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Biden’s mission: Do no harm

August 20, 2020
Balance of Power
Bloomberg

It'll be the first nomination acceptance speech of its kind — and could portend how successful Joe Biden will be in connecting with voters via the virtual campaign format of the pandemic era.

The contrast between the setting for Biden's speech tonight — a largely empty convention center in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware — and the Denver football stadium where Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination eight years ago before a record-setting crowd of 84,000 underscores the challenges of campaigning in a socially distanced world.

Biden's speech will set the tone for a bruising battle with Donald Trump, capping a four-day party convention that featured withering attacks against the president over his handling the coronavirus outbreak and a record surge in unemployment.

One dynamic to watch will be how Biden seeks to uphold the centrist themes that permeated this year's convention while keeping party progressives in the fold.

Democrats' bid to appeal to a wide range of voters was on display last night when Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris, embraced her place in history as the first Black and Indian-American woman on a major presidential ticket. Harris highlighted female leaders who she said "inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on."

Biden's remarks will be closely scrutinized by Trump, who has accused him of age-related decline (at 74, the president is three years younger than his rival).

With a lead in national and key battleground state polls, Democrats are hoping the gaffe-prone Biden can rise to the challenge.

— Kathleen Hunter

Harris is displayed on a monitor at a television studio while speaking during the Democratic National Convention yesterday.

Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

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Global Headlines

Another go | Trump says the U.S. will call this week on the United Nations Security Council to restore all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, an attempt to kill off the 2015 nuclear agreement and force Tehran back to the table. It sets him on a collision course with other powers who say the U.S. doesn't have the authority to reimpose such penalties, and comes after America suffered an embarrassing loss at the council in its bid to indefinitely extend an expiring arms embargo on Iran.

Campaign 2020

There are 75 days until the U.S. election. Here's the latest on the race for control of the White House and Congress.

During a convention speech last night, Obama charged that Trump "hasn't grown into the job" of president "because he can't" and blamed his successor's shortfalls for the deaths of more than 170,000 Americans from coronavirus and for spiking job losses.

Other developments:

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Conspicuous absence | A week after Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a peace agreement, regional power Saudi Arabia remains largely silent on the policy shift that's reverberating across its traditional sphere of influence. As Donna Abu-Nasr reports, the kingdom finds itself in an awkward spot: The rise of the UAE as a power broker in the region could mark a shift in Arab leadership, dilute Saudi influence, and further fracture Gulf Arab unity.

  • Trump said he expects Riyadh to join the pact and added the UAE might be allowed to buy U.S. F-35 jets, among the most advanced fighters in the world.

Critic 'poisoned' | Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is unconscious in intensive care following a suspected poisoning. Navalny is in a "serious condition," his spokeswoman said, after he fell ill on a plane returning to Moscow from Siberia, where he'd been meeting supporters and opposition candidates ahead of September's regional elections. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Omsk.

Click here to read how President Emmanuel Macron ruled out bringing France to a halt, while Spain's government appears rudderless, as Europe struggles with a virus resurgence.

A closed nightclub on Barceloneta promenade in Spain on Tuesday.

Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

Moving pieces | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is sharing some power with his sister Kim Yo Jong, who is now responsible for issues related to the U.S., a member of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee said, though her brother still has absolute control. It comes after Kim warned his government's development goals have been "seriously delayed," an acknowledgement that sanctions, flooding and the pandemic are hammering an already anemic economy.

Growing scandal | Three former Mexican presidents have been accused of bribery, according to a document attributed to a key witness, as a widening corruption furor hits the political elite. More than a dozen ex-ministers and lawmakers were also named by Emilio Lozoya, the disgraced ex-head of state oil giant Pemex, in his purported testimony to prosecutors that was leaked to the media.

What to Watch

  • The U.S. suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and ended reciprocal tax treatment on shipping with the former British colony.

  • China and the U.S. have decided to hold a call on their trade deal soon, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said today, without announcing a date.

  • West African leaders are due to meet today to discuss the coup that ousted Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, as international condemnation of the takeover grows.
  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Macron today in the south of France, where they are expected to discuss issues including the situation in Belarus, Mali, Brexit, the pandemic and Iran.

And finally ... Facebook has removed or restricted hundreds of pages and accounts linked to QAnon because they violate its expanded policy of regarding "dangerous individuals and organizations." The movement's supporters claim the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles plotting against Trump. The president refused yesterday to criticize the group's followers, saying he appreciates their backing and has "heard these are people that love our country."

An attendee with a "We Are Q" sign at a Trump rally in Ohio on Aug. 4, 2018.

Photographer: Maddie McGarvey/Bloomberg

 
 

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