Former Trump strategist, Roger Stone. Why did he leave the campaign - and why is he still a supporter? And, Senator Claire McCaskill joins Morning Joe also to weigh in on Ferguson, Iran, and more!
Donald Trump: FOX Chief Roger Ailes Promised Me 'Fair' Treatment. Donald Trump says that he's been assured "fair" treatment by Fox News after a conversation with the network's president, Roger Ailes.
Trump's claim comes just hours after he told MSNBC that he would not respond to questions about whether or not he'd spoken with Fox News brass about his feud with anchor Megyn Kelly.
On MSNBC's Morning Joe Monday morning, Trump declined to disclose any conversations with FOX, saying "my whole life has been led on the theory that I don't want to embarrass people."
Ailes later confirmed that he had spoken to Trump.
"Donald Trump and I spoke today," Ailes said in a statement. "We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100 percent. I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness and balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared."
Clinton Blasts Donald Trump for Megyn Kelly Attacks 2:23
Over the weekend, Trump doubled down on his criticism of Kelly's questions during the first GOP primary debate. He continues to deny that his comment that Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever" was intended to imply that her tough questioning was attributable to the fact that she was menstruating.
Fox News host Megyn Kelly addresses Trump 'dustup'. Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly refused to apologize Monday to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump after he accused her of asking an unfair question during last week’s Republican presidential debate.
“Apparently Mr. Trump thought the question was unfair and I was attacking him,” “The Kelly File” host told viewers Monday. “I felt he was asked a tough but fair question. We agree to disagree.”
While Trump leads recent polls, the former reality television star has drawn heated criticism from many in his own party for saying Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever" during a TV appearance Friday night.
Kelly, who called Trump an “interesting man that has captured the attention of the electorate,” decided not to respond to personal attacks he’d lodged against her, saying “I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism.”
“Mr. Trump, I expect, will continue with what has been a successful campaign so far,” said Kelly. “This is a tough business and I think it’s time now to move forward.”
Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes reached out to Trump directly Monday, assuring him he'll be "treated fairly" by the station, Trump tweeted Monday.
"Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that 'Trump' will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good!" wrote Trump, whose unorthodox campaign is dominating the race and summertime polls.
In a statement Monday evening, Ailes described the conversation as "blunt but cordial" and said the air had been cleared.
"Donald Trump and I spoke today. We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly," Ailes said, describing Kelly as "a brilliant journalist" whom he supports "100 percent."
Ailes added that he assured Trump "that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness & balance."
Trump is scheduled to return to the network Tuesday, with appearances on two of the network's shows, "Fox & Friends" and "Hannity," a Fox News spokeswoman said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hillary Clinton is trying to use Donald Trump's controversial comments against Marco Rubio. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is picking a fight with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) on abortion.
At an event in New Hampshire on Monday, Clinton deflected from a question on GOP candidate Donald Trump. She instead took aim at Rubio over his recent declaration that he does not support abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk.
"When one of their major candidates — a much younger man, the senator from Florida — says there should be no exceptions for rape and incest, that is as offensive and as troubling a comment as you can hear from a major candidate running for the presidency," Clinton said at the event, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
"So the language may be more colorful and more offensive, but the thinking, the attitude toward women is very much the same. It is just delivered in a different package."
Rubio is among several Republican presidential candidates — including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) — who oppose abortion in all circumstances.
In an interview on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Rubio suggested that survivors could use over-the-counter morning-after pills, "not to mention medical treatment that’s now available immediately after the assault." He did not, however, present a solution for survivors who do not immediately report being raped or immediately act to prevent a potential pregnancy after being raped.
Rubio responded to Clinton's attack on Monday by calling her "radical" on abortion.
"Hillary Clinton supports abortion even at the stage when an unborn child can feel pain; she has defended partial birth abortions as a 'fundamental right;' she opposes requiring parents to be notified that their minor daughter is having an abortion; she supports funding Planned Parenthood even after they have been exposed for their role in selling the organs of unborn children; and she supports using taxpayer money to pay for abortions overseas," Rubio said in a statement.
"Hillary Clinton holds radical views on abortion that we look forward to exposing in the months to come."
Clinton has focused the majority of her attacks on Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and Rubio over the last several weeks, perhaps indicating that she views the trio as her most likely opponents in next year's general election.
On Monday, she tried multiple times to link Trump's widely-criticized comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly with the Republican Party at large.
It's unclear whether Clinton's play to tie Trump's controversial statements to the Republican Party will work to her benefit — already, most of the GOP candidates have condemned the reality-television star's comments and asked him to tone down his rhetoric.
Still, Clinton has proven that she will aggressively confront Republican presidential candidates about any perceived misstep on women's health issues.
Last week, Clinton seized on Bush's comments that he was "not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health issues." Bush almost immediately apologized, though Clinton has worked the comments into her stump speech.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has stopped paying his 2016 presidential campaign’s staff in the key early primary state of South Carolina, amid flagging poling numbers and sluggish fundraising.
Spokesman Lucy Nashed said late Monday that “tough decisions have to be made in respect to both monetary and time-related resources.”
“Governor Perry remains committed to competing in the early states and will continue to have a strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,” Nashed said in a statement. “The Governor is also looking forward to his trips to South Carolina this Thursday and to Iowa next week.”
Perry has spent more time than any White House hopeful in Iowa, which opens presidential primary voting, and has frequently visited New Hampshire and South Carolina, sites of the next two primaries.
It wasn’t clear if the pay suspension would be permanent. It was first reported by National Journal.
Katon Dawson, Perry’s South Carolina state campaign chairman, didn’t return messages seeking comment Monday night. But some other Perry South Carolina staffers said they would continue to work as volunteers, at least for the time being, believing the former governor’s fortunes may improve.
Perry campaign officials in other states referred questions about salaries to headquarters in Austin, which declined to comment beyond Nashed’s statement.
“As far as I know, we still have a plan and we’re still on track,” said Sam Clovis, the campaign’s Iowa state chairman.
Perry just barely failed to crack the top 10 in national polls of the crowded Republican presidential field, keeping him off the main stage at last week’s much-watched debate. His campaign announced in July that Perry had raised only around $1 million in about a month – though super PAC support pushed its total war chest to nearly $18 million.
Perry spent 14 years at Texas governor, the longest tenure in state history, before leaving office in January.
He’s hoping to convince Republican primary voters that he’s humbler and better prepared than in 2012, when his first presidential bid opened to strong fundraising and a brief surge in the polls – but fizzled amid a series of public gaffes.
Perry dropped out of the race four years ago just before the South Carolina primary, after disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Donald Trump's campaign said Saturday it has fired top political adviser. Roger Stone -- who promptly denied being let go and insisted he had quit is on the show now.
Stone's disassociation from the Trump operation highlights the campaign's seeming lack of veteran political advisers, even as the 2016 season is ramping up in earnest. And the dispute opens a window into two different factions of the campaign: one side that wants to maintain Trump's high visibility by capitalizing on his public feuds and bombastic rhetoric, and another that wants to pull the candidate toward more disciplined political strategy.
The episode caps a tumultuous few weeks for Trump's presidential campaign, which recently cut ties with two men accused of writing inflammatory Facebook posts. Trump, who is currently leading national polls, delivered an explosive performance at the first GOP debate in Cleveland on Thursday, and went on to make inflammatory comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly in an interview on CNN on Friday night.
"Mr. Trump fired Roger Stone last night. We have a tremendously successful campaign and Roger wanted to use the campaign for his own personal publicity. He has had a number of articles about him recently and Mr. Trump wants to keep the focus of the campaign on how to Make America Great Again," a campaign spokesperson said in a statement.
Stone, however, told CNN that he "categorically denies" being fired, and provided what he said was his resignation letter.
"Unfortunately, the current controversies involving personalities and provocative media fights have reached such a high volume that it has distracted attention from your platform and overwhelmed your core message. With this current direction of the candidacy, I no longer can remain involved in your campaign," the letter to Trump says.
