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Trump warns of post-voting "dispute," wants "friendly transition"

Air Force One arrives in Jacksonville on Thursday. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

President Trump, after twice declining to commit to a peaceful transition of power, told a 9 p.m. "Make America Great Again" rally in Newport News, Va. that he would only lose if there was "mischief."

What he's saying: "That's the only way we're gonna lose is if there's, uh, mischief — mischief, and it'll have to be on a big scale. So be careful. And we do want a very friendly transition. But we don’t want to be cheated, and be stupid," he said.

  • Earlier in the day, Trump said in Atlanta: "We may end up in a dispute for a long time, because that’s the way they want it. But we’re gonna end up winning — that’s for sure."

Of note: New York Times Quote of the Day, from "At Pentagon, Fears Grow That Trump Will Pull Military Into Election Unrest" ... John Gans, chief speechwriter to the SecDef during the Obama administration:

  • "The Pentagon plans for war with Canada and a zombie apocalypse, but they don’t want to plan for a contested election. These are huge questions that have an impact on the reputation of the institution."

Go deeper

Axios
Updated Nov 16, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Key takeaways from Obama's "60 Minutes" interview

A screenshot from former President Obama's "60 Minutes" interview

Former President Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast Sunday there's been a "truth decay" in American politics and it's "been accelerated by outgoing President Trump."

Driving the news: Obama made the comments in response to CBS' Scott Pelley's question on what he meant in his upcoming book that "our democracy seems to be teetering on the brink of a crisis." Obama said he meant in "the sense that not only do we not have to tell the truth, but the truth doesn't even matter."

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan
9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 10 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon —  Inflation rose more than expected in December.
  5. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow