Summary
We’re going to wrap up our live blog politics coverage for the day. Thank you for joining us these past two weeks for the action in Cleveland and Philadelphia – and we hope you’ll come with us for the 101 days ahead.
Trump camp hits Clinton over possible hack
This seems to be a problem wherever Hillary Clinton goes. Hopefully this time there wasn’t classified or top secret information that puts American lives at risk.”
– Jason Miller, Trump senior communications adviser
Clinton camp: no evidence 'internal systems' compromised
Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill nudges back at the report of a hack of Clinton campaign data with a statement that raises lots of question marks:
An analytics data program maintained by the DNC, and used by our campaign and a number of other entities, was accessed as part of the DNC hack. Our campaign computer system has been under review by outside cyber security experts. To date, they have found no evidence that our internal systems have been compromised.
Hackers target Clinton campaign – report
The computer network used by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been hacked, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The new intrusion is part of a broad cyber-attack on Democratic political organizations, the sources said, though it was not immediately clear that Russian hackers were behind the third attack.
In a statement, the FBI said it was looking into the matter. The bureau said it “takes seriously any allegations of intrusions” and is “aware of media reporting on cyber intrusions involving multiple political entities, and is working to determine the accuracy, nature and scope of these matters”.
Russian hackers designated Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear by cybersecurity analysts broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) beginning last year and are believed to be the source of anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks’s release of 20,000 emails, though the group has denied this.
Last Sunday, that leak led to the resignation of the DNC chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, shortly before the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.
The breach of the DNC is believed by security researchers in private industry and the US government to have been the work Russian intelligence services.
This week the fundraising network of the the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) was breached, an act Reuters said US intelligence officials had attributed to Russians as well.
The US Department of Justice’s national security division is investigating whether hacking attacks on Democratic political organizations threatened US security, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
With 20 extremely good reasons (read: electoral votes) to discover a local connection in Pennsylvania, Virginia senator Tim Kaine saw reflections of his childhood walking through the K’NEX toy manufacturer in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, writes Lauren Gambino at the scene:
The Vice Presidential nominee told the crowd of about 300 people, made up of K’NEX employees and teachers, that he recognized some of the machinery from his childhood, working alongside his family in his father’s iron crafting business in Kansas. “This brings back memories, coming here and seeing some machinery that’s really familiar to me and some machinery that’s not so familiar,” Kaine said, standing in front of the campaign logo made of K’NEX.
“[It was] his five or six employees, my two brothers, me and my mom basically making that business work, that’s what small business do,” Kaine said.
These anecdotes, delivered with Kaine’s affable smile, add up to strong justification for the Virginia senator’s place on the ticket.
“You will hear people say when it comes to manufacturing that American manufacturing is dead,” said Kaine, “but that is not the case and it’s often these family businesses just like Rodon K’NEX that are keeping it alive.”
Kaine introduced Clinton, who was joined by her husband and Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton. The four traveled by bus from Philadelphia, where they kicked off a jobs-focused tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Who wishes it were Friday? Good news for you: tis.
Ok but the 1996 DNC was lit pic.twitter.com/nuHp1lBND8
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) July 29, 2016
Please - everyone rejoice in this video I just shot of Trump holding two babies and showing them off to cameras: pic.twitter.com/9xpyWaaOC7
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) July 29, 2016
Trump finishes off with an insult for the fire marshall who has not allowed extra people into the hall - “he’s probably a Democrat... he doesn’t get it” - before heading to the room next door where apparently 1000 spillover people are waiting.
Trump seems to be doing a recap on the most offensive things he’s said to journalists during the campaign. He’s mentionied New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from a physical disability, which Trump appeared to imitate when talking about him several months ago.
“I didn’t know he was disabled. I didn’t know it. I didn’t know it all. I had no idea,” said Trump in Colorado Springs.
Trump also just referenced his comments said about Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, where he had said after a debate - after she asked him tough questions - that she had “blood coming out of her wherever.”
“I was talking about her nose. Maybe her ears,” just said Trump in Colorado Springs. It was widely assumed that Trump was referring to Kelly getting her period when he made his reference to “whatever.”
“I wanted to get back onto the questions of taxes and economies, I said ‘whatever’ ... these are sick people. But really, it was nose,” he said.
Trump declares he is 'taking the gloves off' in his criticisms of Clinton
Donald Trump said he is “starting to agree” with his supporters who chanted “lock her up” regarding Hillary Clinton during his events.
