Today in Campaign 2016
From an impassioned presidential speech in Orlando to a defiant refusal to suspend campaign operations broadcast over the internet, today was a big day in politics.
- Vermont senator Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to look beyond the Democratic presidential nomination in a speech tonight that stopped short of fully endorsing former secretary of state Hillary Clinton but made clear he was no longer actively challenging her candidacy.
- “The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly,” Sanders told supporters in a live stream video. “And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time.”
- President Barack Obama told families of the victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre this afternoon that he prayed for action from political leaders to prevent future mass shootings like the one that claimed 49 lives at a gay nightclub on Sunday.
- “Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, ‘why does this keep happening?’” Obama said, against a backdrop of rainbow-coloured balloons bobbing in the wind. “And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage. They don’t care about the politics. Neither do I. Neither does Joe. And neither should any parent out there who’s thinking about their kids being not in the wrong place, but in places where kids are supposed to be.”
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Arizona senator John McCain declared President Obama “directly responsible” for the shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people because, said McCain, ISIS grew in power under Obama’s watch.
- “Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, Al-Qaida went to Syria and became Isis and Isis is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures by pulling everybody out of Iraq thinking that conflicts end just because we leave,” McCain said. “So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies.”
- McCain’s office later released a statement - or, as it was spelled in the haste of its release, “statemeny” - by the senator, in which he said that he “misspoke.”
- “I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible,” McCain said. “I was referring to President Obama’s national security decisions, not the President himself. As I have said, President Obama’s decision to completely withdraw US troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of Isil.”
Updated
Late-breaking news tonight from the State department, where 51 department officials have penned a letter urging military intervention in the Syrian civil war.
The letter, first obtained by the New York Times, pushes for “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed US-led diplomatic process,” saying that current administration policy has been “overwhelmed” by the sustained violence in the country.
“The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable,” the memo states. “The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges.”
Video: Highlights of President Barack Obama’s speech in Orlando after meeting with the survivors of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub on Sunday that left 49 people dead and 53 hospitalized.
“On behalf of the American people, our hearts are broken, too,” Obama said. He laid a bouquet of white flowers at a memorial for the victims with vice president Joe Biden.
The Guardian’s Dan Roberts has more on Bernie Sanders’ late-night announcement, in which he did not suspend his campaign but pledged to work with Hillary Clinton’s campaign to defeat Donald Trump.
Bernie Sanders has urged his supporters to look beyond the Democratic presidential nomination in a speech that stopped short of fully endorsing Hillary Clinton but made clear he was no longer actively challenging her candidacy.
In an anti-climatic speech that signaled the effective end of a 14-month campaign odyssey, the Vermont senator insisted his “political revolution continues” despite Clinton’s effective victory in the delegate race.
But crucially, he implied he would soon be working with her campaign to help defeat Donald Trump.
“The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly,” Sanders told supporters in a live stream video. “And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time.”
The Vermont senator also thanked his supporters and volunteers, suggesting other ways they could continue to press for the issues that drew them toward his campaign. “Election days come and go but political and social revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end,” he said.
“Let me conclude by once again thanking everyone who has helped in this campaign in one way or another,” he added. “We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future.”
The somewhat mixed messages of the speech may frustrate some Democrats who had hoped Sanders would swiftly encourage his supporters to back Clinton before the party’s national convention. But the cryptic language may also reflect ongoing negotiations between the two campaigns over which of several demands made by Sanders at a meeting on Tuesday the Clinton team would be willing to accept.
“I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda,” said Sanders in his speech.
Donald Trump, on Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia! They were making a billion dollars a day back when the oil was high! Now they’re only making... massive amounts of money!
Donald Trump, speaking in Dallas, says that he doesn’t advocate Japan arming itself with nuclear weapons, but is also okay with Japan doing so if it wants.
“We protect Japan and Germany and South Korea, we protect Saudi Arabia and others, okay?” Donald Trump says. “We’re subsidizing greatly.”
“So we defend Japan, we defend Germany, we defend lots of different places,” Trump says after a long digression about Russian president Vladimir Putin calling him a “genius” (which he didn’t), but “this isn’t 40 years ago, 30 years ago!”
“We may have t pull back, we may have to do something, but you cannot say we will defend - we can’t afford to defend all these countries and lose a bunch of money!” Trump says. “And if we don’t, they’re gonna have to defend themselves against this maniac in North Korea! We gotta say that!”
“It may be that Japan will have to defend themselves, and that’s true! And that’s true!” Trump says. “But here’s the problem, here’s the problem, with politicians - especially with Hillary, ’cause she doesn’t have a clue.”
Now we go back to Donald Trump, who is holding a campaign rally in Dallas, Texas.
“Who’s better for the gay community and who’s better for women than Donald Trump?” Trump asks the audience rhetorically.
Bernie Sanders calls for 'new generation' of public servants
“We need a new generation of people actively involved in public service who are prepared to provide the quality of life the American people deserve,” Sanders tells his followers in a livestream.
“Let me conclude by once again thanking everyone who has helped in this campaign in one way or another,” Sanders says. “We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future.”
“My hope is that when future historians look back and describe how our country moved forward into reversing the drift toward oligarchy, and created a government which represents all the people and not just the few, they will note that, to a significant degree, that effort began with the political revolution of 2016,” Sanders concludes.
