Voters in Kansas’ 1st District primary chose newcomer Roger Marshall (R) over three-term incumbent Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), one of the most outspoken conservatives in Congress, the Wichita Eagle reports.
Republicans Weigh Abandoning Their Nominee
New York Times: “Republicans now say Mr. Trump’s obstinacy in addressing perhaps the gravest crisis of his campaign may trigger drastic defections within the party, and Republican lawmakers and strategists have begun to entertain abandoning him en masse.”
For members: Will Republicans Finally Abandon Trump?
Meg Whitman Will Raise Money for Clinton
Meg Whitman, a Hewlett-Packard executive and Republican fund-raiser, told the New York Times that she would support Hillary Clinton for president and give a “substantial” contribution to her campaign in order to stop Donald J. Trump, whom she berated as a threat to American democracy.
Said Whitman: “I will vote for Hillary, I will talk to my Republican friends about helping her, and I will donate to her campaign and try to raise money for her.”
“She revealed that Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, had reached out to her in a phone call about a month ago, one of the first indications that Mrs. Clinton is aggressively courting Republican leaders. While acknowledging she diverged from Mrs. Clinton on many policy issues, Ms. Whitman said it was time for Republicans ‘to put country first before party.'”
Quote of the Day
Trump Says Election Is Rigged Against Him
Donald Trump told the Washington Post that the election will be “rigged” against him — and he could lose as a result.
Said Trump: “If the election is rigged, I would not be surprised. The voter ID situation has turned out to be a very unfair development. We may have people vote 10 times.”
“Those comments followed a claim Trump made Monday, to an audience in Ohio, that ‘the election is going to be rigged.’ That same day, in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, he beseeched Republicans to start ‘watching closely’ or the election will be ‘taken away from us’ through fraud.”
Trump Aide Says Obama Policies Led to Khan’s Death
Donald Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that President Obama’s policies “probably” led to the death of Captain Humayan Khan.
However, Khan died in 2004, more than four years before Obama even took office.
Trump Knew Event Was Limited to 1,000
Politico reports that Trump “continued his battle with America’s firefighters” at a rally in Ohio, “where he accused the local fire marshal and city officials of being part of a political conspiracy to prevent his supporters from attending the event.”
“The problem with Trump’s charges? His own senior campaign staff officials were fully aware and had agreed in writing that the Trump event in Columbus was to be restricted to a maximum of 1,000 people, according to documents signed on Friday, July 29, between the Trump campaign and Columbus Convention Center for the Monday event.”
15 Hours of Lies
Olivia Nuzzi: “The lying started at 7:27 a.m. and did not stop until after dark. Even for Donald Trump, Monday, Aug. 1, was a banner day for bullshit.”
“With 100 days until Election Day, the Republican presidential nominee decisively rejected suggestions that he make some attempt to appear statesmanlike in his campaign against Hillary Clinton, opting to commit fully to the erraticism and dishonesty that characterized his performance in the Republican primary.”
“Monday was a dive, hair-first, into a general election strategy not yet seen before on American soil—and a strategy for existing as a human being in the world not usually seen outside the bowels of the New York City subway system after 2 a.m.”
Trump Refuses to Support Ryan In Primary
Donald Trump is refusing to back House Speaker Paul Ryan in his upcoming primary election, saying that he is “not quite there yet” in endorsing his party’s top-ranking elected official, the Washington Post reports.
In fact, Trump praised Ryan’s underdog opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign.”
Said Trump: “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”
Clinton Just Ahead In Arizona
A new Predictive Insights poll in Arizona finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by three points in the presidential race, 45% to 42%.
Clinton Plans Massive Ad Blitz
Hillary Clinton and her allies are poised for a TV ad blitz of $98 million dollars, compared to less than $1 million currently reserved on the airwaves by backers of Donald Trump, NBC News reports.
Top Christie Aide Will Vote for Clinton
Longtime Chris Christie aide Maria Comella says she plans to vote for Hillary Clinton — saying that after Donald Trump’s nomination, Republicans are “at a moment where silence isn’t an option,” CNN reports.
Said Comella: “Donald Trump has been a demagogue this whole time, preying on people’s anxieties with loose information and salacious rhetoric, drumming up fear and hatred of the ‘other.'”
She added: “Instead of trying anything remotely like unifying the country, we have a nominee who would rather pick fights because he views it as positive news coverage. It may make him media savvy, but it doesn’t make him qualified or ready to be president.”
Bank Determined Trump Wasn’t a Billionaire
Newsweek: “In that 2007 deposition, Trump said he based estimates of his net worth at times on ‘psychology’ and ‘my own feelings.’ But those feelings are often wrong—in 2004, he presented unaudited financials to Deutsche Bank while seeking a loan, claiming he was worth $3.5 billion. The bank concluded Trump was, to say the least, puffing; it put his net worth at $788 million, records show.”
The kicker: “Trump personally guaranteed $40 million of the loan to his company, so Deutsche coughed up the money. He later defaulted on that commitment.”
OK, This Is Ridiculous
Child Yells Profanity at Trump Rally
“A school-age child at a Donald Trump rally on Tuesday stood up and yelled ‘Take the bitch down’ after the candidate mentioned Hillary Clinton,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“His mother later defended the child’s right to speak and blamed his language on ‘Democratic schools.'”
Christie Says Criticism of Khan Family Is Wrong
In an unusual break with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Gov. Chris Christie (R) said that criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan is “inappropriate,” Politico reports.
Said Christie: “I didn’t see Mr. Khan’s speech at the DNC but I’ll just say this: I’m a father and I just cannot imagine the pain of losing a child under any circumstances.”
Trump Throws Crying Baby Out of Rally
“Donald Trump made the mother of a crying child the butt of an unfortunate joke at his rally in Ashburn, Virginia on Tuesday. At first, the Republican nominee drew attention to the baby by saying he didn’t mind the sound of crying,” Rolling Stone reports.
“Then, reversing course, he told the mother to leave.”
CEO at Democratic National Committee Resigns
“The chief executive of the Democratic National Committee has resigned in the wake of an email hack that embarrassed the party on the eve of its presidential nominating convention,” the AP reports.
“That’s according to three Democratic strategists familiar with Amy Dacey’s decision to leave her job. The people spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.”
