Washington Post: “There are times when words do not do complete justice to a moment. Tuesday night’s Newt Gingrich-Megyn Kelly showdown is one of those times.”
Trump and Allies Focus Anger on GOP Leaders
New York Times: “Some of the loudest voices on the right seem poised to channel that anger into one of their favorite and most frequent pursuits: eating their own.”
“Some in the deeply factionalized Republican Party, including Mr. Trump and some of his senior aides, are already fanning the flames for a revolt against the House speaker, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, once Congress reconvenes after the election. Mr. Trump, who has lashed out at the speaker for being critical of him, has privately said that Mr. Ryan should pay a price for his disloyalty, according to two people close to Mr. Trump who insisted on anonymity to describe internal campaign discussions.”
Trump Already Looking Past Presidential Race
“As his poll numbers have declined in the closing weeks of the presidential race, Donald Trump has begun to engage in barely veiled promotions of his business brand off the campaign trail, dragging reporters to his marquee properties in between his campaign events,” the New York Times reports.
“The stops are a remarkable display of personal promotion by a presidential nominee, raising questions about whether the businessman, who has lived by the mantra that ‘all publicity is good publicity,’ is at least partly casting his eye past the 2016 race, and toward bolstering the brand that bears his name.”
Trump Scales Back Transition Planning Efforts
Donald Trump “has asked his campaign to cut back on work identifying candidates for key jobs in his would-be administration and focus instead on bolstering his chances on Election Day,” Reuters reports.
“They have, as a result, largely set aside efforts to identify candidates for key Cabinet positions, but are continuing work to fill lower-level jobs, such as Securities and Exchange Commission general counsel, that would allow Trump to begin basic work on his agenda if he won on Nov. 8, without worrying about winning political battles first.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I was U.S. attorney and assistant to the U.S. attorney for too many years to laugh at Mrs. Clinton. When I see her, I see her in an orange jumpsuit, I’m sorry, or at least a striped one.”
— Rudy Giuliani, quoted by CNN.
Top Democrats Divided Over Marco Rubio
“Tensions are flaring at the highest rungs of the Democratic Party over its decision to pull out of the Florida Senate race, with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Florida donors pressing to go all out to unseat Marco Rubio in the final days of the campaign, but New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and the party’s Senate campaign arm arguing it’s not feasible because of budget constraints,” Politico reports.
Trump Has Spent More on Hats Than Polling
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign “has spent $1.8 million on polling from June 2015 through September of this year (the most recent month for which data are available.) The report also lists $3.2 million spent on hats,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump has probably spent more on hats than he has spent on direct mail. The campaign filings occasionally aggregate a few things from the same vendor under one line-item, so some of the hat spending was on collateral generally that includes some hats. (His campaign spent more than $2 million on a line-item that was exclusively hats, though.) Overall, Trump’s spent about $15.3 million on collateral — shirts, hats, signs, etc. — more than he has spent on field consulting and voter lists and data.”
Trump Halts Big Dollar Fundraisers for the GOP
Donald Trump “has stopped holding events for his high-dollar fundraising operation for the rest of the campaign, an unusual move that deals another serious blow to the GOP’s effort to finance its get-out-the-vote operation before Election Day,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump’s decision effectively turns off one of the main spigots to the Republican National Committee, which collected $40 million through Trump Victory as of Sept. 30. The party has devoted a large share of the funds to pay for its national voter mobilization program to benefit the entire Republican ticket.”
Can Democrats Put More House Seats In Play?
David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report talks to Chris Riback on Political Wire Conversations about the battle for control of the House of Representatives.
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Bonus Quote of the Day
“If we had party unity, we couldn’t lose this election to Hillary Clinton… The people are very angry with the leadership of this party, because this is an election that we will win 100 percent if we had support from the top. I think we’re going to win it anyway.”
— Donald Trump, in an interview with Reuters.
Trump Says Clinton Could Cause World War III
Donald Trump told Reuters that Hillary Clinton’s plan for Syria would “lead to World War Three,” because of the potential for conflict with military forces from nuclear-armed Russia.
Said Trump: “What we should do is focus on ISIS. We should not be focusing on Syria. You’re going to end up in World War Three over Syria if we listen to Hillary Clinton.”
He added: “You’re not fighting Syria any more, you’re fighting Syria, Russia and Iran, all right? Russia is a nuclear country, but a country where the nukes work as opposed to other countries that talk.”
Clinton Leads Trump By 12 Points
A new Democracy Corps (D) survey shows Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump, 50% to 38%, with Gary Johnson at 5%.
Key finding: “There is a chance to translate Clinton’s emerging landslide into a wave down ballot. In a simulated contest where the Republican congressional candidate argues they are needed as an independent check on Clinton, the Democrats move into a 9-point lead in the congressional match-up after the Republican is attacked.”
Yes, It’s the Longest Campaign Possible
Washington Post: “To make things more excruciating, Election Day happens to be scheduled on the latest possible day this year. America votes not on the first Tuesday in November, but on the first Tuesday after a Monday in November — i.e., any time between Nov. 2 and Nov. 8. Because November 1 falls on a Tuesday, we have almost an entire extra week of campaigning this election. In fact, it’s the latest election date since George Bush faced off against Michael Dukakis in 1988.”
Jeff Greenfield: “It’s become just about all anybody can say: ‘I can’t wait for this election to be over.’ It also is very likely to become a textbook case of: ‘be careful what you wish for.’ If you think this contest has demonstrated fault lines in our political system, I have news for you: Come January, we may all be standing close to the San Andreas fault of government dysfunction.”
Quote of the Day
“No, I have no interest in Trump TV. I hear it all over the place. I have a tremendous fan base, we have a tremendous base. We have the most incredible people, but I just don’t have any interest in that.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by CNN.
State Poll Roundup: Tuesday
Here are the latest state polls from the presidential race:
Minnesota: Clinton 47%, Trump 39%, Johnson 6% (Mason Dixon)
North Carolina: Clinton 46%, Trump 39%, Johnson 8% (NYT/Siena)
Michigan: Clinton 49%, Trump 41%, Johnson 3% (Mitchell Research)
Arizona: Trump 46%, Clinton 45%, Johnson 1% (Monmouth)
South Dakota: Trump 44%, Clinton 37%, Johnson 7% (Keloland)
Trump’s Biggest Fear Is Losing Status
New York Times: “The intense ambitions and undisciplined behaviors of Mr. Trump have confounded even those close to him, especially as his presidential campaign comes to a tumultuous end, and he confronts the possibility of the most stinging defeat of his life. But in the more than five hours of conversations — the last extensive biographical interviews Mr. Trump granted before running for president — a powerful driving force emerges: his deep-seated fear of public embarrassment.”
“The recordings reveal a man who is fixated on his own celebrity, anxious about losing his status and contemptuous of those who fall from grace. They capture the visceral pleasure he derives from fighting, his willful lack of interest in history, his reluctance to reflect on his life and his belief that most people do not deserve his respect.”
“In the interviews, Mr. Trump makes clear just how difficult it is for him to imagine — let alone accept — defeat.”
Pro-Clinton Super PAC Sets Fundraising Record
Priorities USA, the top super PAC backing Hillary Clinton, has raised more money than any super PAC in history, scooping up nearly $175 million to finance its efforts, the Washington Post reports.
Rauner Pours $46 Million Into Legislative Races
With little more than two weeks until Election Day, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s (R) personal investment in eroding the ranks of legislative Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) has grown to nearly $46 million, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“The massive influx of cash represents the election-year battle lines playing out in Illinois after more than a year of fighting between Rauner, the first-term governor, and Madigan, the nation’s longest-serving speaker, over the future of the state.”
