The Daily 202: RBG’s memory shadows Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing

Two GOP senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee contracted the virus after attending the Rose Garden ceremony on Sept. 26 where Trump formally announced his selection of Barrett – before Ginsburg was buried next to her late husband at Arlington National Cemetery. Trump, his wife and several senior aides would subsequently test positive for the contagion. Tony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, has described the Barrett announcement as a superspreader event.

Three weeks before Election Day, the memory of the liberal lioness looms large in the Hart Senate Office Building. The four-day confirmation hearing is continuing today, with each of 22 senators on the panel getting 30 minutes to question Barrett. During more than five hours of rhetorical political combat on Monday, Democrats used Ginsburg’s record as a cudgel while several Republicans read old quotes from her as a shield.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) quoted Ginsburg defending President Barack Obama’s appointment of Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late justice Antonin Scalia after his death in February 2016. “The bottom line is Justice Ginsburg, when asked about this several years ago, said that a president serves four years, not three,” Graham said. “This is a vacancy that has occurred through a tragic loss of a great woman, and we’re going to fill that vacancy with another great woman.”

Graham did not acknowledge that Ginsburg made that comment at a time when he was leading the blockade against Garland getting a hearing from the committee. The senator also did not mention that Ginsburg dictated a statement to her granddaughter from her deathbed, saying that her final wish was that her replacement be made by the winner of the election.

But Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) emphasized the deathbed wish. “Her last fervent wish was that a new president, the winner of this election, would pick her replacement,” said Klobuchar. 

Klobuchar acknowledged that Democrats are not going to be able to block Barrett. “We don’t have some clever procedural way to stop this sham,” she said. “As the rabbi said at Justice Ginsburg’s memorial in the Capitol, her dissents – her strong words when she would disagree with the Republican-appointed justices – were never cries of defeat. They were blueprints for the future. So, to all Americans, this hearing, whatever these guys try to do, whatever you hear from me, it will not be a cry of defeat. It will instead be our blueprint for the future.” 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) raised the specter that Democrats might try to add more seats to the Supreme Court if Democrats win the Senate and White House next month. Then he read an old quote from Ginsburg saying that it would be a “terrible mistake” to expand the size of the court. “They’ve said that, if this confirmation proceeds, they intend to pack the court with more justices who will turn the Supreme Court into a genuine second legislative body,” Cornyn warned. “We heard what Justice Ginsburg had to say about that.”

Campaigning in Ohio, Joe Biden sharpened his answer on Monday after weeks of evasiveness in the face of pressure from his left flank to expand the court. “I’m not a fan of court-packing,” the former vice president said in an interview with WKRC-TV in Cincinnati. “But I’m not — I don’t want to get off on that whole issue. I want to keep focused.” As a candidate for the Democratic nomination last year, the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee said it was a “bad idea” and that the size of the court “should not be a political football.” Biden’s recalibration on Monday back toward his original position is the latest example of his increasingly aggressive pitch to moderate voters.

This hearing is not happening in a vacuum. Democrats remain embittered that Republicans kept Scalia’s seat open in 2016 as they race to fill Ginsburg’s. “Literally half of the Senate had to break their word, contradicting every argument they made four years ago about the American people needing a voice during election-year vacancies,” said Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.). “I’ve served in the Senate for 46 years. During that time, we had 20 Supreme Court nominations and 16 confirmation hearings. I can tell you right now: None looked anything like this. Republicans first announced their intention to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat just one hour after her death. From that moment, this process has been nothing but shameful. … Justice Ginsburg, I am certain, would have dissented, and I will too.”

With only a few exceptions, nearly every senator invoked Ginsburg on Monday, including Republicans. They did so, at times, to convey magnanimity. They clearly felt safe praising Ginsburg because they are so confident that they already locked down the support necessary to confirm Barrett on a party-line vote before the election. Most of the Republican senators cited RBG’s friendship with Scalia, whom Barrett clerked for and considers her ideological and professional mentor, to suggest that ACB – as conservatives have taken to calling her – will be collegial. 

