Uniquely Nelson

Protesters in Kyrgyzstan calling for the country's parliamentary election to be annulled have broken into parliament in the capital, Bishkek. People protest against the results of a parliamentary vote in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Photo: AFP Footage showed people in the office of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, and throwing paper from windows. Parts of the building appeared to be on fire. The break-in follows a day of clashes with police, who initially dispersed crowds with water cannon and tear gas. The clashes come amid allegations of vote-rigging in last Sunday's election. Following the vote, only four parties out of 16 passed the 7 percent threshold for entry into parliament, three of which have close ties to President Jeenbekov. On Monday, police used stun grenades to disperse thousands of protesters in Ala-Too square, before following them into nearby streets. But demonstrators later flooded back into the central square, before storming the parliament building, known as the White House. Video footage shared on social media showed opposition protesters gaining access to the complex, some by climbing fences and others by pushing open the main gates. Later, smoke could be seen billowing out of the building. Demonstrators said they would remain in Ala-Too square until they could meet with political leaders. About 120 people have reportedly been injured, half of whom were law enforcement. Several people are in serious condition, but there have been no deaths, the health ministry said in a statement. Protesters also released Kyrgyzstan's former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was being held in a remand centre at the State National Security Service awaiting a trial for corruption offences, the local AKIpress news agency reported. People protest against the results of a parliamentary vote in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Photo: AFP Groups close to the president have been accused of vote-buying and voter intimidation - claims international monitors say are "credible" and a cause for "serious concern". On Monday, 12 opposition parties jointly declared that they would not recognise the results of the vote. Later, President Jeenbekov's office said that he would on Tuesday meet leaders from all 16 parties that competed in the election, in a bid to defuse tensions. Opposition candidates also called on the Central Electoral Commission to cancel the results of the election. One candidate, Ryskeldi Mombekov, told a crowd of more than 5000 protesters on Monday: "The president promised to oversee honest elections. He didn't keep his word." Mombekov's party, Ata Meken, had been confident of entering parliament, but in the end it was one of the eight parties that missed the threshold. Ata Meken leader Janar Akaev suffered a leg injury in the protests on Monday. Protesters were also calling on President Jeenbekov to resign. Thomas Boserup, head of the election observation mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said in a briefing that although the vote had been "generally well organised", allegations of vote buying were a "serious concern". The two leading parties, which got a quarter of the vote each, were Birimdik and Mekenim Kyrgyzstan. President Jeenbekov's younger brother, Asylbek Jeenbekov, is a member of Birimdik. Mekenim Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, is seen as being closely connected to the powerful Matraimov family. The family's figurehead, Rayimbek Matraimov, was the target of anti-corruption protests last year and is believed to have helped finance Jeenbekov's successful presidential campaign in 2017. Late on Monday, Birimdik announced that it would be open to a re-run of Sunday's election, and called on other parties that had crossed the 7 percent threshold to do the same. - BBC

US President Donald Trump has left hospital to continue treatment for Covid-19 at the White House. US president Donald Trump leaving Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland. Photo: AFP Wearing a face mask, he walked from the hospital to a motorcade which took him to Marine One. After the short flight to the White House, he removed his mask and posed for photos, saluting and giving a thumbs up. Trump was admitted to the Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland on Friday after testing positive for the coronavirus. In a tweet some hours before his departure he said he was feeling "really good" and he urged people not to be afraid of the virus, nor to let it dominate their lives. His announcement came just before a briefing from his doctors, in which White House physician Dr. Sean P. Conley said the president had continued to improve, and had met or exceeded standard discharge criteria. "Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations and most importantly his clinical status support the president's safe return home, where he'll be surrounded by world class medical care 24/7." On arrival from hospital Trump walked up the staircase of the White House South Portico, removed his mask and posed for pictures, at times giving a thumbs-up and others a salute. Photo: AFP He would have a fourth dose of the intravenous antiviral drug, remdesivir, at the hospital and the final dose at the White House, the doctors said. Conley would not say when Trump received his last negative virus test. The