This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/may/05/donald-trump-nomination-republican-party-us-election-news-sanders-clinton-live

The article has changed 22 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 14 Version 15
Donald Trump backs Brexit and says UK 'better off without' EU – campaign live Donald Trump backs Brexit and says UK 'better off without' EU – campaign live
(35 minutes later)
12.56am BST
00:56
Another #NeverTrump:
Ex-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman says she will write in @JohnKasich for president. #hardball
12.54am BST
00:54
Donald Trump tells an audience in Charleston, West Virginia, that the removal of chlorofluorocarbons from aerosol cans used to dispel hairspray is “like a lot of rules and regulations you have in the mines” - that is, unimportant.
“You’re not allowed to use hairspray anymore, because it affects the ozone – you know that, right?” Trump said. The riff was prompted after he checked his iconic hair after donning a mining helmet at the lectern.
“In the old days, you put he hairspray on, it’s good; now, you put it on, it lasts, like, twelve minutes,” Trump said. “You’re telling me that affects the ozone layer? I say no way, folks - no way! No way! That’s like a lot of rules and regulations you have in the mines.”
12.48am BST
00:48
“You know why it’s #NeverTrump?” Trump asks the audience.
Because I’m gonna stop the gravy train for all of these consultants who are ripping off our country.
12.42am BST
00:42
Former Texas governor Rick Perry, who once called Donald Trump’s candidacy “a cancer on conservatism,” told CNN this evening that he is endorsing Trump’s candidacy as the presumptive Republican nominee and is “open to any way I can help” get him elected - leaving the door open to be a potential running mate.
“He is not a perfect man,” Perry added. “But what I do believe is that he loves this country and he will surround himself with capable, experienced people and he will listen to them.”
Perry might have wanted to let his webmasters know - the entire speech in which he said Trump “foments agitation, thrives on division, scapegoats certain elements of society, and offers empty platitudes and promises” is still online.
Updated
at 12.46am BST
12.39am BST
00:39
Donald Trump rails against Hillary Clinton’s comments on coal miners in March, in which she said “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,” calling the comment “a tough one to explain, wouldn’t you say?”
“I’ll tell you what folks - you’re amazing people, and we’re gonna take care of a lot of years of horrible abuse,” Trump said to miners in the audience. “And you can count on it, 100%.”
“The miners don’t wanna leave!” he said, of miners looking for work following the closure of coal mines. “We’re gonna open the mines, we’re gonna open the mines.”
“I see over here: ‘Trump Digs Coal,’” Trump says, reading from campaign signs that his campaign had printed out. “That’s true.”
“We’re gonna bring back all those miners, you’re gonna be so proud of your president, you’re gonna be so proud of your country.”
12.33am BST
00:33
Donald Trump holds first rally as presumptive Republican nominee
Speaking in Charleston, West Virginia, Donald Trump has begun his first campaign rally as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
To the strains of John Denver’s Country Roads, Take Me Home - “West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads” - Trump told the crowd that he almost missed his opponents for the Republican nomination.
“I want the primaries to keep going - but everybody’s out - I’m the only one left,” Trump said. “That’s okay, right?”
Updated
at 12.41am BST
12.25am BST12.25am BST
00:2500:25
David SmithDavid Smith
More than eight in 10 Republicans who support Donald Trump regard refugees from Iraq and Syria as a major threat to the US, according to a survey that lays bare the deep political polarisation in America.More than eight in 10 Republicans who support Donald Trump regard refugees from Iraq and Syria as a major threat to the US, according to a survey that lays bare the deep political polarisation in America.
Trump’s creed of “America first” set out in a recent foreign policy speech in Washington appears to be resonating with Republicans who believe the US should put its own interests ahead of playing the role of global policeman.Trump’s creed of “America first” set out in a recent foreign policy speech in Washington appears to be resonating with Republicans who believe the US should put its own interests ahead of playing the role of global policeman.
