Welcome to McClatchy’s Voter Survival Guide, an interactive presentation of daily events from one of the strangest presidential campaigns in modern history.
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Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton take stage at Commander-In-Chief Forum
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton shared the same stage (albeit not at the same time) yesterday night for NBC News’ Commander-in-Chief Forum. While not a debate, the two did outline their thoughts on the military, Russia, veterans and terrorism in their first prime-time discussion.
Clinton was terse, defensive and aiming to show she could be trusted following questions into her private email server.
Trump tried to show he has the temperment to be president but offered few details what he might do differently.
Trump vows to build up military
Ahead of the Forum, Donald Trump outlined his plan to build the military and stop terrorism with a speech in Philadelphia. The key takeaway: it’s going to be a hard sell -- not to mention hard to pay for.
Trump vowed to end the sequester, increase the size of the army, and increase the number of planes, warships and submarines -- none of which will be easy to do when Trump is also presenting a tax cut plan. Overall, the plan would cost an estimated $90 billion a year, but Trump didn’t explain how he would pay for it.
YOU CAN’T USE IT TO CLOSE EXISTING BUDGET GAPS AND AT THE SAME TIME PAY FOR NEW INITIATIVES.
Robert Bixby, executive director, nonpartisan Concord Coalition, on Trump’s military ideas
While presenting his plan, he also made sure to take a swing at his Democratic opponent, calling Hillary Clinton “trigger-happy and very unstable.”
Hillary Clinton's legacy in Iraq, Libya and Syria has produced only turmoil, suffering and death.
Donald Trump, Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump ends press “blacklist”
Starting today, the Trump campaign will approve requests for press credentials from previously blacklisted news outlets including The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and Politico. The outlets were banned for critically covering Donald Trump in a way he felt was ‘dishonest.’
Journalists and press freedom advocates strongly condemned the blacklist because of its troubling impact on First Amendment protections.
Revoking press credentials was imprudent, pointless, and offensive from the start. We're pleased to see the ban come to a long-overdue end.
Martin Baron, executive editor of the Post
Last month, Trump threatened to add The New York Times to the list as well.
“I figure they can’t treat me any worse!” Trump said about ending the blacklist.
Trump held fundraiser for Florida Attorney General after she dropped fraud case
Donald Trump put together a fundraiser for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi after she had decided not to pursue a fraud investigation into Trump University.
Donald Trump had previously charged $140,000 per event to rent his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach. The Republican Party of Florida paid slightly under $5,000 for the Bondi event.
Trump continues to insist his relationship with Bondi was merely one of political support.
Supporters of Bernie Sanders, Trump’s GOP rivals playing hard to get
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are struggling to win over backers of Bernie Sanders and Trump’s GOP opponents.
In six of seven Northeastern states surveyed, only 60 to 65 percent of Bernie Sanders supporters are now backing Clinton. In one state, that number is 50 percent.
Donald Trump has a similar problem. In six states, fewer than half the supporters of his former Republican primary opponents now back him.
More stories
- Jill Stein has a warrant out for her arrest after allegedly spray painting a bulldozer during a protest.
- Mike Pence breaks with Donald Trump by saying President Obama was born in Hawaii.
- Trump and Clinton are neck-and-neck in Florida.
- Here are the 11 states that will determine who wins the election.
- The Dallas Morning News endorses Hillary Clinton for president, the first Democrat they’ve endorsed since pre-World War II.
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Eric Wuestewald, @eric_wuest