suggested postponing national elections?

The day for elections is established in the Constitution, so any such change requires new legislation. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution also specifically states that Presidential terms conclude on the following January 20th, Inauguration Day. No legislation is likely to be passed that would allow for any change.

The next person in order of succession is the speaker of the House. However, if there were no election, that seat would too be vacant, as the House has two-year terms that conclude on January 3 following the election. The next individual in line is president pro tempore of the Senate, who is the senior Senator of the majority party and presides over the Senate in the Vice President’s absence. The Senator who holds the title – Chuck Grassley of Iowa – is also up for reelection in 2020, and so his seat would similarly be vacant if no election were held. Because of the number of Senate seats up for re-election, if no election was held, Democrats would gain the majority in the chamber, and because the process of selecting the president pro tempore is informal, could choose any among them.

Trump claimed he lost the 2016 popular vote because of widespread fraud, though the commission he established to investigate it found none. Since then he has disparaged mail-in and other measures for easier voting, though he and his family vote by mail themselves, and has yet to confirm if he would accept 2020 election results.

At the same time that Trump made the suggestion to postpone elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, his administration pushed for a full re-opening of schools across the United States.

NPR – Trump Floats Delaying The Election. It Would Require A Change In Law
Constitution Daily – Does the Constitution allow for a delayed presidential election?
Politico – Postpone the Election? That Could Mean President Biden

retweeted a claim that his own CDC was lying about COVID-19?

On July 13, 2020, Trump retweeted former game show host Chuck Woolery, who pushed to reopen schools amid record new cases of COVID-19. He alleged that scientific evidence pointed to the move, and that Democrats, Media, the CDC, and “our Doctors” had been lying about the disease.

Tweets from former game show host Chuck Woolery that were retweeted by the president of the United States.
Trump retweets former game show host Chuck Woolery, on the morning of Jul 13, 2020.

When asked if endorsing comments that doubted his own Center for Disease Control would be confusing to the public, Trump replied,

I didn’t make a comment. I reposted a tweet that a lot of people feel. But all I am doing is making a comment. I’m just putting somebody’s voice out there. There are many voices. There are many people that think we shouldn’t do this kind of testing, because all we do, it’s a trap.

Three days later, Woolery deleted his Twitter account upon learning that his son tested positive for COVID-19.

On the day of the retweet, the United States totaled 3,483,584 cases and 120,004 deaths.

The Hill – Trump retweets game show host who said CDC is lying about coronavirus to hurt him politically
The Hill – Game show host retweeted by Trump deletes his account after announcing his son has coronavirus
The Baltimore Sun – After Trump retweets game show host saying CDC and doctors are lying, coronavirus task force pushes back: ‘None of us lie’
Deadline – Donald Trump, In CBS News Interview, Defends His Retweet Of Chuck Woolery’s Claim That CDC Officials Are Lying About COVID-19
Worldometer – Coronavirus Cases, United States

promoted Goya products in the Oval Office?

On July 9, 2020, Goya CEO Robert Unanue appeared at the White House Rose Garden to praise Trump. Unanue likened Trump to his grandfather, who founded Goya, saying “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder. And that’s what my grandfather did.”

The remarks immediate sparked backlash against the company from critics of the administration. In response, Trump and his daughter Ivank posed with various Goya products, posting them on Instagram and Twitter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCrAzKiBFUQ/?utm_source=ig_embed

The photos were met with another round of backlash, as they appeared to violate federal ethics rules about using one’s position for promotional purposes. Federal law outlining the standards of conduct for employees in the executive branch are directly prohibited from using the office for private gain:

§ 2635.702 Use of public office for private gain.

An employee shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, including nonprofit organizations of which the employee is an officer or member, and persons with whom the employee has or seeks employment or business relations. The specific prohibitions set forth in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section apply this general standard, but are not intended to be exclusive or to limit the application of this section.

Various members of the Trump administration violated such provisions.

Business Insider – Trump posts photo of himself grinning alongside Goya products in the Oval Office, as critics accuse Ivanka Trump of violating ethics rules for promoting the company’s beans
Politico – Struggling with Latinos, Trump hypes Goya food fight
The Washington Post – Ivanka Trump posts photo holding Goya beans, draws criticism for using her position to promote a product
Cornell University Legal Information Institute – 5 CFR § 2635.702 – Use of public office for private gain.

retweeted a video that showcased someone yelling “white power?”

On June 28, 2020, Trump retweeted a video of protests and counter-protests in The Villages, a Florida retirement community. Within 10 seconds of the two minute video, a man is shown yelling “white power.”

Along with the video, Trump added,

Thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!

Trump’s retweet was deleted later that same day.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said Trump hadn’t heard the remarks:

President Trump is a big fan of The Villages. He did not hear the one statement made on the video. What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters.

