| | | | Bad polls dog Trump's effort to turn the page | | Hillary Clinton has an eye-popping 15-point lead over Donald Trump -- 48% to 33% -- according to a new McClatchy-Marist national poll out this evening. (A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has Clinton's lead at 9 points.) But it's the swing states that really show the depth of Trump's woes as he tries to move on from a tumultuous few days, per CNN's David Wright.
Today's swing-state polling roundup: Clinton leads by 15 points in New Hampshire, 11 points in Pennsylvania, 9 points in Michigan and 6 points in Florida. Those polls show the daunting electoral math facing Trump, whose realistic path to the White House begins with wins in Ohio, Florida and at least one left-leaning Rust Belt state.
In Colorado and Virginia, Clinton's campaign and allies are showing signs of confidence. Her campaign isn't on the air in Colorado and is dropping its Virginia buy next week, per Politico's Steven Shepard. And her super PAC won't advertise in either state for the next two weeks, a spokesman said.
This all comes as GOP infighting breaks out into the open. Republican primary opponents of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain -- two men Trump declined to endorse this week -- are using that refusal against the two prominent Republicans. Meanwhile, Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman released an ad Thursday saying of Trump, "I don't care for him much." Much more on the intra-party battle from CNN's Manu Raju and Deirdre Walsh. | | Clinton campaign fears the 'bounce' | | | Don't tell Hillary Clinton's campaign it's running away from Donald Trump yet. Noting that these polls come after the Democratic National Convention, Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri emails CNN's Joe Johns: "There's a reason they call the convention bounces a 'bounce.' They can shoot you up to an artificial high and then come down to reality. We are really glad that our convention was so well-received but believe that we continue to face an electorate that is still very divided and know this election will be close." | | "One would think we'd be on offense against Hillary Clinton, and it is distressing that that's not what we're talking about these days." -- House Speaker Paul Ryan, in a radio interview with WTAQ's Jerry Bader in his Wisconsin district, standing by his endorsement of Donald Trump but criticizing the Republican nominee's focus. | | | Melania Trump attempted to put to rest questions about her immigration status by tweeting this statement. It's become an issue because her husband, Donald Trump, who repeatedly questioned President Barack Obama's citizenship, has made cracking down on illegal immigration an animating cause of his campaign.
This is all over nude photos released this week. Politico's Ben Schreckinger and Gabriel Debenedetti report that the photo shoot took place in the United States in 1995 -- and in a follow-up article, Schreckinger writes that her statement skates around key discrepancies. | | Pence's 'non-answer' on McCain, Ayotte draws heat | | Reporters asked Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence straight up today if he'll support two endangered senators -- Arizona's John McCain and New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte -- who Trump wouldn't. His answer set off a round of reports that Pence declined to back them -- even though Pence's staff said later he does actually support them both.
Here's Pence's (non-)answer: "I look forward to supporting Republican candidates in the days and weeks ahead all over the country, and so does Donald Trump. But the stakes in this election are so high. To restore our country at home and abroad, we need new leadership, and I'm looking forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with Donald Trump to drive that new leadership forward."
McCain's primary opponent seized on the comment. Kelli Ward said in a statement: "Donald Trump and Mike Pence recognize that we cannot win Arizona's US Senate seat in November with McCain."
So where does Pence stand? He does, in fact, support McCain and Ayotte, aide Marc Short told CNN's Cassie Spodak. The response Pence had given earlier in the day, Short said, was just a "non-answer."
The clean-up was too late to stop a strong rebuke from John Weaver, a John Kasich strategist who recalled McCain's work for Pence in the past: | | | On NBC's "Today" show tomorrow morning: Mike and Karen Pence. | | | Vice President Joe Biden busted out the friendship bracelets for President Barack Obama's birthday. | | Obama warns Trump ahead of intelligence briefings | | President Barack Obama, with a clear eye on Donald Trump, said today that party nominees who get classified security briefings must act like a president and shouldn't be "spreading them around." Obama said that his administration is acting in accordance with tradition by offering briefings to Trump and Hillary Clinton to ensure that whoever wins November's election will be up to speed on the threats facing the nation. "They have been told: These are classified briefings. If they want to be president they have got to start acting like (a) president. That means being able to receive these briefings and not spreading them around," he said. From CNN's Stephen Collinson and Kevin Liptak.
About that Iran "ransom": Obama pushed back on GOP criticism of the plane that flew $400 million to Iran the same day the country released American hostages, saying, "We do not pay ransom. We didn't here, and we won't in the future."
Trump is sticking with a debunked claim about a video of the plane arriving in Iran. "A tape was made -- you saw that?" Trump asked the crowd at the start of his rally in Portland, Maine. "With the airplane coming in, nice plane ... and the money coming off, I guess." The Washington Post's Jenna Johnson explains why he's wrong. | | A smart line from the National Review's Tim Alberta on tea party Rep. Tim Huelskamp's primary loss: "Anger at Washington is not a mandate for ideological purity." ... Protesters with pocket Constitutions, apparently inspired by Khizr Khan, were removed from a Donald Trump rally today. ... Actor Bradley Cooper says he wasn't expecting backlash from "American Sniper" fans for attending the Democratic convention.
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