Hillary Clinton’s plans for her first reaction to Trump tape
Hillary Clinton has so far been silent so far on the topic of the lewd Trump tape, except for a Tweet sent by her campaign calling the tape “horrific.” On Saturday, while Republicans denounced the GOP nominee, she quietly proceeded as planned with her debate prep.
Clinton does not plan to talk publicly about the vulgar Trump tape released Friday until Sunday night, according to a Clinton campaign official. Her first public remarks on the Trump comments can be expected early on in the debate Sunday night, the official said.
The campaign made the decision not to have the Democratic nominee address the issue Saturday because of the unique opportunity she’ll have Sunday night to address it before an audience of millions -- while sharing a stage with Trump. Another consideration for the campaign was that it did not want to do anything to distract from the steady stream of Republicans un-endorsing Trump throughout the day Saturday.
The possibility that Trump could take his name off the ballot is something the Clinton campaign has considered, although Trump has vociferously denied that he will. His public stance on the possibility is that he would “never drop out of this race in a million years.” The Clinton campaign explored the possibility anyway -- it is convinced that there is no way for Trump to get his name off the ballot at this point, even if he wanted to do so. Ballots have already been printed and sent to military members and to Americans living overseas. Early voting has already begun in several states. Clinton campaign lawyers are absolutely convinced that Trump’s name is there to stay.
As far as strategy goes, the campaign is not changing any investments or travel plans unless the data suggests they should. The seven battleground states where the campaign is airing ads remain the focus.
There is little celebration or giddiness in the Brooklyn office, as the campaign remains focused on its strategy over the closing weeks.