A very good day for Hillary Clinton
The day after clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton enjoyed a veritable torrent of high-level endorsements for her candidacy today. The deluge of endorsement statements from Democratic party officials and leaders was surpassed only by the flood of retweets she earned after coming for general election opponent Donald Trump.
- President Barack Obama launched a coordinated push to unify Democrats after he formally endorsed Clinton after a meeting with her soon-to-be-former primary rival, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
- “I’m with her,” Obama said. “I don’t think there has ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She’s got the courage, the compassion, and the heart to get the job done … I have seen her judgment. I’ve seen her toughness. I’ve seen her commitment to our values up close, and I’ve seen her determination to give every American a fair shot at opportunity, no matter how tough the fight – that’s what’s always driven her, and still does.”
- In addition to endorsements from Vice President Joe Biden and former primary rival Martin O’Malley, Clinton was also endorsed by Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren declared herself “ready” to ensure that Clinton defeats her presumptive Republican rival in November.
- “I’m ready,” the Massachusetts senator told the Boston Globe. “I’m ready to jump in this fight and make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States and be sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House.”
- But most importantly, Clinton blew up Twitter today by dropping an eclipse’s worth of shade on Trump:
Delete your account. https://t.co/Oa92sncRQY
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 9, 2016
The Guardian’s Nicky Woolf has more on Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton:
Warren, a favorite of the progressive left who taught constitutional law at Harvard, has been floated by some as a possible running-mate for Clinton who could help bring the disaffected left - many of whom were excited by Bernie Sanders but ambivalent about Clinton – back into the fold.
She has been especially fierce recently in her criticism of Donald Trump, attacking the presumptive Republican nominee in a searing series of speeches, setting herself up for a prominent and pugilistic role in the presidential election whether she is on the ticket or not.
Earlier on Thursday, at a speech to the American Constitution Society in Washington DC, Warren hit out at Trump as “just a businessman who inherited a fortune and kept it rolling along by cheating people”.
She described him as “a loud, nasty, thin-skinned fraud who … serves no one but himself,” and said his attacks on Gonzalo Curiel, the federal judge presiding over the Trump University suit, was “exactly what you would expect from somebody who is a thin-skinned racist bully”.
Elizabeth Warren: 'Yes, I do' think I'm ready to serve as vice president
Last question from Rachel Maddow:
“If you were asked to be Secretary Clinton’s running mate, do you believe you could do it?” Maddow asked, mentioning that former Pennsylvania governor and Clinton confidante Ed Rendell said that she is “not ready to be commander-in-chief.”
Elizabeth Warren was, again, concise.
“Yes, I do.”
After her new segment was introduced by video of Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren calling Donald Trump a “wannabe tyrant,” Warren told Rachel Maddow that she sees the Democratic party’s contentious primary as healthy for the future of the party - and that’s why she held out from endorsing before it ended.
“I thought it was important for the primary to go forward and not to try to tilt it one way or the other,” Warren said. “I wanted to see Democrats out there talking about our core set of issues and let people around this country vote.”
“The point is to get us engaged and get us engaged on that set of issues,” Warren continued. “It’s not just that two people got up and talked about something, it’s that lots of people got up and got engaged about it. It wasn’t a small conversation - it’s a huge conversation. It’s a conversation all over this country.”
Warren also declared that, regardless of the nominee, “I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure that Donald Trump never gets within shouting distance of the White House.”
Asked about whether she had been asked about potentially serving as Clinton’s running mate, Warren was concise.
“Nope,” she told Maddow.
“I know there’s been a lot of speculation about this, but the truth is, I love the work I do,” Warren continued. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to the people of Massachusetts who sent me in to wade into these fights. Now we’re about to wade into another big fight - a general election fight that pits a tough woman who’s willing to lead, against a small, insecure bully who thinks that he’s going to get his way by throwing tantrums and by giving people nasty nicknames.”
Updated
Over the last 25 years, Elizabeth Warren tells Rachel Maddow, “the right wing has thrown everything they possibly can” at Hillary Clinton, but that she is a strong enough nominee to persevere.
“She gets back in the fight,” Warren said. “You outta be willing to throw a punch. and there are a lot of things that people say about Hillary Clinton, but nobody says that she doesn’t know how to throw a punch.”
“I think that having a fighter in the lead - a female fighter in the lead - is exactly what this country needs.”
Updated
On Rachel Maddow’s eponymous MSNBC show, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren reiterated her endorsement of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, urging voters to “stop and take a look” at opponent Donald Trump’s racial invective.
Calling Trump “an insecure money-grubber who cares about nothing but himself,” Warren told Maddow that Trump “cannot be the man who leads the United States of America.”
Elizabeth Warren endorses Hillary Clinton
Elizabeth Warren joined a growing chorus of Democratic party leaders and officials in formally endorsing presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday evening, declaring herself “ready” to ensure that Clinton defeats her presumptive Republican rival in November.
“I’m ready,” the Massachusetts senator told the Boston Globe. “I’m ready to jump in this fight and make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States and be sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House.”
Behind perhaps President Barack Obama, who formally endorsed Clinton on Thursday afternoon, Warren’s call for the Democratic party to unify behind Clinton may be the most important endorsement the former secretary of state has received thus far. Warren, a burgeoning progressive icon in the senate, has pushed for the prosecution of bankers implicated in the Great Recession and strengthening protecting consumer financial protection laws, making her a hero to the kind of progressive voters who have flocked to Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
Warren has also taken on the role of anti-Trump attack dog in the campaign, labelling Trump a “thin-skinned, racist bully” only an hour before her endorsement.
Vice President Joe Biden endorses Hillary Clinton
Vice president Joe Biden has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination, roughly six hours after President Barack Obama endorsed the former secretary of state’s bid for the White House
Speaking at the American Constitution Society, Biden declared that with the supreme court hanging in the balance, the presidential election will be critical. And “whoever the next president is, and in my view, God willing, it’ll be Secretary Clinton.”
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, a darling of the progressive left, is about to join Rachel Maddow on her eponymous cable show on MSNBC for a one-on-one interview in which she will formally endorse presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The endorsement will come after a blistering speech at the American Constitution Society in Washington, DC, in which the Massachusetts senator described presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a “thin-skinned, racist bully.”
Warren’s approval will be the capstone of a day of whirlwind endorsements for the former secretary of state, including from President Barack Obama and former primary rival Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland.
Campaign aide tells me they still haven’t decided whether to go ahead with previously planned rally in DC next Monday as this one was added at the last minute, so this may very well be the last one.
"What seems radical today will seem mainstream tomorrow," Sanders tells DC crowd, who chant back "stay in the race!" pic.twitter.com/pcfBM5TeP4
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 10, 2016
Meanwhile, across town, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren is reading Donald Trump like an overdue library book:
During a speech at the American Constitution Society, the soon-to-be Hillary Clinton endorser told the assembled crowd that Donald Trump is “a thin-skinned, racist bully.”
Dispatch from the cable-sphere:
Symbolic: Elizabeth Warren filling up the screen, speaking live, while Bernie's live event is in a box pic.twitter.com/cw4i99es3o
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 9, 2016
Bernie supporter remonstrates with heckler who is over-powering the unusually weak Sanders PA system with two tannoy pic.twitter.com/g88qls8jME
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 9, 2016
“This campaign has received more individual campaign contributions than any American campaign in history,” Bernie Sanders tells the rapturous crowd. “We have received 8 million individual campaign contributions - anyone know the average campaign contribution?”
“Twenty-seven dollars!” the crowd shouts, as Sanders nods.
“We have shown the world that you can run a winning national campaign without being dependent on Wall Street, drug companies or big corporate interests.”
Sounding hoarse from months of campaigning, Bernie Sanders tells the assembled crowd of supporters in Southeast DC that over the course of his campaign, he has seen the best and worst things about America.
“I’ve been to Detroit, Michigan, where the public school system is on the verge of collapse. I’ve been to Baltimore, Maryland, where tens of thousands of people there are addicted to heroin and they cannot get the treatment that they need.”
“This is the United States of America - we should not be living in a country where the very very rich get richer, and almost everybody else gets poorer!” he shouts, shifting gears.
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has mounted the stage at RFK Stadium in Southeast DC to some of the loudest applause of his improbable presidential campaign.
“Thank you, Washington!” Sanders shouts. “Let me thank all of you for coming out!”
“Let me thank all of you for being part of the political revolution!”
The audience responds with a chant of “Thank you, Bernie”
“A little bit over a year ago, we began this campaign - and what the punditry thought is that this campaign would not go very far,” Sanders says. “Well, here we are in mid-June, and we’re still standing! And we are standing after having won 22 states, and the results have not yet come in from California. We have won over 10 million votes, and in every state, and non-state... that we have run in, we have won by very large votes, the young people.”
“And the reason that that is significant, is that this campaign is based on a vision: that our country must focus on social justice, on economic justice, on racial justice, on environmental justice. And when the overwhelming majority of young people support that vision, that will be the future of America!”
Updated
Bernie Sanders holds campaign rally in Washington, DC
Watch it live here:
A poignant mood at what could be Bernie Sanders’ last campaign rally:
Republican senator Susan Collins: 'I'm not going to say never' on voting for Hillary Clinton
Maine senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, has so far refused to endorse her party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump. But in a conversation with the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza, the senator said that she’s even open to possibly voting for his Democratic foe, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
“I worked very well with Hillary when she was my colleague in the senate and when she was secretary of state,” Collins said. “But I do not anticipate voting for her this fall. I’m not going to say never, because this has been such an unpredictable situation, to say the least.”
In the interview, Collins said that Trump’s racialized criticism of the federal judge presiding over the multi-state fraud suit against Trump University was “an order of magnitude more serious” than previous controversial comments and positions, like his “poorly-thought-out policy plan about banning Muslims from entering this country.”
While Collins didn’t seem to relish the opportunity to vote for her former senate colleague - “I do want to qualify that by saying it is unlikely that I would choose to vote for the Democratic candidate” - the senator told Lizza that this election is a choice between two deeply flawed candidates. “This is a difficult choice, and it’s one, like many of my colleagues, that I am struggling with,” Collins said. “It’s not like we have perfect candidates from whom to choose in this election.”
Today seems to be the day of the #sickburn, from the presidential level on down: Missouri senator Claire McCaskill, in an interview on MSNBC this morning, said that she had come up with the perfect running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
That running mate? Defeated foe Todd Akin.
“I will tell you I’ve got a great idea that I thought about last night. I figured out who Donald Trump’s vice president should be,” the Missouri Democrat told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
“At least he learned how to apologize, he’s got political experience... that would be Todd Akin.”
Akin lost to incumbent McCaskill in Missouri in the 2012 election, after he was abandoned by his party for making comments that implied conception was possible only in cases of “legitimate rape.”
The revolution will not be live-tweeted.
How long did it take your staff of 823 people to think that up--and where are your 33,000 emails that you deleted? https://t.co/gECLNtQizQ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016
Confirming reports from the Boston Globe, MSNBC has confirmed that Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren will endorse presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in a one-on-one interview with Rachel Maddow on her eponymous cable show.
MSNBC has confirmed the @BostonGlobe report: pic.twitter.com/5nyfqlopF4
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) June 9, 2016
The interview will air at 9pm EDT tonight.
We have video from the White House this afternoon, when Vermont senator Bernie Sanders thanked President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for maintaining impartiality during the primary process, and said he would meet with rival Hillary Clinton “to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump.”
Updated
Report: Elizabeth Warren to endorse Hillary Clinton tonight
The Boston Globe is reporting that Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, darling of the left, will formally endorse presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tonight on Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC.
EXCLUSIVE: Warren will endorse HRC on Rachel Maddow's show TONIGHT at 9 p.m.
— Annie Linskey (@AnnieLinskey) June 9, 2016
Last night, Reuters broke the news that the former Harvard Law School professor was planning on endorsing Clinton, but did not give a time frame. This will be the latest in a string of high-profile endorsements for Clinton today, coming on the heels of President Barack Obama’s “I’m with her” declaration and former opponent Martin O’Malley’s endorsement an hour ago.
According to Twitter, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s instantly iconic “delete your account” tweet is her most retweeted post ever - it’s currently clocking out at 149,000 retweets and counting.
Her previous most-tweeted posts include her campaign announcement, a post celebrating gay pride and a tweet about the boy band One Direction.
The boys are right. We need everyone's help to get the planet moving in the right direction. http://t.co/rNQSBSmgJ8 #action1D
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 9, 2015
The fundraising emails have already begun.
President Barack Obama only endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a few hours ago, but the leader of the free world is already sending out fundraising missives on the former secretary of state’s behalf.
“I wanted you to be the first to know: Today, I’m proud to announce that I’m with Hillary,” Obama wrote in an email sent under the subject line “I’m with Hillary.”
“I know how hard the job of president can be,” Obama continued, after an embedded video of his swiftly produced endorsement message released earlier today. “That’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it. I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She’s got the courage, the compassion, and the heart to get the job done. (I say that as someone who had to debate her more than 20 times.) Even after our own hard-fought campaign in 2008, she agreed to serve our country as secretary of state.”
“I’ve seen her judgment, toughness, and commitment to our values up close. And I’ve seen her determination to give every American a fair shot at opportunity, no matter how tough the fight - that’s what’s always driven her, and still does. I can’t wait to get out there and campaign for her.”
After that, the president ends the email with standard fundraising links and boilerplate - and encourages the reader to “get to work.”
Trump's Hispanic employees reject his racism
Donald Trump touts his own Mexican staffers as proof that he is not racist – but Hispanic employees at his own golf club say they are offended by his comments and support Hillary Clinton, reports the Guardian’s Amber Jamieson.
“I’m Mexican and I don’t like how he speaks about Mexicans,” said one of his employees at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester, shortly after the presumptive Republican nominee spoke on the night of the Tuesday primaries. The Guardian spoke with three workers who said that many Mexicans work at the golf club, in the restaurant and the grounds of the lush golf course.
Although Trump didn’t bring up his usual lines about building a wall betweenMexico and the US on Tuesday night, he did speak about ensuring criminals did not enter the country as immigrants.
“I’ve embraced the victims of illegal immigration … the moms and dad who’ve had to bury their own children because of people who shouldn’t have been in the country,” said Trump in a speech read off teleprompters, his family standing beside him.
“Not everyone who is Mexican is like how he says – rapists, criminals,” said one frustrated Mexican staffer.
“There are people who think that we take away work from them. But it’s not like that … you think that an American is going to come and do this work? No one, not one. It’s hard.”
O'Malley endorses Clinton
Not to be outdone, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley endorses former presidential rival Hillary Clinton.
The voters have spoken, it is time now to unite our Party.
For the future of the country we carry in our hearts, I am committing my energies to the election of Secretary Clinton as the next President of the United States. Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike must come together to confront the fascist threat to our democracy presented by Donald Trump.
Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills
USA Today has published the results of an investigation that turned up “hundreds of people – carpenters, dishwashers, painters, even his own lawyers – who say Trump didn’t pay them for their work”:
The family cabinetry business, founded in the 1940s by Edward’s father, finished its work in 1984 and submitted its final bill to the general contractor for theTrump Organization, the resort’s builder.
Edward’s son, Paul, who was the firm’s accountant, still remembers the amount of that bill more than 30 years later: $83,600. The reason: the money never came. “That began the demise of the Edward J. Friel Company… which has been around since my grandfather,” he said.
Read the full piece here.
RNC says endorsement shows Clinton offers Obama 'third term'
The Republican National Committee has released a statement from chairman Reince Priebus on Barack Obama’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton:
This endorsement makes clear what Hillary Clinton has telegraphed this entire campaign – she is running to give President Obama’s failed polices a third term. President Obama has trampled the Constitution, buried our country in $9 trillion of crushing new debt, presided over the weakest economy in a generation, and with Clinton’s help, pursued a weak and dangerous foreign policy that has made us less safe.
As Obama’s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton put our national security at risk with her illicit email server, which she devised to skirt government transparency laws and obscure her unethical dealings as the nation’s top diplomat. Hillary Clinton is the first ever presidential candidate to be under an FBI investigation and her corrupt family foundation that has taken millions from foreign governments is an unprecedented conflict of interest.
I don’t think there’s been a candidate for this office more unethical and untrustworthy than Hillary Clinton.”
Clinton trolls Trump on Twitter
Breaking news, stop the presses etc:
Delete your account. https://t.co/Oa92sncRQY
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 9, 2016
Trump pans endorsement
On Twitter, of course:
Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama—but nobody else does!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016
The president is enjoying a period of healthy approval, actually – Gallup’s tracking poll has Obama’s approval rating at 53%, five points above his average for his entire term.
Updated
Clinton: Obama endorsement 'means so much'
In an interview with Bloomberg politics, Hillary Clinton says the president’s endorsement “just means so much” and that they’re gone from being competitors to “true friends”:
It just means so much to have a strong, substantive endorsement from the president. Obviously I value his opinion a great deal personally,” Clinton said. “It’s just such a treat because over the years of knowing each other, we’ve gone from fierce competitors to true friends.
On campaigning with Obama in Wisconsin Wednesday, Clinton said, “I want to be out there with him”:
I want to be out there with him and have a chance to campaign with him,” she said. “The president has said he thought his job was to remind the American people what a serious responsibility the presidency was. We’re choosing a president and commander-in-chief and he’s uniquely able to talk to the American people about the knowledge, experience and temperament that the presidency requires.”
For the conspiracy-minded among you...
Wonder why rush to publish a video recorded on Tues? Could it have anything to do with Obama's planned meeting with Loretta Lynch at 3.25pm?
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 9, 2016
Once upon a time about eight years ago, Clinton thanking Obama for endorsing Clinton for president... whew. How far we’ve come(?). (Are we moving?)
Thank you, @BarackObama! https://t.co/M9se0sWtso
— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) June 9, 2016
A happy ending. You might even say, a fairy tale. https://t.co/v0VZNANIGR
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) June 9, 2016
Obama to campaign with Clinton next week
Barack Obama will campaign with Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, 15 June in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Clinton camp says:
In Green Bay, President Obama and Clinton will discuss building on the progress we’ve made and their vision for an America that is stronger together.
Earlier in the week, Hillary Clinton will campaign in Ohio on Monday, June 13 and Pennsylvania on Tuesday, June 14.
Transcript of Obama endorsement: 'I'm fired up'
For more than a year now, across thousands of miles and all 50 states, tens of millions of Americans have made their voices heard.
Today, I just want to add mine. I want to congratulate Hillary Clinton on making history as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.
Look, I know how hard this job can be. That’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She’s got the courage, the compassion and the heart to get the job done. And I say that as somebody who had to debate her more than 20 times.
Even after our own hard-fought campaign, in a testament to her character, she agreed to serve our country as secretary of state. And from the decision we made in the situation room to get Bin Laden, to our pursuit of diplomacy in capitals around the world, I have seen her judgment. I’ve seen her toughness. I’ve seen her commitment to our values up close. I’ve seen her determination to give every American a fair shot at opportunity, no matter how tough the fight was. That’s what’s always driven her, and still does.
So I want those of you who’ve been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that I’m with her. I am fired up. And I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.
I also want to thank everybody who came out to vote and who worked so hard for our candidates. This has been ahard-fought race. I know some say these primaries have somehow left the Democratic party more divided. Well, you know, they said that eight years ago as well. But just like eight years ago, there are millions of Americans, not just Democrats, who’ve cast their ballots for the very first time. And a lot of that is thanks to senator Bernie Sanders, who has run an incredible campaign.
I had a great meeting with him this week, and I thanked him for shining a spotlight on issues like economic inequality, and the outsized influence of money in our politics, and bringing young people into the process. Embracing that message is going to help us win in November. But more importantly, it’ll make the Democratic party stronger, and it’ll make America stronger.
Secretary Clinton and senator Sanders may have been rivals during this primary. But they’re both patriots who love this country, and they share a vision for the America that we all believe in. An America that’s hopeful. An America that’s big-hearted. An America that’s strong and fair, and gives every child the same chance that we had.
Those are the values that unite us as Democrats. Those are the values that make America great. Those are the values that are going to be tested in this election. And if we all come together in common effort, I’m convinced we won’t just win in November, we’ll build on the progress that we’ve made and we’ll build a brighter future for this country that we love.
And he’s a superdelegate!
Hillary Clinton is endorsed by another superdelegate https://t.co/cDv0D3hEWz
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) June 9, 2016
Obama endorses Clinton
Barack Obama has released a video endorsing Hillary Clinton for president:
“I’m with her,” the president says.
