Republican convention: Trump rejects speech writer's resignation
According to an ABC News survey, 77% of female voters have an unfavourable view of Donald Trump. Women at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, explained to the Guardian why they support the party’s presidential candidate:
Meet the Republican women backing Donald Trump
Donald Trump fired Sinbad for mismanaging a Kodak store, won't fire a speechwriter who plagiarized the most public thing she's ever written.
2m ago19:02
Meet the Republican women backing Donald Trump
Donald Trump fired Sinbad for mismanaging a Kodak store, won't fire a speechwriter who plagiarized the most public thing she's ever written.
3m ago19:02
Speaking to delegates who were originally loyal to his presidential campaign, Texas senator Ted Cruz thanks supporters in Cleveland for the “amazing journey” of his unsuccessful presidential campaign.
“This afternoon is really for one very simple purpose, and it is to say thank you to each and every one of you - thank you from the very, very bottom of our hearts,” Cruz said, as his wife Heidi stood nearby.
“More than anything else, Heidi and I are filled with extraordinary grattitude and thankfullness,” Cruz continued. “We have been part of an amazing journey and it has been the privilege of our lifetimes to stand with each and everyone of you fighting for our country.”
“The men and women gathered here today, you are patriots, you love this country, you love our constitution, you love our freedom, you love our children and you believe in tomorrow! This campaign, I believe, was about a lot more than one campaign or one candidate - this was a movement, all across this country.”
Cruz did not endorse Donald Trump, his party’s presidential nominee, in the remarks, and is not expected to do so in his remarks to the Republican National Convention tonight.
The employee, Meredith McIver, who has worked on some of Mr. Trump’s books, is the first person to publicly apologize for an error at any point during the Trump campaign.
42m ago18:22
White House press secretary Josh Earnest, when asked about the Melania Trump plagiarism scandal, and parlayed questions about Michelle Obama’s feelings on her remarks being lifted by a first lady aspirant into hopes that Michelle Obama’s remarks will be favorably looked upon by all future first ladies.
Donald and Melania Trump. Photograph: ddp USA/REX/Shutterstock
“Obviously, in 2008 Mrs. Obama spoke movingly in her own words about her life story, about her values, and she was warmly received by the crowd,” Earnest said. “She got strong reviews from pundits and I’m confident in the future, aspiring first ladies and potential first husbands would draw on the same kinds of sentiments to advocate for their spouse.”
“Mrs. Obama is obviously quite proud of the speech she gave in 2008, and I’m confident that she’ll deliver another speech that’s equal to the test next week.”
“I have not spoken to the president and first lady since that letter became public, so I’m not sure if they’re aware of it right now.”
The election, and the women’s speeches, provides the American people, “an opportunity to compare the values and the messages in both,” parties, said Earnest.
“The focus we’ve had has been on the substance of the speech and the fact that Mrs. Trump received such warm applause, and such a strong review of her speech, based on reflection of the same kinds of values that were included in Mrs. Obama’s speech. I think that’s a reflection that the country has a lot of common ground.”
The warm reception to both speeches, Earnest said, “buttresses an argument [the president] has been making of late – that the country is not as divided as it might seem.”
46m ago18:18
“All news is good news,” after all.
50m ago18:14
Compare and contrast Melania Trump’s remarks with those of Michelle Obama:
1h ago17:56
It would not be a Trump contest without excitement and drama.
1h ago17:38
“Obviously, in 2008 Mrs. Obama spoke movingly in her own words about her life story, about her values, and she was warmly received by the crowd,” Earnest said. “She got strong reviews from pundits and I’m confident in the future, aspiring first ladies and potential first husbands would draw on the same kinds of sentiments to advocate for their spouse.”
“Mrs. Obama is obviously quite proud of the speech she gave in 2008, and I’m confident that she’ll deliver another speech that’s equal to the test next week.”
“I have not spoken to the president and first lady since that letter became public, so I’m not sure if they’re aware of it right now.”
