John Podesta, the former chairman of Hillary for America, published an op-ed in The Washington Post attacking President Donald Trump for his continued distortion of the facts and attacks on the media. In the piece, Podesta calls out Trump for calling anything that does not portray him in the best light “fake news.” He has said this about poll numbers, his businesses, his connections to Russia, and any of his nominees. Podesta calls Trump’s attacks on the media “dangerous” as he is trying to turn people against the media and the political system. “He’s not just trying to spin the bad news of the day; all politicians do that. He seeks nothing less than to undermine the public’s belief that any news can be trusted, that any news is true, that there is any fixed reality,” he says. Read the full op-ed HERE.
A bipartisan group of electors from the Electoral College have asked for an intelligence briefing following revelations from the CIA that Russia may have influenced the election. In a letter to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, the electors expressed their concern and asked that all of the electors be briefed by the intelligence community before they cast their ballots later this month. The chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, John Podesta, said that he and the campaign supports the electors being briefed. In a statement, he said, “The bipartisan electors’ letter raises very grave issues involving our national security. Electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed. Each day that month, our campaign decried the interference of Russia in our campaign and its evident goal of hurting our campaign to aid Donald Trump. Despite our protestations, this matter did not receive the attention it deserved by the media in the campaign. We now know that the CIA has determined Russia’s interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump. This should distress every American.”
Tim Kaine appeared on this morning’s episode of NBC’s Meet the Press. During an interview with Chuck Todd, Kaine spoke about a number of issues including Hillary Clinton’s thoughts on the Trans Pacific Partnership and the future of trade, some of the content of emails leaked by WikiLeaks, and the proposed merger between telecom giant AT&T and Time Warner. Kaine suggested that a Clinton administration would be skeptical of the merger. Several politicians have expressed their concern about the consolidation of various types of media. Kaine said, “I share those concerns and questions. We’ve got to get to the bottom of them. Less concentration I think is generally helpful, especially in the media.” Watch a video of the interview below.
HFA Deputy Communications Director Christina Reynolds offered the following statement on Trump’s “closing argument” speech today in Gettysburg, PA:
“Today, in what was billed as a major closing argument speech, Trump’s major new policy was to promise political and legal retribution against the women who have accused him of groping them. Like Trump’s campaign, this speech gave us a troubling view as to what a Trump State of the Union would sound like—rambling, unfocused, full of conspiracy theories and attacks on the media, and lacking in any real answers for American families.”
On Friday, Bill Clinton kicked off a campaign bus tour in Florida. He began in Orlando with a speech at the Florida Education Association Delegate Assembly. During the event, he spoke about the importance of the election and its potential impact on education. Bill spoke about Hillary Clinton’s plans to expand access to early childhood education and her plan to ensure that students graduate from college debt-free. He said that Hillary will be better than Donald Trump on education, jobs, and everything else. Bill said, “You can’t build a wall around yourself or the world in this world of social media. You’ve got to build bridges to empowerment. We are close to being able to rise together again. America needs a ‘What are we going to do about it?’ President.” Watch a video from the event below.
Bil then traveled to Jacksonville where he spoke to a crowd of supporters at a local library. Bill went after Trump for his proposals to scrap the Affordable Care Act saying that we cannot end a law that helped more than 20 million Americans access to health insurance. He also outlined a number of Hillary’s other policies including her plans to invest in the country’s infrastructure, clean energy, and the manufacturing sector. Bill explained that these investments would all lead to new jobs. He wrapped up his speech talking about the importance of voting and ensuring that everyone votes on, or before in the case of Florida, November 8th. A video of Bill’s speech is below.
Bill’s final event of the day was in Quincy. He focused on a number of Hillary’s platform points including her plans to create new jobs, pass comprehensive immigration reform, and pass sensible gun control that requires background checks and closes a number of loopholes. Bill spoke about the importance of voting and the work that will have to be done after the election to bring the country together for the common good. “That’s what ‘Stronger Together’ means. So you’ve got anger on one side and answers on the other. You’ve got resentment on one side and empowerment on the other. You’ve got endless political conflict and name-calling on one side and the promise of real cooperation on the other. You’ve got walls on one side and bridges on the other,” he said. A video from the event is below.
Meanwhile, in London, a fundraiser was held for Hillary for America. The event was only open to American citizens and included a conversation with John Podesta, Campaign Chair and Wendy Sherman, Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
Hillary Clinton’s Strong, Steady Approach to Global Challenges vs. Trump’s Dangerously Unserious Approach
The fifth topic on deck for this evening’s debate will address global challenges. Hillary Clinton’s steady leadership has made America stronger and safer on the world stage. As First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, she has worked tirelessly to keep Americans safe and stay true to our values. Conversely, Donald Trump’s dangerous national security proposals, lack of understanding of geopolitical realities, and reckless foreign policy rhetoric have been apparent throughout the campaign.
Hillary Clinton has laid out a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS and keep Americans safe at home. She understands that it’s not enough just to take out specific groups or leaders – we must have a comprehensive strategy to win the long game against the global terrorist network and its ideology. Former military leaders and top national security officials agree: Hillary is the right choice.
Protect our homeland, including by surging our intelligence to ensure law enforcement has the information they need to detect and disrupt plots.
Work with Silicon Valley to shut down terrorist propaganda and disrupt their recruitment efforts online.
Keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists.
Work with our allies to dismantle the global network that supplies money, arms, propaganda and fighters to the terrorists.
Choke off the networks that facilitate their growth and expansion.
Focus on eliminating the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Take out ISIS’s strongholds in the Middle East by intensifying the coalition air campaign, supporting our partners on the ground, and pursuing diplomacy to end Syria’s civil war and close Iraq’s sectarian divide, because those conflicts are keeping ISIS alive.
Stand with our allies, rather than abandoning them.
Despite Trump’s claims that he has a “secret” plan to defeat ISIS, he has no real plan at all. And his rhetoric is dangerously playing into terrorists’ hands.
Before tonight’s debate, Donald Trump appeared on social media with women who have accused former president Bill Clinton of sexual assault. Hillary for America Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri released the following statement in response.
“We’re not surprised to see Donald Trump continue his destructive race to the bottom. Hillary Clinton understands the opportunity in this town hall is to talk to voters on stage and in the audience about the issues that matter to them, and this stunt doesn’t change that. If Donald Trump doesn’t see that, that’s his loss. As always, she’s prepared to handle whatever Donald Trump throws her way.”
In the lead-up to tonight’s second presidential debate, Hillary Clinton has secured the endorsement of four more major local newspapers. In Missouri, Clinton was ensorsed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The paper’s ediorial board says, “Clinton understands what an awesome responsibility it is to lead a nation because she has spent the bulk of her adult life participating in that very endeavor. That’s why she remains: America’s only choice.” Then, she also received the endorsement of the Boston Globe. While they admit Clinton has faults, they begin thier editorial with a definative staement: “This election isn’t a close call. Only one candidate on the ballot Nov. 8 belongs anywhere near the White House, and it’s Hillary Clinton.”
Breaking with thier conservative tradition, Ohio’s The Columbus Dispatch endorsed Clinton saying that while they have tradionally backed Republican candidates, Donald Trump does not represent Republican values. “The stakes are too high to sit out this election and risk letting Trump misuse the awesome power of the presidency. The Dispatch urges voters to elect Hillary Clinton,” the editorial board said. The Alabama Media Group also wrote of thier support for Clinton in an op-ed published Sunday. The groups editorial board wrote, “The 2016 election is not a choice between two candidates equally fit to serve, or a choice between the ideology of two parties. Trump is a unique threat and in an election where supporting third party candidates splits a national vote, we see but one option. Clinton may be the second least popular major party candidate in 50 years but she is also one of the most qualified candidates in history. And ultimately, if it isn’t her, it’s him. And that would be a disaster for America and the world.”
Read the full op-eds by clicking the links in the article or from the news sources below.
On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton secured the endorsement of yet another Republican. This time, it is former Virginia Senator John Warner. At an event held today in Virginia, Senator Tim Kaine and Warner spoke to reporters. Kaine spoke about Warner’s career in the Senate before Warner spoke about why he is supporting Clinton. Warner citied her experience and her history of bipartisanship when she was a Senator. He said, “I will, when I go into the booth cast a vote for the Clinton-Kaine ticket. There’s no question about it.” Watch a video from the event below.
Tonight, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will face off for the first in a series of three presidential debates. The debate will begin at 9 p.m. ET and last for 90 minutes. NBC’s Lester Holt will moderate tonight’s debate and the announced topics of the debate will be America’s Direction, Achieving Prosperity, and Securing America. You can watch the debate on all four major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS), all the news networks (CNN, CNBC, CSPAN, Fox News, and MSNBC), and the debate will be live streamed on Facebook and Twitter.
There are a number of live streams to choose from as well. NBC, PBS, and The Washington Post’s streams are embedded below:
Hillary for America has some requests for Clinton supporters as they follow along with the debate on various social media channels. Read the outlined hashtags and follow the Twitter accounts below to follow along with the campaign during tonight’s debate.
FACT CHECKING:
Text “FACT” to 47246 every time you think Trump is lying
Official debate hashtag: #Debates2016, #Debates (plural)
When Trump says something that makes you cringe: #LoveTrumpsHate
When Hillary say something that makes you proud: #ImWithHer
Hillary Clinton Speeches 