“I should be a newscaster because I called it before the news.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by NBC News, about calling the explosions in New York City a bomb before anyone else.
Can Debates Move the Needle?
ABC News: “It will be tough: A review of data since 1960 suggests that past debates have almost never directly and measurably changed the candidates’ relative standings. That’s admittedly a high standard, though, and at least some debates may have had more subtle impacts.”
“Debates have been held in 11 presidential races since 1960. We find just one after which the lead in presidential preference changed hands by a significant margin: In 1980, when Ronald Reagan uttered his “are you better off?” line. He gained 7 points in a post-debate poll.”
White Voters Keep Florida Close
Nate Cohn: “Donald Trump has almost no plausible path to the White House unless he wins Florida, a rapidly changing state where Hispanic voters could deal a decisive blow to his chances.”
“But a new poll, by The New York Times Upshot/Siena College, suggests that Mr. Trump is keeping his hopes alive in Florida, the largest and most diverse of the crucial battleground states. The reason: White voters favor him by a large margin.”
Why It’s Still Clinton’s Race to Lose
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
GOP May Penalize Those Who Don’t Endorse Trump
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told CBS News “that it’s high time for Donald Trump’s former primary challengers to come on board and support his campaign—and suggested there could be trouble for them in 2020 or 2024 if they don’t.”
Said Priebus: “Those people need to get on board. And if they’re thinking they’re going to run again someday, I think that we’re going to evaluate the process – of the nomination process and I don’t think it’s going to be that easy for them.”
Pence Says Cheney Is His Role Model
Gov. Mike Pence told ABC News that his role model for the number two spot is the last Republican to hold the job — Dick Cheney.
Said Pence: “I frankly hold Dick Cheney in really high regard in his role as vice president and as an American.”
Pence said that, like Cheney, he hoped to be “a very active vice president.”
Dead Heat in the Battleground States
A CBS News/YouGov tracking poll across 11 battleground states shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied, 42% to 42%.
Key finding: “Fifty-five percent of battleground voters want to see ‘big changes’ in the nation’s politics and economy in the next few years. Forty-three percent want “some changes” and only 2 percent think things are fine and not in need of much change.”
Quote of the Day
“We need ideas, not insults. Real plans to help struggling Americans in communities that have been left out and left behind—not prejudice and paranoia. We can’t let Barack Obama’s legacy fall into the hands of someone who doesn’t understand that.”
— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Obama Puts Himself on the Ballot
Politico: “Declaring he would consider it ‘a personal insult, an insult to my legacy’ if black turnout falters for Hillary Clinton, Obama did what he got reamed for doing almost exactly two years ago, in the heat of midterm elections where disdain for him was the defining force: Yes, he said, he is pretty much on the ballot in November.”
Trump Push Left on Key Women’s Issues
“Over the past week, Donald Trump has staked out positions on women’s issues that tack far to the left of his party and his running mate, a marked shift from Republican orthodoxy and the presidential nominee’s past comments about mothers in the workplace,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump, who has made inflammatory statements about women in the past and is lagging far behind in polls of female voters, released a plan to guarantee new mothers six weeks of paid leave and offer tax credits for child care. Trump also said that women should be able to access birth control over the counter, a direct contradiction of the platform his party adopted at its July convention.”
Clinton Struggles In Florida
“Hillary Clinton has vastly outspent Donald J. Trump on TV ads in Florida. Her 57 campaign offices dwarf Mr. Trump’s afterthought of a ground game. And Mr. Trump is deeply unpopular among Hispanics, who account for nearly one in five Florida voters,” the New York Times reports.
“Despite these advantages, Mrs. Clinton is struggling in the Sunshine State, unable to assemble the coalition that gave Barack Obama two victories here, and offering Mr. Trump a broad opening in a road to the White House that not long ago seemed closed to him. Mr. Trump is pressing down hard to win the state, campaigning in Miami on Friday and in Fort Myers on Monday, after a rally in Pensacola recently.”
State Poll Roundup: Sunday
Here are the latest state polls from the presidential race:
Pennsylvania: Clinton 40%, Trump 32% (Muhlenberg)
Minnesota: Clinton 44%, Trump 38% (Star Tribune)
Clinton Denounces ‘Hateful Nonsense’ Thrown at Obama
Hillary Clinton answered her opponent’s admission that Barack Obama was born in the United States with an ardent tribute to the president as a leader and a man of “class, grace, and integrity,” BuzzFeed reports.
Clinton did not refer to Donald Trump by name, but addressed Obama directly before an audience of thousands here in the Washington Convention Center, calling him “one of the best presidents our country has ever had,” even in the face of what she described as “hateful nonsense.”
She added: “I know I speak for not just everyone in this room, but so many tens of millions of Americans: Mr. President, not only do we know you are an America, you’re a great American. And you make us all proud to be Americans, too.”
For members: Why Trump’s Birther Charade May Finally Backfire
Has Trump Set a New Low for Candidates?
New York Times: “Routine falsehoods, unfounded claims and inflammatory language have long been staples of Mr. Trump’s anything-goes campaign. But as the polls tighten and November nears, his behavior, and the implications for the country should he become president, are alarming veteran political observers — and leaving them deeply worried about the precedent being set, regardless of who wins the White House.”
Said former GOP congressman Vin Weber: “It’s frightening. Our politics, because of him, is descending to the level of a third-world country. There’s just nothing beneath him. And I don’t know why we would think he would change if he became president. That’s what’s really scary.”
Trump Says Gates Likely ‘Has a Problem’
Donald Trump launched a series of fierce attacks against former Defense Secretary Robert Gates after the former defense secretary wrote an op-ed critical of him, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “He’s a nasty guy. Probably has a problem that we don’t know about.”
Why Trump’s Birther Charade May Finally Backfire
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Debates Are on TV, But Advertisers Seek Viewers Online
Wall Street Journal: “Ten days or so ahead of the first presidential debate, political advertisers are planning to grab millions of viewers’ eyes—but with a difference. The candidate showdowns have no television commercials, so the focus will be online … To rise above the millions of tweets and posts expected about the debate, campaigns, super PACs and advocacy groups will pay for premium spots in online news feeds or search results, with the expectation that debate viewers will be checking their phones or laptops while watching TV.”
Cuban Offers $10 Million If Trump Can Explain Policies
After Donald Trump said Mark Cuban “is not smart enough to understand what we are doing,” Cuban challenged Trump to a four-hour interview concerning the candidate’s “policies and their substance,” offering to donate $10 million to a charity of Trump’s choosing if he accepted, the Huffington Post reports.
Cuban even said that Trump could keep the money: “If you need it, I’ll write you the check and you can keep the money rather than give it to charity.”
