Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… It’s the final weekend before the Iowa caucuses and candidates are preparing to wine-and-dine voters, tell them how special they are, and then -- come Tuesday morning -- move on to the next state that catches their eye and NEVER TEXT THEM AGAIN.
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‘16 from 30,000
More than 20 emails sent to Hillary Clinton have been marked “top secret,” thrusting Clinton’s use of a personal email server back into the campaign spotlight and threatening to upend the Democratic race just days before the Iowa caucuses...right? So far, we’re not so sure about that. For one, Americans are largely divided on Clinton’s use of a personal email address while secretary of state. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from October found that 47 percent of Americans said it’s an important factor in deciding their vote, while 44 percent said it is not. More importantly though, is the partisan divide among the numbers. 70 percent of Dems said it wasn’t an important factor in their vote, as opposed to 76 percent of Republicans who said it was important.
On top of that, Clinton is running against an opponent who has said that Americans “are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!” And Bernie Sanders spokesman told NBC’s Kasie Hunt “no comment” when asked about the new email developments. The dynamic of the email story still has not changed much from what it has been over the past seven months. Bottom line, we think this would be a MUCH bigger deal if it happened three days before the general election with a broader electorate that cares more about the email issue and a Republican opponent who is unafraid to bash Clinton on the issue.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Twenty-two emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server have been marked "top secret" and won't be released, the State Department said Friday.
- Trump said skipping last night’s debate “turned out great” and that Ted Cruz is "an anchor baby in Canada" during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
- Leigh Ann Caldwell and Matt Rivera document what life is like for an Iowan being courted by the influx of campaign ads ahead of the caucuses.
- Partner Politifact fact checks the seventh Republican presidential debate.
- From Perry Bacon: Did Trump’s rivals make a mistake by not attacking him.
- And from First Read: Why Donald Trump won the debate without showing up.
FOR THE RECORD…
“Ted Cruz is an anchor baby in Canada.”
- Donald Trump during a rally in New Hampshire on Friday
WEEKEND SKED
On Saturday: John Kasich heads to New Hampshire while the rest of the field campaigns in Iowa.
On Sunday: Chuck Todd interviews Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders on Meet The Press. The candidates (sans Kasich) continue making their final pitches to voters in Iowa.
