Donald Trump pumps his fist during a campaign rally yesterday in Panama City, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)
With Breanne Deppisch
THE BIG IDEA: Now that it has become crystal clear Donald Trump will not quit—that he has “unshackled” himself and plans to “limp” across the finish line—some Republicans who called on him to drop out over the weekend are reversing themselves.
The senior senator from Nebraska tweeted this on Saturday:
The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. (1/2)
— Deb Fischer (@DebFischerNE) October 8, 2016
It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party’s nominee. (2/2)
— Deb Fischer (@DebFischerNE) October 8, 2016
But yesterday during a radio interview she announced that she will vote for Trump after all. “He decided he would not step aside. I respect his decision,” Deb Fischer told the Lincoln radio affiliate KLIN. “I support the Republican ticket, and it’s a Trump-Pence ticket. … To me, it’s not a tough choice.”
Darryl Glenn, the Republican nominee against Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado, said Saturday that Trump must step aside. “America cannot have a man who speaks this way about women be the face of our country to the Free World,” he said in a statement.
But facing backlash from Trump supporters, Glenn – who already has no realistic path to victory – backtracked. He says watching the debate Sunday night changed his mind. “Donald Trump did what he absolutely had to do,” Glenn said on Fox News. “I think he reset this campaign.”
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— It has truly been a surreal cycle to watch. Many Republican elected officials are personally outraged and ashamed by something their party’s nominee says or does. So they distance themselves. But as soon as they face a whiff of blowback from some in the party, they cave and fall back in line. Then they offer up excuses and rationalizations, twisting themselves into pretzels to justify voting for a guy who some will tell you privately is a danger to the Republic. It’s happened over and over again now, and it validates what Trump himself said during the primaries: many politicians are indeed craven and interested mainly in maintaining power for themselves, principles be damned.
— And NBC/Wall Street Journal polling suggests that some rank-and-file Republicans who defected after the emergence of the 2005 video are coming back into the fold too. “Some 83% of Republicans said in post-debate polling that they would vote for Mr. Trump in a head-to-head matchup against Mrs. Clinton, up from 60% in weekend surveys,” Monica Langley writes in the Journal.
— So what would it take for these Republicans to actually dump Trump? Dogged by accusations of corruption as he ran for governor of Louisiana in 1983, Edwin Edwards told reporters: “The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.” The Democrat won.
Earlier this year, Trump boasted in Iowa: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”
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We were reminded of both these quotes during Blake Farenthold’s appearance on MSNBC last night. Asked by host Chris Hughes whether he would still support Trump even if the Republican nominee said on tape that he liked raping women, the congressman from Texas suggested he might — eventually adding he’d “consider it.”
“Again — it depends — you don’t know the entire context of all of this,” he said. “That would be bad, and I would have to consider — I’d consider it. But again, we’re talking about what Donald Trump said 10 years ago as opposed to what Hillary Clinton has done in the past two or three years.” (Aaron Blake has more.)
The congressman apologized in a trio of late-night tweets:
I apologize for my failure to immediately condemn anyone who would say something as outrageous as they like raping women. (1/3)
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) October 12, 2016
During an interview on MSNBC with Chris Hayes tonight, I was thrown off by the anchor’s use of a hypothetical question. (2/3)
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) October 12, 2016
I do not, and have not ever condoned rape or violence against women. That is not the kind of man I believe Donald Trump to be. (3/3)
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) October 12, 2016
— Farenthold’s stumble raises the question of how high Trump’s floor of support might be. It is doubtlessly higher than conventional wisdom in the mainstream media would suggest.
A comprehensive USA Today survey finds that 26 percent of Republican governors, senators and House members are now refusing to endorse Trump. In real numbers, that is 88 out of 331. Put another way, three-quarters of elected GOP leaders are supporting The Donald.
In New Hampshire, for example, Sen. Kelly Ayotte is the only statewide Republican to withdraw her support for Trump. The Concord Monitor notes that the Republican gubernatorial nominee and both GOP congressional candidates condemned Trump’s comments but continue to support him.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
— In next door Maine, Gov. Paul LePage (R) actually said yesterday that “authoritarian power” may be needed in the United States. “Sometimes, I wonder that our Constitution is not only broken, but we need … [Trump] to show some authoritarian power in our country and bring back the rule of law,” his longtime supporter said during a radio interview. “We’ve had eight years of a president, he’s an autocrat, he just does it on his own, he ignores Congress and every single day, we’re slipping into anarchy.” (Portland Press-Herald)
— Other Republicans who clearly do not like Trump personally are nonetheless continuing to support him for political reasons:
People close to Ted Cruz said after the convention in Cleveland that the Texas senator would not endorse Trump because he saw his former rival as an authoritarian in the mold of Benito Mussolini. Now Cruz is sticking with someone who he sees as a strongman — and who has also suggested that his father was somehow involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy and who has criticized his wife’s physical appearance.
