| | | | Debate eve: Trump, Clinton set for showdown | | It's the eve of what's likely to be the most-watched presidential debate in history -- with as many as one-third of voters saying it's very important in deciding whether they'll back Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
So of course, this morning, everyone was talking about ... Gennifer Flowers. In a comeback characteristic of Trump, he responded to Clinton's decision to invite Mark Cuban to the debate by tweeting he might put Flowers in the front row -- and Flowers told The New York Times she was coming. However, Trump's team reversed course this morning. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" it's not happening. "We have not invited her formally, and we do not expect her to be there as a guest of the Trump campaign," Conway said of the woman whose affair with Bill Clinton was revealed in the 1990s.
The Clinton camp's response: Here's what campaign manager Robby Mook told Jake: "It's a warning sign before the debate has even started about Donald Trump's lack of fitness -- his bullying tactics -- that make him unfit to be president."
Good evening from Hempstead, New York -- home of Hofstra University, which hosts the 90-minute blockbuster set for 9 p.m. ET tomorrow. Here are some of the storylines we're watching:
The expectations game: In John King's "Inside Politics" forecast, he calls talk of who faces which challenges largely useless and writes that "the bottom line is this: the two candidates are now at the job interview phase. The title is the same. The winner gets the same house, the same office, the same challenges and, yes, the same salary."
Trump is the question mark. Clinton has debated more than 40 times. But Trump hasn't gone one-on-one yet -- making his approach to Monday night a mystery. CNN's Jeremy Diamond breaks down six things we know about Trump's tactics so far: He'll use face-to-face insults; there's nothing he won't touch; he detests and belittles canned soundbites; he'll have some thought-out, pre-planned responses; his rapid-fire retorts can get under opponents' skin; and he'll eagerly go after the moderator (watch out, Lester Holt).
Is the first one also the last one? The New York Times' Ashley Parker explores the possibility, writing: "If he acquits himself well, the thinking goes, Mr. Trump may try to freeze the score rather than pushing his luck with a rematch. And if he bombs, he may well decide to eliminate the risk of a second drubbing."
What will Gary Johnson be doing? The Libertarian nominee will live-tweet during the debate from Twitter's Chelsea offices in Manhattan from his @GovGaryJohnson account. His running mate, Bill Weld -- that's @GovBillWeld -- will also be there.
Where does this debate stack up? "The Nixon-Kennedy was the most famous, but this will have an audience that is far greater," former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told CNN's Ashley Killough -- the pool reporter outside Trump Tower -- today. | | "We do have to inhabit other planets. The future of the human race is space exploration." -- Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, offering an out-of-this-world solution to planetary crises on ABC's "This Week." | | | | Former House Speaker (and animal lover) Newt Gingrich, explaining why he thinks Donald Trump will win the first debate on Twitter this afternoon. | | Debating the debate: Should the moderator fact-check? | | From CNN's Jill Disis and Brian Stelter: The Commission on Presidential Debates has some advice for debate moderators this fall: leave the fact-checking to the candidates. Janet Brown, executive director of the commission, which organizes the debates every four years, told Brian today on "Reliable Sources" that "I don't think it's a good idea to get the moderator into essentially serving as the Encyclopedia Britannica."
The Trump team agrees. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told ABC: "I really don't appreciate the campaigns thinking it is the job of the media to go and be these virtual fact-checkers."
But the Clinton camp doesn't. If moderators "close their ears to Donald Trump's lies, it will extend an unfair bias to Donald Trump. It will be the equivalent of giving him more time to speak," Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon told Brian.
This was a hot topic on Twitter today, too: | | How Lester Holt prepped for his first presidential debate | | NBC's Lester Holt -- moderating a presidential debate for the first time -- has called on several NBC News colleagues as he prepares for Monday night, CNN's Brian Stelter reports. In recent days, his counselors have included NBC News and MSNBC chairman Andy Lack; NBC News president Deborah Turness; and the news division's senior vice president of editorial, Janelle Rodriguez. Another key member of Holt's debate team is Sam Singal, the executive producer of Holt's "Nightly News." "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd, senior political editor Mark Murray and political editor Carrie Dann have all helped as well.
But familiar TV producers won't be in his ear Monday night. He'll only be hearing from the commission's longtime executive producer, Marty Slutsky, who has produced all of the debates since 2000. Slutsky keeps track of time and lets moderators know when they have to wrap up the debate. | | | Spotted outside Trump Tower today by CNN's Ashley Killough: The (apparently pro-Donald Trump) Naked Cowboy. | | Pence's bogus Trump Foundation deflection | | Donald Trump running mate Mike Pence acknowledged to "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace that questions about the Trump Foundation's questionable spending are "fair game." But he then wrongly claimed Trump's campaign had answered "all the questions" as he deflected by saying, "I just wish there was as much interest in the activities of the Clinton Foundation." Politico's Kyle Cheney has a wrap-up of his comments.
A quick catch-up here: The Washington Post's dogged investigative reporter David Fahrenthold found that the Trump Foundation spent $258,000 to settle lawsuits related to Trump's private business.
Then Pence blasted the newspaper, saying: "The Washington Post reporting on this has been very, very sketchy. They've been found to be factually incorrect on a number of bases."
Here's the problem for Pence: None of Fahrenthold's reporting on the topic has been discredited, and Trump's campaign and surrogates have consistently refused to answer questions about it -- only releasing a statement attacking the report without disputing any of its facts.
The topic isn't going away. Here's what Fahrenthold tweeted this evening: | | Cruz uneasily embraces his new roles as a Trump backer | | From CNN's Theodore Schleifer in Austin, Texas: Ted Cruz offered his first extensive defense of his endorsement of Donald Trump Saturday, declining to disavow his searing criticisms of Trump's candidacy but arguing he made the best decision possible. Deflecting questions about Trump's long history of insults flung at Cruz (and his wife and father) at an event moderated by the Texas Tribune's Evan Smith, the Texas senator said he doesn't think it's "productive to criticize the Republican nominee today."
How comfortable was Cruz with all this? Check out this exchange:
Smith: "Do you consider Donald Trump to be fit to be president?"
Cruz: "I think we have one of two choices." | | | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton today. ... House Speaker Paul Ryan says Trump's comparison of inner cities to Afghanistan is "not how I would describe it." Kellyanne Conway defended Trump and blasted President Barack Obama, though. ... Clinton and Bernie Sanders will campaign together in New Hampshire on Wednesday. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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