Political Wire

Archives for December 2015

Mayor Bans Trump from St. Petersburg

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St. Petersburg, FL Mayor Rick Kriseman said that he was banning Donald Trump from his city “until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Explained Kriseman: “You make a ridiculous statement, so you answer with a ridiculous statement. There are some people who thought I was seriously going to ban Donald Trump from St. Petersburg, and that’s obviously not something I would try to do. But his statement was kind of ridiculous, so I thought that it deserved an equal response.”

‘The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend’

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Harry Enten notes that the GOP establishment may need religious voters to stop Donald Trump from marching to the Republican presidential nomination.

“To beat Trump, the establishment may have to defeat him in Iowa, but recently, the Iowa caucuses have been unwelcoming to establishment-approved candidates. Still, there’s a way to square that circle. The GOP establishment doesn’t need to win Iowa — it just needs Trump to lose. And the establishment may have to rely on an old frenemy to make that happen: born-again and evangelical Christians.”

Trump Warns of More Terrorist Attacks

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A defiant Donald Trump warned that there “will be additional attacks on the U.S. if his temporary ban on Muslim immigration is not put on place,” CNN reports.

Said Trump: “You’re going to have many more World Trade Centers if you don’t solve it – many, many more and probably beyond the World Trade Center.”

He added: “They want our buildings to come down. They want our cities to be crushed. They are living in our country and many are outside of our country.”

Cruz Sees Payoff in the Polls

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“Hours after Ted Cruz announced his presidential candidacy last March at an evangelical university, his team openly cheered his meager position in the polls, where his support registered at around 5 percent,” the New York Times reports.

“Less than nine months later — many of them spent drafting behind his rivals, lying in wait — Mr. Cruz’s base of support has swelled, forcing his foes to grapple with the central premise of Mr. Cruz’s bid, a bet many had long dismissed: that he could emerge as the first far-right conservative in recent political history with the strength to withstand a bruising primary.”

Vox: Ted Cruz is even less electable than Donald Trump

Trump Might Have Backed Japanese Internment

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Donald Trump told Time that he does not know whether he would have supported or opposed the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Said Trump: “I would have had to be there at the time to tell you, to give you a proper answer. I certainly hate the concept of it. But I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer.”

Carson Wants to Monitor Every Visitor in Country

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Ben Carson “thinks everyone visiting the United States should register and be monitored while in the country,” Reuters reports.

Said a spokesman: “Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries. We do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.”

Trump Calls for Ban on Muslims Entering Country

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Donald Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” Bloomberg reports.

More: “Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

New York Times: “A ban on Muslims – an unprecedented proposal by a leading American presidential candidate, and an idea more typically associated with hate groups – reflects a progression of mistrust that is rooted in ideology as much as politics.”

Trump and Cruz Gain Ground in Iowa

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A new CNN/ORC poll in Iowa shows Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 33%, followed by Ted Cruz at 20%, Ben Carson at 16%, Marco Rubio at 11% and Jeb Bush at 4%.

While an earlier Monmouth poll found Cruz surging into the lead, this poll shows Trump up 8 points since the last poll, Cruz up 9, while Carson has faded by 7 points.

Drone Pilots Denounce ‘Morally Outrageous’ Program

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In interviews with NBC News, three former servicemen — who together have 15 years of military drone experience — decried the civilian cost of drone strikes and called on President Obama to “turn this around” before he leaves office.

Said one: “We were very callous about any real collateral damage. Whenever that possibility came up, most of the time it was a ‘guilt by association’ or sometimes we didn’t even consider other people that were on screen.”

Iowa Republicans Still Very Much Undecided

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Pollster Ann Selzer: “A key question I often get from the press these days is: When will Iowans finally make up their minds? Based on the astonishing number of candidates still under consideration in the Republican field, my answer is: Late, very late.”

“History shows that even in an normal year, Iowans rarely settle on a final decision until the last possible moment. In past election cycles, the final four-day poll conducted just before the caucuses shows how much turbulence remains late in the race.”

Cruz Takes Lead in Iowa

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A new Monmouth University poll in Iowa finds Ted Cruz surging into the lead with 24%, followed by Donald Trump at 19%, Marco Rubio at 17%, Ben Carson at 13%, and Jeb Bush at 6%.

Said pollster Patrick Murray: “This marks the first time Ted Cruz has held a lead in any of the crucial early states. As Ben Carson’s stock has fallen, Cruz has been able to corral most of those voters. Rep. Steve King’s endorsement may not be the primary reason for this swing, but it certainly put a stamp on the Cruz surge in Iowa.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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