Marco Rubio, after staying under the radar for a few days, announced yesterday that he is standing by Trump despite the video (and his insistence earlier this year that the reality TV star cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons). “I wish we had better choices for President,” the Florida senator (who Trump not-so-affectionately dubbed “Little Marco”) said in a statement. “But I do not want Hillary Clinton to be our next President. And therefore my position has not changed.” (Miami Herald)
— History will not be kind to these Trump collaborators in the GOP establishment, conservative thought leader Ross Douthat argues in an important column for today’s New York Times: “In bending the knee to Trump last spring, they thought that they were buying party unity and a continued share of power, and paying for it with just a little of their decency, a mite of their patriotism, a soupçon of their honor. They may find out soon enough that all this bargain bought them was an even harsher reckoning, and that all they will inherit is the wind. … History in its day to day is not a morality play. But sometimes there is a clear chastisement, a moment when the judgments of providence seem stark. And so it may be for the men who led the Republican Party into its Trumpian inferno.”
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:
John Podesta tells reporters he believes Trump’s campaign “had advanced warning” before WikiLeaks published his emails.
— Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said the FBI is actively investigating the hack of his private email account, blaming the cyberattack on Russia and suggesting that Trump’s campaign may have had advanced warning. From John Wagner and Anne Gearan: “I’ve been involved in politics for nearly five decades, and this definitely is the first campaign that I’ve been involved with in which I’ve had to tangle with Russian intelligence agencies, who seem to be doing everything they can on behalf of our opponent,” Podesta told reporters aboard Clinton’s plane. He said it would be “reasonable” to assume that the Trump campaign knew his email was going to released by WikiLeaks, pointing to comments made earlier this year between longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: “Around the same time, Stone pointed his finger at me, and said that I could expect some treatment that would expose me,” Podesta said, referring to comments on Twitter in August by Stone, who said it would soon be “Podesta’s time in the barrel.”
A North Carolina man holds onto a yield sign in the wake of flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew. (Andrew Craft/The Fayetteville Observer)
GET SMART FAST:
The death toll in North Carolina has climbed to 17, as rescuers continue to help free residents trapped in heavily-flooded areas. And the threat from Hurricane Matthew continues to loom over residents living in lowstream areas of the state, who are facing another three days of evacuation from their homes. For them, Gov. Pat McCrory warned, Matthew’s worst damage could be “yet to come.” (Chico Harlan and Angela Fritz)
In what could be a first-of-its-kind attack on Western forces, Islamic State militants reportedly used an explosive-loaded drone to strike a Kurdish and French position in northern Iraq. It is unclear what type of drone the militants used or how it exploded. (Thomas Gibbons-Neff)
The Supreme Court agreed to review an appellate court’s ruling against former attorney general John Ashcroft and other top officials filed by immigrants who say they were “racially profiled and illegally detained” in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. (Robert Barnes)
An autopsy report for Terence Crutcher found that the 40-year-old unarmed black man had PCP in his system before he was fatally shot by Tulsa police last month. The case sparked backlash after police released videos of Crutcher’s death, with footage showing him walking towards the car with his hands up prior to being shot. (Sarah Larimer)
Samsung announced it has permanently discontinued its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, shuttering production of the once widely-touted premium device after it began bursting into flames. (Hayley Tsukayama)
Federal prosecutors said they will charge Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt after he violated a judge’s order in a racial profiling case. The charge is the latest development in a long-running legal battle over Arpaio’s enforcement of immigration policy and could land the highly-controversial sheriff with a six-month prison sentence.(Arizona Republic)
Ronald McDonald, America’s most famous clown, will keep a “low profile” in the face of mass hysteria over creepy clown sightings. The fast food chain did not specify how long it plans to keep its red-haired mascot out of the spotlight. (AP)
The British government announced it will begin accepting eligible children from the Calais migrant camp in northern France within the next seven days. The deadline comes as French officials have pledged to demolish the sweeping refugee camp – known as the “Jungle” – before the end of the year. (James McAuley)
