Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 09:22, 3 August 2015 view sourceKnowledgebattle (talk \| contribs)Extended confirmed users3,231 edits →Campaign: Ever since Barry Goldwater and his 60's southern strategy, they do. If sources claim otherwise, they're uninformed.← Previous edit		Revision as of 11:02, 3 August 2015 view source Spaghetti07205 (talk \| contribs)574 edits →Campaign: removing irrelevant material that only serves to attack trump.Next edit →
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	Michael Cohen, Trump's senior counsel, was criticized for claiming that "you cannot rape your spouse" in response to a '']'' article about Trump's divorce proceedings. The article related how Ivana Trump had accused her ex-husband of raping her, a claim she has since retracted. Cohen subsequently apologized for his comments.<ref name="rapegaffe">{{cite web\|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/politics/donald-trump-rape-comments-controversy/\|title=Will Trump campaign's rape comments hurt GOP?}}</ref>		Michael Cohen, Trump's senior counsel, was criticized for claiming that "you cannot rape your spouse" in response to a '']'' article about Trump's divorce proceedings. The article related how Ivana Trump had accused her ex-husband of raping her, a claim she has since retracted. Cohen subsequently apologized for his comments.<ref name="rapegaffe">{{cite web\|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/politics/donald-trump-rape-comments-controversy/\|title=Will Trump campaign's rape comments hurt GOP?}}</ref>

	The Trump campaign has attracted significant support from ]s and white supremacists. <ref name="cuck">{{cite web\|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/29/cuckservative-the-conservative-insult-of-the-month-explained/\|title=‘Cuckservative’ — the conservative insult of the month, explained}}</ref><ref name="voc">{{cite web\|url=http://www.vocativ.com/news/206807/white-supremacists-and-nazis-for-trump/\|title=White Supremacists Pledge Allegiance To Donald Trump}}</ref>

	==Political positions==		==Political positions==

Revision as of 11:02, 3 August 2015

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.

Campaign	U.S. presidential election, 2016
Candidate	Donald Trump Businessman Reality television star
Affiliation	Republican Party
Status	Announced: June 16, 2015
Headquarters	725 Fifth Ave. New York City
Key people	Corey R. Lewandowski, campaign manager
Receipts	US$1,902,410 (2015-06-30)
Slogan	Make America Great Again!
Website
www.donaldjtrump.com

The 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump, business magnate and television personality, was formally launched on June 16, 2015. Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election at the Trump Tower in New York City. His campaign manager is Corey Lewandowski.

Background

Since the 1988 presidential election, Trump has been considered a potential candidate for President in nearly every election. In October 1999, Trump declared himself a candidate for the Reform Party's presidential nomination, but withdrew on February 14, 2000. Trump rejoined the Republican Party in 2009. In early 2011, presidential speculation reached its highest point and Trump began to take a lead in polls among Republican candidates in the 2012 election. However, Trump announced in May 2011 that he would not be a candidate for the office.

At the 2011 CPAC conference, Trump said he is "pro-life" and "against gun control." He has spoken before Tea Party supporters. In December 2008, Trump emerged as an early supporter of the 2009 government backed rescue plan for the U.S. auto industry which by 2012 gained the support of 56% of Americans (63% support in Michigan), according a Pew Research Center poll. In May 2015, Trump said he was opposed to granting President Barack Obama fast track trade authority in a Trans-Pacific Partnership. Instead, Trump expressed a desire for stronger negotiations with China on trade together with tariffs if necessary. Trump has called for a policy of leadership to deal with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which he has criticized for causing high oil prices.

In 2011, polls had Trump among the leading candidates. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll from March 2011 showed Trump in the lead for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. A February 2011 Newsweek poll placed Trump within a few points of President Obama in a potential 2012 presidential contest, with many voters undecided. A poll released in April 2011 by Public Policy Polling showed Trump having a nine-point lead in a potential contest for the Republican nomination for President of the United States while he was still actively considering a run. In December 2011, Trump placed sixth in the "ten most admired men and women living of 2011" USA Today/Gallup telephone survey. Trump has been a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). In 2013, Trump researched a possible run for President of the United States in 2016. In October 2013, New York Republicans suggested Trump should run for governor of the state in 2014. In February 2015, Trump did not renew his television contract for The Apprentice, which raised speculation of his candidacy for president of the United States in 2016.

Announcement

On June 16, 2015, Trump made a formal announcement of his candidacy for President of the United States in 2016. His announcement came at a campaign rally at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump said, "We are going to make our country great again" and also announced that he would be the "greatest jobs president that God ever created." His 45-minute presidential campaign announcement speech, the longest of the major party candidates to date, included a pledge to restore the "American dream" . . . "bigger and better and stronger than ever before." In the speech, Trump also pledged he would fund Social Security, not cut it, renegotiate U.S. trade agreements, oppose federal Common Core education standards, and complete the Mexican border fence and make Mexico pay for it. Trump's announcement generated the highest Google search volume of any of the presidential candidates to date.

An early supporter of Ronald Reagan for president, Trump trademarked the campaign slogan from the 1980 election, "Make America Great Again."

During his announcement of his candidacy, Trump made a statement regarding illegal immigration that prompted reactions from his opponents, as well as from proponents who defended his remarks. He stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best...They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with . They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." In the days following, several businesses and organizations - including NBC, Macy's, and Univision - cut ties with Trump over his comments. Defenders of Trump's remarks on illegal immigration have included presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Steve King, and various families of victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. For his part, Trump has defended his comments, cited news articles to back up his claims and made illegal immigration a major issue in his campaign.

Trump's campaign denied claims that there were paid actors hired to cheer in the audience for the event, despite people admitting they were paid to be there.

Campaign

Immediately after his announcement in New York, Trump traveled to Iowa to campaign in the state ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. Trump has also campaigned extensively in New Hampshire, site of the first Republican primary. Trump's campaign cancelled events in Charleston, South Carolina, in light of the June 17 mass shooting. Trump kicked off a western swing in early July 2015, giving rallies and speeches in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Trump held the largest rally of his campaign to date on July 11 at the Phoenix Convention Center. More than 9,000 people registered to attend Trump's Phoenix rally on July 11. An over-capacity crowd at the Phoenix convention center of thousands watched Trump speak for more than an hour. His remarks were centered on illegal immigration, but also included denunciations of the businesses that had broken ties with him, the press and President Obama as well as Trump's positions on many issues. The event was hosted by the Maricopa County Republican Party, and Trump was introduced by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Trump invoked Richard Nixon's "silent majority" speech, saying, "the silent majority is back". The event also drew protestors and supporters outside the convention center. Ahead of the event, Trump's comments on illegal immigration were not supported by Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake but supported by former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Ben Carson, also a candidate for president, defended Trump. Trump later asked McCain for an apology for calling supporters "crazies" at the rally.

At an event in Ames, Iowa, Trump said of McCain: "He’s not a war hero" and "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured." Other Republicans criticized him. Trump acknowledged, "If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero;" however, he criticized "politicians like John McCain" for having "totally failed" on veterans issues and on securing the border. Trump declared his support for veterans and pledged to "build the finest and most modern veterans hospitals in the world." Trump later stated that he did not owe the Senator an apology. Trump received student deferments from the Vietnam draft while he was in college and a medical deferment for 18 months. Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson detailed how the Washington Post had taken Trump's remarks on McCain out of context; she stated in part, "In fact, Trump’s actual quote is the opposite of what is presented in the Post’s first sentence." Politifact rated Trump's claim that the quote was taken out of context as "mostly false". Trump's comments were largely condemned by most of the other Republican presidential candidates, including Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and Chris Christie. Two candidates, George Pataki and Rick Perry, openly called on Trump to withdraw from the race over his comments. Conversely, two other candidates came to Trump's defense: Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, with Carson commenting that all differing opinions should be heard, and with Cruz opining that the party should stop its infighting altogether in order to unite.

On July 21, Trump publicly gave out Senator Lindsey Graham's phone number during a speech in South Carolina as a response to Graham calling him a "jackass". Graham released a statement on Twitter that he would "probably getting a new phone" and later released a video in which he destroyed his phone.

On July 22, the Federal election regulators released new details of Trump's wealth and financial holdings that he submitted when he became a Republican presidential candidate. His net worth is estimated to be at $10 billion. On July 23, he visited the Mexican border to highlight his stance with regards to opposition towards illegal immigration. The border patrol union pulled out of the event.

Michael Cohen, Trump's senior counsel, was criticized for claiming that "you cannot rape your spouse" in response to a Daily Beast article about Trump's divorce proceedings. The article related how Ivana Trump had accused her ex-husband of raping her, a claim she has since retracted. Cohen subsequently apologized for his comments.

