Today in Campaign 2016
- A risqué photo shoot splashed across the front page of the New York Post this week has drawn new attention to gaps in Melania Trump’s immigration status when she first came to the United States.
- Responding to reports that she may have illegally worked in the US in the mid-nineties in violation of her visa, Melania Trump tweeted a statement declaring that she has “at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country.”
- In an article penned for Glamour, President Barack Obama proudly brandished the label of “feminist,” writing that he felt cheered as the father of two young women that “this is an extraordinary time to be a woman.”
- In a radio interview on Chicago’s Morning Answer radio program, would-be congressman Paul Nehlen suggested that the US should consider full deportation of all Muslims in the country. “The question is, why do we have Muslims in the country?” Nehlen asked.
- Lapsed Republican strategist Liz Mair spoke truth to power on CNN last night, boiling down Donald Trump’s campaign strategy to “being a loudmouthed dick.”
- Sasha Obama, the younger daughter of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, is officially roughing it on her family’s summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard: she’s working shifts at a tourist-friendly seafood restaurant in the hamlet of Oak Bluffs.
- House speaker Paul Ryan is trying to have it both ways on Donald Trump’s feud with the family of an Army captain killed in the line of duty, telling a Wisconsin radio station that Trump’s comments attacking the family were “beyond the pale” and that his endorsement is not a “blank check,” but continues to endorse Trump.
- And our favorite tweet of the election:
What is she thinking? pic.twitter.com/rFufrgMb
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) August 10, 2012
The answer: Move money to Georgia and Arizona.
Don’t quite understand the Clinton strategy to slow down/stop ads in Colo and Va. Even if far ahead, why take foot off the gas?
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) August 4, 2016
By now everyone knows, the DNC was basically Coachella for liberal politicos. And just like the real Coachella, the stars have way better seats than you.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has released a behind-the-scenes snapshot from the convention featuring POTUS (past and present), Uncle Joe, Meryl Streep, America Ferrera, Lena Dunham, Katy Perry and a fully-clothed Orlando Bloom.
John Kasich’s chief strategist:
I remember traveling with John McCain to Indiana to campaign for, several times, for a desperate Mike Pence. Shame on him. #Karma
— John Weaver (@JWGOP) August 4, 2016
Scenes from the Trump rally in Maine:
Protestors stand silently and hold up pocket copies of the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/yVzbRMnZX1
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 4, 2016
Donald Trump campaigns in Portland, Maine
Watch it live here:
Paul Ryan's primary challenger suggests total Muslim deportation
In a radio interview on Chicago’s Morning Answer radio program, would-be congressman Paul Nehlen suggested that the US should consider full deportation of all Muslims in the country.
“The question is, why do we have Muslims in the country?” Nehlen asked.
Donald Trump, who earlier this week declined to endorse House speaker Paul Ryan in his primary race against Nehlen, lauded the challenger earlier this week after Nehlen complimented Trump on his handling of a week-long feud with the family of a US Army captain who was killed in action in Iraq.
“Circumstances have clearly changed since Captain Khan’s death,” Nehlen said, of Humayun Khan, who was awarded the Bronze Star after waving off the troops under his command from a truck that later exploded, claiming his life. “But let’s be clear: Muslim Americans have been fighting on both sides of the war. In fact, more Muslim Americans, 20, have been killed since 9/11 fighting for Isis than have been killed fighting for America.”
“If the break point is sharia, and Islam is the only major religion that encourages lying,” Nehlen said, referring to the term taqiyya, which refers to concealing one’s religion when facing persecution, which has since been misinterpreted by anti-Muslim polemicists as proof that Muslims cannot be trusted.
“If they lie, how do you vet something like that?” Nehlen asked. “The question is, why do we have Muslims in the country? How can you possibly vet somebody who lies?”
When asked whether he was proposing a mass deportation of all Muslims from the US, Nehlen was open to the idea.
“I’m suggesting we have a discussion about it, that’s for sure. I am absolutely suggesting we figure out - here’s what we should be doing. We should be monitoring every mosque.”
Bill Clinton’s balloon obsession continues:
Happy Birthday, @POTUS! I would’ve sent real balloons 🎈🎈, but we used them all last week. pic.twitter.com/D57ZzSPblX
— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) August 4, 2016
It’s the president’s birthday:
An 11-year-old boy asked Mike Pence a toughie during a rally this morning, asking the Indiana governor whether he’s on the ticket to “soften up” Trump’s policies and statements.