“Thank you very much. Good night.”
The political revolution he has ignited, Bernie Sanders says, “means that at every level, we continue the fight to make our society a nation of economic, social, racial an environmental justice. It means that we can no longer ignore the fact that, sadly, the current Democratic party leadership has turned its back on dozens of states.”
“The Democratic Party needs a 50-state strategy,” Sanders urges. “We may not win in every state tomorrow, but we will never win unless we recruit good candidates.”
“We must provide resources to those states which have so long been ignored. Most importantly, we need leadership that is prepared to open its doors... to young people,” Sanders says.
“Here is a cold hard fact that must be addressed: Since 2009, some 900 legislative seats have been lost to Republicans in state after state in this country,” Sanders says. “That is unacceptable.”
“We need to start engaging at the local and state level in an unprecedented way,” Sanders continues. “We can win significant number of local and state elections if people are prepared to become involved. I also hope that people will give serious thought to running for statewide offices and also in Congress.”
Bernie Sanders: I will 'continue discussion' with the Clinton campaign
“This campaign is also about defeating Donald trump, the Republican candidate for president,” Sanders says. “After centuries of racism, sexism and discrimination of all forms in our country, we do not need a major-party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign.”
“We cannot have a president who, in the midst of so much income inequality, wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the very, very rich,” Sanders says. “The major political task that together we face is to make sure that Donald Trump is defeated, and defeated badly
“And I personally plan to begin my role in that process in a very short time.”
“We must continue our effort to become the America that we know we can become, and we must take that energy into the DNC in Philadelphia... where we will have more than 1,900 delegates,” Sanders says, “and discuss some of the very important issues facing our country and the Democratic party.”
“I look forward in the coming weeks to continue discussion between the two campaigns to make sure your voices are heard, and to make sure the Democratic party passes the most progressive platform in its history,” Sanders says, “so that it becomes a party of working people and young people and not just wealthy campaign contributors - a party that has the guts to take on Wall Street... and the other powerful special interests that dominate so much of our political and economic life.”
Updated
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’ address reiterates numerous points that those who have seen his stump speech will find familiar.
“In an unprecedented way, we showed the world we could run a strong national campaign without being dependent on the big-money interests whose greed has done so much to damage this country,” Sanders says.
“This campaign has never been about any single candidate. It has always been about transforming America. It is about ending a campaign finance system which is corrupt and allows billionaires to buy elections,” Sanders says. “It is about creating an economy that works for all of us, not just the one percent.”
“It is about ending the incredible despair that exists in many parts of this country, where, as a result of unemployment and low wages, suicide, and alcohol, millions of Americans are dying in a historic way - at a younger age than their parents,” Sanders says. “It is about ending the disgrace of having almost the highest level of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.”
“It is about ending the disgrace of tens of thousands of Americans dying every year from preventable deaths because... because they cannot afford the prescription drugs they need,” Sanders continues. “It is about ending the pain of a young single mother in Nevada, in t ears, telling me that she doesn’t know how she and her daughter can make it on the $10.75 she makes.”
Bernie Sanders, addressing his campaign supporters, says that the fight for wealth equality continues “every day, every week, and every moth in the fight to create a nation and world of social and economic justice.”
“When tens of millions of people say loudly and clearly, ‘enough is enough,’ and they become engaged in the fight for justice, that’s what the political revolution we helped start is all about.”
“It is mainstream - it is what millions of American believe in and want to see happen,” Sanders says of the “political revolution” his campaign helped ignite. “In virtually every state that we contested, we won the overwhelming majority of the votes of voters 45 years of age or younger - sometimes, I might say, by yuuuge numbers.”
Bernie Sanders addresses supporters in livestream
Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is addressing his campaign’s supporters via a live video stream hosted by his campaign, in which he said on Tuesday he would be discussing “what’s next for our campaign.”
Watch it live here:
What we’re all waiting for:
While voters will still casting ballots in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Washington DC, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders announced that he would be holding a live video stream for supporters at 8:30pm EDT tonight in which he said he would be discussing “what’s next for our campaign.”
“For the past 14 months, through the entire primary process, we’ve sent the establishment a message they can’t ignore: we won’t settle for the status quo,” said an emailed invitation. “After today, the voting is done, but our political revolution continues.”
The event was widely expected to mark the formal end of his candidacy for the nomination, but many have seen instead a call to arms among supporters to continue fighting for the policies that have often put him at odds with the party’s senior leadership.
Donald Trump campaigns in Dallas
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is holding a rally in Dallas, Texas. After his campaign was turned down by venues in nearby Grand Prairie, Irving and within Dallas itself, Trump’s campaign secured a spot in Gilley’s, an entertainment facility across the street from Dallas police headquarters.
Which, if the protesters and counter-protesters are any indication, is a good thing.
Updated
From the AFP in Chicago:
Texas has lost its bid to keep Syrian refugees out when a federal judge on Thursday dismissed the state’s lawsuit over resettlements from the war-torn Middle Eastern country.
US district court judge David Godbey said the state failed to make “a plausible claim for relief” in its lawsuit against the federal government and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a charity that aids refugees.
“I am disappointed with the court’s determination that Texas cannot hold the federal government accountable,” state attorney general Ken Paxton said in a written statement.
