US senator and Donald Trump&#39;s arch rival Ted Cruz said on Friday he would vote for the Republican presidential nomiee in the upcoming elections. 
 
&quot;After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump,&quot; he posted on Facebook. 
 
&quot;A year ago, I pledged to endorse the Republican nominee, and I am honoring that commitment,&quot; he added. &quot;And if you don&#39;t want to see a Hillary Clinton presidency, I encourage you to vote for him.&quot; 
 
The Texas senator had earlier this year backed off from the presidential race to hand Trump the chance to take on Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidental nominee. 
 
According to media reports, Cruz&#39;s backing may help Trump garner support from rest of the Republicans who were hesitant to support for him.&nbsp; 
 
However, during their initial battle there was much mudslinging between the two, with Trump body-shaming Cruz&#39;s wife Heidi by mocking her physical appearence. He also alledged Cruz&#39;s father had connections with President John F. Kennedy&#39;s murderer.&nbsp; 
 
Cruz hit back by calling him a &quot;pathological liar&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
On Friday, Trump said he was grateful for the endorsement.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We have fought the battle and he was a tough and brilliant opponent and I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again,&quot; Trump said, AFP reported.&nbsp; 
 
According to Reuters, Cruz&#39;s support for Trump comes from the fear of Democrats taking control of the US Supreme Court.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

Cruz urged voters to vote for Trump if they do not want to see Hillary Clinton as president

US senator and Donald Trump's arch rival Ted Cruz said on Friday he would vote for the Republican presidential nomiee in the upcoming elections. "After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump," he posted on Facebook. "A year ago, I pledged to endorse the Republican nominee, and I am honoring that commitment," he added. "And if you don't want to see a Hillary Clinton presidency, I encourage you to vote for him." The Texas senator had earlier this year backed off from the presidential race to hand Trump the chance to take on Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidental nominee. According to media reports, Cruz's backing may help Trump garner support from rest of the Republicans who were hesitant to support for him. However, during their initial battle there was much mudslinging between the two, with Trump body-shaming Cruz's wife Heidi by mocking her physical appearence. He also alledged Cruz's father had connections with President John F. Kennedy's murderer. Cruz hit back by calling him a "pathological liar". On Friday, Trump said he was grateful for the endorsement. "We have fought the battle and he was a tough and brilliant opponent and I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again," Trump said, AFP reported. According to Reuters, Cruz's support for Trump comes from the fear of Democrats taking control of the US Supreme Court. (WION with inputs from agencies)

US election: Ted Cruz publicly endorses Donald Trump

Donald Trump attacked former Miss Universe Aliciia Machado on Friday in a tweet that urged his voters to check her &#39;sex tape&#39;.

In a series of tweets, Trump suggested that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton helped Machado become a US citizen so she could use the former winner of a beauty pegeant in the US presidential debate. He further said that Hillary Clinton had been &#39;duped&#39; by Machado as she had overlooked to check her &#39;terrible&#39; past

&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/781788223055994880">September 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an &quot;angel&quot; without checking her past, which is terrible!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/781784161044553728">September 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;

The Venezuelan-born former beauty queen has accused Trump of bullying her in the past. She shot to public attention when Clinton raised her case in this week&#39;s presidential debate.

Clinton responded to Trump&#39;s accusations by a series of her own tweets.

&quot;His lastest Twitter meltdown is unhinged, even for him,&#39;&#39; Clinton wrote.

Clinton and Trump then went on to have a Twitter repertoire.

&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
&quot;Who gets up at 3 o&#39;clock in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack against a former Miss Universe?&rdquo; &mdash;Hillary
&mdash; Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/781950435682816000">September 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
For those few people knocking me for tweeting at three o&#39;clock in the morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/781926033159249920">September 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;

Clinton had lashed out on the debate stage at Trump&#39;s history of abusive remarks about women that included humiliating Machado over her weight gain and Latina origins, nicknaming her &quot;Miss Piggy&quot; and &quot;Miss Housekeeping.&quot;

According to the fact-checking website Snopes, Trump&#39;s sex tape allegation appears to refer to Machado&#39;s appearance on a reality TV show in which she is shown in bed with another participant, under the covers, AFP reported.

In an Instagram post, Alicia Machado responded to Trump&#39;s allegations: &quot;The Republican candidate and his campaign are, once again launching attacks, insults and are attempting to revive slanders and false accusations about my life, in order to humiliate, intimidate, and unbalance me. These attacks are cheap lies with bad intentions. This, of course, is not the first time the candidate insists on discrediting someone or insists on demoralizing women, minorities, and people of certain religions through his hateful campaign.&quot;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The Republican candidate also suggested that 'crooked Hillary' helped 'disgusting Alicia M' become a US citizen

Donald Trump attacked former Miss Universe Aliciia Machado on Friday in a tweet that urged his voters to check her 'sex tape'. In a series of tweets, Trump suggested that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton helped Machado become a US citizen so she could use the former winner of a beauty pegeant in the US presidential debate. He further said that Hillary Clinton had been 'duped' by Machado as she had overlooked to check her 'terrible' past Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016 Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an "angel" without checking her past, which is terrible! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016 The Venezuelan-born former beauty queen has accused Trump of bullying her in the past. She shot to public attention when Clinton raised her case in this week's presidential debate. Clinton responded to Trump's accusations by a series of her own tweets. "His lastest Twitter meltdown is unhinged, even for him,'' Clinton wrote. Clinton and Trump then went on to have a Twitter repertoire. "Who gets up at 3 o'clock in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack against a former Miss Universe?” —Hillary — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 30, 2016 For those few people knocking me for tweeting at three o'clock in the morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016 Clinton had lashed out on the debate stage at Trump's history of abusive remarks about women that included humiliating Machado over her weight gain and Latina origins, nicknaming her "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping." According to the fact-checking website Snopes, Trump's sex tape allegation appears to refer to Machado's appearance on a reality TV show in which she is shown in bed with another participant, under the covers, AFP reported. In an Instagram post, Alicia Machado responded to Trump's allegations: "The Republican candidate and his campaign are, once again launching attacks, insults and are attempting to revive slanders and false accusations about my life, in order to humiliate, intimidate, and unbalance me. These attacks are cheap lies with bad intentions. This, of course, is not the first time the candidate insists on discrediting someone or insists on demoralizing women, minorities, and people of certain religions through his hateful campaign." (WION with inputs from AFP)

Trump attacks former Miss Universe on Twitter, urges voters to check her 'sex tape'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton had a tough Friday ahead of the second presidential debate, both being hit by leaks that could prove damaging to their campaigns.

