Today in Campaign 2016
- Donald Trump attempted to finally resolve an issue that is thought to have caused him significant damage with minority voters by admitting that Barack Obama was born in the US after years of promoting false claims that the US president was born in Kenya. But the Republican presidential candidate continued to falsely claim that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton was behind the conspiracy theory.
- Clinton spoke only a few blocks away at the Black Women’s Agenda symposium, held at a downtown hotel. Clinton said that “there is no erasing” Trump’s role in spreading the “birther” gospel. “For five years he has led the birther movement to delegitimize our first black president,” she said. “His campaign was founded on this outrageous lie. “He is feeding into the worst impulses, the bigotry and bias, that lurks in our country. Barack Obama was born in America, plain and simple, and Donald Trump owes him and the American people an apology.”
- Speaking in Virginia, first lady Michelle Obama told an audience of college students that criticism of her husband’s birthplace have been a constant companion since 2008, without mentioning Trump’s name. “There were those who questioned and continued to question for the past eight years and to this day whether my husband was even born in this country,” she said, alluding to the Republican nominee without mentioning him by name.
- Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green party will not be allowed to take part in the first televised debate of the race for the White House,the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced today. Johnson, once a Republican governor of New Mexico, has pinned his hopes on taking part in the debates. He and Stein, however, fell well short of the 15% national polling average required to participate.
- Donald Trump today named one of the nation’s top anti-abortion activists to his campaign coalition, in the clearest signal yet that the presidential candidate has fully embraced Republicans’ typically harsh stance against abortion. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B Anthony List, a group that works to elect Republican, anti-abortion women, will chair the loose coalition of conservative, anti-abortion rights leaders who are working to elect the Republican nominee. Trump’s campaign also announced that he would commit to a law banning public funding of abortion.
Updated
Donald Trump just told a Florida audience that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will “take your jobs, Ohio - remember, it’s gonna take your jobs, Ohio.”
Donald Trump: Hillary Clinton's secret service detail should disarm, 'Let's see what happens to her'
Mere hours after he appeared to put one of the oldest criticisms of his presidential campaign to rest with the acknowledgment that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told supporters that his opponent’s Secret Service detail should disarm itself due to what he characterized as her opposition to the Second Amendment.
“Take their guns away,” Trump said of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent. “Let’s see what happens to her.”
Speaking at a campaign rally in Miami, Florida, Trump criticized Clinton’s stance on gun-control issues, characterizing her stance as wanting to “abolish” the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. (This claim has been debunked.)
If Clinton were truly as anti-gun as she claims to be, Trump told the audience, her Secret Service detail should disarm itself.
“I think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons - they should disarm. I think they should disarm immediately, what do you think?” Trump asked the raucous crowd.
“Let’s see what happens to her.”
Trump was deeply criticized in August after suggesting at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, that gunowners could take the Second Amendment into their own hands if Clinton were elected and began nominating Supreme Court justices.
“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” Trump said at the time.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, that will be a horrible day.”
The remarks were seen by many - including the Democratic nominee herself - as hinting at calling for Clinton’s assassination, or that of her judicial nominees.
Updated
Donald Trump, on racism:
The ‘racist word’ - it’s the oldest play in the Democratic playbook, and Americans have had enough of it. We get it. We get it.
After bragging about how many African American and Latino employees he has, Donald Trump tells the audience in Miami, Florida, that he is campaigning “in every part of this country for every last vote.”
“While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable - boy, that second word is tough, but that is tough,” Trump says. “I call you hardworking American patriots who love your family and really, really, really love your country.”
Trump’s remarks are met with a U-S-A chant.
Donald Trump has walked onstage in Miami, as a Les Miserables spoof banner - Les Deplorables - shows his acolytes launching a revolution.
“Welcome to all of you deplorables!” Trump tells the audience.
Standard fare as Republican speakers warm up the crowd ahead of Donald Trump’s scheduled 6pm appearance. “It’s a honor to be with so many deplorables,” says Blaise Ingoglio, chair of Florida’s RNC. Inevitable chants of USA! USA! follow.
He returns to address the crowd in Spanish, and the audience is notably quieter. Even a mention of Marco Rubio, the Florida senator and former Trump opponent in the primary race who is hugely popular around these parts, raised barely a ripple.
But other speakers, conservative commentator AJ Delgado, a senior Trump campaign adviser born to Cuban-immigrant parents, and Carlos Curbelo, a Republican congressman from South Miami who has until now been lukewarm on his support for Trump, got the crowd fired up again, with the now-familiar “Hillary lied” narrative.
Cue shouts of “lock her up, lock her up!”Trump is in the house and on stage imminently, and the auditorium is now full.
Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Miami, Florida
Watch it live here:
Few of the Trump supporters The Guardian spoke to on their way in to tonight’s rally in downtown Miami had much time for today’s developments in the “birther” controversy.
“It’s a distraction to what we should be talking about,” said Michael Rodriguez, 34, a Cuban-American restaurant worker who lives in Little Havana. “This election is about jobs, the economy, immigration and America being strong again.”
Janusz Biskupek, 50, of Boca Raton, cut a striking figure in a pristine white suit emblazoned with pro-Trump slogans. “Trump is a smart guy. I want my president to be respected,” he said. “Obama? He went to Cuba and nobody waited on him. We need a stronger president. We need Donald Trump.”
The arena at the James L Knight centre, however, was filling up slowly, with plenty of room still in the bleachers with Trump scheduled on stage in less than half an hour. Perhaps the rival attraction of a Friday night Kanye West concert a stone’s thrown away was more of a draw.
The choice for president is “excruciatingly clear”, First Lady Michelle Obama said during her campaign trail debut, urging the college audience to support Hillary Clinton this November.
Obama cast the election as a choice between “one of the most qualified people who has ever endeavored to become president” and someone who doesn’t “take the job seriously”. Ticking off a list of accomplishments of her husband’s administration, Obama argued that with the past eight years as a guide, Trump is neither prepared nor qualified to be president.
“A candidate is not going to suddenly change when they get into office – it’s the opposite,” Obama told the crowd of mostly students and young people at George Mason University in Virginia. “In fact, because the minute that individual takes that oath, they are under the hottest, harshest light there is.”
She referenced her moving speech at the Democratic National Convention, “when they go low, we go high,” going after the Republican nominee without mentioning his name.
“Being president isn’t anything like reality TV,” she said, drawing loud cheers and applause.
Obama recalled the 2008 campaign, reminding the audience that raising questions about a president’s experience, qualifications and judgments is all part of a very public vetting process to be president.
“And then there were those who questioned and continued to question for the past eight years and to this day whether my husband was even born in this country,” she said, alluding to the Republican nominee without mentioning him by name.
Trump helped fan the flames of birtherism, a conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the US but in Kenya, and used the issue to help propel his political ambitions.
Facing dismal approval ratings among minority voters, Trump admitted on Friday morning for the first time that Barack Obama was born in the US.
Obama is a powerful and popular ally for Clinton, especially among young voters. New polling shows that millennials, disappointed by their options for president have turned toward third-party candidates.
The First Lady’s appearance on a college campus in the battleground state of Virginia, the First Lady’s event is part of a broader push by the Clinton campaign to win back some of the millennial voters who have strayed in recent weeks. Next week, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the Democratic challenger whose campaign was powered by young people and students, will campaign for Clinton in the coming days.
“Elections aren’t just about who votes but who doesn’t vote,” she said, imploring the young people in the crowd to support Clinton. She encouraged them to fight the urge to want to “hide under the bed” and avoid the election altogether. She also addressed a complaint many young people who felt inspired by Sander’s underdog campaign have leveled at Clinton.
“I hear folks saying they don’t feel inspired in this election,” Obama said. “Well let me tell you, I disagree. I am inspired. Because for eight years, I’ve had the privilege to see what it takes to actually do this job, and here is what I absolutely know for sure. Listen to this: Right now we have an opportunity to elect one of the most qualified people who has ever endeavored to become president.”
Perhaps above all, the campaign event was a testament to Obama’s enduring popularity.
“It is so hard to believe that it is less than 2 months until election and that my family is almost at the end of term,” Obama said. The crowd broke into a raucous round of chanting: “Four more years” chant. “No,” Obama protested, waving her hand at the crowd as the chant continued. “No!”
“I promise you,” she said, “Barack and I will continue to work for you for the rest of our lives.”
Updated
Donald Trump’s campaign is attempting to prove the false allegation that Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign ignited the birther rumors about then-opponent Barack Obama’s citizenship with an interview transcript from a CNN phoner with Clinton’s former campaign manager.
The transcript falls short of this claim:
PATTI SOLIS DOYLE: There was a volunteer coordinator, I believe in late 2007, I think in December, one of our volunteer coordinators in one of the counties in Iowa. I don’t recall whether they an actual paid staffer, but they did forward an e-mail that promoted the conspiracy.
WOLF BLITZER: The birther conspiracy?
DOYLE: Yeah. Hillary made the decision immediately to let that person go. We let that person go.
Billionaire Fight!
