I'm excited to catalog a list of Events of a different President (if that happens). But, I worry that something will be overlooked. I fear that the major media sources will be so relieved by a Biden victory that they will be too gentle on him. They won't be concerned about the national security overreach, the drone strikes, the lack of a fracking ban, or the ever worsening financial situation of the average American. Of course these are all normal for the past few decades, and perhaps voters will be content to return to mere inequality. During the recent debates and at his few public speeches Biden denigrated progressives and Bernie Sanders, even as the latter campaigned for him. Biden said, “I am the Democratic Party,” and the hubris of that statement clashed on the ear like a discordant cymbal.
The Presidential Events of September 2020 are here.
Immigration:
The White House's continuing attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count was blocked in September. The White House asked the Supreme Court to overrule the three judges who ruled against them. Simultaneously, the Trump administration pushed ahead an early ending to the census count. A court had ruled against them previously, and they asked the Ninth Circuit to invalidate the ruling.
As Trump tried to discount the population with the census, his agents on the border abused immigrants. A nurse at a detention center in Georgia warned it was underreporting coronavirus cases and not testing symptomatic detainees, endangering both inmates and staff. The same whistleblower alleged that the facility performed an unusually high number of hysterectomies. After the report, one woman at the facility came forward to say she had given consent for a routine procedure, but her fallopian tube was removed. Additional women claimed that a particular gynecologist at the facility performed unwarranted surgeries.
And a judge cleared the way for the President to deport as many as 400,000 immigrants next year.
Russia:
The President repeatedly played down the idea that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump devotees in the Department of Homeland Security manipulated intelligence reports to diminish the threat of Russian interference in the 2020 election. FBI director, Christopher Wray, said Russia was very active preparing for November. Wray also said that “Antifa is a real thing, but it's not an organization or a structure.” Trump criticized Wray the next day for both statements. Trump dismissed the poisoning of a Russian opposition leader, casting doubt on Russia's involvement, and blaming China instead. The investigation into the FBI's Russian investigation, overseen by Attorney General Bill Barr, suffered a blow to its legitimacy when a top aide resigned. And at Julian Assange's extradition trial in London, his lawyers claimed that two associates of Trump said the President would pardon Assange if he divulged information related to the 2016 election.
Voting:
President Trump has always claimed that election were full of fraud, though there is no evidence to support him. Since the coronavirus, he repeatedly condemned vote by mail, even though that is how he votes. He defended this disparity by claiming there's a difference between voting by mail and absentee voting. The difference is mostly a matter of labels, the former exists in states where most people vote by mail, and the latter is for states where the practice is limited. Unfortunately, voting by mail looks precarious. New data showed a steep decline in on time delivery since Postmaster DeJoy's appointment in mid-June. In September Trump told voters in North Carolina to vote twice, once by mail, and then again in person. The President urged his supporters to commit a crime. When CNN asked the Attorney General if voting twice was illegal, Bill Barr refused to answer the question. In the same interview Barr spread conspiracies about election interference and expressed approval for the shooting of Jacob Blake. At a hearing Barr said he approved of Trump's suggestion to send federal agents to police voting locations.
Protesters and Police
People are still protesting in support of Black Lives Matter, for for climate justice, and against the totalitarian tactics of the Trump administration. The White House labels all of these people fighting for justice as traitors and terrorists. Bill Barr said that police departments nationwide weren't systemically racist, even though African Americans are arrested at a higher rates, more likely to be shot by police, and six times more likely to be incarcerated.
Bill Barr later congratulated law enforcement for killing Michael Reinhoehl, who was suspected of killing a right-wing militia member in Portland, OR. Barr said Michael was armed, though a witness claimed that officers yelled no commands before firing and that Michael didn't have a weapon. In an interview and at a rally Trump endorsed the extrajudicial killing, saying, “... That's the way it has to be. There has to be retribution.” This behavior stands in stark contrast to his support of Rittenhouse, the young man who killed two and wounded one during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Reinhiehl and Rittenhouse both deserve a fair trial. Neither should have killed anyone, enforcing their vigilante justice. But the President supports one, and supports the extrajudicial killing of the other, as does the Republican party. The President also celebrated the injury of a reporter at the hands of police.