“How do you lie to the FBI and now you’re running for president” asked Trump in Colorado Springs, speaking about Clinton.
He repeated the line several times to emphasize it. The crowd began chanting “lock her up, lock her up.”
“You know what, I’ve been saying lets just beat her on November 8, but you know what, I’m starting to agree with you,” said Trump.
“Every time I mention her, people start screaming lock her up. But after watching that performance, with so many lies... I’m taking the gloves off,” he said.
“Just remember this, Trump is going to be no more Mister Nice Guy. Tell Hillary I’m not going to be nice anymore, are you ready?” he said.
This weekend the Koch Brothers are hosting a retreat for top conservative donors in Colorado Springs. And Trump just happens to be in Colorado Springs today.
But, Charles Koch rebuffed Trump’s attempts to meet with him, according to Politico.
The Koch brothers, who are usually huge GOP supporters, have spoken out against Trump as nominee and have said they don’t plan to help fund him.
“I think I have the best temperament, or certainly one of the best, of anyone that’s ever run for the office of president,” declares Trump.
“My temperament is winner. I know how to win. My whole life I’ve been winning,” he said.
Trump criticized CNN, complaining how they had reported on his tweets lately. He then claimed that he could see the red light on the camera man’s camera turn off.
"That red light just went off so fast"--Trump claiming CNN stopped filming just now when he criticized them. Uh, he's still on CNN.
— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) July 29, 2016
THERE AREN'T RED LIGHTS on the cameras unless it's in a studio. https://t.co/SWweybqdJL
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) July 29, 2016
Trump talks about the Nielsen ratings for television that have just come out, which shows 32 million people tuned into watch Trump’s speech, while 28 million saw Clinton’s last night. He says the RNC last week in Cleveland was much better than the DNC, and, being a TV guy, notes he thought the RNC background set was better.
“We beat her by millions on televisions,” said Trump. “Honestly, the numbers were incredible. Which tells you, isn’t it good to have Trump running for the presidency?”
Trump starts off getting the crowd to boo the fire marshall, as apparently hundreds of people waiting outside are not being allowed into the venue because the fire marshall won’t let them.
“It really is so unfair,” said Trump. “The reasons they wont let them in is because they don’t know what the hell they’re doing. Too bad.
“Maybe they’re a Hillary person? Probably,” he said.
Trump addresses a town hall event in Colorado Springs
Announcement at the Trump event in Colorado Springs - where Trump was supposed to take to the stage 45 minutes ago - that the Republican nominee is now in the building and is expected to address the crowd in five minutes.
Updated
Interesting contrast between Donald Trump and his running mate when it comes to dealing with the media.
During rallies, Trump regularly gets supporters to turn to the media and boo and has banned a list of publications from covering his events. His VP pick Mike Pence said earlier today that he was trying to stop reporters being denied entry.
“I have a long history...of advocating and defending for a free and independent press,” he said.
And now Pence is taking it one step further, supplying reporters on the campaign trail with birthday cake!
.@mike_pence delivers birthday cupcakes to @InesdLC on the back of the campaign plane. No lit candles tho, FAA regs pic.twitter.com/q3E7InTRTt
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) July 29, 2016
First Daughter Malia skipped the DNC this week, because she’s a teenager and it’s summertime. Instead, she is busy dancing with her friends in Chicago, turning up at music festival Lollapalooza last night.
The eldest Obama daughter, who graduated from high school recently and is taking a gap year off before attending Harvard, got a good spot near the stage to see Norwegian artist Cashmere Cat.
Was going hard to @CASHMERECAT and then Secret Service and Malia Obama just pull up pic.twitter.com/lfNRxWzwRu
— Alex Lao (@alexanderlao) July 29, 2016
Cashmere cat with Malia Obama today lmao pic.twitter.com/seupJdkqQb
— lexi (@lexidubb) July 29, 2016
Of course, being the president’s daughter means Secret Service guards everywhere you go. Don’t worry though, they went incognito as normal casual guys enjoying a summer festival and definitely not like giant suburban dads clearly pretending to fit in.
I dig the Secret Service's casual plaid look. pic.twitter.com/9aAhlHL2SO
— Andrew Gill (@andrewgill) July 28, 2016
As we wait for Donald Trump to turn up at a townhall meeting at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, the brand spanking new Clinton-Kaine bus is already making stops.
