POLITICAL WRAP: Woodward Interview; Campaign Trail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Fallout continues after President Trump’s comments to Bob Woodward about downplaying the danger of the coronavirus.

But Woodward is facing criticism too, about holding the comments for a date closer to the election.

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more on that in the video above, along with the latest as the campaigns turn their attention to the battleground states.

POLITICAL WRAP: Campaign Strategies Come into Focus

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With the conventions behind us, the campaigns are starting to share their message for the final two months of the Presidential race.

President Trump is spending time on the campaign trail, focusing on battleground states.

Former Vice President Biden is promising to travel after Labor Day.

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more in the video above.

President Trump Prepares For ‘Unconventional’ Republican National Convention in Charlotte Monday

CHARLOTTE – Monday, President Trump is coming to the Queen City.  The President will speak tomorrow at an unconventional RNC.

There will be hundreds of people instead of thousands attending the event because of the pandemic, and also no large-scaled protests.

WCCB Charlotte’s Political Contributor, Mary C. Curtis takes a look at the expectations for the scaled-down RNC for the Republican Party, and for the City of Charlotte.

POLITICAL WRAP: DNC Preview; Mail-In Ballot Concerns

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The virtual Democratic National Convention gets underway on Monday.

So what will the message be?

And how will Democrats keep the excitement up at a virtual event?

And the debate over the post office and mail-in voting.

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more in the video above.

The Heat: Race for the White House

Just three months away from the presidential election in the U.S., what does it look like for the two major candidates?

On November 3, millions of Americans will choose ​to either re-elect President Donald Trump or elevate former Vice-President Joe Biden. For now, the polls suggest a victory for Biden.

Trump has been criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the ​resulting economic downturn and social unrest in the country.

To discuss:

  • Mary C. Curtis is a columnist for the political publication Roll Call
  • Eric Bolling is a political commentator and host of ​the program, ‘America This Week.
  • Aaron Mate is Host of “Pushback with Aaron Maté” on The Grayzone
  • Joel Rubin is a Democratic Party strategist

POLITICAL WRAP: Plans Changing Again for RNC in Charlotte; Stimulus Debate

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – This month’s Republican National Convention in Charlotte will be closed to the press. A convention spokesperson cites social distancing requirements and resulting capacity restrictions.

Not even all the delegates will be able to to cast votes in person.

Another Republican official tells CNN parts of the convention will be live streamed.

That includes the planned formal nomination of President Trump as the party’s candidate for predient.

Our political contributor, Mary C. Curtis, has more on this and the continuing negotiations over the next stimulus package.

Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup: Cooper’s ‘Last Call’ Rule; Has Charlotte Reached COVID Peak?G

On this week’s Charlotte Talks local news roundup …

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that there would be a “last call” order throughout North Carolina beginning on Friday, banning alcohol sales in restaurants after 11 p.m. Charlotte has a similar order already in place, but it’s more restrictive. We’ll give details on that, as well as a general update on Coronavirus — has Charlotte reached its peak?

President Trump announced this week that he will accept the GOP nomination for president in North Carolina, leaving many wondering if he means Charlotte, or somewhere else in the state. We’ll hear reaction from Charlotte officials.

There were talks of a conflict of interest — or the appearance of one — at city council this week. We’ll talk about what transpired regarding COVID-19 Relief Funds, council member Tariq Bokhari and his company Carolina Fintech Hub.

For the first time since World War II, the North Carolina State Fair (which was scheduled for Oct. 15-25 in Raleigh) has been canceled.

We’ll have those stories and much more with our roundtable of local reporters on the local news roundup.

Guests:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com and WCCB 

David Boraks, reporter for WFAE

Joe BrunoWSOC-TV Reporter

Mary C. Curtis: Differences Between Democrat and GOP Stimulus Bills

CHARLOTTE, NC — Lawmakers are debating the next round of coronavirus relief to help struggling Americans.

The senate republicans $1 trillion dollar proposal was released Monday, but how does it differ from what the democrats are seeking.

Here’s our political contributor Mary C. Curtis with a look at the key differences.

POLITICAL WRAP: Unemployment Benefits; Latest on Race for White House

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Millions of jobless Americans are waiting on Congress to decide whether to extend a $600 weekly boost to unemployment benefits.

Republicans are proposing another $1200 stimulus check, while offering unemployment benefits that would replace a laid-off worker’s wages by up to 70 percent.

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more on that and the latest on the race for the White House.

To remember John Lewis, remember the real John Lewis — and his righteous fight

Many Americans, when they remember the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, reflexively turn to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, quoting selective passages about content of character. But my sister Joan, who stood under a shaded tent that day, making signs with freedom slogans for out-of-towners to raise high, had a different answer when I asked for her thoughts. Not to take anything away from King, she told me, “It wasn’t just that speech. It was all the speeches.” And what impressed her teenage self most were the words of a man who was just 23, a few years older than she was.

On that day, John Lewis was already stirring up the “good trouble” he favored when he said: “To those who have said, ‘Be patient and wait,’ we have long said that we cannot be patient. We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now!”

It was a speech that, in an early draft, was a tad fiery for some elders in the movement for equality and justice. Lewis did tone it down — but not enough to lose its urgency.

Some of the tributes to Lewis, who died last week at the age of 80, emphasized his generosity of spirit, evident in his ability to forgive and embrace those who beat him into unconsciousness. But the picture is incomplete without acknowledging the impatience, the fury to make it right, that saw him through more than three dozen arrests, five after he was elected to Congress. Just as those who would have been or probably were in that majority of Americans who considered King a rabble-rouser then and revere him now, many are all too eager to recast Lewis as a secular saint who just wanted everyone to get along.

Of course, they would. It would let them off the hook.