Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the 2020 election here.
Charlie Baker, the Republican governor of Massachusetts, said he will not support President Trump’s reelection bid, his communications director Lizzy Guyton told CNN affiliate WCVB in an email Wednesday.
At a news conference earlier on Wednesday, the governor said he would “take a pass” when asked who he was supporting for President. Baker’s office later clarified to say he was taking a pass on the question, not on voting in this year’s election, according to WCVB.
Baker has publicly sparred with Trump in the past, slamming the President’s “bitterness, combativeness and self-interest” in the wake of nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd, and characterizing Trump’s refusal to accept a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election as “appalling and outrageous.”
CNN has reached out to Baker’s office for further comment.
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign released a new ad on Wednesday featuring Bridgett Floyd, George Floyd’s sister, who describes Biden as “the change that we need” and encourages people to vote.
In the 30-second spot titled “Change,” Bridgett Floyd recalls how Biden reached out to her family after her brother died in late May at the hands of a Minneapolis officer who knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes..
She then addresses the importance of voting saying, “Your vote does matter — that one vote makes a difference.”
George Floyd’s death – which was captured on video — sparked national outrage and led to protests calling for racial justice nationwide and across the world.
In June, Biden traveled to Houston to offer condolences to Floyd’s family. The Democratic nominee also taped a video message for Floyd’s funeral service saying that US cannot “again turn away from racism that stings at our very soul.”
The ad, which is part of a larger effort from the Biden campaign to court Black voters, comes on what would have been George Floyd’s 47th birthday.
Biden also recognized the significance of the day in a tweet saying that Floyd “should be alive to celebrate it.”
“I made a promise to his family that I won’t let him become just another hashtag — and I’ll work every day as president to keep that promise,” the tweet read.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, confirmed Wednesday that President Trump is not a Covid-19 transmission risk, but said he cannot vouch for the people around him.
The National Institutes of Health released a statement Wednesday confirming that Trump is not infectious.
“I was asked by the White House to take a look at all of the totality of the Covid related tests that he undertook, as well as to do one of the tests at the NIH in our own laboratories,” said Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci added: “I and one of my colleagues who’s very experienced in this, Dr. Cliff Lane, came to the conclusion, I think certainly correctly, that he is of no threat to transmit the virus to anybody else.”
When asked about the potential that aides or Secret Service agents who travel with Trump may pose a transmission risk to others, Fauci said, “I can’t vouch for anybody else that’s there – whether they’ve been tested or whether they’ve been careful in their interactions with people.”
President Trump is expected to attend a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, tonight — his second campaign event since his bout with Covid-19.
CNN spoke to seven Trump supporters ahead of the rally and none had any concerns about Covid-19, with one woman saying, “If I’m gonna get sick and die I guess it’s my turn.”
“I put myself at risk every time I go to the grocery store. I go to McDonald’s. I go to work. I do anything. I’m not gonna stop living,” she added.
When asked about the President’s coronavirus diagnosis, one person said, “You know you can’t tell people, you gotta show ‘em, you gotta show ‘em. I think it’s to his benefit because now he’s experienced it and he’s shown the rest of us that you know, what don’t live in fear because the left wants you to live in fear. We’re not having it. People are sick of it.”
Directly across from tonight’s rally at the Des Moines Airport, a large billboard reads “TRUMP COVID SUPER SPREADER EVENT” with an arrow pointing to the event.
The billboard was paid for by the Iowa Rural America 2020 Steering Committee campaign, according to a news release obtained by CNN.
California has received 10 times as many ballots than it did at this time in the 2016 general election, with 1.5 million ballots returned so far, according to the secretary of state.
There are more than 21 million registered voters in the state.
The huge numbers are a sign of both tremendous voter enthusiasm and voters heeding the call to vote early.
“More Californians voting early will mean a safer Election Day for everyone—voters, poll workers, and elections officials alike. By voting early, you help preserve in-person voting for those who need it—including our neighbors with disabilities, those who need language assistance, or those who need access to Same Day Voter Registration,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement.
President Trump told reporters on Wednesday that his son, Barron, is doing “fine” after testing positive for coronavirus.
“Barron’s fine,” Trump said when he was asked about how his son was doing.
He offered no other comments about Barron before boarding Marine One and heading to a campaign rally in Iowa.
Shortly before the President’s departure, first lady Melania Trump revealed in an essay posted by the White House that Barron, 14, tested positive for the virus. She said in the essay that her son had “no symptoms,” and has now tested negative.
Harris County, Texas, has broken a record for the highest number of votes cast in the second day of early voting, according to a tweet from the county clerk’s office.
The tweet says that more than 76,000 votes have been cast on Wednesday in Harris County, which includes the Houston-metro area.
The previous record was in 2016, when 73,542 people voted on the second day.
Maps on the voting website show that wait times range from a few minutes to 40 or more at the 122 locations in the county.
Polls are open in Harris County through 7 p.m. local time today.
In an essay posted on the White House website, first lady Melania Trump said she has now tested negative for the virus. But her son, Barron, 14, tested positive.
“Naturally, my mind went immediately to our son,” she writes after she and President Trump’s diagnosis. Barron initially tested negative, but was tested again and turned up positive. She said Barron had “no symptoms,” and has now tested negative.
As for her symptoms, she said they were “minimal, though they hit me all at once and it seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after.” The first lady said she had body aches, cough, headaches and was extremely tired.
She also described her treatment plan, saying:
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says some voting places are seeing longer lines due to some precincts being “more favored by voters” as well as pandemic guidelines.
“Well, some of the longest lines, for example, we saw in Fulton County so far that I’ve heard of actually have been in North Fulton County, and so that’s not I would say that’s probably 50/50 Republican, Democrat area. It’s not really any demographic group, obviously. And then down to State Farm, you know, it’s 10-15 minutes. Our Implementation Director, Gabriel Sterling, voted there Monday, I believe it was, and I think it took him 17 minutes,” Raffensperger said.
Regarding a bandwidth issue affecting voting locations, Raffensperger said it’s a capacity problem.
“The amount of information that’s just flowing. It’s like everyone jumping on 285 in the morning, and sometimes you have to stagger out the rush hour,” added Raffensperger.
CNN has obtained a statement from the National Institutes of Health, saying that Dr. Clifford Lane and Dr. Anthony Fauci have reviewed the President’s recent medical data, including a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and have concluded that President Trump is not infectious.
The test was collected and analyzed by NIH Tuesday evening.
President Trump railed against the media and touted his coronavirus treatment and recovery Wednesday as he addressed the Economic Clubs of New York, Washington Chicago, Sheboygan, and Pittsburgh in a remote event.
Trump spoke from a podium in the White House Rose Garden, the event produced via Zoom with “White House” at the bottom left corner of Trump’s screen. His voice sounded raspy at the top of the event and he cleared his throat twice while speaking.
The President praised his administration’s coronavirus response and “aggressive and early action,” as well as initial aid package – his comments coming as talks remain stalled on Capitol Hill.
“We’re rounding that final turn” on the pandemic, he reiterated.
After his coronavirus diagnosis, he noted, “I wasn’t feeling so hot,” adding that Regeneron “made me feel very good very fast,” calling it a “cure.”
“Who knows, maybe I would have recovered beautifully anyway. All I know is once I had Regeneron, it worked out very well,” he said of his treatment.
Trump went on to claim that the media has “undermined our public health efforts and put innocent lives in danger.”
“We must allow lower risk Americans to resume normal activity,” slamming “unscientific lockdowns pushed by left wing politicians.”
He warned of a “depression” and tax increases in a Biden administration and touted his perceived economic successes, repeatedly railing against the Obama administration.
Trump sought to cast Joe Biden as weak on immigration and on China, claiming, “If I don’t get elected in a little while, 20 days, China will own the United States,” adding at one point that he is “not interested in making friends in the corrupt media.”
One day after questioning his own support among suburban women, Trump warned that in a Biden administration there would be “an economic catastrophe of unimaginable proportions” and “your suburb will be gone. The American dream will be gone.”
At one point, he suggested Biden wouldn’t have agency in his own potential administration: “It isn’t really him that wants to do it, it’s other people that are at a much higher level than Joe.”
He also took a moment to directly address the Democrats listening to his remarks: “I know I’m speaking to some Democrats and some of you are friends of mine. You will see things happen that will not make you happy. I don’t understand your thinking. I don’t understand how you can be backing such policies. But you’re wrong.”
