Trump’s campaign is caught between 2 worlds, with 2 months to go

LAS VEGAS — Past presidents running for reelection have built entire campaigns around their incumbency: Events in the Rose Garden. Signing ceremonies in the Oval Office. Cross-country campaign swings on Air Force One.

President Donald Trump has used this tactic to his advantage in recent weeks — parking the iconic presidential jet behind the stage at his rallies, turning the executive complex into a high-production venue for the Republican National Convention and unveiling an updated list of potential Supreme Court nominees against the elegant backdrop of the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.

But for the wildly unpredictable president, it’s not enough.

As Trump sprints toward the finish line in his race against Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, he is waging a campaign with dual personalities. There is the concerned commander in chief, who will spend Monday assessing the wildfires that have devastated California — a state that is bound to hand all 55 of its electoral votes to Biden on Election Day — and who recently initiated a drawdown of American troops in the Middle East and took unilateral action on Sunday to lower drug prices. And there is Trump the perpetual outsider — combative and vicious as ever — who spent the weekend baselessly accusing his opponent of drug abuse, praising the fatal shooting of a murder suspect with antifa ties as “retribution,” and assuring voters that the coronavirus pandemic had “rounded a corner” even as the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 creeps toward 200,000.

The outcome is a reelection campaign caught between two worlds in the two months left before voters decide Trump’s fate. For as often as Trump has shown a desire to use the trappings of the presidency in a conventional way, he has muddled, upstaged and at times completely derailed those efforts with profoundly unorthodox tactics that most of his supporters adore.

The jarring contrast was on full display most recently as the president, in a span of 24 hours, went from commending the “courage and resolve” of Flight 93 passengers in a 9/11 anniversary speech from the site of their death in Shanksville, Pa., to claiming that Biden is on performance-enhancing drugs.

“I think there’s probably — possibly — drugs involved,” Trump told Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro in an interview that aired Saturday night. “That’s what I hear. I mean, there’s possibly drugs.”

The president’s unfounded claim about his opponent aired after his campaign rally in nearby Minden, Nev., where he vowed to become “vicious” in the remaining weeks before the November election. “I don’t have to be nice anymore,” he declared.

One Trump campaign official said it was unclear where the drug abuse charges against Biden, whom the president has accused of lacking the mental acuity to hold office, originated. The same official described Trump’s comments as counterproductive ahead of the first presidential debate, on Sept. 29. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

“What you see is the president elevating Biden to a cartoonish level to distract from the naked, cartoonish failure of presidential leadership that is still unfolding,” said Roger Fisk, a former top campaign aide to President Barack Obama.

Many Trump allies don’t seem to mind the split approach he’s taken to campaigning for reelection. In their view, it’s a brilliant way to furnish the sound bites and insults that will boost turnout among his core supporters on Election Day, while also giving campaign aides the material they need to craft messages that are tailored to demographics he’s struggling with — including women and suburban and senior voters.

For example, just as the president was gloating about withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord during his Saturday rally in Minden, his aides were locking in plans for his Monday visit to Sacramento, Calif., where he will meet with local and federal personnel and likely highlight the disaster declaration he issued for the state in late August.

“It’s crazy what’s going on,” Trump said of the California wildfires during his Sunday night rally in Henderson, Nev. “I’m going there tomorrow. You want forest management.”

The president’s campaign event here in Clark County underscored the defiance that remains at the center of his political career and that is complicating his bid for reelection. The indoor rally, which was held at a manufacturing facility just outside Vegas, featured thousands of maskless supporters crowded together — a likely violation of Nevada’s Covid-19 rules against large gatherings.

On Tuesday, Trump will host a signing at the White House for the Abraham Accords, a pair of peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain. Though he is likely to wear his presidential hat for the historic diplomatic occasion, Trump will be back in campaign mode later that evening for a televised ABC News town hall with undecided voters in Philadelphia. (At a town hall in June, the president claimed that Chicago’s crime rate was “worse than Afghanistan” and teased out a potential pardon for his former associate Roger Stone.)

The Tuesday town hall could become a distraction from the signing ceremony that Trump will preside over hours before he arrives in Pennsylvania. A near fatal ambush of two police deputies in Compton, Calif., by a lone gunman over the weekend has given the president fresh fodder for his tough-on-crime campaign message. Trump has put the protection of law enforcement at the center of his reelection bid in the wake of nationwide demonstrations over police brutality and systemic racism.

