Democratic debate: Top 2020 contenders finally on same stage
Progressive Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders share the debate stage for the first time with establishment favorite Joe Biden Thursday night in a prime-time showdown displaying sharply opposing notions of electability in the party’s presidential nomination fight. Biden’s remarkably steady lead in the crowded contest has been built on the idea that the former vice president is best suited to defeat President Donald Trump next year — a contention based on ideology, experience and perhaps gender. Sanders and Warren, meanwhile, have repeatedly criticized Biden’s measured approach, at least indirectly, by arguing that only bold action on key issues like health care, the economy and climate change can build the coalition needed to win in 2020. The top-tier meeting at center stage has dominated the pre-event talk, yet each of the other seven candidates hopes for a breakout moment with the attention of the nation beginning to increase less than five months before the first primary votes are cast. “For a complete junkie or someone in the business, you already have an impression of everyone,” said Howard Dean, who ran for president in 2004 and later chaired the Democratic National Committee. “But now you are going to see increasing scrutiny with other people coming in to take a closer look.” The ABC News debate is the first limited to one night after several candidates dropped out and others failed to meet new qualification standards. A handful more candidates qualified for next month’s debate, which will again be divided over two nights. Beyond Biden and Sens. Warren and Sanders, the candidates on stage Thursday night include Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, California Sen. Kamala Harris, New York businessman Andrew Yang, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former Obama administration Housing chief Julian Castro. Viewers will see the diversity of the modern Democratic Party. The debate, held on the campus of historically black Texas Southern University, includes women, people of color and a gay man, a striking contrast to the Republicans. It will unfold in a rapidly changing state that Democrats hope to eventually bring into their column. Perhaps the biggest question is how directly the candidates will go after one another. Some fights that were predicted in previous debates failed to materialize with candidates like Sanders and Warren in July joining forces. The White House hopefuls and their campaigns are sending mixed messages about how eager they are to make frontal attacks on anyone other than Trump. That could mean the first meeting between Warren, the rising progressive calling for “big, structural change,” and Biden, the more cautious but still ambitious establishmentarian, doesn’t define the night. Or that Harris, the California senator, and Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, look to reclaim lost momentum not by punching rivals but by reemphasizing their own visions for America. Biden, who has led most national and early state polls since he joined the field in April, is downplaying the prospects of a clash with Warren, despite their policy differences on health care, taxes and financial regulation. “I’m just going to be me, and she’ll be her, and let people make their judgments. I have great respect for her,” Biden said recently as he campaigned in South Carolina. Warren says consistently that she has no interest in going after Democratic opponents. Yet both campaigns are also clear that they don’t consider it a personal attack to draw sharp policy contrasts. Warren, who as a Harvard law professor once challenged then-Sen. Biden in a Capitol Hill hearing on bankruptcy law, has noted repeatedly that they have sharply diverging viewpoints. Her standard campaign pitch doesn’t mention Biden but is built around an assertion that the “time for small ideas is over,” an implicit criticism of more moderate Democrats who want, for example, a public option health care plan instead of single-payer or who want to repeal Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but not necessarily raise taxes further. Biden, likewise, doesn’t often mention Warren or Sanders. But he regularly contrasts the price tag of his public option insurance proposal to the single-payer system that Warren and Sanders back. In a pre-debate briefing, Biden campaign officials said he would reject the premise that he’s an incrementalist, either in his long career as a senator and vice president or in his proposals for a would-be presidency. In an apparent rebuke of Warren, known for her policy plans, the advisers said Biden will hit on the idea that “we need more than just plans, we need action, we need progress.” Health care will top the list of examples, they said. They note that Biden’s proposal for a government-run “public option” to compete with private insurance still would be a major market shift, even if it stops short of Sanders’ and Warren’s proposal for a government insurance system that would effectively end the existing private insurance system. And, by extension, the difference may make Biden’s plan more