Trump will participate in a rally this evening in Des Moines, Iowa. It will be his third rally in three days.
We’re in Fulton County, near Atlanta, where long lines of voters have turned out to cast their ballots. Some voters in Georgia were forced to wait up to eight hours yesterday as the state saw a record turnout on the first few days of early voting.
CNN’s Amara Walker is speaking to people, some of whom have been waiting in line since 6 a.m.
Watch:
Are you having difficulty registering or voting, whether in person or by mail? Tell us more about it here.
Regarding a bandwidth issue affecting voting locations, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said it’s a capacity problem.
“Everyone will have the opportunity to vote. We’re just expecting record turnout,” said Raffensperger.
“You have a pandemic, and that’s the other thing that we tend to forget. If you look at those lines, they look like they’re long, but everyone is spaced six feet out on center and that just makes your lines look a whole lot longer. It also takes longer to actually vote through the process because the machines have to be cleaned out, wiped, and so it’s just a slower more cumbersome process just due to the pandemic,” added Raffensperger.
“Georgia voters are excited and setting records every hour,” said Raffensperger
Some context: Monday was the first day that Georgia offered in-person voting opportunities. There were some early hiccups reported, including glitches that slowed down voting at one supersite in Atlanta.
Elsewhere, early voters endured long lines, sometimes snaking around buildings, according to local reports.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden hopes to peel the Peach State away from President Trump, who won by five percentage points in 2016. There are also not one but two Senate races on the ballot in Georgia, with two incumbent Republicans trying to fend off challengers.
With reporting from Nick Valencia, Annie Grayer and Marshall Cohen.
Former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke says Texas could turn blue this election and vote for Joe Biden.
“We don’t wait for Pennsylvania to count the returns for days or maybe even weeks. We don’t allow Donald Trump the opportunity to try to steal or prematurely or illegally claim victory when the results are still in doubt,” he added. “Texas will decide this mathematically, psychologically in every way that matters. And we can turn the page on Donald Trump and begin that next chapter for our country. That’s how important Texas is and Texas can happen.”
O’Rourke also criticized a late-night ruling that upheld Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive limiting only one ballot drop box location per county in the state.
“It’s really unfortunate because it enables the voter suppression that has kept so many of our fellow Texans historically from being able to cast their ballot and have their vote counted. It’s compounded by voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, a number of other really bad practices made much worse since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act in 2013,” he said.
In-person early voting began in Texas on Tuesday, with long lines and massive turnout.
Watch:
A state appeals court in Texas dismissed a lawsuit brought by Republicans who were trying to block curbside and drive-through voting in Harris County, which is home to Houston, a major Democratic stronghold.
The judges ruled that the Republican Party of Texas did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.
They also said they were dismissing the lawsuit because it was filed too late and “the election is currently in progress.”
In-person early voting began this week in Texas, with long lines and massive turnout.
A federal judge in Virginia said Wednesday morning he will reopen voter registration there until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday after a computer outage took down the system on Tuesday, the deadline to register.
Judge John Gibney Jr. said the order would extend both online registration and in-person registration.
“You can’t go back in time and register people,” Gibney said. Absent his intervention, “Almost an entire day of voter registration will be lost.”
The state board of elections and department of elections supported the petition filed by the New Virginia Majority Education Fund and other groups.
“If we have problems with local registrars who decide that this order does not require them to allow additional registration, you have my phone,” he told the parties. “I will give them a suggestion.”
The computer outage was caused when a construction crew hit a fiber data line during their work. For much of the day Tuesday, visitors to the state portal were met with this message: “Due to a network outage the Citizen Portal is temporarily unavailable.”
One of the takeaways from this lawsuit, Gibney said, is that crews ought to call ahead to utility companies before digging.
Are you having difficulty registering or voting, whether in person or by mail? Tell us more about it here.
White House director of strategic communications Alyssa Farah reacted to news that the President will participate in an NBC town hall and cast blame on the Commission on Presidential Debates, calling it a “huge mistake” to cancel the second debate.
“This was a huge mistake by the debate commission and I mean I think it raises some real questions about if they’re trying to weigh the scales one way or the other in this race. But listen, by the time that the President does the town hall tomorrow, he’ll have already done three rallies,” she said during an appearance on Fox News.
