In today's Poll Pourri, your daily round-up of the latest, most important developments in the US election campaign, we bring you highlights from Barack Obama's speech, explain what the high voting turnout means for the Presidential race and highlight the contrarian opinion of an analyst who thinks pollsters are underestimating Donald Trump's chances in the election.

'Unprecedented': Voter turnout in election could reach the highest in more than a century

In eight days, a total of 801,000 people have already voted in Harris County, Texas -- home to the nation's fourth-largest city, Houston -- which is more than 93 percent of 2016's turnout. And there are 10 more days to go.

Overall, Texas has reached nearly 60 percent of its turnout from 2016 with 5.3 million people voting so far.

Some analysts believe the high voter turnout is a sign of anti-incumbency and may not bode well for Donald Trump. A loss in Texas will be brutal for Trump's chances. The state is as red a state as they become. The last time a Democrat won there was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

'Can't even protect himself from COVID-19': Obama launches fiery attack on Trump

Former US President Barack Obama on Wednesday launched a fiery attack on Donald Trump, stating that the man, who cannot take the basic steps to protect himself, is not going to be able to protect the country.

"This is not a reality show" but "reality" wherein the people will have to "live with the consequences of him proving himself incapable of taking the job seriously," Obama said, taking a swipe at the former The Apprentice host.

The former President also attacked Trump on reports of him having a "secret Chinese bank account".

"Can you imagine if I had a secret Chinese bank account when I was running for re-election? ... Fox News... would have called me Beijing Barry," Obama said, mocking the conservative-leaning media outlet.

Romney says he did not vote for Trump

Republican 2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he did not vote for Donald Trump, furthering his battle with the President. Romney was the sole Republican to vote in favour of Trump's impeachment.

Romney is among the leading voices of the #NeverTrumpers, which is sort of a wing within the Republic party.

Trump has dismissed Romney's frequent attacks on him, once calling him a 'loser' for not being able to win the 2012 election against Obama.

Smaller role for Fauci?

Things seem to getting tougher for Dr Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, previously seen as the leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Following Fauci's criticism of Trump's disregard for the following COVID-19 protocols, another member of the task force, Dr Scott Atlas, said Fauci was "just one person on the task force" and that he lacked "the kind of public policy background necessary to direct the administration's response to the coronavirus".

Atlas himself has been under the scanner for his advocacy views on herd immunity but the latest episode underlines the confused response of the Trump administration to the pandemic.

Don't underestimate Trump's "hidden voters"

Robert Cahaly, chief pollster for the Trafalgar Group, which was one of the few polling agencies to correctly predict Trump's 2016 victory, says the Republican will win again.

His thesis: "Other pollsters are missing the hidden Trump vote. There is a clear feeling among conservatives and people that are for the president that they’re not interested in sharing their opinions readily. ... These people ... are more hesitant to participate in polls. So, if you’re not compensating for this ... you’re not going to get honest answers.”

Meanwhile, odds continue to favour Biden heavily, with statistics-website FiveThirtyEight saying the Democrat has an 87 percent chance of winning.

Giuliani under attack for compromising scene in new Borat film

Former New York mayor and current personal attorney to Donald Trump Rudy Guliani finds himself under the scanner with the release of highly embarrassing footage in Sacha Baron Cohen’s follow-up to Borat.

Footage from the film, released on Friday, shows Guiliani touching himself inappropriately while reclining on a bed in the presence of the actor playing Borat’s daughter, who is posing as a TV journalist.

The image quickly went viral on Twitter and was fodder for other memes.

pic.twitter.com/Zz1EEkHDZ3

— Jenkem Idaho Ghoul-a (@sexyfacts4u) October 21, 2020

“Sequels don’t come more triumphant, or well-timed, than this,” the Daily Beast said in its review on Wednesday.

First Published:Oct 22, 2020 1:02 PM IST