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| Trump to hold 'emergency meeting' with Republican National Committee – live | Trump to hold 'emergency meeting' with Republican National Committee – live |
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| 3.53pm BST | |
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| Donald Trump’s campaign has vacated his campaign headquarters in New Jersey after vowing to be competitive in the Garden State, with some of its staffers having gone unpaid since June, Politico reports. | |
| “I mean, I love New Jersey,” Trump said to Sean Hannity after the opening of his office there. “I am New Jersey. Like a second home. I have property there. I have a lot of employees there. And frankly, I think we’re going to do well.” | |
| Frankly, he doesn’t seem to be feeling that way any more. | |
| According to Trump’s latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, the campaign last paid rent on the Edison property in May, and Politico quotes two neighboring employees who say that the operation has been a ghost town for at least a month. | |
| 3.32pm BST | |
| 15:32 | |
| Pressure is mounting on Donald Trump to release his tax returns - even from fellow Republicans. | |
| 3.21pm BST | |
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| When Donald Trump vowed this week to make childcare more accessible and affordable, it was just the second time during his White House campaign that he’s talked about an issue that affects millions of working Americans with young children. | |
| The first came months ago in Iowa, when the eventual Republican nominee touted his own record as a business owner during a candidate Q&A, telling voters he provided on-site childcare service for his employees. | |
| There is no evidence, however, that any such programs exist. | |
| Trump, who previously voiced his opposition to government-funded universal pre-K programs, said in Newton, Iowa, in November that he had visited many companies that offered workers on-site childcare centers – and added that he offered such programs himself. | |
| “You know, it’s not expensive for a company to do it. You need one person or two people, and you need some blocks, and you need some swings and some toys,” Trump said. “It’s not an expensive thing, and I do it all over. And I get great people because of it. Because it’s a problem with a lot of other companies.” | |
| Trump pointed specifically to two programs: “They call ‘em Trump Kids. Another one calls it Trumpeteers, if you can believe it. I have ‘em. I actually have ‘em, because I have a lot of different businesses.” | |
| Trump went on to describe “a room that’s a quarter of the size of this. And they have all sorts of – you know, it’s beautiful – they have a lot of children there, and we take care of them. And the parent when they leave the job – usually in my case it’s clubs or hotels – when they leave the job, they pick up their child and their child is totally safe. | |
| “They even come in during the day during lunch to see their child. It really works out well,” he said. | |
| But the two programs Trump cited – “Trump Kids” and “Trumpeteers” – are programs catering to patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club. They are not for Trump’s employees, according to staff at Trump’s hotels and clubs across the country. | |
| Related: Trump says he offers childcare services to employees, but there's no evidence | |
| 3.10pm BST | 3.10pm BST |
| 15:10 | 15:10 |
| “SARCASM” is now trending on Twitter. | “SARCASM” is now trending on Twitter. |
| I suppose they also failed to get your sarcasm about building a wall, banning Muslims & insulting Gold Star parents. https://t.co/hvZbausdbZ | I suppose they also failed to get your sarcasm about building a wall, banning Muslims & insulting Gold Star parents. https://t.co/hvZbausdbZ |
| 2.51pm BST | 2.51pm BST |
| 14:51 | 14:51 |
| Donald Trump: I was being sarcastic about Obama and Isis | Donald Trump: I was being sarcastic about Obama and Isis |
| Paul Owen | Paul Owen |
| Donald Trump has walked back his false claim that Barack Obama founded Isis, tweeting on Friday morning that he was only being sarcastic. | Donald Trump has walked back his false claim that Barack Obama founded Isis, tweeting on Friday morning that he was only being sarcastic. |
| Focusing on CNN’s reports on his original comments, the Republican candidate wrote: | Focusing on CNN’s reports on his original comments, the Republican candidate wrote: |
| Ratings challenged @CNN reports so seriously that I call President Obama (and Clinton) "the founder" of ISIS, & MVP. THEY DON'T GET SARCASM? | Ratings challenged @CNN reports so seriously that I call President Obama (and Clinton) "the founder" of ISIS, & MVP. THEY DON'T GET SARCASM? |
| On Thursday, Trump had refused to take the opportunity to reframe his remark to mean that Obama had created the context for the Islamic State’s growth. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt told him: “I know what you meant – you meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace.” | On Thursday, Trump had refused to take the opportunity to reframe his remark to mean that Obama had created the context for the Islamic State’s growth. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt told him: “I know what you meant – you meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace.” |
| But Trump disagreed. “No, I meant that he’s the founder of Isis, I do,” he said. “He was the most valuable player – I gave him the most valuable player award. I give her too, by the way,” he added of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. | But Trump disagreed. “No, I meant that he’s the founder of Isis, I do,” he said. “He was the most valuable player – I gave him the most valuable player award. I give her too, by the way,” he added of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. |
