Sep 18, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Joe Biden: "I've benefitted" from white privilege

Biden at a Scranton, Pennslvanyia CNN town hall. Photo courtesty of CNN.

Joe Biden said at a CNN town hall on Thursday that he has benefitted from white privilege "just because I don't have to go through what my Black brothers and sisters have had to go through."

Why it matters: Biden's response stands in contrast to the Trump administration's moves to order government agencies to halt trainings on critical race theory and white privilege, referring to them as "anti-American propaganda."

  • When asked by Bob Woodward if he had "any sense" that white or financial privilege had isolated him from understanding the perspective of Black Americans, President Trump reportedly said: "No. You really drank the Kool-Aid, didn’t you? Just listen to you. Wow. No, I don’t feel that at all."

Between the lines: Biden quickly pivoted to distinguish himself from Ivy League presidents and Trump's inherited wealth, aligning himself with l0wer income Americans and those with less social status.

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Jacob Knutson, Rashaan Ayesh
Updated Oct 20, 2020 - Politics & Policy

The top Republicans who aren't voting for Trump in 2020

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said last week that he cannot support President Trump's re-election.

Why it matters: Hogan, a moderate governor in a blue state, joins other prominent Republicans who have publicly said they will either not vote for Trump's re-election this November or will back Biden.

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Sara Fischer, Neal Rothschild
Oct 20, 2020 - Economy & Business

Biden draws more online engagement as election draws near

Data: Conviva; Chart: Axios Visuals

New data from media intelligence company Conviva finds that Joe Biden has begun to draw more engagement per post on Twitter than President Trump.

  • There's been a steady increase by Biden in the monthly averages of engagements per post, average engagements per video, and follower adds since the beginning of the year.
  • This past month, Biden passed Trump in all three metrics. (The Conviva data only includes retweets and likes, not quote tweets.)
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Margaret Talev, Alexi McCammond
29 mins ago - Politics & Policy

The cliffhanger could be ... Georgia

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

It hasn't backed a Democrat for president since 1992, but Georgia's changing demographics may prove pivotal this year — not only to Trump v. Biden, but also to whether Democrats take control of the Senate.

Why it matters: If the fate of the Senate did hinge on Georgia, it might be January before we know the outcome. Meanwhile, voters' understanding of this power in the final days of the election could juice turnout enough to impact presidential results.

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