PHILADELPHIA -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday said he would be in favor of forcing Muslims on the federal government's terrorism watch list to wear electronic monitoring tags or bracelets for authorities to track their whereabouts. "I would think that's an excellent idea," said Giuliani. "If you're on the terror watch list, I…
The friends and singers of "Pitch Perfect" came together to film a version of Rachel Platten's "Fight Song," which Hillary Clinton has been using as her campaign's anthem. The video was released Monday night at the Democratic National Convention and made a repeat performance Wednesday, but "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert and "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver decided to film their own version of the video.
It begins like the original video, but Colbert appears in a box singing "drum, drum, base, high hat, base, drum, drum, drum." At another point, his face slides into frame, where he begins singing the Chili's Grill & Bar song, "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs." He then blows into a long horn for some extra sound effects.
At one point, John Oliver appears on screen wearing headphones and standing in front of the microphone. "I did not agree to appear on this. I was just told to wait here with these things on my ears. No one mentioned this was part of a weird acapella song for Clinton. Awful!"
Colbert appears again with a blond wig and hat complaining that he thought they agreed at the acapella meeting Colbert would go that route.
At the end, John Oliver appears again wearing the black and white wig Sia is known for wearing, with a large bow on top. "Again, I did not agree to be part of this. This song is going to irritate people."
Check it out below:
Here's the original version, which has just shy of one million views in three days.
When it comes to trade policy, Hillary Clinton is taking heat from all sides.
At the Democratic National Convention this week, where Clinton will formally accept her party’s presidential nomination, opposition to trade deals was plastered on buttons, scrawled on signs and chanted by delegates. Many are worried by her past support of 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is still awaiting congressional approval.
Things are unlikely to get any easier for her. Clinton has said her stance on trade has evolved, that she now opposes TPP because it does not do enough to protect jobs and that she wants changes in NAFTA, the trade deal her husband, Bill Clinton, signed during his presidency.
But that allows her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, to question her credibility, painting Clinton's evolving position as a desperate attempt to catch up with his tough stance.
Trump has vowed to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA, labeling it a job killer. The real estate developer has also said he would pull the United States out of the 12-nation TPP.
Even among the Democrats there are doubts about Clinton's resolve, particularly among supporters of her former Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Senator from Vermont whose opposition to trade deals featured prominently in his speeches during the Democratic primary season.
The concern about trade was on display at the convention during a speech delivered on Wednesday night by Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia who once supported TPP. Delegates waved anti-TPP placards as Kaine spoke, even though he changed his position after joining Clinton's ticket.
Larry Cohen, a senior adviser to Sanders, said trade was “absolutely” a danger for Clinton in the race against Trump, saying she had to show her commitment to opposing it and not just “make pronouncements."
“The Trump campaign is smart enough that they will exploit this issue,” Cohen said.
Sanders supporters have said they intend to keep fighting TPP through the November election via a new group called “Our Revolution” that is dedicated to championing issues that Sanders pushed on the campaign trail.
The frustration that a post-recession recovery has failed to translate into better wages and opportunities for million of working Americans has become one of the leading themes of the 2016 presidential campaign.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken in March showed that 65 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of Republicans believed that trade cost some U.S. jobs even though many also agreed that trade helps to keep the costs of goods low.
Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, told Reuters that Clinton has told all of the major unions that endorsed her that she wanted to re-work NAFTA, echoing similar comments by Dennis Williams, president of the United Auto Workers union.
'WHOLE NEW APPROACH'
Trumka said Clinton's campaign has told him that she would take “a whole new approach” on trade and he said he was convinced that he could trust her on the issue. “She’s not giving lip service to it. She’s committed to it,” he said.
Consulted about Clinton's talks with unions regard NAFTA, a senior Mexican government official said the TPP already provided the United States with a platform to strengthen the rights of workers compared to NAFTA, although U.S. union activists say the new pact weakens rather than strengthens workers' protection.
"They have the solution in their hands, if they back it," the official said, noting Congress had yet to ratify the TPP.
The official added that it would be in Mexico's interests to strengthen the rules of origin in TPP that determine which country a product comes from, but sometimes allow foreign components in it. He cautioned, however, that re-opening trade deals was a highly complex undertaking.
Morris Fiorina, a political science professor at Stanford University, said Clinton should try to address workers' concerns but avoid a wholesale dismissal of free trade.
“Were I advising her I'd suggest she try to thread the needle - explain that free trade has great benefits for the country as a whole, but past and pending agreements do not adequately recognize and compensate the losers. She will remedy that failure,” Fiorina said.
However, such nuanced approach may prove self-defeating in the light of Trump's challenge and internal dissent.
Robin Biro, a field director for the Democratic Party in Atlanta and a Clinton supporter, said TPP was a make or break issue for Clinton to attract Democrats who voted for Sanders in the primary.
"She's only going to get the support of the Bernie people if she comes out strongly on that issue,” Biro said.