.1) @realDonaldTrump $10mm to the charity of YOUR choice if you let ME interview you for 4 hrs on YOUR policies and their substance.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 16, 2016
The whole thread is worth a gander.
Rush Limbaugh: ‘Are you admitting Trump is not a conservative? Damn right I am!’
Bellicose bloviator Rush Limbaugh made a major concession this afternoon, telling listeners that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not, in fact, a conservative.
“Can somebody point to me the conservative on the ballot?” Limbaugh asked his listeners this afternoon. “‘What do you mean, Rush? Are you admitting Trump is not a conservative?’ Damn right I am!” he thundered.
“Folks, when did I ever say that he was? Look, I don’t know how to tell you this. Conservatism lost, in the primary, if that’s how you want to look at it. We had Cruz; we had Rubio.”
Limbaugh sounded uncharacteristically defeated in the segment, expressing frustration with the nomination of Republicans who are not conservative enough.
“Even what we’ve seen now, we haven’t seen anything,” Limbaugh said. “But the establishment’s gonna come together to protect themselves regardless of ideology. I wish conservatism was on the ballot.”
Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson has reacted to the Commission on Presidential Debates’ announcement that only Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be invited to the first debate of the general-election campaign with frustration, but not with surprise.
“I would say I am surprised that the CPD has chosen to exclude me from the first debate, but I’m not,” Johnson said in a statement. “After all, the commission is a private organization created 30 years ago by the Republican and Democratic parties for the clear purpose of taking control of the only nationally-televised presidential debates voters will see. At the time of its creation, the leaders of those two parties made no effort to hide the fact that they didn’t want any third party intrusions into their shows.”
“The CPD may scoff at a ticket that enjoys ‘only’ 9 or 10% in their hand-selected polls, but even 9% represents 13 million voters, more than the total population of Ohio and most other states. Yet, the Republicans and Democrats are choosing to silence the candidate preferred by those millions of Americans.”
“It is unfortunate that the CPD doesn’t believe such a voice should be heard. There are more polls and more debates, and we plan to be on the debate stage in October.”
Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump to be sole candidates on debate stage
It’s official: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be the only candidates to appear on the stage at the first presidential debate of the general-election campaign, after Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green party nominee Jill Stein failed to reach the polling threshold necessary to merit an invitation.
The Commission on Presidential Debates released a statement officially declaring that Clinton, Trump and their running mates will be the only people to appear in the first two debates:
The Board determined that the polling averages called for... are as follows: Hillary Clinton (43%), Donald Trump (40.4%), Gary Johnson (8.4%) and Jill Stein (3.2%). Accordingly, Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, and Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, qualify to participate in the September 26 presidential debate and the October 4 vice-presidential debate, respectively. No other candidates satisfied the criteria for inclusion.
The composition of the final two presidential debates will be decided upon polling in the future.
Here’s a video stream of first lady Michelle Obama campaigning for Clinton in northern Virginia:
Ben Carson launches ideas forum
Ben Carson, whose campaign used money raised in the name of the lord to pay political consultants for – what? – and who believes that Putin, Khameni and Abbas used the pyramids to store guns with which Jews could have prevented the Holocaust, or something, has launched an “ideas forum”:
I'm pleased to announce the launch of the Carson Ideas Forum. pic.twitter.com/sapKET2BK8
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) September 16, 2016
Something’s falling apart. Not clear what it is.
"I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me" pic.twitter.com/A537dShcnl
— Gabby Morrongiello (@gabriellahope_) September 16, 2016
The web site of the person who runs Trump’s campaign thinks it’s funny that Trump announces news conferences he doesn’t hold and seems to find Trump’s sudden reversal on the question of Barack Obama’s native birth funny, too. Harmless at least. Or funny in its harmfulness? And for some reason this Breitbart post includes a picture of Harambe the gorilla.
The person who runs this web site is currently running Donald Trump’s presidential campaign:
uh guys that's not how this meme works pic.twitter.com/2xYgjmlMaZ
— Jeff B/DDHQ (@EsotericCD) September 16, 2016
Updated
Largest police union endorses Trump, calling him 'proven leader'
The national fraternal order of police, the largest union of police officers with more than 330,000 members, has endorsed Donald Trump for president.
The union withheld an endorsement in 2012, endorsed Republicans in ‘08, ‘04 and ‘00 and endorsed Bill Clinton in 1996.
In August the group issued a statement saying it was “disappointed and shocked” to hear Hillary Clinton would not seek their endorsement.
“Obviously, this is an unusual election,” a letter released by the group quotes group president Chuck Canterbury as saying. The letter says Clinton did not seek the endorsement and Trump “understands and supports our priorities and our members believe he will make America safe again.”
