Daily Digest: Trump and the GOP

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. It's been an interesting 24 hours in the presidential race, and that's before you even get to babies. Let's take a look at some stories in the news.

1. So much for a united party. In an interview with the Washington Post, Donald Trump refused to support Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain in their primary battles. Trump parroted Ryan's own words when asked about supporting him, “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump said. “We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.” (Washington Post)

2.  President Obama criticized Trump in his strongest language yet, calling the Republican nominee "unfit to serve as president." He challenged Republican leaders to disavow Trump. "[T]he question I think they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" Trump responded with a Facebook post that started, "Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilized the Middle East, handed Iraq, Libya and Syria to ISIS, and allowed our personnel to be slaughtered at Benghazi." (NPR)

3. One Republican did bail on Trump Tuesday. U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., became the first GOP member of Congress to endorse Hillary Clinton. He's retiring from Congress at the end of the year. Hanna has bucked the party before on abortion, same sex marriage and climate change. "I think Trump is a national embarrassment. Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?" he asked. (Syracuse.com)

4. One issue the Trump campaign hasn't started to use against Clinton is the record of her running mate in accepting gifts and travel when he was governor of Virginia. Tim Kaine followed the law in disclosing the gifts, but some campaign watchdogs note that Virginia has some of  the most lax laws in the country when it comes to gifts and other perks. And they say voters might not care about the letter of the law this year. (NPR)

5. The one statewide race on the ballot in Minnesota this year is for the supreme court. Justice Natalie Hudson faces two challengers. One is an out of work attorney looking for a gig and the other is a candidate who was endorsed by Republicans for a seat on the high court in 2014, but who lost the party's backing when it was revealed she had been arrested. The top two finishers in next week's primary will go on to the general election. (MinnPost)

 

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