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Donald Trump, Somewhat Subdued, Admits He Might Lose Election Donald Trump, Somewhat Subdued, Admits He Might Lose Election
(about 3 hours later)
Donald J. Trump projected confidence on Friday, but also seemed to prepare for at least the possibility of an Election Day loss, as he and Hillary Clinton courted their supporters with competing public events for the first time in more than a week. CLEVELAND — Hillary Clinton entered the final phase of her campaign on Friday, working to ensure a victory that is decisive enough to earn a mandate for her presidency and a surge of voters to help Democrats win congressional races.
Their rallies in swing states came after two days of scripted incivility that sometimes bordered on the surreal, with the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday at times seeming to mimic a “Saturday Night Live” parody (“You’re the puppet!” Mr. Trump told his rival), and a white-tie gala Thursday evening where Mr. Trump managed to provoke boos and jeers at a charity dinner. Emerging from a nine-day absence from the trail, Mrs. Clinton seized on the momentum of her performance in the final presidential debate, choosing Ohio — a battleground state where she has struggled the most against Donald J. Trump — as her first stop on a four-day swing. With new polls showing Mrs. Clinton closing in on Mr. Trump in the state, her campaign is glimpsing the opportunity for a clean sweep of traditional swing states.
But Friday, just 18 days from the election, seemed to mark at least a momentary return to regular order. Reminding voters of Mr. Trump’s refusal in Wednesday’s debate to say definitively he would accept the outcome on Election Day, Mrs. Clinton said that as secretary of state she had visited countries whose leaders jailed political opponents and invalidated elections they did not win. “We know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship,” she said.
Addressing a rally in Fletcher, N.C., in the more rural western part of the state, Mr. Trump offered a slightly more restrained version of his typically freewheeling speech, largely seeming to hew to his prepared remarks. She also portrayed herself as a the candidate who could attract independent, undecided and even Republican voters unhappy with Mr. Trump’s campaign. “I want to say something to people who may be reconsidering their support of my opponent,” she said. “I know you still may have questions for me, I respect that. I want to answer them. I want to earn your vote.”
Gone were his complaints of a “rigged” and “stolen” election — which have drawn condemnation by Democrats and Republicans alike — and he did not, as he has recently, try to beat back accusations from 10 women who have come forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual advances. Her stop here marked the start of a rare multiday tour of swing states as the Clinton campaign revved up its efforts to decisively defeat Mr. Trump on Nov. 8, including releasing a powerful minute-long ad featuring Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. The ad featuring Mr. Khan, who was attacked by Mr. Trump after he spoke at the Democratic convention, will run in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina as well as other crucial states.
Instead, Mr. Trump offered an unusually candid, if still self-congratulatory, assessment of his debate performances — “I think the first one was fine, I think we won, easily, the second one, and the third one was our best,” he said — and acknowledged the possibility that he might not end up in the White House, after all. With Mrs. Clinton holding a healthy lead in most national polls, Democrats have turned their focus to trying to ensure victory by as large a margin as possible, deploying Michelle Obama in Arizona and President Obama in Florida. The larger the victory, the less Mr. Trump and his supporters can claim foul play, Mrs. Clinton’s allies said.
The Trump campaign has said that Mr. Trump plans to increase his schedule in the final weeks, potentially holding as many as six rallies a day. Mr. Trump explained that he wanted to have no regrets should he lose. A month ago, Ohio seemed to be aligning as a Trump stronghold, as its large bloc of white working-class voters responded to Mr. Trump’s economic populism and America-first message. But the state is now back in play, with a poll from Suffolk University in Boston showing a tied race in the state.
“I don’t know what kind of shape I’m in, but I’ll be happy, and at least I will have known, win, lose or draw — and I’m almost sure, if the people come out, we’re going to win — I will be happy with myself,” he said. “I don’t want to think back, ‘If only I did one more rally, I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes.’” Mrs. Clinton’s afternoon rally at a community college in Cleveland, the heart of Democratic strength in Ohio, was aimed at increasing early voting, which began last week.
“I never want to ever look back,” he continued: “I never want to say that about myself. We have to work.” While early voting has traditionally been a Democratic strength in Ohio, the data shows potential complications for Mrs. Clinton on this front. Requests for early ballots are down 22.3 percent in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is, compared with the same period in 2012. Requests are also off 12.7 percent in Franklin County, which includes Columbus, the capital, according to data compiled by Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor who studies voter turnout.
Mr. Trump’s team increasingly views North Carolina as a state critical to a victory in November, along with states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mr. Trump’s running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, visited the same town just last week. A decided advantage for Mrs. Clinton here is the strength of Democrats’ grass-roots efforts. The party has leased 93 offices statewide, according to Chris Wyant, the Clinton campaign director in Ohio.
