Today in Campaign 2016
- Hillary Clinton is in “excellent mental condition”, her doctor said in a letter released this evening by the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign, as focus on her health continues to escalate as she recuperates from pneumonia. “She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States,” physician Lisa Bardack wrote in the letter, which also gave new medical information. Bardack added that Clinton was “recovering well with antibiotics”, namely Levaquin, which she was advised to take to treat the pneumonia for 10 days. “My overall impression is that Mrs Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia.”
- Meanwhile, Donald Trump revealed his medical records on the Dr Oz Show in a preview clip released by the show’s production studio. In the short clip, Trump asks the crowd if they want to see his medical reports, before producing two letters from his pocket, which he says are copies of his physical and a medical report from the Lenox Hill hospital.
- As both campaigns wait to assess the impact of a bumpy weekend for Democrats, a shock new poll from the Buckeye state released this morning places Trump five percentage points ahead of Clinton, helping him lead in a rolling average there for the first time.
- Melania Trump, Trump’s wife, released a letter from an immigration lawyer that says she never worked as a model on improper visas. The question had arisen based on the timing of modeling work Trump did in the mid-1990s, before she had American citizenship. The lawyer’s letter asserts Melania Trump never worked in the United States in 1995 and in fact never was in the United States in 1995.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 14, 2016
- Additional Colin Powell emails obtained by the hacker group DC Leaks, which Powell has acknowledged are his real emails, surfaced today. “I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect,” Powell wrote to Democratic megadonor Jeffrey Leeds. “A 70-year-old person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still dicking bimbos at home (according to the NYP).”
- In a post appropriately headlined “We’re suing the IRS for audits of Donald Trump’s tax returns,” Vice News has announced that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in against the IRS for the audits of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s tax returns from 2002 onward.
- In a contentious interview with Cosmopolitan - yes, contentious interviews with Cosmopolitan happen - Ivanka Trump told the magazine that Donald Trump’s new child care policy that she largely organized will not include paid parental leave for same-sex male couples, or for any new parents who did not physically birth their child. “The original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth,” Trump told Cosmopolitan, when asked to clarify whether that meant that same-sex couples where the new parents were male would be able to avail themselves of parental leave.
Donald Trump publicly raised questions about Hillary Clinton’s health for the first time since the former secretary of state was forced on Sunday to leave a ceremony for the victims of 9/11.
Speaking in a well air-conditioned minor league basketball arena in Canton, Ohio, Trump made his most direct reference to Clinton’s recent diagnosis of pneumonia and her campaign saying she left the event in New York because she felt “overheated”.
“You think this is easy?” Trump asked. “In this beautiful room that’s 122 degrees. It is hot, and it is always hot when I perform because the crowds are so big. The rooms were not designed for this kind of crowd. I don’t know, folks. You think Hillary Clinton would be able to stand up here and do this for an hour? I don’t know.”
The Republican nominee later went on to add of his Democratic rival, “Now she’s lying in bed, getting better and we want her better, we want her back on the trail, right?”
Sounding like the classic unscripted Trump, the Republican presidential nominee often deviated from his teleprompters in a 40-minute speech that ranged from Clinton’s health to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Ivanka Trump: No paid parental leave for gay dads
In a contentious interview with Cosmopolitan - yes, contentious interviews with Cosmopolitan happen - Ivanka Trump told the magazine that Donald Trump’s new child care policy that she largely organized will not include paid parental leave for same-sex male couples, or for any new parents who did not physically birth their child.
“For same-sex couples as well, there’s tremendous benefit here to enabling the mother to recover after childbirth,” Trump said of her plan. “It’s critical for the health of the mother. It’s critical for bonding with the child, and that was a top focus of this plan.”
For non-gestational parents, however, there’s no parental leave to be had.
“The original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth,” Trump told Cosmopolitan, when asked to clarify whether that meant that same-sex couples where the new parents were male would be able to avail themselves of parental leave.
The interviewer clarified that in instances of adoption or surrogacy, or where the two parents are both men, “they would not be receiving special leave for that because they don’t need to recover or anything?”
Trump laughed at the question.
“Well, those are your words, not mine,” Trump said. “Those are your words. The plan, right now, is focusing on mothers, whether they be in same-sex marriages or not.”
Later in the interview, Trump criticized what she called the “negativity in these questions” when asked about remarks her father made in 2004, in which he characterized pregnancy as an “inconvenience” for employers.
New Hampshire’s eminent Union Leader, the conservative newspaper that has never failed to endorse a Republican presidential nominee in the past 100 years, has declined to endorse Donald Trump, instead endorsing Libertarian challenger Gary Johnson.
The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon,” wrote Joseph McQuaid, the newspaper’s publisher. “He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives.”
“Americans are being told that we have to choose the lesser of two evils,” McQuaid continued. “No, we don’t.”
Instead, the paper’s editorial board was endorsing Johnson, a former New Mexico governor - and a former Republican - who recently made it on the ballots of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with running mate Bill Weld.
