Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - April 7, 2016
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Thursday's Leading Stories
- Bernie Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs issued a statement on Sanders’ gun control policy after the candidate received sharp criticism from a family member of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim and others for saying that Sandy Hook families should not be permitted to sue gun manufacturers. Erica Smegielski, the daughter of the school’s principal, requested that Sanders offer an “apology for putting the gun lobby above our families.” Briggs said that Sanders “supports President Obama's efforts to end gun violence. He voted for the legislation considered by the Senate after Sandy Hook. He has a clear and consistent record on the issue.” (CNN)
- Clinton commented in an interview on CNN, “When it comes to guns we have a really serious difference and I was appalled that Sen. Sanders said he really didn't see any reason for the parents children massacred at Sandy Hook in Connecticut to try and be able to sue the gun makers.” (CNN)
- In response, Sanders told reporters that “maybe Sec. Clinton might want to apologize to the families who lost their loved ones in Iraq or to the massive levels of destabilization we’re seeing in that region.” (The Hill)
- On Wednesday, Donald Trump held a strategy meeting with delegate expert Paul Manafort to discuss the future of his campaign after a difficult week and loss in Wisconsin. CNN reported that “Manafort does not believe [campaign manager Corey Lewandowski] or Trump political director Mike Glassner are up to the current campaign challenges” and advocates for a “gravitational” shift in key strategy roles. (CNN)
Polls
- In a Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday, Donald Trump registered 52 percent support in New York state. “If this result holds in every single congressional district, Trump will walk away with nearly all of New York State’s delegates,” said the poll’s director, Patrick Murray. (Monmouth University)
- Trump leads in Maryland with 41 percent, according to a Washington Post poll published on Thursday. John Kasich follows with 31 percent. In the Democratic race, Clinton has a comfortable lead over Sanders, 55 percent to 40 percent. (The Washington Post)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- In an interview on Wednesday morning, Hillary Clinton dismissed the importance of Bernie Sanders’ win in Wisconsin. She said, “Sen. Sanders had a good night last night, and I congratulated him, but if you look at the numbers, I'm still considerably ahead in both the popular vote and most importantly, the delegate count. So I'm feeling very good about where we are." (CNN)
- Clinton also declined to say whether she believed Sanders was a “real Democrat” in a podcast interview recorded last week and published on Wednesday. “He’s a relatively new Democrat, and, in fact, I’m not even sure he is one. He’s running as one. So I don’t know quite how to characterize him.” In the same interview, she also criticized Sanders’ for “misrepresenting” her record: “There is a persistent, organized effort to misrepresent my record, and I don’t appreciate that, and I feel sorry for a lot of the young people who are fed this list of misrepresentations. I know that Sen. Sanders spends a lot of time attacking my husband, attacking President Obama. I rarely hear him say anything negative about George W. Bush, who I think wrecked our economy.” (Politico)
- On Tuesday, State Department lawyers requested that a federal judge grant “limited discovery” in a case brought by Judicial Watch regarding Clinton’s private email server, including narrowing the scope of what can be asked in depositions of Clinton’s staffers. The Daily Beast reported that the “State’s lawyers proposed that the group only be allowed to ask questions about ‘the reasons for the creation of the clintonemail.com system,’ and not about how classified information was handled on the system or any issues related to protecting it from hackers.” (The Daily Beast)
Bernie Sanders
- During a rally in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, Bernie Sanders asserted that Hillary Clinton had said that he was not qualified to be president. In response, he said of Clinton, “I don’t think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. I don’t think you are qualified if you have supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement which has cost us millions of decent paying jobs. I don’t think you are qualified if you supported the Panama Free Trade Agreement, something I very strongly opposed, and which is as all of you know, has allowed corporations and wealthy people all over the world to avoid paying their taxes to their countries.” Clinton spokesperson Brian Fallon denied that Clinton had ever called Sanders unqualified for the position. (ABC News)
- Sanders said on Wednesday that he would formally apologize on behalf of the nation for slavery if he were elected president. “There’s nothing that anybody can do to undo the deaths and misery—how many people we don’t even know who died on the way over here from Africa in the ships. But we have got to do everything we can to wipe the slate clean by acknowledging the truth. You know truth is not always an easy thing. There are a lot of things that we have done in this country that are shameful. We have got to recognize that and own up to it. So the answer is yes,” he said. (The Hill, Breitbart)
Republicans
Ted Cruz
- While campaigning in the Bronx on Wednesday, Ted Cruz explained what he meant when he criticized Donald Trump for having “New York values.” He said, “Let's be clear, the people of New York know what those values are. The values of liberal Democratic politicians like Andrew Cuomo, like Anthony Weiner, like Eliot Spitzer, like Charlie Rangel, all of whom Donald Trump has supported, given tens of thousands of dollars to throughout the years.” (Talking Points Memo)
- At the same event, Cruz discussed his experience as a second-generation Hispanic American and what his message to the Hispanic community is. He noted that he “understand[s] almost everything in Spanish” but struggles with oral fluency. He added, “The values that resonate in our community are faith, family, patriotism. The most powerful value in the Hispanic community is the American dream.” Protesters briefly interrupted the event to oppose Cruz’s “anti-immigrant” policies. (The Dallas Morning News, CBS New York)
- Kellyanne Conway, president of the pro-Cruz super PAC Keep the Promise I, responded to Trump’s charge on Wednesday that Cruz had committed a federal offense by collaborating with his super PACs. "It's very disappointing and patently false. It's one thing to hurl personal insults about people's wives. It's quite another to accuse professionals and Ted Cruz himself of committing a felony by violating federal law,” Conway said. (The Washington Post)
- U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) gave a tentative endorsement of Cruz in an interview on Wednesday after saying that, “by process of elimination,” Cruz was the only candidate he could possibly support. After stating he believed Trump would lose in a general election to Hillary Clinton, Risch added, “Well, people have different ways of accomplishing things that they want to accomplish. Sometimes it’s done with a smile and people are all happy and the end of the day, and sometimes it’s not.” (Politico)
John Kasich
- Former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden endorsed John Kasich on Wednesday. “Governor John Kasich, who served 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee, is the one candidate in the entire field with the best experience, expertise and leadership skills required to be Commander-in-Chief,” Hayden said in a statement. (Politico)
- Kasich’s top campaign advisers met with key donors and lobbyists in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, to discuss how the candidate could win the nomination given his primary performance. USA Today reported that “Bob Rusbuldt, an insurance industry lobbyist and major Kasich supporter, said the message of the closed-door meeting was twofold: first, no candidate will go into the Republican National Convention in July with a majority of the delegates; and second, ‘anything can happen’ at a contested convention.” (USA Today)
Donald Trump
- Rex Early, a former Indiana Republican Party chairman, has been selected to chair Donald Trump’s campaign in Indiana. Earlier this week, Suzanne Jaworowski also confirmed that she would serve as state director. Jaworowski previously co-chaired Carly Fiorina’s presidential campaign in the state. (IndyStar)
- Trump also announced his 33-person New York state leadership team on Wednesday, led by honorary co-chair U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.). (The Wall Street Journal, Donald J. Trump for President)
See also
- Presidential election, 2016
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
- Important dates in the 2016 presidential race
- Polls and Straw polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards
