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McCain Scolds Trump Over Khan Family Remarks

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) issued a very personal statement blasting Donald Trump’s comments about the Khan family and paying homage to their son Humayun’s sacrifice, CNN reports.

Said McCain: “It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party. While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.”

He added: “Lastly, I’d like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We’re a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation — and he will never be forgotten.”

Khan Hits Back at Trump

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Khizr Khan lashed out at Donald Trump again on the Today Show after the GOP presidential nominee repeatedly questioned his motives for speaking at the Democratic convention.

Said Khan: “This candidate amazes me. His ignorance — he can get up and malign the entire nation, the religions, the communities, the minorities, the judges and yet a private citizen in this political process… I cannot say what I feel? That proves the point, he has not read the Constitution of this country. Had he read that, his behavior would be different.”

Trump kept the story alive on Twitter: “Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same – Nice!”

The ‘Stupid Party’ Is Now Actually Stupid

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Max Boot: “In a way, the joke’s on the Republican Party: After decades of masquerading as the ‘stupid party,’ that’s what it has become. But if an unapologetic ignoramus wins the presidency, the consequences will be no laughing matter.”

“Even if we can avoid the calamity of a Trump presidency, however, the G.O.P. still has a lot of soul-searching to do. Mr. Trump is as much a symptom as a cause of the party’s anti-intellectual drift. The party needs to rethink its growing anti-intellectual bias and its reflexive aversion to elites. Catering to populist anger with extremist proposals that are certain to fail is not a viable strategy for political success.”

Washington Post: Trump is first modern Republican to win nomination based on racial predjudice.


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Cruz’s Next Campaign Off to a Rocky Start

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National Review: “Cruz’s remarks provoked backlash not only from delegates in Cleveland but also from allies in the conservative movement and top-dollar donors to his campaign. In the week and a half since his speech, some of Cruz’s longtime supporters have excoriated him both in private and in public, blowback that has far exceeded what Cruz and his team anticipated.”

“Unnerved by the scope of the fallout, Cruz is attempting to defuse tensions behind the scenes. He and his lieutenants are confident that the controversy will die down and believe that Trump’s every misstep between now and November will validate Cruz’s decision to withhold his support. They also realize, though, that his run in 2020 — not to mention his Senate reelection in 2018 — will be immeasurably more difficult without the support of the financial and grassroots networks he cultivated in 2016, significant portions of which he has angered with his recent actions.”

Koch Says He Would Never Back Clinton

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Billionaire Charles Koch called the notion that he would support Hillary Clinton in the general election “blood libel,” while doubling down on his assertion that he wouldn’t support Republican Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Koch: “The first thing I want to do is correct a rumor that the media keeps stimulating, and that is that I’m probably going to support Hillary. That is a blood libel.”

He added: “At this point, I can’t support either candidate, but I’m certainly not going to support Hillary.”

Pence Calls Khan an American Hero

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Gov. Mike Pence tried to “pat down the flame that has been burning between Donald Trump and the Khan family,” Politico reports.

Said Pence: “Donald Trump and I believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by every American. Captain Khan gave his life to defend our country in the global war on terror.”

U.S. Constitution Is Now a Bestseller

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“A pocket version of the U.S. constitution has become a bestseller on Amazon,” the Guardian reports.

“The constitution emerged as a bestseller days after the Muslim-American lawyer Khizr Khan, whose son was killed while serving in Iraq, flashed a pocket constitution and offered to lend it to the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, during a speech at the Democratic national convention.”

McConnell Calls Khan an American Hero

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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.”

Quote of the Day

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“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

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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.”

Trump Bashes Fire Marshal After Being Rescued

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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

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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.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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.

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