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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - July 20, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- On Tuesday night, the Republican Party officially nominated Donald Trump for president. Donald Trump Jr., a New York delegate, and his siblings announced New York’s votes to the convention secretary. Trump Jr. said, "It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight with 89 delegates. Congratulations Dad, we love you." (USA Today, CNN)
- After the Republican Party officially nominated him for president, Trump tweeted: “Such a great honor to be the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!” (Twitter)
- The theme of Tuesday’s Republican National Convention was “Make America Work Again.” Last night featured speeches from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, and Trump’s Children, Tiffany and Donald, Jr., among others. (NBC News, ABC News, CNN, Cleveland.com)
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued against a Clinton presidency, and he discussed what the Senate could accomplish with Trump in the White House. He said, "I am here to tell you Hillary Clinton will say anything, do anything, and be anything to get elected president and we cannot allow it. … With Donald Trump in the White House, Senate Republicans will build on the work we've done and pass more bills into law than any Senate in years."
- Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urged Republicans to unite against Clinton, saying, "What does the Democratic Party establishment offer? What is their idea of a clean break? They are offering a third Obama term, brought to you by another Clinton. … Only under Donald Trump and Mike Pence do we have a chance at a better way.”
- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie attacked Hillary Clinton’s record as secretary of state. According to CNN, Christie “said that Clinton's policies while secretary of state had helped an al Qaeda-affiliated terror group abduct 300 young schoolgirls in Nigeria and accused her of abetting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, enabling Iran and Cuba's Castro brothers along with lying to Americans about her private email server.”
- Tiffany Trump, one of Trump’s daughters, spoke about her relationship with her father. She said, "My Dad is a natural born encourager, the last person ever to tell you to lower your sights.”
- Donald Trump Jr. said that his father “would unleash the ‘greatness’ of hardworking American people and wouldn't use ‘the highest office in the land as a path to personal enrichment.’”
- Retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Ben Carson said that a Clinton presidency would not be a "temporary problem." He said, "She will be appointing people [to the United States Supreme Court] who will have an effect on us for generations and America may never recover from that.”
- Citing rising costs and security concerns, Wright State President David Hopkins announced on Tuesday that the university will not host the first presidential debate on September 26, 2016. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced later in the day that the debate will be held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Dayton Daily News)
Polls
- According to a Ballotpedia survey released on Tuesday, nearly 30 percent of Republican National Convention delegates have reservations about Donald Trump as the nominee for president. Among non-Trump delegates, half say they have doubts about the presumptive nominee. Additionally, more than one in 10 of the delegates say that while they plan to support other GOP candidates in the fall campaign, they will not be backing Trump. (Ballotpedia)
- Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by one percentage point in the general election, according to an LA Times/USC poll released on Tuesday. (LA Times/USC)
- According to an NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll released on Tuesday, Clinton leads Trump by one percentage point in a head-to-head matchup. In a four-way race, Trump leads Clinton by one percentage point, and Johnson and Stein follow with 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively. (NBC News/SurveyMonkey)
- In New York, Clinton leads Trump 47 percent to 35 percent in a head-to-head matchup, according to a Quinnipiac poll released on Tuesday. In a four-way race, Clinton leads Trump 45 percent to 33 percent. Johnson and Stein follow with 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively. (Quinnipiac)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton compared the opening night of the Republican National Convention to “The Wizard of Oz.” She said, “There was ‘lots of sound and fury, even a fog machine.’ But ‘when you pulled back the curtain, it was just Donald Trump with nothing to offer the American people. … We heard a lot of anger and division, but we did not hear a single solution that would help working families get ahead.’” (The Washington Post)
- During an interview with "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday, co-host Charlie Rose, questioned Hillary Clinton about whether her decision to use a private email server as secretary of state contributed to the public perception that she is not "honest and trustworthy." Rose asked if it was wrong of her to use a private email server, and Clinton replied, "Well, it was wrong because -- look at what it has generated.” Rose then asked, "But was it careless?" Clinton replied, "Well, I think you would have to say 300 people who communicated with me on email are among the most careful people I've ever had the privilege of working with.” Rose then asked, "Do you think it contributed and became a controversy because it fed trust issues?" Clinton replied, "Well, I'm sure it didn't help. Yes, I am sure it didn't help. But I'll tell you this, I am the last person you will ever have to worry about, ever -- not being 100 percent as specific and precise as I can be so that nobody ever raises any questions like that ever again." (CBS News)
- Unite Here, a labor union representing “270,000 workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries,” endorsed Clinton on Tuesday. The union decided to endorse Clinton “because she opposes an excise tax on high-end healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the ‘Cadillac tax.’ The excise tax, which is set to go into effect after President Obama leaves office, would charge some companies that provide high-dollar healthcare benefits an additional tax on such plans,” according to The Hill. The endorsement said, “Most impressively, we did not have to ask Hillary Clinton to take this position. Indeed, it is just a reflection of her decades-long commitment to affordable health care for working families.” (The Hill)
- Clinton is expected to announce her vice presidential running mate on Friday or Saturday, according to multiple reports.
- On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Clinton’s shortlist of vice presidential running mates includes James G. Stavridis, “a retired four-star Navy admiral who served as the 16th supreme allied commander of NATO,” and Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.). According to the Times, Clinton “is widely expected to present her choice at a rally in Miami on Saturday, according to people involved with the planning who discussed private conversations on the condition of anonymity.” (The New York Times)
- The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D-Va.) are at the top of Clinton’s list of vice presidential running mates. According to the Post, “Although her list is not limited to those two, Clinton has spoken highly of both in recent days to friends and advisers as she closes in on an announcement that could come as soon as Friday.” (The Washington Post)
Republicans
- During the Republican National Convention last night, delegations from Utah, Nevada, Alaska, and D.C. cast their votes in the manner in which their delegates were allocated and bound; however, the RNC secretary recorded all of each delegation’s votes for Trump, rather than the candidates each delegation announced. According to Ballotpedia staff writer Charles Aull, the vote discrepancy “has a lot to do with the complex intersection of state party rules and the official Rules of the Republican Party. The national rules require delegates in states that held primary elections or caucuses to be allocated and bound to a candidate based on the results of those primary elections or caucuses. The nuances of how those delegates are bound, however, are left largely up to the states. In some states, for example, delegates can become bound to a different candidate if the candidate to whom they were originally bound suspends his or her campaign. Similarly, delegates can also become bound to a different candidate if their original candidate’s name doesn’t appear on the official ballot. Whatever the state party decides—provided that it does not conflict with national rules—is what the convention enforces. That’s what happened with D.C., Utah, Nevada, and Alaska.” (Ballotpedia)
Donald Trump
- On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. responded to the controversy over Melania Trump’s Monday night RNC speech. He said that Melania did not owe Michelle Obama an apology for similarities between her speech and the one Obama delivered at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Trump Jr. said, "I don't think this is something of that magnitude. I mean, I think, I understand from a media perspective trying to create a much bigger story out of something than it is, but I really don't think so ... I don't at all." (ABC News)
- Trump’s campaign addressed the controversy in a statement, saying, "Melania's team of writers took notes on her life's inspirations and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking."
- Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, “denied that Melania Trump lifted the speech from the first lady's, calling such an act ‘crazy,’” according to ABC News.
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- During a speech in Cincinnati on Monday, Jill Stein explained “how clean energy, student loan forgiveness, free higher education and safer streets were all possible by drastically reducing military spending, reallocating subsidies and creating a truth and reconciliation commission to address the ‘the living legacy of slavery,’” according to Cincinnati.com. Stein was also critical of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, saying, "It's not just Donald Trump that would create chaos around the world. What Trump talks about, Hillary has already done." (Cincinnati.com)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board wrote on Tuesday that voters should take the time to examine the views of Gary Johnson and William Weld because of “their intriguing mix of government experience and mad chef political thinking.” They wrote, “Each is a former two-term Republican governor in a Democratic state who got the local economy moving. Governing across party lines means each is comfortable at compromise, a spirit at the heart of their quixotic campaign. Johnson and Weld aren't running as anti-government-free-will Libertarians with a capital L. They are agile, practical-minded thinkers with a few quirks: Conservative on money issues, socially liberal, skeptical of government power and military entanglements.” (Chicago Tribune)
- In an op-ed in Politico on Tuesday, Johnson criticized Donald Trump’s character and Mike Pence’s support for “a law that pitted religious freedom against the rights of gays and lesbians.” Of Trump, Johnson wrote, “His character assaults are unbounded. His campaign has been one of serial attacks on opponents and climbing to the top by hurting people. And frankly, his immigration and trade policies appear to consist of the same strategies.” After criticizing the Republican ticket, Johnson wrote that he and Weld provide voters with an alternative. He wrote, “We start out from a fundamental premise: As Americans, we believe in freedom. Every individual has dignity and is worthy of civility and respect. The core of our character is one of generous and enlightened self-interest: Every man and woman has the right to choose what to do with their time, their talents and their lives.” (Politico)
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
