Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - March 30, 2016
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- On Tuesday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Ted Cruz. He posted the following to Twitter: “After the failed Obama-Clinton Admin, Americans want leadership. I endorse @TedCruz, a principled constitutional conservative who can win.” During an interview, he discussed his choice, saying, "After all these years of the Obama-Clinton failures, it’s time we elect a strong new leader, and I’ve chosen to endorse Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz is the best positioned by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall of this year. That's the key." (The Hill)
- Cruz commented on the endorsement during a campaign event in Wisconsin. He said, "This endorsement was tremendously important. Governor Walker is a strong, principled conservative who has earned respect nationwide.” (FOX6Now.com)
- On Tuesday, the Jupiter, Florida Police Department announced that they charged Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with one count of simple battery for intentionally touching former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields after a March 8 campaign event. Video of the altercation shows Lewandowski grabbing Fields’ arm and holding her back from Trump. Trump’s spokesperson, Hope Hicks, said that Lewandowski is “absolutely innocent,” adding, “He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated.” (The Hill, Politico, The New York Times)
- Trump defended Lewandowski in two the following tweets: “Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!” “Why aren't people looking at this reporters earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape?”
- Fields replied on Twitter: “Because my story never changed. Seriously, just stop lying.”
- “How do you know those bruises weren’t there before?” Trump asked reporters aboard his plane in Wisconsin, referring to bruises that Fields photographed after Lewandowski grabbed her. “I’m not a lawyer,” Trump said. “If you’re going to get squeezed, wouldn’t you think she would have yelled out a scream or something if she has bruises on her arm?” (Huffington Post)
- During CNN’s town hall event on Tuesday, all three GOP candidates said that they would not stand by their previous pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. (CNN)
- John Kasich said, "All of us shouldn't even have answered that question.”
- When asked if he would stand by his pledge, Donald Trump said, "No, I don't anymore.” Trump added that he has "been treated very unfairly" by the “Republican establishment.”
- Ted Cruz said, "I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and my family ... I think nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute trainwreck, I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton."
Polls
- According to Public Policy Polling, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 54 percent to 36 percent in the race for the Democratic nomination. On the Republican side, Donald Trump leads Ted Cruz 42 percent to 32 percent. John Kasich follows with 22 percent. (Public Policy Polling)
- The same poll found that in a head-to-head race, Trump leads Cruz by 2 percent, which is within the survey's margin of error.
- Trump leads Kasich 50 percent to 24 percent among likely GOP primary voters in New York, according to an Optimus poll released on Tuesday. Cruz follows with 16 percent support. (Optimus)
- Trump leads Kasich 31 percent to 29 percent among likely GOP primary voters in Wisconsin, according to an Optimus poll released on Tuesday. Cruz follows with 27 percent support. (Optimus)
Democrats
- Hillary Clinton’s press secretary Brian Fallon said on Tuesday that Hillary Clinton is “perfectly willing” to debate Bernie Sanders in New York. He said, “If they can find a mutually agreeable date in the next couple of weeks before New York, I think it could happen.” (Bloomberg)
Hillary Clinton
- On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton released the ad, “New York,” which criticizes Donald Trump for his immigration plan and divisive rhetoric. In the ad, she says, "So when some say we can solve America's problems by building walls, banning people based on their religion and turning against each other, well, this is New York, and we know better.” (The Hill)
- On Tuesday, American Crossroads, the Republican super PAC founded by Karl Rove, released the ad, “#NeverHillary.” The narrator in the ad says, “Scandal follows Hillary Clinton like a shadow.” Ian Prior, communications director for American Crossroads, said, “With a resume filled with scandals and unethical behavior, Hillary Clinton is the one candidate unfit to be president of a condo association, never mind the United States. Because of that, it is important for everyone to consider what would happen if Hillary reached the Oval Office and then focus on making sure that never happens.” (Politico, The Hill)
- On Tuesday, Clinton commented on charges being filed against Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski She said, “Every candidate has to be responsible for what happens in their campaign. As I’ve said repeatedly, what Donald Trump has been doing over these last months is inciting violent behavior, aggressive behavior that I think is very dangerous and has resulted in attacks on people at his events, including this charge that was now brought against his campaign manager… The reporter who brought the charge deserves a lot of credit for following through on the way she was physically manhandled at that event. … I think that charges being brought today certainly suggest that the authorities thought her story was credible.” (The Wall Street Journal)
Bernie Sanders
- When asked how he would handle businesses moving out of the United States if he implements a higher corporate tax rate, Bernie Sanders replied, "We can’t succumb to blackmail. We need a new trade policy that tells corporate America, they just cannot shut down, move abroad, and bring their products back into this country. And that is certainly one of the areas we’re focusing on." (FOX6Now.com)
- During an interview on Tuesday, Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver commented on charges being filed against Trump’s campaign manager. He said, "When you create this kind of climate, this is what happens. It looks like it pervades the campaign both among supporters and among staff. … I do think that the kind of advocacy of violence by Donald Trump is really unacceptable, and this is what it leads to.” (The Hill)
Republicans
Ted Cruz
- During CNN’s town hall event last night, Ted Cruz said that he “stands by his proposal to secure and patrol Muslim neighborhoods in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks, despite the backlash he's received,” according to The Hill. Cruz said, "You are right that after I called for increased vigilance protecting us, that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio all attacked me. I wear that as a badge of pride. I'm not going to apologize to anyone." Cruz defended his proposal by citing a similar program in New York. He said that the program “was set up under Mayor Michael Bloomberg to monitor and to work cooperatively with the Muslim community to prevent radicalization and to stop radical Islamic terrorist plots before it occurred. … If you want to stop radical Islamic terrorism, the answer isn't to go hang out in random neighborhoods, it is instead to focus on communities where radicalization is a risk." (The Hill)
- On Tuesday, Trusted Leadership PAC, Cruz's main super PAC, released the ad, "Kasich Won't Play.” The narrator in the ad says, "The John Kasich playbook: holding for a last-second shot at blocking out the grassroots. But that's classic John Kasich. Millionaires working side-by-side with George Soros are bankrolling his super PAC, while Kasich votes against the Second Amendment and expanded Obamacare in Ohio, costing taxpayers billions. … So given John Kasich's liberal record, it's no surprise his campaign isn't rebounding. Because John Kasich won't play in Wisconsin." The group has spent $500,000 to air the ad in Wisconsin. (CNN)
- According to CNN, “Chris Schrimpf, a Kasich spokesman, said the ad used ‘Trump-style’ attacks.” Schrimpf added, "Clearly a desperate attempt to smear the conservative, inclusive record of John Kasich. All the charges are lies, which isn't surprising coming from the Cruz operation in the last possible state to give him any delegates."
- On Tuesday, Cruz said that Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski being charged with one count of simple battery for an incident with reporter Michelle Fields is reflective of the culture of Trump’s campaign. Cruz said, "This is the consequence of the culture of the Trump campaign, the abusive culture, when you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, on attacks and now, physical violence. That has no place in a political campaign and it has no place in our democracy. … I do think it helps clarify for the voters what the Trump campaign is all about." (The Hill)
John Kasich
- On Tuesday, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin’s largest newspaper, endorsed John Kasich. Citing his response to the terrorist attacks in Brussels last week, the editorial board wrote that “Kasich had a smart, pragmatic answer. He is, in fact, the only thoughtful candidate with a fundamental belief in long-standing democratic principles who remains standing in the GOP primary field. The Editorial Board normally avoids recommendations for political office. But the Republican presidential campaign this year demands a stand: We recommend John Kasich in the Wisconsin Republican primary on April 5.” (Journal Sentinel)
- On Tuesday, when asked during an interview on Fox News Radio program “Kilmeade and Friends” about Donald Trump’s statement “that he would be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals and that he might cut off purchases of oil from Saudi Arabia,” Kasich replied, “I think that’s like the most ridiculous outlined foreign policy I’ve ever heard.” He also said that Trump “doesn’t understand foreign policy.” (The New York Times)
Donald Trump
- During Tuesday night’s CNN town hall event, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump about his choice to retweet an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz last week. Trump said, “I thought it was a nice picture of Heidi, I thought it was fine. … I thought it was fine. She’s a pretty woman.” Cooper then said, “You’re running for president of the United States.” Trump replied, “I didn’t start it. I didn’t start it.” Cooper then said, “Sir, with all due respect, that’s the argument of a 5-year-old.” (The Hill)
- During an interview in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Trump claimed that he came up with the term "common-sense conservative," and he criticized Gov. Scott Walker for using the term, for his failed presidential run, and for harming Wisconsin’s economy. In his endorsement of Ted Cruz, Walker called Cruz a "common-sense conservative.” Trump commented on the term, saying, "Well, he stole the word common-sense conservative from me because I'm the one who came up with the term. He never used that term before in his life. … Look, I beat him [Walker] very badly. He was going in as a favorite in the presidential run. I knew he couldn't endorse me. I never called and asked him for an endorsement. … I told him and I told a lot of people what was going on in Wisconsin, the real numbers in terms of jobs, in terms of what's happening with trade. In terms of a $2.2 billion (budget) balance and lots of other problems. And after saying that I said there's no way he's going to endorse me." Trump then discussed Wisconsin’s economy, saying, "Wisconsin is doing very poorly, by the way. The reason that Walker went way down is because when I gave all of the statistics on how badly Wisconsin is doing — the jobs that are being taken away, the businesses, the lack of growth. When I gave all of those statistics, he couldn't dispute them. They're there." (Journal Sentinel)
- During an interview on Monday with talk show host Charlie Sykes, Trump “defended calling women names like ‘fat pig’ and bimbo,’ by saying he never intended to run for office. Trump said that while he denigrated women on Howard Stern’s talk show over the years, ‘everyone would be having fun,’” according to Fortune. Trump also addressed his disrespectful comments about Fox News’ Megyn Kelly. He said, “If Megyn Kelly were a man, I’d be saying the exact same thing of Megyn Kelly. I don’t think there should be a double standard if someone’s a woman. … I’ve been better to women than any of these candidates.” (Fortune)
- Before a Trump rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday, two individuals outside of the event engaged in an argument resulting in a physical altercation. According to police, "A male in the crowd groped the 15-year-girl; when she pushed him away, another person in the (crowd) sprayed her. We are currently looking for two suspects, one for the sexual assault and one for the pepper spray." (USA Today)
Third Party Candidates
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- On Tuesday, Gary Johnson made a prediction about what President Obama will do concerning marijuana before he leaves office. Johnson told The Washington Times that marijuana is “going to be just like alcohol. I’m going to predict that Obama, when he leaves office, is going to deschedule marijuana as a Class I narcotic. I wish he would have done that to this point, but I think he’s going to do that going out the door. That’s a positive.” Johnson’s campaign later clarified his statement, explaining that Johnson “would prefer that the president remove marijuana from the controlled substances list entirely, allowing states to legalize and regulate as they and their voters choose.” Johnson added, “I think every municipality has to realize that all the planes to Denver every single weekend are filled up, and that they’re missing out, and Colorado is absolutely vibrant. Is it due to marijuana? I think it’s a contributing factor. I don’t know how long it’s been since you’ve been to Colorado, but I think you can sense vibrancy, and it’s there.” (The Washington Times)
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
