Well, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is on board:
I find the VP candidates -- Governor Mike Pence and Senator Tim Kaine -- more palatable than the presidential nominees.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 23, 2016
Of course, Twitter was first to know:
I'm thrilled to announce my running mate, @TimKaine, a man who's devoted his life to fighting for others. -H pic.twitter.com/lTVyfztE5Z
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 23, 2016
And she’s already rolled out film for the selection.
.@TimKaine is a relentless optimist who believes no problem is unsolvable if you put in the work to solve it.https://t.co/pui1WFEVpS
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 23, 2016
Updated
Virginia senator Mark Warner released the following statement today on Hillary Clinton’s selection of fellow Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine to be her running mate:
“I enthusiastically applaud Secretary Clinton’s choice,” Warner said. “Without reservation, I can say there is no one of higher integrity and trustworthiness. I first met Tim Kaine in law school 37 years ago, and our paths crossed years later in Virginia politics. Whether serving as mayor of Richmond, Virginia’s lieutenant governor, governor, and now as U.S. senator, Tim has always shown a commitment to serving others.”
“He always finds reasons for hope and optimism in every situation, and he is centered by his faith and his family. Our country, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, will be very well-served by electing Tim Kaine as Vice President.”
Virginia senator Tim Kaine announced as Clinton's running mate
Hillary Clinton has named Tim Kaine, the US senator from Virginia, as her vice-presidential running mate, turning to a seasoned voice on foreign affairs and a representative of a key battleground state to complete the Democratic ticket.
The announcement, which concluded a highly secretive vetting process which took over two months, was made ahead of the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia, where Clinton will formally accept her party’s nomination for president next week. Clinton is set to hold a joint rally with Kaine in Miami on Saturday.
The New York Times is reporting that Hillary Clinton has selected Virginia senator Tim Kaine as her running mate - but we’ll wait on the official word from the candidate before making that call.
CNN has Hillary Clinton’s decision coming soon:
.@HillaryClinton vice presidential is coming soon. John Podesta is calling some potential candidates to inform them of decision.
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) July 22, 2016
Updated
Well, somebody has been editing Tim Kaine’s Wikipedia page...
Report: Donald Trump to start Super Pac to derail Ted Cruz's, John Kasich's careers
According to a report from Bloomberg Politics, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump plans to fund Super Pacs dedicated to ending Texas senator Ted Cruz’s and Ohio governor John Kasich’s political careers as retribution for their joint refusal to endorse his candidacy at this week’s Republican national convention.
Citing a source close to Trump, the report says that Trump is willing to spend as much as $20 million of his personal fortune to ensure that neither candidate ever wins elected office again.
While Kasich is term-limited from running for governor of Ohio again, Cruz has a reelection campaign for 2018 to prepare for, as well as obvious inclinations to make a run for the White House in 2020.
Updated
Clinton: Donald Trump 'talks trash about America'
“I gotta say, as he said this last night, I was pretty shocked. He said, ‘I alone can fix it.’ Now, just think about that for a minute, because it’s really important. His vision of America is one where we Americans are kind of helpless - where we need to be rescued. I can’t really imagine him on a white horse, but that seems to be what he’s telling us: ‘I alone can fix it.’ Well, he doesn’t understand that Americans, we Americans, we are strong, big-hearted, results-oriented, generous people in America.”
“The last thing we need is a president who talks trash about America!”
Responding to the Republican National Convention, Hillary Clinton on Friday dubbed her opponents’ focus on her as “kind of perversely flattering.”
“It’s hard to believe they spent so much time talking about me and no time talking about jobs or education or health care,” Clinton said at a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida, one day after Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for president at the party’s convention in Cleveland.
Addressing thousands of supporters at the Florida State fairgrounds, Clinton assailed her opponent’s convention address as counter to the principles upon which America was founded. The former secretary of state offered a lengthy rebuke of Trump, particularly over the real estate mogul’s declaration during his speech that “I alone can fix it.”
“Now, just think about that for a minute, because it’s really important,” Clinton said. “His vision of America is one where we Americans are kind of helpless -- where we need to be rescued.”
“I can’t really imagine him on a white horse, but that seems to be what he’s telling us: ‘I alone can fix it.’
“That’s not a democracy, my friends,” she added. “As I recall, we had a revolution to make sure we didn’t have someone who said I can fix it alone.”
