Trump Shakes it Up, California Burns

Kremlinology: Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign staff again, demoting his chairman Paul Manafort by installing Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman of the right wing Breitbart News, to be the Trump campaign’s chief executive. Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser, becomes the campaign manager.

Trump, or his children, seem to recognize he needs help, if he’d only accept it. Roger Ailes, the former boss of Fox News bounced by the network for sexual harassment, is helping Donald Trump prepare for debates, according to a report in the NY Times. Although he has met with Ailes, Trump denied to the paper that the architect of Fox News had any formal role. “I don’t have a debate coach. I’ve never had a debate coach,” Trump said.

Trump gets his first classified briefing today as the Republican nominee.

It’s Political: Television and political advertisements have been critical to presidential elections since 1952, when Richard Nixon delivered his famous “Checkers” speech, announcing his family would keep a dog given as a gift. So far in this election, Hillary Clinton has spent $61 million on political advertising, according to NBC News. Television is also big for Donald Trump, but he hasn’t spent a penny on it. Zero. No political ads produced by his campaign. He gets free television every time he says or does something outrageous. The campaign told NPR that only now it’s about to start advertising in the battleground states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina.

The Numbers: The NY Times national polling average has Hillary Clinton leading Trump 45 percent to 39. Real Clear Politics says Clinton already has 256 out of 270 electoral votes in the bag.

You’ve Got Mail: The FBI has turned over to congressional investigators notes and materials, some of it secret, from their investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Republicans, including South Carolina’s Rep. Trey Gowdy who wears an oil slick in his hair, have been demanding to know why Clinton was not charged with a crime.

Nation: Close to 35,000 — 80,000 people — were ordered evacuated yesterday as wildfire advanced in San Bernardino County, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. California is having a tough time with fires this week. The state has 22 significant fires burning and has lost a lot of homes. Police have arrested a 40-year-old man and charged him with setting a fire that burned dozens of homes and buildings 90 miles north of San Francisco.

>Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane resigned in the wake of her conviction for leaking grand jury information to a reporter in an attempt to discredit a political rival.

The Obit Page: John McLaughlin, the gruff and combative host of the political round table “The McLaughlin Group,” died at home in Washington at age 89. McLaughlin had prostate cancer, but the first time he missed his own show in 34 years was just this past weekend. McLaughlin brought combat to political punditry, and helped pave the way for political coverage to become entertainment. As McLaughlin said at the end of his show, “Out of time, bye, bye.”

The Games: Simone Biles won the floor exercise yesterday, becoming the first American gymnast to win four gold medals. Biles previously won gold in the team final, the individual all-around, and the vault. She had been favored to win five, but a little slip cost her gold on the balance beam. She’s so good, though, even a near fall merely reduced her to bronze. — Kerri Walsh Jennings, the winner of three previous gold medals, lost her bid to win a fourth in Olympic beach volleyball. Jennings had never lost an Olympic match, but she and her partner April Ross went down in two straight sets to a pair of Brazilians. Jennings and Ross will play for bronze.

Small Screen: After two seasons The E! network has cancelled the documentary series “I Am Cait,” which chronicled the conversion of former Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner to a transgender woman named Caitlyn. A network spokesperson said, “She will always remain a part of the E! family,” blah, blah, blah, but she didn’t make them enough money.

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It's Been Said

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote."

  • Donald Trump courting the vote of the Christian right

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