For the last three days, since South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma began his jail term for contempt of court, the country has been mired in protests with pro-Zuma supporters voicing their displeasure. The demonstrations have centered around KwaZulu-Natal, the home province of the former president where he is incarcerated, with major highways barricaded by burning tires, over 30 trucks set alight and an estimated $7 million in damages. Late last night, the protests spread into South Africa’s economic hub Gauteng and continued today, with at least one confirmed death and another two people reported shot. All major roads in Johannesburg CBD experienced some disruption, with many areas of the city looking like a warzone. Some major roads such as Jules Street in the city saw multiple shops looted, with liquor stores particularly targeted as South Africa continues under a lockdown which includes a strict ban on the sale of alcohol. Dozens of car dealerships were burned to the ground with vehicles inside them.



The country continues under lockdown Level 4 until the 25th of July. FORBES AFRICA is on the ground and will provide updates as the story progresses.

11 July 2021 Zuma Protests Forbes (1 of 1)

South Africa: Protests And Unrest Grow Over Zuma Arrest

South Africa woke up to TV images of its former president Jacob Zuma’s convoy arriving at the Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal where he handed himself over to police to begin serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.



Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been admitted to Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to begin serving his 15-month sentence on contempt of court charges, after handing himself over to police in the early hours of Thursday morning.



Zuma’s compliance and subsequent incarceration follows a tense few days at the former president’s homestead in Nkandla, where Zuma, his allies and supporters, made statements illustrating his intent not to comply with the court order.



Zuma’s attorneys made a last-minute attempt to stay his arrest, arguing that his incarceration was a threat to his life and based on attempts to vilify the former president; “… based purely on vindictiveness and desire to see Zuma punished…” said Zuma’s counsel Dali Mpofu during an urgent High Court hearing on Tuesday.



The Constitutional Court handed down the sentence against Zuma on June 29 in a judgement that has had profound legal and political implications for South Africa. The first custodial sentence ever passed by the court follows Zuma’s refusal to appear at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture earlier in the year. Acting Chief Justice Sisi Khampepe was firm in her pronouncement of the judgement: “I order an unsuspended sentence of imprisonment of 15 months. I do so in the knowledge that this cannot properly capture the damage that Mr Zuma has done to the dignity and integrity of the judicial system of a democratic and constitutional nation. He owes this sentence in respect of violating not only this Court, nor even just the sanctity of the Judiciary, but to the nation he once promised to lead and to the Constitution he once vowed to uphold.”



Hundreds of Zuma’s supporters gathered outside his home in Nkandla since last week to protest the impending arrest, in breach of South African Covid-19 regulations, with some attendees discharging firearms into the air. However, South African police were hesitant to make arrests or enforce Covid guidelines for fear of sparking violence – reflected in Minister of Police Bheki Cele’s writing to the Constitutional Court to query whether the Police Service should proceed with Zuma’s arrest warrant despite a lower court application to set the said warrant aside.



However, with no response from the Constitutional Court by late on Wednesday afternoon, a large police presence, which included an air wing and specialized units, could be seen mobilizing some 100km from Zuma’s home, preparing to enforce the warrant and arrest Zuma. By this point, only a handful of die-hard supporters and relatives remained outside Zuma’s home.



“We will be stopping anybody who will want to incarcerate Jacob Zuma… They will have to shed blood for that because we are going to be defending him with our lives,” said Edward Zuma, the former president’s eldest son, as he gathered with fellow supporters outside Nkandla late last night.



Despite the strong rhetoric from many Zuma allies and fears of violence, Zuma left his homestead in the early hours of this morning in a motorcade, handing himself over to police at Estcourt Correctional Centre, where he is currently in Covid-19 isolation as is protocol, Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed in a statement. Details regarding his incarceration are expected to be announced at a media briefing later today.



It’s the first time a former president has been jailed in post-apartheid South Africa and Zuma’s incarceration is being regarded as a landmark for judicial enforcement in the country.



Many political parties issued statements noting Zuma’s compliance with the court, including the African National Congress. “Former President Jacob Zuma’s decision to abide by the incarceration order was truly a brave and hard decision to make. We wish him well”.



Zuma’s stay in prison could potentially be extended pending the outcome of outstanding criminal cases against him.

4 July 2021 FORBES

President To Prisoner: A Week Of Defiance And A Night Of Surrender

With concerns about online privacy, South Africa’s new Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) comes into effect on July 1 with some strong implications for businesses and consumers alike.



July 1 marks the implementation of the long-awaited Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act in South Africa. Aimed at bringing the country up to date with international standards of privacy and data protection, the act provides a similar function to that of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Both the POPI Act and the GDPR are intended to safeguard consumer data and prevent its misuse. With the passing of the act, individuals and organizations with access to the personal information of others are now subject to a set of minimum standards of data security, in addition to regulations relating to the distribution and use of such information. Personal information, as defined in the act, includes (but is not limited to) a person’s age, race, and address, as well as their medical, financial, and employment history. The implementation of the act has particular significance in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has shifted the workplaces and personal lives of many online. Moreover, a number of significant data breaches in recent times – such as that of Experian in 2020 – have brought concerns about online privacy to the forefront of public discourse.



In 2020 alone, nearly one in 14 people in South Africa experienced some form of fraud (Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020). Impersonation and identity theft rates increased 337% in the same year, according to the South African Fraud and Prevention Service (SAFPS 2020). “We are really reaching a critical point when it comes to the economy and the extreme measures that criminals will use to perpetrate fraud. The 2020 statistics, that were collected by the SAFPS, indicate that there are significant increases in key areas and that there is a long road ahead to address this challenge,” said Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of SAFPS, during the Insurance Crime Bureau International Fraud Summit earlier this year.



“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is driven by data and cyber criminals are conducting targeted attacks on servers to steal valuable data and use it to commit fraud,” says Van Schalkwyk.



The act aims to mitigate consumer risks in several different ways, such as ensuring that businesses obtain informed consent from consumers for the use of their information, and regulating the transfer of personal information across borders. The task of enforcing these standards falls on the Information Regulator of South Africa, which the POPI Act has empowered to issue fines for non-compliance of up to R10 million ($702,000).



While some initial difficulties are to be expected as businesses adapt to these new regulations, the passing of the POPI Act has equipped South Africa with a powerful tool to protect its citizens from some particularly damaging and widespread forms of fraud.&nbsp;

Computer Hackers Meet For Annual Congress

What POPI Means For Business

The jury is out on South Africa’s Firearms Control Amendment Draft Bill 2021 that proposes significant changes in the regulations of gun ownership. What does it mean to the average South African concerned about increasing crime?



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color"><blockquote>“In South Africa, we have a lot of hoops already to own a legal weapon, and now you can’t protect yourself.”</blockquote></figure>



In South Africa, dominating the social and political arena currently is yet another raging topic – that of gun control.



The recently proposed Firearms Control Amendment Bill draft of 2021 has been gazetted by the government for public comment, and over 80,000 written submissions have flooded in since May 21, drawing strong comments and a healthy debate from various quarters.



Critical to the contentious bill is the removal of “self-defence” as a legitimate reason for owning a firearm, and it has become a flashpoint for discussion. The bill is strongly supported by Minister for Police Bheki Cele who notes that in the South African Constitution, the ownership of firearms is not a right, and that “owning a gun in this country remains a privilege made possible through the Firearms Control Act”. “Simply put, this proposed change in law also has the potential to mean the difference between life and death for hundreds of women, who are in the clutches of their abusers, inside their own homes,” said Cele in a press statement. “South Africans should take comfort in the fact that the proposed amendments were not taken lightly. Extensive research, consultations with various stakeholders preceded the proposed amendments,” the statement said.