“America’s Place in the World” is a survey of foreign policy attitudes conducted periodically by the Pew Research Center. The latest poll was carried out among 2,008 US adults from 12 to 19 April, before Ted Cruz and John Kasich pulled out of the race for the Republican nomination.“America’s Place in the World” is a survey of foreign policy attitudes conducted periodically by the Pew Research Center. The latest poll was carried out among 2,008 US adults from 12 to 19 April, before Ted Cruz and John Kasich pulled out of the race for the Republican nomination.
For those who back the New York billionaire in the primary campaign, the large number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Iraq and Syria is especially worrisome, according to Pew. Some 85% of Republican voters who support Trump say the refugees are a major threat to the US, compared with 74% of those who prefer Cruz and 59% who prefer Kasich. Trump has promised a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.For those who back the New York billionaire in the primary campaign, the large number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Iraq and Syria is especially worrisome, according to Pew. Some 85% of Republican voters who support Trump say the refugees are a major threat to the US, compared with 74% of those who prefer Cruz and 59% who prefer Kasich. Trump has promised a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.
Among Democratic voters, by contrast, just 40% of Clinton supporters and 34% of Bernie Sanders backers view the refugee migration as a major threat. For Trump supporters, only the threat from Islamic State (93%) ranks higher than refugees, among the eight issues included.Among Democratic voters, by contrast, just 40% of Clinton supporters and 34% of Bernie Sanders backers view the refugee migration as a major threat. For Trump supporters, only the threat from Islamic State (93%) ranks higher than refugees, among the eight issues included.
Related: More than 80% of Trump supporters see refugees as threat to US, survey showsRelated: More than 80% of Trump supporters see refugees as threat to US, survey shows
12.09am BST12.09am BST
00:0900:09
Mona ChalabiMona Chalabi
Trump may claim “I love Hispanics!” but 81% of Hispanics have an unfavorable opinion of Trump according, to a Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,010 adults conducted last month.Trump may claim “I love Hispanics!” but 81% of Hispanics have an unfavorable opinion of Trump according, to a Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,010 adults conducted last month.
A separate poll conducted last month by America’s Voice/Latino Decisions National Survey put the number a little higher - 87% said they had an unfavorable opinion of the New York billionaire (among Republican Latinos, that number slid a little lower to 73% unfavorable).A separate poll conducted last month by America’s Voice/Latino Decisions National Survey put the number a little higher - 87% said they had an unfavorable opinion of the New York billionaire (among Republican Latinos, that number slid a little lower to 73% unfavorable).
11.58pm BST11.58pm BST
23:5823:58
Donald Trump: UK is 'better off without' the European UnionDonald Trump: UK is 'better off without' the European Union
Scott BixbyScott Bixby
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee told Fox News this evening that he thinks that the UK would be better off not being associated with the European Union.The presumptive Republican presidential nominee told Fox News this evening that he thinks that the UK would be better off not being associated with the European Union.
“I think the migration has been a horrible thing for Europe,” Trump told Bret Baier. “A lot of that was pushed by the EU. I would say that they’re better off without it, personally, but I’m not making that as a recommendation. Just my feeling.”“I think the migration has been a horrible thing for Europe,” Trump told Bret Baier. “A lot of that was pushed by the EU. I would say that they’re better off without it, personally, but I’m not making that as a recommendation. Just my feeling.”
“I know Great Britain very well,” Trump continued. “I know, you know, the country very well. I have a lot of investments there. I would say that they’re better off without it. But I want them to make their own decision.”“I know Great Britain very well,” Trump continued. “I know, you know, the country very well. I have a lot of investments there. I would say that they’re better off without it. But I want them to make their own decision.”
Trump has expressed skepticism of the UK’s membership in the EU before. In March, he said he understood support for the so-called “Brexit” because the UK’s allies were “doing nothing”.Trump has expressed skepticism of the UK’s membership in the EU before. In March, he said he understood support for the so-called “Brexit” because the UK’s allies were “doing nothing”.
“I think they [Britain] may leave the EU, yes, they’re having a lot of problems,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “I don’t want to make a comment about the UK leaving but I think they may leave based on – I’m there a lot, I have a lot of investments in the UK and I will tell you that I think they may leave based on everything I’m hearing.”“I think they [Britain] may leave the EU, yes, they’re having a lot of problems,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “I don’t want to make a comment about the UK leaving but I think they may leave based on – I’m there a lot, I have a lot of investments in the UK and I will tell you that I think they may leave based on everything I’m hearing.”
Just yesterday, Trump criticized Barack Obama for coming out against the Brexit, telling the Daily Mail: “I didn’t think it was a good thing for him to do it.Just yesterday, Trump criticized Barack Obama for coming out against the Brexit, telling the Daily Mail: “I didn’t think it was a good thing for him to do it.
“I would say that I’m not going to give Britain any advice, but I know there are a lot of people that are very, very much against being in the EU.”“I would say that I’m not going to give Britain any advice, but I know there are a lot of people that are very, very much against being in the EU.”
UpdatedUpdated
at 12.15am BSTat 12.15am BST
11.42pm BST11.42pm BST
23:4223:42
Sens. John McCain, Dan Sullivan, Tom Cotton say they'll 'support the nominee'Sens. John McCain, Dan Sullivan, Tom Cotton say they'll 'support the nominee'
There ain’t no party like the Republican party, because the Republican party is mandatory.There ain’t no party like the Republican party, because the Republican party is mandatory.
Arizona senator John McCain, Alaska senator Dan Sullivan and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton have all gone on the record to say that, despite vast differences in policy and ideology, they will “support the nominee” of the Republican party.Arizona senator John McCain, Alaska senator Dan Sullivan and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton have all gone on the record to say that, despite vast differences in policy and ideology, they will “support the nominee” of the Republican party.
“Well, first of all, I’ve always said I would support the nominee of the party, the party of Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt,” McCain said to local radio KTAR, first reported by Buzzfeed News. “I have strong disagreements with Mr. Trump on a number of issues. I believe four years of Hillary Clinton will be an absolute disaster for this nation, as far as national security is concerned.”“Well, first of all, I’ve always said I would support the nominee of the party, the party of Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt,” McCain said to local radio KTAR, first reported by Buzzfeed News. “I have strong disagreements with Mr. Trump on a number of issues. I believe four years of Hillary Clinton will be an absolute disaster for this nation, as far as national security is concerned.”
“I’m not comfortable with a lot of the things that he has done,” McCain added.“I’m not comfortable with a lot of the things that he has done,” McCain added.
“There’s all this focus on Trump and the White House as there should be but what a lot of us are focused on is making sure regardless of whether Hillary wins or Trump wins,” Sullivan reiterated. “One of the most important things we have to do is keep the US Senate in Republican hands.”“There’s all this focus on Trump and the White House as there should be but what a lot of us are focused on is making sure regardless of whether Hillary wins or Trump wins,” Sullivan reiterated. “One of the most important things we have to do is keep the US Senate in Republican hands.”
“I’ve long said that I will support the Republican nominee because we can’t afford a third Obama-Clinton term,” said Cotton.“I’ve long said that I will support the Republican nominee because we can’t afford a third Obama-Clinton term,” said Cotton.
“I’m supporting the nominee of the party,” said McCain, when asked again if he was supporting Trump. “The answer is I am supporting the nominee.”“I’m supporting the nominee of the party,” said McCain, when asked again if he was supporting Trump. “The answer is I am supporting the nominee.”
11.28pm BST11.28pm BST
23:2823:28
Trevor TimmTrevor Timm
There’s a lot of people right now (rightly) freaking out about the fact that Donald Trump, as the presumptive Republican nominee, will soon be entitled to receive classified briefings from US intelligence agencies about national security issues. It’s just one more terrifying sign that he is that much closer to the presidency.There’s a lot of people right now (rightly) freaking out about the fact that Donald Trump, as the presumptive Republican nominee, will soon be entitled to receive classified briefings from US intelligence agencies about national security issues. It’s just one more terrifying sign that he is that much closer to the presidency.
