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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - December 9, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- After Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country was criticized by Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and the GOP presidential candidates, Trump posted the following tweet Tuesday night: ”A new poll indicates that 68% of my supporters would vote for me if I departed the GOP & ran as an independent.” During an interview on Wednesday morning, Trump discussed running as an independent. He said, "The people, the Republican Party, have been -- the people -- have been phenomenal. The party — I'll let you know about that. And if I don't get treated fairly, I would certainly consider that." (CNN)
- Despite their ideological differences, some donors are backing both Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina because they want to see a woman in the White House, according to The Hill. “Recent polls suggest that a majority of Americans expect a woman to be elected in the coming years. A Makers/Huffington Post/YouGov national poll in November with 1,000 respondents found that 56 percent believed a woman will be elected to the White House in the next decade.” (The Hill)
- On Tuesday, Georgia's secretary of state Brian Kemp announced the candidates who will appear on the state’s March 1 primary ballot. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, Bernie Sanders and Michael Steinberg will appear. On the Republican side, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump will appear. (WABE 90.1 FM)
- Poll: According to a USA Today/Suffolk poll released on Tuesday, Donald Trump is leading the race for the GOP nomination with 27 percent support. Ted Cruz follows with 17 percent. Marco Rubio and Ben Carson are next with 16 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Jeb Bush has 4 percent support, while the rest of the candidates have 2 percent or less. The poll also found that 68 percent of Trump's supporters would vote for him if he ran as an independent, while 18 percent say they would not. (USA Today/Suffolk)
- Poll: According to the same USA Today/Suffolk poll, Hillary Clinton is the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination with 56 percent support. Bernie Sanders follows with 29 percent, and Martin O'Malley has 4 percent. (USA Today/Suffolk)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton criticized Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the country, and she attempted to tie all Republicans to Trump’s plan. She said, “Their language may be more veiled than Trump’s, but their ideas are not so different. They are all driving the same argument that jihadists are trying to advance – that we are at war not with barbarous jihadists but with an entire religion.” (The New York Times)
- Clinton discussed her plan to help the manufacturing industry on Tuesday. The plan includes a “tax credit for areas that have lost manufacturing jobs, as well as expanding grants and access to capital for smaller manufacturers and startups.” The plan also includes “‘Buy American’ regulations, which require domestic sourcing of construction and other materials,” according to Time. Clinton said, “My plan will help spur reinvestment in communities that have lost jobs because of factory closures. By strengthening our manufacturing sector for the future, we can help create the next generation of good-paying jobs and put more people back to work across the country.” (Time)
Martin O’Malley
- On Tuesday, Martin O’Malley criticized Bernie Sanders’ plan to fight climate change, He said, "I don't believe that his goals are adequate to the challenge and I also don't believe he actually has any experience in getting these things done, and I have.” (Iowa City Press-Citizen)
- During a speech at the Iowa Technology Town Hall in Cedar Rapids on Monday, O’Malley discussed the importance of STEM education. He said, “We need to put in place career and technical education in high school that actually give kids the skills they need to be innovators, to be entrepreneurs and actually fill the jobs being created in today’s knowledge-based and information economy.” (The Gazette)
- On Monday, O’Malley told reporters that he supports President Obama’s plan to fight ISIS in the Middle East, but he added that more needs to be done to strengthen homeland security, including improving information sharing among federal agencies and local law enforcement and utilizing surveillance cameras and facial recognition software to identify potential terrorists. O’Malley said, "Hopefully, this is an opportunity for us to re-visit a lot of those things. To honestly assess whether every state has an intelligence fusion center that can piece together the sort of disparate bits of information, whether the joint terrorism task forces are actually functional in every state to follow up on the suspicious activity reports. We all hear the term, 'if you see something, say something.' Well what happens after we say something?" (The Des Moines Register)
- O’Malley also said that Americans should be willing to give up some freedoms, in order to be safe. He said, "There's certain conveniences we give up. I mean, one jackass with a failed shoe bomb attempt and we're all taking off our shoes and standing in line at airports. The ready availability of combat assault weapons for sale in our country, I think, is something that we need to address and we need to stop." (The Des Moines Register)
