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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Scott Bixby, Tom McCarthy and Claire Phipps

Alfred Smith charity dinner leads to boos for Trump as he called Clinton 'corrupt'– as it happened

Donald Trump pledges to accept election results ... if he wins

Today in Campaign 2016

To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, in under three weeks this will all be over. Feel better now?

Some of today’s key news:

Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, it’s fantastic. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case. I don’t get it.

This stuff is all relative. After listening to Hillary rattle on and on and on, I don’t think so badly of Rosie O’Donnell any more. In fact I’m actually starting to like Rosie a lot.

  • Clinton had some barbs of her own in a speech that was, however, more willing to poke fun at herself and her “rigorous nap schedule”. On Trump’s reluctance to reveal detailed health records, she mocked:

Donald Trump really is as healthy as a horse – you know, the one Vladimir Putin rides around on.

  • And on the thorny issue of Trump’s attitude to women, Clinton remarked:

Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a four – maybe a five, if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.

Elsewhere

The live blog is back tomorrow for more … whatever happens.

Thanks for reading and for your comments. You can read our latest election roundup here:

Updated

An interesting observation from Associated Press:

First lady Michelle Obama has emerged as perhaps the most effective Donald Trump critic in the Democrats’ lineup, and she’s done it without ever uttering two key words: Donald Trump.

In her six campaign trail speeches for Hillary Clinton, the first lady has never said the Republican nominee’s name. She’s talked about “this candidate” and dedicated much of her time to a searing indictment of his words and positions.

But throughout her buzzworthy takedowns, Trump remains the man who shall remain nameless.

Check for yourself:

Michelle Obama: ‘You do not keep American democracy in suspense’

Bernie Sanders fans might be interested to learn that his brother, Larry Sanders, has scored a respectable fourth place in the Witney byelection in the UK.

The byelection was prompted by the resignation of David Cameron – remember him? – and the Oxfordshire seat was held by the Conservative party.

But fourth was a cheery enough result for Sanders and the Greens, who came fifth in last year’s general election in the constituency, and was enough for them to leapfrog the anti-EU Ukip.

It looks as if WikiLeaks didn’t enjoy the evening.

That “rigged” line sounds familiar, though.

If Donald Trump’s campaign has been defined by going where no candidate has gone before, on Thursday the real estate mogul added a new feather to his cap: being roundly booed at a Catholic charity dinner.

The Republican nominee encountered a chilly reception at the Alfred E. Smith dinner, an annual Catholic fundraiser in New York City, with Hillary Clinton also in attendance. Presidential candidates have long graced the white-tie affair and roasted themselves while throwing in a few jabs at their opponents.

But after earning a few laughs, Trump’s remarks quickly devolved into a stinging indictment of Clinton that prompted jeers from the audience.

“Hillary believes it’s vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private,” Trump said, nodding to the emails of her campaign chairman John Podesta that were published by WikiLeaks.

“That’s OK,” Trump responded to the audible boos that followed. “I don’t know who they’re angry at, Hillary, you or I?”

“You!” a voice cried out from the crowd.

Trump pressed on, standing at a podium mere feet away from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who served as the evening’s host: “For example, here she is tonight in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.”

Trump did bring the house down with a rejoinder poking fun at his wife’s dabble with plagiarism during the Republican National Convention in July.

“Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, it’s fantastic,” Trump said. “My wife Melania gives the exact same speech, and people get on her case. I don’t get it.”

But the barbs he subsequently threw at Clinton, delivered as though the venue was a Trump campaign rally, fell flat.

Clinton’s speech, albeit less bitter in its tone, was similarly crafted with a series of jokes not far removed from the attack lines she has employed against Trump on the stump.

The Democratic nominee needled her opponent over his admiration for Russia, remarking of Trump’s refusal to disclose his health records: “Donald Trump really is as healthy as a horse – you know, the one Vladimir Putin rides around on.”

Of his inability to stick to teleprompters, Clinton quipped: “I’m sure it’s even harder when you’re translating from the original Russian.”

The former secretary of state also homed in on his behavior toward women. “Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a four, maybe a five, if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.

“You know what would be a good number for a woman? 45,” she added, in reference to the number marking the next president’s place in US history.

Donald Trump’s staff is throwing him under the bus...

Donald Trump's full speech to the Alfred Smith Dinner

Watch and cringe:

Kellyanne Conway is taking Hillary Clinton’s jokes in stride:

Donald Trump, the moment of the loudest boos:

Here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.

Updated

YIKES.

[flame emoji]

Hillary Clinton, on history:

We’ll either have the first woman president, or the first president who’s started a Twitter war with Cher.

Hillary Clinton, on being prepared:

There is nothing like sharing a stage with Donald Trump. Donald wanted me drug-tested before last night’s debate - and look, I gotta tell you that Donald thought I used some sort of performance-enhancer. Now, actually, I did - it’s called preparation.

Hillary Clinton, on the State of Liberty as an object of lust:

Donald Trump looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a four. Maybe a five, if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.

Hillary Clinton gets back at Donald Trump:

It’s amazing I’m up here after Donald - I didn’t think he’d be okay with a peaceful transition of power. And, Donald, after listening to your speech, I will also enjoy listening to Mike Pence deny that you ever gave it.

Speaking at the Alfred Smith memorial dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton follows a deeply un-funny set by Donald Trump.

“I took a break from my rigorous nap schedule to be here,” Clinton joked. “Usually I charge a lot for speeches like this, but for me, it was kind of ironic thinking about a fiery populist, Al Smith.”

