Bluegrassrivals

Trump tells Californians that they are not experiencing a drought. This is just another example of Trump failing to do his homework before opening his big mouth. The message should have been that federal policies have failed to mitigate the impact of the drought.

Trump does not seem to grasp that his media coverage will be much different now that he is the presumptive GOP nominee. There is no excuse for making such blatantly false statements that become fodder for negative headlines. The issue with government's choice to protect the Delta Smelt over farmers in the Central Valley should be a winning one for Trump. Instead of taking advantage of the issue by demonstrating his understanding, he just reinforces his image as a buffoon.

Trump should abandon California. He has zero chance of winning the state in November.

Quote:Donald Trump tells Californians there is no drought

California suffered one of its driest years in 2015. And last year the state hit its driest four-year period on record.

But Donald Trump isn't sold. The presumptive GOP nominee told supporters in Fresno, Calif., on Friday night that no such dry spell exists.

Trump said state officials were simply denying water to Central Valley farmers to prioritize the Delta smelt, a native California fish nearing extinction — or as Trump called it, "a certain kind of three-inch fish.”

“We’re going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane. It is so ridiculous where they’re taking the water and shoving it out to sea,” Trump told thousands of supporters at the campaign event.

Yes, there is a drought

A series of graphics from the Los Angeles Times shows the progression of the drought from 2011 through today, using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a federal website that tracks the dry conditions. The drought worsened in 2014 and 2015 and has marginally subsided this year.

Once again, Donald Trump exercises poor judgment. How stupid does Trump have to be to publicly attack the judge who presides over a $40 million fraud case involving him? Publicly accusing the judge of being biased because he "happens to be, we believe, Mexican," when Trump is already struggling to gain support among Hispanics suggests that this incident is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Trump's stupidity.

Quote:Judge bashed by Trump orders release of company records

A federal judge has ordered the release of internal Trump University documents in an ongoing lawsuit against the company, including “playbooks” that advised sales personnel how to market high-priced courses on getting rich through real estate.

The Friday ruling, in which Judge Gonzalo Curiel cited heightened public interest in presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, was issued in response to a request by The Washington Post. The ruling was a setback for Trump, whose attorneys argued that the documents contained trade secrets.

Curiel’s order came the same day that Trump railed against the judge at a boisterous San Diego rally for his handling of the case, in which students have alleged they were misled and defrauded. The trial is set for November.

Trump, who previously questioned whether Curiel’s Hispanic heritage made him biased due to Trump’s support for building a wall on the Mexican border, said Friday that Curiel “happens to be, we believe, Mexican.” Trump called the judge a “hater of Donald Trump” who had “railroaded” him in the case.

“I think Judge Curiel should be ashamed of himself. I think it’s a disgrace that he is doing this, “ Trump said.

In his order, Curiel noted that Trump had emerged as a leading presidential candidate over the course of the civil case against Trump University and that Trump had “placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue.” The judge pointed to a previous case to say that courts deciding on public disclosure must weigh “whether a party benefitting from the order of confidentiality is a public entity or official; and . . . whether the case involves issues important to the public.”

For some reason, Donald Trump continues to think that the socialists who support Bernie Sanders are going to vote for him in November.

Quote:Donald Trump Hopes for Boost From Bernie Sanders Supporters
Presumptive Republican nominee counting on Vermont senator’s backers to shift to him, but poll numbers indicate otherwise

Donald Trump, surveying the next phase of his Republican presidential campaign, is counting on a boost from an untapped well of disenchanted voters who hate the status quo, think the system is “rigged” against them and can’t stand Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

That would be supporters of Bernie Sanders.

“I’m hearing we’re going to get close to 40% of his supporters,” Mr. Trump said during a recent campaign rally in Albuquerque, N.M. “The system is rigged against Bernie, so he can’t win” in the Democratic presidential primary. “We’re going to get tremendous numbers from Bernie Sanders.”

But that prediction is a stretch and would require an extraordinary amount of persuasion to execute, if recent opinion polls and interviews with Sanders backers are any indication.

“That’s absurd,” said Frank Pringle, 32 years old, a law student in Richmond, Calif., at a Sanders rally. “He is living in a fantasy world.”

Frank Gamboa, 39, an Uber driver from Alameda who supports Mr. Sanders, is struggling with his general-election options but said, “I cannot in good conscience vote for Trump.”

In Wall Street Journal/NBC News polls over the first four months of this year, just 6% of Sanders supporters felt positively about Mr. Trump, while 90% felt negatively. Faced with a Trump-Clinton choice in the general election, 10% of Sanders supporters would vote for Mr. Trump, 81% would vote for Mrs. Clinton.

The May Journal/NBC poll suggests that Mrs. Clinton could be losing ground; it found just 66% of Sanders supporters would vote for her against Mr. Trump, while 17% would vote for Mr. Trump.

Yet, if Mr. Trump wants to woo Sanders supporters, he will face the formidable obstacle of the Vermont senator’s own virulent opposition to his candidacy and calls for his backers to resist the temptation of Mr. Trump.

“Donald Trump represents a whole lot that I passionately hate,” Mr. Sanders said in an MSNBC interview this month. “If I’m not the candidate, I will do everything that I can to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States.”

I have been wondering what ever happened to Chris Christie. It turns out he has been busy taunting Atlantic City's mayor of the city's finances. It sounds like Chris Christie's political career in New Jersey may be over. Atlantic City, in particular, hate both Chris Christie and Donald Trump. Trump's casino failures hit Atlantic City hard and now Christie is kicking the city while it is down.

It is notable that there are still 8 casinos operating in Atlantic City but fabulously successful businessman Donald Trump was unable to compete. Trump was a big flop in Atlantic City.

The twin bullies have worn their welcome out in New Jersey.

Christie taunts Atlantic City mayor on meeting deadline to avoid state takeover

Donald Trump and Chris Christie, the Twin Villains of Atlantic City

Donald Trump...what a guy! nicker:

I'll bet the trial lawyers business would boom if Trump wins in November. Imagine how many suits he will be able to file if he is successful in lowering the threshold for libel suits. A Trump presidency would be a disaster for the First Amendment, if Trump got his way.

Quote:Exclusive: Trump's 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential nominee

Our project found about 3,500 legal actions involving Trump, including 1,900 where he or his companies were a plaintiff and about 1,300 in which he was the defendant. Due to his branding value, Trump is determined to defend his name and reputation.

