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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/aug/17/trump-campaign-steve-bannon-paul-manafort
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| Hillary Clinton: 'There is no new Donald Trump' – as it happened | Hillary Clinton: 'There is no new Donald Trump' – as it happened |
| (5 days later) | |
| 10.02pm BST | 10.02pm BST |
| 22:02 | 22:02 |
| We’re going to wrap up our live blog politics coverage for the day. | We’re going to wrap up our live blog politics coverage for the day. |
| Click here for today’s Campaign Minute summary – and see you back here tomorrow! | Click here for today’s Campaign Minute summary – and see you back here tomorrow! |
| 9.35pm BST | 9.35pm BST |
| 21:35 | 21:35 |
| Clinton meets with Sir Paul | Clinton meets with Sir Paul |
| According to a pool report, Hillary Clinton has just met with Paul McCartney, at the Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland, where McCartney is playing a show tonight, and which readers may remember as the site of the Republican national convention. | According to a pool report, Hillary Clinton has just met with Paul McCartney, at the Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland, where McCartney is playing a show tonight, and which readers may remember as the site of the Republican national convention. |
| 9.14pm BST | 9.14pm BST |
| 21:14 | 21:14 |
| Incoming: | Incoming: |
| Donald Trump arrives @NewYorkFBI office for his first intelligence briefing pic.twitter.com/FqNH1Xfq3t | Donald Trump arrives @NewYorkFBI office for his first intelligence briefing pic.twitter.com/FqNH1Xfq3t |
| 8.35pm BST | 8.35pm BST |
| 20:35 | 20:35 |
| What do you make of this theory? | What do you make of this theory? |
| @RyanLizza @JohnJHarwood Been saying this for months, he has established a massive audience and he'll eclipse Rush Limbaugh by multiples | @RyanLizza @JohnJHarwood Been saying this for months, he has established a massive audience and he'll eclipse Rush Limbaugh by multiples |
| Can’t tell us he’s not trying to win. Yet. | Can’t tell us he’s not trying to win. Yet. |
| 8.33pm BST | 8.33pm BST |
| 20:33 | 20:33 |
| Manafort: 'on to victory' | Manafort: 'on to victory' |
| Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has sent a memo to staff hailing “an exciting day for Team Trump”: | Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has sent a memo to staff hailing “an exciting day for Team Trump”: |
| Here is a memo that Paul Manafort sent to Trump campaign staffers re: Conway/Bannon hires today: "On to victory..." pic.twitter.com/gHi9fyO0y8 | Here is a memo that Paul Manafort sent to Trump campaign staffers re: Conway/Bannon hires today: "On to victory..." pic.twitter.com/gHi9fyO0y8 |
| 8.29pm BST | 8.29pm BST |
| 20:29 | 20:29 |
| Adam Gabbatt | Adam Gabbatt |
| Donald Trump doesn’t trust the media. He thinks the media is dishonest. | Donald Trump doesn’t trust the media. He thinks the media is dishonest. |
| We know this because he constantly sends emails to supporters regarding the “dishonest media”. | We know this because he constantly sends emails to supporters regarding the “dishonest media”. |
| In the past nine days he’s sent out two alone: on August 9 and on August 15. The latter went further. The Trump campaign now has “two opponents”, he said: Hillary Clinton and the “very dishonest” media. (He has also repeatedly criticised photojournalists and television cameras for allegedly not showing the crowds at his rallies and attacked individual reporters.) | In the past nine days he’s sent out two alone: on August 9 and on August 15. The latter went further. The Trump campaign now has “two opponents”, he said: Hillary Clinton and the “very dishonest” media. (He has also repeatedly criticised photojournalists and television cameras for allegedly not showing the crowds at his rallies and attacked individual reporters.) |
| Strange then, that Trump also regularly sends out links to favourable media articles. This week he sent those emails on Monday, Tuesday and today, with URLs taking readers to right-wing websites but also news organisations like the Washington Post – which he barred from attending his rallies in June – and NBC News. | Strange then, that Trump also regularly sends out links to favourable media articles. This week he sent those emails on Monday, Tuesday and today, with URLs taking readers to right-wing websites but also news organisations like the Washington Post – which he barred from attending his rallies in June – and NBC News. |
| If Trump says the media is not to be trusted, then by definition any positive media article written about him is not to be trusted. Including this one, I guess. | If Trump says the media is not to be trusted, then by definition any positive media article written about him is not to be trusted. Including this one, I guess. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 8.29pm BST | at 8.29pm BST |
| 7.50pm BST | 7.50pm BST |
| 19:50 | 19:50 |
| Conservative megadonor revealed as Breitbart underwriter | Conservative megadonor revealed as Breitbart underwriter |
| Megan Carpentier | Megan Carpentier |
| Ben Shapiro, the Los Angeles-based conservative firebrand and former Breitbart.com editor at large who resigned in the wake of the Michelle Fields upheaval, confirmed on Wednesday that one of the investors in Breitbart.com is reclusive conservative mega-donor Robert Mercer. (Rumors swirled in 2015 about Mercer’s investment in the site, but then-executive chairman Steve Bannon, who today became the newest hire by Donald Trump’s campaign, refused to confirm Mercer’s involvement.) | Ben Shapiro, the Los Angeles-based conservative firebrand and former Breitbart.com editor at large who resigned in the wake of the Michelle Fields upheaval, confirmed on Wednesday that one of the investors in Breitbart.com is reclusive conservative mega-donor Robert Mercer. (Rumors swirled in 2015 about Mercer’s investment in the site, but then-executive chairman Steve Bannon, who today became the newest hire by Donald Trump’s campaign, refused to confirm Mercer’s involvement.) |
| Mercer is a computer programmer by trade who applied his skills to a successful hedge fund, Renaissance Management, and has publicly spent more than $15m on conservative causes since 2015. He also funds a $36.7m non-profit, the Mercer Family Foundation, run by his daughter, Rebekah Mercer: it, in turn, funnels money into conservative non-profits like the Media Research Center (the conservative organization dedicated to exposing liberal bias in media), Citizens United (the non-profit behind the US supreme court case that upended American campaign finance laws) and the climate-denying Heartland Institute and Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, among others. | Mercer is a computer programmer by trade who applied his skills to a successful hedge fund, Renaissance Management, and has publicly spent more than $15m on conservative causes since 2015. He also funds a $36.7m non-profit, the Mercer Family Foundation, run by his daughter, Rebekah Mercer: it, in turn, funnels money into conservative non-profits like the Media Research Center (the conservative organization dedicated to exposing liberal bias in media), Citizens United (the non-profit behind the US supreme court case that upended American campaign finance laws) and the climate-denying Heartland Institute and Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, among others. |
| Mercer’s donations have gone to less mainstream causes as well, according to a report from Bloomberg, from conferences advocating a return to the gold standard and an activist convinced that climate change is a UN plot to “depopulate rural America”. | Mercer’s donations have gone to less mainstream causes as well, according to a report from Bloomberg, from conferences advocating a return to the gold standard and an activist convinced that climate change is a UN plot to “depopulate rural America”. |
| And Mercer’s cut checks for a veritable who’s-who of conservative darlings, from the Koch brothers’ Super Pac to current Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, from foreign policy hawk and perennial also-ran John Bolton to Ohio Senator Rob Portman, and from the fiscally conservative Club for Growth to the anti-abortion Women Speak Out Pac, an offshoot of the anti-abortion Susan B Anthony List. And he and his daughter were big, early backers of Senator Ted Cruz’s political ambitions, supporting his campaign and an affiliated Super Pac. | And Mercer’s cut checks for a veritable who’s-who of conservative darlings, from the Koch brothers’ Super Pac to current Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, from foreign policy hawk and perennial also-ran John Bolton to Ohio Senator Rob Portman, and from the fiscally conservative Club for Growth to the anti-abortion Women Speak Out Pac, an offshoot of the anti-abortion Susan B Anthony List. And he and his daughter were big, early backers of Senator Ted Cruz’s political ambitions, supporting his campaign and an affiliated Super Pac. |
| Interestingly, as Politico reported last year, Mercer is reportedly an investor in Cambridge Analytics, which uses microtargeting and psychographic analysis to help campaigns – like Cruz’s – reach voters that its algorithms deem persuadable. Politico reported that “nearly 93 percent of the $2.6 million Cambridge Analytica has received in traceable federal payments has come from committees to which the Mercers donated generously”. | Interestingly, as Politico reported last year, Mercer is reportedly an investor in Cambridge Analytics, which uses microtargeting and psychographic analysis to help campaigns – like Cruz’s – reach voters that its algorithms deem persuadable. Politico reported that “nearly 93 percent of the $2.6 million Cambridge Analytica has received in traceable federal payments has come from committees to which the Mercers donated generously”. |
| Microtargeting involves collecting or buying a whole host of personally identifiable data – compiled from everything from tracking cookies monitoring people’s web habits to purchase data (sometime compiled using store discount cards) and responses to online surveys and petitions – and matching it with voter data to build detailed dossiers on voters to use in online and even mobile advertising. Cruz’s campaign claimed in an NPR interview to have 4,000 points of data on every single American voter because of Cambridge Analytics; the company told NPR that “hundreds of thousands” of Americans had taken their 120-point personality test. | Microtargeting involves collecting or buying a whole host of personally identifiable data – compiled from everything from tracking cookies monitoring people’s web habits to purchase data (sometime compiled using store discount cards) and responses to online surveys and petitions – and matching it with voter data to build detailed dossiers on voters to use in online and even mobile advertising. Cruz’s campaign claimed in an NPR interview to have 4,000 points of data on every single American voter because of Cambridge Analytics; the company told NPR that “hundreds of thousands” of Americans had taken their 120-point personality test. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 7.51pm BST | at 7.51pm BST |
| 7.33pm BST | 7.33pm BST |
| 19:33 | 19:33 |
| Genius behind taco bowl tweet was Trump family member | Genius behind taco bowl tweet was Trump family member |
| OK, which family member had the brilliant idea for the Trump taco bowl tweet? Ivanka? Eric? Don Jr? Melania? Barron? Tiffany? Are we missing anyone? | OK, which family member had the brilliant idea for the Trump taco bowl tweet? Ivanka? Eric? Don Jr? Melania? Barron? Tiffany? Are we missing anyone? |
| The Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman captures the scene in a report on the fall of Manafort: | The Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman captures the scene in a report on the fall of Manafort: |
| Manafort had reason to know this from the start ― and reason to know that his advice would be ignored. | Manafort had reason to know this from the start ― and reason to know that his advice would be ignored. |
| The taco bowl incident, trivial though it was, is one example. On Cinco de Mayo, Trump happened to be eating a taco bowl for lunch at his desk in Trump Tower. Manafort was in the office with other aides when a member of the family suggested they tweet a picture of Trump enjoying his “Mexican” lunch. | The taco bowl incident, trivial though it was, is one example. On Cinco de Mayo, Trump happened to be eating a taco bowl for lunch at his desk in Trump Tower. Manafort was in the office with other aides when a member of the family suggested they tweet a picture of Trump enjoying his “Mexican” lunch. |
| Manafort politely suggested that this might be seen as condescending and cautioned against it. The tweet went out. Trump himself was delighted by the resulting controversy. “The people who were offended were people we wanted to offend,” he later said. | Manafort politely suggested that this might be seen as condescending and cautioned against it. The tweet went out. Trump himself was delighted by the resulting controversy. “The people who were offended were people we wanted to offend,” he later said. |
| Read the full piece here. | Read the full piece here. |
| 7.22pm BST | 7.22pm BST |
| 19:22 | 19:22 |
| UPDATE: Breitbart has denied that political editor Matthew Boyle is joining the Trump campaign. | UPDATE: Breitbart has denied that political editor Matthew Boyle is joining the Trump campaign. |
| Breitbart's Matt Boyle's not joining Trump campaign. "Absolutely 100% false," EIC Alex Marlow tells me. | Breitbart's Matt Boyle's not joining Trump campaign. "Absolutely 100% false," EIC Alex Marlow tells me. |
| Here’s our original post on the topic: | Here’s our original post on the topic: |
| Reports are cropping up that Breitbart political editor Matthew Boyle is going to work for Trump alongside his boss Steve Bannon. Click through for details or simply admire this Ron Paul gif: | Reports are cropping up that Breitbart political editor Matthew Boyle is going to work for Trump alongside his boss Steve Bannon. Click through for details or simply admire this Ron Paul gif: |
| https://t.co/26VZw8YScO pic.twitter.com/j2XAbpccWH | https://t.co/26VZw8YScO pic.twitter.com/j2XAbpccWH |
| Post-update: | Post-update: |
| Now we can continue to trust Boyle's reporting on Trump as 100% objective https://t.co/dtLVP05ztT | Now we can continue to trust Boyle's reporting on Trump as 100% objective https://t.co/dtLVP05ztT |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 7.28pm BST | at 7.28pm BST |
| 7.02pm BST | 7.02pm BST |
| 19:02 | 19:02 |
| Breitbart CEO calls Bannon 'a huge piece of manpower' | Breitbart CEO calls Bannon 'a huge piece of manpower' |
| Breitbart statement on Bannon joining campaign: pic.twitter.com/QY6RcY6jVI | Breitbart statement on Bannon joining campaign: pic.twitter.com/QY6RcY6jVI |
| 6.52pm BST | 6.52pm BST |
| 18:52 | 18:52 |
| Clinton: 'there is no new Donald Trump' | Clinton: 'there is no new Donald Trump' |
| Clinton alludes to the deckchair rearrangement on luxury liner Trump and says it does not matter: | Clinton alludes to the deckchair rearrangement on luxury liner Trump and says it does not matter: |
| He can hire and fire whoever he wants from his campaign. They can make him read new words from a teleprompter. But he is still the same man who insults gold star families, mocks people with disabilities and thinks he knows more about Isis than our generals. There is no new Donald Trump – this is it. | He can hire and fire whoever he wants from his campaign. They can make him read new words from a teleprompter. But he is still the same man who insults gold star families, mocks people with disabilities and thinks he knows more about Isis than our generals. There is no new Donald Trump – this is it. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 6.57pm BST | at 6.57pm BST |
| 6.45pm BST | 6.45pm BST |
| 18:45 | 18:45 |
| This new swing-state poll of likely voters bears the same old good news for Clinton in Virginia and Colorado (note: Quinnipiac ran its survey from August 9-16, meaning before the bombshell news overnight that Trump had hired the Breitbart bigshot to run his campaign; unskew accordingly). | This new swing-state poll of likely voters bears the same old good news for Clinton in Virginia and Colorado (note: Quinnipiac ran its survey from August 9-16, meaning before the bombshell news overnight that Trump had hired the Breitbart bigshot to run his campaign; unskew accordingly). |
| New @QuinnipiacPoll release:CO: Clinton 49, Trump 39IA: Clinton 47, Trump 44VA: Clinton 50, Trump 38https://t.co/nfPXJdKcc5 | New @QuinnipiacPoll release:CO: Clinton 49, Trump 39IA: Clinton 47, Trump 44VA: Clinton 50, Trump 38https://t.co/nfPXJdKcc5 |
| Polling averages have Clinton up by seven in Colorado, two in Iowa and seven in Virginia. A Washington Post poll of Virginia released yesterday had Clinton up eight among likely voters. | Polling averages have Clinton up by seven in Colorado, two in Iowa and seven in Virginia. A Washington Post poll of Virginia released yesterday had Clinton up eight among likely voters. |
| Friendly reminder without VA/CO Trump *must* win PA/FL/OH/NC to be POTUSNB: He cant win PANB2: POTUS race is over https://t.co/SaSOWQvx4g | Friendly reminder without VA/CO Trump *must* win PA/FL/OH/NC to be POTUSNB: He cant win PANB2: POTUS race is over https://t.co/SaSOWQvx4g |