“He is back, he is highly energized, he is eager to get on the road and it’s really a mistake that he’s not able to appear side-by-side with Joe Biden and show the American people the difference between these two candidates,” she continued.
Interestingly, and perhaps a window into concerns the President is hearing, the hosts pressed Farah on the campaign’s surrogate operation, which Farah defended by saying Trump’s children are out on the trail.
Earlier this morning, the network announced Trump will participate in an NBC town hall tomorrow night.
The event, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET in Miami, will compete with an ABC town hall featuring Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, which is set to begin at the same time.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday eluded efforts by Democratic lawmakers to commit to recusing herself from any Supreme Court election dispute between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
With controversies over state ballot practices escalating and the possibility of a replay of the 2000 Bush v. Gore ordeal in the air, the topic has featured heavily in her Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing.
Trump has pointed to the Nov. 3 election as a reason for seeking swift Senate confirmation of Barrett, a federal appeals court judge who would be his third appointee to the nine-member bench.
The Republican incumbent has said he believes the Supreme Court could ultimately decide whether he is the victor over Biden.
“I think this will end up at the Supreme Court,” Trump said about the possibility of an intractable ballot controversy. “And I think it’s very important that we have nine justices.”
In a recent CNN poll, more than half (56%) of the Americans surveyed said they think Barrett should recuse herself from cases on the presidential election; 34% said the opposite. Opinions divided largely by party: 82% of Democrats; 53% of independents and 32% of Republicans said Barrett should promise to recuse herself from cases about the election.
Supreme Court practice leaves it to individual justices to decide when to recuse themselves from cases. In her recent questionnaire to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barrett noted that federal ethics law covering lower court judges is not binding on the Supreme Court but said she would look to it, as other justices have.
The law requires judges to disqualify themselves when their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Rarely do Supreme Court justices sit out cases and typically only when they have a financial stake or family connection to the dispute.
Read more here.
Former President Barack Obama is expected to hit the campaign trail next week, Democratic officials tell CNN, as he looks to step up his work in support of his one-time partner — former vice president Joe Biden — in the final stretch of the election.
Obama intends to focus his efforts on early voting states in the final two weeks of the race, the officials tell CNN.
The former President will not aggressively barnstorm swing states, but rather intends to visit a handful of critical battlegrounds where voting is underway.
His schedule has not been finalized, officials said, but states under consideration for his solo appearances include Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin and more.
“He’s doing enough for our campaign,” Biden told reporters before boarding a flight in New Castle, Delaware, Tuesday. “He’ll be out on the trail and he’s doing well.”
Obama’s expected return to the campaign trail could energize Democratic voters in the final weeks before the election as the former president remains among the Democratic Party’s most popular figures. The Biden campaign believes Obama can help in three particular areas, officials say, including: Black men, Latinos and young voters.
The events will be socially distant — similar to the tactics adopted by the Biden campaign during the coronavirus pandemic — but are designed to garner local media coverage in key areas.
President Trump’s campaign has dispatched far more surrogates ahead of the election — along with the President’s rallies — and the Obama visits are designed to help Biden draw more attention in places where voting is happening.
Read more here.
Visit CNN’s Election Center for full coverage of the 2020 race.
President Trump will participate in a town hall with NBC News on Thursday night, the network announced. The event, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET in Miami, will compete with an ABC town hall featuring Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, which is set to begin at the same time.
Biden’s town hall will be held in Philadelphia and moderated by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos moderated a town hall with President Trump at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia last month.
Trump and Biden were originally scheduled to participate in the second presidential debate Thursday night, but the event was eventually canceled after Trump objected to the virtual format announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates in light of Trump’s positive coronavirus diagnosis.
“The event is set to take place outdoors and in accordance with the guidelines set forth by health officials, also consistent with all government regulations,” Hoda Kotb said on NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday of Trump’s town hall tomorrow.
National Institutes of Health Clinical Director Clifford Lane said in a statement to NBC News that they have concluded, via PCR test analysis, “with a high degree of confidence” that Trump is “not shedding infectious virus.”
The event will be moderated by Savannah Guthrie, who will sit 12 feet from the President. Attendees will be required to wear face masks.
