Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Ryan is doing his personal reputation and his party’s fortunes no favors with these evasions. The central issue in this election isn’t Mr. Trump’s ideas, such as they are. It’s his character, such as it is. The sin, in this case, is the sinner…. Mr. Ryan and other Go-Along Republicans should treat the Khan episode as their last best hope to preserve political reputations they have worked so hard to build.”
Can You Imagine Trump Giving a Concession Speech?
Noam Bramson: “We take concessions for granted in this country. We simply assume that losing candidates will dutifully congratulate the winners and then depart the stage. And so it has been — thank goodness — throughout the American experience.”
“But like much else in this strange election year, perhaps our confidence in this historic norm is misplaced. After all, around the world, there have been innumerable examples of election losers who simply refused to acknowledge their defeat. Losers who shaped elaborate conspiracy myths, who incited mobs to violence, who perpetrated fraud to conceal their loss, who attempted desperately to cling to power.”
“Even when such actions do not escalate into bloodshed, the damage can be grave, intensifying the divisions of a campaign, until they explode into mutually distrustful hatred. If you think the hyper-partisan atmosphere of present-day American politics is bad, just wait until a loser refuses to concede.”
Voter Fraud Myth Is Widespread
Brendan Nyhan: “Is vote fraud common in American politics? Not according to United States District Judge Lynn Adelman, who examined the evidence from Wisconsin and ruled in late April that ‘virtually no voter impersonation occurs’ in the state and that ‘no evidence suggests that voter-impersonation fraud will become a problem at any time in the foreseeable future.'”
“Strikingly, however, a Marquette Law School poll conducted in Wisconsin just a few weeks later showed that many voters there believed voter impersonation and other kinds of vote fraud were widespread — the likely result of a yearslong campaign by conservative groups to raise concerns about the practice. Thirty-nine percent of Wisconsin voters believe that vote fraud affects a few thousand votes or more each election. One in five believe that this level of fraud exists for each of the three types of fraud that individuals could commit: in-person voter impersonation, submitting absentee ballots in someone else’s name, and voting by people who are not citizens or Wisconsin residents.”
Obama Calls on GOP to Withdraw Backing for Trump
In his strongest denouncement of Donald Trump so far, President Obama said Mr. Trump was “unfit to serve as president” and urged the leaders of the Republican Party to withdraw their backing for his candidacy, the New York Times reports.
Said Obama: “The question they have to ask themselves is: If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?”
He added: “This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily. There has to be a point at which you say, this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party. The fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow.”
Clinton Has Best Fundraising Month Yet
“A surge of online donations that rushed in as Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic presidential nomination last week helped her campaign raise $63 million in July, its largest monthly haul yet,” the Washington Post reports.
Clinton Seen as Much More Trusted on Foreign Policy
Just as foreign policy has come to the forefront of the campaign, a new CNN/ORC poll finds Hillary Clinton has widened her edge over Donald Trump as more trusted to handle foreign policy, 59% to 36%, and has pulled even with Trump on handling terrorism, 48% to 48%.
“And on the most prominent foreign policy issue of late, Russia and its relationship with the US, nearly 6-in-10 see the country as unfriendly, and about half say they think the Russian government is attempting to influence the outcome of the US presidential election.”
Trump Trying to Prevent Arizona From Turning Blue
Donald Trump’s campaign is dispatching vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence to Arizona for two public events, “a tangible sign of Republicans’ concern that Arizona could be competitive this year,” Politico reports.
“There are already signs Arizona is on Trump’s radar: The businessman’s campaign has identified the state as a potential battleground, and recent polls have shown a close race between him and Clinton.”
Getting Under Trump’s Skin
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Has a Nominee Ever Had a Worse Week?
Rick Klein: “To review the bidding since the post-convention weekend… Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton the devil, said the election will be rigged, accused a local fire marshal of limiting his crowd for political reasons, and said his daughter should find another job if she were sexually harassed. He stayed on the attack against the family of a fallen service member, and saw a military mom who asked his vice-presidential candidate about that booed by Trump’s own supporters. He’s clarified his call for the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s email as ‘sarcasm,’ and he’s also clarified that he did know that Russia had taken over Crimea. He acknowledged that he didn’t get a letter from the NFL about debates after all. In the political realm, he offered a measure of public support to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s long-shot primary challenger, a week before that election.”
“Plenty of candidates make gaffes, though these actions amount to more than that. They veer between reckless, careless, and just plain mean. The only through-line is Trump being Trump, with no apparent strategy greater than that. At this post-convention time for party consolidation, with everything magnified in the final 100 days before Nov. 8, this looks like a candidate who senses he is losing and is not happy about it.”
Trump Overshadows Big Clinton Misstep
First Read: “The raging Khan controversy overshadowed Hillary Clinton’s claim over the weekend that FBI director James Comey said her answers about her email use were ‘truthful.’ … The Washington Post slapped a ‘Four Pinocchio’ label on the claim on Sunday.”
