We’re going to wrap up our live blog politics coverage for the day. Thanks for a great week.
Click here for today’s Campaign Minute summary – and see you back here soon!
Bannon on GOP leadership: 'cunts'
In an internal email to a Breitbart reporter in 2014, site Svengali Steve Bannon, the newly minted Trump campaign CEO, called the Republican congressional leadership “cunts,” the Daily Beast reveals:
“Leadership are all cunts,” he wrote. “We should just go buck wild.”
Then he wrote, “Let the grassroots turn on the hate because that’s the ONLY thing that will make them do their duty.”
Doesn’t seem off-brand for Trump at all.
Obama to visit Louisiana
Barack Obama will visit the flooding in Louisiana that Donald Trump just saw on Tuesday, the White House has announced.
In a statement, the White House said that homeland security director Jeh Johnson had visited the area and briefed the president, and that officials had been working to determine “an appropriate time” for a presidential visit.
Here’s part of the statement:
The President today directed his team to coordinate with Louisiana officials to determine an appropriate time for him to visit, and together they have determined that the President will visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday, August 23rd. Additional details will be announced in the coming days. The President is mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts. He is also eager to get a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods, hear from more officials about the response, including how the federal government can assist and tell the people of Louisiana that the American people will be with them as they rebuild their community and come back stronger than ever.
Updated
Clinton up 7 points in 4-way race – Reuters/Ipsos
A new Reuters/Ipsos national poll finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump 41-34. The margin is right on the money with polling averages.
The poll was conducted over August 14-18:
Clinton also led a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll that asked people to choose between Clinton, Trump, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party. Some 41 percent supported Clinton and 34 percent supported Trump. Among alternative-party candidates, Johnson came in third with 7 percent and about 2 percent supported Stein.
Clinton leads Trump by eight points: Reuters/Ipsos poll https://t.co/xQap8qcbJY
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) August 19, 2016
Pew Research released a poll Thursday with Clinton up four points in a four-way race.
It’s not happy hour yet – is it? – but if you’re in Midtown, only 90 minutes remain until Trump Bar in the eponymous tower will start serving $5 draughts. What’s the scene like? Would you believe mildly paranoiac?
Joshua David Stein dropped in for a visit earlier this week for the Guardian:
On Wednesday, after news of yet another campaign shakeup, I wondered if his supporters had started to see the beginning of the end. So I headed to Trump Bar, a rare refuge of Trumpism in liberal Manhattan, to find out if they were drowning their sorrows. [...]
I asked Andy about the bad news surrounding his candidate this week, but before Andy could respond, his friend appeared. “Look man,” he told me, “I’m just trying to show him a good time. We’re not here to talk. Tell him ‘no comment’.” “No comment,” said Andy. Trump supporters appeared to follow the same media strategy as their candidate: don’t answer questions you don’t like – shut them out instead.
Read the full piece here:
Trump in Louisiana: 'just here to help'
Donald Trump struck a somber tone as he toured the flood damage in Louisiana — but still managed to get in a jab at President Barack Obama, reports the Associated Press:
In brief remarks in Ascension Parish, Trump made an appeal for more aid to the area and said he was “just here to help.”
Trump was also there to strike a contrast to Obama, who is on vacation and has not visited the area.
When a woman told Trump she was happy he wasn’t off playing golf, Trump replied: “Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn’t be.”
Trump later added that “nobody understands how bad it is.”
The White House has said Obama has received regular updates about the flooding and the federal response during his vacation.
He is due back in Washington on Sunday.
What I learned by reading only Breitbart
The Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt, claiming not to have been previously a regular Breitbart reader, immersed himself in the site for two days to see what all the fuss is about. Here’s part of his report:
To gain clarity following yet another Trump campaign shakeup, I read Breitbart exclusively for two days, eschewing all other news sources. (The Guardian included. Apart from its soccer coverage.)
It offered an insight into not just the popularity of Breitbart – the site boasted 31 million unique visitors in July – but also how it appeals to its readers. And it’s not as straightforward as you might imagine.
The first thing you notice when visiting Breitbart is its idiosyncratic presentation. Every headline is in capitals. It implies a sense of significance and dire urgency.
It screams at you. “THIS IS IMPORTANT,” is the effect. “THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.” “THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THIS COUNTRY GOING TO HELL IN A HANDCART.”