As Buzzfeed is reporting, some Democrats are now making the argument Trump shouldn’t receive these briefings at all. Sen. Chris Murphy said today, Trump “has no moral or ethical grounding,” warning that “he wouldn’t think twice of taking classified information and putting it out in the public realm if he thought it served his political purposes.”As Buzzfeed is reporting, some Democrats are now making the argument Trump shouldn’t receive these briefings at all. Sen. Chris Murphy said today, Trump “has no moral or ethical grounding,” warning that “he wouldn’t think twice of taking classified information and putting it out in the public realm if he thought it served his political purposes.”
But is this the argument Democrats really want to make right now? Currently, there is only one candidate in the race accused of mishandling classified information, and that’s Hillary Clinton. No matter your position on whether she is guilty or not, this doesn’t seem like something they would want to draw additional attention to.But is this the argument Democrats really want to make right now? Currently, there is only one candidate in the race accused of mishandling classified information, and that’s Hillary Clinton. No matter your position on whether she is guilty or not, this doesn’t seem like something they would want to draw additional attention to.
On another more humorous/conspiratorial note: It’s well known that many people in the military and intelligence community are just as scared of a Trump presidency as much of the general public. So here’s an admittedly crazy hypothetical to think about: Intelligence agency officials purposefully feed Trump juicy information in the classified briefings, knowing that he’ll immediately tell the public, then refer him for prosecution.On another more humorous/conspiratorial note: It’s well known that many people in the military and intelligence community are just as scared of a Trump presidency as much of the general public. So here’s an admittedly crazy hypothetical to think about: Intelligence agency officials purposefully feed Trump juicy information in the classified briefings, knowing that he’ll immediately tell the public, then refer him for prosecution.
You just know he wouldn’t be able to help himself.You just know he wouldn’t be able to help himself.
UpdatedUpdated
at 11.29pm BSTat 11.29pm BST
11.14pm BST11.14pm BST
23:1423:14
The Obama administration has commuted the prison sentences of 58 federal convicts, part of a broader push to revamp the criminal justice system and ease punishments for non-violent drug offenders.The Obama administration has commuted the prison sentences of 58 federal convicts, part of a broader push to revamp the criminal justice system and ease punishments for non-violent drug offenders.
The people whose prison terms were cut short include 18 who were given life sentences. Most who received clemency are now due for release on 2 September, though others will be released over the next two years.The people whose prison terms were cut short include 18 who were given life sentences. Most who received clemency are now due for release on 2 September, though others will be released over the next two years.
The latest wave – which includes defendants convicted of dealing cocaine, crack and methamphetamine – brings to 306 the total number of inmates whose sentences Obama has commuted, the vast majority for drug crimes. The pace of commutations – along with pardons, which are less common – is expected to increase as the end of Obama’s presidency nears.The latest wave – which includes defendants convicted of dealing cocaine, crack and methamphetamine – brings to 306 the total number of inmates whose sentences Obama has commuted, the vast majority for drug crimes. The pace of commutations – along with pardons, which are less common – is expected to increase as the end of Obama’s presidency nears.
The prisoners given commutations have been “granted a second chance to lead productive and law-abiding lives,” said the deputy attorney general, Sally Quillian Yates.The prisoners given commutations have been “granted a second chance to lead productive and law-abiding lives,” said the deputy attorney general, Sally Quillian Yates.
“Our clemency work is continuing as part of our broader efforts to effectuate criminal justice reform and ensure fairness and proportionality in sentencing,” Yates said.“Our clemency work is continuing as part of our broader efforts to effectuate criminal justice reform and ensure fairness and proportionality in sentencing,” Yates said.
Related: Obama commutes sentences of 58 convicts, including 18 life sentencesRelated: Obama commutes sentences of 58 convicts, including 18 life sentences
10.55pm BST
22:55
Donald Trump has responded to Paul Ryan in a (relatively tame!) statement this evening:
I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda. Perhaps in the future we can work together and come to an agreement about what is best for the American people. They have been treated so badly for so long that it is about time for politicians to put them first!
