WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign (all times EDT):
8:55 p.m.
Donald
Trump is accusing President Barack Obama of lying to the American
people about the circumstances surrounding a $400 million payment to
Iran.
The
White House has insisted the payment had nothing to do with the release
of four American hostages being held in the country. They say the U.S.
was simply returning Iran's own money in a settlement of a legal claim
that went back to the hostage crisis that ended in 1981.
But the timing has raised eyebrows, especially among Republican leaders, who claim the money exchange was a ransom payment.
Trump says of the president's explanation, "It's just a lie."
He adds, "You know, at least be truthful."
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8:45 p.m.
Donald Trump is continuing to unleash new, deeply personal insults against his rival Hillary Clinton.
Speaking to supporters at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump says, "In one way, she's a monster."
He adds: "In another way she's a weak person. She's actually not strong enough to be president."
Trump is calling Clinton "totally unhinged" and "unbalanced" and says she lacks the integrity to serve in the White House.
The
comments come as top Republicans have been begging Trump to focus his
attention on attacking Clinton instead of members of his own party.
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8:40 p.m.
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is striking a rare tone of party unity.
In
addition to formally endorsing House Speaker Paul Ryan, Trump on Friday
evening also threw his support behind Arizona Sen. John McCain and New
Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, with whom he has sparred.
Trump says, "We have to unite."
He says that, as president, he will need a Republican Senate and House to accomplish all of the changes he wants to make.
He
adds that, "This campaign is not about me or any one candidate," and
says: "We will have disagreements. But we will disagree as friends and
never stop working together toward victory."
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8:25 p.m.
Donald Trump has formally endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan, after saying he wasn't ready to do so earlier this week.
Trump made the announcement during a campaign stop Friday in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
He
says, "I support and endorse our Speaker of the House Paul Ryan,"
adding that while they "may disagree on a couple of things," they agree
on a lot as well.
The timing is unusual. The rally is being held on a Friday night opposite the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.
In
an interview earlier this week, Trump said he was "not quite there yet"
when it came to endorsing Ryan in his primary race. He also praised
Ryan's opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running "a very good campaign."
Nehlen says Trump's decision "is appropriate and is a display of true leadership."
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6:45 p.m.
Tim
Kaine says Hillary Clinton's campaign is focused on jobs while Donald
Trump is "shadowboxing with every last person" and ignoring the issue
that matters most to Americans.
The Democratic vice presidential candidate on Friday held his first campaign rally in Michigan since becoming the nominee.
The
Virginia senator told a crowd of hundreds in Grand Rapids that Trump
should be talking about the economy but is too entangled in his dispute
with an American Muslim family whose son was killed in Iraq and his flap
over endorsing House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Kaine criticized Trump for calling the American military a "disaster," ''trash-talking" allies and making products overseas.
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5:30 p.m.
Republican Donald Trump has a message for reluctant voters:
"If you don't like me. That's OK," he tells a rally crowd in Des Moines, Iowa. "Vote for Pence because it's the same thing."
Trump was referring to his running mate, Mike Pence, the conservative governor of Indiana.
Pence
was chosen partially to help calm nervous Republicans still on the
fence about Trump and to bring some establishment sensibility to the
ticket.
The pair are campaigning together on Friday in Iowa and Wisconsin
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5:25 p.m.
Donald Trump is promising Iowa that it will keep its spot as the leadoff state in choosing presidential nominees.
At
a rally in Des Moines Friday, the Republican presidential candidate
said "they are talking about putting you at the back of the pack. Not
going to happen if I win."
Trump, who placed second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Iowa caucuses this year, said that Iowa has a very important history.
"You're going to keep your place in history. You're going to be that first state," he said.
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5:20 p.m.
A
big part of Donald Trump's talk in Des Moines is reading from a press
release by a border agent group which describes Democratic presidential
nominee Hillary Clinton's immigration plan an invitation to rampant drug
and terrorist violence in the United States.