(Additional reporting by John Whitesides, Amy Tennery and Alana Wise in Philadelphia and Ginger Gibson in Washington and Chris Kahn in New York; Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Tomasz Janowski)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was not being serious when he invited Russian hackers to launch a cyber-attack against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, The Hill reported.
"Of course I'm being sarcastic," Trump argued in footage aired on Fox News. "They don't even know if it's Russia, if it's China, if it's somebody else. Who knows who it is?"
Trump set off another round of criticism when he said Russia would be "rewarded by our press" if hackers dug into Clinton's email server during a press conference.
"The real problem is what was said on those emails from the Democratic National Committee," he told Fox. "It's disgraceful. They talk about religion. They talk about race. They talk about all sorts of things, including women."
Trump neglected to mention his own habit of "talking about women," including Fox host Megyn Kelly, earlier in the campaign.
Watch footage of Trump's remarks, as posted online, below.
.@realDonaldTrump shoots back after critics slam him for 'calling on Russia' to find Hillary's missing emails.https://t.co/grTw355fw0
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 28, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is still making a mad dash for disaffected Bernie Sanders voters, but he doesn’t actually want to have anything to do with them.
After Sanders' speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, Trump tweeted that he was sad to see Sanders abandon his movement, but assured Bernie fans he was welcoming them with open arms. That same day, however, he mocked a protester at his rally he claimed as a Bernie supporter.
"That's okay, don't worry about it," Trump told his audience. "That's the dying remnants of a Bernie person. That's the last of 'em! No! We're going to get Bernie people coming here," Trump said. "We're gonna get Bernie people coming here. Yeah, you can get him out, go ahead. That's alright."
Seriously? "We're gonna win Bernie supporters," Meyers said in his Trump voice. "Now forcibly remove that Bernie supporter from our rally. That's the last of 'em! There's none left! And they're voting for me."
While the first night of the DNC was dedicated to the new stars of the Democratic Party like Corey Booker and Elizabeth Warren, along with Sanders, Tuesday night was like "old home" night. Meyers showed Howard Dean's homage to the 2004 Dean scream. Meyers was sad he didn't get the actual scream in the end. "That is not that long ago. Remember when acting crazy on TV was a liability, instead of, you know, a platform," he said, flashing Trump's photo on the screen.
"Every time Howard Dean watches Trump speak he must go, 'I yelled one time. I yelled one time and everybody thought I was crazy.' Although, maybe Howard Dean didn't give us the scream last night because he was saving it for Meryl Streep," Meyers said, showing the clip of Streep screaming out on Tuesday night. "Look for Meryl starring in ‘The Howard Dean Story.’ There is no part she cannot play."
[caption id="attachment_853008" align="aligncenter" width="365"] Meryl Streep's "The Howard Dean Story" (Photo: Screen capture from Seth Meyers)[/caption]
Meyers poked fun at former President Bill Clinton, who walked us through the history of his relationship with his wife. All the years. Meyers put together a compilation of each time Clinton said a year to show off the former president's lengthy speech.
"You know, it is really nice and sweet that Bill and Hillary have known each other so long, but as it dragged on, you saw the benefits of a speech from a recent spouse," Meyers said, showing Melania Trump's photo.
Clinton then appeared on screen while music continued to play in the convention hall, concerning many that Clinton might be about to "bust some rhymes." Meyers explained that if Clinton actually did rap, "she would make everyone's mom look like Kendrick Lamar. Because you know 100 percent she would start out, 'My name is Hillary and I'm here to say.'"
The biggest question, however, is what has Trump been up to while the DNCC is going on in Philadelphia. Instead of catching up one some sleep after the RNC, he was busy asking Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails. "Not sure why Trump would openly ask Russia to spy on Americans, but I'm sure he has his treasons," Meyers joked.
Meyers explained that, while many Republicans have denounced the statements and some think that Trump could be a secret Russian spy, he's far too obvious about it. "He's like a guy interviewing for a job at a bank who says, 'You have a lot of money and I want to steal it and it would just be easier if I worked here.'"
At the top of the show, Meyers mocked Bernie Sanders supporters, who marched through the streets of Philadelphia with a giant joint. He said it was ridiculous because everyone knows that if you have that much weed, you make brownies. In all seriousness, Meyers said he thought that the election couldn't get any crazier, but then Trump went onstage and asked Russia to hack into his opponents email server. "You know what, Bernie supporters, I think you guys were right all along. Bring that thing over here, come on."
Check out the video below:
After watching his candidate get bludgeoned by speeches from President Obama and Vice President Biden on Wednesday, Trump surrogate Jeffrey Lord had a lot of work to do on CNN.
While attacking the Democrats' major speeches on Wednesday, Lord tried to chip away at the party's arguments for more gun control by calling them out for hypocrisy.
Why, you ask? Because, according to Lord, you can't tell people to stop gunning one another down in the streets when you favor legal abortion.
