Trump mocks outcry about election ‘suspense’

PILLARS OF DE-MOCKERY: DONALD TRUMP says he’ll accept the outcome of the election on Nov. 8 — “if I win.”

In doing so, the GOP nominee reiterated his explosive position from last night’s final presidential debate and openly mocked critics who have said his even toying with the idea of refusing to accept election results damages a core pillar of U.S. democracy.


Speaking in Ohio, on his first campaign stop since the debate — and after his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and others went to pains to backtrack on his remark — Trump teased a big announcement. Then, to raucous cheers, he made his new promise.

Happy Thursday. And, as ever, happy 2016 Blast. Henry C. Jackson ( @henrycjjackson) is here to guide you through today’s campaign news, so please send your tips, allegations, suggestions and senses of an ending: [email protected].

2) MOVE ALONG, PLEASE: Several Republican stalwarts were among those to insist today that DONALD TRUMP’s stance on accepting election results was untenable and wrong. “John McCain sharply criticized Donald Trump's reluctance to accept the election results, declaring on Thursday that ‘this election must not be any different’ when it comes to concessions and the peaceful transfer of power,” POLITICO’s Burgess Everett reports.

Locked in a reelection contest, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte said, “Trump should accept the outcome of the November election and dismissed the Republican presidential candidate’s suggestions that the results will be ‘rigged’ against him.” “I don’t believe that there’s a rigged election system,” Ayotte said. “If there are allegations that need to be investigated, they will be investigated. but the voters are going to decide this.”

BLAST NOTE: Meanwhile, Trump allies have been left insisting — despite his statement — that he’ll respect the race’s respects.

3) A DIFFERENT KIND OF ACCEPTANCE: DONALD TRUMP may not be willing to accept election results. But Republicans are already moving, POLITICO’s Ben Schreckinger reports, even if they “don’t even want to think about what comes next.” “As they scramble to protect their congressional majority, Republican operatives and conservative leaders expect the party to muddle through the next few weeks as divided as it has been since the latest wave of defections triggered by the release of a 2005 tape. … Thursday morning had Republican waxing philosophical about living in the present and the inexorable march of time. ‘I hesitate to make any broad predictions about things. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future,’ said Republican operative and former Mitt Romney aide Ryan Williams.”

BLAST NOTE: Elsewhere, Republicans are broadly despondent that Trump seemed to squander a good debate. And here’s a recap of the 7 minutes when Trump basically blew it.

4) NIGHT OF ‘SUSPENSE’: The final presidential debate was a hit, though not as big of one as the first contest: “Approximately 69 million people (watched) the final presidential debate between HILLARY CLINTON and DONALD TRUMP,” POLITICO’s Hadas Gold reports. Per ratings data from Neilsen, Wednesday’s debate bested the second debate but drew about 15 million less viewers than the first debate. “The ratings for Wednesday's debate easily beat the final debates of both the 2008 and 2012 cycle, which averaged 56 million viewers and 59 million viewers respectively,” and they don’t include viewers from C-SPAN, PBS or livestreams.

BLAST NOTE: Fox News, home channel of moderator Chris Wallace, drew the highest share of viewers.

5) PUTIN ON: DONALD TRUMP seems to be siding with Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence operatives when it comes to assessing who is responsible for a series of hacks and leaks to Wikileaks, POLITICO’s Michael Crowley reports. “At a minimum, in recent months he has often sounded like the Russian president’s lawyer — defending Putin against a variety of specific charges, from political killings to the 2014 downing of a passenger jet over Ukraine, despite the weight of intelligence, legal findings and expert opinion. … On Oct. 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a joint statement saying that the U.S. intelligence community ‘is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.’ … Trump and his aides have repeatedly cast doubt on that conclusion.”

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TRAIL MIX: In today’s campaign news, DONALD TRUMP has a new accuser. And someone saw his debate notes. TIM KAINE’s aghast, Ohio’s tied up, Democrats are trying to get blood and treasure. The internet went wild for a white pantsuit and Miley Cyrus is up off the bench.

NEW ACCUSER: Another woman came forward today alleging that DONALD TRUMP groped her inappropriately, this time at the 1998 U.S. Open.

SNEAK PEAK: An eagle eyed viewer caught a look at DONALD TRUMP’s debate notes.

TIED UP: New polling today, from Suffolk University, suggests that Ohio is a pure toss up.

KAINE’D HIM: TIM KAINE said DONALD TRUMP was attacking a “pillar of democracy.” (NPR)

AMERICAN MADE: DONALD TRUMP floated creating a new “American desk” that would consolidate agencies and with trade issues during a speech in Ohio today.

WHAT A DRAG: Democrats are intensifying their efforts to tie Republicans to DONALD TRUMP in down ballot races.

PANTS FOR PANTS: CBS chronicles the Internet going bananas over HILLARY CLINTON’s pant suit.

WRECKING BALL: Miley Cyrus is hitting the trail for HILLARY CLINTON in Virginia. ( NBC 4)

BLAST NOTE: It’s Thursday. Have a Party in the U.S.A.

THEY SAID IT: "A concession isn’t just an exercise in graciousness. It is an act of respect for the will of the American people, a respect that is every American leader’s first responsibility." — John McCain on election results.

MAGIC NUMBER: 3:14 That’s the time in the morning, Eastern time, that DONALD TRUMP tweeted that he’d won the race’s final debate.

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There you go — now you’re caught up on the 2016 race. TBNR. We’ll see you tomorrow.