Today in Campaign 2016
- Donald Trump railed against his fellow Republicans on Twitter on Tuesday morning, after a week in which many in the party have deserted him following the release of a tape of him boasting about groping women.
- The move came as prominent Republicans Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz both reaffirmed that they were standing by the nominee. Trump described his party – which he first joined in 1987 before several years as a Democrat and an independent – as disloyal and unable to win, while labeling the House speaker, Paul Ryan, the most senior Republican in Congress, “very weak and ineffective”. Ryan has been a vocal critic of Trump’s and this week announced he would no longer defend Trump or campaign with him, although he stopped short of formally unendorsing him.
- Barack Obama assailed Republican nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday over remarks about groping women, also criticizing Republicans who continued to support the candidate. “You don’t have to be a husband or a father to hear what we heard just a few days ago and say that’s not right,” the president said in Greensboro, North Carolina, in his first public remarks since the release of a 2005 tape showing Trump bragging about groping and kissing women without their consent. “You just have to be a decent human being to say that’s not right.”
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Hillary Clinton used the global climate crisis as a weapon for another assault on Donald Trump on Tuesday, enlisting the help of her husband’s former vice-president Al Gore to urge America’s voters not to risk sending a “climate change denier” to the White House. In a joint address in Miami, Clinton and Gore repeatedly hammered the Republican nominee for his stance on climate change and his belief that global warming is a hoax initiated by the Chinese. “Climate change is real, it’s urgent, and America can take the lead in the world in addressing it,” Clinton said, promising investment in clean energy.
- The 2016 campaign has jumped the shark. Specifically, the shark from Jaws. In a conversation with Fox News host Megyn Kelly, former Arkansas governorMike Huckabee declared that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may be rough around the edges, but when the chips are down, he’s the person you can trust to save your life – not unlike Captain Quint in the film Jaws.
And they wonder why Hollywood hates them pic.twitter.com/7YJxixbzVf
— JORDAN OKUN (@Jzokun) October 11, 2016
- The repercussions were swift following last Friday’s leak of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Donald Trump can be heard bragging about sexually assaulting women: House speaker Paul Ryan told fellow Republicans that he would no longer defend the party’s nominee, while hordes of party members distanced themselves from Trump’s comments with some – including Senator John McCain – even saying they could no longer vote for Trump. Supposedly, things could get even worse for the Republican nominee.
- Following the release of the footage by the Washington Post, Bill Pruitt, a producer on the first two seasons of The Apprentice, the NBC reality show Trump hosted from 2004-2015, tweeted that there are “far worse” behind-the-scenes tapes of Trump on the program. Emmy award-winning producer Chris Nee has alleged that Trump says the n-word in the recordings.
As a producer on seasons 1 & 2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to the #trumptapes there are far worse. #justthebegininng
— Bill Pruitt (@billpruitt) October 8, 2016
- The BeyHive did not take kindly to Trump surrogate Betsy McCaughey calling Hillary Clinton a hypocrite for criticizing Donald Trump’s sexist remarks despite also being a fan of Beyoncé. “Hillary Clinton expresses that she finds the language on that bus horrific,” said McCaughey on CNN on Monday, noting that she herself did not like “rap music”. “But in fact she likes language like this: ‘I came to slay bitch, when he fuck me good, I take his ass to Red Lobster,’” quoting Beyoncé’s song Formation.
Donald Trump urges crowd to vote November 28
Donald Trump just told a crowd to vote on November 28th 😬 pic.twitter.com/I6JJFEoQKc
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) October 12, 2016
“If you guys don’t vote for me I”m going to be very angry at youuuuu,” Trump croons the Florida crowd.
— Lauren Gambino (@LGamGam) October 12, 2016
Donald Trump, on Al Gore:
Didn’t he say he was the founder of the Internet? He wasn’t.
Live from Florida:
After warning that the US risks becoming a banana republic if he's not elected, Trump calls for the prosecution of his political opponent
— Lauren Gambino (@LGamGam) October 12, 2016
Donald Trump campaigns in Panama City, Florida
Watch it live here:
Texas congressman Blake Farenthold has swiftly apologized for telling an MSNBC anchor that he would have to think about revoking his endorsement of a candidate who said that he “really liked raping women.”
I apologize for my failure to immediately condemn anyone who would say something as outrageous as they like raping women. (1/3)
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) October 12, 2016
During an interview on MSNBC with Chris Hayes tonight, I was thrown off by the anchor’s use of a hypothetical question. (2/3)
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) October 12, 2016
I do not, and have not ever condoned rape or violence against women. That is not the kind of man I believe Donald Trump to be. (3/3)
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) October 12, 2016
Hillary Clinton’s campaign fired back on Tuesday as Wikileaks released a new tranche of hacked emails from the account of its chairman John Podesta, dubbing the website a “propaganda arm of the Russian government” seeking to help elect Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The latest batch of more than 2,000 emails, disclosed on Monday, offered a glimpse into the inner workings of the Clinton campaign. They included insights on multiple fronts, such as a lack of preparedness for Bernie Sanders’ insurgent campaign, concerns raised by Chelsea Clinton over potential conflicts of interest for the family’s foundation, and efforts by aides on how to best frame the former secretary of state’s second bid for the White House.
Last week, Wikileaks published other hacked emails from Podesta’s account, which included alleged excerpts of Clinton’s paid speeches to Wall Street. Clinton’s campaign has neither confirmed nor denied authenticity of the emails, but in recent days escalated its charge that the hack was conducted by Russian state actors.
Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Clinton’s campaign, fired off a tweet storm late Monday in which he assailed Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, for working on behalf of the Russian government.
“You are no media organization,” Fallon tweeted at Wikileaks. “You are a propaganda arm of the Russian government, running interference for their pet candidate, Trump.”
GOP congressman suggests he might back Trump even if Trump said he liked rape
Texas congressman Blake Farenthold, asked on MSNBC this evening whether he would continue to support Donald Trump if he said “I really like to rape women,” did not commit to revoking his endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate.
.@farenthold on if he'd revoke support for Trump if he said "I like raping women" -- "It'd be bad...I'd consider it" https://t.co/jWCZ1YERYl
— All In w/Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) October 12, 2016
“That would be bad and I’d consider it.”
Updated
Donald Trump, making his first appearance in a one-on-one interview since the release of video recordings that showed him bragging about sexually assaulting women and since the second presidential debate, petulantly told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly that “I get along with everybody” that that House speaker Paul Ryan had committed a craven act of political betrayal by refusing to defend him.