normal quarantine period for anyone testing positive for the novel coronavirus is 14 days. Trump frequently downplayed the threat of the pandemic which has now infected 7.4 million Americans and killed more than 209,000. In recent days, he released a series of videos to reassure the public he is recovering from the disease caused by the virus. The coronavirus outbreak around Trump has widened with White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying she had tested positive for the virus. In a statement posted on Twitter, McEnany said she was not experiencing any symptoms and would begin quarantining. "Moreover, I definitively had no knowledge of Hope Hicks' diagnosis prior to holding a White House press briefing on Thursday," McEnany said referring to President Donald Trump's adviser whose positive test results were revealed last Thursday, hours before Trump announced he and his wife also had contracted the coronavirus. Kayleigh McEnany says she will begin quarantining after testing positive for Covid-19. Photo: AFP McEnany, a well-known figure at the forefront of the White House's often combative dealings with the media, held a briefing for reporters on Thursday in which she did not wear a face mask. Two others in the White House press office have also tested positive, a source confirmed to Reuters. McEnany said the White House medical unit does not list any members of the press as close contacts. Doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, have been treating Trump, 74, with a steroid, dexmethasone, that is normally used only in the most severe cases. Trump was running a high fever on Friday and had been given supplemental oxygen after his blood oxygen levels dropped, Dr Conley said on Sunday. In the latest briefing he said oxygen levels were normal and it had been 72 hours since the president's last fever. White House physician Dr Sean Conley, centre, arrives for the media briefing before Donald Trump leaves hospital. Photo: AFP White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has defended the decision to allow Trump to leave his suite briefly on Sunday to take part in a drive by to greet supporters outside the hospital. Critics said the action put Trump's security officers at risk. Biden says he will debate Trump if experts say it is safe The Trump campaign said the president intends to participate in the next presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, scheduled for 15 October in Miami. Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden says he is willing to participate in the scheduled debate as long as health experts say it would be safe. Trump's illness has raised questions about the safety of holding the debates ahead of the 3 November election. "If the scientists say that it's safe and the distances are safe, then I think that's fine. I'll do whatever the experts say is the appropriate thing to do," Biden, who tested negative for Covid-19 over the weekend, told reporters in Delaware before heading to Florida on a campaign trip. A debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Biden's running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, is still scheduled on Wednesday. They have both tested negative for Covid-19. - Reuters / RNZ

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she has tested positive for Covid-19 and will begin quarantining Kayleigh McEnany says she will begin quarantining after testing positive for Covid-19. Photo: AFP In a statement posted on Twitter, McEnany said she is not experiencing any symptoms. "Moreover, I definitively had no knowledge of Hope Hicks' diagnosis prior to holding a White House press briefing on Thursday," McEnany said referring to President Donald Trump's adviser whose positive test results were revealed last Thursday, hours before Trump announced he and his wife also had contracted the coronavirus. Trump is being treated for Covid-19 at a military hospital outside Washington with the severity of his illness still unclear as his medical team weighs whether he can leave the hospital. Even if discharged, Trump will need to continue treatment as he is still undergoing a five-day course of an intravenous antiviral drug, remdesivir. The normal quarantine period for anyone testing positive for the novel coronavirus is 14 days. McEnany said the White House medical unit does not list any members of the press as close contacts. Another White House communications staffer, Karoline Leavitt, has tested positive for Covid-19, a Bloomberg reporter has tweeted. Donald Trump waves from the back of a car in a motorcade outside of Walter Reed Medical Center, Maryland, on a brief outing to drive by supporters. Photo: AFP Doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, are treating Trump, 74, with a steroid, dexmethasone, that is normally used only in the most severe cases. Trump was running a high fever on Friday and had been given supplemental oxygen after his blood oxygen levels dropped, Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, said on Sunday. But the Republican president's medical team, which has painted a rosy picture of his condition, will weigh whether he can leave the hospital later on Monday, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News, adding that he was optimistic Trump would be discharged. Meadows also defended the decision to allow Trump to leave his suite briefly on Sunday to take part