Comcast is paying $2.3 million in a settlement with the FCC, after regulators accused the cable company of illegally billing customers for unwanted equipment and services. The fine comes after subscribers began complaining to the FCC that they’d been charged for premium channels, set-top boxes or video recording devices despite telling the company they weren’t looking for upgrades. (Brian Fung)
Michelle Obama announced a $5 million expansion to her Let Girls Learn initiative – amassing more than $1 billion in private sector donations since she launched the effort 18 months ago. “This is personal for me,” Obama told students on Tuesday. “I wouldn’t be here — not just in this chair, but in the life that I have — without my education.” (Juliet Eilperin and Krissah Thompson)
Vladimir Putin just won an international peace prize. (Yes, really.) The Russian president – who has been accused of slaughtering thousands of civilians with deadly airstrikes in Syria, dooming a cease-fire agreement in Aleppo and meddling in the U.S. election – was bestowed a “people’s peace and sovereignty prize” by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, another odious strongman. Putin can put it on his mantel beside China’s Confucius Peace Prize, which he received in 2011. (Max Bearak)
Tim Tebow stopped signing autographs after his Arizona Fall League debut in order to tend to a collapsed fan having a seizure. Tebow stayed with the man for about 15 minutes until paramedics arrived and promised to pray for him by name. (New York Times)
Publishers in Japan are releasing dozens of books about his potential presidency. Titles include “Collapsing America: The World Will Go Mad If There’s A President Trump” and feature cover art of cartoon Trump flipping the bird. (Anna Fifield and Yuki Oda)
A 29-year-old Portland man suffered a gruesome – and rare – shark attack while surfing off the coast of Oregon. Shark sightings in the area are so uncommon that bystanders were forced to fashion homemade warning signs to other swimmers on paper plates. (Sarah Larimer)
A costume shop is under fire for selling a Halloween getup that depicts a bound-and-gagged “Parisian robbery victim,” just one week after Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint by masked men.(Lindsey Bever)
Dominos announced it will now deliver by CANOE, launching a new waterway service that is complete with wetsuit-clad delivery boys and floating pizza boxes. (Time)
THE BATTLEGROUNDS:
— VIRGINIA: The University of Virginia’s College Republicans chapter voted to rescind its Trump endorsement. A number of other College Republican affiliates have also backed away, agreeing to write in candidates or vote their “conscience.” The move came a day after Trump’s campaign fired its Virginia state co-chairman, Corey Stewart, for taking part in a protest in front of Republican National Committee headquarters. (T. Rees Shapiro)
— UTAH: A survey by Y2 Analytics in today’s Deseret News finds that Trump has slipped into a dead heat with Clinton in the deeply red state. The two are tied, with 26 percent each. BYU graduate Evan McMullin is currently drawing 22 percent, and Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson is at 14 percent.
— Clinton has concluded that the traditionally red states of GEORGIA and ARIZONA are now realistic targets to win in November as Trump’s campaign continues to flounder, Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin report in the New York Times. “Increasingly anxious Republicans have not come up with a unified strategy for containing the damage from Mr. Trump’s embattled candidacy … But, in a sign that Republicans now view the presidential race as a lost cause, several Senate candidates are preparing ads asking voters to elect them as a check on Mrs. Clinton in the White House.” (Internal GOP polling conducted in the wake of the video has also found that Trump in in a perilous position in Georgia.)
Al Gore listens to Hillary speak during a rally at Miami Dade College. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
— FLORIDA: Former Vice President Al Gore campaigned with Hillary in Miami, seeking to shore up support for the Democratic nominee among millennial voters as he also urged action to combat climate change. “Appearing clean shaven and considerably grayer than during his years in office, Gore sounded professorial as he talked about atmospheric changes, and he came across as a little rusty on the political stump,” John Wagner reports. Meanwhile, Clinton praised Gore as “one of the world’s most foremost leaders” on the issue, telling the audience that she would seek his advice on such issues upon entering the Oval Office next year.
— NORTH CAROLINA: President Obama stumped for her in Greensboro, eviscerating Trump as “unfit for the presidency.” From David Nakamura: “Obama seemed to revel in his ridicule of the Republican nominee, mocking Trump for his loss of nearly $1 billion, his refusal to release his tax returns and his lewd comments about women. ‘The guy says stuff nobody would find tolerable if they were applying for a job at 7-Eleven,’ Obama said, delivering remarks to a crowd of 7,700. ‘I also know a lot of casino operators who managed not to lose $1 billion in a year. They say the house always wins. I don’t know what happened.'”
— COLORADO: Clinton is returning to the state today for the first time since Aug. 3 to make a pitch to voters before the state starts sending mail-in ballots next Monday. (Denver Post)
— ALASKA: “Alaska’s two U.S. senators resigned leadership posts in the state Republican party after denouncing Trump and saying he should step aside.” (AP)
— More than half a million Americans have now voted, according to a running tally being kept by the University of Florida’s Michael McDonald. That’s a small percentage of the 130 million or more votes that analysts expect. But the number is about to begin increasing exponentially. Early voting begins today in Ohio, for example.
Young children look out from under a barricade as they watch Trump speak in Panama City. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
TRUMP’S PROBLEM WITH WOMEN KEEPS GETTING WORSE:
— Four women who competed in the 1997 Miss TEEN USA beauty pageant said Trump walked into the dressing room while contestants — some as young as 15 — were changing. From Buzzfeed: “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s a man in here,’’ said Mariah Billado, the former Miss Vermont Teen USA. Trump, she recalled, said something like, ‘Don’t worry ladies, I’ve seen it all before.’ Three other contestants also remembered Trump entering the dressing room while girls were changing, saying the girls to cover their bodies, with one calling it ‘shocking’ and ‘creepy.’”
— Former Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon corroborated the reports: “He just came strolling right in. There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything,” the 2001 winner told CBS Los Angeles. “Some girls were topless. Others girls were naked. Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked changing into our bikinis. To have the owner come waltzing in, when we’re naked, or half naked, in a very physically vulnerable position and then to have the pressure of the people that worked for him telling us to go fawn all over him, go walk up to him, talk to him, get his attention.” (Fred Barbash)
— These women are coming forward after it emerged that Trump bragged about strolling through dressing rooms while contestants were changing during a 2005 interview with Howard Stern. “I’ll tell you the funniest is that I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone’s getting dressed,” Trump said. “… I’m allowed to go in, because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it…. ‘Is everyone OK’? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody OK?’ And you see these incredible looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.”
— A former Trump Tower executive who spent two decades working for Trump called him “A SUPREME SEXIST” who thinks “men are better than women”: “He told me, and he believed this, that women had to work harder and be smarter and were willing to work harder than men,” Barbara Res told The Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi in an interview. She also said the real estate developer blamed his early ‘90s business failures on being a so-called “women magnet,” blaming poor work done by executives while he was off hooking up with women “two and three at a time.” “Res explained that as Trump’s fame grew, his ability to withstand criticism—or even honesty—shrank. ‘He got too famous. He started believing his own [expletive],’ she said. ‘He got way too famous and, you know, people were telling him he was great and he was buying that. He started thinking that he walked on water, he really did.’”
— Related: A sound engineer responsible for attaching Trump’s microphone on “The Apprentice” said that Donald repeatedly referred to him as a “[expletive] monkey” and described his experience working with him the “most abusive, humiliating experience” of his career. From Buzzfeed: “The engineer said the first time he was assigned to put a mic on Trump, the real estate mogul refused to shake his hand, instead turning to one of his many assistants and saying, ‘’Whoa, whoa, whoa, who’s this [effing] monkey?’ … He said throughout all of their interactions, Trump refused to address him directly, instead aiming all of his comments about the engineer to his assistants. ‘I’m not gonna let this [effing] monkey touch me unless he washes his hands,’ Trump reportedly said, making one of his assistants escort the engineer to the bathroom and watch him wash his hands, before walking him back and reporting to Trump. ‘He treated me like I wasn’t a human being,’ the engineer said. ‘I’ve mic’d everyone from Ben Affleck to Renée Zellweger, and never, ever in my career have I run into something like that.’”
— Eric Trump chalked up his father’s predatory remarks to an example of “TWO ALPHA DOGS” caught mid-conversation: “It was two alpha guys in a thing, and by the way, it is totally unacceptable,” the younger Trump said in a radio interview. “He acknowledged that, and he apologized for it. It’s two guys by themselves in private at some event going back and forth. My father is a man that has a heart of gold.” (CNN)
— The worst surrogate award may go to Ben Carson, who suggested the problem with Trump’s so-called “locker room” comments is that not enough people have been exposed to that type of sexually aggressive language. “Maybe that’s the problem,” he told a stunned Brianna Keilar on CNN. (At a Missouri religious liberty forum, meanwhile, Carson gravely warned that tyranny and “mass killings” were the end result of “the whole gay marriage issue.”)
— Billy Bush is negotiating his exit with NBC News, permanently leaving the “Today” show. From The Hollywood Reporter: Initial plans to let him apologize on the “Today” show this week were scuttled after the show’s female staff expressed outrage that he would not suffer any consequences. Prominent Hollywood publicists also promised to keep their clients away from the show if Bush was to return to his slot. Another said Bush’s reputation preceded him: “At Access, he was always ‘that guy.’ There were people who were anxious about him before he started [on Today].”
Even Bush’s picture has disappeared at 30 Rock:
Billy Bush already wiped off the digital billboards outside of 30 ROCK. pic.twitter.com/WTa07OZ2us
— Mark Graham (@unclegrambo) October 11, 2016
FiveThirtyEight simulated what it would be like if just women voted, based on all the available polling:
Here’s what the map would look line if only women voted: https://t.co/sjVY67qouE pic.twitter.com/rrc3GuXmGl
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 11, 2016
And here’s if just dudes voted. pic.twitter.com/HjqJzIVwc4
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 11, 2016
TRUMP GOES FULL BULWORTH:
— Trump declared war on the Republican establishment, lashing out at Paul Ryan, John McCain, and other GOP elected officials as the extraordinary turbulence within the GOP reached a boiling point. (Sean Sullivan)
— In an interview on “The O’Reilly Factor” last night, he said he no longer wants Ryan’s support while speculating on air about the Speaker’s political future. When asked if he thinks establishment Republicans, including Ryan, will support him as president if he’s elected, Trump said yes, adding: “They’ll be there. I would think that Ryan maybe wouldn’t be there, maybe he’ll be in a different position.”
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— The campaign launched a television ad questioning about Clinton’s health and stamina. The ad, titled “Dangerous,” shows footage of the Democratic nominee coughing, needing assistance up steps, and nearly fainting outside a 9/11 memorial — all filmed during her well-documented September bout with pneumonia – while a narrator says she does not have “the fortitude, strength or stamina” to lead. “It is “Trump at his Trumpiest,” Chris Cillizza writes. “Trump’s supporter base will absolutely LOVE this commercial. The problem is that there aren’t nearly enough people in Trump’s base to win him the election.” (Click above to watch.)
Jared Kushner (L), Trump’s son-in-law, and Breitbart chairman/Trump campaign CEO Stephen Bannon stand by as Trump holds a rally in Canton, Ohio. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
— Trump campaign CEO and Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon bragged that he was Trump’s “campaign manager” a year before signing on with the team, touting his influence in an email to former Hollywood writing partner Julia Jones. From The Daily Beast’s Asawin Suebsaeng: “I’m Trump’s campaign manager,” Bannon told Jones in a 2015 email. “OMG! Is that confidential or can I tweet it :)),” Jones replied later that day. “I am soooo impressed. Really! He couldn’t have picked a better person. OMG!” “Confidential,” Bannon responded. “Don’t u ever read breitbart–its trump central.”
— Meanwhile, Bannon also had a goal of “destroying” Paul Ryan’s newly-minted success, according to The Hill’s Jonathan Swan: “On editorial conference calls, the Breitbart chairman would often say ‘Paul Ryan is the enemy,’ according to a source who worked with Bannon …” In December 2015, weeks after Ryan became speaker, Bannon wrote in an internal Breitbart email that the “long game” for his site was for Ryan to be “gone” by spring. In a Dec. 1 email, Breitbart Washington editor Matt Boyle suggested to Bannon that a story promoting Ryan’s planned overhaul of the mental health system would be a good way to “open a bridge” to Ryan. Bannon wasn’t keen on the idea. ‘I’ve got a cure for mental health issue,’ Bannon wrote to Boyle. ‘Spank your children more.’”
Trump walks from his campaign plane in Pittsburgh. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
— ON HIS OWN “ESSENTIAL LONELINESS”: “Politics is an effort to make human connection, but Trump seems incapable of that,” New York Times’ David Brooks writes. “[His] emotional makeup means he can hit only a few notes: fury and aggression. In some ways, his debate performances look like primate dominance displays — filled with chest beating and looming growls. But at least primates have bands to connect with, whereas Trump is so alone, if a tree fell in his emotional forest, it would not make a sound. … None of us would want to live in the howling wilderness of his own solitude, no matter how thick the gilding. On Nov. 9, the day after Trump loses, there won’t be solidarity and howls of outrage. Everyone will just walk away.”
Ben Sasse back home in Nebraska (Benjamin Terris/The Washington Post)
THE FUTURE OF THE GOP?
— Nebraska freshman Sen. Ben Sasse, who courageously refused to endorse Trump when it was politically risky, is coming out with a book next May to raise his national profile. His publisher, St. Martins, says it is about “our coming of age crisis and how to rebuild a culture of self-reliance.” The book is titled “The Vanishing American Adult” and reflects on Sasse’s time as the president of Midland University for five years before he got elected in 2014. “Our kids aren’t growing up because we’re no longer showing them how,” Sasse writes, adding that he was “surprised and troubled by his students’ passivity: their seeming inability to take initiative and solve problems without adult help.” (Lincoln Journal-Star)
“Sasse casts his approach to politics, education, theology, and life in sweeping historical terms. A typical 30-minute speech covers 6,000 years, indulges in a smattering of McKinseyan jabberwocky, and cites C.S. Lewis, Thomas Friedman, and Alexis de Tocqueville,” Tim Murphy writes in a flattering profile for Mother Jones. “But the basic thrust is that the institutions that have steadied America’s progress over the last 200 years are no longer up to the task. Sasse likes to talk about the cratering effect that sites like Expedia had on traditional travel agencies, a cautionary tale of the power of disintermediation to usurp established systems: ‘Adapt or die’ … As a longtime scholar of the Protestant Reformation and a self-described ‘crisis turnaround guy,’ Sasse has spent his life studying what happens when major organizations become unmoored from their mission. The Republican Party may be his biggest project yet.”
THE DAILY HILLARY:
— Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said in a May 2015 email that a DOJ official had informed him about Clinton’s status in a civil case over her private email server – a leaked on which Trump immediately pounced this week. But not too fast, says The Post’s Matt Zapotosky – the exchange might not be as bad as Trump’s campaign is making it out to be. The date of the status hearing was listed on the court’s public docket, and though someone seemed to alert Fallon to a filing in the docket, it would also presumably be public record.
— Clinton announced she will propose expanding a tax credit for parents with young children, a move her campaign is billing as a “middle-class tax cut,” and which appears to ensure that the Democratic presidential nominee will not propose any across-the-board reductions in income tax rates before November 8. From Jim Tankersley: “Clinton’s announcement, which appears to be one of the final additions to her policy platform, will put hard numbers on her earlier promise to expand the Child Tax Credit. It would double the maximum value of that credit, from $1,000 per child to $2,000 per child up to age 4. It would allow millions more low-income families to claim that credit, her campaign said, by tweaking an income threshold and allowing the refundable credit to be claimed for the first $3,000 that a worker earns. For working families, Clinton said … ‘This new tax credit will make their lives a little bit easier.’” The announcement comes as Clinton seeks to help working families with young children defray rising living costs, including making pre-K education universally available and offering tax credits for out-of-pocket health-care costs.
WAPO HIGHLIGHT:
— “‘Everything … had sexual connotations’: Being young, female and a reporter in the 1960s,” by Debra Bruno: “In her long career, Connie Lawn has had a knack for showing up at memorable moments in history. The veteran independent broadcast journalist conducted one of the last interviews with Robert Kennedy before he was assassinated. She arrived in Czechoslovakia in 1968 two weeks after Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the Prague Spring. In 1972, she was living in a Watergate apartment at the time of the infamous break-in at Democratic headquarters … From the start, her life has been a combination of intrepid adventures and screwball situations that seem perfect for a screenplay about the redhead who challenged presidents, argued her way past the Secret Service and shouted her breaking news reports into the nearest landline available.” But as a longtime female journalist, she has also confronted less-desirable acts of sexual harassment, including reportedly getting propositioned for a sexual favor by Roger Ailes when she interviewed for a job, and being forced to wear wigs and short dresses while serving as a weather girl. (She knew nothing about meteorology and occasionally made up forecasts in rebellion.) Now, in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease, is looking back with pride and nostalgia on her decades-long, roller-coaster career.”
SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:
Here’s the latest from Trump’s Twitter feed:
It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Disloyal R’s are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary. They come at you from all sides. They don’t know how to win – I will teach them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
I hope people are looking at the disgraceful behavior of Hillary Clinton as exposed by WikiLeaks. She is unfit to run.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Wow, @CNN Town Hall questions were given to Crooked Hillary Clinton in advance of big debates against Bernie Sanders. Hillary & CNN FRAUD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Here’s how Clinton’s team responded to Trump:
Here is our official response to the conduct of the Trump campaign over the past 48 hours: pic.twitter.com/evAviDI3nH
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) October 11, 2016
Many conservative men are mad Trump is squandering an opportunity:
Trump’s own attacks against the GOP have buried all stories about Clinton’s emails.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 11, 2016
Many conservative women are incensed and disillusioned by the GOP rallying to Trump’s defense. One longtime activist unleashed a storm of tweets that have been widely retweeted by thousands of women on the right:
So let me get this straight: I, a conservative female, have spent years defending the Republican Party against claims of sexism. 1/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
When I saw Republican men getting attacked I stood up for them. I came to their defense. I fought on their behalf. 2/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
I fought on behalf of a movement I believed in. I fought on behalf of my principles while other women told me I hated my own sex. 3/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
Now some Trojan horse nationalist sexual predator invades the @GOP, eating it alive, and you cowards sit this one out? 5/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
He treats women like dogs, and you go against everything I – and other female conservatives – said you were & back down like cowards. 6/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
Jeff Sessions says that he wouldn’t “characterize” Trump’s unauthorized groping of women as “assault.” Are you kidding me?! 8/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
Others try to rebuke his comments, yet STILL choose to vote for a sexual predator – because let’s be honest, that’s what he is. 9/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
“What he said is wrong, and the way he treats women is wrong, but it’s not wrong enough for me to not vote for him.” Thanks, cowards. 10/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
Various men in the movement are writing it off as normal, confirming every stereotype the left has thrown at them. So I’m done. 11/
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
I’m sooo done. If you can’t stand up for women & unendorse this piece of human garbage, you deserve every charge of sexism thrown at you. 12
— Marybeth (@MBGlenn) October 11, 2016
Pence told a voter not to vow revolution if Clinton wins:
Woman here in Newton tells Pence that if Clinton wins, she’s “ready for a revolution.” Pence: “No, don’t say that.” pic.twitter.com/OAYJcQfYIA
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) October 11, 2016
Conservative intellectuals are angry at Cruz for kowtowing:
I can’t wait to spend 4 years listening to Cruz blame the establishment for Trump’s defeat. #principled
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) October 11, 2016
Paul Ryan’s Time magazine photos published four years ago today. In honor of that event, here’s this meme:
*iconic*@hunterschwarz pic.twitter.com/wrTIGifV06
— darth™ (@darth) October 11, 2016
This pre-debate Instagram post from Sunday night is now the most-liked from either candidate:
Here’s Trump’s most-liked, from the Sept. 11 anniversary:
This is the most popular post under the hashtag #ImWithHer, via Ariana Grande:
And the most popular post under #MakeAmericaGreatAgain:
Keith Ellison challenged Trump on David Duke’s support:
.@realDonaldTrump, why does KKK leader David Duke like you so much. pic.twitter.com/ZCv5VvXdQz
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) October 11, 2016
Gabriel Sherman discovered this card from Roger Ailes’s 1992 board game:
Playing card from the board game Roger Ailes created in 1992 pic.twitter.com/4x6x36yWAY
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) October 11, 2016
Tammy Baldwin marked #NationalComingOutDay:
I’m proud to serve as the first openly-gay Senator & I encourage you to continue fighting for social justice for all #NationalComingOutDay
— Tammy Baldwin (@tammybaldwin) October 11, 2016
John Kerry posted this photo:
I couldn’t be more blessed to have daughters & granddaughters who constantly show me gender does not define potential.#DadsandDaughters pic.twitter.com/x5CX2sUAlI
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) October 11, 2016
Debbie Wasserman Schultz marked Yom Kippur:
Lena Dunham snapped this photo in front of the White House:
Ken Bone is just the best, isn’t he?
Ken Bone’s Halloween plan: “I’ll dress as me because I look just like me.” https://t.co/ilp9jLuIkE pic.twitter.com/VeJ7xaQ2OV
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 11, 2016
Even Snoop Dogg is getting in on it:
Nice sweater @kenbone18. U should get it in blue. Come to the crib and smoke 1 wit Tha Dogg
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) October 11, 2016
HOT ON THE LEFT:
“ACLU finds social media sites gave data to company tracking black protesters,” from The Guardian: “Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have previously provided users’ data to a software company that aids police surveillance programs and targets protesters of color, according to government records obtained by the [ACLU]. The ACLU revealed on Tuesday that the technology corporations gave ‘special access’ to Geofeedia, a controversial social media monitoring company that partners with law enforcement and has marketed its services as a tool to track Black Lives Matter activists. ‘The fact that third parties are making big money off of the sale and trading of our data with law enforcement is a huge problem and one that any social media user in this country or beyond should be disgusted and surprised by,’” said Center for Media Justice director Malkia Cyril.