| Awfully difficult to get Trump to 270 electoral votes when Clinton has big leads in states totaling 273 electoral votes. | Awfully difficult to get Trump to 270 electoral votes when Clinton has big leads in states totaling 273 electoral votes. |
| Clinton seems to be leading. Dems seem to be leading in IL, IN, NH, PA, & WI. Good enough for control of the Senate. | Clinton seems to be leading. Dems seem to be leading in IL, IN, NH, PA, & WI. Good enough for control of the Senate. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 6.59pm BST | at 6.59pm BST |
| 6.33pm BST | 6.33pm BST |
| 18:33 | 18:33 |
| Newly minted campaign manager argues there are secret Trump voters not reflected in polls | Newly minted campaign manager argues there are secret Trump voters not reflected in polls |
| Lauren Gambino | Lauren Gambino |
| The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino with the pool of reporters tracking Donald Trump today in Manhattan. She spoke with Kellyanne Conway, the pollster promoted to campaign manager in the overnight Trump campaign shake-up. | The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino with the pool of reporters tracking Donald Trump today in Manhattan. She spoke with Kellyanne Conway, the pollster promoted to campaign manager in the overnight Trump campaign shake-up. |
| “Now we see a number of voters who are not coming clean about their support for Donald Trump,” Conway tells Lauren. And don’t call it a shake-up: | “Now we see a number of voters who are not coming clean about their support for Donald Trump,” Conway tells Lauren. And don’t call it a shake-up: |
| “This is an expansion at an incredibly busy time, the last 12-week homestretch for the campaign. We look at personnel as more as more. With Paul continuing as our chairman and Rick Gates as his deputy, Stephen Bannon and I have been added to what I would call the “core four” of that senior team and we’re going to divide responsibilities according to our best an highest uses.” | “This is an expansion at an incredibly busy time, the last 12-week homestretch for the campaign. We look at personnel as more as more. With Paul continuing as our chairman and Rick Gates as his deputy, Stephen Bannon and I have been added to what I would call the “core four” of that senior team and we’re going to divide responsibilities according to our best an highest uses.” |
| Q: How will she and Bannon work together? | Q: How will she and Bannon work together? |
| “Steve Bannon and I have tremendous respect for each other as colleagues and as friends and we also have the trust of Donald Trump the candidate. You first of all have the trust of the candidate and the latitude … We have different styles but we have one vision.” | “Steve Bannon and I have tremendous respect for each other as colleagues and as friends and we also have the trust of Donald Trump the candidate. You first of all have the trust of the candidate and the latitude … We have different styles but we have one vision.” |
| She said she expects to hit the campaign field and TV circuit while Bannon mans the HQ at Trump Tower. | She said she expects to hit the campaign field and TV circuit while Bannon mans the HQ at Trump Tower. |
| Q: Is the race over or just getting started? | Q: Is the race over or just getting started? |
| “Two or three things we’ve all learned about Donald Trump is No 1: Don’t underestimate him. No 2: You know he exceeds expectations and No 3: he also exceeds the metrics that are usually at play, meaning he over performed many of his polling averages in the primaries and the caucuses. But now we see a number of voters who are not coming clean about their support for Donald Trump. I can’t find a single hidden Hilary Clinton voter in the country. I’ve been looking for him or her. They all seem to be out, proudly saying that their voting for Hillary Clinton. | “Two or three things we’ve all learned about Donald Trump is No 1: Don’t underestimate him. No 2: You know he exceeds expectations and No 3: he also exceeds the metrics that are usually at play, meaning he over performed many of his polling averages in the primaries and the caucuses. But now we see a number of voters who are not coming clean about their support for Donald Trump. I can’t find a single hidden Hilary Clinton voter in the country. I’ve been looking for him or her. They all seem to be out, proudly saying that their voting for Hillary Clinton. |
