Trump says Republicans being ‘naive’ about voter fraud

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump lashed out on Monday at Republicans who have tried to tone down his rhetoric about election fraud, calling his party’s leaders “so naive” and claiming without evidence that large-scale voter fraud is real.

Trump’s claims were part a Monday morning blast of tweets that took on his party, the women who’ve accused him of sexual misconduct, the media and Vice President Joe Biden.

The defensive barrage, interrupting a relatively quiet day on the campaign trail, comes as Republicans are under pressure to rebuke Trump’s claims that the presidential election is “rigged” in Hillary Clinton’s favor. The push reflects growing worries that their nominee’s unsubstantiated rhetoric could erode public trust in elections and lead to damaging disputes if he loses.

Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, declared Sunday the ticket will “absolutely accept the results of the election.” But Trump seemed to brush back against his vice presidential pick.

“Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!” he tweeted Monday.

There is no evidence to back up Trump’s claim of widespread voter fraud. A study by a Loyola Law School professor found that out of 1 billion votes cast in all American elections between 2000 and 2014, there were only 31 known cases of impersonation fraud.

Pence and other Republicans have tried to argue that Trump is claiming that media bias is rigging the election in Democrats’ favor, particularly in the reporting of allegations by several women that Trump had sexually assaulted them.

GOP strategists: Clinton is in good shape with 3 weeks left

DES MOINES, Iowa — With roughly three weeks to Election Day, Republican strategists nationwide publicly concede Hillary Clinton has a firm grip on the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House — and may be on her way to an even more decisive victory over Donald Trump.

“He is on track to totally and completely melting down,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who is advising Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s re-election campaign. Like many Republican strategists, he was willing to speak publicly about the GOP nominee’s rough road ahead at the end of an unprecedented campaign.

Things can change before Election Day. There is one more presidential debate, and Trump has rallied before. His core supporters remain strongly committed.

But along with indicators such as polling, campaign travel, staffing and advertising, the interviews with Republican political professionals unaffiliated with the Trump campaign suggest only an epic collapse by Clinton would keep her from winning enough states to become president.

In the past week, Trump’s campaign has been hit by allegations the New York billionaire sexually accosted several women over the past three decades. Early voting in pivotal North Carolina and Florida shows positive signs for Clinton, and donations to the Republican National Committee are down about a quarter over the past three months from the same period in 2012, when Mitt Romney was the nominee.

Preference polling in the past week, meanwhile, has generally moved in Clinton’s direction, with the Democrat improving in national surveys and in a number of contested states.

If the election were held today, Clinton would likely carry the entire West Coast and Northeast, as well as most of the Great Lakes region — a place Trump once identified as ripe territory for his populist message against free trade.

Only Ohio is a toss-up in that part of the country, but the perennial battleground may not play a decisive role come Election Day this year due to Clinton’s strength — and Trump’s weaknesses — elsewhere.

Emails show Clinton’s response to LGBT backlash

WASHINGTON — Hacked emails released in daily dispatches over the weekend by the WikiLeaks group showed Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff worried about a response to the gay community’s backlash over a comment concerning former first lady Nancy Reagan and AIDS. Also among the documents are transcripts of Clinton speeches and question-and-answer sessions that Goldman Sachs hosted in 2013, appearances for which she received hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The documents were among thousands of emails hacked from the accounts of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

U.S. intelligence officials have blamed the Russian government for a series of breaches intended to influence the presidential election. The Russians deny involvement.