In the same statement, however, he made note of the high-crime levels present in the country; a motivation which many firearm owners have cited as their reason for applying for licensing under the current legal route of “self-defence”.



Indeed, South Africa has one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world and the average response time for police is over 20 minutes (as per VCOS in 2017).



The bill has its fair share of criticism.



“I reject the bill in its entirety,” says Tshepi Mmekwa of Girls On Fire, a program to promote responsible female firearm ownership. “How can you take away people’s ability to defend themselves? In South Africa, we have a lot of hoops already to own a legal weapon, and now you can’t protect yourself. Our members are angry, and many feel even more unsafe now.” Indeed, the fear of crime coupled with concern over increased regulation has seen a massive increase in licensing applications since the announcement of the proposed amendment. One designated firearms officer with the South African Police Service, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that since the proposal, she has not had a free weekend. “I’m taking these home to do the paperwork and trying to get them finished as soon as possible,” she said, empathizing with the concern many feel about losing the ability to license themselves legally. The fears of violent crime are reflected in the applications for self-defence, far outweighing categories such as applications for hunting or sport shooting. Indeed, it is such safety concerns that led to a broad church gathering of interested parties by Afriforum on June 10 which included some 21 civic organizations and political parties to discuss the amendment – with people and organizations of all races, backgrounds and interests coming together to propose a way forward to comment and contest the proposed bill. Says Afriforum Legal and Risk Manager Marnus Kamfer to FORBES AFRICA: “We already have strong laws to regulate legal firearms; it’s the illegal firearms that are the issue. By regulating legal firearms further, it will have little effect on crime or the use of illegal firearms.” With public comment open until July 4, the heated debate is likely to continue. However, what is increasingly clear is that crime is definitely a concern for all South Africans.

A gun in the hands of a man ready for a shot with blurred backfround.

Fire And Fury: The Debate Around Gun Ownership In South Africa

During the abolitionist movement of the 19th century, journalists were among those leading the charge to eradicate slavery. Two centuries later, they’re continuing to inspire change, with leaders at the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research and the&nbsp;Boston Globe&nbsp;teaming up to apply the same pressure to ongoing racial injustice.&nbsp;



The result:&nbsp;The Emancipator, a platform cofounded by author, historian and Boston University Center for Antiracist Research director Ibram X. Kendi and&nbsp;Boston Globe&nbsp;editorial page editor Bina Venkataraman that will spotlight antiracism practices through the multimedia work of journalists, historians and scholars. Content will include written stories, research and interactive events like roundtables.&nbsp;



The idea for the initiative came to the cofounders in June, when, after discovering their shared interest in Boston-based, 19th-century antislavery publications, they started wondering, “Could we create a publication, a megaphone for leading thinkers, ideas and debates about bringing about a racially just society, in the same way that those abolitionists created a megaphone for thinkers who wanted to bring about the end of slavery?” says Venkataraman.



“In many ways, I have married scholarship and journalism in my own work, and what it’s allowed for is the ability to have the research techniques and methods and methodology combined with writing in a way that’s accessible for everyday people,” Kendi adds. “Putting both together under the same roof with [The Emancipator], I think it’s going to be quite effective. Quite impactful.”



Though the platform doesn’t officially launch until later this year, the cofounders are already establishing a team (they’re currently looking to hire two Boston-based co-editors-in-chief) and finalizing details. They’ve decided, for example, that all content will be free to the public. “We really believe that in order to move our society forward in this really ambitious way, we should be reaching as many people as possible,” says Venkataraman.&nbsp;



The team has also recruited an advisory board of journalists and scholars, including the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;Pulitzer Prize-winninginvestigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, Harvard historian and author Annette Gordon-Reed, journalist and immigration rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas and The 19th CEO and editor-in-chief Emily Ramshaw. Members of the founding team also include Dr. Monica Wang, associate director of narrative for the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, and Kimberly Atkins,&nbsp;Boston Globe&nbsp;columnist and MSNBC contributor.



Joining the effort is a full-circle moment for Atkins, whose first journalism job was at the&nbsp;Boston Globe. Atkins will serve as&nbsp;The Emancipator’s lead columnist and will author its biweekly newsletter, Unbound.



“This will be something more than simply a news organization . . . it’s something bigger,” says Atkins. “I’ve been asked a lot over the last year, ‘What can I do? How can I help? How can I understand?’ And there&#8217;s no easy answer to that. . . . A lot of that understanding needs to be grounded in research; it needs to be grounded in study and analysis. I can direct people [to&nbsp;The Emancipator] and say, ‘If you want to understand more, this is a place to start.’”



Kendi hopes to grow&nbsp;The Emancipator&nbsp;into “the premiere vehicle for sort of data-driven, research-based, evidence-based journalism and scholarship and opinion on the most important racial issues of our time.”



“If we can get to a time in which we could say that we’ve abolished racism, people will look back on The Emancipator and see that this multimedia platform was critical in that work, just like when we reflect on the movement against slavery in the 19th century,” he says.



By Brianne Garrett, Forbes Staff

Celebrities Visit Build – March 10, 2020

‘It’s Something Bigger’: This New Platform Is Reimagining The Role Of News Media In Eradicating Racism

TOPLINE YouTube has removed two videos from independent journalists documenting the Capitol riots, including one from a progressive news outlet, causing frustration that the Google-owned company’s efforts to combat right-wing misinformation is harming good-faith journalism.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>YouTube removed a video Wednesday from progressive news outlet Status Coup depicting a Capitol police officer getting crushed in a doorway by rioters, which has since been licensed by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/09/us/officer-crushed-capitol-riot-video/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN </a>and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2021/jan/10/police-officer-crushed-in-doorway-by-rioters-during-capitol-breach-video" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guardian</a>.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>YouTube also took down a video from independent journalist Ford Fischer, who uploaded footage from former President Donald Trump’s speech and the crowd’s reaction before rioters stormed the Capitol—a key moment in the impeachment complaint against Trump.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>In notices to both channels, YouTube stated that “content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of the U.S. 2020 presidential election is not allowed on YouTube.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Both Fischer and Status Coup co-founder Jordan Chariton told Forbes they were baffled and angry that YouTube can’t tell the difference between raw footage meant to document a historical event and bad-faith conspiracy theorists intentionally promoting misinformation about the election.  </li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>It’s unclear if YouTube’s algorithm mistakenly flagged both videos in the first place, but in a series of <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamYouTube/status/1356760557454389249?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweets </a>the company said Fischer’s videos don’t “include countervailing views or sufficient context of the claims made in the footage” and then demonized his entire account. (YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes and it has not responded publicly to Status Coup).</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>That policy, though, doesn’t appear to be enforced against news outlets, such as <a href="https://youtu.be/5fiT6c0MQ58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBCNews </a>and the <a href="https://youtu.be/pUXRd2zRVBA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Telegraph</a>, that have uploaded the speech in full without any additional reporting or context.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Following the election, YouTube was criticized for moving slower than other platforms in addressing election misinformation. It wasn’t until December when it decided to ban content disputing the election results. And after the January 6 attack, which was caused by conspiracy theories about the election, both Twitter and Facebook banned Trump indefinitely, while it took Youtube a week to announce a suspension. Still, all of the major social media networks have drawn outrage from Republicans and other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/01/11/problematic-and-perplexing-european-leaders-side-with-trump-over-twitter-ban/?sh=7d8f98313b59">critics&nbsp;</a>who say Big Tech is exerting too much control over the internet. Some already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90592060/capitol-attack-fascism-surveillance-censorship" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1357148730496069640?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crackdowns&nbsp;</a>could lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/big-tech-censorship-left-conservative-purge-jason-rantz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unintended&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/01/censorship-big-tech-facebook-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consequences</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critics">CHIEF CRITICS</h3>



