Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - May 13, 2016
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Friday's Leading Stories
- Following their meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) released a joint statement about the importance of party unity to Republican success in the general election. The statement read, in part, “The United States cannot afford another four years of the Obama White House, which is what Hillary Clinton represents. That is why it’s critical that Republicans unite around our shared principles, advance a conservative agenda, and do all we can to win this fall. With that focus, we had a great conversation this morning. While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground. We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal.” (Donald J. Trump for President)
- Ryan, who did not offer an endorsement of Trump, told reporters, "This is our first meeting, I was very encouraged with this meeting, but this is a process. It takes some time, you don't put it together in 45 minutes.” (CNN)
- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he had a “cordial, pleasant phone conversation” with Trump this week. However, Graham said on Thursday, “My position remains the same regarding both candidates running for president. I will do what I can in the Senate to help the next president. The next president will inherit a mess.” (ABC News)
- Trump also met with former Secretary of State James Baker on Thursday after Baker criticized his foreign policy during a U.S. Senate hearing. (The Hill)
- Twenty reporters from The Washington Post have been assigned to investigate Trump and “every phase of his life,” according to associate editor Bob Woodward. In an interview on Thursday, Trump accused Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post and chief executive of Amazon, of using the newspaper “for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed.” Trump said that Bezos had “an antitrust problem” and was “getting away with murder tax-wise.” (The Washington Examiner, Reuters)
Polls
- According to a Gravis national poll released on Friday, Hillary Clinton narrowly leads Donald Trump in a general election matchup, 51 percent to 49 percent. When respondents were given the option of “other,” Clinton still led Trump, 48 percent to 46 percent. Five percent of respondents selected “other.” (Gravis)
Democrats
- Politico reported on Thursday that Vice President Joe Biden, when he was considering a presidential run, believed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was his “only real choice” for a running mate. According to Politico, Biden has recently expressed that Warren would also be a wise choice for Hillary Clinton. (Politico)
Hillary Clinton
- Following the release of a letter from 11 Democratic U.S. senators and 116 U.S. House Democrats to Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Thursday calling for more diversity in the organization, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign released a statement regarding Clinton’s vision for the Fed. Spokesman Jesse Ferguson said that “Secretary Clinton believes that the Fed needs to be more representative of America as a whole as well as that commonsense reforms — like getting bankers off the boards of regional Federal Reserve banks — are long overdue.” He continued, “Secretary Clinton will also defend the Fed’s so-called dual mandate — the legal requirement that it focus on full employment as well as inflation — and will appoint Fed governors who share this commitment and who will carry out unwavering oversight of the financial industry.” (The Huffington Post)
- The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that Clinton planned to target moderate and independent Republican voters concerned with Donald Trump’s presidency by highlighting controversial statements made by Trump and offering detailed foreign policy speeches as a counterpoint. Priorities USA, a super PAC backing Clinton, is also preparing to launch an advertising campaign in seven swing states worth $130 million. (The Los Angeles Times)
- On Thursday, Clinton tweeted words of support to Sybrina Martin after it was reported that George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed her son Trayvon Martin in 2012, launched an auction of the gun he used and noted that some of the proceeds would be used to “fight BLM [Black Lives Matter] violence against Law Enforcement officers, ensure the demise of Angela Correy’s [sic] persecution career and Hillary Clinton’s anti-firearm rhetoric.” (The Huffington Post)
- Marcella Jewell, who organized for Clinton’s campaign in New Hampshire, Maine, and Indiana, has been named Clinton’s state director in North Dakota. An office is expected to open in Fargo next week. (The Bismarck Tribune)
- In a statement on Thursday, Clinton said that she opposed the Obama administration’s plan to conduct large-scale immigration raids in May and June because they “tear families apart and sow fear in communities” and “are not productive and do not reflect who we are as a country.” (The Hill)
