The Trail 2016: A crack in the Foundation

by Lisa Hagen - 09/20/16 5:56 PM ET

Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

Hillary Clinton isn’t the only presidential nominee whose namesake foundation is dogging her campaign.

A report from Washington Post Tuesday morning found that GOP nominee Donald Trump used more than $250,000 of his charitable foundation’s money to pay for settlements in two lawsuits. The Post interviewed experts who said that could violate laws barring the heads of charitable organizations from using that money for personal expenses.

Clinton’s campaign quickly seized on the news, pointing to it as another example that the real estate mogul is a “fraud who believes the rules don’t apply to him” and used it as an opportunity to call on Trump to release his tax returns, which he has refused to do while under audit by the IRS.

But the Democratic nominee has run into her own issues with her family foundation and Trump has repeatedly accused her of a “pay to play” scheme in which foreign leaders who donated to the family foundation were able to gain access to the State Department while secretary of State.

The new revelations surrounding the Trump Foundation could make it tougher for Trump to use this line of attack against his opponent, however, and provides Clinton with more ammo to paint the Republican businessman as someone with bad judgment to serve as president.

Read more from reporter Jonathan Swan about the new challenges for Trump regarding his foundation. And come back to The Hill tomorrow morning for stories on why the presidential race remains close despite Clinton’s huge TV advertising advantage and how NAFTA’s fate will be in the hands of the next president.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

BETTER THAN EXPECTED: The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports: Donald Trump is performing about as well with Hispanic voters as GOP nominee Mitt Romney did in 2012, according to opinion polls — something that unsettles Democrats and surprises even some Republicans.

BRINGING OUT THE BIG GUNS: The Hill’s Tim Devaney reports: The National Rifle Association is launching a $5 million TV ad campaign attacking Hillary Clinton for her stance on gun control.

IVANKA GOES TO WASHINGTON: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Ivanka Trump will meet with female Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, according to Politico. The daughter of Donald Trump will meet with more than a dozen GOP women in the Senate and House to talk about her father’s new childcare policy platform.

ODDS AND ENDS

A BUSH FOR CLINTON:The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Former President George H.W. Bush is planning to vote for Hillary Clinton in November, according to a Facebook post by the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.

TARGETING TAX RETURNS: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid accused Donald Trump of “faking” his net worth by refusing to release his tax returns. “If elected, Donald Trump would be the scammer in chief,” he said from the Senate floor.

SKITTLES SCANDAL: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Donald Trump Jr. ignited a firestorm of criticism when he posted a meme on Twitter comparing Syrian refugees to tainted Skittles. The image shows a bowl of Skittles with the caption, “If I had a bowl of skittles [sic] and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.” The photographer of the Skittles picture told BBC that he’s former refugee and found it offensive. Trump’s campaign defended his son and noted the truth might “upset” some. The manufacturer of Skittles was not too happy either.

POLL POSITION

CLINTON CALI LEAD SHRINKS: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Hillary Clinton is losing ground to Donald Trump with California’s likely voters, according to a new poll.

BOUNCING BACK: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Hillary Clinton is bouncing back after a week of bad polling, upping her lead over Donald Trump to 5 points, a new national poll finds.

NY STATE OF MIND: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead over Donald Trump in New York, both nominees’ home state, a new Siena College poll finds.

SUNSHINE STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Nikita Vladimirov reports: Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump in Florida shrunk to 5 points from last month’s edge of 9, a new poll finds.

DEAD HEAT IN NC: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton by 1 point in the swing state of North Carolina, according to an Elon University poll.

THE DAILY TRUMP

TAKING A PAGE FROM SANDERS: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday released a new TV ad portraying his White House bid as a “movement.”

TAKING A BREAK: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Donald Trump took aim at Hillary Clinton on Twitter, mocking her for not campaigning and saying she “needs her rest.”

OWE AN APOLOGY: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested that Donald Trump should apologize for questioning President Obama’s birthplace.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself.”

— President Obama, taking a shot at Donald Trump in his final address to the United Nations.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

GOP TACKLES GUN CONTROL: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Republicans in critical down-ballot races are taking a page from the Democrats’ playbook: They are talking up gun control measures. GOP incumbents facing reelection in key states are seeking to compromise on this issue, though Democrats accuse them of addressing the issue only as a play for votes.

RESUME RIDICULE: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: The Senate Leadership Fund, a super-PAC with close ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is launching a $10 million ad campaign attacking Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) opponent, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), trying to portray him as a serial liar who fabricated his resume.

MONEY WATCH

GOP DOLLARS FOR DEM: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Healthcare magnate Mike Fernandez, a billionaire GOP donor from Florida, says he is donating “over” $2 million to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

(All times Eastern)

Mike Pence holds a rally in Colonial Williamsburg at 7:30 p.m. today. Pence will also appear on “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams” airing on MSNBC from 11 to 11:30 p.m. today.

Donald Trump will hold a rally in Toledo, Ohio at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. He will also appear at a town hall hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity at a black church in Cleveland at 10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton will campaign in Orlando, Fla. at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Center. Michelle Obama, who is out campaigning for Clinton, appears on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” at 11:35 p.m. today.

Tim Kaine will attend a fundraiser in San Francisco at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Gary Johnson will attend a Bloomberg Politics event at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Clinton aides say she is on a call with national security advisers, including some real heavies. So… https://t.co/Jag6ZsYIyB

— Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) September 20, 2016