Aug.25
Political News, Now.
At Donald Trump Event, Jorge Ramos of Univision Is Snubbed, Ejected and Debated
Univision Anchor Ejected at Trump Event
The anchor Jorge Ramos was thrown out of a campaign news conference in Iowa for the Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.
By REUTERS on August 25, 2015. Photo by Ben Brewer/Reuters.
DUBUQUE, Iowa – A journalist for the Spanish-language network Univision who asked Donald J. Trump about immigration was mocked by the candidate, then escorted out of a news conference here on Tuesday evening.
Jorge Ramos, an anchor for Univision news shows based in Miami, stood and began asking a question just as Mr. Trump recognized another reporter. “Excuse me, sit down. You weren’t called,” Mr. Trump told him. “Sit down. Sit down.”
Mr. Ramos asked Mr. Trump about his call to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country and build a wall the length of the Mexican border.
“You haven’t been called, go back to Univision,” Mr. Trump said.
As security officers approached Mr. Ramos, a Mexican-American, he said: “I am a reporter. Don’t touch me. I have a right to ask the question.”
Mr. Trump was silent as Mr. Ramos, an Emmy-winning journalist who was on the cover of Time magazine’s World’s Most Influential People issue, was removed from the room. Several other journalists asked Mr. Trump why he refused to take questions from Mr. Ramos. The billionaire real estate investor, who is leading in Republican polls for the presidential nomination, said it was because he had asked a question without being called on.
In an interview on CNN on Monday, Mr. Ramos accused Mr. Trump of “spreading hate” with his calls for mass deportations of undocumented families and repealing birthright citizenship granted by the Constitution.
“This is personal,” Mr. Ramos told CNN. “When he’s talking about immigrants, he’s talking about me.”
About 15 minutes after his ejection on Tuesday, Mr. Ramos returned, and he and Mr. Trump engaged in a long back-and-forth about Mr. Trump’simmigration proposals, frequently talking past each other.
Mr. Ramos said that building a border wall would be futile because 40 percent of undocumented immigrants arrive by plane. “I don’t believe it,” Mr. Trump said.
“How are you going to deport 11 million?” Mr. Ramos asked.
“Very humanely,” Mr. Trump said.
At one point, Mr. Trump pressed Mr. Ramos to tell him how much Mr. Trump was suing Univision for, after the network dropped coverage of Mr. Trump’s Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants because of his remarks about Mexican immigrants. Mr. Trump answered his own question: $500 million.
Mr. Trump insisted he would win the Latino vote. Mr. Ramos cited a poll saying that 75 percent of Latinos hold an unfavorable opinion of him.
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Jeb Bush’s Emails as Governor Show His Feelings on Same-Sex Marriage
The exchange is raw, personal and angry: Xavier Cortada, a gay friend of Jeb Bush, then the governor of Florida, sent him an email on March 3, 2004, with a plea.
Mr. Cortada, an artist, was alarmed that Mr. Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush, was proposing to amend the Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage – and was unsettled that the governor backed the idea.
“When one of us is denied equality, then all of us are denied liberty,” Mr. Cortada wrote to Mr. Bush. “Today, I am feeling particularly denied and particularly unequal.”
Could they discuss this further, Mr. Cortada asked?
Mr. Bush’s reply is polite and sensitive, but at times clinical and moralistic — he writes of “contractual obligations.” The governor ultimately seems unmoved by the letter’s demand for equality.
“I don’t believe that your relationship should be afforded the same status in the law as a man and a woman agreeing to marriage,” he wrote.
The letter is one of dozens at the heart of a new e-book by Mr. Bush, titled “Reply All,” that goes on sale Tuesday night. It is a memoir of his governorship told through the email exchanges he had with staff members, the news media and residents of Florida.
Mr. Bush was known for his devotion to email as governor, giving his address out to the public and spending 25 to 30 hours a week writing and responding to messages.
Many are serious. In one email, the brother of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose husband and family feuded over her end of life care, thanked Mr. Bush for intervening to try to keep her alive. Other messages are humorous. Mr. Bush repeatedly employed the emoticon for a smile, concluding one email “:) :)”
Below is Mr. Bush’s exchange with Mr. Cortada, with an introduction by Mr. Bush:
This exchange about same-sex marriage was with a gay friend. I abhor discrimination of any kind. Because of my Catholic faith, I believe marriage is a sacrament best reserved for a man and woman. While I disagree with the decision made by the US Supreme Court, we now need to strike a balance between respecting the religious freedom of the American people and ensuring gay and lesbian families are not discriminated against in our society.
