Trump’s doctor: “This morning, the President is doing very well.”

Keir Starmer giving his most important speech yet-laying out his vision for the future.

“The Conservatives say they want to build back. But I don’t want to go back. You can’t return to business as usual. And certainly not back to an economy rooted in insecurity and inequality.”

"The foundations of our society have been weakened over a decade...even before the pandemic life expectancy had stalled for the first time in a century. Child poverty had shot up to over 4 million. A child growing up in a deprived areas of the North East can expect to live for.."

"...five fewer years than a deprived child brought up in a deprived area of London. What sort of legacy is that for a party which has been in govt for a decade? That life itself got cheaper. And shorter."

"During the last year my thoughts have returned time and time again to the wartime generation. Those who suffered the horrors of WW2, who rebuilt Britain from the rubble of the Blitz, created the NHS and built millions of homes fit for heroes. And I contrast that...

"...to those exposed to Covid in underfunded care homes, unable to say goodbye to families and to loved ones. How can the PM look those families in the eye and say 'we did everything we could'? When the truth is the Tories failed to fix social care for a decade?"

More study aids and generous grade boundaries for 2021's exams will be welcomed by many teachers and students. But doesn't address a fundamental problem of the next exam season: equity. Because there's great variation in how different schools have been affected by self-isolation.

Let's take the most recent attendance stats which I still don't think have really registered.

Most recent data- attendance rate across England of 83%

In secondary schools it's 78% (!)

So more than 1 in 5 secondary pupils are off school, largely for Covid related reasons.

But that’s just an average. Some schools’ attendance are at levels where they can’t really function, or certainly provide the quality of education they normally do.

Teachers’ are split between trying to run online lessons and those in schools.

Whole year groups are off.

Some students are in isolation, return to school and within days are in isolation again.

As I’ve reported before, IT provision is still patchy. Lots of reports of kids not doing work at home either because they get of the swing of it or they don’t have the IT resources.

And that’s before we get on to staff isolation, which is also proving a nightmare in many places.

In other words, you have to have everything go right for your education not to be impacted by Covid right now. And that’s affecting some places more than others.

Overheard in a Newcastle cafe, two very despondent students, clearly not long arrived in the city: “I might as well just go home. What is the point in being here? I told my Mum last night, I just feel so lonely. Wish I’d taken a gap year.” The other nodded, in sad agreement.

More cafe conversations-a woman who has recently gone back to work and is now facing down the barrel of imminent unemployment again with the hospitality shutdown which is prob coming here: “I was so buzzing to get back to work. I can’t believe it’s back. Don’t know what I’ll do.”

A local bar owner who has popped in for a coffee: “up to now we’ve just about been making enough money on Saturday to survive and make it through the rest of the week. Depends what the government does. But we’re on the edge.”

And the cafe owner, been here 19 years: “things had been a bit better but this week trade has fallen off a cliff. I came in yesterday and the day before and I just closed because there was no point. Whatever they announce I’m praying it isn’t for long or they extend furlough.”

This cafe btw is a cracker, when I lived in Newcastle came all the time. If you’re ever in the area (restrictions permitting) @QuayIngredient is where you need to go.

Charles Walker, Vice Chair of the 1922 Tory backbench committee in the Commons tells TWTW that he thinks the government knew it intended to “cancel” Christmas on Wednesday or Thursday but waited for Parliament to rise to do it. Says many of his colleagues find this “egregious.”

When put to Walker that Matt Hancock said this morning that wasn’t the case, it was the briefing on Friday which prompted the decision, Walker says: “Hmm yeah...well I’d have to disagree with the SoS on that.” So he’s either saying Hancock isn’t being truthful or is misinformed.

Walker: “Surely at some stage a senior government minister has say I’ve offered my resignation to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister has to say- very early I’ve had to accept this.”

Reminder- Charles Walker is Vice Chair of the Tory backbench committee.

Walker heavily implies it’s Matt Hancock he wants to see resign: “I’m not asking for the government to collapse. I’m asking for a Secretary of State to take some responsibility.”

The Charles Walker interview is extraordinary in what he is inferring. A senior Conservative MP is essentially accusing his govt and ministers of deceit about what they knew about the new strain and when and by implication the timing of the new lockdown.