A 2005 audiotape published by The Washington Post reveals Trump boasting in vulgar terms about trying to have sex with an unnamed married woman and groping women has put the Republican squad in trouble.

Trump is heard saying &quot;when you&rsquo;re a star, they let you do it&quot;.

This is not the first time Trump has come under fire for sexist and demeaning language, including insulting comments about his opponent Hillary Clinton.

Trump in a statement shrugged off the leaked tape as &quot;locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago&quot;.

Trump&rsquo;s comments were condemned by the chairman of the Republican National Committee. &quot;No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever,&quot; said Reince Preibus in a statement, Reuters reported.

The new audio does provide Clinton with powerful ammunition just ahead of the debate&nbsp;on Sunday night&nbsp;but an email from her advisers published by Wikileaks has bogged her campaign.&nbsp;

The email appears to contain excerpts of paid speeches to corporations, the transcripts of which the campaign has refused to release.

The US government earlier on Friday formally accused Russia of hacking Democratic Party organisations ahead of the&nbsp;November 8&nbsp;presidential election.&nbsp;

The speech excerpts could give Trump new fodder for attacking Clinton, who in the speeches voices support for open trade and borders and discusses taking different positions in public than in private.

Sunday&rsquo;s presidential debate will be a town hall-style event and is seen as critical to Trump as he tries to rebound from a slump in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

&nbsp;

A 2005 audiotape of Trump using sexist terms has jolted the Republican campaign, while Clinton's 'open trade' speech brews trouble for her

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton had a tough Friday ahead of the second presidential debate, both being hit by leaks that could prove damaging to their campaigns. A 2005 audiotape published by The Washington Post reveals Trump boasting in vulgar terms about trying to have sex with an unnamed married woman and groping women has put the Republican squad in trouble. Trump is heard saying "when you’re a star, they let you do it". This is not the first time Trump has come under fire for sexist and demeaning language, including insulting comments about his opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump in a statement shrugged off the leaked tape as "locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago". Trump’s comments were condemned by the chairman of the Republican National Committee. "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever," said Reince Preibus in a statement, Reuters reported. The new audio does provide Clinton with powerful ammunition just ahead of the debate on Sunday night but an email from her advisers published by Wikileaks has bogged her campaign. The email appears to contain excerpts of paid speeches to corporations, the transcripts of which the campaign has refused to release. The US government earlier on Friday formally accused Russia of hacking Democratic Party organisations ahead of the November 8 presidential election. The speech excerpts could give Trump new fodder for attacking Clinton, who in the speeches voices support for open trade and borders and discusses taking different positions in public than in private. Sunday’s presidential debate will be a town hall-style event and is seen as critical to Trump as he tries to rebound from a slump in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Leaks haunt Clinton and Trump ahead of key presidential debate

Here is the second part of my first post, &ldquo;Why I can&rsquo;t root for Hillary&rdquo;.&nbsp; In this I break down the logic behind not supporting Hillary for the US presidency. &nbsp;

First let me quantify a few qualities I believe a leader in this position should possess.&nbsp; Among others, here are some important ones I will focus on:

<ul>
	<li>Strength to lead</li>
	<li>Builds trust</li>
	<li>Above suspicion</li>
</ul>

Although I will not question the true character of a person without ever meeting them in person, we do have a decision to make.&nbsp; The information we have to make that decision are: the work a candidate has done and the word he/she says. We try to relate that information to the characteristics we find important to be in that position.&nbsp;

Strength to lead 
The Madam Secretary has shown, on some very important issues that she does not lead the conversation when the topic is difficult.&nbsp;This can be seen pretty clearly on how she handled the decision about the Iraq War and her noncommittal position on equal rights for gay couples. &nbsp;

She voted for the Iraq war even though she didn&rsquo;t really want to send troops there. It can be seen in her senate speech, she voted for the war by saying &ldquo;a vote for it is not a vote to rush to war but a vote to put awesome power in the hands of our president, and we say to him to use these powers wisely.&rdquo;&nbsp; She pretty much voted for the war because it was the popular thing to do, and then excused herself of the consequences of making that decision by laying it all on the president.&nbsp; If it were only up to the president, why would you have a vote and why would the american people send you into office in the first place?

On the issue of gay marriage, it is easy to observe that she was adamantly against gay marriage on principle. She said in the senate, &ldquo;I believe that marriage is not only a bond but a sacred bond between a man and a woman&rdquo;.&nbsp;All of the sudden in a matter of a few years, it became very popular to fight for equality on this issue. Her argument changed overnight.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The theme here is she follows and does not lead.&nbsp;It seems at times her interest in self preservation is more important to her than the principle she is actually fighting for. &nbsp;

Builds Trust 
This too is not hard to assess.&nbsp; It is very well documented in polls that she is not one that people trust.&nbsp; There is a sense of questioning her real intention behind what she says given her history of shifting positions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Furthermore, and maybe more importantly, part of the job of a leader is to be able to reach out to others who oppose your views to find common ground and move forward together.&nbsp;She is probably at the top of the list of people the opposing camp does not trust nor want to work with.&nbsp;In fact, she so states herself (sometimes with pride) that the opposing side has been after her for a very long time. Well, being an informed voter who wants to make progress, it would not be very smart to chose someone who the opposing side has almost not chance of getting along with to make progressive decision.&nbsp;It seems counter-intuitive to me to vote for her if we want to make progress and end the grid lock that already exists.

Above suspicion 
To be a leader, you have to have a brand that people believe in.&nbsp;So lets just say we look passed the trust issues and reduced probability of working with the other side, what else does she have left in her brand?&nbsp; Well, there just seems to be a number of scandals that are still waiting around to be addressed.&nbsp; She doesn&#39;t seem to have a brand that can ever move beyond suspicion. &nbsp;

First there is the corporate and Wall street money that floods her campaign contributions.&nbsp;We all know, no one is going to give someone millions of dollars and not expect anything in return.&nbsp;Thats pretty cut and dry.

Furthermore, she makes hundreds of thousands of dollars in speeches she gives to these corporate financial institutions.&nbsp;It doesn&rsquo;t take a genius to realise its a &ldquo;pay to play&rdquo; type of game.&nbsp;When questioned about these suspicions, she obviously denies any of that money having any influence on her, yet she refuses to release the transcripts of those speeches.&nbsp;Public policy is not a game to be played for self-interest.&nbsp; \If I was interviewed for a job and I&#39;m asked to validate the courses I&#39;ve taken or the work I&#39;ve done, I don&#39;t have an option to deny that validation. &nbsp;

Now lets get to the even more serious stuff like Benghazi, her email server with classified information, favours given to donors of the Clinton Foundation, etc.&nbsp; You can read about them yourself and have your own opinions but the point is that there are so many scandals that it is hard to ever put her above suspicion.

Those are the reasons why voting for her just doesn&rsquo;t make sense.&nbsp; Some of the common rebuttals to my argument above are that a) a non-vote for her is a vote for Trump (who is probably worse) b) Its always been that way since politicians are hard to trust, so get over it c) There is more at stake, lets just get a woman up in the White House d) Its always a choice between 2 evils, pick your poison, the other is worse.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sure these are fair rebuttals.&nbsp; So I will address all of them and others in the next article.&nbsp; Stay tuned for part 3.

Hillary Clinton follows and does not lead.

Here is the second part of my first post, “Why I can’t root for Hillary”. In this I break down the logic behind not supporting Hillary for the US presidency. First let me quantify a few qualities I believe a leader in this position should possess. Among others, here are some important ones I will focus on: Strength to lead Builds trust Above suspicion Although I will not question the true character of a person without ever meeting them in person, we do have a decision to make. The information we have to make that decision are: the work a candidate has done and the word he/she says. We try to relate that information to the characteristics we find important to be in that position. Strength to lead The Madam Secretary has shown, on some very important issues that she does not lead the conversation when the topic is difficult. This can be seen pretty clearly on how she handled the decision about the Iraq War and her noncommittal position on equal rights for gay couples. She voted for the Iraq war even though she didn’t really want to send troops there. It can be seen in her senate speech, she voted for the war by saying “a vote for it is not a vote to rush to war but a vote to put awesome power in the hands of our president, and we say to him to use these powers wisely.” She pretty much voted for the war because it was the popular thing to do, and then excused herself of the consequences of making that decision by laying it all on the president. If it were only up to the president, why would you have a vote and why would the american people send you into office in the first place? On the issue of gay marriage, it is easy to observe that she was adamantly against gay marriage on principle. She said in the senate, “I believe that marriage is not only a bond but a sacred bond between a man and a woman”. All of the sudden in a matter of a few years, it became very popular to fight for equality on this issue. Her argument changed overnight. The theme here is she follows and does not lead. It seems at times her interest in self preservation is more important to her than the principle she is actually fighting for. Builds Trust This too is not hard to assess. It is very well documented in polls that she is not one that people trust. There is a sense of questioning her real intention behind what she says given her history of shifting positions. Furthermore, and maybe more importantly, part of the job of a leader is to be able to reach out to others who oppose your views to find common ground and move forward together. She is probably at the top of the list of people the opposing camp does not trust nor want to work with. In fact, she so states herself (sometimes with pride) that the opposing side has been after her for a very long time. Well, being an informed voter who wants to make progress, it would not be very smart to chose someone who the opposing side has almost not chance of getting along with to make progressive decision. It seems counter-intuitive to me to vote for her if we want to make progress and end the grid lock that already exists. Above suspicion To be a leader, you have to have a brand that people believe in. So lets just say we look passed the trust issues and reduced probability of working with the other side, what else does she have left in her brand? Well, there just seems to be a number of scandals that are still waiting around to be addressed. She doesn't seem to have a brand that can ever move beyond suspicion. First there is the corporate and Wall street money that floods her campaign contributions. We all know, no one is going to give someone millions of dollars and not expect anything in return. Thats pretty cut and dry. Furthermore, she makes hundreds of thousands of dollars in speeches she gives to these corporate financial institutions. It doesn’t take a genius to realise its a “pay to play” type of game. When questioned about these suspicions, she obviously denies any of that money having any influence on her, yet she refuses to release the transcripts of those speeches. Public policy is not a game to be played for self-interest. \If I was interviewed for a job and I'm asked to validate the courses I've taken or the work I've done, I don't have an option to deny that validation. Now lets get to the even more serious stuff like Benghazi, her email server with classified information, favours given to donors of the Clinton Foundation, etc. You can read about them yourself and have your own opinions but the point is that there are so many scandals that it is hard to ever put her above suspicion. Those are the reasons why voting for her just doesn’t make sense. Some of the common rebuttals to my argument above are that a) a non-vote for her is a vote for Trump (who is probably worse) b) Its always been that way since politicians are hard to trust, so get over it c) There is more at stake, lets just get a woman up in the White House d) Its always a choice between 2 evils, pick your poison, the other is worse. Sure these are fair rebuttals. So I will address all of them and others in the next article. Stay tuned for part 3.

Why I can't root for Hillary even if Bernie endorses her: Part II

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton expressed regret after her comment on Trump&#39;s supporters prompted a negative reaction from Republicans. 
 
Clinton was apologetic about calling Trump&#39;s supporters &#39;deplorable&#39; but asserted that she will call out the &#39;bigotry and racist rhetoric&#39; in her rival&#39;s campaign. 
 
&quot;Last night I was &#39;grossly generalistic,&#39; and that&#39;s never a good idea. I regret saying &#39;half&#39; - that was wrong,&quot; Clinton said in a statement. &quot;I won&#39;t stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign.&quot; 
 
&quot;To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it,&quot; Clinton had described Trump&#39;s supporters at a fundraiser. 
 
Clinton added that the other half of Trump&#39;s supporters could be described as &#39;hard working Americans&#39; who were looking for change in any form because the economy or the government were not working in their favour. The 68-year-old further urged her supporters to empathise with them (Trump supporters). 
 
She added, &quot;And unfortunately, there are people like that and he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean- spirited rhetoric.&quot; 
 
Clinton said that some of those people were &#39; irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America&#39;. 
 
&#39;&#39;I think it (Clinton&#39;s statement) will cost her at the Polls,&#39;&#39; Donald Trump tweeted. Another tweet said that even though Clinton said &#39;horrible things&#39; about his supporters he &#39;respects them all&#39;. 
.

<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
While Hillary said horrible things about my supporters, and while many of her supporters will never vote for me, I still respect them all!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/774673449885192192">September 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Clinton&#39;s statement should be denounced in the &#39;strongest terms possible&#39;, Trump&#39;s running mate Mike Pence said at the Values Voter Summit in Washington. 
 
&quot;Let me just say, from the bottom of my heart, Hillary, they are not a basket of anything,&quot; Pence added. &quot;They are Americans and they deserve your respect.&quot; 
 
Basketeer Vendetta, a Twitter user, posted a picture of Trump supporters wearing campaign t-shirts and hats with the caption: &nbsp;&quot;Proud to be part of the #BasketOfDeplorables with my fellow Americans.&quot;

<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Proud to be part of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BasketOfDeplorables?src=hash">#BasketOfDeplorables</a> with my fellow Americans <a href="https://t.co/HSy8E6ZKeM">pic.twitter.com/HSy8E6ZKeM</a>
&mdash; Basketeer Vendetta (@Vendetta92429) <a href="https://twitter.com/Vendetta92429/status/774468744009641984">September 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

 
Republican strategist Ana Navarro, who has been highly critical of Trump, said Clinton might have crossed an important line. 
 
&quot;When you are running for President, you are running to represent all Americans, even the ones you think are deplorable,&quot; said Navarro. 
 
Clinton&#39;s press secretary sent out a tweet trying to clarify the candidate&#39;s position. 
 
Vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine told The Washington Post that Clinton did not need to apologise for her statement. 
 
&quot;This election is about beating back bigotry and hate,&quot; said Bakari Sellers, a CNN contributor, said in an interview. &quot;Whether it&#39;s 10 per cent&nbsp;or 50 per cent, Donald Trump and his supporters have elevated it. If you&#39;re not a bigot, her comments shouldn&#39;t offend you.&quot; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

But she promised to keep fighting 'bigotry and racist rhetoric' by her Republican rival

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton expressed regret after her comment on Trump's supporters prompted a negative reaction from Republicans. Clinton was apologetic about calling Trump's supporters 'deplorable' but asserted that she will call out the 'bigotry and racist rhetoric' in her rival's campaign. "Last night I was 'grossly generalistic,' and that's never a good idea. I regret saying 'half' - that was wrong," Clinton said in a statement. "I won't stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign." "To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it," Clinton had described Trump's supporters at a fundraiser. Clinton added that the other half of Trump's supporters could be described as 'hard working Americans' who were looking for change in any form because the economy or the government were not working in their favour. The 68-year-old further urged her supporters to empathise with them (Trump supporters). She added, "And unfortunately, there are people like that and he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean- spirited rhetoric." Clinton said that some of those people were ' irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America'. ''I think it (Clinton's statement) will cost her at the Polls,'' Donald Trump tweeted. Another tweet said that even though Clinton said 'horrible things' about his supporters he 'respects them all'. . While Hillary said horrible things about my supporters, and while many of her supporters will never vote for me, I still respect them all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2016 Clinton's statement should be denounced in the 'strongest terms possible', Trump's running mate Mike Pence said at the Values Voter Summit in Washington. "Let me just say, from the bottom of my heart, Hillary, they are not a basket of anything," Pence added. "They are Americans and they deserve your respect." Basketeer Vendetta, a Twitter user, posted a picture of Trump supporters wearing campaign t-shirts and hats with the caption: "Proud to be part of the #BasketOfDeplorables with my fellow Americans." Proud to be part of the #BasketOfDeplorables with my fellow Americans pic.twitter.com/HSy8E6ZKeM — Basketeer Vendetta (@Vendetta92429) September 10, 2016 Republican strategist Ana Navarro, who has been highly critical of Trump, said Clinton might have crossed an important line. "When you are running for President, you are running to represent all Americans, even the ones you think are deplorable," said Navarro. Clinton's press secretary sent out a tweet trying to clarify the candidate's position. Vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine told The Washington Post that Clinton did not need to apologise for her statement. "This election is about beating back bigotry and hate," said Bakari Sellers, a CNN contributor, said in an interview. "Whether it's 10 per cent or 50 per cent, Donald Trump and his supporters have elevated it. If you're not a bigot, her comments shouldn't offend you." (WION with inputs from agencies)

Clinton regrets calling 'half' of Trump's backers 'deplorable'

In presidential races facts aren&rsquo;t exactly the first casualty, but they get badly wounded. Ironically, the more scrutiny and coverage a fact receives, the more it gets obscured by deflection and counter-messaging. This is especially true for the surreal 2016 presidential election where facts, even when presented accurately, seem too incredible to believe. 
 
But the charge that Donald Trump is racist is not a media manufactured scandal borne out of the presidential race, it&rsquo;s a decades-old pattern that must be kept in mind to understand what a threat he&rsquo;d be if elected president. 
 
In 1973 Donald and his father Fred Trump were <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/15/doj-trump-s-early-businesses-blocked-blacks.html">taken to court</a> by the Department of Justice for allegedly keeping African Americans from renting their apartment units. Superintendents wrote &ldquo;C&rdquo; on the applicant&rsquo;s lease, standing for &ldquo;colored&rdquo;; Supers told prospective black clients rent was higher than it truly was, to keep them away; Black people were told there were no vacancies when really there were, a pattern which happened repeatedly with white testers sent by the government. 
 
There are important takeaways here. One, Trump is adept in disguising his bigotry in code. Two, he manipulated the legal system to walk away from this with a relatively untainted brand by settling without admitting wrongdoing, which he accomplished by using his famously aggressive, mob-connected lawyer Roy Cohn to counter sue for $100 million dollars and grinding the court down for years. &nbsp; 
 
Trump was ordered to comply with various measures to ensure no further discrimination would take place. Within three years Trump was back in court for not meeting the conditions of the settlement. The department of justice said &ldquo;racially discriminatory conduct by Trump agents has occurred with such frequency that it has created a substantial impediment to the full enjoyment of equal opportunity&rdquo;.
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Trump still believes in things long after they&rsquo;ve been debunked. It&rsquo;s like he&rsquo;d rather be factually wrong than politically correct.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
 
In 1989, five African American youth were wrongfully charged with the assault and rape of a white woman in Central Park in one of the most widely-publicised trials of the 1980s. It was a textbook &ldquo;trial by media&rdquo;, inflamed by non-other than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/17/central-park-five-donald-trump-jogger-rape-case-new-york">Donald Trump</a>, who took out full-page ads in four NYC newspapers, at his own expense, calling to &ldquo;Bring back the death penalty&rdquo;. Documentaries and testimony makes it clear this trial was about race, not evidence. 
 
Years after the five were released from jail after being exonerated by DNA evidence, when it was proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Trump had called for five innocent people to die, he still has not apologised or expressed regret. Just the opposite: 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/screen-shot-2013-04-21-at-11.33.12-am-20160908063940.png" />
<div class="media-description">
 
This is the key to understanding Donald Trump&rsquo;s bigotry: Trump&rsquo;s views do not change after he is proven to be 100 per cent&nbsp;factually wrong.
</div>
<a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/nov/23/donald-trump/trump-tweet-blacks-white-homicide-victims/">This pattern repeats itself today:</a> Trump retweeted crime statistics that weren&rsquo;t simply false, or even grossly and dangerously so, but easily disprovable. 
&nbsp; 
The source he cited isn&rsquo;t just dubious, it literally does not exist. Any journalist, or any normal person, would be humiliated to learn they publicly cited a bona fide bogus source. The logical response would be to either get a credible statistic to support the same conclusion, or, in the absence of that, change the conclusion and apologise. This particular instance is especially egregious because the false data supports the dangerous and patently untrue narrative that African Americans pose a fatal threat to white people, a narrative which seems to be used to justify systemic racism. 
 
The internet is<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racist-examples_us_56d47177e4b03260bf777e83"> full of listicles</a> about Trump&rsquo;s prejudice on the campaign trail, but I want to emphasise the nature of it rather than the volume. No amount of proof changes his mind. Trump still believes in things long after they&rsquo;ve been debunked. It&rsquo;s like he&rsquo;d rather be factually wrong than politically correct. 
 
Remember, Trump&rsquo;s fluency in racial code (&ldquo;dog whistling&rdquo;) allows him to be racist while, in a strictly technical and superficial sense, denying that he&rsquo;s racist; Maybe a court didn&rsquo;t force him to admit wrongdoing, but could anybody confidently say Trump wasn&rsquo;t, and isn&rsquo;t, deeply and unrepentantly prejudiced? 
 
Reading between the lines, insofar as it&rsquo;s necessary to, is a matter of watching the <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/02/a_list_of_violent_incidents_at_donald_trump_rallies_and_events.html">violence at his rallies</a>, listening as he himself threatens to beat up <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/donald-trump-threatens-to-fight-black-lives-matter-activists-10451119.html">Black Lives Matter</a> protestors, and exploring the growing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/aug/30/breitbart-takes-centre-stage-as-donald-trump-embraces-the-alt-right">alt-right </a>world he&rsquo;s inspiring. 
 
But lately Trump has pretended to care about African Americans. &ldquo;What the hell do you have to lose?&rdquo; is what he said of&nbsp;them, to a room full of white people. This statement may as well be preceded by &ldquo;everybody knows I don&rsquo;t care about black people, but&hellip;&rdquo;. African Americans get this: <a href="http://heavy.com/news/2016/08/2016-presidential-polls-trump-vs-clinton-latest-new-update-versus-black-voters-african-american-zero-bubonic-plague-hillary-clinton-hispanic-minority-non-white/">Polls </a>show their support of Trump is somewhere between three and zero per cent. &ldquo;Dividing America&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t begin to describe Trump&mdash;his supporters include&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-trump-idUSKCN0YN35S">North Korea</a>, <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-08-24/why-isis-rooting-trump-0">ISIS</a>, and various people affiliated with the <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/05/488802494/former-kkk-leader-david-duke-says-of-course-trump-voters-are-his-voters">Ku Klux Klan</a>. 
 
Yet polls (like all of them, possibly flawed) put Trump near Clinton. Trump&#39;s very real and very dangerous bigotry is corrosive. There will be jokes every time he says something outrageous, and Trump-Fatigue makes people tune him out altogether. But remember, If Trump becomes president, both official and unofficial and legal and physical violence will be perpetrated against minority communities. 
 
The election should be about a range of important, complicated matters, but the pathetic and depressing fact is all other considerations are moot: Trump&#39;s toxicity alone makes him simply unelectable.

The 2016 US presidential election has churned out absurd distractions, but Trump's history as a certified racist is all you need to know

In presidential races facts aren’t exactly the first casualty, but they get badly wounded. Ironically, the more scrutiny and coverage a fact receives, the more it gets obscured by deflection and counter-messaging. This is especially true for the surreal 2016 presidential election where facts, even when presented accurately, seem too incredible to believe. But the charge that Donald Trump is racist is not a media manufactured scandal borne out of the presidential race, it’s a decades-old pattern that must be kept in mind to understand what a threat he’d be if elected president. In 1973 Donald and his father Fred Trump were taken to court by the Department of Justice for allegedly keeping African Americans from renting their apartment units. Superintendents wrote “C” on the applicant’s lease, standing for “colored”; Supers told prospective black clients rent was higher than it truly was, to keep them away; Black people were told there were no vacancies when really there were, a pattern which happened repeatedly with white testers sent by the government. There are important takeaways here. One, Trump is adept in disguising his bigotry in code. Two, he manipulated the legal system to walk away from this with a relatively untainted brand by settling without admitting wrongdoing, which he accomplished by using his famously aggressive, mob-connected lawyer Roy Cohn to counter sue for $100 million dollars and grinding the court down for years. Trump was ordered to comply with various measures to ensure no further discrimination would take place. Within three years Trump was back in court for not meeting the conditions of the settlement. The department of justice said “racially discriminatory conduct by Trump agents has occurred with such frequency that it has created a substantial impediment to the full enjoyment of equal opportunity”. Trump still believes in things long after they’ve been debunked. It’s like he’d rather be factually wrong than politically correct. In 1989, five African American youth were wrongfully charged with the assault and rape of a white woman in Central Park in one of the most widely-publicised trials of the 1980s. It was a textbook “trial by media”, inflamed by non-other than Donald Trump, who took out full-page ads in four NYC newspapers, at his own expense, calling to “Bring back the death penalty”. Documentaries and testimony makes it clear this trial was about race, not evidence. Years after the five were released from jail after being exonerated by DNA evidence, when it was proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Trump had called for five innocent people to die, he still has not apologised or expressed regret. Just the opposite: This is the key to understanding Donald Trump’s bigotry: Trump’s views do not change after he is proven to be 100 per cent factually wrong. This pattern repeats itself today: Trump retweeted crime statistics that weren’t simply false, or even grossly and dangerously so, but easily disprovable. The source he cited isn’t just dubious, it literally does not exist. Any journalist, or any normal person, would be humiliated to learn they publicly cited a bona fide bogus source. The logical response would be to either get a credible statistic to support the same conclusion, or, in the absence of that, change the conclusion and apologise. This particular instance is especially egregious because the false data supports the dangerous and patently untrue narrative that African Americans pose a fatal threat to white people, a narrative which seems to be used to justify systemic racism. The internet is full of listicles about Trump’s prejudice on the campaign trail, but I want to emphasise the nature of it rather than the volume. No amount of proof changes his mind. Trump still believes in things long after they’ve been debunked. It’s like he’d rather be factually wrong than politically correct. Remember, Trump’s fluency in racial code (“dog whistling”) allows him to be racist while, in a strictly technical and superficial sense, denying that he’s racist; Maybe a court didn’t force him to admit wrongdoing, but could anybody confidently say Trump wasn’t, and isn’t, deeply and unrepentantly prejudiced? Reading between the lines, insofar as it’s necessary to, is a matter of watching the violence at his rallies, listening as he himself threatens to beat up Black Lives Matter protestors, and exploring the growing alt-right world he’s inspiring. But lately Trump has pretended to care about African Americans. “What the hell do you have to lose?” is what he said of them, to a room full of white people. This statement may as well be preceded by “everybody knows I don’t care about black people, but…”. African Americans get this: Polls show their support of Trump is somewhere between three and zero per cent. “Dividing America” doesn’t begin to describe Trump—his supporters include North Korea, ISIS, and various people affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. Yet polls (like all of them, possibly flawed) put Trump near Clinton. Trump's very real and very dangerous bigotry is corrosive. There will be jokes every time he says something outrageous, and Trump-Fatigue makes people tune him out altogether. But remember, If Trump becomes president, both official and unofficial and legal and physical violence will be perpetrated against minority communities. The election should be about a range of important, complicated matters, but the pathetic and depressing fact is all other considerations are moot: Trump's toxicity alone makes him simply unelectable.

Donald Trump: Decades of bigotry

The Democratic convention opened to chaotic scenes Monday, as rival supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders traded boos and jeers in a very public show of party disunity. 
 
As polls showed Republican Donald Trump leading the race for the White House, Democrats meeting in Philadelphia to make Clinton the first woman presidential nominee from a major party were in disarray. 
 
Sanders&#39; supporters booed as a pastor leading the invocation prayer mentioned Clinton&#39;s name, setting the stage for a raucous chorus of cheers and jeers as successive speakers took to the podium. 
 
The party is reeling from leaked Democratic National Committee emails which show nominally neutral party staff trying to undermine Sanders&#39; insurgent campaign and questioning his Jewish faith. 
 
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks at the weekend released nearly 20,000 emails from between January 2015 and May 2016, gleaned by hackers who apparently raided the accounts of seven DNC leaders. 
 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the &quot;cyber intrusion,&quot; which the Clinton campaign blamed on Russian hackers bent on helping Trump. 
 
The leftist Sanders lost to Clinton in the primary handily, but the scandal has angered his already embittered supporters, who believe the race was fixed. 
 
The scandal led to the ouster of party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and an apology from party leaders. 
 
&quot;We want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email,&quot; the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. 
 
Trump the &#39;demagogue&#39; 
 
Twice on Monday, before his official evening address to the convention, Sanders appealed to supporters to help build party unity. 
 
&quot;We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and (running mate) Tim Kaine,&quot; Sanders told a gathering of his supporters hours before the opening of the four-day convention. 
 
&quot;Trump is a bully and a demagogue,&quot; he said. His call to support Clinton was nevertheless met with loud jeers. 
 
He later sent a text message to supporters asking them not to protest on the floor of the convention as a &quot;personal courtesy&quot; to him.&nbsp;But that appeared to have little impact. 
 
As the boos and chants of &quot;Bernie! Bernie!&quot; continued inside the convention hall, Sanders protesters outside tried to breach security barriers, leading to a handful of arrests. 
 
&quot;Clinton can&#39;t beat Trump. Period,&quot; said Michigan delegate Melissa Arab, a Sanders supporter. 
 
&quot;A ham sandwich could beat Trump and she&#39;s not going to beat him. If she&#39;s nominated, people are going to end up with somebody bad for president.&quot; 
 
Many in the Sanders camp have voiced disappointment with Clinton&#39;s choice of centre-left running mate Kaine, a senator from Virginia, instead of a more liberal firebrand like senator Elizabeth Warren, who was also to speak yesterday. 
 
Prime time 
 
Much now rides on Sanders&#39; prime-time address later Monday, and those of Warren and First Lady Michelle Obama. 
 
This was meant to be a valedictory event for Clinton. 
 
Later this week, she will make history when she formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination - the first woman to lead a major party&#39;s White House ticket. 
 
But new polls showed Trump surging since his confirmation last week as the Republican presidential nominee, with a CNN poll putting him three points ahead of Clinton - a six-point post-convention bump. 
 
Democratic delegates said it was time to come together. 
 
&quot;The stakes are too high. In the end it&#39;s going to be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and it&#39;s not even a close call,&quot; said Paul Czisny, a 57-year-old delegate from Wisconsin who had supported Sanders. 
 
The party is seeking to project a more unified message than the Republicans did at their convention last week in Cleveland, where fissures over Trump&#39;s candidacy were laid bare. 
 
&quot;The Democrats are in a total meltdown,&quot; Trump taunted on Twitter. &quot;E-mails say the rigged system is alive &amp; well!&quot; 
 
He later told supporters Clinton &quot;worked very, very hard to rig the system. Little did she know that China, Russia, one of our many, many friends came in and hacked the hell out of us.&quot; 
 
Trump has long sought to scoop up disaffected voters who feel Sanders - a self-described democratic socialist - was denied a fair shot at the nomination. 
 
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on Monday sought to deflect questions about the row. 
 
&quot;Our party is coming together here to unify to elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump, and that&#39;s what you&#39;re going to see today,&quot; he said. 
 
Former president Bill Clinton is the star speaker at the convention Tuesday, while President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take the stage Wednesday. 
 
Clinton got a modest boost Monday when former vice president Al Gore offered his endorsement. 
 
(AFP)

Sanders' call to support Clinton was met with jeers and boos. 'Clinton can't beat Trump. Period,' a Sanders supporter said

The Democratic convention opened to chaotic scenes Monday, as rival supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders traded boos and jeers in a very public show of party disunity. As polls showed Republican Donald Trump leading the race for the White House, Democrats meeting in Philadelphia to make Clinton the first woman presidential nominee from a major party were in disarray. Sanders' supporters booed as a pastor leading the invocation prayer mentioned Clinton's name, setting the stage for a raucous chorus of cheers and jeers as successive speakers took to the podium. The party is reeling from leaked Democratic National Committee emails which show nominally neutral party staff trying to undermine Sanders' insurgent campaign and questioning his Jewish faith. Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks at the weekend released nearly 20,000 emails from between January 2015 and May 2016, gleaned by hackers who apparently raided the accounts of seven DNC leaders. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the "cyber intrusion," which the Clinton campaign blamed on Russian hackers bent on helping Trump. The leftist Sanders lost to Clinton in the primary handily, but the scandal has angered his already embittered supporters, who believe the race was fixed. The scandal led to the ouster of party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and an apology from party leaders. "We want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. Trump the 'demagogue' Twice on Monday, before his official evening address to the convention, Sanders appealed to supporters to help build party unity. "We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and (running mate) Tim Kaine," Sanders told a gathering of his supporters hours before the opening of the four-day convention. "Trump is a bully and a demagogue," he said. His call to support Clinton was nevertheless met with loud jeers. He later sent a text message to supporters asking them not to protest on the floor of the convention as a "personal courtesy" to him. But that appeared to have little impact. As the boos and chants of "Bernie! Bernie!" continued inside the convention hall, Sanders protesters outside tried to breach security barriers, leading to a handful of arrests. "Clinton can't beat Trump. Period," said Michigan delegate Melissa Arab, a Sanders supporter. "A ham sandwich could beat Trump and she's not going to beat him. If she's nominated, people are going to end up with somebody bad for president." Many in the Sanders camp have voiced disappointment with Clinton's choice of centre-left running mate Kaine, a senator from Virginia, instead of a more liberal firebrand like senator Elizabeth Warren, who was also to speak yesterday. Prime time Much now rides on Sanders' prime-time address later Monday, and those of Warren and First Lady Michelle Obama. This was meant to be a valedictory event for Clinton. Later this week, she will make history when she formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination - the first woman to lead a major party's White House ticket. But new polls showed Trump surging since his confirmation last week as the Republican presidential nominee, with a CNN poll putting him three points ahead of Clinton - a six-point post-convention bump. Democratic delegates said it was time to come together. "The stakes are too high. In the end it's going to be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and it's not even a close call," said Paul Czisny, a 57-year-old delegate from Wisconsin who had supported Sanders. The party is seeking to project a more unified message than the Republicans did at their convention last week in Cleveland, where fissures over Trump's candidacy were laid bare. "The Democrats are in a total meltdown," Trump taunted on Twitter. "E-mails say the rigged system is alive & well!" He later told supporters Clinton "worked very, very hard to rig the system. Little did she know that China, Russia, one of our many, many friends came in and hacked the hell out of us." Trump has long sought to scoop up disaffected voters who feel Sanders - a self-described democratic socialist - was denied a fair shot at the nomination. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on Monday sought to deflect questions about the row. "Our party is coming together here to unify to elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump, and that's what you're going to see today," he said. Former president Bill Clinton is the star speaker at the convention Tuesday, while President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take the stage Wednesday. Clinton got a modest boost Monday when former vice president Al Gore offered his endorsement. (AFP)

Disunity rules as Democratic convention gets underway

Democrat Bernie Sanders endorsed former rival Hillary Clinton for president in a show of party unity on Tuesday, saying she was the best candidate to fix the country&#39;s problems and beat Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election. 
 
With Clinton nodding in agreement beside him, Sanders put their bitter primary campaign behind them and said Clinton would take up the fight to ease economic inequality, make college more affordable and expand healthcare coverage for all Americans. 
 
&quot;This campaign is about the needs of the American people and addressing the very serious crises that we face, and there is no doubt in my mind that, as we head into November, Hillary Clinton is far and away the best candidate to do that,&quot; he told a raucous crowd in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that included plenty of vocal Sanders supporters. 
 
&quot;I intend to do everything I can to make certain she will be the next president of the United States,&quot; the U.S. senator from Vermont said. 
 
His endorsement, coming five weeks after Clinton became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, brought the most prominent holdout in the party&#39;s liberal wing into Clinton&#39;s camp. Sanders threw his support to Clinton less than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where she is expected to be formally nominated. 
 
&quot;I can&#39;t help but reflect on how much more enjoyable this election will be now that we are on the same side,&quot; Clinton said of Sanders. &quot;Thank you Bernie for your endorsement, but more than that, thank you for your lifetime of fighting injustice.&quot; 
 
In a statement, the Trump campaign said Sanders was now officially part of the rigged system he had criticized during the long primary battle with Clinton. 
 
&quot;Bernie&#39;s endorsement becomes Exhibit A in our rigged system - the Democrat Party is disenfranchising its voters to benefit the select and privileged few,&quot; said Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to Trump. 
 
Clinton hopes the joint appearance will help her win over Sanders supporters, some of whom carried Sanders signs into the rally and frequently drowned out her backers. In recent Reuters/Ipsos polling, only about 40 percent of Sanders backers said they would back Clinton, and the crowd at Tuesday&#39;s rally made it clear she still had work to do. 
 
&quot;I am absolutely certain I will not vote for Hillary Clinton,&quot; said Gale Bailey, a Sanders supporter and an unemployed graphic designer from Rochester, New Hampshire, who attended the rally in a Sanders T-shirt. 
 
&quot;She&#39;s a crook, and I&#39;m not going to vote for a crook,&quot; Bailey said, adding that she would write in Sanders&#39; name on the November ballot. 
 
Sanders victories on platform 
The appearance in Portsmouth concluded weeks of negotiations between the two camps as Sanders pressed for concessions from Clinton on his liberal policy agenda. 
 
It came after Clinton last week adopted elements of Sanders&#39; plans for free in-state college tuition and expanded affordable healthcare coverage. Sanders also successfully pushed to include an array of liberal policy positions in the Democratic platform, which a committee approved on Saturday. 
 
Sanders did not win all of his policy fights, most notably failing to win support for blocking a vote in Congress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. 
 