“I’ve been watching the news lately and I’ve been noticing that you’ve been kind of softening up on Mr. Trump’s policies and words. Is this going to be your role in the administration?” the boy asked during a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Pence laughed uncomfortably before responding that “differences in style” shouldn’t be misread as “differences in conviction.”
Steve LaTourette, who served nine terms representing Ohio in Congress before retiring out of frustration with partisan gridlock, has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer, his former chief of staff said on Thursday. Dino Disanto said LaTourette died on Wednesday night at his home in McLean, Virginia, surrounded by his family. He was 62.
The moderate Republican was elected to Congress in the GOP wave of 1994 when the party seized control of the House after decades in the minority. He was a close confidant of former House speaker John Boehner, who described the lawmaker on Thursday as “one of the most honest and loyal souls I ever had the privilege of knowing”.
“With his passing, I have lost a friend, and Ohio has lost a dedicated servant,” Boehner said in a statement.
LaTourette represented north-east Ohio’s 19th congressional district and then the 14th congressional district from 1995 to 2013. He was a Lake County prosecutor before his election to the House. A member of the powerful House appropriations committee, LaTourette was a supporter of infrastructure spending, Amtrak and congressional set-asides known as earmarks.
Seen from a very classy Donald Trump rally in Maine:
Man looks at me and says "you look like a Hillary girl. Bet you'll get kicked out. You like electricity? I'd like to see you jump around."
— Ema O'Connor (@o_ema) August 4, 2016
House speaker Paul Ryan is trying to have it both ways on Donald Trump’s feud with the family of an Army captain killed in the line of duty, telling a Wisconsin radio station that Trump’s comments attacking the family were “beyond the pale” and that his endorsement is not a “blank check,” but continues to endorse Trump.
In the interview with WTAQ, Ryan was asked if there would “ever be a bridge too far” for him to continue endorsing Trump’s presidential bid, but declined to get into specifics. “I have always said of course there are going to be moments - I am not going to get into speculation or hypotheticals. None of these things are ever blank checks. That goes with any situation in any race.”
When asked whether Trump’s remarks about the parents of Humayun Khan, who was awarded the Bronze Star after he was killed in a truck bombing while serving in Iraq, Ryan continued to hedge.
“Look, I already made my point clear on the Gold Star family, which is you don’t do that to Gold Star families. You do nothing but honor Gold Star families. And if anyone earned the right to say whatever they want to express themselves, it is Gold Star families. And I put out a statement basically to that effect.”
“Again, I thought the comments with respect to this Gold Star family and Ms. Khan in particular were beyond the pale and I called it out,” Ryan insisted. “I actually put out a statement to that effect. And I’ve done that in the past, the Judge Curiel comments. So I don’t like doing this, I don’t want to do this, but I do this in order to defend Republicans and our principles so that people don’t make the mistake of thinking that we think like that.”
Donald Trump’s latest attack ad depicts Hillary Clinton as Ms. pac Man, gobbling up emails like ghosts:
Opinion: A Trump trainwreck is the only thing that will save the Republican Party
Republicans face a lot of difficult decisions this year, but for the party to come back strong after Donald Trump’s divisive candidacy – for it to keep its brand as the free-market, democracy-loving, opportunity-focused alternative to the Democrats – the least-worst option is a major loss in the presidential race.
By selecting a nominee that does not reflect the usual fiscal policies, a victory for Trump will mean a shift in the party’s focus. Even if the rest of the GOP holds fast to the platform or to traditional conservative values, the president’s policies always reshape the party.
If you have ever promoted a local candidate to voters, you know this is true – the public looks at the top of the ticket first and judges the party by that person’s views. Many Trump supporters will see his win as a referendum on their policies and will work to make the party reflect that. Fellow Republicans will either need to accept that or leave.
We have no idea what a Trump presidency will look like, but based on his campaign, it will be filled with outrageous gaffes, inarticulate interviews on policy and offensive media blitzes focused on non-issues. Trump will most likely lose minorities and women, creating a wider divide that the GOP must bridge in the future. Many young voters will continue to associate Trump with the party long after he leaves office. This would only further damage Republicans and set us up for heavy losses in 2018.