"In all the talk about guns, and gun control, etc., one of the things that people like me believe is that this is linked immutably to the issue of abortion," Lord said, via Media Matters. "Why? Because abortion is about -- you talk to pro-life folks -- about respect for life. And if we have a culture that is saying, under the guise of pro-choice that children's lives are not to be respected, that no one's life is to be respected, you can't reasonably expect people out there to think -- if this is the culture they're raised in, to not understand that the life is so valuable that they shouldn't be out there taking life."
In reality, the murder rate is significantly down from where it was when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, and has steadily been in decline since the mid-1990s. This suggests, at the very least, that there is no correlation at all between legalized abortion and violent crime.
Check out the full clip below.
After Stephen Colbert did a version of "The Word" for his "Late Show" audience, the attorneys at Comedy Central contacted CBS to claim that they own the intellectual property of "Stephen Colbert," the character.
"Which, is surprising, because I never thought of that guy as much of an intellectual," Colbert joked on Wednesday night. "So it is with a heavy heart that I announce that thanks to corporate lawyers, the character of Stephen Colbert host of 'The Colbert Report,' will never be seen again."
Way to go, Comedy Central. The audience booed in protest, but corporations are corporations.
"I feel the same way, but what can I do?" Colbert asked his audience. "The lawyers have spoken. I cannot reasonably argue that I own my face or name. And as much as I would like to have that guy on again, I can't."
Instead, thanks to corporate lawyering, we now have Stephen Colbert's identical twin cousin, Stephen Colbert. This new Stephen Colbert clarified that he is not the guy that had a television show for a decade.
"That's my twin cousin. This is my first appearance on television ever!" new Colbert explained while wearing an American flag shirt.
New Colbert explained that "our moms were identical twins, who married identical twin husbands, then had sex at the exact same moment and gave us the same name." It seems logical, right? This is, after all, the entire premise on which "The Patty Duke Show" was built.
"Most of all, Stephen, I want you to know," new Stephen began. "I'm happy to be here tonight to save this country and join the 'Late Show' team." He promised that even wild horses ridden by corporate lawyers couldn't keep him away.
Because Colbert can no longer do "The Word" segment, he created a new segment called, "The Werd."
Colbert explained that we know for certain that this November will be Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump. On the screen then flashed "pantsuit vs. lawsuit."
"The polls show we've already decided on the outcome that we really want," Colbert said, while the words "Canadian citizenship" flashed on the screen beside him. "See, we want neither. Both Clinton and Trump have historically low approval ratings. In fact, 52 percent of Trump supporters say they're only voting for him because they don't want Hillary to win." Colbert doesn't blame him, "after all, Donald Trump is a hard man to stand behind," Colbert continued as the words "Just ask Chris Christie" appeared on the screen beside him.
As for Clinton, 56 percent of Clinton supporters say that they just don't want Donald Trump to win. "Hillary's critics see her as untrustworthy, selfish and too willing to bend the rules," Colbert said, while "And that's just Bernie" appeared on the screen. Trump's critics, on the other hand, argue "he's prejudiced, unprepared and has the wrong temperament for a president." It's shocking since, as the Colbert sidebar informs us, his supporters say pretty much the same thing.
Colbert explained that these two brands are already decades in to establishing their identities. He called Clinton "Wonder Bread" and Trump the "McDonald's Angry Meal." Both candidates already understand this, "that's why this is going to be the most negative campaign in history. Hillary Clinton will say things that makes Trump seems racist," he said as "and so will Trump" appeared on the screen. "Trump will attack Hillary's integrity," he said, while "and Russia will attack her email server" flashed beside him. There's so much negativity, Colbert even proposed writing in "Michelle" as another option.
His solution is that we can have people vote against a candidate. So, the ultimate winner will be the candidate with the lowest score. "But on the outside chance they do not institute my plan, no matter how you feel about the candidates, please, you still have to go to the polls on Election Day. Yes, you might have to vote for a person you don't really want. But it's better than getting the person you really don't want." On the screen beside him flashed "the lesser of two evils."
Check out the totally legal video below:
Bill Maher hosted a special episode of "Real Time" after the Democratic National Convention, where he and his guests discussed Bill O'Reilly's astonishingly ignorant comments about slavery.
The Fox News anchor has drawn widespread criticism for suggesting that African slaves who built the White House were treated well, after Michelle Obama expressed her astonishment that she and her family lived in the presidential home built through servitude.
"I'm a conservative, and I think what Bill O'Reilly said is one of the most stupid and ignorant things I've ever heard anyone say on television," said author Charles Cooke. "The problem with slavery, among many other things, was categorical. It didn't matter whether they were all given million-dollar lodgings -- they were slaves."
Comedian D.L. Hughley said conservatives had an outdated sense of morality.
"He made it seem almost whimsical, like they were well-fed and had lodging," Hughley said. "So do motherf*ckers in prison -- they want to get out, too. Literally, if you said to a slave, you can be well-fed and have lodging or you can be free, you know which one he'd take."