The last of those points is an example of how well Breitbart knows its audience.
This doomsday approach makes it seem like Breitbart readers want to feel that everything is rotten. They want to feel irate. They want to feel that disaster is impending – unless their guys can fix it.
There are actually some jobs that foreigners will do that Americans won't. @adamgabbatt demonstrates for @GuardianUS https://t.co/RMzSHy2LtN
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 19, 2016
@Bencjacobs is "soccer" Guardian house style now? And they say America never wins
— John Tabin (@johntabin) August 19, 2016
#winning https://t.co/94sgYZZPC9
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 19, 2016
Updated
Here’s a graphic via the Washington Post depicting staff turnover on the Trump campaign.
There is one person who has a shot at making it wire-to-wire: spokeswoman Hope Hicks.
This is helpful https://t.co/5s3FVWvi5O pic.twitter.com/vnJMVroV4r
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) August 19, 2016
Updated
Former Romney finance chair backs Clinton
Hillary Clinton earned the endorsement of Mitt Romney’s former finance chair on Friday, marking the latest defection among Republicans from nominee Donald Trump, writes Guardian politics reporter Sabrina Siddiqui:
David Nierenberg, who led Romney’s finance efforts during the 2012 election, said he was convinced Trump’s “character, temperament, and behavior” was disqualifying for any individual seeking the highest office in the nation.
“Trump is the most dangerous major party presidential candidate in my lifetime, maybe in American history,” Nierenberg wrote in an op-ed for CNBC.com.
“I don’t think he’s fit to be our president. He speaks positively about foreign dictators and acts like one himself.”
Earlier this month, Meg Whitman, another former Romney finance chair, also threw her support behind Clinton.
Romney has himself ranked among Trump’s most vociferous critics and delivered a high-profile speech against the real estate mogul in March, despite celebrating his endorsement while running for president in 2012. The former Massachusetts governor has said he will vote for neither Trump nor Clinton in November.
Nierenberg said he would cast his vote for Republicans down the ballot, but felt compelled to support Clinton for the presidency – praising her as “a steady hand on the tiller.”
“We cannot afford the risk of a man whose temperament and behavior are erratic,” he added of Trump.
Clinton camp accuses Trump of 'bromance' with Putin
Paul Manafort’s ties to “pro-Kremlin elements” are “just the beginning of Donald Trump’s “odd bromance” with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump campaign manager Robby Mook says in a statement.
The Clinton camp has produced a video to illustrate what it depicts as parallel messaging by Trump and Putin.
Here’s the statement, which also calls on Trump to “come clean on his own business dealings with Russian interests”:
Paul Manafort’s resignation is a clear admission that the disturbing connections between Donald Trump’s team and pro-Kremlin elements in Russia and Ukraine are untenable. But this is not the end of the story. It’s just the beginning. You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn’t end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin. Trump still has to answer serious questions hovering over his campaign given his propensity to parrot Putin’s talking points, the roster of advisers like Carter Page and Mike Flynn with deep ties to Russia, the recent Russian government hacking and disclosure of Democratic Party records, and reports that Breitbart published articles advocating pro-Kremlin positions on Ukraine. It’s also time for Donald Trump to come clean on his own business dealings with Russian interests, given recent news reports about his web of deep financial connections to business groups with Kremlin ties.”
Here’s the video, “Why do Trump and Putin sound so much alike?”:
It’s Friday, and here’s a Bad Lip Reading take on the Democratic national convention, and as the last post will have made clear, you ought to #ff @zekejmiller:
Clinton: Louisiana 'can't afford any distractions'
Here’s Hillary Clinton’s play against Trump’s Louisiana trip today.
Clinton has posted a message on Facebook saying that she has just spoken with the state governor and advising that the “relief effort can’t afford any distractions.” The statement echoes messaging from the governor himself yesterday, discouraging the president from visiting and warning Trump against a mere “photo-op” drop-in.
Here’s the Clinton statement:
Clinton takes a shot at Trump’s LA visit: "the relief effort can't afford any distractions.” pic.twitter.com/TMMcDlM9fI
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 19, 2016
Update: the new Trump campaign manager replies:
This actually is not a "response"; it is a predictable screed. But we definitely are back in their heads. https://t.co/UZjus6pKyD
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 19, 2016
Updated
Cruz's popularity dives after convention
Republicans have never been particularly in love with Ted Cruz, whose scorched-Earth tactics in the senate brought some bad press down on the party and constituted a big pain in the tuckus for the Republican leadership.
