The Note: Other People’s Money
— -- NOTABLES
--CLINTON CAMP SLAMS TRUMP OVER ALLEGATIONS HIS CHARITY PAID HIS BUSINESS SETTLEMENTS: The Clinton campaign slammed Donald Trump as "a fraud who believes the rules don't apply to him" over reports that the GOP presidential candidate used money from his charitable foundation to settle two lawsuits filed against his for-profit businesses, note ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY, KATHERINE FAULDERS and LAUREN PEARLE. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Trump made two payments totaling $258,000 to settle suits. "Clearly the Trump Foundation is as much a charitable organization as Trump University is an institute of higher education," said Clinton's deputy communications director Christina Reynolds. http://abcn.ws/2cFyoxw
--TRUMP ACCUSES HILLARY CLINTON OF ‘COPYING’ HIM: Donald Trump’s latest attack against Hillary Clinton is that she’s a copycat. At a campaign rally in Kenansville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Trump accused Clinton of sounding a lot like him on the issue of vetting immigrants. “All of a sudden she’s got "extreme vetting" and she’s got all of these terms,” Trump said. “I used the term -- I made it up,” Trump added. “Now Hillary is copying it!” Trump’s remarks at his evening rally marked the second time in one day that he accused Clinton of imitating him. “Do people notice Hillary is copying my airplane rallies -- she puts the plane behind her like I have been doing from the beginning," Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI have more: http://abcn.ws/2cI0GKR
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: It took until almost 10:30 pm last night for the Trump campaign to put out its statement on the latest Washington Post revelations about the Trump Foundation. This one accused the Post of “inaccuracies and omissions” and “wrong” facts – and proceeded to enumerate precisely zero items from any of those categories. It’s response by bluster, on paper, replacing actual answers to valid questions. (The paper trail in the latest report – documenting personal business legal settlements covered by Trump’s charitable foundation – is particularly solid, and has not been refuted by anyone in and around Trump.) Tuesday night, Mike Pence applauded his running mate for answering media questions “just about every day.” But a summer storyline has flipped as we head into fall: Trump hasn’t held a full-fledged news conference since July. His campaign’s scorching attacks on media organizations who dig in on his business or personal dealings are designed to obfuscate, not illuminate. A campaign that’s focused on “Crooked Hillary” is going to have a harder time making that case without a straighter posture.
BY THE NUMBERS -- CLINTON SLATED TO SPEND 52 TIMES AS MUCH AS DONALD TRUMP ON FLORIDA TV ADS. With seven weeks until Election Day, Hillary Clinton and her allies are set to outspend Donald Trump and his allies by wide margins during the homestretch. A whopping 95 percent of all campaign television ad spending scheduled up until Election Day — more than $143 million worth — comes from Clinton’s team, according to an ABC News analysis of CMAG/Kantar Media data. Team Clinton will spend $143.2 million on television ads, versus only $6.8 million for Team Trump. The difference in future spending in key battleground states is even starker, reports ABC’s RYAN STRUYK. http://abcn.ws/2cX9Wcg
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
BUSH 41 SAYS HE'LL VOTE FOR CLINTON. Former President George H.W. Bush said he will be voting for Hillary Clinton at a reception for the Points of Light Foundation in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Monday, a source told ABC News. Bush made the declaration in front of about 40 people in attendance at the reception, according to the source, ABC’s JONATHAN KARL, J.J. GALLAGHER and TARA FOWLER report. Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, a former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, first posted on Facebook Monday about the 41st president's apparent intentions to vote for Clinton, sharing a photo of herself and Bush, and writing, "The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!!" http://abcn.ws/2cOSOFa
TRUMP JR.'S SKITTLES TWEET HIGHLIGHTS HIS KEY CAMPAIGN ROLE. Using Skittles to make a point about “our Syrian refugee problem” didn’t go over too well with Mars Inc., but the candy maker’s rebuke of Donald Trump Jr.’s controversial tweet is hardly a first. The eldest Trump son posted a photo of a bowl of Skittles and a caption that reads: "If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem." The condemnation was swift, though he appears to be standing by the sentiment and has not removed the post. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY has more: http://abcn.ws/2dgXWCR
