Today in Campaign 2016
With a five-state thrashing by the Republican frontrunner and a close-to-closeout finish by the Democratic frontrunner, last night’s so-called “Acela primary” was a win for candidates who were already winning. But with a tepid response to what was billed as a major policy speech on international relations and the surprise announcement by a Republican hopeful that he had selected a potential running mate before winning even half of the delegates he needs to clinch the nomination, a quintet of primary elections paled in comparison to the flash of today’s news from the campaign trail.
Out with the old news cycle, in with the new, right?
Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the campaign trail today:
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Donald Trump promised to save “humanity itself” this morning, arguing he would “shake the rust off America’s foreign policy” if elected president with an unashamedly self-interested approach to world affairs.
The businessman tried to claim the mantle of Ronald Reagan as he made claims to be developing a foreign policy strategy that would “endure for several generations” by seeking peace through strength. - Speaking before an invited audience at Washington’s Mayflower Hotel, the billionaire celebrity departed from his usual speaking style by relying on an autocue and prepared remarks to outline his alternative approach. “I will return us to a timeless principle. Always put the interest of the American people and American security above all else,” said Trump, claiming he would “replace randomness with purpose ... chaos with peace”.
- Not to be outdown after batting zero for six in the past two weeks of presidential primaries, Ted Cruz hinted at a “major announcement” this morning, which was later revealed to be the selection of a running mate: Hewlett-Packard CEO and seventh-place New Hampshire primary finisher Carly Fiorina.
- Cruz told a crowd of hundreds of supporters in Indianapolis: “After a great deal of time and thought, after a great deal of consideration and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that if I am nominated, I will run on a ticket with my vice-presidential nominee Carly Fiorina.” The move comes as an attempt to shift the national conversation the day after Trump’s overwhelming win in the Republican primary in five east coast states and only six days before Indiana’s crucial primary. “Today I am very proud and very humbled and honored to announce that I have accepted Senator Ted Cruz’s offer,” Fiorina said, before breaking out into a lullaby:
- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has begun laying off hundreds of campaign staffers after a flurry of disappointing finishes in the party’s primaries in the past two weeks. Although the extent of the cuts is unclear, they largely affect field staffers who have worked on now-finished state primary campaigns.“We’re 80% of the way through the caucuses and primaries and we make adjustments as we go along. This is a process that we’ve done before of right-sizing the campaign as we move through the calendar,” Sanders campaign communications director Michael Briggs said in a statement.
That’s it for news from the campaign trail today - tune in tomorrow for more up-to-the-second news from the tail end of a fascinating presidential primary campaign.
Now that it’s increasingly likely that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will be the two major candidates for president in the general election, voters are once again left without a true anti-war candidate, or even a decisive break from the last decade and a half of disastrous foreign policy.
We already know there’s barely ever been a military engagement that Clinton didn’t like. And Trump confirmed on Wednesday in his “big” foreign policy speech that he will be a chaotic and unpredictable aggressor whose opinion changes with the wind. When Bernie Sanders leaves the race, there will no longer be a credible voice saying that more bombing is not necessarily the answer to solving all the problems in the Middle East, many of which were caused by bombing in the first place.
Trump started off his speech on Wednesday by reading from a teleprompter in a rambling and incoherent manner, declaring that Obama has “depleted” our military (false), the Iran deal was the “worst agreement” (why?) and that we don’t support Israel, “a force for justice and peace” (absurd) – hallmark Republican conventional wisdom talking points.
He then did say some things that suggested he would not look to immediately start new wars in the Middle East and elsewhere, but it’s hard to take anything he says on the subject seriously. He swung wildly from one position to its opposite on multiple occasions, contradicting himself at various times from comments he made years to mere minutes prior.
For example, he said that bombing Libya was “a disaster”, but he then questioned why we aren’t still bombing Libya right now. He claimed that “unlike other candidates for the presidency, war and aggression will not be my first instinct.” Yet he’s bragged in the recent past about wanting to bring back waterboarding, or “much worse”, killing terrorists’ entire families, and would not be opposed to using nuclear bombs, even in Europe. He remarked that there’s “too much destruction out there – too many destructive weapons,” but just five minutes earlier in the speech, he said the US’s nuclear arsenal was in dire need of “renewal”.
For a speech purporting to challenge Washington’s accepted wisdom, there was much that was familiar about Donald Trump’s first big foreign policy address, not least the customary certainty of its delivery.
A call to challenge radical Islam through “philosophical struggle” as well as military force might even have come from the lips of Barack Obama. Certainly no mainstream Republican would ever disagree with the somewhat motherhood-and-apple-pie exhortation for US presidents to view the world “through the clear lens of American interests”.
But how closely the speech stands up to detailed scrutiny is already the subject of fierce political debate. Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state put up to respond on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign, claimed she had never seen so many “simplistic slogans, contradictions and misstatements” in one speech. Trump’s supporters argue instead that he was at his strongest, skewering the inconsistencies of the Democratic establishment’s approach under Obama and Clinton.
Here are 10 passages that suggest Trump may instead be doing what all politicians like doing best: having his cake and eating it.
Carly Fiorina has released her first fundraising email as Ted Cruz’s hypothetical running mate, telling supporters of the Texas senator that if the Republican party nominates frontrunner Donald Trump as its presidential nominee, “we would be guaranteeing four years of Hillary Clinton in the White House.”
Calling such a nomination “a disaster for conservatives,” Fiorina writes that the Cruz she has become acquainted with as a campaign surrogate is not the candidate “the media” will tell them about, citing his fanatical devotion to the film The Princess Bride, among other qualifications.
“Ted Cruz is a constitutional conservative who has made enemies in both parties - because he’s dared to stand up to bipartisan corruption in Washington,” Fiorina writes. “He has fought tirelessly to change the system. And I know, if elected, he will bring back American jobs, protect our constitutional freedoms, and defend our nation.”