"When you have to keep referring to the party of Lincoln, when your resume is (so) old you've got to go back to the motherf*cker on the penny, you need to update your resume," he added.
Maher said last week's Republican National Convention was bizarre, saying there was no attempt to gain voters' trust but instead offered only a terrifyingly bleak vision of current events.
"I've never seen a convention with less outreach to people who are on the fence," Maher said. "If I was an alien and I just saw the Republican convention, I would think America has only white people. And if I was an alien and I just saw the Democratic convention, I would think, 'Oh, it's a majority black lady country.'"
Hughley slammed Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and Pat Buchanan, who each have recently suggested that black people had contributed little to human civilization.
"Black culture built the pyramids, you motherf*ckers want to build a wall," Hughley said. "There's an attempt to minimize everyone who's not like them."
Maher said politics had become so polarized that Republicans defended Donald Trump for encouraging Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's email to help him win the presidential election.
"The saddest part of our country right now is that no matter what one side says, half the country hates the other half, and they just defend their team," Maher said. "What if Hillary did that? What if Hillary said, 'You know what, we've been trying to get Donald Trump to release his tax returns and he won't. Hey, Russia, if you're listening, would you hack in?'"
Hughley tried to unpack the appeal of Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."
"If you're black or gay or Asian or woman or Latin, where do you go?" he said. "I can't think of a better place in history I'd rather be. America is not great to me because of what it was, it's great to me because of what it can be. We live in a country right now that put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill and left Andrew Jackson on the back -- a slave on the front and a slave owner on the back -- so even when black people are on money, we still got a supervisor."
Hughley pointed out that Trump has so little support from respected members of his own party that not one former president, vice president or First Lady attended his convention.
"Right is right and wrong is wrong," Hughley said. "Ultimately, this dude couldn't beat Flavor Flav in a spelling bee -- literally, he couldn't."
Watch the video, embedded below:
President Barack Obama painted an optimistic picture of America's future and offered full-throated support for Hillary Clinton's bid to defeat Republican Donald Trump in a speech that electrified the Democratic National Convention.
He urged Democrats to enable Clinton to finish the job he started with his election nearly eight years ago in a rousing speech that capped a night when party luminaries took to the stage to contrast the party's new standard-bearer with Trump, whom they portrayed as a threat to U.S. values.
"There has never been a man or woman, not me, not Bill - nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States," Obama said to cheers at the Philadelphia convention on Wednesday night.
Hillary Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, will accept the party's White House nomination in a speech to end the convention on Thursday night. The election is on Nov. 8.
Her address will be closely watched to see if she can make a convincing argument for bringing about change while still representing the legacy of Obama, who is ending his second term with high approval ratings.
"Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me," Obama said. When he finished, she joined him on stage where they hugged, clasped hands and waved to the crowd.
The two were rivals in the hard-fought 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination. After winning that election to become America's first black president, Obama appointed Clinton his secretary of state, a position she held until 2013.
Republicans have painted Clinton as a Washington insider who would represent a "third term" for what they view as failed policies under Obama, elected to a second term in 2012.
Speaking to delegates, Obama offered an alternative to businessman Trump's vision of the United States as being under siege from illegal immigrants, crime and terrorism and losing influence in the world.
“I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before," Obama said at the Wells Fargo Center, a basketball and hockey arena.
A former first lady and U.S. senator, Clinton made history on Tuesday when she became the first woman to secure the presidential nomination of a major party. She promises to tackle income inequality, tighten gun control and rein in Wall Street if she becomes president.
Obama took aim at Trump's campaign slogan and promise to "Make America Great Again."
"America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump," he said.
"Preach!" members of the crowd shouted. "Best president ever," someone screamed.
Trump replied to Obama on Twitter, writing: "Our country does not feel 'great already' to the millions of wonderful people living in poverty, violence and despair."
Obama listed what he described as progress during his two terms in office, such as recovery from an economic recession, the Obamacare healthcare reform and the 2011 killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
He said American values, not race, religion or political preference, were what made the United States great. "That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end," Obama said.
DEMOCRATS FOR HILLARY
Senior Democrats and former national security figures lined up earlier on Wednesday to describe Trump as unable to steer America through the dangerous waters of today's world.
By contrast, many prominent Republicans, alarmed by Trump's provocative comments on illegal immigrants and Muslims, were absent from the party convention that nominated Trump for the White House in Cleveland last week.
Trump has proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country and building a wall on the border with Mexico to stop illegal immigrants.
After his convention Trump got a boost in opinion polls. He had a 2-point lead over Clinton in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday, the first time he has been ahead since early May.
On Wednesday night, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine accepted the party's nomination as Clinton's vice presidential running mate and in a speech described billionaire Trump as "a one-man wrecking crew" who cannot be trusted in the Oval Office.