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) called Ginsburg “our champion.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), one of the most conservative members of Congress, called Ginsburg “a role model” because she fought to open more doors for women. “I sincerely hope that I am as effective an advocate in the Senate as she was on the court,” Blackburn said. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) added that she was “a heroic woman, that’s absolutely true.”

Ginsburg died Sept. 18. Trump offered Barrett the job less than 72 hours later, and she accepted, when they met in the Oval Office on Sept. 21, according to Barrett’s Senate questionnaire. The Rose Garden ceremony was Sept. 26. Ginsburg was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Sept 29. As the four-day confirmation hearing began on Monday, Graham expressed certitude that Barrett will be confirmed on Oct. 29.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) was one of the two senators who tested positive for the coronavirus after the White House gathering. Speaking without a mask, he was the first senator of Monday who did not mention Ginsburg or say anything kind about her legacy during his opening statement. The same was true for Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

“We honor her legacy, and I just want to make sure that her family knows the nation mourns her loss, but today we’re here to consider a nomination of a highly qualified jurist,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), the other member of the committee who tested positive after the Rose Garden event. 

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) took a dig: “I’m really glad that my colleagues who contracted covid-19 at the Rose Garden superspreader event for Judge Barrett had access to the care that you and your families needed. That is right. This is a blessing. The problem is the people who will come through here today to wipe down the desks and empty the garbage, that will vacuum the floor like people all over our country who are working today in factories and teaching children in schools. They don’t have direct lines to the nation’s top health experts. They can’t show up to work sick. … There is nothing about this that is normal.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also mentioned the superspreader event. “Lost in this hypocritical rush is the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” she said. “Let me close by remembering her for a minute in this unseemly charade.” 

A liberal group called Demand Justice organized a star-studded virtual event Monday evening after the hearing called “Honor Her Wish” to highlight Ginsburg’s death-bed request. Guests included politicians like Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Elizabeth Warren, along with celebrities like Margo Price, Hayley Williams, Kesha, Miley Cyrus, Regina King and Demi Lovato. 

Another reflection of Ginsburg’s cultural resonance came over the weekend as Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, wore a T-shirt stenciled with the initials RBG and a mask that said: “When there are nine.” That’s a reference to Ginsburg’s famous response when she was asked when there will be enough women on the court. “When there are nine,” she replied.

Court watchers predict that Barrett replacing Ginsburg, who was 87, will have the biggest ideological impact on the court since Justice Clarence Thomas replaced Thurgood Marshall in 1991. Assuming Barrett gets confirmed, the president’s third pick for the Supreme Court could cement a 6 to 3 conservative majority for a generation. Barrett is 48. Gorsuch is 53. Justice Brett Kavanaugh is 55.

As the Q&A portion of the hearing got underway on Tuesday, Republicans invoked what they called “the Ginsburg rule” to explain why Barrett should not be expected to answer detailed questions. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) noted that Ginsburg said during her confirmation hearing in 1993 that a judge shouldn’t offer forecasts or hints of how they will vote. “I expect that you’ll follow the example of Justice Ginsburg,” Grassley said.

Graham lamented that, while Ginsburg was confirmed 27 years ago by a vote of 96 to 3, such an outcome is unimaginable in this environment. “This was a person who worked for the ACLU,” he said. “I don’t know what happened between then and now. I guess we can all take some blame.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) responded to Graham that it is not the same Senate. “The reason those votes were so overwhelming was because people lived by the rules, they lived by the traditions of the Senate, and they had mutual respect for one another,” Durbin said. “We know now that this process does not adhere to those guidelines.”

Wearing a mask, unlike during the Rose Garden ceremony, Barrett sat quietly through all this back and forth. She listened as 22 senators each spoke for 10 minutes on Monday. Finally, she delivered her own 12-minute opening statement. “When I was 21 years old and just beginning my career, Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat in this seat,” Barrett said. “I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but no one will ever take her place.”

I will join Libby Casey for a special report this afternoon as the hearing wraps up to offer analysis and my takeaways from the first round of questioning. Follow along here all day long.