“We’ve been having a problem - we have millions and millions of followers,” Trump said, “and Paul Ryan, open borders and amnesty and bad budgets by the way, very, very bad budgets... The shackles are some of the establishment people the weak and ineffective people within the party.”
“They’re not giving support - they don’t give the kind of support,” Trump said, when O’Reilly asked why he was so angry with Republican leadership. “They don’t give the support that we really need. Maybe we’ll do better without their support.”
When O’Reilly asked if Trump’s “throwing off of the shackles” of cooperating with Republicans meant that he would become more outspoken, Trump denied that he was outspoken at all.
“I don’t think I’m that outspoken to be honest with you - I think I’ve been very nice,” Trump said. “I don’t think so - look, I went to Ivy League schools.”
“I’m just tired of nonsupport - and I don’t really want support.”
Asked how he would address his cratering support among women after release of video in which he grabbed about being able to “grab [women] by the pussy” without consequence because of his fame, Trump dismissed the remarks as “locker room talk.”
“Most people have heard it before, and I’ve had a lot of women come up to me and say I’ve heard that before, and I’ve heard a lot worse,” Trump said. “If that’s what it takes to lose an election, I think that’d be pretty sad.”
O’Reilly said that his popularity among women has taken a hit, which Trump denied.
“I’m not sure I believe it - I’m not sure I believe it,” Trump said. “What women want is they want secure borders, they want safety, they want law and order, they want a police department that is allowed to so its job, they want justice for all,” before going on a tirade about Hillary Clinton creating Isis, which he said “I’m sure she was very proud of.”
“To be honest with you, Bill, I get along with people.”
Hillary Clinton used the global climate crisis as a weapon for another assault on Donald Trump on Tuesday, enlisting the help of her husband’s former vice-president Al Gore to urge America’s voters not to risk sending a “climate change denier” to the White House.
In a joint address in Miami, Clinton and Gore repeatedly hammered the Republican nominee for his stance on climate change and his belief that global warming is a hoax initiated by the Chinese.
“Climate change is real, it’s urgent, and America can take the lead in the world in addressing it,” Clinton said, promising investment in clean energy.
“We can transform our economy, we can rally the world to cut carbon pollutions and above all we can fulfill our moral obligation to protect the planet. Just remember what is at stake. My opponent is a guy who denies science, who denies climate change every day.”
Yet it was Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election to George W Bush by less than 500 votes in Florida, who delivered the more powerful message about why the climate crisis is one of the most serious issues in this campaign, and why he believes Clinton is the only candidate who can help solve it.
President Barack Obama, on the stakes of the 2016 election:
Civility is on the ballot! Respect for women is on the ballot! Tolerance is on the ballot! Justice is on the ballot! Equality is on the ballot! Democracy is on the ballot! If you want to send a message in this election, make it a resounding message!
Closing out his remarks by speaking directly to young voters, President Barack Obama urges them to turn out, despite the coarsening of the American political process during the 2016 campaign.
“There are a lot of things about our politics that can seem cheap, and trivial, and frustrating,” Obama says, “but here’s a chance to reject a divisive and mean-spirited politics that would just take us backwards. And there’s nothing cheap or trivial about that.”
“That’s real - that is true. And young people, you have a chance to do that, so don’t fall for the easy cynicism that says my vote doesn’t matter, or all politicians are the same,” Obama continues. “I promise you - your vote matters!”
“If you care about equality, if you supported Bernie in the primaries, you’ve got a choice!” Obama says. “When he asks you what you have to lose, you answer - you’ve got everything to lose!”
“Send a message for hope! Send a message by voting for Hillary Clinton!” Obama closes. “Send a message about who we are as the American people, and make our kids proud!”
“Let’s get to work!”
President Barack Obama turns his attention to national security, often seen in polling at Donald Trump’s strongest quality among voters, deriding the notion that Trump would be a safer commander-in-chief than Hillary Clinton.
“If you’re concerned about who’s gonna keep you and your family safe in a dangerous world, the choice is even clearer,” Obama says, and “she’ll do it without resorting to torture, or banning entire religions from our country.”
“He might be up, I guess, at 3am, but that’s tweeting insults at someone who got under his skin instead of getting a good night’s sleep to do the job of being president of the United States!”
“Come on!” Obama shouts, as the audience laughs.
“When, in the middle of a debate, you threaten to put your political opponent in jail - no trial, no indictment, no lawyers - when you welcome Russian meddling in our electoral process, then you’re disregarding not just things like facts or evidence or a free press, but you’re chipping away at core values like tolerance and due process and mutual respect,” Obama says. “And our democracy doesn’t work that way.”
“We have stood in contrast and in opposition to those kids of ideas, and I frankly never thought I’d see the day when we have a major-party candidate who would be promoting those kinds of notions!”
President Obama reacts to Alex Jones:
He said me and Hillary are demons. Said we smell like sulfur. Ain’t that something? Now, I mean, come on, people! Democracy does not work if you just say stuff like that!
President Barack Obama, on Donald Trump’s age:
At 55, it’s hard for me to change - I know at 70 it’s gonna be harder!
President Obama, extending an olive branch to Republicans who have been no fan of his administration for the past eight years, tells the audience in Greensboro, North Carolina, that not all Republicans (#NotAllRepublicans?) say or believe the things that Donald Trump does - but that he’s a creation of their that they need to expressly disavow.
I do not believe that every Republican official thinks the way Donald Trump does - many of them do not. The overwhelming majority of Republicans, they love the families, they love their country, they’re good and decent people doing all sorts of good things for this country. What is true is that over the last eight, ten, however long you wanna say, if you’ve been only about obstruction, if in order to score political points, you tell your voter base crazy stuff like I wasn’t born here, or that I’m a Muslim, or that— well, it’s just a long list.
“And you repeat it over and over again, and so that your only agenda is negative and you just make up facts,” Obama continues, as call-and-response “Yeahs!” echo throughout the hall, “over time what happens is that you produce a nominee who’s all about obstruction and insults and makes up his own facts! Now, I don’t think that’s how the majority of Republicans think, but this is the habit you get into that creates this kind of nominee. And now you find a situation in which the guy says stuff that nobody would find tolerable if they were applying for a job at 7/11.
The fact that now you’ve got people saying, well, we strongly disapprove, we really disagree, we find those comments disgusting, but we’re still endorsing him, we still think he should be president, that doesn’t make sense to me!
I’m certainly not perfect, nobody’s perfect, and I too believe in forgiveness and redemption, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to elect the person president!
Updated
President Obama: 'Tweeting doesn’t qualify you' to serve as president
“You don’t have to be a husband or a father to hear what we heard just a few days ago and say, ‘That’s not right,’” President Barack Obama says, of Donald Trump’s remarks about sexually assaulting women. “You just have to be a decent human being to say, ‘that’s not right.’ And if it makes you mad, you can do something about it!”
“Nobody fully understands - including me - the jobs and demands of this job until you’ve sat behind this desk,” Obama continues. “The buck stops here! And so, like, tweeting doesn’t qualify you. Soundbites don’t qualify you. Insults certainly don’t qualify you. Nobody can fully know what it’s like to manage a global crisis, or know the feeling of sending a young person into war, but I tell you, nobody’s been closer to those decisions than Hillary.”
“She knows what it means, she knows what it takes,” Obama continues. “She understands that the decisions you make in this job mean life or death, affect soldiers and veterans and workers who need a raise or a decent retirement. She understands that it counts for families that are trying to climb into the middle class, or stay in the middle class.”
“No matter how daunting the odds, or how many times she gets knocked down, she doesn’t point fingers or throw blame, she doesn’t say the system is rigged, she doesn’t check her mic,” he says, tapping the microphone. “She is qualified to be president of the United States of America.”
President Barack Obama, woke AF:
You don’t have to be a husband or a father to hear what we heard just a few days ago and say, ‘That’s not right.’ You just have to be a decent human being to say, ‘that’s not right.’
Speaking at a raucous rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, President Barack Obama outlines the progressive victories of the past eight years of his administration - and points to the threat to that agenda posed by the election of Donald Trump.
“I wanted to say thank you for all of the support you’ve given us over the years,” Obama says. “When we look back, eight years later, we fought back from the recession, our auto industry is setting new records, our businesses have turned job losses into 15 million new jobs... incomes are rising, poverty is falling, uninsured rate at an all-time low, across America you can marry whoever you love, brought our brave troops to our families, delivered justice to Osama bin Laden, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program, opened a new chapter with the people of Cuba... no wonder I’ve gone grey, ‘cause we’ve been busy! We’ve been busy!”
“That’s why I’ve got all this grey hair! I’ve been busy!” Obama continues, the crowd eating it up. “But Michelle says I still look good.”
“But I am telling you, Greensboro, all that press goes out the window if we don’t make the right choice just four weeks from today. The closer we get, the clearer the choice becomes,” Obama continues. “We’ve got a choice right now between somebody who is as qualified as anybody who has ever run for the White House, and somebody who has proven over and over again that he is unfit to represent this county.”
“He doesn’t have the temperament or the knowledge or apparently the inclination to obtain the knowledge” to serve as president, Obama says, “and that was before we knew about his attitudes towards women!”
President Barack Obama campaigns for Hillary Clinton in Greensboro, North Carolina
Watch it live here:
Former House speaker John Boehner has declared that while Donald Trump is “not a conservative, he’s barely a Republican,” he still plans to vote for him:
Reuters poll: Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 8 points after tape, debate
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s lead over Republican rival Donald Trump has widened to 8 points among likely voters less than a month before Election Day, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that shows one in five Republicans hold the opinion that Trump’s predatory remarks about sexually assaulting women disqualify him from holding office.
The survey, which was conducted after news of Trump’s remarks to Access Hollywood in 2005 as well as after the second of three presidential debates between the two candidates, unhelpfully declines to include the specific percentages of likely voters supporting either candidate, other than stating that Clinton’s lead has extended from a 5-point lead the last time the survey was conducted. (Thanks, guys!)
According to voters who watched at least part of the second presidential debate, 53% said that Clinton won, while only 32% saw Trump as the winner - surely information that Trump will take into account the next time he tweets that every poll taken after the debate showed him winning by massive margins.
Despite winning the second debate in a landslide (every poll), it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
According to the poll, 42% of American adults - and 19% of Republicans - find that Trump’s comments in 2005, in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women and being able to get away with it by virtue of his fame, believe that Trump’s remarks disqualify him from the presidency.
Hillary Clinton has wished her Jewish supporters an easy fast as Yom Kippur begins at sundown:
G’mar chatima tova to those celebrating #YomKippur. Wishing you a meaningful day and an easy fast. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 11, 2016
Jake Tapper is about three more news cycles away from striking a panelist.
Trump surrogate Boris Epshteyn smacked down by @JakeTapper after he says Gore talking about mosquitoes in Florida was boring #Zika pic.twitter.com/NenMQ4mU4S
— Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) October 11, 2016
Report: Breitbart chief bragged 'I'm Trump's campaign manager' two months after campaign started
Breitbart News, the far-right website that has become a functional extension of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, reportedly merged certain editorial operations with the Republican nominee’s presidential campaign a year before its executive chair joined the campaign as its CEO, according to a report from the Daily Beast.
“I’m Trump’s campaign manager,” Steve Bannon, the current CEO of the Trump campaign and one of Trump’s closest advisors, wrote in an email sent on August 30, 2015 to a former writing partner.
When asked if it was true, Bannon responded: “Don’t u ever read breitbart--its trump central.”
Bannon then lauded Trump as “a nationalist who embraces [Sen. Jeff Sessions’s] immigration plan” as the reason the site became “Trump central.”
Demand mounts for Trump Apprentice tapes that may hold 'far worse'
The repercussions were swift following last Friday’s leak of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Donald Trump can be heard bragging about sexually assaulting women: House speaker Paul Ryan told fellow Republicans that he would no longer defend the party’s nominee, while hordes of party members distanced themselves from Trump’s comments with some – including Senator John McCain – even saying they could no longer vote for Trump.
Supposedly, things could get even worse for the Republican nominee.
Following the release of the footage by the Washington Post, Bill Pruitt, a producer on the first two seasons of The Apprentice, the NBC reality show Trump hosted from 2004-2015, tweeted that there are “far worse” behind-the-scenes tapes of Trump on the program. Emmy award-winning producer Chris Nee hasalleged that Trump says the n-word in the recordings.
As a producer on seasons 1 & 2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to the #trumptapes there are far worse. #justthebegininng
— Bill Pruitt (@billpruitt) October 8, 2016
In light of the allegations, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, which owns the rights to the show, and The Apprentice creator Mark Burnett are facing mounting pressure to make public the footage. But on Monday, MGM and Burnett said in a joint statement to the Guardian, that they do “not have the ability nor the right” to release the material, citing “various contractual and legal requirements”.
