The October 21, 2016 Thread

PRESIDENT
NATIONAL–The Times-Picayune/Lucid–CLINTON 47, Trump 35
OHIO–Suffolk–CLINTON 45, Trump 45
OREGON–The Oregonian–CLINTON 46, Trump 36
UTAH–UtahPolicy/Dan Jones–TRUMP 30, McMullin 29, Clinton 25
MICHIGAN–Fox 2 Detroit/Mitchell–CLINTON 47, Trump 35
ILLINOIS–Illinois Public Opinion Strategies–CLINTON 50, Trump 32
INDIANA–Ball State Univ.–TRUMP 43, Clinton 37
ARIZONA–Data Orbital–CLINTON 41, Trump 41
VIRGINIA–Christopher Newport Univ.–CLINTON 45, Trump 33
GEORGIA–Atlanta Journal Constitution–TRUMP 44, Clinton 42

I knew it was going to be a disaster. The Al Smith dinner is a New York City tradition during the quadrennial Presidential Election cycle, a white-tie charity dinner at the Waldorf Astoria where both candidates give what are supposed to be self deprecating humorous roasts of themselves and their rival. Kinda like the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. The dinner benefits Roman Catholic charities but also serves as a civil break in the tension of a campaign. I knew Donald Trump would be a disaster at this. First off, he cannot ever take even the slightest ribbing. He takes ultimate offense at any joke about him because he has a massive ego but is also massively insecure as a man. Second, he hates Hillary because she is a woman and because she is beating him, so it would be impossible to be light heartedly funny about her. His jokes would be vicious and mean.

To be fair, Trump started off ok. And then he went off the rails and just started delivering his stump speech with no jokes, and he was booed off the stage. Rightfully so.

Here's video of Trump getting booed down during his set at the Al Smith Dinner pic.twitter.com/025zgItcfy

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 21, 2016

Donald Trump opened up a campaign rally by saying he’ll accept the results of the presidential election as long as he wins, The Hill reports. Said Trump: “I will totally accept the result of this great and historic presidential election.” He then paused dramatically: “If I win.”

“Donald Trump loyalists will attempt to conduct their own crowd-funded exit polling on election day, ostensibly due to fears that electronic voting machines in certain areas may have been ‘rigged’,” The Guardian has learned.

“But the effort, led by Trump’s notorious informal adviser Roger Stone, will focus on 600 different precincts in nine Democrat-leaning cities with large minority populations, a tactic branded highly irregular by experts, who suggested that organizers could potentially use the polling as a way to intimidate voters.”

Regarding @DonaldJTrumpJr’s view that the presidency would be a “step down” for his Dad pic.twitter.com/q4jyaHLNr4

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) October 21, 2016

Nate Silver: “I’m not sure I need to tell you this, but Hillary Clinton is probably going to be the next president. It’s just a question of what ‘probably’ means.”

“There are less than three weeks left in the campaign, and there are no more guaranteed opportunities for Trump or Clinton to command a huge public audience, as they do at the conventions and the debates (although, they’ll get plenty of attention, of course). Millions of people have already voted. Trump has had a significant advertising deficit, and an even more significant deficit in terms of his turnout operation. He’ll probably spend a significant chunk of the remaining news cycles quarreling over his contention that the election is rigged, and with the numerous women who have accused him of sexual assault. He doesn’t have an obvious — or even a not-so-obvious — path to the presidency.”

Trump told a joke about "corrupt" HRC being kicked off the Watergate Committee–another bizarre internet falsehood https://t.co/UR7DPMzGN5

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 21, 2016

“First lady Michelle Obama didn’t even need to say the word ‘Arizona’ for the first 20 minutes of her rally here on Thursday to send shock waves across the state,” Politico reports.

“The very presence of the Democrats’ most coveted surrogate in the traditionally deep-red state was enough to send the message that Hillary Clinton is taking it seriously, and Obama’s appeal to local Democrats just hours after the final debate was designed to make the stakes clear.”

Trump and Clinton just roasted each other at a charity dinner, and boy was it awkward https://t.co/ZnDhH8J8IN

— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 21, 2016

“A wave of apprehension and anguish swept the Republican Party on Thursday, with many GOP leaders alarmed by Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the outcome of the election and concluding that it is probably too late to salvage his flailing presidential campaign,” the Washington Post reports.

“As the Republican nominee reeled from a turbulent performance in the final debate here in Las Vegas, his party’s embattled senators and House members scrambled to protect their seats and preserve the GOP’s congressional majorities against what Republicans privately acknowledge could be a landslide victory for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.”

This was Cardinal Dolan during the Trump boos pic.twitter.com/8ORDbUv7Js

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 21, 2016

“Jim Murphy, Donald Trump’s national political director, is no longer playing an active role on the campaign, according to three sources briefed on the move – a troubling development for the Republican nominee coming just 19 days before the election,” Politico reports.

Donald Trump is a nasty man — and for a lot of Republicans, that's a feature, not a bug. https://t.co/0VTLu3pTY4

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) October 21, 2016

Kansas Speaker Pro Tem Peggy Mast (R) said “that her intent was to criticize Planned Parenthood when she called Adolf Hitler’s words profound in a Facebook post,” the Wichita Eagle reports.

Said Mast: “Great quote from Hitler in the video. Please listen to it closely. His words are profound! Let’s start using discernment.”

"What does it tell you about future of GOP that so many R's thrilled to Trump's falsehoods & vicious attacks?" https://t.co/jswt8NrSET

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) October 20, 2016