• Robin Givhan: “To hear the Republicans tell it, children are Barrett’s most distinguished qualifications. Fatherhood on a potential justice’s curriculum vitae has not elicited a similarly boastful torrent.”  
• Monica Hesse: “Barrett is a strong woman. That doesn’t make her a feminist icon.”
• Michael Gerson: “Confirming Barrett is a fairy-tale temptation rife with dark trade-offs.”
• Dana Milbank: “This isn’t a confirmation. It’s a referendum on the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.”
• Ruth Marcus: “There are many reasons to fear Barrett’s confirmation. The Affordable Care Act isn’t one of them.”
• Eugene Robinson: “Republicans are trying to make court expansion a mortal sin. Don’t let them.”
• Charles Lane: “This year, control of the Senate is an even bigger deal than ever.” 
• Michael Salamone: “If the Senate confirms Barrett, Americans could lose faith in the Supreme Court.” 

“The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself can,” the president told supporters in Sanford, Fla. “If you want to get out there, get out.” The president dubiously claimed he is now “immune,” though none of his doctors have said that. “I feel so powerful,” Trump said. “I’ll walk into that audience, I’ll walk in there, I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women. … Everybody! I’ll just give you a fat kiss.” 

”His return to the campaign trail, with back-to-back-to-back rallies at least through Wednesday, is being driven by Trump himself, according to aides, and his schedule so far reflects the frenetic energy of a man trying to outrun both a deadly illness and an electoral defeat,” Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey, Sean Sullivan and Toluse Olorunnipa report. “After rallies the first half of the week in Florida, Pennsylvania and Iowa, Trump is expected to return to Florida on Thursday and Friday, as well as hold more rallies over the weekend, probably in Ohio and Wisconsin. … The president also plans to travel soon to North Carolina …

“Biden campaigned Monday in Ohio, a state Trump won easily four years ago, and will travel Tuesday to Florida … ‘His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable,’ Biden said [in Toledo]. … Biden tested negative Monday for the coronavirus, his campaign said. It was the seventh known test he has taken since Oct. 2, the day Trump announced his diagnosis.” White House physician Sean Conley said Monday the president recently tested negative for the coronavirus on “consecutive days,” although he did not specify which days.

Eric Trump has canceled a campaign event scheduled for today at a Michigan gun shop after a former employee was linked to the domestic terror plot against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). One of the 13 men arrested last week and charged with planning to kidnap Whitmer and overthrow the government worked earlier this year on the shooting range at Huron Valley Guns in New Hudson, where the president’s son was due to appear this afternoon for a “Make America Great Again” rally. The store posted on Facebook that the former employee was fired after three weeks on the job because they found him “a little odd” and he would “show up for work in a LOT of tactical gear.” The gun store said in a Facebook post changing the venue was the right call: “The Governor would have had a field day against the Trump campaign. They would accuse the administration of sending his son to a facility where terrorists work and train. This could not be further from the truth, but imagine the left spin.” (Click on Detroit)

Thursday night’s dueling town halls probably won’t be staggered. After Trump pulled out of the second presidential debate, Biden agreed to appear on ABC in a town hall hosted by George Stephanopoulos in Philadelphia. It will run across two programming hours, setting up a potential showdown with NBC, which is working on a similar town hall event with Trump that would be moderated by Savannah Guthrie. NBC had hoped to stagger the events so viewers wouldn’t have to choose between them, but that seems unlikely now. NBC has not yet confirmed it will hold an event with Trump, saying it has specific medical requirements Trump still must agree to comply with. (Jeremy Barr)

“Voters waited for as long as 10 hours across Atlanta and surrounding suburbs to cast their ballots on Georgia’s first day of early voting Monday, leading some to give up and raising questions about whether election officials were prepared for what is shaping up to be a historic early-voting season,” Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Haisten Willis and Amy Gardner report. “The scenes were reminiscent of Georgia’s problem-plagued June primary, when limited polling locations and a rocky rollout of new machines caused voting backups around the state. But on Monday, huge turnout appeared to be the major force in driving the long lines, along with scattered reports of technical problems. … While the lines were longest in the state’s heavily Democratic strongholds in and around Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah and Macon, hours-long waits were also reported in smaller, more conservative counties, including Lowndes and Floyd … By the evening, at least 120,000 voters had cast their ballots.” 

“California’s secretary of state and attorney general sent a cease-and-desist letter to Republican Party leaders on Monday following reports that GOP officials were encouraging voters to drop ballots into unofficial boxes,” Katie Shepherd reports. “The letter gives GOP chapters a Thursday deadline to provide the secretary of state’s office with the names, addresses and birth dates of people who have already dropped ballots into the unauthorized boxes, so that election officials can contact them and verify their ballots. Those ballots must also be returned to election officials by Thursday. … The metal boxes have popped up around Southern California in recent weeks, from churches to gun stores to gyms. On the front, an authoritative-looking sign beckons to voters: ‘Official ballot drop-off box.’ … Erecting or advertising unofficial ballot boxes could be a felony that carries a two-to-four-year prison sentence, according to (the secretary of state).”

“A new book by a psychology professor and a former lawyer in the Nixon White House argues that Trump has tapped into a current of authoritarianism in the American electorate, one that’s bubbled just below the surface for years. In ‘Authoritarian Nightmare,’ Bob Altemeyer and John W. Dean marshal data from a previously unpublished nationwide survey showing a striking desire for strong authoritarian leadership among Republican voters,” Christopher Ingraham reports. “They also find shockingly high levels of anti-democratic beliefs and prejudicial attitudes among Trump backers, especially those who support the president strongly. And regardless of what happens in 2020, the authors say, Trump supporters will be a potent pro-authoritarian voting bloc in the years to come.”

“After a summer of protests and rising violent crime in Texas’s largest cities, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and GOP groups are banking on a burly ‘law and order’ message to fend off an unprecedented Democratic push to win control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in two decades. But there are signs the message has fallen flat, even with some suburban Republican voters who say the efforts to mirror Trump’s demonization of Democratic-run cities and social justice demonstrations needlessly stoke fear and exacerbate political divisiveness,” Tim Craig reports. 

“In the longtime Republican stronghold of Collin County, home to two of the nation’s most competitive state legislative contests, Republican candidates and supporters have spotlighted rising crime rates in neighboring Dallas, where homicides are hovering near a 10-year high. But lifelong Republican Jim Murry said he shakes his head — or shouts at his television screen — when he hears Abbott or Trump rail against ‘violent’ protesters or accuse Democrats of wanting to decimate local police forces. ‘To me, it’s all unfounded fear,’ said Murry. … The idea that Democrats ‘are going to ruin the suburbs is just ridiculous. Crime is not really an issue here.’” 

• In Texas, more than 284,000 new voters registered in the two weeks before the deadline to do so. The state now has 16.9 million eligible voters heading into early voting, which starts today. (Houston Chronicle)
• Biden leads Trump by eight percentage points in Michigan and 10 points in Wisconsin among likely voters, per Times-Siena College polling.
• A makeshift George Floyd memorial placed on the street corner where he gasped his final breaths has become a flashpoint, as Minneapolis leaders try to reopen the intersection where he was killed. City leaders want to remove the barriers that have closed the intersection to vehicles, to help local businesses and address a dramatic uptick in crime there. But some neighbors fear that will mean breaking down a memorial that serves as a reminder of calls for justice and police reform they say have gone unanswered. (Holly Bailey)

The president is making his first trip to the state during the general election season, as polls show a tight race. Ernst closely tied her fortunes to Trump’s, and her political career may become collateral damage, CNN reports. “She campaigned on a pledge to be an independent voice, promising in a memorable TV ad, surrounded by pigs, to cut pork barrel spending and ‘make ’em squeal.’ ‘She was a kick-butt candidate, who was going to take names once she got to Washington,’ said Cindy DePond, stopping to chat late last week after casting her early vote. ‘She did not make them squeal. We didn’t see any of that from her.’”

