Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus said he didn’t know Bannon, but was becoming acquainted with him.
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Asked whether the initial tweet was presidential or appropriate, GOP officials and campaign advisers instead talked about reducing crime or said they were pleased Trump followed up with a tweet of condolence and empathy.
Surrogates speak for and back up their presidential nominee.
In outlining his views, Mr Trump said addressing illegal immigration is important to helping Americans find jobs.
Ernst and most other speakers offered praise for Trump, a rarity at a time when many Republican political leaders have distanced themselves from his candidacy due to his incendiary rhetoric.
“I am reaching out to everyone, Republicans, Democrats, independents, everyone who is as troubled as I am by the bigotry and divisiveness of Donald Trump’s campaign”, she told MSNBC, adding she was asking “fair-minded Americans to repudiate this kind of divisive demagoguery” at the Nov 8 election.
“They are damaging for Trump because they draw on things he or his campaign have done to paint a picture of someone who is completely insensitive to the concerns of the minority community”, Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.
Trump also has been criticised for vowing to deport millions of people living in the United States illegally.
In his speech on Saturday in Iowa, Trump said he would seek to institute a tracking system to ensure illegal immigrants who overstay their visas are quickly removed, and would propose an e-verify system to prevent undocumented residents from gaining access to welfare and other benefits.
It’s been a tough week for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
In recent days, Trump has suggested he might be “softening”, saying Wednesday that he might be open to allowing at least some immigrants in the country illegally to stay, as long as they pay taxes. On Thursday, he seemed to flip-flop on the issue again, telling CNN: “There’s no path to legalization unless they leave the country”.
“The fact that an individual – a contemptable individual like that – supports my running mate is no more relevant than the fact that the father of a man who killed 49 people in Orlando, Florida, was cheering Hillary Clinton at one of her rallies”, Pence said.
Trump’s campaign also announced on Sunday a $10 million-plus buy for ads to air in nine competitive states starting Monday. “African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!” he tweeted. “We haven’t had the three presidential debates yet”.
Among women voters, Trump also trails Clinton – 44 percent to 35 percent – with 21 percent remaining undecided.
I would just as soon not defend Trump, especially on immigration.
Pence defended Trump’s tweet about the Chicago shooting death of basketball star Dwyane Wade’s cousin, immediately linking that death to electoral concerns. “And this is not a simple question”, said Priebus, who’s had a hard relationship with Trump. It’s unacceptable in an American city to continue to have this level of violence, and the level of violence in Chicago is unacceptable.
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Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, Pence said Kaine mentioning David Duke on Friday and Hillary Clinton herself delivering a speech denouncing the alt-right makes them “sound desperate”.
