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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - August 24, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Monday's Leading Stories
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday showed Donald Trump ahead of the Republican field with 32 percent support. This was an increase of 8 points from a survey conducted the week before. Jeb Bush was second with 16 percent and Ben Carson was third with 8 percent. When the field was narrowed to just Trump, Bush and Carson, Trump received backing from 44 percent of Republicans. (Reuters)
- Rand Paul will be able to run simultaneous campaigns for president and the Senate, the Republican Party of Kentucky decided on Saturday. In a 111-36 vote, the party’s central committee approved a presidential caucus to replace its primary, thereby preventing Paul from appearing on two ballots and violating Kentucky campaign law. (The Washington Post)
Democrats
Joe Biden
- Joe Biden met with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Saturday to discuss economic policy. CNN reported that “the presidential campaign or Biden's future was not a particular focus of the discussion.” (CNN)
- On Monday, Biden announced he had hired Kate Bedingfield, a former spokeswoman for the MPAA and John Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign, to be his new communications director. (Politico)
- Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) said of a Biden presidential run on Friday, “All I can say is, if I were Hillary, I would say [to Biden], 'Don't jump in.' If I were Joe Biden, I'd probably give it very serious consideration.” (NBC News)
- U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) hinted he would endorse Biden if the vice president were to launch a presidential campaign. “He’s a political mentor of mine. And he’s been very good to me,” Moulton said on Friday. (The Boston Globe)
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton’s campaign has begun to guard against undercover stings by fake supporters. Business Insider reported on Saturday that several women had attempted to engage campaign staffers in improper conduct, noting, “A Clinton campaign official alleges that the women engaged in several efforts to entrap supporters. In one scheme, described by Clinton staff, a woman attempted to pass a cash donation to Clinton volunteers and interns. In another, a woman approached the campaign on Aug. 19 and said both her parents had donated to Clinton the legal maximum of $2700 each and wanted to funnel an additional donation through their daughter, a violation of federal law. On Aug. 13, a woman claiming to be Canadian approached another Clinton fellow to ask how to falsify an address for a campaign donation." (Business Insider)
- Govs. Dannel Malloy (D-Conn.) and Peter Shumlin (D-Vt.) will campaign in New Hampshire as surrogates for Clinton on Monday. (NECN)
- Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall, submitted a letter to the State Department on Friday to defend Clinton’s management of her private email server. “Secretary Clinton's use of personal e-mail was consistent with the practice of other Secretaries of State and was permissible under State Department policy in place during her tenure,” Kendall wrote, citing former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s practices. (NBC News)
Martin O’Malley
- During an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Martin O’Malley said he would welcome a Joe Biden presidential bid, adding it would “be nice to have at least one more lifelong Democrat in the race.” He also addressed Donald Trump’s comments that he was a “pathetic baby” for apologizing to Black Lives Matter activists. O’Malley said, "I am not going to get into a name-calling debate with Mr. Trump. I did take great exception to the hateful language he uses with regards to whole groups of new American immigrants. And I also have a great deal of disagreement with the economic policies he espouses, which are good for billionaires but bad for working people." (ABC News)
Bernie Sanders
- A senior advisor to Bernie Sanders, Tad Devine, said the candidate would “never” run an ad opposing Hillary Clinton. “You will never see us run attack ads against her. You will never see, from him, the kind of personal political attack that is common in presidential campaigns. He is not wired that way. He doesn’t believe in it. He thinks people are sick of it,” Devine explained. (The Hill)
Jim Webb
- Although Jim Webb previously opposed women in combat positions, he stated on Sunday his opinion had changed. Referring to the first two female graduates of Army Ranger School, Webb said, "I am totally comfortable now with the military being able to make these decisions in a way that goes to performance and I am very proud to see – these two women are West Point graduates, and they went through the rigorous training, and the military should be able to decide how they are used." (CNN)
- Webb said the tension between North Korea and South Korea over the weekend was an opportunity for the United States to improve relations with China. “I would say in the long term here – the short term is we'll go through a crisis… – but in the long term, this is an opportunity for us to get a confidence builder with China. We've been having a lot of problems with China. This is an area where China has some influence and perhaps can help us resolve the situation,” Webb explained. (RealClearPolitics)
- Webb said he had a private meeting with Joe Biden last month, but would not reveal details about the conversation. (The Hill)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush is set to visit the border on Monday to attend a fundraiser in McAllen, Texas. According to The Washington Post, “The McAllen metropolitan area, which is located near the southernmost tip of Texas alongside the Mexican town of Reynosa, has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the country, with nearly 90 percent of McAllen residents identifying as Hispanic according to the 2010 census. The setting gives Bush a backdrop to highlight his pitch for comprehensive immigration reform.” (The Washington Post)
Ben Carson
- During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Ben Carson explained his evolution from personal opposition to abortion to political opposition. “I began to think if abolitionists a long time ago began to think that ‘I don’t believe in slavery, but anybody else can do it if they want to,’ where would we be today? So that changed my opinion of a lot of things," Carson said. (The Blaze)
- Carson also clarified comments he made about using drones to patrol the border. In particular, Carson highlighted the need to eliminate caves that smugglers use for scouting and hiding purposes. “Drones can help with the surveillance. In no way did I suggest that drones be used to kill people,” he said. (CNN)
- Carson did not reject the suggestion that he could become Trump’s vice president if Trump were to win the Republican nomination, saying, “I think all things are possible, but it's much too early to begin such conversations." (Bloomberg)
Chris Christie
- Chris Christie was interrupted by animal rights activists during his speech on the Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. After the protesters were removed from the stage, Christie said, “Let me be really clear. I believe that farmers should be able to make the decisions about how best to raise their livestock. Not government bureaucrats.” (USA Today)
- Two days after Jimmy Carter announced he was receiving treatment for melanoma in his brain, Christie criticized Carter for being weak on foreign policy. “[Obama] makes Jimmy Carter look strong,” Christie said. (Politico)
- Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Christie suggested birthright citizenship was the wrong immigration issue to focus on since it was not politically feasible. “It's in the Constitution. And I don't think that we should be looking to change it. Now, what I said was, if we wanted to have comprehensive immigration reform, I would be willing to listen to anything. But the truth of the matter is that that is not something we should be being focused on. That's an applause line. The fact is, it's in the Constitution. Let's talk about the things that we can fix and fix simply, without having to amend the Constitution, where we will need, you know, two-thirds of the Congress and 38 states to agree,” Christie explained. (CBS News)
- Christie received endorsements from the following six former New Jersey lawmakers on Monday: Richard Brothers, Karen Hutchinson, Dennis Reed, Robert Scott, Paul Simard and Elaine Swinford. (New Hampshire Union Leader)
Ted Cruz
- Cruz compared President Obama’s administration to Jimmy Carter’s, saying they have the “same failed domestic policies, same misery, stagnation and malaise, same feckless and naïve foreign policy.” (Politico)
- When actress and activist Ellen Page asked Cruz for his position on employment discrimination against LGBT individuals, Cruz pivoted the conversation to discuss the persecution of Christians who were “living according to their faith.” (ABC News, Politico)
- At a rally in Iowa on Friday, Cruz drew one of the state’s largest crowds with nearly 2,300 attendees. Discussing the stories of small business owners who had been sued, fined or fired for denying service to same-sex couples, The New York Times reported, “Mr. Cruz’s rally was aimed at the hearts and minds of evangelicals, who have picked the winners of the past two Republican caucuses in Iowa.” (The New York Times)
- According to The Columbus Dispatch, Cruz appeared to receive the warmest reception from 3,600 attendees at the Defending the American Dream Summit on Saturday. Cruz said of the Republican field, “I’ll tell you the biggest single difference between me and those other fine gentlemen standing on the debate stage in Cleveland. With me, when I tell you I’m gonna do something, I’m going to do exactly what I said I was gonna do.” (The Columbus Dispatch)
Carly Fiorina
- NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Carly Fiorina on Sunday if she still admired Hillary Clinton. She responded, “In many ways I do. She's a hardworking woman. She's an intelligent woman. She has dedicated herself to public service. It is also true, however, that she is not trustworthy, that she has lied about some key things. Benghazi, her emails, her server.” (NBC News, The Washington Post)
- Fiorina expressed no surprise at the market selloffs on “Black Monday” in the United States, China and Europe. “I actually have been expecting a correction for some time now because the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. economy are not that strong. Two percent growth is pretty lackluster. Of course now we have the Fed Reserve backing off zero interest rates and China’s economy is slowing. There’s no doubt that China has some real issues in front of it and the devaluation of the Yuan as well as the huge selloff in their markets spell trouble ahead, so I think it’s justified,” she said. (Fox Business)
- On Sunday, Fiorina suggested that in addition to climate change, the policies of liberal politicians in California were partially responsible for droughts in the state. “You know what else has made it worse? Politicians? Liberal politicians who stood up for forty years, as the population of California doubled, and said we could not build a new reservoir, and we can not build a water conveyance system. So for forty years, 70% of the rainfall has washed out to sea. That's pretty dumb when you know you're going to have droughts every single year,” Fiorina said. (RealClearPolitics)
Lindsey Graham
- In response to the foiled attack on a Paris-bound train over the weekend, Lindsey Graham said, “The whole world is a battlefield and radical Islam is everywhere. … I think we need to be a nation at war. We're letting our defenses down. We're not acting like we're at war anymore. We're acting like we're trying to fight a crime. It's going to come back to bite us.” (The Huffington Post)
Bobby Jindal
- Bobby Jindal spoke at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday where he emphasized the importance of border security and cultural assimilation in immigration reform. “If you want to come to our country, come legally, learn English, adopt our values, and when you get here, roll up your sleeves and get to work,” Jindal said. Some attendees applauded and cheered, but a contingent of immigration activists responded by chanting “we are America” and “we pay taxes.” (The Des Moines Register, The Blaze)