• “Federal payments to farmers are projected to hit a record $46 billion this year as the White House funnels money to Mr. Trump’s rural base in the South and Midwest ahead of Election Day,” the Times reports. “According to the American Farm Bureau, debt in the farm sector is projected to increase by 4 percent to a record $434 billion this year and farm bankruptcies have continued to rise across the country.”
• Landlords, apartment owners and housing industry groups have unleashed a barrage of legal challenges against the Trump administration’s order protecting renters from eviction, leaving millions of families once again facing the risk of homelessness. (Tony Romm)
• A federal judge ordered the Treasury Department and the IRS to reverse their decision to disallow stimulus funds to prisoners solely based on their incarcerated status. The government has filed an appeal. (Michelle Singletary)
• Hotels are taking on a new role during the pandemic as polling locations. Others are offering special packages or deals for voters. (Shannon McMahon)

The choose-your-own adventure nature of the conspiracy theory makes it compelling to vulnerable people desperate for a sense of security, leaving their close friends and family members feeling alienated. Many have turned to makeshift online support groups, the most prominent of which is the subreddit r/qanoncasualties, which grew from 3,500 members in June to 28,000. A Florida firefighter who said his ex-wife fell hard for every QAnon theory in the book, from a complicated plot connecting UFOs and the Illuminati to the (false) idea that prominent celebrities, entrepreneurs and politicians are lizard people disguised in human skin, said her obsession with conspiracy theories helped lead to their divorce. “Her intentions are to do good, but it’s just not real,” he said. “It’s like living in a fantasy world. It’s a need to believe in something.” (Travis Andrews)

• Three years ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the rights of Holocaust deniers to publish their thoughts on his platform, saying he wasn’t in the business of removing content just because it was factually wrong. On Monday, he reversed that position. Zuckerberg said his “thinking has evolved” after seeing data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence. (Elizabeth Dwoskin)
• Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, his wife, announced an additional $100 million in donations to local governments to pay for polling place rentals, poll workers, personal protective equipment and other costs related to election administration. The donation follows a previous gift of $300 million for state and local governments to help fund the elections. (Michael Scherer)
• Google’s critics and rivals have long warned the company is threatening countless industries by consistently pointing people to its own products and services on the biggest search platform on the web. And while the government stayed on the sidelines as Google grew, regulators now have the chance to rein the giant in with the expected filing of an antitrust suit in the coming weeks by the Justice Department. (Rachel Lerman)
• The Trump administration and lawmakers attempting to cut technology ties with China are facing powerful opponents: U.S. companies that say some of the measures are too costly and cumbersome. (Jeanne Whalen)

“A Nevada man became the first published case of Covid-19 reinfection in the U.S., adding to a number of examples world-wide signaling that patients who have recovered from the viral disease might still be at risk of getting it again,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “In a paper in the medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, a group of authors including University of Nevada researchers recount the case of a 25-year-old who suffered two bouts of Covid-19 infection, one confirmed through testing in mid-April and the second in early June. Symptoms of the second case started in late May, a month after the patient reported his initial symptoms as having resolved. The two strains of virus were genetically distinct, signaling that it is unlikely that the man simply remained unknowingly infected with the virus in one, longer bout, the authors wrote. 

“The paper notes that the patient’s second case of Covid-19 was more severe than his first, requiring supplemental oxygen and admission to a hospital after he suffered from shortness of breath. The Nevada case comes after similar reinfection case reports from locations including Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ecuador. The growing number of examples in medical literature bolsters evidence that immunity to SARS-CoV-2… might in at least some cases only last for a limited period, similar to coronaviruses that cause the common cold, researchers said.”

“A document sent to outside researchers running the 60,000-patient clinical trial states that a ‘pausing rule’ has been met, that the online system used to enroll patients in the study has been closed, and that the data and safety monitoring board — an independent committee that watches over the safety of patients in the clinical trial — would be convened,” STAT News reports.