Bernie Sanders
- On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders held a campaign event in the West Baltimore neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested. After he walked through the neighborhood with a group of community leaders, he said, "Anyone who took the walk that we took around this neighborhood would not think you're in a wealthy nation. You would think that you were in a Third World country." (Baltimore Sun)
- Sanders was reluctant to discuss ISIS during a news conference in Baltimore on Tuesday. According to the Baltimore Sun, “Before the news conference began, a campaign spokeswoman tried to wave reporters off asking Sanders about ISIS, arguing it was off-topic. When a reporter ignored the request, Sanders appeared agitated. ‘What about ISIS, guys?’ Sanders said. ‘Of course I'll talk about ISIS.’ Sanders then shifted back almost immediately to domestic policy.” (Baltimore Sun)
- Sanders appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday and discussed Donald Trump and climate change. Speaking about Trump he said, “Throughout history, you’ve had demagogues trying to divert attention away from the real issues. And what someone like Trump is trying to do is divide us up. A few months ago, we were supposed to hate Mexicans that he thinks are all criminals and rapists. Now, we are supposed to hate Muslims. And that kind of crap is not going to work in the United States of America.” Speaking about climate change, he said, “We owe it to future generations to move aggressively to save this planet.” Fallon then asked Sanders how he would handle job losses resulting from his plan to fight climate change. Sanders replied, “Transformation will cause problems. On the other hand, you’re going to create jobs if we move aggressively to energy efficiency.” (The New York Times)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- On Tuesday, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran endorsed Jeb Bush. In a statement, Cochran said, “Jeb Bush is the proven leader the American people need as we face grave threats from abroad and continued economic challenges at home. Jeb is a serious leader with executive experience and a forward-looking vision. He offers real solutions to lead our nation, to return more power to the states and to keep us secure.” (USA Today)
- On Tuesday, Bush showed frustration with the media continually focusing on Trump, instead of asking him policy questions. When asked about Donald Trump on Tuesday, Bush said, “I don’t think Donald Trump is serious, and what he’s saying isn’t a serious plan. I just don’t believe that Republicans are going to buy this language that guarantees that Hillary Clinton has a far better chance of winning.” After being asked again about Trump, Bush said, “I’ve just laid out comprehensive plans to destroy ISIS and to deal with the refugee challenges and to deal with our entitlement problems and our tax code and all this, and he’s playing you guys like a fine Stradivarius violin. This is what he does. He’s an expert at this. He’s phenomenal at garnering attention.” (The New York Times)
Ben Carson
- On Tuesday, Ben Carson’s campaign “announced a 16-members foreign policy team that ‘will help Dr. Carson chart a course for renewed American global leadership in the 21st century,’” according to The Washington Post. The announcement is an attempt to show Carson’s competence on national security issues after questions were raised about his foreign policy knowledge. Carson said, “I’m honored that these distinguished individuals have agreed to join my campaign. They bring with them great breadth and depth of experience in international affairs. I look forward to relying on their good counsel to offer solutions to the grave national security challenges this country faces.” George Birnbaum, the former chief of staff to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and retired general Bob Dees are two of the members of Carson’s foreign policy team. Carson also addressed accusations that he has a weak grasp of foreign policy during a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday. He said, “I’m very sensitive to, you know, the narrative that Carson doesn’t know anything about foreign policy.” (The Washington Post)
- On Tuesday, Carson’s campaign released the ad, "These Hands," which will air for three weeks in the Iowa and South Carolina. The ad features individuals with the words "These Hands" printed on their raised palms and notes their accomplishments and contributions to society. The ad ends with Carson’s hands which read, “These hands are working to heal America.” (CBS News)
- During a campaign event in Georgia on Tuesday, Carson discussed foreign policy and said, “When it comes to bringing in immigrants into our country from other places we have always welcomed people regardless of race, creed, religion but we have welcomed them to become Americans, to accept our way of life, not another way of life.” Carson also urged citizens to vote, saying, “The election that is coming up next year is critical to our country. America as we know it is gone.” (WSB-TV)
- On Tuesday night at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, Carson discussed gun control, saying, “The concept of gun free zones is stupid.” (CBS 46)
Chris Christie