First bus stop: Hatfield, PA pic.twitter.com/SfyWMoCL6F
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) July 29, 2016
On Thursday night, self-described “pantsuit aficionado” Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for president, the first woman to do so in American history. All eyes were on her as she entered the stage in Philadelphia wearing an all-white pantsuit, a stark contrast to the blue background behind her. The outfit itself is hardly a surprise – it’s practically a trademark at this point - but the color choice carries with it an additional feminist meaning.
White is an official color of the women’s movement (along with green, gold and purple). Suffragettes were encouraged to attend marches wearing white in the early 1900s, and photos from the time show women wearing white dresses.
Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York City, said that Clinton using white to reference the suffragette movement was “very important”.
“This was a way of using clothing to speak through a visual message. Because it’s not something a lot of people know [that suffragettes wore white], but once people are aware of that, it does reinforce the historical importance of Hillary hopefully becoming the first women president,” said Steele.
“White has connotations in the west of purity and virtue, this idea of being the good guy,” said Steele. “Certainly the suffragettes were aware of that when they wore white – they were good people too, why shouldn’t they have the right to vote?”
Read the rest of the article here.
This week’s Democratic national convention attracted a starry roster of performers, including one of the world’s biggest pop acts, Katy Perry. Third Eye Blind, meanwhile, were the most popular band to perform during the Republican national convention last week – but they used the opportunity to lambast the GOP.
According to TMZ, the Republicans had also attempted to book Justin Bieber, by offering the star $5m to play a 45-minute set at a venue near where the convention was held.
The money, allegedly bankrolled by GOP donors, was to be paid “up front” before Bieber arrived – with the donors also expected to cover production expenses. The one supposed condition: that Bieber could say nothing disparaging about Republican nominee Donald Trump or the party. He was allegedly assured that the performance would not be political, and that he didn’t have to publicly endorse Trump in order to take part.
Should he have accepted the offer, it would have marked Bieber’s biggest single payday.
Sources connected with CAA, the talent agency which represents the singer, told TMZ that Bieber seriously considered the offer. His manager, Scooter Braun, is said to have suggested that Bieber display a Black Lives Matter banner while performing – an idea the GOP shot down.
In the end, Bieber reportedly turned the show down at the behest of Braun, who is an avid Hillary Clinton supporter, having hosted a fundraiser in Los Angeles that attracted Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Tom Hanks.
TMZ also reports that Republican officials tried further to entice Bieber by claiming LeBron James would attend an event near the convention welcoming the GOP, and, like Bieber, would not be required to announce a political stand. James’s team are said to have told Braun that they would not be in Cleveland for the convention, and urged Bieber not to attend.
While Hillary Clinton cracked the glass ceiling last night as she accepted the historic presidential nomination from her party, the tsunami of balloons unleashed on stage at the Democratic convention also delighted.
Her husband and former US president Bill Clinton could not contain his glee as 100,000 balloons flooded the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The former leader of the free world looked continuously in awe as he scurried around the stage batting balloons away or grabbing and throwing them. Hillary Clinton and vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine also got in on the fun.
Twitter was quick to latch on to the sight of usually stiff politicians overcome with joy at the sight of balloons and gifs and memes flooded the internet throughout the night. Bill Clinton largely stole the show.
bill: hey hill check this out
— Ingrid Ostby (@ingridostby) July 29, 2016
hillary
hey hillary
hill
hey hillary check this out
hillary look what i
hill
hillary pic.twitter.com/MAbRFW1yeY
Daaaaad.
Fun fact: @timkaine brought SIX harmonicas on this bus tour. (He told CNN today, per @jesshop23)
— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) July 29, 2016
Here’s a photo of the Clinton-Kaine bus, tweeted by Clinton campaign communications director Jenn Palmieri:
BUS!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/nOW3M3ERJ8
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) July 29, 2016
Still glowing from Clinton’s historic ascent on Thursday night, the thousands of people who came to see the Democratic ticket at a gymnasium at Temple University McGonigle Hall roared with excitement when the candidate walked onto the stage with running mate Tim Kaine.
“I was tired after last night, but I’m awake now,” Kaine said taking the stage to thunderous applause.
Before she walked on stage, the audience, several who sported freshly minted Clinton-Kaine buttons, reprised the chant: “Madame President”. Often criticized constantly for her wooden delivery, Clinton seemed buoyed by her positively received performance last night. In an enduring image from the night, the Clintons smile like children as they play with the falling balloons on stage.
