'Well, we'll have to see what happens'

President Trump essentially admitted yesterday that he can't win the presidential election in November without cheating—and he implied that he doesn't plan to leave quietly if he loses. Asked by a reporter whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose, Trump refused. "I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots. And the ballots are a disaster," Trump said. "Get rid of the ballots, and you'll have a very...peaceful—there won't be a transfer, frankly, there'll be a continuation." The Biden/Harris campaign responded, "The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House." —CNBC

• — Ah, so that's the plan. Trump also defended his rush to fill the Supreme Court seat left open by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. "I think [the election] will end up in the Supreme Court, and I think it's very important that we have nine justices. I think it's better if you go before the election, because I think this scam that the Democrats are pulling—it's a scam—the scam will be before the United States Supreme Court," Trump said, alluding to his unsubstantiated arguments about fraudulent mail-in ballots. —NPR
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• — And if that doesn't work? The Trump campaign is reportedly discussing potential strategies to circumvent the results of the election altogether. The plan? First, allege the existence of rampant fraud. Then, ask legislators in battleground states where the Republicans have a legislative majority to bypass the state's popular vote and instead to choose electors loyal to the GOP and the sitting president. —Forbes
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• — Gee thanks, Facebook. The social media platform has received much scorn for failing to vet election ads for accuracy, but it says it will demand Election Day honesty. "We will be rejecting political ads that claim victory before the results of the 2020 election have been declared," a Facebook spokesperson said yesterday. The least they could do. —Fast Company

Cassidy: This is how democracies decay and die

"As the president, what matters are his words and actions. Right now, he is launching a dangerous attack on U.S. democracy. Even as he seeks to undermine the voting process and stack the Supreme Court before Election Day, he is stepping up voter-suppression efforts aimed at minority groups that tend to vote Democratic. And despite a couple of objections from individual Republican senators, his party, the Party of Lincoln, is overwhelmingly behind him." —The New Yorker

MORE: Step aside, Election 2000: This year's election may be the most ltigated yet —NPR

Grand jury decision reignites protests

A grand jury in Louisville, Ky., indicted former police officer Brett Hankison on wanton endangerment charges connected to the police raid that led to the killing of Breonna Taylor in her home in March. Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the raid, was only charged for having fired shots that ended up in a neighboring apartment, not into Taylor's residence. The other two officers on the scene, Ofc. Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, will not face criminal charges. No one was charged with any crimes related to Taylor's death. —CNBC

• — Protests break out across the U.S. From Louisville to Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York, outrage over the decision boiled over into protests. In Louisville, where Mayor Greg Fischer had signed an executive order setting a countywide 72-hour curfew starting at 9 p.m. last night, two police officers were shot and suffered non-life-threatening wounds. A suspect was apprehended. —CNN
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• — More problems for Portland? Leaked chat logs show that pro-Trump militias in Portland, Ore., are planning and training for violence, sourcing arms and ammunition, and even suggesting political assassinations. The chats on the GroupMe app show conversations among members of the Patriots Coalition growing more extreme as they discuss armed confrontations with social justice protesters in the city. —The Guardian
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• — "Ton of bricks" penalties. Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced new legislation that would toughen penalties for crimes committed during protests. The bill would charge protesters with felonies for damaging property and inflicting injuries, as well as sentence them to mandatory jail time for hitting a law enforcement officer. State lawmakers will consider the bill during next year's legislative session. —Politico

MORE: Attorneys say independent autopsy shows Dijon Kizzee was shot 15 times —Los Angeles Times

MacWilliams: America's authoritarian problem

"Our nation's egalitarian, democratic aspirations have always competed for supremacy with a darker tradition rooted in authority, obedience, and the hegemonic enforcement of majoritarian interests and norms. But it has never confronted a challenge like this. ... A country where authoritarian ideals are ascendant, and remain ascendant, is no longer a democracy. It is on the road to fascism, or what some now call euphemistically illiberal democracy. But a country that can look clearly at its own authoritarian impulses, understand them, and find ways to address them is a democracy that can survive and flourish." —Politico

Ed. Note: Matthew MacWilliams is the author of "On Fascism: 12 Lessons from American History" and a visiting research associate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Fed-up Fauci finds his voice

After months of being the target of vitriol from President Trump and his supporters while being the most prominent voice of reason during the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is fighting back. First, he set Sen. Rand Paul straight on herd immunity in no uncertain terms at a Senate hearing yesterday. Later, he addressed the issue of two former Health and Human Services officials accused of political interference—spokesperson Michael Caputo and his science adviser, Paul Alexander. "Caputo enabled Alexander," Fauci told an Atlantic reporter via email. "Alexander is the one who directly tried to influence the CDC (he may have succeeded, I cannot really say) and even me (I told him to go take a hike)." Bravo, Dr. Fauci. —The Atlantic

