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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - July 22, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Friday's Leading Stories
- The Republican National Convention concluded on Thursday night with a speech from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. He characterized American politics as dysfunctional and corrupt, harming “the forgotten men and women of our country” economically and personally. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it,” Trump said, giving special attention to the issues of trade, immigration, and terrorism throughout the speech. “I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th 2017, safety will be restored,” he pledged. (Politico, The Washington Post)
- The night featured other notable speakers, including Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, whose message focused on her father’s personal and business relationships with women. “My father values talent. He is colorblind and gender neutral. When Donald Trump is in charge, all that counts is ability, excellence and effort,” she said. Discussing the gender wage gap, Trump continued, "As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce. And he will focus on making quality child care affordable and accessible for all." (NPR)
- Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, real estate investor Tom Barrack, and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel were other primetime speakers. Thiel warned that his party should focus less on social issues like which bathroom transgender individuals should be permitted to use. "This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares?” Thiel said. He continued, "Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American. I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform; but fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.” (The Washington Post, TIME)
Polls
- In a University of New Hampshire poll released on Thursday, Hillary Clinton held a narrow lead over Donald Trump, 39 percent to 37 percent. “Neither candidate can clear the 40-percent threshold, but it’s not because voters are torn between the two, the poll shows. Eighteen percent of likely voters said they intend to support another candidate, and only 6 percent were undecided,” Politico noted. (Politico)
- Clinton leads Trump nationally, 40 percent to 36 percent, in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday. Her four-point margin remains when the contest becomes a four-way race with Clinton receiving 39 percent, Trump 35, Johnson 7, and Stein 3 (Ipsos)
- Rasmussen Reports has Trump up by one point with 43 percent to Clinton’s 42 percent. “Trump has the backing of 78% of Republicans and a slight 38% to 35% lead among voters not affiliated with either major party. Clinton earns 76% support among Democrats. The GOP nominee now picks up 16% of the Democratic vote, while 10% of Republicans like Clinton. Republicans and unaffiliated voters tend to see Trump's lifetime of business experience as good training for the White House. Most Democrats do not,” the pollsters found. (Rasmussen Reports)
- In a Suffolk University poll of Ohio voters, Clinton and Trump are tied with 44 percent each. (Suffolk University)
Democrats
- U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) made an unscheduled appearance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, where he criticized the tone of the convention and promoted Hillary Clinton. “What really got me here was the level and intensity of the hate and cruelty that I’ve seen on the floor and coming out of speakers. It has been a difficult election for me, to watch a party nominate someone who has been so indiscriminate with his demeaning and degrading language,” said Booker. He declined to say whether he would travel to Florida on Friday or Saturday, where Clinton is expected to announce her vice presidential pick. (Politico)
- U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a potential Clinton vice presidential pick, praised the Trans-Pacific Partnership in an interview with The Intercept on Thursday. “Fast track was to give President Obama the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that every president since Gerald Ford has had, and of course I voted for that. Why would I not give to this president the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that other presidents have had?” Kaine said, in opposition to Clinton’s position. (The Intercept)
- The Democratic National Convention Committee announced additional speakers for next week’s convention. The list includes U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Al Franken (Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Governors Jerry Brown (Calif.), Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.), Mark Dayton (Minn.), Terry McAuliffe (Va.), and Tom Wolf (Penn.). Democratic National Convention)
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton is expected to formally introduce her vice presidential nominee on Saturday in Miami, Florida, with Sen. Kaine and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as the top contenders. According to CNN, “She had not formally ruled out Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who would be the first Hispanic candidate on the party's ticket, or Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who would be the first black vice presidential nominee. Democrats close to the process said Perez and Booker had considerable strengths, far beyond their diversity, but their limited experience in national security and government made them less likely to be selected.”
- Philadelphia’s police union condemned the Democratic National Convention's speaker lineup. “The Fraternal Order of Police is insulted, and will not soon forget, that the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are excluding the widows, and other family members of Police Officers killed in the line of duty who were victims of explicit, and not implied racism, and 'being on duty in blue. It is sad that to win an election Mrs. Clinton must pander to the interests of people who do not know all the facts, while the men and women they seek to destroy are outside protecting the political institutions of this country. Mrs. Clinton you should be ashamed of yourself if that is possible,” a spokesperson said in a statement. (NBC Philadelphia)
- The Clinton campaign will hold a public rally next Friday on Independence Mall. “The event will be an opportunity for Pennsylvanians to hear from Clinton after the convention and for Hillary for Pennsylvania to continue working toward achieving Clinton's nationwide goal of registering and committing to vote three million people in this election,” according to the campaign. (Philly.com)
- The Clinton campaign released a new web video on Thursday that features video clips of Donald Trump praising Hillary Clinton, including a quote where he says “she’d make a great president.” The video ends, “Donald Trump: occasionally right.” (The Hill)
- On Thursday, the Clinton campaign also launched a Spanish-language Twitter account and website. “The campaign's Spanish-language Twitter account will feature original and translated content in Spanish. This account is a reflection of Hillary's commitment to our community and an effort to ensure that her message is accessible to as many communities as possible,” said Latino content strategist Paola Luisi. (NBC News)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz spoke before the Texas delegation to the Republican National Convention on Thursday morning where he explained his decision to not endorse Donald Trump. Speaking about his refusal to honor his pledge to support the Republican presidential nominee, Cruz said, “The day that was abrogated was the day this became personal. I'm not going to get into criticizing or attacking Donald Trump.” He continued, “And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go slander and attack Heidi, then I'm not going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father.” (The Texas Tribune)
- Trump seemed to dismiss the significance of Cruz’s speech, tweeting on Thursday morning, “Other than a small group of people who have suffered massive and embarrassing losses, the party is VERY united. Great love in the arena!” (The Hill)
- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Cruz should have done what Ohio Gov. John Kasich did by not attending the convention. “But to show up, it’s like going to your neighbor’s garden party so you could pour acid on the petunias. It was the kind of move that let Ted Cruz be totally isolated. And if he goes back to the Senate retaining this attitude, he will be utterly ineffective and have virtually nobody who will work with him. But again, that’s his problem,” he said. (Politico)
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rejected Trump’s proposal this week that NATO allies will only be defended by the United States if they have “fulfilled their obligations to us.” McConnell said, “NATO is the most important military alliance in world history. I want to reassure our NATO allies that if any of them.” He added, “I think he's [Trump] wrong on that. I don't think that view would be prevalent or held by anybody he might make secretary of state or secretary of defense." (Politico)
- The Trump campaign announced on Thursday that it raised a record $3.5 million online in one day. (Politico)
- According to a Federal Election Commission report filed on Wednesday, Trump forgave $47 million in loans to his presidential campaign last month. (CNN)
- BuzzFeed reported on Thursday that after Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort called Ohio Gov. John Kasich “petulant” and “embarrassing” earlier this week, the Ohio Republican Party’s efforts to ally with the Trump campaign in the fall have stalled. “Paul Manafort got the week off to a bad start. He made a mistake, and mistakes have consequences. If there’s a campaign running around calling [Kasich] an embarrassment…one of those consequences might be that some of the people who wanted to participate in the campaign don’t want to anymore,” said Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges. (BuzzFeed)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein live-tweeted Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night. She wrote, “As a medical doctor, I advise Americans to not take a drink every time Trump mistates [sic] the facts,” and, “Want to know what a rigged system is? Trump University.” (Heavy)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Gary Johnson was in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. “I didn’t want to come, I really didn’t. And being here, I really want to keep the lowest profile possible. I really want to be respectful. I want to be respectful of the Republican National Convention and I want to be respectful of Trump winning the nomination,” Johnson said. He noted, however, “At least a dozen people with ‘Trump for President’ buttons on said they were going to vote for me.” According to TIME, Johnson added that “he gave more than 70 media interviews yesterday and estimates that hundreds of people have also pledged their support to him this week.” (TIME)
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
