The Note: 'Limping' Toward Nov. 8

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October 11, 2016

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'Limping' Toward Nov. 8

Trump's Glimpse of the Next 28 Days

At a campaign event in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania last night, Donald Trump previewed the next month on the campaign trail: "We're working very hard. We have 28 days -- November 8th is the big day. We're going to get out. We're going to win. I'm going to make three, four, five stops a day. I may be limping across that finish line, but we're going to get across that finish line." After shunning the establishment throughout much of his campaign, Trump this morning also seemed to cast blame on the highest ranking Republican in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, saying that although he considers himself the winner of Sunday's debate, "it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support!" ABC's CANDACE SMITH has more: http://abcn.ws/2dQwQAi

Clinton Says Trump 'Should Have Been Apologizing'

Hillary Clinton criticized Donald Trump's performance, saying during a campaign rally the GOP nominee "spent his time attacking when he should have been apologizing." Clinton wasted no time talking about Sunday's town hall-style debate, telling 4,000 supporters at Wayne State University in Detroit that "you never saw anything like that before," report ABC's ADAM KELSEY and JOSH HASKELL. "When he was pressed about how he behaves," said Clinton, "he just doubled down on his excuse that it's just locker room banter." http://abcn.ws/2e9lHhj

Ryan Tells House GOP 'Do What's Best for You'

House Speaker Paul Ryan is not rescinding his endorsement of Donald Trump but told fellow House Republicans in a conference call yesterday that they should handle Trump however they think it will most benefit their own races. "You all need to do what's best for you in your district," he told the representatives, according to a person on the call. He also said he would not defend Trump or campaign with him for the next 30 days. ABC's ALI ROGIN and BENJAMIN SIEGEL have more: http://abcn.ws/2dqQ8e3

Analysis - ABC's Rick Klein

What is Donald Trump afraid of? Subtlety is rarely his thing, so this is what we heard from the Republican nominee Monday night. "If they want to release more tapes saying inappropriate things, we'll continue to talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton doing inappropriate things," Trump said. "They" is a broad term – encompassing, one would presume, the Clinton campaign, any number of Democratic-aligned groups, and the news media. The tapes "saying inappropriate things" would be of those capturing Trump's own words, it would appear. As for the vow that "we'll continue to talk" about the Clintons' "inappropriate things," Trump is already going there, with his debate stunt as well as an army of surrogates who've been accusing the Clintons of all manner of misconduct for months or years. Leaving aside the hollowness of the threat to do what he's already doing, the fact that he's threatening to do it more if the public hears more of what Trump himself said is just one of the reasons that the GOP establishment is cutting its losses. This is not the final weeks of campaigning they want to see, and it's not a threat they think would or should have any impact. MORE POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS: http://abcn.ws/2dOOnJ6

Trump Promises to Continue Attacks on Clintons 'If They Release More Tapes'

After an evening in which he invited women who accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault to join him at the second presidential debate, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump threatened to continue personal attacks against the Clintons if additional private recordings of himself are made public, ABC's ADAM KELSEY notes. "If they want to release more tapes saying inappropriate things, we'll continue to talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton doing inappropriate things," said Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.