| | | | Trump appeared in two more Playboy videos | | | Andrew Kaczynski and Chris Massie of CNN's brand-new KFILE have uncovered two more Playboy videos in which Trump makes an appearance, including one in which he is depicted photographing fully clothed models with a Polaroid camera and conducting an interview with a potential Playmate. The videos -- from 1994 and 2001 -- come on top of a Trump appearance in a 2000 Playboy video and his 1990 Playboy cover. | | Trump takes credit for Pence's win | | Mike Pence had a stronger showing than Tim Kaine in last night's vice presidential debate -- but did he also outshine Donald Trump? That was the chatter in GOP circles after the debate -- and Trump wasn't having it. "Mike Pence did an incredible job and I'm getting a lot of credit because this was my so-called first choice; that was my first hire, as we would say," Trump said at a rally in Henderson, Nevada.
Is this the start of Pence 2020? Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who hasn't endorsed Trump, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he'd support Pence "in a heartbeat." One prominent establishment Republican told CNN's Jamie Gangel: "It was as if you suddenly remembered, 'Oh right, this is what it feels like when you have a candidate who knows how to debate, knows the issues and sounds like a Republican.'"
A big part of why Pence succeeded: He performed as if he were in an alternate reality, where Trump hasn't said many of the things he's said. He also broke with Trump over Russia and Syria -- muddying the GOP ticket's foreign policy approach and leaving questions that could dominate coverage headed into the second debate.
Some leading anti-Trump Republicans had fun with Pence's performance on Twitter: | | | Kaine came across to some as annoying -- but he also had a different mission: Drive home as many of Trump's insulting remarks as possible, with nearly 35 million people watching. Don't miss my takeaways on the debate that pitted "Rush Limbaugh on decaf" against a man who needed decaf. | | How Clinton and Trump are preparing for Round Two | | Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are charting distinct paths to the upcoming presidential debate Sunday in St. Louis, CNN's Tom Kludt and Dan Merica report.
How Clinton is preparing: The Democratic nominee is off the campaign trail, leaving media appearances and public rallies to her deep bench of high-profile surrogates, including her immediate family, the first family and Al Gore. Clinton does, however, have fundraisers slated for today and Thursday, including one that will be open to cameras.
Advisers say the reason behind the decision is simple: the debate carries far greater importance than a standard campaign event. The first debate was viewed by more than 80 million, much more than the audience for any rally. Clinton's top takeaway from her first debate with Trump was that preparation matters. So ahead of the contest at Washington University, Clinton will hunker down with a select group of aides later this week to refine her attacks on Trump and prepare for the added level of difficulty created by a live audience that asks questions.
How Trump is preparing: The Republican nominee will continue to greet supporters at campaign events prior to Sunday's debate. He had a pair of events today in Nevada. Trump will also participate in a town hall event on Thursday in Sandown, New Hampshire. It will be a tuneup of sorts for the debate, which will be a town hall format.
In the meantime, Trump's top aides are pushing the message that he will be prepared, something critics say was lacking in the first debate. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told MSNBC on Wednesday that the candidate is "preparing constantly." | | | Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe apologized to his staff after violating the "cardinal rule" at an event with Tim Kaine. "I danced in public," he said. | | Edward Snowden redux? Government contractor arrested | | From CNN's Tal Kopan: A government contractor was arrested in August for allegedly stealing top secret intelligence, the Department of Justice announced today. According to a criminal complaint, Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, was charged with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials by a government employee or contractor after searches of his home and property revealed hard-copy and digital files containing "highly classified information."
The contractor worked at Booz Allen Hamilton, according to a law enforcement source. That could raise questions about whether the leaker is in the vein of Edward Snowden, who also worked for Booz Allen. The firm had no comment when reached by CNN.
Credit for the scoop goes to The New York Times' Jo Becker, Adam Goldman, Michael S. Schmidt and Matt Apuzzo, who write that Martin is "suspected of taking the highly classified computer code developed by the agency to break into computer systems of adversaries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea."
Snowden weighed in with this tweet: | | | Libertarian VP candidate Bill Weld says he's going to focus his attacks on Donald Trump in hopes he can "peel off Republican votes." ... Fox News' Jesse Watters' segment on stereotyping Chinese-Americans while asking for their views on the 2016 race on Bill O'Reilly's show is under fire. ... The Atlantic endorsed Hillary Clinton -- only the third time it's ever backed a presidential candidate. The other two? Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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