The members have spoken, we have endorsed the @realDonaldTrump for President. #FOPforTrump pic.twitter.com/ENNMRAbmuw
— National FOP (@GLFOP) September 16, 2016
Updated
The congressional black caucus political action committee is not impressed with Trump:
Rep. G. K. Butterfield of Congressional Black Caucus PAC on Trump: "This is a disgusting day. Donald Trump is a disgusting fraud."
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) September 16, 2016
Trump hotel full of China-manufactured stuff
The Trump Hotel is filled with items that were made everywhere but America. Here, a lamp made in China. pic.twitter.com/emyAg8yxLY
— American Bridge (@American_Bridge) September 16, 2016
Inside the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC: a Trump Hotel bathrobe, made in China. pic.twitter.com/nxrLG7VfMN
— American Bridge (@American_Bridge) September 16, 2016
There’s a lot more where that came from – branded umbrellas, duvets, ice buckets, beds, furniture, etc. Check out @American_Bridge for more.
Trump is asked whether he will apologize to the president for his five-year-long drumbeat of racist attacks which he now has stopped beating it. The drum. Trump ignores the question.
Just asked @realDonaldTrump if he was going to now apologize to @POTUS. He dodged my question twice. @ABCPolitics pic.twitter.com/5nIxcfmefh
— Tom Llamas (@TomLlamasABC) September 16, 2016
Here’s the Guardian’s Steven Thrasher on Trump’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon last night:
On Thursday, Jimmy Fallon had Donald Trump on the Tonight Show and ended the segment by saying, “Donald I want to ask you, because the next time I see you you could be the President of the United States. I just want to know if there is something we could do that’s just not really presidential, really – can I mess your hair up?” Trump let him and the NBC audience roared with laughter. But, for many of us, this is very far from being a joke.
Giving comic cover to Trump just isn’t funny when he’s unleashed forces of anti-blackness and anti-immigrant sentiment. He’s labelled Mexicans rapists, raised the prospect of a ban on Muslims, patronized and insulted African Americans while pretending to be a potential new hope. As a result, Fallon managed to come over as one powerful white man protecting another.
Not only was it not funny. It didn’t do anything to take Trump down a notch (if it was even meant to). Instead, it humanized him, boosting him on that stupid metric so many Americans use when choosing a president: “Hey, he’s a guy I’d want to have a beer with! Look at him, letting Fallon have fun with him!”
Harry Reid isn’t slowing down today (see earlier):
"Trump is a liar and bully, what he said about Obama means nothing..."
— Ari Melber MSNBC (@AriMelber) September 16, 2016
- Harry Reid to @HallieJackson just now
“What a liar. He never questioned the citizenship of anyone else running for president... he is just such a phony.”
REID INTVW: Trump "will never be elected" POTUS, calls him a "liar" and "immoral." Defends campaiging from floor. https://t.co/CNRxqZFQMd
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 16, 2016
Clinton is still going:
Trump’s birtherism stems from the same innate beliefs that led to discriminating against black tenants early in his career. Can't be undone.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2016
What Trump should do: for once in his life, own up to his mistakes. Apologize to the President, and to the American people.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2016
Gallup tracks Hillary Clinton’s favorability on a juggernaut streak to 40% while Trump languishes in the low 30s. Good times:
From Gallup... Hmm... pic.twitter.com/I9XSZjcWR5
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) September 16, 2016
Updated
Clinton decries Trump's 'years peddling racist conspiracy'
Clinton’s Twitter account is walloping Trump for having, again, falsely accused her of originating birtherism when he has been its top evangelist:
This shouldn't have to be said: You don’t just get to say someone else did the worst things you’ve done. It doesn’t work. No one buys it.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2016
Trump has spent years peddling a racist conspiracy aimed at undermining the first African American president. He can't just take it back.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2016
Updated
Actual billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is offering to give $10m to the charity of Donald Trump’s choice – or to Trump himself – if Trump lets Cuban interview him for four hours:
.1) @realDonaldTrump $10mm to the charity of YOUR choice if you let ME interview you for 4 hrs on YOUR policies and their substance.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 16, 2016
2) @realDonaldTrump groundrules are that you cant mention the Clintons or discuss anything other than the details and facts of yr plans and
3) @realDonaldTrump and no one else is in the room to help. Just me, you and a broadcast crew. Deal ?
4)@realDonaldTrump I'll add an option.If you need it, I'll write you the check and you can keep the money rather than give it to charity
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 16, 2016
5) @realDonaldTrump In the inmortal words of YOU. “What do you have to lose ?”
Clinton camp: Trump's actions 'disgraceful', 'appalling'
The Clinton campaign has released a statement reacting to the Trump event, in the name of campaign manager Robbie Mook:
Trump’s actions today were disgraceful. After five years of pushing a racist conspiracy theory into the mainstream, it was appalling to watch Trump appoint himself the judge of whether the President of the United States is American. This sickening display shows more than ever why Donald Trump is totally unfit to be president.
Kasich’s take on Trump’s birther switcharoo: Springsteen will sell more albums:
Kasich: "Springsteen has to be really happy because 'Born in the USA' is probably gonna sell a lot more albums." https://t.co/8C7SJhtLdl
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 16, 2016
Somebody let Ohio governor John Kasich, who has said it is “very unlikely” that he’d vote for Trump, into the Brady briefing room:
.@JohnKasich in the WH briefing room says the two countries most opposed to TPP are Russia and China pic.twitter.com/Vw1ZDHK6nF
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) September 16, 2016
Kasich on lack of bipartisanship work: When politics is the order of the day and partisanship trumps country, we drift. We drift as a nation
— Arlette Saenz (@ArletteSaenz) September 16, 2016
This seems about right.
And the backdrop of the Trump event just collapsed.
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
And now, amid breakdown of the event, the whole backdrop just toppled over domino style. Thankfully no one hurt. pic.twitter.com/KIUSZEhgf1
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) September 16, 2016
And the curtains and staging just collapsed in the room where Trump held his event. No one was near or injured.
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) September 16, 2016
Free the media!
Security is keeping the press locked in the ballroom rn.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 16, 2016
The next several days of birther coverage is really gonna get those white women in Philly suburbs off the fence & on board the Trump train!
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) September 16, 2016
This is the counterpoint to the "Trump playing everyone like a fiddle" argument. https://t.co/7iNH4HmUQG
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 16, 2016
Updated
Trump, today:
President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.
Trump, 2011-present:
It's been 5 years, and Trump's still pushing the notion that @POTUS isn't American. pic.twitter.com/TApNqSOcvN
— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) September 16, 2016
Profile in courage here. The media is not cooperating with Trump’s invitation to tour his new hotel. The fourth estate lives.
BREAK - Trump TV pool voted to pull the camera from Trump hotel tour and not air footage
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) September 16, 2016
Can confirm Trump broadcast pool erased the tape of his tour of the hotel
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
Updated
Trump leaving the event, which the campaign billed as a press conference, ignoring shouted questions by the media:
WATCH: Trump ignores press as they ask questions about Trump's sudden flip-flop on Obama birth conspiracy theories. https://t.co/M4uNevu7Rs
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) September 16, 2016
Media twitter right now pic.twitter.com/8zzXsUqXHM
— Jose A. DelReal (@jdelreal) September 16, 2016
Updated
What did you think of that?
No, @politico, this is not breaking news. This is called racism. The rest of us never questioned our President. https://t.co/ch3I7m8en9
— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) September 16, 2016
If you write about Trump gaming press…
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) September 16, 2016
Be sure to note that Tapper et al on CNN are spending more time fact-checking the hell out of Trump…
Donald Trump is pulling a monumental hoax on the American people and the press. If you don't call him out on it, you're part of it.
— Russell Drew (@RussOnPolitics) September 16, 2016
Hooray for this WaPo headline: Trump admits Obama born in U.S. but falsely blames Clinton for starting rumors https://t.co/je6rN4BB3T
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) September 16, 2016
"They never mentioned his birth certificate. That never happened by Hillary Clinton." @jaketapper says.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 16, 2016
Trump's claim that Clinton started the controversy is false. You can read more here https://t.co/Hr2e4CTKjT & here https://t.co/oYGHQIY5Mi
— Robert Costa (@costareports) September 16, 2016
UPDATE: @realDonaldTrump fled. I yelled "WHERE ARE THE DETAILS OF YOUR CHARITABLE DONATIONS!" at volume of man warning of volcanic eruption.
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) September 16, 2016
We're all idiots.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) September 16, 2016
Well what did you think of that?
The spectacle that we just saw was an embarrassment to American democracy
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
What on earth? Media was rick-rolled. Two sentences, two lies.
— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) September 16, 2016
So a long commercial for Trump, followed by three sentences on birtherism, one of which was a lie. This is 2016.
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) September 16, 2016
Roger Stone's dream is fulfilled. He got Trump to go birther to start this all off and now Trump can drop it.
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 16, 2016
Trump spent half a decade poisoning America with a racist conspiracy theory about the president and about 10 seconds trying to dismiss it.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) September 16, 2016
Trump takes no questions as reporters yell questions like "Why did it take so long?" https://t.co/Gk1wr6eTeF
— Joe Toohey (@joetoohey) September 16, 2016
In case you missed that press conference: congrats. You are doing your life right.
— Marin Cogan (@marincogan) September 16, 2016
Me: Trump Hotel
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) September 16, 2016
Cab driver: Whats going on there?
Me: He's supposed to say Obama was born here
Cab: And get publicity for his new hotel.
Appears the Trump press pool cameras are now being taken for a tour of the Trump hotel.
— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) September 16, 2016
Trump: 'Barack Obama was born in the United States, period'
Trump has just uttered the lie that we preemptively debunked an hour ago. He said Clinton started birtherism. She did not.
Trump:
Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it. You know what I mean. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to go back to making America strong again.
Trump’s done. No news conference, as he had announced.
He repeats that “this is such an amazing honor.”
“We have to get back to work,” he says. “We’ve been very much left behind. .. We talk about the word depletion. The military has been so badly treated.”
Here now is Trump. There’s a USA! USA! chant in the room that goes up.
Another veteran has stood to say that Trump “knows how to take the handcuffs off America’s economy.”
Is there a gong I can hit to end this?
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
CNN is starting to break away from the event. The anchors are in a split screen with the event at least.
Naw, we take every event both candidates do. But this has been a bait-and-switch.
Trump tricked y'all into watching a bunch of veterans praise him as he opened a hotel.
— Matt Ford (@fordm) September 16, 2016
For the record, it's fine to broadcast campaign events. This was not billed as such. Supposed to be a presser. Bait & switch.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) September 16, 2016
We have passed in-kind contribution and are entering into Sham-wow infomercial territory. Well done, cable news.
— Charles P. Pierce (@ESQPolitics) September 16, 2016
The cameras are right there. I could just knock them all down pic.twitter.com/jJ4HzaoGAD
— Jim Newell (@jim_newell) September 16, 2016
Updated
The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is inside the ballroom:
Now hearing a general talk about Trump's "stamina"
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
So is this a press conf, or a birther announcement, or a veteran event, or a hotel launch? As of now it's blend of veteran & hotel event
— Noah Gray CNN (@NoahGrayCNN) September 16, 2016
Live footage of Trump's "press conference" right now if you're not watching https://t.co/7f37N82G7U
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
Multi-disciplinary inter-agency guy says he’s been “totally impressed with Mr Trump’s stamina... and his intellectual curiosity.” And his temperament. “But the thing I’ve been most impressed with is his absolute love for the men and women in uniform.”
Does that love extend to paying his taxes? One wonders.
Updated
Here’s another medal of honor winner speaking on behalf of Trump. He was awarded the silver star after service in the Korean war.
“I’ve become convinced that our nation needs a multi-displinary inter-agency approach to defeat our enemy,” he begins. This guy’s a Trump voter?
Another medal of honor winner speaks, Bob Patterson. He says he’s watched the country “take a complete turnaround from where it was.”
“We used to be the shining star on the hill,” he says.
“And it’s time we send someone to Washington that knows how to say, ‘you’re fired.’”
Trump says that.
Thornton speaks. He tells the crowd to stop clapping.
I have known Mr Trump since 1986, and when it wasn’t fashionable to support the military... he supported us at that period of time.
He says his medal of honor represents everyone and “freedom is not free.” Thornton says life is short. “This election means so much. We do not need any more bureaucratic leadership from Washington DC.
“Mr Trump has never failed at anything, because he listens to his advisers, he listens to his people,” Thornton said. Now let’s all go out for a Trump steak at Trump’s casino in Atlantic City.
So that’s who the folks on stage are. Medal of honor recipients who’ve endorsed Trump.
Trump introduces Mike Thornton, medal of honor recipient. Thornton is a former Seal. He got the medal of honor for his actions in the Vietnam War.
“I’m proud to have him on my team, and also fellow recipient Bob Patterson.”
“We have 17 medal of honor recipients, and they’ve all endorsed me for president of the United States.”
Here’s the Trump stream again if you need it:
Trump:
I said this will be the best hotel in Washington. I think it really may be one of the best hotels in the world. That’s how it turned out.
OK Trump has materialized.
“Nice hotel,” he says. “Under budget and ahead of schedule, isn’t that nice. This is a brand-new ballroom, you only see a small piece of it... we’ll be having our opening ceremony in October. ... it’s such an honor to have our first event.. for medal of honor winners.”
Obama on 'birther' circus: 'we got other things to attend to'
Here’s the full text of Obama’s response to ABC’s Jon Karl on the question of whether he was born in the USA:
I, Jon, have no reaction and I’m shocked that a question like that has come up at a time when we have so many other things to do. Well, I’m not that shocked actually. It’s fairly typical. We got other things to attend to. I was pretty confident about where I was born. I think most people were as well. My hope would be the presidential elect, election reflects more serious issues than that.
Updated
Clinton this morning has called on Donald Trump to apologize to the president and to the American people for spreading the racist “birther” notion that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
ABC News asked the president whether he is owed an apology, but – perhaps thankfully for the integrity of the republic – the president did not respond. (See update below.)
I asked @POTUS if @realDonaldTrump owes him an apology -- he did not answer. pic.twitter.com/WdTvHMhm1S
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) September 16, 2016
Update: The president has commented on his birht.
Obama, trolling Trump: "I never had any doubt about where I was born."
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) September 16, 2016
Sanders gets in on it too:
My dad was born in Poland. Do you know how many people ever asked me whether or not I was born in America? Nobody ever asked me that.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 16, 2016
Updated
In an interview Wednesday, the eldest Trump offspring used Holocaust imagery to mount a political attack. He said:
The media has been her number one surrogate in this. Without the media, this wouldn’t even be a contest, but the media has built her up. They’ve let her slide on every indiscrepancy, [sic] on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of this thing. If Republicans were doing that, they’d be warming up the gas chamber right now.
Not Trump Jr concedes a “perhaps” “poor choice of words”:
Trump, Jr.: The gas chamber comment "was a poor choice of words, perhaps." https://t.co/X9Fpy9XM3k
— Paige Lavender (@paigelav) September 16, 2016
On Thursday, the Clinton campaign called the comments “insensitive, divisive and reckless”:
Donald Trump Jr’s recent comments invoking the use of gas chambers to make a political attack show just how insensitive, divisive, and reckless the Trump campaign is. The bottom line is this – offensive references to the Holocaust are never acceptable, especially from a presidential campaign.
Donald Trump has got a lot of people on the stage where he will speak. Who are they? The campaign has yet to send around a list. This hotel just opened and Trump’s appearance serves to advertise that he is open for business in DC – in addition to advancing whatever Trumpism he is going to advance.
The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is at the event.
#branding https://t.co/tVRVFEO8qx
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 16, 2016
When you sign into the WiFi at this Trump "press conference," immediately directed to book a room at his new hotel pic.twitter.com/bGkmkjdGzB
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) September 16, 2016
Updated
Preemptive fact-check: Clinton did not start 'birther' movement
While we wait for Trump. He may say that Hillary Clinton started the “birther” movement (his campaign said that last night). That’s not the case. Don’t take our word for it.
Consult Politifact:
There is no record that Clinton herself or anyone within her campaign ever advanced the charge that Obama was not born in the United States. A review by our fellow fact-checkers at Factcheck.org reported that no journalist who investigated this ever found a connection to anyone in the Clinton organization.
Consult the Washington Post:
This is simply not true. Clinton’s campaign, one of the most thoroughly dissected in modern history, never raised questions about the future president’s citizenship. The idea that it did is based largely on a series of disconnected actions bysupporters of Clinton, mostly in the months between Obama’s reaction to the Jeremiah Wright story and the Democratic National Convention. I know, because I spent/wasted quite a lot of time covering this stuff.
Consult factcheck.org:
But none of those stories suggests any link between the Clinton campaign, let alone Clinton herself, and the advocacy of theories questioning Obama’s birth in Hawaii.
We report, you decide. That’s the line, isn’t it?
Trump’s due to speak soon. Here’s a live video stream (apologies for not getting the Clinton stream in earlier, she started earlier than we’d anticipated):
To rise up, but most importantly, to show up at the polls this November. With our power and strength. I know. I believe this or I would not be standing here before you... that together we can build a future, where yes, love trumps hate.
She’s out. She coughs a bit at the end.
Clinton:
In many ways, this profound choice is up to the women in this room. African American women turned out to vote more than any other group of Americans in 2012. This year once again you have your hands on the wheel of history and you can write the next chapter of the American story.
Clinton: Trump owes Obama and America an apology
Clinton:
He is feeding into the worst impulses, the bigotry and bias, that lurks in our country. Barack Obama was born in America, plain and simple, and Donald Trump owes him and the American people an apology.
Donald Trump looks at president Obama.. he still doesn’t see him as American. Think of how dangerous that is. Think of a person in the Oval Office who traffics in conspiracy theories, and refuses to let them go, no matter what the facts are...
Imagine a president who sees a person who doesn’t look like him... and thinks, that person isn’t a real American.
Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States.
We cannot become insensitive to what he says, and what he serves up. We can’t just accept this. We’ve got to stand up to it ...
