memeorandum: Obama steps in to save Obamacare (Paul Demko/Politico)

10:05 AM ET, September 16, 2016

Top Items:

Trump defiant as polls rise, won't say Obama was born in United States — CANTON, Ohio — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said in an interview here that he remains unwilling to say that President Obama is born in the United States, that he is more bullish than ever on his chances …

Donald J Trump for President:

TRUMP CAMPAIGN STATEMENT — “Hillary Clinton's campaign first raised this issue to smear then-candidate Barack Obama in her very nasty, failed 2008 campaign for President. This type of vicious and conniving behavior is straight from the Clinton Playbook. As usual, however, Hillary Clinton was too weak to get an answer.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Politicus USA, The New Civil Rights Movement, Politico, Daily Kos, CANNONFIRE, Post On Politics, BuzzFeed, The Week, Raw Story, Guardian, The Last Refuge and New York Times

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Exclusive: Reid hits back at Trump — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid punched right back at Donald Trump for poking fun at his grisly eye injury, calling the GOP presidential nominee a “con artist” and rapping Republican leaders for not getting answers from the New York billionaire.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week, Mediaite, Correct The Record, Politicus USA and Washington Post

Daniella Diaz / CNN:

Trump campaign: Obama born in the US — “In 2011, Mr. Trump was finally able to bring this ugly incident to its conclusion,” his campaign said — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's campaign on Thursday said he believes President Barack Obama was born in the US, a major reversal from a line of attack Trump launched five years ago.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, fox8.com and Politicus USA

Alana Abramson / ABC News:

Donald Trump Jr.: 'Doesn't Know' if Father Will Explicitly Say Obama Born in US — Donald Trump Jr. says he “doesn't know” if his father will explicitly say President Obama was born in the United States, but said that the statement released from the campaign last night is “coming from him.”

Discussion: Politico

CNN:
Michelle Obama makes case for Clinton

Discussion: The Week and Political Wire

CNN:
Hillary Clinton returns — and not a moment too soon

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New York Times, Hillary Clinton Speeches and The Week

Nick Gass / Politico:
Trump on Obama's citizenship: ‘We have to keep the suspense going, OK?’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, Fox News, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and Media Matters for America

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Trump refuses to say whether he thinks Obama was born in US

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, NBC News, The Week, Refinery29, Raw Story, BuzzFeed and RedState

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Donald Trump Again Won't Acknowledge Obama Was Born in U.S.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Politicus USA, The Week, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Religion News Service and New York Magazine

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton Takes Aim at Voters Drifting Toward Third Party — WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton and her Democratic allies, unnerved by the tightening presidential race, are making a major push to dissuade disaffected voters from backing third-party candidates, and pouring more energy into Rust Belt states …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Hot Air, New York Magazine, MichelleMalkin.com, Vox and Washington Post

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Gary Johnson cuts into Clinton's lead — NEW YORK — Gary Johnson was never supposed to be a problem for Hillary Clinton. — The low-profile Libertarian's presence on the ballot would serve as an easy out for #NeverTrump Republicans, Democrats aligned with the nominee have long figured, and that could only hurt Donald Trump.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Todd Spangler / Detroit Free Press:
Poll: Donald Trump gaining on Hillary Clinton in Michigan

Discussion: RedState

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Clinton and Trump in a one-point race among likely voters

Discussion: The Last Refuge, Israpundit, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, FOX News Radio and Political Wire

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
The race is tightening for a painfully simple reason

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION, CNN, The Other McCain, Liberal Values, The Hill, CANNONFIRE, Politico, alan.com, Monmouth University, Townhall.com, Washington Free Beacon and Common Dreams

Bill Bartel / Associated Press:
Trump-Clinton is now too close to call in Virginia, according to new poll

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Heinz Ketchup proves that Donald Trump is out of his mind — Trump wants to end food safety regulation. Seriously. — Food poisoning will make America great again! — Or, at least, that's what Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to be banking on with a new proposal released on Thursday.

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
Trump would roll back food safety regulations

Discussion: alan.com, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Hot Air, alicublog, Vocativ, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, The Week, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice and Mediaite

Donald J Trump for President:
FACT SHEET: DONALD J. TRUMP'S PRO-GROWTH ECONOMIC POLICY WILL CREATE 25 MILLION JOBS

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Grist, Politico, Salon, New York Magazine, Bloomberg, Forbes, Washington Post, Investor's Business Daily, Mother Jones, WHNT-TV, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Common Dreams and National Review

Donald J Trump for President:
TRUMP DELIVERS SPEECH ON JOBS AT NEW YORK ECONOMIC CLUB

Discussion: taxpolicycenter.org, CRFB Papers and Blog Posts, The Daily Caller and NPR

Liz Crokin / The New York Observer:

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton Campaign Systematically Overcharging Poorest Donors — Wells Fargo fraud department inundated with calls from low-income Clinton supporters reporting repeated unauthorized charges — Hillary Clinton's campaign is stealing from her poorest supporters by purposefully …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review, Da Tech Guy Blog, The Hayride and The Gateway Pundit

Clare Foran / The Atlantic:

How Bernie Sanders Die-Hards Echo Clinton Conspiracy Theories — Some conservatives are hard at work spreading conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton's health in an attempt to disqualify her from seeking higher office. Video footage of the Democratic nominee stumbling as she abruptly departed …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and The Daily Caller

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:

What's Really Ailing Hillary — She wasn't always like this. She wasn't always a woman who could almost collapse in public, then emerge from seclusion a couple of hours later announcing, “I'm feeing great,” as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't already known for two days that she had pneumonia.

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Kasich: ‘Very unlikely’ I'll vote for Trump … Ohio Gov. John Kasich isn't ruling out voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — , though he says it's “highly unlikely” he'll support his former GOP rival. — “I'll let everybody know when, but I think my actions have spoken very loudly …

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Paul Demko / Politico:

Obama steps in to save Obamacare — Deep into the final year of his presidency, Barack Obama is working behind the scenes to secure Obamacare's legacy, struggling to bolster a program whose ultimate success or failure will likely be determined by his successor.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, MishTalk and The Daily Caller

Edward Morrissey / The Fiscal Times:
How Obamacare Clears the Field for a GOP Senate Win

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air and The Federalist

Kristin Salaky / Talking Points Memo:

Trump Camp Defends Don Jr.: He Was Talking Executions, Not The Holocaust! — Donald Trump Jr. and the Trump campaign both defended his “gas chamber” quip in a Thursday interview, saying that he was making a reference to capital punishment rather than the Holocaust, as many had interpreted it.

Discussion: Politico, The New Civil Rights Movement, New York Times, Mashable, NBC News, The Times of Israel, ThinkProgress, Algemeiner.com, RT and Mediaite

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Aide Shuts Down Local TV Interview With Trump Jr. When Charity Issue Is Raised

Discussion: CBS News, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Donald Trump Didn't Keep His Word in Flint, Pastor Says

Discussion: Guardian, Sputnik International and The Frisky

Dow Jones Newswires:

In Places With Fraying Social Fabric, a Political Backlash Rises (9/15/16) — Ruth Gonzalez, 44, is getting help from the Lions Club in trying to renegotiate the two mortgages on her house, which is facing foreclosure. She fell behind on her payments because of mounting medical bills …

The Columbus Dispatch:

Police chief identifies officer who shot 13-year-old suspect — City and police officials released the name of the police officer who shot a 13-year-old boy Wednesday night in the Olde Towne East neighborhood. — Tyre King, an 8th grader at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy …