The RNC opportunity: Taking on Biden’s China record

BY JACK CROWE

August 24, 2020

PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS GIVEN HIMSELF ample opportunity to respond to the attacks leveled at him during last week's Democratic convention. Dispensing with the usual convention playbook, in which the candidate appears only on the final night to formally accept their party's nomination, Trump will address the Republican convention each night at 10 p.m., for a total of four appearances.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who represents the party's emergent populist wing, offered a preview of how Trump might fill all that air time, writing a Monday op-ed for Fox News in which he attacks the Democrats for their ties to large and newly-woke corporations, Silicon Valley tech giants, and China.

With the country still reeling from the economic and public health consequences of a global pandemic that began in Wuhan, the attack on Biden's China record will probably have the greatest impact.

As a senator, Biden fostered closer ties between Washington and Beijing by voting in favor of normalizing permanent trade relations with China. In 2013, as vice president, he fostered closer ties between Beijing and his own family by bringing his son Hunter along on a trip to Beijing to meet with President Xi. After the meeting with Xi, Hunter arranged for a handshake between his father and Jonathan Li, CEO of the Chinese private-equity firm Bhoai Capital, whose board Hunter had joined one month prior.

If Biden has detected that the liberal consensus on trade with China has cost American workers, or that Beijing's effort to co-opt American elites through lucrative business deals has harmed America's interests, he isn't letting it show. While campaigning in Iowa last year, Biden dismissed China as a global competitor entirely, scoffing at the notion that Beijing posed any threat to America's interests whatsoever.

"China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man," he said during an Iowa campaign speech.

"I mean, you know, they're not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They're not competition for us," he added.

And the pandemic doesn't seem to have hardened Biden's stance. He hasn't harped on the CCP's well-documented attempts to cover-up their failure to contain the virus within their borders, and he seems to have pulled back on attacking Trump's bizarre insistence on praising Xi's leadership during the early days of the outbreak.

During his ticket's first public interview on Sunday, just one day before Trump will take to the convention stage, Biden seemed intent on making himself more vulnerable to the charge that his administration will treat Beijing with kid gloves. Asked by ABC's Robin Roberts about his decision to tap Kamala Harris as his running mate, Biden approvingly quoted Mao Zedong, the founder of the Chinese Communist Party.

"As that old expression goes, 'women hold up half the sky,'" Biden said.

The "old expression" was used to propagandize against family formation during "The Great Leap Forward," which resulted in the deaths of some 45 million Chinese people under Mao from 1958-1962.

Hours after ABC released footage of Biden appearing to praise Mao, Trump made a prediction while speaking with Fox News' Steve Hilton: "If Biden is elected, China will own our country."

Biden Vows 'No New Taxes' on Individuals Making Under $400,000, Will Increase Taxes On Business Making 'Excessive' Profit

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has said as president he would raise taxes for anybody making over $400,000 a year, while "no new taxes" would be raised for anyone making under that figure, saying everyone should pay "their fair share."

In a joint interview with running mate Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) on ABC's 20/20 that aired Sunday, Biden said "it's smart to tax businesses that are in fact making excessive amounts of money and paying no taxes," when asked by ABC's David Muir if it "is smart to tax businesses while you're trying to recover?"

Biden's statement comes as polls show that voters favor President Donald Trump when it comes to confidence in the candidates' ability to handle the economy, which is suffering amid the coronavirus pandemic that has left more than 30 million Americans on unemployment benefits.

"It's how we did it last time," Biden said of his plan, in reference to the 2008 recession. He went on to say that under his and then-President Barack Obama's leadership, the country saw economic recovery, "with the largest, the most consecutive number of months of growth in jobs of any time in history. We did it the right way." (ABC)

Kellyanne Conway Leaving White House to Focus on Family

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway announced Sunday that she is leaving the White House at the end of the month, citing a need to focus on her children.

Her husband George Conway also said he will be stepping back from The Lincoln Project.

"I will be transitioning from the White House at the end of this month. George is also making changes," the senior adviser to President Trump said in a statement. "We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids. Our four children are teens and 'tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months. As millions of parents nationwide know, kids "doing school from home" requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times."

"This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama," she said.

Protests Erupt in Wisconsin after Police Shoot Black Man

Violent protests erupted in Kenosha, Wis. Sunday night after local police shot a black man while responding to a domestic violence call, prompting officials in the city to issue a curfew until 7 a.m. Monday.

A video circulating online shows a man walking to a van followed by two police officers with weapons drawn. As the man tries to get into the van, an officer appears to grab him by the shirt and fires several shots at close range into his back.

The man, who has been identified at Jacob Blake, is in serious condition at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as of early Monday morning, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The police department has issued a statement confirming the shooting, which occurred when police responded to a domestic violence call just after 5 p.m. Sunday. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Biden Quotes Mao Zedong to Explain Kamala Harris Pick

Joe Biden used a quote from brutal Chinese dictator Mao Zedong to explain his pick of Kamala Harris as his running mate during the ticket's first public interview Sunday.

When asked by ABC News's Robin Roberts whether he felt "pressure to select a black woman," Biden responded by saying he did not feel pressure, explaining that he did want his government to "look like the people, look like the country."

"51 percent of the people in this country are women," he said. "As that old expression goes, 'women hold up half sky.'" (ABC)

Jeff Flake Joins Two Dozen Former Congressman in 'Republicans for Biden' Effort

Former Republican Senator Jeff Flake is joining more than two dozen fellow former GOP members of Congress in backing a "Republicans for Biden" effort launched Monday by the Biden campaign.

Flake is joined by other Republican critics of Trump, including former senators Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, who became an independent, and John Warner of Virginia, according to the list obtained by Fox News.

The former Arizona senator became a vocal GOP critic of President Trump and his administration before leaving Congress last year. Flake also backed the impeachment effort against Trump and has said he will not vote for Trump in 2020. His support for "Republicans for Biden" is his first formal endorsement of Biden for president. (Fox News)