Trump, who has never held public office, offered his critics fresh lines of attack on Wednesday, urging Russia to find and release tens of thousands of emails that Clinton did not hand over to U.S. officials as part of a probe into her use of a private email system while she was secretary of state. Clinton has said those emails were private.
Speaking to the convention, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Trump was an opportunist who had no clue about how to make America great or to help working families.
Drawing chants of "Not a clue" from the floor of the convention, Biden took Trump, a reality TV host, to task for his trademark slogan, "You're fired."
"He’s trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That’s a bunch of malarkey!" Biden said.
New York media mogul Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, assailed fellow billionaire Trump in a speech of his own, calling his presidential bid a "con" and ripping into Trump's history of bankruptcies and lawsuits.
"Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God help us," Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, said to roaring applause. "I'm a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one."
Trump has hammered Clinton as untrustworthy and cast America as a place where security threats abound and law and order are breaking down.
Clinton waged another hard-fought primary battle this year, beating off an unexpectedly strong challenge from the left by Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont.
Democratic leaders have sought to tamp down lingering bitterness among some die-hard Sanders supporters, and move past unruly displays of dissent that marked the convention's first day on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, Emily Stephenson, Luciana Lopez, Jonathan Allen and Steve Holland; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)
Run the word "boring" and "Tim Kaine" in a Google search, and be prepared for an avalanche of results. But is the man who Hillary Clinton named as her choice to be her running mate really a humdrum guy, or the kind of social justice warrior likely to keep rightwing keyboard warriors furiously typing in their basements?
Turns out, Tim Kaine presents himself as a moderate, but throughout his career, both he and his wife, Virginia Department of Education head Anne Holton, have put themselves on the front lines in changing Virginia's entrenched system of segregation.
1. Kaine's first case as an attorney was a racial discrimination complaint. At a 2015 conference hosted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Kaine related on arriving in Richmond after graduating Harvard Law School and renting his first apartment. His first client was a black woman who had been turned away from renting an apartment on the basis of her skin color. Kaine described it as a "There but for the grace of God" moment." He said that when he sat across from the client, he imagined what a negative impact it would have to be told that this positive thing -- of renting your first apartment -- could not happen because of skin color.
During his tenure as an attorney, Kaine was one of the few Virginia attorneys who focused on fair housing cases. Approximately 75 percent of his practice was devoted to them, many of them taken on a pro bono status.
2. When Kaine was mayor of Richmond, he won a huge settlement against insurance giant Nationwide. It turns out, Nationwide is on your side if you were white. In 1998, Kaine won a $100.5 million suit against the insurance company for "redlining," the discriminatory practice of restricting insurance provision in minority neighborhoods.
The suit alleged that: "Nationwide and its agents have intentionally, maliciously, wantonly, and oppressively engaged in discrimination in the provision of property insurance in African-American neighborhoods in the Richmond metropolitan area on the basis of race."
In 2015, Kaine and Senate colleagues continued to press for investigation of unfair housing practices that continue to restrict housing opportunities for people of color.
3. Kaine lived abroad for a year, and the experience changed his life. Kaine was educated as a Jesuit. He took a year off from law school to live in Honduras. He worked as a missionary, and he taught welding and carpentry to teenagers. While in Honduras, he became fluent in Spanish. His experience in Honduras has had a huge impact on his view of the world of the haves and have-nots.
According to the Washington Post profile: "The Rev. Patricio Wade, 79, still working in Honduras, remembers Kaine as wide-eyed at his first brush with overwhelming poverty. “Tim saw a system where very few people dominated and had all the money and power."
4. Kaine is an accomplished tenor. His love of music fuels his welcoming of cultural diversity. Kaine loves to sing and he loves music. He also plays harmonica on bluegrass tunes. One of the reasons that Kaine champions immigration is that it leads to a cultural richness that supports the arts in the community. “Immigration reform is fundamentally about wanting to be the most talented place on earth," the Post quoted him as saying to a community group.
5. Kaine will be able to troll Trump in Spanish. Tim Kaine made history on the Senate floor in 2013, when he delivered a full 13-minute speech in Spanish (providing an English translation for insertion into the Congressional Record). While other legislators have delivered partial remarks in Spanish, Kaine gave the full speech in support of the immigration bill that was written by the so-called "Gang of Eight."
As if anticipating Trump's incendiary comments on who does and does not belong in America, Kane prefaced his Spanish speech with these remarks, which reminded senators that the Spanish colonized Florida prior to the English arrival at Jamestown in 1607. NPR quoted Kaine:
"I think it is appropriate that I spend a few minutes explaining the bill in Spanish, a language that has been spoken in this country since Spanish missionaries founded St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565," Kaine explained in la lengua de Cervantes. "Spanish is also spoken by more than 40 million Americans with a huge investment in the result of this debate."
6. Anne Holton, Kaine's wife, shares his passion for social justice. Anne Holton has the distinction of having been the daughter of one Virginia governor -- her father A. Linwood Holton, Jr. -- and wife of Tim Kaine. When she was a girl, her parents made the decision to send her and her siblings to the largely black public schools. It was a controversial decision that required police protection for Anne and her sister, but it began Holton's dedication to the cause of public education.