The election, and the women’s speeches, provides the American people, “an opportunity to compare the values and the messages in both,” parties, said Earnest.
“The focus we’ve had has been on the substance of the speech and the fact that Mrs. Trump received such warm applause, and such a strong review of her speech, based on reflection of the same kinds of values that were included in Mrs. Obama’s speech. I think that’s a reflection that the country has a lot of common ground.”
The warm reception to both speeches, Earnest said, “buttresses an argument [the president] has been making of late – that the country is not as divided as it might seem.”
46m ago18:18
“All news is good news,” after all.
STATEMENT ON MELANIA SPEECHdonaldjtrump.com/press-releases…
50m ago18:14
Compare and contrast Melania Trump’s remarks with those of Michelle Obama:
1h ago17:56
As Melania Trump once said...
It would not be a Trump contest without excitement and drama.
1h ago17:38
Trump Organization staff writer offers to resign over plagiarism scandal
An in-house staff writer for the Trump Organization has accepted responsibility for the three-day controversy over Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention, in which the would-be first lady delivered remarks that had been lifted from Michelle Obama’s speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
Melania Trump. Photograph: Ida Mae Astute/Getty Images
The story has derailed attempts by the Trump campaign to focus the convention in personalizing Donald Trump, the newly minted Republican presidential nominee, and has left political experts scratching their heads over campaign leadership’s refusal to admit that the remarks were plagiarized.
“Meredith McIver, an in-house staff writer from the Trump Organization, has released a statement regarding Melania Trump’s speech from July 18th, 2016, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio,” a succinct statement from the Trump campaign stated.
In the statement, McIver says that she inadvertantly included the first lady’s remarks in Melania Trump’s speech, and that she feels “terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps.”
Here are McIver’s remarks in full:
My name is Meredith McIver and I’m an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family.
In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.
Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.
I asked to put out this statement because I did not like seeing the way this was distracting from Mr. Trump’s historic campaign for president and Melania’s beautiful message and presentation.
I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. Today, more than ever, I am honored to work for such a great family. I personally admire the way Mr. Trump has handled the situation and I am grateful for his understanding.
2h ago16:45
Donald Trump, Jr. and former House speaker Newt Gingrich apparently ran into each other at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cleveland this morning, exchanging pleasantries before heading for their respective breakfasts.
Spotted: Newt Gingrich meeting Donald Trump Jnr & Vanessa at Westin Hotel. "Everything is Trump!" Jnr said #RNCinCLE
4:11 PM - 20 Jul 2016
22 Retweets
11 like
“All attention is good attention!” has, after all, been a guiding principle of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump’s tweets fly in the face of the best efforts by his campaign leadership to move past the issue of Melania Trump’s convention speech, which contained verbatim repetitions of remarks made by first lady Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
In an interview on CNN’s New Day, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort defended the campaign’s handling of the plagiarism allegations, refusing to acknowledge accusations of plagiarism and putting forth “the final word” on the speech.
“It was a speech that talked about her love of a country, how she immigrated here, the opportunities that America gave to her, how she came here and it talked about meeting a man named Donald Trump, who she fell in love with and raised a family with, and she wanted to talk to the American people about, you know, those – those personal feelings and thoughts,” Manafort said.
“The controversy that you’re talking about is not meaningful at all. She’s not a candidate for office. She was expressing her personal feelings about her country and her husband and why he’s best for the United States. And I agree with you, that’s the final word.”
Of course, when Trump is your candidate, he always gets the last word - because he tweets it.
When pressed, Manafort aggressively asked Cuomo to “move on” from the plagiarism scandal.
“As far as we’re concerned, there are similar words that were used,” Manafort said. “We’ve said that. But the feelings of those words and the commonalty of those words do not create a situation which we feel we have to agree with you. You want to have that opinion, fine. You want to talk about it for the next six months, I’m not going to be here because I’ve got other things I’ve got to talk about.”
Donald Trump finally brought starpower to Cleveland. It was just a mile away from the convention hall.
The story has derailed attempts by the Trump campaign to focus the convention in personalizing Donald Trump, the newly minted Republican presidential nominee, and has left political experts scratching their heads over campaign leadership’s refusal to admit that the remarks were plagiarized.
“Meredith McIver, an in-house staff writer from the Trump Organization, has released a statement regarding Melania Trump’s speech from July 18th, 2016, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio,” a succinct statement from the Trump campaign stated.
In the statement, McIver says that she inadvertantly included the first lady’s remarks in Melania Trump’s speech, and that she feels “terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps.”
Here are McIver’s remarks in full:
My name is Meredith McIver and I’m an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family.
In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.
Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.
I asked to put out this statement because I did not like seeing the way this was distracting from Mr. Trump’s historic campaign for president and Melania’s beautiful message and presentation.
I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. Today, more than ever, I am honored to work for such a great family. I personally admire the way Mr. Trump has handled the situation and I am grateful for his understanding.
2h ago16:45
Donald Trump, Jr. and former House speaker Newt Gingrich apparently ran into each other at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cleveland this morning, exchanging pleasantries before heading for their respective breakfasts.
Asked Trump Jnr to comment on Melania's speech. "I'm having breakfast right now, I can't talk," he said. #RNCinCLE
Spotted: Newt Gingrich meeting Donald Trump Jnr & Vanessa at Westin Hotel. "Everything is Trump!" Jnr said #RNCinCLE
4:11 PM - 20 Jul 2016
22 Retweets
11 like
Asked Trump Jnr to comment on Melania's speech. "I'm having breakfast right now, I can't talk," he said. #RNCinCLE
3h ago16:34
Donald Trump on Melania's plagiarism scandal: 'All press is good press'
“All attention is good attention!” has, after all, been a guiding principle of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Good news is Melania's speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press!
The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania's speech than the FBI spent on Hillary's emails.
Trump’s tweets fly in the face of the best efforts by his campaign leadership to move past the issue of Melania Trump’s convention speech, which contained verbatim repetitions of remarks made by first lady Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
In an interview on CNN’s New Day, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort defended the campaign’s handling of the plagiarism allegations, refusing to acknowledge accusations of plagiarism and putting forth “the final word” on the speech.
“It was a speech that talked about her love of a country, how she immigrated here, the opportunities that America gave to her, how she came here and it talked about meeting a man named Donald Trump, who she fell in love with and raised a family with, and she wanted to talk to the American people about, you know, those – those personal feelings and thoughts,” Manafort said.
“The controversy that you’re talking about is not meaningful at all. She’s not a candidate for office. She was expressing her personal feelings about her country and her husband and why he’s best for the United States. And I agree with you, that’s the final word.”
Of course, when Trump is your candidate, he always gets the last word - because he tweets it.
When pressed, Manafort aggressively asked Cuomo to “move on” from the plagiarism scandal.
“As far as we’re concerned, there are similar words that were used,” Manafort said. “We’ve said that. But the feelings of those words and the commonalty of those words do not create a situation which we feel we have to agree with you. You want to have that opinion, fine. You want to talk about it for the next six months, I’m not going to be here because I’ve got other things I’ve got to talk about.”
Donald Trump finally brought starpower to Cleveland. It was just a mile away from the convention hall.
Caitlyn Jenner and Margaret Hoover. Photograph: Josh Lederman/AP
In a well-catered breakfast event this morning, both Caitlyn Jenner and former talk show host Montel Williams addressed an event held by the American Unity Fund, an organization of pro-LGBT rights Republicans.
Jenner told the crowd of donors, delegate and a handful of elected officials, “It was easy to come out as trans - it was hard to come out as Republican.” The Olympic gold medalist told attendees, “I think our best hope to get back to conservative government with 18 enumerated powers is in Republican party.” She added, however, “I have to admit very disappointed in it over past 5-10 years. I won’t give up hope on it and that’s why I stand on the Republican side.”
The gathering happened in the aftermath of a somewhat contentious platform fight where those affiliated with the American Unity Fund who sought to remove anti-LGBT language from the platform lost vote after vote. Jenner even admitted to the gathering that “the Democratic Party does a better job when it comes to lgbt community trans community and Obama does very good from that standpoint, letting trans people serve openly in military.”
3h ago16:26
Donald Trump’s campaign reportedly offered the vice presidential slot to Ohio governor John Kasich, promising that he would be “the most powerful vice president in history,” only to have Kasich not only turn down the offer, but refuse to endorse Trump’s presidential bid entirely.
According to a New York Times Magazine report on the hunt for Trump’s running mate, Donald Trump, Jr. made the approach, telling a representative of Kasich’s that, as vice president, he would be in charge of both foreign and domestic policy, an expansion of the office’s powers that borders on the unconstitutional.
When asked what would be left for President Trump to be in charge of, the candidate’s son casually responded, “Making America great again.”
“Why so heavy-handed in trying to tie Hillary Clinton to Lucifer?” is a question that could only arise in the aftermath of a speech by Dr. Ben Carson.
In a well-catered breakfast event this morning, both Caitlyn Jenner and former talk show host Montel Williams addressed an event held by the American Unity Fund, an organization of pro-LGBT rights Republicans.
Jenner told the crowd of donors, delegate and a handful of elected officials, “It was easy to come out as trans - it was hard to come out as Republican.” The Olympic gold medalist told attendees, “I think our best hope to get back to conservative government with 18 enumerated powers is in Republican party.” She added, however, “I have to admit very disappointed in it over past 5-10 years. I won’t give up hope on it and that’s why I stand on the Republican side.”
The gathering happened in the aftermath of a somewhat contentious platform fight where those affiliated with the American Unity Fund who sought to remove anti-LGBT language from the platform lost vote after vote. Jenner even admitted to the gathering that “the Democratic Party does a better job when it comes to lgbt community trans community and Obama does very good from that standpoint, letting trans people serve openly in military.”
3h ago16:26
Report: Donald Trump offered running mate slot to John Kasich
Donald Trump’s campaign reportedly offered the vice presidential slot to Ohio governor John Kasich, promising that he would be “the most powerful vice president in history,” only to have Kasich not only turn down the offer, but refuse to endorse Trump’s presidential bid entirely.
According to a New York Times Magazine report on the hunt for Trump’s running mate, Donald Trump, Jr. made the approach, telling a representative of Kasich’s that, as vice president, he would be in charge of both foreign and domestic policy, an expansion of the office’s powers that borders on the unconstitutional.
When asked what would be left for President Trump to be in charge of, the candidate’s son casually responded, “Making America great again.”
3h ago16:05
Ben Carson: Abortion and same-sex marriage 'espoused by evil'
“Why so heavy-handed in trying to tie Hillary Clinton to Lucifer?” is a question that could only arise in the aftermath of a speech by Dr. Ben Carson.
Ben Carson. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo this morning, retired pediatric neurosurgeon and onetime presidential nominee Ben Carson justified linking Hillary Clinton to the Dark Lord in his convention speech last night, calling Clinton’s stances on same-sex marriage and abortion “espoused by evil.”
“When you look at the principles that are espoused by Christ, by Christianity, and you look at what’s espoused by evil, and then you look at things like killing babies, you look at things like redefining marriage away from what the biblical definition is, I think that there’s pretty good consistency there,” Carson said.
Last night, Carson departed from his prepared remarks by mentioning the fact that Clinton once cited in her college thesis a book written by Saul Alinsky, in which the community organizer acknowledges Lucifer as “the original radical,” in Carson’s words.
“Now think about that,” Carson continued. “This is our nation where our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, talks about certain inalienable rights that come from our creator; a nation where our Pledge of Allegiance says we are one nation under God. This is a nation where every coin in our pockets and every bill in our wallet says ‘In God We Trust.’ So are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges Lucifer?”
In the interview with Cuomo, Carson doubled down on his remarks.
“If she believed that at that time - and now you look at her actions - you look at what she advocates, the killing of babies, the dissolution of the traditional family, all these kinds of things - those are pretty consistent, quite frankly,” Carson said.
3h ago15:39
In the highly important film The Devil Wears Prada, loyal fashion editor Nigel (played by Stanley Tucci) is passed over for a major job at the James Holt atelier due to the machinations of his boss, fierce editrix Miranda Priestly. When Priestly’s bait-and-switch is revealed, Nigel is heard murmuring: “When the time is right, she’ll pay me back,” his voice hollow with defeat.
So, too, did New Jersey governor Chris Christie loyally vow to continue campaigning for Donald Trump, even though the Republican nominee passed him over for a spot on the ticket despite an endorsement that dearly cost Christie back home.
His barn-burning speech last night, formatted as a criminal indictment of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, was the most attention-grabbing speech of the convention so far - well, the most purposefully attention-grabbing, anyway.
After Trump held a $25,000-per-plate fundraiser for the New Jersey Republican party, then held a subsequent fundraiser to pay off Christie’s presidential campaign debt, the New Jersey State Republican Committee has officially paid off its legal fees in relation to the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal, better known as “Bridgegate.”
The donations helped the state party pay off more than $425,000 in legal fees, although Christie’s term of service at Runway on the Trump campaign is ongoing.
4h ago15:02
In a morning press briefing, Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort told reporters that the Republican party is officially making the “pivot to the general election” with the official nomination of Indiana governor Mike Pence as vice president.
In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo this morning, retired pediatric neurosurgeon and onetime presidential nominee Ben Carson justified linking Hillary Clinton to the Dark Lord in his convention speech last night, calling Clinton’s stances on same-sex marriage and abortion “espoused by evil.”
“When you look at the principles that are espoused by Christ, by Christianity, and you look at what’s espoused by evil, and then you look at things like killing babies, you look at things like redefining marriage away from what the biblical definition is, I think that there’s pretty good consistency there,” Carson said.
Last night, Carson departed from his prepared remarks by mentioning the fact that Clinton once cited in her college thesis a book written by Saul Alinsky, in which the community organizer acknowledges Lucifer as “the original radical,” in Carson’s words.
“Now think about that,” Carson continued. “This is our nation where our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, talks about certain inalienable rights that come from our creator; a nation where our Pledge of Allegiance says we are one nation under God. This is a nation where every coin in our pockets and every bill in our wallet says ‘In God We Trust.’ So are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges Lucifer?”
In the interview with Cuomo, Carson doubled down on his remarks.
“If she believed that at that time - and now you look at her actions - you look at what she advocates, the killing of babies, the dissolution of the traditional family, all these kinds of things - those are pretty consistent, quite frankly,” Carson said.
3h ago15:39
In the highly important film The Devil Wears Prada, loyal fashion editor Nigel (played by Stanley Tucci) is passed over for a major job at the James Holt atelier due to the machinations of his boss, fierce editrix Miranda Priestly. When Priestly’s bait-and-switch is revealed, Nigel is heard murmuring: “When the time is right, she’ll pay me back,” his voice hollow with defeat.
So, too, did New Jersey governor Chris Christie loyally vow to continue campaigning for Donald Trump, even though the Republican nominee passed him over for a spot on the ticket despite an endorsement that dearly cost Christie back home.
His barn-burning speech last night, formatted as a criminal indictment of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, was the most attention-grabbing speech of the convention so far - well, the most purposefully attention-grabbing, anyway.
And finally, Christie’s ship is coming in.
After Trump held a $25,000-per-plate fundraiser for the New Jersey Republican party, then held a subsequent fundraiser to pay off Christie’s presidential campaign debt, the New Jersey State Republican Committee has officially paid off its legal fees in relation to the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal, better known as “Bridgegate.”
The donations helped the state party pay off more than $425,000 in legal fees, although Christie’s term of service at Runway on the Trump campaign is ongoing.
4h ago15:02
Trump campaign chair: 'Republican fears ... have merged into America’s fears'
In a morning press briefing, Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort told reporters that the Republican party is officially making the “pivot to the general election” with the official nomination of Indiana governor Mike Pence as vice president.
Paul Manafort. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock
“He will be talking about his record a little bit and why his background fills the criteria that Mr. Trump put out three months ago,” Manafort said of Pence’s planned remarks. “We feel he helps us to accelerate the unification of the party in a real meaningful way. We are confident that at the end of the night, the case will have been presented in such a way that tomorrow night... we will have laid the foundation for that.”
Republican National Convention chair Jeff Larson acknowledged that yesterday’s official nomination of during yesterday’s session, “we nominated Donald J. Trump to be our 45th president of the United States, and I think it went flawlessly - it was an open and transparent process that I thought was something that you’d look back a year ago and think, ‘well, that’s not gonna happen.’”
Manafort, meanwhile, plowed ahead through the agenda of the final two days of the convention, which he described as “more personal” than the “red-meat” offered by speakers during the first half of the convention.
“Tonight’s theme is ‘Make America First Again,’” Manafort said. “The goal tonight is to lay out some of the vision of the Trump-Pence campaign, and to define some of the problems the country faces because of the failed leadership of the Clinton-Obama administration.”
Manafort called Eric Trump’s anticipated speech “more personal” than the speech given by Donald Trump, Jr. last night, “and I think you’ll find an expansion in the understanding of the man as a result of Eric’s speech.”
Asked about the tone of the convention - likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton was likened to Lucifer last night by Dr. Ben Carson, shortly after New Jersey governor Chris Christie led an arena-wide chant of “lock her up!” - Manafort dismissed concerns that the RNC has become more anti-Clinton than pro-Trump.
“I think the tone of the convention is multiple tones - there is an anger among the delegates that is out there in America. People are frustrated by the failed leadership, difficult economic times,” Manafort said. “The tone that I saw was the joy in nominating the candidates for president and vice president who the delegation believes will be able to carry forward a new vision for America.”
Of the “lock her up” chant, Manafort said that the arrest and imprisonment of Clinton was likely what Christie was “probably advocating for in his speech.”
“Those aren’t Republican red-meat issues anymore,” Manafort said. “The Republican fears of past conventions have merged into America’s fears... the angst is broader than just Republicans.”
On Texas senator Ted Cruz’s planned address to the RNC tonight, Manafort said that “He’s still working on it.”
“He’ll talk about Hillary Clinton and the failures, how American cannot afford to have Hillary Clinton, [and] I think he’ll give updates on how he feels about Mr. Trump that will be pleasing to the campaign.”
Cruz has not yet endorsed Trump.
Ben Jacobs has a key update on the Pokémon Go front:
“He will be talking about his record a little bit and why his background fills the criteria that Mr. Trump put out three months ago,” Manafort said of Pence’s planned remarks. “We feel he helps us to accelerate the unification of the party in a real meaningful way. We are confident that at the end of the night, the case will have been presented in such a way that tomorrow night... we will have laid the foundation for that.”
Republican National Convention chair Jeff Larson acknowledged that yesterday’s official nomination of during yesterday’s session, “we nominated Donald J. Trump to be our 45th president of the United States, and I think it went flawlessly - it was an open and transparent process that I thought was something that you’d look back a year ago and think, ‘well, that’s not gonna happen.’”
Manafort, meanwhile, plowed ahead through the agenda of the final two days of the convention, which he described as “more personal” than the “red-meat” offered by speakers during the first half of the convention.
“Tonight’s theme is ‘Make America First Again,’” Manafort said. “The goal tonight is to lay out some of the vision of the Trump-Pence campaign, and to define some of the problems the country faces because of the failed leadership of the Clinton-Obama administration.”
Manafort called Eric Trump’s anticipated speech “more personal” than the speech given by Donald Trump, Jr. last night, “and I think you’ll find an expansion in the understanding of the man as a result of Eric’s speech.”
Asked about the tone of the convention - likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton was likened to Lucifer last night by Dr. Ben Carson, shortly after New Jersey governor Chris Christie led an arena-wide chant of “lock her up!” - Manafort dismissed concerns that the RNC has become more anti-Clinton than pro-Trump.
“I think the tone of the convention is multiple tones - there is an anger among the delegates that is out there in America. People are frustrated by the failed leadership, difficult economic times,” Manafort said. “The tone that I saw was the joy in nominating the candidates for president and vice president who the delegation believes will be able to carry forward a new vision for America.”
Of the “lock her up” chant, Manafort said that the arrest and imprisonment of Clinton was likely what Christie was “probably advocating for in his speech.”
“Those aren’t Republican red-meat issues anymore,” Manafort said. “The Republican fears of past conventions have merged into America’s fears... the angst is broader than just Republicans.”
On Texas senator Ted Cruz’s planned address to the RNC tonight, Manafort said that “He’s still working on it.”
“He’ll talk about Hillary Clinton and the failures, how American cannot afford to have Hillary Clinton, [and] I think he’ll give updates on how he feels about Mr. Trump that will be pleasing to the campaign.”
Cruz has not yet endorsed Trump.
5h ago14:25
Ben Jacobs has a key update on the Pokémon Go front:
People play Pokemon Go on their mobile phones near the Sydney Opera House. Photograph: David Moir/AAP
As Utah waited to cast its vote during the roll call last night, Senator Mike Lee, a steadfast opponent of Donald Trump who has yet to endorse the nominee, held court while surrounded by a scrum of reporters. Lee weighed in on every topic under the sun, including, most importantly, Pokémon Go. He was not a fan.
“The bottom line is it is not a fun game,” Lee told the Guardian. “There is nothing about Pokémon Go I find enjoyable.”
Lee then took out his phone to try to elaborate this theory but the GPS didn’t work on the packed convention floor.
Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s campaign live blog, coming at you live from Cleveland, Ohio, the site of the long-anticipated Republican national convention, now in its third day.
As Utah waited to cast its vote during the roll call last night, Senator Mike Lee, a steadfast opponent of Donald Trump who has yet to endorse the nominee, held court while surrounded by a scrum of reporters. Lee weighed in on every topic under the sun, including, most importantly, Pokémon Go. He was not a fan.
“The bottom line is it is not a fun game,” Lee told the Guardian. “There is nothing about Pokémon Go I find enjoyable.”
Lee then took out his phone to try to elaborate this theory but the GPS didn’t work on the packed convention floor.
6h ago12:52
Republican national convention: day three
Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s campaign live blog, coming at you live from Cleveland, Ohio, the site of the long-anticipated Republican national convention, now in its third day.
Donald Trump. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
After a day of campaign crisis over apparently plagiarized primetime remarks delivered by his wife the night before, Donald Trump celebrated his official accession to the Republican presidential nomination last night. A giant satellite image of the no-longer presumptive nominee was beamed into the arena, Oz-style, after Trump officially clinched the nomination.
“I am so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States,” Trump said. “Together we have received historic results, with the largest vote total in the history of the Republican party. This is a movement and we have to go all the way.”
But with another plagiarism scandal brewing over his son’s speech to the RNC and apparent concerns about the vast swaths of empty seats in the Quicken Loans Arena mezzanine during primetime speeches, the campaign still has a long way to go to realize the much-ballyhooed “convention bump” in polling that comes after what should be a candidate’s crowning achievement.
Trump’s presidential campaign is probably hoping to make a fresh start with the third day’s program. Today’s theme: “Make America First Again”, featuring a roster of speakers who focus on American exceptionalism. Beginning at 7pm EDT tonight, the primetime program speakers include radio host Laura Ingraham, former astronaut Eileen Collins, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz of Florida and Texas, Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, Eric Trump, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence.
We’ll have more on the full roster of speakers as the day progresses, but before events kick off with a presser from Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, here’s the news you need to know from the campaign trail:
Mob justice has become an unofficial plank of the Republican party, after a barnburning primetime speech by New Jersey governor and former federal prosecutor Chris Christie prompted the RNC’s attendees to stand and chant “Lock her up! Lock her up!” in reference to Hillary Clinton. “I welcome the opportunity to hold her accountable for her performance and her character,” Christie told the crowd, before “prosecuting” Clinton on, among other things, her use of private email servers during her time as secretary of state.
Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole – the only former Republican nominee to attend the RNC this week – told Katie Couric that Trump needs to make inroads with Latino voters. “I want him to go to New Mexico and meet with the governor and apologize for anything that may have been said … we need Latinos in our party, we need more women in the party, and I’ve raised it with him over the phone that I felt this is something that never should have happened and ought to be taken care of, and I had the feeling that he was working on it.”
Fox News chief Roger Ailes is in negotiations with Rupert Murdoch to quit as chairman and chief executive of Fox News following a string of allegations of sexual harassment from some the channel’s highest-profile female news anchors. Ailes could collect as much as $40m in severance pay, according to a leaked copy of “separation agreement” published by the Drudge Report yesterday afternoon.
As we predicted, Broadway star Laura Benanti appeared on The Late Show as Melania Trump to explain the cribbed notes that appeared in her speech to the RNC:
Caught up? Good – now on with the show …
After a day of campaign crisis over apparently plagiarized primetime remarks delivered by his wife the night before, Donald Trump celebrated his official accession to the Republican presidential nomination last night. A giant satellite image of the no-longer presumptive nominee was beamed into the arena, Oz-style, after Trump officially clinched the nomination.
“I am so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States,” Trump said. “Together we have received historic results, with the largest vote total in the history of the Republican party. This is a movement and we have to go all the way.”
But with another plagiarism scandal brewing over his son’s speech to the RNC and apparent concerns about the vast swaths of empty seats in the Quicken Loans Arena mezzanine during primetime speeches, the campaign still has a long way to go to realize the much-ballyhooed “convention bump” in polling that comes after what should be a candidate’s crowning achievement.
Trump’s presidential campaign is probably hoping to make a fresh start with the third day’s program. Today’s theme: “Make America First Again”, featuring a roster of speakers who focus on American exceptionalism. Beginning at 7pm EDT tonight, the primetime program speakers include radio host Laura Ingraham, former astronaut Eileen Collins, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz of Florida and Texas, Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, Eric Trump, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence.
We’ll have more on the full roster of speakers as the day progresses, but before events kick off with a presser from Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, here’s the news you need to know from the campaign trail:
Mob justice has become an unofficial plank of the Republican party, after a barnburning primetime speech by New Jersey governor and former federal prosecutor Chris Christie prompted the RNC’s attendees to stand and chant “Lock her up! Lock her up!” in reference to Hillary Clinton. “I welcome the opportunity to hold her accountable for her performance and her character,” Christie told the crowd, before “prosecuting” Clinton on, among other things, her use of private email servers during her time as secretary of state.
Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole – the only former Republican nominee to attend the RNC this week – told Katie Couric that Trump needs to make inroads with Latino voters. “I want him to go to New Mexico and meet with the governor and apologize for anything that may have been said … we need Latinos in our party, we need more women in the party, and I’ve raised it with him over the phone that I felt this is something that never should have happened and ought to be taken care of, and I had the feeling that he was working on it.”
Fox News chief Roger Ailes is in negotiations with Rupert Murdoch to quit as chairman and chief executive of Fox News following a string of allegations of sexual harassment from some the channel’s highest-profile female news anchors. Ailes could collect as much as $40m in severance pay, according to a leaked copy of “separation agreement” published by the Drudge Report yesterday afternoon.
As we predicted, Broadway star Laura Benanti appeared on The Late Show as Melania Trump to explain the cribbed notes that appeared in her speech to the RNC:
.@LauraBenanti as @MelaniaTrump on the Late Show is the best thing you will see today!! PerezHilton.com/DonaldTrump
Caught up? Good – now on with the show …
Comments
Post a Comment