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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #41 of The Tap, which was published on November 5, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

The editors of The Economist endorsed Hillary Clinton, writing, "The choice is not hard. The campaign has provided daily evidence that Mr Trump would be a terrible president. He has exploited America’s simmering racial tensions. His experience, temperament and character make him horribly unsuited to being the head of state of the nation that the rest of the democratic world looks to for leadership, the commander-in-chief of the world’s most powerful armed forces and the person who controls America’s nuclear deterrent. That alone would stop us from casting a vote, if we had one, for Mr Trump. As it happens, he has a set of policies to go with his personality. ... Our vote, then, goes to Hillary Clinton. Those who reject her simply because she is a Clinton, and because they detest the Clinton machine, are not paying attention to the turpitude of the alternative. Although, by itself, that is not much of an endorsement, we go further. Mrs Clinton is a better candidate than she seems and better suited to cope with the awful, broken state of Washington politics than her critics will admit. She also deserves to prevail on her own merits."

Donald Trump’s campaign released a new ad tying Hillary Clinton to Anthony Weiner. The ad, titled “Unfit,” focuses on the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. At one point, it states, “Hillary Clinton is under FBI investigation again after her emails were found on pervert Anthony Weiner’s laptop.” Politico states that the FBI has not confirmed that Clinton’s own emails are on the laptop belonging to Weiner or if any of the emails are new.

Trump is reportedly considering his campaign finance chairman, Steven Mnuchin, for secretary of the treasury, if he is elected president. Mnuchin’s professional experience includes working at Goldman Sachs and One West Bank. According to Politico, Mnuchin has said that “there are good and bad aspects” of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulation law.
- See also: 2016 candidates on Wall Street and banking policy

Trump’s campaign condemned the burning of a historic black church in Mississippi. Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church was found in flames on Tuesday night with spray paint on the side of one of its walls, reading, “Vote Trump.” A statement from the Trump campaign said, “We are deeply saddened for the members of the Hopewell M.B. Church community and condemn in the strongest terms this terrible act that has no place in our society. We are grateful that no one was hurt and we urge witnesses with any information to come forward and help bring justice to those who are responsible.” The FBI has reportedly opened an investigation into the incident. Local authorities have identified the cause of the fire as arson.

Two members of the United States Military were killed and two were wounded by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan while on a mission with Afghan forces. According to a statement from the U.S.-led mission, "The service members came under fire during a train, advise and assist mission with our Afghan partners to clear a Taliban position and disrupt the group’s operations in Kunduz district." Secretary of Defense Ash Carter issued the following statement expressing his condolences to the families of those who died: "I was deeply saddened to learn overnight that we suffered casualties in Afghanistan. Our service members were doing their part to help the Afghans secure their own country while protecting our homeland from those who would do us harm. On this difficult day, please keep their families, friends and teammates in your thoughts and prayers. We will honor their sacrifice by finishing our important mission in Afghanistan." According to The Hill, “The casualties bring the death toll up to six Americans in the last three months, as the U.S. has stepped up its training efforts in the face of a renewed Taliban insurgency.”

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #40 of The Tap, which was published on October 29, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.