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With their Verzuz, Gladys Knight and Patti Labelle prove legends can still draw, and move, a crowd

Gladys Knight and Patti Labelle share music and memories in an epic Verzuz ‘battle’

Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight shared over 150 years of combined music and memories for a friendly Verzuz competition that ended up being more of a music history lesson than any kind of battle.

Read More: Brandy, Monica take over 30 out of 40 spots on Apple Music chart after Verzuz battle

The presentation took place live from Philadelphia’s Fillmore Theater, as the two sat across from each other in white chairs with a table filled with white flowers in between.

Knight, 77, was dressed in a lavender sequined pantsuit, while Labelle, 76, was platinum blonde and dressed in a dark blue pantsuit.

The ladies started out talking about when they first met years ago, as well as their cooking, referencing meals cooked on the road as well as years of touring as they talked about coming up in the business together. They chatted about kids and grandbabies, the same way as any grandmoms would talk if they happened to catch up with each other at a family reunion, which what the Verzuz immediately felt like.

Michelle Williams, Holly Robinson Peete, Affion Crockett, Deon Cole, Missy Elliot, Brandy, Oprah, Mariah Carey, Monica, Lena Waithe, Jennifer Lopez, Michelle Obama, Big Freedia, Gabrielle Union, Angela Rye, Sway, Big Tigga, Octavia Spencer, Rosario Dawson, Jesse Williams, Larenz Tate, Andy Cohen, Waka Flocka, musicians Johnta Austin, Chris “Daddy” Dave and 600,000 others listened in.

“We had so many ups and downs and all arounds but no one kept us down,” Labelle told Knight as they discussed their blessings even in the age of COVID-19. Labelle encouraged fans to vote and both chuckled saying that they knew who they were going to vote for.

“I’m not trying to get political,” said Knight. “But to make the world great again, you’re saying we’re going to go back to slavery?”

Singers Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle pose in the press room at the 2007 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 26, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

“This is a twin wonderful moment with me and my sister,” Labelle said referencing that both singers are Geminis. (In fact, they were born four days apart, Labelle on May 24 and Patti on May 28). “So we’re going to give you some of our songs.”

It’s the shoe kick for me #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/Rjr0QVtsB9

— Taylor (@TaylorTheory) September 14, 2020

Labelle shouted out the LGBT community for their support and the ladies moved on through their shared musical history, singing along to each other’s songs and providing commentary as the celebs and fans chimed in the chat, cheering the living legends along.

The ladies graciously paid homage to their successors including Jennifer Hudson, Ledisi, Brandy, Monica, and Carey, who they said they’ve learned from as well.

Technical snafus that have marred other battles were few this time, except for the Instagram Live inexplicably cutting out before Knight’s rendition of her classic “Midnight Train to Georgia, ” and sound levels getting lower and garbled near the end.

Labelle showed a few flashes of diva-dom when she asked the unseen technical crew to make sure they put the correct songs up for the women to sing.

“We don’t always remember all our lyrics,” Labelle said. “Cue up the right songs!”

"20 years ago, I don't member these words!

Put these words up or ya gon get cut!"- @MsPattiPatti #verzuzbattle lmaooooo

— Lift Ev’ry Voice (@IamRashodw_) September 14, 2020

Labelle lamented the 7 months that musicians have been unable to tour and said she was grateful that they could come out and do something that was reminiscent of a concert.

Labelle also hilariously confessed that she has a flip phone, and has had one for over a decade. She also brought a large, embossed golden mirror and fixed her makeup during the Verzuz, then changed into a new pair of Louboutins after kicking off the first pair.

“Let me tell you something, Gladys. I have a flip phone. I love my flip.” PATTI LEGEND LABELLE #Verzuz

— April (@ReignOfApril) September 14, 2020

And for the grand finale, Dionne Warwick came out to join the two in a rendition of ‘That’s What Friends Are For.” And then the trio did an inspired version of the Karyn White hit “Superwoman” that they’d recorded a cover of years ago.

Read More: Alicia Keys and NFL launch $1B fund for Black businesses and community

As far as who won the ‘battle,’ we could never choose between the two icons. We’ll have to say the winner was good, grown folks’ music and the culture. There’s no female vocalist of the last fifty years that hasn’t been influenced by these two power vocalists and we’re just lucky they are still here to educate and entertain us.

“We are always ready to sing about love and life, for real,” Knight said.