• — "That has to be approved by the White House." Trump said yesterday that he may or may not approve new, more stringent standards for an emergency authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA indicated it would issue the guidance to boost transparency and public trust as health experts have become increasingly concerned the Trump Administration might be interfering in the approval process. —Reuters
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• — Birx irked? Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is reportedly "distressed" with its direction, describing the situation inside the nation's response to the coronavirus as nightmarish. Birx allegedly views Dr. Scott Atlas, a recent addition to the task force, as an unhealthy influence on Trump, feeding him misleading information about the efficacy of face masks. —CNN
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• — Rallygoer tests positive. At least one person who attended Trump's Michigan rally on Sept. 10 has since tested positive for the coronavirus. Michigan's health department was unable to confirm whether the person had contracted it from the rally. The roughly 10,000 attendees of the rally, which was held in an outdoor air hangar, practiced little social distancing and few wore masks. —The Daily Beast

MORE: Missouri Gov Mike Parson tests positive for coronavirus —Axios

Eric Trump ordered to testify

A New York state judge has ordered President Trump's son Eric to answer questions under oath by Oct. 7 in a fraud investigation into his family's real estate business. Last week, Eric Trump's lawyers said he was willing to be interviewed—but would only do so after the presidential election because he did not want his deposition to be used "for political purposes."

• — "This court finds that application unpersuasive," New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron said in his ruling yesterday afternoon. "Mr. Trump cites no authority in support of his request, and in any event, neither petitioner, nor this court, is bound by timelines of the national election."
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• — Engoron also ordered the Trump Organization and several related entities and lawyers to turn over a variety of records. New York Attorney General Letitia James has been conducting a civil investigation into whether the president and his company committed fraud by overstating assets to get loans and tax benefits. Stay tuned. —The New York Times

Moulthrop: Democracy needs our help

"Our democracy is the work of human beings, and we don't get to keep it just because we like it. If we'd like to be able to hand it off to our children and to theirs, then we have an obligation not just to participate and vote, but to be a part of making our democracy better. That means taking the time to understand it, to appreciate its strengths and be honest about its shortcomings, and to pursue its highest principles." —Crain's Cleveland

Ed. Note: Dan Moulthrop is chief executive officer of the City Club of Cleveland, a non-partisan debate forum known as "America's Citadel of Free Speech."

MORE: Schiff: Why my colleagues and I are introducing the first major democracy reforms since Watergate —Los Angeles Times

Love blooms in Texas

Newlyweds Hannah and Chance Buckner loaded dozens of floral arrangements into their pickup and set out on Monday for what would be a day of deliveries across San Angelo, Tex. After the couple married on Sept. 19, the thought of tossing out the fresh pink and white roses just didn't sit well with them. So they came up with an idea.

• — "I would like to deliver these to anyone needing a lift in their spirits..." Hannah put out an invite on Facebook, and the post received more than 120 comments—mainly supportive of the couple's kind-hearted gesture. The private messages started pouring in too, 72 in all.
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• — People nominated others they felt needed a pick-me-up, including patients battling COVID-19, cancer, recent losses, a teacher going through a rough patch, or someone they felt was lonely. The couple then spent six hours delivering flowers to roughly 20 locations.
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• — "I know I always enjoy getting flowers, so we just wanted to spread that same joy to others in need," Hannah said. "Chance and I are believers and simply wanted to do what God tells us to do, which is to love and spread love to your neighbors." —USA Today

A vote for four more years of Donald Trump is a vote for more division on racial lines. It is a vote for people to be caged, detained, and in the president's own words, treated like animals. It is a vote for more of Trump's cancel culture based on what is good for him and his family. It is a vote for tearing down institutions meant to create three equal branches of government and a balance of power between the three. It is a vote for a new kind of monarchy, where the Trump family is the royal family, and his cronies the new nobility. It is a vote for disinformation and callous care on the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a vote for stripping millions of Americans of healthcare. Not in my name. This is not the American creed.

Much of what was the Republcan Party platform in the Reagan era is now gone. Ronald Reagan once said in a speech at the Statue of Liberty, "These families came here to work. They came to build. Others came to America in different ways, from other lands, under different, and often harrowing conditions, but this place symbolizes what they all managed to build, no matter where they came from or how they came or how much they suffered."

It is now time to rebuild the Republican Party in Reagan's image. That can only happen with a full and complete repudiation and defeat of the Trump era at the ballot box in November. —Ken G., Colorado

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.