California’s governor says he’ll vote for Hillary Clinton in next week’s primary.
- Donald Trump tussles with reporters and promises he won’t change
- Jerry Brown, who has a long history with the Clintons, endorses Hillary
- Bernie Sanders remains optimistic
- Hillary Clinton and her allies boost their efforts in California
- Libertarians see an opening in 2016
Bernie Sanders insists Democratic race will not be over after June 7
Bernie Sanders offered some advice to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party on Tuesday: Don’t be so fast when it comes to ending the primary.
Sanders, down in delegates and the path narrowing in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination, insisted that after the June 7 contests, Clinton will not have enough delegates to become the party’s nominee.
“No candidate – not Hillary Clinton, not Bernie Sanders – will have received the number of pledged delegates … that he or she needs to become the Democratic nominee,” Sanders, at a rally in Santa Cruz, said Tuesday afternoon.
But math is not on the Vermont senator’s side.
To date, Clinton has won 2,310 delegates and must win an additional 73 to reach the 2,383 delegates needed to secure the nomination. (This total also includes super-delegates, in which Clinton also outpaces Sanders.) Sanders trails Clinton by more than 700 delegates.
Still, Sanders, whose populist message has resonated with progressives, has vowed to remain in the race and fight for a more liberal platform at the party’s July convention in Philadelphia.
On Tuesday, Sanders’ campaign was dealt a blow when California Gov. Jerry Brown, who is widely popular in the state, endorsed Clinton, noting that the Democratic primary is essentially over.
Sanders, citing some polls that show him faring better against GOP nominee Donald Trump, said the Democratic party must decide its future.
“The message to the Democratic leadership is that if the Democratic Party is to be the party of working people and young people and the middle class, they’ve got to open up the doors,” said Sanders, noting the strong support he’s received from young adults. “You are the future of this country … and the Democratic Party has got to be a party that is more than its candidates going to wealthy peoples’ homes to raise outrageous sums of money.”
Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump had to be shamed into donations to veteran charities
Hillary Clinton criticized Donald Trump on Tuesday for his delayed donations to veterans charities, saying the episode shows the “difference between what Donald Trump says and what Donald Trump does.”
The presumptive Republican presidential candidate claimed to have raised the money while campaigning in Iowa earlier this year, but the cash didn’t surface until recently, when reporters began investigating whether he ever made the donations he promised.
The Associated Press said half the checks were dated May 24, the same day an article in the Washington Post questioned if the money had been delivered.
“It took a reporter to shame him into actually making this contribution and giving the money to veterans,” Clinton told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview. “I don’t know he should get much credit for that.”
Trump rejected criticism in a combative press conference in New York.
Clinton, who has had her own combative relationship with the media, said Trump’s attacks on reporters fit a pattern of bad behavior.
“He attacks everybody,” she said. “It’s a recipe for gridlock in Washington.”
Veterans for Clinton: ‘Trump wouldn’t know the difference between a boomer and a B-52’
Donald Trump uses veterans to further his political goals, not necessarily to help their cause, veterans who support Hillary Clinton said Tuesday after Trump held a news conference to address his donations to military groups.
In a media conference call organized by Clinton’s campaign, a panel of veterans characterized Trump as a “fraud” and a “loose cannon.”
“Trump wouldn’t know the difference between a boomer and a B-52,” said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Douglass. “He has no idea about what it means to serve.”
The veterans took issue with Trump’s lack of experience, compared with Clinton’s tenure as first lady, senator from New York and secretary of State.
“He operates in support of what’s best for Donald Trump,” said retired Rear Adm. Gene Kendall. “He’s a danger to national security.”
Douglass criticized Trump’s verbal attacks on U.S. allies, which he said was counterproductive in a world he called “dangerous.”
“America needs allies around the world,” Douglass said. “It’s a dangerous world today, and instead of building allies for the United States, Donald Trump has picked fights with almost all of our close allies.”
A testy Donald Trump lashes out at news media and says, ‘I’m not changing’
Donald Trump repeatedly lashed out at the media, conservative opponents and Republican foes in a testy news conference Tuesday that he had called to answer criticism over his contributions to veterans’ charities.
Trump reeled off a list of charities that he said had received a total of $5.6 million he had raised. The list came after weeks of questions from reporters and remained short of the $6 million he had promised during a veterans event in January on the eve of the Iowa caucuses.
But the list of charities was at least partially overshadowed by his extensive airing of personal grievances, during which he called one reporter “a sleaze” and labeled a prominent conservative pundit “a loser.”
Jerry Brown: ‘This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting’
After carefully avoiding any involvement in the Democratic presidential primary, Gov. Jerry Brown dropped his neutrality – and looked past his bitter history with the Clintons – to endorse Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.
In an open letter to Democrats and independents, Brown urged voters who do not want to see a Donald Trump presidency to stop the infighting and rally behind Clinton, the Democratic front-runner.
“This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other,” he wrote. “The general election has already begun.”
Brown said Clinton has made a persuasive case that she is capable of pushing forward a progressive agenda, and her lead over rival Bernie Sanders is so large at this point that the insurgent Vermonter no longer stands any realistic chance of winning the nomination.
He wrote that he will be voting for Clinton because “this is the only path forward to win the presidency and stop the candidacy of Donald Trump.”
The endorsement comes as a recent poll showed Sanders and Clinton in a dead heat in California. Clinton cut short a planned campaign swing through New Jersey so she could get back to California by Thursday and hit the stump for several days.
Jerry Brown backs Hillary Clinton in open letter
Libertarians hope voter frustration with Trump and Clinton will create a ‘perfect storm’
The blockbuster Broadway musical “Hamilton” served as a surprisingly apt soundtrack to the Libertarian Convention this weekend, where party faithful gathered in Orlando to pick a presidential ticket.
Gary Johnson, who won the top slot Sunday, opened and closed his speeches to the delegates with a pair of songs from the musical, ironically celebrating the proponent of a central banking system that Libertarians despise. One had the refrain: “I am not throwing away my shot.” The other: “We are outgunned. Outmanned.”
Such is the position Libertarians find themselves in during this unruly election season. The lesser-known party has an unrivaled chance to tap into voters’ dissatisfaction with the likely nominees of the two major parties. But it faces daunting odds in actually capturing the White House.
Clinton and allies step up California efforts as primary draws near
Hillary Clinton’s campaign had once hoped the California primary could be a coronation for the former secretary of State, the last major stop en route to claiming the Democratic presidential nomination.
Instead, it has turned into a dogfight with Bernie Sanders, who has been campaigning nonstop through the state. With at least one public poll showing the race now a tie, the Clinton campaign has decided to step up her appearances in the state.
“It’s going to be closer than we thought,” said former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a longtime Clinton backer, adding that he ultimately expected her to win the state.