On Friday, much of the crowd shared that same gaiety.
“Oh, we’re feeling wonderful!” gushed Linda Pauline, who came to Temple University with her sisters, Rose Lee and Linda. The three sisters gathered at Rose Lee’s house in Philadelphia last night to watch Clinton win the nomination.
“You know when it really hit me?” said Rose Lee Pauline.
“When President Barack Obama said that no one has ever been more qualified to be president, not him, not Bill, not anyone,” Linda said. “I have been waiting a long time to hear that – since 2006 when Hillary was just thinking of running.”
She added: “Girls today don’t understand. They think that a woman can be president ... but I guess that’s thanks to my generation. We fought to make it so easy to them.”
After the rally in Philadelphia, Clinton and Kaine will set off on their inaugural bus through cities in Pennsylvania and Ohio. There in the economically depressed Rust belt cities, they will pitch their economic vision at a factory in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, a farmer’s market in Harrisburg, and high school in Youngstown, among other stop.
Former president Bill Clinton and Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton, will also join for segments of the tour.
In a radio interview with Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump declared that if he is elected president, he will allow police to have access to military-assault gear that was banned from use by local law enforcement after civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, drew attention to the militarization of American police departments.
Referring to the 1033 program, Clarke described the service that transferred billions in military hardware to local law enforcement and “allows police agencies to obtain military surplus protective gear - things like ballistic shields, ballistic helmets, equipment to keep them and their communities safe.”
President Barack Obama signed an executive order in May 2015 limiting and prohibiting certain types of equipment from being used in the program, including tracked tanks and firearms that shoot .50-caliber ammunition - the executive order does not prohibit the distribution of protective gear.
“Can we anticipate... in the first 100 [days] that you’ll rescind that Obama order?” Clarke asked.
“I would do that in a heartbeat,” Trump responded. “I thought it was ridiculous and I think the whole concept is ridiculous of what they did. And I mean, all of a sudden, people are gonna start saying, ‘Oh, now we feel much better, because they don’t have protection’ because that; basically what you’re saying, in a form, but absolutely, 100% yes.”
After a relatively short program - only a little more than half an hour - Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have concluded their rally in Philadelphia, walking off stage to the looping chorus of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
Hillary Clinton on making America great again:
I think it’s interesting that Donald Trump wants to ‘Make America Great Again’ - he doesn’t make a thing in America except bankruptcies!
“I don’t know any founder, no matter how strong they were, how smart they were, who believed that only they could solve our problems,” HIllary Clinton says, comparing Donald Trump’s assertion during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week that “I alone” can fix the problems that the country faces.
“I’m not satisfied with the status quo - I’m not just telling you that everything is peachy-keen,” Clinton continues. “I’m telling you that we’ve done a lot of work, but we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’re gonna make sure that everyone is included!”
“Donald Trump talked for 75 minutes and did not offer one solution. In fact, his speech - his whole convention - seemed more about insulting me than about helping the American people.”
Hillary Clinton, after encouraging the 5,200 people in attendance to vote for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket in Pennsylvania this year, goes over the week-long convention that just concluded last night with her history-making acceptance speech.
“This has been such an invigorating and exciting week,” Clinton says. “I don’t know about you, but I stayed up really late last night. It was just so hard to go to sleep!”
“I take deeply and with great humility the responsibility that this campaign imposes on us,” Clinton says. “There is no doubt in my mind that every election in our democracy is so important, in its own way, but I certainly can’t think of an election that’s as important as this one in my lifetime,” Clinton continues, noting the “stark contrast” between the tickets.
“As of tomorrow, we have 100 days to make our case to America!” Clinton says. “So what better place to kick it off than in Philadelphia?”
Hillary Clinton takes the stage in Philadelphia
In the first general-election event of her campaign, Hillary Clinton has taken the stage at Temple University here in Philadelphia.
“You know a little something about history - and about making history - and I am so grateful to everyone in this city who pulled such a great convention together, who were so gracious, welcoming and hospitable,” Clinton says, thanking the people of the City of Brotherly Love for their hospitality.
Updated
Tim Kaine, on the Republican National Convention:
The Republican convention was like a twisted and negative tour. It wasn’t a tour of this country - it was like a tour of Donald Trump’s mind.
Updated
Tim Kaine speaks at Clinton campaign rally in Philadelphia
Virginia senator Tim Kaine has made his first official campaign stop as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, appearing with Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia more than an hour behind schedule.