TRUMP STILL PAYING FMR. CAMPAIGN MANAGER LEWANDOWSKI AS CONSULTANT. Donald Trump's presidential campaign paid former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski's company $20,000 in consulting fees in August, campaign filings show. Lewandowski was fired as Trump’s campaign manager on June 20 after a series of missteps that included a physical confrontation with a reporter and being charged with battery over an altercation with protesters at a rally. The battery charges were later dropped. Days after the firing, CNN hired Lewandowski as an on-air political commentator, a position he holds currently. Trump's campaign finance filing shows a $20,000 payment made to Lewandowski's company, Green Monster Consulting, LLC, on August 11 for the purpose of "strategy consulting." More from ABC’s J.J. GALLAGHER, JOHN SANTUCCI and RYAN STRUYK: http://abcn.ws/2d499Y5
CLINTON CALLS TULSA POLICE SHOOTING 'HORRIBLE,' REITERATES CALL FOR IMPROVED POLICING. Following the shooting death of an unarmed black man by a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last Friday, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke out against police violence. “This horrible shooting again. How many times do we have to see this in our country? In Tulsa, an unarmed man with his hands in the air,” Clinton said, calling into "The Steve Harvey Morning Show." Forty-year-old Terence Crutcher was fatally shot by a white police officer after his SUV stalled on the road, note ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI. http://abcn.ws/2cHfxVK
IN THE NOTE’S INBOX I -- NEW ANTI-TRUMP LAUNCHES SOCIAL MEDIA ADS HITTING TRUMP. Not Who We Are, a new anti-Trump group is out with three new digital social media ads hitting Trump on the Skittles controversy. Their buy is small for now and their plan is to spend about a $1000 dollars on narrowly targeted ads on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram aimed at people who work for Wrigleys and people who tweet/retweeted Skittles-related connect, as well as people who shared stories about it on Facebook, the group tells ABC News. Their goal is to engage people who were offended by Donald Trump Jr.'s initial tweet. The first says "Worried about Skittles? Donald Trump is a coin toss away from becoming president.” WATCH: http://bit.ly/2cs4gG8 And another reads: "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people." Why does it take a billion-dollar company to explain this to the Trumps?” WATCH: http://bit.ly/2cH8rAE
IN THE NOTE’S INBOX II – ‘AN OBAMA VETO WORTH BACKING,’ FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. “Legislation rushed through Congress with unanimous support often spells trouble, and so it is with the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (Jasta) that President Obama is expected to veto this week. The bill, which passed both houses of Congress on a voice vote, would create a new exception to sovereign immunity, the doctrine that protects foreign countries and their diplomats from lawsuits in U.S. courts. The bill is designed to let families of victims sue Saudi Arabia and its citizens for alleged complicity in 9/11. The plaintiffs bar is salivating as it eyes Saudi-owned U.S. assets, and the Saudis would be foolish to keep assets in the U.S. where they could be confiscated. Their emergency sale would have hard-to-predict impact on asset prices, harm the reputation of the U.S. as a destination for foreign capital, and perhaps cause the Saudis to drop their currency peg to the dollar.” READ MORE: http://on.wsj.com/2d3nTGV
WHO’S TWEETING?
@POTUSPressPool: .@NYTimesDowd w @juliemason in Leading Ladies says Bill Clinton might have called HW for Hillary endorsement. http://bit.ly/2d8Rkrd
@MattMackowiak: .@colinahanna & @GroverNorquist call on Congress to pass 'Sunset the Tax Code' before the election http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/296967-congress-must-give-itself-a-do-or-die-deadline-for-tax...
@ASimendinger: Fundraising Contests seen this wk: Fly on Trump plane+pix with candidate (with donation). Or, fly to Hofstra debate to watch Clinton (w/ $).
@Nate_Cohn: Americans totally split on whether --Trump *was* lying about birtherism --Trump changed his mind --Trump is *now* lying
@jdelreal: For Clinton, attacking Trump isn't enough. Does that mean she'll attack him less? (Probably not.) via @PhilipRucker http://wapo.st/2cH1Oer