POLITICAL WRAP: Debate Over The Next Debate; President Trump Returns to Campaign Trail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It appears next week’s Presidential Town Hall Debate won’t happen, after the Debate Commission decided to make it virtual, without consulting the candidates.

So is President Trump making the right decision to turn down the virtual debate and hit the campaign trail instead?

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more in the video above

The Heat: U.S. vice presidential debate

Compared to last week’s presidential debate filled with interruptions, Wednesday’s encounter between Vice President Mike Pence and the challenger – Senator Kamala Harris – was relatively civil.

Then earlier today, shortly after debate organizers announced the next presidential debate would now be virtual – President Trump said he would no longer participate.

CGTN’s White House correspondent Nathan King has the details.

To discuss:

  • Jadan Horyn is a writer and conservative commentator.
  • Mary C. Curtis is a columnist for “Roll Call’ and host of the “Equal Time” podcast.
  • Joel Rubin is democratic strategist
  • Amy Holmes is a writer for HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and a columnist from the Swiss weekly, “Die Weltwoche.”

Joe Biden, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett with Angela Wright

It is not everyday that one person has a relationship to so many of the day’s main news stories, but Angela Wright has touched history as the woman not called to support Anita Hill when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearings almost 30 years ago. Wright talks to Mary C. Curtis about former Vice President Joe Biden, #MeToo and the inner workings of a contentious Supreme Court battle.

The ‘invisible’ people who pay the price for Trump’s COVID malpractice

Despite the late nights and long hours that took my father away more than this daddy’s girl would have liked, he never stopped being my hero. I knew that when he finished his day job, changed clothes and headed to his extra shifts tending bar or waiting tables for local caterers, he was doing it for a reason. Lots of them, actually —my mom, two sisters, two brothers and me.

For someone as proud as he was, it was a sacrifice because of what he had to put up with from people with a lot more money and a lot less character. They treated him like he was “invisible,” or worse, and he put up with it, for us.

What he did not have to do is endure the recklessness of a boss who willfully and deliberately exposed him to a deadly virus in the name of politics.

But others very much like him do.

Mary C. Curtis: Vice Presidential Debate Preview

CHARLOTTE, NC —  Less than 30 days until election day and Wednesday night vice president Mike Pence and senator Kamala Harris will go face to face in Salt Lake city – in the first and only vice presidential debate.

WCCB Political contributor Mary C. Curtis has a preview of the debate and why it matters.

Mary C. Curtis on coronavirus and the U.S. presidential campaign

CGTN’s Roee Ruttenberg speaks with Mary C. Curtis, host of the podcast ‘Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis’ and Columnist with Roll Call, about the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis on the presidential campaign. 

POLITICAL WRAP: Mixed Messages on President’s Health; Cal Cunningham Text Scandal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Mixed messages this weekend about President Trump’s health, as he remains hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center.

And North Carolina’s Senate race, upended by revelations Democrat Cal Cunningham sent sexually suggestive text messages to a California strategist, who is not his wife.

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more in the video above.

Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup: Phase 3 Reopening, CMS Adjusts Return Plan, CMPD Officers Resign

On the local news roundup, North Carolina moves into Phase 3 of reopening. With the state’s coronavirus metrics stable, Gov. Roy Cooper is easing restrictions to allow bars and other entertainment venues to open with reduced capacity. We find out what that means and check in our COVID-19 numbers.

The first CMS students began returning to the classroom this week, with more on the way. And the school board holds an emergency meeting to adjust their return to school plan for elementary students.

Five CMPD officers connected to the in-custody death of Harold Easter resign ahead of video release.

And county elections boards across the state have begun to process tens of thousands of absentee ballots.

Our roundtable of reporters fills us in on those stories and more.

Guests

Steve Harrison, WFAE’s Political Reporter

Claire Donnelly, WFAE’s health reporter

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com and WCCB-TV

Nick Ochsner, Chief Investigative Reporter at WBTV

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE’s education reporter

Shut up and act? Tell that to Donald Trump

After refusing to weigh in on previous presidential contests, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 race, lending his star power — while looking quite buff after a coronavirus scare — to a video with the Democratic ticket.

Cue the naysayers with the familiar refrain of “who cares” and “stick to acting,” conveniently ignoring the reality show-starring, tabloid-exploiting résumé of the man in the White House. Donald Trump’s Tuesday night debate performance was light on policy, but heavy on drama and fireworks, which is how he and his supporters like it. Though when the president encouraged the far-right Proud Boys to “stand back” and “stand by,” the act became all too real for anyone who cares about the “United” States.

Mary C. Curtis: Takeaways From First Presidential Debate

CHARLOTTE, NC — The first presidential debate is in the books!

President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden took the stage in Cleveland Tuesday night.

WCCB Political contributor Mary C. Curtis discusses the biggest takeaways from the debate.