哪个摊牌更重要总统竞选目前-总统唐纳德·特朗普对前副总统乔·拜登还是特朗普对安东尼·福奇博士?
哪个对国家的福祉更重要?
特朗普对拜登会有胜利的一天，但那一天不是现在。这在一定程度上是因为白宫选择了不仅对抗福西，还对抗其他顶级科学家和联邦政府努力对抗和减轻COVID-19影响的领导人。
2020年7月11日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普戴着面具参观马里兰州贝塞斯达沃尔特·里德国家军事医疗中心。亚历克斯·埃德尔曼/法新社
这份白宫声明首先提供给华盛顿邮报他说，总统周围的人正在进行一场政治算计:“一些白宫官员担心福西博士在很多事情上犯了错误。”
这些担忧似乎还会流向另一个方向，尤其是在特朗普政府坚持要求学校重新开放，却无法保证学生或教师安全的情况下。
特朗普上周坚称，美国将“在几周内保持良好状态。”冠状病毒检测沙皇布雷特·吉尔洛上将有不同的看法。
“我们确实预计死亡人数会上升，”吉尔洛告诉美国广播公司首席新闻主播乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯“本周”周日。“如果你有更多的病例，更多的住院治疗，我们希望在接下来的两到三周内看到这种情况好转。”
特朗普最终被拍到在公共场合戴面具在周末，特朗普的竞选盟友在推特上标注了“晚安，乔·拜登”和“乔·拜登结束了。”
但是总统目前的斗争更多的是关于科学而不是政治。特朗普的总统任期继续由人们如何度过这一时刻来界定，而不是由他如何描述这场斗争来界定。
破落与玛丽·爱丽丝·帕克斯
前特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒本周末，特朗普发表了一年多来的首次公开声明，为自己对罗杰·斯通的起诉进行辩护。此前，特朗普总统为他的老朋友减刑。现在看来，参议院的共和党人正整装待发，要让穆勒继续成为头条新闻，并为他寻找新的途径来作证和进一步谈论他的工作。
在这张2019年7月24日拍摄的档案照片中，前特别检察官罗伯特·穆勒在DC的国会作证。索尔·勒布/法新社
“俄罗斯的调查至关重要。斯通被起诉和定罪是因为他犯了联邦罪。他仍然是一个被定罪的重罪犯，这是理所当然的，”穆勒写道《华盛顿邮报》周六报道。
陪审团最终判定斯通妨碍国会调查，五项向国会作虚假陈述和篡改证人的罪名成立。因为他的刑期已经减刑，所以他不会去坐牢。但他的信念仍然有效。”
在他的专栏中，米勒调查人员得知斯通在帮助特朗普竞选时与几名俄罗斯情报官员有联系后，再次详细描述了他的案件事实以及他是如何成为司法部调查的“核心人物”的。今年2月，斯通被判入狱40个月，此前他在11月被判妨碍司法公正、篡改证人和向国会撒谎五项罪名成立。
众议院情报委员会主席说:“我认为任何关心这个国家的法治的人都会感到恶心，因为总统已经为那些故意向国会撒谎、为总统掩饰、恐吓证人、阻挠调查的人减刑。”众议员亚当·希夫，周日告诉美国广播公司的乔治斯特凡诺普洛斯。
事实证明，一些共和党领导人似乎对这一消息感到厌恶。
犹他州参议员米特·罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)指责奥巴马总统“史无前例的、历史性的腐败。”
宾夕法尼亚州参议员帕特·图米。，称这一行动是“一个错误”，马里兰州共和党州长拉里·霍根认为此举“肯定会在政治上伤害[特朗普]。”
参议院司法委员会主席林赛·格雷厄姆(Lindsey Graham)本周末明确表示，他正与民主党同僚合作，尽快让穆勒出庭作证。他可能在寻找机会盘问米勒，甚至试图让他难堪，但此举可能会在选举日之前让一切都变得沸沸扬扬。
小费梅格·坎宁安
周二的投票中没有他的名字，但是阿拉巴马州参议院的决选围绕着他特朗普总统。
特朗普的前司法部长杰夫·赛辛斯正在与前奥本足球教练托米·特布维尔争夺他的老位子，这场比赛很快就演变成了一场完全围绕总统的比赛。塞申斯和特朗普以不稳定的条件结束了他们在白宫的关系，尽管塞申斯说他对总统没有意见，但特朗普全心全意地支持图博维尔似乎正在损害塞申斯的竞选，图博维尔在民调和筹款方面领先。
美国前司法部长杰夫·赛辛斯在阿拉巴马州蒙哥马利南部的甜溪餐馆和农贸市场的竞选活动中对记者说。，2020年7月6日，星期一。金·钱德勒/美联社
“这场比赛不是关于杰夫·赛辛斯对托米·图博维尔。这是关于杰夫·赛辛斯对唐纳德·特朗普。”
虽然特布维尔基本上没有参加竞选，但塞申斯对选民的态度很接近:他不怕总统，也不怕华盛顿，而且，作为一个曾在参议院代表阿拉巴马州数十年的人，他熟悉立法的来龙去脉。
还有一件事
美国广播公司首席白宫记者乔纳森·卡尔在辩论中华盛顿邮报评论说，白宫新闻秘书的工作与候选人或政党的发言人有着根本的不同。他写道，作为一名工资由纳税人支付的公务员，他的工作是告知公众:在总统和公众所依赖的记者团之间充当中间人。他写道，否认现实，将白宫讲台用于纯粹的政治目的，是对公众信任的侵犯。
布拉德·米尔克、肯德尔·胡炬雄和亚里沙·维瑟玛回顾了纽约州和佐治亚州在这个初选季节中遇到的麻烦，以此来结束11月的选举日可能是“潜在的噩梦。”
The Note: Trump vs. Fauci eclipses Trump vs. Biden
Which showdown matters more forthe presidential campaignat the moment -- PresidentDonald Trumpvs. former Vice President Joe Biden or Trump vs. Dr. Anthony Fauci?
