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McConnell Calls Khan an American Hero
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “waded into the controversy surrounding Donald Trump and his dismissive comments toward a Muslim-American couple whose son was killed during the Iraq War,” Politico reports.
Said McConnell: “Captain Khan was an American hero, and like all Americans, I’m grateful for the sacrifices that selfless young men like Capt. Khan and their families have made in the war on terror. All Americans should value the patriotic service of the patriots who volunteer to selflessly defend us in the armed services.”
He added: “As I have long made clear, I agree with the Khans and families across the country that a travel ban on all members of a religion is simply contrary to American values.”
Sanders Insists He Wasn’t Angry at Convention
Sen. Bernie Sanders told CBS News that he may have appeared angry during Hillary Clinton’s presidential nomination acceptance speech but he wasn’t.
Said Sanders: “I always have that look on my face. That’s nothing new. I am not always the smiling kind of guy.”
Quote of the Day
“There used to be some things that were sacred in American politics, that you don’t do, like criticizing the parents of a fallen soldier, even if they criticize you. If you’re going to be leader of the free world, you have to be able to accept criticism, and Mr. Trump can’t.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the New York Times, adding that “unacceptable” doesn’t even begin to describe Donald Trump’s behavior.
Trump Wants to Reschedule Debates
CNN: “Donald Trump’s campaign will begin a push this week to reschedule the presidential debates set for this fall, but the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan group responsible for scheduling, is standing firm for now.”
Forecast Shows Clinton Ahead Again
The FiveThirtyEight “now cast” once again shows Hillary Clinton winning the presidential election if it were held today.
Trump Bashes Fire Marshal After Being Rescued
Donald Trump was trapped in an elevator for 30 minutes ahead of a Friday rally before being rescued by the Colorado Springs Fire Department, the Denver Post reports.
Within an hour, Trump bashed the fire marshal at his rally.
Said Trump: “So I have to tell you this. This is why our country doesn’t work. We have plenty of space here. We have thousands of people outside trying to get in. And we have a fire marshal that said, ‘Oh, we can’t allow more people.’ The reason they won’t let them in is because they don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
Why This Election Will Probably Be Close
Public Policy Polling: “This election is never likely to turn out to be the sort of landslide for Clinton that some expected a year or 6 months ago because Trump voters just hate Clinton too much for that to ever happen. For instance on this poll we find that 74% of Trump voters think Clinton should be in prison, to only 12% who disagree. By a 66/22 margin they say Clinton is a bigger threat to the United States than Russia. And 33% think Clinton even has ties to Lucifer, to 36% who say they don’t think so, and 31% who are unsure either way.”
“Against that set of findings it’s simply not very likely that many Trump voters will be moving into the Clinton column and that’s why although she’s certainly the favorite the chances of her winning adouble digit victory are pretty minimal.”
Exchange of the Day
Donald Trump was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos on ABC News:
TRUMP: Michael Bloomberg has wanted to run for president for probably as long as you have known him and guess what? He never had the guts to do it. And now I see this guy up on stage saying negative things. He knows nothing about me. He’s never been to my office. I don’t know him well.
STEPHANOPOULOS; You played golf together.
TRUMP: Maybe once.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Here’s what he hit you on in the speech….
TRUMP: And I hit the ball a lot longer, and a lot better.
Clinton Gets Bump In Battleground States
A new CBS News/YouGov poll in 11 battleground states finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump, 43% to 41%.
Last week, Trump has a one-point lead.
Key takeaway: “Clinton gained with Democrats who’d been undecided before the convention, plus some other voters who’d been unsure, but virtually no one is vacillating back and forth directly between Trump and Clinton.”
Nude Photos of Melania Trump Published
New York Post: “The bombshell photos show Melania wearing nothing but high heels and pouting for the camera, in a series of images shot from the front, the back and the side.”
Ghazala Khan Responds to Trump
Ghazala Khan writes in the Washington Post:
Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn’t allowed to say anything. That is not true. My husband asked me if I wanted to speak, but I told him I could not. My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God’s eyes. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family.
When Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant. If he studied the real Islam and Koran, all the ideas he gets from terrorists would change, because terrorism is a different religion.
Donald Trump said he has made a lot of sacrifices. He doesn’t know what the word sacrifice means.
Quote of the Day
“You know, the people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were. And you have to look at that.”
— Donald Trump, in an interview with ABC News, on whether he would recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Poll Shows 7-Point Bounce for Clinton
A new Morning Consult poll shows Hillary Clinton now leading Donald Trump, 43% to 40%, in the days following the DNC gathering.
It’s a 7-point swing from the previous poll, in which Trump surged to a 4-point lead following the Republican National Committee’s convention in Cleveland.
‘Typical of a Person Without a Soul’
Khizer Kahn told the Washington Post that Donald Trump’s latest statement about his Democratic convention speech was “faked empathy.”
Said Khan: “What he said originally — that defines him . . . People are upset with him. He realizes, and his advisers feel that [his original statement] was a stupid mistake. That proves that this person is void of empathy. He is unfit for the stewardship of this great country. You think he will empathize with this country, with the suffering of this country’s poor people? He showed his true colors when he disrespected this country’s most honorable mother… all the snake oil he is selling, and my patriotic, decent Americans are falling for that. Republicans are falling for that. And I can only appeal to them. Reconsider. Repudiate. It’s a moral obligation. A person void of empathy for the people he wishes to lead cannot be trusted with that leadership. To vote is a trust. And it cannot be placed in wrong hands.”
In response to Trump’s attack on his wife, Khan said the Republican nominee’s words were “typical of a person without a soul.”
Khan on CNN: “He is a black soul, and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this country. The love and affection that we have received affirms that our grief — that our experience in this country has been correct and positive. The world is receiving us like we have never seen. They have seen the blackness of his character, of his soul.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m taking the gloves off. Take the gloves off. Right? Taking the gloves off! Just remember this: Trump is gonna be no more Mr. Nice Guy.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by Politico.
Trump Has Few Paths to Victory
“Donald Trump, confronting a daunting electoral map and a significant financial disadvantage, is preparing to fall back from an expansive national campaign and concentrate the bulk of his time and money on just three or four states that his campaign believes he must sweep in order to win the presidency,” the New York Times reports.
“Even as Mr. Trump has ticked up in national polls in recent weeks, senior Republicans say his path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed for election has remained narrow — and may have grown even more precarious. It now looks exceedingly difficult for him to assemble even the barest Electoral College majority without beating Hillary Clinton in a trifecta of the biggest swing states: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.”
“President Obama won all three states in 2008 and 2012, and no Republican has won Pennsylvania in nearly three decades.”
Manafort Says Trump Could Win Connecticut and Oregon
Trump adviser Paul Manafort told the Washington Post that Pennsylvania is “wide open,” and that if Trump wins its 20 electoral votes, his path to victory would become “a lot more varied and hers more limited.”
He added: “We can carry Michigan, we can compete in Wisconsin and win. Iowa is in play. If they think they’ve got Colorado, they’re smoking something.”
Manafort went on to describe Connecticut and Oregon — two reliably blue states — as within reach for Trump: “Those are not states that are on my front burner, but she’s going to have to put resources into those states in order to carry them.”