“He doesn’t understand that we Americans, we are strong, bighearted, results-oriented, generous people in America.”
Clinton also reacted to Texas senator Ted Cruz being booed off the stage after he urged the crowd to “vote your conscience” while withholding his endorsement of Trump during a primetime speech before the convention on Wednesday.
“I never thought I would say these words but Ted Cruz was right,” Clinton said of the former Republican presidential candidate.
“Something has gone terribly wrong when one speaker says, ‘Vote your conscience’ and gets booed,” Clinton said. “In this election, do the right thing and vote your conscience.”
Hillary Clinton discusses her meetings with survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in June that left 49 people at a gay nightclub dead.
“In listening to people who had been there that night, meeting a mother whose son had died, meeting others who barely escaped after hiding from the killer, sitting around the table with leaders of the LGBT community,” Clinton says, “we have to stand against hatred no matter who it’s against.”
“I will do everything I can to make life better for hard-working Americans.”
Hillary Clinton: 'I never thought I would say these words, but Ted Cruz was right'
“It was kind of perversely flattering,” Clinton said in Tampa, of the amount of attention paid to her and her candidacy at this week’s Republican National Convention - but not so flattering as to distract her from the “divisive” nature of the convention.
Never has a political party, Clinton continues, “moved forward together by pointing fingers and scapegoating and blaming people.”
“I never thought I would say these words, but... Ted Cruz was right,” Clinton says, shrugging her shoulders. “Something has gone terrible wrong when one speaker says ‘vote your conscience’ and gets booed. In this election, do the right thing and vote your conscience!”
In Orlando earlier today, Hillary Clinton met privately with families of the 49 people who were killed and 53 injured at the LGBT Pulse nightclub last month. She then held a roundtable discussion with local officials, LGBT activists and religious leaders, in which she emphasized the threats posed to LGBT individuals.
“It is still dangerous to be LGBT in America,” Clinton said. “I think it’s an unfortunate fact, but one that needs to be said, that LGBT people are more likely than any other group in our country to be the targets of hate crimes.”
The 12 June attack at the Pulse nightclub was the deadliest mass shooting in US history. It was declared an act of terror by Barack Obama, after authorities found evidence that the gunman, Omar Mateen, had consumed radical propaganda.
Clinton reiterated her push for stricter gun laws while underscoring the need to confront the rise of homegrown terrorism.
“We have to disrupt and dismantle the global online network that radicalizes people here in the United States,” she said, “that even unfortunately, infects the thinking and attitudes of people in our communities, in their homes.”
“They are communicated with, they are inspired, and they are even directed, and we’ve got to do a better job to stop that.”
Updated
Watch live: Hillary Clinton speaks in Tampa
Aide: Clinton VP announcement still due this evening
The attack in Munich will not affect the timing of Hillary Clinton’s vice-presidential announcement, a campaign aide said on Friday. The announcement was set to occur via text message, with a joint campaign rally to follow in Miami on Saturday.
Clinton, who was scheduled to stage a campaign rally in Tampa, reacted to the news of the attack in Germany with a tweet: “Monitoring the horrific situation in Munich. We stand with our friends in Germany as they work to bring those responsible to justice.”
Updated
David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, announced his candidacy on Friday for the US Senate seat in Louisiana. The Donald Trump supporter said that while he believes in equal rights for all Americans, he demands respect for “European Americans.”
Washington Post: We will never endorse Donald Trump
The Washington Post’s editorial board took the extraordinary step of declaring that it could not even feign ambivalence about the nomination of Donald Trump, and that he poses “a unique threat to American democracy.”
Calling Trump a problem for the nation to overcome, the editorial asserts that “Trump’s politics of denigration and division could strain the bonds that have held a diverse nation together. His contempt for constitutional norms might reveal the nation’s two-century-old experiment in checks and balances to be more fragile than we knew.”
“We cannot salute the Republican nominee or pretend that we might endorse him this fall,” the editorial continues. “A Trump presidency would be dangerous for the nation and the world.”
A poised, accomplished Ivanka Trump stood at the RNC podium Thursday night talking about the importance of childcare, equal pay for equal work and the need to support working mothers.
Her speech, an attempt to soften Donald Trump’s image and correct his well-documented “women problem”, hit all the right notes one would expect to hear... at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
The “softer” issues Ivanka targeted before introducing her father as the Republican nominee are the same that Hillary Clinton has been advocating in her campaign, and throughout her career.