An exclusive USA TODAY analysis of legal filings across the United States finds that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his businesses have been involved in at least 3,500 legal actions in federal and state courts during the past three decades. They range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits to personal defamation lawsuits.

The sheer volume of lawsuits is unprecedented for a presidential nominee. No candidate of a major party has had anything approaching the number of Trump’s courtroom entanglements.

Just since he announced his candidacy a year ago, at least 70 new cases have been filed, about evenly divided between lawsuits filed by him and his companies and those filed against them. And the records review found at least 50 civil lawsuits remain open even as he moves toward claiming the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in seven weeks. On Tuesday, court documents were released in one of the most dramatic current cases, filed in California by former students accusing Trump University of fraudulent and misleading behavior.

The legal actions provide clues to the leadership style the billionaire businessman would bring to bear as commander in chief. He sometimes responds to even small disputes with overwhelming legal force. He doesn’t hesitate to deploy his wealth and legal firepower against adversaries with limited resources, such as homeowners. He sometimes refuses to pay real estate brokers, lawyers and other vendors.

As he campaigns, Trump often touts his skills as a negotiator. The analysis shows that lawsuits are one of his primary negotiating tools. He turns to litigation to distance himself from failing projects that relied on the Trump brand to secure investments. As USA TODAY previously reported, he also uses the legal system to haggle over his property tax bills. His companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and the New York State Department of Finance has obtained liens on Trump properties for unpaid tax bills at least three dozen times.

Hillary has not even secured the Democrats' nomination and she is starting to pull away from Trump in the polls. It would be great to see Hillary's big donor Donald forced to withdraw from the race before the GOP Convention and then watch Hillary get tossed in jail.

Clinton leads in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Virginia, and if Trump loses those states, he has no shot at winning in November.

Quote:Poll: Clinton surges to double-digit lead on Trump nationally

Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump by double digits in a hypothetical general election match-up, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday.

Forty-six percent of voters say they'll back Clinton, a Democrat, while 35 percent say they'll vote for Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Nineteen percent said they won't vote for either candidate.

The poll surveyed 1,421 voters between May 30 and June 3.

Trump had been quickly gaining ground and in some cases overtaking Clinton in polls over the last few weeks. The most recent RealClearPolitics average, not including the Reuters poll, puts her up by just 1.5 points.

The stupidity that Donald Trump has displayed during his campaign may only be the tip of the iceberg. There are not enough white men in this country to elect Trump this fall. He needs the votes of more women, blacks, Hispanics, and other demographics. So, what does Trump do? He brands the judge presiding over one of the Trump University fraud cases a "Mexican." The judge has a Spanish surname but was born in Indiana and is a Mexican citizen.

This comes on the heels of insulting female Hispanic New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez a day or two before asking for her endorsement.

Trump also recently used the phrase "Where is my African-American?" at one of his recent rallies.

Does Trump really want to beat Hillary in November?

Quote:Trump Presses Case That 'Mexican' Judge Curiel Is Biased Against Him

Donald Trump is intensifying his attacks on the federal judge presiding over fraud lawsuits against Trump University. On Friday the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, dismissing criticism from legal experts on the right and left, pressed his case against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, saying the Indiana-born judge is biased against him because "he's a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico."

Trump made the remarks, and others like it, repeatedly, in interviews with CNN and The Wall Street Journal, referring to Judge Curiel variously as "of Mexican heritage" or just "Mexican." But the message was always the same, that the judge had what Trump called "a conflict" because of his ethnicity.

At a rally in San Diego last week, Trump characterized the judge as "a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. He's a hater." And "they ought to look into Judge Curiel."

In public, Trump has called repeatedly for the judge to recuse himself, but his lawyers in fact have not made any such request.

That is undoubtedly because court precedents are unanimous in holding that race, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation are not themselves grounds for disqualifying a judge. If they were, legal ethicists observe, the legal system would fall into chaos because no judge would be free from taint. The five Supreme Court justices who are Catholic could not rule on a case in which the Catholic church participated, but neither could the other justices who are not Catholic.

Moreover, while Trump is free to say anything he wants about the judge, the lawyers in the case are bound by the professional rules of conduct and could be sanctioned for making such charges about Curiel without actual evidence of bias.

Trump made yuge political donations to campaigns of current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and current Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the states' investigations into Trump University magically disappeared.

It is really a shame that Republicans passed up a chance to nominate a scandal-free candidate as its presidential candidate.

Instead, we can look forward to five more months of Hillary and The Donald debating about which one is more corrupt. There should have been no such debate. This campaign should have been all about Hillary defending her criminal actions against daily charges of corruption. Now, we have a daily squabble between two thoroughly corrupt candidates.

Quote:Former Texas official says he was told to drop Trump University probe

WASHINGTON -- Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton moved to muzzle a former state regulator who says he was ordered in 2010 to drop a fraud investigation into Trump University for political reasons.

Paxton's office issued a cease and desist letter to former Deputy Chief of Consumer Protection John Owens after he made public copies of a 14-page internal summary of the state's case against Donald Trump for scamming millions from students of his now-defunct real estate seminar.

Donald Trump: Hillary Clinton "got it all wrong" in foreign policy speech
Owens, now retired, said his team had built a solid case against the now-presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but was told to drop it after Trump's company agreed to cease operations in Texas.

The former state regulator told The Associated Press on Friday that decision was highly unusual and left the bilked students on their own to attempt to recover their tuition money from the celebrity businessman.

Trump University is the target of two lawsuits in San Diego and one in New York that accuse the business of fleecing students with unfulfilled promises to teach secrets of success in real estate.

A federal judge overseeing one of the class action suits unsealed documents in the case earlier this week, then ordered some of those records to be withdrawn from public view, saying they had "mistakenly" been released.

Trump has personally attacked U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel as "a hater of Donald Trump," claiming he is biased against Trump because of his Hispanic heritage.

"We're in front of a very hostile judge," Trump told a crowd in San Diego on May 27. "The judge was appointed by Barack Obama, federal judge. Frankly, he should recuse himself because he's given us ruling after ruling after ruling, negative, negative, negative."