But Cruz’s stock was rising after he suspended his presidential campaign in the lead-up to the national convention, according to polling by Gallup.
Cruz’s convention performance, however – he resisted pressure to endorse Trump, instead urging Republicans to vote their conscience – sent his numbers right back to where they were in May.
Cruz is seen as a near-sure bet to run for president again in 2020. But a poll this week indicated that Cruz may be vulnerable in his 2018 senate reelection bid. The wisdom of his bet against Trump is TBD.
Holy crap. Ted Cruz’s net favorable rating among Republicans has fallen by 35 points since pre-convention (Gallup). pic.twitter.com/COB6V4FYr3
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 19, 2016
Via Bloomberg politics, a video compilation of Trump’s verbal tics, from A to Z:
The Trump ABCs—every idiom, expression & filler phrase Trump has ever used—from A to Z. By @NdiayeMn9 & @MattNegrin:https://t.co/8gtrB8QdUD
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) August 19, 2016
Watch Trump's first ad
The Donald Trump campaign’s first TV ad buys of the general election campaign landed yesterday. They’re spending a total of about $4m in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania – that’s more than $40m short of what the Hillary Clinton campaign and sympathetic outside groups have spent in those states so far.
The first official Trump TV ad draws a contrast between “Hillary Clinton’s America” and Trump’s America. In Clinton’s America, the narrator says, “the system stays rigged” and a “flood” of refugees and “illegal immigrants” threaten the national well being.
Trump’s America is “secure...secure...safe...safe.”
Watch it here:
What do you think? Could the ad help capture the middle-ground voters Trump needs, or is too tailored to his base?
Trump's first TV ad warns of a "rigged" system - with an image of someone going to vote.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 19, 2016
So Trump's stealing "Two Americas" from John Edwards? Makes perfect sense, actually. https://t.co/cKUS2bNKDp
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) August 19, 2016
This is Trump ad is basically a re-run of Pete Wilson's 1994 ads: https://t.co/C5bjpYvB1M @AlbertsonB2 https://t.co/dz0pbX5bId
— Shana Gadarian (@sgadarian) August 19, 2016
This is one of the more effective Democratic GOTV ads I've seen. https://t.co/1QuxI5BQSq
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) August 19, 2016
Updated
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is on CNN, which is his day job.
For the record, Lewandowski says, he will never get tired of winning:
Corey Lewandowski on his @sissenberg retweet:
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) August 19, 2016
"I will never get tired of winning."
"I didn't win, but I thought it was funny."
Lewandowski notes John Kerry had staff shakeups in Sept of 2004
— Sam Levine (@srl) August 19, 2016
CNN Host: "He lost in 2004, Corey"
Updated
Just last month, LA GOP Rep blocked Obama effort to map new floodplains for climate change era. What a leader! https://t.co/6ekKdYIInZ
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) August 19, 2016
Updated
Eric Trump: Manafort was a distraction
Was Manafort’s departure a resignation or a firing?
The second Trump son has told Fox Business that Trump did not want to be “distracted by whatever things Paul was dealing with.”
Things Paul is dealing with include the revelation two days ago that he may have violated a federal law requiring lobbyists to tell the justice department if they represent foreign entities (read further).
.@EricTrump gives @MariaBartiromo his perspective on @PaulManafort resignation - more on @SundayFutures this weekend pic.twitter.com/xjjXzHvsWY
— Chris Snyder (@ChrisSnyderFox) August 19, 2016
Clinton, Trump to participate in veterans' forum
The presidential candidates will participate in a forum on MSNBC, appearing back-to-back, featuring the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and focusing on “commander-in-chief issues” – national security, veterans’ issues and more.
The forum will be in New York and the candidates will take questions from audience members.
Clinton and Trump are confirmed to participate in a "Commander-in-chief" forum with @IAVA on @MSNBC September 7th https://t.co/jjh1Qxgp88
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) August 19, 2016
The hand of Kushner, merciless and swift, is once again detected in a Trump generalissimo’s demise. Kushner is Jared Kushner, husband of Trump daughter Ivanka, who was said to play a key role in Lewandowski’s demise.
