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    Boris Johnson sends best wishes to Donald and Melania Trump after Covid-19 diagnosis – video

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    Boris Johnson has wished Donald and Melania Trump a ‘strong recovery’, hours after the US president revealed he and his wife had tested positive for coronavirus
    Trump and first lady Melania test positive for coronavirus
    Prayers and criticism as public figures react to Trump Covid news

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    The Guardian view on Wisconsin and the Republicans: America's divisions | Editorial

    On Tuesday, America heard two calls for peace and unity. The first came from the mother of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot in the back by police multiple times in front of his children, and reportedly left paralysed. After episodes of arson and looting followed peaceful protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Julia Jackson urged: “We need healing.”The second was the gaslighting speech from Melania Trump at the Republican National Convention. The woman who offered what was described as “a plea for racial unity” is the same woman who said American people wanted to see Barack Obama’s birth certificate; wore a jacket reading “I really don’t care. Do U?” on her way to visit detained children on the Texas border; and was appearing on behalf of a man who has triumphed through bigotry. She spoke at a convention seeking to press those same buttons with what one Republican political operative described as “fear porn”. Speakers have included the St Louis lawyers who brandished their guns at Black Lives Matter protestors marching past their home.The first lady’s address was – like much of the programme on Tuesday – a cynical attempt to sanitise the brand, allowing her husband and the Republicans to exploit racism while insisting it is nothing of the kind, and for voters to back them without too much discomfort. Donald Trump’s attempts to capitalise on the Black Lives Matter movement by positioning himself as the “president of law and order” who would defend white suburbs, lifting from Richard Nixon’s playbook, have so far been notably unsuccessful. The public has proved much more sympathetic towards the protests than expected.Whether that will change before November’s election is unclear. What is certain is that the spectre of American carnage that he conjures up has real and dangerous impact. Mr Trump has not invented racial divisions, police impunity, paranoia about “anti-American” forces, or a culture of people taking the law into their own hands. But he has exploited and fostered them.Hours after the convention speech, two people were shot dead and another injured at the protests in Kenosha. A group of heavily armed white men had reportedly clashed with demonstrators earlier, and the county sheriff said a “militia” had been patrolling the streets. Footage posted on social media showed what appeared to be a white man with a semiautomatic rifle firing at what are believed to be Black Lives Matter protestors. Despite the tumult, the alleged gunman is finally seen walking away with his arms raised, a weapon still dangling from his shoulder, as police tactical vehicles drive past him – a stark contrast with the treatment of Mr Blake.Words have consequences. Mr Blake’s family were calling not simply for calm, but for the transformation that the US desperately needs. “We have been watching police kill Black people for years,” his sister Letetra Widman reminded listeners. “I don’t want your pity. I want change.”The first lady’s call was for the perpetuation of the status quo. Her husband rose to power by stoking bigotry and plans to remain in power the same way. His departure alone cannot fix America’s deep-rooted problems. But another victory in November would only multiply them. More

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    Melania Trump offers condolences to families of Covid-19 victims in RNC speech

    Republican national convention 2020

    Remarks were a jarring reminder of pandemic, after an evening of misleading speeches that tried to minimize the public health crisis

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    Melania Trump addresses Covid death toll, calls for unity amid racial tensions in RNC speech – video

    Melania Trump expressed sympathy to the Americans who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic, acknowledging the grim toll of a public health crisis the president has failed to contain during a keynote address on the second night of the Republican convention.
    Speaking from the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, the first lady offered her condolences to the loved ones of the more than 178,000 Americans who have now died from the virus and the millions more who have been infected, casting her husband as the nation’s best hope to move past this grave chapter, despite widespread criticism of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.
    “I want to acknowledge the fact that since March, our lives have changed dramatically,” she said, before an audience seated, without regard for social distancing, in folding chairs, her husband in the front row applauding. Almost no one in attendance wore a mask.
    “I know many people are anxious and some feel helpless,” she continued. “I want you to know, you are not alone. My husband’s administration will not stop fighting until there is an effective treatment for a vaccine available to everyone. Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted in this pandemic.”
    Her remarks were a jarring reminder of the trauma and turmoil still ravaging the nation, after an evening of misleading testimonials that sought to minimize, rewrite or entirely overlook the public health crisis. At one point, the White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, referred to the ongoing pandemic using the past tense. More