Donald Trump has hit back against President Joe Biden's assertion that he and his supporters are undermining American democracy, branding his rival an “enemy of the state” in the latest escalation of once-unthinkable political rhetoric in the US.
Mr Trump uses personal attacks and insults as an everyday political tool. He called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “crazy” and an “inherently dumb person”, but the latest retaliation against Mr Biden could inflame political tension to a new level.
At a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday to support Republican senate candidate Mehmet Oz, Mr Trump said Mr Biden had two days earlier made the “most vicious, hateful and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president”.
“He's an enemy of the state. You want to know the truth. The enemy of the state is him,” Mr Trump said.
In that speech on Thursday, Mr Biden said “Maga forces” — devotees of Mr Trump's “Make America Great Again” agenda — are willing to overturn democratic elections and are “determined to take this country backwards”.
“They do not believe in the rule of law,” Mr Biden said in a 25-minute speech from Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy, where the US Constitution was debated and signed.
Mr Biden urged his own supporters to fight back in what he billed as a “battle for the Soul of the Nation”.
Mr Trump addressed cheering supporters at the “Save America” gathering in the city of Wilkes-Barre.
US election officials see potential violence and disruptions as the biggest threats to midterm elections in November, with misinformation fuelling those concerns, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said on Sunday.
Ms Benson, a Democrat, said election officials from both parties are working with law enforcement officials to protect the November 8 elections and make clear there will be consequences for those who try to interfere.
"We are, in many ways, even more prepared this year than ever before," she said on CBS's Face the Nation.
The former president used the rally to criticise last month's FBI raid of his Florida home.
Marking his first public appearance since the August 8 raid, Mr Trump said the search was a “travesty of justice” and warned it would produce “a backlash the likes of which nobody has ever seen”.
Federal agents raided Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and seized hundreds of documents, many of them marked “Secret” or “Top Secret”.
Seven top secret files, 17 secret files and three confidential files were retrieved from Mr Trump's private office.
The documents had apparently been improperly stored and handled. It is not clear why Mr Trump or his team took them after he left office.
Mr Trump, who is keeping supporters and commentators guessing about whether he intends to run for president again in 2024, has sued to have the documents turned over to a neutral “special master,” a move that could slow the government's probe.
Mr Trump has refused to accept he lost the election in 2020 and built an alternative narrative in which victory was “stolen” from him by a shadowy conspiracy of corrupt election officials and Democratic operatives.
His claims, considered outright lies in many cases, have been tossed out of dozens of courtrooms including by Trump-appointed judges.
A committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection has found that Mr Trump's baseless claims were instrumental in leading to the deadly attack on Capitol that day.
“Republicans in the Maga movement are not the ones trying to undermine our democracy,” said Mr Trump on Saturday.
“We are the ones trying to save our democracy, very simple. The danger to democracy comes from the radical left, not from the right.”
He was appearing at the rally ahead of November's midterm elections, which could see Mr Biden's Democrats lose control of both houses of Congress.
Even though Mr Trump is not on the ballot, Mr Biden, 79, is seeking to turn the vote into a referendum on his predecessor in a bid to hold on to the Senate and House of Representatives.
At the Wilkes-Barre rally — where Mr Trump took to the stage to support his candidate in the Senate race, celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz — Trump supporter Edward Young said he had been “disgusted” by Mr Biden's speech.
“He declared war on me. He declared war on half of America,” Mr Young told AFP.
Dr Oz is struggling in his race against Democrat John Fetterman, whom Mr Trump called a “spoiled and entitled socialist loser”.
Agencies contributed to this report.
SPECS
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Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
The specs
The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
UAE-based players
Goodlands Riders: Jamshaid Butt, Ali Abid, JD Mahesh, Vibhor Shahi, Faizan Asif, Nadeem Rahim
Rose Hill Warriors: Faraz Sheikh, Ashok Kumar, Thabreez Ali, Janaka Chathuranga, Muzammil Afridi, Ameer Hamza
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
!['I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RLINK2AWKRFONAWRZ7TNQF6VI4.jpg?smart=true&auth=898bee20e87c352f4801c4275eab58720719d25c3b0343a94bb0b4d88c1d38f4&width=800&height=450)
