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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - June 17, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Friday's Leading Stories
- On Thursday night, Bernie Sanders said in a speech that his “political revolution” will continue. He said, “The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly. I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. … Defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal. We must continue our grass-roots efforts to create the America that we know we can become. And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia.” Sanders did not endorse Hillary Clinton during the speech, as many Democratic leaders hoped he would. According to The New York Times, Sanders “made clear that helping her [Clinton] was not necessarily his top priority.” (The New York Times)
- On Thursday, Rep. Raul Grijalva, the first member of Congress to endorse Bernie Sanders, switched his support to Hillary Clinton. In his endorsement of Clinton, he said, "Hillary Clinton has the capacity and the instincts needed to carry forward what has been started. I support her and will do what I can to help ensure her victory. … With voting completed in the final Democratic Primary, it is now time for the Democratic Party to unify. For all of us who supported Bernie from the beginning, the most important thing now is to beat Donald Trump in November." Grijalva, who is the co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, added, "I firmly believe that her victory will only come when she and the Democratic Party articulate the themes this movement has so powerfully expressed.” (NBC News)
- Richard Armitage, a retired Navy officer, assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan, and deputy secretary of state under George W. Bush, said that he will vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. According to Politico, Armitage’s support for Clinton over Trump is “one of the most dramatic signs yet that Republican national security elites are rejecting their party’s presumptive nominee.” Armitage said, “If Donald Trump is the nominee, I would vote for Hillary Clinton. He doesn't appear to be a Republican, he doesn't appear to want to learn about issues. So, I’m going to vote for Mrs. Clinton.” (Politico)
Polls
- According to a Rasmussen poll released on Thursday, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump 44 percent to 39 percent in a general election matchup. (Rasmussen)
- According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday, Clinton leads Trump 41 percent to 32 percent in a general election matchup. (Reuters/Ipsos)
- When Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are added to the race, Clinton comes in at 39 percent. Trump follows with 29 percent. Johnson and Stein come in at 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
- According to Public Policy Polling, Clinton has a three-point lead over Trump in Virginia, 48 percent to 45 percent. (Public Policy Polling)
- When Johnson and Stein are added the to the race, Clinton still maintains a three-point lead over Trump, 42 percent to 39 percent. Johnson has 6 percent support, and Stein has 2 percent support.
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Thursday, the AFL-CIO endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement, "Hillary Clinton is a proven leader who shares our values. Throughout the campaign, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to the issues that matter to working people, and our members have taken notice. The activism of working people has already been a major force in this election and is now poised to elect Hillary Clinton and move America forward." (CNN)
- On Thursday, Sen. Mark Warner (R-Va.) said the Clinton campaign is not vetting him as a possible running mate, and he added that Sen. Tim Kaine (R-Va.) would be a good choice for vice president. He said, “I’m not being vetted. I don’t expect to be vetted.” Speaking about Kaine, Warner said, “I’ve known Tim for 35 years. I think he’s got bipartisan appeal. There’s nobody with better integrity and trustfulness. Secretary Clinton and the country would do well by him.” (The Virginian-Pilot)
- After being mentioned as a possible running mate for Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, "I’m not looking for a new job. I have a great one right now, and that’s being mayor of the city." (Los Angeles Times)
Bernie Sanders
- During an interview on Thursday, Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver said, "We are not currently lobbying superdelegates. I don’t anticipate that’ll start anytime soon." The comments caused some to wonder if Sanders would drop out of the race during a speech scheduled for Thursday evening. Sanders, however, has maintained that he will remain in the race until the Democratic convention. (The Hill)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- After AFL-CIO endorsed Hillary Clinton on Thursday, Donald Trump released a statement criticizing the labor union for doing so. He said, “Sadly with this endorsement of Hillary Clinton - who is totally owned by Wall Street - the leadership of the AFL-CIO has made clear that it no longer represents American workers. Instead they have become part of the rigged system in Washington, D.C. that benefits only the insiders. I believe their members will be voting for me in much larger numbers than for her. Hillary Clinton and her husband have made hundreds of millions of dollars doing favors and selling access to Wall Street, special interests and oppressive foreign regimes.” He also argued that Clinton supported NAFTA, supports the TPP, wants to dismantle the coal industry, and will increase taxes and regulations, sending “millions of jobs overseas.” He concluded, “Hillary Clinton is the enemy of working people and is the best friend Wall Street ever had. I will fight harder for American workers than anyone ever has, and I will fight for their right to elect leaders who will do the same. I will be a president for ALL Americans.” (DonaldTrump.com)
- On Thursday, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said he is not planning to endorse Trump for president. Upton, who serves as the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, suggested that Trump’s campaign has gone “off the track,” according to The Detroit News. Upton said, “I’m going to stay in my lane. There’s a lot of things that folks are not happy about with either of these two candidates. We’re running our own race, and don’t look for me to endorse anyone in this race probably the rest of the year.” (The Detroit News)
- On Thursday, when asked if he was considering rescinding his endorsement of Trump after having to denounce some of Trump’s controversial comments, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, “That’s not my plan. I don’t have a plan to do that. Look, we’re going to disagree on some things. ... What we do agree on is we don’t want another Democrat in the White House.” Ryan added that he will give his honest opinion about Trump’s proposals. He said, “If I’m asked a question, I’m going to answer it honestly. And if I’m asked a question about a proposal that I don’t agree with, I’m going to say I don’t agree with it.” (The Hill)
- Vanity Fair reported on Thursday that Trump is “considering creating his own media business, built on the audience that has supported him thus far in his bid to become the next president of the United States.” Trump currently owns Trump Productions LLC, and he is considering launching a “mini-media conglomerate,” according to several people close to Trump who chose to remain anonymous. A source close to Trump said, Trump is discussing the idea with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who ownsThe New York Observer. The source said, Trump’s rationale is that “win or lose, we are onto something here. We’ve triggered a base of the population that hasn’t had a voice in a long time.”
- Hope Hicks, Trump’s spokeswoman, responded to the rumor, saying, “There is absolutely no truth to this whatsoever. This hasn’t been even uttered. Not even thought about.” She then clarified her statement, saying, “While it’s true Mr. Trump garners exceptionally high ratings, there are absolutely no plans or discussions taking place regarding a venture of this nature.” (Vanity Fair)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- On Thursday, Jill Stein told the Observer that the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state “should go forward.” Stein said, “This is sort of typical Hillary Clinton; to do things that are not legal, to say that they are, and then try to cover them up. Hillary Clinton severely chastised other whistleblowers for using Internet channels that were not secure and yet she herself was doing that with private, high level state department information.” Stein added that voters should know about “what she [Hillary Clinton] was doing with the Clinton Foundation, taking money from other countries who were seeking various favors from the state department while she was in office.” (Observer)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- During an interview with USA Today on Thursday, Gary Johnson discussed legalizing marijuana, his personal use of marijuana, and protecting Second Amendment rights. (USA Today)
- On legalizing marijuana: "I think it's a litmus test for having a brain, myself." Johnson added that “there is ‘an unbelievable disconnect’ between public support and politicians' caution on the issue.”
- On using marijuana: "I haven't had a drink of alcohol in 29 years because of rock climbing and the notion of being the best that you can be, and in that same vein I've stopped using marijuana of any kind. … It's been about seven weeks." He added that he would continue to abstain from using marijuana if elected president. He explained, "I want to be completely on top of my game, all cylinders."
- On the attack in Orlando, Florida, and gun-free zones: "All these atrocities have been happening in gun-free zones. If there were law-abiding citizens that were carrying weapons — I'm not saying they would lessen the impact of these horrible atrocities, but maybe, maybe they could."
- On concealed carry laws: Johnson said that concealed carry laws might reduce violent crime. He said that a criminal might think, "Gee, do I try to steal this woman's purse in this parking lot, or seven or eight of these people who are around here, are they carrying weapons and I might get hurt, so I'm going to not accost her."
- On gun ownership and government tyranny: "I mean, there have been atrocious drug raids and atrocious drug raids that have resulted in the death of individuals that were completely innocent. I would just ask the question, if the DEA knew they were raiding someone's home where they had automatic weapons, if that was just a known element of 'we're going to raid these people,' would they have raided them in the first place, just knowing that they had that deterrent?"
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
