The latest on the 2020 election

President Trump took the stage in Sanford, Florida, tonight for his first rally since testing positive for coronavirus.

Trump tossed packaged face masks into the crowd as he walked to the podium. Trump was not wearing a mask. Most of the supporters directly behind him were wearing masks but most attendees at the venue were not wearing masks.

“Hello everybody, hello Orlando, hello Sanford… it’s great to be back," Trump said.

“It’s a lot of people," he said of the crowd, criticizing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's rally size.

Earlier today, White House physician Sean Conley said Trump has tested negative for Covid-19 on consecutive days.

The White House still has not revealed the last time Trump tested negative prior to his positive diagnosis, offering varying justifications for withholding that information.

Trump is "not infectious to others," Conley added.

The doctor's assessment came moments after the President was seen boarding Air Force One without a mask on his way to the rally.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has officially scheduled a business meeting for Thursday to consider the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court.

With Sens. Thom Tillis, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz all set to attend proceedings in-person, the GOP will have a quorum to hold the meeting.

At the Thursday meeting, Democrats will use their power under the committee rules to delay the vote for a week — until Oct. 22.

In other words, everything is on track for the GOP to get Barrett confirmed by month’s end. 

Tillis’ campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo confirmed the senator will attend the proceedings in-person. After testing positive for coronavirus, Tillis spoke remotely Monday as proceedings got underway. His office has not yet said if Tillis has tested negative.

Democrats criticized Graham’s move.

Ranking member Dianne Feinstein called it "unprecedented" in her time on the committee that a vote on the nomination has been scheduled before the hearing has concluded.

White House physician Dr. Sean Conley has released a new memorandum Monday evening regarding President Trump’s recent coronavirus test, saying the President has tested negative on "consecutive days."

“In response to your inquiry regarding the President’s most recent COVID-19 tests, I can share with you that he has tested NEGATIVE, on consecutive days, using the Abbott BinaxNOW antigen card,” Conley wrote, noting that those tests were taken “in context with additional clinical and laboratory data.”

His memo comes moments after the President was seen boarding Air Force One without a mask on his way to Sanford, Florida, where he will rally a large group of supporters, many of whom are not wearing masks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, blasted the Trump campaign for using his words in a campaign advertisement touting the President’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, calling it "really unfortunate and really disappointing."

"I think it's really unfortunate and really disappointing that they did that," Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper this afternoon. "It's so clear I am not a political person and I have never either directly or indirectly endorsed a political candidate and to take a completely out of context statement and put it in what is obviously a political campaign ad I thought was very disappointing."

When asked if the Trump campaign should take down the ad, Fauci said, "I think so."

He also said that if the Trump campaign were to feature him in another ad, it would be "outrageous" and warned it could backfire. 

"That would be terrible," said Fauci, when asked about being featured in a second campaign spot. "I mean, that would be outrageous if they did that, in fact that might actually come back to backfire on them."

"I hope they don't do that because that would be kind of playing a game that we don't want to play," he said.

The Trump campaign released the new ad last week after Trump was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following treatment for Covid-19.

The 30-second ad, which is airing in Michigan, touts Trump's personal experience with the virus and uses a quote from Fauci in an attempt to make it appear as if he is praising Trump's response.

"President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America," the ad's narrator says. "Together we rose to meet the challenge, protecting our seniors, getting them life-saving drugs in record time, sparing no expense."

The ad then flashes to an interview with Fauci in which he says, "I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more."

Watch here:

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday, that “the President is what would be well within the 10-day timeframe of being non-transmissible.”  

Yet he might consider wearing a mask out of caution. 

Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, was responding to a question about the statement made by President Trump’s physician that the President was no longer considered a transmission risk after his bout with Covid-19. 

Trump and Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, also recently infected with coronavirus, have been conducting official government business in the last few days, to the concern of many. 

Fauci said that people who’ve very recently been infected, such as Trump and Lee, should probably wear a mask, out of an abundance of caution. 

“As the better part of caution, I think that that would be appropriate to do that. I mean, I certainly think from a practical standpoint, I probably would do that myself just to be extra careful,” Fauci said.

He also said the President or Lee could also get a test to determine the level of viral remnants.  

That, Fauci said, “would probably get people to be feeling much more comfortable about the lack of transmissibility. And they very well may do that to just go that extra step to show that an individual, whoever that might be — the President or anybody else, a senator or anybody — to just go that extra step in addition to the 10-day period to show that the virus itself is not present in a form that would be transmissible.” 

As for whether the President is immune, Fauci told Tapper, probably yes — but it’s unclear for how long. 

He noted there have been well-documented cases of people getting reinfected with coronavirus a second time.  

“So you really have to be careful that you're not completely quote ‘immune,’” Fauci said. 

Watch here:

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said in the context of public health, having political rallies “is asking for trouble.” 

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday, Fauci said, “We've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings, where there are a lot of people without masks.” 

“The data speak for themselves,” he said. 

All regions are seeing cases on the rise, he said. “So if there's anything we should be doing, we should be doubling down in implementing the public health measures that we've been talking about for so long," Fauci said.

“We're entering into the cool months of the fall and ultimately the cold months of the winter, and that's just a recipe of a real problem, if we don't get things under control before we get into that seasonal challenge,” he said.  

Watch here:

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s economic message drove his remarks in Toledo, Ohio, Monday afternoon — his first of two stops in a state that President Trump won and the Biden campaign is recently investing in more as it considers it a potential “win back” state on its path to 270 electoral votes.

Speaking at a United Auto Workers hall at a drive-in rally, Biden continued to chip away at the class divide as he painted the campaign against Trump as “Scranton versus Park Avenue.” 

Biden commented on the Supreme Court hearing of Amy Coney Barrett, saying that it was purely about President Trump’s desire to “wipe out the Affordable Care Act.” 

Biden also slammed the President’s campaign for misrepresenting Dr. Anthony Fauci in a campaign ad. “Point I’m trying to make is it’s a knowing lie like everything we’re being told about Covid consequences,” he said.

Biden reiterated his criticism of the President’s handling of Covid-19 – both personal and presidential. “He told Woodward he didn’t want to panic the American people. That’s why he said nothing. We don’t panic! America doesn’t panic!” Biden said. “But Trump panicked. His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable. The longer Donald Trump is president the more reckless he seems to get.”

At the drive-in style rally, Biden notably received loud honks when he praised unions and promised to support them if elected. He touted his record working on the Recovery Act, making it local to the Ohioans.

With only 22 days until Election Day and early voting underway, Poll Defenders, a group of students working to secure on-campus polling sites, drop boxes and satellite offices across the country, is announcing three new on-campus polling sites at New York University, University California (UC), Berkeley and Wake Forest University.

Poll Defenders is part of a joint initiative between MTV and the Alliance for Youth Organizing, and, according to organizers, the polling resources will reach more than 335,000 students across the country up until and on Election Day.

The participating students, known as Poll Defenders, have confirmed a total of 22 polling sites to support students and their communities in 10 states including locations at Florida State University, University of Michigan, University of Texas Austin, Georgia Tech, Columbia University & Barnard College, University of Nevada Reno, James Madison University, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Alabama A&M University and more.

The sites are a result of the work of a number of student leaders including Izzy McMahon, a college senior, who helped solidify the one stop early voting site on-campus at Wake Forest. Earlier this fall, McMahon worked on voter registration efforts including creating a QR code to help students check their registration.

“These incredible students have been working tirelessly in recent months to ensure that 22 on-campus polling places will be open this election season, allowing students across the country to cast their ballots early and on Election Day without leaving their campuses," Vaughan Bagley, senior manager of Social Impact at ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Brands, told CNN. 

"MTV and our +1 the Polls partners are committed to continuing to support these Poll Defenders as we work to eliminate barriers and improve access to voting," she said.

Vice President Mike Pence was interrupted by protesters today while giving a campaign stump speech in Columbus, Ohio.

There were a couple of interruptions by anti-Trump/Pence demonstrators early in the speech, and Pence stopped briefly while security intervened.

When the protesters were removed, Pence said, "Boy is it good to be back in the heartland. I tell you what, I come from a place with strong hearts and opinion ... This is a country that loves the proud heritage, past, present and future of the good old USA."  

At least one set of demonstrators were quiet and held signs saying "5K jobs lost in Lordstown."

Pence's speech touched on his support for law enforcement, the administration's coronavirus response, and tax cuts, among other topics.

On Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's Supreme Court pick, Pence said, "Now the Senate started their confirmation hearings this morning. All the senators were doing their opening remarks. Questioning will probably start tomorrow. The president said Democrats on the Judiciary Committee need to give Judge Barrett respectful and dignified hearing this time. But we have reason to be concerned.”