Texas officials argue that they should be consulted by the federal government before refugees are relocated there, and that the state should be provided with specific information about individual refugees.
But the judge said that existing US law does not support the state’s petition, a ruling that was cheered by the plaintiffs.
“The court is unequivocal in validating the lawfulness of the refugee resettlement program,” said Jennifer Sime, senior vice president of the IRC’s US Programs.
President Barack Obama’s full speech from Orlando:
If Donald Trump’s campaign ran this ad for the next 144 days, he would take every single state in the general election.
(Okay, maybe not. But it’s still incredible.)
Hillary Clinton 'horrified' by assassination of Jo Cox
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton issued a statement this evening offering condolences to the family and constituents of British Labour MP Jo Cox, who was assassinated this morning in the first killing of a British politician in a quarter-century.
“I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England,” Clinton stated. “By all accounts, she was a rising star. Her maiden speech in Parliament celebrated the diversity of her beloved Yorkshire constituency, and passionately made the case that there is more that unites us than divides us. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance.”
Clinton called for the citizens of the US and Britain, “two of the world’s oldest and greatest democracies,” to “stand together against hatred and violence.”
“This is how we must honor Jo Cox - by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together,” Clinton concluded. “My thoughts and prayers are with her friends, her family, and the British people.”
Donald Trump is set to speak in 18 minutes.
Trump supporters armed & ready 4 protesters say they will only jump in if clashes w/ supporters -mentioned San Jose pic.twitter.com/JpNJPAk2si
— John Santucci (@JTSantucci) June 16, 2016
Housing and urban development secretary and former San Antonio mayor Julián Castro has released a statement in response to anticipated visits to the Lone Star State this weekend by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, criticizing the candidate as someone “who treats Latinos like second-class citizens.”
“Donald Trump’s message to the Latino community is clear: You are not American,” stated Castro, rumored to be in the running as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“In Trump’s America, Latinos wouldn’t be welcome, our LGBT brothers and sisters wouldn’t be able to marry who they love, and Americans would be discriminated against because of their religion,” Castro continued. “In a time where the Latino community is under attack, we need a leader who will be a partner, not someone who treats Latinos like second class citizens. We need a leader who will break down barriers for us, not build a wall. We need a leader who will strive for inclusion, not division.”
“For this and so many other reasons, Donald Trump has proven once again that he’s not qualified and he’s temperamentally unfit to be President,” Castro concluded. “As Trump visits Texas over the next few days, let it be clear that his hateful rhetoric is not welcome in our community. Let it be clear that we will raise our voices against him in November.”
As the 2016 election campaign turns ever more vicious, Donald Trump is reportedly longing to return to the less competitive world of TV – even to the point of starting his own cable news network according to Vanity Fair. But people familiar with the barest fundamentals of the TV economy call the idea laughably absurd.
The cable TV industry is in crisis as a generation of viewers “cut the cord”ditching high-priced subscriptions for TV over the internet. News that Trump is exploring a “mini-media conglomerate” based on a cable network struck media investor and adviser Bruce Tuchman as ridiculous. “I understand that he says he’s a great businessman but smart money isn’t going into linear cable anymore,” said Tuchman, calling the idea “very amusing to say the least”.
Tuchman has worked for cable television networks and conglomerates in many capacities across the world over three decades, at companies from Viacom to MGM to AMC Global, where he was president.
“For a guy who’s a master at Twitter, I’m kind of astonished that he’s not at the level of understanding that capital in media today is running toward digital and apps,” he said.
Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks has denied the story: “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.”
Her boss is more unreadable: “The press is so totally biased that we have no choice but to take our tough but fair and smart message directly to the people!” he tweeted shortly after Hicks gave her response to Vanity Fair.
President Barack Obama: 'This was an attack on the LGBT community'
Speaking in Orlando, President Barack Obama calls the mass shooting at a gay nightclub on Sunday that killed 49 people “an attack on the LGBT community” and urges for “dignity” for LGBT people around the world.
“The Pulse nightclub has always been a safe haven - a place to sing and dance and, most importantly, to be who you truly are,” Obama says, “including for so many people whose families are originally from Puerto Rico. Sunday morning, that sanctuary was violated in the worst way possible.”
Whatever his motives, Obama says of the shooter, “it was also an act of hate. This was an attack on the LGBT community. Americans were targeted because we’re a country that has learned to welcome everyone ... Hatred toward people because of their sexual orientation, regardless of where it comes from, is a betrayal of what’s best in us.”
“You can’t break up the world into ‘us’ and ‘them,’ and denigrate and express hatred towards groups because of the color of their skin or their faith or their sexual orientation, and not feed something very dangerous in this world,” Obama says. “So if there was ever a moment for all of us to reflect and reaffirm our most basic beliefs - that everybody counts and everyone has dignity - now is the time.”
“We have to end discrimination and violence against our brothers and sisters who are in the LGBT community, here at home and around the world,” Obama says, “especially in countries where they are routinely prosecuted.”
“There’s only us - Americans.”
Updated
President Barack Obama continues speaking in Orlando:
“I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing,” Obama says, to “help [end] the plague of violence that these weapons of war inflict on so many young lives.”
“We will not be able to stop every tragedy,” he continues. “We can’t wipe away evil and hatred from every heart in this world. But we can stop some tragedies; we can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if we’re smart.”
“And if we don’t act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this, because we’ll alloow them to happen.”
President Barack Obama continues speaking in Orlando:
“If, in fact, we want show the best of our humanity, we’re all gonna have to work together in every level of government across political lines to do more to stop killers who want to terrorize us. We will continue to be relentless against terrorist groups like Isil and AQAl-Qaida We are going to destroy them, we are going to disrupt their networks and their financing, and the flow of fighters in and our of war theaters. We are going to disrupt their propaganda that poisonous so many minds around the world. We’re gonna do all that. Our resolve is clear.”
“The last two terrorist attacks on our soil - Orlando and San Bernardino - were homegrown, carried out, it appears, not by external plotters, not by vast networks or sophisticated cells, but by deranged individuals warped by the hateful propaganda that they had seen over the Internet, then we’re going to have to do more to prevent these kinds of events from occurring.”
“As good as they are, as dedicated as they are as focused as they are, if you have lone wolf attacks like this, hatched in the minds of a disturbed person, then we’re gonna have to take different kinds of steps in order to prevent something like this from happening.”
Barack Obama delivers remarks after meeting Orlando shooting survivors
President Barack Obama, speaking in Orlando, Florida, commends the “outstanding police and first responders” at a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the city that killed 49 and left 53 hospitalized.
“Four days ago, this community was shaken by an evil and hateful act,” Obama says. “Today, we are reminded of what is good. That there is compassion and empathy and decency, and most of all, there is love. That’s the orlando that we’ve seen in recent days, and that’s the America that we have seen.”
“Through their pain and through their tears, they told us about the joy that their loved ones had brought to their lives,” Obama continues. “So many young people in their twenties and thirties. So many students who were focused on the future. One young woman was just 18 years old. Another said her father was a happy guy with so many dreams. There were siblings there talking about their brothers and their sisters and how they were role models that they looked up to. There were husbands and wives who had taken a solemn vow. Fathers and mothers who gave their full heart to their children.”
“These families could be our families. In fact, they are our family. They’re part of the American family,” Obama says.
“Our hearts are broken too, and that we stand with you, and that we are here for you, and that we are remembering those you you loved so deeply,” Obama says. “As a nation, we’ve also been inspired by the courage of those who risked their lives and cared for others: partners whose last moments were spent shielding each other; the mother who gave her life to save her son; the former Marine whose quick thinking saved dozens of lives.”
Updated
Another Donald Trump supporter is hesitating to, well, support Donald Trump:
Trump backer Rep Hunter (R-CA) telling a gaggle of reporters on Hill he's not going 2 answer 4 everything Trump says. "I'm not a surrogate."
— David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) June 16, 2016
Ann Kirkpatrick, the Arizona congresswoman running against John McCain for his seat in the Senate, has released a statement in response McCain’s assertion that President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead:
“Elected leaders have a moral duty to work together to root out terrorism and keep Americans safe,” Kirkpatrick, a three-term Democrat, said. “But today, we saw John McCain cross a dangerous line in comments that undermine our Commander in Chief on national security issues - at the very moment the president was in Orlando to comfort victims’ families.”
“It’s difficult to imagine the old John McCain being this reckless with something so serious,” Kirkpatrick concluded. “John McCain has changed after 33 years in Washington.”
John McCain may have “misspoke” when he said that President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead, but at least some members of the Republican party are embracing his comments - including Donald Trump’s campaign manager:
John McCain: Obama is ‘directly responsible’ for Orlando attack - The Washington Post https://t.co/hjh5ry2r3B
— Corey Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) June 16, 2016
Senator John McCain: 'I misspoke'
Arizona senator John McCain’s office has released a statement - or, as it was spelled in the haste of its release, “statemeny” - by the senator, in which he says that he “misspoke” when he said that President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead.
“I misspoke,” McCain said in the statement. “I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama’s national security decisions, not the President himself. As I have said, President Obama’s decision to completely withdraw US troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of Isil.”
“I and others have long warned that the failure of the President’s policy to deny Isil safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando,” McCain concluded.
Updated
Arizona senator John McCain may have clarified his comments earlier today, but the full transcript of his declaration that President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead doesn’t leave much room for ambiguity:
“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, Al-Qaida went to Syria and became Isis and Isis is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures by pulling everybody out of Iraq thinking that conflicts end just because we leave,” McCain said. “So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies.”
“How do you say he’s directly responsible?” a reporter followed up.
“Directly responsible because he pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that Isis would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America, it’s a matter of record,” McCain concluded. “So he is directly responsible.”
The office of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid was quick to link McCain’s comments to the bluster of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who earlier this week suggested Obama was complicit with terrorists.
“Senator McCain’s unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump,” Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson said. “There is no daylight between Senate Republicans and Donald Trump.”
McCain blamed Obama for the attack when reporters on Capitol Hill asked the senator about the renewed debate over gun control in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting.
“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures,” McCain said.
The senator, who is facing a tough re-election battle in Arizona, pointed to what he said was the early withdrawal of US troops from Iraq to back up his claim.
“[Obama] pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked, and there would be attacks on the United States of America,” McCain said.
“It’s a matter of record, so he is directly responsible,” McCain continued. “The responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies.”
McCain has long been critical of Obama’s handling of foreign policy, often accusing the president of “leading from behind” with respect to Iraq and the Syrian civil war. His response was nonetheless peculiar within the context of gun policy, as McCain voted with Democrats to expand background checks after the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in 2012 and recast the same vote in December when the measure came up once more following the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.
Jeff Flake, the junior senator from Arizona, opted for a more measured tone when asked approach in the Senate hallway for his reaction to McCain’s comments about Obama.
“I don’t want to go there,” Flake said.
Updated
Arizona senator John McCain has tweeted a clarification of his comments made earlier this afternoon:
To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obama’s national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) June 16, 2016
Senate minority leader Harry Reid’s office has responded to Arizona senator John McCain’s accusation that President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, this weekend that killed 49 people, calling the senator’s statement “unhinged.”
“McCain’s unhinged comments are just the latest proof Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump,” a Reid spokesperson told the Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui.
Republicans have signaled that they will not compromise on gun control measures, reports the Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui, despite a nearly 15-hour filibuster by Senate Democrats protesting congressional inaction on the issue.
A group of Democrats, flanked by family members of gun violence victims, were at times brought to tears during a press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday following the murder of 49 people in a gay club in Orlando at the weekend as they inveighed against an epidemic that kills an average of 90 Americans each day and vowed to force Republicans on the record on the issue.
“How on Earth in the face of the largest mass shooting in the history of this nation could the United States Senate ignore it in the week following?” asked Chris Murphy, the Connecticut senator who led a talking filibuster that began Wednesday morning and did not end until the early hours of Thursday.
“My legs are a little bit rubbery, but my heart is strong,” he added.
Murphy, along with 39 of his colleagues, took control of the Senate floor during a debate over an unrelated spending bill as lawmakers returned to business in the wake of the terrorist attack in Florida. The issue has been especially personal to Murphy, who emerged as a leading advocate of reducing gun violence after a gunman in his home state of Connecticut killed 20 children and six educators in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school tragedy.
Democrats were able to secure a vote on two proposals – one to implement universal background checks and another that would bar suspected terrorists on the FBI watch list from purchasing firearms.
But the Republicans who control the Senate said they would offer their own competing measures, meaning any vote would likely be split along party lines and thus ultimately fail.
Gabrielle Giffords: Shooting of MP Jo Cox 'a manifestation of a coarseness in our politics'
Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, herself a survivor of a 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that left six people dead, has issued a statement in response to the assassination of West Yorkshire MP Jo Cox:
I don’t remember the constituent meeting where I was shot in the head and nearly lost my life, but the scores of such events I and so many others have hosted represent the importance of a democracy connected to its citizens. Just like the January 8, 2011 did not deter America from its founding ideals, the British principle of pluralism and the nation’s democratic institutions will endure.
However, the assassination of MP Jo Cox at the hands of a man driven by hatred is a manifestation of a coarseness in our politics and hatred toward the other that we must not tolerate. Not in the United States, not in Europe, not in Latin America, not in Asia, and not in Africa. MP Cox was courageous, young, and a hardworking public servant. She was a rising star, a mother, and a wife. Mark and I grieve for her family, friends, constituents, and for the people of Great Britain.
McCain declares Obama 'directly responsible' for Orlando attack
Senator John McCain declared President Obama “directly responsible” for the shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people because, says McCain, ISIS grew in power under Obama’s watch.
When asked to clarify his comments, the senator from Arizona said that Obama’s withdrawal of troops in Iraq and the US’s response to Syria impacted the rise of ISIS. Although Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 phone call during the attack, his links to the organization and personal politics are not yet known.
McCain’s claim that Obama is “directly responsible” came in the same week that Donald Trump attempted to insinuate the president had some connection to the attacks.
McCain, who lost to Obama in 2008, spoke to reporters in DC at the same time that Obama is in Orlando meeting with victims, first responders and the families of victims of Saturday night’s terror attack in the Pulse nightclub against a mainly LGBTQ Hispanic crowd.
From Washington Post reporter Michael Debonis:
To be clear, arguing Obama is indirectly responsible for fomenting radicalism is one thing. Accusing him of 'direct' responsibility another.
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) June 16, 2016
The chairman of the Republican National Convention is busy claiming that he and the presumptive Republican nominee are just fine, no problems here, everything is just smooth sailing.
Flying to Dallas now with @realDonaldTrump...Reports of discord are pure fiction. Great events lined up all over Texas. Rs will win in Nov!
— Reince Priebus (@Reince) June 16, 2016
OECD head dimisses Trump comments as racist
The Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and former foreign minister of Mexico, Angel Gurria, said Donald Trump is a racist.
When asked on Al Jazeera English’s Upfront about Trump’s comments regarding Judge Curiel, who is of Mexican descent, Gurria replied:
I would tend to agree with those who say that this is not only misinformed, but yes, I think the word racist can be applied.
“I am the secretary general of the OECD and as such I have to remain neutral... But first and foremost I am a Mexican and I obviously resent very much these kinds of statements,” said Gurria.
The economist also dismissed Trump’s plan to build a wall between the USA and Mexico and demand the southern neighbor pay for it.
“It’s not going to happen. Period,” said Gurria. “I would not even like to entertain the notion that we should or should not pay for this rather crazy idea.”
