Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - February 17, 2016
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- During a speech in Harlem on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton criticized those in the GOP who want to postpone confirming a replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia until a new president is elected. She said that the spirit that is influencing the movement is the same one that fueled efforts to restrict voting, calling both efforts “a blast from the Jim Crow past.” She said that “Republicans speak ‘as if somehow he’s not the real President. That’s in keeping with what we’ve heard all along right? … Many Republicans talk in coded racial language . . . they demonize President Obama.” (The New York Daily News)
- Ted Cruz’s campaign said that it is ready to handle a lawsuit if Donald Trump makes good on his threat to sue Cruz for airing “false ads” and spreading “lies.” Rick Tyler, a Cruz spokesman said, “We’re prepared for anything, we have in house counsel.. but we don’t think it will have any standing.” In an email, Tyler also wrote, "There is reason 'Trumped up' means phony. He should look hard in the mirror." (Politico, Business Insider, The Washington Post)
- On Tuesday, Ken Crow, the co-founder of Tea Party of America, switched his support from Donald Trump to Jeb Bush. Crow said, “I was on the Trump train, but enough is enough. When is Trump going to act like a president? The answer is he’s not. … Anyone who is unable to control his language in front of little old ladies and children is a problem for me.” (The Washington Times)
Polls
- According to a poll released by Christopher Newport University on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 52 percent to 40 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in Virginia. (Christopher Newport University)
- The same poll found that Donald Trump leads Marco Rubio 28 percent to 22 percent among likely Republican primary voters in Virginia. Ted Cruz follows with 19 percent support. John Kasich and Ben Carson are tied with 7 percent, and Jeb Bush has 4 percent support. (Christopher Newport University)
- Clinton leads Sanders 56 percent to 38 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in South Carolina, according to a CNN/ORC poll released on Tuesday. (CNN/ORC)
- The same poll found that Trump leads Cruz 38 percent to 22 percent among likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina. Rubio and Bush follow with 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Carson has 6 percent support and Kasich has 4 percent. (CNN/ORC)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- While speaking in Harlem on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton proposed “$125 billion in new spending to reinvigorate poor and minority communities” in an effort to secure the black vote. Without naming Sanders, Clinton said, “You know, you can’t just show up at election time and say the right things and think that’s enough. We can’t start building relationships a few weeks before a vote.” (The New York Times)
- Clinton will campaign with Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, in Chicago on Wednesday. Bland “died days after she was arrested last year by a white officer following a routine traffic stop. A medical examiner ruled her death a suicide, though Bland’s family has questioned that account and how the stop was handled,” according to The Washington Times. (The Washington Times)
Bernie Sanders
- On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders discussed the prevalence of police violence against blacks and the high rates of recidivism among black men during a speech at the University of South Carolina. Sanders said he was tired of seeing “videos of unarmed people being killed by police officers. What is going on now especially with regard to African-Americans, this is not new. It has been going on decade after decade after decade. The only difference is the cellphone video. That’s the only difference because what was going on in the past was never recorded, and the police officer’s testimony was accepted as truth. This video, this cellphone makes all the difference in the world. … We have got to achieve the day when young black males and women can walk the streets without worrying about being harassed by a police officer. I have talked to African-American Ph.D.s who get nervous when they have to travel or drive across the country. That should not be happening in the year 2016.” Sander also said “he wanted to make sure that recidivism rates decreased and that people coming out of jails and prisons received the job training needed to rebuild their lives. He also expressed disappointment in the way some police forces systematically discriminated against blacks,” according to The New York Times. (The New York Times)
- Sanders’ older brother, Larry Sanders, discussed how their family life influenced Bernie’s politics. Larry explained, "We were not poor — we had everything we needed — but our parents argued, and what they argued about was money. I think a lot of politicians, if they've come from financially secure backgrounds, it doesn't really resonate what it means to have these arguments and to have this tension. And Bernard, without wanting to have it, has it, and it hasn't gone away." He also explained that losing family members in the Holocaust has stayed with Bernie, noting, “we knew we'd lost relatives, and the consequence of that was that politics was very serious. Lots of kids grow up thinking it's just game-playing." Larry also discussed Bernie’s stamina on the campaign trail and attributed it to the “physical constitution” he developed as a runner. He said, "I do worry a little bit about his health, but the miracle is that he does it and he thrives. I think seeing him more recently as things have even gotten better electorally for him, he looks to me more comfortable and more calm. How he does it I don't know. The only connection I can say (is) that his physical constitution as a runner when he was young is part of it. He could run, keep on running — and he did keep on running." (Associated Press)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Bush tweeted a photo of a gun with his name engraved on it. The tweet said: "America." Bush later explained the tweet, saying, "The purpose was we went to a gun manufacturing facility where lots of jobs are created, high-wage jobs. And I received a gun and I was honored to have it." Bush visited “FN Manufacturing, a high-security firearm company in Columbia, South Carolina,” according to CNN. (CNN)
Ben Carson
- On Tuesday, Ben Carson commented on the GOP race and the possibility of Donald Trump’s campaign collapsing. He said, “We have a situation in our party where people at the front could easily collapse. Would you want to have a situation where there was no alternative?” When Breitbart News Daily host Stephen K. Bannon asked Carson if he was speaking about Donald Trump, Carson said, “Yeah, he could easily collapse … people could start looking very closely at, you know, his beliefs and, you know, people may start looking seriously at the policies that I’ve put out and other people have put out and actually make a serious decision.” (Breitbart)
- During the same interview, Bannon asked Carson if he thought “Muslims that are Sharia-adherent can actually be part of a society, be integrated into a society where you have the rule of law and you are a democratic republic and you believe in the rule of law and separation of church and state no matter what your religious beliefs are?” Carson replied, “Only if they’re schizophrenic. I don’t see how they’re going to do it otherwise. You have two different philosophies warring which are in constant distinction from each other. So, no – that would be very difficult. … When I say things like that, some people say, ‘Oh, you’re Islamophobic.’ It’s not Islamophobic at all. I grew up in Detroit and had playmates [and] schoolmates who were Muslims. There’s a difference between Muslims who accept America and accept our Constitution and accept our ways and those who want to continue a different method of living. If we’re not sophisticated enough to understand that, then we will lose that war. … If you accept all the components of Islam, including Sharia, then it is not a religion of peace, it is a religion of domination." (The Hill )
- During an interview on WRNN radio on Tuesday, Carson discussed the politics surrounding the process for nominating a Supreme Court justice to replace former Justice Antonin Scalia. Referring to Saturday’s GOP debate, Carson said, "Do you think the same six people on stage would say the same thing if there were a Republican president in the White House right now, for them to wait until the next president is selected? No, they wouldn't. But then again, recognize that the two picks that the president has selected are ideologues, so there's really no reason to believe that his next pick wouldn't be an ideologue also. … I think we need to relook at the whole Supreme Court issue because it has become something completely different than was intended.” (CBS News)
Ted Cruz
- On Tuesday, Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center, said that Ted Cruz’s tax plan is "much simpler than current law and than the other [Republican candidates'] plans we've analyzed.” Cruz’s plan proposes imposing “a single flat rate on wages and salaries, get rid of most tax breaks, eliminate whole taxes like the payroll tax, and tax businesses at a single broad-based consumption rate.” According to CNN, “The Tax Policy Center estimates that his plan would add at least $8.6 trillion to deficits over the first decade, and by more than $12 trillion in the second decade.” (CNN)
- During a campaign event on Tuesday in South Carolina, Cruz discussed rebuilding the military and the culture of “political correctness” at the Pentagon. He said, "I am confident that if we put in the hard work we can, as Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s, rebuild our military so it will be so feared by our enemies and trusted by our allies that, God willing, we won't have to use it. That is the essence of what President Reagan used to call 'peace through strength.'" He added, "That's why the last thing any commander should need to worry about is the grades he is getting from some plush-bottomed Pentagon bureaucrat for political correctness or social experiments -- or providing gluten-free MREs.” (CNN)
- On Tuesday, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) asked Cruz to set the record straight about a Facebook post that falsely claimed Gowdy had withdrawn his endorsement of Marco Rubio and endorsed Cruz instead. Gowdy said, “The truth actually matters to me and to all South Carolinians. Unfortunately it appears that the campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz may not place the same value on waging a contest based on the truth and facts. … I’m demanding that Senator Cruz and his campaign repudiate these dishonest and underhanded tactics. We can have a debate about the future of our party and our country. But we need not leave our integrity behind.” (USA Today)
- The Cruz campaign quickly responded to Gowdy’s request, saying, "Our campaign had absolutely nothing to do with this fraudulent Facebook post."
- On Tuesday, Cruz's campaign asked TV stations in South Carolina and Georgia to stop airing an ad from the super PAC American Future Fund. Eric Brown, general counsel to Cruz’s campaign wrote, “The ad falsely claims 'Cruz proposed mass legalization of illegal immigrants.' Ted Cruz has never introduced, outlined, or supported any policy that would give legal status to illegal immigrants. Indeed, quite the opposite, Ted Cruz led the fight in Congress against legislation written by Senator Rubio, among others, that created legal permanent status for millions of people in the country unlawfully. At least two fact-checks have evaluated this claim and determined it to be false, and others found no evidence to support it.” (Politico)
John Kasich
- When asked by a Michigan State University student what his views are on same-sex marriage and LGBT protections, John Kasich said, "If I see discrimination in anything, like I said earlier, I'm willing to do what I can. Whether it's executive order or legislation. That's fine with me. As for marriage equality - let me be clear I'm for traditional marriage but I've been to my first gay wedding. A friend of mine is gay and got married. I went home and said to my wife, we've been invited to Steve's wedding and you know, said this is going to be unusual for us. She said, well I'm going. Are you going? And I went. And I had a great time. And there was great champagne." The student the said, "I don't think that's enough for you to say you've been to a gay wedding." Kasich replied, "Well, we're not changing any laws. We're not changing. We're not going to allow discrimination on this." The student then asked, "So the Supreme Court upheld marriage equality. Does that mean you would go out of your way to protect that right?" Kasich replied, "Look, we're not changing any laws. The court has spoken. That's the end of it." (NBC News)
- On Tuesday, Kasich’s campaign announced that Trent Duffy, a former deputy White House press secretary for President George W. Bush, will join the campaign as “a national communications strategist” and will be “responsible for national media outreach.” (The Fiscal Times)
Marco Rubio
- During a campaign stop in Summerville, South Carolina, on Tuesday, Marco Rubio criticized Ted Cruz for “making up stuff” and for his weakness on national security issues. Rubio said, “This has been a pattern now with Ted, he has spent the last two weeks literally just making stuff up. I just think its [sic] very disturbing you can just come and make things up about people and believe no one is going to call you out on it. And its [sic] now become a pattern. So we have to clarify that we cant [sic] let that stand unchallenged. When it becomes a pattern people need to know everything else this person says is questionable as well. … What they’ve been willing to do as part of they’re [sic] campaign whether it’s the Ben Carson thing in Iowa or some of the things that are going on now its [sic] very disturbing. I think people aren’t going to like it the more they learn about it.” According to Fortune, “Rubio also criticized Cruz for pledging to grow the size of the military in a speech outside Charleston Tuesday, saying Cruz had voted repeatedly against defense spending bills in the Senate. ‘He’s very weak on national security and knows that’s a liability in South Carolina so he’s being untruthful about that.’” (Fortune)
- On Tuesday, Rubio received the endorsements of 28 Arkansas elected officials. The group included Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford and Steve Womack. During a press conference, Arkansas House of Representatives Majority Leader Ken Bragg said, "I believe deeply that Marco Rubio has the vision for America that best articulates the conservative principles of the Republican Party. Most of all, I think Rubio has the appeal across the broad spectrum of the populace that will bring our party together and our country together." (Arkansas Online)
Donald Trump
- According to U.S. News and World Report’s Lindsey Cook, “Trump supporters are more likely than other GOP voters to support a host of policies and ideas that are shall we say, far from the political correctness that Trump says he is against. The following points are from a poll released by Public Policy Polling: (U.S. News and World Report, Public Policy Polling)
- “A strong majority — 80 percent — of Donald Trump supporters are in favor of a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. … A majority of his supporters also support creating a national database of Muslims.”
- “Nearly 1 in 3 also support banning gay people from entering the U.S.”
- “On the issue of religion, 1 in 3 also say Islam should be illegal in the U.S. Forty percent of his supporters say they support shutting down mosques in the U.S. (while 36 percent say they would oppose it).”
- “Of Trump supporters in South Carolina, 16 percent believe whites are a superior race. More Trump supporters say they wish the South had won the Civil War than say they are glad the North won — again, Trump supporters are the most likely to think this. On the issue of the Confederate flag, a full 70 percent support it hanging on the capital grounds.”
- During an interview on Tuesday, radio host Michael Savage's asked Trump if he thought Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered. Trump replied, "I'm hearing it's a big topic, that's the question. And it's a horrible topic, but they say they found a pillow on his face, which is a pretty unusual place to find a pillow. I can't give you an answer. You know usually I like to give you answers but I literally just heard it a little while ago." Judge Cinderela Guevara, the judge who pronounced Scalia dead, said that, “law enforcement assured her ‘there were no signs of foul play’ and she had spoken with Scalia's physician in Washington, who said he suffered from several chronic conditions.” (CBS News)
- After Hillary Clinton barked like a dog while telling a story about a political ad during a campaign event on Tuesday, Trump said, "If I ever did that, I would be ridiculed all over the place. I won't do it. I'm not going to imitate her. She's barking like a dog, and they're saying 'wonderful.'" (CNN)
- On Tuesday morning, Trump told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo that Ted Cruz has “a mental problem.” He said, “Seriously, he’s got a mental problem. There’s never been any politician — or almost anybody in my life — that I’ve seen that lies so much. … He will say I’m against the Second Amendment. He will say I’m terribly in favor of ObamaCare, which is ridiculous. These are things that are staples of what I'm about I’m totally in favor of the Second Amendment. ... I want the Second Amendment — I’d strengthen it if anything. … By the way, I’m not the only that said it. Marco Rubio called him a liar during the debate.” (The Hill)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- During an interview on teleSUR’s “Days of Revolt,” Jill Stein pointed out the flaws in the Democratic and Republican parties. She said, “In terms of war, the economy, exporting our jobs, attacking unions and workers, privatizing our school system, our commons, an energy system that basically puts fossil fuels and nuclear above all else, turning our food system into a playground for corporate industrial agriculture and GMOs and so on, you know, it’s fundamentally the things that are destroying civilization, and the prospects of life on the planet, they’re really shared between those two parties.” (Truthdig)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- On Tuesday, Gary Johnson posted the following tweet about a possible Libertarian Party debate: “Pleased to share that we are working out a date for an #LPNational prez debate on the @JohnStossel show. Stay tuned for details! #tlot.” (Twitter)
- On Tuesday night, Johnson’s campaign released the following statement about the debate: “The Gary Johnson 2016 campaign has confirmed with Fox Business’s Stossel that Gov. Johnson will be delighted to participate in a televised debate among Libertarian Party presidential candidates, hopefully in March. We will of course leave the formal announcement of the debate details and date to the Stossel show, but want to express our gratitude to Mr. Stossel for working to find a date for this important event that will not disrupt any planned Libertarian Party activities and that is actually doable for all the candidates who are involved.” (Tumblr)
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