Not to mention the party will continue to hemorrhage its best and brightest. Candidates, staff and volunteers have already walked away from Trump, and there’s no question it will keep happening. If Trump gains a greater control of the party, these people might even be forced out.
But let’s say Trump doesn’t win and Hillary Clinton claims the White House. If Trump only trails her by a few points, you can bet he will blame the Republicans who voted their conscience. Or he’ll kick up dirt over the “rigged” system, as he has already alluded to. Trump supporters in the party will go on a witch hunt, looking for anyone who acted disloyally to the Republican nominee. That in-fighting could destroy the party.
Sasha Obama, the younger daughter of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, is officially roughing it on her family’s summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard: she’s working shifts at a tourist-friendly seafood restaurant in the hamlet of Oak Bluffs.
The 15-year-old White House resident, who is going by her full name Natasha while working at Nancy’s Restaurant, is busing tables, working the cash register and prepping the restaurant ahead of the lunchtime rush hour, according to the Boston Herald, which reports that the younger Obama daughter’s customers include her nearby Secret Service detail.
The first family has vacationed in Martha’s Vineyard for years, and are reportedly chummy with Nancy’s owner Joe Moujabber, explaining how Sasha Obama was able to score a job during the high tourist season on the Massachusetts island.
The youngest Obama apparently works the earliest shift at the 350-seat restaurant, and has been working the takeout counter during the lunch rush.
“She’s been working downstairs at takeout,” a server told the Boston Herald. “We were wondering why there were six people helping this girl, but then we found out who it was.”
Another Republican luminary has gone public with strong feelings about Donald Trump. Really, really strong feelings. He didn’t pussyfoot like Paul Ryan. He wasn’t a convention no-show like John Kasich.
Hollywood tough guy Clint Eastwood emptied both barrels in an interview with Esquire magazine, aiming squarely at those who have taken the presidential candidate to task for racism and other, well, rough edges.
“He’s said a lot of dumb things,” the actor and director said of the man who has pilloried Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, women, and the list goes on. “So have all of them. Both sides. But everybody – the press and everybody’s going, ‘Oh, well, that’s racist’, and they’re making a big hoodoo out of it.”
Eastwood’s advice to America: “Just fucking get over it. It’s a sad time in history.”
Melania Trump: I have always been in 'full compliance' with immigration laws
Responding to reports that she may have illegally worked in the US in the mid-nineties in violation of her visa, Melania Trump has tweeted a statement declaring that she has “at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country.”
“In recent days there has been a lot of inaccurate reporting and misinformation concerning my immigration status back in 1996,” Trump wrote in the statement. “Let me set the record straight: I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue. In July 2006, I proudly became a U.S. citizen. Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to live, work and raise a family in this great nation and I share my husband’s love for our country.”
Trump’s past statements regarding the need to fly back to her native Slovenia “every few months” to have her visa stamped does not square with the characterization of her work as an H-1B visa worker, which would allow her to stay in the US for up to six-year stretches without renewal, as reported by Politico.
Instead, according to immigration experts cited by Politico, Melania Trump was more likely in the US under a tourist visa, which would make employment in the US a violation of immigration law.
Updated
Perhaps our favorite tweet of this campaign*:
What is she thinking? pic.twitter.com/rFufrgMb
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) August 10, 2012
* Okay we know it’s from 2012 but come on.
Donald Trump has insisted all is well with his presidential campaign, despite his own wayward behavior and reports of unrest among staff.
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is reportedly among high-profile Republicans considering whether to mount an “intervention”. Trump told a rally in Florida, however, his campaign was “doing incredibly well. It’s never been so well united.” Campaign chair Paul Manafort told Fox News: “I’m in control of the things that the candidate wants me to control.” Reports said the campaign had reached out to Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich – vice-presidential hopefuls passed over in favor of Mike Pence – to help the candidate stay on message. Meanwhile Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, an Iraq veteran, said he will not vote for Trump.
President Obama: I'm a feminist
In an article penned for Glamour, President Barack Obama proudly brandished the label of “feminist,” writing that he felt cheered as the father of two young women that “this is an extraordinary time to be a woman.”
“One thing that makes me optimistic for them is that this is an extraordinary time to be a woman,” Obama wrote. “The progress we’ve made in the past 100 years, 50 years, and, yes, even the past eight years has made life significantly better for my daughters than it was for my grandmothers. And I say that not just as President but also as a feminist.”
Citing the women throughout his life who have influenced him - his single mother, his grandmother, first lady Michelle Obama - Obama says that being a father is the biggest influence on his feminism.
“When you’re the father of two daughters, you become even more aware of how gender stereotypes pervade our society,” Obama wrote. “You see the subtle and not-so-subtle social cues transmitted through culture. You feel the enormous pressure girls are under to look and behave and even think a certain way.”
“It’s important that their dad is a feminist,” Obama wrote of his daughters, “because now that’s what they expect of all men.”
Lapsed Republican strategist Liz Mair spoke truth to power on CNN last night, boiling down Donald Trump’s campaign strategy to “being a loudmouthed dick.”
Melania Trump's immigration story under new scrutiny
A risqué photo shoot splashed across the front page of the New York Post this week has drawn new attention to gaps in Melania Trump’s immigration status when she first came to the United States.
The official story from the Trump family is that Melania Trump - then Melania Knauss - first came to the United States from Slovenia on an H-1B visa as a model in 1996, after which she became a successful fashion model, appearing on magazine covers and eventually winning the heart of the presidential-nominee-to-be, retiring from modeling after their 2005 marriage.
But the nude photo shoot, according to the New York Post, took place in 1995, and Trump’s past statements regarding the need to fly back to her native Slovenia “every few months” to have her visa stamped does not square with the characterization of her work as an H-1B visa worker, which would allow her to stay in the US for up to six-year stretches without renewal, as reported by Politico.
“It never crossed my mind to stay here without papers,” Trump told Harper’s Bazaar in January. “Every few months you need to fly back to Europe and stamp your visa. After a few visas, I applied for a green card and got it in 2001. After the green card, I applied for citizenship. And it was a long process.”
Instead, according to immigration experts cited by Politico, Melania Trump was more likely in the US under a tourist visa, which would make employment in the US a violation of immigration law.
Colorado congressman Mike Coffman has become the first member of his party in elected office to release an explicitly anti-Donald Trump political advertisement in his campaign for reelection:
Tim Kaine addresses the National Urban League
Watch live here:
Progressive Super-Pac American Bridge 21st Century has released an advertisement targeting seven Republican candidates for senate, hoping to tie each one to the sinking rock that is Donald Trump’s candidacy:
In the ads, each one tailored to Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Joe Heck of Nevada, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania are shown announcing their support for Trump as the Republican nominee, before news reports highlight Trump’s feud with a Gold Star family.
“If ________________ won’t cut ties with Trump now, will he ever?” a voiceover concludes.
Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s campaign live blog.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s disastrous week continues, with the turmoil spreading beyond his fiefdom in Trump Tower to the Republican party at large. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a veteran of the Iraq war, told CNN he cannot support Trump in the wake of his ongoing feud with the parents of an American soldier.
“I don’t see how I get to Donald Trump anymore,” said Kinzinger, one of a growing number of Republicans to wash their hands of the candidate. “Donald Trump for me is beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politics.”
The upper levels of Republican party leadership appear to have deemed Trump persona non grata, with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, House speaker Paul Ryan and Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson declining invitations to a Trump campaign stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Friday.
But Trump’s problems extend beyond intra-party squabbling, with a flurry of polls in battleground states showing him falling further behind Hillary Clinton than ever. Trump is down 11 points in Pennsylvania, nine points in Michigan and an astounding 15 points in New Hampshire, each a state his campaign has designated a must-win.
We leave you – for the moment – with this: The top trending question on Google yesterday was: “Is Trump dropping out of the elections?” Not today, it seems:
- Trump will hold a rally at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine, at 3pm ET, his sole event of the day.
- VP pick Mike Pence, on the other hand, has his work cut out for him, with a 10am ET town hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina, followed by a 3pm ET town hall at the Founders Inn Spa in Virginia Beach and a rally at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott in Norfolk, Virginia at 7pm ET.
- Clinton will hold an organizing event at a Las Vegas union hall at 12.30pm PT (3.30pm ET).
- Virginia senator Tim Kaine will attend a National Urban League conference in Baltimore, all day.
Got it? Good. On with the show ...
Updated