I done laughed, sang, cried, danced, and rolled in the floor tonight! Thank you ladies! #verzuzbattle #GladysKnight #PattiLaBelle

— Gicola A. Lane (@GicolaLane) September 14, 2020

Gladys Knight #Verzuz Patti LaBelle – The full song list. pic.twitter.com/YlOgF5Fnb3

— Dee Windt (@billboardcritic) September 14, 2020

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Officials: Iran weighs plot to kill U.S. ambassador to South Africa

The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American ambassador to South Africa, U.S. intelligence reports say, according to a U.S. government official familiar with the issue and another official who has seen the intelligence.

News of the plot comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate for President Donald Trump’s decision to kill a powerful Iranian general earlier this year, the officials said. If carried out, it could dramatically ratchet up already serious tensions between the U.S. and Iran and create enormous pressure on Trump to strike back — possibly in the middle of a tense election season.

U.S. officials have been aware of a general threat against the ambassador, Lana Marks, since the spring, the officials said. But the intelligence about the threat to the ambassador has become more specific in recent weeks. The Iranian embassy in Pretoria is involved in the plot, the U.S. government official said.

Still, attacking Marks is one of several options U.S. officials believe Iran’s regime is considering for retaliation since the general, Qassem Soleimani, was assassinated by a U.S. drone strike in January. At the time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. killed Soleimani to re-establish deterrence against Iran.

An intelligence community directive known as “Duty to Warn” requires U.S. spy agencies to notify a potential victim if intelligence indicates their life could be in danger; in the case of U.S. government officials, credible threats would be included in briefings and security planning. Marks has been made aware of the threat, the U.S. government official said. The intelligence also has been included in the CIA World Intelligence Review, known as the WIRe, a classified product that is accessible to senior policy and security officials across the U.S. government, as well as certain lawmakers and their staff.

Marks, 66, was sworn in as the U.S. ambassador last October. She’s known Trump for more than two decades and has been a member of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Critics of Trump have derided her as a “handbag designer,” but her supporters retort that she is a successful businesswoman — her eponymous handbags run as much as $40,000 — with numerous international connections. A personal friend of the late Princess Diana, she also was born in South Africa and speaks some of the country’s key languages, including Afrikaans and Xhosa.

The intelligence community isn’t exactly sure why Iranians would target Marks, who has few, if any, known links to Iran. It’s possible the Iranians took her long friendship with Trump into consideration, the U.S. government official said.

The Iranian government also operates clandestine networks in South Africa, the officials noted, and has had a foothold there for decades. In 2015, Al Jazeera and The Guardian reported on leaked intelligence documents that detailed an extensive secret network of Iranian operatives in South Africa. Marks may also be an easier target than U.S. diplomats in other parts of the world, such as Western Europe, where the U.S. has stronger relationships with local law enforcement and intelligence services.

Iran’s Islamist leaders have a history of carrying out assassinations beyond their country’s borders, as well as taking hostages, since seizing power following a popular uprising in the late 1970s. In recent decades, Iran has generally avoided directly targeting U.S. diplomats, although Iranian-backed militias have long attacked U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel in Iraq.

Trump alleged after Soleimani’s killing that the Iranian general had been plotting attacks on American diplomatic missions, although U.S. officials later cast doubt on his claims. “They were looking to blow up our embassy,” Trump said in January, referring to the massive, heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic compound in Iraq. Later, in a Fox News interview, he said, “I can reveal I believe it probably would’ve been four embassies.”

Days after Soleimani’s death, Iran launched a ballistic missile salvo at a military base in Iraq that housed U.S. forces, causing traumatic brain injuries among dozens of American troops. Trump declined to retaliate and said, “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world” — though he announced fresh sanctions on the Iranian regime and warned it against further retaliatory moves.

Some analysts, however, said at the time that Iran likely would seek other ways to avenge Soleimani’s death. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, was at the top of Iran’s hit list earlier this year, according to media reports. McKenzie said last month that he expected a new “response” from Iran to America’s ongoing presence in Iraq.

“I do not know what the nature of that response will be, but we will certainly be ready for it, should it occur,” he said. On Wednesday, McKenzie confirmed plans to cut the U.S. troop presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 by the end of September.

During an online forum in August, McKenzie said Iran was “our central problem” in the region, and acknowledged that the danger from Iranian proxies in Iraq had complicated U.S. efforts against ISIS, the radical Sunni terrorist organization and movement. “The threat against our forces from Shia militant groups has caused us to put resources that we would otherwise use against ISIS to provide for our own defense and that has lowered our ability to work effectively against them,” he said.