Ivanka: “gender is no longer the factor creating the greatest wage discrepancy in this country, motherhood is.”
Clinton: “If fighting for women’s healthcare and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman’s card, then deal me in.”
Ivanka Trump and Hillary Clinton appear to be on the same page, with Trump’s daughter promising the audience that her father would change the labor laws to help women and make quality childcare available for all women.
But portraying Donald Trump as a champion of women’s issues and childcare won’t turn him into one. The women in Trump’s inner circle may well love and respect him, but he hasn’t been a model feminist on the campaign trail – or during his decades in the public eye before the run.
To date, Trump has said little about childcare, equal pay or supporting mothers throughout his campaign. In fact, when a member of the women’s policy organization Make It Work asked him about childcare, he responded, “I love children.” She persisted, and he dismissed her with: “It’s a big subject darling.”
Darling? Would he have said that to a man? I don’t think so. This demeaning attitude has helped plummet his approval rating among women. So have comments he’s made throughout the campaign, like alluding to Fox anchor Megyn Kelly’s period, or his admission that he’d date his daughter if they weren’t related. The list goes on.
Updated
After meeting Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday, Barack Obama responded to the statements made by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Trump’s speech at the Republican national convention outlined the rise in violent crime in America, but Obama responded: “This idea that America is somehow on the verge of collapse, this vision of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn’t really jibe with the experience of most people.”
As followers around the world wait with baited breath, Hillary Clinton has made a statement regarding a reported terrorist attack in Munich:
Monitoring the horrific situation in Munich. We stand with our friends in Germany as they work to bring those responsible to justice. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 22, 2016
Hillary Clinton visits site of mass shooting in Orlando
Another music act has spoken out about Donald Trump’s use of its work during the Republican National Convention.
The Rolling Stones do not endorse Donald Trump. You Can't Always Get What You Want was used without the band's permission.
— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) July 22, 2016
*Jeopardy music*
Spokeswoman for @TimKaine tells me he *is* still coming to RI this afternoon, as previously scheduled, to headline a @SenJackReed fundraiser
— Ted Nesi (@TedNesi) July 22, 2016
The Clinton campaign denies that its Brooklyn staff are being briefed on the former secretary of state’s running-mate selection, which is expected to be announced any moment.
Not true. https://t.co/ZeK6HwLD5f
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) July 22, 2016
The estate of iconic operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti has complained about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s use of the singer’s most iconic performance during his political rallies, calling Trump’s platform and rhetoric antithetical to the values of the late singer.
The statement, issued by Pavarotti’s widow and three daughters, calls Trump’s world vision “incompatible” with the singer, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetti de Modena, and demands that the politician stop playing Pavarotti’s definitional rendition of the aria “Nessun Dorma.”
“We remind you that the values of brotherhood and solidarity that Luciano Pavarotti upheld throughout his artistic career are incompatible with the world vision of the candidate Donald Trump,” wrote Nicoletta Mantovani. Citing other music artists who have protested Trump’s use of their work in his rallies, the letter goes on the record to “express our disapproval of such use.”
“Nessun Dorma” (“None Shall Sleep”) is a highly popular aria from the closing act of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot. In the opera, the aria is sung by a prince who has fallen in love with a distant princess (the titular Turandot) and must answer her three riddles to win her hand or face beheading.
The final lyric - “Vincerò!” or “I will win!” at a sustained B4 - could explain Trump’s fondness for the aria, although after Pavarotti’s performance of the aria popularized it during the 1990 World Cup, it has sort of become the Ugg Boot of classical opera.
Updated
Humor site Cracked.com has produced a “behind-the-scenes” short in which Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is really just a huge practical joked played by two struggling comedy writers.
As Trump’s improbable candidacy continues gaining speed, the pair continue to tell each other that the payoff will be “so, so funny” - until it dawns on them that they’re running a real campaign.
The Orlando City Commissioner broke down as spoke about how politicians had come to the Florida after the horrific Pulse shooting and tried to cash in on the media attention while streets were still blood-soaked - but did not care about the victims.
“There were a lot of people who frankly didn’t care about these young people and their families,” said Patty Sheehan, in a roundtable with Clinton.
“I want to thank you for not politicizing this and for waiting until we were ready,” Sheehan told Clinton.
“Because frankly, I don’t know how they could sit here and listen to the mothers crying...and they went right back to Washington and voted against sensible gun legislation,” she said, her voice cracking.
At the Hillary Clinton roundtable right now in Orlando, locals are telling the Democratic presumptive nominee about how the city is coping after the Pulse shooting.
“What do you see as the long term priorities? Ongoing support and counseling services?” Clinton asked.
“Yes... Long term counseling, PTSD, it’s going to go on for quite a long time,” replied Terry Orlando, the executive director of The Center, an LGBT group in Orlando.
That’s quite a crowd.
An average of 29.9 million people watched Donald trump accept GOP nomination during 10 PM hour last night on broadcast, CNN, FNC, MSNBC
— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) July 22, 2016
Hillary Clinton speaking now in Orlando, Florida:
The Latino LGBT community is the one that was most severely impacted by this attack. What does that mean? Well, among other things it means it is still dangerous to be LGBT in America. I think it’s an unfortunate fact, but one that needs to be said, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, more likely than any other group in our country to be the target of hate crimes... particularly even more so as people of color.
We have to stand against hate and bigotry. I was really moved by everybody who stood in solidarity with the victims and families here in Orlando, with the LGBT community, with the Latino community, with the Muslim community, with the police community.
Updated
And Hillary Clinton has arrived for her event in Orlando, which is a roundtable discussion about the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting, which left 49 people - mainly LGBTQ people of color - dead.
Clinton has met with several families of the victim, says the host, and will discuss more about the national policy needs of Orlando.
Trump denies implying Ted Cruz’s father was involved in JFK assassination – video
Appearing in Cleveland on Friday morning, less than a day after accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump speaks about his previous comments regarding potential links between former rival Ted Cruz’s father and Lee Harvey Oswald. Telling gathered volunteers that he had never insinuated that the elder Cruz had been involved in the assassination, Trump says he merely drew attention to a picture that had already been reported in the press.
Just waiting for Hillary Clinton to arrive at her roundtable event in Orlando, Florida. You can watch the livestream here:
A collection of reviews of Donald Trump’s big speech last night at the RNC in Cleveland.
From Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative magazine Weekly Standard:
Trump's "I'm the only one who can fix it" marks descent of the Republican Party from republican Constitutionalism to demagogic Ceasarism.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 22, 2016
The Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi and Jackie Kucinich:
It seemed possible that the balloons would never drop. This was not, after all, the celebration that the Republican Party had waited four years for. This was a reading of last rites.
Michael Barbaro in the New York Times:
To an electorate that remains anxious about his demeanor, his honesty and his character, Mr. Trump offered no acknowledgment, no rebuttal, no explanation.
It was a speech that might be remembered, ultimately, as much for what it lacked as for what it contained — and for the message those absences seemed to convey: He is content with the angry voters he has won, who thunderously cheered him on here, and indifferent about wooing those he has not.
Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips:
In “Rose’s Turn,” the greatest 11 o’clock number Broadway ever wrote (Jule Styne, music; Stephen Sondheim, lyrics), the ferocious stage mother originated by Ethel Merman busts loose, her resentments and regrets and grievances pouring forth in a catharsis combining elements of striptease, revenge and breakdown. It’s an angry number. Conspicuously lacking music, though weirdly Trump’s choice of outro music was “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,“ Donald’s turn turned the spotlight on a one-man, 76-minute show performed by the emblem, and beneficiary, of this casually brutal American moment.
This shameless and baseless fear-mongering is Trump’s best trick. But there’s a reason magicians don’t play the same trick for an audience a thousand times over. Surely people see through Trump’s by now?
The Guardian’s Steven Thrasher:
As Trump was warmed up by a real estate developer, I felt as if I wasn’t living in reality, but inside a virtual reality scenario dreamt up by Ayn Rand. But as I watched Trump bark about “law and order”, obedience, “law and order,” immigration and “law and order” again, it dawned on me how real this was.
I was looking at the next president of the United States.
For more takes on the speech from other Guardian columnists, head here.
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reporting that Hillary Clinton will announce her running mate by text today before her Tampa rally at 4.30pm ET, with a joint appearance of the pair expected in Miami tomorrow.
NBC NEWS: Hillary Clinton to reveal VP pick today via text; 1st joint appearance tomorrow Miami -@mitchellreports https://t.co/Srs0cKP37x
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 22, 2016
Who’s it going to be? Kaine? (still the top pick, says Mitchell). Vilsack? Warren? Booker?