The Post:
At a meeting earlier in the week w/ Manafort and new top aides, Jared Kushner made clear he supported the changes, per several sources...
— Robert Costa (@costareports) August 19, 2016
The Times:
Our first cut on MANAFORT out, had come to be viewed w suspicion by Jared Kushner via sources https://t.co/8GnmhGKegn
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 19, 2016
Trump arrives in Louisiana
Trump has just touched down in Louisiana, disembarked and shaken a bunch of hands on the tarmac.
The wires haven’t moved any photos of the event yet. The only pictures that come up on the wires right now when you search “Donald Trump”, be apprised, are pictures of Paul Manafort.
Updated
Got a better pun than this? Prove it! In the comments, if you are so inclined.
Manafort overboard
— Adam Servianski (@AdamSerwer) August 19, 2016
Unsurprising, given the recent news. You might even say it was MANAFORT'S DESTINTY. https://t.co/261j1eEhqd
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 19, 2016
Update: new entries.
(Seriously, why is it so irresistible to try?)
I guess Trump has opted for others to man the fort....cc: @davidaxelrod @alexwagner
— Mark Leibovich (@MarkLeibovich) August 19, 2016
Rather than cast a Paul over his campaign? https://t.co/dIzgHuLoqE
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 19, 2016
@alexwagner clearly not your manaforté
— I am tweeting to say (@tweetingtosay) August 19, 2016
Further:
Crimea river? https://t.co/9R2CvBBdnx
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) August 19, 2016
Kieving to pressure? Or agreeing to Lviv and let Lviv? Donetsk me about Paul Manafort's decision to resign. Not the, uh, Kherson who knows
— Henry C.J. Jackson (@henrycjjackson) August 19, 2016
@EdMorrissey Ural crazy.
— Signatis Vitae (@Miguel_Pollaro) August 19, 2016
Updated
Lewandowski hasn’t tweeted yet, but he just retweeted this:
— Tom McCarthy (@TeeMcSee) August 19, 2016
'On to victory' – Manafort, Wednesday
Two days ago, Manafort sent a memo to staff declaring an “exciting day for Team Trump.”
“I remain the Campaign Chairman and Chief Strategist, providing the big-picture, long-range campaign vision and working with all of you to implement our strategy that will guide us to victory in November,” Manafort wrote.
“On to victory,” he signed off.
Via Sopan Deb of CBS News:
Remember: This memo was sent by Manafort to campaign staffers just two days ago. pic.twitter.com/CvfLSEevu4
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 19, 2016
Updated
Here’s Corey Lewandowski’s Twitter if anyone is curious. No reaction yet. Lewandowski, now a commentator for CNN, was the original Trump campaign manager.
Manafort is the second top Trump aide – the second campaign manager, in effect, though Manafort never held the title – to step down so far. Lewandowski resigned in June after a power struggle with Manafort, whom the campaign brought on in March, in part to manage what looked at the time like a looming fight over delegates in the lead-up to the national convention.
In July, Lewandowski called for Manafort’s resignation after Melania Trump, the candidate’s wife, plagiarized Michelle Obama in a speech to the national convention.
Updated
Trump confirms Manafort resignation, wishes him 'success'
The Trump campaign has just released a statement. Here it is in full:
This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign. I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.
– Donald J. Trump
The Times follows on the Post report:
MANAFORT RESIGNS, per two sources briefed. Rick Gates remaining so far.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 19, 2016
Overnight on Tuesday the Trump campaign appointed new campaign leadership in the form of Breitbart captain Steve Bannon, who is “campaign CEO”, and pollster Kellyanne Conway, who is “campaign manager.”
The Trump camp insisted that the hiring/promotion was neither the “shakeup” everyone said it was nor a demotion for Manafort, who released a statement in coordination with the campaign predicting the new talent would build on the campaign’s “success.”
Manafort has been the subject in the last two weeks of multiple reports exploring his work as a lobbyist for a pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine, work that the AP reported extended to stealth donations to US lobbying firms – a no-no under federal law.
Makes it much easier for Justice Dept. to begin looking into Manafort's Ukraine activities, if DOJ decides to do so https://t.co/ZjVopnIjdq
— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) August 19, 2016
Updated
Manafort out – report
The Washington Post’s Robert Costa, who’s well sourced, reports that Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has resigned:
SCOOP: A close friend of Manafort tells me he has resigned
— Robert Costa (@costareports) August 19, 2016
Developing...
Critics question foundation vow to ban foreign donors if Clinton elected
Bill Clinton will resign from the board of the Clinton foundation and the organization will stop accepting donations from foreign entities if Hillary Clinton is elected president, Bill Clinton told foundation members Thursday.
The AP reports:
It will no longer take money from any foreign entity, government, foreign or domestic corporations, or corporate charities. A Clinton spokesman said the former president will also refrain from delivering paid speeches until the November election and will no longer give paid speeches if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
Donations from foreign entities to the Clinton foundation, a concern among transparency advocates for years, have come under increasing scrutiny during the current campaign. Critics have questioned the foundation’s openness to foreign donations when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, when she would have been in a position – and the Clintons have vehemently dismissed all suggestions of any inappropriate machinations here – to craft policy in ways that might please donors.
Because the foundation is private and not required to file public disclosures, evaluating its receipts has proven difficult. Trump in June said Clinton had accepted $25m from Saudi Arabia. The fact-checking site Politifact tried to evaluate the claim:
We soon found that independently confirming information about the Clinton foundation is challenging at best.
Nonprofits, such as the Clinton Foundation, have nearly no obligation to publicly reveal who gives them money. They might need to tell a government agency, but the details remain confidential. [...]
...the foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with Obama’s presidential transition team in December 2008. Under the terms of that agreement, the foundation promised to report its donors in order to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest. [...]
However, thanks to the laws protecting donor identities, we can’t confirm these amounts independently.
Can someone give an intellectually honest explanation of why they didn't follow this policy when Clinton ran State? https://t.co/Du98ZsoK31
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) August 18, 2016
In other news, today is Bill Clinton’s 70th birthday. Happy birthday!
Updated
Louisiana governor asks Trump for more than 'photo-op'
The Louisiana governor’s office has issued a statement welcoming Donald Trump to the state but warning the candidate against a mere “photo-op” drop-in:
The office of the @LouisianaGov responds to reports of @realDonaldTrump visit to see flood damage @WAFB #LaFlood pic.twitter.com/QGpqKVEgJj
— Kevin Frey (@KevinWAFB) August 19, 2016
The governor, John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, has discouraged Barack Obama from visiting at the moment, according to a report on Nola.com:
Edwards said a presidential visit could cause additional problems for flood recovery efforts. Obama’s motorcade requires many roadways to be shutdown -- and many local streets are still closed because of the flooding. Also, a presidential visit puts a strain on law enforcement. First responders shouldn’t be pulled away to deal with Obama, when they are needed for search and rescue missions still, Edwards said.
Trump’s motorcade left for the airport a couple hours ago, according to local reporters, and he is now en route to New Orleans.
Here’s our latest report from Baton Rouge:
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House.
Donald Trump said last night that he regrets having caused people “personal pain” with “wrong thing[s]” he said, in an apology definitely unprecedented in this campaign and possibly unprecedented in his whole life. (Trump appointed a new campaign leadership team earlier this week.)
Here’s what he said (read our news coverage):
“Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing,” he told a rally in North Carolina on Thursday night. “I have done that. And, believe it or not, I regret it. I do regret it. Particularly where it may have caused personal pain.”
The Clinton team issued a reply saying that “sorry” isn’t enough after hundreds of days of not “choos[ing] the right words”:
In response to Trump, Clinton spox @creynoldsnc says he has insulted people for 428 days "without shame or regret." pic.twitter.com/52843ysR0p
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) August 19, 2016
Trump’s new leadership team’s utility belt is equipped with more than just the sorry card, it seems. (Somebody in the comments please fix that metaphor. Thanks.) Today Trump and running mate Mike Pence travel to Louisiana to view devastating flooding there that has killed at least 13 people and destroyed 40,000 homes. On Thursday the Louisiana newspaper the Advocate called on Barack Obama to cut his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard short to do what Trump is about to do.
Hillary Clinton heads to Nantucket later today for a brief bit of down time herself. She has no public events scheduled today.
Thanks for reading and please join us in the comments.
