A new poll shows voters feel Hillary Clinton is more qualified than Donald Trump to serve as president by a 17-point margin, but Clinton only holds a small advantage in the overall race. He led efforts to successfully tamp down a rebellion on the convention floor Monday, though the campaign still had to contend with angry outbursts from anti-Trump delegates.
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Delegates in the crowd below began to yell: “Lock her up!” “But we have to go all the way”.
Two passages of her address matched almost word-for-word the speech that Michelle Obama delivered in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention.
Clinton, 68, was due to be formally nominated at the Democratic convention next week in Philadelphia.
It was unclear whether there would be much if any effect on how voters view Trump. Two of Trump’s children testified to his character, casting him as a man undeterred by challenges.
Though the paper concedes that Donald Trump, the soon-to-be Republican nominee, has a very real chance of winning, the likelihood of a Clinton win has been increasing over time, according to the Times’ analysis. Questions about plagiarism surfaced for a second day in a row, this time in the eldest son’s speech.
The last time that Trump matched Clinton’s level of support was in mid-May, after his remaining rivals for the Republican nomination dropped out and many Republican leaders started to openly support his bid for the White House.
The Senate majority leader didn’t exactly heap praise on Trump either though, and didn’t mention him at all until several minutes into his speech.
It was one of the occasional flurries of dissent on the convention floor, including jeers as states that Trump did not win recorded their votes during the nominating roll call vote.
The state-by-state vote to put Trump’s name in nomination took place a day after opponents staged a failed attempt to force a vote opposing his candidacy, and after a speech by his wife, Melania, drew accusations of plagiarism.
A wealthy NY real estate developer and a reality TV celebrity, the 70-year-old Trump was a long shot when he entered the race for the Republican nomination more than a year ago, having never held elected office.
The boisterous roll call featured officials bragging about their states, per tradition, and enthusiastically declaring Trump the victor of their delegates.
“My dad is a natural born encourager, the last person to ever tell you to lower your sights”, she said. She leads Trump, 43 percent to 37 percent, among people making less than $50,000 annually and by 10 percentage points among people who are unemployed, 44 percent to 34 percent. She spoke of his “simple goodness” and his loyalty and love of family – while noting the “drama” that comes with Trump in politics. Two passages from her address – each 30 words or longer – matched a 2008 Democratic convention address by Michelle Obama almost word-for-word.
Top Trump adviser Paul Manafort said the matter had been “totally blown out of proportion”.
Clinton pounced on the tumult, saying the Republican gathering had so far been “surreal”, comparing it to the classic fantasy film “Wizard of Oz”.
“When you pull back the curtain, it was just Donald Trump with nothing to offer to the American people”, Clinton said during a speech in Las Vegas.
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The convention also has been marred by protests from anti-Trump delegates and a controversy over a speech by Trump’s wife, Melania, that included a section that was strikingly similar to a portion of the speech given by Michelle Obama at the Democratic convention in 2008 when her husband, Barack Obama, was seeking his first term as president.
