WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2020 presidential race (all times local):
11:25 a.m.
Joe Biden says former President Barack Obama “will be out on the trail” and is “doing well.”
The Democratic nominee did not offer more details but told reporters Tuesday ahead of a campaign trip to Florida that he thinks Obama is “doing enough” for the campaign.
Biden mentioned his service as Obama’s vice president often during the Democratic primaries but has not emphasized those ties as frequently as he makes his closing arguments against President Donald Trump.
Obama delivered a blistering critique of Trump during the Democratic National Convention in August, and he’s headlined large grassroots fundraisers for Biden and Democrats this year.
But the 44th president has not otherwise been a frequent campaign presence during the coronavirus pandemic, which has curtailed in-person campaigning for Democrats’ surrogates.
11:15 a.m.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is calling on “leaders of all stripes” to “tone it down,” warning that the high-pitched, election-season rhetoric and attacks will lead to “dangerous action” from their followers.
The Utah senator calls out both President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement declaring that politics has “moved away from spirited debate to a vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass that is unbecoming of any free nation.” Romney cites Trump’s comments calling Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden’s running mate, a “monster” and Pelosi “crazy,” among other things.
He charges that Democrats, too, “launch blistering attacks,” though he offers fewer examples: Only the moment Pelosi ripped up Trump’s State of the Union Speech and a recent video by Keith Olbermann, a progressive political and sports commentator, calling Trump a “terrorist.” And Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, gives a pass to Biden, who he says “refuses to stoop as low as others.”
Romney has said previously he won’t be voting for Trump this fall, but has not said if he supports Biden for president. The moderate Republican has been a frequent critic of Trump and breaks with his party at times on key votes.
Romney goes on to warn that the “rabid attacks kindle the conspiracy mongers and the haters who take the small and predictable step from intemperate word to dangerous action,” adding that it’s “time to lower the heat.”
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are campaigning Tuesday, Trump in Pennsylvania and Biden in Florida. Both states are key to the 2020 presidential election.
Read more:
— Biden on idea of court packing: “I’m not a fan.”
— Trump and Biden: Where they stand on health care, economy and more
— Bipartisan Christian group forms super PAC to oppose Trump
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.