Which matters more for the well-being of the nation?
Trump vs. Biden will have its day, but that day is not now. That's in part because the White House has chosen to position itself against not just Fauci, but also other top scientists and leaders in the federal government's effort to combat and mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
This White House statement, first provided toThe Washington Post, speaks to a political calculation that is being fed by those around the president: "Several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things."
Those concerns would seem to flow in the other direction as well, particularly as the Trump administration insists on school reopenings without being able to guarantee the safety of students or teachers.
Trump insisted last week that the nation will be "in very good shape in a matter of weeks."Coronavirus testing czarAdm. Brett Giroir has a different take.
"We do expect deaths to go up," Giroir told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on"This Week" Sunday."If you have more cases, more hospitalizations, we do expect to see that over the next two or three weeks before this turns around."
Trump was finally picturedwearing a mask in publicover the weekend -- an occasion Trump campaign allies marked with tweets such as "Goodnight, @JoeBiden" and "Joe Biden is finished."
But thepresident's current fightis about science more than politics. Trump's presidency continues to be defined by how people are living through this moment far more than how he outlines the fight.
The RUNDOWN withMaryAlice Parks
Former Special CounselRobert Muellerreleased his first public statement in over a year this weekend, defending his prosecution of Roger Stone after President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend. Now it seems Republicans in the Senate are gearing up to keep Mueller in the headlines and find new avenues for him to testify and further speak about his work.
"The Russia investigation was of paramount importance. Stone was prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes. He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so,"Mueller wrotein the Washington Post Saturday.
"The jury ultimately convicted Stone of obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress and tampering with a witness. Because his sentence has been commuted, he will not go to prison. But his conviction stands," Mueller added.
In his op-ed,Muelleragain detailed the facts of his cases and how Stone became a "central figure" in the Department of Justice investigation after investigators learned he was in touch with several Russian intelligence officers while also helping the Trump campaign. In February, Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison after he was found guilty in November of obstructing justice, witness tampering and five counts of lying to Congress.
"I think anyone who cares about the rule of law in this country is nauseated by the fact that the president has commuted the sentence of someone who willfully lied to Congress, covered up for the president, intimidated witnesses, obstructed the investigation," Chairman of the House Intelligence CommitteeRep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told ABC's George Stephanopoulos Sunday.
As it turns out, a handful of Republican leaders seemed sickened with the news.
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, accused the president of "unprecedented, historic corruption."
Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pa., called the action "a mistake," and Maryland's Republican Governor Larry Hogan posited the move will "certainly hurt [Trump] politically."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., made clear this weekend he is working with his Democratic counterparts to bring Mueller to testify before them soon. He may be looking for a chance to grill and even try to embarrass Mueller, but the move could keep it all buzzing before Election Day.
The TIP withMeg Cunningham
His name isn't on the ballot on Tuesday, but the Alabama Senate runoff revolves aroundPresident Trump.
Trump'sformer Attorney General Jeff Sessionsis running for his old seat against former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville in what quickly shaped up to be a race entirely about the president. Sessions and Trump ended their White House relationship on shaky terms, and though Sessions says he has no problem with the president, Trump's wholehearted endorsement of Tuberville seems to be damaging Sessions' campaign, with Tuberville leading in the polls and in fundraising.
"This race is not about Jeff Sessions versus Tommy Tuberville. It is about Jeff Sessions versus Donald Trump," Angi Stalnaker, a GOP strategist in the state, told ABC.
While Tuberville is largely absent from the trail, Sessions has a closing pitch to voters: He's not afraid of the president, he's not intimidated by Washington, and, as someone who used to represent Alabama in the Senate for decades, he's familiar with the ins and outs of lawmaking.
ONE MORE THING
ABC News Chief White House CorrespondentJonathan Karlargues in aWashington Postop-ed that that the White House press secretary's job differs fundamentally from that of a spokesperson for a candidate or political party. As a public servant whose salary is paid by taxpayers, he writes, the job is to inform the public: to be an intermediary between the president and a press corps the public relies on for information. Denying reality and using the White House podium for purely political purposes is a violation of public trust, he writes.
And Brad Mielke, Kendall Karson, and Alisa Wiersema take a look at the trouble New York state and Georgia have had during this primary season to conclude that Election Day in Novembercould be a "potential nightmare."
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News' "Start Here" podcast.Monday morning's episode features ABC News'Scott Withers, who checks in from Florida as the state smashes the record for daily COVID-19 cases. ABC News'Katherine Fauldersexplains why President Trump's move to commute the sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone is getting blowback on both sides of the aisle. And, Dr. Paul Goepfert from The University of Alabama at Birmingham tells us what we need to know about a new study on coronavirus antibodies.http://apple.co/2HPocUL
