Trump Says Clinton and Obama Started ISIS, and 4 Other Major Election Takeaways from the Week
After months of watching Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump duke it out on the national stage, no one can blame Americans for wanting a little break from the circus. Meaning, if you’re not tuned into every little headline, I’m right there with you—we’re reaching peak campaign fatigue. Still, with less than three months (!) to go until Election Day on November 8, we can’t afford to completely check out.
Below, five major, need-to-know takeaways from the last week.
Clinton Continues to Control Key States
Hillary Clinton is significantly beating Donald Trump in many battleground states, according to a just-released NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll. She’s polling five points ahead among registered voters in Florida; nine points in North Carolina; 13 points in Virginia; and 14 points in Colorado. If Clinton keeps up these leads and ultimately does win all four states, it’s nearly impossible for Trump to get enough electoral votes to win the presidency.
Trump Accuses Obama and Clinton of Founding ISIS
On Wednesday, Trump held an unruly rally in Florida, where he took his typically divisive rhetoric even further than usual, making the preposterous accusation that President Obama founded ISIS—and Clinton cofounded it with him. “In many respects, you know, they [ISIS] honor President Obama. He’s the founder of ISIS,” he said, repeating the last part several times. “I would say the cofounder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.” He later called the comments sarcastic—a move he’s pulled before to justify and dismiss his more disrespectful and absurd claims. Quite a thing to joke about for a candidate whose platform focuses strongly on obliterating the Islamic extremist group.
MORE: Where the Election Candidates Stand on Equal Pay
Hillary Clinton Tries to Sell Her Economic Plan
This week, Clinton’s focus turned toward the economy, as she critiqued Trump’s plan and outlined her own plan to boost America’s fiscal situation. During a speech near Detroit on Thursday, she poked holes in Trump’s proposed tax cuts, saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Yet experts and journalists are poking holes in Clinton’s own plan, saying that her proposed tax deductions, minimum wage raise, and infrastructure changes would likely only put a dent in America’s problems, not solve them altogether. The Economist‘s summary: “The best thing about Ms. Clinton’s agenda remains that it is not Mr. Trump’s.” Trump’s critique? He calls Clinton’s plan “terrible” and “boring.”
Trump Responds to Lawyers Calling Out His Lies
Regardless of who’s winning in the polls at any given moment, Trump and Clinton continue to face the repercussions of their individual skeletons in the closet. Trump is habitually called out for telling lies but doesn’t always face real consequences. Some of those lies may finally be coming back to bite him: A recently released Washington Post report investigates a specific 2007 deposition in which lawyers caught Trump telling lies 30 times. Read a breakdown of his responses here, but suffice it to say that they’re generally as articulate as his critique of Clinton’s economic plan.
Clinton Can’t Shake Email Woes
At a time when all she should be doing is focusing on the road to the presidency, Hillary Clinton is forced to keep looking back at years-old emails that are still under scrutiny. As a result of a new lawsuit filed by conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch, a new batch of emails was released by the State Department, revealing what appear to be underhanded dealings by Clinton’s team related to privileged million-dollar donors. At a moment when proving her integrity to voters is crucial, the ongoing email scandal continues to risk undermining Clinton’s trustworthiness.