“Their records,” McQuaid said of the ticket, “speak well of them. They would be worth considering under many circumstances. In today’s dark times, they are a bright light of hope and reason. The Union Leader and Sunday News endorse them.”
And Donald Trump is out.
Speaking in Canton, Ohio, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump declared that Ford Motor Company’s decision to move the production of its small vehicles to factories in Mexico will be terminated by a “four, five-minute phone call” between himself and the company’s CEO.
“If you’re gonna build your new factory… and if you think you’re going to make cars and you’re gonna sell them tax free,” Trump said, in the imaginary conversation between himself and Ford CEO mark Fields, “not gonna happen.”
“We’re going to charge you a 35% tax on every car that’s made outside of the United States, and you know what? It’s not too late,” Trump said. “I think the reason they announced today is that they think that I’m gonna win and they wanna beat the deadline. But lemme tell you, there’s no deadline!”
House homeland security chair Mike McCaul has issued a statement correcting earlier remarks he had made to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer this evening that Russian state actors had hacked the Republican National Committee, saying that he only meant to say that Republican political operatives had been hacked.
“I misspoke by asserting that the RNC was hacked,” McCaul said in a statement. “What I had intended to say was that in addition to the DNC hack, Republican political operatives have also been hacked.”
McCaul had been pressed about his allegations during the interview, which have never been made before, and doubled down on the assertion that the Russian government, at the behest of Russian president Vladimir Putin, had hacked into the RNC.
“They have hacked into the RNC, so this is, again, they’re not picking sides here, I don’t think,” McCaul said. “They’re hacking into both political parties. What they intend to do with that information, I don’t know.”
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook released a statement this evening lambasting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s appearance on Dr. Mehmet Oz’s daytime television show, calling the appearance a “charade” and “completely unserious.”
“It’s fair to say the public now knows more about Hillary Clinton than nearly anyone in public life,” Mook said. “Hillary Clinton’s release of updated medical information today meets a standard followed by presidential candidates like Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Additionally, Hillary has made public nearly 40 years of tax returns over her lifetime.”
“In start contrast, Donald trump is hands down the least transparent presidential nominee in memory.,” Mook continued. “His Doctor Oz charade is as completely unserious as his original joke of a letter written in five minutes. He continues to hide his taxes and business dealing behind fake excuses. And it begs the question: what is he trying to hide?”
Speaking at a campaign rally in Canton, Ohio, Donald Trump rallied the crowd by name checking the Football Hall of Fame before launching into his traditional state.
“Ohio is a very, very special place to me,” Trump said, “and we just had some good news because we just had some polls come out. This morning… Bloomberg came out and we were 48 to 43, up, and then we just got one a little while ago, and that was a big one, 48 to 43, so these polls seem to me to be very close!”
The crowd cheered loudly.
“We’re up three in Florida - we’re up, sort of, everywhere,” Trump said. “States are in play that the Republicans fly over those states. Me? I’m gonna land there.”
“I think we are going to have an unbelievable November 8 - gotta get out and vote. Gotta get out and vote.”
Donald Trump holds rally in Canton, Ohio
Watch it live here:
House homeland security chair: Russian hackers penetrated RNC computer systems
The Republican National Committee’s computer network has, like its Democratic counterpart, been penetrated by hackers, according to the chair of the House homeland security committee.
“It’s important to note, Wolf, that they have hacked not only hacked into the DNC but also into the RNC,” Mike McCaul, a Texas Republican, told CNN host Wolf Blitzer. “So they are not discriminating one party against the others. The Russians have basically hacked into both parties at the national level and that gives us all concern about what their motivations are.
“The FBI director would tell you they’re just trying to undermine the integrity of the process,” McCaul continued, after Blitzer noted that if Russia had hacked the RNC, it was news to him. “They are not discriminating one party against the other.
“They have hacked into the RNC, so this is, again, they’re not picking sides here, I don’t think,” McCaul said. “They’re hacking into both political parties. What they intend to do with that information, I don’t know.”
Earlier this summer, hackers believed by the US government to be likely agents of the Russian government successfully infiltrated the data networks of the Democratic National Committee. That hack led to tens of thousands of internal DNC emails being released on the internet days before the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia, infuriating supporters of onetime Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who cited emails deriding the candidate as evidence that the party’s establishment had been hostile to Sanders’ candidacy.
The resulting turmoil eventually led to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz - as well as speculation that the Russian government was actively involved in the hack in a bid to interfere with the US presidential election.
Although McCaul did not cite specific evidence of a hack, and similar document releases of internal RNC emails and files have not occurred, so far at least, McCaul appeared confident that the Russian government had penetrated the party’s computer network at the direction of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“It was interesting to watch Mr Putin talk about how Russia had nothing to do with this, but that how it was good to be transparent, for this to come out publicly,” McCaul said. “I don’t trust Mr Putin, I don’t trust his intentions.”
Putin has recently been praised by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has also appeared to incite Russia to hack into and publish his opponent’s Hillary Clinton’s private emails.