- Jindal criticized Scott Walker for being unwilling to debate him on healthcare policy. “I do want to applaud him for offering a plan even though I disagree with it, I think every candidate should offer their ideas not just on Obamacare but other issues. We’ve offered detailed plans on energy, on defense, on education. That’s one of the reasons I think I’m uniquely positioned. I have the backbone, the experience, and the bandwidth to get this job done. I can’t speak for Scott, maybe he’s intimidated, maybe he’s not ready to debate, but we are,” Jindal said. (Breitbart)
George Pataki
- George Pataki called Donald Trump’s immigration proposal “crazy” and “senseless.” He explained in an interview on Sunday, “We’re going to send 11 million people back to wherever they came from? It’s just senseless. And by the way, you know, you have a child, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old, born in America, speaks fluent English, never been to Mexico, or wherever his or her parents may have came from, we’re going to send police, or troopers, or soldiers into a classroom? Drag that nine-year-old out of the fourth grade and ship them back to a country they’ve never been? I mean, this, this is not America. It makes no sense. It’s Trump being a demagogue. Yes, Immigration and controlling our borders is an important issue. But to tear America apart, by doing something like this, at a time when we have to focus on growing our economy, and protecting our national security, is just senseless.” (Breitbart)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul criticized Donald Trump on Sunday for being a “fake conservative” and lacking substance. “I think [voters] will be unhappy again if they get someone like Trump because he was for Obamacare, he was for the bank bailouts. He’s been a big fan of Hillary Clinton’s. You know, so I really don’t think that a businessman who says things like, ‘I give money to politicians so they will do whatever the hell I want.’ That’s part of the problem. I mean I ran against a Washington where you can buy and sell politicians. And here’s a guy who brags about buying and selling politicians. It’s like, that is precisely what is wrong with the system,” Paul said. (Daily Caller)
Rick Perry
- While speaking at the Americans for Prosperity summit in Ohio on Saturday, Rick Perry contrasted his rejection of federal funding while governor of Texas to John Kasich’s acceptance of federal Medicaid funding. “See, the idea that Washington has this federal pot of Ohio Medicaid money that would have gone to some other state is just nonsense. That money doesn't come from an endless vault of money in Washington. It is borrowed from bankers in China and children in Cleveland and Columbus,” Perry said. (U.S. News & World Report)
Marco Rubio
- In a new Quinnipiac University poll, Rubio had the highest net favorability among registered Republican voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. (Florida Today)
Donald Trump
- On Sunday, Donald Trump said a presidential run by Joe Biden would not be different from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “I think they’re the same. I think that Hillary may be very damaged, however, George, because of the email thing. … But I don’t know, assuming she could get over that, which I just don’t know how she possibly can, but if assuming she could, I would say it would be pretty equal.” (Politico)
- Trump criticized Martin O’Malley for apologizing to Black Lives Matter activists on Friday. “He apologized like a little baby, like a disgusting, little, weak, pathetic baby, and that’s the problem with our country,” Trump said of the Democratic candidate. (The Hill)
- Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Trump said hedge fund managers were “getting away with murder” and should pay higher taxes. “They're paying nothing and it's ridiculous. I want to save the middle class. The hedge fund guys didn't build this country. These are guys that shift paper around and they get lucky,” Trump said. (Business Insider)
- Trump posted a video to his Instagram on Monday to discuss drops in stock markets across the globe. He said, “I’ve been telling everybody for a long time: China is taking our jobs, they’re taking our money, be careful, they’ll bring us down. You have to know what you’re doing. We have nobody that has a clue.” (Politico)
Scott Walker
- Scott Walker drew criticism from the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Friday for stating there is a “handful of reasonable and moderate followers of Islam.” A spokesman for the Council said, “These types of inaccurate statements reflect a lack of understanding of Islam and Muslims that is, frankly, not presidential. If Mr. Walker believes only a 'handful' of Muslims are moderate or reasonable, then he is ignoring the very clear reality that violent extremists murder more Muslims than they do people of any other faith." (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
- Walker will conduct his first motorcycle ride through New Hampshire on Labor Day weekend. Walker said of the campaign initiative, “We do the traditional town hall meeting, which we've done a lot of and we'll do more, but we're gonna do something unique with a Harley ride, where we get around the state next month and tour through each of the counties." (CNN)
- Although Walker suggested last week he wanted to end birthright citizenship, he clarified on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that he did not want to change the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. "My point is any discussion that goes beyond securing the border and enforcing laws are things that should be a red flag to voters out there who for years have heard lip service from politicians and are understandably angry,” Walker said. (The Washington Post)
- On Monday, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) said Walker was “tightening the noose, literally, around African Americans” because of policies negatively impacting black Wisconsinites. The Associated Press reported, “[Moore] says Walker's opposition to raising the minimum wage, requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, and requiring drug testing for public aid recipients disproportionately hurts African Americans. Moore also says Walker's rejection of a high-speed train line between Milwaukee and Madison took away jobs from inner city Milwaukee.” (Fox 11 News)
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
