The Note: Top Political Stories of the Day
— -- Clinton Rebounds on Enthusiasm; Trump Slips Overall in Latest Poll. Support for Donald Trump has slipped to its lowest in 10 days and enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton has recovered from its apparent damage by the latest FBI email investigation. Yet the race between them remains close in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll. Forty-seven percent of likely voters support Clinton with 43 percent for Trump in the latest four-night results. Whether it holds is an open question, ABC’s GARY LANGER writes. http://abcn.ws/2e9Spia
Ohio Federal Judge Bars Voter Intimidation as Other States Consider Similar Suits. Federal judges in two states issued rulings Friday as allegations swirled about potential issues at the polls -- saying registration rolls were "likely" illegally purged in North Carolina and barring the Trump and Clinton campaigns from intimidating voters in Ohio. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY and LAUREN PEARLE have more. http://abcn.ws/2fmRWaq
President Obama Defends Trump Protester at Clinton Rally. President Obama turned the tables on the crowd at a Hillary Clinton rally -- sticking up for the free speech rights of a Donald Trump supporter who interrupted him today in Fayetteville, NC. As the man was being removed from the crowd, Obama defended the man’s constitutional right to free speech, ABC's JOHN PARKINSON notes. http://abcn.ws/2e9IZU7
How Evan McMullin Could Tip The 2016 Election. In four days, the United States will almost certainly have a new president-elect. But anti-Trump conservative independent Evan McMullin has thrown a curveball into the 2016 election, with the possibility that his winning even just one state could throw the presidential race into chaos and extend the election season into January. ABC’s RYAN STRUYK and SHUSHANNAH WALSHE have more. http://abcn.ws/2f2c6ro
Candidates Barnstorm Battleground States on Final Friday of 2016 Race. With a mere four days until Election Day, the presidential candidates visited three separate battleground states as they looked to shore up their base and reach out to any remaining undecided voters. ABC’s MICHAEL FALCONE and RYAN STRUYK have more. http://abcn.ws/2fpfWrz
2 Former Aides to Chris Christie Found Guilty in Bridgegate Trial. Two former aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have been found guilty on all counts in the so-called Bridgegate trial. Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, a former official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was appointed by Christie, were accused of conspiring to close lanes at the George Washington Bridge for political retaliation, ABC’s AARON KATERSKY, JOSH MARGOLIN and MORGAN WINSOR report. http://abcn.ws/2fk6f1l
TALES FROM THE TRAIL
ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS: Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton stood side-by-side again Thursday at an event in Raleigh, North Carolina. They reminded the crowd of the long journey they’ve had -- sometime as competitors, sometimes as allies -- over this campaign. “This election’s been a lot more fun now that we’re on the same side,” Clinton said, turning to address Sanders. Sanders campaigned for her in Iowa today. The stop is one of more than a dozen he has scheduled across the country this final week before the general election, from New Hampshire to Arizona, as he continues to rally support behind his former rival. http://abcn.ws/2fjnY6L
ABC’s JOHN SANTUCCI and CANDACE SMITH: Introducing Donald Trump at the GOP nominee’s first rally of the day, former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu joked about Bill and Hillary Clinton's sex life: “You know playing a little bit off of what Bob Smith said his imitation of Bill Clinton and talking about Hillary. Do you think Bill was referring to Hillary when he said, I did not have sex with that woman? Bob Smith made me do it.” At one point someone yelled out, "Execute her!" and Sununu quickly denounced the comments and admonished the man. At his second event of the day in Ohio, Trump said of Clinton: "However, however the reports also show that the political leadership at the Department of Justice is trying as hard as they can to protect their angel, Hillary. This is no angel. They want to protect their angel.” Trump also made air quotes around “Justice Department.”
ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ and JOSH HASKELL: Hillary Clinton once again used Mark Cuban to taunt Donald Trump. In addition to joining at the Pittsburgh rally, Cuban flew on the campaign plane with Clinton to her second stop in Detroit. Clinton and Cuban chatted in the staff cabin of the plane before take-off. They then walked off the plane together -- and stood chatting on the tarmac. During the flight, Cuban and campaign chairman John Podesta came back to chat with reporters. When asked if he thinks his appearance was meant to try to get under Trump's skin again, Cuban said: “It’s just so easy." Podesta also reacted to the Bridgegate verdict, saying of Trump: “Rather than just criss-crossing the country and hop-scotching ad talking about cleaning up the swamp, he might start by draining his own swamp and asking Mr. Christie to resign as the head of his transition."
ABC’s JESSICA HOPPER: Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine launched new lines of attack against GOP nominee Donald Trump, hitting Trump for saying he is “financially brave” and for his comments that the military would not accept Clinton as president. Kaine was referencing comments made by Trump in North Carolina yesterday. When discussing Trump’s comments about the military not accepting Clinton, Kaine said, “"There’s no group that he won’t go after and criticize. And I’ll tell you, he won’t stop. Yesterday, he was giving, he just continues this long string of very sexist comments. There’s an Old Testament phrase that’s very graphic, like a dog that returneth to its own vomit. Well, he just keeps coming back to this stuff.”
ABC’s CORINNE CATHCART and MATTHEW CLAIBORNE: At a campaign rally in Pueblo, Colorado earlier today, President Bill Clinton took a swipe at the Melania Trump’s speech in Pennsylvania yesterday. “Yesterday I never felt so bad for anybody in my life as I did for his wife going out giving a speech saying, ‘Oh, cyber bullying was a terrible thing.’ I thought, yeah, especially if it's done at 3:00 in the morning against the former Miss Universe by a guy running for president,” Clinton said, adding, “The problem is we're laughing but it isn’t funny cause people’s lives are going to be changed by this."
AD ROUNDUP with ABC’s SHUSHANNAH WALSHE
Trump Runs a Two Minute Ad. The Trump campaign released a new two minute ad they are running in several battleground states, including Florida, Ohio and Nevada.It is titled “Donald Trump’s Argument for America and is part of his closing argument, according to the campaign’s release. It is backed by a $4 million buy. Two minutes is extremely long for a TV ad. WATCH: http://bit.ly/2fljmj3
New Clinton Ad ‘Situation Room.’ A decorated member of the Navy and the former director of the Situation Room, Rear Admiral Deborah Loewer, is featured in a new ad for Hillary Clinton. She is described in the release as a “lifelong Republican.” The ad titled “Situation Room” is a rebuttal to Donald Trump's comment on Thursday to veterans that they wouldn't think of Clinton as their boss. Trump said, “To think of her being their boss? I don’t think so,” which Trump critics are calling sexist. WATCH: http://bit.ly/2fq5q3m
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"It's like suddenly reality TV has entered the race for the presidency. It's not even 'Survivor' or 'The Bachelorette.' I mean it’s like some 'Love and Hip-Hop' stuff." - President Obama campaigning in North Carolina
HAPPENING TONIGHT (all times Eastern):
--7 PM - Donald Trump campaigns in Hersey, Pennsylvania.
--7 PM - Mike Pence holds a campaign rally in Miami, Florida.
--7 PM - Stevie Wonder holds a “Get Out the Vote” concert for Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
--8 PM - Hillary Clinton will be in Cleveland, Ohio attending a “Get Out the Vote” concert with Jay-Z.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEKEND:
This Week on ‘This Week’: This Sunday, with just two days to go until Election Day, the Powerhouse Roundtable debates the race for the White House, with Rebuilding America Now PAC strategist Alex Castellanos, President Obama’s 2012 deputy campaign manager and Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter, ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and ABC News contributor and Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson.
WHO’S TWEETING?
@brianstelter: Clinton campaign also has a 2 minute long "closing argument" ad in the works. It's airing Monday night on NBC & CBS
@AaronKatersky: .@GovChristie says he "will set the record straight in the coming days" about "lies" told in #Bridgegate trial.
@BraddJaffy: Rudy Giuliani on Clinton/FBI: "I did nothing to get it out, I had no role in it. Did I hear about it? You’re darn right I heard about it..."
@CandaceSmith_: TV Newser takes a look at the crazy lives of the ABC embeds @JTSantucci @ABCLiz @joshbhaskell @jesshop23 @InesdLC http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/stories-from-the-trail-the-life-of-an-abc-news-campaign-embed/310096 …
@Elizabeth_McLau: State Department Releases 285 Pages of Former Secretary Clinton's Emails http://abcn.ws/2ewrknW #ClintonEmails
@jdistaso: .@realDonaldTrump camp advises @chrischristie 'changed his schedule' and won't be in NH tomorrow #nhpolitics #WMUR
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