The military, which violently cleared protesters in DC, considered deploying a heat ray gun against them. Bill Barr considered charging protesters with sedition, a serious crime which implies protesters were attempting to overthrow the government. While he didn't follow through, Barr did designate New York City, Portland, and Seattle as “anarchist jurisdictions,” saying local officials have allowed destruction and violence. The claim will be contested, and most likely defeated, in court, but would allow the White House to deny the cities tax dollars.
While the White House criminalized peaceful protesters, they allowed corporations to avoid regulations, endangering the public and ceding power.
Right-wing Violence:
Trump continued to foment violence. He made Rittenhouse into a folk hero, like Rorschach. That may encourage other people to repeat the behavior. No Democratic official praised Reinhoehl. Pro-Trump groups organized and worked with militant fringe-right groups. These groups trained for violence, brought threats and weapons to mostly peaceful protests, with the intent to hurt. Excessive force by federal agents, police, and right-wing militias led to violence, which might be what the President intends. At the Presidential debate the President refused to condemn white supremacy, halfheartedly condemned the Proud Boys, and then told the Proud Boys (a white supremacy group) to “stand back and stand by.” This sounds like a mix between “stand down” and “wait for my next order”. The former would have met the minimum level of acceptable, while the second is utterly unacceptable. Considering what Trump has said it's reasonable to assume he meant the latter. He always refuses to directly condemn white supremacists, and then later adds some halfhearted words of censure. This provides him the opportunity to show white supremacists he supports them, and then the cover to enable centrists to find him palatable. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security repeatedly said that white supremacists are the greatest terrorist threat, though its clear that political correctness is being used to reduce the agencies ability to counteract these threats. The President said that Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar was, “telling us how to run our country,” as if he and his supporters have more claim to the United States than she does. It is a deeply, disgustingly racist statement, when he implies she is not a true citizen.
Slightly related is the plan of the President to create a patriotic education program nationwide, akin to nationalistic propaganda. He also prohibited federal spending on anti-racism training.
The Supreme Court:
Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died on September 18th at the age of 87. Within hours Mitch McConnell promised a vote on Trump's unnamed nominee. Democrats questioned the integrity of Republicans, because they refused to even meet Obama's nominee the last year of his term. Republican Senators Collins and Murkowski said they would not vote on the nominee. Mitt Romney, who voted to convict the President of impeachment, somehow contorted his mind to support the President's nominee. With this absurd decision (approving of a nominee put forward by a man not fit to be President), the Republicans appear to have enough votes to approve Trump's nominee. Even though the numbers are assured, Trump still had to smear Ginsburg. Ginsburg's granddaughter claimed that her dying wish was to replaced by the winner of the 2020 election. Trump said that's, “just too convenient.” As the month ended Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
The Environment:
The nearly four years of Trump have led to an increased output of greenhouse gases. The President enacted his first decision to protect the environment, but it was entirely political. He extended the offshore drilling ban for Florida, because it is popular. It took three weeks for the President to address the massive wildfires on the west coast, because he doesn't believe in global warming.
Rallies, Town Halls, and Campaigning:
Following Trump's lead, crowds at his rallies refused to wear masks, as the President mocked Biden. The President held an illegal rally indoors in Nevada, and was fined $3,000. The President attended an ABC town hall where he avoided questions, lied, and refused to support masks. The National Security Adviser and Secretary of State potentially violated federal law by giving openly political speeches, a nearly unheard of corruption of public norms. To aid their the campaign White House press secretary repeatedly lied for the President. More concerning was the President's plan to send seniors $200 days before the election. As someone on Twitter sarcastically said (and this is just a paraphrase), “if the administration can't send them to seniors in every state, I wonder which states the checks will go to first?” Finally the month ended with the first debacle of a Presidential debate.
Recent:
Kentucky Route Zero: Is it the Journey or the Ending that Matters, if they are Both Enigmatic?
Relevant:
The Presidential Events: August 2020 Part II of II
The Presidential Events: August 2020, Part I of II
Politics is Like Hockey: No One Understands the Penalties and No One Cares
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