| “In the case of Mr. Trump, the race isn’t over because August is not October let alone November.” | “In the case of Mr. Trump, the race isn’t over because August is not October let alone November.” |
| Q: How does Manafort fit in on the new team?: | Q: How does Manafort fit in on the new team?: |
| “We would hope and expect Paul continues to do many of things he’s been doing. He’s just been doing the job of three or four people. We’re there to help him in that regard and he’s there to help us.” | “We would hope and expect Paul continues to do many of things he’s been doing. He’s just been doing the job of three or four people. We’re there to help him in that regard and he’s there to help us.” |
| 6.27pm BST | 6.27pm BST |
| 18:27 | 18:27 |
| Clinton has just taken the stage in Cleveland. Scroll back a couple blocks for the live video! | Clinton has just taken the stage in Cleveland. Scroll back a couple blocks for the live video! |
| 6.26pm BST | 6.26pm BST |
| 18:26 | 18:26 |
| Trump: 'the Democratic party has failed the African American community' | Trump: 'the Democratic party has failed the African American community' |
| Just before appointing the head of a web site that traffics in racist conspiracy theories to run his campaign, Trump made a pitch, in a speech in Wisconsin last night, to African American voters. | Just before appointing the head of a web site that traffics in racist conspiracy theories to run his campaign, Trump made a pitch, in a speech in Wisconsin last night, to African American voters. |
| “It’s time to give the Democrats some competition for these votes,” Trump said: | “It’s time to give the Democrats some competition for these votes,” Trump said: |
| Here’s our news coverage of Trump’s speech: | Here’s our news coverage of Trump’s speech: |
| 6.16pm BST | 6.16pm BST |
| 18:16 | 18:16 |
| Here’s that live video stream from Cleveland, where Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear before long (actually she’s scheduled to appear right this minute but let’s be honest): | Here’s that live video stream from Cleveland, where Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear before long (actually she’s scheduled to appear right this minute but let’s be honest): |
| 6.13pm BST | 6.13pm BST |
| 18:13 | 18:13 |
| Who will stand to gainsay him? | Who will stand to gainsay him? |
| .@benshapiro on Trump on @CNN just now: "A turd tornado. It's like Sharknado, but with poop." | .@benshapiro on Trump on @CNN just now: "A turd tornado. It's like Sharknado, but with poop." |
| 6.11pm BST | 6.11pm BST |
| 18:11 | 18:11 |
| Good news for Donald Trump in Indiana, which succumbed in 2008 to the charms of Barack Obama: a new Monmouth poll has the Republican candidate 11 points ahead of rival Hillary Clinton. Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, is the current Indiana governor. | Good news for Donald Trump in Indiana, which succumbed in 2008 to the charms of Barack Obama: a new Monmouth poll has the Republican candidate 11 points ahead of rival Hillary Clinton. Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, is the current Indiana governor. |
| The poll contains perhaps better news, though, for Democrats, for whom picking up the US senate seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Dan Coats is a crucial part of a plan to regain the senate majority. | The poll contains perhaps better news, though, for Democrats, for whom picking up the US senate seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Dan Coats is a crucial part of a plan to regain the senate majority. |
| Democrat Evan Bayh, a former Hoosier governor and senator, is seven points up on congressman Todd Young in the poll. There haven’t been enough polls to establish a meaningful average in the senate race. | Democrat Evan Bayh, a former Hoosier governor and senator, is seven points up on congressman Todd Young in the poll. There haven’t been enough polls to establish a meaningful average in the senate race. |
| A non-partisan poll from Monmouth has Bayh up 7 in Indiana. https://t.co/ae9axaEcek (Trump leads by 11.) | A non-partisan poll from Monmouth has Bayh up 7 in Indiana. https://t.co/ae9axaEcek (Trump leads by 11.) |