"What happens is the judge, who happens to be -- we believe -- Mexican. Which is great. I think that's fine," he said. "You know what? I think the Mexicans are going to end up loving Donald Trump when I give all these jobs, OK?"

Curiel was born in East Chicago, Indiana. Curiel's parents, however, are Mexican, according to a 2002 New York Times report of the judge's work in the Southern District of California's narcotics enforcement division.

Despite the lawsuits, the presumptive GOP nominee said Thursday he plans to reopen Trump University once the legal cases are resolved.

As CBS News reported in September, Trump University closed not because of litigation, but because students were not signing up for its Gold elite mentoring program that cost $35,000. The university, as a result, could no longer afford to fulfill its commitments to the students who had already paid.

A June 2010 memo from Trump University said the program was facing "significant operations risk" and it closed a month later. A former employee told CBS News that the program was "run into the ground."

According to the documents provided by Owens, his team sought to sue Trump, his company and several business associates to help recover more than $2.6 million students spent on seminars and materials, plus another $2.8 million in penalties and fees.

Owens said he was so surprised at the order to stand down he made a copy of the case file and took it home.

"It had to be political in my mind because Donald Trump was treated differently than any other similarly situated scam artist in the 16 years I was at the consumer protection office," said Owens, who lives in Houston.

Owens' boss at the time was then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is now the state's GOP governor.

The Associated Press first reported Thursday that Trump gave donations totaling $35,000 to Abbott's gubernatorial campaign three years after his office closed the Trump U case. Several Texas media outlets then reported Owens' accusation that the probe was dropped for political reasons.

Quote:8,491 pages raise more flags about Bondi's Trump money

Last week, the state of New York unveiled its case against Donald Trump.

Among the testimony was this quote: "I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme and that it preyed upon the elderly."

The statement was particularly damning — since it came from one of Trump University's sales managers.

New York's attorney general says the evidence is compelling that Trump's get-rich seminars — promoted in both Florida and New York — were merely a "bait and switch scheme" where people paid thousands of dollars for promised training and insight they never received.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, however, decided not to act on similar complaints filed by Floridians.

She, however, did take money from Trump — while her office said it was "reviewing" the complaints against him. Three days after the Orlando Sentinel wrote a story in 2013 about Floridians who felt scammed by a Trump affiliate, Trump's charitable foundation gave $25,000 to one of Bondi's campaign committees.

It was wildly unethical for her to accept this money. No self-respecting prosecutor would take money from a potential target.

Bondi's office always claimed there wasn't enough evidence to make a case. But I wondered how hard her staff worked to actually find any.

So I asked to see her office's investigative reports for myself.

Her office took about four weeks to respond and then finally did so with a massive document dump — thousands of pages, many of which were exchanges with the press about why they weren't investigating now and stressing they never had. A copy of an email I sent back in 2013 was included 39 different times.

All told, they provided 8,491 pages of records.

Perhaps they thought no one would really look at them.

If so, they were wrong.

I did — and found lots of troubling things and inconsistencies.

For instance, Bondi's office originally claimed it had received "no complaints" about the Trump University (Page 3,229) since she took office.

Later, a staffer said: "Under this administration, we have received one complaint regarding Donald Trump, Trump University or Trump Entrepreneur Institute (page 4,268).

Later still, a staffer said two (page 5,142).

Yet another wrote: "Just so everyone is aware, we have 100 complaints about The Trump Group." (Page 1,733), though that August 2013 message didn't cite a timeframe..

It goes on like that for hundreds of pages.

Most importantly, though, let me tell you what I did not find among those 8,491 pages — much evidence that Bondi's investigators had actually probed or investigated the complaints that had come her way.

There were lots of letters from Bondi's staff — and from the staff of the previous administration, under Bill McCollum, which fielded even more Trump-related complaints — telling people who felt like they were ripped off that they should hire their own attorney or complain to another government agency.

In one case, a man said Trump University cost him $26,000 and drove him into bankruptcy. He asked if Bondi would follow the New York attorney general's lead in investigating the matter. Bondi's office instead suggested he "visit an Internet search engine such as http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.google.com to search for information on any class action lawsuits you may benefit from." (Page 5,449)

Evidence of hard-core investigative work — the likes of which New York's attorney general has conducted — appeared largely absent.

No sworn affidavits or interviews of company officials I could find. Instead, staff suggested people who felt victimized should hire their own lawyers or perhaps join the New York case.

Look for many of the people who Trump has failed to pay and those destroyed by his four bankruptcies to be featured in Democratic attack ads between now and Election Day. Trump is a deadbeat who has grown wealthy as he crushed many of the people who trusted him to pay them for their work.

Quote:USA TODAY exclusive: Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills

Donald Trump casts himself as a protector of workers and jobs, but a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation found hundreds of people – carpenters, dishwashers, painters, even his own lawyers – who say he didn’t pay them for their work.

During the Atlantic City casino boom in the 1980s, Philadelphia cabinet-builder Edward Friel Jr. landed a $400,000 contract to build the bases for slot machines, registration desks, bars and other cabinets at Harrah's at Trump Plaza.

The family cabinetry business, founded in the 1940s by Edward’s father, finished its work in 1984 and submitted its final bill to the general contractor for the Trump Organization, the resort’s builder.

Edward’s son, Paul, who was the firm’s accountant, still remembers the amount of that bill more than 30 years later: $83,600. The reason: the money never came. “That began the demise of the Edward J. Friel Company… which has been around since my grandfather,” he said.

Donald Trump often portrays himself as a savior of the working class who will "protect your job." But a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades — and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans, like the Friels, who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them.

At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.

Trump’s companies have also been cited for 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. That includes 21 citations against the defunct Trump Plaza in Atlantic City and three against the also out-of-business Trump Mortgage LLC in New York. Both cases were resolved by the companies agreeing to pay back wages.

In addition to the lawsuits, the review found more than 200 mechanic’s liens — filed by contractors and employees against Trump, his companies or his properties claiming they were owed money for their work — since the 1980s. The liens range from a $75,000 claim by a Plainview, N.Y., air conditioning and heating company to a $1 million claim from the president of a New York City real estate banking firm. On just one project, Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, records released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1990 show that at least 253 subcontractors weren’t paid in full or on time, including workers who installed walls, chandeliers and plumbing.