“Here’s the thing: Somewhere in an alternate universe where the GOP nominee is Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush, Clinton’s claim would be leading newscasts and knocking the wind out of any post-convention bounce she earned in Philly. Instead, a debate about Trump’s lack of empathy for a Gold Star family and a crisis in the GOP is crowding out what should be a solid hit on the Democratic nominee. For as much as Trump’s unforced errors frustrate Republicans, the same can be said for Clinton and Democrats. Why did she have to exaggerate what Comey said? Why twist the interpretation of what he said where it stops resembling the truth? She has a shot at putting this race away, but this answer on emails and interpreting Comey is the explanation for why she can’t totally shake Trump. It’s his character vs her honesty.”
Trump Is Destroying the Republican Party
Stuart Rothenberg: “The last couple of weeks have been nothing short of disastrous for the Republican Party.”
“No, Donald Trump’s position in the race hasn’t worsened dramatically, nor did the Democratic convention wash away Hillary Clinton’s many political warts. When it comes to the presidential race, we will see what the post-convention polls show.”
“Things have deteriorated for the GOP because Donald Trump’s comments about Russia and Vladimir Putin have further shredded the Republican Party’s historically greatest strength: national security and defense themes. Add to that Trump’s — and GOP delegates’ — performance at their convention (‘Lock her up!’) and Trump’s positions on trade, taxes, spending and entitlements, which also contradict the long-standing Republican message, and the party is nothing short of a mess.”
For members: Will Republicans Finally Abandon Trump?
The Last Exit Ramp for Republicans
First Read: “Donald Trump’s confounding war with a Gold Star family — earning condemnation from veterans groups and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle – has started to have a distinct air over the last 36 hours of a situation that’s unraveling. It’s the latest in a long list of fights that have so far failed to sink Trump’s candidacy, but something about this particular controversy feels different. It’s pushing some neutral groups off the sidelines (see the nonpartisan VFW’s strongly-worded response), it’s undermining the GOP’s mantle as the party of reverence to the military and national security, and it’s putting Republicans like House Speaker Paul Ryan in a particularly torturous bind as they try to defend the Khan family without so much as naming their own nominee.”
“Mike Pence, Trump’s own VP, faced a question about Trump’s treatment of the Khans last night from a military mom who was booed by the crowd as Pence offered words of solace but no apology. But so far, Republicans aren’t going so far as to un-endorse their nominee as a result of the Khan controversy. (Not even John McCain, who offered the most biting statement targeting Trump yet!) This moment could provide a last exit ramp for Republicans to withdraw their support for Trump before the heat of the general election, which now seems sure to draw even more outlandish reactions from a candidate who’s shown little deference to the party. And the pressure isn’t letting up.”
Quote of the Day
“Here’s what I think about the map. It’s going to be a close race. But there isn’t any state in the battleground universe where Donald Trump will force us to play defense.”
— Clinton chief strategist Joel Benenson, quoted by the Washington Post.
Trump Says Clinton Is ‘the Devil’
Donald Trump reiterated that in endorsing Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders made a deal with the devil, the AP reports.
He went further this time, explicitly saying: “He made a deal with the devil. She’s the devil.”
GOP Lawmaker Will Vote for Clinton
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) told the Syracuse Post Standard that he will vote for Hillary Clinton for president because Donald Trump is “unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country.”
Hanna said it’s unthinkable that anyone would criticize Gold Star parents: “I saw that and felt incensed. I was stunned by the callousness of his comments.”
He added: “I think Trump is a national embarrassment. Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?”
Trump Blasts the New York Times
Donald Trump said that The New York Times “is just absolutely a disaster” and “so unfair” to his campaign, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “I mean they write three, four articles about me a day. No matter how good I do on something, they’ll never write good.”
Buffett Slams Trump Over Tax Returns
“Warren Buffett took on Donald Trump over his refusal to release his tax returns — issuing the real estate mogul a challenge to put his cards on the table,” ABC News reports.
Said Buffett: “Now I’ve got news for him, I’m under audit too. There are no rules against showing your tax returns and just let people ask us questions about the items that are on there.”
He added: “You’re only afraid if you’ve got something to be afraid about. He’s not afraid of the IRS. He’s afraid because of you.”
The New York Times reports Buffett also said that a monkey throwing darts at the stock pages in 1995, when Mr. Trump first offered stock in his Atlantic City hotels, would have come out far ahead of Trump.
Clinton Just Ahead In Utah
A new Hinckley Institute-Salt Lake Tribune poll in Utah shows the presidential race is virtually tied with Hillary Clinton edging Donald Trump, 36% to 35%.
“That is as close as a Democratic candidate has been to victory in more than half a century.”
