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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - June 15, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- On Tuesday, both Democrats and Republicans criticized policy proposals Trump made on Monday in response to the Orlando mass shooting, particularly his renewed call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. (The Wall Street Journal)
- President Barack Obama said, “This is a country founded on basic freedoms, including freedom of religion. We don’t have religious tests here. Our founders, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, are clear about that. And if we ever abandon those values, we would not only make it a lot easier to radicalize people here and around the world, but we would have betrayed the very things we are trying to protect.” He also dismissed the importance of using the phrase “radical Islam,” saying, “What exactly would using this label would accomplish? What exactly would it change? Would it make ISIL less committed to try to kill Americans? Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is none of the above. Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away. This is a political distraction.” (TIME)
- Trump responded, “I watched President Obama today. And he was more angry at me than he was at the shooter and many people said that. One of the folks on television said: Boy, has Trump gotten under his skin. But he was more angry – and a lot of people said – the level of anger, that's the kind of anger he should have for the shooter and these killers that shouldn't be here.” (RealClearPolitics)
- Hillary Clinton noted that the Orlando shooter was an American born in New York. She continued, "So Muslim bans and immigration reforms would not have stopped him. They would not have saved a single life in Orlando. And those are the only two ideas Donald's Trump put forward yesterday for how to fight ISIS.” (CNN)
- Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said, “Overly simplistic suggestions that we ban people from entering this country based on religion, or ban people from an entire region of the world, is counterproductive.” He added, "It will not work, and we need to build bridges to American Muslim communities right now to encourage them to help us in our homeland security efforts.” (The Hill)
- House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, "I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country's interest. I do not think it is reflective of our principles, not just as a party but as a country. I think the smarter way to go, in all respects, is to have a security test and not a religious test." (NPR)
- U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "I continue to be discouraged by the direction of the campaign and the comments that are made. And I did not think yesterday's speech was the type of speech that one would give who wants to lead this country through difficult times." (Business Insider)
- U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said, "I guess I appreciate Mr. Trump's fieriness in talking about it, and strength, but you don't do it by alienating the very people we need and those are moderate Muslims. To use religion as a test, to say we're going to discriminate against all Muslims, is so counterproductive it really almost doesn't deserve being talked about." (ABC News)
Polls
- In a Bloomberg three-way general election poll released on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump by 12 points, 49 percent to 37 percent. Gary Johnson registered 9 percent support. The poll also found that among individuals who did not choose Trump as their first-choice for president, 55 percent said they would never vote for Trump. Pollster J. Ann Selzer said, “Clinton has a number of advantages in this poll, in addition to her lead. Her supporters are more enthusiastic than Trump’s and more voters overall see her becoming a more appealing candidate than say that for Trump.” (Bloomberg)
- In a poll released by Morning Consult on Tuesday, 38 percent of respondents described Clinton’s nomination as “an historic moment.” The pollsters found that “Clinton’s nomination had only a small effect on whether someone felt proud. Only 29 percent of voters said it made them more proud and 22 percent said it made them less proud. More than 40 percent of voters said it had no effect on their pride. A quarter of them said it was ‘not that notable.’” (Morning Consult)
Democrats
- The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the computer network of the Democratic National Committee had been compromised by Russian government hackers who gained access to the organization's emails, chats, and opposition research on Donald Trump. The computer networks of Hillary Clinton, Trump, and some Republican political action committees were also targeted. (The Washington Post)
- Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in the final Democratic primary in Washington, D.C., with 79 percent support. Clinton and Sanders also met privately on Tuesday night for nearly two hours where they had “a positive discussion about their primary campaign, about unifying the party and about the dangerous threat that Donald Trump poses to our nation” and considered “how best to bring more people into the political process,” according to campaign aides. (Ballotpedia, The New York Times)
Hillary Clinton
- Former President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday that there would “be some changes in what the Clinton Foundation does and how we do it” if Hillary Clinton were elected president. He continued, “You have to be careful to avoid actual or potential conflicts of interests. We'll think very clearly about it and we'll do the right thing." The Clinton Foundation has come under scrutiny for contributions it received from foreign governments during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. (Bloomberg)
- Federal judge Emmet Sullivan confirmed in a court order issued on Tuesday that the investigation into Clinton’s private email server was “criminal” in nature. While declining to make public the immunity agreement of Bryan Pagliano, the State Department employee who set up Clinton’s server, Sullivan wrote, “The privacy interests at stake are high because the government's criminal investigation through which Mr. Pagliano received limited immunity is ongoing and confidential.” (Politico)
Bernie Sanders
- Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Bernie Sanders said that he wanted to see a “fundamental transformation” of the Democratic Party through electoral reform and a commitment to the working class and the poor. “We need a party which is prepared to stand up for the disappearing middle class, for the 47 million people in this country who are living in poverty, and take on the greed of the powerful special interests that are doing so much harm to this country, who have so much power over the political and economic life of our country,” he said. Sanders also called for the Democratic National Committee to change its leadership to someone “who is vigorously supporting and out working to bring people into the political process.” He continued, “Yeah, I know political parties need money. But it is more important that we have energy." (NBC News, USA Today)
- Sanders is scheduled to discuss the future of his campaign in a live video stream on Thursday. "He will speak directly to supporters about how the revolution continues," said campaign spokesman Michael Briggs. (Talking Points Memo)
Republicans
- The Huffington Post published a joint interview with top staffers from the presidential campaigns of Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio discussing where their respective campaigns faltered against Donald Trump. (The Huffington Post)
Donald Trump
- House Republicans are scheduled to meet with Donald Trump on Thursday, July 7, to “share their policy priorities, learn about his plans to unite the party; and get details about his plans to move America forward.” (NBC News)
- Trump held a meeting with several Republican governors on Tuesday night, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The purpose of the meeting was not disclosed. (CBS News)
- Donald Trump turned 70 on Tuesday. If elected, he would be the oldest first-term president at his inauguration. Ronald Reagan currently holds that record, having been inaugurated in 1981 a few weeks shy of his 70th birthday. (NPR)
- A report from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy found that Trump disproportionately benefited from positive media coverage of his campaign. The free coverage he received was worth approximately $55 million, nearly $20 million more than the next closest candidate, Jeb Bush. (Politico, Shorenstein Center)
Third Party Candidates
- John Kingston, a conservative donor and bundler for Mitt Romney, has agreed to help fund Better for America, a new initiative seeking to secure ballot access in all 50 states for an independent challenger to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. (The New York Times)
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein said on Tuesday that the Democratic Party had “sabotaged” Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. “This is not the first time that has happened. The Democratic Party regularly sabotages its rebel candidates. They redistricted Dennis Kucinich and wiped him off the map, they did the ‘Dean Scream,’ the DNC promoted that, that was my understanding. This was a spear campaign promoted by the DNC. They did the same thing to Jesse Jackson, who was also sabotaged in the midst of his momentum in the middle of his campaign as well. This is what they do. They are a fake left, move right party,” Stein said. (Fox News)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- In an interview with Reason on Tuesday, Gary Johnson said that he believed the outcome of the Orlando shooting would have been “less horrific” if some of the clubgoers were armed. “I understand how so many people can believe that if you restrict this kind of weapon you can prevent this kind of incident. But there's just no evidence whatsoever to suggest that it makes us any safer, and in fact restricting guns makes things less safe, that's the camp that I'm in,” Johnson said. (Reason)
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