Political positions

Trump has stated that he is a "conservative Republican."

Domestic issues

Trump is pro-life, and would ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or health. Trump expressed that same-sex marriage should be decided by the states, though said of the supreme court ruling "it's an issue that been determined by the Supreme Court. And frankly, you know, I'm about jobs." Trump supports the Second Amendment and is opposed to gun control in general, while supporting a ban on assault weapons and longer waiting periods for gun purchases.

Economy

Trump supports pro-growth policies and reduced taxation on U.S. workers and business with reduced regulation to increase economic growth and create opportunity. Trump has proposed a 1-5-10-15 income tax plan in order to simplify the tax code, where incomes of up to $30,000 would pay 1%, incomes of $30,000 to $100,000 would pay 5%, incomes of $100,000 to $1 million would pay 10%, incomes of $1 million and up would pay 15%. Further, his plan would eliminate the inheritance tax, eliminate the corporate tax, lower the capital gains tax, and instead apply a 20% import tariff and a 15% tax on outsourcing to foreign countries. Trump favors stronger trade negotiations with nations such as China, with a more level playing field on trade, to restore American jobs applying tariffs when necessary. Trump favors a free market energy policy and opposes cap and trade also called 'cap and tax'. Trump supports improving America's infrastructure.

Education

Trump favors school choice and local control for primary and secondary schools. He opposes federally mandated Common Core standards for primary and secondary schools. He has called Common Core a disaster that must be ended.

Foreign affairs and national defense

Trump has stated his intention to provide presidential leadership with strong diplomacy to restore "respect" for the United States around the world and he supports a robust national defense. In his announcement speech he said that the USA is getting weaker as a country and that its nuclear arsenal is old and does not work.

In an interview with NBC News in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 14, 2015, Trump called the newly-announced nuclear deal with Iran "terrible", saying that the president negotiated the agreement "from desperation." He added, "I don't understand the president. He dealt from desperation, and he shouldn't have been desperate." He further stated, "First of all, we're giving them billions of dollars in this deal, which we shouldn't have given them. We should have kept the money," in reference to the sanctions relief for Iran under the deal, which was negotiated by Iran and six world powers led by the United States. "Second of all, we have four prisoners over there. We should have said 'Let the prisoners out.' They shouldn't be over there." Trump also said that any deal should stipulate that inspectors have 24-hour-a-day access immediately to all nuclear sites.

Healthcare and Social Security

Trump favors replacing the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) with a free market plan and competition to lower costs. This is a change of his earlier support for a single-payer system. He supports funding Social Security and Medicare rather than cutting them. He has previously expressed support for allowing people to privately invest their social security dollars.

Illegal immigration and border security

Trump has made U.S. border security a priority. During his announcement speech he stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems.... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics. It read in part:

"The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc. This was evident just this week when, as an example, a young woman in San Francisco was viciously killed by a 5 time deported Mexican with a long criminal record, who was forced back into the United States because they didn’t want him in Mexico. This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States. In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government. The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world. On the other hand, many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally, and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally. I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me…and, just like our country, my organization is better for it."

The Center for Immigration Studies, an immigration think-tank that advocates lowered immigration, has said that illegal immigrants are not necessarily charged and incarcerated accordingly, but account for a proportionate number of US incarcerations. Other groups such as the ACLU and the government run National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) have said there is no demonstrated correlation between immigration and crime, and no direct evidence presented has revealed whether Mexico has policies that force people to immigrate illegally the U.S. However, over 36,000 criminally convicted illegal immigrants were released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2013, of which over 32,000 were traffic-related.

Reactions to comments on illegal immigration

Trump acknowledged that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus asked him to tone down his rhetoric on immigration reform and stated that his conversations with the RNC were "congratulatory" as well. José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said that "he is a politician who ignores the context in which it is participating", with regard to US international economic relations and Trump's comments. Jeb Bush stated that "Trump is wrong on this" and "to make these extraordinarily kind of ugly comments is not reflective of the Republican Party." However, Jamiel and Anita Shaw, whose son was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2008, came forward to defend Trump, with Anita Shaw stating on July 7, 2015 that, "it's time people listened to Trump" and "this guy who is running for President, Donald Trump, he's trying to do something and they're trying to shut him down." Jamiel Shaw spoke at the podium for Trump's July 11 rally at the Phoenix convention center, in part declaring, "I Trust Donald Trump." Two days later, escaped high-profile druglord Joaquín Guzmán was alleged to have issued threats through a Twitter account against Trump. The brother of Kate Steinle who was shot in San Francisco criticized Trump for politicizing his sisters death, telling Anderson Cooper Trump's platform "isn't exactly what our family believes in".

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz saluted Trump for giving attention to illegal immigration, while former Arizona governor Jan Brewer and Congressman Steve King also defended Trump's remarks about illegal immigration and crime. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly praised Trump's comments and his continued response to the backlash, saying that Trump has successfully changed the debate and brought the issue of immigration reform back to the foreground, while also not backing down against media scrutiny and businesses severing ties with him. Former Arizona governor Jan Brewer said,"I believe that Mr. Trump is kind of telling it like it really, truly is." Over 36,000 criminally convicted illegal immigrants were released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2013. On July 10, 2015, Limbaugh cited a report which supports Trump's remarks about illegal immigration and crime.

Univision announced it would no longer carry broadcasts of the Miss USA Pageant. In response, Trump indicated the matter would be handled by legal action, and followed through by filing a $500 million lawsuit against Univision. The complaint asserts that Univision is attempting to suppress Trump’s First Amendment rights by putting pressure on his business ventures. NBC announced it would not air the Miss Universe or Miss USA pageant. Afterwards, the multinational media company Grupo Televisa severed ties with Trump, as did Ora TV, a television network partly owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Trump gave the rights to broadcast the Miss Universe and Miss USA Pageants to the Reelz Channel.

Paulina Vega, the current Miss Universe and former Miss Colombia, said that, although she repudiates the immigration remarks of Trump, who in turn called her a "hypocrite", that she cannot give up the crown because her contract forbids it, and she could be sued.

Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica will not send representatives to the Miss Universe competition.

Macy's announced it would phase out its Trump-branded merchandise. Serta, a mattress manufacturer, also decided to drop their business relationship with Trump. NASCAR ended sponsorship with Trump by announcing it would not hold their post season awards banquet at the Trump National Doral Miami. ESPN decided to relocate its ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic to the Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach. The charity golf tournament was once scheduled to be held at a golf course owned by Trump.

Reuters journalists found that Trump's companies sought to import 1,100 workers on H-2B visas since 2000.

Endorsements

State legislators

Fred Doucette, New Hampshire State Representative
James H. Merrill, South Carolina State Representative, former Majority Leader
Stephen Stepanek, New Hampshire State Representative, Deputy Majority Leader
Joshua Whitehouse, New Hampshire State Representative
Jenn Coffey, former New Hampshire State Representative
Lou Gargiulo, former New Hampshire State Representative
Paula Johnson, former New Hampshire State Representative
John Russell, former South Carolina State Senator and Representative, son of former Governor of South Carolina Donald S. Russell

Businesspeople

Ivanka Trump, EVP of The Trump Organization, daughter of Donald Trump

Celebrities, commentators and activists

Terrell Owens, former NFL wide receiver
Michael Savage, radio host (in February 2015, before Trump announced, Savage expressed preliminary support for both Ted Cruz and Rand Paul)
Gary Busey, actor
Ed McMullen, former president of the South Carolina Policy Council
Sam Nunberg, former director of the Middle East Forum's Legal Project and deputy political director of the American Center for Law & Justice
Corey Lewandowski, national director of voter registration of Americans for Prosperity
Chuck Laudner, Iowa political operative, former Iowa GOP executive director and chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Steve King, Iowa manager for Santorum'12
Matt Ciepielowski, former New Hampshire field director of Americans for Prosperity, Youth for Ron Paul'12 Louisiana regional coordinator
Jeff Taillon, former director of advance to Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley
Tim Jost, deputy finance director on Romney for Governor, deputy CFO and assistant treasurer for Romney'12
Alan Cobb, former political adviser to Koch Industries
Dennis Rodman, five-time NBA champion
Jamiel Shaw Sr. and Iraq war veteran Sgt. Anita Shaw, parents of Jamiel Shaw Jr., high school football player killed by an illegal immigrant
Lou Ferrigno, actor and bodybuilder
Trisha Paytas, YouTube blogger
Ivana Trump, socialite and former athlete and fashion model, ex-wife of Donald Trump