in a drive by to greet supporters outside the hospital. Critics said the action put Trump's security officers at risk. Even if discharged, Trump will need to continue treatment as he is still undergoing a five-day course of an intravenous antiviral drug, remdesivir. The normal quarantine period for anyone testing positive for the novel coronavirus is 14 days. Trump frequently downplayed the threat of the pandemic which has now infected 7.4 million Americans and killed more than 209,000. In recent days, he released a series of videos to reassure the public he is recovering from the disease caused by the virus. Biden says he will debate Trump if experts say it is safe Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden says he is willing to participate in next week's scheduled debate with President Donald Trump as long as health experts say it would be safe. Trump's illness has raised questions about the safety of holding the debates ahead of the 3 November election. The second face-to-face encounter for Biden and Trump, who had their first debate last week, is scheduled for 15 October in Miami, Florida. "If the scientists say that it's safe and the distances are safe, then I think that's fine. I'll do whatever the experts say is the appropriate thing to do," Biden, who tested negative for Covid-19 over the weekend, told reporters in Delaware before heading to Florida on a campaign trip. A debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Biden's running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, is still scheduled on Wednesday. They have both tested negative for Covid-19. - Reuters

The Cook Islands prime minister says he expects quarantine-free travel with New Zealand to be in place by December. Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown Photo: Phillipa Webb / Cook Islands News Mark Brown, who became prime minister late last week after Henry Puna stood down, said his country had confirmed formal arrangements for a travel bubble with New Zealand. He said there were still a few finer technical points to iron out, and that officials still had to assess the protocols the Cook Islands had put in place. Brown said that once New Zealand had gone 28 days without community transmission of Covid-19, the two countries would be in a position to initiate quarantine-free travel. He told the Cook Islands News that he expected the arrangement to begin with a trickle of tourists, but that as the Christmas period ensued, the demand to travel to Cook Islands would be "tremendous". The New Zealand government was yet to comment. However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reportedly discussed a possible bubble arrangement with Brown when she called him last week to congratulate him on becoming her Cook Islands counterpart. Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari/ 123RF In July, talks towards creating an Auckland-to-Rarotonga travel bubble were well advanced, with officials from New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to travel to the Cook Islands to make final checks. However the emergence of a Covid-19 cluster in Auckland in early August meant the travel bubble concept was put on ice.

A technical glitch that meant nearly 16,000 cases of coronavirus went unreported has delayed efforts to trace contacts of people who tested positive in the United Kingdom. Women wear masks to protect themselves from Covid-19 in Liverpool. Photo: AFP Public Health England said 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were left out of the UK daily case figures. They were then added to Saturday's figure of 12,872 new cases and Sunday's 22,961 figure. PHE said all those who tested positive had been informed. But it means others in close contact with them were not. The issue has been resolved, PHE said, with outstanding cases passed on to tracers by Saturday. The technical issue also means that daily totals reported on the government's coronavirus dashboard over the last week have been lower than the true number. The BBC's health editor Hugh Pym said daily figures for the end of the week were "actually nearer 11,000", rather than the around 7000 reported. Labour has described the glitch as "shambolic". A security guard checks people's temperatures before they enter a bar in Liverpool. Photo: AFP Meanwhile, the head of the government's vaccine taskforce, Kate Bingham, has told the Financial Times that less than half of the UK population could be vaccinated against coronavirus. "There is going to be no vaccination of people under 18," she said. "It's an adult-only vaccine for people over 50, focusing on health workers, care home workers and the vulnerable." PM warns of 'bumpy' ride Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned it could be "bumpy through to Christmas" and beyond as the UK deals with coronavirus. Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Johnson said there was "hope" of beating Covid, and called on the public to "act fearlessly but with common sense". On Sunday, the government's coronavirus dashboard said that there had been a further 22,961 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 502,978. Another 33 people were reported to have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Sunday. Public Health England's interim chief executive Michael Brodie said a "technical issue" was identified overnight on 2 October in the process that transfers Covid-19 positive lab results into reporting dashboards. It was caused by some data files reporting positive test results exceeding the maximum file size. "After rapid investigation, we have identified that 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were not included in the reported daily Covid-19 cases. The majority of these cases occurred in the most recent days," he said. "Every one of these cases received their Covid-19 test result as normal and all those who tested positive were advised to self-isolate." He said they worked with NHS Test and Trace to "quickly resolve the issue and transferred all outstanding cases immediately into the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system". Therese Coffey Photo: AFP "We fully understand the concern this may cause and further robust measures have been put in place as a result," he said. Work and Pensions secretary Therese Coffey told BBC Breakfast PHE had identified and rectified the glitch and would ensure it did not happen again. But she was unable to say if contacts of those who had tested positive had been traced and told to self-isolate where appropriate. Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "This is shambolic and people across the country will be understandably alarmed. "[Health Secretary] Matt Hancock should come to the House of Commons on Monday to explain what on earth has happened, what impact it has had on our ability to contain this virus, and what he plans to do to fix test and trace." Bridget Phillipson, shadow chief secretary to the treasury, told BBC Breakfast she wanted to know whether it had had "any impact on government decision making around local restrictions". - BBC

US President Trump has been driven past supporters and media outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he is being treated for the coronavirus. Trump drives by the press and supporters outside Walter Reed hospital. pic.twitter.com/3phtKthqTH — Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) October 4, 2020 The drive-past came shortly after he released a video saying he had a "surprise" for people outside the facility and that he had "learned a lot about Covid". pic.twitter.com/0Bm9W2u1x7 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020 "I learned it by really going to school, this is the real school, this isn't the lets read the book school. And I get it, and I understand it, and it's a very interesting thing and I'm going to be letting you know about it," he said in the video. Earlier, doctors leading his treatment said Trump had oxygen level drops on Friday and Saturday but is doing well and could return to the White House in the next day. Doctors provided Trump supplemental oxygen twice during his battle with the lung disease, on Thursday and Friday, and have also given him dexamethasone, they told reporters the day after a series of contradictory messages from the White House caused widespread confusion about Trump's condition. Dexamethasone is shown in studies to improve survival for patients hospitalized with critical Covid-19 who need extra oxygen. But it should not be given in mild cases since it can limit the body's own ability to combat the virus, according to guidelines from the Infectious Disease Society of America. "The fact of the matter is that he's doing really well," Dr. Sean P. Conley told reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Trump has been receiving treatment since Friday. Doctors said Trump has not run a fever since Friday and that his liver and kidney function remained normal after the second dose in a five-day course of Remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral drug sold by Gilead Sciences Inc that has been shown to shorten hospital stays. Dr Brian Garibaldi said Trump was given dexamethasone in response to "transient low oxygen levels." "He received his first dose of that yesterday and our plan is to continue that for the time being," Garibaldi said. Trump is also being given an experimental treatment, Regeneron's REGN-COV2, as well as zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and aspirin, his doctors have said. - RNZ / Reuters

Voters in New Caledonia have rejected independence from France for a second time in two years. Ballot box used for New Caledonia's independence referendum Photo: RNZ Walter Zweifel Just over 53 percent of the electorate opted for the status quo in the second of three possible referendums under the Noumea Accord. 180,000 voters, who are on a roll restricted to indigenous Kanaks and long-term residents, were allowed to decide whether the territory should assume full sovereignty. The results showed a sharp divide between the two camps, with some communes voting with more than 90 percent either for or against independence. Turnout was above 85 percent, exceeding the 81 percent in the first referendum in 2018 when just over 56 percent voted for the status quo. There were reports of voter intimidation at several polling stations. The pro-independence Caledonian Union issued a statement calling on the public to accept the verdict. In a first reaction, a senior FLNKS member Roch Wamytan said he would want to go to a third referendum in the quest of the indigenous people to regain control of their country. French President Emmanuel Macron said that as head of state, he saluted this show of confidence in the Republic with a profound feeling of gratitude.