likely to make it through Congress, they contend. There are indirect avenues to chipping away at Biden’s advantages, said Democratic consultant Karen Finney, who advised Hillary Clinton in 2016. Finney noted Biden’s consistent polling advantages on the question of which Democrat can defeat Trump. A Washington Post-ABC poll this week found that among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, 45 percent thought Biden had the best chance to beat Trump, though just 24 percent identified him as the “best president for the country” among the primary field. “That puts pressure on the others to explain how they can beat Trump,” Finney said.Voters, she said, “want to see presidents on that stage,” and Biden, as a known quantity, already reaches that threshold. “If you’re going to beat him, you have to make your case.”Harris, said spokesman Ian Sams, will “make the connection between (Trump’s) hatred and division and our inability to get things done for the country.” Buttigieg, meanwhile, will have an opportunity to use his argument for generational change as an indirect attack on the top
AP fact check: The democratic debates and Donald Trump counterpunch
In his typically boastful rally this past week, Donald Trump placed himself too high in the pantheon of presidents when it comes to getting his judicial picks on federal courts. He’s been having a good run on that front but he’s not where he said he is — ranking right under George Washington, no less. Much of the week was filled with the cacophony of Democratic presidential candidates having their say on the debate stage. Their pronouncements did not always fit with the facts. They skewed reality on climate science, immigration policy, the auto industry and more. A review: JUDGES TRUMP, on his record of filling federal judicial appointments: “There’s only one person … who percentage-wise has done better than me with judges.” — Cincinnati rally Thursday.THE FACTS: No, at least four have done better. Trump is properly ceding first place to George Washington, who had a judiciary entirely made up of his choices simply because he was the first president. But he’s not acknowledging that at least three modern presidents had a better record than Trump of getting their judicial choices on the courts. Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and former deputy director of the Federal Judicial Center, has been keeping track. He found that Trump’s confirmed judges make up 17% of total federal judgeships. At this point in their presidencies, John Kennedy had filled 30% of the federal judiciary, Bill Clinton had filled 20% and Nixon had filled 25%. CLIMATE BETO O’ROURKE, former U.S. representative from Texas, on global warming: “I listen to scientists on this and they’re very clear: We don’t have more than 10 years to get this right. And we won’t meet that challenge with half-steps, half-measures or only half the country.” — Democratic debate Tuesday. PETE BUTTIGIEG, mayor of South Bend, Indiana: “Science tells us we have 12 years before we reach the horizon of our catastrophe when it comes to our climate.” — Democratic debate Tuesday. ANDREW YANG, entrepreneur: “This is going to be a tough truth, but we are too late. We are 10 years too late.” — Democratic debate Wednesday. THE FACTS: These statements are out of step with science. Climate scientists don’t agree on an approximate time frame, let alone an exact number of years, for how much time we have left to stave off the deadliest extremes of climate change. Nor do they think it’s too late already. A report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, drawn from the work of hundreds of scientists, uses 2030 as a prominent benchmark because signatories to the Paris climate change agreement have pledged emission cuts by then. But it’s not a last-chance, hard deadline for action, as O’Rourke, Buttigieg and others have interpreted it.“The hotter it gets, the worse it gets, but there is no cliff edge,” James Skea, co-chairman of the report, told The Associated Press. Climate scientists certainly see the necessity for broad and immediate action to address global warming, but they do not agree that 2030 is a “point of no return,” as Buttigieg put it. “This has been a persistent source of confusion,” agreed Kristie L. Ebi, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the University of Washington in Seattle. “The report never said we only have 12 years left.” IMMIGRATION Kamal Harris, senator from California: “We’ve got a person who has put babies in cages and separated children from their parents.” — Democratic debate Wednesday.MICHAEL BENNET, senator from Colorado, in a message directed at Trump: “Kids belong in classrooms not cages.” — Democratic debate Wednesday. TRUMP: “The cages for kids were built by the Obama Administration in 2014. He had the policy of child separation. I ended it even as I realized that more families would then come to the Border!” — tweet Wednesday. THE FACTS: There’s deception on both sides here. Family separations as a matter of routine came about because of Trump’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy. President Barack Obama had no such policy and Trump’s repeated attempts