#_campaign 2016

Former U.S. intelligence officer Malcolm Nance said he has no doubt that Russia is behind the latest dump of emails from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

After all, Nance told Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga Friday, Russia has been trying to influence the U.S. presidential election “ever since the beginning of this sordid campaign.”

Not only through a series of cyberattacks that stand to hurt the Clinton campaign, but also, he said, by turning Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump into an “unwitting asset.”

The intelligence term, Nance explained, refers to “someone who thinks they’ve adopted a position but that position has been carved out for them, groomed for them.”

“They’ve been put into a position where they can actually carry out the wishes of another power,” he said. “Lenin used to call these people ‘useful idiots.’”

Nance further outlines this theory — which former CIA Director Mike Morell also expressed in his New York Times op-ed endorsement of Hillary Clinton this August  — in his new book, “The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election.” Nance has long been critical of Trump and the GOP nominee’s campaign.

“Russia itself gains everything if Trump is elected president,” he told Golodryga Friday, pointing to some the Republican nominee’s foreign policy positions as evidence of Russia’s influence over the candidate. Trump has been critical of NATO, supported Russia’s intervention in Syria and showered praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He cheers on the destruction of the European Union” Nance said of Trump, who has branded himself “Mr. Brexit.” Such a destruction would only help Russia, Nance said.

And, he continued, “Trump believes that Eastern Europe, from Poland east, is Russia’s backyard and they should be allowed to do whatever they choose, including the seizing of land in Crimea, possibly starting this insurgency in southern Ukraine, and having their eye on the Baltic states.”

In addition to the leak of Podesta’s emails, U.S. intelligence believes Russian hackers were behind the release of thousands of Democratic National Committee emails before the party’s convention.

Though he predicts more email hacks and other cyberattacks to come, Nance assured Golodryga that “we’re certainly not facing mutual annihilation,” akin to the Cold War.

“The U.S. has the capacity to do damage,” he said. “But we don’t want to go there, and we really don’t need to go there.”

An impassioned Michelle Obama delivered a blistering indictment against Donald Trump at a campaign event for Hillary Clinton in Manchester, N.H., Thursday.

Though she did not mention the Republican presidential nominee by name, it was clear that the candidate — and the volley of allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against him by multiple women — were the targets of the first lady’s remarks.

“The fact is that, in this election we have a candidate for president of the United States who, over the course of his lifetime and over the course of this campaign, has said things about women that are so shocking, so demeaning, I simply will not repeat anything here today,” she said.

Referring to the recently released 2005 recording of Trump making lewd comments about groping and kissing women without consent, Obama said, “I can’t believe that I’m saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women.”

It wasn’t the first time the first lady has not-so-subtly blasted the GOP nominee. Obama took Trump to task for his divisive rhetoric during her speech at the Democratic National Convention in July, and again for his propagation of the so-called birther conspiracy while campaigning for Clinton in Virginia last month — each time refraining from using his name.

“I can’t stop thinking about this,” she said about Trump’s comments in New Hampshire, as she appeared to choke back tears. “It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.”

First lady Michelle Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton, Oct. 13, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (Photo: Jim Cole/Associated Press)

Obama also said that while she would love to pretend the comments heard in the video were “just a bad dream,” to not address them “would be dishonest and disingenuous.”

This was not “just locker room banter,” she said, referring to Trump’s defense of the comments. “It was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior.”

In fact, she added, to “dismiss this as everyday locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.”

Now, Obama continued, presumably referring to allegations that have surfaced in the past 24 hours from four women who say Trump touched them inappropriately, “it seems very clear that this wasn’t an isolated incident, but an example of how he’s treated women his entire life.”

This kind of behavior is “cruel, it’s frightening, and the truth is it hurts,” Obama said, arguing that “too many are treating [Trump’s] comments as just another day’s headline. … As if our outrage is overblown or unwarranted, as if this is normal, politics as usual.”

But this is not normal, she insisted. “This is disgraceful, this is intolerable,” and whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, “no woman deserves to be treated this way.”

Now is the time to say “enough is enough,” she argued, imploring the attentive New Hampshire crowd to consider, “If all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think this is doing to our children?”

She went further, noting that the behavior on display in the hot mic video of Trump and Billy Bush, then an “Access Hollywood” host, sends skewed messages to little girls about “what they should look like” and “how they should act.” Then she asked how is it “affecting the men and boys in this country?”

“Strong men don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful,” she said, declaring that, “This is not how adults behave, this is not how decent human beings behave, and this is not how someone who wants to be president of the United States behaves.”

By the time she’d left the stage in Manchester, “Michelle Obama” was among the top trending terms on Twitter, as people emphatically shared the speech far beyond New Hampshire.

Michelle Obama for President, 2024 ???????? #ImWithHer

— Girls Really Rule. (@girlsreallyrule) October 13, 2016

Michelle Obama speaks for me. https://t.co/CeUCA8Xmh7

— Rosemary Joyce (@rajoyceUCB) October 13, 2016

WOW! @MichelleObama just gave a speech that history will say destroyed @readlDonaldTrump candidacy. #ImwithHER https://t.co/M7iPWC8mH1

— Jason Smith ️‍ (@JasonSmithNY) October 13, 2016

First Lady operating on another level. POTUS can inspire like few others, but she *moves*. Make sure to watch this https://t.co/BXnaLBQYyw

— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) October 13, 2016

Everybody should watch this speech. https://t.co/icqldQu1R6 #ItsOnUs https://t.co/pb6yxlBI4P

— Tyrone Gayle (@TyroneGayle) October 13, 2016

MUST WATCH!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/gKZlFcipCM

— Hilary Rosen (@hilaryr) October 13, 2016

#FLOTUS fighting for women and good men. I feel like I am finally listening to an adult. https://t.co/omZinjRwLY

— JenHatmaker (@JenHatmaker) October 13, 2016

Michelle Obama starts at 25:10 and gives the most powerful speech of this election. https://t.co/8RdIRAo6ow

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) October 13, 2016

Every American must watch this speech from @FLOTUS **EVISCERATING** Trump over his comments & actions toward women https://t.co/ckASg7PdXj

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) October 13, 2016

"Strong men don't need to put women down to make themselves powerful." Michelle Obama with the mic drop. #ImWithHer

While campaigning in Iowa Tuesday night, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence advised a supporter against staging a “revolution” in the event that Hillary Clinton is elected president.

The call to action came from a woman named Ronda, who explained that she’s been “on social media all day, every day, nonstop, since last June pushin’ Trump.” She said she became very concerned about voter fraud.

“Our lives depend on this election, our kids’ futures depend on this election,” she said. “If Hillary Clinton gets in, I myself, I’m ready for a revolution because we can’t have her in.”

“Don’t say that,” Pence interjected, attempting to temper her outrage with a slight wave of his hand.

But Ronda was not easily rebuffed.

“No, I’m like Trump,” she said, eliciting applause and a few cheers from the crowd. “Do I not speak for people here? Am I not saying the truth, guys? Come on.”

The Indiana governor has spent the past several days rejecting rumors that he might ditch Donald Trump’s ticket amid controversy over a 2005 recording of a then newly married Trump making lewd comments about groping women, among other things. Pence stated over the weekend that he was “offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video.”

Still, Pence made clear Tuesday night that although he’s committed to stand by his man, he would do so on his terms. Whereas the brash billionaire at the top of the ticket may have gone on another one of his riffs about the election being “rigged,” Pence told Ronda to stay focused on the election.

“There’s a revolution coming on November the 8th, I promise you,” Pence said.

Apparently unsatisfied, Ronda asked, “What are we gonna do to safeguard our votes?” And Pence offered a rational, albeit dry, response to her concern about voter fraud, which in-depth news investigations have determined is insignificant.

Pence said the best way to ensure that “our elected officials are upholding the principle of one person, one vote” is to be involved in the election process.

“If you are concerned about voter integrity and you haven’t signed up to be a poll watcher, to volunteer at a polling place, to be a part of the integrity of that process, then you need to do it,” he said.

In an interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric Tuesday, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean called Donald Trump an “ignoramus” and said he thinks the 2016 presidential election should be a “wakeup call to Washington.”

Couric kicked off her conversation with the former Democratic National Committee chairman and past presidential candidate by noting that “Hillary Clinton’s lead has grown to double digits since the release of that vulgar Donald Trump tape on Friday.”

Yet despite the lewd tape, which has driven several leading Republicans — including House Speaker Paul Ryan — to distance themselves from their party’s presidential nominee, Couric pointed out, many of Trump’s core supporters are sticking with him.

“It seems their hatred, disdain, dislike of Hillary Clinton trumps virtually anything he does,” she said.

Dean agreed, and suggested that most of Trump’s supporters probably don’t even expect him to follow through on any of his campaign promises.

“They know damn well Donald Trump’s not gonna put up a wall,” he said. “And they know damn well if he does, the Mexicans certainly aren’t going to pay for it.”

In fact, Dean continued, “I suspect they know that Donald Trump doesn’t know anything about public policy. They don’t care.”

For Trump’s base which, Dean noted, largely represents the segment of the U.S. population who’ve been “left behind by globalization,” this election is about “giving the middle finger to Washington.”

“I get it,” he added. “Washington is the last place in America that has any idea what’s going on.”

Why then, Couric asked, should we elect a president who’s been in Washington for as long as Hillary Clinton?

“Because we have no choice,” Dean said. “Donald Trump is an ignoramus.”

“I don’t blame people for being mad,” he said, but “voting for Donald Trump makes no sense.”

While Clinton herself has admitted that she’s not nearly the politician her husband and Barack Obama are, Dean argued that there’s more to politics than being a great speaker.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a technician who really gets it and listens, rather than somebody who just makes a fantastic speech and draws people to them,” he said. “It would be great if we had a charismatic person who wanted to do all that stuff. Maybe it’s time we had a really good manager who wants to do something about the tough problems nobody else wants to talk about.”

So much has happened in the last two weeks that the first presidential debate seems almost like a distant memory. But Dean’s controversial tweet, suggesting that Trump’s debate night sniffles might be signs of cocaine use, won’t soon be forgotten.

Notice Trump sniffing all the time. Coke user?

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) September 27, 2016

“I did it on purpose so I’d be asked this by people like you,” Dean told Couric, reiterating the argument he made in the wake of last month’s debate, that the tweet was meant to call out the media for its coverage of Trump’s presidential campaign.

“I used innuendo to hint that Donald Trump had done something wrong, and that wasn’t a nice thing to do and it wasn’t the right thing to do,” he said.

But while “I’m not proud of it,” Dean said, “I did it because the press has given Donald Trump a free ride for 15 months and let him use innuendo in every circumstance.”

The media let Trump “get away with stuff they don’t let anybody, including me, get away with,” because, he argued, “he was a showman, he was great for the ratings.”

Still, considering first lady Michelle Obama’s mantra that “when they go low, we go high,” Couric asked, was it really appropriate to publicly suggest that the Republican presidential nominee may have been on drugs at the first presidential debate?

A visibly energized Hillary Clinton roused supporters at a Monday rally in Detroit, her first campaign event since Sunday night’s presidential debate against Donald Trump.

“The differences between me and my opponent are pretty clear,” the Democratic presidential nominee said to a roar of anti-Trump boos from the crowd at Wayne State University before proceeding to run through some of her personal highlights from the previous night’s town hall event.

“Donald Trump spent his time attacking when he should’ve been apologizing,” Clinton said.

While she noted that “there are a lot of things he should apologize for,” Clinton was clearly referring to the lewd 2005 conversation between Trump and “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush released by the Washington Post on Friday. In the leaked videotape, Trump talked about pursuing sex with married women and groping and kissing whomever he wants because “when you’re a star, they let you do it.”

“The whole world heard him talking about the terrible way he treats women,” Clinton said, adding that when pressed about the comments during Sunday’s debate, Trump “just doubled down on his excuse that it’s ‘locker room banter.’”

“Women and men across America know that is just a really weak excuse for behaving badly and mistreating people,” she said, eliciting chants of “Hillary! Hillary!” from the crowd.

Hillary Clinton points to supporters after speaking at a rally at Wayne State University in Detroit. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

Clinton continued to relive more of her favorite debate moments, including Trump’s admission that, as the New York Times recently reported, he used a $916 million loss in 1995 to avoid paying federal income taxes, though he would not say for how long.

Clinton called Trump’s own tax proposal “bizarre.” She also gleefully read a statement released Monday by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett in response to Trump’s suggestion that his tax deduction was nothing compared to those of wealthy liberals like Buffett who, Clinton couldn’t resist adding, “is a real billionaire.”

“I believe every single one of us in this room today has paid more in federal income taxes than Donald Trump has,” she said.

Clinton also took the opportunity to reiterate the largely overshadowed comment she made during the debate about a recent Newsweek report detailing that Trump — who regularly promises to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. from China and other countries — has for years opted to purchase cheap steel from China instead of from American manufacturers for his own construction projects. (At a rally near Pittsburgh later in the day on Monday, Trump repeatedly promised to bring steel jobs back to the U.S.)

“He went to great extremes to hide the fact that he chose to support Chinese workers, not American workers,” Clinton told the crowd in Detroit, adding that “last year, he suggested that U.S. automakers shift production away from Michigan to communities where workers are paid less.”

“He keeps denying these things,” she said. “He must forget that we do have audio and video in 2016.”

Donald Trump may have described Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey and Kathy Shelton as “very courageous women” at Sunday night’s pre-debate press conference, but the businessman hasn’t always had such kind words for Bill Clinton’s accusers.

ABC News on Sunday dug up a 1998 interview in which the would-be Republican presidential nominee described Jones and others who accused then President Clinton of sexual misconduct as “unattractive” and “a terrible group of people.”

“It’s like it’s from hell,” Trump told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto in August 1998 of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the accusations that followed in its wake. He even expressed sympathy for the embattled president, arguing that Clinton was “really a victim himself.”

But on Sunday, Trump was determined to paint Clinton as a villain.

From left: Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick and Kathy Shelton attend the presidential town hall debate in St. Louis. (Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

This was an apparent attempt to spin a 2005 recording that leaked to the Washington Post on Friday. In the videotape, Trump was caught crassly boasting that he could kiss and grope whomever he wanted because he’s “a star.” The scandal prompted significant backlash from within the Republican Party.

In a video apology issued Friday night, Trump argued that “there is a big difference between the words and actions of other people,” insisting that he only “said some foolish things” while “Bill Clinton has actually abused women.”

Trump doubled down on the Clinton counterpunch by inviting a group of women who have accused the former president of sexual harassment and assault to Sunday night’s debate against his wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Slideshow: Body language: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off for their second fiery debate >>>

And, according to the Washington Post, Trump’s campaign even attempted to seat the women prominently in his family box at the debate as a means of intimidating the Clintons. Debate commission officials reportedly squashed the scheme at the last minute, warning the Trump camp that security would remove the women if they tried to sit in the candidate’s elevated family box.

“We were going to put the four women in the VIP box,” former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told the Post of the plan, which was reportedly concocted by Trump campaign chief Steve Bannon and son-in-law Jared Kushner. “We had it all set. We wanted to have them shake hands with Bill, to see if Bill would shake hands with them.”

After appearing alongside the Republican candidate at a pre-debate press conference, the women were forced to sit with the rest of the audience, avoiding the on-air confrontation Trump’s campaign apparently desired.

Muslim Americans took to Twitter in droves Sunday night and into Monday morning to mock Donald Trump’s suggestion that Muslims are to blame for Islamophobia in the United States.

Despite acknowledging the existence of Islamophobia, which he called “a shame,” the Republican presidential nominee argued that it’s up to Muslims to combat it.

“Whether we like it or not, there is a problem,” said Trump, whose anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric, including a proposed ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S., has been accused of fueling a nationwide rise in Islamophobia. “We have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on. When they see hatred going on, they have to report it.”

Within minutes, Trump had gotten what he asked for.

“I’m a Muslim, and I would like to report a crazy man threatening a woman on a stage in Missouri,” tweeted author and Brooklyn College professor Moustafa Bayoumi, referring to Trump’s noticeable hovering behind Democratic rival Hillary Clinton throughout much of the debate.

By Monday morning, Bayoumi’s quip had been retweeted more than 70,000 times and had spawned #MuslimsReportStuff, one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter.

Many of the tweets mocked Trump directly.

"Hi, I'd like to report that I know many African Americans & Latinos who don't actually live in inner cities." #MuslimsReportStuff #debate

— Hind Makki (@HindMakki) October 10, 2016

Hi, I'm Muslim & want 2 report a man in St. Louis butchering English by stringing adjectives & passing them as sentences #MuslimsReportStuff

— Muna Ali (@munamali) October 10, 2016

I'd like to report that @realDonaldTrump threw @mike_pence under the bus today #muslimsreportstuff #debate

— Arooj Rana (@aroojsrana) October 10, 2016

A man is running for President and engaging in a lot of taqiyya. #MuslimsReportStuff

— Salaam Bhatti (@salawm) October 10, 2016

Others were more absurd. 

I did laundry this morning but still haven't put it away #MuslimsReportStuff

— Sana M (@sanamasuds) October 10, 2016

You don't want to know what we actually put in hummus. #MuslimsReportStuff

— Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) October 10, 2016

One time I accidentally ate pancetta bc I didn't know it was bacon. It was delicious ???? #MuslimsReportStuff

— Nuha Krad (@kradiologist) October 10, 2016

It was hardly the first time Trump has accused Muslim Americans of failing to thwart potential terrorist attacks by reporting suspicious activity, despite evidence from the FBI and other law enforcement officials to the contrary.

In the wake of the deadly mass shooting at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub by an American Muslim this past June, FBI Director James Comey publicly refuted a statement made by Trump that “For some reason, the Muslim community does not report people like this.”

“They do not want people committing violence, either in their community or in the name of their faith, and so some of our most productive relationships are with people who see things and tell us things who happen to be Muslim,” Comey countered. “It’s at the heart of the FBI’s effectiveness to have good relationships with these folks.”

Slideshow: Body language: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off for their second fiery debate >>>

Still, Trump elaborated on his response Sunday night by repeating the unsubstantiated claim that “many people saw” bombs all over the home of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters.

After the debate, Gorbah Hamed, the American-born Muslim woman who asked the Islamophobia question, told the Huffington Post that Trump’s response “wasn’t an answer, actually, it was kind of like an accusation.”

“I’m trying to be hopeful,” Hamed said. “I just hope that Muslims like me are represented well and not made out to be the bad guy.”

A scene from the NRA’s pro-Donald Trump ad. (Screenshot: YouTube)

The National Rifle Association launched its biggest pro-Trump ad buy yet on Wednesday: a $6.5 million television spot geared toward young people and, specifically, women — two major voting blocs who’ve shown little support for the Republican presidential nominee.

In the ad, 26-year-old Kristi McMains talks about how she used the pistol she carries in her purse to defend herself from a man who attacked her with a knife in a parking garage this past January.

“I fight back,” says McMains, an Indianapolis lawyer, looking directly at the camera. “That’s why I’m still here.”

Like the NRA’s previous 2016 ads, the newest spot similarly goes after Democrat Hillary Clinton’s support for gun restrictions, urging voters to not “let politicians take away your right to own a gun.”

But it also seems like an attempt to counter a key message promoted by the Clinton campaign — that a Trump presidency would be dangerous for women.

One of Clinton’s most recent ads showed a variety of young women and girls looking at themselves in the mirror over audio of Trump making lewd comments about women’s physical appearances.

During a tense back-and-forth about abortion during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, Democratic nominee Tim Kaine highlighted Trump’s earlier comment that women who seek abortion services should receive “some form of punishment.” Facing fierce backlash, Trump subsequently walked back the comment.

“Why doesn’t Donald Trump trust women to make this choice for themselves?” Kaine asked.

In the new NRA ad, McMains says that “every woman has a right to defend herself with a gun if she chooses. Hillary Clinton disagrees with that.”

Starting Wednesday, the spot will air on national cable as well as broadcast networks in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.