A tweet too far

Follow Us Get the newsletter This time, he might have gone too far. U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that the Nov. 3 election possibly should be postponed "until people can properly, securely and safely vote" was quickly and publicly rebuffed by Republican congressional leaders. It even raised the eyebrows of one of his closest allies, Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who said he was confident in his state's mail-in voting system and saw no reason to delay. The president can't move the election without an act of Congress anyway. But, as Jordan Fabian reports, Trump's comments still marked a dramatic escalation in his repeated, unfounded arguments that allowing mail-in ballots to protect against the coronavirus would lead to widespread voter fraud and render the election illegitimate. The U.S. isn't alone in grappling with the prospect of voting during the pandemic. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam today is set to delay legislative elections scheduled for September by a year, local media reported. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Singapore and Tokyo have gone ahead with balloting, while Sri Lanka plans a parliamentary vote next week following an initial delay. In Poland, the number of daily cases has almost doubled since Trump ally Andrzej Duda won re-election in a presidential vote this month that saw near-record turnout. After Serbia's general ballot in June, top government officials and electoral workers came down with Covid-19. Trump later said that he doesn't want to change the date of the election, but warned it could be days "or even years" until the nation knew the outcome if mail-in balloting is used. For some of his critics, it sounds increasingly like Trump is preparing to challenge the results if he loses. — Kathleen Hunter Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House yesterday. Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca Click here for Bloomberg's most compelling images from the past week and tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Wreaking havoc | A resurgent coronavirus is sparking new cases from Asia to Europe and the Americas, with Tokyo and Texas announcing daily records in infections. The U.K. reimposed lockdown restrictions across a large part of northern England late yesterday because it said Britons' failure to adhere to social distancing measures contributed to a new spike. The virus is spreading through Spain at the fastest pace since April. Herman Cain, the pizza chain executive who rose to prominence in Republican politics, died after being hospitalized with coronavirus less than two weeks after attending Trump's indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No agreement | The U.S. Senate left Washington for the weekend after a fourth day of negotiations on a plan to bolster the coronavirus-ravaged economy yielded little substantial progress on narrowing differences between Republicans and Democrats. Expanded unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions have expired amid the impasse. Talks continue today. City view | A new Bloomberg Television documentary explores tensions in Hong Kong after China imposed sweeping new national security legislation — one of the most critical moments in the financial hub's history. "Hong Kong On Edge 2" sees Chief North Asia Correspondent Stephen Engle speak to prominent people — from Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng to democracy activist Joshua Wong — about how the law will change the former British colony. Wong poses for a photograph with a copy of his prepared speech during a news conference today in Hong Kong. Photographer: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg Canadian scandal | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied allegations he awarded a contract to the WE Charity to administer a student-grant program because of his ties to the organization. His rare appearance before the House of Commons finance committee yesterday was an attempt to douse the flames of a scandal that's overshadowing his government's pandemic response. In hindsight, he said, he should have recused himself from the cabinet's decision on the matter. Behind the curtain | The U.S. Supreme Court this week witnessed an extraordinary breach of its rules of confidentiality, as a series of CNN stories exposed some of the justices' internal deliberations in major cases dealing with abortion, subpoenas for Trump's financial records and job discrimination. The revelations are likely to send a chill through what's normally one of Washington's most leak-proof institutions. What to Watch Ivory Coast's ruling party nominated President Alassane Ouattara to run for a third term in October as leader of the world's top cocoa grower, while the opposition warned that his candidacy would be illegal because of constitutional term limits. The U.S. government has asked a federal judge in Washington to rule in its favor without a trial as it seeks to seize the proceeds from former National Security Advisor John Bolton's tell-all memoir. Attacks against Afghanistan's security forces and civilian casualties have remained high, a new inspector general's report found, despite a U.S.-forged peace agreement with the Taliban meant to bring an end to America's longest war. Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). The government of which nation accused a Kremlin-linked military contractor of plotting to destabilize the country before presidential elections on Aug. 9? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... The sight of a supermarket in the Venezuelan capital is normally no big news, but the Megasis that opened in Caracas yesterday is different: It's the first one owned by a company in Iran, one of the few countries helping Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro evade U.S. sanctions. Featuring a scanner booth that measures shoppers' temperatures and sprays them with disinfectant mist, the store's produce can be a bit confusing for shoppers. Some of the labels are in Persian and English, but no Spanish. People pay for groceries at Megasis, the first Iranian supermarket in Caracas. Photographer: Alex Vasquez/Bloomberg     Like Balance of Power? |  Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. 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