Trump
was reading from a July 28 statement from the National Border Patrol
Council, which claims 16,500 members. He quoted it saying: "Simply put
this plan is a catastrophe and will threaten countless Americans"
Clinton
wants to allow immigrants in the U.S. illegally to be able to pursue
citizenship through a series of fines, taxes and administrative
procedures over time.
The
group says Clinton's plan would allow infiltration of drug cartels and
terrorists which "would quickly manipulate this chaos and further their
plans to harm innocent American citizens."
5:10 p.m.
Donald
Trump wants the world to know that he "loves babies," after being
criticized for asking a screaming baby to leave a rally this week.
Trump said in Iowa Friday that the press misrepresented his comments, calling the coverage "so dishonest."
"I don't throw babies out. I love babies," Trump said.
When
the baby cried, Trump initially said, "Don't worry about that baby."
But as the crying continued, Trump said "Actually, I was just kidding.
You can get that baby out of here." Trump still appeared to be joking.
Trump
said Friday that everyone at the event was laughing and having a good
time. He joked that the crying hit operatic levels. "We can take that
baby to training school and it will be the next great Pavarotti," he
said
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4:50 p.m.
Republican
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says Donald Trump's comments about her
state's Somali community were "disparaging" and "unhelpful."
Trump,
the Republican presidential nominee, appeared at a rally in Portland on
Thursday. He cited the state's Somali community as an example of
refugees "coming from among the most dangerous territories and
countries" and added that "has to stop."
The
comments drew widespread criticism in Portland, a liberal city that has
the largest population in the state. Collins released a statement
Friday that said Maine has a long history of benefiting from
immigration, "including our friends from Somalia."
Collins'
says immigration to Maine has been "imperfect," but it also criticized
Trump for taking aim at immigrants who came to America legally.
Collins has not endorsed Trump.
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4:40 p.m.
Republican Donald Trump is lashing out at Hillary Clinton as he campaigns in Iowa, declaring her "pretty close to unhinged."
Trump
told supporters at a Friday rally in Des Moines that, "if Hillary
Clinton becomes president, you will have terrorism. You will have
problems. You will have really the destruction of our country from
within. "
He
went on to label her as "unstable," ''a dangerous liar" and says she
"lacks the judgment, temperament and moral character to lead this
country."
"She's really pretty close to unhinged," he adds. "She's really like an unbalanced person."
The
insults come as Trump has come under criticism from Republicans for
getting sidetracked by other issues when he should be attacking Clinton.
Trump took the stage following an introduction from running mate Mike Pence.
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2:20 p.m.
Hillary
Clinton's running mate says a federal court ruling in Wisconsin that
overturned a number of voting restrictions approved by Republicans will
allow more people to vote.
Tim
Kaine said at a campaign rally Friday in Milwaukee that he salutes the
liberal groups that brought the lawsuit challenging more than a dozen
laws backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP-controlled
legislature. A federal judge last week ruled that limitations on early
voting locations, hours and elements of the state's photo identification
requirement were unconstitutional.
Kaine calls it a "big voting rights case."
Plaintiffs
argued that the laws were designed to suppress Democratic votes and the
judge agreed. Wisconsin's Republican attorney general has vowed to
appeal so the changes won't take effect for the Nov. 8 election.
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1:35 p.m.
Tim
Kaine is taking a brewery tour on his first campaign stop in the
battleground state of Wisconsin since becoming Hillary Clinton's running
mate.
Kaine took a brief tour of Lakefront Brewery in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee on Friday before a campaign rally.
Kaine
checked out fermentation tanks and got a brief history of the brewery
along the shores of the Milwaukee River. Kaine admired an American
flag-draped chalet used by the Milwaukee Brewers' mascot Bernie Brewer
in the old Milwaukee County Stadium.
Kaine
had asked during the brewery tour if Lakefront makes a kosher beer.
Tour guide Dylan Mazurkiewicz told him that it does, something Kaine,
who is Catholic, mentioned during the rally.
Reporters were led out of the tour before Kaine sampled any beer.
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1:30 p.m.
Hillary Clinton says she knows that she has work to do to win over Americans' trust.
The
Democrat presidential nominee has some of the highest unfavorable
ratings of any presidential candidate in modern history. In many polls, a
majority of Americans say they don't trust her.
She
said Friday to a meeting of black and Latino journalists in Washington:
"I take it seriously. It doesn't make me feel good when people say
those things."
Clinton
blames some of her low approval rating on Republican attacks, saying
she gets higher marks from Americans when she is serving in public
office.
She
said, "Just maybe when I'm actually running for a job there is a real
benefit from those on the other side with trying to stir up as much
trouble as possible."
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1:25 p.m.
Three
Senate Democrats are pressuring Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey and other
Republicans to renounce Donald Trump, telling reporters that their
wait-and-see stance is insulting to voters.
"This
is an example of somebody who doesn't have the courage to stand up" to
Trump, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, when asked about Toomey's
campaign Friday.
Maryland
Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee,
said Trump's "reckless, dangerous" remarks make clear Trump is unfit to
be president.
Sen.
Jeanne Shaheen, of New Hampshire, mocked Republicans who say they
support Trump but don't endorse his candidacy. "That's baloney," Shaheen
said. "We have seen what Donald Trump is doing to do," she said. He's
not going to "straighten up."
Among those in the support-but-not-endorse category is Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.
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1:10 p.m.
Hillary
Clinton says passing comprehensive immigration legislation will be a
top priority for her administration if elected president, and her White
House will be ready to introduce a bill "as quickly" as possible.
Clinton says her victory and Democratic wins in Congress will force Republicans to act on immigration.
She says, "There's nothing like winning to change minds."
Clinton was speaking Friday at a meeting of organizations of black and Latino journalists in Washington.
A
bipartisan effort to overhaul the nation's immigration system passed
the Senate in 2013, but died in the House in the face of strident
Republican opposition.
Clinton says that, "I think the outcome will be very different this time."
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12:40 p.m.
Hillary
Clinton says President Barack Obama isn't getting the credit he
deserves for leading the nation out of a crippling recession.
Speaking
at an annual convention of black and Hispanic journalists, Clinton
quoted the expression, "When the economy catches a cold, communities of
color catch pneumonia."
She
said "we are out of the ditch we were in" and should now focus on
building upon progress. She said civil rights activist Rosa Parks may
have opened up seats on the bus, but the nation's job is to make sure
everyone can afford bus fare.
Clinton
says she wants to invest more in infrastructure, generate more jobs for
young people and help black entrepreneurs start businesses. She also
promised in her first 100 days as president to propose comprehensive
immigration legislation.
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12:40 p.m.
House
Speaker Paul Ryan says Donald Trump could cross a line that would
prevent the speaker from backing him, but "Where that line is, I don't
know."
Ryan reiterated his stance Friday that "With any endorsement of anybody, there's never a blank check."
Ryan was asked by host Charlie Sykes on WTMJ whether there's anything that would lead to Ryan "cancelling" that check.
Ryan responded: "Of course, but I'm not going to go down the road re-litigating past comments."
Trump
shocked Republicans this week when he refused to endorse Ryan in
Tuesday's Republican primary in Wisconsin, but Ryan is brushing it off.
Ryan himself hesitated for weeks before ultimately endorsing Trump.
Ryan said: "I see no purpose in doing this tit for tat, petty back and forth with Donald Trump."
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12:05 p.m.
Republican
Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania says Donald Trump should be making the
case against Hillary Clinton "rather than getting involved in other
unrelated discussions."
Toomey,
who is in a tough re-election race, is one of a handful of Republican
senators who have not endorsed Trump. He says he is still "watching and
waiting and evaluating."
But
Toomey insisted on a conference call Friday that Pennsylvania voters
understand that Trump "is in a category unto himself," and "will make a
completely separate decision about the person they want representing
them in the United States Senate."
Republicans are banking on that ticket-splitting theory in key Senate races, though Democrats dismiss it.
Toomey was also asked whether he would be more comfortable if Trump relinquished the nomination. He says it's Trump's decision.
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11:35 a.m.
House
Speaker Paul Ryan says his opponent in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary is
backed by out-of-state interests peddling a "nasty virulent strain of
something" that's not conservatism.
Ryan
predicts voters will reject Paul Nehlen, a businessman and political
newcomer who's benefited in recent days from Donald Trump's praise and
refusal to endorse Ryan.
In
an interview Friday on WISN radio in Wisconsin, Ryan also reiterated
that the endorsement he cares about is from his own voters. Ryan said:
"I'm just going to rise above this stuff and I'm not going to get
involved in some sort of petty back and forth."
He
says he will continue to speak out to condemn Trump's comments when
necessary. Ryan says he wishes it weren't necessary but "that's just the
way the cookie crumbles."
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10:30 a.m.
House
Speaker Paul Ryan's Republican primary challenger is on the defensive
after saying he wants a discussion about deporting all U.S. Muslims.
Paul
Nehlen's comments on a radio show this week have drawn derision from
other Republicans. Asked for comment Friday, Nehlen released a statement
that did not address what he said and instead called on Ryan to debate
him.
Nehlen
was asked whether he was calling for deporting all U.S. Muslims. He
said, "I'm suggesting we have a discussion about it, that's for sure."
He later said he wants to deport only Muslims who believe in Sharia.
Wisconsin
Assembly Republican Majority Leader Jim Steineke tweeted that Nehlen
was a "special kind of stupid." Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called him a
bigot.
Trump has refused to endorse Ryan and praised Nehlen, giving him a burst of attention before Tuesday's primary.
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9:25 a.m.
Republican
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he is embarrassed about
Donald Trump being the GOP presidential nominee, calling it a "sad day
in America."
But
he tells The Associated Press that he's not rescinding his support for
Trump because he says Democrat Hillary Clinton would be worse.
Vos
wrote a column in advance of a Trump rally Friday in Green Bay. He
calls Trump out for saying "stupid things" and for praising House
Speaker Paul Ryan's primary opponent. Trump said this week he was not
ready to endorse Ryan.
Vos said "we are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans."
In the interview, Vos said Trump needs to apologize for his comments about Ryan.
None of the top-ranking Wisconsin Republicans are attending the Trump event.
___
9:15 a.m.
Donald
Trump has announced his team of economic advisers and it includes many
of the people who have been already helping his campaign.
Among
those on the team are John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire; Dan
Kowalski, a former staffer on the Senate Budget Committee; and Steven
Mnuchin, a New York investor who is Trump's national finance chairman.
In
the statement announcing the team, Trump's campaign also said he'll
unveil a detailed jobs plan on Monday at the Detroit Economic Club. It
said he will focus on "empowering Americans by freeing up the necessary
tools for everyone to gain economically."
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8:30 a.m.
Donald Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, is brushing off Republican concerns of turmoil in their campaign.
In
recent weeks, Trump has angered fellow Republicans by criticizing
parents of a soldier killed in Iraq and refusing to endorse House
Speaker Paul Ryan and others for re-election. The feud has overshadowed
Trump's criticism of Hillary Clinton.
Pence
told NBC's "Today Show" that he is seeing "tremendous enthusiasm" for
the Republican ticket. He said "Donald Trump and I are standing shoulder
to shoulder to say to the American people, 'We can be strong again.'"
Pence also said Trump values the sacrifices made by military families: "This man has a heart for our soldiers."
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7:28 a.m.
Donald Trump is making a rare admission he was wrong — in claiming he saw a video of a U.S. cash payment going to Iran.
Trump
tweeted Friday that "The plane I saw on television was the hostage
plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in
cash going to Iran!"
Trump
has been expressing outrage about a $400 million payment the U.S. made
to Iran this year. It was delivered on the same day that Iran released
four Americans they had detained. Republicans call it ransom; the Obama
administration says it was money the U.S. legally owed Iran.
Trump
said Wednesday he saw video showing the money being delivered. The
campaign acknowledged Thursday that this was incorrect, yet Trump
repeated the claim hours later at a rally.
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