The White House-based National Security Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did an Iranian official with Iran’s mission at the United Nations, nor a South African embassy official in Washington. Spokespeople for the State Department, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.

The U.S. and Iran have been bitter foes for decades, openly confronting each other at times — and gingerly engaging in diplomacy at others — but more often waging a shadowy battle for power and influence across the broader Middle East. Under Trump, the two countries have veered toward outright military conflict on more than one occasion.

Last summer, the U.S. blamed Iran and its proxies for a series of explosions aimed at oil tankers. Iran took down a U.S. drone, and the U.S. later managed to take down an Iranian drone.

Trump acknowledged that, after Iran took down the U.S. drone, he nearly authorized a direct attack on Iranian soil, but he held off after being told 150 people could die — a toll he said was disproportionate.

The countries’ dispute deepened in the months afterward, especially in Iraq, where America and the U.S. have long engaged in proxy warfare. In December, an American contractor was killed in Iraq after an attack by an Iranian-allied militia. The U.S. reacted by bombing sites held by the group, killing around two dozen of its fighters. Soon afterward, protesters believed linked to the militia breached parts of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

Then, in early January, the United States staged an airstrike that killed Soleimani as he was visiting Baghdad. It was a major escalation given Soleimani’s importance in Iran, although U.S. officials described it as a defensive measure.

Soleimani led the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that oversees much of the country’s military activities outside its borders. Americans blame him for the death of numerous U.S. troops in the region.

Iran vowed to retaliate. Its first major move was the Jan. 8 missile attack on the al-Asad military base in Iraq. But around the same time, an Iranian missile took down a civilian airliner, killing 176 people and leading to fury inside Iran at the regime’s incompetence and shifting explanations for the incident, along with condemnation abroad.

Iran and South Africa have cooperated on a number of fronts in recent decades, including at the United Nations, where South Africa has at times advocated for Iran. South Africa’s uranium deposits are believed to have been a major interest for Iran as it was ramping up its nuclear program, which Tehran has always insisted was meant for peaceful energy purposes, not a bomb. The pair also have a military relationship, having signed some basic defense pacts.

Strange Iran-connected plots have been uncovered before.

Almost a decade ago, the U.S. arrested and eventually sentenced to prison an Iranian-American man who was alleged to have tried to hire Mexican drug cartel assassins to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States as he dined in Cafe Milano, a swanky Washington restaurant frequented by the city’s wealthy and powerful. The U.S. accused Soleimani of overseeing the plot.

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ByteDance picks Oracle in high-profile bid for video app TikTok

The Chinese company behind TikTok has chosen Oracle as a key partner to help run its U.S. operations, rejecting an acquisition bid from Microsoft.

The exact value or structure of the deal, including whether Oracle would own part or all of TikTok's U.S. assets, was not immediately clear. A source familiar with the matter described Oracle as a technology partner to TikTok and did not characterize the transaction as an outright sale.

The win for Oracle came after its top rival, Microsoft, announced on Sunday that its effort had fallen short. Microsoft's bid, which included retail giant Walmart, would have purchased TikTok's U.S. operations as a way of resolving U.S. government concerns about the popular video sharing app's possible ties to the Chinese government.

"ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft," the company said Sunday evening.

American interest in TikTok increased when the Trump administration signaled in early August that it was considering banning the app amid worries that U.S. data is being funneled to the Chinese government. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 6th that would prohibit TikTok from conducting transactions in the U.S. effective Sept. 20.

Beijing has since put in place regulations requiring the government to sign off on the sale of valuable technology, including algorithms like those that power TikTok. That means any transaction would need to win the approval of officials in China and the U.S., a challenging proposition as Chinese leaders have been critical of Trump's effort to force a sale of the company.

Trump's executive order declared TikTok a national security threat due to its alleged ties to the Chinese government and barred the company from transactions in the U.S. starting Sept. 20. A follow-up executive order gave TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance 90 days to sell its U.S. business — a deal that would require Trump's approval.

In late August, China’s Ministry of Commerce added artificial intelligence technologies to an export controls list, casting doubt about whether the government must green light the sale of TikTok to a foreign company. ByteDance said it would "strictly comply" with the new Chinese rules.

The president's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, told POLITICO on Aug. 27 that the administration had no preference for a TikTok buyer, so long as data from U.S. users doesn't flow to Beijing. Trump himself also appeared flexible so long as the Treasury Department is "well compensated" in the deal.