10.40pm BST
22:40
New Jersey governor and Donald Trump campaign surrogate Chris Christie is reportedly hoping to sway Speaker Paul Ryan’s opinion on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, according to WNYC.
new: @ChrisChristie says he's going to reach out to @SpeakerRyan to find out "what his concerns are" about endorsing @realDonaldTrump
10.33pm BST
22:33
Ben Jacobs
Donald Trump’s first rally after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee will be held in the Charleston Civil Center in the downtown of West Virginia’s capital city. The brutalist hunk of concrete filled up hours before and as an orderly line dissolved into a horde of people desperate to make it in the event.
Campaign handing out signs that say "Trump digs coal" in Charleston WV pic.twitter.com/fmtnS4tZ12
Trump was already pivoting to a general election message giving prime seats to coal miners, still in uniform from work, with signs planted saying “Trump Digs Coal.” The crowd seemed to be wearing even more Trump merchandise than usual for the rally as the cavernous space, which held over 13,000, filled up.
10.18pm BST
22:18
FBI interviews Hillary Clinton's closest aides in email probe
As the FBI probe into former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure at the state department comes close to conclusion, the law enforcement agency interviewed some of Clinton’s closest aides in connection with the investigation, according to CNN.
Multiple aides, including longtime confidante Huma Abedin, have been interviewed by federal investigators, some of them multiple times, according to the report. Investigators have reportedly found no evidence that Clinton willingly violated federal law. The interviews were described to CNN by law enforcement sources as “routine.”
Clinton herself, meanwhile, has not yet been interviewed, and a scheduled sitdown with the FBI has not yet been finalized, but is expected to take place within the next few weeks.
Updated
at 10.19pm BST
10.07pm BST
22:07
In an interview with the Associated Press, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump suggested that he plans to reveal his vice presidential nominee at the party’s convention in Cleveland this July.
“It is early - we just won yesterday,” Trump said. “I will announce it at the convention. A lot of people are interested.”
9.57pm BST
21:57
What’s that? The Republican speaker of the house declined to endorse his party’s presumptive nominee because of intense philosophical differences that he views as anathema to the conservative movement?
We couldn’t hear you - we were too busy reading this email from the Committee for Arrangements for the Republican National Committee, sent out at the same time as Paul Ryan’s interview on CNN, which announces the official florists of the convention.
If flowers can’t distract people from the impending Republican civil war, nothing can.
Updated
at 9.57pm BST
9.37pm BST
21:37
Scott Bixby
Continuing the seismic interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper in which he declined to endorse presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan told Tapper that while “it’s possible” that Trump could bridge the ideological gap between his campaign and the Republican establishment, the speaker’s focus will be on maintaining the party’s majority in the House of Representatives this fall.
“I desperately want to see us unify on principles and ideas and policies and agenda,” Ryan said, “and I’m hoping where that’s gonna go.”
“I’m not saying he’s got to support my policies - he won fair and square on his policies, and yes, he comes from a different wing of the party than I do, but I gotta tell you, if we don’t unify all wings of this party, we’re gonna lose this election,” Ryan said.
That said, “we’ve got a ways to go from here to there.”
Ryan said that, as speaker of the house, he will gavel the Republican National Convention into order, “but we’ll see” if Trump has made any substantive moves toward unifying the party by that point.
Tapper pressed Ryan on the substantive ideological differences on religious liberty, free trade and immigration between Trump and the Republican orthodoxy, and asked if it was reasonable to expect Trump to abandon his principles for the sake of party unity.
“We’ve got work to do,” Ryan responded, tightlipped.
That said, Ryan declared that he was more focused on maintaining the Republican majority in Congress than in the future of the Republican party. “I don’t think it’s right to think about 2017 and beyond - I’m focused on 2016,” he said. “My focus this fall is, has been and will be the House majority.”
After once again declining to entertain the notion that he might become a “consensus candidate” in the event of chaos at the convention, Ryan closed out the interview by laughing dismissing Trump’s assertion in March that “he will have to pay a big price” if he doesn’t get along with the billionaire.
“No, I’m not worried about that,” Ryan said with a chuckle.
Updated
at 9.39pm BST
9.11pm BST
21:11
Speaker Paul Ryan declines to endorse Donald Trump: 'I'm just not ready to do that at this point'
In a move that raises the civil war brewing in the Republican party to a new level, House speaker Paul Ryan has declined to endorse presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump at this time, telling CNN that “I’m not there right now.”
“I’m just not ready to do that at this point,” Ryan told CNN’s Jake Tapper, in his first interview since Trump appeared to clinch the party’s presidential nomination following the suspension of his last remaining rivals’ campaigns. “Conservatives want to know: Does he share our values? There are lots of questions that conservatives are going to want answers to.”
“At this point,” Ryan said, “I think he has to do more to unify this party.”
“I’m familiar with the points you’re making,” Ryan said in response to a laundry list of episodes from the primary campaign - ranging from trump’s comments about women to his flirtation with connecting primary opponent Ted Cruz’s father with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
“I wanna see a verification that our conservative principles will be championed, will be run on, will be represented,” Ryan continued. But just as Trump needs to moderate his message, Ryan said, “there’s a bit of humility that each of us needs, particularly in Congress.”
“He tapped into something in this country that is very powerful,” Ryan said of Trump, “but at the same time, now that we have the presumptive nominee who is going to be our standard-bearer,” who must espouse “the principles that not only built our party but built this country.”
“Looking back on the primary campaign, there are instances and episodes that question that,” Ryan concluded, “but I hope we can get there.”
Updated
at 9.18pm BST
8.58pm BST
20:58
Ex-KKK leader: Donald Trump's victory will expose 'Jewish supremacists who control our country'
Scott Bixby
White nationalist and onetime candidate for US senate David Duke has hailed Donald Trump’s accession to the Republican presidential nomination as an “amazing victory,” calling Trump’s rise a chance for white supremacists to expose the “Jewish supremacists who control our country.”
“The Trump campaign at a whole series of levels is a great opportunity for us to expose the people who really run the Republican Party, who run the Democratic Party, who run the political establishment and who are leading us all to disaster,” said Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, of the “Jewish extremists” who he accused of controlling American government on his radio show.
First reported by RightWingWatch, Duke exhorted listeners to “make sure that Trump understands that we expect him to follow through on these things and we expect him to be our white knight, our advocate and our person.”
Duke’s endorsement of Trump in February - and his subsequent declaration that the billionaire’s candidacy might rehabilitate the public image of Adolf Hitler - has highlighted Trump’s appeal among the so-called “alt-right,” an amorphous political movement whose proponents frequently espouse radical racialist views.
Trump initially declined to condemn Duke after his endorsement, telling CNN that “I don’t know anything about David Duke; certainly I would disavow it if I thought there was something wrong.”
Trump subsequently reversed course, tweeting a video in which he told press: “As I stated at the press conference on Friday regarding David Duke – I disavow.” Trump also did not condemn the Ku Klux Klan, as he was asked to during the interview.
In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday, Trump also declined to send a message to supporters who had sent a torrent of antisemitic and threatening messages to journalist Julia Ioffe this week after her profile of Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, appeared in this month’s issue of GQ.
“I don’t have a message to the fans – I’m not gonna talk about that,” the presumptive nominee said.
All of this has only emboldened Trump’s white supremacist acolytes, Duke said in his radio show, before pushing his listeners to normalize Trump’s more extreme positions on immigration and national security.
“This is a movement to take America back, and when we say ‘take America back,’ we know exactly what that means,” Duke said, “and I think everybody who says that knows what it means. And if we don’t keep putting that heat, if we don’t keep pushing the envelope over, we’ve got to be so far to the right ... for our people that Trump seems moderate so that he will have space to move to the right himself because we’ve got to start an evolutionary movement to the right.”
8.02pm BST
20:02
Trump: 'I love Hispanics'
...and taco bowls. Thumbs up.
(What prevented this patronizing tweet from not deploying a “feliz”?)
Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI
Updated
at 8.05pm BST