Donald Trump’s former accountant challenged the Republican presidential nominee’s assertion that he “brilliantly” used tax laws to avoid paying federal taxes, Politico reports.
Said Jack Mitnick: “I did all the tax preparation. He never saw the product until it was presented to him for signature.”
Gary Johnson defended his lack of knowledge of world affairs, suggesting that foreign policy expertise, or even an understanding of where international leaders are from, is what leads to military conflict, Politico reports.
Said Johnson: “You know what? The fact that somebody can dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a foreign leader’s geographic location then allows them to put our military in harm’s way.”
“Imagine Donald Trump’s most hateful rhetoric signed into law. Mike Pence’s record shows that it could happen.”
— A Clinton campaign statement, quoted by the Washington Post, hinting at Sen. Tim Kaine’s strategy in tonight’s vice presidential debate.
Ezra Klein: “Trump isn’t even using Pence as a prime surrogate: He’s sending out sycophants like Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich — the guys who have his back and will deliver even his strangest self-justifications with a smile.”
“Pence’s purpose on the ticket is as Trump’s ambassador to the Republican Party. It’s Pence who keeps GOP heavyweights like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell hopeful that a Trump win might lead to a conservative presidency. But Pence’s role in the Trump campaign is that of a salesman, not a strategist or close adviser — no one believes Trump is relying on the genial, generic Midwestern conservative for guidance.”
A new Pew Research poll finds Americans are deeply divided on the causes, cures and urgency of climate change, and party identification is one of the strongest predictors of individual views.
“Just over a third of Americans say they care a great deal about climate change. Among them, 72% are Democrats and 24% are Republicans; both numbers include independents who say they generally lean toward one party.”
“On other questions on climate change, Americans remain starkly divided: Nearly 7 out of 10 Democrats believe climate change is mainly a result of human activity; less than a quarter of Republicans believe that.”
Here are the latest state polls from the presidential race:
Pennsylvania: Clinton 47%, Trump 38%, Johnson 5% (Franklin & Marshall)
Nevada: Clinton 44%, Trump 41%, Johnson 8% (Hart Research)
North Carolina: Clinton 45%, Trump 39%, Johnson 9% (Elon)
Pennsylvania: Clinton 50%, Trump 40%, Johnson 5% (Monmouth)
North Carolina: Clinton 46%, Trump 44%, Johnson 5% (SurveyUSA)
Donald Trump “used his private foundation, funded by outside donors, to launch and fuel his political ambitions. Such contributions, if they were made solely for Trump’s benefit, could violate federal self-dealing laws for private foundations,” RealClearPolitics reports.
“From 2011 through 2014, Trump harnessed his eponymous foundation to send at least $286,000 to influential conservative or policy groups… In many cases, this flow of money corresponded to prime speaking slots or endorsements that aided Trump as he sought to recast himself as a plausible Republican candidate for president.”
“Hillary Clinton’s supporters in Ohio say new revelations about Donald Trump’s tax avoidance can resuscitate her campaign in this longtime bellwether state, where she is trailing her Republican rival,” Politico reports.
“Ohio is a state in which Democrats have long seen the issue of taxes as a vote driver. In 2012, President Barack Obama’s campaign ran an ad here dinging Mitt Romney for releasing just one year of tax returns — and paying just 14.1 percent of taxes in 2011.”
First Read: “We don’t envy the task in front of Republican Mike Pence in tonight’s vice-presidential debate. Not only does he have to defend the controversies from Donald Trump’s brutal week (the taxes, Alicia Machado, the 3:00 am tweetstorm), but he also has to defend Trump on issues where the two men are at odds. Indeed, before Pence became Trump’s running mate, he:
“Folks, those aren’t ordinary campaign issues; they are central to Trump’s candidacy. What’s more, Pence has often been running a parallel campaign to Trump’s.”
What Tim Kaine must do: “Every time that Pence will want to talk about traditional issues, Kaine will have to turn the conversation back to Trump.”
New research finds that your doctor’s political affiliation impacts the advice they give.
Vox: “Republican doctors were far more likely to express concern over a patient with a history of abortion than Democratic doctors, citing possible mental health repercussions and actively discouraging future abortions. Republican doctors were also more concerned about recreational marijuana use, saying they would discuss potential legal ramifications with their patients and encourage a patient to cut back — despite a lack of research that marijuana use negatively impacts a person’s health.”
BuzzFeed: “People close to Ryan said there is an art to crafting the perfect rhetorical response to one of Trump’s eruptions: They must be strongly worded enough for the speaker of the House’s condemnation to be taken seriously — but not so strongly worded that he’s left with no choice but to withdraw his endorsement. Capitol Hill staffers have expressed pity for Ryan’s well-regarded press secretary, AshLee Strong, who is often tasked with drafting and disseminating these statements.”
Said one GOP communications adviser: “I can’t imagine having to do that. It would just be soul-sucking.”
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) quickly backtracked after saying in a debate, “absolutely, I would do that,” when asked if she would point to Donald Trump as a role model, ABC News reports.
Said Ayotte: “I misspoke tonight. While I would hope all of our children would aspire to be president, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example and I wouldn’t hold up either of them as role models for my kids.”
A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump in the presidential race, 45% to 41%, with Gary Johnson at 8%.
A new NBC News-Survey Monkey poll finds Clinton leading by six points, 46% to 40%, with Johnson at 9%.
“Hillary Clinton mocked rival Donald Trump’s business acumen Monday and said he was getting a free ride on the backs of tax-paying working people, as she addressed the weekend leak of his tax documents for the first time,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Clinton: “While millions of American families including mine and yours were working hard and paying our fair share, it seems that he was contributing nothing to our nation. Trump was taking from America with both hands and leaving the rest of us with the bill.”
For members: The Best Way to Attack Trump on His Taxes
A new CNN/ORC poll finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by five points in the presidential race nationally, 47% to 42%, with Gary Johnson at 7% and Jill Stein at 2%.
Key finding: “Clinton’s boost in the race stems largely from gains on Trump among men (from a 22-point deficit with that group in early September to just a 5-point one now) and sharply increased support from independents, who broke heavily in Trump’s favor in the early September poll but now tilt Clinton, 44% to 37%.”
“Can this thing just end — please?”
— Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, quoted by the Washington Post, when asked about Donald Trump’s latest controversy.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.