to pin one on him flies in the face of reality. Trump only ended — or suspended — what Trump had started, and that was after a judge ordered that the practice be sharply curtailed and as an international uproar grew. Moreover, the American Civil Liberties Union now says in a legal challenge that more than 900 children were separated from their parents at the border in the year after the judge’s order. The Obama administration also separated migrant children from families when a child’s safety appeared at risk with the adults or in other limited circumstances. But the ACLU says children have been removed after the judge’s order for minor transgressions by the adults, like traffic offenses, or for unfounded suspicions of wrongdoing. Trump, though, is correct in noting that the “cages” — chain-link enclosures inside border facilities where migrants have been temporarily housed, separated by sex and age — were built and used by the Obama administration. Democrats routinely ignore that fact when they assail Trump for what they call the cruelty of putting “babies in cages.” The Trump administration has been using the same facilities as the Obama administration. Joe Biden, former vice president, on Obama’s approach to people who came to the U.S. illegally as children: “The president came along and he’s the guy that came up with the idea, first time ever, of dealing with the Dreamers. He put that in the law.” — Democratic debate Wednesday. THE FACTS: He’s wrong that Obama achieved a law protecting those young immigrants. He notably failed on that front. Instead he circumvented Congress and used his executive authority to extend temporary protection, letting them stay in the country if they met certain conditions. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, as its name implies, merely defers deportations. Trump, also with executive action, tried to end the program but the effort has been tied up in courts, so the protection continues for now. Cory Booker, senator
JeffCo Sheriff, DA candidates face-off in debate
Jefferson County voters have more information about the candidates running for Jefferson County Sheriff and District Attorney (DA) thanks to a public debate hosted Sunday evening. DA candidates, Republican incumbent Mike Anderton and Democrat challenger Danny Carr faced-off first, before the Sheriff candidates, incumbent Republican Mike Hale and Democrat challenger Mark Pettway took the stage at the UAB campus. The debate was hosted by the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists and the Phi Iota Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. the debate also featured a voter education session, which answered questions such as: What issues will be on the ballot? How do you navigate the Alabama Voter website to find your polling place? How to register to vote. And how to absentee vote. DA debate Crime and recidivism Anderton: “My primary goal is to work with those who have gotten in trouble before, try to figure out why they have gotten in trouble,” Anderton said according to the Birmingham Times. “Is it poverty? Is it lack of education? Is it lack of a job?. . . Let’s work with those who have recently gotten out of prison or jail. So that we can work with them to take care of whatever their needs are. Theirs are just as important. They’re coming out and needing our help. “What we’ve got to do is make sure they have some hope, make sure they’ve got something in their future that they can walk to with pride and know that when they get there they’ve accomplished something.” Carr: “Make sure that we do things that benefit those individuals while they’re paying for the crime that they committed,” Carr said according to the Birmingham Times. “The worst thing that could happen is that they go in and come out worse . . . because then they come in our community [and cause even more problems]. We have to . . . make sure that you are placing people in the best position they can be in when they get out so that they won’t return to a life of crime.” Watch the DA debate below: Sheriff debate Body cameras Both candidates agreed that body cameras protect sheriff deputies and citizens. “This day and age there is no reason why we should not have body cameras,” explained Pettway. Watch the Sheriff debate below:
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey: ‘Don’t need a debate’
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says she has no plans to debate her Democratic challenger as she seeks a full term in office. Speaking to reporters Wednesday after a speech in Montgomery, Ivey responded to Walt Maddox’s repeated calls for a debate before the November election. Ivey says that “Alabamians know my record” and “know what I stand for.” Ivey did not debate her Republican primary challengers and easily won the nomination. Maddox is the mayor of Tuscaloosa. He has criticized Ivey’s refusal to debate, saying voters deserve to hear candidates’ ideas. Ivey is seeking office in her own right after becoming governor last year when her predecessor resigned in a cloud of scandal. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Kay Ivey continues to duck gubernatorial debates – who could blame her?