“Let’s say that they do a job that’s not good, or a job that they didn’t finish, or a job that was way late. I’ll deduct from their contract, absolutely. That’s what the country should be doing.”

The actions in total paint a portrait of Trump’s sprawling organization frequently failing to pay small businesses and individuals, then sometimes tying them up in court and other negotiations for years. In some cases, the Trump teams financially overpower and outlast much smaller opponents, draining their resources. Some just give up the fight, or settle for less; some have ended up in bankruptcy or out of business altogether.

Trump and his daughter Ivanka, in an interview with USA TODAY, shrugged off the lawsuits and other claims of non-payment. If a company or worker he hires isn’t paid fully, the Trumps said, it’s because The Trump Organization was unhappy with the work.

“Let’s say that they do a job that’s not good, or a job that they didn’t finish, or a job that was way late. I’ll deduct from their contract, absolutely,” Trump said. “That’s what the country should be doing.”

'Visibly winced'

To be sure, Trump and his companies have prevailed in many legal disputes over missing payments, or reached settlements that cloud the terms reached by the parties.

However, the consistent circumstances laid out in those lawsuits and other non-payment claims raise questions about Trump’s judgment as a businessman, and as a potential commander in chief. The number of companies and others alleging he hasn’t paid suggests that either his companies have a poor track record hiring workers and assessing contractors, or that Trump businesses renege on contracts, refuse to pay, or consistently attempt to change payment terms after work is complete as is alleged in dozens of court cases.

In the interview, Trump repeatedly said the cases were “a long time ago.” However, even as he campaigns for the presidency, new cases are continuing. Just last month, Trump Miami Resort Management LLC settled with 48 servers at his Miami golf resort over failing to pay overtime for a special event. The settlements averaged about $800 for each worker and as high as $3,000 for one, according to court records. Some workers put in 20-hour days over the 10-day Passover event at Trump National Doral Miami, the lawsuit contends. Trump’s team initially argued a contractor hired the workers, and he wasn’t responsible, and counter-sued the contractor demanding payment.

“Trump could have settled it right off the bat, but they wanted to fight it out, that’s their M.O.” said Rod Hannah, of Plantation, Fla., the lawyer who represented the workers, who he said are forbidden from talking about the case in public. “They’re known for their aggressiveness, and if you have the money, why not?”

Similar cases have cropped up with Trump’s facilities in California and New York, where hourly workers, bartenders and wait staff have sued with a range of allegations from not letting workers take breaks to not passing along tips to servers. Trump's company settled the California case, and the New York case is pending.

Trump's Doral golf resort also has been embroiled in recent non-payment claims by two different paint firms, with one case settled and the other pending. Last month, his company’s refusal to pay one Florida painter more than $30,000 for work at Doral led the judge in the case to order foreclosure of the resort if the contractor isn’t paid.

Trump's career as a crony capitalist offers Democrats a treasure trove of video, audio, and written statements that cast Trump in the worst possible light. What a shame that Republicans passed over 16 better qualified and more ethical candidates to nominate a total clown with decades of potentially devastating baggage.

Quote:Lawyers in Trump University case seek maximum political pain

Legal fight is escalating over potential release of real estate mogul's deposition videos.

A battle is escalating over the potential release of videos of Donald Trump dodging and weaving during depositions in the Trump University case, footage that could make its way into attack ads aimed at the Republican White House hopeful.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys in two class-action lawsuits are pressuring U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel — the target of Trump’s racially charged attacks — to take steps that could make public four dozen video clips of Trump being pressed on whether his real estate seminar business was a sprawling scam, as well as his thoughts on the 2016 political race.
Story Continued Below

It’s just one of a series of tactics that the attorneys are using to exploit Trump’s pursuit for the highest office in the United States as they seek to maximize the political pain for Trump — and the strategic gain for their clients.

Trump has denied accusations that Trump University students were ripped off, and he has painted the legal assault as part of a politically motivated campaign to damage his presidential ambitions. He has noted that Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, the major class-action law firm involved, has long ties to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, paying them $675,000 for speeches in recent years. Attorneys at the firm have also been generous donors to the Clintons' campaigns.

However, legal experts say the plaintiffs' lawyers' approach in the long-running litigation seems less driven by political loyalties and more by opportunism — a chance to capitalize on Trump's predicament to try to force him into a financial settlement far more costly than would have been on the table before his improbable political ascent.

"They might have been willing to accept a settlement of 'X' dollars before, but Trump appeared unwilling to settle," said University of Chicago law professor David Zarfes. "Now, it would probably be '2X' or '3X' or '4X.' They have him in a very difficult, tenuous situation. It's unfortunate for him."
Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University, said the strategy by the plaintiffs’ attorneys would usually be unremarkable, but that Trump’s stature puts the case in a different league.

"It's how lawyers litigate, although the leverage is not generally focused on political circumstances,” he said. “Trump always has recourse to the magistrate judge or the district court if he thinks the strategy, the timing or the deadlines are abusive."

While Trump has not signaled any openness to a settlement — even falsely claiming that he never settles cases — the Trump University case has in recent days almost swallowed up his campaign, with Clinton accusing Trump of swindling everyday Americans and Republicans distancing themselves from him over his claims that the Indiana-born Curiel cannot be impartial because he’s “Mexican.”

Trump calls Hillary unfit to be president and Hillary calls Trump unfit to be president. Both of them are correct.

Quote:Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Call Each Other Unfit for Presidency

WASHINGTON — With their nomination contests finally locked up, Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump sought to rev up their core supporters on Friday during dueling speeches in which each cast the other as unfit for the presidency.

Mixing policy arguments with personal attacks, the presumptive nominees clashed from across the capital as they previewed the arguments they will take to the country over the next five months.

For Mr. Trump, who suffered perhaps the most damaging week of his yearlong campaign, a forum for evangelical Christians proved to be an unlikely haven, while Mrs. Clinton was greeted with cheers and pink “Hillary” signs as she vowed to protect women’s rights from Mr. Trump and the Republicans.

“Anyone who wants to defund Planned Parenthood and wipe out safe, legal abortions has no idea what’s best for women,” Mrs. Clinton said of Mr. Trump at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event here. “After all this is a man who has called women ‘pigs,’ ‘dogs’ and ‘disgusting animals.’”