Hillary Clinton's campaign also chipped in with some Kaine factoids after Friday's announcement, see below:
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may not be a Democrat, but he's standing with Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, and the reasons why are perfect.
"There are times when I disagree with Hillary," Bloomberg confessed. "But whatever our disagreements may be, I've come here to say: We must put them aside for the good of our country. And we must unite around the candidate who can defeat a dangerous demagogue."
Bloomberg said that he wants a leader that understands business. "I've built a business, and I didn't start it with a million-dollar check from my father," he said to cheers. "Because of my success in the private sector, I had the chance to run America's largest city for 12 years, governing in the wake of its greatest tragedy."
"Today, as an Independent, an entrepreneur, and a former mayor, I believe we need a president who is a problem-solver, not a bomb-thrower," he continued. "Someone who can bring members of Congress together, to get big things done. And I know Hillary Clinton can do that, because I saw it firsthand!"
"Throughout his career, Trump has left behind a well-documented record of bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits, angry shareholders and contractors who feel cheated, and disillusioned customers who feel ripped off. Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's run his business. God help us.
"I'm a New Yorker, and New Yorkers know a con when we see one! Trump says he'll punish manufacturers that move to Mexico or China, but the clothes he sells are made overseas in low-wage factories. He says he wants to put Americans back to work, but he games the U.S. visa system so he can hire temporary foreign workers at low wages. He says he wants to deport 11 million undocumented people, but he seems to have no problem in hiring them. What'd I miss here?!
"Truth be told, the richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy. He wants you to believe that we can solve our biggest problems by deporting Mexicans and shutting out Muslims. He wants you to believe that erecting trade barriers will bring back good jobs. He's wrong on both counts.
"We can only solve our biggest problems if we come together and embrace the freedoms that our Founding Fathers established right here in Philadelphia, which permitted our ancestors to create the great American exceptionalism that all of us now enjoy. Donald Trump doesn't understand that; Hillary Clinton does. And we can only create good jobs if we make smarter investments in infrastructure, and do more to support small businesses — not stiff them. Donald Trump doesn't understand that; Hillary Clinton does.
"I understand the appeal of a businessman president. But Trump's business plan is a disaster in the making. He would make it harder for small businesses to compete, do great damage to our economy, threaten the retirement savings of millions of Americans, lead to greater debt and more unemployment, erode our influence in the world, and make our communities less safe.
"The bottom line is: Trump is a risky, reckless, and radical choice. And we can't afford to make that choice!
"Now, I know Hillary Clinton is not flawless; no candidate is. But she is the right choice — and the responsible choice — in this election. No matter what you may think about her politics or her record, Hillary Clinton understands that this is not reality television; this is reality. She understands the job of president. It involves finding solutions, not pointing fingers, and offering hope, not stoking fear.
"Over the course of our country's proud history, we have faced our share of grave challenges, but we have never retreated in fear. Never. Not here in Philadelphia in 1776, not at Gettysburg in 1863, not through two World Wars and a Great Depression, not at Selma or Stonewall, and not after 9/11 — and we must not start now.
"America is the greatest country on Earth — and when people vote with their feet, they come here. The presidency of the United States is the most powerful office in the world, and so I say to my fellow Independents: Your vote matters now. Your vote will determine the future of your job, your business, and our future together as a country.
"To me, this election is not a choice between a Democrat and a Republican. It's a choice about who is better to lead our country right now: better for our economy, better for our security, better for our freedom, and better for our future.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Hillary Clinton is the right choice this November. So tonight, as an Independent, I am asking you to join with me — not out of party loyalty, but out of love of country. And together, let's elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America."
Watch the full video below:
In an evening filled with national security experts and distinguished service members, retired Rear Admiral John Hutson ripped Donald Trump up one side and down the other.
He began his speech saying that he knows an awful lot about something that GOP nominee Donald Trump doesn't: Law and order.
"Donald Trump calls himself the 'law-and-order candidate,' but he'll violate international law. In his words, he endorses torture 'at a minimum.' He'll order our troops to commit war crimes like killing civilians. And he actually said, 'You have to take out their families." And what did he say when he was told that's illegal? He said our troops 'won't refuse, believe me.' This morning, he personally invited Russia to hack us! That's not law and order. That's criminal intent!"
One of the worst things Admiral Hutson felt Trump has done is disrespect our veterans. "He lies about donating to our veterans and called the military I served in a 'disaster,'" he said. "It's embarrassing enough that he's the face of one of our political parties. The real disaster is what would happen if we let Donald Trump become the face of the country we love."
"More than 120 Republican national-security leaders recently warned that Donald Trump would, in their words, 'make America less safe.' He even mocks our POWs, like John McCain. I served in the same Navy as John McCain. I used to vote in the same party as John McCain. Donald, you're not fit to polish John McCain's boots!"
