US election 2020

By Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 11:42 a.m. ET, October 25, 2020

4 Posts

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10:55 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

Trump tries to cast doubt on mail-in ballots after casting his vote in-person in Florida

From CNN's Alison Main

President Donald Trump leaves after casting his ballot at the Palm Beach County Public Library in West Palm Beach, Florida, on October 24. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

After emerging from voting early in-person in Florida, President Trump continued to try to cast doubt on mail-in voting, saying his chosen method was "much more secure."

"It was a very secure vote, much more secure than when you send in a ballot. I can tell you that. Everything was perfect, very strict, right by the rules. When you send in your ballot, it could never be secure like that," the President said.

Voting experts have disagreed with Trump’s ongoing assault against mail-in voting and his questioning of its security and reliability.

Trump, who changed his voter registration to Florida in September last year, told reporters it was an "honor" to be voting in the state, where he held rallies on Friday. Florida is a key battleground in this year’s election, and both campaigns have put a lot of resources into the state.

Some data: A CNN poll on Florida this week showed 50% of likely voters say support Joe Biden while 46% said Trump. The difference between the two is right at the poll's margin of sampling error.

"I don't think there's ever been anything like this, this tremendous spirit. I hear we're doing very well in Florida, and we're doing very well, I hear, every place else," Trump said Saturday after voting in West Palm Beach.

When asked who he voted for, the President said he voted for "a guy named Trump."

Watch:

10:55 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

President Trump has arrived in Florida to cast his early vote

President Trump has arrived at a library in West Palm Beach, Florida, to cast his early vote in this year’s general election.

9:18 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

The top issues that came up during Trump and Biden's last debate

From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf

President Trump disciplined himself for Thursday night's presidential debate and dispensed with the interruptions. And with former Vice President Joe Biden able to talk this time, unlike in the first debate, there was a serious policy discussion.

Here's a breakdown of some of the key issues:

Coronavirus: Trump continued to downplay the severity of the virus and defend his early reaction — restricting travel from China — and promising, despite the facts, that a vaccine will be ready shortly. Biden, pointing to the death toll from the virus, repeatedly held up a mask and said he'd push common-sense advice to states to encourage mask-wearing, social-distancing and restrictions on things like dining in restaurants if there are outbreaks in a state. Trump continues to argue he should be judged for the pre-Covid economy and the pre-Covid reality. He said millions could have died from Covid, as if that absolves him from having to deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands have died on his watch.
Health care: Trump still thinks that Obamacare — the Affordable Care Act — should be invalidated. He has spent years promising a plan to replace it. But there is no plan, as of yet. Biden, on the other hand, wants to one-up the Affordable Care Act by adding the public health care option Democrats were unable to add to Obamacare 10 years ago. There's a fundamental disagreement here about whether a public option equals socialized medicine. Trump says yes and Biden says no.
Policing, justice and racism: Biden called Trump the most racist president. Trump said he's done more for Black Americans than any other president. What's the truth? Trump did sign a sentencing reform bill. But it didn't solve the problem of over-incarceration, no matter what he says. Biden did certainly mastermind the 1994 crime bill that helped create over-incarceration. The difference now is Trump wants to demonize protesters for racial justice and paint himself as the law and order President.
Immigration: Somehow Trump was accusing Biden of inhumanity on immigration, arguing that the Obama administration began the policy of family separation. There's a kernel of truth there, but the Trump administration had institutionalized it before the outcry made them stop. There are still more than 500 kids whose parents can't be found and, in a major moment, Trump said at the debate, "They are so well taken care of."

8:42 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

How Biden and Trump's campaign cash compares in final stretch to Election Day

From CNN's Fredreka Schouten

Former Vice President Joe Biden and aligned Democratic committees maintained a substantial cash advantage of more than $107 million over President Trump and his political operation in the final weeks of the campaign, according to a new round of filings that capture last-minute fundraising and spending.

Here's what the reports show:

Biden is outspending the President in the campaign's homestretch: Biden's campaign alone brought in $130 million during the first two weeks of October and spent more than $145 million. That's a spending rate of more than $10 million a day over the two-week period.
Trump, by comparison, raised nearly $43.6 million between October 1 and October 14 and spent $63.1 million, according to filings Thursday night with the Federal Election Commission.

The President's political operation has struggled to compete financially with Biden in recent months, and Trump has headed to high-dollar fundraising events to shore up his cash position in the waning days of the presidential campaign.

On Thursday — just hours before the pair's final confrontation on the debate stage — Trump made an appearance at a Nashville fundraiser that was expected to bring in $8 million for the campaign. On Friday, Trump campaign officials announced a $26 million haul around the debate for the campaign and affiliated GOP committees, marking the reelection effort's largest digital fundraising day.

The President insists he has enough funds to prevail on Nov. 3 — as he did four years ago, despite being outspent by his then-rival Hillary Clinton.

"We don't need money," Trump said during Thursday night's debate. "We have plenty of money. In fact, we beat Hillary Clinton with a tiny fraction of the money that she was able" to raise.