Her first major address since securing enough delegates to clinch the nomination served Mrs. Clinton on two fronts as she looks to mend fissures within the Democratic Party while turning to the general election. It allowed Mrs. Clinton, the first woman to secure a major party’s presidential nomination, to demonstrate that a bedrock progressive cause was a top priority, and it gave her a forum to press her advantage with female voters against Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump, whose attacks on Megyn Kelly, Carly Fiorina and Heidi Cruz during the primary campaign were widely condemned, boasts that he would be better for women than Mrs. Clinton, but polls so far show that women disagree. A Gallup survey in April found that 70 percent of women in the country viewed him unfavorably.

Mrs. Clinton, who had a private meeting earlier in the day with one of her party’s most effective critics of Mr. Trump, Senator Elizabeth Warren, did not confine her own critique of him to women’s issues. She assailed Mr. Trump for accusing a federal judge, Gonzalo P. Curiel, of being biased because of his Mexican heritage, and she scolded Mr. Trump for disparaging a disabled reporter. His promise to make America great, she said, would set the country back decades.

Trump's celebrity campaign continues. Is it not great to be able to support a presidential candidate who has such a good grasp on issues that are really important to this country? This should make founding members of Trump's personality cult very happy. Trump could teach Obama a thing or two about running a campaign based on celebrity instead of substance.

Quote:Donald Trump Wants Sports Stars, Not Politicians, on Convention Stage

RICHMOND, Va. — Donald J. Trump has some ideas for how to jazz up the Republican National Convention, and he previewed one at a rally here on Friday evening: a “winner’s evening” of sports celebrities and champions addressing the convention rather than politicians.

“We’re going to do it a little different, if it’s O.K.,” he told the crowd. “I’m thinking about getting some of the great sports people who like me a lot.”

After regaling the crowd with the long story of how he successfully courted the endorsement of Bobby Knight, the former Indiana University basketball coach, Mr. Trump rattled off a list of other names of sports figures who he said have supported him. According to the candidate, he also has the support of the star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger; Brian France, the chief executive of Nascar; and Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Mr. Trump, right, with Bobby Knight, the former Indiana University basketball coach, who has endorsed him, in Evansville, Ind., in April. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times
“Dana White, you know Dana White?” Mr. Trump asked the crowd. “U.F.C. Guy’s a champion. These are champions.”

He said he wanted to have them all address the convention, to be held next month in Cleveland, as examples of “winners,” rather than “these people, these politicians who are going to get up and speak and speak and speak.”

As an example, he appeared to refer to the keynote speech by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey at the 2012 convention, when Mr. Christie seemed to spend more time promoting himself than the nominee, Mitt Romney. “One guy spoke for, like, 45 minutes. He never mentioned Romney’s name,” Mr. Trump said, exaggerating somewhat.

(Curiously enough, Mr. Christie is a Trump supporter, and Mr. Romney a leading detractor.)

A few Republican officials have said they are skipping the convention, in effect protesting Mr. Trump’s brand of campaigning.

“Our country needs to see winners,” Mr. Trump told the crowd. “We don’t see winners anymore. We have a bunch of clowns running this country. We have people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing running our country.”

The people of Atlantic City were glad to finally be rid of Donald Trump after he lost control of the last of the casinos that he owned there. Below is an excerpt of a very long article but it is worth reading how Trump made millions in Atlantic City despite badly mismanaging his casinos. Bankruptcies have been very, very good to Trump. For his creditors, contractors, and former employees - not so much.

Quote:How Donald Trump Bankrupted His Atlantic City Casinos, but Still Earned Millions

ATLANTIC CITY — The Trump Plaza Casino and Hotel is now closed, its windows clouded over by sea salt. Only a faint outline of the gold letters spelling out T-R-U-M-P remains visible on the exterior of what was once this city’s premier casino.

Not far away, the long-failing Trump Marina Hotel Casino was sold at a major loss five years ago and is now known as the Golden Nugget.

At the nearly deserted eastern end of the boardwalk, the Trump Taj Mahal, now under new ownership, is all that remains of the casino empire Donald J. Trump assembled here more than a quarter-century ago. Years of neglect show: The carpets are frayed and dust-coated chandeliers dangle above the few customers there to play the penny slot machines.

On the presidential campaign trail, Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, often boasts of his success in Atlantic City, of how he outwitted the Wall Street firms that financed his casinos and rode the value of his name to riches. A central argument of his candidacy is that he would bring the same business prowess to the Oval Office, doing for America what he did for his companies.

“Atlantic City fueled a lot of growth for me,” Mr. Trump said in an interview in May, summing up his 25-year history here. “The money I took out of there was incredible.”

His audacious personality and opulent properties brought attention — and countless players — to Atlantic City as it sought to overtake Las Vegas as the country’s gambling capital. But a close examination of regulatory reviews, court records and security filings by The New York Times leaves little doubt that Mr. Trump’s casino business was a protracted failure. Though he now says his casinos were overtaken by the same tidal wave that eventually slammed this seaside city’s gambling industry, in reality he was failing in Atlantic City long before Atlantic City itself was failing.

But even as his companies did poorly, Mr. Trump did well. He put up little of his own money, shifted personal debts to the casinos and collected millions of dollars in salary, bonuses and other payments. The burden of his failures fell on investors and others who had bet on his business acumen.

In three interviews with The Times since late April, Mr. Trump acknowledged in general terms that high debt and lagging revenues had plagued his casinos. He did not recall details about some issues, but did not question The Times’s findings. He repeatedly emphasized that what really mattered about his time in Atlantic City was that he had made a lot of money there.

Mr. Trump assembled his casino empire by borrowing money at such high interest rates — after telling regulators he would not — that the businesses had almost no chance to succeed.

His casino companies made four trips to bankruptcy court, each time persuading bondholders to accept less money rather than be wiped out. But the companies repeatedly added more expensive debt and returned to the court for protection from lenders.

After narrowly escaping financial ruin in the early 1990s by delaying payments on his debts, Mr. Trump avoided a second potential crisis by taking his casinos public and shifting the risk to stockholders.

And he never was able to draw in enough gamblers to support all of the borrowing. During a decade when other casinos here thrived, Mr. Trump’s lagged, posting huge losses year after year. Stock and bondholders lost more than $1.5 billion.

