Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - July 25, 2016
From Ballotpedia
|
Monday's Leading Stories
The Democratic National Committee presidential nominating convention begins today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Special coverage of the convention by Ballotpedia staff can be viewed here.
- On Friday, Hillary Clinton announced via text message to supporters and on Twitter that she had chosen Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her vice presidential running mate. Her text message read: "I'm thrilled to tell you this first: I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate. Welcome him to my team.” (Reuters)
- On Saturday, Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice presidential pick, calling him a “progressive who likes to get things done.” She added, “I have to say, Senator Tim Kaine is everything that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not.” (The New York Times)
- According to The New York Times, “Progressive groups have offered mixed reviews of Mr. Kaine.” MoveOn.org Political Action said that “it supports him [Kaine] in light of the ‘racist, bigoted’ message coming from Mr. Trump.” Charles Chamberlain, the executive director of Democracy for America, said, “Kaine’s support for fast-track authority for the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership and recent backing of bank deregulation will make our work more difficult.” (The New York Times)
- Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) announced her resignation from the post on Sunday following “the leak of thousands of internal DNC emails by hackers, possibly in Russia, suggesting that DNC staffers had favored the frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, over her chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders,” according to Ballotpedia Senior Writer Jim Barnes. Democratic National Committee Vice Chairwoman Donna Brazile will serve as interim chair, and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) will serve as permanent chair of the convention. (Ballotpedia, CNN)
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz: In a statement, Wasserman Schultz said she will step down from her position at the end of the convention, adding, "We have planned a great and unified Convention this week and I hope and expect that the DNC team that has worked so hard to get us to this point will have the strong support of all Democrats in making sure this is the best convention we have ever had.” (NPR)
- Hillary Clinton: In a statement, Hillary Clinton said, "There's simply no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie." According to NPR, “Clinton also announced that Wasserman Schultz will serve as honorary chair of the campaign's ‘50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country’ and that the two will campaign together both to help elect Clinton to the White House and to help with Wasserman Schultz's Senate re-election campaign.” (NPR)
- Robby Mook: Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook said, "What's disturbing about this entire situation is that experts are telling us that Russian state actors broke into the DNC, took all those emails and are now leaking them out through these websites. It's troubling that some experts are telling us this was done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump." (The Hill)
- Bernie Sanders: Sanders commented on her decision to step down, saying, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz has made the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party. While she deserves thanks for her years of service, the party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome in working people and young people. The party leadership must also always remain impartial in the presidential nominating process, something which did not occur in the 2016 race." On Sunday, before Wasserman Schultz announced her decision to step down, Sanders said, "I don't think she is qualified to be the chair of the DNC, not only for these awful emails, which revealed the prejudice of the DNC, but also because we need a party that reaches out to working people and young people, and I don't think her leadership style is doing that." (CNN)
- Donald Trump: In a series of tweets on Saturday and Sunday, Trump commented on the DNC’s leaked emails and Bernie Sanders. Trump tweeted, “There is no longer a Bernie Sanders ‘political revolution.’ He is turning out to be a weak and somewhat pathetic figure,wants it all to end! ...If the Republican Convention had blown up with e-mails, resignation of boss and the beat down of a big player. (Bernie), media would go wild. ...Crooked Hillary Clinton was not at all loyal to the person in her rigged system that pushed her over the top, DWS. Too bad Bernie flamed out. … Even though Bernie Sanders has lost his energy and his strength, I don't believe that his supporters will let Crooked Hillary off the hook! … The Democrats are in a total meltdown but the biased media will say how great they are doing! E-mails say the rigged system is alive & well!” (Twitter)
- Paul Manafort: Donald Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort said that Clinton should drop out of the race. He said, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned over her failure to secure the DNC's email servers and the rigged system she set up with the Clinton campaign. Now Hillary Clinton should follow Wasserman Schultz's lead and drop out over her failure to safeguard top secret, classified information both on her unauthorized home server and while traveling abroad." (CNN)
- On Friday, WikiLeaks published emails exchanged by members of the Democratic National Committee. The New York Times reported that an email exchange between DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda and Wasserman Schultz showed them discussing “whether they should call CNN to complain about a segment the network aired in which Mr. Sanders said he would oust the chairwoman if he were elected.” Wasserman Schultz wrote, “This is a silly story. He isn’t going to be president.” The emails seem to provide evidence that the DNC was not neutral in their handling of the primary election, a point that Sanders raised numerous times. (The New York Times)
- The Washington Post reported that one email appears “to show officials discussing using Sen. Bernie Sanders’s faith against him with voters.” DNC chief financial officer Brad Marshall wrote in an email to DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda, Deputy Communications Director Mark Paustenbach and CEO Amy Lacey, “It might may no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.” Marshall said “he did not ‘recall’ the exchange. ‘I can say it would not have been Sanders. It would probably be about a surrogate.’” (The Washington Post)
Polls
- According to a Reuters/Ipsos national online poll taken during the Republican National Convention, Clinton leads Trump 41 percent to 38 percent. “Given the poll's credibility interval of about 4 percentage points, Trump and Clinton should be considered to be about even in the race,” according to Reuters. (Reuters)
- On Saturday, a Gravis poll showed that Trump leads Clinton 51 to 49 percent. (Gravis)
Democrats
- On Saturday, the Democratic Rules Committee “approved nearly unanimously an amendment that preserves the existing superdelegate role for elected U.S. lawmakers and governors, but will bind the remaining superdelegates — roughly two-thirds — to primary and caucus results. The new rule, which will still need to be formally approved by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and won’t be in effect until the next presidential election, establishes a ‘Unity Commission’ to make recommendations on the reforms,” according to The Hill. The amendment states, "The Commission shall make specific recommendations providing that Members of Congress, Governors, and distinguished party leaders remain unpledged and free to support their nominee of choice. but that remaining unpledged delegates be required to cast their vote at the Convention for candidates in proportion to the vote received for each candidate in their state." (The Hill)
- For more information about Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention and The DNC Rules Committee, visit Ballotpedia.
Hillary Clinton
- Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg (I) will endorse Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Monday. Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Bloomberg, said, “As the nation’s leading independent and a pragmatic business leader, Mike has supported candidates from both sides of the aisle. This week in Philadelphia, he will make a strong case that the clear choice in this election is Hillary Clinton.” (The New York Times)
- During an interview on Friday, President Barack Obama discussed Clinton’s strengths and weaknesses. He said, "You know, we don't go vacationing together. I think that I've got a pretty clear-eyed sense of both her strengths and her weaknesses. And what I would say would be that this is somebody who knows as much about domestic and foreign policy as anybody, is tough as nails, is motivated by what's best for America and ordinary people, understands that in this democracy that we have -- things don't always happen as fast as we'd like. And it requires compromise and grinding it out. … She's not always flashy. And there are better speech makers. But she knows her stuff. And more than anything, that is what is ultimately required to do a good job in this--in this office." (CBS News)
- He called her use of a private server a "mistake," adding that "on the big stuff, she's gotten it right. If you've been in the public eye for decades at the highest levels of scrutiny, folks are going to find some mistakes you make. I've made mistakes. I don't know any president or public official at her level who aren't going to look back and say, 'I should have done something like that differently.’ But what I would also say is that the consistency with which she has devoted her life to trying to make sure that kids get healthcare and a good education, and that, you know, families are getting a fair break if they're working hard, and that America upholds its best traditions of foreign policy-- on the big stuff, she's gotten it right.”
- On Friday, the State Department released documents showing that “[e]mails on Hillary Clinton’s private server marked ‘top secret’ ended up in the inboxes” of Clinton aides Jacob Sullivan, Cheryl Mills, and William Burns. According to The Hill, “Twenty of the emails were restricted to Clinton and Sullivan, with some originating from other unnamed State Department officials. Two were email chains among State officials forwarded by Sullivan — one to Clinton and Mills, and another to Clinton, Mills and Burns.” (The Hill)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- During an interview on Sunday, Donald Trump discussed his plan to "immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time it's proven that vetting mechanisms have been put in place." He said to NBC host Chuck Todd, "People were so upset when I used the word Muslim. Oh, you can't use the word Muslim. Remember this. And I'm okay with that, because I'm talking territory instead of Muslim." Trump said he will release a list of places “from which he would want to cut off immigration.” Trump added, "We have nations and we'll come out -- I'm going to be coming out over the next few weeks with a number of the places. … there are specific problems in Germany and we have problems with France. … Here is what I want: Extreme vetting. Tough word. Extreme vetting... we're going to have tough standards." (CBS News)
- Trump also said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s comments that Trump’s questioning of NATO was a "rookie mistake” was "100 percent wrong.” Trump added, “Frankly it's sad. We have NATO, and we have many countries that aren't paying for what they're supposed to be paying, which is already too little, but they're not paying anyway. And we're giving them a free ride."
- During the same interview, Trump discussed trade, saying that he will “impose tariffs — in the range of 15 percent to 35 percent — on companies like Indiana-based Carrier, which is moving its operations to Mexico,” according to The Hill. Trump said, “If they're going to fire all their people, move their plant to Mexico, build air conditioners, and think they're going to sell those air conditioners to the United States, there's going to be a tax.” Todd then said that “the import-tariff plan wouldn't pass muster at the WTO.” Trump replied, “Then we're going to renegotiate or we're going to pull out. These trade deals are a disaster. You know, the World Trade Organization is a disaster.” (The Hill)
- The USA Today reported on Sunday that President Barack Obama's half-brother Malik Obama supports Trump. Malik Obama said, “I like Donald Trump because he speaks from the heart ... Make America Great Again is a great slogan. I would like to meet him.” (USA Today)
- Trump responded to the support on Twitter, writing that Malik Obama "was probably treated badly by president-like everybody else!"
- On Friday, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel “issued a tentative ruling to deny a bid to dismiss a lawsuit by unhappy customers of Trump University,” according to CNN. The case against Trump University is set for trial in November. (CNN)
- On Friday, Trump said he would not accept Sen. Ted Cruz’s endorsement if Cruz decides to endorse him. Trump said, "If he gives it, I will not accept it. He’ll come and endorse in the next little while because he has no choice. I don’t want his endorsement. Ted, stay home, relax, enjoy yourself.” Trump also suggested that he would set up a super-PAC to support Cruz’s 2018 challenger. Trump said, "Maybe I’ll set up a super-PAC if he decides to run. Are you allowed to set up a super-PAC … as president?" Trump added, “Somebody got booed out of the place by thousands and thousands of people. Honestly, he may have ruined his political career.” (The Hill)
- During an interview on Friday, President Barack Obama said that the “dark worldview” that Trump described during his speech at the Republican National Convention does not accurately reflect what is happening in the world. Obama said, "As serious as these terrorist attacks are, the fact of the matter is that the American people are significantly more safe now than they were before all the work that we've done since 9/11. And so maintaining that perspective I think is absolutely critical. And trying to fan fears simply to score political points I think is not in the best interest of the American people." Obama also criticized Trump’s “suggestion that the U.S. could and should withhold military support from NATO countries that have not pulled their weight.” Obama said, “Anybody who's been paying attention knows there is a big difference between challenging our European allies to keep up their defense spending, particularly at a time when Russia's been more aggressive, and saying to them, 'You know what? We might not abide by the central tenant of the most important alliance in the history of the world.’” (CBS News)
Third Party Candidates
- Politico reported on Saturday that Republican and Democratic strategists are unsure what impact Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will have on House and Senate races in November. “Top strategists in both parties openly admit they’re perplexed about how third-party and independent voters will cast their ballots in Senate contests and battleground House races. Disgruntled Ted Cruz or Bernie Sanders supporters may toss out protest votes for third-party presidential candidates, while sticking with their party in the battle for control of the Senate. Or Libertarian and Green Party voters might decline to vote for Democratic or GOP Senate candidates — some might not even cast a downballot vote at all — moves that would have negligible effect on the battle for the upper chamber,” according to Politico. (Politico)
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- On Saturday, Jill Stein asked Sen. Bernie Sanders to join the Green Party after leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) “revealed party officials' plans to undermine Sanders's presidential campaign,” according to The Hill. Stein tweeted, “The #DNCleak emails are the smoking gun that the Democratic establishment rigged the primary against Bernie Sanders. … If @BernieSanders repudiates the Democratic Party that betrayed him, I'd welcome him into @GreenPartyUS to continue the revolution.” (The Hill, Twitter)
- Stein will participate in the “March for Our Lives" event outside of the DNC on Monday to "keep the revolution going." She also plans on holding a rally Monday evening to promote progressive issues. (Bustle)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- On Saturday, comic Drew Carey hosted a fundraiser for Gary Johnson. According to the Los Angeles Times, about 145 people attended the event raising an estimated $100,000 for the campaign. During a question-and-answer session, Johnson was asked about his stance on the Islamic State. Johnson said “that the terrorist group had largely been contained geographically, although he acknowledged that the problem of the group inspiring ‘lone-wolf’ attackers posed a thornier challenge.” Johnson also told supporters that his running mate Bill Weld would be responsible for nominating Supreme Court justices and other federal judges. (The Los Angeles Times)
- On Friday, political commentator Glenn Beck said, "I'm probably going to vote for Gary Johnson," though "I haven't made my final decision yet." (Reason.com)
- Gary Teal, vice chairman of the Washington, D.C., GOP party and a delegate at the Republican convention, announced on Friday that he would resign from his post and planned to vote for Johnson instead of Donald Trump. Teal said, “If I’m not going to vote for the nominee, then I have to resign my position. I’m prepared to do that. … The RNC has bungled this nomination process by having bad rules. And now at this convention, they’ve sacrificed integrity in favor of unity.” The Daily Beast also reported that Washington, D.C., delegates Justin Dillon, Kris Hammond, and Peter Lee said that they will vote for Johnson instead of Trump. (The Daily Beast)
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