*checks phone again*
Video of Donald Trump’s comments before that Cruz made “dishonorable” changes to his RNC speech, where he implored GOP supporter to “vote your conscience” rather than backing Trump.
Obama slams Trump's plan to build a wall to stop 'chaos'
President Obama, speaking at a press conference, spoke against Donald Trump’s promise that “safety will be restored” if he is elected and his claim that the nation is in crisis.
Trump called himself the “law-and-order candidate” last night at the RNC in Cleveland. However, Obama noted that the country is safer - despite an uptick in the murder rates in certain cities - than it has been for decades.
“The murder rate today, the violence rate today is far lower,” said Obama.
The president, speaking at a press conference with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, also spoke out against Trump’s plan to build a wall between the United States and its southern neighbor, saying it was important to work collaboratively to fight against drug traffickers and other problems of illegal immigration.
“Mexico has been a consistent strong partner with us on these issues. And if they had not been, we would have had much bigger problems on our borders,” said Obama.
“The benefit of a cooperative Mexico, and Mexico with a healthy economy, is that can help us bring security ... in Central America. Thats going to do a lot more to solve a migration process or a drug crisis than a wall. And it’ll be much more reflective of the kind of relationship that we will have with our neighbors,” said Obama.
In the perfect Trump mix of business and politics, Ivanka Trump tweeted a link to the outfit she wore to introduce her dad as the Republican nominee last night in Cleveland.
Shop Ivanka's look from her #RNC speech: https://t.co/ma42A92DYa #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/DwHvSOu8Ue
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 22, 2016
“Ivanka Trump’s sophisticated sheath dress works wonders at both social and professional occasions with sleek studwork and a fabulous fit,” reads the Macy’s copy for pink dress worn by the eldest Trump daughter, available for a bargain $138 (but only currently for sale in a size 2).
However, despite all the claims to “make America great again,” Macy’s does note that the dress is “imported.”
Updated
President Obama says he did not watch the RNC this week but believes Donald Trump is playing on people’s fears rather than facts.
“I didn’t watch the convention,” he said. “I have a lot to do.”
He spoke out against the GOP rhetoric in a press conference with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.
“We’re not going to make good decisions based on fears that don’t have basis in fact,” said Obama.
“America is much less violent than it was 20,30 years ago and immigration is much less of a problem, not just 20 or 30 years ago but when I came in,” said Obama.
David Duke, former grand wizard of the KKK, may be running for the US Senate using the same rhetoric as Republican nominee Donald Trump, but the party is trying desperately to distance itself from him.
Ward Baker, executive director of National Republican Senatorial Committee, tweeted that the GOP won’t support him.
We will not support David Duke. Several GOP candidates in LA will have a great impact on our country. He is not one of them. #LASEN
— Ward Baker (@WardBaker) July 22, 2016
The Governor of Indiana just got a new fancy work vehicle.
The NEW VP plane for Mike Pence, awaiting departure out of Cleveland--> pic.twitter.com/NiyO32ZJuF
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) July 22, 2016
Ex-KKK leader David Duke anounces Senate campaign
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke is running for a US Senate in Louisiana, he announced, releasing a video where he said he was “overjoyed” to see Donald Trump embrace his ideas.
“I’m overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I’ve championed for years” said Duke, a white supremacist who has been backing Trump’s presidency in recent months.
“What makes me different is that I demand respect for the rights and the heritage of European Americans,” said Duke in the video announcing his run.
“We must stop the massive immigration and ethnic cleansing of the people whose forefathers created America. I was the first major candidate in modern times to promote the term and policy of ‘America First’,” said Duke.
He echoed Trump’s idea of taking the country back from “special interests.” “A revolution is coming in the United States of America, for the real people, the vast majority of the American people,” he said.
Last night Duke tweeted his support for Trump’s RNC speech:
Great Trump Speech, America First! Stop Wars! Defeat the Corrupt elites! Protect our Borders!, Fair Trade! Couldn't have said it better!
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) July 22, 2016
More from Trump’s thank you speech to volunteers turned anti-Cruz diatribe this morning in Cleveland.
- Trump says his average campaign donation is just over $50. Lower numbers is good because he says that means it’s people who will “vote by the millions” rather than big-time single donors. “To hell with Harold,” joked Trump, referring to major GOP donor oil billionaire Harold Hamm. “We’re building up a war chest, it’s going to be great,” he said.
