USA TODAY International Edition
ON POLITICS
There will be a number of milestones during the 2016 presidential campaign — but the Iowa Straw Poll will no longer be one of them. The state’s Republican Party announced Friday it was ending the tradition that began in 1979. More news from the world of politics:
BARBARA BUSH TO STAY MUM
Former first lady Barbara Bush told the “Today” show last week that she’d “promised that during this next campaign season, I will not talk.” Her son Jeb Bush is likely to officially join the GOP presidential race Monday.
In 2013, she made news when she said she didn’t want her son to run for president in 2016 because “we’ve had enough Bushes.” She’s since changed her mind, though, and has helped with fundraising for his super PAC.
Despite the vow of silence, she did say in her interview last week, “I’m gonna stop voicing my opinion and sticking up for things I think are right — except ( for) my boy.”
NO PAID SPEECHES FOR BILL CLINTON IF HILLARY WINS
Former president Bill Clinton in an interview last week said he would stop giving paid speeches if Hillary Clinton wins the White House next year. “No, I don’t think so,” he said when asked if he would continue doing so by Bloomberg Television’s Betty Liu.
The 42nd president, speaking at a Clinton Global Initiative event, also addressed Clinton Foundation donations during the interview, which have been an ongoing source of controversy during the campaign.
“Has anybody proved that we did anything objectionable? No. Have we done a lot of good things with this money? Yes,” Clinton said. “I’m proud of the work we do.”
REPUBLICAN SENATOR CAUGHT ON OPEN MIKE
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, R- Ill., was caught Thursday making a remark at a committee hearing about colleague Lindsey Graham that he would’ve preferred remain private. Commenting on Graham’s status as a bachelor, a rarity among presidential candidates, Kirk can be heard saying in audio posted by The Huffington Post: “Did you see that? He’s going to have a rotating first lady. He’s a bro with no ho.”
Graham has joked that if he won the election he would have a “rotating first lady.” Kirk later told Politico that he regretted making the comment.
BERNIE SANDERS STRIKES OPTIMISTIC NOTE
Hillary Clinton may be the frontrunner, but Sen. Bernie Sanders isn’t downplaying his chances for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Vermont independent told a breakfast meeting of reporters Thursday that he was confident he’d have the funding to compete against Clinton.
“We have momentum,” Sanders said. “I’m in this election to win.” Sanders is typically polling ahead of Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee among Democratic voters, though all are well behind Clinton.