All the while, Mr. Trump received copious amounts for himself, with the help of a compliant board. In one instance, The Times found, Mr. Trump pulled more than $1 million from his failing public company, describing the transaction in securities filings in ways that may have been illegal, according to legal experts.

Mr. Trump now says that he left Atlantic City at the perfect time. The record, however, shows that he struggled to hang on to his casinos years after the city had peaked, and failed only because his investors no longer wanted him in a management role.

Trump is a liar, but nobody is claiming that he is a good liar. :biglmao:

Quote:Donald Trump Still Insists Don King Endorsed Him, Despite King's Denial

Donald Trump continues to insist boxing promoter Don King has endorsed his presidential campaign, though King denied his official support Friday.

Trump announced Friday on Twitter that King had endorsed his campaign, tweeting, "The great boxing promoter, Don King, just endorsed me. Nice!"

After Trump's initial tweet, King said in an interview with the New York Daily News at Muhammad Ali's funeral that he was not officially backing the GOP's presumptive nominee.

"I'm endorsing the people. I'm not a Republican or a Democrat, I'm a Republicrat, and I go with the will of the people. The only reason Trump exists is because of the will of the people," King said.

That's not to say King isn't a fan of Trump. "I like Mr. Trump," said King told the Daily News. "He's an idol of America."

Here is the first of what is sure to be many Hillary attack ads that features videos of Trump being Trump. Followed by Trump calling Hillary a liar for showing him being Trump. Who could have seen this coming?

Trump is a candidate's dream opponent and he is probably the only opponent in the general election that a criminal like Hillary Clinton had any chance of beating.

Quote:Clinton targets Trump in first general election ad

[YOUTUBE="Hillary Attack Ad"]aZ891SoIsdQ[/YOUTUBE]

Hillary Clinton's campaign will air their first general election television ad this week, targeting Donald Trump for comments about violence at his events and mocking a disabled New York Times reporter.

The ad, which aides said will begin airing Thursday, is meant to build on what Clinton will say this week at events in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Clinton narrates the minute long spot -- titled "Who We Are" -- and cast the election as a decision between helping people and dividing the country.

"Today, we face a choice about who we are as a nation," Clinton says, before video plays of Trump telling an audience in Las Vegas that he would like to "punch" a protester "in the face."

This formula is used throughout the ad. "Do we help each other," Clinton asks, before Trump says "knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously." Back to Clinton, " Do we respect each other," before video plays of Trump mocking Serge Kovaleski, a New York Times reporter who suffers from a congenital joint condition.

"You gotta see this guy -- ahh - I don't know what I said -- ahh - I don't remember," Trump said at a rally in South Carolina.

Trump tweeted Sunday morning: "Clinton made a false ad about me where I was imitating a reporter GROVELING after he changed his story. I would NEVER mock disabled. Shame!"

Clinton then narrates a lengthy description of her presidential platform.
"It's wrong to pit people against each other," Clinton says. "We've had enough partisan division and gridlock already. It's time to unite behind some simple, common goals."

Clinton will speak in Cleveland on Monday, where aide says she will "define the choice that voters face in this election and outline her vision of an America that is stronger together."

On the same day, though, Trump will deliver a speech in New Hampshire, where he is expected to go after the Clintons for past scandals and controversies, namely those from the 1990s.

Clinton aides have said they are happy with this contrast: While Trump is talking about the 1990s, Clinton aides said, the former secretary of state will be speaking about how to help voters.

Does anybody else find it more than a tad ironic that it was a British white guy who tried to whack Donald Trump?

Trump trails his criminal Democrat opponent by 13 points in latest Reuters poll of likely American voters. Clinton's lead over Trump is larger than Trump's lead over "Neither."

Trump's campaign has less than 1/30th the cash on hand that Hillary's campaign has available. Are you tired of WINNING yet?

What a sad sack candidate Trump is.

Quote:Clinton regains double-digit lead over Trump: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton regained a double-digit lead over Republican rival Donald Trump this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.

The June 20-24 poll showed that 46.6 percent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 percent supported Trump. Another 20.1 percent said they would support neither candidate.

Trump had enjoyed a brief boost in support following the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, as he doubled down on his pledge to ban Muslims from entering the country, cutting Clinton's lead to nine points.

But Trump's rise in popularity appeared to be only temporary, unlike his lasting surge among the Republican field last year after the attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino, California.

Clinton's 13.3 percentage point lead is about the same as she had before the Orlando attack.

Trump's slip this week came as he struggled to show that he can keep up with a Clinton campaign apparatus that has dwarfed his in size and funding.

Campaign finance disclosures released earlier this week showed Trump started June with a war chest of just $1.3 million, a fraction of Clinton's $42 million. Trump sought to ease concerns among his allies by saying that he could tap his "unlimited" personal wealth if needed, and also by bolstering efforts to raise money through fundraising events and online donations.

The only thing in the world worse than Hillary is idiot "conservatives" ensuring her victory.

Could a moderator change this thread title to "The Case For Hillary Clinton"...or "I'm Butt Hurt And Now Back Hillary"...or "My Muffin Is Hurt So Now I'm Gonna Bash Trump Cause Hillary Makes Me Feel Better"...or "I'm A Clinton Supporter And Won't Admit It"...or "Can Some One Help Me To Stop Whining"...or "I Hate Both Candidates, Give Me My Pacifier". Goodness gracious people, I'd hate to have you Libs after me, I'd have to go crawl in a hole somewhere.

SKINNYPIG Wrote:Could a moderator change this thread title to "The Case For Hillary Clinton"...or "I'm Butt Hurt And Now Back Hillary"...or "My Muffin Is Hurt So Now I'm Gonna Bash Trump Cause Hillary Makes Me Feel Better"...or "I'm A Clinton Supporter And Won't Admit It"...or "Can Some One Help Me To Stop Whining"...or "I Hate Both Candidates, Give Me My Pacifier". Goodness gracious people, I'd hate to have you Libs after me, I'd have to go crawl in a hole somewhere.

The Democrat Party is nothing more than a modern day collection of groups of people who want money to be given to them. All of them have their reasons, but there is only one source from which to go and seize it, that being the middle class. Those who are receiving the money don't really care who they hurt, or they would go out and earn it themselves. Those who procure the money to give them don't really care who they hurt, because all they care about is staying in office.

The parallels between the Brexit movement of Britain and their counterparts in America who support Mr Trump are so striking, that lucid minded people saw the correlation immediately. Of course, liberals and otherwise undefinable folks on this side of the pond are busy rejecting that reality as forcefully as possible because they still hope to 'propagandize' Hillary into the White House this fall. I don't buy much of the downplaying, distortions and affronts out there about Mr Trump. I knew they were coming and I predicted they would be like nothing we've ever seen and, obviously I was right.

I don't know if Ted Cruz would have gone after Hillary to the level that will be necessary to win or not. I know they (media) would likely have run over him and mocked him to scorn. Mr Trump on the other hand is different. He does not lack in personal strength and courage. I am amazed that he can remain so focused and continue to expose the truths that are so abundantly presenting themselves about Hillary's record, but are none the less being ignored by all but Mr Trump himself, and sometimes FOX News.

The campaign for those who could be manipulated to stay in England, was a campaign of lies, distortions and innuendo. Mirroring the deceit here, the campaign for Hillary is one of lies, distortions, stonewalling and innuendo. The campaign against Mr Trump is a campaign of lies, distortions and innuendo. The same people are running both campaigns, all except the pack of rats that claim to be Republican but are as Pig pointed out, fiercely engaged in battle for the sake of Hillary. They're (the anti Trump forces comprised of Dems, media, closet Libertarians and RINO's) not kidding anyone but themselves.

Better late than never. It's tough to win when your campaign is broke and has almost no ground organization.

Quote:Donald Trump Fires Corey Lewandowski, His Campaign Manager

Donald J. Trump fired his divisive campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, on Monday as he confronts urgent challenges heading into the general election — a strategic shift after months of concerns from party officials and donors about Mr. Lewandowski’s stewardship of the campaign.

The exit occurred a month before Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is to secure the official nomination at the party’s convention in Cleveland. It reflected a broader adjustment by the campaign as it grapples with a late start to fund-raising, anxiety among party leaders and a skeletal staff — all while Mr. Trump’s likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, swiftly builds out her operations in swing states.

Mr. Trump had faced increasing concerns from allies and donors, as well as his children, over whether Mr. Lewandowski, who had never before worked on a national race, was able to direct a battle against Mrs. Clinton. Among those who had voiced concern was Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, who told Mr. Trump last week that relations between his committee and Mr. Lewandowski had become increasingly strained, and that a change would be welcome, according to three people briefed on the discussion.

Republicans across the spectrum welcomed the firing as a positive step, but they suggested that it needed to be followed by consistent changes in performance from the candidate himself.

Mr. Lewandowski was fired at a Monday morning meeting with Mr. Trump and Mr. Trump’s two older sons, Eric and Donald Jr., said two others briefed on the meeting,who were not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Trump and Mr. Lewandowski had what was described as a “very open conversation.”

Mr. Lewandowski’s time was primarily spent on the campaign trail with the candidate, and day-to-day aspects of the operation were largely handled by the chief strategist, Paul Manafort. For months, Mr. Lewandowski had been a lightning rod for controversy, making headlines about himself that overshadowed his boss. This included his being charged with misdemeanor battery — a charge later dropped — after he was accused of grabbing a reporter as she approached Mr. Trump in Florida in March.

SKINNYPIG Wrote:Could a moderator change this thread title to "The Case For Hillary Clinton"...or "I'm Butt Hurt And Now Back Hillary"...or "My Muffin Is Hurt So Now I'm Gonna Bash Trump Cause Hillary Makes Me Feel Better"...or "I'm A Clinton Supporter And Won't Admit It"...or "Can Some One Help Me To Stop Whining"...or "I Hate Both Candidates, Give Me My Pacifier". Goodness gracious people, I'd hate to have you Libs after me, I'd have to go crawl in a hole somewhere.

There is no case to be made for Hillary Clinton, but the "Case Against Hillary Clinton" thread, which I started, was closed by a moderator - not me.

SKINNYPIG Wrote:Could a moderator change this thread title to "The Case For Hillary Clinton"...or "I'm Butt Hurt And Now Back Hillary"...or "My Muffin Is Hurt So Now I'm Gonna Bash Trump Cause Hillary Makes Me Feel Better"...or "I'm A Clinton Supporter And Won't Admit It"...or "Can Some One Help Me To Stop Whining"...or "I Hate Both Candidates, Give Me My Pacifier". Goodness gracious people, I'd hate to have you Libs after me, I'd have to go crawl in a hole somewhere.

I think we all know it's a pro Hillary thread and was always intended to be one by its creator.

Remember when Donald J. Trump promised to deport all illegal aliens from this country and to temporarily suspend all Muslim immigration to the U.S? No? It's OK. Trump apparently has forgotten those promises too. He even claims (falsely) that Obama has deported more illegals than anybody else ever has.

I remember, but I never did believe Trump would keep those promises anyway. This must be a blow to the true believers. :Cheerlead :Cheerlead

Quote:Trump shifts immigration plan: No 'mass deportations'

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared to soften his tone on immigration Saturday, saying he wouldn't issue mass deportations if he became president.

"President Obama has mass deported vast numbers of people — the most ever, and it's never reported. I think people are going to find that I have not only the best policies, but I will have the biggest heart of anybody," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg Politics Saturday.
Pressed on whether he would issue mass deportations, as he has called for in the past, Trump said, "No, I would not call it mass deportations.

"We are going to get rid of a lot of bad dudes who are here. That I can tell you," Trump said.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has promised to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexican border and deport all 11 million people living in the country illegally.

In November, shortly after he launched his presidential campaign, Trump said he would build a "deportation force" to ship those in the country illegally back to their home countries.

"We're going to do it in a very humane fashion. Believe me. I have a bigger heart than you do. We're going to do it in a very humane fashion," he said.

However, Trump stood by his proposal to restrict people from "terrorist countries" from entering the U.S. Previously, he said that if elected he would temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country.

"I want terrorists out. I want people that have bad thoughts out. I would limit specific terrorist countries, and we know who those terrorist countries are," Trump said.

