Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - June 16, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Thursday's Leading Stories
- In an interview with The Huffington Post on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton discussed national security concerns and several domestic issues. (The Huffington Post)
- On Donald Trump’s comments about Muslims: “You know, part of the radical jihadist recruitment strategy is to convince would-be recruits, here at home and around the world, that there is a clash of civilizations. So Donald Trump’s demeaning and derogatory comments about Muslims and Islam is not only counterproductive, it is dangerous. And I think most Americans really do understand that.”
- On the Orlando shooter and restricting access to guns for individuals on the no-fly list: “He was investigated three times by the FBI, and it is important that we take into account the easy access to these weapons of war. They should not be on our street. And it is something that we have got to address. And it is not only blocking suspected terrorists from buying guns. It is clear that if you are too dangerous to fly on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun. And we have got to tighten up our provisions.”
- On the Stanford sexual assault case: “I have read the statement given by the victim. I was struck by its heartbreaking power. It took great courage, and I think she has done an important service for others. What I’ve heard about this case is deeply concerning. It is clear campus sexual assault continues to be a serious problem. And I’ve said before and I will continue to say, it is not enough to condemn it. We must find ways to end it.”
- On whether she supports women registering for the draft: “Yeah. I do support that. I am on record as supporting the all-volunteer military, which I think at this time does serve our country well. And I am very committed to supporting and really lifting up the men and women in uniform and their families. I’m on my way to Norfolk to talk about that and other issues related to the military and our security.”
- Donald Trump renewed his previous calls for the surveillance of mosques in a foreign policy speech on Wednesday. (Reuters, The New York Times)
- On the surveillance of mosques: “We have to maybe check, respectfully, the mosques and we have to check other places because this is a problem that, if we don't solve it, it's going to eat our country alive.”
- On accepting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if he came to the U.S.: “I wouldn’t go there, that I can tell you. If he came here, I’d accept him, but we wouldn’t have a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people who rip us off.”
- On Russian military strength: “Frankly, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has built up their military again and again and again. Their military is much stronger. He’s doing nuclear, we’re not doing anything. Our nuclear is old and tired, and his nuclear is tippy top from what I hear.”
- Bernie Sanders is scheduled to address his supporters in a live stream on Thursday night about the future of his progressive agenda. According to spokesman Michael Briggs, Sanders will not be suspending his campaign. “Tomorrow night, no, he's not ending it. We're working our way through that, how to go forward on that front. This message to supporters is going to be a lot broader than that,” Briggs said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Polls
- According to an ABC News/Washington Post survey released on Wednesday, Donald Trump’s unfavorability rating is at a record high of 70 percent. Hillary Clinton also hit a record high unfavorability rating of 55 percent. “The results illustrate the striking challenges facing both candidates, cementing their position as the two most unpopular presumptive major party nominees for president in ABC News/Washington Post polling dating to 1984,” the pollsters found. (ABC News)
- In a CBS News poll released on Wednesday, Clinton has a six-point lead over Trump, 43 percent to 37 percent. With Gary Johnson added to the mix, Clinton leads by a slightly larger margin with 39 percent to Trump’s 32 percent and Johnson’s 11 percent. (CBS News)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- A majority of Hillary Clinton’s staff has transferred to the Democratic National Committee. “Sources familiar with the transition, a common practice in general election cycles, say the move will ensure that party building functions — including field, data and political operations — in states will be paid out of the DNC. The shift is meant to ensure that the money the Clinton campaign raises and spends can be used for such items as advertising and candidate travel,” The Hill reported on Wednesday. (The Hill)
- The Clinton campaign has begun to vet vice presidential candidates using publicly available information. Among the list of potentials are Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro; Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Reps. Xavier Becerra of California and Tim Ryan of Ohio, according to The Wall Street Journal. Campaign chair John Podesta is leading the vice presidential search. (The Wall Street Journal)
- In an interview with USA Today on Wednesday, Clinton said that she planned to deliver a speech outlining why she believes Donald Trump is “temperamentally unfit” to manage the country’s economy. She also questioned why Republicans were permitting him to promote the idea that President Barack Obama was siding with terrorists. She said, “Now he is accusing our president of somehow encouraging terrorists and it is really offensive, even pathetic. And I do wonder how Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can stay silent while their presumptive party nominee suggests that the President of the United States supports terrorists." Discussing the Democratic Party, Clinton said that she had “not heard any conversations in the party about” replacing U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) as the chair of the Democratic National Committee. “Obviously, we're going to go forward after this election with a new and invigorated party," she added. (USA Today)
- On Wednesday, the Clinton campaign made ad buys in eight battleground states — Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. Some of the purchases will run through July. “In omitting Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin from the buy while including North Carolina, a state Obama won in 2008 but not 2012, the Clinton campaign joins Priorities — which this month added North Carolina to its buy — in implying that it doesn’t believe the Trump argument that he can win over sufficient numbers of Rust Belt, working class white males to reset the map,” Politico reported. (Politico)
- Clinton tweeted support to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday afternoon as he began to filibuster for gun control reform. “Some fights are too important to stay silent. Preventing gun violence is one of them. Stand strong @ChrisMurphyCT,” she wrote. (CNN)
Bernie Sanders
- Sanders senior adviser Tad Devine discussed the importance of paid media to his candidate’s early success in the Democratic primary during an advertising conference on Wednesday. “For us, the paid media campaign was essential, I believe, for establishing Bernie Sanders as a credible, serious candidate for president against a well-known, well-liked frontrunner,” he said. He described the five incremental steps the campaign used to promote Sanders in early voting states: launching biographical ads, defining Sanders’ core campaign message as being a fight against corruption and inequality, airing testimonial and issue-specific ads, airing ads about the regulation of Washington, and presenting a positive vision of the future in “America.” TIME reported that some staffers, however, “were deeply unhappy with the level of advertising spending directed by the top tiers of the campaign and wanted more to spent on direct voter contacts like canvassing and phone banking.” (TIME)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he planned to meet with the National Rifle Association (NRA) to discuss “not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.” The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action responded in a statement that it would be “happy to meet with Donald Trump” and that it “believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period.” (Newsweek, NRA-ILA)
- Trump expressed frustration on Wednesday that some Republicans were resisting his candidacy. "We have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself. I'll do very well. I'm going to do very well. OK? I'm going to do very well. A lot of people thought I should do that anyway, but I'll just do it very nicely by myself," he said. Trump continued, “Our leaders have to get a lot tougher. And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Don't talk. Please be quiet. Just be quiet to the leaders because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter." (CNN)
- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on Wednesday that he did not plan to vote for Donald Trump in November. “I guess when I get behind the curtain I’ll have to figure it out. Maybe write someone in. I’m not sure,” Hogan said. (Talking Points Memo)
- In an interview with City Pages, former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson (R) explained why he planned to vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. He criticized the evolution of the Republican Party over the past four decades and condemned the media for how they handled coverage of the Republican primary. “Two people came into the campaign with public policy. And it was Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. And the media very quickly galvanized behind Donald Trump. They saw their ratings go up the more they covered Trump. They ignored Bush's attempt to talk about public policy, and virtually ridiculed him. I'm not often critical of the media, but I am this year. And it's driven mostly by television, and ratings,” Carlson said. (City Pages)
- Vince Trovato confirmed on Wednesday that he has been hired to lead Trump’s campaign efforts in Wisconsin. According to The Wisconsin State Journal, “Trovato has spent years behind the scenes in Republican politics. When he was a student at the UW-Madison, Trovato worked as an intern for Walker, who was in the state Assembly at the time. According to an online biography, Trovato also served on the executive board of the Waukesha County Republican Party and the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, and worked as a policy adviser for the Wisconsin State Assembly.” (The Wisconsin State Journal)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein’s campaign announced on Wednesday that Stein had secured enough delegates to claim the Green Party presidential nomination after winning a majority of delegates in California, New York, and Maryland this week. (Jill Stein for President)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Gary Johnson and Bill Weld will participate in a televised town hall on CNN next Wednesday. The event will mark their first major primetime appearance together. (The Hill)
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