- Trump called on his detractors within the party to support him rather than giving Clinton the chance to pick the next Supreme Court justice. If Hillary Clinton gets in she’s going to replace, as I called him last night, our beloved Scalia,” said Trump, who said that he would nominate a SCOTUS judge “as close to him in philosophy as possible.” He said Republicans needed to vote for him regardless of their personal distaste for him. “No matter what you think of Donald Trump - as a Republican, if you’re a great great believer in the constitution, you have no choice,” said Trump.
- Picking Indiana governor Mike Pence was “one of my really great decisions”, said Trump. He noted that since he wasn’t a politician, getting the support of politicians wasn’t expect. “This isn’t supposed to happen.. now if I don’t win, you’re going to have to blame Mike!” said Trump, as his VP pick, Mike Pence, chuckled and looked nervous behind him.
- He also gave a shout-out to his kids. “I think they saved us, Mike,” he said. “Ivanka was incredible last night ... So many of the speakers were so amazing.”
Updated
Trump says Cruz changed his speech without permission
Donald Trump says Ted Cruz deliberately changed his planned speech in order to make a dig at the nominee, a move he called “dishonorable”.
“I don’t want his endorsement. If he gives it, I will not accept it,” said Trump.
On Wednesday, the Texas senator spoke at the RNC and refused to endorse Trump, instead calling on the GOP to “vote your conscience”.
“Honestly he may have ruined his political career, I feel so bad ... Ted, stay home, relax, enjoy yourself,” said Trump on Friday, in a speech to thank volunteers at the RNC in Cleveland.
Cruz became the focus on Trump’s speech today, with the nominee clearly furious that the Texas Senator tried to hijack the RNC spotlight. Trump said Cruz had offered a preview of his speech, and had signed the pledge to support the Republican nominee, but then added in extra lines without permission.
“You’re bound by your speech and bound by the pledge. Made a statement that wasn’t on the speech. To me ... it’s dishonorable,” said Trump.
“This convention has been a tremendous success,” said Trump, saying the media’s focus on Cruz took away from its success. “One person got booed out the place by thousands of people... there wasn’t one person in the room, including the Texas congregation [who weren’t booing]” said Trump.
Trump said he thought Cruz was aiming for a run in four years.
“Are you allowed to set up a Super Pac if you’re a president to fight someone?” he joked.
“This was probably one the most peaceful, beautiful, love-filled conventions in the history of conventions. When they talk about unity, that was unity!” said Trump.
Updated
From Cleveland, Scott Bixby covered Ivanka Trump’s introduced for her father, with a contrast in tone between the Republican nominee and his favorite child.
Ivanka Trump addressed the Republican convention on Thursday, vouching for her father with women and minorities – two groups the GOP nominee has struggled to win over.
Speaking before she introduced Donald Trump’s speech accepting his party’s nomination as candidate for president, Ivanka Trump said her father was “color blind and gender neutral” and “hires the best person for the job, period”.
Trump’s eldest daughter said she had worked with her father for more than a decade and seen him hire people from “all walks of life”.
Donald Trump has faced criticism for his hiring practices and treatment of women in his businesses. But his daughter says his construction sites are “true meritocracies”.
She also said Trump would fight for equal pay for women and affordable child care, outlining priorities often associated with Democrats and making a clear attempt to win over female voters who might be more inclined to feel Hillary Clinton would stand up for their interests.
Read the rest of the article here.
Updated
Hillary Clinton is on her way to Florida, where she will hold two events today – a lunchtime roundtable in Orlando and a rally this afternoon in Tampa.
It’s possible the VP pick will appear at her 4.30pm rally at the Florida state fairgrounds, although that currently remains just a journalist guessing game.
Her team ramped up its anti-Trump rhetoric last night as he accepted the nomination.
"I’m with you*" —@realDonaldTrump
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 22, 2016
*Not included: women, African Americans, LGBT people, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants...
She also rolled out free “no way, no how, no Trump” tickets for supporters.
President. Donald. Trump.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 22, 2016
Get your free sticker to show the world you're not about to let that happen: https://t.co/2Pr6mFCsWO
Updated
Jon Stewart returns to TV to slam Trump and supporters: 'This country isn't yours'
Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart returned to the silver screen in a blazing rant against Fox News, the GOP and, of course, Donald Trump.