YouTube’s treatment of Status Coup has caused Chariton to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JordanChariton/status/1357066676546723841?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rethink&nbsp;</a>how tech companies handle misinformation. After the Capitol attack, Chariton thought that outlets spreading conspiracy theories should be “taken off the air.” But now he&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JordanChariton/status/1357067605413101573?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">says&nbsp;</a>those “not directly calling for people to commit violence” have the “right to spew misinformation and/or conspiracies dressed up as journalism.” “You can&#8217;t have Silicon Valley platforms that are frankly making decisions to avoid regulation determining through their algorithm what is and isn&#8217;t trustworthy news,” he said.&nbsp;



Fischer said his video, which showed the crowd chanting “fight for Trump” before the attack, is crucial for the public to see because Trump will stand trial in the Senate over whether he incited the riot.&nbsp;<a href="https://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/people/jay-ulfelder" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jay Ulfelder</a>, a fellow at Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1357098264395448324?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote&nbsp;</a>in an email to YouTube that Fischer’s videos also “serve as crucial archival material for future scholars looking to get a better sense of what happened than our data or other news sources can provide.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



This isn’t the first time YouTube has taken action against both Fischer and Status Coup. In 2019, Fischer was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/06/06/in-searching-for-middle-ground-youtube-angers-everyone/?sh=4dc666c524b5">demonetized </a>during a crackdown on Holocaust denialism after two of his videos were removed. The first showed pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protesters shouting down a Holocaust denier at that year’s American Israel Public Affair Committee conference. The other was raw footage of a speech given by neo-Nazi Mike Peinovich Enoch. Fischer wasn’t promoting the views shown in the footage, but it still took seven months for YouTube to re-monetize his channel. Meanwhile, Status Coup had a livestream of a Second Amendment rally <a href="https://twitter.com/JordanChariton/status/1351231373873446914?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">taken down</a> last month because it violated YouTube’s firearms policy.



By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

US-POLITICS-ELECTION-TRUMP

YouTube Is Taking Down Raw Footage From The Capitol Riot As It Tries To Crack Down On Misinformation

TOPLINE Facebook will no longer recommend political groups to users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday, amid criticism for how the platform was used by pro-Trump extremists to plan the attack on the Capitol earlier this month.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



Facebook had already halted political and social issue group recommendations leading up to the November election last year, but Zuckerberg said on an earnings call Wednesday that the change will become permanent.



The move is significant because private Facebook groups are rife with misinformation and conspiracy theories, researchers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/22/881826881/facebook-groups-are-destroying-america-researcher-on-misinformation-spread-onlin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">say</a>, with some involved in the planning of the Capitol riots, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/some-pro-trump-extremsists-used-facebook-plan-capitol-attack-report-n1254794" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report&nbsp;</a>from the Tech Transparency Project.



The ban comes the day after Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wrote a scathing letter to Zuckerberg saying, “Facebook’s system of recommending political groups poses grave threats to American democracy and public safety.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



&nbsp;Critics have long pressured Facebook to crack down on calls for violence, hate speech and misinformation. They argue Facebook is a cesspool of extreme views, and can play a role in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/opinion/facebook-far-right.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radicalizing&nbsp;</a>normal users. At least in part recognizing Facebook’s divisiveness, Zuckerberg also said Wednesday the social network plans to reduce the amount of political content people see in their feeds. “One of the top pieces of feedback that we’re hearing from our community right now is that people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience on our services,” Zuckerberg said.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h4>



Facebook’s revenue and profit grew in 2020, despite a looming antitrust investigation, privacy mishaps and scrutiny over content moderation. But the company warned in its fourth-quarter earnings report that it would face significant obstacles this year as Apple plans to make it harder for Facebook to track iOS users.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h4>



Facebook already <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/17/21443742/facebook-health-groups-recommendations-new-admin-rules" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stopped</a> recommending health-related groups in September to address coronavirus and other health misinformation.



By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

In this photo illustration, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook Will Permanently Stop Promoting Political Groups

TOPLINE Twitter has permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account, the company announced Friday, a striking move that comes as the social media network faced growing pressure to remove him following the deadly Capitol riots earlier this week.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><ul class="blocks-gallery-grid"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" data-id="48752" data-full-url="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-scaled.jpg" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2020/11/04/twitter-flags-trump-tweet-baselessly-accusing-biden-of-trying-to-steal-the-election/attachment/president-donald-trump-holds-election-night-event-at-the-white-house/" class="wp-image-48752" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="blocks-gallery-item__caption">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; NOVEMBER 04: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on election night in the East Room of the White House in the early morning hours of November 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></li></ul></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



Twitter said it decided to ban the president “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after a review of his recent tweets.



Though Twitter has long been criticized for not doing enough to stem the spread of misinformation and hate speech on Trump’s account, the last few days have ratcheted up pressure from prominent figures in tech, Democrats, as well as Twitter’s own employees, for a permanent ban.



Up until this point, Twitter had only locked Trump’s account for 12 hours over tweets where he said he “loved” the rioters and explained the insurrection as “things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously &amp; viciously stripped away.”



After the suspension expired, Trump used Twitter to call his supporters “American Patriots,” say the MAGA movement will have a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and indicate he would skip Joe Biden’s inauguration.



Twitter said those tweets prompted the ban because they are being interpreted by his supporters as a veiled plan to “continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election,” especially considering “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1347684877634838528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1347684877634838528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fembedly.forbes.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3Dcfc0fb0733504c77aa4a6ac07caaffc7schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FTwitterSafety%2Fstatus%2F13476848776348385283Fs3D20image%3D
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (<a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1347103015493361664" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1347103016311259136" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2</a>) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an ‘orderly transition’ on January 20th,” Twitter said in its assessment of his final tweets.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



Trump immediately tweeted from the @POTUS account that Twitter’s employees were coordinating with Democrats and the “Radical Left” to silence him. But moments later Twitter removed those posts.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">The president tweeted this from the <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> account but the tweets have already been taken down by Twitter. <a href="https://t.co/pRqpFw8hYY">pic.twitter.com/pRqpFw8hYY</a>&mdash; Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1347718683351601152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Trump’s Twitter account was his primary way of communicating with the world. He’s used it to announce policies, go after critics, spread falsehoods and, most recently, promote conspiracy theories about election fraud. But after years of pressure to clean up its platform, Twitter began cracking down on Trump this year by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-twitter-keep-fact-checking-trump-voting-mail-he-s-n1241339" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fact-checking</a>&nbsp;false tweets about mail-in voting, Covid-19 and the election results. The company’s actions angered Trump so much he launched a crusade against tech’s legal shield, Section 230, claiming that social media companies are biased against conservatives.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



Trump isn’t the only person who got permanently suspended in the wake of the deadly insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol. Twitter also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/08/twitter-bans-sidney-powell-mike-flynn-for-sharing-qanon-conspiracy-theories/?sh=1eea67932d66">removed </a>several accounts that pushed QAnon conspiracy theories, including Sidney Powell, Mike Flynn, and former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins.



-By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Twitter Permanently Suspends President Donald Trump’s Twitter Account

Twitter Permanently Bans Trump

Some of the world’s richest people publicly congratulated Joe Biden’s historic presidential victory over the weekend, even though billionaire Donald Trump hasn’t yet admitted defeat.



One billionaire—hedge fund cowboy Bill Ackman, whose&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/william-ackman/?sh=3e214709298d">net worth</a>&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates at $2 billion—directly advised Trump to concede in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/billackman/status/1325225698248839168?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>. “There comes a time in the battle when one should fold the tent. Instead focus on your accomplishments over the last four years,” Ackman wrote Saturday. “Concede graciously and call for unity from all who have supported you.”



Other billionaires congratulated Biden on his win, including Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates. “I look forward to working with the new administration and leaders on both sides in Congress on getting the surging pandemic under control,” Gates&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1325138315964682246?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;shortly after Biden was projected as the winner by the Associated Press on Saturday.&nbsp;



It’s a notable reaction from the third richest person in the world. As the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Gates, who’s currently worth $118 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/04/Gates-Foundation-Expands-Commitment-to-COVID-19-Response-Calls-for-International-Collaboration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pledged</a>&nbsp;$300 million from his charitable foundation for vaccine development and other efforts. He’s also criticized the U.S. response to date,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/09/20/bill-gates-us-needs-to-own-up-to-the-fact-that-we-didnt-do-a-good-job/?sh=12a76b653fb8">telling</a>&nbsp;Fox News in September that “we did a very poor job” and need to &#8220;own up to the fact.”



The world’s richest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also chimed in on Instagram. “Unity, empathy, and decency are not characteristics of a bygone era,” the ecommerce executive, who we estimate is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/?sh=451ac1ea1b23">worth</a>&nbsp;$190 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHTZ-TyHqjN/?igshid=11uu42usw74ba" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;as the caption to a photo of Biden and Harris high-fiving.



A few of Biden’s billionaire donors also cheered his win. Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, whose net worth Forbes estimates at nearly $20 billion, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/10/19/at-least-67-billionaires-made-six-figure-donations-to-committees-supporting-joe-biden-in-last-3-months/?sh=5e3944951bd2">donated</a> $100,000 to his campaign. She celebrated Harris’ historic ascendency as the first woman and first Black American and Asian American person to become vice president in a Saturday tweet, describing the achievement as a “glass ceiling shattered once and for all.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">We celebrate our democracy, our common humanity, and a glass ceiling shattered once and for all. <a href="https://t.co/IhvGLBcALd">pic.twitter.com/IhvGLBcALd</a>&mdash; Laurene Powell Jobs (@laurenepowell) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurenepowell/status/1325124457262850052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Former venture capitalist-turned-media personality&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/chris-sacca/?sh=37a2ca44220a">Chris Sacca</a>, who with his wife Crystal Sacca donated $420,000 of their estimated $1.1 billion fortune to Biden, also applauded the election’s outcome. “Joe and Kamala bring science, innovation and an understanding of the climate opportunity back to the White House,”&nbsp; Sacca&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/sacca/status/1325226113119891456?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Saturday, saying he gave that statement to a news organization owned by conservative media tycoon (and longtime Trump friend) Rupert Murdoch, but the news organization told Sacca they weren’t going to publish it. “I couldn’t be more bullish” about what Biden’s administration means for investors, he added.&nbsp;



“I want to congratulate @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on a historic win,” Illinois governor and billionaire J.B. Pritzker&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/1325113433487003657?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>, adding that he’s looking forward to working with their administration.&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;previously reported that Pritzker and his wife&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/10/19/at-least-67-billionaires-made-six-figure-donations-to-committees-supporting-joe-biden-in-last-3-months/?sh=5e3944951bd2">donated</a>&nbsp;$1.4 million to Biden’s campaign, and that his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jb-pritzker/?sh=b22443b38146">net worth</a>&nbsp;is estimated around $3.5 billion.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Entertainment billionaires Oprah Winfrey and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/09/01/from-poor-as-hell-to-billionaire-how-tyler-perry-changed-show-business-forever/?sh=6a25b7e234b5">Tyler Perry</a>&nbsp;also weighed in. Winfrey, who we&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/oprah-winfrey/?sh=8e46c155745f">estimate</a>&nbsp;is worth $2.6 billion, hailed Biden’s win as a “reset” for the “soul of America.” Perry, who&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates to be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/tyler-perry/?sh=5707ea8e13dd">worth</a>&nbsp;$1 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/tylerperry/status/1325165060008783880?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Saturday that “change is here,” adding, “I’m sitting here in tears!”



Trump wasn’t the only billionaire running in 2020. Climate change activist Tom Steyer and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg also ran against Biden for the Democratic nomination. After dropping out, Steyer and his wife&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/10/19/at-least-67-billionaires-made-six-figure-donations-to-committees-supporting-joe-biden-in-last-3-months/?sh=5e3944951bd2">donated</a>&nbsp;$640,000 to Biden from their $1.4 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-steyer/?sh=396bdad073f5">fortune</a>, while Bloomberg—who spent $1 billion on his own campaign—gave&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/denizcam/2020/10/31/the-top-5-richest-backers-of-joe-biden/?sh=126cecfa6413">$15 million</a>&nbsp;of his nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/?sh=15ef5ad61417">$55 billion</a>&nbsp;fortune to various progressive organizations. Both men&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/TomSteyer/status/1325114359832473600?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">congratulated</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1325118275441881088?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biden</a>&nbsp;on his win.



Virgin founder Richard Branson, who is British (and who we estimate is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/?sh=1a93afbd6ff5">worth</a> $4.6 billion) offered international best wishes to Biden as president-elect. “Now is the time to bring America together as a United States and start the healing,” Branson <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/1325163037607694338?s=20" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. “The world will be rooting for that.”



By Lisette Voytko, Forbes Staff

US-ECONOMICS-GATES

Here’s How Bill Gates And Other Billionaires Are Reacting To Biden’s Election Victory

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) broke his <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/politics/biden-victory-congressional-republican-reaction/index.html" target="_blank">silence</a> about the election on Monday, declining to acknowledge President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden and defending Trump’s court challenges, though McConnell did not endorse outright Trump’s voter fraud conspiracy theories.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



On the Senate floor, McConnell&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4922052/senator-mcconnell-president-trump-within-rights-challenge-election-results-court" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said Trump</a>&nbsp;is “100% within his rights” to open legal challenges into allegations of voter fraud, arguing the courts should weigh these accusations and Trump should not be shamed into conceding to Biden in the meantime.



McConnell said states should count all legal ballots and reject illegal ballots, echoing Trump’s baseless claim that last week’s election was riddled with illegal voting, and he said the process should be observable by all sides, possible alluding to a false claim circulating among Trump and his allies that pollwatchers were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/11/06/trump-and-allies-keep-claiming-republican-poll-watchers-were-banned-thats-a-lie/?sh=2fb971f244da">banned in some states</a>.



Unlike Trump and some of his allies like Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325658048585752581" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matt Gaetz</a>&nbsp;(R-Fla.), McConnell did not repeat any specific fraud allegations or falsely imply Trump was the rightful winner, possibly leaving an exit for himself if the president’s legal challenges are unsuccessful.



He scolded media outlets for projecting a Biden victory and said no state has officially certified its results yet, though in most recent presidential races, news outlets have traditionally called a winner and both candidates have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/4024228/what-time-do-the-losing-candidates-usually-concede-the-long-and-short-of-election-night" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accepted the outcome</a>&nbsp;well before the weeks-long election certification process wraps up.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options,” McConnell said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4922052/senator-mcconnell-president-trump-within-rights-challenge-election-results-court" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monday</a>. “If any major irregularities occurred this time of a magnitude that would affect the outcome, then every single American should want them to be brought to light.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



McConnell accused Democrats of hypocrisy for demanding a concession from Trump. He pointed to the fact that Al Gore did not concede to George W. Bush until Dec. 13, 2000 — though&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/13/gore-concedes-presidential-election-to-bush-dec-13-2000-287285" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">that concession was stalled</a>&nbsp;due to a recount process that sparked a Supreme Court challenge — and he suggested Democrats never accepted the results of the 2016 election. In reality, 2016 challenger Hillary Clinton&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/hillary-clinton-concession-speech/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">delivered a concession speech</a>&nbsp;the morning after Election Day, though she still maintained later on that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/nyregion/hillary-clinton-russia-hacking-election-trump.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Russian interference</a>&nbsp;was partly to blame for her loss.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Trump has not conceded to Biden yet, instead lodging baseless allegations of voter fraud and inaccurately suggesting he would have won if not for a unified Democratic effort to rig the race. His campaign has launched legal challenges in multiple states alleging voter fraud and violations of poll-watchers’ right to observe the counting process, but several of these lawsuits were swiftly rejected last week due to a lack of evidence, and most experts believe these legal efforts are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/election-2020-what-are-the-trump-legal-claims-11604876612" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unlikely to alter</a>&nbsp;the results of the election. Some close Trump allies like his wife Melania and son-in-law Jared Kushner have privately encouraged the president to concede,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/politics/jared-kushner-donald-trump-concession/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN reported</a>, though the White House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/08/us/election-results/a-white-house-official-disputed-reports-that-kushner-had-advised-trump-to-concede" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">denied this claim</a>.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h4>



That’s the number of Republican Senators who have congratulated Biden. Moderate Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Ben Sasse (R-Nev.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have all acknowledged Biden’s win, though more doctrinaire congressional Republicans have sided with Trump and refused to accept the election’s results.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/09/these-are-the-republicans-who-have-acknowledged-bidens-victory/?sh=63cbf5bacedc">These Are The Republicans Who Have Acknowledged Biden’s Victory (Forbes)</a>



-By Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Holds Media Opportunity With Newly-Elected GOP Senators

McConnell: Trump Has ‘Every Right’ To Challenge Election Loss

As a Biden win becomes increasingly likely, investors on Wall Street are turning their focus to the possibility of another round of fiscal stimulus, vaccine data for phase-three candidates and potential central bank measures to boost economic activity and keep inflation in line with targets.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



Vaccination is &#8220;essential for the normalization of the economy,&#8221; Goldman Sachs said in a recent note, and wealth advisory Glenmede doesn’t expect earnings will reach new highs until the second half of 2021, which lines up with estimates for widespread vaccine delivery.



A slew of vaccine data is expected in the coming days and weeks from drug-makers such as Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZenaca and Johnson &amp; Johnson–all of which have said they expect clinical trial results before the end of the year.&nbsp;



Central bank easing from the Federal Reserve is perhaps &#8220;the biggest macro topic not receiving enough attention,&#8221; notes Vital Knowledge Media Founder Adam Crisafulli notes, but that should start to change domestically on Thursday, as the Federal Reserve concludes one of its eight annual Federal Open Market Committee meetings, during which it often makes key monetary policy decisions.



Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), &#8220;an erstwhile obstacle&#8221; to the package, per Crisafulli,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/11/04/mcconnell-changes-his-tune-on-stimulus-we-need-to-do-it-before-the-end-of-the-year/?sh=30c0b0056e41">changed his tune on stimulus</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, saying Congress should pass another bill by year&#8217;s end and suggested assistance be given to state and local governments–a sticking point for the Democrats&#8217; lead negotiator, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).



Fiscal stimulus to state and local governments is now expected to be less generous than under a Blue Wave scenario, UBS noted on Wednesday.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



The election outcome that Wall Street thinks is now most likely–a Biden victory and a split Congress–&#8221;couldn’t have been better for stocks,&#8221; Crisafulli noted on Thursday–a sentiment echoed by many Wall Street experts since Wednesday given that a split Congress makes it unlikely Biden&#8217;s proposed corporate tax hike becomes law. The economic recovery, on the other hand, remains sluggish and awash with disparities such as continued job losses despite better-than-expected corporate earnings (especially in tech). Meanwhile, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/11/05/day-after-election-us-records-all-time-high-of-103000-new-covid-19-cases/">ongoing surge</a>&nbsp;in new Covid-19 cases further stains the economic outlook, fueling discussions about the need for a coronavirus vaccine and further fiscal relief.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



Top vaccine candidate AstraZeneca PLC anticipates results from its late-stage trials later this year, the British drug-maker&nbsp;<a href="https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/dam/az/PDF/2020/q3/Year-to-date_and_Q3_2020_results_announcement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said Thursday</a>&nbsp;when it reported third-quarter earnings. It&#8217;s unclear, however, how soon it could roll those out, and the firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/05/astrazeneca-coronavirus-vaccine-drugmaker-under-pressure-to-deliver.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously missed</a>&nbsp;a September target to deliver 30 million vaccines in the United Kingdom. &#8220;Even if the vaccine numbers are spectacular,&#8221; Crisafulli says, &#8220;it still won’t be until the spring or summer when these will be made available to the general population.&#8221;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h4>



$1.9 trillion. That’s the largest amount Mnuchin offered for the stimulus package before the election, much higher than the amount Senate Republicans have been eyeing (they&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/politics/stimulus-negotiations-republican-plan/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proposed</a>&nbsp;a $1 trillion bill in July), but still below the $2.2 trillion proposal House Democrats&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/10/01/house-passes-22-trillion-stimulus-bill-but-that-doesnt-mean-1200-checks-and-more-unemployment-benefits-are-on-the-way/">passed</a>&nbsp;in October.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Morgan Stanley said in a weekend note that it’s unlikely Federal Reserve policymakers will “soften their call for additional fiscal support”, adding that despite a better-than-expected recovery, and a return to pre-Covid economic levels that could happen in the second quarter, “Policymakers have not let this economic momentum distract from the deep structural problems, particularly in the labor market, that could unfold over the longer run in the absence of further fiscal support.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT WE DON&#8217;T KNOW</h4>



Election results. Razor thin margins remain a theme across pending state vote counts. As of early Thursday afternoon, former vice president Joe Biden was leading President Trump in the electoral college,<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/electoral-college-2020-biden-takes-wisconsin-bringing-him-close-to-electoral-win/?sh=724504634448">&nbsp;with 264 votes</a>, as called by AP, compared with Trump&#8217;s 214. The Senate race, on the other hand, was leaning<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/11/04/6-senate-seats-yet-to-be-called---heres-where-the-race-stands/">&nbsp;solidly Republican</a>.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/11/04/mcconnell-changes-his-tune-on-stimulus-we-need-to-do-it-before-the-end-of-the-year/">McConnell Changes His Tune On Stimulus: ‘We Need To Do It Before The End Of The Year’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2020/11/05/stocks-election-results-dow-unemployment/">Stocks Keep Surging As Election Results Appear To Clear Up, But Unemployment Data Is Still Ugly</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/11/05/unemployment-claims-remain-above-pre-pandemic-highs-with-no-more-federal-aid-in-sight/">Unemployment Claims Remain Above Pre-Pandemic Highs With No More Federal Aid In Sight</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2020/11/04/election-stocks-that-are-surging-and-tanking/">Here Are The Stocks That Are Surging–And Tanking–As Blue Wave Hopes Fade</a> (Forbes)



-By Jonathan Ponciano,Forbes Staff

Genetic test

A Biden Win And Split Congress Is Wall Street’s Best-Case Scenario, Now Investors Turn Focus To These 3 Big Issues

When CIOs talk about platforms, they’re usually referring to digital rather than political ones. But as Americans head to the polls, corporate tech leaders should be paying close attention to what a second Trump administration, or a first Biden one, could have in store for them.



The outcome of the contest will have profound consequences for skilled immigration, data privacy regimes, the regulation of AI and other issues such as cybersecurity that all matter to CIOs. It will also shape how America deals with China as a competitor and trading partner—a fraught relationship that’s sparked concerns over high-tech supply chains and the security of 5G communications networks<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2020/10/09/huawei-rivals-nokia-ericsson-27-billion-us-sanctions/#7249ea2bde48">&nbsp;using equipment from Huawei and other Chinese firms</a>.



The election will also help determine whether America can sustain its role as a global innovation leader. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a think tank with close links to the tech industry, points out that the U.S. would need to spend at least an additional $100 billion a year, or an increase of around 80% over current spending levels, just to match what it was investing in research as a percentage of GDP back in the 1980s.



“The reality is that America is no longer the global innovation leader, at least on a per capita basis, and it risks losing out to China over the next decade or two,” the ITIF wrote in a recent study of the likely impact of the upcoming election on tech policy. “Whether or not the two major parties understand this threat and want to prioritize it is unclear.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tackling China</h3>



What is clear is that tensions over high-tech trade with China are likely to remain high under either a second Trump administration or a first Biden one. But the tactics a Biden presidency would adopt are likely to be quite different to those of its predecessor.



Speaking at the<a href="https://www.forbes.com/connect/event/forbes-cio-next-virtual-episode1/">&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;CIO Next virtual summit</a>&nbsp;held on October 27, Darrell West, an expert on technology policy at the Brookings Institution, said that if President Trump is re-elected, he’s likely to continue his aggressive and unpredictable, go-it-alone policy towards pressuring China for trade concessions. “A company may wake up one day thinking they are a friend of the administration and the next day become a target,” said West.



A Biden presidency is likely to keep up the pressure on China, too, but will almost certainly create a clear set of processes for handling trade negotiations on high-tech and other issues. West thinks it will also want to forge a more united front with the European Union on dealing with the Chinese. While this approach may make it easier for CIOs and other executives to assess supply chain risks in dealing with Chinese manufacturers, both presidential candidates are likely to maintain U.S. efforts to keep hardware from China and other suppliers out of 5G networks in America and other countries on national security grounds.



With Chinese companies pulling ahead in areas such as<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonytrippe/2020/08/31/china-is-gunning-to-be-the-world-leader-in-ai-chips-while-restricting-exports/#392b0c186d4e">&nbsp;chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) applications</a>, the issue of how the U.S. government can better support domestic innovation will be on the table no matter who becomes president. Neither candidate looks likely to bring government spending as a percentage of GDP back to 1980s levels, but the Biden camp has pledged to invest an additional $300 billion over four years to help close some of the gap. If he is re-elected, President Trump is likely to continue his current policy of reducing overall government support on R&amp;D while boosting investment<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/martingiles/2020/08/14/us-to-boost-ai-quantum-funding-in-2021/#291bef1521dd">&nbsp;in some key areas such as AI, quantum information science and advanced manufacturing</a>.



On cybersecurity, both candidates would likely step up efforts to protect U.S. companies and critical infrastructure such as electrical grids from cyberattacks. West thinks a Biden administration could press for a kind of Geneva convention on cyber arms control, whereas if President Trump is re-elected his administration will keep pursuing a more unilateral approach. If the Democrats win the presidency and perhaps carry the Senate too, they may also push for a mandatory regime that requires companies to report hacks to a national database. Republicans, on the other hand, are more likely to leave breach reporting requirements to individual states.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Importing talent</h3>



Finding enough skilled workers is one of CIOs’ biggest concerns, so they will be hoping for an easing of restrictions on H1-B visas and other channels that the present Trump administration has been restricting.



Robert Atkinson, the president of the ITIF, thinks a Biden administration will expand skilled immigration whereas a second Trump one is likely to extend the current crackdown. However, he cautions that if Biden wins, companies can’t count on a swift increase in H1-Bs. “There are a lot of folks on the left [of the Democratic party] who have pushed back on H1-Bs because these are seen as undermining U.S. wages,” he says. “You could instead see an expansion of other avenues and vehicles to bring in high-skilled workers.”



Atkinson also thinks that if Biden carries the White House, CIOs could find<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksettle/2020/10/20/the-proper-path-to-achieving--automation-at-scale/#2f8df7ef2a4a">&nbsp;robotic process automation (RPA) strategies</a>, which use software to take over tasks from workers, under intense political scrutiny because of fears these will destroy jobs and crater wages. “In a Biden administration, companies will have to be much more careful and cautious about how they portray this. Trump doesn’t mind automation; he minds offshoring.”



Companies’ automation drives could be blunted in other ways. For instance, tax reforms in 2018 made it possible for businesses to immediately deduct the entire cost of equipment purchases from taxable income; previously, they had generally only been allowed to write off a portion of the cost in a single year. This encouraged CIOs and other executives to accelerate purchases of everything from robots to servers. However, the changes will come up for review in a couple of years and a Biden administration would be less likely to push for an extension.



If Biden wins the election, CIOs will almost certainly face tougher rules on data privacy. Both candidates are in favor of a national consumer privacy regime to replace the present mix of different state ones, but the Democrats are more likely to push for<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynerash/2020/06/29/ccpa-enforcement-to-begin-on-wednesday-july-1-2020--steps-to-get-ready/#5650f7475f8b">&nbsp;a California-style framework</a>&nbsp;with significant compliance costs and hefty fines for rule-breakers. They are also more likely to support a national regime to regulate the use of artificial intelligence for things such as facial recognition systems.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tech under the microscope</h3>



No matter which of the presidential candidates ends up in the White House after the election, it’s clear that the world of technology is going to face more intense scrutiny than ever before.



CIOs will want to keep an especially close watch on who ends up leading key government agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, which are responsible for oversight on antitrust policy. The Justice Department’s recent move to sue Google<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/10/20/justice-department-suing-google-for-antitrust-violations/#7e1f4243dbb8">&nbsp;for alleged antitrust violations</a>&nbsp;is likely to be followed by actions against Facebook and possibly other tech firms. It will also be important to watch who is chosen to sit on key congressional bodies such as the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee, which issued a report earlier this month<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/10/06/long-awaited-house-report-recommends-breaking-up-big-tech/#46776205c831">&nbsp;flagging multiple potential areas of potential concern</a>, including Amazon’s significant share of the cloud computing market.



The Brookings Institution’s West neatly encapsulated where things stand in his closing remarks at the Forbes CIO Next event. “Over the last 30 years, the mantra has been ‘permissionless innovation,’” he said, referring to a relatively laissez-faire view of technology’s impact on the economy and society. “That era is coming to an end. We’re going to have more public engagement [on tech issues], more public oversight, and more public regulation.”



-By Martin Giles, Forbes Staff

Man voting online

Here’s How The U.S. Election Could Impact Automation, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy And Other Key Issues CIOs Care About

Hip hop heavyweight and unlikely presidential candidate <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#99f4e0256f16">Kanye West</a> has released a religion-steeped campaign ad that calls for voters to write his name in on their ballots and urges Americans to “revive our nation’s commitment to faith,” as West says in the spot.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



With less than a month to go until Election Day, West dropped a new nearly one-minute-and-30-second advertisement that heavily featured the themes of prayer and religion.



“We as a people will revive our nation’s commitment to faith, to what our constitution calls the free exercise of religion, including, of course, prayer,” West says in the ad. “Through prayer, faith can be restored.”



West, a devout Christian, has been open about his beliefs throughout his relatively short run for president—he even reportedly asked political to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/09/16/kanye-west-reportedly-asked-campaign-staffers-to-refrain-from-fornicating-outside-marriage/#35d914334736">refrain from extramarital sex</a>&nbsp;while working on his campaign.



“By turning to faith, we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be,” West said in the ad.



At the end of the ad, the written message to “<a href="https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1315766834046541825?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">write in Kanye West</a>” appears to be a concession to the fact that it is mathematically impossible for him to win the election because of his campaign’s late start in July, which has allowed him to qualify for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2020/09/08/kanye-west-now-on-ballot-in-12-states-after-qualifying-in-mississippi/#72023207712c">the ballot</a>&nbsp;in just a handful of states.



During an August interview with Forbes, when the fact was raised that it was virtually impossible for him to win, West replied, “I’m not going to argue with you. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/08/06/exclusive-kanye-west-indicates-that-his-spoiler-campaign-is-indeed-designed-to-hurt-biden/#52b7744c6397">Jesus is King</a>.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1315766834046541825?s=20
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“We as a people are called to a greater purpose than ourselves. We are not only a beacon to the world, but we should be servants to each other,” West said in the ad. “To encourage each other, to help each other, to lift up each other. Our fellow Americans, that we may all prosper together. We have to act on faith.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1314407219434196993?s=20
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Forbes estimates West is worth <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#99f4e0256f16">$1.3 billion</a>, thanks largely to his profitable Yeezy brand deal with sportswear giant Adidas and his separate Yeezy clothing line.



-By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff

US-PEOPLE-politics-RACE-TRUMP-KANYE

Kanye West Angles For Write-In Presidential Votes With Campaign Ad Calling For Religious Revival

Former Vice President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is tapping his former Democratic primary opponent Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his vice presidential nominee, ending months of speculation surrounding the first ever female-exclusive VP selection process.



KEY FACTS



“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked Kamala Harris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1293280411150217219?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>.



A former career prosecutor, Harris served as San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011 and California attorney general from 2011 to 2017, before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.



Harris quickly drew&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/09/kamala-harris-2020-239318" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">headlines</a>&nbsp;for her tough lines of questioning towards Trump administration nominees and officials, such as her 2017&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK_HmEFxCpI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">grilling</a>&nbsp;of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his frequent claims that he couldn’t recall details of his discussions with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.



Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/21/kamala-harris-2020-campaign-1116076" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a>&nbsp;her campaign in January and was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/15/politics/kamala-harris-democratic-frontrunner/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">instantly cast</a>&nbsp;as a leading contender for the nomination, but failed to garner broad, lasting support for her bid–including among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/04/kamala-harris-black-voters-2020-075651" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">black voters</a>–particularly sustaining damage for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/22/kamala-harris-health-care-1471421" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stumbling</a>&nbsp;over her position on Medicare-for-All.



Harris’s most notable moment and largest polling bump of the campaign came when she&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/harris-attacks-bidens-record-on-busing-and-working-with-segregationists.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clashed</a>&nbsp;with Biden at a Democratic primary debate over his record on busing in the 1970s and his “hurtful”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/democrats-slam-biden-over-comments-on-segregationist-senator.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anecdotes</a>&nbsp;about rosy relationships with segregationist senators, with Harris accusing him of opposing busing and Biden calling it a “mischaracterization” of his positions and hitting Harris’s record as a prosecutor.



But after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2019/12/03/kamala-harris-drops-out-of-presidential-race-on-twitter-meanwhile-tulsi-gabbard-does-yoga/">dropping out</a>&nbsp;in December and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa4htbPxva0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endorsing</a>&nbsp;Biden in March, Harris’s public relationship with Biden rapidly improved, with Harris frequently and effusively headlining fundraising events for Biden and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/27/kamala-harris-biden-vp-381829" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brushing off</a>&nbsp;concerns about their clash over busing.



“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse,” Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1293280412144267264?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;of Harris, adding, “I was proud then, and I&#8217;m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”



Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1293290197103390721?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">praised</a>&nbsp;Biden as someone who can “unify the American people because he&#8217;s spent his life fighting for us,” adding, “I&#8217;m honored to join him as our party&#8217;s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.”



The Trump campaign released an&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1293286684898078722?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ad</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1293286329267216384?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;claiming Harris “ran for president by rushing to the radical left” and slammed her for joining Biden’s ticket after attacking him during the primary, labelling her “Phony Kamala.”



Some on the left took aim at Biden’s pick as well; Briahna Joy Gray, a former press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)’s 2020 presidential campaign,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/briebriejoy/status/1293286212699136006?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slammed</a>&nbsp;the Democratic party for running a “a ‘top cop’ and the author of the Joe Biden crime bill to save us from Trump” amid protests against police violence, asserting that it shows “contempt for the base.”



But progressive politicians, including those who ran against Harris for president and vice president, lauded the pick; Sanders&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1293290750982139905?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;that Harris “understands what it takes to stand up for working people,” and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.)&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/KarenBassTweets/status/1293281471378214912?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">called</a>&nbsp;Harris a “great choice” because of her “tenacious pursuit of justice and relentless advocacy for the people.”



More establishment Democratic politicians were likewise highly supportive of the pick, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/TeamPelosi/status/1293282982564958208?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">saying</a>&nbsp;that Harris will “continue her legacy of trailblazing leadership to move our nation forward,” as vice president, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/chuckschumer/status/1293284297332469762?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeting</a>&nbsp;that Harris has been “an outstanding Senator and will be an outstanding Vice President!”



Former President Barack Obama&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1293295296819220481?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>, “I’ve known Senator Kamala Harris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing.”



Harris and Biden are&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1293283786604589057?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slated</a>&nbsp;to deliver joint remarks on Wednesday in Wilmington, DE, focused on “working together to restore the soul of the nation and fight for working families to move the country forward.”



