Donald Trump told Jon Karl of ABC News that he’d spend whatever money necessary if and when he decided to run for president in 2016.
KARL: If you were to run for president, how much would you be willing to spend?
TRUMP: If I made a decision, I’d spend a lot.
KARL: A modern presidential campaign would be half a billion dollars.
TRUMP: It could.
KARL: That much?
TRUMP: If I did it, I would spend whatever it took.
Los Angeles Times: “An unprecedented collection of political bedfellows has coalesced this year on the reform side of the immigration debate: liberal Latino organizations and Republican operatives, the Chamber of Commerce and labor unions, faith groups and high-tech companies. And… some left-leaning groups are financing Republican pro-immigration groups.”
“The result is a flood of money for advertising, lobbying and field organizing aimed at convincing Republicans in Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally, authorize more temporary work visas and increase security on the border with Mexico.”
Eliot Spitzer, who’s self-funding his campaign for New York City comptroller, has put in $3.7 million of his own money since declaring his candidacy for comptroller on July 7, the New York Post reports.
“What’s more, the former love gov spent $2.6 million on the race for comptroller in the last month alone — more than 10 times that of his rival Scott Stringer, new campaign finance records show.”
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
Donald Trump made his first-ever political visit to Iowa, speaking to conservative Christians, stoking speculation about his political plans and labeling the United States a “laughingstock” during an interview with NBC News.
He warned that Republicans will have a “really tough” time in the 2016 presidential race if Hillary Clinton runs. He said the Senate’s immigration bill “could be a death wish” for the Republican Party but insisted the GOP has to do “the right thing.” And he bragged about buying the old Post Office building in Washington: “You have the White House, you have Congress and I’m building right in the middle!”
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) told The Hill he’s “dead serious about exploring a bid for the White House, even as GOP strategists and consultants offer steep and potentially insurmountable odds for the New York Republican.”
Said King: “This is not a game I’m playing, I’m serious.”
The New York Times looks at the lucky House freshmen who have a seat on the powerful Financial Services Committee, “a place, critics say, where there are big incentives for freshmen to do special favors for the industry.”
“Political action committees — set up by lobbying firms, unions, corporations and other groups trying to push their agenda in Congress — have donated more money to Financial Services Committee members in the first six months of this year than to members of any other committee. The $9.4 million total is nearly $2 million more than the total for the Armed Services Committee, the only House panel with more members.”
“With so many lawmakers clamoring to be on the Financial Services Committee, it has grown to 61 members from 44 since 1980, forcing the installation of four tiered rows of seats in the Rayburn House Office Building — with the first row of lawmakers on the floor, just in front of the tables used for witnesses.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) “made his dislike of the Portland Press Herald abundantly clear while sitting in a fighter jet simulator: He said from the cockpit that he would like to blow up the newspaper’s building,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
When asked what wanted to do in the flight simulator, he replied: “I want to find the Portland Press Herald building and blow it up.”
He later added the Bangor Daily News to his list of targets, which has video of the remarks.
“The script for the proposed mini-series on the life of the possible presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn’t even been written but we may already have a plot twist,” the New York Times reports.
“While NBC has come under heavy fire, especially from Republican critics, for agreeing to broadcast the series, the project may wind up being produced by another company: Fox Television Studios, the sister company of the conservative favorite, Fox News.”
Rick Santorum told the Des Moines Register that if he runs again for president, he will have a more robust organization in Iowa than his famously shoestring operation in 2012.
Said Santorum: “Obviously, we’re going to be in a little better shape, we’re organized already just from having campaigned in a lot of states. Folks are anxious to help us. Just that alone puts us light years ahead of where we were.”
He added: “It just amazed me how many people I know.”
Political Moneyline notes Santorum “still has $552,895 in debts outstanding. Although he has spent the last three days in Iowa, his 2013 fundraising has been almost non-existent. His $138,396 in receipts in the first six months have been mostly from renting his donor lists out to others.”
Wonk Wire: Number of taxpayers who renounced U.S. citizenship hits record high.
“I’ve watched here as any member of the house or senate that sets foot on Iowa soil… it starts a rumor that they’re running for president. And I’ve been coming back here to Iowa over and over again, and I can’t start a rumor. So I’m going to South Carolina and see what happens.”
— Rep. Steve King (R-IA), quoted by National Review, saying he “hasn’t ruled anything in or out” with regards to a 2016 presidential bid.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner’s chief of staff confirmed to 10News that the mayor began his therapy a week early and has already completed the program. He was scheduled to finish on August 19.
“Filner has been accused of unwanted advances by 14 women, including two
city employees and military veterans who were speaking at an event for
females raped while in the armed forces. Some of the women said he tried
to kiss and grope them.”
Detroit News: “In late February, cash-strapped Detroit received a $1 million check from the local school system that wasn’t deposited. The routine payment wound up in a city hall desk drawer, where it was found a month later.”
President Obama denied he has poor relations with Vladimir Putin after canceling their Moscow talks, but said the Russian president can sometimes appear “like a bored kid in the back of the classroom,” Reuters reports.
Said Obama: “I know the press likes to focus on body language, and he’s got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. But the truth is that when we’re in conversations together, oftentimes it’s very productive.”
“I think there’s a misconception there. I mean, the minute he was
nominated we spent three days traveling to every media market in
Virginia together. I expect that when we close out
the race, the last push is going to be the ticket traveling around the
state again.”
— Ken Cuccinelli (R), quoted in leaked audio obtained by TPM, affirming his support for Lt. Gov. nominee E.W. Jackson (R).
The Week: Three signs Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) may not be ready for primetime.
“In 2008, Iowa Democrats rejected Hillary Clinton to propel a freshman senator to the White House. This time, they can’t wait to jump aboard the Clinton train,” Time reports.
“An overwhelmingly female crowd of nearly 100 gathered in Des Moines on Friday morning to help pave the way for Clinton’s as-yet-unannounced 2016 candidacy. The event, organized by the pro-Hillary women’s group EMILY’s List, was pegged — only half-jokingly — as the kickoff for Clinton’s campaign.”
Des Moines Register: Was this Hillary Clinton’s campaign kickoff?
“It’s been obvious that they’re doing everything they can to make him
fail. And I hope, I hope — and I say this seriously — I
hope that’s based on substance and not the fact that he’s
African-American.”
— Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted the The Hill, on GOP obstruction of President Obama’s agenda.
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.