“Within a few weeks of winning the White House, President-elect Donald Trump could face another group of U.S. citizens, a federal jury in California, courtesy of a lawsuit by former students of his now-defunct Trump University who claim they were defrauded by a series of real-estate seminars,” Reuters reports.
“A hearing in federal court in San Diego is set for Thursday, and the trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 28, barring any delays or if Trump decides to settle the case.”
Max Read: “Trump, like Obama before him, was able to connect with voters outside the more stifling confines of political-party organizing. Trump, a longtime Democrat with liberal social positions, rose to the nomination because he could express a political position — essentially, white welfare-state ethno-nationalism — that the party would once have choked off for threatening its delicate coalition of business interests and white workers.”
“Facebook connected those supporters to each other and to the candidate, gave them platforms far beyond what even the largest Establishment media organizations might have imagined, and allowed them to effectively self-organize outside the party structure. Who needs a GOTV database when you have millions of voters worked into a frenzy by nine months of sharing impassioned lies on Facebook, encouraging each other to participate?”
“Even better, Facebook allowed Trump to directly combat the hugely negative media coverage directed at him, simply by giving his campaign and its supporters another host of channels to distribute counterprogramming. This, precisely, is why more good journalism would have been unlikely to change anyone’s mind: The Post and the Times no longer have a monopoly on information about a candidate.”
Nieman Lab: “Our democracy has a lot of problems, but there are few things that could impact it for the better more than Facebook starting to care — really care — about the truthfulness of the news that its users share and take in.”
Jonathan Chait: “Last night, Paul Ryan, jubilant with the prospect that his long dream of dismantling the state may be finally at hand, called the election ‘a repudiation of the status quo of failed liberal progressive policies.’ This morning, going further, he insisted Trump ‘just earned a mandate.’ The rule of law entitles Ryan and his party to exercise the power they have won. But Ryan is seeking something more — the deference of a party that is seen as embodying the will of the people. He is not entitled to that.”
Trump’s election cannot be called a decision by the voters to repudiate the liberal status quo because, for one thing, it was not a decision by the voters at all. The voters supported Clinton over Trump. The decision was made by the Electoral College, which as a matter of opinion can be called archaic, and as a matter of objective fact can be called anti-democratic. Again, the rules are the rules. But it remains the case that Ryan and his party have power not because of the will of the voters but despite it.”
I’ve moved a piece I wrote for members last March outside the paywall: How Donald Trump Broke Political Science.
Stuart Rothenberg: “One final point should not be missed: Even with his impending defeat, Trump’s performance is mind-boggling. Given his campaign style, obvious personality issues, middle-of-the-night tweets, lack of knowledge, amateurish campaign, thin-skinned reaction to criticism and generally inappropriate comments about many people and groups, it is surprising that he will receive as many votes as he will.”
“Trump’s showing in the polls, though he will probably fall short on Election Day, confirms the deep fissure in the country and suggests that the next few years will not be any easier than the past few.”
“No one person controls this party.”
— Speaker Paul Ryan, quoted by The Hill, saying the Republican party is not Donald Trump’s party.
Bret Stephens: “It’s normal that elections make fierce partisans of many of us. It’s normal that Mr. Trump would attract the usual right-wing buffoons to his banners. Normal, also, is that many voters may not be troubled by Mr. Trump’s cruder statements when they hear him addressing their deepest economic and social anxieties.”
“What isn’t normal is the ease with which so many conservative leaders, political and intellectual, have prostrated themselves before Mr. Trump simply because he won.”
“What all this shows is that most conservative intellectuals have proved incapable of self-examination or even simple observation. Donald Trump is a demagogue. Period. The fervor of his crowds recalls Nasser’s Egypt. His convictions are illiberal. His manners are disgusting. His temper is frightening. It ought to have been the job of thoughtful conservatives in this season to point this out, time and again. If they can’t do that, what good are they?”
Donald Trump, in the last hours of his presidential campaign, told the Wall Street Journal that he and his family took some “unfair hits” during the effort, but that he would do it all over again.
Said Trump: “Nobody understood the message but me. Nobody got it. I’m not sure they still understand it. Watch what happens on Tuesday. We’ll going to win bigger than people think, because the American public is tired of incompetence.”
After what he predicted would be a win, Trump said he would celebrate for “about an hour. Then I’ll get up Wednesday morning, and start working so hard immediately.”
“Hillary Clinton is guilty. She knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know. … And now it’s up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box on Nov. 8.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by the Associated Press.
NBC News: “Among the names being considered, according to conversations with three campaign advisers who requested anonymity to speak freely: Rudy Giuliani for attorney general, Newt Gingrich for secretary of state, retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn for defense secretary or national security adviser, Trump finance chairman Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary, and Republican National Committee finance chair Lew Eisenberg for commerce secretary.”
“Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, a loyal supporter, has taken a major role managing the transition effort, especially as the official transition chief, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, has drifted from the campaign. It’s not clear Christie is being considered for a significant role in a potential administration either.”
“Reince Priebus, the current RNC chairman, is under consideration as Trump’s chief of staff.”
“Apparently his campaign has taken his Twitter. In the last two days, they had so little confidence in his self control, they said we’re just gonna take away your Twitter. Now, if somebody can’t handle a Twitter account, they can’t handle the nuclear codes.”
— President Obama, quoted by Politico, about Donald Trump.
“The story of this election may be the mobilization of the Hispanic vote. So Trump deserves the award for Hispanic turnout. He did more to get them out than any Democrat has ever done.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the New York Times.
Donald Trump scheduled a Sunday afternoon rally in Wisconsin and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who has steadfastly refused to appear with Trump, told the Madison Capital Times, “I intend to do it if he’s here.”
“Seconds later, a spokesman for Trump’s Wisconsin campaign alerted reporters that the event had been canceled, citing a scheduling conflict.”
Donald Trump ends his campaign with ad bashing the political establishment and “corrupt machine.”
“They’re so much more brave than me. I wouldn’t have done what they did. I’m brave in other ways — I’m financially brave.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Examiner, while paying tribute to seven Medal of Honor recepients who have endorsed him.
Sarah Palin will join Donald Trump on the campaign trail in the final days before election day in two key states, Michigan and North Carolina, the Daily Beast reports.
She will also join Trump on Election Night in New York City.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Wonk Wire, Political Job Hunt 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.
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