Naked Trump Statue Auction, and 4 Other Major Election Talking Points from the Last Week
This week, Donald Trump visited Mexico, tried to befriend its president, and then got in a Twitter fight with him after returning to the U.S. (Classy.) He’s also gaining on Hillary Clinton in nationwide polls, which show that in spite of her appeals to conservatives who don’t support Trump—and even some Republican bigwigs who’ve endorsed her—the Democratic nominee’s popularity keeps slipping. Maybe Bernie Sanders campaigning for her will help. On a lighter note, five foam statues of naked Trump are being sold off, and the cash will go towards immigration advocacy—tee hee.
Below, get the quick-and-dirty details on five of this week’s need-to-know election moments.
Trump Visits His Favorite Country: Mexico
On Wednesday, Donald Trump visited Mexico City, where he met with Mexican President Enrique Peña and sang the praises of Mexican-Americans: “I happen to have a tremendous feeling for Mexican-Americans, not only in terms of friendships but in terms of the tremendous numbers that I employ in the United States—and they are amazing people, amazing people.” Upon returning to the U.S. (interesting timing), Trump tweeted that Mexico will pay for his famed wall. President Peña’s retort, which also came via Twitter: “I repeat what I said personally, Sr Trump. Mexico will never pay for a wall.” Just: LOL.
Clinton Wins Support Among Republicans and Military
Hillary Clinton seems to be making progress in her quest to win over conservatives who can’t stand the thought of a Trump presidency. On Thursday, Mike Fernandez, who was one of Jeb Bush’s biggest super PAC donors, said he plans to vote for Clinton in an op-ed published in the Miami Herald. This week, Clinton’s campaign announced that she’ll be endorsed by James Clad, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense under President George W. Bush.
MORE: Why 5 Millennial Women Are Voting for Donald Trump
Bernie Sanders Will Campaign for Clinton in New Hampshire
After losing to Clinton in the primaries, then leaving the Democratic Party before its National Convention even ended, Bernie Sanders appears to be ready to do whatever it takes to keep Trump out of office—even if it means actively campaigning for Clinton, rather than giving her a straightforward endorsement. Politico reports that Sanders will hit the trail on Labor Day in New Hampshire, where he’ll talk about Clinton’s plan for building a more inclusive economy, among other things.
Trump Picks up in the Polls
Although Clinton has been leading Trump in the polls by a comfortable margin ever since the primaries finished, and is still clearly leading, Trump is gaining on her. In the last few weeks, Trump trailed Clinton by as many as eight points nationally, and now some estimates have him closing in on five points, according to Vox. (Still, those numbers vary, as you can see from Bloomberg’s Tweet below.) Regardless, it looks like Clinton is sinking in popularity, not advancing, indicating that whatever her campaign is doing, it seems to be headed in the wrong direction.
Naked Donald Trump Statues Go up for Auction
Two weeks ago, an NSFW statue of Donald Trump appeared in Manhattan’s Union Square, along with replicas in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Seattle. The foam statues spare no detail of Trump’s imagined naked body, and a plaque at the bottom reads, “The emperor has no balls.” The statues are signed by INDECLINE, an anonymous anarchist street art collective, and will reportedly go up for auction in October for between $10,000 to $20,000 with a percentage of the sale going towards immigration advocacy.