President Donald Trump's condition is improving as he is being treated for Covid-19 at a military hospital, and he could return to the White House as early as Monday, where his treatment would continue, the doctors leading his treatment said. White House physician Sean Conley answers questions, surrounded by other doctors, during an update on the condition of Donald Trump Photo: AFP Doctors provided Trump supplemental oxygen twice during his battle with the lung disease, on Thursday and Friday, and have also given him dexamethasone, they told reporters the day after a series of contradictory messages from the White House caused widespread confusion about Trump's condition. Dexamethasone is shown in studies to improve survival for patients hospitalized with critical Covid-19 who need extra oxygen. But it should not be given in mild cases since it can limit the body's own ability to combat the virus, according to guidelines from the Infectious Disease Society of America. "The fact of the matter is that he's doing really well," Dr. Sean P. Conley told reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Trump has been receiving treatment since Friday. Doctors said Trump has not run a fever since Friday and that his liver and kidney function remained normal after the second dose in a five-day course of Remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral drug sold by Gilead Sciences Inc that has been shown to shorten hospital stays. Dr Brian Garibaldi said Trump was given dexamethasone in response to "transient low oxygen levels." "He received his first dose of that yesterday and our plan is to continue that for the time being," Garibaldi said. Trump is also being given an experimental treatment, Regeneron's REGN-COV2, as well as zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and aspirin, his doctors have said. President Trump said in a video on Saturday the "real test" of his condition will come over the next few days. Photo: EyePress via AFP Trump released a four-minute video on Saturday in which he said the "real test" of his condition will come over the next few days. "Over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days," Trump said into the camera, looking tired and wearing a jacket and open-necked shirt. Trump's illness has upended the campaign ahead of the November presidential election and cast a spotlight on the president's handling of the pandemic. The Republican president is trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Sunday found that Biden had opened a 10 point lead over Trump nationally, slightly wider than it has been for the past two months. Some 65% of Americans said Trump likely would not have been infected had he taken the virus more seriously -- a view that half of registered Republicans polled supported. Some 55% said they did not believe Trump had been telling the truth about the virus. Trump has repeatedly played down the threat of the pandemic, even as it has killed more than 208,000 Americans and hammered the U.S. economy. 'Upbeat attitude of the team' Differing assessments of Trump's health from administration officials on Saturday left it unclear how ill the president had become since he tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday night. A White House team of doctors said on Saturday morning Trump's condition was improving and that he was already talking about returning to the White House. Within minutes, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gave reporters a less rosy assessment, saying, "The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery." Meadows, whose initial comments were delivered on condition that he not be identified, altered his tone hours later, telling Reuters that Trump was doing "very well" and that "doctors are very pleased with his vital signs." In an interview with Fox News broadcast Saturday night, Meadows revealed that Trump's condition on Friday was far worse than officials had made public, saying doctors recommended the president go to the hospital after seeing he had a fever and his blood oxygen level dropped rapidly. Conley commented on the contradictory assessments on Sunday. "I was trying to reflect an upbeat attitude of the team and the president about the course his illness has had," Conley told reporters on Sunday. "I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction and in doing so, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which isn't necessarily true." 'Aggressive' campaign continues Trump's campaign vowed that Vice President Mike Pence, who would assume the presidency if Trump were unable to carry out his duties, would have an "aggressive" campaign schedule this week, as would Trump's three oldest children. "We can't stay in our basement or shut down the economy indefinitely. We have to take it head-on," Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. With Trump off the campaign trail indefinitely, his campaign announced "Operation MAGA," based on his slogan "Make America Great Again," which will see high-profile allies including Pence and Trump's elder sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, take over in-person campaigning this week. Pence, who tested negative on Friday, is scheduled to debate Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Wednesday. Biden, who largely avoided direct criticism of Trump during a campaign trip to Michigan on Friday, took a more aggressive tone on Saturday while speaking to a transit workers' union, even as he wished the president well. "I'm in a little bit of a spot here, because I don't want to be attacking the president and the first lady now," Biden said, adding he hoped Trump and his wife Melania, who also has the illness, make a full recovery. But he quickly turned to Trump's response to the pandemic, calling it "unconscionable" and blasting Trump's comment in an interview this summer that "it is what it is" when asked about the death toll. Biden, who tested negative on Friday, told reporters he would next be tested on Sunday. His campaign will begin releasing the results of each test, a spokesman said. A number of other prominent Republicans have also tested positive for coronavirus since Trump's announcement, including Republican senators Mike Lee, Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson, former White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. - Reuters