Updated
Live from Donald Trump’s upcoming rally in Ohio:
"Things I trust more than Hillary Clinton" pic.twitter.com/hMQzJZfIYt
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 14, 2016
CC: @icecube pic.twitter.com/NjZZXKJfNy
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 14, 2016
Deplorables gets despicable pic.twitter.com/XV57YkCa94
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 14, 2016
Support your local militia pic.twitter.com/i6UI6gqtgA
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 14, 2016
Donald Trump visited the beleaguered city of Flint, Michigan, this afternoon, for a campaign stop punctuated by a brief spat with a local pastor.
The Republican presidential nominee, whose visit followed a stop earlier this month in Detroit, was halfway through remarks at the Bethel United Methodist church that constituted more of a typical stump speech than anything tailored to focus on Flint’s two-year water crisis, when the Rev Faith Green Timmons interrupted.
“Mr Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint,” she said, “not give a political speech.”
“Oh, oh, OK,” Trump responded, as several in the audience applauded. “That’s good.”
Trump’s brief stop in Flint was met elsewhere in the city with disdain by residents who viewed the visit as nothing more than an opportunistic photo-op, while the Republican nominee attempted to blame the water crisis on a myriad of issues.
“Flint’s pain is the result of so many failures,” Trump said at the church before about 50 attendees.
The visit was initially light on details. By the early afternoon on Thursday, only two stops were confirmed – a brief visit to the city’s water plant and the church, where Trump was expected to speak with local pastors about the community. Before his arrival at the church, Flint resident LaShonda Richmond said she came to “support our city – not to support him”.
“Shame on him,” Richmond, 46, said of the visit. “He don’t care about anyone but Trump.”
The Democratic presidential ticket is disclosing its full bill of health this evening, with Hillary Clinton’s campaign releasing running mate Tim Kaine’s health information this evening as well as Clinton’s own.
In a letter penned by Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress, the Virginia senator’s doctor writes that Kaine is “in overall excellent health and active in [his] professional work, and physical fitness endeavors without limitation.”
Apart from pulmonary nodules uncovered in a 2011 chest CT scan and slight left atrial enlargement noted in March of 2016, Kaine’s health history is unremarkable, according to the letter. Kaine’s most recent physical examination revealed a blood pressure of 120/80 and a resting heart rate of 71. The senator’s LDL cholesterol levels were at 138, and HDL was at 65.
Monahan concludes the letter by encouraging the senator to take Vitamin D supplements.
Vice sues Internal Revenue Service for Donald Trump's tax returns
In a post appropriately headlined “We’re suing the IRS for audits of Donald Trump’s tax returns,” Vice News has announced that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in against the IRS for the audits of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s tax returns from 2002 onward:
In the suit, filed jointly with Ryan Shapiro, a doctoral candidate at MIT and research affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, we asked the IRS for ‘any and all requests by law enforcement agencies for copies of... Trump’s individual tax returns’ and ‘any and all records mentioning or referring to requests by law enforcement agencies for copies of individual tax returns.’
The news organization has also filed a separate suit to obtain any FBI documents relating to Trump’s comments earlier this summer in which he was seen to have encouraged supporters of gun rights to take the Second Amendment into their own hands.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Trump said at the time. “Although the Second Amendment people - maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s health disclosure today was decidedly less... formal?
Hillary Clinton's physician: 'She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President'
Hillary Clinton’s personal physician has released a letter updating the candidate’s health since she initially released a letter overviewing the presidential candidate’s medical history earlier this year. In the letter, Dr. Lisa Bardack writes that the former secretary of state has not developed any new medical conditions save for an ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia and that Clinton “continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President.”
In addition to seasonal allergies and a prescription for the blood thinner Coumadin, Clinton was treated in January of 2016 for a sinus and ear infection. “To help alleviate her symptoms, a myringotomy tube was placed in her left ear,” Bardack wrote. “Further follow-up evaluation with a CT scan of the brain and sinuses was done in March” that showed “no abnormalities of the brain and mild chronic sinusitis.” Clinton’s symptoms resolved, according to Bardack.
The pneumonia diagnosis was made on Friday, September 9, one week after Clinton was evaluated for a low-grade fever and fatigue, an upper respiratory tract infection for which she was prescribed antibiotics and advised to rest. Clinton did not rest, however, and a non-contrast chest CT scan revealed “a small right middle-lobe pneumonia.” Clinton was treated with antibiotics and advised to rest, but, as has now been well-documented, did not do so.
Clinton has since been evaluated by Bardack and “continues to improve.”
As for the nitty-gritty, Clinton currently takes a thyroid medication, Coumadin, Clarinex for allergies and B12, as needed. Her blood testing has revealed normal results, with cholesteral at 189, LDL at 103, HDL at 56 and trigylcerides at 159. Clinton has a blood pressure of 100/70, a resting heart rate of 70 and a respiratory rate of 18. All of this lead Bardack to conclude that Clinton “has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year,” aside from the ear infection and pneumonia.
“She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States,” Bardack concluded.
Updated
Hillary Clinton's campaign releases more health information
As promised, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign has released more information about the former secretary of state’s health, painting a picture of Clinton as a healthy 68-year-old woman despite her recent diagnosis of pneumonia.