But he told the rally in Portsmouth that &quot;our job now is to see that platform implemented by a Democratically controlled Senate, a Democratically controlled House and a Hillary Clinton presidency &ndash; and I am going to do everything I can to make that happen.&quot; 
 
Top Democrats, including President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a favorite of the party&#39;s liberal wing, have already announced their support for Clinton, leaving Sanders at risk of being left behind in the Democratic battle against Trump. 
 
&quot;I think all signs point to the fact that we&#39;re going to have a very united party going into Philadelphia,&quot; Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on CNN earlier on Tuesday, &quot;and when you compare it to the Republicans, we&#39;re going to be miles ahead of them.&quot; 
 
Trump has struggled to unify the Republican Party after alienating many establishment figures with his stances on immigration, Muslims and women. A number of prominent Republicans are skipping the party&#39;s convention in Cleveland next week. 
 
In another sign of the Democrats&#39; growing unity, two prominent liberal groups that had backed Sanders, the Communications Workers of America labor union and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, announced their support for Clinton on Monday.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

Says she is the best candidate to fix the country's problems and beat Donald Trump

Democrat Bernie Sanders endorsed former rival Hillary Clinton for president in a show of party unity on Tuesday, saying she was the best candidate to fix the country's problems and beat Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election. With Clinton nodding in agreement beside him, Sanders put their bitter primary campaign behind them and said Clinton would take up the fight to ease economic inequality, make college more affordable and expand healthcare coverage for all Americans. "This campaign is about the needs of the American people and addressing the very serious crises that we face, and there is no doubt in my mind that, as we head into November, Hillary Clinton is far and away the best candidate to do that," he told a raucous crowd in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that included plenty of vocal Sanders supporters. "I intend to do everything I can to make certain she will be the next president of the United States," the U.S. senator from Vermont said. His endorsement, coming five weeks after Clinton became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, brought the most prominent holdout in the party's liberal wing into Clinton's camp. Sanders threw his support to Clinton less than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where she is expected to be formally nominated. "I can't help but reflect on how much more enjoyable this election will be now that we are on the same side," Clinton said of Sanders. "Thank you Bernie for your endorsement, but more than that, thank you for your lifetime of fighting injustice." In a statement, the Trump campaign said Sanders was now officially part of the rigged system he had criticized during the long primary battle with Clinton. "Bernie's endorsement becomes Exhibit A in our rigged system - the Democrat Party is disenfranchising its voters to benefit the select and privileged few," said Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to Trump. Clinton hopes the joint appearance will help her win over Sanders supporters, some of whom carried Sanders signs into the rally and frequently drowned out her backers. In recent Reuters/Ipsos polling, only about 40 percent of Sanders backers said they would back Clinton, and the crowd at Tuesday's rally made it clear she still had work to do. "I am absolutely certain I will not vote for Hillary Clinton," said Gale Bailey, a Sanders supporter and an unemployed graphic designer from Rochester, New Hampshire, who attended the rally in a Sanders T-shirt. "She's a crook, and I'm not going to vote for a crook," Bailey said, adding that she would write in Sanders' name on the November ballot. Sanders victories on platform The appearance in Portsmouth concluded weeks of negotiations between the two camps as Sanders pressed for concessions from Clinton on his liberal policy agenda. It came after Clinton last week adopted elements of Sanders' plans for free in-state college tuition and expanded affordable healthcare coverage. Sanders also successfully pushed to include an array of liberal policy positions in the Democratic platform, which a committee approved on Saturday. Sanders did not win all of his policy fights, most notably failing to win support for blocking a vote in Congress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. But he told the rally in Portsmouth that "our job now is to see that platform implemented by a Democratically controlled Senate, a Democratically controlled House and a Hillary Clinton presidency – and I am going to do everything I can to make that happen." Top Democrats, including President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a favorite of the party's liberal wing, have already announced their support for Clinton, leaving Sanders at risk of being left behind in the Democratic battle against Trump. "I think all signs point to the fact that we're going to have a very united party going into Philadelphia," Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on CNN earlier on Tuesday, "and when you compare it to the Republicans, we're going to be miles ahead of them." Trump has struggled to unify the Republican Party after alienating many establishment figures with his stances on immigration, Muslims and women. A number of prominent Republicans are skipping the party's convention in Cleveland next week. In another sign of the Democrats' growing unity, two prominent liberal groups that had backed Sanders, the Communications Workers of America labor union and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, announced their support for Clinton on Monday. (Reuters)

Sanders endorses Clinton in show of party unity

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 per cent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 per cent supported Trump. Another 20.1 per cent 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&#39;s lead to nine points. 
 
But Trump&#39;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&#39;s 13.3 percentage point lead is about the same as she had before the Orlando attack. 
 
Trump&#39;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&#39;s $42 million. Trump sought to ease concerns among his allies by saying that he could tap his &quot;unlimited&quot; personal wealth if needed, and also by bolstering efforts to raise money through fundraising events and online donations. 
 
Meanwhile, Republican leaders including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continued to express reservations about their new standard bearer, who has angered some in the party with his fiery rhetoric. 
 
Ryan and Walker both said over the past week that they felt Republicans should follow their &quot;conscience&quot; when deciding to support the party&#39;s likely nominee, instead of urging party members to support him. 
 
The poll only captured some of the voter reaction to Britain&#39;s decision in Thursday&#39;s referendum to exit the European Union, a move that some pundits say suggests Trump&#39;s insurgent candidacy has tapped into a broad and powerful anti-globalization wave sweeping Western countries. 
 
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and included interviews with 1,201 likely voters in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3.3 percentage points. 
 
(Reuters)

The mass shooting in Orlando and his pledge to ban Muslims from the US had given Trump a brief boost, cutting Clinton's lead to 9 points

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 per cent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 per cent supported Trump. Another 20.1 per cent 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. Meanwhile, Republican leaders including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continued to express reservations about their new standard bearer, who has angered some in the party with his fiery rhetoric. Ryan and Walker both said over the past week that they felt Republicans should follow their "conscience" when deciding to support the party's likely nominee, instead of urging party members to support him. The poll only captured some of the voter reaction to Britain's decision in Thursday's referendum to exit the European Union, a move that some pundits say suggests Trump's insurgent candidacy has tapped into a broad and powerful anti-globalization wave sweeping Western countries. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and included interviews with 1,201 likely voters in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3.3 percentage points. (Reuters)

Clinton lead over Trump back to double digits: Poll