Stone added: "I care about you as a friend and wish you well. Be assured I will continue to be vocal and active in the national debate to ensure our nation does not again turn to the failed and distrusted Bush/Clinton families."
Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, said the team never saw Stone's letter. For his part, Stone tweeted Saturday afternoon that he "fired Trump." "Sorry @realDonaldTrump didn't fire me- I fired Trump. Diasagree [sic] with diversion to food fight with @megynkelly away core issue messages," the tweet read.
Schumer Finally Takes Questions on His Opposition to Iran Nuclear Deal. Sen. Charles Schumer finally took questions Monday after announcing last week that he is opposed to the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, calling it one of the most difficult he's ever had to make. Michael Scotto filed the following report.
Sen. Charles Schumer was talking again Monday morning, days after announcing in a statement that he would vote against President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.
"This was one of the most difficult decisions that I had to make," Schumer said.
Schumer's public remarks were his first in days. After releasing his decision online late Thursday night, the normally camera-ready Schumer vanished, canceling a public appearance on Friday and then staying out of the spotlight this past weekend.
For the usually controlling Schumer, the rollout didn't go as planned.
"I talked to the White House Thursday evening," said Schumer. "It somehow leaked out Thursday night, but I made it public - my intention was to make it public Friday."
A source close to Schumer said the White House leaked the decision in order to embarrass the senior senator. The Obama administration denies that, but it's no secret it is annoyed that a top Democrat is attempting to derail the president's signature foreign policy achievement.
Rallying to the president's defense are liberal groups, who are now trying to stop Schumer from becoming the Senate's next Democratic leader.
Schumer doesn't think his position will hurt him. He insists he won't be lobbying members to vote his way.
"It's a decision of conscience, and it would be unseemly and wrong, and I wouldn't even try to say, 'Oh, you'll get on certain committee or you'll get a road built in your district if you vote this way,'" Schumer said. "This is a decision of conscience. It was for me, and I'll respect that in every one of my colleagues."
Case in point: his own colleague from New York, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said she will vote for the deal.
"There are risks within the agreement and there are risks outside the agreement, and I think it's a tough decision for all members, but I believe that the risks are greater outside the agreement," Gillibrand said.
A vote is expected next month. Schumer said he has no idea how it'll turn out.
Donald Trump: FOX Chief Roger Ailes Promised Me 'Fair' Treatment. Donald Trump says that he's been assured "fair" treatment by Fox News after a conversation with the network's president, Roger Ailes.
Donald J. Trump
Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that “Trump” will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good!
Trump's claim comes just hours after he told MSNBC that he would not respond to questions about whether or not he'd spoken with Fox News brass about his feud with anchor Megyn Kelly.
Ailes later confirmed that he had spoken to Trump.
"Donald Trump and I spoke today," Ailes said in a statement. "We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100 percent. I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness and balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared."
Clinton Blasts Donald Trump for Megyn Kelly Attacks 2:23
Over the weekend, Trump doubled down on his criticism of Kelly's questions during the first GOP primary debate. He continues to deny that his comment that Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever" was intended to imply that her tough questioning was attributable to the fact that she was menstruating.
Fox News host Megyn Kelly addresses Trump 'dustup'. Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly refused to apologize Monday to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump after he accused her of asking an unfair question during last week’s Republican presidential debate.
“Apparently Mr. Trump thought the question was unfair and I was attacking him,” “The Kelly File” host told viewers Monday. “I felt he was asked a tough but fair question. We agree to disagree.”
While Trump leads recent polls, the former reality television star has drawn heated criticism from many in his own party for saying Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever" during a TV appearance Friday night.
Kelly, who called Trump an “interesting man that has captured the attention of the electorate,” decided not to respond to personal attacks he’d lodged against her, saying “I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism.”
“Mr. Trump, I expect, will continue with what has been a successful campaign so far,” said Kelly. “This is a tough business and I think it’s time now to move forward.”
Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes reached out to Trump directly Monday, assuring him he'll be "treated fairly" by the station, Trump tweeted Monday.
"Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that 'Trump' will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good!" wrote Trump, whose unorthodox campaign is dominating the race and summertime polls.
In a statement Monday evening, Ailes described the conversation as "blunt but cordial" and said the air had been cleared.
"Donald Trump and I spoke today. We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly," Ailes said, describing Kelly as "a brilliant journalist" whom he supports "100 percent."
Ailes added that he assured Trump "that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness & balance."
Trump is scheduled to return to the network Tuesday, with appearances on two of the network's shows, "Fox & Friends" and "Hannity," a Fox News spokeswoman said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hillary Clinton is trying to use Donald Trump's controversial comments against Marco Rubio. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is picking a fight with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) on abortion.
At an event in New Hampshire on Monday, Clinton deflected from a question on GOP candidate Donald Trump. She instead took aim at Rubio over his recent declaration that he does not support abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk.
"When one of their major candidates — a much younger man, the senator from Florida — says there should be no exceptions for rape and incest, that is as offensive and as troubling a comment as you can hear from a major candidate running for the presidency," Clinton said at the event, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
"So the language may be more colorful and more offensive, but the thinking, the attitude toward women is very much the same. It is just delivered in a different package."
Rubio is among several Republican presidential candidates — including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) — who oppose abortion in all circumstances.
In an interview on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Rubio suggested that survivors could use over-the-counter morning-after pills, "not to mention medical treatment that’s now available immediately after the assault." He did not, however, present a solution for survivors who do not immediately report being raped or immediately act to prevent a potential pregnancy after being raped.
Rubio responded to Clinton's attack on Monday by calling her "radical" on abortion.
"Hillary Clinton supports abortion even at the stage when an unborn child can feel pain; she has defended partial birth abortions as a 'fundamental right;' she opposes requiring parents to be notified that their minor daughter is having an abortion; she supports funding Planned Parenthood even after they have been exposed for their role in selling the organs of unborn children; and she supports using taxpayer money to pay for abortions overseas," Rubio said in a statement.
"Hillary Clinton holds radical views on abortion that we look forward to exposing in the months to come."
Clinton has focused the majority of her attacks on Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and Rubio over the last several weeks, perhaps indicating that she views the trio as her most likely opponents in next year's general election.
On Monday, she tried multiple times to link Trump's widely-criticized comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly with the Republican Party at large.
It's unclear whether Clinton's play to tie Trump's controversial statements to the Republican Party will work to her benefit — already, most of the GOP candidates have condemned the reality-television star's comments and asked him to tone down his rhetoric.
Still, Clinton has proven that she will aggressively confront Republican presidential candidates about any perceived misstep on women's health issues.
Last week, Clinton seized on Bush's comments that he was "not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health issues." Bush almost immediately apologized, though Clinton has worked the comments into her stump speech.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has stopped paying his 2016 presidential campaign’s staff in the key early primary state of South Carolina, amid flagging poling numbers and sluggish fundraising.
Spokesman Lucy Nashed said late Monday that “tough decisions have to be made in respect to both monetary and time-related resources.”
“Governor Perry remains committed to competing in the early states and will continue to have a strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,” Nashed said in a statement. “The Governor is also looking forward to his trips to South Carolina this Thursday and to Iowa next week.”
Perry has spent more time than any White House hopeful in Iowa, which opens presidential primary voting, and has frequently visited New Hampshire and South Carolina, sites of the next two primaries.
It wasn’t clear if the pay suspension would be permanent. It was first reported by National Journal.
Katon Dawson, Perry’s South Carolina state campaign chairman, didn’t return messages seeking comment Monday night. But some other Perry South Carolina staffers said they would continue to work as volunteers, at least for the time being, believing the former governor’s fortunes may improve.
Perry campaign officials in other states referred questions about salaries to headquarters in Austin, which declined to comment beyond Nashed’s statement.
“As far as I know, we still have a plan and we’re still on track,” said Sam Clovis, the campaign’s Iowa state chairman.
Perry just barely failed to crack the top 10 in national polls of the crowded Republican presidential field, keeping him off the main stage at last week’s much-watched debate. His campaign announced in July that Perry had raised only around $1 million in about a month – though super PAC support pushed its total war chest to nearly $18 million.