- Nelson Crabb, the mayor of Clear Lake, Iowa, announced his endorsement of Chris Christie for president on Tuesday. He said, “As the executive of a city, I know that strong leadership matters and that there is no substitute for years of tough decision making. Gov. Christie is a former U.S. attorney and experienced executive who can take on the critical issues facing our country. With all the tumult around the world and within our own country, now is not the time for someone ‘new’ or untested.” (KIMT.com)
- According to the USA Today, Christie’s stance on banning “assault weapons” has changed since he entered politics in 1993 and promised “to keep restrictions on assault weapons in place.” Recently, he called President Obama’s effort to restrict access to “assault weapons” “absurd.” Christie addressed his change of opinion during an interview on Sunday. He said, “Well first of all that was 22 years ago, John. And yeah, I’ve grown up a bit and changed my view and been educated on it. And really, my views changed once I became a prosecutor. When I became a prosecutor, and saw that what the real problem here is, is that we need to give the tools to law enforcement to go on the streets and take criminals off the streets.’’ (USA Today)
- On Tuesday, Christie criticized “New Jersey business leaders for not financially supporting Republicans in state elections and said the consequence is Democratic majorities and proposals for higher taxes,” according to CBS New York. Christie said, “It’s time to get a spine. ...“I still keep getting sent job-killing tax increases, job-killing regulatory increases.” (CBS New York)
Ted Cruz
- On Tuesday, Ted Cruz criticized Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States. He said, "I do not agree with his proposals. I do not think it is the right solution. The right solution I believe is the legislation that I've introduced," noting his bills to place restrictions on Syrian refugees entering the United States. (CNN)
- Cruz responded to Marco Rubio’s recent critiques on his vote for the USA Freedom Act. He said, “You are right that Sen. Rubio’s Super PAC is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in launching nasty attacks directed at me. And I will say, in the world of politics, the fact that he is engaging in those attacks I suppose is a backhanded compliment. You know, I read recently in the New York Times about how the Rubio campaign is very, very concerned about the momentum our campaign has. They’re very, very concerned conservatives continue uniting behind our campaign, so they’re trying to do everything they can to prevent that by launching these attacks that are false. I will say, the attack ad they’re running, it’s fairly remarkable—it blames conservatives, such as me, such as Sen. Mike Lee, such as Sen. Tim Scott who voted for the USA Freedom Act along with me, it accuses the National Rifle Association which supported the USA Freedom Act—this attack ad claims that somehow all of these conservatives are responsible for the Paris terrorist attack. That’s just nonsense. It’s silliness and Sen. Rubio knows it’s silliness. He knows what he’s saying is false.” (Breitbart)
- During the same interview, Cruz defended his vote for the USA Freedom Act. He said, “I’m very proud of leading the way along with other strong conservatives in passing the USA Freedom Act. What it did was two things: Number one, it ended the federal government’s bulk collection of metadata. We are not made safer by having the Obama administration have access to all of our phones and all of our emails. We are not made safer by having Lois Lerner have the information of law abiding citizens. That is not making us safer. The USA Freedom Act ended the bulk collection of phone and metadata of law abiding citizens but then secondly what it did is it strengthened the ability to target the terrorists. It strengthened the ability, when there is evidence that an individual is associated with terrorism, it strengthened the ability to be able to get their phone records, their emails, their location, get everything about them. Under the old system, there was a relatively limited universe of phone records that could be searched. The USA Freedom Act markedly expanded the universe of phone records that could be searched. That’s what the intelligence agencies told Congress—the USA Freedom Act strengthens their ability to target terrorists. They’re now able to search many more records instead of just doing it in a blanket way where they had every law abiding citizen’s phone records, instead [under this bill] they do it with judicial authorization targeted at the bad guys.” (Breitbart)
Carly Fiorina
- During a campaign event on Tuesday, Carly Fiorina discussed issues that are important to the tech industry. She said, “Having led the world’s largest technology company, I know what it will take for America to lead in this realm. We must have a president who understands technology — both as a tool and as a weapon.” She also criticized the federal government’s involvement in STEM education, noting that initiatives like Common Core and No Child Left Behind have only increased the size of government bureaucracy and not helped students gain the knowledge required to enter the tech industry. Fiorina said businesses should take a more proactive approach in identifying students who are interested in technology and helping them develop their knowledge and skills by offering “mentorship, internships, college scholarship and, ultimately, jobs,” as Hewlett-Packard did when she was CEO of the company. She said, “Everyone needs a helping hand. We have the talent, but we have to invest in it.” (The Gazette)
