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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - July 8, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Friday's Leading Stories
- On Thursday, FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Oversight Committee for more than four hours on his agency’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server use and recommendation that no charges be brought against her. "I think she was extremely careless. I think she was negligent—that I could establish. What we can't establish is that she acted with the necessary criminal intent,” Comey said. He noted that there were three emails found on her system that were marked as classified with the letter “C,” but said that Clinton “may not have been as sophisticated as people assume” and may not have recognized what the marking meant. (CNN)
- Asked at the hearing how he would discipline an employee who did what Clinton did, Comey said, “They might get fired, they might lose their clearance, it might get suspended for 30 days. There would be some discipline." (Reuters)
- U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) questioned Comey on whether the FBI had investigated if Clinton made false statements about her private email server. Comey responded that he would need a referral from Congress to do so. Chaffetz said, “You’ll have one; you’ll have one in the next few hours.” (The Washington Post)
- State Department officials said on Thursday that the agency was reopening its internal investigation into how Clinton and her aides handled classified information. It had been suspended in April so that it would not interfere with the FBI’s investigation. State Department spokesman John Kirby said, “We will aim to be as expeditious as possible, but we will not put artificial deadlines on the process. Our goal will be to be as transparent as possible about our results, while complying with our various legal obligations." Potential consequences “range from counseling and warnings to the revocation of an individual's security clearance.” (The Associated Press)
- Donald Trump met with Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday in a private meeting “designed to foster greater party unity ahead” that “grew combative,” according to The Washington Post. (The Washington Post, CNN)
- U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) challenged Trump over his negative comments about Mexicans and whether U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was a war hero after being held prisoner during the Vietnam War. Trump responded that he had not yet attacked Flake hard but could begin doing so. He also said Flake would lose his seat, although the senator is not on the ballot in November.
- The Washington Post also reported that Trump criticized U.S. Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and characterized the former “as a loser.”
- U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy asked Trump how he would appeal to a diverse electorate in the general election. According to U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), “Trump spent about 10 minutes answering the question—why he thought he could turn that around. He was giving examples of some polls where his numbers have gone up, and again, distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration, the importance of jobs. He handled it well. Being in the room, he handled it well."
- U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) expressed concern with Trump’s constitutional knowledge following the meeting. “I wasn’t particularly impressed. It was the normal stream of consciousness that’s long on hyperbole and short on facts. At one point, somebody asked about Article I powers: What will you do to protect them? I think his response was, ‘I want to protect Article I, Article II, Article XII,’ going down the list. There is no Article XII,” Sanford said.
- Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort criticized the media’s portrayal of the meeting in a statement. “Today’s meeting was positive and productive and these characterizations, attributed to unnamed sources, are wholly inaccurate. The conversation was very positive and substantive. The Members were in total agreement with Mr. Trump of the need to unite the Party and work together to win the Presidency and keep a Republican Congress. Mr. Trump was pleased with the discussion and looks forward to working together with the Republican Party leadership towards defeating Hillary Clinton in November,” he said.
- Both Clinton and Trump canceled scheduled events on Friday in response to the deadly sniper attack on police officers in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday night. (NBC News)
Polls
- In a national Pew Research Center poll released on Thursday, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump, 51 percent to 42 percent. With Gary Johnson added to the mix, Clinton retains the same margin with 45 percent to Trump’s 36 percent. Johnson registers 11 percent support. Among Democratic-leaning voters who supported Bernie Sanders in the primary, 85 percent said that they would back Clinton in the general election. (Pew Research Center)
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed similar results with Clinton leading Trump, 44 percent to 33 percent. Twelve percent of respondents said they would vote for neither candidate or someone else. (Ipsos)
- Rasmussen Reports released a poll on Thursday finding Trump ahead of Clinton, 42 percent to 40 percent. “Trump how holds a 15-point lead among men; Clinton leads by 11 among women. Clinton holds a double-digit lead among those under 40 while continuing to trail among older voters. But women and younger voters are also the most likely to prefer some other candidate or be undecided,” the pollsters noted. (Rasmussen Reports)
Democrats
- The Associated Press reported that Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Hillary Clinton before the Democratic National Convention at a campaign event in New Hampshire next Tuesday. Although not a full endorsement, Sanders said in an interview on Thursday, “We have got to do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton. I don’t honestly know how we would survive four years of a Donald Trump as president.” (The Associated Press, The New York Times)
Hillary Clinton
- U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) will join Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail next Thursday to “discuss their shared commitment to building an America that is stronger together, while emphasizing that Donald Trump's divisive agenda would be dangerous for America.” Kaine is frequently named as a top contender to be Clinton’s running mate. (Politico)
- In response to the police shooting death of Philando Castile, which was recorded and published in a Facebook Live video stream, Clinton tweeted on Thursday, “America woke up to yet another tragedy of a life cut down too soon. Black Lives Matter.” (The Los Angeles Times)
- Clinton spent Thursday reviewing research on her top vice presidential picks as she is soon expected to hold final interviews with the leading candidates. CNN reported that Clinton was “leaning towards” making her announcement after the Republican National Convention ends on July 21 but would also consider delaying the announcement until closer to the start of Democratic National Convention. (CNN)
- Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook wrote in a memo this week that get-out-the-vote operations in minority communities in Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, and Nevada would be critical to Clinton’s performance in the general election. "If we fail to turn out African-American voters in Ohio, North Carolina or Virginia, we will lose. If we fail to turn out Hispanic voters in Florida, Colorado or Nevada, we will lose. If we fail to turn out Asian-American and Pacific Islander voters in Nevada or Virginia, we will lose. Plain and simple," he wrote. (Reuters)
Bernie Sanders
- In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, Bernie Sanders discussed Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential search. “I happen to believe that we should have as our vice presidential nominee a very strong progressive voice, somebody who has a history of standing up to big money interests, somebody who is gonna fight for the working families of this country and who has a history of doing that,” he said. He declined to say whether U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) met that standard but praised the potential section of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). (Bloomberg)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- According to an analysis of Donald Trump’s healthcare proposals by the nonpartisan Center for Health and Economy, Trump’s policies would initially make 18 million people uninsured. That figure would decrease to 13 million uninsured by 2020. His plan is also expected to lead to a decrease in the federal deficit of $583 billion over 10 years and lower premiums “with the largest impact on Silver, Gold, and catastrophic coverage plans.” (The New York Times, Center for Health and Economy)
- The New York Times reported on Thursday that when Trump was asked about speculation that he would decline the presidency if he won the general election, he responded, “I’ll let you know how I feel about it after it happens.” (The New York Times)
- Trump met with former presidential rival U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday. Daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus also attended the meeting, in which Cruz accepted a speaking slot at the convention but declined to endorse Trump. Cruz was also asked by Trump to recommend potential judicial nominees to him in the future. (CNN)
- NJ.com reported on Thursday that Trump was “unlikely” to pick New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) as his running mate. According to one source, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) is expected to be asked to join the ticket. "The people who've been pushing the Christie narrative are Christie people," the source said. (NJ.com)
- In an interview on Fox News on Thursday, Gingrich said that he would accept a slot on Trump’s ticket. “If Trump offers the position and is serious about it, which I think he would be after our conversations, listen, I would feel compelled to serve the country,” he said. Gingrich added that he expected Trump to announce his choice next Thursday or Friday. (CNN)
- U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) endorsed Trump on Thursday. “As we saw with her disastrous response to Benghazi and never-ending lies to the American people, Hillary Clinton is not fit to lead or protect Americans. The stakes are higher than ever and republicans must come together as a united front to win in November. I am proud to endorse Donald Trump today and I urge all Americans to join me. The future of our nation depends on it,” he said in a statement. (Savannah Morning News)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- In an interview on FBN, Jill Stein detailed her proposal for a student bailout by having the Federal Reserve cancel the debt. She said it would be tax-free and cost less than the bank bailout. “Actually, if you count the quantitative easing for the bankers, that was an additional $4.5 trillion, which is far more than we need for student debt which is $1.3 trillion,” she said. (Fox Business Network)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Speaking to the National Press Club on Thursday, Libertarian vice presidential nominee Bill Weld warned that the Republican Party could “crack in two” and compared its current political thrust to that of the nineteenth century Know-Nothing Party. Weld said, “That party was driven by three things: Anti-immigrant fervor, violent rallies, and conspiracy theories. I kid you not. Sound familiar?” He also said his running mate, Gary Johnson, was like President Abraham Lincoln because of his “homespun wisdom,” “discipline,” and “obvious honesty,” (Boston.com)
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