The Senate will vote next week on several gun control proposals that have emerged with added desperation after the Orlando shooting. The nearly 15-hour filibuster by Democrat Senators on gun control last night ended when the GOP agreed to hear and vote on proposals over background checks and whether those on terror watch lists should have access the guns and while it was thought that might happen today or tomorrow, the votes will happen on Monday.
Update from Orlando:
.@POTUS and @VP have arrived at the Orlando Amway Center in downtown for their meetings with victims families, survivors, first responders.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 16, 2016
WH says @POTUS and @VP met first with local law enforcement to offer thanks for their response to the attack at the Pulse Nightclub.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 16, 2016
Obama is greeting local politicians - Florida governor Rick Scott, the local mayor of Orlando Buddy Dyer, Senator Marco Rubio - in a very non-partisan moment. All now hopping in cars and heading off to meet families.
It seems the president is behind schedule, so may not be addressing the public until later.
It’s nearly time for Obama to address the public in Orlando. This will be the sixth time this year that Obama has made a speech to the nation after a mass shooting, according to WFTV, an Orlando local channel.
Vice-president Joe Biden is here, hugging local politicians.
The stairs have just been put up to Airforce One, waiting for Obama to disembark. He’s just coming down.
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Why would anyone ask the House speaker whether he’s considering rescinding his Trump endorsement?
In any case, he says it’s not his plan:
Asked if he would rescind his endorsement of Trump, Speaker Ryan says, "That's not my plan" https://t.co/UVQGagUisL
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 16, 2016
Trump says union that endorsed Clinton 'no longer represents American workers'
In response to the AFL-CIO endorsement of Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump has released a statement saying that the union “no longer represents American workers” and that “I believe their members will be voting for me in much larger numbers than for her.”
The statement quotes Bernie Sanders, three times, criticizing Clinton on trade policy and Wall Street ties, and warning that immigration could result in lower wages.
The statement says that “Hillary takes money from regimes that support the murder of gays and the enslavement of women” before ending on a slightly more uplifting note:
Donald Trump: " I only want to bring people into our country who will love and support everyone." pic.twitter.com/bVRV7u1Aii
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) June 16, 2016
Here’s a new look for Marco Rubio:
.@FLGovScott, @marcorubio and @VP on the tarmac with @POTUS upon his arrival in Orlando. pic.twitter.com/ZqtiLMdzgX
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 16, 2016
White House spokesman Eric Schultz spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One, and said he anticipated the president and Rubio “having a conversation” on the fight, according to a pool report:
Asked if the president had advice for Rubio about seeking reelection, Mr. Schultz said “I suspect the conversation ... will be much more focused on the events of today and the aftermath of the tragedy.”
“This is a moment where Democrats and Republicans can come together and show that in the wake of a horrific attack, when one community is attacked in the United States of America, the United States of America stands together and united to help,” Schultz said.
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Asked about Trump's ban on Washington Post, Ryan calls on Post reporter
Asked at a news conference Thursday about Donald Trump’s decision to revoke the media credentials of the Washington Post, House speaker Paul Ryan says “I hope and assume that this will get worked out” – and then seeks out a Post reporter to solicit a question, reports Sopan Deb of CBS News:
Paul Ryan threw some veryyyy passive-aggressive shade at Trump over Wa Po credentialing at presser today: pic.twitter.com/LVpOlTj4Gl
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) June 16, 2016
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by Texas against the Obama administration to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees:
BREAKING: Federal judge outright dismissed Texas' lawsuit against Obama re: refugees. https://t.co/NlacjIRuyJ pic.twitter.com/F0EozuiBhd
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 16, 2016
Read more about the lawsuit here:
Armitage, veteran of Reagan and Bush administrations, to back Clinton – report
Donald Trump has suffered a new high-profile Republican defection in a sign of crumbling support for the presumptive nominee in the national security establishment.
Richard Armitage, a deputy secretary of state in the George W Bush administration, a retired Navy officer, and an assistant secretary of defense in the Ronald Reagan administration, has told Politico that “If Donald Trump is the nominee, I would vote for Hillary Clinton”.
Armitage told Politico Thursday that he didn’t know whether more Republicans might soon back Clinton. But he added that many of his conservative friends with national security backgrounds “are confused” by the choice before them and unsure about what to do.
“They’re in kind of a fog,” he said.
Rubio joins Obama for flight to Orlando
Marco Rubio is flying Air Force One to Orlando with Obama. White House says president wanted to "show solidarity" after the attack.
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) June 16, 2016
Rubio is rethinking his decision not to run for reelection to his US senate seat, Sabrina reported yesterday – read more about that here.
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Booker says he's not being vetted for veep
New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who has appeared on some speculative short lists of possibilities for Hillary Clinton’s running mate, tells NBC News that he is not being vetted for the job:
"It's flattering, but I'm not being vetted. I hear from the HRC campaign to go out and work for them." https://t.co/rwgCeVhhxY
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) June 16, 2016
Someone who is being vetted: Elizabeth Warren, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which included this list:
Beyond the Massachusetts senator, other prospective candidates include Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro; Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and
Cory Booker of New Jersey; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Reps. Xavier Becerra of California and Tim Ryan of Ohio, several Democrats said.
Is Donald Trump running for president?
Is Donald Trump running for president? He did hire Terry Branstad’s son in Iowa yesterday.