Updated
Sanders and the question of DC statehood
By staying in through the DC primary on Tuesday, Sanders may have the opportunity to push another progressive priority on the national stage, writes Guardian politics reporter Ben Jacobs:
The Vermont senator said he would focus on DC statehood in the coming days, an issue that has long been a cause célèbre among Democrats outraged that the over 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia have no representation in Congress.
Republicans oppose DC statehood because of the overwhelming Democratic lean of the majority African American district. In particular, they dread giving Washington DC two senators, although a number of Republicans have expressed an openness to giving the federal district representation in the House.
A constitutional amendment to grant DC statehood was passed by both houses of Congress in 1978 but it was not been ratified by a sufficient number of state legislatures to go into effect. It’s possible that by focusing on the issue Sanders will bring it new national attention.
Hillary Clinton also supports DC statehood, while Donald Trump has said, “I think it’s just something that I don’t think I’d be inclined to do. I’d like to study it . . . I don’t see statehood for D.C.”
Pro-Clinton group launches raft of ads targeting swing-state Latino voters
As Donald Trump and RNC officials meet with potential donors in NYC, one of the outside political groups supporting Hillary Clinton’s candidacy unloads with four video ads to run online through June in Colorado, Nevada and Florida. Priorities USA super Pac says it has made a $250,000 ad buy to air the ads, which attack Trump and are tailored for Latino voters.
Here are two of the ads (and we’ll post the Trump equivalents as soon as his groups finish raising money to produce them and then produce them):
Trump in 2009: climate change 'scientifically irrefutable'
Maybe that Sierra Club endorsement of Hillary Clinton was a closer call than we thought?
Donald Trump and his children signed a letter printed in a full-page ad in the New York Times in December 2009 calling on the president and Congress to take urgent action on climate change, the web site Grist reports. Click through for an image of the ad, which warns that “if we fail to act now, it is scientifically irrefutable that there will be catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity and our planet.”
The letter, which bears dozens of signatures including Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, Ben and Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s, and Martha Stewart, begins:
Dear president Obama and the United States Congress, Tomorrow leaders from 192 countries will gather at The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to determine the fate of our planet.
As business leaders we are optimistic that President Obama is attending Copenhagen with emissions targets. Additionally, we urge you, our government, to strengthen and pass United States legislation, and lead the world by example. We support your effort to ensure meaningful and effective measures to control climate change, an immediate challenge facing the United States and the world today. Please don’t postpone the earth. If we fail to act now, it is scientifically irrefutable that there will be catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity and our planet.”
EXCLUSIVE: Trump, three of his children & others signed a 2009 letter urging President Obama to take climate action https://t.co/epDFHpmKB4
— grist (@grist) June 8, 2016
Some Sanders backers won’t hear talk of their candidate conceding – and they are letting our Dan Roberts know:
@RobertsDan He looks forward to the full California count, DC and the convention = it's not over.
— Susan (@marthasydenham) June 9, 2016
@robertsdan #bored with yet another binary thinker... #Bernie
— John (@Jankowski60) June 9, 2016
Bernie Sanders’ sole endorser in the Senate, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, is projecting clarity on the question of whether hundreds of superdelegates might abandon Hillary Clinton to give Sanders the nomination. That would not be legitimate at this point, Merkley tells CNN:
Live shortly with new sound from Bernie backer Jeff Merkley who says "it won't be legitimate" if Sanders tries to convince supers to flip
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2016
Sanders. Always draws the bigger crowd:
Sanders draws unusually large press contingent for his statement after meeting with Pres Obama. pic.twitter.com/01uJucgsAY
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 9, 2016
Apparently this Trump donor meeting was something of a brainstorm, too, and get ready for bumper stickers:
Trump NY Chair told CNN Trump will win NY by "conventional GOTV efforts and blanketing the upstate region with signs & bumper stickers."
— Politics1.com (@Politics1com) June 9, 2016
So Donald Trump, Reince Priebus and Chris Christie walk into a bar:
Trump has entered Four Seasons. Doesn't take questions but waves to cameras. pic.twitter.com/HmkwVnwlXF
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) June 9, 2016
They’re there for a meeting with major NYC-based Republican donors.
At Trump donor mtg in NYC
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) June 9, 2016
Katy: "How's Trump doing?" Reince Priebus: "👍🏼"
Further Sanders reaction
Could it be that we’re witnessing an orderly exit?
.@BernieSanders said exactly the right thing. Get through DC, take a break, get with HRC, get to work beating Trump.
— Steve Schale (@steveschale) June 9, 2016
Exactly. Anyone who reads this otherwise is being disingenuous. https://t.co/cvrTFNKNe7
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) June 9, 2016
even though Bernie's staying in another 5 days, the Dem primary does seem to be winding down with relative order
— Rick Klein (@rickklein) June 9, 2016
Staying w the "landing the plane" metaphor, what Sanders said today was equivalent of putting his wheels down on approach
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) June 9, 2016
Overall, fairly conciliatory remarks from Sanders. Suspect some fists unclenched in Brooklyn.
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) June 9, 2016
Updated
Sanders plans meeting with Clinton 'in the very near future'
Note that Sanders said of Clinton, “I look forward to meeting with her in the very near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump”. That’s stronger than a phone call.
Sanders reactions
Key take out from brief Bernie remarks to reporters: he will meet with and work with Clinton to stop Trump becoming president. = it's over.
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 9, 2016
Bernie Sanders says he looks forward to meeting with Clinton to see how they can work together to defeat Trump. https://t.co/CHPiJ1RB1S
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 9, 2016
Bernie talking about meeting with Clinton is probably the clearest indication yet that he's preparing to ramp down his campaign.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) June 9, 2016
@ForecasterEnten You just wait a couple of weeks...or even go to the convention and drop out during your speech. No biggie.
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) June 9, 2016
Obama: It’s over.
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) June 9, 2016
Sanders: #Actually, superdel
O: Bernie…
S: Yeah ok.
O: Good. Now let’s chill for an hour then tell the press nothing.
Sanders: Trump campaign built on 'bigotry and discrimination'
While Sanders did not describe circumstances under which he might exit the Democratic race – and he certainly did not say he was exiting the race – he did say “I am going to do everything in my power, and I will work as hard as I can, to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president.”
That would seem to extend to, at some point, swinging his support behind Hillary Clinton, the presumptive nominee. Sanders said he spoke with Clinton and congratulated her “on her very strong campaign”, and told her he looked forward to working together “to defeat Donald Trump”.
Sanders sounded serious about wanting to do everything he could to prevent a Trump presidency. He proclaimed himself sincerely taken aback that Republicans had nominated Trump, “a candidate for president that in the year of 2016 makes bigotry and discrimination the cornerstones of his campaign.”
But Sanders will contest the DC primary on Tuesday, and he began by saying that he would take the issues raised by his millions of supporters “to the convention,” which is six weeks away.
Updated
Sanders looks forward 'to see how we can work together' with Clinton
Sanders says he spoke with Clinton on Tuesday evening, he congratulated her on her campaign and that he looks forward “to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump.”
Sanders: 'It is unbelievable to me' that GOP has nominated Trump
Sanders:
These are some of the issues that millions of Americans supported during my campaign. These are the issues that we will take to the convention..
Donald Trump ... would be a disaster as president..
It is unbelievable to me, and I say this in sincerity, [that Republicans] would have a candidate for president that in the year of 2016 makes bigotry and discrimination the cornerstones of his campaign...
A candidate who insults Mexicans and Latinos... women... Muslims...
Needless to say, I am going to do everything in my power, and I will work as hard as I can, to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president.
Sanders says he will compete in the Washington DC primary on Tuesday, with his main policy initiative being for statehood for the district.
Updated
Sanders speaks
Sanders begins with lines from his stump speech:
We should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty... we should not be having Americans in inner cities... who have life expectancies lower than many people in third-world countries.
They’ve put a lectern in place outside the West Wing – a notes stand at least. Sanders is expected to come out any minute.
That would be called the “blame game”, usually an indication that someone thinks something has gone wrong.
Interesting Representative Labrador here says almost exactly what Senators Elizabeth Warren, Harry Reid and others have been saying: if Donald Trump is a monster, Mitch McConnell is Dr Frankenstein. (Interesting that John Boehner takes it on the chin but Paul Ryan escapes mention):
Rep. Raul Labrador says establishment R's are to blame for Trump's nomination because they refused to rally around Ted Cruz in campaign 1/2
— Susan Davis (@DaviSusan) June 9, 2016
Labrador: "If you want to thank someone for Donald Trump. Thank John Boehner and Mitch McConnell." 2/2
— Susan Davis (@DaviSusan) June 9, 2016
Dan notes that a bunch of staff are also waiting outside the Eisenhower Executive Office building, which houses White House staff offices, to hear what Bernie Sanders will say:
Big crowd of White House staff also watching and waiting (from office steps) for Bernie to come out & talk to press pic.twitter.com/TGcf4oAgBe
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 9, 2016
People get paid for this?
Ted Cruz declines to talk about whether he would be a willing break-glass-in-case-of-emergency nominee for the GOP:
Cruz on if he'd be willing to step in if Trump was replaced at convention: "I'll leave the political punditry to those who get paid for it."
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) June 9, 2016
Sanders meeting has Obama late for lunch
“Obama was due at a lunch at 12.05pm, so whatever he and Sanders are talking about has already kept them over schedule,” reports Guardian Washington bureau chief Dan Roberts: “Huge crowd of reporters waiting expectantly at the stakeout location in front of the West Wing.”
Sanders live video stream
Bernie Sanders has yet to emerge from the White House. But when he does, you can watch him right here:
Meanwhile, in Gotham City:
Chris Christie just walked into the Four Seasons here in NYC, where Trump is expected to meet with donors soon
— Jose A. DelReal (@jdelreal) June 9, 2016
Christie was diligently agnostic about possibly being Donald Trump’s running mate, in an apparently interminable interview this morning on AM radio:
. @GovChristie on @WFAN660 this am on being @realDonaldTrump's: "Who knows? You never know."
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) June 9, 2016
Christie has now been on over 4 hrs.
Those kids got nothing on the media waiting to hear this morning from Sanders (he’s expected to talk to reporters after his tête-a-tête with Obama, Dan reports, but it’s not confirmed).
sitting with tears streaming down my face watching this vine of an ice cream truck that won’t stop for these kids https://t.co/ChoiqIPpB5
— Grace Spelman (@GraceSpelman) June 7, 2016
(h/t: @nycsouthpaw)
Updated
Clinton's balance sheet healthier than Trump's
The Hillary Clinton campaign may have 20 times as much cash on hand as the Donald Trump campaign, and outside groups supporting her appear to have raised more than 25 times as much as groups backing Trump (which are just getting under way), the Wall Street Journal reports:
Mrs. Clinton at the end of last month had $42 million on hand, her campaign said. Mr. Trump hasn’t reported his May figures but had $2.4 million at the end of April. Mrs. Clinton also has a super PAC that has raised more than $76 million. Similar groups backing Mr. Trump are just getting under way and have raised around $3 million so far.
Trump told Bloomberg yesterday that he was having second thoughts about needing to raise $1bn for the election, which was his own stated goal a month ago. “There’s no reason to raise that,” Trump said:
I just don’t think I need nearly as much money as other people need because I get so much publicity. I get so many invitations to be on television. I get so many interviews, if I want them.
Updated
There they are, walking together along the colonnade. White House gardens looking great.
Obama and Sanders hold unity talks at the White House pic.twitter.com/SpV2EI3iE6
— Andrew Beatty (@AndrewBeatty) June 9, 2016
Ryan hopeful Trump 'can fix this'
House speaker Paul Ryan, who on Monday said Donald Trump’s comments about federal judge Gonzalo Curiel were “textbook” racist, continues to sound less than convinced that Trump will clean up the mess he’s made.
Ryan has told a radio interviewer that “I believe he can fix this”, CNBC reports:
Ryan radio interview on Trump "antics": "I believe he can fix this to point where he can hopefully run a campaign we can all be proud of."
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) June 9, 2016
Ryan is just part of a chorus of angst about Trump that is rising among Republicans on Capitol Hill. Politico reports that “at least eight GOP senators either won’t vote for Trump or have declined to back him publicly”. Other holdouts listed by Politico include Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, Representative Bill Flores of Texas, and senators Kelly Ayotte and Susan Collins.
He’s got a long way to go to clean that up,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). “The American people need to hear more from him.” Trump’s comments “were toxic and they were inappropriate and they were offensive and they were wrong. His walking it back was to some extent a sign of leadership, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Trump’s first and main senate supporter, told Politico he had a talk with Trump earlier this week and “he’s treating this seriously”:
I shared some thoughts, and I like it that he’s focusing on the issues” now, Sessions said. “He’s treating this seriously. He took seriously the concerns.”
Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, meanwhile, has said in a radio interview flagged by BuzzFeed that there is “some mixture of fear and loathing” of Donald Trump among his Senate colleagues:
“Donald Trump did not receive a lot of — well, I guess there was one endorsement from the Senate prior to his claiming the nomination or being the presumptive nominee, just one,” Flake said on KTAR’s Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes on Tuesday. “It’s not as if a lot of senators were clamoring to support him during the process. In fact, many had supported one of the other candidates or hadn’t supported any at all. So, there’s not a lot of enthusiasm. There’s some resignation and some mixture of fear and loathing to think about what the next couple months will bring given the statements that he has made.”
The “fear and loathing” about Trump among Republicans is significant enough that “talk is growing to change the rules at the Republican convention to ensure Trump is defeated there,” TPM reports: “Steve Deace, a Republican radio host, tweeted Wednesday night that state delegates were reaching out to him personally to see how they could stop Trump”:
And the 9th state of delegates wanting to revolt against Trump just reached out to me. And it's only Wednesday.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) June 9, 2016
Even freaking Rasmussen has Trump down 4 now https://t.co/AFGrX70HxA
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) June 9, 2016
Sanders in talks with Obama
Bernie Sanders has arrived at the White House, where he was scheduled to hold talks with Barack Obama. Sanders came in the south diplomatic entrance after stopping off for coffee at Peet’s, notes the Guardian’s Dan Roberts from the scene.
It’s not a guarantee that Sanders will address the media after the meeting, but the cameras stand at the ready. It’s also unclear how long the meeting will last. Sanders also is supposed to meet with senate minority leader Harry Reid on Capitol Hill. Sanders’ rally outside RFK stadium tonight isn’t until 7pm – so he has plenty of time.
Joy Behar, ladies and germs. Don’t know Joy? Read her thumbnail bio!
I'm sexually attracted to Bernie, and even I want him to pull out! #TBT pic.twitter.com/RqQIGQMb7e
— Joy Behar (@JoyVBehar) June 9, 2016
Updated
“I can’t remember seeing this much excitement for a White House visitor in a long while,” Dan writes.
It’s BYOLadder:
There are at least a dozen cameras on ladders trying to get "a glimpse of the Bern" entering the south gate. pic.twitter.com/CDZGPJ5xz1
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 9, 2016
Updated
Cameras trained. West wing deadpan. What are they talking about in there ? Update: Sanders arrives just after 11am ET.
Updated
Kasich: Trump 'trending poorly'
Everyone’s a critic. No, literally – everyone’s a critic, including Ohio governor John Kasich, who some politics handicappers would have on the short list of potential Trump running mates, for Kasich’s popularity in a crucial swing state:
Kasich on Fox on whether he’ll support Trump: “Hard to say…You look at Twitter, there’s this thing called ‘trending.‘ It’s trending poorly.”
— Matt Viser (@mviser) June 9, 2016
'Bernie's coming'
It’s a “beautifully sunny and warm down here at the White House,” remarks Guardian Washington bureau chief Dan Roberts, who is among an expectant press corps covering the Sanders-Obama meeting. “Long way from that chilly day in January that Bernie came here before the Iowa caucus to receive Obama’s blessing.”
Curious air of expectation in White House press room. "Bernie's gonna be coming in the south gate. Bernie's coming," says grizzled camerman.
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) June 9, 2016
Sierra Club endorses Clinton
Hillary Clinton’s 2,203 pledged delegates is apparently good enough for the Sierra Club, the storied environmental conservation group claiming more than 2 million members and supporters.
Today the Sierra Club announces its endorsement of the presumptive Democratic nominee:
“We firmly believe Secretary Clinton will be the strong environmental champion that we need to lead our country, which is why the Sierra Club is proud to endorse her and her vision for America,” a statement from the group reads.
Sierra Club has endorsed @HillaryClinton for president! Read our statement: https://t.co/slDURlrx22
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 9, 2016
The Sierra Club endorsement includes words of praise for Bernie Sanders:
Senator Sanders and his supporters brought the passionate, principled advocacy that we need, and we are eager to work together to raise these issues in every campaign--not just the presidential race.
And words of something like horrified disdain for Donald Trump:
Contrasted with that, we have a reckless and misinformed candidate in Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax,” a “con job,” and a “concept created by the Chinese.”
Update: Clinton has released a statement saying she is “honored” by the endorsement, and p.s. climate change is real:
STATEMENT: Hillary Clinton Statement on Sierra Club Endorsement pic.twitter.com/ekBhFJmJMF
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) June 9, 2016
Updated
The Sanders has landed:
Bernie lands in DC at Dulles pic.twitter.com/E0agyehNq2
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) June 9, 2016
What will happen in his meeting with Obama?
Bernie: "Can you tell her to get out?"
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) June 9, 2016
POTUS: "Come on!"
Bernie: "Can you indict her?"
POTUS: "Come on!"
Bernie: "The struggle continues!"
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House.
Bernie Sanders will meet with Barack Obama at the White House today, as the president tries to broker a peace between the Sanders and Hillary Clinton camps following their primary battle (but was it really a “bruising” battle? See below). Sanders will also host a rally and meet with senate minority leader Harry Reid.
Obama has told comedy host Jimmy Fallon that Democrats are happy that Republicans will (we think?!) nominate Donald Trump to be president, but at the same time the president is “worried about the Republican party”.
Here’s the exchange, set to broadcast tonight:
JIMMY FALLON: But do you think the Republicans are happy with their choice?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We are. But I don’t know (LAUGHTER) how they’re-- I don’t know how they’re feeling. (CHEERS) So-- actually, you know what-- not-- (CHUCKLE) that was too easy. But the truth is actually I am worried about the Republican party. And-and I know that sounds-- you know-- you know what it sounds like.
Warren to back Clinton, attack Trump
Following a Reuters report last night based on unnamed sources that Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren will “soon” endorse presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Warren plans to call Trump “a loud, nasty, thin-skinned fraud” in a speech to the American Constitution Society tonight, excerpts of which include:
Donald Trump chose racism as his weapon, but his aim is exactly the same as the rest of the Republicans. Pound the courts into submission to the rich and powerful.
Warren’s friends told Reuters she might be open to running on the Democratic ticket with Clinton, although she has not been approached by the Clinton camp. “Get ready, Donald – we’re coming,” Warren tweeted at the weekend.
This is what Democrats united to beat @realDonaldTrump look like. Get ready, Donald – we're coming. pic.twitter.com/p8dFtvr9NV
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) June 5, 2016
Democrats ran zero negative ads during primary
Bloomberg reports:
According to Kantar Media, Clinton and Sanders aired 206,528 spots between them this year – and not one was deemed “negative” by the analysts in Kantar’s Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG).
“In an open presidential primary, this is probably unprecedented,” says Elizabeth Wilner, senior vice president for political advertising at Kantar.
Trump boasts: ‘Hispanics!’
A revealing exchange from an interview Donald Trump gave the New York Times:
He posed with some women and looked back at a reporter to point at the women and boasted “Hispanics!” Afterward, he bragged: “They say ‘We love you, Mr Trump. We’re from Mexico.’”
Clinton to attack Trump on economy
Clinton plans to attack Trump “soon” in a speech describing “how a Trump presidency could actually lead to a serious global economic crisis,” she told the Wall Street Journal:
“While he may have some catchy soundbites, his statements on the economy are dangerously incoherent,” Clinton said. “They are deeply misguided, and they reflect an individual who is temperamentally unfit to manage the American economy.”
Trump tweets
As expected, the media is very much against me. Their dishonesty is amazing but, just like our big wins in the primaries, we will win!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016
Crooked Hillary Clinton will be a disaster on jobs, the economy, trade, healthcare, the military, guns and just about all else. Obama plus!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016
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