Donald Trump has said that his first general-election television advertisement would go up immediately following the conventions - is this it?
In Hillary Clinton's America - things get worse. #TrumpPence16 pic.twitter.com/WdHbnhhCbW
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
“Behind the glitter lies this stark truth: in Hillary Clinton’s America, things get worse,” a sever voiceover intones.
“Under her dishonest plan, taxes keep rising, terrorism spreads, Washington insiders remain in control. Americans losing their jobs, homes and hope.”
But “in Donald Trump’s America, people are put back to work. Our families are safe, the America Dream achievable again. Change that makes America great again.”
The message ends with the standard campaign disclosure: “I’m Donald Trump, and I approve this message.”
Kaine accused of flip-flopping on abortion
Virginia senator Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, is facing accusations that he flipped his position on federal abortion coverage since joining Hillary Clinton’s ticket.
Asked in an interview on CNN this morning for his position on the Hyde amendment, which bans federal Medicaid dollars for abortion, Kaine said, “I have been for the Hyde amendment and I haven’t changed my position on that.”
But that appeared to conflict with claims the Clinton campaign made this week that Kaine would support Clinton’s efforts to repeal Hyde. On Sunday, Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager, told CNN, “He has said that he will stand with Secretary Clinton to defend a woman’s right to choose, to repeal the Hyde amendment. Voters can be 100% confident that Tim Kaine is going to fight to protect a woman’s right to choose.”
Clinton spokesman @JesseFFerguson tells me @TimKaine's commitment to stand w/ Hillary on repealing the Hyde amendment "was made privately."
— Edward Mejia Davis (@TeddyDavisCNN) July 26, 2016
Clinton has called for ending Hyde more forcefully than any presidential candidate in memory. She has made a repeal effort the centerpiece of her stance on abortion rights. Her team has said that Kaine is not flip-flopping, but distinguishing between his privately held beliefs and his role as Clinton’s running mate.
A practicing Catholic, Kaine has found himself in this position before. He opposes the death penalty, but declined many times as governor of Virginia to commute capital sentences to life without parole. Kaine has also said he personally opposes abortion, but he supports a woman’s right to make her own decision. His voting record in the senate has an approval rating of 100% from Planned Parenthood.
“The senator is not personally for repeal of the Hyde Amendment,” a spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal. “But as he’s made clear, he is committed to carrying out Secretary Clinton’s agenda.”
Anti-abortion groups, though, are having none of it.
“The attempt at deception continues,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B Anthony List, an anti-abortion political action committee, said. “Kaine’s charade on abortion is getting old and he’s only been on the ticket for a few days.”
Federal court strikes down North Carolina voter ID law
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a North Carolina law that required voters have photo identification in order to vote, finding that the law was “passed with racially discriminatory intent.”
The three-judge panel also unanimously rolled back changes to North Carolina law that made it either more difficult or impossible for voters to vote early, register to vote on Election Day, vote outside of their assigned precinct or to preregister to vote.
“We can only conclude that the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the challenged provisions of the law with discriminatory intent,” Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote for the majority.
As we wait for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine to begin their rally in Philadelphia this afternoon, here’s a classified post from a New Yorker who is attempting to sell their vote on Craiglist. The price? An air conditioner.
“It’s hot out and I’m undecided so I’m selling my 2016 presidential vote for an air conditioner!! Vote will be awarded for newest unit with highest BTUs,” the poster wrote. Calling the sale “a chance to change my undecided, independently registered, mind without linking to any long articles I probably wouldn’t read,” the poster calls the sale a “great opportunity” for supporters of Clinton, Donald Trump, Green party candidate Jill Stein or even “these other weirdos.”
“Excited about my entrepreneurial spirit? I can vote libertarian!!” the person continued. “Sad that in the richest country in the world working people can’t afford basic freon? I’ll write in Sanders!!! Oppose Haiti’s minimum wage reaching an unreasonable $0.64 an hour// $5 a day? I’m with her!!!”
An 10,000 BTU Frigidaire air conditioner costs $313.59 on Amazon.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine speak at Philadelphia rally
Watch it live:
Both Clinton and Trump to receive classified intelligence briefings
Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are set to begin receiving classified intelligence briefings as soon as this week, as is traditional upon the official nomination of both major-party candidates, despite accusations against both that they cannot be trusted with such information.