• Half of Maryland residents wouldn’t take an FDA-approved vaccine right now even if it were offered for free, according to a new Goucher Poll. (Erin Cox)
• Phase 3 testing for Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will be conducted in the United Arab Emirates, joining one already being tested there from China. The vaccine is also undergoing trials in Moscow with 40,000 volunteers. (Paul Schemm)

“Some of the states setting records on Monday — including Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming — have been witnessing a surge in infections for weeks. But new highs were also reported in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Six states — Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wisconsin — additionally set records for coronavirus-related hospitalizations on Monday,” Antonia Farzan and Jacqueline Dupree report.

• Roughly 20 percent more deaths than usual were reported in the U.S. between March and August, according to new research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Typically, the number of deaths reported each year is “remarkably consistent,” the researchers write. The increase amounts to 225,530 excess deaths. Only two-thirds of those were attributed to covid-19, which in some cases means infections went undiagnosed or unreported. In other instances, it could reflect deaths that resulted from the disruptions caused by the pandemic. (Antonia Farzan)
• D.C. saw a surge in the number of residents seeking tests following the White House outbreak. The city conducted 15,875 tests last week, up from an average of about 10,000 weekly tests. (Fenit Nirappil)
• The NFL could add a Week 18 to the season to handle any glut of makeup games. But until it has no other choice, the league will continue to reschedule games within the regular season’s 17-week time frame. (Matt Bonesteel)
• The Southeastern Conference announced that Saturday’s scheduled football game between Vanderbilt and Missouri has been postponed until later this year because of positive tests and the subsequent isolation of Vanderbilt players. (Des Bieler)

“England has seen new coronavirus cases quadruple in the past three weeks and now has more covid-19 patients hospitalized than before the government imposed a lockdown in March,” Karla Adam reports. “But, like much of Europe, Britain is now pursuing targeted local restrictions — such as closing pubs in Liverpool, England — while doing everything it can to avoid another national lockdown and closure of schools. … British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was trying to take a balanced approach … 

“France hinted it might impose further restrictions after a leap in cases and hospitalizations. On Saturday, authorities reported 27,000 new cases in the previous 24 hours — a record. … In Spain, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez invoked emergency powers on Friday to prevent travel in and out of Madrid, overruling the Conservative local government, which had favored neighborhood-level lockdowns. … In Belgium, the diagnosed cases last week were 89 percent higher than the previous week. … Germany on Monday added Munich to a growing list of coronavirus ‘red’ zones, which triggers new restrictions. As of Wednesday, Munich’s bars and restaurants will be required to stop serving alcohol after 10 p.m. Mask-wearing will be mandatory for pedestrians.”

A story with a happy ending: When Peru closed Machu Picchu on March 15, Japanese boxing instructor Jesse Takayama was on the brink of achieving a longtime dream. The 26-year-old had flown all the way from Osaka to visit the ancient ruins, arriving at the base camp of Aguas Calientes one day before the site shut down. Seven months later, his patience paid off. Over the weekend, the Peruvian government reopened Machu Picchu just for Takayama, giving him a one-of-a-kind opportunity to tour the Inca citadel with no one else around. (Farzan)

Roberta McCain, the maverick mother of the late John McCain, passed away at 108. Mrs. McCain, who displayed characteristic pluck when she took to the 2008 presidential campaign trail at age 96 on behalf of her son, was known for her straight-talking. Asked by Vogue to explain her longevity, good health and general fearlessness, she told the magazine: “I don’t do anything I’m supposed to do. I don’t exercise and, today, I’ve already eaten a half a box of caramel popcorn. Honey, I’ve had a dream life, and it was all luck.” (Emma Brown)

The contrast between the Trump and Biden messages is striking:

The White House chief of staff refused to speak to reporters after they asked him to wear a mask: 

And the president’s trade adviser got locked out of the White House:

One of the Stanford professors who won the Nobel Prize in economics went to tell the other winner, who happens to be his neighbor. Watching this will bring you joy:

Trevor Noah took a look at the Columbus Day debate: