| | | | Ryan distances himself from Trump | | House Speaker Paul Ryan dealt his own party's presidential nominee a withering blow today, telling fellow Republicans in a conference call he will no longer defend Donald Trump and will instead use the next 29 days to focus on preserving his party's hold on Congress.
He's not un-endorsing Trump -- a fact Democrats will use to continue hanging the increasingly unpopular GOP nominee around the rest of the party.
But the subtext was clear: Ryan -- who a person on the call said "will spend his entire energy making sure that Hillary Clinton does not get a blank check with a Democrat-controlled Congress" -- believes Clinton will win.
This is the fallout from Trump's sexually aggressive comments in the "Access Hollywood" tapes and his performance last night, where he invited three women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct for a surprise event 90 minutes before the second presidential debate. (Don't miss my debate takeaways. And check out The Washington Post dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman on the weird body language -- particularly Trump stalking Clinton around the stage.)
Trump, of course, hit back at Ryan: | | Pick your poison: The New York Times' Maggie Haberman looks at the risks Republican candidates face here: face potentially career-ending attacks over sticking with Trump, or risk alienating Trump voters and suffer the same lethal fate.
Trump's threat: More tapes = more Clinton attacks. "If they want to release more tapes (of me) saying inappropriate things, we'll continue to talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton doing inappropriate things -- there are so many of them, folks," Trump said in Pennsylvania today. (Important note: The 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape came from NBC and was published first by The Washington Post, with no involvement from the Clinton campaign.) Mark Burnett, the creator of "The Apprentice," says he cannot release tapes from the show, per CNN's Dylan Byers.
A sign of confidence from Clintonworld: Priorities USA, her super PAC, is preparing to expand its focus to Senate races, producing television ads to potentially air in Senate contests in North Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, CNN's Dana Bash reports. | | The first major poll since Friday's publication of the video featuring Donald Trump's vulgar comments about sexually assaulting women came today from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal. Its results: Hillary Clinton leads by 11 points in a four-way race and by 14 points head-to-head against Trump.
The poll also offered an explanation of why Paul Ryan is distancing himself from Trump: 49% want to see Democrats control Congress vs. 42% for Republicans -- a 7-point gap, much larger than the same poll's 3-point gap before Trump's most recent controversies. | | Priebus and Pence stick with a faltering Trump | | Forget all that talk about the Republican National Committee cutting off Donald Trump and focusing on down-ballot races exclusively, party chairman Reince Priebus told RNC members on a call today. "Nothing has changed in regard with our relationship," Priebus said. "We are in full coordination with the Trump campaign. We have a great relationship with them."
Also sticking with Trump: Vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. "You know, it takes a big man to know when he is wrong and to admit it and to have the humility to apologize and be transparent and be vulnerable with people and Donald Trump last night showed that he is a big man," Pence told a few hundred supporters in Charlotte.
For Trump but against Trump's campaign: Team Trump fired its Virginia chairman, Corey Stewart, after he staged an unsanctioned protest in front of the RNC. Stewart shared multiple text messages with CNN's Theodore Schleifer from people who claimed to be Trump campaign aides, warning of "major consequences." "Do not protest the RNC," one text message said, referencing Trump's deputy campaign manager. "Call Dave Bossie immediately." | | Florida extends voter registration deadline | | | A federal court has extended Florida's voter registration deadline from Tuesday to 5 p.m. ET Wednesday due to Hurricane Matthew's interruption of last-minute signups. The US District Court ruling comes after the Florida Democratic Party sued, seeking an additional week due to the "strong likelihood" many of the state's voters would be "severely burdened" by the hurricane's fallout in the upcoming election. Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott had opposed the extension, saying last week that "people have had time to register." | | | Chelsea Clinton and Clinton world inner circle member Doug Band really don't like each other, hacked emails show. Band called the former (and perhaps future) first daughter a "spoiled brat" who had a "lack of focus in her life" in a 2011 email that came to light as part of the hack of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's personal email. | | | A long list of athletes -- including Oakland A's pitcher Sean Doolittle, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Kendall Marshall and UFC mixed martial artist CM Punk -- disputed Donald Trump's debate-night claim that his sexually aggressive comments were "locker room talk." Here's a full roundup. | | | Robert Graham, the Arizona GOP chairman who wants Reince Priebus' job, scolded RNC members for considering abandoning their nominee. ... Donald Trump waved the Pittsburgh Steelers' famous "Terrible Towel" at a Pennsylvania rally today: | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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