The Trail 2016: Bill steals the show

by Lisa Hagen - 10/04/16 4:50 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.

Former President Bill Clinton managed to steal the spotlight from the run-up to tonight’s vice presidential debate and the likely attacks on the presidential nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

During a speech in Flint, Mich., on Monday, the former president — whose attempts at healthcare reform during his presidency failed — slammed President Obama’s signature healthcare law, calling it “the craziest thing in the world” and suggested a new system where Americans could buy into Medicare and Medicaid.

His comments complicate his wife’s campaign, which has repeatedly said she’ll build on Obamacare. Trump has called for the repeal of the healthcare law and quickly seized on Bill’s comments, saying he’s siding with those opposed to Obamacare.

The White House defended Obamacare and the former president’s spokesman Angel Urena argued that parts of his comments were “taken out of context.”

Meanwhile in the lead up to tonight’s vice presidential debate, The Hill’s Ben Kamisar is on the scene, bringing some color from Virginia:

“The political class is settling in for the battle at Longwood University, a public liberal arts school about an hour’s drive from Richmond, waiting for Kaine and Pence to square off. The debate’s massive footprint has enveloped much of the central part of campus, with television personalities passing by students coming in and out of the campus food court.

“The picturesque campus is mostly quiet outside of that footprint, as students are on break to allow for the massive influx of visitors. But a small, yet vocal, contingent of mostly Clinton/Kaine supporters have set up behind the cable television cameras to cheer on their candidates.

“And the scene in the pre-debate spin room, which made its home in the campus fitness center, mimicked the divergent strategies of the two campaigns. The Clinton/Kaine ticket held events with top surrogates every hour to make sure every single reporter heard the pre-event spin. But while some Trump/Pence surrogates wandered around the hall, the campaign had no official schedule for its surrogates.”

Make sure to read the five things to watch before the debate and stay with us tonight for live coverage of the first and only showdown between Kaine and Pence.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

FALLOUT OF PTSD COMMENT: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Hillary Clinton’s campaign lashed out at Donald Trump over his comments about post-traumatic stress disorder, accusing him of diminishing “the suffering some veterans face after serving their country.”

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Hillary Clinton chided Donald Trump for insulting women’s appearances, saying everyone must “stand up” to this rhetoric — especially when it comes to young, impressionable girls.

FEMALE VOTER OUTREACH: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday released a new TV ad touting his proposals to lower child care costs and improve maternity leave.

ODDS AND ENDS

IGNORANCE IS PEACE: The Hill’s Caitlin Yilek reports: Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson tried to defend his lack of foreign policy knowledge in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, saying it could keep troops out of harm’s way.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR CAMPAIGN: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Donald Trump donated nearly $300,000 of his foundation’s money to conservative organizations over a three-year period in the lead-up to his presidential run, according to a RealClearPolitics report.

ROLE MODEL CRITERIA: The Hill’s Jordan Fabian reports: President Obama does not see Donald Trump as a role model, his top spokesman said Tuesday. “He does not, and he’s made that pretty clear in a variety of settings,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest replied.

CAMPAIGN CELEBRITY: The Hill’s Judy Kurtz reports: Gary Johnson is saying “Come on down!” to “Price is Right” host Drew Carey, with the comedian joining the Libertarian presidential nominee’s campaign as an honorary California chairman.

POLL POSITION

CLINTON HOLDS NATIONAL EDGE:The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Hillary Clinton has a 6-point edge over Donald Trump, a new national poll released Tuesday finds.

ALSO A BATTLEGROUND EDGE: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Hillary Clinton has a 10-point lead over Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in a Monmouth University poll and also has a 9-point lead in a Franklin & Marshall College Poll. The former secretary of State also has a 6-point edge in a new North Carolina poll.

NOT YOUR FATHER’S CONSERVATIVE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump is seen as the least conservative GOP presidential nominee in more than 20 years, according to a new poll.

THE DAILY TRUMP

TAKING TO TWITTER: The Hill’s Nikita Vladimirov reports: Donald Trump announced that he will be live-tweeting the vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence on Tuesday evening.

TONS OF TAXES: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Donald Trump has paid “hundreds of millions” in taxes over the years, his campaign manager said Tuesday, rebuffing criticism he has received since The New York Times reported he may have been able to avoid paying federal income taxes for 18 years.

CRUMBLING FOUNDATION: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Nearly half of voters view Donald Trump’s charitable foundation in a negative light, according to apoll conducted before the news that New York state ordered the charity to stop accepting public donations.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This is an ignorant man. This guy says things he has no idea. “But he’s not a bad man.”

–Vice President Biden about Donald Trump during a CNN interview.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

TRUMP TANGO: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Democrats are pouncing on Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) after she called Donald Trump a role model for children in a debate Monday night, as they try to link the vulnerable GOP incumbent to the party’s presidential nominee. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tore into Ayotte for calling Trump a role model, accusing Republicans of refusing to “stand up” to their presidential nominee.

DEAD HEAT IN NC: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and former state Rep. Deborah Ross (D) are in a dead heat in North Carolina’s Senate race, a new poll finds.

DUCKWORTH UP DOUBLE DIGITS: Capitol Fax reports: Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) leads Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) leads by double digits, 48 to 34 percent, according to a poll from Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

ALSO A DEAD HEAT IN PA: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Sen. Pat Toomey (R) and his Democratic challenger Katie McGinty are tied in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, a new poll shows.

MONEY WATCH

CLINTON STILL WINNING AD WAR: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Hillary Clinton and her allies have outspent Donald Trump by more than $100 million on the airwaves in the battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

(All times Eastern)

Mike Pence and Tim Kaine debate for 90 minutes (no breaks) today in Farmville, Va., at 9 p.m.

Hillary Clinton will attend a Women’s Leadership Forum and Women for Hillary celebration with special guest Julianna Margulies in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon. Bernie Sanders campaigns for Clinton in Duluth, Minn. at 7:30 p.m. today. Bill Clinton will also campaign for Clinton in Stark County, Ohio Wednesday morning. Chelsea Clinton will make two campaign stops in Iowa: one in Dubuque at noon and another in Sioux City at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. She’ll also be on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on NBC at 1 a.m.

Donald Trump holds two rallies in Nevada on Wednesday — one in Henderson at 2:30 p.m. and the other in Reno at 6:30 p.m.

Tim Kaine will attend a Pennsylvania Democrats Organizing Event in Philadelphia at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Mike Pence will campaign at Rockingham County Fair Association, Harrisonburg, Va., at 11:30 a.m. and hold a rally in Grantville, Pa., at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

TWEET OF THE DAY

I’ll say this about Gary Johnson: he’s pretty good at breaking through the wall of Trump coverage https://t.co/xXy3Ewhy1A

— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) October 4, 2016

.@GovGaryJohnson just told @MSNBC that his lack of geographical knowledge is a plus bc you can’t get into a war w/ a country you can’t find

— Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) October 4, 2016