On Tuesday, Walt Maddox‘s campaign started the day with a challenge to Gov. Kay Ivey for a debate. This is nothing new he’s been talking about debating her for some time, Ivey’s primary opponents challenged her to multiple debates (calls that went unanswered) as well. I wrote about it at the time, with the opinion that Ivey was smart to duck the debates as she had nothing to gain and everything to lose. That said, I still felt like she owed it to her constituents to stand with the other Republican candidates and let their differences be known. That logic doesn’t apply here with Maddox, their opinions and positions are so far apart that we don’t need them on the same stage to learn the nuances. While I appreciate the sentiment that voters should get to hear from both candidates, the fact is a debate would not be worth Kay Ivey’s time nor would it change any voter’s minds. I can’t see an upside whatsoever for Ivey debating Maddox nor can I see any benefit to the voters. The spectacle of a debate would do less to show their policy position differences than show their glaring age differences, speaking styles, and the stark differences in the general health and vitality of the two. Putting them side-by-side does nothing but help Maddox. Doug Jones‘ long shot victory may have breathed life into the hopes of democrats throughout the state, but Maddox’s victory is still a long-shot while Ivey maintains a ridiculously high approval rating and Republicans in general maintain a voter registration and turnout lead. Barring any unforeseeable, incredible circumstances there is no rhyme or reason, or way that Ivey doesn’t have a straight path to victory in the November general election shored up already. The Maddox campaign can stomp its feet all it wants, and Ivey’s campaign can continue to retort in however snarky ways they want to — their snarky response Tuesday was in fact clever but there’s no way she gets up on a stage with him. If I were the Maddox campaign I’d keep at the requests, they may energize his supporters even if Ivey and her supporters turn a deaf ear to them, but more importantly I’d hope for some of that Doug Jones or Randall Woodfin magic turn out. There’s really no one on the Republican ballot that’s going to excite voters to turn out, no one is waking up chomping at the bit to go re-elect Ivey. Maddox on the other hand has broad appeal for progressives. That’s where his energy is better spent.
Walt Maddox ready to debate Kay Ivey in gubernatorial bid
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey may not have been up for debating her GOP opponents ahead of the June 5 primary, but now Democratic nominee Walt Maddox is also calling her to the debate stage. Maddox, the Tuscaloosa-mayor who handily won the Democratic nomination, said he believes Alabama voters deserve to hear from both candidates on how they plan to address the state’s problems in health care, education and infrastructure. According to the Associated press, “Maddox campaign spokesman Chip Hill wrote Tuesday in a text message that Maddox looks forward to debating Ivey. Ivey campaign spokeswoman Debbee Hancock wrote in an email that, ‘There will be plenty of time for these discussions and decisions’ in the months ahead.” It remains to be seen whether or not Ivey will ignore Maddox’s request. Maddox and Ivey face-off Nov 6 in the general election.
Luther Strange and Roy Moore camps both declare debate victory
Luther Strange‘s campaign claimed victory Thursday following a debate against U.S. Senate opponent Roy Moore, saying the showdown made it clear that all Moore had to offer was “empty words.” “While all Roy Moore had to offer was empty words, Big Luther demonstrated that he has the ideas and knowledge necessary to advance President Trump’s agenda to rebuild our economy and strengthen our country,” said campaign spokesman Cameron Foster. “Luther showed that he knows how to get things done for Alabama, and has what it takes to follow Jeff Sessions as a conservative leader in the U.S. Senate.” Following suit, Moore also claimed victory in the Lincoln-Douglas-style debate saying Strange “became more desperate as the night went on. With little to present to the audience other than shameless namedropping of his Washington endorsements.” The two went head to head — without a moderator — in a debate that focused largely on who would best support President Donald Trump‘s agenda in Congress. “The president supports me,” Strange said in his opening remarks. “Why would he do that? Because we’ve developed a close, personal friendship. We both come from the same background, the same mission, the same motivation to make this country great again.” Trump took to Twitter Friday to reiterate the relationship between him and the Senator. “Will be in Alabama tonight. Luther Strange has gained mightily since my endorsement, but will be very close. He loves Alabama, and so do I!” Will be in Alabama tonight. Luther Strange has gained mightily since my endorsement, but will be very close. He loves Alabama, and so do I! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2017 Moore mocked Strange for trying to ride the president’s coattails. “I can’t tell you what the president thinks, I can’t tell you every move he makes, when he goes to the bathroom and when he doesn’t,” Moore said decisively to laughs from the crowd. Moore went on to point out Strange’s history as a Washington lobbyist. “My entire political career has been serving the state of Alabama,” Moore said. “My opponent has been a professional lobbyist for over 20 years… you don’t drain the swamp of lobbyists by sending a lobbyist to the United States Senate.” Strange and Moore face-off Tuesday, Sept. 26 in the runoff GOP primary election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate. The winner will go on to face Democrat Doug Jones in December.