CRUCIAL QUOTE



“You can’t be successful at the highest levels of national politics for 40 years like he has without the rapid ability to turn yesterday’s rivals into today’s allies,” Harris’s former press secretary Ian Sams&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kamala-harris-once-went-after-joe-biden-but-now-theres-only-bonhomie-as-the-vice-presidential-tryouts-continue/2020/06/26/9b525566-b6f9-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;of Biden in June.



KEY BACKGROUND



Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/03/15/joe-biden-just-committed-to-picking-a-woman-as-his-vice-president/">pledged</a>&nbsp;to pick a woman in March, and his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/06/18/heres-who-joe-biden-is-considering-for-vp/">rumored shortlist</a>&nbsp;included governors, members of congress and even mayors and state legislators. He also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/12/875000650/pressure-grows-on-joe-biden-to-pick-a-black-woman-as-his-running-mate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">faced pressure</a>&nbsp;to pick a woman of color like Harris, especially in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, which ignited a national debate over race and policing. But Biden frequently said his top criteria for a running mate were that they were “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-under-pressure-to-shatter-cement-ceiling-by-naming-a-black-woman-to-be-his-running-mate/2020/07/19/7dfb9dcc-c06f-11ea-9fdd-b7ac6b051dc8_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">simpatico with me</a>, both in terms of personality as well as substance,” and had the ability to govern if Biden, 78, were unable to perform the duties of president.



TANGENT



Kamala Harris and her husband, attorney Doug Emhoff, had a fortune of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2019/08/23/heres-how-much-2020-presidential-candidate-kamala-harris-is-worth/#4e25d2293aa6">$6 million</a>&nbsp;as of August, 2019, according to&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;reporter Michela Tindera. The bulk of the money comes from Emhoff’s legal work and profits from several books authored by Harris.



CHIEF CRITIC



Despite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/kamala-harris/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advocating</a>&nbsp;firmly progressive positions during her presidential campaign like universal government health care, a $15 minimum wage, legalizing marijuana and debt-free college, the left took aim at Harris most sharply for her tenure as California attorney general. She was&nbsp;<a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/01/31/kamala-harris-and-the-myth-of-a-progressive-cop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slammed</a>&nbsp;by left-wing activists for contemporaneously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article243906742.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">calling herself&nbsp;</a>the state’s “top cop,” with “Kamala is a cop”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/12/kamala-was-a-cop-black-people-knew-it-first/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">becoming</a>&nbsp;a viral meme that would come to broadly define the leftist opposition to her candidacy.



BIG NUMBER



32%.&nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/15/joe-biden-vice-president-pick-poll-362900" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Politico/Morning Consult poll</a>&nbsp;of 1,992 registered voters pegged Harris at 32% favorability and 34% unfavorability. While she is well known with voters, she lacks universal name recognition, with 1 in 5 voters saying they have never heard of her and another 14% saying they have no opinion. But in the end, Harris may not have an outsized impact on the outcome in November; 54% of registered voters said Biden’s VP pick wouldn’t impact how they vote in November, while 16% said it would have a major impact and 20% said it would have a minor impact.&nbsp;



SURPRISING FACT



Harris is the first woman of color to run for either president or vice president on a major party ticket. Her election as vice president would make her the first Black American to serve in the role and the first woman or Indian-American to serve as either president or vice president.



WHAT TO WATCH FOR



The Trump campaign will doubtless use Harris’s confrontation with Biden over busing against the Democratic ticket, but Harris brings with her numerous advantages as well. Her experience as a large state attorney general and U.S. senator make it difficult to argue against her qualifications for the job, and having run for president before, she rejoins the campaign trail intimately familiar with the scrutiny and spotlight of the national political stage. In that respect, Harris may be what many have described as the “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/04/why_kamala_harris_is_the_do_no_harm_choice_for_vp_143103.html" target="_blank">do no harm</a>” candidate, providing modest benefits to Biden with limited risk.



-Andrew Solender, Forbes Staff

Democratic Presidential Candidates Participate In Third Debate In Houston

Biden Picks Kamala Harris: Trump Responds, Democrats Unite, Harris’s Net Worth, And More

<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In an exclusive interview, the billionaire rapper says he’s “walking for president” as GOP operatives work to get him on state ballots.



Amid&nbsp;various reports&nbsp;that Republican and Trump-affiliated political operatives are trying to get Kanye West onto various state ballots for November’s presidential election, the billionaire rap superstar indicated, in an interview by text today, that he was, in fact, running to siphon votes from the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden.



Asked about that directly, West said that rather than running for president, he was “walking,” quickly adding that he was “walking . . . to win.”



When it was pointed out that he actually can’t win in 2020—that he won’t be on enough ballots to yield 270 electoral votes, and that a write-in campaign isn’t feasible—and thus was serving as a spoiler, West replied: “I’m not going to argue with you. Jesus is King.”



West rebuffed various attempts to clarify who was driving his ballot access or strategy and whether it’s being coordinated by or with Republican-affiliated officials. He does, however, appear to have a continuing relationship with the Trump White House. West says that he’s “designing a school within the next month” and that “I’m meeting with Betsy DeVos about the post-Covid curriculum.” (The Secretary of Education’s press office hadn’t responded to a request for comment by the time we published.)



“I like Kanye very much,”&nbsp;<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/trump-kanye-wests-presidential-run-224359051.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">President Trump told reporters</a>&nbsp;at the White House yesterday. “No, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot. We&#8217;ll have to see what happens.”



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">West says that he’s “designing a school within the next month” and that “I’m meeting with Betsy DeVos about the post-Covid curriculum.”&nbsp;</blockquote>



West’s intentions have come under increased scrutiny this week, following reports by CNN,&nbsp;<a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/two-people-linked-to-kanye-wests-campaign-have-ties-to-gop.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/us/politics/kanye-west-president-republicans.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Times</a>&nbsp;and others, about efforts by GOP political operatives to get him onto several ballots, including states like Wisconsin that could be pivotal in deciding the next president. West has been a vocal Trump supporter, including visiting the president in the Oval Office. Texts from West to me earlier this summer repeatedly ended with the sign-off “Trump 2020,” and a fist raised high. West’s recent actions have also drawn public focus, given his bipolar disorder—and many, including his wife, Kim Kardashian-West, have expressed concern about his mental health.



West did not respond when asked whether he feels he’s being used. When I pointed out to West that the slapdash operation to get him on the ballot, which includes one operative previously arrested for voter fraud and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/08/05/rapper-kanye-west-files-ohio-run-president/3298475001/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multiple West “electors” from the same address</a>, didn’t feel like a Kanye West production, West replied that it was a “God production.”



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/07/08/kanye-west-says-hes-done-with-trump-opens-up-about-white-house-bid-damaging-biden-and-everything-in-between/#209366cf47aa">wide-ranging interview with&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last month</a>&nbsp;about his political aspirations, West, who has never voted before, laid out a platform for his “Birthday Party” that included a pro-life plank that alleged that Planned Parenthood was placed in cities by white supremacists, a management style patterned on the fictional country of Wakanda in&nbsp;Black Panther&nbsp;and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. In that interview, West also claimed that he was dumping Trump. “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview.” His reason: “It looks like one big mess to me. I don’t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker.”



However, he was reticent to criticize Trump besides that. “Trump is the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation,” he said.



And West was eager to criticize Biden, and expressed comfort with the idea of doing damage to the former vice president’s White House chances. “I’m not denying it; I just told you.”



-Randall Lane, Forbes Staff

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