“Now why are they giving her briefings?” Trump asked the New York Times, referring to Clinton’s use of an unsecured personal email server system during her tenure as secretary of state. “Why are these people with great knowledge of the inner workings of our country and our security, why are they giving Hillary Clinton briefings”
“Because it’s going to get revealed.”
Clinton supporters, for their part, have lobbed similar accusations against Trump.
“Donald Trump, who wants to be president of the United States, is asking one of our adversaries to engage in hacking or intelligence efforts against the United States of America to affect an election,” Leon Panetta, a former defense secretary and CIA director, told delegates during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday evening, in reference to Trump’s suggestion that morning that Russia hack into Clinton’s email servers.
Senate minority leader Harry Reid went even further, calling for intelligence agents tasked with briefing Trump to fake their information, lest his penchant for loose talk reveal it to the world.
“I would suggest to the intelligence agencies: If you’re forced to brief this guy, don’t tell him anything, just fake it, because this man is dangerous,” Reid told the Huffington Post. “Fake it, pretend you’re doing a briefing, but you can’t give the guy any information.”
Video: One of the more popular videos from last night’s DNC: “Bully,” in which Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is called, you guessed it, a bully.
Actor Steve Guttenberg, who appeared in the first four Police Academy films, was “moved” by Bill Clinton’s anecdote during his address at the Democratic National Convention this week in which he described a marathon binge-session of all six of the films with daughter Chelsea.
“It was a fun, meaningful story about the fun side of parenting,” Guttenberg told Deadline. “But I actually saw him a few years ago, and another reason that story rang so true is that he was telling the truth… We were talking, and he was saying he was having a couple of days that were challenging.”
“And I knew what it was about at the time, it was in the papers,” he continued. “And he told me ‘I gotta tell you, I sat down with Chelsea and I watched all six Police Academy movies.’”
“It was such a delightful surprise to me,” Guttenberg continued, “but I couldn’t help but think to myself, ‘you’ve got the most important job on the planet, and you’re taking time out to watch Police Academy?’ But years later I’ve come to understand it’s very important when you’re driving at 100 miles an hour to pull over and refuel and oil up the gears. It really moved me to know that with such an important job, he still was mindful of how important that it. I think that’s a requisite quality in a great person.”
Clinton said in his address that while he and wife Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, rarely disagreed on parenting, there was one occasion when he “took a couple of days off with Chelsea to watch all six Police Academy movies back to back.”
After a Washington Post reporter was patted down and refused entry to one of his rallies, Indiana governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence told radio host Hugh Hewitt that he plans on persuading the campaign to loosen up its ban on reporters, which so far has extended to include journalists from the Washington Post, Politico, the Daily Beast, the National Review and, on at least one occasion, the Guardian.
“It’s not in the American tradition - will you argue with him to lift that ban, because reporters are part of the game and we shouldn’t ban, Republicans should not be afraid of reporters. Will you do that?” Hewitt asked.
After dismissing the actions of his security team as the overzealousness of “local folks,” Pence, a former radio personality, told Hewitt that he has “a long history, as you well know, Hugh, of advocating and defending for a free and independent press.”
“We’re going to have these conversations internally, and I fully expect in the next 100 days, we’re going to continue to be available to the media, whether they’re fair or unfair.”
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee donor information hacked
Federal law enforcement is investigating another cyber intrusion against an arm of the Democratic party, after an apparent breach of information security at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) that may have been intended to steal information about the party’s donors.
According to Reuters, the FBI is investigating the breach as potentially linked to the hacking of email servers at the Democratic National Committee that led to the resignation of the DNC’s chair and has sparked speculation that Russian state actors breached the party’s systems in order to boost the electoral chances of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Neither Russia’s involvement in that hack nor motives behind the breach have been confirmed by law enforcement.
The data exposed during the hack has not yet been revealed, although the DCCC records credit card information from its donors, as well as names, billing information and email addresses. The DCCC raises money for Democratic congressional candidates.
Donald Trump is launching an early-morning tweetstorm against people who spoke against him at the Democratic National Convention this week, including verified billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"Little" Michael Bloomberg, who never had the guts to run for president, knows nothing about me. His last term as Mayor was a disaster!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
If Michael Bloomberg ran again for Mayor of New York, he wouldn't get 10% of the vote - they would run him out of town! #NeverHillary
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Although one might assume that, both being members of the Manhattan superrich, Trump and Bloomberg would be on good terms, the New York Times reports that the two have never been close, with Bloomberg’s philanthropic largesse compared to Trump’s relative stinginess. Minus several games of golf and a friendship between their daughters, they’re not exactly friends.
