Third-party voters have long faced a backlash from the majority for potentially swinging elections. In 2016, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein took heat from Democrats who claimed they took key votes away from Hillary Clinton.
But for Dr. Jo Jorgensen, the 2020 Libertarian presidential candidate, it’s not about swinging an election, but about drumming up support and recognition for what she says is a “real alternative” option in order to oust big government.
“It doesn’t matter whether they choose a Democrat or a Republican, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are going to take more of our money, make more of our decisions, do nothing about the crushing healthcare costs, and neither one is going to bring the troops home,” Jorgensen told Cheddar.
The first presidential debate is set for Tuesday and with only about 5 percent of national polling support, she isn't expected to take the stage. Guidelines of the Commission on Presidential Debates state a candidate must claim at least 15 percent of polling support in order to participate. But she said the process has been unfair.
“Let me just point out that they haven’t been including me in the polls all along,” she noted. While not prominent in polling, Jorgensen has garnered enough support to appear on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
The candidate called the CPD’s guidelines a ploy to seem inclusive even though third-party candidates often are not awarded the same consideration when it comes to polling exposure.
“By getting into multiple polls, your name recognition goes up and they refused to put me in the polls,” she continued.
But with debate stage hopes likely unattainable at this point for Jorgensen, she is focused on drumming up support for her campaign by focusing on the nation’s most serious issues.
When it comes to coronavirus and mitigating the spread, she stated that she believes Americans should make their own decisions about how they want to protect themselves and others, particularly when it comes to wearing a mask.
“It should be up to the individual and whatever establishment they visit,” she said. “Once again, federal government gives us a one-size-fits-all [guidance] in which half the people are going to be unhappy with. And Libertarians say, ‘You know, it’s much better to vote with your feet or vote with your dollars.'”
Also, this week nearly 900,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the first time as the job market continues to reel from impacts of the pandemic, but Jorgensen said Congress should not be focused on a second stimulus.
“You know, if the money was coming out of Donald Trump’s back pocket, of course, that would be great but, no. It’s coming from us,” she said.
“So why take that money from us and then turn around, take a chunk out for, of course, administrative costs and then give us some of our money back. And some of that money goes to the big corporations, who maybe we don’t want to support anyway.”
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