Donald Trump looks at a distinguished federal judge, born in Indiana, and sees a Mexican... he looks at a gold-star family and sees them as Muslims, not patriotic Americans. He looks at women and decides how our looks rate on a scale of 1-10.
I look at America, and I see everything...[our diversity is our strength].
We know who Donald Trump is. Now it’s time for our country to show who we are.
Updated
Clinton: 'we know who Donald is'
Clinton:
We know who Donald is. For five years he has led the birther movement to delegitimize our first black president. His campaign was founded on this outrageous lie. There is no erasing it in history.
Updated
Clinton:
I believe every election is important. But this one feels different, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. The next 53 days will shape the next 50 years.
Clinton: 'people deserve something to vote for, not just against'
“It goes to show that black women deserve more than a seat at the table. It’s past time that you had a chance to run the meeting,” Clinton says.
She’s being continuously applauded.
I would not be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States were it not for black women like you ...
I’m going to close my campaign the way I began my career all those years ago at the children’s defense fund... I will be focused on opportunities for kids [and families].
The American people deserve something to vote for, not just against.
Clinton gave an extended tribute to Marian Wright Edelman, closing it: "There is no question I'm here today because of her example"
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 16, 2016
Updated
“While your stories may not appear in the history books,” Clinton says, “you are changemakers, the pathbreakers and the ground shakers.”
You are proof that yes indeed, black girl magic is real.
Clinton: finally, GOP 'interested in women's health'
The question is moot. Clinton has just started:
“The good news is, my pneumonia finally got some Republicans interested in women’s health!” she says. Generous laughs.
My instinct was, to push through it. That’s what women do every day... I think it is fair to say that black women have an even tougher road.
Both Clinton’s and Trump’s events are scheduled to start at 10pm. We’ll provide lives streams for both.
Which one should we take in in real time?
Dueling events. Clinton at Black Women’s Agenda summit. Trump doing Trump. Which should blog take in in real time?
— Tom McCarthy (@TeeMcSee) September 16, 2016
Hello, and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Hillary Clinton is scheduled to attend a Black Women’s Agenda Annual Symposium Workshop & Awards Luncheon in Washington DC today. Michelle Obama will campaign for Clinton in Fairfax, Virginia. Donald Trump has an event this morning at his new hotel in Washington DC, and one this evening in Miami.
Campaigns tangle on ‘birther’ issue
Trump said on Fox News this morning that he plans to make a statement today on whether Barack Obama was born in the US. On Thursday, his campaign released a statement asserting the candidate believed that. This morning his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, who – oh bash it, let’s hear what Bernie Sanders thinks:
Sanders: ‘This is pathetic’
Sanders mocks Trump for alleged shift on birther position, says Trump's campaign is about "bigotry": https://t.co/aQjmXPTfrn
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 16, 2016
Asked by @MariaBartiromo if @BarackObama was born in the US, Trump says he will make statement today: "We have to keep the suspense going"
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) September 16, 2016
Remember: Trump, the Birther-in-Chief, still refuses to even release his own tax returns and real medical records. pic.twitter.com/BgtM199Ncg
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2016
Birtherism is as toxic as anything to come along in this country in a long time. Trump should be forced to own it or denounce it. Himself.
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) September 16, 2016
Reid smacks Trump
After Trump taunted him for a workout injury that blinded him in one eye, Senate minority leader Harry Reid, who called Trump a “human leech” on the Senate floor on Thursday, has continued to attack Trump with a statement obtained by Politico in which Reid calls Trump a “con artist” and says:
Donald Trump can make fun of the injury that crushed the side of my face and took the sight in my right eye all he wants – I’ve dealt with tougher opponents than him. I may not be able to see out of my right eye, but with my good eye, I can see that Trump is a man who inherited his money and spent his entire life pretending like he earned it. In Searchlight, we learned a thing or two about hard work that Trump may not have learned at his boarding school. Trump rips off working people with scams like Trump University. And while the people he ripped off suffer, Trump sits at the posh resort he bought with his daddy’s money, with no understanding of the misery he caused.
Kasich: ‘very unlikely’ he’d vote for Trump
Can the popular Ohio governor herd voters in his crucial swing state (no Republican has won the presidency without Ohio) away from Trump? It does not seem to have been working so far.
John Kasich: "Very unlikely" he'll vote for Trump, says there's "too much water under the bridge." https://t.co/J5ZslFWo0g
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 16, 2016
Thanks for reading, and please join us in the comments.
The single most surprising news from Trump's health records release was that his most recent colonoscopy did not find Sean Hannity.
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) September 16, 2016