"I guess Microsoft wants it and so does Oracle, and probably so do other people, but they have to also make sure the United States is well compensated because we’re the ones making it possible," the president told reporters at an event in Yuma, Ariz., in mid-August.

Trump did lend a boost to Oracle's bid at the time, calling it a "great company" that "would be certainly somebody that could handle it." Oracle's Chair Larry Ellison hosted a high-dollar fundraiser for Trump in February and Oracle executives have been close advisers to his administration even when other tech giants shied away.

Microsoft has cultivated its own positive relationship with the Trump administration, despite high-profile disagreements over issues like immigration and the environment. CEO Satya Nadella spoke with Trump directly in the days before he issued the TikTok executive order, helping to convince the president a sale would be better than an outright ban.

Other companies reportedly interested in the app included Google's parent Alphabet, Twitter and the Japanese multinational SoftBank, although preliminary negotiations with those firms fell flat.

TikTok has become a social media phenomenon that has only grown in popularity during coronavirus self isolation. The company recently said it counts 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. who generate a trove of lucrative personal data on the internet habits of, mostly young, consumers.

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Peyton Manning to sponsor 6 HBCU scholarships

Manning’s Peyback Foundation was founded in 1999 by Peyton and his wife, Ashley

Louisiana native and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning has sponsored six endowed scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities, with the help of his foundation. 

Manning grew up in New Orleans and went to Isidore Newman High School. Now famed NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. also attended the school. After high school, Manning attended the University of Tennessee. 

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning stands on the field before a game between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on December 15, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

The scholarship awards went go to universities in the two states where he received his education. Four went to HBCUs in his home state of Louisiana. The remaining two went to black colleges in Tennessee. 

Read More: HBCU campuses set to safely reopen with help of Thurgood Marshall College Fund, United Negro College Fund

The award for Grambling State University will bear the name of alumnus Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 1987. 

Williams, who currently serves as senior vice president for the Washington Football Team first learned that an “anonymous donor” was behind the donation. 

He told ESPN, “Ha, you know I have my connections at Grambling. I made a phone call and found out it was Peyton Manning’s foundation and it was endowing a half-dozen scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities. Peyton is a Louisiana boy. I know he’s given to a lot of wonderful causes without publicity, but this was a most pleasant surprise for me.”

Impactful gesture by former Broncos QB Peyton Manning, whose PeyBack Foundation has endowed six scholarships for Historically Black Colleges & Universities. https://t.co/0ubjJuIXOR

— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) September 13, 2020

Another award honors Harold Carmichael, a well-known standout wide receiver from Southern University. The 2020 Pro Football Hall of Famer was a star player at the Baton Rouge HBCU before becoming a Philadelphia Eagles legend.

Carmichael told ESPN, “I feel the same as Doug when it comes to what Peyton’s foundation is doing with HBCUs. It’s really an honor to have my name on that scholarship. I go back a long time with Archie, his dad. We played in a Pro Bowl together. I know this is not necessarily an athletic scholarship — HBCUs are much more than that — but when I played at Southern, all I got was $14 a month for laundry and there were times when even that money missed payments. An endowed scholarship with my name attached? I am really humbled and blessed.”

Tennessee State received an endowed scholarship in the name of Wilma Rudolph. In 1960, the notable sprinter became the first woman to win three gold medals in one year at the Olympics.

Three other HBCU scholarship endowments went to pillars in the Black community, not known for athletics.

Read More: Mackenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, donates millions to HBCUs

Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee has an endowment named after Dr. Reavis L. Mitchell Jr. Mitchell taught for 40 years as a history professor and is cited in many publications and documentaries for his knowledge of African American heritage. 

Xavier University of Louisiana’s endowment goes to Norman Francis, the school’s longtime president.  Francis received a presidential medal of freedom in 2006 for his efforts in planning the recovery and rebuilding of New Orleans and surrounding areas after Hurricane Katrina.

Dillard University, also in New Orleans, has an endowment named after Dr. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund. He has been president since 2004 and is a former university president.

When ESPN contacted Manning, he declined to speak about his personal involvement with the scholarships. 

He did send this statement : “The Peyback Foundation is honored to partner with these six colleges to honor distinguished Alumni and staff members, and to help college students at these schools now and many years to come. Really, for perpetuity.”

Manning’s Peyback Foundation was founded in 1999 by Peyton and his wife, Ashley.

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