Perry spent 14 years at Texas governor, the longest tenure in state history, before leaving office in January.
He’s hoping to convince Republican primary voters that he’s humbler and better prepared than in 2012, when his first presidential bid opened to strong fundraising and a brief surge in the polls – but fizzled amid a series of public gaffes.
Perry dropped out of the race four years ago just before the South Carolina primary, after disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Donald Trump's campaign said Saturday it has fired top political adviser. Roger Stone -- who promptly denied being let go and insisted he had quit is on the show now.
Stone's disassociation from the Trump operation highlights the campaign's seeming lack of veteran political advisers, even as the 2016 season is ramping up in earnest. And the dispute opens a window into two different factions of the campaign: one side that wants to maintain Trump's high visibility by capitalizing on his public feuds and bombastic rhetoric, and another that wants to pull the candidate toward more disciplined political strategy.
The episode caps a tumultuous few weeks for Trump's presidential campaign, which recently cut ties with two men accused of writing inflammatory Facebook posts. Trump, who is currently leading national polls, delivered an explosive performance at the first GOP debate in Cleveland on Thursday, and went on to make inflammatory comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly in an interview on CNN on Friday night.
"Mr. Trump fired Roger Stone last night. We have a tremendously successful campaign and Roger wanted to use the campaign for his own personal publicity. He has had a number of articles about him recently and Mr. Trump wants to keep the focus of the campaign on how to Make America Great Again," a campaign spokesperson said in a statement.
Stone, however, told CNN that he "categorically denies" being fired, and provided what he said was his resignation letter.
"Unfortunately, the current controversies involving personalities and provocative media fights have reached such a high volume that it has distracted attention from your platform and overwhelmed your core message. With this current direction of the candidacy, I no longer can remain involved in your campaign," the letter to Trump says.
Stone added: "I care about you as a friend and wish you well. Be assured I will continue to be vocal and active in the national debate to ensure our nation does not again turn to the failed and distrusted Bush/Clinton families."
Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, said the team never saw Stone's letter. For his part, Stone tweeted Saturday afternoon that he "fired Trump." "Sorry @realDonaldTrump didn't fire me- I fired Trump. Diasagree [sic] with diversion to food fight with @megynkelly away core issue messages," the tweet read.
Schumer Finally Takes Questions on His Opposition to Iran Nuclear Deal. Sen. Charles Schumer finally took questions Monday after announcing last week that he is opposed to the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, calling it one of the most difficult he's ever had to make. Michael Scotto filed the following report.
Sen. Charles Schumer was talking again Monday morning, days after announcing in a statement that he would vote against President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.
"This was one of the most difficult decisions that I had to make," Schumer said.
Schumer's public remarks were his first in days. After releasing his decision online late Thursday night, the normally camera-ready Schumer vanished, canceling a public appearance on Friday and then staying out of the spotlight this past weekend.
For the usually controlling Schumer, the rollout didn't go as planned.
"I talked to the White House Thursday evening," said Schumer. "It somehow leaked out Thursday night, but I made it public - my intention was to make it public Friday."
A source close to Schumer said the White House leaked the decision in order to embarrass the senior senator. The Obama administration denies that, but it's no secret it is annoyed that a top Democrat is attempting to derail the president's signature foreign policy achievement.
Rallying to the president's defense are liberal groups, who are now trying to stop Schumer from becoming the Senate's next Democratic leader.
Schumer doesn't think his position will hurt him. He insists he won't be lobbying members to vote his way.
"It's a decision of conscience, and it would be unseemly and wrong, and I wouldn't even try to say, 'Oh, you'll get on certain committee or you'll get a road built in your district if you vote this way,'" Schumer said. "This is a decision of conscience. It was for me, and I'll respect that in every one of my colleagues."
Case in point: his own colleague from New York, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said she will vote for the deal.
"There are risks within the agreement and there are risks outside the agreement, and I think it's a tough decision for all members, but I believe that the risks are greater outside the agreement," Gillibrand said.
A vote is expected next month. Schumer said he has no idea how it'll turn out.
Regardless of it all today, stay in touch please!