AP News – Trump tweets video with ‘white power’ chant, then deletes it
NPR – Trump Retweets Video Of Apparent Supporter Saying ‘White Power’
BBC News – Trump retweets video of supporter shouting ‘white power’
USA Today – ‘Indefensible’: Trump slammed for sharing video where supporter yells ‘white power’ at protesters

restricted immigration amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

In April 2020, Trump announced a 60-day memorandum on immigration.

The order was limited to would-be immigrants living outside the country seeking a green card. It had some significant exceptions, like for the spouse or child of a citizen, military service members, and medical professionals. It did not affect anyone already within the United States.

Supporters of further immigration controls regarded the provisions as too limited, while immigration advocates worried that the 60-day period and those affected could be easily expanded.

A month after the order, the administration announced an expansion in an attempt to retain more jobs for citizens in the wake of COVID-19. The new regulations banned entry on certain visas through rest of the year, including including high-skilled H-1B visas. The order also had exceptions for agricultural, healthcare, and food industry workers.

Time – President Trump Has Blocked New Legal Immigrants. Here’s Where Else He’s Clamped Down on Immigration During the Coronavirus Outbreak
NBC News – Trump halts immigration for 60 days. Here’s what the president’s order means.
Texas Tribune – Trump signs order pausing immigration for 60 days, with exceptions
Los Angeles Times – Trump announces new visa restrictions on immigrant workers but exempts agriculture, food service, health

sent a cease and desist to CNN over a poll he felt was fake?

The legal filing from Trump’s campaign alleged that the poll was “designed to mislead American voters through a biased questionnaire and skewed sampling,” and demanded an apology.

“We stand by our poll,” said Matt Dornic, a CNN spokesman. CNN also noted that several other polls found Trump trailing Biden by double digits, and that there was nothing unorthodox about the methodology used by their own.

The poll showed Trump trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden by 14 points ahead of the 2020 election, and found Trump’s approval rating at 38%, among his lowest.

The Week – Trump sends cease and desist letter to CNN after they released a poll that he ‘felt’ was ‘fake’
CNN – Trump campaign demands CNN apologize for poll that shows Biden leading
USA Today – Trump campaign sends CNN ‘cease and desist’ letter, demands it retract poll that found Biden up 14 points

tweeted fake news while warning about fake news?

Trump tweeted a clip of a black toddler and white toddler running together to embrace. It was edited to include a fake CNN chyron reading “terrified todler[sic] runs from racist baby” before cutting to a title reading “America is not the problem. Fake news is.”

Twitter labelled it as “manipulated media” before ultimately removing the video when a copyright notice was issued from the rights holder.

Other tweets of Trump have been flagged by Twitter, such as a manipulated video of Joe Biden, false information about mail-in voting, and a tweet about protests that was flagged for glorying violence.

The Hill – Twitter flags Trump tweet featuring fake CNN chyron as ‘manipulated media’
The Hill – Twitter disables video in Trump tweet featuring fake CNN chyron
Variety – Trump’s Tweet With Fake ‘Racist Baby’ CNN Clip Flagged by Twitter as Manipulated Media

threatened protesters with “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons”?

In a string of tweets amid protests at the White House against George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, Trump threatened the use of “the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons.”

Two days prior, Trump also said of protests that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” His handling of protests were denounced by former Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

The New York Times – Trump Threatens White House Protesters With ‘Vicious Dogs’ and ‘Ominous Weapons’

was denounced by his former Secretary of Defense for making “a mockery of our Constitution”?

In June 2020, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis wrote an op-ed titled “In Union there is Strength” in which he attacked Trump’s handling of ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.

Mattis specifically referenced Trump and what he considered to be a failure of leadership:

Don­ald Trump is the first pres­i­dent in my life­time who does not try to unite the Amer­i­can peo­ple — does not even pre­tend to try. In­stead, he tries to di­vide us. We are wit­ness­ing the con­se­quences of three years of this de­lib­er­ate ef­fort. We are wit­ness­ing the con­se­quences of three years with­out ma­ture lead­er­ship. We can unite with­out him, draw­ing on the strengths in­her­ent in our civil so­ci­ety. …We must re­ject and hold ac­count­able those in of­fice who would make a mock­ery of our Con­sti­tu­tion. At the same time, we must re­mem­ber Lin­coln’s “bet­ter an­gels,” and lis­ten to them, as we work to unite.

Mattis also commented on Trump’s handling of ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police:

At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society.

Trump responded via tweet, calling Mattis “the world’s most overrated general.”

Mattis, a retired four-star Marine Corps general, resigned as SecDef in 2018 in protest to Trump’s Syrian policy and withdrawal of US troops from the area.

The Atlantic – James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution
The New York Times – Mattis Accuses Trump of Dividing the Nation in a Time of Crisis

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