| Trump did acknowledge that the root of his argument was that if Obama “had done things properly, you wouldn’t have had Isis”, but he repeated: “Therefore, he was the founder of Isis.” | Trump did acknowledge that the root of his argument was that if Obama “had done things properly, you wouldn’t have had Isis”, but he repeated: “Therefore, he was the founder of Isis.” |
| Related: Donald Trump: I was being sarcastic about Obama and Isis | Related: Donald Trump: I was being sarcastic about Obama and Isis |
| 2.35pm BST | 2.35pm BST |
| 14:35 | 14:35 |
| A scoop in this morning’s Politico Playbook: | A scoop in this morning’s Politico Playbook: |
| Hours before a highly anticipated meeting between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump has personally demanded that the RNC open field offices in all 50 states, from true-blue Massachusetts to blood-red Alaska, a decision that an RNC staffer called “a complete waste of resources.” | Hours before a highly anticipated meeting between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump has personally demanded that the RNC open field offices in all 50 states, from true-blue Massachusetts to blood-red Alaska, a decision that an RNC staffer called “a complete waste of resources.” |
| Playbook cites RNC sources dismissing Trump’s request as an ego-driven “fool’s errand” for a candidate who enjoys nothing more than the right to brag about the historic nature of his candidacy. For the roughly 25 states that are neither competitive for Trump nor have contentious congressional races, the RNC will open volunteer-staffed officers at the cost of up to $90,000 a pop. | Playbook cites RNC sources dismissing Trump’s request as an ego-driven “fool’s errand” for a candidate who enjoys nothing more than the right to brag about the historic nature of his candidacy. For the roughly 25 states that are neither competitive for Trump nor have contentious congressional races, the RNC will open volunteer-staffed officers at the cost of up to $90,000 a pop. |
| 2.20pm BST | 2.20pm BST |
| 14:20 | 14:20 |
| Donald Trump to hold 'emergency' meeting with RNC | Donald Trump to hold 'emergency' meeting with RNC |
| After nearly two weeks of a campaign in crisis, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign will reportedly sit down with Republican National Committee officials in Orlando, Florida, today for what one official told Politico will be a “come-to-Jesus” meeting to discuss the state of Trump’s campaign. | After nearly two weeks of a campaign in crisis, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign will reportedly sit down with Republican National Committee officials in Orlando, Florida, today for what one official told Politico will be a “come-to-Jesus” meeting to discuss the state of Trump’s campaign. |
| Although campaign staffers have dismissed the meeting as a low-key discussion about the campaign’s strategy in swing-state Florida, others involved in the planning of the Orlando meeting have told multiple outlets that the sitdown amounts to pulling the emergency brake on a candidate who has careened from one self-inflicted controversy to another. | Although campaign staffers have dismissed the meeting as a low-key discussion about the campaign’s strategy in swing-state Florida, others involved in the planning of the Orlando meeting have told multiple outlets that the sitdown amounts to pulling the emergency brake on a candidate who has careened from one self-inflicted controversy to another. |
| The meeting couldn’t come at a time of greater tension between Trump’s campaign and the Republican party. On Thursday evening, more than 70 Republicans published an open letter to RNC chair Reince Priebus calling on the RNC to redirect money pegged for the Trump campaign to be used instead for vulnerable congressional races – in effect abandoning the party’s presidential nominee. | The meeting couldn’t come at a time of greater tension between Trump’s campaign and the Republican party. On Thursday evening, more than 70 Republicans published an open letter to RNC chair Reince Priebus calling on the RNC to redirect money pegged for the Trump campaign to be used instead for vulnerable congressional races – in effect abandoning the party’s presidential nominee. |
| The signatories – including former New Hampshire senator Gordon Humphrey, former congressmen Mickey Edwards and Christopher Shays and numerous former RNC staff members – wrote that Trump’s “divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide, and only the immediate shift of all available RNC resources to vulnerable Senate and House races will prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck ... | The signatories – including former New Hampshire senator Gordon Humphrey, former congressmen Mickey Edwards and Christopher Shays and numerous former RNC staff members – wrote that Trump’s “divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide, and only the immediate shift of all available RNC resources to vulnerable Senate and House races will prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck ... |
| “This should not be a difficult decision, as Donald Trump’s chances of being elected president are evaporating by the day,” the signatories state. Citing numerous controversies over the course of Trump’s candidacy, from the mockery of a reporter with a disability to his feud with the family of an army captain killed in action, the letter asserts that Trump has shown “dangerous authoritarian tendencies”. | “This should not be a difficult decision, as Donald Trump’s chances of being elected president are evaporating by the day,” the signatories state. Citing numerous controversies over the course of Trump’s candidacy, from the mockery of a reporter with a disability to his feud with the family of an army captain killed in action, the letter asserts that Trump has shown “dangerous authoritarian tendencies”. |
| Should make for an interesting sitdown. | Should make for an interesting sitdown. |
| Here’s what’s on the docket for today: | Here’s what’s on the docket for today: |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.12pm BST | at 3.12pm BST |