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U.S. NEWS Monday 28 SepteMber 2020
Jill Biden, Doug Emhoff team up in final campaign stretch

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE veterans.
Associated Press The participants included
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Billy Shaheen, husband of
— Jill Biden and Doug Em- Democratic Sen. Jeanne
hoff are both from New Shaheen. He said he had
Jersey. They married politi- a three-hour dinner with
cians who have been in Emhoff and Harris back in
the national spotlight for January and came away
years. And now they're impressed with them both.
building a team as the bet- "Doug is going to be great.
ter halves of the Joe Biden He'll be a great second
campaign. gentleman. He's a good
Biden and Emhoff have balance for her. He really
rapidly become two of the supports her," he said in an
campaign's most prolific interview.
surrogates, engaging in in- Their busy schedules reflect
person campaign events in part the traditional stra-
and virtual fundraisers at a tegic role of the spouses on
pace that often outmatch- a presidential campaign
es their spouses at the top — essentially doubling
of the ticket. the campaign's footprint,
While Joe Biden and Ka- amplifying its core mes-
mala Harris have spent Jill Biden, front left, wife of Democratic presidential candidate former vice president Joe Biden, sage and expanding it to
their days campaigning in and Doug Emhoff, center, husband of Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, broader constituencies. Jill
key states like Wisconsin, D-Calif., place campaign placards into the ground during a campaign stop, Wednesday, Sept. Biden has become one of
Pennsylvania and Florida, 16, 2020, in Manchester, N.H. the campaign's main sur-
Jill Biden and Emhoff have Associated Press rogates for Latino outreach
had nonstop schedules of tion. And I think the four of us are care or all these issues that and, as a teacher herself,
virtual fundraisers, constitu- "Don't you think the Ameri- going to show that." are important to people often holds events focused
ency-focused events and can people love seeing Emhoff and Biden spent the right now, we're out here on teachers and educa-
trips to important but less people in government day touring damage from listening, and we're liter- tion. Emhoff, with his net-
high-profile states like Vir- who respect one another the recent derecho that hit ally going right back to work of deep-pocketed
ginia and Maine, where Jill and are friends with one Iowa, helping a group of Joe and Kamala with these donors as an entertainment
Biden visited this week. another?" Jill Biden said as volunteers clean up a park notes from the field. So it's lawyer, has done fundrais-
They've campaigned to- she campaigned in Cedar hit by the storm and speak- just the more we can do ing for the campaign and
gether more than their Rapids, Iowa, on Satur- ing at a drive-in rally later things together and expe- headlined a number of
spouses have, visiting day. "Especially in this time that afternoon. rience this together, the Jewish outreach events.
New Hampshire earlier this of the pandemic, and it's Emhoff said every interac- stronger they're going to But the pace also reflects
month and Iowa over the such a divisive government tion they have with vot- be," he said. what's perhaps a more ur-
weekend. And in a joint that we're living in now, this ers they take back home It wasn't their first time cam- gent imperative for a po-
interview this weekend, chaos of Donald Trump's to their spouses, to help paigning together — the litical spouse in the age of
they said they've begun to America, I think people are them better understand two hit the trail earlier this Trump, when Biden himself
build a partnership that will looking for people who are the challenges confronting month in New Hampshire, has made an explicit argu-
help the campaign and a strong to come together to Americans. where they held events fo- ment that "character is on
potential Biden administra- lead this country forward. "Whether it's vets or health cused on health care and the ballot" this fall. q

NY Times: Trump paid $750 in US income taxes in 2016, 2017

By The Associated Press gave no specifics. The dis- ing the U.S. House, which is
President Donald Trump closure, which the Times suing for access to Trump's
paid just $750 in federal in- said comes from tax return tax returns as part of con-
come taxes the year he ran data it obtained extending gressional oversight.
for president and in his first over two decades, comes A lawyer for the Trump Or-
year in the White House, at a pivotal moment ahead ganization, Alan Garten,
according to a report Sun- of the first presidential de- and a spokesperson for the
day in The New York Times. bate Tuesday and weeks Trump Organization did not
Trump, who has fiercely before a divisive election immediately respond to a
guarded his tax filings and against Democrat Joe request for comment from
is the only president in mod- Biden. The president vowed The Associated Press on the
ern times not to make them that information about his report.
public, paid no federal in- taxes "will all be revealed." Garten told the Times that
come taxes in 10 of the past But he offered no time- "most, if not all, of the facts
15 years. He campaigned line for the disclosure and appear to be inaccurate." President Donald Trump speaking during a news conference at
for office as a billionaire made similar promises dur- He said in a statement to the White House, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Washington.
real estate mogul and suc- ing the 2016 campaign on the news organization that Associated Press
cessful businessman. which he never followed the president "has paid candidacy in 2015." tax returns because he had
Speaking at a news confer- through. tens of millions of dollars in During his first general elec- paid nothing in federal tax-
ence at the White House, In fact, the president has personal taxes to the fed- tion debate against Demo- es.
Trump dismissed the report fielded court challenges eral government, including crat Hillary Clinton in 2016, Trump interrupted her
as "fake news" and said he against those seeking ac- paying millions in personal Clinton said that perhaps to say, "That makes me
has paid taxes, though he cess to his returns, includ- taxes since announcing his Trump wasn't releasing his smart."q