HOT ON THE RIGHT:
“UT investigating sexual harassment claim after student gets zero on quiz,” from the Knoxville News-Sentinel: “University of Tennessee officials are investigating a claim of sexual harassment after reports surfaced online that a student received a zero on a geology quiz for answering a question about his lab instructor’s name with that of a semifamous lingerie model.” The student was apparently given a zero on a quiz for his answer to the question, “‘What is your lab instructor’s name? (If you don’t remember make something good up.)’ ‘… I literally put down a very common girl name and a common last name, Sarah Jackson,’ he said. ‘Turns out Sarah Jackson is a porn star so I got a 0 … I didn’t know that was the case and (had) zero intention of trying to be funny or rude.”
GOOD READ FROM ELSEWHERE:
— Vanity Fair’s Sarah Ellison reports that Fox News is “ready to pull out the red carpet for Megyn Kelly,” with James and Lachlan Murdoch playing a pivotal role to keep her at the network: “Since the Ailes scandal broke … the younger Murdochs have become more involved in the network. Not only did the brothers unilaterally decide to retain the law firm … whose internal investigation facilitated Ailes’s exit, but they are now playing a pivotal role in persuading the network’s brightest star, Megyn Kelly, whose contract expires in July 2017, to re-sign. ’James loves Megyn,’ [a source said]. ‘He believes she’s a big part of the future of this channel.’ According to a person close to Kelly, she has dined at the younger Murdoch’s homes twice in the past several months. This person close to Kelly explained that the younger Murdochs appear to be doing everything in their power to keep the anchor …”
DAYBOOK:
On the campaign trail: Trump campaigns in Ocala and Lakeland, Fla.; Pence is in Salem, Va. and Raleigh, N.C. Clinton holds rallies in Pueblo, Colo. and Las Vegas. Tim Kaine is in Charlotte, N.C.; Bill Clinton stops in Indianola and Waterloo, Iowa.
At the White House: Obama speaks at a White House reception for Hispanic Heritage Month. Biden tapes an interview for Late Night with Seth Meyers.
On Capitol Hill: The Senate and House are out.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“It is not acceptable to ask a moral, dignified man to cast his vote to help elect an immoral man who is absent decency or dignity,” Glenn Beck posted on Facebook. “If the consequence of standing against Trump and for principles is indeed the election of Hillary Clinton, so be it. At least it is a moral, ethical choice. If she is elected, the world does not end….”
NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:
— Another beautiful fall day ahead, according to today’s Capital Weather Gang forecast: “We start out several degrees warmer this morning than the last. And combined with partly sunny skies, we’ll see morning temperatures rise through the 50s and into the low 60s, and afternoon highs reaching the upper 60s to low 70s.”
— The Nationals lost to the Dodgers 6-5, meaning the teams will play in Washington tomorrow.
— Howard County Sheriff James Fitzgerald is finally resigning over alleged racist, sexist and anti-Semitic remarks he has made towards employees. The move follows weeks of intense pressure for Fitzgerald to leave his post, including from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. (Michael E. Miller)
— Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he has not decided who to write in on the ballot next month. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released last week found that 75 percent of Marylanders approve of Hogan’s rejection of Trump. Clinton leads Trump in Maryland by 36 points. (Ovetta Wiggins)
— A former D.C. dentist who allegedly sexually assaulted three patients while they were under anesthesia was indicted on Tuesday. The dentist, who was arrested in January, faces 21 counts of sexually abusing or otherwise improperly touching former patients and employees. (Justin Wm. Moyer)
VIDEOS OF THE DAY:
Seth Meyers flashed back to Trump jokes he told at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner:
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Meyers, visiting the White House, also imagined putting a Go-Pro camera on Bo Obama:
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Ken Bone appeared on Jimmy Kimmel:
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The newest attack ad against John McCain from his Democratic challenger notes that he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. “McCain endorsed Trump for president 60 times,” a narrator says. “That’s not courage.”
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The Sierra Club released a video of kids reading Trump’s tweets about climate change:
At his rally last night in Florida, Trump accidentally told voters to make sure they vote on Nov. 28…
Donald Trump just told a crowd to vote on November 28th