But Mr. Trump also showed some trademark flourishes during his rally. He attacked both President Obama and his wife, Michelle, by name, saying they were too focused on campaigning for his Democratic rival. “We have a bunch of babies running our country, folks,” he said. “We have a bunch of losers. They’re losers, they’re babies.” Mr. Trump’s Ohio director cut ties recently with the state’s Republican chairman, Matt Borges, over Mr. Borges’s sharply worded public doubts about Mr. Trump. “They have an internal civil war on the Republican side,” Brian Fallon, Mrs. Clinton press secretary, told reporters here.
And later, at a rally in Johnstown, Pa., Mr. Trump took the stage with a renewed vigor (“I just got caught in the rain,” he bellowed, “how does my hair look?”), complaining of a “rigged system” (“Don’t ever forget it,” he said.) “Donald Trump is probably slightly ahead, but Ohio is really a symbol of the progress we’ve made in the past two weeks since the first debate,” he added.
Speaking to the gutted mill town, Mr. Trump cast himself as the champion of Pennsylvania’s working class. “The iron and steels forged in your mills formed the backbone of our nation,” he said, promising to bring prosperity back to the region. You were the leading steal producer in the United States — did you know that? Ohio is not essential to Mrs. Clinton’s road to the White House. She could lose it and still romp through the Electoral College given her dominance in other swing states like Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado, according to polls.
Mr. Trump spent the day hopscotching to rallies in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, a state where Mrs. Clinton has built a formidable lead. While he projected confidence at a rally in Fletcher, N.C., he also seemed to prepare for at least the possibility of an Election Day loss.
“I don’t know what kind of shape I’m in, but I’ll be happy, and at least I will have known, win, lose or draw — and I’m almost sure, if the people come out, we’re going to win — I will be happy with myself,” he said.
At his rally in Fletcher, he offered a slightly more restrained version of his typically freewheeling speech, largely hewing to his prepared remarks.
Gone were his complaints of a “rigged” and “stolen” election — they have drawn condemnation by Democrats and Republicans alike — and he did not, as he has recently, try to counter accusations from the 10 women who have come forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual advances.
The Trump campaign has said that it plans to increase Mr. Trump’s schedule in the final weeks, potentially holding as many as six rallies a day. Mr. Trump explained that he wanted to have no regrets, should he lose.
“I don’t want to think back, ‘If only I did one more rally, I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes.’”
Mr. Trump’s team increasingly views North Carolina as a state that is critical to a victory in November, along with others like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mr. Trump’s running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, visited the same town just last week.
At a rally later on Friday in Johnstown, Pa., Mr. Trump took the stage with a renewed vigor — “I just got caught in the rain,” he bellowed, “how does my hair look?” — and he returned to his theme of a “rigged system.”
Speaking to a crowd in the mill town, Mr. Trump cast himself as the champion of Pennsylvania’s working class. “The iron and steels forged in your mills formed the backbone of our nation,” he said, promising to bring prosperity back to the region. “You were the leading steel producer in the United States — did you know that?”
In Cleveland, Mrs. Clinton accused Mr. Trump of buying Chinese-made steel for his high-rise buildings. “I’m going to let Donald try to explain himself to the steelworker filing for unemployment,” she said.
Seemingly energized by the more raucous Pennsylvania crowd, Mr. Trump ended his rally with a call to victory. “We will win,” he said. “We will shock the world.”Seemingly energized by the more raucous Pennsylvania crowd, Mr. Trump ended his rally with a call to victory. “We will win,” he said. “We will shock the world.”
Then, Mr. Trump, who on the eve of a campaign trip to Scotland admitted he did not really understand the nuances of the Brexit vote, ended with an ebullient rallying cry. His win in November, he said, would be “Brexit-Plus.”
With Mr. Trump rallying supporters in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Mrs. Clinton’s return to the campaign trail after nine days, including a week off to prepare for the final debate, was taking her once again to Ohio, a fiercely contested battleground.
A new poll, by Suffolk University in Boston, of likely Ohio voters shows the presidential race there tied, an improvement for Mrs. Clinton over the recent trend in Ohio.
Mr. Trump had led in Ohio polls recently, as its large bloc of white, working-class voters seemed to be realigning the usually closely fought state to Mr. Trump’s economic populism and America-first message.
Mrs. Clinton’s afternoon rally at a community college in Cleveland, the heart of Democratic strength in Ohio, was meant to encourage early voting. President Obama twice won the state, in large part, because of organizing efforts that turned out early voters. In a troubling sign for Mrs. Clinton, the early-vote numbers this year are not encouraging.
Requests for early ballots are down 22.3 percent in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, compared with the same period in 2012, and they are off 12.7 percent in Franklin County, which includes Columbus, the state capital, according to data compiled by Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor who studies voter turnout.