senators are now dropping their initial concerns about the cost of the package and embracing his call for bigger payments.Georgia senators Davide Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are running in competitive re-election races next week that will determine control of the Senate, said they support increasing the size of the checks. And 44 Republicans joined the vast majority of the Democratic caucus to approve the House bill on Monday.As lawmakers continued to spar over the payments, the treasury department said Americans should begin to receive $600 deposits in their bank accounts as early as Tuesday evening, while paper checks would be mailed out starting Wednesday. More

Walmart on Wednesday apologized to Josh Hawley, the Republican senator who said he would not vote to certify electoral college results, after a post on its Twitter account called him a “#soreloser”.“The tweet published earlier was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team. We deleted the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the electoral college,” the retail giant said in a tweet. “We apologize to Senator Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position.”The social media controversy started unfolding before noon, about one hour after Hawley tweeted his position on the usually ceremonious count. “Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf,” Hawley said.“Go ahead. Get your 2 hour debate. #soreloser” said a reply posted to Walmart’s Twitter account.Hawley replied “Thanks ⁦@Walmart⁩ for your insulting condescension. Now that you’ve insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?” In another tweet, the Missouri legislator said: “Or maybe you’d like to apologize for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business.”Congress will meet on 6 January to count electoral college votes, which is the last step in affirming president-elect Joe Biden’s win. Hawley’s move won’t thwart Biden’s victory, but it could delay the count by spurring separate House and Senate votes. The move would force other Republicans to openly cast a vote that puts President Trump’s false voter fraud allegations against millions of voters’ enfranchisement. More

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will travel to Georgia to campaign for next week’s high-stakes Senate runoff elections, it was announced on Wednesday, as Donald Trump called on the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, to resign.
For weeks, Trump has been attacking Kemp for his refusal to overturn the results of Georgia’s presidential election, a state he won in 2016 and narrowly lost to Biden in 2020, and on Wednesday went as far as to call on his fellow Republican to resign.
“@BrianKempGA should resign from office,” Trump wrote in a tweet that encouraged supporters to watch a broadcast of a hearing on purported election irregularities. “He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG! Also won the other Swing States.”
Kemp, long considered a staunch ally of the president, has refused to embrace Trump’s meritless accusations that the state’s vote count was tainted. Earlier this month, Kemp recertified Georgia’s 16 electoral votes for Biden after multiple recounts affirmed Biden’s victory in the state.
Despite dozens of lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign, they produced no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in Georgia or any other state. Yet Trump’s insistence that the presidential vote was fraudulent has rattled some Republicans in the state who fear his unfounded claims may depress turnout among his supporters ahead of runoff elections, scheduled for 5 January.
The runoffs will determine which party controls the Senate.
“I love the Great State of Georgia, but the people who run it, from the Governor, @BrianKempGA, to the Secretary of State, are a complete disaster and don’t have a clue, or worse,” Trump wrote in a pair of tweets on Tuesday night. “Nobody can be this stupid. Just allow us to find the crime, and turn the state Republican….”
He also made reference to a conspiracy theory that claims the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, has a brother named Ron who works for a Chinese tech firm, which purportedly explains his refusal to accept Trump’s unfounded claims about voter fraud in the state. The man is not related to Raffensperger.
Trump will hold a rally with Georgia’s Republican senators in Dalton on Monday, setting up a split screen with Biden, who will campaign for the Democratic challengers, the Rev Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in Atlanta on the same day. On Sunday, Harris will appear with the Democrats in Savannah, while Vice-President Mike Pence has made frequent visits to the state on behalf of the Republican candidates. More

As we look back at the Trump presidency, it often feels like America has endured four years of reality TV – with its leader as a main contestant.
Sometimes, life began to imitate fiction – like when Trump lost the election and a storyline from HBO’s Veep started to play out in real life. Near the end of this year’s race, Trump’s supporters campaigned for the counting of votes to be halted in areas where the president was down, and for the counting to continue in areas where he had lost – a plot line so ridiculous it was made for satire. Other times, Trump wrote the script himself.
We have charted his most mind-boggling moments of 2020, which show how the president turned an institution of governance into theatrics, smoke and mirrors, and entertainment.
State of the Union

It has often been said that Trump behavedas president like he did when he hosted The Apprentice. No event more clearly evidenced that theory than his State of the Union address. Usually a stately and solemn event, in 2020, Trump padded it with surprises and giveaways. Watch as a doting mother is reunited with her husband returning from Afghanistan – on tonight’s episode of the State of the Union! Oh, what’s that? A surprise giveaway of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award that can be given to a civilian? Oh, and here’s an even bigger shock: it’s going to the conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for his services to, uh … Well, hold that thought, because here’s another surprise! A surprise scholarship giveaway for a fourth-grade student from Philadelphia! So much for a night that was supposed to be about the country’s true priorities.
His spats with reporters

Trump turned press briefings from a forum to keep the president accountable and to inform the world about his policy decisions; to a daily performance ripe with monologues, insults and interruptions. Absolute loyalty was expected, and dissent was treated like treason. Journalists who tried to hold him to account were treated with disdain, interrupted or admonished, with their right to ask further questions revoked.
Many believe public officials should remain above drama and spats, but Trump seemed unable to stop himself from putting on a show – especially if it seemed he wasn’t “winning”.
“Be nice, don’t be threatening,” he told PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor when she asked the president about New York’s lack of ventilators back in April. “You’re a fake,” Trump would proclaim to reporters who asked him difficult questions. When asked about the US lives lost to the virus at a press briefing, Trump thought it pertinent to respond to an Asian American journalist: “Ask China.”
He might as well have been pointing a finger at each of them proclaiming, “You’re fired.”
His Covid-19 diagnosis

Of course, the president – who had spent months eschewing social distancing rules and refusing to wear a mask – eventually caught the coronavirus. In the final months of an election, his inner circle started to drop like flies; but he wasn’t going to go down without a show. After finding out he was sick, Trump was flown to the hospital. Ever aware of his image, he made sure he was photographed walking to the helicopter by himself – he reportedly did not want people to see him needing to be assisted out of the White House if his health got worse.
It wasn’t long before he was in the back of his motorcade, probably still contagious, waving to fans like the reality TV celebrity he’s always been.
“Maybe I’m immune,” he later announced while doing the rounds on a number of favorable TV shows.
Soon, Trump was out again, doused in his customary orange fake tan. Standing on the White House balcony, surreptitiously wheezing, he addressed his fans in a scene befitting the Hunger Games. There, he told people the virus was “disappearing” as a threat to Americans. It wasn’t: December was the worst, deadliest month for coronavirus cases in the US on record.
That photo op

As protests grew across the country this summer in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Trump must have known how it looked. Here was the president of law and order, sending in troops to fight his own people; the man who fought against lockdown; the man who likened Democratic cities to “war-zones”, teargassing peaceful protestors.
But Trump knows a picture is worth a thousand words. Before the reality could sink in, of the president who hid in a bunker during the civil unrest, he made sure he had the perfect photo opportunity. His bodyguards parted crowds of choking protesters to deliver it to him: standing outside St John’s Episcopal church in DC, Trump stood with a Bible in his hands, looking sombre, as if the city around him wasn’t on fire. More

On 5 January the US state of Georgia will vote, again, on who to send to the Senate.The control of the Senate is up for grabs, and thus the prospects for the Biden administration – at least for the next two years. As millions of dollars and hundreds of campaigners descend on the state, here is an explainer about what is happening.What is at stake?Two seats are up for grabs. Republicans hold 50 of the 100 seats, and Democrats hold 48. There are 46 formally party-aligned and two independents – Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont – who caucus with the Democrats. When there is a 50-50 tie, the deciding vote is cast by the vice president. That will be Democrat Kamala Harris after the Biden administration is sworn in on 20 January.If Democrats can win both seats they will control the Senate.A Senate majority is crucial in deciding a range of legislative changes, cabinet appointments, potential presidential impeachments and nominations to the supreme court. Republicans have controlled the Senate since 2014.The Democrats have a majority in the House, so a Democratic Senate majority would make Joe Biden’s next two years much easier. Conversely a Republican-controlled Senate under majority leader Mitch McConnell would be able to block much of his agenda, just as it did with former president Barack Obama’s. Biden has a history of attempting compromise across the aisle and could try to entice one or more Republicans on individual votes, but given McConnell’s history of obstructionism that seems a distant prospect. With so much hanging on the result, money has been pouring in to the state to support both sides. More than US$400m was spent on political ads by the middle of December, most going to the two Republicans.Today in FocusThe Georgia Senate runoffSorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/05/05-61553-gnl.fw.200505.jf.ch7DW.mp300:00:0000:00:00Who are the candidates?Both Georgia seats are contested between one Democratic candidate and one Republican.One race pitches Republican David Perdue, incumbent senator since 2015, against Democrat Jon Ossoff, a former journalist, who is only 33.Their battle has been vitriolic at times, Ossoff repeatedly calling Perdue a crook and referring to investigations into Perdue’s alleged insider trading.But Perdue has mostly not risen to the bait, and he declined to meet Ossoff in their scheduled TV debate earlier this month, leaving Ossoff to make his points on an empty podium.The other, much more colourful, race is between Republican Kelly Loeffler, a seriously wealthy former businesswoman, and Democrat Rev Raphael Warnock.Warnock, bidding to become Georgia’s first black senator, is a pastor at the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King held the same position. A long-time civil rights campaigner, he is a powerful orator in the tradition of King, and a strong supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.As a result he has been denounced as a “radical liberal” by his opponent, Loeffler, at every possible opportunity, but has responded in disarming campaign ads by accusing Loeffler of having nothing positive to say about herself and stressing how much he loves puppies.Loeffler ran into controversy when she criticised players from the WNBA team she owns – the Atlanta Dream – over their support for Black Lives Matter, saying BLM had “Marxist foundations”.Loeffler is also technically an incumbent – she was appointed an interim senator on 6 January after former Republican senator Johnny Isakson resigned due to ill health.Why are they runoffs?Georgia state law requires runoffs in both elections because no candidate in either seat reached 50% in the November election.For the Loeffler-Warnock seat, the vacancy was created by the resignation of a sitting senator.This meant the November vote was contested by 20 people, in what is known as a “blanket” or “jungle” primary, which is to say it was almost always going to a runoff, with the top two from the first round going through. In that blanket primary, Loeffler also faced strong competition from moderate Republican congressman Doug Collins, and Warnock competed against a range of Democrats.Warnock topped the blanket primary with 32.9%, Loeffler came second with 25.9% and Collins came third with 19.95%. The top two – Warnock and Loeffler – then advanced to the runoff.In the other seat, contested by Perdue and Ossoff, the 2.32% of the vote won by Libertarian party candidate Shane T Hazel was enough to ensure that neither main party candidate reached 50% in a tight race: Perdue received 49.73% and Ossoff 47.95%.Who is likely to win?A Democrat has not won a Senate race in Georgia in 20 years, so the odds of winning two at the same time do not look great.However, Biden won the state in the November presidential election, the first time in 30 years a Democratic candidate had done so.How the outcome of the presidential race will affect the runoffs is the great unknown. Will traditionally Republican voters who rejected Donald Trump return to the party to ensure the Biden agenda is tempered by Republican control of the Senate? Or will Trump’s insistence on continuing to campaign in Georgia on the basis that the election was a fraud – and tying the Senate candidates to that cause – again motivate Democratic voters to turn out in high numbers?As in the presidential election, voting is not compulsory – so turnout will be a huge concern for both camps.A few more younger voters will be eligible to vote in January. Anyone who turns 18 on or before 5 January is eligible to vote, according to the Georgia Voter Guide. Registration to vote closed on 7 December.What do the polls say?By 24 December the poll average compiled by FiveThirtyEight had Perdue ahead of Ossoff by 0.5%, but Warnock leading Loeffler by 0.6%. Real Clear Politics on 22 December gave the Republicans slightly better figures, with Perdue up by 1% and Loeffler by 0.2%, but the numbers for the Democrats were improving over the past week or so with both agencies.Both polling outfits came under sustained criticism over the presidential election when they drastically underestimated Republican support in some states.When will we know the result?It depends how close the races are. The first Ossoff-Perdue race from November was so close that the result was not known for three days, but under most circumstances the result should be apparent on the night. More