^^ Trump is listening to his advisors. I have always said deportations should come as the result of bad behavior by the illegal immigrant, such as when he is picked up for a DUI or any crime that poses threat or danger to others. Other possibilities would include things like any form of identity fraud, charging goods or services against honest people's good credit, using a fake ID or social security number for example. Fraudulent attempts to vote in a US election would certainly be another deportable offense. Deportation squads were never necessary, after all, America's finest are already out there everyday trying to do their job, we should enable them once again to do it. And while we're at it, let's go back to saner days and recognize that both the liberal and the illegal immigrant are using their children as human shields to escape the constraints of US law. These people sometimes send their own children across the US border knowing, if they somehow survive the ordeal, they will be automatically inserted into the US welfare system. Then the parents come over the border themselves to join them, again to be supported by the welfare system. What loving parent would subject their children to such a life scaring ordeal? None, I would submit, only cowards and the callous are capable of such a despicable act of selfishness.

But the noteworthy point to all this in your mind is another opportunity to torpedo Mr Trump. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that his newly adjusted stance on illegal immigration is none the less light years better than that of Hillary Clinton; Who seems to be among those advocating for a borderless United States in order to conform to globalism. And let's give her a big hand for promising to increase by 500% the number of Syrian refuges to be seeded within our own communities without public knowledge of the when or the where. Oh and BTW, all courtesy of your tax dollars.

But no, I can see why you'd forego highlighting any of Clinton's stated intentions to further impose upon Americans for the sake of foreigners, and instead continue to call out Trump for these mole hills made mountains by Hillary supporters such as yourself. I mean, the truth is so inconvenient a tool to use for the purpose of building your case.

Another day, another poll showing Hillary Clinton trouncing one of her most realiable supporters. Who could have seen this coming? The #NeverTrumpers did. Trump is the worst Repubican nominee ever - or soon will be if the GOP continues its death spiral and hands him the nomination next month.

Quote:Clinton Opens 12-Point Lead on Trump as Two-Thirds See Him as Biased (POLL)

Hillary Clinton surged to a broad advantage against Donald Trump in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, capitalizing on Trump’s recent campaign missteps. Two-thirds of Americans see him as biased against groups such as women, minorities or Muslims, and a new high, 64 percent, call Trump unqualified to serve as president.

These and other doubts about Trump have produced a sharp 14-point swing in preferences among registered voters, from +2 points for Trump in mid-May, after he clinched the GOP nomination, to +12 points for Clinton now, 51-39 percent. That snaps the race essentially back to where it was in March.

[Image: ABC_General_Election_Vote_Preference_Proof_02.png]

"Because you are not for Trump you must support Hillary" is groupthink writ large.

The Urban Sombrero Wrote:"Because you are not for Trump you must support Hillary" is groupthink writ large.

A clear majority of voters despise Hillary Clinton. All the GOP had to do to win the White House was to offer a reasonably good alternative, and the best they could come up with was one of Crooked Hillary's sleaziest supporters. In the end, the majority gets the government that it deserves.

Hoot Gibson Wrote:A clear majority of voters despise Hillary Clinton. All the GOP had to do to win the White House was to offer a reasonably good alternative, and the best they could come up with was one of Crooked Hillary's sleaziest supporters. In the end, the majority gets the government that it deserves.

The GOP could have run St Thomas More and the Dems would still have been out digging up dirt and making stuff up about him. But after hundreds of derogatory and demeaning posts, it's nice to see that you none the less rate Trump as 'the best,' from among the original 17 candidate field, 13 and a half million voters agreed with you.

I know you're desperate to make Trump look as bad as possible but citing The Washington Post? Jeff Bezos, the ragingly liberal billionaire owner of the Post, is the guy who assigned at least 20 reporters to assault the person of Donald Trump this election season, while an undisclosed number may or may not be looking to report on Hillary. No bias there.

Trump's decision to personally and dishonestly attack the character of his fellow Republican candidates continues to hamper his fund raising efforts. Little Lyin' Donnie seems to be running a pretty low energy operation.

Quote:Analysis: Thousands of Republican donors avoid Donald Trump

Thousands of wealthy donors who helped fuel Republicans’ presidential ambitions in the last two election cycles have not donated to Donald Trump’s campaign or to other committees supporting his bid, underscoring the challenge the real-estate magnate faces in securing the hundreds of millions he needs to finance his general-election campaign.

Just 29 people who contributed to a super PAC supporting Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential bid four years ago had donated either to Trump’s campaign, to the Republican National Committee via a joint fundraising committee he established with the party or to a pro-Trump super PAC, Great America PAC, according to a USA TODAY analysis of new campaign-finance reports.

That accounts for about 2% of the more than 1,400 people who donated to the pro-Romney Restore Our Future during the 2012 election. Similarly, the analysis found only 23 individuals among the more than 3,400 donors who wrote checks to a super PAC supporting Jeb Bush’s candidacy in this election cycle had given to Trump or aligned groups so far.

Trump largely financed his own primary campaign and his late start in building a donor network is one of the key reasons he delivered such a dismal fundraising performance in May. He ended last month with just $1.3 million in available cash to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s $42 million. Campaign reports showed Clinton with a staff nearly 10 times the size of Trump's, sparking fears among some Republicans about his ability to build a campaign infrastructure to compete with Clinton.

Trump and his allies counter that he vanquished 16 other Republicans on a shoestring budget, demonstrating his ability to successfully wage one of the most unorthodox campaigns for the presidency the country has seen.

In all, Trump raised $3.1 million from other donors last month, despite effectively clinching the nomination May 3. By comparison, Romney collected $11.4 million in April 2012, after becoming the GOP’s nominee-in-waiting when Rick Santorum abandoned his bid on April 12.

“It’s fundraising malpractice to have become the nominee on May 3 and not have a low-dollar solicitation go out immediately and do call days and bundling events with high-dollar donors,” said Charles Spies, a veteran Republican lawyer who helped organize Bush’s super PAC, helped found Romney’s super PAC in 2012 and served as CFO of Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.

“They lost a month that they could not afford to lose,” he said.

Adding to Trump’s woes: Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, quickly locked up the support of many longtime GOP fundraisers, said Barry Wynn, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and a Bush fundraiser.

He said it’s now hard for Bush loyalists to pivot to Trump, who relentlessly mocked the former Florida governor as “low energy” during the primary. The Bush family has refused to back Trump’s candidacy. (Former first lady Barbara Bush recently called Trump a “comedian” on CBS News, and her son, former President George W. Bush, appears focused on helping retain GOP control of the Senate, raising money for endangered incumbents, such as Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte.)