Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - June 7, 2016
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Tuesday's Leading Stories
- Today, California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota are holding presidential primary elections, and North Dakota is holding a Democratic caucus. The only remaining presidential primary after today will be held by Democrats in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2016, marking the final major party vote prior to the 2016 national nominating conventions. (Ballotpedia)
- On Monday night, the Associated Press reported that Hillary Clinton earned the support of the required number of delegates to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president. A “count of pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses and a survey of party insiders known as superdelegates shows Clinton with the overall support of the required 2,383 delegates.” Clinton will be the first female nominee for president of a major U.S. political party. (Associated Press)
- Republican leaders continue to criticize Donald Trump for alleging that Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the judge overseeing lawsuits against Trump University, is unable to treat Trump fairly in court because of Curiel’s Mexican heritage and Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border. Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson responded to the criticism, saying, “This is typical reaction from Republican leaders. At the first hint of controversy or criticism regarding race, they tuck their tails and run and want to condemn immediately without even trying to understand what’s happening here.” The following GOP leaders denounced Trump’s comments: (The Wall Street Journal)
- Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said, “His comments are wrong and offensive and I’ve asked him to retract them.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Former Speaker of the House and possible vice presidential pick Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said, “We don’t judge you as part of a group. That would be to suggest that blacks can’t get a fair white judge, whites can’t get a fair black judge. Once you go down that road, you destroy America. You can’t take a group definition and apply it.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, "I regret these comments that he made. Saying a person can't do their job because of their race is sort of the textbook definition of racist comments. ... I think that should be absolutely disavowed." (The Hill)
- Governor and former presidential candidate John Kasich (R-Ohio) wrote on Twitter, “Attacking judges based on their race &/or religion is another tactic that divides our country. More importantly, it is flat out wrong. @RealDonaldTrump should apologize to Judge Curiel & try to unite this country. #TwoPaths.” (Twitter)
- Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) tweeted: “Public Service Announcement: Saying someone can't do a specific job because of his or her race is the literal definition of ‘racism.’” (Twitter)
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said, “That man (Curiel) is an American, born in the U.S., a judge who has earned that position. I don’t think it reflects well in the Republican Party. I don’t think it reflects wells on us as a nation. I ran for president and I warned this was going to happen.” (WFTV.com)
Polls
- An IBD/TIPP poll released on Monday revealed that Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump 45 percent to 40 percent in the general election race. When Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is added to the race, Clinton’s lead drops to 39 percent. Trump comes in at 35 percent, and Johnson earns 11 percent support. (IBD/TIPP)
- According to a Gravis Marketing poll released on Monday, Trump leads Clinton 36 percent to 29 percent in the general election race in Utah. When Johnson is added to the race, Trump’s lead drops to 29 percent. Clinton comes in at 26 percent, and Johnson comes in at 16 percent. (Gravis Marketing)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Hillary Clinton on Tuesday morning. Pelosi said in a statement, "In this campaign, we have seen her [Clinton’s] vision, her knowledge, her ability, indeed her stamina, to get the job done for the American people. I congratulate and thank Senator Bernie Sanders for the great invigoration he is bringing to the presidential primary, and welcome the political and intellectual participation of his supporters to advance our shared fight for progress for the American people.” In an interview, when asked if she thought Clinton should choose a woman for her vice president, Pelosi said, "We've had two men over and over again for hundreds of years. I think that two women, whoever they may be, that would be fabulous as well but Hillary Clinton will choose the person that she feels most comfortable with." (Politico)
- According to The New York Times, President Barack Obama is prepared to endorse Clinton “as early as this week.” Obama’s communications director Jennifer Psaki said in an interview, “He has indicated he wants to spend a lot of time on the campaign trail, so when it’s time to do that, we’ll go out guns ablazing. We are actively thinking through how to use the president on the campaign trail — what works for the nominee, what works for him, and how to utilize his strengths and his appeal.” Clinton’s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri said, “There’s no one better to lay out the two paths voters will face in the fall elections, and he [Obama] is particularly strong at making the economic argument for her.” (The New York Times)
- Clinton came in second on Forbes’ “World's 100 Most Powerful Women” list. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was awarded the top spot. (Forbes)
- On Monday, Clinton released a video on Twitter that criticizes Donald Trump for his allegations that Judge Gonzalo Curiel is unable to treat him fairly in court because of his Mexican heritage. (Twitter)
- On Monday, Priorities USA, a super-PAC supporting Clinton, released the ad, “Grace,” which criticizes Trump for mocking a reporter with disabilities. The ad features the parents of Grace Glaros, who has a spinal disability. Grace’s mother says, "When I saw Donald Trump mock a disabled person, I was just shocked. The children at Grace's school all know never to mock her and so for an adult to mock someone with a disability is shocking." Grace's father says, "When I saw Donald Trump mock somebody with a disability, it showed me his soul, it showed me his heart. And I didn't like what I saw.” The ad will run in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, and New Hampshire this summer. (The Hill)
Bernie Sanders
- On Monday, a journalist asked Bernie Sanders if continuing his campaign against Hillary Clinton was sexist. Sanders replied, "Is that a serious question? Your question implies that any woman who is running for president is by definition the best candidate. If Hillary Clinton runs for president, your point is that it's sexist for any man to oppose her? I don't think it's sexist. I think the issue is, first of all, our focus right now is running and winning right here in California. And the second point that I have made is that it is absolutely imperative that we defeat Donald Trump." (The Hill)
- On Monday, Sanders tweeted the following in support of more than 450 environmental groups opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): “We must stop letting multinational fossil fuels corporations rig the system to pad their profits at our expense.” (Twitter)
- After the Associated Press announced that Clinton had clinched the Democratic nomination, Sanders communications director Michael Briggs issued the following statement: "It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee's clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer. Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then. They include more than 400 superdelegates who endorsed Secretary Clinton 10 months before the first caucuses and primaries and long before any other candidate was in the race." (NPR)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- In September 2013, a political group backing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s re-election received a $25,000 donation from a Trump family foundation. Bondi was investigating claims filed by former Trump University students who argued that Trump failed to deliver the courses and services they purchased. “After the check came in, Bondi's office nixed suing Trump, citing insufficient grounds to proceed,” according to the Associated Press. Bondi declined to comment on the donation and the Trump University case. (Associated Press)
- On Monday, former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta criticized Trump approach to foreign policy. Panetta said, “I worry that it’s sending a signal to countries abroad that a candidate for president of the United States really doesn’t know what he really wants to do when it comes to protecting our national security. He takes one position one day and another position the next day. This is a dangerous approach for someone who wants to be commander in chief of the United States.” (The Hill)
- After reviewing Trump’s June 3 property tax bill, Crain’s reported that Trump “once again received a tax break aimed at middle-class New Yorkers.” According to Crain’s, Trump “was awarded a credit under the STAR program, or the New York State School Tax Relief Program. To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less.” Crain’s was unable to obtain copies of Trump’s STAR applications to determine how the billionaire received the tax break. (Crain’s)
- On Monday night, when asked how he will appeal to women voters, Trump said, “I was the one that really broke the glass ceiling on behalf of women more than anybody in the construction industry, and my relationship, I think, is going to end up being very good with women.” According to The New York Times, “Trump has often pointed to his hiring of women for executive jobs, including his first wife, Ivana, at his company in the 1980s.” (The New York Times)
- On Monday, BuzzFeed announced that “it had terminated an advertising agreement with the RNC that both parties signed back in April,” according to CNN. BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote, "We don't run cigarette ads because they are hazardous to our health, and we won't accept Trump ads for the exact same reason. … The Trump campaign is directly opposed to the freedoms of our employees in the United States and around the world and in some cases, such as his proposed ban on international travel for Muslims, would make it impossible for our employees to do their jobs.” RNC spokesman Sean Spicer responded to Peretti, saying, "Space was reserved on many platforms, but we never intended to use BuzzFeed. … It is ironic that they have not ruled out taking money from a candidate currently under investigation by the FBI." (CNN)
Third Party Candidates
- On Sunday night, David French explained that after considering entering the presidential race as an independent candidate, he was not the right person to challenge Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Last week, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, who has been trying to find a conservative candidate to challenge Trump, mentioned French as an option. In his article, French criticized the frontrunners and called for someone else to challenge them. He wrote, “Never before have both parties failed so spectacularly, producing two dishonest, deceitful candidates who should be disqualified from running for town council, much less leader of the free world. … Indeed, the path is there. I spent the last several days with some of the best minds in politics. I learned that the ballot-access challenge can be met with modest effort (by an existing network ready to activate), that the polling for a true outsider independent was better than most people know, and that there are many, many Americans — including outstanding political talents — who are willing to quit their jobs — today — to help provide the American people with an alternative.” (National Review)
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- During an interview on Monday, Jill Stein argued that campaigns should be publicly funded. Stein, who accepted $100,000 in public funding, said, "In my view, elections should be public funded entirely." According to ABC News, “Stein's campaign is made up of about 10 people and they coordinate using a largely virtual office. She said that ‘the majority’ of their resources go towards ballot access.” (ABC News)
- During an interview with OC Weekly on Monday, Stein called the Republican Party racist, criticized the Democratic Party’s immigration policies, and explained her efforts to reach out to Latino and black voters. Stein said, “The Republicans have long been the party of discrimination and racism. It's become very blatant under Donald Trump who is a shameless racist demagogue. But the Democrats, on the other hand, are actually conducting an outrageous policy of night raids, detentions and deportations. Right now, the irony is that the immigrants they're targeting are women and children who are fleeing the consequences of the U.S.-approved regime change in Honduras which was essentially signed, sealed and delivered by Hillary Clinton. We badly need a politics of integrity that respects human rights. To fix the immigration problem, the most important thing we can do is to stop causing it. For #BlackLivesMatter and racial justice issues, our campaign has been on the front line working with these communities. I've just come from San Francisco where I canvassed with two members of the "Frisco 5" who conducted a 17-day hunger strike that actually got rid of the police chief. We need to challenge power if we are to really to create change.” (OC Weekly)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- During an interview on Monday, Gary Johnson said that as president he would eliminate the National Security Agency (NSA) by executive order, and he would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Commerce, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Department of Education, if Congress sent him legislation to do so. Johnson said that he believes he can eliminate the NSA by executive order, but added that "You can’t eliminate [just] any federal agency [through executive order], but as president of the United States, I’ll sign legislation to eliminate any federal agency that they present me with.” (The Hill)
- On eliminating the NSA: "The NSA is a complete executive order as it is under [President Harry] Truman. We could turn those satellites on what is supposed to be the enemy. The fact that they’re pointed on us right now, doesn’t that cause everyone a bit of concern? It should. Look, there’s due process for spying, but due process is not blanket collection of all of our data."
- On eliminating the IRS: "If I could wave a magic wand, we would eliminate income tax, we would eliminate corporate tax, we would abolish the IRS, and we could replace all of it with one federal consumption tax. If we had zero corporate tax in this country, tens of millions of jobs would get created in this country for no other reason.”
- During an interview on PBS' “NewsHour” on Monday, Johnson discussed foreign policy, criticized Hillary Clinton, and explained his stance on Social Security. Johnson was asked “whether he'd join NATO if Russia's Vladimir Putin ‘were to go into a country in Eastern Europe.’” Johnson said that “the U.S. was involved in ‘many treaties with foreign countries where we are obligated to defend the border,’ but that these treaties weren't ratified by Congress. ‘We need to involve Congress in all of these [foreign policy] decisions that they've abdicated to the executive and the military.’” Johnson was then asked about a potential Clinton presidency. He said, "I believe that Hillary Clinton is going to grow government, that government is all about giving out things. Nothing is free, somebody pays for that." He also called Clinton "a primary architect of our foreign policy, which has made the world less safe." Johnson also explained that “he would not phase out Social Security, saying it was ‘absolutely fixable.’” (Reason.com)
- During an interview with Politico, Johnson criticized the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees and explained how he finds “Zen.” (Politico)
- On Trump: “Well, no, I don't think [Trump] represents smaller government! I mean, just what he's talking about when it comes to immigration, in a state that’s 50 percent Hispanic, are doors not going to be knocked on in New Mexico, my door included? But when they get to my door, gee, I'm white, so — well, but maybe we’d better check your basement or your attic to make sure that you’re not harboring any illegal immigrants. … Absolutely, it’s racist. When he calls Mexicans murderers and rapists, that is incendiary.”
- On Clinton: According to Politico, “Johnson, who wants to scrap the tax code and impose an across-the-board 20 percent cut on federal expenditure, including the Pentagon, doesn’t like Clinton’s spend-more approach to government. But his opposition seems more doctrinal and less personal than his dislike of Trump. ‘At the end of the day, hasn’t Hillary Clinton been the architect of our foreign policy, and how has that worked out?’ he asked, pointedly.”
- On searching for Zen: “I think that everybody is in search of Zen … and very simply, Zen is just being in the moment. So, whatever gets you there, whether that’s music, whether that’s golf, whether that’s reading, writing, you name it, find out what it is — your job [is] liking what it is that you do. For me, athletics puts me in the moment — mountaineering. Hey, when all you've got to think about is shitting and pissing and drinking and sleeping and breathing, you know what? That’s a wonderful state to be in.”
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