In his latest book, BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant says we are not just witnessing America's post-millenial decline, but also the country's disintegration. When America Stopped Being Great is Bryant's latest book and follows on the heels of his 2014 title The Rise and Fall of Australia. Photo: Supplied In it, Bryant argues that while the presidency of Donald Trump is commonly seen as an historical accident, by 2016 it had become almost inevitable. "What the book charts is how we went from Reagan's Morning Again in America to Donald Trump's American carnage and also tragically the mass mourning that we've seen in America as a result of Covid-19," Bryant said. Bryant describes former US President Ronald Reagan as "a godfather of modern day polarisation". "It was Reagan who really brought together the modern day conservative movement, he was the first president for instance to be endorsed by the National Rifle Association,  the NRA, this divorce, rather like Donald Trump, had an unusually close relationship with the evangelical movement. "But he also changed the nature of the presidency, he made it more performative and I think he paved the way for somebody like Donald Trump who was this kind of performative president, who wasn't so interested in the back office as the front office." A former actor, Reagan perceived the presidency as the great role of his lifetime, Bryant said. Bryant said an emphasis on performance in the presidential debates has made it difficult for candidates without charisma or who are not "telegenic". "It's almost as if we've turned them into an audition for the leading role rather than a job interview where we deal with substance." He said debates tend to be judged on who can deliver the Reagan-like one liners and debates have become about entertainment rather than elucidation. Bryant said race is still the angriest faultline in American politics and the key to understanding why the country is so divided. "America has never got over the divisions caused by the original sin of slavery, by the divisions caused by the US Civil War, by the divisions caused by the segregation that followed it and the divisions caused by how segregation came to be dismantled in the mid 1960s." He said race is also the reason that the Republicans became so dominant in presidential politics. "From 1968 to 1992 when Bill Clinton beat George Herbert Walker Bush the Republicans only lost the presidency once to Jimmy Carter in 1976 and that was post Watergate." He said the Republicans have done so well in presidential races by exploiting white concerns about black advance. Journalists have enabled the Trump phenomenon Bryant said there is a "better story bias" amongst campaign reporters. A lot of campaign reporters write the narrative of the campaign that provides "maximum journalistic entertainment value". "Let me give you an example, the year 2000 Al Gore got a terrible press partly because nobody wanted to cover a third term of a Clinton administration, which is essentially what Al Gore would've been, without the most charismatic protagonist Bill Clinton in the White House. The much better story was a Bush restoration, a son following his father into the presidency." He said in 2008 the journalistic community decided the first black American president, Barack Obama, would make a better story than Hillary Clinton as the first female president. "I think in the primary campaign, when they fought each other, Barack Obama did end up getting much better press." He said the same thing happened in 2016 with Donald Trump, who came along at a time when there was a desolate media landscape. "And along comes the ultimate clickbait candidate, the guy that delivers ratings, the guy that everybody wants to watch on TV, the guy that gets people on to cable news. "I think that was a classic case of better story bias, you know Donald Trump's candidacy would have far more journalistic entertainment value and his campaign was far more interesting for journalists, than that of Hillary Clinton." Missing the indicators Bryant said much of his book is about how the media missed the trendlines and saw Donald Trump as an "historical accident" when so many things that were happening in the US culminated in his candidacy. When Trump said "the American dream is dead" millions of Americans agreed with him that the economy would not provide a better life for their children. The Republican Party had become an anti-Obama party, "so it made perfect sense for them to go for the most virulently anti-Obama candidate," Bryant said. And then technology put the powerful political weapons of Twitter and Facebook in the hands of Trump, he said. Bryant argues that every single president from Reagan on has in some way contributed to Trump's rise. He said Obama had two years to make things happen when he had a solid Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. "He was far more effective in advocating for himself than his party," Bryant said. "He was far better at building a kind of Obama machine than a Democratic Party machine and when he left office the Democratic Party was not in a good shape." Bryant said even if Trump is not president next year, Trumpism will not disappear because the things that led to his rise are still there. Many people feel like economic castaways in a global economy that they have never been able to make a living from, he said. Another big problem is race and there is no sign of healing in America. There is such dysfunction on Capitol Hill that it is hard to see how the Democrats and Republicans can forge a consensus. Bryant said a functioning democracy relies on an agreed set of facts which is problematic with the spread of disinformation and failure to agree on even basic facts, Bryant said. The personal Both Bryant and his wife contracted Covid-19 and at the time his wife was heavily pregnant. "Covid became the concluding chapter to the book, that obviously I never wanted to write." He said his wife gave birth to their third child in tumultuous circumstances. Not only was there an economic crisis and a health crisis due to Covid-19, but the US had the greatest racial turbulence it's had since 1968, he said. "And much of that racial turbulence, ironically, was playing out outside of our door, outside of our windows, we live very close to the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge." Their daughter was born on the third night of the New York curfew, although the midwife and her assistant did manage to get through to attend the home birth as essential workers, he said. Bryant said he arrived in the US as a 16-year-old and has always adored the country and felt it had a sense of possibility and ambition. But he said the birth of his daughter is causing him to feel conflicted about the US. "Do I want America to become her long time home?" "I worry about Honor growing up in a country where mass shootings are so common ... I do look at Washington and wonder how politicians are going to heal their differences, I look at race and I think that's an unbridgeable divide. "I just can't see where this country comes together in a really meaningful and lasting way and that's why I worry." Bryant said there is talk of a post-American world, but he worries that we are seeing a post-America America.

