It’s Clinton’s show, but Trump does his best to steal it
It’s Hillary Clinton’s show, but rival Donald Trump is doing his best to steal it.
The Democrats’ historic handoff to Clinton arrived with affection from one ex-president and an endorsement from an outgoing one. But also came with a warning: That last glass ceiling isn’t shattered yet and the Republican nominee is a formidable and unpredictable foe.
Clinton formally captured the Democratic nomination Tuesday night and declared the barrier keeping women from the presidency nearly broken. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton offered a personal testimonial, and President Barack Obama was on deck to make the case for electing his former secretary of state.
But on Wednesday, Clinton’s rival touched off a firestorm with his call for Russia to launch a cyberattack on Clinton’s emails.
Obama and other Democrats elicited Trump’s startling remarks by suggesting the Russian government was behind the hack of Democratic National Committee emails that toppled the party’s chief earlier this week. In an NBC News interview, Obama suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin was actually rooting for Trump – although he provided no evidence – and said the GOP businessman has “expressed admiration” for Putin.
Trump declared Wednesday he has “nothing to do with Russia,” but quickly went much further.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said, in an apparent reference to Clinton’s State Department emails. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That’ll be next.”
The suggestion appeared to be an off-the-cuff riff. Still, the candidate repeated it in a follow-up tweet. It drew swift condemnation from the Clinton campaign.
“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent,” said Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan. “
Despite the swirl of distractions, Democrats appeared to be finding unity as they formally sealed the deal behind Clinton on Tuesday night.
A convention that had been consumed by drama of formally defeating Sanders had turned to showcasing the coalition Clinton will need to win – blacks, Hispanics, women and young people.