In New York's June primary, Jamaal Bowman, an educator from the NYC suburbs running an unabashedly progressive insurgent campaign appeared to topple Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term incumbent, for the Democratic nomination in the state's 16th Congressional district, though Engel is now suing to challenge the validity of mail-in ballots.
Bowman told Cheddar on Thursday that he's "not worried at all" about the suit, noting that as more absentee ballots are counted, his vote count is actually widening and the delta is now about 13,000 votes.
"We want every vote to be counted as well," Bowman said. "We're very comfortable with where we are."
As Bowman seems likely to be heading to Congress — NY-16 is about as blue a district as there is and the Democratic nominee is expected to coast to victory in November — he says it's critical that the U.S. pandemic response takes a less "top-down" approach when it comes to vexing problems like whether or not to open schools in the fall.
Bowman, a middle school principal by vocation, said: "We are not ready to open schools, because we have not brought the full resources of the federal government to bear." He called on officials to get serious about "innovative" ways to safely reopen, from prioritizing alternative spaces for learning to redesigned ventilation systems in school buildings. But right now, there are "too many unanswered questions" to safely reopen, he said.
The presumptive nominee also said he'd give President Trump a grade of "less than zero" for his response to the racial unrest and protests that have gripped the nation since the death of George Floyd.
"President Trump is a racist. He is a fascist. And he wants to maintain an order of white supremacy," Bowman stated.
Randal Hill, a former NFL wide receiver, is optimistic even in the face of the protest controversy that has divided America. He told Cheddar Big News that one of the best things about sports leagues is how they can heal national wounds.
Friday's strong employment report, showing an addition of 201,000 jobs in August and a 2.9 percent rise in wages, is a "tribute to Republican leadership," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, said in an interview on Cheddar.
Margaret Sullivan, media columnist at the Washington Post and former New York Times public editor, said that the anonymous op-ed that has roiled the Trump administration was not the most honorable way for a staff member to air grievances with the president.
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Nate Boyer, a former NFL player and Green Beret, is the man behind Colin Kaepernick's protests in 2016 when he suggested that the quarterback kneel instead of sit during the National Anthem as a sign of a respect. Two years later, Boyer believes people are missing the point of his protest and not listening to both sides of the issue.
Comedian Erin Gibson said that she believes Louis C.K.'s return to comedy is not welcome and hasn't been earned. Gibson believes retribution is necessary in order to re-enter the comedy space.
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Lance Ulanoff, tech and social media expert, and Ian Sherr, executive editor of CNET News, agreed that Google's decision to not send a top executive to testify to Congress alongside Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey is going to cause significant damage among lawmakers for the company.
Whichever "senior official" wrote the unsigned New York Times op-ed slamming President Trump should come out of the shadows and resign, said Marc Lotter, former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence.
The New York Times published a scathing Op-Ed written by an unidentified senior official in the Trump administration, setting off a firestorm of speculation about who the insider is. The writer said he and others in the White House were part of “a quiet resistance” to keep the president in check.
