Hispanic backers turn away from Trump after immigration speech

Hispanics for Trump: No mas

The crowd in Phoenix loved Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration speech, but the Republican’s recent bid to woo Hispanic voters appears headed south of the border.

As many as half the members of Trump’s Hispanic advisory council are quitting.

The group met with Trump two weeks ago and came away hopeful that he would moderate his stand on immigrants here illegally who are otherwise law-abiding and contributing to society.

But Trump’s address “demonized immigrants,” said one departing council member, Jacob Monty, a Republican immigration attorney from Houston. “We were out there defending him. And then to be just lied to like that — it doesn’t feel good. It’s not OK,” Monty said.

Alfonso Aguilar, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said, “We feel misled.”

Who’s out

A Washington Post analysis found Trump’s plan could target between 5 million and 6.5 million people for immediate removal, based on the priorities he set for deportation.

In addition to those with criminal records, Trump’s plan would also target immigrants who overstayed their visas, meaning they are no longer in the United States legally.

Writing on the wall

Trump has a new Twitter feud — this time with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto over whether Mexico should pay for a wall on the border.

“Mexico will pay for the wall!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. That comment was retweeted by Peña Nieto with the reply: “I repeat what I said personally, Mr. Trump: Mexico would never pay for a wall.”

When the Mexican president rejected that demand in their meeting Wednesday, Trump didn’t respond in person.

The take-away: Courting labor

Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine are traveling to Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Quad Cities of northwest Illinois and southeast Iowa to mark Labor Day and push back at Trump’s claim that he would do better creating jobs.

Ohio offers a critical opportunity for Trump, with its higher-than-average percentage of white voters and lower-than-average percentage of Latinos. See Dan Janison’s column for Newsday.

Dog days and dollars

Her three-day Hamptons fundraising jaunt helped Clinton haul in $143 million in August — her best month yet.

When the cash is divvied up, her campaign gets $62 million, and another $81 million goes to the Democratic National Committee and state parties. Clinton begins September with more than $68 million in the bank.

Trump’s August fundraising details are still to come.

E-Mail drumbeat: Who's the boss?

Huma Abedin, often described as the closest Hillary Clinton aide, wrote to Douglas Band, the close Bill Clinton aide, "OK we'll figure it out" when he in 2009 asked for diplomatic passports which are supposed to go only to department employees and others with diplomatic status,

They were never issued, according to the New York Times. The Clinton campaign attempted to downplay the Judicial Watch revelations as "attacking State Department officials and the 42nd president of the United States for rescuing two American journalists from North Korea."

Lester Holt, Hofstra host

NBC's Lester Holt will moderate the Sept. 26 debate at Hofstra University in Garden City, as first reported on CNN. 

Clinton holds first place

A USA Today/Suffolk University Poll showed Clinton 7 points ahead among likely voters in both a two-way matchup with Trump and a four-way race with the Libertarian and Green candidates included.

The Franklin & Marshall College Poll in Pennsylvania measured Clinton’s lead among likely voters in the battleground state as 7 points, down from 11 points a month ago.

What else is happening

• The questions and answers for Trump’s interview with the pastor of an African-American church in Detroit Saturday are being scripted in advance, The New York Times reported. Whether Trump will stick to the script is an open question.
• David Bossie, a conservative operative and longtime antagonist of the Clintons, has been hired as Trump’s deputy campaign manager, according to The Washington Post. He is close to Long Island megadonors Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah.
• 'Guccifer,' the Rumanian hacker who first revealed Clinton's private e-mail server, was sentenced to two-years-plus in prison on his guilty plea to aggravated identity theft and related charges.
• Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is running out of time to show a support surge in major polls. Without it, he won’t qualify for the presidential debates that start Sept. 26 at Hofstra University.
• Even though Clinton led the USA Today poll, 54% of likely voters said not enough was done to guard against conflicts of interest between the Clinton foundation and her job as secretary of state.
• A worry for Clinton aides preparing her for debates is whether she can project herself as someone whom voters can trust, Politico reports.
• Trump was well-received by veterans at an American Legion convention in Cincinnati.