The Note: Regrets, They Had a Few
— -- NOTABLES
--ADVISERS SAY TRUMP 'MISSED OPPORTUNITIES' AT DEBATE: Donald Trump's campaign team admits there were "some missed opportunities" at Monday's presidential debate after they've had time to "digest" the real estate mogul's performance, sources tell ABC’s CANDACE SMITH, JOHN SANTUCCI and TOM LLAMAS. One senior staffer, in a stark admission, says that Trump’s failures were his own and “more a lack of execution than preparation.” That staffer said that Trump “lost his nerve” in not hitting Clinton on certain issues like the attacks in Benghazi. Sources say Trump "did not get through the check list," but feel they have time to prepare for the final two debates. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will continue to be a part of sessions going forward and the team is hoping to emulate the town hall style of the next debate. But sources say no new prep has happened yet for the next debate on Oct. 9 -- the focus right now is on campaigning. http://abcn.ws/2dsdDII
--MEMBERS OF TRUMP’S FAMILY ARE STANDING BEHIND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CAMPAIGN, contrary to reports of dissension. "My siblings and I are thrilled with the current team, as we should be, given the success in the polls and in Monday's debate," Donald Trump Jr. told ABC News today in a statement. "There is no truth to this fabricated lie and we are excited to be working with these amazing professionals. The business continues to be tremendously successful as it has for years given our incredible assets and attention to detail in their management.” http://abcn.ws/2dsdDII
--TODAY ON ‘THE VIEW’: An interview with Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway. 11AM Eastern
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: Here come the reinforcements. Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders hit the campaign trail Wednesday for Hillary Clinton. Their separate events would be easy enough to miss in the blur of political news, particularly in the wake of the first general-election presidential debate. But those unlikely supporters are critical to the Clinton campaign’s efforts to solidify and energize the Democratic base this fall. The two former political foes of the Democratic presidential nominee hold distinct but distinctly important appeals for voters where Clinton has significant weaknesses. http://abcn.ws/2cC9gVg
DEBATE PREP -- HOW THE SITE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WAS PICKED. If the only Farmville you've ever heard of is the Facebook game, you're not alone. Many members of the political masses and traveling press will be looking up directions to Farmville, Virginia, home of Longwood University, the site for this year's vice presidential debate on Oct. 4. Longwood University, which was founded in 1839, has never hosted a presidential or vice presidential debate before, writes ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY. The school's president, W. Taylor Reveley IV, said the decision to apply stemmed from a student's suggestion in 2014. http://abcn.ws/2drJtFH
--‘ESPECIALLY RELEVANT TO THE 2016 ELECTION’: The students "got to talking about how the modern presidential debates have a strong connection to Virginia," Reveley said in an interview. Moreover, "there's a narrative arc in Farmville and at Longwood that's especially relevant to the 2016 election," he said. "The Civil War functionally drew to a close along the north end of our campus, and then the civil rights movement really took its first powerful strides at the south end of our campus, with a student-led strike at the then-all-black high school," he added. http://abcn.ws/2drJtFH
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
TRUMP JOKES ABOUT NON-CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS AT IOWA RALLY: ‘SHOULD WE KEEP THEM?’ Donald Trump was unabashed about his courtship of Christian conservatives at an Iowa rally yesterday. "We have our 'Christian Conservatives For Trump' today, and they are in the room ... That’s what we want," Trump told supporters. "Raise your hand, Christian conservatives." What ensued was a sea of raised hands. But then Trump singled out those who do not identify as Christian conservatives, reports ABC’s CANDACE SMITH. "Raise your hand if you are not a Christian conservative -- I want to see this," he said. "Oh, there’s a couple of people." Trump's reaction to the few raised hands? "That’s alright, I think we'll keep them, right? Should we keep them in the room? Yes? I think so," he said, as many at the rally laughed along. http://abcn.ws/2dlJfhy
FACT CHECK: A CLOSER LOOK AT TRUMP’S CLAIM ABOUT CLINTON’S ESTATE TAX PLAN. Trump suggested to an audience in Iowa yesterday that family farmers will pay a 65 percent estate tax rate under Hillary Clinton's proposed tax plan, making it impossible for their children to "hold onto your farms." But how does that mesh with the facts? ABC’s LAUREN PEARLE has more. http://abcn.ws/2cX1ypV
SANDERS HINTS AT ONGOING ‘PRESSURE’ ON CLINTON OVER BANKING ISSUES. In an interview with ABC News Wednesday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders did not explicitly say that he had confidence in Hillary Clinton -- should she win the White House -- to put in place tougher regulations on large banks or, specifically, clean up Wells Fargo after their recent scandal. Sanders, who during the primary often accused Clinton of coziness with Wall Street, instead told ABC’s DAVID WRIGHT that he would rely on and expect demonstrations and persistence from progressives to keep pressure on Clinton to “do the right thing.” “What we need is millions of people standing up ... demanding the re-establishment of the Glass-Steagall legislation and breaking up the large financial institutions," Sanders said, referring to the now-repealed 1933 law that limited the links between commercial banking and investment banking, writes ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS. "I think with that pressure, I think Secretary Clinton is prepared to do the right thing.” http://abcn.ws/2d5KBM9
GARY JOHNSON HAS ANOTHER ‘ALEPPO MOMENT.’ Gary Johnson once again demonstrated that foreign policy may not be his strong point. On Wednesday night -- just three weeks after the Libertarian presidential candidate curiously asked an MSNBC host “What’s Aleppo?” when asked what he would do about the war-torn Syrian city -- Johnson stumbled over a question that again has left voters scratching their heads. During a town hall on MSNBC with Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, host Chris Matthews asked the former New Mexico governor, "Who's your favorite foreign leader? Name one foreign leader that you respect and look up to. Anybody." With no leader apparently popping into his head, Johnson said, "I guess I'm having an 'Aleppo moment' in the former president of Mexico." ABC’s DAVID CAPLAN has more. http://abcn.ws/2cMfKV5
MICHELLE OBAMA HITS THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR HILLARY CLINTON IN BATTLEGROUND PENNSYLVANIA. The objective of Michelle Obama's first of two stump speeches for Hillary Clinton in battleground Pennsylvania Wednesday was clear: hype Clinton and tarnish Donald Trump, while getting young people out to vote. Within minutes of taking the stage at La Salle University in Philadelphia to an ecstatic, diverse and, largely, young audience of people at or near voting age, Obama moved from laughing with the crowd and cracking jokes to slamming the ongoing "birther" movement, reports ABC’s ALI DUKAKIS. http://abcn.ws/2dkWNd3
HOW THE FIRST DEBATE HIGHLIGHTED CLINTON'S TROUBLES WITH TRADE. House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated to reporters Wednesday morning that he is broadly a fan of trade deals and, more specifically, that he would like to see the White House continue to negotiate with trade partners over President Barack Obama’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and with Democrats still leery about passing it. But, as he has said all summer, the Republican leader added that he does not think there are the votes in Congress to pass it now, writes ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS. “The last thing I want to do is bring up an agreement ... only to see it fail,” he said. http://abcn.ws/2drOlu4
SENATOR SUGGESTS TRUMP 'DAILY WEIGH-IN' AFTER HIS MISS UNIVERSE BODY COMMENTS. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill fired back at Donald Trump’s criticism of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado's weight gain via Twitter Wednesday: “The D women Senators have talked & we're concerned about Donald's weight. Campaign stress? We think a public daily weigh-in is called for,” she tweeted. The Missouri senator’s tweet came after Trump appeared on Fox News Tuesday to defend his criticism of Machado, who said he called her "Miss Piggy" when she gained weight after winning the Miss Universe Pageant, ABC’s ALI ROGIN notes. http://abcn.ws/2dawea0
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
IN TEXAS, TACOS WITH A SIDE OF ELECTION EDUCATION. Hungry food truck patrons in Houston, Texas can now get their tacos with a side of civic engagement. A recently-launched voter registration effort is using taco trucks as a literal vehicle to register voters. Organized by design firm Rigsby Hull, the campaign found its inspiration in now-infamous comments by Latinos for Trump founder Marco Gutierrez. "My culture is a very dominant culture," Gutierrez said in defense of Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policies earlier this month. "It is imposing and it’s causing problems. If you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner." "Gutierrez’s comments represent how much there is at stake in this election," Lana Rigsby, founding partner of Rigsby Hull, told ABC News. More from ABC’s JENNIFER HANSLER: http://abcn.ws/2d8bgrk
WHO’S TWEETING?
@ZekeJMiller: This week’s important @TIME cover by @calabresim: How Russia Wants to Undermine the U.S. Election http://time.com/4512771/how-russia-wants-undermine-us-election/ …
@mmurraypolitics: Johnson-Weld campaign on Johnson's brain freeze last night: No big deal https://www.facebook.com/ronald.t.nielson/posts/10210354380196637 …
@MarkLeibovich: "Some of the anti-Trumpism in the press has been expressed in pointless and annoying gestures (CNNs snarky chyrons)" http://politi.co/2dblFDs
@DLeonhardt: Asked about Trump's climate denial, an ally wouldn't comment because ... she wasn't wearing her glasses. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/opinion/campaign-stops/the-dog-ate-my-planet.html … @samsteinhp
@ThePlumLineGS: Here's a history of Trump's statements on Bill's sex life. In the 1990s, he called Bill's women ugly losers: http://wapo.st/2dsixRG
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