But where are the TV ads? Where is the rest of his ground game? Where are the roundtables to highlight issues like the one Clinton held yesterday with military families? Where are the pollsters and strategists and directors of outreach and scheduled fundraisers... and why does he keep talking about knocking Jeb Bush out of the race and winning in New Hampshire?
Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall observes that Trump is not really running: “It’s not just that Trump isn’t doing well. He’s barely running a campaign at all”:
He’s spent the last six weeks in an erratic barrage of self-inflicted wounds and petulant attacks on people who he needs to be critical allies. Not just Rubio or Kasich but any other candidate would be spending this time fleshing out a campaign team - usually bringing in the best operatives from the defeated primary challengers - developing campaign themes focused on the Democrats’ nominee, raising and stockpiling money. These may not be exciting tasks but they are the critical work of standing up a national campaign, which is one part flash mob, one part Fortune 500 corporation. It’s a big, big thing that takes a lot of managerial work to set up.
I'm with @joshtpm here. If Trump stays in, we might be looking at an election where one side doesn't really campaign https://t.co/HRtQKqfq4y
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) June 16, 2016
At the end of his filibuster for gun safety on Wednesday, Connecticut senator Christopher Murphy gave a wrenching description of the life and death of elementary student Dylan Hockley and teacher’s aide Anne Marie Murphy.
Murphy died inside Sandy Hook elementary hugging Hockley, who was on the autism spectrum and was so attached to Murphy that his family kept her picture at home on the refrigerator so he could point it out.
“We take great comfort in knowing that Dylan was not alone when he died,” Dylan’s parents, Ian and Nicole Hockley, told local media after the Newtown massacre.
Murphy concluded his filibuster with a challenge to live up to the example of Anne Marie Murphy:
If Anne Marie Murphy could do that, then ask yourself, what can you do, to make sure that Orlando, or Sandy Hook never, ever happens again? With deep gratitude to all those who have endured this very, very late night, I yield the floor.
The final 7 minutes and change of @ChrisMurphyCT's filibuster on gun control are worth your time. https://t.co/bHvffe1P7v
— Ted Mann (@TMannWSJ) June 16, 2016
Just because you’re on a terror watch list doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun, House speaker Paul Ryan argues, according to a Bloomberg report:
.@SpeakerRyan opposes banning people on the terror watch list from buying a gun. "We don't take away citizens' rights without due process."
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 16, 2016
AFL-CIO endorses Clinton as hope for Sanders fades
The AFL-CIO union voted today to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, according to a press release by the 12.5 million-member group.
With many members having supported the Bernie Sanders campaign, the union had delayed an endorsement in the presidential race. Sanders has not suspended his campaign, but top-level Sanders supporters are gravitating to the Clinton camp, and Sanders was to address supporters in a video broadcast Thursday evening.
Per @chucktodd, Rep. Raul Grijalva -- an early endorser of Sanders -- is now backing endorsing Hillary Clinton
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) June 16, 2016
“Hillary Clinton is a proven leader who shares our values,” said AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka in a statement. “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.”
CWA president to members this week: "Bernie is not going to be the nominee. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be." https://t.co/xr5oxTvFEr
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) June 16, 2016
Clinton ads highlight work with kids
The Hillary Clinton campaign has made a major, “eight-figure, initial six-week television buy” in eight swing states focusing on her work with children.
“For Hillary, it’s always been about kids”, one ad says, describing her work in the 1970s with the Children’s Defense fund, her work on school reform in Arkansas and her work as first lady on the children’s health insurance program. (Politifact has rated the claim that she won health care for 8 million children ‘mostly true’.)
“Through the years there have been challenges, setbacks, but for Hillary, one thing’s never changed. Helping children has been the cause of her life,” says another ad, called Always. “And it always will be.”
The ads will run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.
Is the Trump campaign going to make any ads this cycle? TBD.
Trump-Republican pact decays as Clinton and Democrats integrate staff
The Donald Trump campaign’s relationship with the Republican National Committee “is increasingly plagued by distrust, power struggles and strategic differences, according to sources in both camps,” reports Politico:
In recent days, RNC chairman Reince Priebus has privately grumbled that his advice doesn’t seem welcome with Trump, according to one RNC insider. Other party officials have expressed frustration that Trump’s campaign is trying to take too much control over a pair of fundraising committees with the party while adding little to the effort, according to campaign and party officials familiar with the relationship.
Update: On CNN this morning, Sam Clovis, co-chair of the Trump campaign, said he was “tired of the Republican establishment coming out and shooting their mouths off and talking about how we need to comport with them. That’s not the way this works. We’re the people.
So, it’s either the leadership that’s wrong or we’re wrong, and it can’t be both. I think right now we’re the ones that are winning, they’re not.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Hillary for America is continuing its integration with the Democratic National Committee, the New York Times reports:
The DNC and HFA are officially joining forces today, Brandon Davis of SEIU is coming on as chief of staff for general election
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 16, 2016
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Barack Obama boards Air Force One, headed for Orlando:
President Barack Obama boards Air Force One, en route Orlando where he will meet with victims' family members. pic.twitter.com/nhGuuSwQyZ
— Stephen Crowley (@Stcrow) June 16, 2016
Clinton leads Trump by 9 points in new poll
A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted from 11-15 June found Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup 41-32. That’s typical of other recent polls. 15% of respondents told the pollster “neither”.