Although Trump did, during Bloomberg’s third term, compliment him on the job he was doing as mayor:
Mike Bloomberg is doing a great job as Mayor of New York City. Ray Kelly is a great Police Commissioner. @MikeBloomberg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2012
The chief strategist of the Republican National Committee has accused Hillary Clinton of plagiarism in her Democratic nomination acceptance speech when the former secretary of state paraphrased a line that is frequently - but inaccurately - attributed to French diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville.
#plagarism alert @hillaryclinton at @DemConvention "America is great bc America is good," de Tocqueville "America is great bc she is good"
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) July 29, 2016
Plagiarism has been on the minds of Republican figures in the weeks since would-be first lady Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention, in which she lifted paragraphs from Michelle Obama’s address to the Democratic National Convention eight years ago.
Hillary Clinton described Donald Trump in her acceptance speech last night as “a man you can bait with a tweet,” a label the Republican presidential nominee cheerfully lived up to in a post-DNC flurry of tweets - many of which rang slightly false for those who have read Trump’s Twitter timeline for the past 13 months.
Hillary's refusal to mention Radical Islam, as she pushes a 550% increase in refugees, is more proof that she is unfit to lead the country.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Our way of life is under threat by Radical Islam and Hillary Clinton cannot even bring herself to say the words.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Hillary will never reform Wall Street. She is owned by Wall Street!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Hillary's vision is a borderless world where working people have no power, no jobs, no safety.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Hillary's wars in the Middle East have unleashed destruction, terrorism and ISIS across the world.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Granted, this last one might not have been tweeted by a staffer - at least, a staffer with spellcheck.
No one has worse judgement than Hillary Clinton - corruption and devastation follows her wherever she goes.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
It's over ...
Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s campaign live blog, our first since the opening gavel of the Republican national convention nearly two weeks ago to not center on a party convention – and the first of the general election campaign ... There are 101 days until election day, days that will be filled with primetime debates and attack ads and stump speeches and town halls and minor scandals and October surprises and who knows what else – and we’ll be there for all of it.
Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for president last night “with humility, determination and boundless confidence in America’s promise,” in a ground-shifting address to the nation that emphasized the positive direction of American democracy in contrast to the dark portrait painted by her now-official general election opponent Donald Trump last week.
After being introduced by daughter Chelsea – as well as a video moderated by Morgan Freeman – Clinton declared that the nation was “at a moment of reckoning” in the challenges posed by both external forces and the rhetoric of her general election opponent. “Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart, bonds of trust and respect are fraying,” Clinton said.
Dwelling little on the historic nature of her nomination, Clinton focused on uniting the bifurcated Democratic party, even reaching out to thank primary election opponent Bernie Sanders for engaging young people in the political process, and denouncing Trump as a threat to American democracy and security.
“Imagine him, if you dare, imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons,” said Clinton.
“He wants us to fear the future and fear each other,” Clinton said of Trump. “Well, a great Democratic president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came up with the perfect rebuke to Trump more than 80 years ago, during a much more perilous time: ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’”
The most powerful moment of the final night of the Democratic national convention, however, arguably came an hour earlier, when the father of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq challenged Trump to square his proposed ban on Muslim immigration with the US constitution.
“Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future,” said Khizr Khan. “Let me ask you: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy.”
Khan pulled his copy from his breast pocket and held it aloft, in a moment that left many in the arena and at home in tears.
Now, some housekeeping: with the primaries officially concluded, let’s go over the candidates’ schedules for the next few days.
Hillary Clinton will hold her first rally as a general-election candidate at Temple University’s McGonigle Hall here in Philadelphia at midday today, followed by an “organizing event” – its distinction from a campaign rally still evading us after 18 months of covering this campaign – with vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at 8.30pm. This weekend she and Kaine will hit the road for a bus tour taking in Pittsburgh, Columbus and Youngstown, Ohio. The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino will be there for all of it.
Donald Trump will hold two rallies today: one in Colorado Springs at 2pm MT and another in Denver at 7pm MT, while his running mate, Indiana governor Mike Pence, will address a crowd in Lima, Ohio, at 7pm ET. Josiah Hesse will be in Colorado monitoring Trump, his responses to Clinton’s speech, and the continuing fallout from his comments seeming to incite Russia to hack his opponent’s emails.
Got it? Good – now on with the show...
Updated