Thread 4: Donald Trump Did Not Invent Trumpism

It was Fox. Fox created a Maga Nation (without that name) and promised their maga god Messiah would come some day. In 2015 when Trump came down that escallator, FOX proclaimed Trump as their dude

Trump didn't even know the lyrics

Fox News was born after Reagan ended the Fairness Doctrine in TV news broadcasts.

Fox was set up from the start to be a PROPAGANDA channel. To give PARTIAL and BIASED news. Not the full picture. They brainwashed 1/3 of American electorate over 3 decades

#FixFox

Long before Trump decided to run, Fox had been building a voter base for an ultra-conservative (and racist) candidate. Who would 'defend America in a war against Christmas' and who would 'build a wall' to keep brown people away etc. A cult of white men who feared a changing world

Trump was FLIRTING with this, what we know recognize as the Maga cult (#Cult45). He started his courtship with the Birtherism lies about Obama being born in Kenya - & Trump the fake Billionaire supposedly sent investigators to search Obama's birth certificate - remember all that?

The racist and RELIGIOUS nutters of the Maga cult were not naturally drawn to Trump. Many hated and feared Trump or despised him. But Trump was 'taught the lyrics' of how to speak to the Maga cult. The person who taught Trump to speak Maga was Stephen Miller from late 2015

CCP EXPERT:WE CAN'T FIX TRUMP VIA WALL STREET,BUT WITH BIDEN...FOR THE PAST 30-40 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN UTILIZING THE CORE POWER OF THE USA...THERE ARE A LOT OF DEALS.

"We know that the Trump administration is in a trade war with us,so why can't we fix the Trump administration? 1/

Why did China and the U.S. use to be able to settle all kinds of issues between 1992 and 2016? [...] What is the reason? I'm going to throw out something maybe a little bit explosive here. It's just because we have people at the top. We have our old friends who are at the top 2/

of America's core inner circle of power & influence...to put it bluntly, for the past 30 years, 40 years, we have been utilizing the core power of the United States.

[...] since the 1970s, Wall Street had a very strong influence on the domestic and foreign affairs of the 3/

United States. So we had a channel to rely on. But the problem is that after 2008, the status of Wall Street has declined, and more importantly, after 2016, Wall Street can’t fix Trump. It's very awkward. Why? Trump had a previous soft default issue with Wall Street, so 4/

there was a conflict between them, but I won't go into details, I may not have enough time.

So during the US-China trade war, they (Wall Street) tried to help, and I know that my friends on the US side told me that they tried to help, but they couldn't do much. 5/

The clearest lens through which I view the 1776 Report, Trump's apologia in response to the 1619 Project, is the same lens for viewing our overall political divisions: one of competing theories of American Exceptionalism:

Is America exceptional? How? Why? 1/x

The 1776 Report postulates that America is _inherently_ exceptional. We don't have to do anything in particular to be exceptional, and we remain exceptional no matter what we've done. It's deeply interwoven with white Christianity: a faith in inevitability of God's plan. 2/x

This religious inevitability of exceptionalism sharpens a lot about the Trump phenomenon, probably often confused for white supremacy, when it's really religious conviction. America simply can't lose, and they're defending America against critics, naysayers, and threats. 3/x

Trump's loss has caused complete disorientation. They view their faith as being challenged. They rise up in fulfillment of prophecy. They exegete the Constitution as sacred text for God's plan to keep Trump in office. They become apocalyptic at the end times. 4/x

But if the Constitution is their Old Testament, the 1776 Report is their gospel. It's important to distill the kernel of their faith: America is, always has been, and always will be inherently exceptional. That's what underlies the right's patriotic correctness. 5/x

Oh huh. Trump's defense isn't going to address the impeachment case (and seems to ignore his demands of Mike Pence again).

Michael Van der Veen pretending that 61 losses is normal.

And, again, note that he didn't address Trump's unconstitutional request of Mike Pence.

Van der Veen lies about who asked for recounts in 2016.

And lies about Hillary's claims about Russia.

Trump's video is made in the style of propaganda, taken out of context.

Van der Veen now trying to make much of tweets Trump didn't send until hours too late.