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Trump Won’t Say What States He’ll Win

August 3, 2016 at 8:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Donald Trump was interviewed by the Washington Post‘s Phillip Rucker:

RUCKER: So 98 days, 97 days now. Left in the campaign. How are you going to beat her? Explain the path here. What are the states you win? What are the kind of voters you’re going to bring into your coalition?

TRUMP: I think I’m going to to do great in Ohio, we’re going to do great in Pennsylvania, I think I’m going to do great in Florida and I think I’m going to do great in states that some people aren’t even thinking about. Because I’m different than Republican candidates, than other Republican candidates. I’ve got states that we can win that other Republican candidates wouldn’t even stop over for dinner.

RUCKER: Like what? Like Maine?

TRUMP: Well, I’d rather not say. Because why should I highlight it? But we have some states that I think are very competitive in that no Republican has ever been competitive in. But I’d rather not say what they are. Don’t you agree with that? I’d rather not say what they are.

RUCKER: So you’ll win with the secret state strategy?

TRUMP: No, not the secret state, no. But I have states, and you know this, I have states that no other Republican would do well in that I think I’m gonna win. But I don’t want to name those states.

Trump Skirmishes Cause Turmoil Inside Campaign

August 3, 2016 at 8:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump aides and people close to his campaign are increasingly frustrated by his insistence on waging various fights that steer him off message,” CNN reports.

One knowledgeable Republican said that some of Trump’s campaign staff — even campaign manager Paul Manafort — “feel like they are wasting their time.”

“It has been relayed to Trump hat he is losing what tenuous support he has in the party establishment, and that already skeptical donors are heading for the exits or telling the senior team can’t count on serious progress when he looks so toxic.”

Priebus Very Angry With Trump

August 3, 2016 at 8:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is “apoplectic” over Donald Trump’s refusal to back House Speaker Paul Ryan or Sen. John McCain in their primaries, NBC News reports.

“Priebus called several Trump staffers, including campaign manager Paul Manafort, to express his ‘extreme displeasure’ with Trump’s comments.”

CNN Contributor Questions Obama Citizenship

August 3, 2016 at 8:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“During an animated discussion about his former boss Tuesday night on CNN, former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski suggested that President Obama might be concealing his true birthplace by withholding his transcripts from his time at Harvard University,” Politico reports.

Trump Says His Campaign Is Unified

August 3, 2016 at 7:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Donald Trump says his campaign has perhaps never been as unified as it is now, “amid a cascade of recent reports suggesting anything but internal harmony,” Politico reports.

Said Trump: “There is great unity in my campaign, perhaps greater than ever before.”

Huelskamp Defeated In Primary

August 3, 2016 at 7:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 10:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 10:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 10:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I think it just means he’s concerned I’m going to win.”

— Donald Trump, in an interview with WJLA, responding to President Obama saying he’s “unfit” to serve as president.

Trump Says Election Is Rigged Against Him

August 2, 2016 at 10:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 8:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 7:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 7:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 5:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 5:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 4:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 4:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

August 2, 2016 at 4:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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.”