Each week has brought evidence of the damage President Donald Trump has done during his nearly four years in office. According to his own words, he is not finished. This past week brought a renewed warning of a harm he could yet inflict on the integrity of elections.The president did more than simply refuse to pledge that he would facilitate a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to former vice president Joe Biden, though that in itself was a step no previous president has taken. In doing so, he escalated his ongoing attack on mail-in ballots, seeding the ground to contest the election as...…Each week has brought evidence of the damage President Donald Trump has done during his nearly four years in office. According to his own words, he is not finished. This past week brought a renewed warning of a harm he could yet inflict on the integrity of elections.The president did more than simply refuse to pledge that he would facilitate a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to former vice president Joe Biden, though that in itself was a step no previous president has taken. In doing so, he escalated his ongoing attack on mail-in ballots, seeding the ground to contest the election as...WW…

President Trump faces a significant challenge in his bid to win reelection in November, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally and the president’s approval ratings crumbling amid a spreading coronavirus pandemic and a weakened economy, according to a .The survey portrays an embattled president whose fortunes have declined markedly since the coronavirus arrived in the United States months ago. Trump’s prospects for winning in November appear to depend heavily on his ability to rally an enthusiastic core base of supporters and on convincing a broader swath...…President Trump faces a significant challenge in his bid to win reelection in November, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally and the president’s approval ratings crumbling amid a spreading coronavirus pandemic and a weakened economy, according to a .The survey portrays an embattled president whose fortunes have declined markedly since the coronavirus arrived in the United States months ago. Trump’s prospects for winning in November appear to depend heavily on his ability to rally an enthusiastic core base of supporters and on convincing a broader swath...WW…

The history of the United States has generally been written with the states in a subordinate role or cast in a negative light — but no longer. The story of America’s confrontation with the s pandemic is one in which states and their governors have been dominant.As Washington has stumbled, governors of both parties have acted to fill the void. States have pleaded with Washington for help, and sometimes have gotten it. As often, however, the tensions and disagreements between state leaders and the federal government — especially with President Trump — have come to define the crisis.A series...…The history of the United States has generally been written with the states in a subordinate role or cast in a negative light — but no longer. The story of America’s confrontation with the s pandemic is one in which states and their governors have been dominant.As Washington has stumbled, governors of both parties have acted to fill the void. States have pleaded with Washington for help, and sometimes have gotten it. As often, however, the tensions and disagreements between state leaders and the federal government — especially with President Trump — have come to define the crisis.A series...WW…

The government’s halting response to the pandemic represents the culmination of chronic structural weaknesses, years of underinvestment and political rhetoric that has undermined the public trust — conditions compounded by President Trump’s open hostility to a federal bureaucracy that has been called upon to manage the crisis.Federal government leaders, beginning with the president, appeared by the swiftness with which the coronavirus was spreading through the country — though this was not the first time that an administration seemed ill-prepared for an unexpected shock. But even after the...…The government’s halting response to the pandemic represents the culmination of chronic structural weaknesses, years of underinvestment and political rhetoric that has undermined the public trust — conditions compounded by President Trump’s open hostility to a federal bureaucracy that has been called upon to manage the crisis.Federal government leaders, beginning with the president, appeared by the swiftness with which the coronavirus was spreading through the country — though this was not the first time that an administration seemed ill-prepared for an unexpected shock. But even after the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAmericans clearly oppose the reopening of restaurants, retail stores and other businesses, even as governors begin to lift restrictions that have kept the economy locked down in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to a .The opposition expressed by sizable majorities of Americans reflects other cautions and concerns revealed in the survey, including continuing fears among most people that they could become infected by the coronavirus, as well as a belief that the worst of the medical crisis is not yet...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAmericans clearly oppose the reopening of restaurants, retail stores and other businesses, even as governors begin to lift restrictions that have kept the economy locked down in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to a .The opposition expressed by sizable majorities of Americans reflects other cautions and concerns revealed in the survey, including continuing fears among most people that they could become infected by the coronavirus, as well as a belief that the worst of the medical crisis is not yet...WW…

This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareIn times of national crisis, people look to the president for direction, reassurance and confidence. President Trump’s on Wednesday night provided precisely the opposite.From the misstatements to the omissions to his labored demeanor, the president sent a message that shook financial markets, disrupted relations with European allies, confused his many viewers and undermined the most precious commodity of any president, his credibility.With the into bear territory, the health-care system struggling to keep pace with the...…This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareIn times of national crisis, people look to the president for direction, reassurance and confidence. President Trump’s on Wednesday night provided precisely the opposite.From the misstatements to the omissions to his labored demeanor, the president sent a message that shook financial markets, disrupted relations with European allies, confused his many viewers and undermined the most precious commodity of any president, his credibility.With the into bear territory, the health-care system struggling to keep pace with the...WW…

Above photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington PostThey had mobilized for four years, from the bottom up as much as the top down, millions of Americans determined to deny President Trump a second term. And when the moment came, when Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, they collectively exhaled with a sigh of relief. Finally, it was over.The uprising sprouted in the hours after Trump’s surprise victory in 2016 and blossomed throughout his time in office — women and men, young and old, African Americans, Whites, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans in cities and suburbs and small...…Above photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington PostThey had mobilized for four years, from the bottom up as much as the top down, millions of Americans determined to deny President Trump a second term. And when the moment came, when Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, they collectively exhaled with a sigh of relief. Finally, it was over.The uprising sprouted in the hours after Trump’s surprise victory in 2016 and blossomed throughout his time in office — women and men, young and old, African Americans, Whites, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans in cities and suburbs and small...WW…

Politics No election in history has played out against the backdrop of a pandemic, a major recession and a racial reckoning. Even more than ever, it is largely about the incumbent. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post; Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post; AP/Andrew Harnik) By Election 2020 will long be remembered as The Pandemic Election. The coronavirus fundamentally changed this election year. Traditional events still populate the political calendar between now and Election Day on Nov. 3, but everything about what the candidates and the voters will be doing has been upended due to...…Politics No election in history has played out against the backdrop of a pandemic, a major recession and a racial reckoning. Even more than ever, it is largely about the incumbent. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post; Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post; AP/Andrew Harnik) By Election 2020 will long be remembered as The Pandemic Election. The coronavirus fundamentally changed this election year. Traditional events still populate the political calendar between now and Election Day on Nov. 3, but everything about what the candidates and the voters will be doing has been upended due to...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump, with in two days, has turned the Fourth of July from a joyful and unifying patriotic celebration of America’s founding values into a partisan political event. The damage could outlast his presidency.From near the base of Mount Rushmore on Friday night and from the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday night, Trump tried to write himself into the history of America as an implacable wartime president. , however, is not the Nazis of the 20th century or terrorists of the 21st century. Instead, it appears...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump, with in two days, has turned the Fourth of July from a joyful and unifying patriotic celebration of America’s founding values into a partisan political event. The damage could outlast his presidency.From near the base of Mount Rushmore on Friday night and from the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday night, Trump tried to write himself into the history of America as an implacable wartime president. , however, is not the Nazis of the 20th century or terrorists of the 21st century. Instead, it appears...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAfter two political conventions, the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus, economic dislocation, more racial upheaval and a coming battle over a Supreme Court vacancy, the race for the White House remains stable, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a steady advantage over President Trump, according to a .Biden and vice-presidential nominee Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) lead Trump and Vice President Pence by 53 percent to 43 percent among registered voters, statistically unchanged from the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAfter two political conventions, the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus, economic dislocation, more racial upheaval and a coming battle over a Supreme Court vacancy, the race for the White House remains stable, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a steady advantage over President Trump, according to a .Biden and vice-presidential nominee Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) lead Trump and Vice President Pence by 53 percent to 43 percent among registered voters, statistically unchanged from the...WW…