Jim Zeigler calls out Luther Strange for missing Ala. debate, while he’s casting vote in DC
Sitting politicians often find themselves on the receiving end of public scrutiny when they choose to dismiss their duties in Washington, D.C. to hit the campaign trail. U.S. Sen. Luther Strange, however, found himself in the exact opposite position Monday evening. State Auditor Jim Zeigler took to Facebook Monday night to call out Strange for missing GOP Senate candidate forum in Wetumpka, Ala. that evening. “Luther Strange failed to show up at Senate debate in Wetumpka,” Zeigler wrote on his Facebook post. Over 300 attendees packed the Wetumpka Civic Center for the Wetumpka Tea Party hosted forum, where the “top 3” Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat — Mo Brooks, Roy Moore and Luther Strange — were invited to face-off. Strange was not in attendance. Zeigler however failed to realize that Strange was absent because he was fulfilling his Senatorial duties in the nation’s capital — casting a vote for President Donald Trump‘s nominee for the 11th Circuit Court, fellow-Alabamian Kevin Newsom. Shana Teehan, a spokeswoman for Strange was quick to defend her boss’ absence on Zeigler’s Facebook page, explaining that the event’s organizers were told nearly two weeks ago that the Senator would be unable to attend due to the fact that the Senate was in session. “The organizers were told almost two weeks ago that the senate would be in session and that the Senator would not be able to make it,” Teehan said. According to official record, the Senate did not recess until 6:37 p.m. ET on Monday. It will reconvene Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. ET for another day of regular business. Strange, who was appointed to Alabama’s Senate seat in February by former Gov. Robert Bentley, has found himself the target of many attacks and criticisms both on and offline in recent weeks as the Aug. 15 primary nears. Over the weekend, the Wetumpka Tea Party tweeted an article questioning Strange’s ascension to the U.S. Senate. It was one of several against the Senator they’ve made in the past week. A Strange State Of Corruption | The Resurgent https://t.co/HljZHiZKJU — Wetumpka TEA Party (@wetumpkatea) July 31, 2017
Joe Henderson: Predicting Donald Trump in final debate is risky business
Game-changer? Or victory lap? That’s two potential outcomes for tonight’s third and final presidential debate. The first one applies to Donald Trump fails. If he fails to change the election narrative in his last head-to-head face off with Hillary Clinton, his White House aspirations likely are finished (if they aren’t already). Clinton, ahead in the polls, likely just needs to avoid committing a major gaffe in the face of what is expected to be a flurry of attacks and allegations from an opponent with nothing to lose. Trying to guess what Trump might do is risky business. In the first debate, he interrupted Clinton repeatedly and accused her, among other things, of “fighting ISIS your whole adult life.” Fact-check alert: That terrorist organization didn’t exist until Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave it a name in 2013. If you want to stretch and say its brand of terrorism has been around since the 1990s, even that doesn’t fit Trump’s charge. Trump did better in the second debate but a big story that emerged was that he essentially stalked Clinton around the stage while she was speaking. It may have been an attempt at intimidation. It didn’t work. So what’s it going to be tonight? Here are a few possibilities. DRAIN THE SWAMP Team Trump has been telegraphing this one. Trump could focus on his five-point proposal aimed at curbing lobbying by lawmakers and members of the executive branch after they leave government service. It’s a populist approach that Trump has called “Drain The Swamp” and it definitely has appeal. It also helps focus attention on Clinton’s reputation as the ultimate Washington insider as well as the controversies surrounding the Clinton Foundation. YOU MISOGYNIST PIG Trump has tried to say the multiple women who accused him of unwanted sexual advances are lying. His case is not helped by the now-infamous audio of him and former NBC host Billy Bush engaging in “locker room talk” (Trump’s words) about how big shots like The Donald can do anything they want with any woman they want. Trump’s base has wholeheartedly bought his “they’re all liars” gambit. Tonight, we’ll see if the rest of America does. PAGING OLIVER STONE, PLEASE REPORT TO TRUMP TOWER Trump’s latest line of attack is that the “crooked media” has conspired with Clinton to rig the election in her favor. Well, the media certainly have been reporting the things Trump says and does, along with what people say about him. But a conspiracy? You can bet he will advance that theory in the debate. It could be a pre-emptive move by Trump to have a fallback if election night goes as many predict. He will just say he was robbed, and will set his followers’ hair on fire with allegations that precincts here or there had suspicious activity. Arguing the election is “rigged” has been denounced by most high-level Republicans, including Mike Pence — Trump’s running mate. Clinton can make Trump look extra foolish on that point in front of millions of