The US president says he has experienced "an outpouring of love" from around the world but the next few days will be critical as he battles Covid-19. Donald Trump, speaking from teh Walter Reed Medical Centre, says he could have isolated himself in the White House but it was better to be "out front". Photo: Twitter / screenshot In a four-minute video posted to Twitter today, Donald Trump, sitting in what appears to be an office at the Walter Reed Medical Centre in Maryland, has particularly addressed a message to the American people. Earlier today Trump's doctors spoke to media for the first time and said they were pleased with his progress. However, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also spoke to journalists saying there had been a lot of concern about Trump's health in the last 24 hours. The New York Times also reported that he was given oxygen at the White House to help him breathe. Trump was flown by Marine One to the hospital yesterday after he and his wife, Melania, were diagnosed with the virus the previous day. He said he was thankful for all the support within the US, which he described as a "bipartisan consensus" of American people. "It's a beautiful thing to see, I very much appreciate it and I won't forget it, I promise you that." pic.twitter.com/gvIPuYtTZG — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020 Trump said he had been given the opportunity to isolate himself in the White House but he couldn't do that. "I had to be out front ...This is the United States, ... the most powerful country in the world. I can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say whatever happens, happens. "...As a leader you have to confront problems. There's never been a great leader who would have done that." Donald Trump leaves the White House on Marine One. Photo: AFP Still work to finish, president says Trump said he was not feeling so well when he arrived at the hospital but he felt a lot better now. "We're working hard to get me all the way back. I have to be back because we still have to make America great again. "We've done an awfully good job of that but we still have steps to go and we have to finish that job. "I'll be back. I think I'll be back soon and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we've been doing ....we've been so proud of it." He said coronavirus had affected millions of people worldwide and he was fighting on everyone's behalf. Trump promised the coronavirus would be beaten, in part because of the therapeutics that he was already taking and some that were in the pipeline. "We have things happening that look like miracles coming down from God." He was grateful to the medical professionals at the Walter Reed Medical Centre who were the finest in the world, he said. Trump also thanked leaders from around the world who had passed on their messages of support. He said the First Lady, Melania, was doing well and was handling the virus "very nicely" and she was a "tiny bit" younger than him. Melania is actually 24 years younger than the president. Donald Trump with wife, Melania. (file pic) Photo: Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images / AFP "Melania is handling it statistically like it's supposed to be handled and that makes me very happy and it makes the country very happy. "But I'm also doing well and I think we're going to have a very good result. Again, over the next few days we're going to probably know for sure." He said he would not forget the "incredible outpouring of love" that has been shown from around the world, but most especially from Americans. Enthusiasts show support Supporters of Trump have gathered with placards and flowers outside the Walter Reed National Military Hospital near Washington where the president is being treated for coronavirus. In New York, supporters gathered at a pro-Trump rally on Staten Island. Elsewhere in the country, they took to their boats while in Columbus, Ohio, there was a parade of cars. Supporters outside the hospital in Maryland. Photo: AFP Other Trump loyalists took to the water in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Photo: AFP