MGM and Burnett also refuted allegations that staffers have been threatened with legal action for releasing the outtakes, stating that: “the recent claims that Mark Burnett has threatened anyone with litigation if they were to leak such material are completely and unequivocally false.” Burnett “has consistently supported Democratic campaigns”, the statement said. In past presidential cycles, he has been a prominent donor to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee.
But leaking The Apprentice tapes comes for an alleged asking price of $5.1m – needed to cover the potential penalty fee for breaking Burnett’s non-disclosure agreement.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is officially using Kate McKinnon’s portrayal of the candidate as part of its communications strategy:
Here is our official response to the conduct of the Trump campaign over the past 48 hours: pic.twitter.com/evAviDI3nH
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) October 11, 2016
Mike Huckabee: Donald Trump is like the guy who gets eaten by the shark in Jaws
The 2016 campaign has jumped the shark. Specifically, the shark from Jaws.
In a conversation with Fox News host Megyn Kelly, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee declared that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may be rough around the edges, but when the chips are down, he’s the person you can trust to save your life - not unlike Captain Quint in the film Jaws.
And they wonder why Hollywood hates them pic.twitter.com/7YJxixbzVf
— JORDAN OKUN (@Jzokun) October 11, 2016
“He’s like Captain Quint in the original movie Jaws,” said Huckabee. “He’s vulgar, he’s salty, he might even get drunk... But hold on here: he’s the guy who’s gonna save your butt and save your family. And so, at the end of the day, when he kills the shark, you’re happy about it.”
Huckabee, who has long been a critic of American popular culture, continued with the analogy. “Now, Hillary is the shark,” Huckabee said. “She’s going to eat your boat, she’s gonna have open borders, immigration out the kazoo, and so the choice is, do you vote for Captain Quint, who’s gonna save your family, or do you vote for the shark? That’s the choice you get to make.”
Kelly, clearly a scholar of summer blockbusters, burst Huckabee’s bubble by reminding the former governor that Quint was devoured by the shark.
“Now, governor, I hate to be the one to tell you this,” said Kelly. “Captain Quint got eaten by the shark.”
“But he died saving the other people!” Huckabee protested, laughing.
“But he died!” Kelly said. “Went down in flames and the shark won as between the two of them!”
Huckabee continued, despite the blow to his theory.
“The shark didn’t win! The shark got blown up! Look, any analogy can fall apart, Megyn,” Huckabee said, laughing. “Come on, work with me!”
Kelly rounded out the segment by singing Quint’s song from the film, Fairwell And Adieu to You Fair Spanish Ladies, because this campaign needs at least a little levity.
Actor Richard Dreyfuss, who starred as Hooper, the dreamy oceonographer, in the film, backed up Kelly’s assertion on Twitter:
Quint did not kill Jaws. https://t.co/jSSRmGE9hD
— Richard Dreyfuss (@RichardDreyfuss) October 11, 2016
Updated
Al Gore: 'Take it from me - every single vote counts!'
Former vice president Al Gore reminds the audience in Miami that he knows better than anyone the importance of a vote in Florida - and encourages them to not let that opportunity go to waste.
“The stakes in this election simply could not be higher,” Gore says. “Honestly, to those of you here and to those who can hear my voice by whatever means, this election really matters. The world is on the cusp of either building on the progress of solving the climate crisis, or stepping back, washing our hands of americas traditional role of a leader in the world... the choice is that clear. It’s that stark.”
Pounding the lectern, Gore reminds the audience of his 500-odd vote loss in the 2000 presidential election that ended up delivering the presidency to Republican rival George W. Bush.
“Please take it from me - every single vote counts! Every single vote counts!” Gore shouts. “If you are not registered to vote, do so today! If you are on the fence about whether to vote, remember what is at stake in this election, and if you think your vote does not matter, take it from me: your vote can make all of the difference in this election! Vote early! And don’t let your friends sit this election out.”
Returning to the main theme of the event - climate change, Gore lauds Hillary Clinton as a leader “who gets it, who cares about it, who’s internalized it, who’s passionate about it.”
“That’s why I am here and that’s why I will vote for Hillary Clinton!” Gore says. “I know that my vote counts, I know that your vote counts, I hope you will consider carefully the future in making your decision this November.”
“Together, we have the opportunity to look back on this year as a time when our national finally chose to answer the alarm bells on the climate crisis, and went into action to solve it. I know that there are still some who doubt in their hearts that we as human beings and we as Americans have the ability to bring about such a big and important change... the will to change and build a brighter future is itself a reusable resource!”
The last line of Gore’s speech is wildly popular - not least of all, with Clinton herself.
“That’s a great line - I love that!” Clinton shouts.
Al Gore, speaking to a slightly listless crowd in Miami, is lauding Hillary Clinton as the candidate who will help turn the United States into a “renewable-energy superpower.”
“The Paris Agreement is a big deal,” Gore elaborates. “It is by far the biggest step forward the world has ever taken to solve the climate crisis. Every nation in the world, virtually... agreed to phase out these greenhouse-gas emissions and go to net-zero emissions in the second half of this century.”
“The question in this election,” Gore continues, “is which of these candidates is going to continue this progress. With Hillary Clinton we’ll build under the progress made by President Obama, and she will seize the opportunities.”
“It’s already creating millions of jobs, and it continues to get cheaper and cheaper every single week - world records are being broken.”
Updated
Al Gore, speaking in Miami, warns the audience that the warming of the Atlantic Ocean presents a clear and present danger to the state of Florida - and its residents.
“Just in the last year, we have seen one-in-a-thousand-year downpours,” Gore says. “This is not normal - it is becoming the new normal, which is now a set of conditions that we have created with all of this man-made global warming pollution.”
“Every vertical inch of sea-level rise means four-to-eight feet of water going inward” during storm surges and high tides, Gore continues. “Just yesterday, there were six more cases of Zika in Dade County... but the changing climate conditions change the places where these tropical diseases become endemic and put down roots!”
“These any many other consequences,” Gore continues, “are really wake-up calls for us. Mother Nature is giving us a very clear and powerful message: we cannot continue putting 110m tons of global-warming pollution into the atmosphere like it’s an open sewer. We’ve got to wake up.”
Speaking to a raucous crowd of Hillary Clinton supporters in Miami after an extended speech on the issue of climate change, former vice president Al Gore tells the audience that “when it comes to the most urgent issue facing our country and the world, the choice in this election is extremely clea: HC will make solving the climate crisis a top national priority.”
“Her opponent, based upon the ideas that he has presented, will take us toward a climate catastrophe,” Gore says. “The climate crisis is and must be considered a top national priory, and a top global priority.”