“If he were here today and saw how much money we’ve raised for needy children, he’d be very proud. And if he saw this magnificent room full of plutocrats celebrating his legacy, he’d be very confused.”

Hillary Clinton speaks at the Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner

Watch it live here:

Katie Couric is sitting ten feet from Donald Trump:

After Donald Trump finishes his set at the Alfred Smith memorial dinner, he does not shake hands with Hillary Clinton, who he just said “hates Catholics” as she sat next to Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

(Yes that’s how cardinals are addressed.)

Donald Trump earns boos for calling Hillary Clinton corrupt:

Hillary is so corrupt she got kicked off the Watergate Commission! How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate Commission?

Trump continues to be booed:

Here she is in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.

Updated

Donald Trump jokes about his wife’s plagiarism scandal:

The media is even more biased this year than ever before. Ever. You want the proof? Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it - it’s fantastic. They think she’s absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech, and people get on her case!

And I don’t get it! I don’t know why.

Donald Trump is warming to Rosie O’Donnell - at least, in comparison to Hillary Clinton:

Last night I called Hillary a nasty woman. But this stuff is all relative - after listening to Hillary rattle on and on and on, I don’t think so badly of Rosie O’Donnell anymore. In fact, I’m actually starting to like Rosie a lot.

Donald Trump makes a dig at Hillary Clinton for laughing at “inappropriate moments.”

“I have no doubt that Hillary is going to laugh quite a bit tonight - perhaps, sometimes, even at an appropriate moment.”

Speaking at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner, a charity event at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump admitted that while he used to be popular with the people in the room - political eminences, senior members of the Catholic church, and fancy folk in general - he is now seen as “A no-good, rotten, disgusting scoundrel, and they totally forgot about me. But that’s okay.”

Trump then begins an approximation of a self-deprecating joke.

“Some people think this would be tough for me, but the truth is, I’m actually a modest person,” Trump said. “Very modest. It’s true! In fact, some people tell me that my modesty is my best quality. Even better than my temperament.”

Donald Trump speaks at the Alfred Smith dinner at the Waldorf Astoria

Watch it live here:

President Obama’s half-brother is on Twitter.

Donald Trump barely holding on to lead in Utah(!)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump needs every electoral vote he can get - but he’s having a hard time holding on to the most Republican state in the union.

A new poll from UtahPolicy.com survey shows Trump leading in Utah with 30%, followed swiftly on his heels by independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin with 29% and Hillary Clinton at 25%.

Trump, whose stances on religious freedom and personal scandals have made him radioactive among Utah’s heavily Mormon population since the Republican primaries, may be the first member of the Grand Old Party to lose Utah since 1964.

TrumpTV’s beta testing apparently went off without a hitch.

Last night, Donald Trump for President held a Facebook Live event from the third Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, Nevada. Much like a Trump rally, the Facebook Live event brought in a massive crowd of viewers, and the campaign saw record-breaking engagement numbers, proving Mr. Trump’s message is resonating across the board.

24 million people were reached during the ground breaking Facebook Live event, which translated into 8.8 million video views, 91 percent of which were unique users. These viewers watched 11.8 million minutes of content, the equivalent to 22 years of view time, which illustrates the strength of the event’s reach. There were 1.3 million comments made about the event, which garnered over 8 million post engagements making it one of the largest debate discussions on the internet.

The enormous groundswell of support for Mr. Trump spurred an impressive fundraising effort as well, generating $9 million in contributions from an excess of 150 thousand donors.

Mr. Trump has said many times that this is not a campaign, it’s a movement. That is evident in the size of the crowds our campaign rallies attract, and also in the unprecedented level of engagement sparked by Mr. Trump’s social media activity. According to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, more than 96 percent of presidential campaign contributions made by members of the media have gone to Hillary Clinton. Our pre-and-post-debate Facebook Live event gave the Trump campaign an opportunity to leverage our candidate’s massive digital footprint to take our message straight to millions of voters, without the filter of the clearly biased media.

The Internet has crowned this President Obama’s greatest burn:

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel should not be ousted from Facebook’s board for his political views, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said, even though he believes Donald Trump’s actions “erode democracy”.

Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, the entrepreneur described how the Republican presidential candidate had attacked him on Twitter, making allegations that he bought the Washington Post to exert political power and avoid paying taxes.

“My first instinct was to take it very lightly,” said Bezos, explaining how he responded to Trump using the humorous hashtag #SendDonaldToSpace. “I have a rocket company so the capability is there.”

However, after subsequent attacks Bezos took Trump’s challenge more seriously. “We live in an amazing country where we are allowed to criticize and scrutinize our elected leaders. In other countries you may go to jail or – worse – just disappear.”

“The appropriate thing for a presidential candidate is to say ‘I’m running for the highest office in the most important country in the world, please scrutinize me.’ That’s not what we’ve seen.”

Boston Herald endorses 'none of the above'

The conservative-leaning Boston Herald has declined to make an endorsement in this year’s presidential contest, writing in an editorial released this evening that this year’s candidates are “a basket of deplorables.”

“Fully two-thirds of American voters have said they distrust both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican counterpart Donald Trump. And frankly we can’t blame them,” wrote the Boston Herald’s staff in the editorial (lack of comma use theirs).

First citing Hillary Clinton, the Herald staff wrote that the former secretary of state is “among the least transparent candidates ever to seek the presidency,” and that Clinton “has proven herself untrustworthy” through the use of private email servers during her tenure at the State Department.