TV viewers. STAY ABOVE IT Clinton’s strategy likely will involve staying above the fray, refusing to engage on Trump’s expected batch of dark theories and oft-repeated accusations about her alleged misconduct. Her best gambit should be to show voters she isn’t the monster Trump is trying to depict. Clinton can be a wooden campaigner. She doesn’t have her husband’s natural gift for connecting with an audience. She has further been battered by three decades of attacks by Republicans. They have, at times, depicted her to be complicit in a murder (former aide Vince Foster’s suicide). The beneficiary of a shady land deal (Whitewater). A traitorous secretary of state (we didn’t forget Benghazi or her use of a private email server for sensitive government business). Trump even suggested recently she wasn’t faithful to her husband. Despite all that, she has a solid lead in the polls. Early voting is underway and CBS News reported that 94 percent of Clinton voters say they have made up their minds (compared to 93 percent for Trump). If she can stay away from political quicksand tonight, she might be home free. ___ Joe Henderson has had a 45-year career in newspapers, including the last nearly 42 years at The Tampa Tribune. He covered a large variety of things, primarily in sports but also including hard news. The two intertwined in the decade-long search to bring Major League Baseball to the area. Henderson was also City Hall reporter for two years and covered all sides of the sales tax issue that ultimately led to the construction of Raymond James Stadium. He served as a full-time sports columnist for about 10 years before moving to the metro news columnist for the last 4 ½ years. Henderson has numerous local, state and national writing awards. He has been married to his wife, Elaine, for nearly 35 years and has two grown sons – Ben and Patrick.
Despite harsh reviews, Donald Trump resists new debate approach
Unmoved by harsh debate reviews, a defiant Donald Trump renewed his attacks against a former Miss Universe winner on Wednesday, showing no sign of making big changes to his message or debate preparation before his second face-off with Hillary Clinton. The outspoken Republican nominee instead pressed ahead with an aggressive strategy focused on speaking directly to his white, working-class loyalists across the Midwest. Democrat Clinton, meanwhile, pushed to improve her standing among younger voters with the help of the president, Sen. Bernie Sanders and other key allies, 48 hours after a debate performance that seemed to spark badly needed enthusiasm. Those closest to Trump insisted the Republican presidential nominee was satisfied with Monday night’s debate, even as prominent voices within his own party called for more serious preparation next time following an opening confrontation marked by missed opportunities and missteps. “Why would we change if we won the debate?” former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a key Trump ally and traveling partner this week, told The Associated Press. The next debate is 11 days away. While his plan forward is far from set, Trump is not planning to participate in any mock debates, although he is likely to incorporate what one person described as “tweaks” to his strategy. Specifically, Trump is likely to spend more time working on specific answers and sharpening his attacks after spending much of the first meeting on defense, said that person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal campaign strategy. That may not be enough to satisfy concerned Republicans. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Trump should have been better prepared and he recommended that the candidate work harder with skilled coaches. He said, “What you need is people who are professional debaters.” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said simply, “The only advice I could give him, and take it for what it’s worth: Prepare better.” The New York businessman was on the defensive throughout the debate, particularly when Clinton highlighted his description of a former Miss Universe winner as “Miss Piggy” because she had gained weight. Trump condemned former Miss Universe Alicia Machado again Wednesday night in an interview on Fox News, suggesting he was trying to save her job by shaming her into losing weight in the late 1990s. He also cited unsubstantiated reports that she threatened a Venezuelan judge more than a decade ago. Machado says Trump humiliated her by inviting reporters to her gym sessions and calling her “Miss Piggy.” “I helped somebody and this is what you get for helping somebody,” Trump told Fox on Wednesday. Throughout his outsider presidential bid, Trump has refused to deviate from a strategy hinged on an ambitious travel schedule packed with massive rallies that draw overwhelmingly white crowds. Clinton, meanwhile, sought Wednesday to parlay her widely praised debate performance into stronger support from women, young Americans and other critical voter groups. She got help from her party’s biggest stars. President Barack Obama hammered the billionaire over his business practices and treatment of women in an interview aired on Steve Harvey’s radio show, which is particularly popular among black audiences. The Democratic president said his own