Good morning. Virus cases reach new peaks in 17 states. YouTube cracks down on QAnon. And Biden and Trump hold dueling T.V. events. |
 | | President Trump in Miami and Joe Biden in Philadelphia.Doug Mills/The New York Times; Ruth Fremson/The New York Times |
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It was a metaphor for a divided country. |
Rather than debating each other last night — before a giant television audience spanning the political spectrum — President Trump and Joe Biden held dueling events, each on a separate network. It happened because Trump, who rejects so many of the traditions of American politics, had pulled out of a scheduled debate. Each candidate instead spoke to an audience that was probably dominated by his own supporters. |
Biden’s event was fairly low-key, with him speaking in detail about his policy ideas, under questioning from ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Pennsylvania voters. Trump’s was more combative, as he made several misleading statements and NBC’s Savannah Guthrie pressed him on them. |
- Trump said he would accept a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, but followed with false claims about voter fraud, including that “thousands of ballots” cast for him had been “dumped in a garbage can.”
- Biden said elements of a decades-old crime bill he helped pass were a “mistake,” but also blamed states for how they have implemented crime policy.
- Trump questioned the value of masks, suggesting scientists are divided about their worth. That’s largely false. “Masks are not perfect, but they offer significant protection,” as Apoorva Mandavilli, a Times science reporter, told me.
- Biden dodged questions about whether he would try to add justices to the Supreme Court, saying he wanted to keep the focus on Republicans’ attempt to jam through a nominee. Biden added that he would clarify his position after the Senate votes on Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination.
- Trump disavowed white supremacists, but refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that prominent Democrats are running child sex-trafficking rings. He instead praised its followers.
- Biden pledged to reverse Trump administration policies that discriminate against transgender people.
- Trump seemed to confirm a recent Times report that he has $400 million in outstanding debts.
- Biden said the president deserved “a little” credit for an accord between Israel and Arab nations, but accused Trump of abandoning American allies, emboldening autocrats and having “no coherent plan for foreign policy.”
- Trump shrugged off a question about his recent retweet spreading a false story about Biden’s record on military policy, saying he was simply trying to “put it out there.” Guthrie replied: “You’re the president. You’re not like someone’s crazy uncle who can retweet whatever.”
- Asked what it would say about the country if he loses, Biden said: “It could say that I’m a lousy candidate, that I didn’t do a good job. But I think, I hope, that it doesn’t say that we are as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds as it appears the president wants us to be.” Biden continued to answer voters’ questions, from afar, after the event ended.
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Will the events matter? Probably not. Presidential debates rarely cause major shifts in the polls, and these events were less memorable than a debate. But it’s always hard to know what matters in presidential politics. |
Analysis: “My focus group applauds Biden’s humility tonight. If this race were about persona, Biden would win the vast majority of these undecided voters — but his policies scare some of them,” Frank Luntz, the conservative pollster, wrote. |
Maggie Haberman, The Times: “The president feels aggrieved, in case that isn’t clear. He knows the polling shows he’s trailing Biden and he’s consumed by it, because he doesn’t respect Biden, and can’t imagine losing to him.” |
David Freedlander, Politico Magazine: “Having separate televised interviews is way more interesting and informative than having these guys on stage at the same time.” |
What’s next: Trump and Biden have both signaled they will show up for next week’s debate — on Thursday — which is the final one scheduled. |
 | | A field hospital for coronavirus patients at the state fairgrounds in Milwaukee.Wisconsin Department of Administration, via Reuters |
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- New daily coronavirus cases have reached their highest point yet in 17 states, including Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin. In no state are cases clearly on the decline.
- Pfizer’s chief executive confirmed its vaccine won’t be ready until at least late November, disappointing Trump’s hope for a pre-election announcement.
- Nationwide, first-year enrollment has dropped 16 percent at four-year colleges, and 23 percent at community colleges. Enrollment has risen at for-profit colleges, which have a weak overall record. “This is an unmitigated disaster,” Susan Dynarski, an economist, said.
- Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor recently hospitalized with Covid-19, said he was “wrong” not to wear a mask at a White House event.
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- Senator Kamala Harris has canceled in-person events through Sunday after two people who had traveled with her tested positive for the virus.
- Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, excoriated Trump in a phone call with constituents. Sasse complained about the president’s handling of the virus, his kissing up to dictators and other subjects. A spokesman for Sasse responded by saying “control of the Senate is 10 times more important” than the presidential race.