From: Xavier Cortada
Subject: I have some personal insight on gay marriage that I think you will find useful
Subject: I have some personal insight on gay marriage that I think you will find useful
I just received an email (below) forwarding a letter sent by Bette Midler to the president about his support for a Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage. I understand you also support the proposed Amendment and ban.The president’s rationale (during the State of the Union address) is that “activist” judges are usurping the democratic process, but how would today’s jurists be any different from those in the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education case you mentioned to in your State of the State speech yesterday? Fifty years ago, that “activist” Court did not just do right by those school children (who were being treated unequally); but the case was a blessing for the rest of our nation (which was being denied the right to live in a free and open society). When one of us is denied equality, then all of us are denied liberty.Today, I am feeling particularly denied and particularly unequal. My life partner, Juan Carlos, and I have been together for eight years and are being denied rights afforded to others who can legally marry. Worst, I feel suffocated — living in a society where liberty evaporates with every attack on people who happen to be gay — and I see it can only get worse as this debate rages on. The problem is not just the homophobia and violence (remember Matthew Shepard?) that this marginalization generates, but also the image that is generated in society at large: Gays and lesbians as second class citizens. For our beloved Country this would mean that “all are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Nothing can be more threatening to a democracy.When you have a chance, I’d like to talk to you — and perhaps your brother — about this. Open dialogue is always healthy.Call me — or email me — when you have a chance.
From: Jeb Bush
Thank you for writing and I apologize for not responding earlier. The tyranny of the present has gotten me!I am sensitive to your point of view but respectfully disagree. If there is discrimination, there are remedies. The cases of violence against gay and lesbians are unconscionable and the laws in Florida exist to bring justice. Your relationship with Juan Carlos can be made more permanent through contractual obligations that set forth asset disposition and other issues. However, I don’t believe that your relationship should be afforded the same status in the law as a man and a woman agreeing to marraige. The institution of marraige is under attack in our society and it needs to be strengthened. This does not have to be at the expense of other kinds of relationships but in support of the most important institution in our society.We can discuss this if you like and again, I am expressing my opinion with the respect that you deserve.Jeb
Chris Christie Pushes Cory Booker to Oppose Iran Deal
Gov. Chris Christie stood before an audience on Tuesday as “the leader of our state,” the golden seal of New Jersey adorning the lectern before him, and excoriated President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, accusing the president of lying to the American people and putting the entire world in danger.
“Not only is this a bad agreement, but we have the president of the United States directly lying to the American people to try to force this through a reluctant and a concerned Congress,” Mr. Christie said at a news conference at the Chabad House at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
Mr. Christie has made his position on the Iran deal a key component of his presidential campaign, and on Tuesday he reiterated many of the critiques that have peppered his stump speech for the past month, as he has sought to stake his claim as the Republican candidate with the best relationship with Israel and the most hawkish stance toward Iran.
The event, held with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who has been an outspoken opponent of the deal, was held under the guise of persuading “the congressional delegation of New Jersey” to oppose the Iran deal, but Mr. Christie and Mr. Boteach had one particular lawmaker in mind: Senator Cory Booker. The senator’s name was repeatedly mentioned by Mr. Christie and Mr. Boteach, who spoke along with Senator Robert Menendez, who has already come out against the deal. They even evoked memories of Hurricane Sandy as a time when the New Jersey congressional delegation “stood together” regardless of party. (Mr. Booker and Mr. Menendez are Democrats.)
“For those who have not yet announced their position, particularly to my friend Senator Cory Booker, this cannot be about politics and it cannot be accepting the flawed idea that a bad deal is better than no deal,” Mr. Christie said, later calling on Mr. Booker to be “a strong, direct and powerful moral voice” in speaking out against the deal.
Both Mr. Christie and Mr. Boteach lavished compliments on Mr. Booker; Mr. Boteach referred to the senator as “one of the finest people I know” and said they were “like brothers”; Mr. Christie called Mr. Booker a “bright and reasonable man.”
They had less kind words for Mr. Obama. Mr. Christie accused the president of lacking “moral clarity” and of being “obsessed with his own legacy.”
Mr. Christie has been an outspoken critic of the Iran deal since its inception, sending out a statement saying “the president is playing dangerous games with our national security” and that Mr. Obama “should have walked away.” And the governor has since ratcheted up his language against the deal, gravely referring to it as “the very worst moment of the Obama presidency,” and calling Iran “the greatest long-term threat to the United States.”
Mr. Christie addressed the issue as he finds himself struggling to stay in the top 10 in polling to qualify for the next Republican debate, and his coaxing of Mr. Booker, a popular figure in New Jersey, provides a win-win for the governor: either Mr. Christie persuades an ally to go against his party and vote against the deal, or he attracts attention for making the effort.
Mr. Booker, for his part, still hasn’t made up his mind and seemed less than enthused with Mr. Christie’s public statement.
“Senator Booker will make his decision on the Iran deal based upon what he believes is best for America’s national security regardless of political pressure, lobbying or theatrics,” Silvia Alvarez, a spokeswoman for Mr. Booker, said in a statement. “The senator’s decision will be derived from thorough and thoughtful analysis of all the facts, evidence and information as well as from consultation with a wide and diverse array of experts.”
Patty Murray Comes Out in Support of Iran Nuclear Deal
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the only member of the Democratic leadership who had not weighed in on the Iran nuclear deal, broke her silence on Tuesday and threw her weight behind the accord.
“This is not a perfect deal, and there are several elements I would like to be stronger,” she said in a lengthy statement. “But after working my way through the details and the alternatives, losing a lot of sleep, and having a lot of good conversations with so many people — I am convinced that moving forward with this deal is the best chance we have at a strong diplomatic solution, it puts us in a stronger position no matter what Iran chooses to do, and it keeps all of our options on the table if Iran doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain.”
With Ms. Murray’s decision, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who is in line to lead the the chamber’s Democratic Caucus in 2017, stands alone among party leaders in his opposition. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the current minority leader, and Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, have been working assiduously to keep defections from President Obama’s top foreign policy priority to a minimum.
So far only two Senate Democrats — Mr. Schumer and Robert Menendez of New Jersey — have come out in opposition. Ms. Murray’s decision could prove influential on other undecided Democrats, including her fellow Washingtonian senator, Maria Cantwell; Oregon’s two senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley; and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.
With momentum in the president’s favor, Democratic leaders have set their sights on not just sustaining a promised veto of a Republican resolution to scuttle the nuclear accord, but on holding enough Democrats to filibuster such a resolution before it can get out of the Senate. Opponents of the deal need all 54 Republican senators to vote for the resolution of disapproval — a likely outcome — and to win over four Democrats.
Joe Biden to Hold Unusual Call With Democratic Party Officials
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. may not be attending the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting this week, but he’s making his presence felt as he mulls a run for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination against Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernie Sanders and others who will be speaking at the party gathering.
Hundreds of committee members – whose political networks and support can be crucial to winning the nomination – were invited on Tuesday to an unusual conference call with Mr. Biden to discuss the Iran nuclear deal. According to the invitation, Mr. Biden will “discuss the provisions of the agreement” during the conference call, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, a day before the party members begin their conclave in Minneapolis. Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Sanders and other Democratic presidential candidates are scheduled to speak at the party’s session on Friday.
Two committee members who received the invitation said that they could not remember a conference call before with Mr. Biden on a foreign policy issue – and added that they took it as a sign that, at the least, he wants to make sure he is on the political radar of party members before they hear from Mrs. Clinton and others on Friday. The White House has held policy briefings with committee members from time to time, including one recently on trade. A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee declined to comment on the Biden call.
Supporters of Mr. Biden will also be a force at the meeting. According to an email to party members from Draft Biden, a group encouraging Mr. Biden to run for president, four informal briefings will be held on Thursday and Friday at the Minneapolis Hilton, where the party meeting is taking place. Joshua Alcorn, senior adviser to Draft Biden, wrote in the email that he “wanted to share with you Draft Biden’s thoughts on the 2016 Democratic Primary,” according to a copy of the email that Democratic committee members shared with the Times.
“I hope you will come to one of our sessions and hear us out,” Mr. Alcorn wrote. “All we ask is that you keep an open mind and consider Joe Biden.”
Mr. Alcorn did not return a phone call seeking comment on Tuesday.
Allies of Mr. Biden have said that he will decide over the next month or so about whether to seek the 2016 nomination.
Megyn Kelly Draws Support After Latest Donald Trump Attacks
By midmorning Tuesday, the Twitter posts in defense of the Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly were rolling in from her colleagues, one digital burst of support after another.
From Dana Perino, a co-host of Fox New’s “The Five”:
The intelligence, class & grace of @megynkelly shined last night after her week's vacation with her family. I'll be on#kellyfile Wed night.— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) August 25, 2015
From Brian Kilmeade, “Fox & Friends” host:
i like @realDonaldTrump but his personal & professional attacks on @megynkelly r unwarranted-unacceptable- has 2 stop- @foxandfriends— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) August 25, 2015
And from Bret Baier, Fox New’s chief political anchor who, along with Ms. Kelly and Chris Wallace, moderated the first Republican debate this month:
It's been 19 days since the debate- @realDonaldTrump has made his feelings clear. But THIS needs to stophttp://t.co/8BmVPZTGdp #let-it-go— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) August 25, 2015
When Donald Trump had first attacked Ms. Kelly following the first Republican debate — which drew record ratings for the network and where Ms. Kelly asked him a pointed question about his treatment of women — the response strategy seemed clear: Fox News, and Ms. Kelly, planned to take the high road.
Roger Ailes, the Fox News chairman, issued the first of several statements of support for Ms. Kelly the day after the debate, and Ms. Kelly herself briefly addressed the real estate mogul’s criticism of her — which included comments where he seemed to imply she might have been menstruating during the first debate — on her show the following week.
She said Mr. Trump felt her questions had been unfair, before agreeing to disagree and concluding, “I’ve decided not respond” and “I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism.”
But when Mr. Trump, unprompted, again went after Ms. Kelly Monday night in a series of nasty Twitter messages, including retweeting a missive that called her a “bimbo,” the outcry from both inside and outside the network was swift.
As his employees began showing their support of Ms. Kelly, Mr. Ailes also issued a statement, saying that “Donald Trump’s surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing.”
Mr. Ailes said:
“Megyn Kelly represents the very best of American journalism and all of us at Fox News Channel reject the crude and irresponsible attempts to suggest otherwise. I could not be more proud of Megyn for her professionalism and class in the face of all of Mr. Trump’s verbal assaults. Her questioning of Mr. Trump at the debate was tough but fair, and I fully support her as she continues to ask the probing and challenging questions that all presidential candidates may find difficult to answer. Donald Trump rarely apologizes, although in this case, he should. We have never been deterred by politicians or anyone else attacking us for doing our job, much less allowed ourselves to be bullied by anyone and we’re certainly not going to start now. All of our journalists will continue to report in the fair and balanced way that has made FOX News Channel the number one news network in the industry.”
And more Fox personalities also chimed in, like Sean Hannity.
My friend @realDonaldTrump has captured the imagination of many. Focus on Hillary, Putin, border, jobs, Iran China & leave@megynkelly alone— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) August 25, 2015
Katie Packer, a partner at Burning Glass, a Republican consulting firm that specializes in messaging to women, said that Mr. Trump’s latest round of attacks seemed to have drawn such ire for coming seemingly out of the nowhere, “just totally unprovoked.”
“She has just been so classy about it, and has just not engaged, has not responded,” Ms. Packer said. “He’s consumed by her and consumed by anyone who dares to challenge him. It just seems like so petty and juvenile to pick this up again and to call her a bimbo — just grow up.”
In a statement of his own, Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Ailes’s defense of his top talent.
“I totally disagree with the FOX statement,” Mr. Trump said. “I do not think Megyn Kelly is a quality journalist. I think her questioning of me, despite all of the polls saying I won the debate, was very unfair. Hopefully in the future I will be proven wrong and she will be able to elevate her standards to a level of professionalism that a network such as Fox deserves.”
Ms. Kelly herself is not expected to respond.
Marco Rubio to Take On China in Foreign Policy Address
With a financial crisis in China rattling global markets, Senator Marco Rubio plans to deliver a major foreign policy speech on Friday outlining how a Rubio administration would more assertively challenge the Chinese, joining leading Republican rivals in pressing this line of attack.
China’s recent currency devaluations and stock market decline, which have spread to global markets, have drawn increasing criticism from his rivals, including Donald J. Trump and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.
Mr. Rubio had previously planned the Friday speech in Charleston, S.C., timing it to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific Theater, and a week before China’s leader, President Xi Jinping, comes to Washington for a state visit with President Obama.
Mr. Rubio, who previously served as the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs, has in the past been critical of China’s human rights record.
Last year, the senator visited the Philippines and Japan, two nations that have been embroiled in territorial conflicts with China. He also made a stop in South Korea, which has developed closer ties with Beijing in recent years amid concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program.
Jeb Bush on How He and Donald Trump Differ Over Immigration
Jeb Bush offered a concise explanation Tuesday morning of how his plan to tackle illegal immigration differs from Donald Trump’s. His answer, prompted by a question from a member of the audience during a town hall in Englewood, Colo., is excerpted below:
Mr. Trump believes you can just round people up. And that it’s an easy thing to do, ’cause he’s a successful guy and he’ll just have successful people do it and it will all work out.
Well, the cost of this will be extraordinary. It will disrupt community life. It doesn’t embrace American values that I think should be respected. It’s not a practical plan. …
What I’ve proposed is for the 11 million, or whatever the number is, of undocumented workers, illegal immigrants – call them what you want – there ought to be a path to earned legal status. Where you pay a fine. You have a provisional work permit. Where you work; you don’t receive federal assistance. The law doesn’t allow that now. … And over an extended period of time you earn legal status. And that, I think, is the better approach, the more realistic approach to deal with this issue than to say we are just going to round people up or create conditions so harsh that they leave. …
The problem with the Trump plan is that it’s not a conservative plan. It is not practical. It will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. And it’s not going to happen, either. It’s not possible to do it. He has proposed eliminating remittances. So who is going to decide who is legally remitting money back to their families in other countries? Are we going to go door-by-door and just do this? It’s just not practical at all.
The other thing I believe is that children who came here because their parents came here illegally should have a different path. A path of earned citizenship status. Dream Act kids ought to be treated differently.
Jeb Bush’s Choice of Words Upsets Asian-Americans
Mr. Bush said on Monday that it was “ludicrous” to suggest that he was using a slur to talk about Hispanics when discussing birthright citizenship. He went on to explain that he was largely referring to people from Asian countries who sneak into the United States planning to give birth.
“No matter which ethnic group you’re referring to, ‘anchor babies’ is a slur that stigmatizes children from birth,” said Representative Judy Chu, a California Democrat, who was the first Chinese-American elected to Congress. “All that is accomplished through talk of anchor babies — be they from Latin America, Asia, Europe or Africa — is to use xenophobic fears to further isolate immigrants.”
Mr. Bush also drew attention from the Alliance for Citizenship group, which said he was wrong to use language that has been popularized by his rival, Donald J. Trump.
“He can’t pander to Latinos in one breath and then insult Asians and Asian-Pacific Americans in the next,” said Dawn Le, a spokeswoman for the group. “Jeb’s remarks suggest how he might lead as president — by following Donald Trump down to the bottom of the barrel.”
Although Mr. Bush has said his plans for immigration differ vastly from what has been proposed by Mr. Trump, he did echo the billionaire tycoon in calling for people to “chill out” when it comes to political correctness and at a town hall in Colorado on Tuesday he defended his record and tone on immigration.
“I was talking about a very narrow casted system of fraud, where people are bringing pregnant women in to have babies, to give birthright citizenship,” Mr. Bush said when asked if he was scapegoating the Asian immigrant community. “I support birthright citizenship, by the way.”
In Colorado, Bush Explains Asian Comment
Jeb Bush, the Republican presidential candidate, responded on Tuesday to a question about his use of the term “anchor babies.”
By REUTERS on August 25, 2015. Photo by Reuters.
Happy to stir the pot, Mr. Trump took to Twitter to say that Mr. Bush had made a mess of the matter.
Asians are very offended that JEB said that anchor babies applies to them as a way to be more politically correct to hispanics. A mess!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
Hillary Clinton Holds Strong Lead in New Iowa Poll
Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a strong lead against her Democratic rivals in Iowa despite lingering concerns about her honesty, according to a new poll.
A survey from Suffolk University found that Mrs. Clinton has the support of 54 percent of likely Iowa caucus participants, with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in second place at 20 percent. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has not said if he is running, comes in third place with 11 percent.
The poll questioned 500 likely Democratic caucusgoers, and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It reveals strong loyalty to Mrs. Clinton among Democrats amid concerns about the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server as secretary of state. While most people said that the email problem did not bother them personally, 52 percent said they thought it would damage Mrs. Clinton in a general election.
“There is huge loyalty to her and they are sticking with her,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.
Although Mrs. Clinton appears to be the most popular Democrat in Iowa, Mr. Sanders is considered to be the most honest and trustworthy of the party’s candidates and their most likely second choice, edging out Mr. Biden.
Mr. Paleologos said that the support for Mr. Sanders, who has also shown polling strength in New Hampshire, indicates the challenge facing Mr. Biden as he moves closer to deciding about his White House bid. However, he said that the fact that he was not facing ethical questions might make him a more dangerous general election candidate than Mrs. Clinton for Democrats.
“He’s got to find a path to victory in the primary,” Mr. Paleologos said of Mr. Biden. “He would be a better general election candidate because he doesn’t have this email controversy swirling around him.”
Hi-Yo, Silver, Away!?!? Obama and Harry Reid Tame Wild West
LAS VEGAS – In the great American western, two cowboys ride into a town full of bad hombres, clean up the place, then ride off together into the sunset.
Of course, the cowboys are usually riding horses with saddles, not the black leather seats of a presidential limousine. And the men are usually wearing chaps, not the dark suits common in the halls of power in Washington.
But this is Las Vegas, and rules can get a little bent here.
At a Democratic Party fund-raiser Monday night, President Obama likened himself and the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, to the heroes of old.
“Harry and I drove over here together,” Mr. Obama said of the short trip from a speech the president delivered at the Mandalay Bay hotel ballroom at theNational Clean Energy Summit, to a fund-raiser with about 100 people at the home of Brian and Myra Greenspun. “And we were doing a little reminiscing and figuring out how we were going to deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems.”
Might Wyatt Earp, the storied lawman, have said something similar about his time riding with Doc Holliday?
“And then we talked about riding off into the sunset together,” Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Reid has announced he will not seek re-election in 2016, and Mr. Obama will leave office soon thereafter.
In westerns, of course, the friends give each other credit for all they achieved together. Like the Lone Ranger and Tonto.
“Everything I’ve accomplished I’ve accomplished because Harry Reid was there by my side,” Mr. Obama said. “And I’m grateful for his friendship and his strength.”
Mr. Reid recently announced his support for the Iran nuclear deal, a crucial priority for Mr. Obama.
“Because the thing about Harry,” Mr. Obama continued at the fund-raiser, “is he’s a great politician, but he’s also a man with a lot of backbone.”
Amid Talks of Wall, Rail Crossing at Border Races to Completion
Amid all the talk of using walls, drones and guns to bolster security at the southern border, a project to tie the United States and Mexico closer together has been racing toward completion.
On Tuesday, Penny Pritzker, the secretary of commerce, will travel to Brownsville, Tex., to inaugurate the first new rail crossing between the countries in more than a century.
The $100 million project has been in the works since 2004 and is intended to move goods more efficiently across the border. The West Rail International Bridge is one of several new developments that Ms. Pritzker has been promoting to help ease trade with Mexico, the United States’ second-largest trading partner.
The new bridge comes as Republican presidential candidates have been taking hard lines on immigration and seemingly competing with one another over who would build a bigger wall faster.
Ms. Pritzker said in an interview that the countries were increasingly taking steps to share intelligence at the border, and she said that smuggling and illegal crossings had declined as trade had ramped up.
“For too long we’ve been thinking about the U.S.-Mexico relationship being one about security,” Ms. Pritzker said, adding that trade had created jobs and growth to both countries. “I wish we spent more time talking about how we grow our economic bond,” she said.
Bernie Sanders Gets Stamp of Approval From Cornel West
Cornel West, the influential scholar and civil rights activist, has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for president, bolstering a candidate who has drawn huge crowds but also skepticism from black voters.
Mr. West, a professor at Union Theological Seminary, explained in a series of Twitter messages on Monday night that Mr. Sanders, an independent from Vermont who is seeking the Democratic nomination, has been an ally in the fight for justice over the years and that his voice needs to be heard.
I endorse Brother @BernieSanders because he is a long-distance runner with integrity in the struggle for justice for over 50 years.— Cornel West (@CornelWest) August 25, 2015
The endorsement is a valuable one for Mr. Sanders, who has been gaining ground on Hillary Rodham Clinton in recent polls but who has faced protests from Black Lives Matter activists who have said he is not sufficiently supportive of their cause. This month, a group of activists cut short one of the Sanders rallies when they took the stage and commandeered his microphone.
Mr. West, who has been critical of President Obama’s efforts to uplift African-American causes, explained recently that Mr. Sanders would best serve black people because of his desire to clamp down on Wall Street and to invest in working people and poor people.
Despite his support for Mr. Sanders, who considers himself a socialist, Mr. West said that he was not affirming the “neo-liberal Democratic Party.” He also weighed in on Donald J. Trump’s candidacy, saying that while the billionaire developer possesses authenticity, he lacks integrity.
Donald Trump Offers Stock Market Advice: ‘You Are Better Off Holding’
Donald J. Trump, who is always happy to opine on matters of finance, said he possessed the prescience to unload much of his investment portfolio before the stock market took a dive in the past week.
For those with less foresight, he has this advice: Hold your stocks, don’t sell them.
“People have taken a big hit,” he said in an interview on Monday. But, he added, “You are better off holding.”
Mr. Trump’s logic is that it would be a cruel fate for investors who have already lost money in the latest market gyrations to sell off stocks only to watch the market rebound, as it historically does.
“I’d hate to see it come back and they end up with the short end of both deals,” he said.
“It’s a tough story,” Mr. Trump said.
The time to sell, he added, was around a month ago. “I would have said sell, if you asked me this question three or four weeks ago.”
The real estate developer said he has never concentrated much of his wealth in stocks, a fact confirmed by the personal financial disclosures he filed as a presidential candidate in July.
With stocks, he said: “You are so much in the hands of other people. You are in the hands of government and people who run companies.”
Mr. Trump’s July disclosure revealed a wide range of stock investments in companies like Apple, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Kinder Morgan, the energy company.
But during the interview, he said he has sold off many of his stocks, without quantifying how many he still owns.
“I had a feeling things were bad,” he said. “I had a feeling we were too reliant on Asia.”
With that, Mr. Trump excused himself apologetically. He needed to tape an interview with Bill O’Reilly.
Today in Politics: Obama’s Delicate Spot With Joe Biden as Hillary Clinton Maneuvers
Good Tuesday morning. Politics can be tough on friendships, as Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is seeking to put a home-state senator in a tough spot, while President Obama might find himself in a similarly awkward position if his vice president decides to challenge his former secretary of state in a bid to replace him. And to the surprise of some in her party, Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing joint fund-raising agreements that typically occur after the nomination has been won.
Mrs. Clinton‘s campaign is moving to sign fund-raising agreements with a string of state Democratic parties, and already has takers in four states, including New Hampshire.
The maneuver is open to any of the Democratic candidates, but only Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is trying it.
Officials with some of the state parties, asked to consider joint agreements while the nomination battle is still playing out, privately expressed confusion when they first received packets proposing legal language to create the deals.
The chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party defended the arrangement with the Clinton campaign, suggesting he had invited all the candidates to enter such deals. But the others are deeply focused on winning the nomination in a fight against a well-funded front-runner.
The “victory funds” risk adding to the perception that Mrs. Clinton, who is batting away persistent questions about her use of a private email server at the State Department, is ensconced in a shaky sense of her inevitability as the nominee.
The timing also aligns with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.‘s deliberations over a campaign of his own.
— Maggie Haberman
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What We’re Watching Today
Donald J. Trump, who last year, The Des Moines Register points out, “was the contender likely caucusgoers in Iowa viewed most negatively” and is “now the front-runner in Iowa according to the latest polling,” will hold a large rally in Dubuque.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has made reaching out to evangelicals a centerpiece of his campaign. He will hold a conference call with pastors and religious leaders from across the country to discuss Planned Parenthood and the recent videos that accuse it of selling fetal tissue for a profit, a charge the organization denies.
Christie to Press Cory Booker to Oppose Iran Deal
Mr. Christie is staying in his home state on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t campaigning.
He will hold a news conference at Rutgers University, a half-hour drive from his campaign headquarters in Morristown, to “encourage the New Jersey congressional delegation, particularly Senator Cory Booker, to oppose the Iran deal,” according to the event’s billing.
Mr. Booker, a Democrat, continually refers to Mr. Christie as his friend, sayingas recently as last month that people should not “underestimate” Mr. Christie and that he was “one of the most talented political people out there.”
But his friend has put a focus on him while he struggles to thread a political needle on the Iran deal: He relies on a network of Jewish donors in New Jersey who would most likely oppose the deal, but he is also close with Mr. Obama, who is pressing Democrats hard for support. Coming out against it would fracture his relationship with the White House, which dates to the 2008campaign.
Mr. Christie’s public call on Mr. Booker could force him to take a stand, something he seems reluctant to do at the moment. But it will also generate earned media for Mr. Christie, who is battling to maintain his position in the top 10 candidates for the next Republican debate in September.
Either outcome, a bipartisan ally or a public spat, keeps him in the headlines.
— Nick Corasaniti
A Biden Run Could Put Obama in an Awkward Position
Less than 24 hours after Mr. Obama returned from his summer vacation, his press secretary was peppered with questions about Mr. Biden, Mrs. Clinton and the awkward political triangle that might be just around the corner.
It’s going to be that kind of September.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden sat down on Monday for their weekly lunch together as Mr. Biden considers a challenge to Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic nominating contest. It was private, but Josh Earnest, the president’s press secretary, offered some hints.
Such discussions usually “cover everything from work to family,” he said, “And I’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not you think that this decision facing the vice president falls in either of those two categories.”
Mr. Earnest declined to rule out the possibility that Mr. Obama might eventually endorse a Democratic candidate. But he also demonstrated how awkward the next few weeks will be.
Mr. Earnest noted that Mr. Obama had previously said that picking Mr. Biden “was the smartest decision that he had ever made in politics.” Jon Karl of ABC pounced, noting that must mean it was a better decision than picking Mrs. Clinton as secretary of state.
“Yeah, it was. It was,” Mr. Earnest said, before quickly praising Mrs. Clinton. The Republican National Committee release that quickly followed left out the nice words about the former secretary of state. “Ouch!” it said.
— Michael D. Shear
Our Favorites From The Times
Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio is trying to balance two competing narratives: his working-class past and the nearly eight years he spent as an investment banker with Lehman Brothers.
As American markets tumbled, Republican candidates took aim at China:Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin called on Mr. Obama to cancel a state visit by the Chinese leader, and Mr. Trump warned that Beijing would “bring us down.”
And Jeb Bush, whose campaign is seeking ways to curb spending, is beginning to punch back, hard, against attacks from Mr. Trump.
What We’re Reading Elsewhere
An initiative while Mr. Bush was governor of Florida to spend $500 million enticing Scripps Research Institute to expand in the state, depended, The Los Angeles Times reports, “on the type of generous government subsidy that many conservatives now frown upon” and “failed to deliver the blockbuster biotech cluster Bush promised.”
Mr. Trump‘s campaign, The New Yorker suggests, has tapped into a “confederacy of the frustrated — less a constituency than a loose alliance of Americans who say they are betrayed by politicians, victimized by a changing world, and enticed by Trump’s insurgency.”
Central to Mr. Biden‘s deliberations of whether to run for president are theconsiderations of his family so shortly after the death of his son Beau, The Washington Post reports.
The Boston Globe calls it the new poll tax: the fact that many coming presidential debates will not be aired on free television, but only on cable.
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4 State Parties Sign Fund-Raising Pacts With Clinton Campaign
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign has received commitments from four Democratic state parties, including in the crucial proving ground of New Hampshire, to enter joint fund-raising agreements with the campaign just as the nomination battle is beginning.
The four are a small fraction of the dozens of state parties that the Hillary for America campaign has asked to join such agreements. Many are still considering the request; some officials said they are working through how the arrangement would be put into effect while the nominating fight is underway.
Mississippi, Virginia and Wisconsin have also signed agreements with the Clinton team, according to two people briefed on the issue who were not authorized to speak publicly. Virginia, a critical general election battleground, is home to Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a close friend of Mrs. Clinton’s and a former Democratic National Committee chairman.
The move to create the “Victory Funds” – in which the money raised would be divided between the state parties and the Clinton campaign – comes as efforts to form a joint fund-raising agreement with the Democratic National Committee have repeatedly hit snags over concerns in the Clinton campaign about the current party leadership’s controlling the money in any shared account. The national committee, which is intended to remain neutral, has been accused by Mrs. Clinton’s rivals for the nomination of taking actions that could benefit Mrs. Clinton, such as restricting the number of debates.
Even as some of the recent efforts by the D.N.C., such as devising the debate schedule, have been seen as beneficial to Mrs. Clinton, discussions for a joint fund-raising agreement between Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and the D.N.C. have repeatedly hit snags. There are concerns and distrust within the candidate’s campaign of the current party leadership in terms of controlling the money in a shared account, according to three people briefed on the issue.
Officials with Mrs. Clinton’s campaign declined repeated requests for comment.
Aides to two other Democratic candidates, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, who both have deep institutional ties and the ability to raise money, also declined to comment for this article. Another Democrat who could potentially attract major donors, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., is considering a run.
The state party arrangement does not directly relate to the national committee, but several committee officials were said to have been unaware until recent weeks that Mrs. Clinton’s team planned such a move.
Some Democrats who are not allied with any campaign also privately expressed surprise, suggesting a note of presumption while the primary campaign is still taking place. They wondered about the value of emphasizing joint fund-raising agreements when Republicans have quickly outpaced Mrs. Clinton in raising money with “super PACs.”
New Hampshire’s participation in the arrangement could also raise questions for the party: The state party’s chairman, Raymond Buckley, is a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The agreements have been reached just ahead of the D.N.C.’s meeting at the end of this week in Minnesota, where the candidates will attend and address party officials.
In a statement, Mr. Buckley said, “I don’t think it is ever too early to start preparing to win the general election. State parties can sign such a fund-raising agreement with each of the candidates and I’ve told them all I’m willing to sign one for them.”
The agreement could grant the state parties access to more resources and allow extra help with voter registration and other matters. The option is legally available to any Democratic candidate.
But only Mrs. Clinton has the ability to tap into donors who can write large checks, as well as the infrastructure that makes the arrangement work.
Officials in the states to which Mrs. Clinton has the closest personal ties, New York and Arkansas, said they were considering whether to move forward.
”It’s being reviewed,” said Basil Smikle, the executive director of the New York State Democratic Party and a former Senate aide to Mrs. Clinton. “We look forward to working with and supporting Secretary Clinton’s campaign for president.”
Some officials at state parties suggested the practice is similar to a fund-raising agreement with the campaign of a sitting senator or an insurgent in a statewide race. Those officials described it as similar to what Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, had with state parties.
But others expressed reservations about the appearance — and realities — of the practice before there is a nominee.
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