“For those of you who are younger than 25, you might not remember the election of 2000, and what happened here in Florida and across the country,” Gore, who lost Florida and the election in 2000, tells the audience to scattered boos and chants of “YOU WON!”
“Here’s my point: I don’t want you to be in a position years from now where you welcome Hillary Clinton and say ‘actually, you did win, it just wasn’t close enough to make sure that all the votes were counted,” Gore says. “Elections have consequences! Your vote counts! Your vote has consequences!”
Al Gore campaigns for Hillary Clinton in Miami
After being introduced by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as the single most influential person regarding the issue of climate change, former vice president Al Gore takes the stage in Miami.
Watch it live here:
Patrick Murphy, the Florida Democrat challenging Marco Rubio for his seat in the US Senate, has unloaded on his rival and Donald Trump during his warm-up speech for Clinton and Al Gore in Miami, at which climate change will be the topic of the day.
“I grew up on Florida’s coast, I could swim before I could walk, I could fish before I could talk,” he told an appreciative crowd. “Floridians don’t need to be told about the effects of climate change, we’re seeing it first hand. With the future of the environment on the line, who are the Republicans trying to elect? Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. We’re not going to protect our waterways with Donald Trump attacking immigrants.
“When Donald Trump goes low, Marco Rubio is right there with him. Despite overwhelming existence of the effects of climate change, Marco Rubio’s quote is: ‘I’m not a scientist.’ High tides are flooding the streets of Miami Beach and still he refuses to act. Climate change is real and we need to act.”
White House considers 'proportional' response to Russian hacking
Press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that the United States would respond to Russian hacking of the DNC and other hacking. The intelligence community announced last week that it believed Russia was behind hacking of the Democrats which appears to extend to the hacking of Clinton campaign officials feeding the current Wikileaks dump.
“We obviously will ensure that our response is proportional,” Earnest said, according to a pool report. “It is unlikely that our response would be announced in advance.”
“The president has talked before about the significant capabilities that the US government has to both defend our systems in the United States but also carry out offensive operations in other countries... So there are a range of responses that are available to the president and he will consider a response that is proportional.”
Gore to appear with Clinton
Here’s a breath of fresh air in the 2016 election cycle: former vice president Al Gore is about to take the stage in Miami with Hillary Clinton.
Live video stream here:
White House says Trump remarks described 'sexual assault'
Barack Obama is scheduled to rally voters on behalf of Hillary Clinton in Greensboro, North Carolina, this evening. He has just landed outside the city.
Aboard the flight, press secretary Josh Earnest said of Trump’s hot mic remarks, “those statements consisted of sexual assault,” according to a pool report.
Update: here’s a transcription of Earnest’s remarks:
“The president found the tape as repugnant as most Americans did”.
“There has been a pretty clear statement by people all along the ideological spectrum that those statements consisted sexual assault.”
“That’s why many people I believe have concluded that those statements are worthy of sharp condemnation.”
From the White House Pool aboard Air Force One - official reaction to Trump tape pic.twitter.com/asqLvr7BRI
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) October 11, 2016
Updated
For the latest on Billy Bush, Donald Trump’s bus buddy, read CNN’s Brian Stelter:
Billy Bush's departure from @TodayShow is now a matter of "when," not "if." Here's my new story: https://t.co/LIF2FxjtiV
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 11, 2016
How is Billy Bush related to the other Bushes? His father is a younger brother to George HW Bush. That makes Billy first cousins with Jeb and George W.
Updated
The NBC/WSJ poll, which yesterday released numbers for a survey ending before the second debate, has released new numbers taking in the debate.
The poll has Clinton up 10 points on Trump, 50-40, in a head-to-head matchup.
She leads in the poll by nine points in a four-way race:
New NBC/WSJ numbers, expands sample and polls after debate as well:
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 11, 2016
Clinton 46%
Trump 37%
Johnson 8%
Stein 2%https://t.co/APWYtixcFB
Wikileaks trove shows Clinton camp devising Sanders strategy and more
Wikileaks has released a third tranche of John Podesta emails – the veracity of which the Clinton campaign has not denied – revealing discussion inside the campaign about how to adapt to Bernie Sanders, how to walk back Clinton’s comments about Aids at Nancy Reagan’s funeral, how to describe “everyday Americans” and other topics.
Search the Wikileaks emails on the Wikileaks web site here.
The Clinton camp wrestled with Sanders’ rise. “Message needs to be more positive, upbeat, hopeful. Bernie is saying we can change the world,” an adviser wrote to Podesta, the campaign chairman, at one point.
After Sanders won big in the February New Hampshire primary, the Clinton team discussed its strategy for the upcoming states of South Carolina and Nevada.
In Nevada, an adviser wrote, “Our biggest concern is enthusiasm and caucus knowledge. Sanders supporters are more likely to know the ins and outs of the caucus. To mitigate this, in the upcoming days our field team is focusing on caucus education among our supporters.”
In South Carolina, the same adviser, Elan Kriegel, noted: “Like Nevada, our support is particularly high with people of color and we are roughly tied with white voters. The difference between the states is that far more African-American voters will participate in South Carolina than Nevada.”
The campaign had lengthy discussions over how to retract and apologize for Clinton’s assertion at Nancy Reagan’s funeral that the former first lady had “started a national conversation” about HIV/Aids “when before nobody would talk about it.” The Reagans did not acknowledge the epidemic as it unfolded.
On a separate email chain, aides discuss whether the phrase “everyday Americans” should be in a Clinton speech in New Hampshire about small business. A draft of the speech had Clinton saying:
I’m running for President because you and Americans everywhere need a champion. And I want to be that champion.
At which Podesta weighed in:
I know she has begun to hate everyday Americans, but I think we should use it once the first time she says I’m running for president because you and everyday Americans need a champion. I think if she doesn’t say it once, people will notice and say we false started in Iowa.
Do you notice how Podesta did not place the phrase “everyday Americans” in quotes in his email? So have a lot of Trump supporters, who are asserting that the email is a smoking gun proving that Hillary Clinton has begun to hate everyday Americans, which it isn’t.
On a separate email chain, then-DNC vice chair and CNN commentator Donna Brazile shares in advance a question about the death penalty that Clinton might face at a CNN town hall: “Here’s one that worries me about HRC,” Brazile wrote.
Much of the emails show the campaign discussing media strategy and emailing with the media, in some cases on friendly terms.
Pretty shocked by these Wikileaks reveals showing good reporters working good sources. Outrageous.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) October 11, 2016
Former DOJ spokesman @brianefallon was following developments in DOJ, whoa https://t.co/dr2hV1PLrT
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) October 11, 2016
NEW: Hacked e-mails from Wikileaks appear to show Clinton campaign spokesman in touch with DOJ officials regarding e-mail litigation: pic.twitter.com/nlBZ3aHZh5
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) October 11, 2016
Here’s a section discussing responses to a potential Joe Biden presidential run:
Podesta tells DeBlasio how to talk about a potential Biden run: "Great guy, grieve with him on the loss of his son" pic.twitter.com/A8DGgbmj8p
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) October 11, 2016
And the Green Party takes offense at a Podesta email referring to Ross Perot, the Reform party nominee who ran against Bill Clinton and George HW Bush in 1992. After campaign manager Robby Mook suggests “WJC redux of 1992,” Podesta replies, “just need a third party spoiler and we’ll be all set.”
.@HillaryClinton campaign:
— Green Party US (@GreenPartyUS) October 11, 2016
"Just need a third party spoiler and we'll be all set!"
HRC has no respect for democracy. #PodestaEmails2 pic.twitter.com/1xTtGCWW56
I hope people are looking at the disgraceful behavior of Hillary Clinton as exposed by WikiLeaks. She is unfit to run.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Worth noting that Wikileaks is likely a Russian intelligence cut out https://t.co/VeBA0QcUQE
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) October 11, 2016
‘I’m beginning to worry about Rubio’
like a letter from an alternate universe
— Tim Dickinson (@7im) October 11, 2016
cc: @marcorubio pic.twitter.com/hsf9E7L7Xf
Updated
The senate majority leader forecloses any discussion of his party’s presidential nominee:
Per @wnkytv, McConnell opened up remarks in Danville, KY by saying "If any of you are here to ask me about Donald Trump, please leave now."
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) October 11, 2016
Have you read David Brooks’ concern-trolly column about Trump in today’s New York Times? Here’s a bit:
Trump breaks his own world record for being appalling on a weekly basis, but as the campaign sinks to new low after new low, I find myself experiencing feelings of deep sadness and pity.
Imagine if you had to go through a single day without sharing kind little moments with strangers and friends.
Imagine if you had to endure a single week in a hate-filled world, crowded with enemies of your own making, the object of disgust and derision.
You would be a twisted, tortured shrivel, too, and maybe you’d lash out and try to take cruel revenge on the universe. For Trump this is his whole life.
Read the full piece here.
Trump’s interlocutor in the “grab them by the pussy” video has been suspended from the morning variety show he starred on, Today, and erased from a digital billboard outside NBC’s famous headquarters:
Billy Bush already wiped off the digital billboards outside of 30 ROCK. pic.twitter.com/WTa07OZ2us
— Mark Graham (@unclegrambo) October 11, 2016
Trump: McCain 'very foul-mouthed'
Trump’s spray of fire tags the Arizona senator:
The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
So add another name to this list...
so Donald Trump is now running against:
— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) October 11, 2016
-Hillary Clinton
-Paul Ryan
-CNN
-the biased polls
-hip hop lyrics
Who will Trump go after next?
— Tom McCarthy (@TeeMcSee) October 11, 2016
Updated
How big is Clinton's lead? It depends on the poll.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton now has an 11 percentage point lead over her Republican opponent Donald Trump, according to a poll released by PRRI and the Atlantic on Tuesday, writes Guardian US data editor Mona Chalabi:
If that weren’t already reason enough for Trump supporters to worry, a poll from NBC and the Wall Street Journal released on Monday put Clinton’s lead at 14 percentage points. But why the difference in numbers?
If you want to follow polls in the 28 remaining days before the US votes, I strongly recommend you ignore the date that the poll was published – and focus instead on the dates that the poll was conducted. That PRRI/Atlantic poll was based on landline and cellphone interviews that took place October 5-9 while the data for the NBC/WSJ poll was gathered October 8-9.
Those dates are potentially significant given that on October 8, a 2005 recordingwas released of Trump saying that, thanks to his fame, he was able to grab women “by the pussy”.
Read the full piece here:
Here’s a comparison of Clinton’s current status in Real Clear Politics’ polling average versus the winners of presidential elections in 2004, 2008 and 2012:
Oct 11, 2004: Bush +0.8
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) October 11, 2016
2008: Obama +7.6
2012: Obama +0.7
2016: Clinton +6.5
(RCP) pic.twitter.com/KHZhlELiNW
This is what happens when you're trailing in every key swing state, two high quality national polls have u down over 10, & 28 days left.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) October 11, 2016
Rubio stands by Trump endorsement
Senator Marco Rubio, who looks good in his reelection bid in Florida, has announced that he is standing by his endorsement of Trump, saying that he disagrees with Trump “on many things, but I disagree with his opponent on virtually everything”:
Marco Rubio statement standing by his endorsement of Donald Trump: pic.twitter.com/r34wIOas4f
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) October 11, 2016
Update: Rubio’s challenger for the senate seat, Representative Patrick Murphy, hits back:
Marco Rubio’s failure to stand up to Trump proves that he will never stand up for Florida in the U.S. Senate. #FLSen
— Patrick Murphy (@PatrickMurphyFL) October 11, 2016
Marco Rubio statement standing by his endorsement of Donald Trump: pic.twitter.com/r34wIOas4f
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) October 11, 2016
Updated
Clinton is outrunning Trump on the ground by a lot
Bill Clinton is about to appear at a get-out-the-vote event in Belle Glade, Florida. Here’s a live video stream:
Guess which campaign is doing a better job registering voters in Florida?
Ground game asymmetry. In FL last month:
— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) October 10, 2016
-Rep party submitted 117 voter reg applications
-Dem party submitted 6,920 https://t.co/wVBG3pvJHd
And North Carolina:
Cheering its registration push, Clinton camp notes this afternoon that in NC, African American #s up by 6% over '12, Hispanic #s by 50%.
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) October 11, 2016
Here’s related reading from the New York Times:
Hillary's strength in registering and recruiting voters early in FL and NC could make this election a done deal soon https://t.co/iKScWUNoOo
— Jeremy W. Peters (@jwpetersNYT) October 11, 2016
The first wave of data from states like Florida and North Carolina shows preliminary signs that Mrs. Clinton was building a slight edge even before the revelation that Donald J. Trump had bragged about sexual assaultroiled the race.
Democrats are requesting more absentee ballots in Florida than they were at this point in 2012, with increases of 50 percent in the heavily Hispanic areas around Miami and Orlando. In North Carolina, where Mitt Romney built enough of a lead in early voting four years ago to edge out a victory over President Obama, Democrats are requesting mail-in ballots in larger numbers than in 2012, while Republicans’ participation is declining.
If Clinton’s ground game is as solid as it appears, and recent polling trendlines hold, and with a couple other caveats, it’s easy to imagine a map like this:
Updated
Take our voter turnout quiz
With voter registration deadlines falling today in numerous states, the Guardian interactive team has taken a look at voter turnout in each state.
Can you guess/ do you know the rate of voter turnout in your state? Click through below.
Updated
Glenn Beck calls Clinton 'moral, ethical' choice
Former Fox talker Glenn Beck, an erstwhile Ted Cruz friend who has ranted about Barack Obama being a racist and compared Al Gore to Hitler, has written on Facebook that Hillary Clinton is the “moral, ethical” choice in this election.
“It is not acceptable to ask a moral, dignified man to cast his vote to help elect an immoral man who is absent decency or dignity,” Beck writes. “If the consequence of standing against Trump and for principles is indeed the election of Hillary Clinton, so be it. At least it is a moral, ethical choice.
If she is elected, the world does not end.... Once elected, Hillary can be fought...
The alternative does not offer a moral person the same opportunity. If one helps to elect an immoral man to the highest office, then one is merely validating his immorality, lewdness, and depravity.
Apparently they’re serving ice cream in Hell todayhttps://t.co/icBAtVqhBm
— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) October 11, 2016
(h/t: @bencjacobs)
Trump ad attacks Clinton's health
Both campaigns have released new ads out today. The Trump campaign argues that Clinton is not the right leader for these dangerous times, while the Clinton campaign uses people reading from her book “It takes a village” to appeal to Mormon voters to give her a look.
First the Trump ad. It adds a twist to the world-is-scary campaign video trope by mixing in video of Clinton stumbling getting into her van, coughing and being helped on a staircase.
“Our next president faces daunting challenges in a dangerous world... Hillary Clinton failed every time as secretary of state,” the narrator says. “Hillary Clinton doesn’t have the fortitude, strength and stamina to lead in our world.”
"She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up...She’s a fighter." -- Donald Trump TWO DAYS AGO https://t.co/8i7Vo8ML01
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) October 11, 2016
The Clinton campaign ad, “We are Mormons for Hillary,” could not frame a stronger contrast. It features sweeping shots of beautiful western landscapes and pictures kids flying kites, with a voiceover message about mutual reinforcement and the common good.
Updated
Voter registration deadlines today
Ohio governor John Kasich, who’s not #nevertrump but who’s never been for Trump, and who sat out his party’s national convention in his home state, is encouraging Ohio voters not to miss today’s registration deadline:
Ohio's voter registration deadline is TODAY. Register or update your registration at https://t.co/WBMIHeVJf5
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) October 11, 2016
Here are other states with voter registration deadlines today:
Today’s the deadline to register to vote in OH, PA, MI, NM, TX, GA, IN, KY, LA, TN, SC and DC - https://t.co/gBL8EReh7T
— Reid Wilson (@PoliticsReid) October 11, 2016
You can visit iwillvote.com to check your registration status and get signed up.
Trump or Dylan?
"I've been double-crossed now for the very last time and now I'm finally free"
— Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) October 11, 2016
— who said it?
Tip for Trump: each of these lines is fewer than 140 characters:
I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me
You’ll never know the hurt I suffered nor the pain I rise above
And I’ll never know the same about you, your holiness or your kind of love
And it makes me feel so sorry
A phone and a remote control. At least no football?
Trump is at Trump Tower, per a person close to him. Watching TV, tweeting. With Bannon & others who encourage his anti-estab R sentiment...
— Robert Costa (@costareports) October 11, 2016
Yes, Ms Rubin. Everyone is:
@costareports Imagine it's the oval office. ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 11, 2016
Updated
All eyes on Ryan, and his endorsement
There has been no shortage this election cycle of stories about how Paul Ryan, the top elected Republican, might un-endorse Donald Trump.
It’s now 11 October – 28 days out – and Trump is attacking Ryan highly publicly as “very weak and ineffective” and Trump appears to be trying to crush, Stephen Bannon-style, the rest of the Republican party which is essential to Ryan’s life work if anything is.
And here this morning Politico has another story, based on unnamed sources, about how Ryan may un-endorse Donald Trump:
Paul Ryan may not be done yet.
As thoroughly as the House speaker shocked the national political establishment Monday by saying he’s done with Donald Trump and it’s time to focus on his House majority, there’s a distinct possibility Ryan will go a step further and completely yank his endorsement, sources close to him told POLITICO.
In fact, Ryan has personally been on the edge of pulling the plug but has held out because his decision is about more than just his personal feelings: It’s about saving his massive 60-seat majority. The Wisconsin Republican is in an excruciating spot: He feels torn between his own conscience and his obligations as the top Republican in the country, according to multiple sources in leadership familiar with the internal discussions.
Not to mention, nearly everyone in House Republican leadership believes there are more embarrassing revelations about Trump to come before Nov. 8.
For now:
Ryan is still endorsing Trump. https://t.co/L30EZvUbm0
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 10, 2016
Some context: the person closest to Trump right now -- Bannon -- published this story about Ryan in July https://t.co/ktEjVbLV28
— Robert Costa (@costareports) October 11, 2016
Updated
Instead of embedding each new Trump tweet in its own block, we’ll do periodic roundups (if he keeps going). Here’s volume one, including his new tweet, for posterity:
Disloyal R's are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary. They come at you from all sides. They don’t know how to win - I will teach them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
With the exception of cheating Bernie out of the nom the Dems have always proven to be far more loyal to each other than the Republicans!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
THE PARTY DECIDES: Republicans won't pick Trump because no party could fuck up a nomination that badly.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 11, 2016
REPUBLICANS: Oh yeah? Just watch us.
Updated
Maybe this is Trump’s strategy: get the headlines away from the debate his surrogates are pushing about whether unwanted genital-touching constitutes sexual assault. It’s a distraction technique?
Just a thought about Trump's tweets this morning: A war with Washington and "establishment" is a better headline than the lewd tape
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) October 11, 2016
New fires has been how he has put out old fires his whole campaign (and career) -->https://t.co/SBS5wb0ZuX
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) October 11, 2016
There’s another possible explanation for Trump’s erratic strategy: he is an erratic candidate.
Trump-GOP flame war escalates
What’s Trump’s game here?
With the exception of cheating Bernie out of the nom the Dems have always proven to be far more loyal to each other than the Republicans!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Is he hoping that a spectacular split with elected Republicans will give him the votes he needs in ME-2 to tip the dominoes through New Hampshire and North Carolina which all, assuming he wins Mitt Romney’s states, would give him 272 electoral votes and the presidency (see this scenario, mapped)?
Or is this more a look at shackles-off Trump, a Trump who does not need state parties and polls and least of all “underachieving” John King’s electoral map?
While Trump is focused this morning on #winning by doing things his own way, his son Eric Trump is trying to make sure voters don’t miss registration deadlines.
Which is precisely the kind of thing that the national party infrastructure could help with.
13 states have voter registration deadlines TODAY: FL, OH, PA, MI, GA, TX, NM, IN, LA, TN, AR, KY, SC.
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) October 11, 2016
Register: https://t.co/9oSr60oP8H
There are indications, meanwhile, that for Republicans, the only reward for bailing on Trump now may be spiritual. Here’s Democratic pollster Nick Gourevitch:
Ooof pic.twitter.com/c70BViTOUc
— Nick Riccardi (@NickRiccardi) October 11, 2016
This election is like a bad made-for-TV movie about a presidential nominee who goes nuts. The only question: is he is also a Russian agent?
— Stuart Rothenberg (@StuPolitics) October 11, 2016
Doesn’t sound that bad, for a made-for-TV movie? Maybe if it’s raining, and nothing else is on?
Updated
Speaking of Tipper Gore, who founded and led the anti-expression group showcased in the previous block’s video – former vice president Al Gore, from whom Tipper separated in 2010, is scheduled to campaign with Hillary Clinton in Miami, Florida, this afternoon.
Updated
This blog has not made it common practice to showcase the thinking of Katrina Pierson, the Trump surrogate whose controversial statements often seem to play out over in the corner while the campaign action is at midfield.
However in this case, Pierson gives voice to an argument heard elsewhere in the last 24 hours from the mouths of other prominent Trump supporters: it’s hypocritical to find fault with Trump’s hot mic statement about grabbing genitalia without consent because, hip-hop.
Pierson:
But I do quite [sic] find it rich that we have Democrats and the left talking about rape culture, when they’re the ones backed fully by Hollywood. This rape culture is purported [sic] by none other than the entertainment industry, none other than hip-hop music, which you can hear on local radio stations.
Trump surrogates going all in on "but rap lyrics tho" defense pic.twitter.com/GNViErCcni
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) October 11, 2016
The culture war on hip-hop is as old as rap and was preceded by fear of rock ‘n’ roll. Here’s the 1985 senate hearing with the Parent’s Musical Resource Center:
Where’s your Tuesday at?
https://t.co/oU9SM3I18L pic.twitter.com/B9LaYYdWHE
— Charles Homans (@chashomans) October 11, 2016
Trump: 'the shackles have been taken off'
Donald Trump tweets that “the shackles have been taken off.”
He seems to mean that to this point, he had been toning it down out of deference to the guidance or demands of elected Republicans, but that’s over.
It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Trump: Ryan ‘very weak and ineffective’
This morning on Twitter, Trump has attacking House speaker Paul Ryan and by extension the Republican leadership and rank and file:
Our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
At least three Republicans on Ryan’s conference call Tuesday were quoted as objecting to what they said was the leadership’s cowardice and defeatism.
Here’s what Ryan is up to this morning:
4 out of 10 families look to women as the sole breadwinners. @RepMcSally is leading a working group to find solutions to their challenges. pic.twitter.com/pxOIhGwmkR
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) October 11, 2016
Republicans who break with Donald Trump may face ballot box retribution, pollster Frank Luntz points out. (They may sense this.)
🚨 Warning to GOP candidates 🚨
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 10, 2016
If you #DumpTrump, many of Trump's supporters will dump you.
A fellow who used to work for former Sen. Lugar, a moderate R, just stopped me to say, "I don't have a party any more." Sad.
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) October 11, 2016
Updated
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House.
Republican officials have been tying themselves in tightening knots in an attempt to argue that touching women’s genitalia without consent, as described by Donald Trump, does not constitute sexual assault.
The communications director of the Republican national committee, Sean Spicer, appears to have lied point-blank to the Washington Post last night, denying a quote that had been attributed to him in which he dodged the sexual assault question by saying: “I’m not a lawyer.”
Confronted with a recording of his remarks, Spicer finally admitted saying it, and released this further statement:
While I was asked question about a matter of law, it is never appropriate to touch anyone in an unwelcome manner. https://t.co/uSEaDC78aY
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) October 11, 2016
Spicer’s comments follow remarks by Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who admonished people on Monday to quit saying “sexual assault”: “That’s a very unfortunate phrase, and people really should stop using it,” Conway said. Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, meanwhile, told the conservative magazine the Weekly Standard that he wouldn’t characterize unwanted touching and kissing as sexual assault. “I think that’s a stretch,” he said.
I think the GOP just had its Todd Akin "legitimate rape" moment of 2016.... https://t.co/QcQ7NSmZf5
— Bret Stephens (@StephensWSJ) October 10, 2016
That's not fair to Todd Akin. No comparison. This much worse. https://t.co/3a9EYqkoKT
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) October 10, 2016
Read Molly Redden for more:
Trump starts day with swipe at Ryan
Trump seems to be feeling the sting of Republican party abandonment. House speaker Paul Ryan told members of Congress yesterday that he would no longer defend Trump and would not campaign for him:
Desite winning the second debate in a landslide (every poll), it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
A greater liability for Trump than his loss of Ryan may be the continuous war he keeps up with three-dimensional reality. For example the “(every poll)” bit:
Politico poll too finds Hillary won the debate.
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) October 11, 2016
Politico - Clinton 42 / Trump 28
CNN - Clinton 57 / Trump 24
YouGov - Clinton 47 / Trump 42
Trump marches on amid spiraling disaster
Trump hoists mini-him
A crowd for Clinton
Clinton had a very large crowd at Ohio State University in Columbus last night:
.@HillaryClinton on the campus of The Ohio State University. pic.twitter.com/gRpPGuZwDk
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) October 10, 2016
Trump surrogate quotes Beyoncé to defend ‘hot-mic’ moment
A Trump surrogate on CNN last night quoted Beyoncé’s Formation to make the point that – we’re not sure. But here’s what she said:
THIS. REALLY. JUST. HAPPENED. pic.twitter.com/LiTbQnMYrL
— ally (@AllyRoche) October 11, 2016
You be the judge: like Donald Trump on that bus or what?
Thank you for reading and please join us in the comments.
Updated