- U.S. intelligence officials warned the White House last year that Russia was attempting to use Rudy Giuliani to feed misinformation to Trump, The Washington Post reported.
- Daily polling diary: Republicans finally got some good polling news: Lindsey Graham, one of the vulnerable Senate Republicans, leads his Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison, by six percentage points, in a New York Times/Siena College poll.
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- Graham, the chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, set a schedule for Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination that could lead to her confirmation one week from today.
- Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, lavishly praised Graham for his handling of Barrett’s confirmation hearing. Many progressives criticized her for doing so — and for hugging Graham without a mask.
- New York officials plan to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a statue in Brooklyn, where she grew up.
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 | | A QAnon supporter at a rally for President Trump last month.Al Drago for The New York Times |
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- YouTube says it will prohibit videos promoting conspiracy theories that “justify real-world violence.” In effect, it is banning QAnon, the sprawling pro-Trump conspiracy that found much of its audience through the site.
- U.S. authorities arrested a former Mexican defense minister on drug charges after he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport.
- Nearly half of the continental U.S. is in a drought. It’s the most severe U.S. drought since 2013, and could lead to more wildfires.
- The president of Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia’s only democracy, says he plans to resign. He has been in hiding since opponents stormed government buildings in protest of a rigged election.
- A Morning read: Hong Kong is better known for its high-rises than its biodiversity. But nighttime hikes offer locals a chance to get hands-on with the wildlife.
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- Lives Lived: In 1963, Bernard Cohen, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U., got a letter from a woman named Mildred Loving asking for help. He took her case — Loving v. Virginia — to the Supreme Court and won a ruling that struck down laws against interracial marriages. Cohen has died at age 86.
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Times journalists are reporting on this election from all angles. They’re examining candidates, uncovering hidden stories, explaining polls, showing how to vote during a pandemic and more. Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Please consider subscribing today. |
| IDEA OF THE DAY: MOTHERHOOD ON DISPLAY |
For a Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett didn’t spend an unusual amount of time talking about her family at her confirmation hearing. Each of the previous two nominees to the Supreme Court — Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch — mentioned his family more than Barrett did, as you can see in our analysis below. |
 | | Most of Amy Coney Barrett’s seven children were at her Supreme Court nomination hearing.Erin Schaff/The New York Times |
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In part, the pattern seems to reflect changing times: As the Supreme Court has become more politicized, family has become a strategic way to humanize a nominee. Antonin Scalia had even more children than Barrett — nine — and yet they played only a modest role in his 1986 nomination hearing. |
Of course, Barrett and Scalia are also different in another way: She is a mother, not a father. |
 | | By The New York Times | Source: Times analysis of transcripts |
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| PLAY, WATCH, EAT, DECORATE |
 | | Joseph De Leo for The New York Times |
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Light and spicy, this red lentil soup is packed with flavor and painless to make. Lemon adds brightness to the deep cumin and chile flavors. |
A golden age for secondhand furniture |
In an effort to encourage more sustainable living, the Swedish furniture giant Ikea will be buying back some of its own used furniture from customers in 27 countries. The company will resell, donate or recycle the items. |
While the program won’t be available in the U.S., Vox reports that the furniture resale market is thriving. With people leaving cities during the pandemic, there is plenty of furniture available at cheap rates online. “I will probably never buy another new piece of furniture again,” one shopper gushed. |
 | | Joaquina Kalukango and Paul Alexander Nolan in “Slave Play” at the Golden Theater.Sara Krulwich/The New York Times |
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‘Slave Play’ makes Tony history |
With a coronavirus-shortened Broadway season, this year’s Tony Awards nominations came from a pool of only 18 plays and musicals, compared with last year’s 34. Some categories featured fewer nominees than usual: For leading actor in a musical, Aaron Tveitof “Moulin Rouge!” is competing against no one. (He will need to secure 60 percent of the vote to win.) “Slave Play” received more nominations than any previous play, and the musical “Jagged Little Pill” scored the most nominations over all: 15. |
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Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you Monday. — David |
P.S. Roger Cohen, who has been a correspondent, editor and columnist over his 30 years at The Times, will be our next Paris bureau chief. |
Today’s episode of “The Daily” is about the second of a two-part series on Biden’s and Trump’s policies. On “The Argument,” Opinion writers answer listener questions. |
Lalena Fisher, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Sanam Yar, Sheelagh McNeill and Amelia Nierenberg contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com. |
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