According to Politico, Clinton underwent a CT scan on Friday that revealed “a small right middle-lobe pneumonia.” The candidate was prescripted a treatment of the antibiotic Levaquin and instructed to take a course of the medication for ten days.
In addition to the antibiotic, Clinton also takes a thyroid medication and the blood thinner Coumadin, both of which have been previously disclosed by the Clinton campaign.
The Clinton campaign will release a letter from Dr. Lisa Bardack, Clinton’s personal physician, later today with more full information on the candidate’s health.
Clinton’s health has long been a topic of unfounded rumors and conspiracy theories, but became a focus of mainstream media organizations after Clinton’s campaign told reporters that she had “overheated” at a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, only to later clarify that the candidate had been diagnosed with pneumonia three days previous.
Updated
Pastor interrupts Trump's remarks at church: 'I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not to give a political speech'
While Donald Trump spoke at the Bethel United Methodist Church in Flint, Michigan, he began criticizing opponent Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy - drawing the condemnation of the church’s pastor.
“Hillary failed on the economy, just like she’s failed on foreign policy. Everything she touched didn’t work out. Nothing. Now Hillary Clinton-”
The reverend Faith Green Timmons interrupted Trump’s speech at the lectern, interjecting to say: “Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not to give a political speech.”
“Oh, okay, okay,” Trump said in response. “Okay. That’s good. Then I’m gonna go back. Okay.”
Trump returned to his script, and Timmons quickly left the stage.
Trump interrupted, asked "not to give a political speech" while delivering statement in Flint, Michigan https://t.co/ncrmsmmLP4
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 14, 2016
Updated
Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine expected to release health records within the hour
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine will release their health records within the next hour, campaign sources told the Guardian.
We’ll be keeping watch - mostly to see if their exercise regimens consist of more than waving their arms around once a day.
Donald Trump, on the Flint water crisis:
It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn’t drink the water in Mexico. Now cars are made in Mexico and you can’t drink the water in Flint!
As many as 12,000 Flint children have been exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead.
Hillary Clinton has released a statement praising an agreement that provides a record $38b in security assistance to Israel, calling the “memorandum of understanding” agreed upon between the two nations a signal that “sends a clear message to the region... that we will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.”
“America’s commitment to Israel’s security must always remain rock-solid and unwavering,” Clinton said in the statement, released by her campaign this afternoon. “That’s why Senator Kaine and I applaud the agreement on a new memorandum of understanding regarding American security assistance to Israel, and congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu and president Obama on this important diplomatic achievement.”
Clinton’s commitment to the US-Israeli relationship - which the former secretary of state declared “is based on common security interests, shared values and deep historical ties” - will be strengthened by the new round of security funds and would remain “unwavering” in a Clinton administration.
“I will work with our partners to implement this agreement, ensure that Israel always maintains its qualitative military edge, and take our alliance to the next level.”
Wisconsin Democrats have revealed a massive check - of the Pat Sajak variety - after documents were revealed that showed Scott Walker, the state’s Republican governor, asked allies to donate to an outside lobbying group* supporting his bid to beat a recall election in 2012.
WI Assembly Democrats respond to newly released documents concerning Gov. Walker campaign finance details pic.twitter.com/d09xqpkYr0
— Hannah (@Hannah_nbc15) September 14, 2016
The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington broke the news:
*Correction: We initially characterized this group as a Super Pac, which it’s not. The Guardian regrets the error.
Updated
In a promotional clip released of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s sitdown chat with TV’s Dr. Mehmet Oz, the perpetual showman responded to Oz’s question about why he hasn’t shared his medical records by furnishing the records from his jacket pocket.
“Why not share your medical records?” Oz asked Trump, in response to the campaign’s pledges of transparency.
“Well, I have really no problem in doing it - I have it right here. I mean, should I do it? I don’t care.” he asked the audience, prompting the audience to clap.
“It’s two letters - one is the report and one is from Lennox Hill Hospital,” Trump said, removing two sheets of folded paper from his breast pocket. “These are all of the tests that were done last week.”
We’ll have more on those actual test results tomorrow when the show airs.
Updated
Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, has stayed quiet throughout the campaign season as the fallout from Flint’s water crisis continued. The second-term Republican was once viewed as a possible contender in the race before the extent of Flint’s lead contamination emerged.
Today, as a former state epidemiologist accepted a plea deal in an ongoing criminal probe by the state’s attorney general into Flint, Snyder again declined to comment on who he supports in the race.
“Gov. Snyder has stayed out of presidential politics since before the primary election and intends on continuing to do so,” Snyder’s spokesperson, Ari Adler, said in an email. “He is focused on the work that needs to be done in Michigan.”
Updated
Trump is wheels down – curses now we’re saying it – Trump’s airplane has landed in Flint. The plane’s landing gear is down, reportedly.
Trump is wheels down in Flint. My view from the press bus pic.twitter.com/5Mn0CVprsb
— Tarini Parti (@tparti) September 14, 2016
Clinton applauds record military aid package for Israel
In a statement on the record US pledge of $38bn in aid to Israel over the next 10 years, Clinton releases a statement saying “Senator Kaine and I applaud the agreement... it reaffirms the depth and strength of the US-Israel relationship”:
Hillary Clinton's statement on the 10-year, $38 billion U.S. military assistance package for Israel pic.twitter.com/lVx05UhBHr
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 14, 2016
Read further:
Bloomberg’s source at the Dr Oz taping quotes Trump about kissing his daughter Ivanka:
ON KISSING: Ivanka kissed Dr. Oz & her dad. Oz commented on kiss. Trump said he kisses her "as often as I can," audience tells @FayCortez.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 14, 2016
The Colin Powell emails: lots more where that came from
Powell on Trump adviser Flynn as Defense Intel Agency chief: “got fired. abusive w/staff, didn’t listen, bad management. right-wing nutty"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 14, 2016
Colin Powell in hacked email on issue that made Donald Trump a national political force: "the whole birther movement was racist"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 14, 2016
Powell on Clinton: "For good reason she comes across as sleazy." https://t.co/nzCGFvG4sW pic.twitter.com/qQLofciNzf
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 14, 2016
NEW: Powell unfiltered on the Cheneys. https://t.co/Mx2m24bTgu pic.twitter.com/JNZQnfgKN8
— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 14, 2016
When Powell was asked for comment on calling the Cheneys "idiots." https://t.co/pEVZMyswtX pic.twitter.com/LDG9EGNXik
— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 14, 2016
Powell's assistant on the US soccer team v Belgium: "we're probably gonna get creamed" pic.twitter.com/XVgW8Aexjd
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) September 14, 2016
Say what you will, but Colin Powell's emails are throwing tons of truth shade -- on a variety of topics
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) September 14, 2016
These Colin Powell emails are further proof that @VeepHBO is the most accurate show about Washington
— Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) September 14, 2016
Somebody get Colin Powell a talk show. Stat.
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) September 14, 2016
My respect for General Powell has never been higher.
— John Weaver (@JWGOP) September 14, 2016
never email
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) September 14, 2016
Updated
We’re not sure that two low-credibility doctors and a TV appearance amounts to a shell game – as patently false as it all seems – but this gif is cool:
Donald Trump's shell game with his health records https://t.co/sh2rXkump2 pic.twitter.com/ajEqqtV4GW
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) September 14, 2016
As Trump arrives in Michigan...
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says it's moving all of its U.S. small car production to Mexico
— Josh Lederman (@joshledermanAP) September 14, 2016
Fortunately, this should have zero resonance in Michigan. https://t.co/FrNbBcBOi7
— Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) September 14, 2016
Flint, Michigan, warns Trump against 'photo op' visit
Donald Trump’s visit to the city of Flint, Michigan on Thursday was met with disdain from residents who said the Republican presidential nominee’s stop was nothing more than an opportunistic photo-op.
Trump, who earlier this month spoke at a predominately black church in Detroit, had said he intended to visit Flint on the campaign trail.
Ahead of Trump’s visit, protesters conveyed a brief press conference outside of Flint’s water plant, where many expressed dismay at what they described as the nominee’s attempt to use the city’s public health crisis as a “campaign prop.”
Carrie Younger-Nelson, a Flint resident, said the city has been engulfed by the water crisis for two years and Trump “just sees an opportunity to get in here and get him some media.”
“Flint do not want him here, and he needs to keep it rolling,” she said.
Standing nearby, State senate minority leader Jim Ananich, a Flint resident himself, said the purpose of the protest early Thursday was to send “a strong message that Flint’s not a photo-op.”
“Looking at the water plant doesn’t help us get new, clean pipes; it doesn’t help us get clean water,” Ananich said.
Jia Ireland, 23, also a Flint resident, said the public needs to know that Flint is still dealing with the effects of the water crisis, now well into its third year.
“People are still living off of water bottles and living off of filters,” she said. “Yes, pipes are being dug up, but it’s a slow progress. And we need to see things happen fast and now.”
“Also, I am not a supporter of Trump,” she continued. “I feel like Donald Trump is using this as a PR statement … so, you’re late.”
Updated
Trump passes Clinton in Nevada – poll
Monmouth University has released a new poll of likely Nevada voters in which Trump leads Clinton by two points, in a four-way race. That’s a flip from Clinton’s four-point lead in the poll in July.
In the battle for retiring minority leader Harry Reid’s US senate seat, the Republican candidate, Representative Joe Heck, leads Democratic former attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto by three points, 46-43, in the poll.
The poll was conducted over the phone from 11-13 September.
BREAKING: Nevada
— MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) September 14, 2016
DJT 44 (was 41 in July)
HRC 42 (was 45)
Johnson 8 (was 5)https://t.co/IooG2mY37Q
Here’s some background information on Nevada:
Powell email says 'I would rather not have to vote for' Clinton
Additional Colin Powell emails obtained by the hacker group DC Leaks, which Powell has acknowledged are his real emails, are surfacing in the media. CBS News managing editor for politics Will Rahn has tweeted one in which Powell shares a dim opinion of Bill Clinton and not such a great appraisal of Hillary Clinton.
“I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect,” Powell writes to Democratic megadonor Jeffrey Leeds. “A 70-year-old person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still dicking bimbos at home (according to the NYP).”
This is a good Colin Powell email pic.twitter.com/66krJvciYL
— Will Rahn (@willrahn) September 14, 2016
(yes, the email I just tweeted is real)
— Will Rahn (@willrahn) September 14, 2016
Here's why saying "Powell criticizes both candidates" represents false-equivalence. On HRC: "hubris/ambition." On Trump: "national disgrace"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 14, 2016
Updated
Here are the second ten of Clinton’s questions for Trump:
11. With business ties to politically-connected Indian developers, how can you conduct foreign policy that puts the U.S. above your profits?
12. How can we be sure you’d be willing to be tough on any nation if necessary, if it would put your interests and profits at risk?
13. How can we know you won't (again) impulsively damage relationships with crucial allies to preserve your own ego? https://t.co/j1VtaFhA6C
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
Dopey Prince @Alwaleed_Talal wants to control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money. Can’t do it when I get elected. #Trump2016
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2015
14. We know you engaged extensively in pay-to-play here at home. Have you bribed foreign officials or other parties abroad?
15. To what extent are you and your family currently contractually tied to payments from foreign business partners, or governments?
16. You’ve mentioned ~120 foreign deals, including in countries with national security implications. Where and with whom are you working?
17. Will your children disclose all of the foreign trips and business deals they’ve undertaken during the campaign, and with whom they met?
18. We'll let @kurteichenwald ask this one: pic.twitter.com/xnIl6JazS3
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
20. It's pretty clear: Trump's spent his life unscrupulously looking out for his own wallet above all. Why would that change as president?
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
Clinton demands Trump answer 20 questions about foreign business ties
Picking up on the Newsweek story featured earlier in the blog, Hillary Clinton – is it her at home? An aide sitting next to her? All of the above? – tweets 20 questions for Trump.
Here are the first 10:
In light of @kurteichenwald's report on the Trump Organization's dangerous ties, here are 20 questions that Trump needs to answer—now.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
2. How will you handle non-cancelable contractual obligations with parties whose interests conflict with those of the United States?
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
3. While refusing to release your tax returns, how will you confirm that you do not have dangerous financial ties to bad actors abroad?
4. If you were willing to work with Qaddafi—a known terrorist and dictator—is there anyone you aren’t willing to make a deal with? Who?
5. How can you be tough on Iran, given your business partnership with someone connected to Iranian money laundering? pic.twitter.com/1AdDm2kfvy
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
6. Given that you've already questioned our commitments to NATO allies, what is your answer to this? pic.twitter.com/qp5vMqtcs1
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
7. To what extent would your foreign policy be dictated by potential financial benefits for your business partners? pic.twitter.com/4Nd9KSdTfi
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 14, 2016
8. Will you disclose the nature of your personal and business relationships with all of the Russian oligarchs you are “close” to?
9. Have you or your campaign discussed U.S.-Russian relations with the Russian billionaires with whom you’ve done business?
10. How did the Russian mob boss who ran a criminal organization out of Trump Tower get a VIP pass to your Miss Universe pageant in Moscow?
Seems legit. Except wait, does that say Dr Harold Bornstein performed the physical? The gastroenterologist who admitted to writing a letter praising Trump’s health as “amazingly excellent” in five minutes while a black car waited downstairs?
NBC reported last month:
“If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” Bornstein wrote.
Asked how he could justify the hyperbole, Bornstein said, “I like that sentence to be quite honest with you and all the rest of them are either sick or dead.”
Bornstein has destroyed his credibility on the question of Trump’s health. Next.
So Trump and Dr Oz did review his physical results it seems. pic.twitter.com/dKsfDK2YAX
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) September 14, 2016
Updated
Trump has finished taping Dr Oz. Reports are emerging that the pair did in the end discuss Trump’s health. It’s unclear to what extent that happened. Here’s Maggie Haberman of the New York Times:
Whiplash > Trump did apparently share some results from recent physical w Dr. Oz
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 14, 2016
Here’s the guy who ghost-wrote the Art of the Deal:
Donald Trump looks unhealthy to me. Face is florid red. Clearly should lose a lot of weight. Eats terribly. Will Dr. Oz get at any of this?
— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) September 14, 2016
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New York prosecutor opens new inquiry into Trump foundation
New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman has opened an inquiry into the conduct of the Donald J Trump Foundation, the personal charity of the Republican presidential nominee, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Guardian.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Schneiderman said Tuesday that he had been “looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it’s complying with the laws governing charities in New York”.
The source said that Schneiderman “opened an inquiry on the Trump Foundation based on troubling transactions that have recently come to light.”
Schneiderman said “my interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of nonprofits in New York state, and we have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view.”
“We’ve had correspondence with them. I didn’t make a big deal out of it or hold a press conference.”
Read further:
Leaked documents in Scott Walker case expose campaign finance crisis
The pervasive influence of corporate cash in the democratic process, and the extraordinary lengths to which politicians, lobbyists and even judges go to solicit money, are laid bare in sealed court documents leaked to the Guardian.
The John Doe files amount to 1,500 pages of largely unseen material gathered in evidence by prosecutors investigating alleged irregularities in political fundraising. Last year the Wisconsin supreme court ordered that all the documents should be destroyed, though a set survived that has now been obtained by the news organisation.
The files open a window on a world that is very rarely glimpsed by the public, in which millions of dollars are secretly donated by major corporations and super-wealthy individuals to third-party groups in an attempt to sway elections. They speak to a visceral theme of the 2016 presidential cycle: the distortion of American democracy by big business that has been slammed by both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.
In a case that is the subject of a petition currently in front of the US supreme court, five Wisconsin prosecutors carried out a deep investigation into what they suspected were criminal campaign-finance violations by the campaign committee of Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor and former Republican presidential candidate. Known as the “John Doe investigation”, the inquiry has been a lightning rod for bitter disputes between conservatives and progressives for years.
In July 2015 the state’s supreme court halted the investigation, saying the prosecutors had misunderstood campaign finance law and as a result had picked on people and groups “wholly innocent of any wrongdoing”. Highly unusually, the court also ordered that all the evidence assembled by the prosecutors be destroyed and later held under seal...
Read further:
Read related:
Updated
Trump campaign says he will release physical results 'this week'
Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, after multiple confusing sentences, gets to the point with Fox News: “Mr Trump has said that he had a physical late last week... and he will release it this week.”
It’s Wednesday. Transcript via Sopan Deb of CBS News:
Conway tells Fox that Trump will be releasing the results of his physical this week: pic.twitter.com/vhg2IOwHz7
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 14, 2016
Trump makes play for Maine – poll
“A Colby College-Boston Globe poll released Tuesday shows the presidential race in Maine is now within the margin of error, with Clinton leading Trump, 42 percent to 39 percent,” reports the Boston Globe:
Mainers for the first time in a while have to pay attention to the statewide race for president,” said Dan Shea, a political science professor and director of the Goldfarb Center at Colby College. “The Clinton campaign can no longer take this state for granted.”
Maine splits its electoral votes, like Nebraska, and the Trump campaign had hoped to pick up a single electoral vote in the state by winning the rural northern second district. The question this poll presents pertains to all four electoral votes at stake in the state.
Maine isn’t polled enough to generate a meaningful average. But giving Maine to Trump generates fun maps like this one, giving Trump Maine, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, and North Carolina and letting Clinton keep Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
In the event of an electoral college tie, the newly elected House of Representatives picks the president, virtually guaranteeing, this year, analysts think, a Republican win.
Updated
Trump organization's foreign ties present conflict of interest hazard
As head of the Trump organization international conglomerate, Donald Trump is bound by contracts to foreign parties, some of which are not publicly known, some of whom are clearly unsavory, and all of which would pose a massive conflict-of-interest problem should Trump be elected president, writes Kurt Eichenwald in Newsweek:
A close examination by Newsweek of the Trump Organization, including confidential interviews with business executives and some of its international partners, reveals an enterprise with deep ties to global financiers, foreign politicians and even criminals, although there is no evidence the Trump Organization has engaged in any illegal activities. It also reveals a web of contractual entanglements that could not be just canceled. If Trump moves into the White House and his family continues to receive any benefit from the company, during or even after his presidency, almost every foreign policy decision he makes will raise serious conflicts of interest and ethical quagmires.
Read the full piece here.
In response to an apparent reversal by Donald Trump on a promise to disclose medical records, questions are swirling about his health, with some daring to ask whether he actually even had a physical examination last week, as he said he did.
What is Trump hiding about his health? https://t.co/K21e60NmBn
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) September 14, 2016
Also, Conway has said he had a physical and he’s in good health…but she didn’t know who the doctor was https://t.co/CrekiR58F6
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) September 14, 2016
Just a reminder that all we know about @realDonaldTrump's health is a deranged fanboy letter from this guy. pic.twitter.com/2h3dM9fnsL
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) September 14, 2016
Updated
Melania Trump pushes back against undocumented worker story
Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s wife, has released a letter from an immigration lawyer that says she never worked as a model on improper visas. The question had arisen based on the timing of modeling work Trump did in the mid-1990s, before she had American citizenship.
The lawyer’s letter asserts Melania Trump never worked in the United States in 1995 and in fact never was in the United States in 1995.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 14, 2016
But CNN reported in August that Trump had shot pictures in New York in 1995:
But Melania posed for those photos, which appeared in the French magazine Max, during a shoot in New York City in 1995 when she was 25 and known as “Melania K,” according to Bojan Pozar, the author of the biography “Melania Trump: The Inside Story.”
The one conflict here is that the NY Post reported the photo shoot was published in Jan. 1996. https://t.co/HwmJbL7SkA
— Philip Bump (@pbump) September 14, 2016
So when is the press conference on this? https://t.co/D4sChktOiL
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 14, 2016
Here’s the lawyer:
Melania's immigration lawyer was once the mayor of Englewood, NJ. https://t.co/4QaTkmcNt6 pic.twitter.com/D6gfV28Niu
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 14, 2016
The Clinton campaign announced plans Wednesday to open six additional offices in Ohio, bringing its total in the state to 54.
In August the Trump campaign announced locations for 15 offices in Ohio, but it is unclear whether they are all fully functional. The campaign has overstated its footprint in other states, such as Florida, where it said in August that it would open two dozen offices, which never happened.
Organization is not the problem https://t.co/pC9aDHmo6W
— Amy Chozick (@amychozick) September 14, 2016
1. Selzer/Bloomberg Ohio poll could be right. 2. You should average. 3. Trump needs to win Ohio. 4. Clinton doesn't.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) September 14, 2016
Here’s some background on Ohio demographics and presidential voting history:
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Trump appears to back out of medical disclosure
On Monday, Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton’s health was “an issue” and announced he would “be releasing very, very specific numbers” about his health soon. “This last week I took a physical,” Trump said, “and I’ll be releasing when the numbers come in.”
At the same time, his campaign announced Trump would appear Thursday on the television program of Dr Oz, who vowed to keep the conversation inbounds with whatever Trump wanted to say.
Trump is scheduled to tape Dr Oz this morning. The Trump campaign now says Trump will not discuss his medical reports or recent physical on Dr Oz:
BREAKING: In reversal, Trump aides say Dr Oz taping today will NOT focus on his recent physical or medical records. pic.twitter.com/sgbvguVWTl
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) September 14, 2016
Who conducted the physical? What day did Trump take it? And how slow is his doctor?
Like someone going from "I will release my tax returns" to "I'm going to talk about how to save & spend wisely in a Suze Orman special"
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) September 14, 2016
On Monday:
I think it’s an issue,” Trump said. “In fact, this last week I took a physical and I’ll be releasing when the numbers come in. Hopefully they’re going to be good, I think they’re going to be good, I feel great, but when the numbers come in I’ll be releasing very, very specific numbers.
Updated
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by five points among likely voters in Ohio in a new poll put out by the highly reputable Ann Selzer firm for Bloomberg.
Trump has a rally in Canton, Ohio, scheduled today, and he planned to visit Flint, Michigan. Clinton remains at home recuperating from pneumonia but was to return to the trail Thursday with a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Trump led Clinton 48-43 in a two-way race in the poll, which surveyed 802 likely voters from 8-12 September. Clinton placed half of Trump supporters in a “basket of deplorables” on 9 September and stumbled upon leaving the World Trade Center on 11 September. Trump led Clinton 44-39 in a four-way race in the poll, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson scoring an impressive 10 points.
No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio, which has picked the winner in every presidential election since 1964. HuffPost pollster’s average has Clinton two points ahead of Trump in the state.
In the Ohio Senate race, where Democrats once hoped to pick up a seat, incumbent Republican Rob Portman was ahead of former Democratic governor Ted Strickland by 17 points in the poll, 53-36%.
Trump tweets Crimea
Trump raised eyebrows Tuesday night with a strange tweet about Crimea and a disconnected riff on the Lincoln-Douglas debates. What do they mean? Here’s your morning brain teaser:
Russia took Crimea during the so-called Obama years. Who wouldn't know this and why does Obama get a free pass?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2016
His comments on the Lincoln-Douglas debates came as Trump continues to argue against a moderator for the presidential debates this year, which begin on 26 September:
This riff from Trump on the Lincoln-Douglas debates, amid his argument for no moderators at the upcoming debates: pic.twitter.com/OqZXT0FqNE
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) September 14, 2016
There's plenty to unpack there, but his continued obsession with ratings at this point in the race is just baffling.
— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) September 14, 2016
Powell calls Trump ‘national disgrace’
Former secretary of defense and retired four-star general Colin Powell referred to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a “national disgrace” and an “international pariah” in emails to a former aide, according to Buzzfeed News, reporting on leaks from a hack of Powell’s account with possible ties to Russian intelligence.
Powell, who served under three Republican presidents but endorsed President Barack Obama twice, called the birther movement that Trump fomented “racist” in an email to Emily Miller, a journalist who once served as Powell’s deputy press secretary during his tenure in the second Bush administration.
In a separate email, to former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Powell called the Benghazi affair a “stupid witch hunt”. Rice replied: “Completely agree.”
Ivanka Trump: dad’s healthy
A day before Donald Trump was to unveil some kind of medical information, seemingly in a made-for-TV event, his daughter Ivanka has told ABC that he is healthy:
.@IvankaTrump on @GMA: Father's health "unbelievable": "I should be so lucky to keep his schedule" https://t.co/cMFdOtPH4e
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 14, 2016
Miley Cyrus on channeling Sanders
The recording artist, who is appearing as a coach on the reality singing show The Voice this season, said she would tell her charges to Be Bernie, the Washington Post reports:
I don’t want this to come off the wrong way, but I’m going to tell my contestants: Be Bernie Sanders,” Cyrus tells Elle. “Be the person people want and love. Don’t worry about the masses. That’s how you make a memorable moment. Let people talk about it.”
Thank you for reading and please join us in the comments.
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