Here’s the Clinton-Trump matchup over time as tracked by the poll:
In a four-way race including Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein, Clinton lands at 39, Trump at 29, Johnson at 6 and Stein at 4.
Voters told the pollster the issues that concerned them most were terrorism, the economy, unemployment and “morality”.
Oprah Winfrey endorses Hillary Clinton
Oprah Winfrey was innocently hanging out for a photo spray at the premiere of a new drama on the Oprah Winfrey Network, Greenleaf, on Wednesday, when a reporter with Entertainment Tonight asked her whether she supported Hillary Clinton for president.
“I’m with her,” Winfrey replied. “It’s a seminal moment for women.”
Winfrey said the country was ready for a woman president.
“I really believe that is going to happen,” Winfrey said. “And this is the truth. America, it’s about time that we make that decision.”
Oprah continued:
What this says is, there is no ceiling, that ceiling just went boom, you know. It says anything is possible when you can be leader of the free world.
Winfrey joining the Clinton camp is more of a snub of Donald Trump than it might otherwise be, because, when Trump was toying with the idea of running for president 17 years ago, Trump told Larry King that he would pick her as his running mate. The Daily Beast reports:
“Do you have a vice presidential candidate in mind?” King asked.
“Well, I really haven’t gotten there quite yet—I guess Oprah,” Trump said, smirking. “I love Oprah. Oprah would always be my first choice.”
“Oprah?” King asked.
“Oprah,” Trump said. “Your competitor. You know what? She really is a great woman, though, she is a terrific woman. She is somebody that’s very special.”
“Would she be someone—kidding aside,” King said, “that you might think about?”
Trump turned serious. “If she’d do it, she’d be fantastic,” he said. “She’s popular, she’s brilliant, she’s a wonderful woman. I mean, if she’d ever do it, I don’t know that she’d ever do it.”
“What a ticket that would be,” King said.
“That would be a pretty good ticket,” Trump said.
Trump and Winfrey go way back. In 1988 he went on her show to talk about how Japan is eating the US lunch and how things are going south in general for the USA. He sounds exactly like himself:
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Donald Trump is fundraising on the anniversary of his campaign announcement. He has sent out an email to supporters that reads in part:
Obama, the media, the political elite — everyone said we were destined to lose.
But we won in a massive landslide, and we will keep winning until we Make America Great Again!
Ben, on the anniversary of our movement, I’m asking you to make a contribution to help us win and Make America Great Again!
One year ago today... pic.twitter.com/lSxkJYAcfb
— Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) June 16, 2016
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Here’s a mock Japanese commercial made by video artist Mike Diva about the rise of future world president Donald Trump:
@Mikediva is this meant to make him look bad??
— Blue shirt Frog (@DrFartFetish) June 16, 2016
I dunno. i guess it depends on whether u think swastikas and trump literally blowing up the planet is bad https://t.co/YKXeI9jKl8
— ◢ M I K E D I V A ◣ (@Mikediva) June 16, 2016
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Senator Bernie Sanders is not on the list of people being considered as a running mate for Hillary Clinton – but senator Elizabeth Warren is on there, according to unnamed people “familiar with the process” who spoke with the Wall Street Journal.
Clinton’s search for a ticketmate is in its relatively early stages, the paper reported:
Beyond the Massachusetts senator, other prospective candidates include Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro; Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Reps. Xavier Becerra of California and Tim Ryan of Ohio, several Democrats said.
Sanders has a call scheduled with supporters for Thursday evening, in which had been expected to announce the end of his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. On Wednesday, though, a Sanders spokesman said “he’s not ending it”.
Barack Obama travels to Orlando, Florida today for a memorial ceremony for the victims of last Sunday’s shooting. Donald Trump has a rally planned this evening in Dallas, Texas.
Gun safety filibuster
Democratic senator Christopher Murray of Connecticut held the Senate floor – with assists from colleagues – for more than 14 hours last night in an effort to jump-start gun safety legislation. In yielding the floor at 2.11am, Murphy claimed victory, saying he had won commitments from Republican leaders that they would hold votes on amendments to expand background checks and ban gun sales to suspected terrorists.
Clinton up six points in new poll
A new CBS poll of registered voters released Thursday morning had Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump 43-37. It follows a Bloomberg/Selzer poll released earlier this week showing Clinton up by 12 points. The CBS poll was conducted on 9-13 June, including one full day after the Orlando attack. Respondents said by a margin of 50-43 that Clinton would do a better job of handling terrorism and national security.
Trump’s impressive unfavorability rating was on display in a third poll, conducted by the Washington Post /ABC News:
Landslide pic.twitter.com/qVCcRftxqV
— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) June 16, 2016
Kasich on Trump: ‘It’s painful’
“You know, it’s painful. It’s painful,” Ohio governor and former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich told MSNBC on Thursday, after being asked about a pledge he made last summer to support the eventual Republican nominee and whether he would do so now it looked almost certain to be Trump. “You know, people even get divorces, you know? I mean, sometimes, things come out that, look, I’m sorry that this has happened. But we’ll see where it ends up. I’m not making any final decision yet, but at this point, I just can’t do it.”
Oprah endorses Clinton
Oprah Winfrey has endorsed Hillary Clinton. Early in his campaign In 1999, Trump had thrown Winfrey’s name out as a possible running mate. How far we’ve come.
Thanks for reading and as always please join us in the comments.
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