In a rally in a cavernous basketball arena in Indianapolis, Donald Trump welcomed the endorsement of legendary Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight. Hailing Knight, the only coach to both have a perfect season in NCAA Division I basketball and throw a chair on the court in the middle of the game, as “a winner,” Trump tried shore up his support in the Hoosier State just hours after Ted Cruz announced Carly Fiorina as his running mate.
The speech provided a preview of a general election Trump. The frontrunner focused mostly on trade and while he derided Cruz as “lyin’ Ted,” didn’t go off color or deviate too far from the boundaries of good taste in the Trump era of American politics.
Instead of a picking fight with Fiorina, a longtime nemesis, he instead dismissed her and Cruz as irrelevant. He claimed the Texas senator is “first presidential candidate in history of this country who is mathematically eliminated from becoming president who has chosen a vice president. I wish him well but they are not going to do it for you.”
Indiana votes next Tuesday and Trump has maintained a steady lead of almost ten points over Cruz in the Hoosier State.
More on Cruz’s campaign co-chair in Virginia:
Black was also recently elected to be a Virginia delegate at the Republican national committee’s convention this summer. He is one of the most vocal social conservatives in Virginia’s general assembly, and has drawn national attention for his opposition to abortion and gay rights. The former Vietnam war veteran and military lawyer dismayed Republican leaders in 2003 by sending fellow lawmakers small, plastic likenesses of a fetus to underscore his opposition toward abortion.
The state senator raised eyebrows in 2014 when he sent a letter to Assad praising him. It was posted on the Syrian president’s Facebook page.
Black is expected to meet with Assad during his visit, the Syrian newspaper al-Watan reported.
Syria’s conflict began with mostly peaceful protests in 2011, but a brutal government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency eventually plunged the country into a full-blown civil war. The fighting has killed more than 250,000 people, according to the United Nations, which stopped tracking casualties several months ago.
Black has said Assad protected Christians and fought terrorist groups. On his Twitter account, Black said he supported Assad because he is stemming the growth of Isis.
“If Assad falls, Isis will secure Syria and march on Europe,” the tweet said.
Last year, Black said the Virginia capitol police alerted him to a threat against him by Isis for his support of Assad. The state senator was featured in a magazine published by the group.
Black posted a link on Twitter on Wednesday to article written by an Iranian state-run TV news agency, which quoted Black as saying the Syrian civil war would “come to an end if the US stops training terrorists in Jordan, Saudi Arabia” and other countries.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Black “is entitled to his views, but they do not reflect this administration’s policy on Syria”.
Black met with a Lebanese Christian politician allied with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, which is fighting alongside Assad’s forces in Syria, the TV news agency reported.
Both the Iranian state-run TV news agency and the official Syrian news agency erroneously referred to Black as a US senator.
Word of Black’s travels drew mockery from political opponents.
“Doesn’t surprise me one bit,” said Dick Saslaw, the Virginia senate minority leader. He added that Black shouldn’t be trying to meddle in foreign affairs and said Republicans “would be raising holy hell if the situation was reversed”.
Texas senator Ted Cruz’s campaign co-chair in Virginia, state senator Dick Black, has reportedly traveled to Syria and vowed to support for the government of Bashar al-Assad.
“I will be Syria’s voice,” Black said, according to Syrian state media.
Cruz’s campaign has been less trigger-happy than his rivals for the Republican nomination, cautioning against replacing the Assad regime in Syria. “If we are to defeat our enemies we need to be clear-eyed that toppling a government and allowing radical Islamic terrorists to take over a nation is not benefiting our national security interests,” Cruz said at a Republican Jewish Coalition forum in December. “Putting ISIS or Al Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood in charge of yet another state in the Middle East is not benefiting our national security.”
Bernie Sanders’ campaign has released a full statement regarding its downsizing of campaign staffers:
“Our campaign has now completed 80 percent of the primaries and caucuses. We look forward to winning here in Indiana next Tuesday and in the few remaining states and territories holding primaries and caucuses in May and June. That means that we no longer require many of the loyal and dedicated state and national support staffers who helped us in places like New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and other states where the nominating contests have been completed.
“We will continue to have a strong and dedicated staff of more than 300 workers who are going to help us win in California and other contests still to come.
“This campaign believes that we have a path toward victory and we’re going to marshal our resources to do everything we can to win the Democratic nomination.”
Donald Trump drew ridicule from social media, news outlets and even the White House on Wednesday after incorrectly pronouncing the word “Tanzania” during a major foreign policy speech. Trump made a reference to the African nation while talking about the 1998 bombing of the American embassy there. Calling it “Tan-ZAY-nee-uh”, Trump appeared unaware of his error.
*mic drop*
I predict that the latest @CarlyFiorina merger will be as successful as her last one.
— Barbara Boxer (@BarbaraBoxer) April 27, 2016
Trump responds:
Agreed! pic.twitter.com/biyldP3CIw
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2016
Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has begun laying off campaign staff after a flurry of disappointing finishes in the party’s primaries in the past two weeks, according to a report from Politico.
Although the extent of the cuts is unclear, they largely affect field staffers who have worked on now-finished state primary campaigns. Rather than being reassigned to upcoming primary states, the report says, they are being let go.
“We’re 80% of the way through the caucuses and primaries and we make adjustments as we go along. This is a process that we’ve done before of right-sizing the campaign as we move through the calendar,” Sanders campaign communications director Michael Briggs told Politico.
At least one Broadway star has deemed Carly Fiorina’s lullaby worthy of the Great White Way...
CARLY SINGS. PUT HER IN CHICAGO STAT.
— Andy Mientus (@andymientus) April 27, 2016
Updated
Carly Fiorina: 'It is time - we must take our country back!'
“A president, in order to fix what ailes us, must restore our constitutional balance of power,” Fiorina said. “Ours was intended to be a citizen government, and now we must restore and a President Ted Cruz would restore.”
“Our power belongs in the hands of our citizens and communities and the states of this great nation. What is at stake now is the future of our nation - the potential of our nation. Will this be a nation where every American, regardless of their circumstances, has the opportunity that comes from their god-given gifts? Will we be a nation that is indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, or not?”
“Our country is being taken away from us,” Fiorina continued. “They are taking away not only what we treasure about our nation, but what has made this nation great, what has made this national a place of possibility for so many people.”
“It is time - we must take our country back!” she concluded.
Thank you, internet.
here you go internet pic.twitter.com/tnHQuJSaFH (via @politico)
— Michael Rusch (@weeddude) April 27, 2016
“The character of Ted Cruz has been revealed over time and under pressure and in the pattern of decency,” Carly Fiorina says.
“He is a principled fighter, he is a man of character and conviction, and he understands the importance of the constitution to the future of this nation.”
Carly Fiorina just sang a lullaby. We promise to find a Vine ASAP.
Ted Cruz introduces Carly Fiorina as 'the next vice president of the United States'
On a dais filled to the brim with Indiana women of all ages, Texas senator Ted Cruz welcomed his potential vice presidential running mate Carly Fiorina to speak to a crowd as a member of his hypothetical ticket for the first time.
“Today I am very proud and very humbled and honored to announce that I have accepted Senator Ted Cruz’s offer,” Fiorina said. “You know, Ted Cruz could not be more right in what he said: There is a lot at stake, and in fact, this is a fight - it is a fight for the soul of our party and the future of our nomination.”
But, Fiorina continues, “I’ve had tough fights all my life - tough fights don’t worry me a bit. And this is a fight worth having, it is a fight worth winning, and with your help, we will win this fight!”
“Where we are right now, nobody is getting to 1,237 delegates,” Cruz told the cheering audience. “I’m not getting to 1,237 delegates, and Donald J. Trump is not getting to 1,237 delegates. And the Hoosier State is gonna have a powerful voice in making that clear!”
“So why make this announcement now?” Cruz asked. “We must unite. And Carly is a vice presidential nominee who I believe is superbly skilled, superbly gifted at helping unite this party, unite this country so we stand united as one.”
“Secondly, I make this announcement today so that you the voters,” Cruz continued, “will know what you will get. The voters deserve to know - you deserve to have a candidate who doesn’t change as the wind blows at any given moment. You deserve to know exactly where a candidate stands.”
The decision to announce Fiorina as a running mate before he has even won half of the number of delegates he need to secure the nomination is “to give the American people a clear choice. Elections are about choices,” Cruz said.
“Some in the media will say wouldn’t it be easier just to say throw up your hands and say surrender. Donald Trump has won some of the races, so we should step back and let him win them all. If we nominate a candidate who is a big government New York liberal, who is a Washington insider, who agrees with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on issues after issue after issue, and whose lobbyist campaign manager has told us that he is only playing a part, he is only playing a role, he is lying to us, then we as a Republican party will have failed profoundly.”
Carly Fiorina: 'Make no mistake: This is a fight now'
“Ted Cruz is a constitutional conservative who has made enemies in both parties standing up to the bipartisan corruption in Washington,” Carly Fiorina said in a statement released by the Cruz campaign.
“He has fought to change the system,” Fiorina continued. “He kept his word to the people of Texas, and I know, if elected, he will keep his word and bring back American jobs, defend our nation, and protect our constitutional freedoms.”
“Make no mistake: this is a fight now. Ted and I can’t do this without your help. And this is about all of us. It’s about whether we want our kids to be able to get a good paying job when they get out of school. It’s about whether we want to turn our backs on religious liberty and our second amendment. It’s about whether we want to live in a nation that secures its borders and calls Islamic terrorism by its name. It is about whether we believe America must lead again in the world.”
“This is why we fight. Join us. And let’s elect Ted Cruz the next president of the United States.”
Ted Cruz’s campaign has released the following statement regarding his selection of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his subjunctive running mate:
“In choosing the person I believe would honorably and faithfully serve in the office of the vice president – the person who under our constitution could ascend either temporarily or permanently to the presidency – there must be a higher criteria, and that criteria must be this: will that person keep the faith and trust of the American people?” Cruz said.
“For all the enormously impressive qualities I saw in others whom I considered for the office of the vice presidency of the United States, I found a clear choice: One who has never been afraid to stand up to the insider status quo. Who knows the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution because this leader has lived them – a life dedicated to the dignity of work, of our right to pursue our wildest aspirations – and to help others do the same.”
“And a leader who understands that power never has and never will come from the government – here in the United States it comes from the people. Who respects the people, who has worked alongside them, and who will serve them with an unbreakable purpose of protecting every one of their rights – and making sure that the America we hand to our kids and grandkids is better than the one before us today.”
“For the 13 months of this race, there has been a proven, consistent, courageous fighter. A fighter who terrifies Hillary. And who will do the same to our enemies. And that’s why I am proud to announce Carly Fiorina as my Vice Presidential running mate.”
The Trump campaign is responding quickly:
This is truly one of the greatest acts of desperation I have ever seen. #Cruz #GraspingatStraws
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) April 27, 2016
“Carly! Carly! Carly!” the audience chants.
“Born in Texas - the first thing I liked about her - Cara Carleton Fiorina, known throughout the country simply by the name of Carly, is an extraordinary leader,” Cruz said. “She started working as a secretary at a small firm, and she climbed the corporate latter to become the CEO of the largest technology company in the world, and the first female CEO in history of a Fortune 20 company. A graduate of Stanford and MIT, Carly is brilliant and capable and hugely experienced with the hardscrabble world of being a woman professional in the business world that extracts a price.”
“Over and over again Carly has shattered glass ceilings. But in addition to being a woman of extraordinary intelligence, she’s also a woman of deep principle,” Cruz continued. “She has studied the threats facing our national security serving as chairman of the CIA’s external advisory board.”
Ted Cruz picks Carly Fiorina as prospective running mate
If I am nominated to be president of the United States, then I will run on the ticket with my vice presidential nominee, Carly Fiorina.
Ted Cruz lays out the necessary qualifications for a potential vice presidential candidate: “Knowledge,” “judgment” and “character.”
“A’s hire A’s, and B’s hire C’s,” Cruz said, clearly taking aim at opponent Donald Trump’s presidential organization as staffed with people “who are not capable, who are not informed, who are not skilled, and who would never, ever, ever stand up to that leader, it tells you that that leader is not a leader.”
“Everyone knows how to kiss up - everyone knows how to be nice to their boss,” Cruz said, “but how do they treat the clerk at the convenience store?”
“God bless the great state of Indiana!”
Ted Cruz has mounted the stage in downtown Indiana, with “Ted! Ted! Ted!” chants echoing throughout the hall.
“One of the most solemn choices you make is the choice of selecting a vice presidential candidate,” Cruz said. “This is a choice that you are telling the American people, this is an individual who I trust, and even more importantly, this is an individual you can trust to lead this county no matter what might happen.”
Ted Cruz begins event in Indianapolis
The Texas senator’s “major announcement” leaked long ago, but will likely be made official during a campaign event in Indianapolis.
Watch it here live:
Crowd as the Cruz-Fiorina ticket is announced pic.twitter.com/mtoq72QOPO
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) April 27, 2016
An anti-abortion group has praised Texas senator Ted Cruz’s reported choice of Carly Fiorina as a subjunctive nominee, calling her “the idea choice for a vice presidential candidate.”
The Susan B. Anthony List, a non-profit which aims to elect anti-abortion women to public office, praised Fiorina as a potential vice presidential nominee who “will take Hillary Clinton head on,” according to Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president.
“Carly is ideally suited to challenge Hillary Clinton’s entire platform, especially issues related to women,” Dannenfelser said. “Hillary has claimed the ‘women’s advocate’ mantle, without offering any compelling fresh perspective. Carly on the other hand, has challenged and bested the entrenched feminist politicos who purport to advance women’s rights even as they advance the usurpation of the rights of children.”
Anagrams are fun:
TED CRUZ CARLY FIORINA = FAIRLY CURRENT ZODIAC https://t.co/aq05COuCnf
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) April 27, 2016
Trump on Fiorina pick: 'pure waste of time'
Trump tweets footage of Fiorina saying Cruz will “say anything to get elected”:
Agreed! pic.twitter.com/biyldP3CIw
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2016
And the Trump camp disseminates a statement calling Cruz’s naming a running mate “a pure waste of time.”
Here's a statement from Trump on the Cruz/Fiorina ticket: pic.twitter.com/wGBvP5DPUi
— Jose A. DelReal (@jdelreal) April 27, 2016
Updated
Clinton’s official Twitter account is going after Trump for the “woman’s card” comments and related policies:
Last night, the "#womancard." This morning, Trump said he "hasn't recovered" from Hillary's "shouting." Really? pic.twitter.com/wOXffrFuN2
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 27, 2016
Women still face too many barriers—a president shouldn't be part of the problem. Comments like Trump's set us back.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 27, 2016
So if fighting for women is playing the #WomanCard, well... pic.twitter.com/wUuidf8qoj
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 27, 2016
Updated
51% of voters think system 'rigged' - poll
More than half of American voters believe that the system U.S. political parties use to pick their candidates for the White House is “rigged” and more than two-thirds want to see the process changed, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Reuters’ report continues:
The results echo complaints from Republican front-runner Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders that the system is stacked against them in favor of candidates with close ties to their parties – a critique that has triggered a nationwide debate over whether the process is fair. [...]
Some 51 percent of likely voters who responded to the April 21-26 online survey said they believed the primary system was “rigged” against some candidates. Some 71 percent of respondents said they would prefer to pick their party’s nominee with a direct vote, cutting out the use of delegates as intermediaries.
The results also showed 27 percent of likely voters did not understand how the primary process works and 44 percent did not understand why delegates were involved in the first place. The responses were about the same for Republicans and Democrats.
Only 27%? Read more here.
Ted Cruz is expected to unveil former business executive Carly Fiorina as his running mate on Wednesday, writes the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs:
Speaking at a rally in downtown Indianapolis, the Texas senator will likely announce that he has tapped his former rival for the Republican nomination in an attempt to beat frontrunner Donald Trump. [...]
Fiorina has been an active surrogate for Cruz since endorsing him in early March. The former Hewlett Packard CEO has barnstormed across the country on behalf of the Texas senator since then. Cruz has often praised Fiorina on the stump and saying that the former CEO gives “Hillary Clinton nightmares. I can just picture Hillary thinking about Carly and tossing and turning and tossing and turning in her jail cell.”
Although it was widely reported that the Cruz campaign was vetting potential vice-presidential candidates, and a Fiorina aide confirmed to the Guardian that she was participating in the vetting process, the announcement of a running mate by a candidate who still has yet to clinch the nomination is historic. The last candidate to do so was Ronald Reagan on the eve of the 1976 Republican national convention. Reagan tapped Pennsylvania senator Richard Schweiker in an unsuccessful attempt to oust the incumbent president, Gerald Ford.
AP NEWSALERT: AP Source: Ted Cruz picks former technology executive Carly Fiorina as presidential running mate: https://t.co/UCUyzvPylj
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) April 27, 2016
Corker: Trump gave 'very good speech'
Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the senate committee on foreign relations, releases a statement saying that “Donald Trump delivered a very good foreign policy speech”:
Wednesday, April 27: The day the GOP officially entered the "acceptance" phase pic.twitter.com/vqC7AqwYsb
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) April 27, 2016
Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, has endorsed Ted Cruz for president.
Gardner is a former Marco Rubio supporter and Colorado did not hold a presidential preference contest on the Republican side, opening the door for Cruz’s canny play at the state convention to snap up all the delegates.
Maybe this is the major Cruz announcement pic.twitter.com/pZniahlFGA
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) April 27, 2016
Earlier we had trouble finding positive reactions on Twitter to Trump’s foreign policy speech. Helpfully he is RT’ing some incisive ones:
Stunningly on point foreign policy speech by Donald Trump.
— Linda Suhler, Ph.D. (@LindaSuhler) April 27, 2016
He hit ALL the key issues that must be addressed to make America great again.
Thank you! WE will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! https://t.co/aKxoD24IN9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2016
#TrumpForeignPolicy God Bless you @realDonaldTrump! You speech= AMAZING! You are true couragoues leader!
— ~Montana4Trump~ (@Ladybugs96) April 27, 2016
Thank you! https://t.co/aYbOob1kiT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2016
___update___
GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH SINCE WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) April 27, 2016
Updated
Cruz to announce Fiorina as running mate, campaign operative says
The Guardian is working to confirm that Ted Cruz will declare Carly Fiorina as his running mate in an appearance in Indianapolis this afternoon.
Senator Ted Cruz will make an announcement this afternoon that Carly Fiorina will be his VP running mate.
— Gary Aminoff (@aminoff) April 27, 2016
@woodruffbets Yes
— Gary Aminoff (@aminoff) April 27, 2016
In the 2016 primaries, Carly Fiorina got 37,307 votes. In 2008, Biden got 81,777 votes — most after he dropped out.
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) April 27, 2016
That said, I’ve seen giddy GOP voters line up for 30 minutes to meet Carly, as recently as last month.
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) April 27, 2016
Updated
Hastert sentenced to 15 months
CHICAGO (AP) — Judge sentences former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert to 15 months in prison in hush-money case.
The Washington Post has tracked down December 1998 CSPAN footage of Hastert talking about why he must impeach Bill Clinton in the name of justice:
Trump speech: reactions
Here’s a roundup of reactions from the foreign policy
Trump making a case for coercive hegemonic stability theory.
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner) April 27, 2016
Why use a teleprompter if @realDonaldTrump was going to give an incoherent foreign policy speech anyway?
— Lanhee J. Chen (@lanheechen) April 27, 2016
former House Intel Chairman Mike Rogers on Trump foreign policy speech: "It was not exactly coherent"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) April 27, 2016
Trump speech is pathetic in terms of understanding the role America plays in the world, how to win War on Terror, and threats we face.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 27, 2016
Trump is contending that the Obama administration is too timid, but too muscular, too. He'll be the same, but different.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) April 27, 2016
Speech over and it seems like @realDonaldTrump avoided any mention of building a wall on U.S.-Mexican border
— Felicia Schwartz (@felschwartz) April 27, 2016
According to Trump’s prepared remarks, he used the word “wall” once:
Democrats and Republicans working together got Mr. Gorbachev to heed the words of President Reagan when he said: “tear down this wall.”
WH Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Trump speech: "Apparently the phonetics are not included on the teleprompter"
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) April 27, 2016
We promise we’re looking for an objective positive reaction to the speech. Oh here’s one:
If Bush 43 or @MittRomney had given this Trump speech as prez candidates, it would be hailed as good politics & interesting worldview
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) April 27, 2016
Ted Cruz is scheduled to make “a major announcement” on Wednesday afternoon that some have speculated might be a potential vice presidential pick. If Cruz does announce a running mate, it would be the first time since Ronald Reagan’s unsuccessful presidential run in 1976 that a candidate has done so before clinching the nomination.
But, while it’s widely considered that Reagan made a mistake in tapping Pennsylvania senator Richard Schweiker, a liberal Republican, to be his running mate on the eve of the 1976 convention, Cruz refused to condemn the move in a December interview with the Guardian. “Oh, look, one could go back and second guess decisions that are difficult decisions to make,” said Cruz of Reagan’s failed attempt to unite the Republican party. The move alienated many conservative Republicans from the South and famously led to Mississippi Republicans switching their support from Reagan to incumbent Gerald Ford in what proved to be the deathblow to Reagan’s hopes of gaining the GOP nomination that year.
The major announcement comes the day after Donald Trump romped in the so-called Acela primary in 5 mid-Atlantic and northeastern states. Trump won a majority of the vote in each state and all but 8 of the pledged delegates up for grabs on Tuesday night. It’s an attempt to shift the conversation as Indiana’s crucial primary approaches on May 3.
Of the remaining states holding Republican primaries, Indiana not only holds the largest single pot of delegates as it grants the statewide winner 30 delegates but its demographic profile leaves it up for grabs for both Trump and Texas senator Ted Cruz. Polling in the state has Cruz about seven points behind Trump with Ohio governor John Kasich eating up roughly 20% of the vote.
Trump winds to his conclusion:
America will continue and continue forever to play the role of peacemaker... but to play that role, we must make America strong again... we must make America respected again, we must make America truly wealthy again. And we must, we have to , we will make America great again.
If we do that perhaps this century can be the most peaceful and prosperous the world has ever, ever known.
Thank you very much everybody, I appreciate it.
At no point in the speech was the applause particularly vigorous. Trump is clapped off and it’s over.
Trump warns against 'false song of globalism'
Trump says the US must resist the “false song of globalism.”
“The nation-state remains the true foundation for happiness and harmony.” So he’s skeptical of international unions. “We will never enter American into any agreement that reduces our ability to control our own affairs.” He says Nafta has “emptied our states of manufacturing.”
Trump: 'We want to bring peace to the world'
Trump says he would only send troops to a foreign country when “absolutely necessary” and when there is a plan for “victory with a capital V.”
“I will also be prepared to deploy America’s economic resources” – financial leverage and sanctions. “Our power will be used if the others do not play by the rules, in other words, if they do not treat us fairly.”
“If I draw a line in the sand, I will enforce that line in the sand,” believe me.
Trump says, however, that he will not deploy troops except as a final measure and that the truer measure of power is being able not to intervene: caution and restraint are signs of strength.
“I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary, I mean absolutely necessary.”
4) work with allies to spread ‘western civilization’
Trump says such a step would do more to inspire positive change than would military interventions.
Trump says he would craft a foreign policy both parties could support. “We want to bring peace to the world. Too much destruction out there.”
“Americans must know that we are putting the American people first again.
Updated
Trump: 'easing of tensions with Russia is absolutely possible'
2) rebuild our military
– steps include rebuilding the nuclear deterrent and increasing the number of active duty armed troops. Trump says Obama’s 2017 budget deeply cuts military spending, a debatable assertion, depending in part on how much bipartisan blame you assign for sequestration. He says “a great country also takes care of its warriors. Our commitment to them is absolute.”
3) develop a foreign policy based on American interests
Trump says in 1998 the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania demonstrated a foreign policy gone astray. He mispronounces Tanzania “Tan-ZAY-nee-uh”. He says that fighting Isis in the Middle East means vetting allies. He says the US should seek common ground with Russia and China. “I believe an easing of tensions...with Russia, from a position of strength only, is possible, is absolutely possible.” on China, “China respects strength,” but the US has lost all respect by “letting them take advantage of us.”
Trump: 'we must as a nation must be more unpredictable'
Trump is on to prescriptions:
1) long-term plan to halt spread and reach of radical Islam
– work more closely with allies; work together with any nation in the region threatened by radical Islam, “but this has to be a two-way street.” “And remember, Us and all we are doing, they have to appreciate what we’ve done to them.”
“The struggle against radical Islam also takes place within our homeland,” Trump says. “We must stop importing extremism through senseless immigration policies. We have no idea where these people are coming from.”
“All you have to do is look at the World Trade Center and September 11.” Trump calls 9/11 the single greatest military catastrophe in the history of the country, because civilians were attacked.
On to Isis: “Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We must as a nation must be more unpredictable.”
Trump calls for 'new rational American foreign policy'
“This will all change when I become president. To our friends and allies I say, America is going to be strong again. It is going to be reliable again,” Trump says, continuing:
We need a new rational American foreign policy informed by the best minds and supported by both parties.
This is how we won the Cold War.
4) Our rivals no longer respect us
– “They don’t take us seriously any more,” Trump says. His first example is Obama’s arrival in Cuba on Air Force One and no leader was there to greet him. Then the Saudi king did not greet Obama on a recent trip to the kingdom. Then Obama went to Copenhagen to try to get the Olympics and the USA came in fourth in voting. “We were laughed at all over the world... the list of humiliations go on and on and on.”
Trump says that Obama has failed in his North Korea policy and in his trade policy with China. Is Trump straying from his prepared remarks now? It seems he’s riffing a bit. “[Obama] has even allowed China to steal government secrets... we’ve let our rivals and challengers think they can get away with anything, and they do.”
5) USA does not understand foreign policy goals
– Trump says the US “has lacked a coherent foreign policy” since the end of the Cold War. Exhibit A is Libya, “lives lost, massive monies lost, the world is a different place.” Trump says Obama’s legacy is “weakness, confusion and a disarray. A mess.” Trump says Obama has made the Middle East “more chaotic” than ever before and “we have done nothing” to protect Christians in the region.
Obama won’t even call “radical Islam” that, Trump says. Hillary Clinton won’t say “radical Islam” either. “After secretary Clinton’s failed intervention in Libya,” Benghazi happened, Trump says. Then “Hillary Clinton decided to go home and sleep.” He’s talking about the video and seems to be steering more deeply into the Benghazi zone.
Trump says Isis is making millions a week “selling Libyan oil” because we don’t blockade, we don’t bomb.”
Trump describes '5 main weaknesses' of US foreign policy
The first three are:
1) Our resources are overextended
– The argument is that Obama has run up a trade deficit and debt and that is harming the military. “Ending the theft of American jobs will give us resources we need to rebuild our military,” Trump says. He says he’s the only candidate who understands the problem and knows how to fix it.
2) Allies not paying their fair share
– Trump says that in Nato only four of 28 members apart from the USA spend 2% of GDP on defense. He stops short, however, of calling Nato obsolete. He says that the countries the US is defending “must pay for their defense,” and if not the US must let them “defend themselves.”
3) Friends think they can’t depend on us
– “We have a president that dislikes our friends and bows to our enemies.” He calls the Iran deal disastrous. “Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.” He recalls the humiliation of Iran capturing US sailors in the Persian Gulf. “It is the result of not being willing to leave the table... at the same time, your friends need to know that you will stick by your agreements.” Such as the Nato treaty?
Trump keeps going on #3, saying that Obama supported the downfall of Mubarak in Egypt. He’s on to Israel, which he says has been “criticized by an administration that lacks moral clarity.”
Trump says World War II and the Cold War went well – “we won and we won big” – but then it all went down the tubes, starting with the Iraq war.
He says trying to graft democracy on lands that have no interest in it does not work. “Many trillions of dollars” and lives were lost, he says, and a vacuum was created in which Isis thrived.
“Our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster.”
Trump: 'America first will be the overriding theme'
Trump says he will replace “randomness with purpose” and “chaos with “peace.”
“America First will be the major and overriding theme of my administration,” Trump says.
His voice, as he reads from the Teleprompter, is remarkably flat and rhythmic. In short he sounds like he’s reading.
Trump takes stage
Trump is at the lectern for his big foreign policy address.
Carly Fiorina registered only 2% support in the Iowa caucuses, which Cruz won. Then she finished seventh in New Hampshire and dropped out.
She was an early and effective, to some minds, critic of Donald Trump, however. He criticized her appearance, saying, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?”
“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr Trump said,” Fiorina replied, going on to hit Trump for donating to Planned Parenthood.
Trump has already pooh-poohed Fiorina as a potential Cruz vice presidential choice. She had “one good debate,” he said dismissively on ABC News Wednesday morning.
“Not because she’s a woman, but Carly did not resonate at all with people,” Trump said.
Hastert a 'serial child molester' – judge
The judge is speaking in former House speaker Hastert’s sentencing for structuring cash withdrawals to avoid detection. The judge calls Hastert a “serial child molester”:
BREAKING: Judge describes Dennis Hastert as 'serial child molester' before imposing sentence in hush-money case.
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 27, 2016
Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House for a decade. He was next in line to be president. And he was a serial child molester.
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) April 27, 2016
Fiorina spotted in Indiana ahead of 'major' Cruz announcement
In advance of Ted Cruz’s planned “major announcement” in Indiana at 4pm this afternoon, Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard executive from California who ran for president herself before dropping out and becoming one of Cruz’s most high-profile and tireless surrogates, has been spotted by NBC News in Indianapolis.
Fiorina -- spotted IN RED -- in Indiana, by NBC's @VaughnHillyard. #ThenDealMeIn
— David Catanese (@davecatanese) April 27, 2016
CONFIRMED: Carly Fiorina's in Indianapolis - spotted by @NBCNews cameras. More to come. #veepstakes?
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) April 27, 2016
Updated
While we wait for Trump, here’s a noteworthy passage from Julia Ioffe’s new profile of Melania Trump in GQ:
https://t.co/rHsJ6vqpqO pic.twitter.com/h4DKKuJaTs
— Sarah Posner (@sarahposner) April 27, 2016
Read the full profile here. There’s a picture of her eating a bowl of jewels, presumably for breakfast. Pretending, of course.
Here’s a live video stream of Trump’s address on foreign policy:
Trump to deliver address on foreign policy
Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in a few minutes at Washington’s Mayflower hotel to deliver the first major speech on foreign policy of his presidential campaign.
Reuters interviewed Lanhee Chen, who advised former 2016 Republican candidate Marco Rubio and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, about Trump’s foreign policy views.
“His views are reckless and dangerous, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re unpopular,” said Chan. “That’s part of the challenge.”
More from Reuters:
Many foreign policy and defense advisers say his views are worrying, mingling isolationism and protectionism, with calls to force U.S. allies to pay more for their defense and proposals to impose punitive tariffs on some imported goods.
He said he would focus on nuclear weapons as the single biggest threat in the world today.
The billionaire businessman promises to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and to build a wall to block off Mexico.
Trump has declared the North Atlantic Treaty Organization obsolete and said European countries should be pulling more of their weight in the post-World War Two alliance.
Updated
Who is the mystery man Martha Stewart ran into at the Time 100 gala last night? From the picture you can only see the back of his head. Could be anybody.
Look who I bumped into at the Time 100 gala!! pic.twitter.com/iM8yuVhHV0
— Martha Stewart (@MarthaStewart) April 27, 2016
(h/t @holpuch)
Updated
Here is our coverage of two down-ticket (although not too far down in Maryland, where a US senate seat is in play) races from last night:
Chris Van Hollen, the seven-term congressman from Washington’s northern Maryland suburbs, has won the Democratic primary against congresswoman Donna Edwards for one of the state’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seats on Tuesday night, writes Megan Carpentier:
The win in heavily Democratic Maryland’s primary all but assures that Van Hollen, a key ally of House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, will be seated in the US Senate in 2017.
Maryland state senator Catherine Pugh beat 11 other candidates, including activist DeRay Mckesson, in a hard-fought and historic primary election in Baltimore’s mayoral race Tuesday, on the eve of the first anniversary of the unrest that shook the city in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray last year, writes Baynard Woods:
Updated
Clinton on Trump speech: 'loose cannons tend to misfire'
It appears that Trump will indeed use Teleprompters to talk foreign policy:
Yes, those are teleprompters you see set up here for @realDonaldTrump's DC foreign policy speech. pic.twitter.com/zuWelZcoHW
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) April 27, 2016
The Hillary Clinton campaign has released a pre-buttal of the Trump speech titled “Loose cannons tend to misfire”. “Nothing he can say can hide the long list of dangerous national security proposals he’s put forward over the course of this campaign,” a Clinton statement reads. “He has used the most reckless rhetoric of any major presidential candidate in modern history.”
The statement goes on to detail what it calls “Trump’s recklessness with nuclear weapons,” “Trump’s dangerous plans for fighting Isis,” “Trump’s damaging Islamophobia,” “Trump’s support for brutal dictators and strongmen” and Trump proposals that would “undermine our key alliances.”
Trump zeroes in on 1,237
How close is Donald Trump to winning the magic number of 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the Republican nomination?
The GOP frontrunner would need to win 56% of the remaining pledged delegates to get there – which is about 7 points better than his pace to this point.
But Indiana’s contest next Tuesday is designed to rain delegates on the victor – 30 of the state’s 57 delegates go to the statewide winner, who will also pick up delegates in individual congressional districts.
If Trump can win Indiana, where rival Ted Cruz has dug in with everything he’s got, then Trump could clear the 1,237 threshold with a strong showing in California on 7 June.
The California contest is unusually local, with the lion’s share of delegates going to the winners of the state’s 53 congressional districts and only 13 awarded statewide. There hasn’t been a lot of polling in the state, but what numbers there are indicate a double-digit lead for Trump, which of course could change or might be wrong in the first place.
That’s all to say that Trump has a path and it’s not all that narrow, especially if he wins Indiana.
At this point, stopping Trump from 1237 would require both a win in IN & keeping him to 100 in CA. Even then he gets close enough to worry.
— David Freddoso (@freddoso) April 27, 2016
Here’s the bar chart:
Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report, in a piece titled The General Election Starts Now, argues that Trump does not have to get to 1,237 to win, because his sense of being the winner will be so strong:
Is it possible that Trump ends the primary season short of 1,237? Yes, but it won’t be by many delegates. Moreover, the more he wins, the harder it’s going to be for his opponents to argue that he doesn’t “deserve” the nomination because he didn’t win the majority of pledged delegates.
While lots of smarty-pants number crunchers are making the case for how/why Cruz can win on a second or third ballot, most voters have already wrapped their heads around the fact that Trump will be the nominee. That is only going to grow stronger, not weaker as we move forward.
Good summation of the delegate math. Difficult for Cruz, but an IN win would give Cruz big del haul & shift mo again https://t.co/ktzPlzd95j
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) April 27, 2016
Updated
Hastert to be sentenced
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago to trying to manipulate large cash withdrawals so his bank would not flag them, using the cash, prosecutors say, to try to cover up sexual abuse he committed on at least four members of a high school wrestling team he used to coach, is to be sentenced imminently.
Hastert, a Republican from Illinois, was House speaker from 1999-2007. He took the gavel after Representative Bob Livingston stepped aside under pressure tied to the exposure of an extramarital affair. Livingston succeeded Newt Gingrich, who was having an affair with a congressional aide, now his wife, as he shepherded the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky affair. Read more about the Republicans who prosecuted the impeachment case against Bill Clinton here.
Do you have a #womancard?
#womancard is trending on Twitter here in New York. A sampler:
Love to buy some paid maternity leave with my #womancard 🍼
— Elizabeth Tenety (@ETenety) April 27, 2016
Taking advantage of my #womancard and enjoying a lower salary, unpaid maternity leave, and being told to smile more at creepy men. Wheeeee!!
— Jessica A (@liberalmommy2) April 27, 2016
Will my #womancard get me a free coffee at @Starbucks? @realDonaldTrump is a fool.
— Alma Castillo (@AlmaDCastillo) April 27, 2016
I wish my #womancard gave me discounts on shoes and tampons instead of being a discount card for same work pay.
— Heather Wilson-Smith (@GoddessesUnite) April 27, 2016
I think my #WomanCard got lost in the mail; I still make .79 to the $1 men make & senile old men are trying to possess my uterus. #ImWithHer
— Angie (@PGHinRed) April 27, 2016
Finished my Ph.D. in global leadership last year ... thanks to #womancard, it was sooooo much easier!
— Colleen Hickman (@ColleenHickman) April 27, 2016
Will my #womancard earn me frequent flyer miles?
— rachel dory (@racheldory) April 27, 2016
Cruz plans 'major' announcement
Ted Cruz has announced a “major announcement” to drop at a rally in Indiana at 4pm.
“I would ask folks to come out. We will have a major announcement, a rally,” Cruz said.
Any guesses? Could it be something along the lines of, “I would like you all to stop talking about Donald Trump’s overwhelming victories of yesterday evening”? A twist on his alliance with John Kasich? A vice presidential pick? A Gene Hackman endorsement?
Trump on 'woman card' comment: 'It's not sexist, it's true'
Hello, and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Donald Trump outperformed the polls last night to nab 55%-65% of the vote in Republican primaries in five north-eastern states, picking up more than 100 delegates and possibly as many as 150 (depending on how Pennsylvania’s unbound dozens eventually vote) – the vast majority at stake.
“It’s over. As far as I’m concerned it’s over,” Trump said at a victory rally. “I consider myself the presumptive nominee.”
Hillary Clinton turned in a night almost as strong, conceding only Rhode Island to rival Bernie Sanders, who released a statement at the end of the night that many took to be a proto-concession, expressing a desire to influence the Democratic agenda.
Visit our interactive results page for the full rundown:
Campaign trail action on Wednesday includes what is being billed as a major foreign policy address by Trump, scheduled for midday in Washington. It’s said Trump will use a teleprompter, uncharacteristically, and will call for the US to charge allies for protection, enact a sharply pro-tariff trade policy and increase its bias against foreign entanglements.
But Trump has already been talking on TV this morning, defending an incendiary comment he made at the end of his victory speech last night, in which he attributed Hillary Clinton’s success as a politician to her “playing the woman card”.
“If Hillary Clinton were a man, frankly, I don’t think she’d get 5% of the vote,” Trump said. “The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card.”
Clinton seized on the comment last night on Twitter:
Caught your speech, @realDonaldTrump. About that "woman's card"...https://t.co/kKaHWISchy
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 27, 2016
Trump defended the comment this morning on three programs. “It’s not sexist, it’s true,” he told ABC News.
Trump is doubling down on his 'woman card' comments about Clinton this morning. Here's how he answered q's about it: pic.twitter.com/MzjAsOCA3T
— Jose A. DelReal (@jdelreal) April 27, 2016
Here’s the state of the Republican delegate race:
And here’s the view on the Democratic side:
Stick with us for all the latest throughout the day!
