Hillary Clinton Leads Polls, and 6 Other Election Highlights to Know This Week
It’s been a relatively tame week on the election trail—no shocker after the high-energy two national convention weeks wrapped up. Hillary Clinton clinched and confirmed her acceptance (duh) of the Democratic nomination; as did unlikely Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Buzzy speeches were given by bigwigs in both parties, and people on both sides of the aisle continue to be polarized by Trump’s extreme words and actions.
But even during a quieter week, there’s still plenty of election buzz to keep up on. Below, seven of the week’s highlights to know about before heading into the weekend.
MORE: Why 5 Millennial Women are Voting for Trump
Polls Show Clinton Leading in Key States
Hillary Clinton came out of the DNC strong—so strong that she now has commanding leads in swing states that Trump will need to have a fighting chance of becoming president. Head-to-head polls show Clinton is up six points in Florida; nine in Michigan; 11 in Pennsylvania; and 15 in New Hampshire. She also continues to beat Trump by a significant margin with women voters, enjoying a 50 percent to 30 percent advantage. Let’s see if she can hold those leads in the coming weeks.
Trump Claims Election is Rigged; Obama Begs to Differ
On Monday, Trump spoke to voters in Ohio and voiced his concerns that the election won’t be fair. “I’m afraid the election’s going to be rigged. I have to be honest,” he said. President Obama himself replied to the comments wjem asked by reporters on Thursday, saying it’s “ridiculous,” and he’s never heard “someone complain about being cheated before the game was over. I don’t even really know where to start in answering this question. Of course the election will not be rigged. What does that mean?” Clinton’s press secretary Brian Fallon echoed Obama’s sentiment, posting the following tweet calling Trump “pathetic.”
Trump Orders Crying Baby Out of Rally
In a typical LOL moment at a rally, Trump told an audience member whose baby was crying that it was fine to stay—and then took it back. First: “Don’t worry about that baby, I love babies,” he said, waving his hand. (Oh, just like he loves immigrants and women, right?!) “I hear that baby crying; I like it. What a beautiful baby. Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s young, beautiful, healthy, that’s all that matters.” Then, moments later, when the kid continued to make noise: “Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here.” Classic.
Clinton Scoffs at Idea of Ivanka Joining Cabinet
When a reporter asked Trump what women he plans to nominate to his Cabinet if elected, Trump mentioned his daughter Ivanka Trump (and no one else). “Well, we have so many different ones to choose,” he said. “I can tell you everybody would say, ‘Put Ivanka in, put Ivanka in, you know that, right? She’s very popular, she’s done very well, and you know Ivanka very well. But there really are so many that are really talented people.” In reply, Clinton tweeted a jab referencing Mitt Romney‘s famous 2012 comment about having “binders full of women writers,” saying “We know a guy with a binder… (He might not take your calls, though.)”
Melania Trump May Have Violated Immigration Laws
The media spotlight turned to Melania Trump this week, when Politico released a report about gaps in her “immigration story.” The article points to signs that she violated U.S. immigration law by working as a model in New York in the mid-90s (because her visa was only a temporary visitor one) or that she didn’t violate immigration laws, but lied about the fact that she returned regularly to Slovenia in order to “do things by the book,” like millions of other immigrants. Trump has not responded to the questions raised by the report, but Melania took to Twitter to defend herself directly.
Clinton Ups Effort to Woo Conservatives
In a new twist in Clinton’s campaign rhetoric, she’s now appealing to Republican voters by framing a vote for herself as a “patriotic duty.” In Ohio this week, Clinton urged Republicans to “pick country over party,” and said she wants to be the president “for all Americans—Democrats, Republicans, independents. We’re going to pull American together again.” TBD if Republicans are more interested in pulling America together than making it great again.
Trump Supporters Use Violent Language at Rallies
It’s not news that this has been an especially divisive election cycle, and that Trump supporters (and haters, for that matter) can become especially emotional when it comes to their feelings about the candidate. But although Trump recently became the Republican party’s official nominee, it doesn’t seem that the people at his campaign events are becoming any less heated. The New York Times reports, in text and video, on the more extreme voices taking part in Trump’s rallies, saying things including “Kill her,” and “Trump that bitch!” and “Build a wall—kill ’em all.” Terrifying stuff.