Regarding Donald Trump, the Herald’s staff dismissed the Republican presidential nominee as a “narcissistic reality TV host” who is “rather like one of those fatally flawed characters in a Shakes-pearean tragedy.” (Again, unnecessary hyphen theirs.)

“Trump showed in the course of three debates, especially the one this week, that he lacks anything resembling self-discipline, is prone to temper tantrums and appears utterly unable to focus on matters of policy,” the Herald staff concluded. “And the policies he has espoused bear no resemblance to traditional Republican values or positions.”

After declaring that the Libertarian ticket would be better served if nominee Gary Johnson and running mate Bill Weld switched places, the Boston Herald came to the conclusion that “for the first time in decades the Boston Herald will not make an endorsement in the presidential contest. We urge our readers to look deep into their own consciences - as we will all have to do - and do the best they can.”

Donald Trump to local interviewer, before ditching the interview:

I am the least racist person you have ever met.

Donald Trump's national political director 'steps back' from campaign

Donald Trump’s national political director is “stepping back” from the campaign, according to Politico, citing three sources who say that Jim Murphy is no longer “playing an active role in the campaign.”

“I have not resigned but for personal reasons have had to take a step back from the campaign,” Murphy said in a statement to Politico.

Murphy’s job, setting up the campaign’s widely maligned field operations, reaches a crucial point in the waning days of the campaign, with many major states no longer registering voters. Trump’s infrastructure has been seen as far outpaced by that of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, and the campaign expected to rely largely on the Republican National Committee to lead efforts like voter registration, canvassing and phone banking.

Donald Trump loyalists will attempt to conduct their own crowd-funded exit polling on election day, ostensibly due to fears that electronic voting machines in certain areas may have been “rigged”, the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland and Sam Thielman have learned.

But the effort, led by Trump’s notorious informal adviser Roger Stone, will focus on 600 different precincts in nine Democratic leaning cities with large minority populations, a tactic branded highly irregular by experts, who suggested that organizers could potentially use the polling as a way to intimidate voters.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Stone told the Guardian that around 1,300 volunteers from the controversial Citizens for Trump grassroots coalition would conduct exit polling in Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, Richmond and Fayetteville – all locations in pivotal swing states.

Media organizations and political campaigns conduct exit polling for all major elections, but David Paleologos – a polling expert and director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center – said effective exit polling was done in bellwether precincts, not in areas likely to be dominated by a particular political party.

“It doesn’t sound like that’s a traditional exit poll,” Paleologos said of Stone’s planned efforts. “It sounds like that’s just gathering data, in heavily Democratic areas for some purpose. It doesn’t sound like exit polling.”

The Republican nominee said during Wednesday’s debate he would keep America “in suspense” over whether he would accept the outcome of the vote on 8 November, and earlier today he said he would accept only “if I win” or if it is a “clear” result. He has frequently told his supporters that the election is being “rigged” against him, and since August his campaign has been recruiting election observers in anticipation of what he claims could be widespread voter fraud.

Closing out her emotional speech in Phoenix, the capital and largest city of one of the most Republican states in the country, first lady Michelle Obama assured the crowd that despite the tone of the presidential campaign, “we still live in the greatest country on earth - I promise you that.”

“In difficult times, we don’t give up! We don’t discard our highest ideals - no, we rise up to meet them. We rise up to protect our union!” Obama said. “That is the power of hope!”

Michelle Obama, speaking last week in New Hampshire.
Michelle Obama, speaking last week in New Hampshire. Photograph: Cj Gunther/EPA

“In this country, anything is possible. And hope is what drives Hillary Clinton,” Obama continued. “It is why she has spent her life fighting for kids who need a champion... because Hillary believe in the promise of our country. She believes in the talent and determination of the American people, and she shares our strong and unyielding hope.”

“Remember: That is who we are. That is who we are, and don’t let anybody tell you any differently.”

“We have nineteen days,” Obama said. “Nineteen days! So we need to do everything in our power to help her and Tim Kaine win this election!”

“So, my final question, Phoenix: Are you with me?”

Michelle Obama: Donald Trump 'is threatening the very idea of America itself'

Excoriating Donald Trump for declaring that he will keep American voters “in suspense” about whether he will accept the results of the upcoming general election, Michelle Obama said that Trump is “threatening the very idea of America itself.”

“We are fortunate to live in a country where the voters decide our elections - the voters decide who wins or loses, period, no question,” Obama said. By not trusting the process that elected Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, she continued, “is threatening the very idea of America itself, and we cannot stand for that. You do not keep American democracy ‘in suspense.’ Because look, too many people have marched and fought and protested and died for this democracy.”

“Folks are coming out in droves to vote early,” Obama said. “Because when they go low...”

“We go high!” the audience cheered.

Michelle Obama: Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate 'in our lifetime'

Michelle Obama, speaking to a raucous rally in Phoenix, tells the audience of Hillary Clinton supporters that Clinton is a policy wonk - and that when you’re president, that’s a good thing.

“When you are president, being able to clearly articulate detailed plans to help the people of this country is a good thing,” Obama said. “Knowing what you’re doing is a good thing!”

“And let me tell you, Hillary Clinton absolutely knows what she’s doing.”

“Hillary has been a lawyer, a law professor, first lady of Arkansas, first lady of the United States, a senator, secretary of state! Do you hear me?”

The audience roared.

“Hillary has more experience, more exposure to the presidency, than any candidate in our lifetime. More than Barack, more than Bill - and yes, she happens to be a woman.”

“Hillary has prepared her entire career to be president. Her opponent? Well, I’ll just say this: Hillary has comprehensive policies to hep people. her opponent has tweets. You decide.”

Speaking in Phoenix, Michelle Obama breaks from hitting Donald Trump’s “us versus them” election to advocating for Hillary Clinton’s election.

“Fortunately, there is another candidate in this race who is offering a very different vision for this country, and that candidate is our friend Hillary Clinton!”

“Hillary knows that our country is powerful and vibrant and strong! Big enough to have a place for all of us, and that each of us is a precious part of the great American story. Hillary believe in liberty, equality, freedom and justice for all!”

“That is Hillary’s vision for America,” Obama said, and “she has the policies to actually make that vision a reality.”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been looking for in this election?”

Michelle Obama: Donald Trump views most Americans as 'them'

Hitting on her husband’s old campaign message centered around hope, and implied that Donald Trump is removed from the vast majority of America, and views Americans who are different from him as “them,” not “us.”

“Our hope is grounded in hard work and hard-earned faith,” Obama said. “It is grounded in belief that there is something greater than us, that reminds us that we are all precious and worthy, no matter where we come from or what we’ve been through.”

“That’s what Barack and I believe, and that’s what Hillary believes too.”

“For some reason, Hillary’s opponent comes from a different place,” Obama continued. “Perhaps living life high up in a tower, in exclusive clubs, measuring life by wins and losses, by the number of zeros in your bank account,” Obama said, means that Trump lives by “a different set of values.”

“If you think this way, then it’s easy to see this country as ‘us versus them.’ And it’s easy to dehumanize them. To treat them with contempt because you don’t know them. You can’t even see them.”

Trump, Obama said, views places “like the one where I was raised ‘hell.’ Because he can’t even see good, decent people like my parents.”

“Maybe he doesn’t believe that people like us really exist because he does not see our shared humanity,” Obama said, to loud cheers. “To him, most of America is ‘them.’”

“But here’s the thing: look at us.”

First lady Michelle Obama, speaking at a Hillary Clinton rally in Phoenix - really, Phoenix! - tells the audience that “I have been so moved and so humbled by these responses” to her speech in New Hampshire last week, in which she excoriated Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for his remarks about and behavior towards women.

“Decent men do not demean women,” Obama said. “And we shouldn’t tolerate this behavior from any man - let alone a man who wants to be the president.”

“I have been so moved and so humbled by these responses,” Obama continued, “but what I have not been is surprised. Lemme tell you, because, this kind of course and decent and compassion, this is who we are. This is the America that I know.”

“This is what hope looks like - it’s that belief that we can be better, that we can do better for our kids. That in our darkest hours, there’s always a brighter day ahead, and if we’re willing to work for it and fight for it, we can make it happen.”

“Hope is what keeps our better angels alive,” Obama said. “It has been the driving force behind everything we have achieved these last eight years... One of the reasons this election has been so difficult for so many of us is because that’s what being lost. In all the hateful, hurtful rhetoric that we’ve been hearing, we’re losing hope.”

Trump, Obama said without naming him, is “completely and utterly lacking in hope. A candidate who tells us that our country is desperate and weak, that our communities are in chaos, that our fellow citizens are a threat.”

“To build walls! To be afraid!”

First lady Michelle Obama campaigns for Hillary Clinton in Phoenix

Any moment now:

President Obama, on Twitter:

Our politics can’t always be boiled down to a tweet.

President Barack Obama, speaking in Miami, told an audience of Hillary Clinton supporters that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the general election if he loses is “dangerous.”

“That undermines our democracy,” Obama said. “Then you’re doing the work of our adversaries for them. Because our democracy depends on people knowing that their vote matters, that those who occupy the seats of power were chosen by the people. Even when your preferred candidate loses even when you are the one running and you lose - you have got to see the bigger picture and say, ‘here in America, we believe in democracy, and we accept the will of the people.’”

“And this whole notion of voter fraud - listen, one study shows that out of one billion votes cast, there were 31 proven cases of voter fraud. Thirty-one out of a billion! You are more likely to have someone next to you get struck by lightning than commit voter fraud!”

“In Florida here, you’ve got a Republican governor!” Obama said, as well as other battleground states like Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia. “Are they all in on this rigging? They’re not gonna rig the election for Hillary Clinton!”

President Obama: Florida senator Marco Rubio 'is willing to be anybody just to be somebody'

Ripping into Florida senator Marco Rubio - whose race to keep his seat is tightening - President Barack Obama told an audience of Hillary Clinton supporters in Miami that Rubio is “willing to be anybody just to be somebody.”

“Marco Rubio is one of those people!” Obama said, of Republicans who have stood behind Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump despite speaking out against him. “How does that work? Who can you call him a con artist and dangerous and object to all the controversial things he says, and then say, ‘but I’m still gonna vote for him’? Come on, man!”

“Come on, man!”

“It is the height of cynicism - that’s the sign of somebody who will say anything, do anything, pretend to be anybody, just to get elected,” Obama continued. “And you know what? If you’re willing to be anybody just to be somebody, then you don’t have the leadership that Florida needs in the US Senate!”

Obama later returned to the subject of Rubio’s candidacy for a second round of burns.

“That begs the question - since we’re in Florida, why does Marco Rubio still plan to vote for Donald Trump?” Obama said, of consequential votes in swing states. “There has to be a point where you stand for something more than just your party, or more than just your own career.”

Updated

Excoriating Republican rank-and-filers for not speaking out against Donald Trump before the release of a video showing Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, President Barack Obama lashed out at the Grand Old Party for its double-standard on Trump’s fawning remarks about Vladimir Putin.

“Why would it take this long for Republican senators and Republican congressmen and Republican governors and state reps and state senators - why would it take you this long to figure out that Donald Trump shouldn’t be president?” Obama said.

“If you’ve made a career of idolizing Ronald Reagan, than where were you when the Republican nominee was kissing up to Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer?”

“You used to get mad at me for even talking to Russia, now you’re okay with your candidate having a bromance with Vladimir Putin?”

President Obama’s new classic line:

Don’t boo - vote!

President Obama, on Hillary Clinton: Unlike Donald Trump, 'she actually knows what she's talking about'

President Barack Obama, speaking to an audience in Miami, Florida, dismissed Donald Trump as “somebody who proves himself unfit to be president every single day in every single way,” urging voters in South Florida to support Hillary Clinton as a successor who “actually knows what she’s talking about.”

“You can choose someone as qualified as any person who has run in this country,” Obama said. “That’s the choice that you can make, starting Monday right here in South Florida!”

“There’s nothing that can completely prepare you for the job of being president of the United States,” Obama continued, but “no matter how tough the odds, no matter how much people try to knock her down, no matter how mean folks can be, she doesn’t point fingers, she doesn’t complain, she doesn’t whine - she just works harder, and she gets the job done.”

“And that’s how I know she can be a great president.”

“The other thing is, she actually knows what she’s talking about! She’s actually done her homework!” Obama continued, to laughs. “She loves this stuff she’s just reading her briefing book all the time! She’s not watching TV, she’s not watching reality TV, she’s not participating in reality TV - she’s doing the work, and that’s what you want from a president of the United States of America!”

Speaking in Miami, President Barack Obama told an audience of Hillary Clinton supporters that “I know there’s some folks who’re talking about how terrible America is - but you know I’ve been to all 50 states as your president, and I see how great America is right now.”

“It has been one of the great honors of my life - the great honor of my life - to serve the American people,” Obama said. Naming some of the greatest accomplishments of his administration - ending the Great Recession, 15 million new jobs, marriage equality in all 50 states, the lowest uninsured rate in American history - Obama crows: “We’ve been busy these last eight years!”

“By every measure, our country is stronger and more prosperous than when I came into office. But all that progress is at stake if we don’t do the right thing these next 19 days,” Obama said, and “there is only one candidate in this rate who has devoted her life to that better America: The next president of the United States, Hillary Clinton!”

The video stream for the upcoming Barack Obama rally in Miami Gardens, Florida, is now live. The house is packed and ready to hear from the president:

Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman, who appears way out front in his reelection bid, chastises Trump for his election-rejection:

We think that’s seven GOP senators now to decry – or, in Sessions’ case, paper over – Trump’s refusal to say he’ll accept the election result: McCain, Ayotte, Sessions, Graham, Flake, Toomey, Portman.

Updated

Donald Trump’s handwriting has become familiar over the past 18 months. It is often scrawled across journalists’ articles and returned to them by post, or sent to political allies, or potential supporters.

The original.
The original. Photograph: Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter gets mail from Trump with the outline of his hands drawn on, after calling Trump a “short-fingered vulgarian” in the pages of Spy Magazine over a quarter-century ago. Trump’s handwriting is immediately recognizable; always in thick black (or occasionally, gold) sharpie; spiky yet rounded, informal yet highly stylized.

On Monday, Buzzfeed News released a a satirical version of the self-described billionaire’s debate notes. Mark Davis, a typographer at the Font Bureau, designed a font especially to reproduce Trump’s unique writing style, and today they have released that font to the public for download and use. Buzzfeed say it will be the “new Comic Sans” which would be, frankly, about time too.

And the font’s name? It’s called BF Tiny Hand, of course.

BF Tiny Hand.
BF Tiny Hand. Photograph: BuzzFeed

Trump walks out on local Ohio interview

Trump walked out on a local NBC News interviewer – backstage after his Delaware, Ohio, event, judging by the audible Rolling Stones – as she says, “you’ve been called a racist, a sexist...”

Trump begins walking away.

“How do you respond to that?” the interviewer asks.

Trump turns and says earnestly, “I am the least racist person you have ever met.”

See the video on Facebook here. (h/t: @evale72)

Clinton email thread appears to show political opportunism on TPP

A thread of Clinton emails, whose veracity the campaign has not denied, in the Wikileaks dumps has advisers discussing whether or not Clinton should support the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Clinton ultimately came out against the trade agreement, despite once praising it. Trump now accuses her of secretly favoring the deal.

The email thread is from 3 October 2015, as the primary campaign was heating up.

“* She has to be for TPP*,” writes Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to vice president Joe Biden. “She called it the ‘gold standard’ of trade agreements. I think opposing that would be a huge flip flop. She can say that as President she would work to change it. She can say that it can be better. But I think she should support it.”

“I agree with you on TPP but others (including on this email!) feel strongly to the contrary,” Clinton policy adviser Jake Sullivan replies.

At which campaign manager Robby Mook warns that supporting TPP would cost Clinton union support: “TPP would be lethal with labor. We’d loose afscme and likely seiu as well.”

What if that email chain had come out when she was fighting Sanders?

Updated

Iraqi forces with American “advisers” are in the fourth day of an offensive on Mosul.

Trump’s hilarious joke earlier about promising to accept the election result “if I win” appears to have been just one of two jokey arrows in his quiver. According to prepared text released by his campaign, Trump also could have gone with a joke about guaranteeing to accept – Hillary’s concession speech.

Hilarious either way.

Do ground games matter? We’ll find out. The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs observes a scene that has been observed in other states – vacant Trump campaign office space:

Trump on latest assault accusation: 'Give me a break'

Here’s a Trump statement just released on the sex assaulit accusations made this morning by Karena Virginia alongside her lawyer, Gloria Allred. Statement in full:

Discredited political operative Gloria Allred, in another coordinated, publicity seeking attack with the Clinton campaign, will stop at nothing to smear Mr. Trump. Give me a break. Voters are tired of these circus-like antics and reject these fictional stories and the clear efforts to benefit Hillary Clinton.” - Jessica Ditto, Deputy Communications Director

Here’s what Virginia said:

Tenth Trump accuser Karena Virginia says: ‘My shock turned to shame’

Read our further coverage:

In-person voting under way in North Carolina

North Carolina is the scene this year of a tight presidential race, US senate race and gubernatorial race. As such the state is the focus of intensive campaigning activity.

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine has two North Carolina rallies scheduled for today. Donald Trump has a rally in the state tomorrow. Also tomorrow, Anne Holton, Kaine’s wife, will make two North Carolina campaign stops with Dr Jill Biden.

The New York Times’ Nate Cohn sees less-than-strong early signs for Trump:

Here’s HuffPost Pollster’s read on the presidential race:

HuffPost Pollster’s polling average of North Carolina likely voters.
HuffPost Pollster’s polling average of North Carolina likely voters. Photograph: Huffpost Pollster

As a side note, the North Carolina Republican party today issued a terse dismissal of Trump’s election-rejection:

Updated

Barack Obama is scheduled to hold an event in Miami to encourage people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act, and then he will appear at a rally this afternoon for Hillary Clinton.

Obama has just landed in Florida and unveiled a surprise guest aboard Air Force One – former DNC chairwoman and Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

At Miami International airport.
At Miami International airport. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

This is cool – and that tall spasmodic tent pole at the end seems to be positioned above 350 electoral votes.

Updated

The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is still at the Trump rally site, and it appears he may be in some kind of peril (<--joke).

After the Democratic national committee put out an ad comparing Trump to Hugo Chavez and other strongman rulers, Trump cheerleader Newt Gingrich today has potentially added offense to injury by unflatteringly comparing US corruption with Venezuela’s.

Venezuela has branded the DNC ad “racist arrogance.”

Gingrich on Thursday supported Trump’s refusal to say he’d accept the election result:

Reuters reports that “Venezuela’s government has slammed as “racist arrogance” a U.S. Democratic Party campaign ad supporting Hillary Clinton that puts her Republican presidential rival Donald Trump in the same category as Hugo Chavez, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler”:

The ad, aimed at U.S. Hispanic voters ahead of the Nov. 8 election, features comments by Trump that Clinton should be jailed and his vow to sue media that spread “purposely negative, horrible and false” articles.

“Remind you of anyone?” the video asks in Spanish, before flashing images of the late socialist Venezuelan leader Chavez in military fatigues and a red beret, ordering the closure of radio and television stations.

“It is an expression of racist arrogance and irrationality from a party that does not serve its constituents,” Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Trump is done. Here’s the (sparse-ish) crowd:

And here’s the new federal agency he just proposed:

Trump: “Get that mosquito out of here.”

He says he’s nervous about mosquitos and tells Ohioans they’re lucky not to have it “up here” – a reference to Zika apparently.

That’s what we need is a nice mosquito bite. I love you too. Mosquito bite right smack in the middle of the nose. No we don’t want it.

Republican senator Pat Toomey, like Ayotte in a tough reelection fight, also does not like what Trump said about not accepting the election result:

Trump: “Boy that Wikileaks has done a job on her, hasn’t it?”

Crowd: Cheers.

Trump: She hates Catholics and evangelicals and John Podesta thinks she has bad instincts... if I were Hillary I’d fire that guy.

Crowd: Boos.

Trump: 'I would accept a clear election result'

Trump says that if Gore or Bush had waived their rights to a legal challenge of the 2000 result, there would never have been a supreme court decision. Like that was a good thing?

Many people have pointed out that the Gore analogy here is specious, because the margin was narrow and the recount in Florida was automatic (with a < .5% margin).

The upcoming election is not expected to be so close. Yet Trump warns of legal action post-result. Doesn’t sound like him at all.

“In effect, I’m being asked to waive centuries of legal precedent designed to protect the voters,” Trump says. There’s no such precedent.

Now Trump kind of backs up on the whole election-rejection thing, saying he will accept a ‘clear result’:

Of course I would accept a clear election result, but I would reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge, in the case of a questionable result.

He says he’ll “abide by all the ... traditions of all the candidates who have come before me. Always.” But it won’t matter because “we’re gonna win.’

He’s already broken with precedent by calling the election rigged and refusing to say he will respect the result.

Updated

Trump says Clinton got the debate questions early but would not admit that she did anything wrong “hence the name Crooked Hillary.”

Trump invokes the $64,000 Question game show scandal in which a candidate got questions in advance, was exposed and “his life was ruined.”

Trump says that DNC chair Donna Brazile, who was accused of sharing a CNN town hall topic with the Clinton campaign, should resign.

“Can you imagine if I got the questions? They would call for the reestablishment of the electric chair.”

Updated

Trump: I'll accept election results 'if I win'

Trump says he has a “major announcement”:

I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and all the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election if I win.

Is that supposed to be funny?

“Alright. Seriously the debate last night was amazing, everybody said I won.”

Here comes Trump in Delaware, Ohio:

Clinton won last night’s debate, she won the two before that, she won all the debates for all time, and the data proves it, says FiveThirtyEight:

McCain: loser has 'duty to concede'

Arizona senator John McCain delivers a mini-lecture on losing elections, after Trump refused to say he’d honor the outcome this year. “It is an act of respect for the will of the American people, a respect that is every American leader’s first responsibility” to concede upon loss, McCain says in a statement:

Nebraska Republican Ben Sasse, the original senator #nevertrump, calls talk of rigged elections “dangerous”:

That’s five Republican senators to have rebutted Trump on the point, by our count.

Update: Plus Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson:

As a former Governor, who was elected and served as a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, I have to say that Donald Trump’s refusal to say he will accept the outcome of an election is just one more straw too many. It’s offensive to the thousands of election officials across the nation, and it’s offensive to a nation for which the integrity of elections is what sets us apart from much of the world.

Updated

The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is waiting on Donald Trump in Delaware, Ohio:

A live video stream of the event is scheduled to initiate in 15 minutes. We’ll have it for you.

Honey, will you answer that?

We’re not expecting anyone, are we?

Are we due for like, a meter reading?

WHAT

(h/t @ambiej)

In other Clinton recording artist news, her campaign advises that “on Wednesday, November 2, American rock band The National will host a Get Out The Vote performance for Hillary Clinton in their hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.”

Updated

Tenth woman accuses Donald Trump of sexual misconduct

A tenth woman has come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct.

Karena Virginia accused the Republican nominee of grabbing her arm and touching her breast in 1998 when she was 27, while she was waiting for a car to pick her up after attending the US Open in Queens, New York.

“As I was waiting, Donald Trump approached me. I knew who he was. But I’d never met him,” Virginia said, at a press conference with her lawyer Gloria Allred. “He was with a few other men. I was quite surprised when I overheard him talking to the other men about me. Hey, look at this one, he said. We haven’t seen her before. Look at those legs. As though I was an object rather than a person.”

She said that Trump then walked up to her, “reached his right arm and grabbed my right arm. Then his hand touched the right inside of my breast”.

“I was in shock. I flinched. ‘Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who I am?’ That’s what he said to me. I felt intimidated and I felt powerless. When my car pulled up and I got in, after I closed the door, my shock turned to shame.

Read further:

Here’s a video clip from the start of her statement – Karena Virginia, not Corrina Virginia, appears to be the correct spelling:

Updated

Question: Why did she wait so long?

Allred: “It has been a difficult decision for her to come forward knowing that she would be attacked by Mr Trump and perhaps by some of his supporters.”

Trump’s hot mic words and his ensuing denials spurred her to action, Allred says.

“Thank you very much for coming.”

Virginia is asked about the reaction of the other men who were with Trump. “I was 27 at the time,” she says, not answering. She got married after the incident. “My husband is here and he’s–”

Allred: “And he’s not going to be answering any questions.”

When did she first tell someone about the incident?

Allred: “Not long after the incident occurred.”

Allred says Virginia has the support of her family “and I’m very proud of her family.”

Virginia says, “in terms of my yoga career, I truly believe in the divine, I believe in God... I believe that we’re in a time of crisis and that there is an awakening taking place... and this is how I’m finding my inner peace. And I wouldn’t have the integrity to keep teaching ...without coming out and speaking for the women who were told that they were liars.”

Virginia is not considering a lawsuit, Allred says. She contacted Allred prior to the debate.

Virginia says she’s from the tri-state area. She’s a yoga instructor, life coach, “empowerment coach and an advocate for peace.”

Virginia says Trump “should be ashamed not only of his words but of his behavior towards so many women.”

She ends in tears, tears on her cheeks. Allred hugs her. No questions for Corrina but Allred will take them.

Are there witnesses? Allred says she told her husband and friends around that time.

Allred says Virginia contacted her. Allred says she has not had any contact with anyone at the Clinton campaign about Corrina. She says she is a Clinton supporter and was a Democratic delegate at the national convention this summer.

“Having said that, I have my own law firm.. and I have had no contact with them about Corrina in advance of this. As to the other accuser that I came forward with about a week ago, Summer Zervos, I also did not tell the Hillary Clinton campaign.”

Virginia says it was difficult for her husband “to understand why I would ever blame myself for being violated.”

She says she saw Trump again about five years ago in a business setting. “He looked me up and down a few times. This time, mixed in with the feelings of shame, I felt disgust. This time I realized that I was the victim, and he had violated me... I understand that I was not to blame.

Mr Trump, perhaps you do not remember me, or what you did to me so many years ago, but I can assure you that I remember you and what you did to me as though it was yesterday. Your random moment of sexual pleasure came at my expense and affected me greatly.

Mr Trump revealed his true character in his own words on tape.

Updated

Woman describes alleged assault by Trump

She continues.

“In 1998 I was at the US Open tennis tournament in Flushing, Queens... I was waiting for a car to arrive... as I was waiting, Donald Trump approached me. I knew who he was but I’d never met him. He was with a few other men.”

“He said, ‘hey, look at this one. We haven’t seen her before. Look at those legs,’ as though I was an object rather than a person.”

“He then walked up to me... grabbed my right arm. Then his hand touched the right inside of my breast. I was in shock. I flinched. ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ That’s what he said to me. I felt intimidated and I felt powerless. Then my car pulled up and I got in. After I closed the door my shock turned to shame. I felt ashamed that I was wearing a short dress and high heels... it stayed with me for awhile... I struggled with what to wear so as to not to attract unwanted attention.”

Virginia continues. “No one has asked me to come forward.” She says people advised her not to speak publicly out of concern that Trump will attack her. She expects to be called a liar. “Or perhaps he will label me as just another nasty woman.”

“I have lost sleep over this. I have been fearful about bringing unwanted attention to my loving family and me. This includes my husband, my daughter, my son..”

She’s tearing up. Says she feels it’s her duty to speak out.

Allred says Trump can’t say he respects women, but his alleged victims “deserve tremendous respect.”

Allred introduces Corrina Virginia – that may not be the correct spelling.

Virginia reads a statement. “I am here today to add my voice... to stand up to Mr Trump for myself, my family, particularly my daughter, and for all the women who deserve to be respected and not subjected to sexual abuse and groped by powerful men...

“I am also here to support the other women who had the courage to come forward.”

Allred says that last night Trump dismissed his accusers, responding “Nobody has more respect for women than I do.”

“His response is ludicrous,” Allred says.

She’s seated next to a woman she identifies briefly as Corrina who will speak.

“Today we are here with yet another woman who accuses Donald Trump of disrespecting her... she has shown tremendous courage in coming forward today.”

“Today’s victim is also noteworthy in that her allegations indicate how Mr Trump selects his victims at random... Mr Trump allegedly felt that whether on an airplane or seeing a woman waiting for a car that he had the right to do whatever he wants to do because he is a celebrity.”

The Gloria Allred news conference is live. Scroll back a couple blocks for a video feed.

Who won the debate? Have your say

The little heads you see there represent where the panelists who participated in our “Who won?” survey ended up. But where do you think the candidates came in?

Click on the icon and drag it wherever on the dial you think appropriate. Then a graphic pops up to show how everyone has voted.

Spoiler alert: If you think Clinton won... you’re not alone.

Updated

Trump accuser to hold news conference

Last night the advocate Gloria Allred announced that a woman previously unheard from “who accuses Donald Trump of victimizing her with inappropriate sexual conduct” would hold a press conference today. We have a live video feed on that now although nothing appears to be happening at the moment:

Outcry over Trump's 'suspense' tease

Last night Republican senators Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake and Jeff Sessions all decried or dismissed Trump’s refusal to say he will accept the election result. That chorus continues to grow. Here’s independent candidate Evan McMullin, a former congressional staffer who is leading in some polls of Utah:

A Pew research survey from 14 October found that 78% of Trump supporters think that when the election is concluded, it is either very important (51%) or somewhat important (27%) for the losing candidate to acknowledge the winner as “the legitimate president of the country.”

Tim Kaine – well you know where Tim Kaine stands on this:

More giffage:

(h/t @thefix)

Ayotte: 'Trump needs to accept the outcome'

Kelly Ayotte, the Republican senator whose fight for reelection in New Hampshire has been complicated by Trump, says the nominee “needs to accept the outcome” of the election.

That’s a close race (via HuffPost Pollster):

HuffPost Pollster’s polling average of the New Hampshire senate race.
HuffPost Pollster’s polling average of the New Hampshire senate race. Photograph: HuffPost Pollster

The pro-Clinton Priorities USA Super Pac has fired some new ordnance at Ayotte today:

Updated

Trump and Clinton to meet tonight at Al Smith dinner

She called him a Putin puppet. He called her a nasty woman. But that was last night, long ago. Tonight the presidential candidates are both scheduled to attend the Al Smith dinner, the Manhattan ritual hosted by the archbishop of New York where everyone gets dressed up nice and pretends they aren’t at one another’s throats.

The candidates dine with the archbishop seated between them. Then each candidate traditionally gets up and delivers a comedic monologue. Al Smith was a four-time governor of New York, 1928 Democratic presidential nominee and a Catholic.

We’ll live stream the proceedings right here on the blog beginning at 6.30pm ET, with Scott Bixby driving. Will Trump experience a recurrence of the anger he visibly felt another time he was ridiculed at such an event, the 2011 White House correspondents dinner?

Here are the 2012 highlights:

Obama and Romney joke and jest at Al Smith dinner

Oh that’s what that is. We had that hand gesture down as Queens for “Got that?”

Neither of the two top elected Republican officials, House speaker Paul Ryan and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, has directly rebutted Trump’s claim that the election is rigged or responded to Trump’s refusal last night to say he would accept the election result.

Even Jeff Sessions, Trump’s strongest backer in the senate, said last night that “it would be wrong for a candidate to contest an election for light and transient reasons.” And RNC chair Reince Priebus asserted that Trump would accept the election result.

From the leadership, radio silence.

Question:

Answer:

Gosh he was mad wasn’t he?

Updated

Obama hails Clinton debate 'sweep'

Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House.

Did you watch the debate last night? Donald Trump would not say whether he would accept the election result, called Hillary Clinton “such a nasty woman” and said women who have accused him of sexual assault were only seeking fame.

Clinton escaped a couple bear-trap questions about her private speeches and emails while battering Trump as a “puppet” of Vladimir Putin, as a man pathologically incapable of claiming responsibility or of offering apology, and as an enemy of democracy.

First lady Michelle Obama is going to give a speech on behalf of Clinton in Phoenix today. Her husband, Barack, will stump separately for Clinton in the Miami area. Vice president Joe Biden will turn up in New Hampshire and vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine has a couple events in North Carolina. Donald Trump campaigns today in Ohio, which polls indicate he may yet win.

Video: debate highlights

Presidential debate highlights: Clinton and Trump’s final face-off – video

Who won the debate?

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