Stewart took over Stephen Colbert’s desk on The Late Show to curse the election, calling Trump an “angry groundhog” who has divided the country and that the Republicans have spent this week in Cleveland at the RNC “scaring the holy bejesus out of everybody.”
He railed against the Republican rhetoric of “making America great again”:
You just want you that person to give you your country back, because you feel that you are this country’s rightful owners. There’s only one problem with that: this country isn’t yours. You don’t own it. It never was. There is no real America. You don’t own it. You don’t own patriotism, you don’t own Christianity, you sure as hell don’t own respect for the bravery and sacrifice of military, police and fire fighters.
For years Stewart has been very politically involved in trying to secure medical funding for 9/11 responders, making trips to Washington and strongly advocating for the Zadroga Act reauthorization.
“Trust me, I saw a lot of people on the convention floor in Cleveland with their blue lives matter rhetoric who either remained silent or actively fought against the 9/11 first responders bill reauthorization,” said Stewart.
“I see you and I see your bullshit,” yelled a furious Stewart, pointing his finger down the lens of the camera.
The former Daily Show host - wearing a scruffy grey t-shirt, a deep tan and a messy beard, although Colbert made him put on a blazer and clip-on tie - clearly relished a chance to return to the TV chair and criticize his old foes at Fox News. Colbert invited Stewart back on the show on the day Roger Ailes, head of the conservative network, resigned after sexual harassment allegations.
Stewart said he enjoys watching “the contortions many conservatives will now have to do to embrace Donald J Trump, a man who clearly embodies all the things they have for years hated about Obama,” noting that the rightwing claims of Obama as a thin-skinned narcissist with no government experience applies perfectly to Trump.
He also called out those on the right who claim progressives are the ones pushing the country into racial, gender and political lines.
“Those fighting to be included in the ideal of equality are not being divisive. Those fighting to keep those people out are,” said Stewart.
Just as Stewart went to declare Fox News hosts and other conservatives, ahem, the other, non-printable, c-word, Colbert interrupted with an air horn.
Updated
Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s campaign liveblog, where we will now try and guide you through the hangover from the last four days of the Republican national convention.
Last night, Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination and declared himself the “law and order” candidate in a speech peppered with authoritarian overtones on the final night of the RNC in Cleveland.
He announced to the crowd:
Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country.
Reporter David Smith said Trump’s speech should serve as a call-to-arms for liberals:
Comparisons with Hitler and Mussolini have been made so often and so glibly that they tend to obscure rather than clarify. Yet the ability of this demagogue to play the crowd, switching its anger on and off like a tap, carries too many echoes of the past century to ignore.
Trump was introduced by daughter Ivanka, founder of a fashion company as well as an executive at her father’s real estate firm, who said her dad is “color-blind and gender neutral” and supports equal pay and affordable childcare.
But her attempt at winning over young millennials wasn’t enough for Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator John McCain, who ran against President Obama in 2008.
The party I was part of is dead.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 22, 2016
Also of note: the reality TV candidate’s attempt to create a big TV moment with a balloon drop is worth the watch simply because the confusingly timed spectacle makes it seems like they would never stop falling.
MAKE AMERICA SAFE AND GREAT AGAIN! #RNCinCLEhttps://t.co/KH2ZFHUHGP
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2016
Pivoting away from the four-day spectacle of the RNC, Hillary Clinton is heading to Florida as rumors swirl that she’s set to announce her vice-presidential running mate, in anticipation of the Democratic national convention kicking off next week in Philadelphia.
In an email earlier this week, the Clinton team promised that she wouldn’t let the news drop in the media like Trump did with Indiana governor Mike Pence:
In fact, between the media leaks, the last-minute hissy fits, the clash between his family and his advisors, and Trump tweeting Mike Pence’s name without warning on Friday, his core supporters were some of the last folks to find out. That won’t happen when Hillary announces her running mate.
Currently, Virginia senator Tim Kaine remains her most likely pick, according to the AP and the New York Times, although he’s not a super-interesting choice for winning over liberals since he’s pro-Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Other possible VPs include agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, labor secretary Thomas E Perez and New Jersey senator Cory Booker. Or will the most leftwing part of the party – and Bernie Sanders fans – get the Elizabeth Warren VP pick they’ve been dreaming of? Probably not, but keep your phone handy for that text.
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