- While campaigning in Georgia on Tuesday, Fiorina criticized Donald Trump’s recent remarks about not allowing Muslims to enter the country. She said, “Donald Trump is no better than a politician, he’s an entertainer. I’ll tell you why I think he said some outrageous things last night. Because Ted Cruz had a good week and Donald Trump needed the spot light back.” Fiorina also discussed her proposal to simplify the tax code. She said, “Complexity favors the big the powerful the wealthy, the well connected.” (CBS 46)
- During an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday, Fiorina said that if Donald Trump is the GOP nominee, Hillary Clinton will easily win the election. She said, “Donald Trump is Hillary Clinton’s Christmas gift wrapped up under a tree. Because if he were to be our nominee — and I do not think he will be — Hillary Clinton will wipe the floor with him and we will lose the Senate, we may well lose the House.” She then argued that she would beat Clinton. She said, “I am the lump of coal in her stocking. I can beat Hillary Clinton and I can turn this government into something competent that serves its people and protects its nation.” (Business Insider)
Lindsey Graham
- During an interview on CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday, Lindsey Graham criticized Donald Trump’s proposal to not allow Muslims into the country. Using Trump’s campaign slogan, he said, "You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell. He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party. He doesn't represents the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for. ... He's the ISIL man of the year." Graham also explained his plan to defeat ISIS by embracing “the ‘99%’ of Muslims who reject radical, violent extremism” and investing “in the Middle East and giving people and women opportunity there,” according to CNN. He said, "That's how you win the war. A hopeful life versus a glorious death. And what Mr. Trump is doing is undercutting everything we stand for. Going to a military high school, Donald, is not military service. You've never worn the uniform. ... So knock it off. You're putting people at risk." (CNN)
Mike Huckabee
- On Tuesday, Mike Huckabee proposed an “all-in, effective way to screen foreigners and keep Americans safe,” according to ABC News. He also criticized Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country. He said, "If you’re willing to strap a bomb to the belly of your child to kill Americans, then you’re willing to lie about your religion. A ban on Muslims is impossible to enforce because Islamic terrorists will tell whatever lie they can to enter this country to kill more Americans. And it’s simply unconstitutional to ban people on the basis of religion.” (ABC News)
John Kasich
- In response to a question from a voter about Donald Trump at a campaign event in South Carolina on Tuesday, John Kasich said, "I don't believe that we should be dividing people calling names of Hispanics, calling names and insulting Muslims who are moderate and as outraged as all of us are about the attacks in California and Paris. I don't think we should be insulting women and calling them names. And I don't think we should build databases on people, because all that does is divide the country. I don't care what the guy does, but we're not going to do well in this country if we continue to pull ourselves apart. … The politics of division weaken our country." (Cincinnati.com)
- On Tuesday, while discussing Trump’s statements and policies, Kasich said that people are "beginning to wake up. … To those that support him, that's their choice. I don't need to go give them a lecture. They'll figure it out." (Cincinnati.com)
- On Tuesday, the pro-Kasich super PAC, New Day for America, released the ad “No Room For Trump's Bigotry in GOP.” The ad begins with footage of President Ronald Reagan saying, “In the party of Lincoln, there is no room for intolerance and not even a small corner for... bigotry of any kind." The ad then shifts to Donald Trump’s recent comments about banning Muslims from entering the United States. The ad concludes with Reagan saying, “Many people are welcome in our house, but not the bigots." (CBS News)
Rand Paul
- When asked about Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country, Rand Paul’s campaign said, "Sen. Rand Paul has led on the issue of border security, proposing real solutions. That's why earlier this month he introduced legislation to block visitors and immigrants from nations with known radical elements while a new system is developed to screen properly." When asked again, the campaign said, "Our focus is on our own solutions, but Sen. Paul disagrees with Trump's proposal." (Courier-Journal)
- During an interview on Tuesday, Paul criticized Marco Rubio’s stance on immigration. He said, “I think this is Rubio’s greatest weakness. He’s for open borders. Rubio is way out of step with what the American people want.” (Breitbart)
Marco Rubio
- On Monday night, Marco Rubio criticized Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, He said, “His habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together.” (Fox News Latino)
- Marco Rubio championed a healthcare provision that will limit “how much the government can spend to protect insurance companies against financial losses” under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Rubio addressed the provision, saying, “If you want to be involved in the exchanges and you lose money, the American taxpayer should not have to bail you out.” (The New York Times)
Rick Santorum
- On Tuesday, during an interview with Dom Giordano on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Rick Santorum addressed a recent report that said President Bill Clinton may have spread rumors about Santorum’s wife possibly having an abortion in the 1990s. Santorum said, “I’m not going to let this speculation run rampant. You may recall, we went through a terrible situation and it was after the debate we had on partial birth abortion, and back in 1996, I took Bill Clinton on a veto of banning this late term abortion procedure, fought on the floor of the Senate, and we didn’t win the vote. We lost by two votes of overriding his veto, but we won the public relations war. We made the arguments that were compelling and that were putting the President in a very bad light. I know from these tapes, and this is something that came out in the article, he had some very unkind things to say about me.” (CBS Philly)
- During the same interview, Santorum discussed Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from coming to the United States. He said, “What Donald Trump has proposed is not a workable idea and not the right idea, but what Donald Trump is saying, that we have no way in which to properly screen people coming in to this country who are jihadist is absolutely true. The idea that we should do nothing about it, that we should do what the President suggested, let’s keep bringing people in here from countries that we know harbor jihadists and ISIS sympathizers [is wrong].” (CBS Philly)
- Santorum also criticized President Obama’s speech from the Oval Office on Sunday night during Tuesday’s interview. Santorum said, “What Barack Obama is doing is outlandish national security policy. He is not going to keep America safe. This is very, very clear. What the President is doing by admitting people in here from countries that we know have a heavy presence of jihadists without any type of screening mechanism will be devastating to the security of our country. That much we know is true and no one is attacking the President for allowing this to occur. Three of the people of the four who have committed recent atrocities here in this country, terrorist acts, the Boston bombers and the San Bernardino couple, three of them were screened by our security folks, by our intelligence people.” (CBS Philly)
- During an interview with Breitbart on Tuesday, Santorum discussed the Iran nuclear deal. He said, “We will not start World War III by taking out (Iran’s) nuclear capability. We will stop WWIII. WWIII is underway in the world today. Everybody needs to understand that. WWIII has started and unless we short circuit it, it’s going to explode into a real global conflict. … The Iranians are talking about what to do at the point where they have a nuclear weapon. We know they’re having discussions about the Electro Magnetic Pulse, using a nuclear weapon to disable the entire electric grid of the United States of America. We know what they’re planning on doing and we sit silently, complicitly, and cooperate with the Iranians as they develop a weapon they can use on us to destroy American civilization.” (Breitbart)
Donald Trump
- During Tuesday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, "The fact is what Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president.” Earnest was referring to Trump’s statement that Muslims should not be allowed to enter the country. Earnest also commented on a pledge all of the Republican candidates took to support the party’s nominee. He said, “For Republican candidates for president to stand by their pledge to support Mr. Trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying. The question now is about the rest of the Republican Party and whether or not they're going to be dragged into the dustbin of history with him. And right now the current trajectory is not very good." (CNN)
- On CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday, Trump said, unless his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country is adopted, "You're going to have many more World Trade Centers if you don't solve it -- many, many more and probably beyond the World Trade Center. They want our buildings to come down; they want our cities to be crushed. They are living within our country. And many of them want to come from outside our country." When asked how long he would keep the ban on allowing Muslims into the country, Trump said, "It's until the country's representatives can figure out what's going on.” (CNN)
Third Party Candidates
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Former New Mexico governor and 2012 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson is expected to make a decision about seeking the 2016 Libertarian Party presidential nomination “within the next week or two, with an official announcement coming around this upcoming January,” according to a source close Johnson. Recently, Johnson said he will run “unless some unforeseen catastrophe happens.” (The Libertarian Republic)
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