Watch the video and see the rest of the full text of the speech below:
But America, we have a better choice. Hillary Clinton is the only candidate who knows how to work with our allies and who has a specific plan to defeat ISIS. She is smart and steady. She has the experience, temperament, and spine to be a superb Commander-in-Chief. She knows what makes us the envy of the world. It's not our abundant natural resources, our resilient economy, or even that we have the strongest military on earth. Our strength comes from who we are, our humanity. If we lose our humanity, we lose the battle and the war.
ISIS and other radical Islamic groups have no humanity. That is their weakness. Our enemy can't defeat us militarily. Victory won't be found on the battlefield. For them, victory is to make us more like them: people who torture, who destabilize the international order, who target innocents because they don't look like them or don't pray like them. Donald Trump is a walking, talking recruiting poster for terrorists. That's not hyperbole. ISIS literally used Trump in a commercial.
You know, you can tell a lot about a person by whom they admire. Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Dorothy Rodham – these are Hillary Clinton's heroes. Donald Trump admires Donald Trump and Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong-un. And of Vladimir Putin, he said, and I quote, "in terms of leadership he's getting an 'A.'"
I taught national security law. Praising dictators is an automatic "F" in my class. In the 2008 election, as the dean of the University of New Hampshire School of Law School, I invited each presidential candidate to talk about terrorism with me and other retired admirals and generals. Of all the candidates we met with, Hillary Clinton was by far the best prepared and most knowledgeable. She listened carefully and tested our arguments. We had more than 500 years of collective experience, and we learned from her. This was before she served as our Secretary of State. Before she brokered a cease-fire in Gaza, rallied the world to sanction Iran, advised President Obama to take out bin Laden, and restored our reputation in the world.
Anyone who's served with the young men and women of our armed forces knows how serious it is to send them into harm's way. When you're a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine, you don't get to choose your commanders. But when you're a citizen – you have the responsibility to choose the Commander-in-Chief who will keep us safe, strong, and secure. Choose Hillary.
Vice President Joe Biden spent Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention explaining to the press how unqualified GOP nominee Donald Trump is to take the oath of the office of the president of the United States.
Like only Biden could, he perfectly explained one of the most critical qualities a president must have: a level head. Trump's rash and impulsive temperament. Biden prefaced his comments saying that he doesn't hold ill feelings toward Trump. However, “the truth is Donald Trump knows nothing about foreign policy, nor should he based on his background!" Biden explained. "The thing that bothers me is that I don’t see any attempt for him to go out and get people that really know on the Republican side.”
Tonight, we can probably expect more of the same.
Watch the full speech below:
Read the full speech transcript below as transcribed by Bustle:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love ya.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you.
Ladies and gentleman, eight years ago, I stood on the stage in Denver, and I accepted your nomination to be vice president of the United States. And every single day since then, it's been the honor of our lives for Jill and me. Every day, we've been grateful to Barack and Michelle for asking us to join them in that incredible journey — a journey that can only happen in America.
But we not only have worked together — as it becomes pretty obvious, we've become friends. We're now family. We're family. Folks, we've all seen over the last eight years what President Obama means to this country. He's the embodiment of honor, resolve, and character. One of the finest presidents we have ever had. That's right! This is a man of character. And he's become a brother to Jill and me.
And Michelle? I dunno where you are kid, but you're incredible. You are incredible. When I was talking to Barack today, it's no longer who's going to give the best speech — we already know who did that. You were incredible Monday night. The Delaware delegation, as they say in southern Delaware, Barack and I married way up. Way up.
Folks, as I stand here tonight, I see so many friends and colleagues like my buddy Chris Dodd in the Connecticut delegation. So many people here. I see the faces of those who have placed their belief in Barack and me. So many faces — but one. This is kind of a bittersweet moment for Jill and me and our family. In 2008, when he was about to deploy in Iraq, and again in 2012, our son Beau introduced me to the country and placed my name in nomination. You got a glimpse — I know I sound like a dad but you got a glimpse of what an incredible fine man Beau was. Thank you. Thank you. His wife Hallie and his two kids are here tonight. But as Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "the world breaks everyone and afterwards, many are strong at the broken places."
I've been made strong at the broken places by my love Jill, by my heart, my son Hunter, and the love of my life, my Ashley — and by all of you, and I mean this sincerely. Those of you who've been through this, you know I mean what I say by all of you, your love, your prayers, your support. But you know what, we talk about, we think about the countless thousands of other people who suffered so much more than we have, with so much less support, so much less reason to go on. But they get up, every morning, every day. They put one foot in front of the other, they keep going. That's the unbreakable spirit of the spirit of America. That's who we are.
That's who we are. Don't forget it. Like the people in the neighborhood that Jill and I grew up in, she in Willow Grove and me down in Wilmington and Claymont. The kid in Claymont with the most courage always jumped in when you were double-teamed or your back was against the wall, who became a cop because he always wanted to help people. The middle daughter of three daughters, who always made her mother smile, who was a hero to her sisters, now a major in the United States Marine Corps, because "Mr. Vice President, I wanted to serve my country!"
The teachers who Jill knows and so many of you know, who take money out of their own pockets to buy pencils and notebooks for their students who can't afford them. Why? Why? Because being a teacher is not what they do — it's who they are! You know what I know. For real! These are the people who are the heart and soul of this country. It's the America that I know, the America that Hillary knows and Tim Kaine knows. You know, I've known Hillary for well over 30 years, before she was First Lady of the United States, when she became First Lady. We served together in the United States Senate, and during her years as Secretary of State, once a week we had breakfast in my home, the vice president's residence.
Everybody knows she's smart. Everybody knows she's tough. But I know what she's passionate about. I know Hillary. Hillary understands, Hillary gets it, Hillary understands that a college loan is about a lot more than getting a qualified student an education. It's about saving the mom and the dad from the indignity of looking at their talented child and saying "sonny, honey, I'm so sorry. The bank wouldn't lend me the money. I can't help you to get to school." I know that about Hillary. Hillary understands that for years, millions of people went to bed staring at the ceiling thinking "oh my god, what if I get breast cancer or he has a heart attack, I will lose everything, what will we do then?"
I know about Hillary Clinton. Ladies and gentlemen, we all understand what it'll mean for our daughters and granddaughters when Hillary Clinton walks into the Oval Office as president of the United States of America. It will change their lives. My daughters and granddaughters can do anything any son or grandson can do, and she will prove it, Mr. Mayor! So let me say as clearly as I can: If you live in the neighborhoods like the ones Jill and I grew up in, if you worry about your job and getting a decent pay, if you worry about your children's education, if you're taking care of an elderly parent, then there's only one — only one person in this election who will help you. There is only one person in this race who will be there, who has always been there for you, and that's Hillary Clinton's life story. It's not just who she is, it's her life story. She's always there. She's always been there, and so has Tim Kaine.
Ladies and gentlemen, to state the obvious and I'm not trying to be a wise guy here — I really mean it — that's not Donald Trump's story. Just listen to me for a second without booing or cheering. I mean this sincerely, we should really think about this. His cynicism is unbounded. His lack of empathy and compassion can be summed up in a phrase I suspect he's most proud of having made famous: "You're fired." I mean really, I'm not joking. Think about that. Think about that. Think about everything you learned as a child. No matter where you were raised — how can there be pleasure in saying "you're fired"? He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break! That's a bunch of malarkey.
I'll tell ya — folks, whatever he thinks, whatever he thinks — and I mean this in the bottom of my heart. I know I'm called "middle-class Joe" in Washington and that's not meant as a compliment. It means you're not sophisticated, but I know why we're strong. I know why we have held together. I know why we are united. It's because there's always been a growing middle class. This guy doesn't have a clue about the middle class. Not a clue! Because folks, when the middle class does well, the rich do very well and the poor have hope. They have a way up. He has no clue about what makes America great. Actually, he has no clue, period.
But folks, let me say something that has nothing to do with politics. Let me talk about something that I am deadly serious about. This is a complicated and uncertain world we live in. The threats are too great. The times are too uncertain. To elect Donald Trump as president of the United States — now let me finish — no major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security.
We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears of ISIS and other terrorists, who has no plan whatsoever to make us safer. A man who embraces the tactics of our enemies — torture, religious intolerance, you all know. All the Republicans know. That's not who we are. It betrays our values. It alienates those who we need in the fight against ISIS. Donald Trump, with all his rhetoric, would literally make us less safe. We cannot elect a man who belittles our closest allies while embracing dictators like Vladimir Putin. No, I mean it. A man who seeks to sow division in America for his own gain and disorder around the world. A man who confuses bluster with strength. We simply cannot let that happen as Americans, period.
Folks, no one ever doubts me when I say that sometimes I say all that I mean, but folks let me tell you what I literally tell every world leader I've met, and I've met them all. It's never, never, never been a good bet to bet against America. We have the finest fighting force in the world. Not only do we have the largest economy in the world — we have the strongest economy in the world. We have the most productive workers in the world and given a fair shot, given a fair chance, Americans have never, ever, ever, ever let their country down! Never! Never! Ordinary people like us who do extraordinary things.
We've had candidates before who have attempted to get elected by appealing to our fears, but they've never succeeded, because we do not scare easily. We never bow, we never bend, we never break when confronted with crisis. No! We endure! We overcome! And we always, always, always move forward. That's why I can say with absolute conviction, I am more optimistic about our chances today than when I was elected as a 29-year-old kid to the Senate. The 21st century is going to be the American century because we lead not only by the example of our power but by the power of our example. That is the history of the journey of America and God willing, Hillary Clinton will write the next chapter in that journey. We are America, second to none, and we own the finish line! Don't forget it! God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Come on, we're America! Thank you!
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