- According to emails released by watchdog group Judicial Watch on Thursday, Clinton directed one of her aides to call Clinton’s home phone because of technical difficulties with establishing a secure line in February 2009. Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, said, “This drip, drip of new Clinton emails show Hillary Clinton could not care less about the security of her communications.” (The Hill)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders released a statement on Thursday against the ruling in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, where U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer held that the Obama administration unconstitutionally spent $2 billion to offset the cost of the Affordable Care Act. “At a time when the United States is the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all Americans – and 29 million people still lack insurance – it would be a disaster to throw millions of low-income Americans off health insurance. I fully expect that today’s decision will be reversed,” Sanders said. (Bernie Sanders for President)
- Some Sanders supporters have expressed a desire to establish a campaign against Donald Trump independent from Hillary Clinton’s efforts. In a document called “After Winning on June 7th Bernie Sanders Should Suspend his Campaign and Launch an Independent Organization to Defeat Donald Trump,” these supporters have proposed Sanders suspend his campaign after the California Democratic primary and pursue other goals beyond changing the party platform. “Senator Sanders should proceed to lay out his plan to build an organization, completely independent of the Clinton campaign that will single-mindedly devote itself to educating Americans about the threat of right wing (some say fascist) takeover and the task of identifying and mobilizing voters to defend our democracy in November 2016 and beyond. Call it Revolution 2016 or another name that best speaks to base and message and its focused task over the next 5 months might be to mobilize voters under 30 (with likely positive impacts on Senate and Congressional races),” the draft proposal reads. (Politico)
- Sanders said on Thursday that he continues to oppose “the painful and inhumane business of locking up and deporting families who have fled horrendous violence in Central America and other countries,” following reports that the Obama administration would be conducting large-scale immigration raids. (CNN)
Republicans
- According to a Pew Research Center study released on Wednesday, Donald Trump’s supporters diverge from other Republican and likely Republican voters on foreign policy and immigration issues. For example, 84 percent of Trump supporters approve of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as compared to 56 percent of Republicans who do not support Trump. Similar margins appeared in questions on whether free trade has harmed the U.S. or if immigrants are a burden to the country. (Pew Research Center)
- Committee for American Sovereignty, a new super PAC headed by former Ben Carson adviser Doug Watts, launched on Thursday “to ramp up major donor fundraising efforts, unify Republicans, and take on the Clinton machine.” Representatives from the super PAC said that they expected the organization to raise $20 million before the Republican National Convention and $100 million through the general election. (ABC News)
Donald Trump
- On Wednesday night, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) endorsed Donald Trump. Commenting on whether he would be open to serving as Trump’s running mate, Gingrich said, “Well, I would certainly talk about it. I wouldn't turn it down automatically." (CBS News)
- Five national delegates from California were replaced on Wednesday, including white nationalist William Daniel Johnson, anti-Muslim pastor Guy St Onge, and Mayor of Walnut Robert Pacheco. (The Guardian)
- Anthony Senecal, who worked as a butler to Trump for 17 years before reportedly becoming an in-house historian at Trump’s Mar-a-lago estate in Florida, has repeatedly called for President Barack Obama to be killed and named Detroit and Milwaukee as “disgraced cities” that should become “nuclear bomb sites” because of the Muslim populations there. Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks denied that Senecal was still in Trump’s employ, saying, “Tony Senecal has not worked at Mar-a-Lago for years, but nevertheless we totally and completely disavow the horrible statements made by him regarding the president.” (MSNBC, Mother Jones)
- National Republican Congressional Committee chair and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) endorsed Trump on Thursday. He said in a statement, “While I may disagree with the rhetoric Mr. Trump uses and some policy positions, he is the better option than Hillary Clinton in the White House. That’s why all along I’ve said I intend to support the GOP nominee.” (The Hill)
- Ben Carson said on Thursday that he was conducting outreach to other former Republican presidential candidates on behalf of Trump. "I've experienced Trump's insults first hand, but I also know the importance of getting a conservative on the Supreme Court, bringing jobs back to the country and getting the country's fiscal mess in order,” Carson said. (The Hill)
- The Washington Post reported on Friday that Trump sometimes acted as his own publicist under the names John Miller and John Barron from the 1970s through the 1990s. The article included an audio recording from a 1991 interview where Trump allegedly posed as his own spokesman. Trump denied the story on Friday morning, saying, “It was not me on the phone. And it doesn’t sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. And when was this? Twenty-five years ago?” (The Washington Post)
See also
- Presidential election, 2016
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
- Important dates in the 2016 presidential race
- Polls and Straw polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards