Donald Trump Doubles Down on Russia
Trump also spent much of Thursday maintaining that he has always been opposed to the Iraq Wara statement that is so demonstrably false even he struggled with it. The GOP nominee pushed aside an interview with radio host Howard Stern in which he backed the invasion, claiming he "superseded" those comments more than a year later after the invasion began with ones opposing the effort. That's not how things work. But regardless, Trump sees some benefit in keeping the issue alive, as it brings back Hillary Clinton's own vote in favor of the Iraq War and slow path toward admitting it was a mistake. The issue, which featured heavily in the 2008 Democratic primary, remains a sore spot for Clinton and Trump is hoping to use it to tarnish her foreign policy credentials. After months of aggressively negative campaigning against Trump, Hillary Clinton is taking a turn for the positive with a new direct-to-camera ad Friday designed to highlight her problem solving record. It comes as Clinton is preparing to give a series of more hopeful speeches, as she looks to bolster her own approval ratingswhich took a dive amid new email revelations over the last several weeks. The collapse of Trump's D.C. policy shop. Melania Trump has vanished from the campaign trail. And Joe Biden criticizes congressional inaction. Must Reads, Donald Trump Again Claims That He Opposed the Iraq War Disputing the indisputable TIME, Trump, Clinton Commanders in Cheese TIME's Joe Klein on the state of the debate, Hillary Clinton's Team Aims for a More Positive Message Democratic candidate, on attack of late, is advised to pivot and give people reasons to back her Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump's Campaign Stands By Embrace of Putin Campaign rushes to defend candidate New York Times, U.S. Voting System So Clunky' It Is Insulated From Hacking, FBI Director Says James Comey points to system's dispersal over 50 states, no centralized computer system Wall Street Journal, Sound Off, "I think it's inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country. And that's going to change the day that Donald Trump becomes president." Mike Pence to CNN Thursday, "Every Republican holding or seeking office in this country should be asked if they agree with Donald Trump about these statements." Hillary Clinton at a press conference Thursday on Trump's comments about U.S. generals and Vladimir Putin. Bits and Bites, Donald Trump Bashes U.S. Media on State-Owned Russian Network TIME, Joe Biden Joins Democrats to Criticize Congressional Inaction TIME, Feds to Drop Charges Against Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Associated Press, After convention stumble, Melania Trump has largely vanished from campaign Washington Post, Inside the collapse of Trump's D.C. policy shop Washington Post, What Really Happened at Donald Trump's Intelligence Briefing NBC, Paul Ryan Criticizes Vladimir Putin Amid Trump's Praise for Russian Leader ABC, Trump Pushes to Repeal Little-Used Ban on Church Endorsements Wall Street Journal