| | | | Clinton, Trump and the politics of Hurricane Matthew | | Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are watching Florida as closely as a homeowner, hoping Hurricane Matthew won't destroy the political infrastructure they've built. The storm -- the strongest to threaten the US coast in more than a decade, and set to hit Florida overnight -- is poised to shake the campaigns with just 33 days remaining before the election.
Clinton's campaign urged Florida officials to extend the state's October 11 voter registration deadline so the hurricane doesn't disrupt last-minute sign-ups, campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters. "The one thing that we are hoping and expecting is that officials in Florida will adapt deadlines to account for the storm," he said. However, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said tonight he doesn't "intend to make changes," saying "people have had time to register."
The storm could stymie voter mobilization, scramble turnout and make pollsters' jobs tougher in Florida and North Carolina. Republican National Committee political director Chris Carr said the party suspended its voter contacts in Florida on Wednesday at noon "so that our staff can make plans in preparation for the storm."
It's another chapter in the history of natural disasters intervening in presidential politics. Here's my history lesson -- from James Madison's slow discovery of a Missouri earthquake and Benjamin Harrison's personal check to 2,200 Pennsylvania flood victims to George H.W. Bush's slow response to Hurricane Andrew and Al Gore's falsified tour of fire-ravaged Texas. | | | If you're in Florida, please don't listen to this irresponsibly dangerous garbage from Matt Drudge and stay safe. A better message about Hurricane Matthew: | | Trump's town hall trial run ahead of Sunday's debate | | Ahead of Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton, Round Two on Sunday night in St. Louis, Trump is giving the town hall style a trial run tonight in New Hampshire. It'll last 90 minutes, a campaign aide tells CNN's Sara Murray, with an invite-only audience. Trump opened by riffing on a long series of polls that show him ahead of Clinton in swing states.
This is part of Trump's debate prep. Another part, per Sara: He watched footage of himself in the first debate. Afterward, Trump was more open to (gentle) critiques of his performance.
A likely target tonight: Bill Clinton. Trump has been hammering his comments on Obamacare amid questions about whether the former president does more harm than good on the campaign trail. CNN's Stephen Collinson writes today: The Secretary of Explaining Stuff sometimes explains stuff a little too well. | | Unabashedly pro-Donald Trump Fox News host Sean Hannity is feuding with his colleague Megyn Kelly.
Here's what Kelly said to set him off: "Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10:00, will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the 'unsafe spaces' these days, which doesn't exactly expand the tent." | | Pence: 'It's not Donald Trump's position now' | | As Indiana governor, Mike Pence was critical of Donald Trump's call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." But when CNN's Chris Cuomo pressed Pence on why he's dropped that criticism today on "New Day," Pence said: "Well, because it's not Donald Trump's position now."
Here's the thing: Trump has never backed off that position. He's said he wants to ban immigration from countries where the terror threat is prevalent -- but he hasn't actually addressed whether he still wants a total ban on Muslim travel. | | Donald Trump's attempt to show Nevadans he knows the correct pronunciation of their state's name -- a touchy local issue -- backfired last night. "Ne-VAH-da. And you know what I said? I said, when I came out here, I said, nobody says it the other way. It has to be Ne-VAH-da, right?" Trump said. "And if you don't say it correctly -- and it didn't happen to me, happened to a friend of mine, he was killed."
One problem: It did happen to Trump. It's "Nev-AD-a." And the crowd noticed. | | Firing back at Trump today was Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, accusing the GOP presidential candidate of concealing his tax returns because they would prove he has "no business ethics" and "raped and pillaged Atlantic City."
Trump ducks on Yucca Mountain: The incredible saga of the controversial nuclear waste depository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, roughly 90 miles outside Las Vegas, was rekindled Wednesday when Trump twice ducked the issue during a local TV interview, CNN's Dan Berman writes. "I'm very friendly with this area. I have the hotel here, I will tell you I'm going to take a look at it because so many people here are talking about it. I'll take a look at it, and the next time you interview me, I'll have an answer," Trump told KSNV. | | | Evan McMullin, the conservative running an independent, anti-Donald Trump presidential campaign, has picked GOP consultant Mindy Finn as his running mate. ... New York Times editor Dean Baquet says reporters "actually tend to believe what politicians tell us -- which is a flaw." ... Rapper Macklemore -- a 9/11 truther in 2009 -- visited the White House to view a drug abuse documentary today. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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