PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Latest on the Democratic National Convention (all times local):
9:35 a.m.
Democrats are blaming decades of Republican attacks for polls that show Hillary Clinton is widely distrusted and in a tight race against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook says Clinton has long fought for children and families and “has scars to show for it.” He says Clinton has “paid the price” by being constantly attacked by the GOP, including House Republican investigations he says were aimed at lowering Clinton’s poll ratings.
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri says that “every scar that Hillary Clinton wears, she got while she was in public service” fighting for children and families. McCaskill says this week’s convention will focus on Clinton’s long career and help people see “beyond the 30-second soundbites that are put out by the Republican attack machine.”
Clinton has said she has work to do to earn voters’ trust.
Mook and McCaskill spoke in separate interviews Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show.
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9:23 a.m.
Bernie Sanders says he hopes his delegates will vote for him during Tuesday’s planned roll call vote. But the former presidential candidate acknowledges that he does not have enough support to prevent Hillary Clinton from being formally nominated by the Democratic party for president.
Sanders is telling a round-table interview with Bloomberg Politics that although he has endorsed Clinton, he still thinks his delegates should be able to vote for him during the floor vote at the Democratic National Convention.
The Vermont senator says he’s hopeful that “our people treat the process with respect” and not engage in demonstrations or booing on the floor.
Sanders says it’s possible that someone may request that the vote be considered unanimous once every state has had the chance to voice their support.
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8:21 a.m.
Donald Trump is complaining about hot air at a Virginia hotel, and the hotel is pushing back.
The Republican presidential nominee said he felt like he was “in a sauna” speaking to supporters at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center Monday. Onstage, Trump, owner of luxury hotels, said:
“I don’t know what hotel this is, but you ought to try turning on the air conditioning or we’re not going to get you paid.” He added that “the ballroom and the people that own this hotel should be ashamed of themselves.”
Hotel officials tell WDBJ in Roanoke that its air conditioning system “was on and working properly throughout the event.”
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7:59 a.m.
Tim Kaine says Donald Trump’s got him all wrong.
Trump on Monday put Kaine down as a, “weird little dude.”
Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s running mate, says he’s “not that little.”
He spoke after having breakfast in Richmond Tuesday at the City Diner, his regular haunt, with his usual group of buddies.
Campaign trail food awaits him after Kaine joins Clinton in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention to be nominated to the party’s 2016 presidential ticket.
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6:25 a.m.
Susan Sarandon says she’s waiting to be persuaded to support Hillary Clinton before giving her vote.
The actress is attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and has been taking part in demonstrations with various groups.
Sarandon has been an outspoken supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. In an interview with left-leaning website Democracy Now, she says she wants to see what Clinton’s plans for are on issues such as fracking and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She says she wants to be “convinced” by the likely Democratic nominee.
In a separate interview with left-wing online network, The Young Turks, Sarandon calls the leaked e-mails that show the Democratic National Committee and chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz strongly backing Clinton for the party bid, “disgusting.” But she adds, “it doesn’t come as a surprise.”
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6:00 a.m.
A Russian presidential spokesman has accused U.S. politicians of being paranoid about Russia allegedly backing Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Monday blamed Russia for hacking the party’s computers and suggested the goal was to benefit Trump’s campaign. Trump has denied the accusations.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday that that allegation is just another “paranoid” attempt by American politicians to play the Russian card during the campaign. Peskov also denied reports that Trump’s foreign policy adviser Carter Page during his visit to Moscow earlier this month met with Putin’s chief of staff.
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4:45 a.m.
Secretary of State John Kerry says he raised the email hack of the Democratic National Committee with Russia’s top diplomat but stopped short of making any allegation about who might be responsible.
Kerry told reporters Tuesday he brought the matter up with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting in Laos and explained that the FBI was investigating. He did not, however, repeat allegations or echo suspicions that Russia was responsible for the hack and said he would not draw conclusions until the probe is complete. “I raised the question and we will continue to work to see precisely what those facts are,” Kerry said. He would not say if Lavrov responded.
Asked about the allegations earlier, Lavrov scoffed, saying: “I don’t want to use 4-letter words.”
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