legacy was “on the ballot” in November. He also suggested Clinton wasn’t getting enough credit, possibly because she’s a woman. And his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, accused Trump of trying to undermine her husband’s presidency for years by questioning his birthplace. Trump publicly admitted the president was born in America for the first time earlier in the month after spending years raising questions about the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate. “Trust me, a candidate is not going to suddenly change” once in office, Mrs. Obama said at a rally for Clinton in Pennsylvania. Hoping to broaden her appeal among “millennials,” Clinton joined her primary rival, Vermont Sen. Sanders, on the trail for the first time since they held a “unity” rally in July in an attempt to heal divisions within the Democratic Party. Since then, Clinton has struggled to win over young Americans who formed a critical pillar of the coalition that twice elected Obama. Flanked by campaign signs promoting Clinton’s college affordability proposal, Sanders and Clinton touted a plan they developed to make college debt-free for millions of students from middle-class and low-income families. “None of this will happen if you don’t turn out and vote,” Clinton said at the University of New Hampshire, after a quick hug with Sanders. He declared, “It is imperative that we elect Hillary Clinton as our next president.” Trump struggled to attack Clinton consistently on the debate stage Monday night, but he lashed out at her aggressively Wednesday in campaign stops in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Among other charges, he mocked her lighter campaign schedule. The Democrat conceded during the debate that she had taken some time away from the campaign trail to prepare for their first debate. “You see all the days off that Hillary takes? Day off, day off, day off,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He added a swipe at his opponent’s recent bout with pneumonia, which nearly caused her to collapse. “All those days off and then she can’t even make it to her car, isn’t it tough?” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
GOP suspends partnership with NBC News for February debate
The Republican National Committee says it’s suspending its partnership with NBC News and its properties and won’t allow the network to co-host a presidential primary debate scheduled for February. The letter from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to NBC News chief Andrew Lack comes after this week’s heavily criticized debate on CNBC. Priebus says the CNBC debate did not focus on economic issues as promised, and that candidates were asked questions that “were inaccurate or downright offensive.” NBC News, in a statement, called it a “disappointing development. However, along with our debate broadcast partners at Telemundo, we will work in good faith to resolve this matter with the Republican Party.” The RNC tells NBC it will still hold a debate as scheduled on Feb. 26 with its other planned media partner, National Review. Even before the decision to break with NBC, several of the GOP campaigns had planned to meet to discuss complaints about how the party’s debates are being run. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
3rd Republican presidential debate to be capped at 2 hours
CNBC and the Republican presidential candidates agreed on the format for their third debate a day after leaders Donald Trump and Ben Carson threatened to boycott unless they got their way, the network said. The Oct. 28 debate will be two hours long and will include closing statements from the candidates, CNBC spokesman Brian Steel said Friday. The billionaire businessman and the retired neurosurgeon, in a joint letter to CNBC’s Washington bureau chief on Thursday, had told the hosting network they would not appear at the debate unless it was capped at two hours including commercials and the candidates were allowed to speak directly to the camera at its opening and close. The Republican National Committee and candidates began discussing the format on Wednesday, RNC spokesman Sean Spicer said. CNBC had proposed two hours of debating time not including four commercial breaks, meaning the time the candidates would be onstage would be about 15 minutes longer. The most recent debate, on CNN, lasted three hours with commercial breaks, a duration that left some of the candidates complaining. Since the debates have set records for high ratings, television networks have an incentive to keep the candidates onstage and on the air for as long as they possibly can. CNBC had initially called for no opening and closing statements, which made some candidates unhappy because it would take away their best chance to speak directly to voters without having to be called on to respond to a question. Spicer confirmed the agreement. Debate format squabbles are common in presidential campaigns, an issue magnified this year because of the number of candidates running and their popularity as television events. Trump had threatened not to appear on the second GOP debate on CNN unless the network made a $10 million donation to charity; no donation was made, and Trump appeared. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
