by nolan d. mccaskill 11/08/16 08:18 am est donald trump will vote to make america great again. after much deliberation, the real estate mogul has decided to cast a vote for the republican presidential nominee. story continued below <u+201c>well, i<u+2019>ve really worked on this hard,<u+201d> trump joked tuesday morning during an interview with <u+201c>fox & friends<u+201d> when asked whether he knew who he will vote for. <u+201c>but i have made that final decision, yes.<u+201d> <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve decided to vote for trump,<u+201d> he announced. trump is scheduled to cast his ballot later tuesday morning in new york . as trump closed out his campaign, he remained true to form, often rambling off topic during the 15-minute phone interview <u+2014> demonstrating the kind of shaky message discipline that's endeared him to many supporters but horrified political operatives. <u+201c>well, it<u+2019>s very exciting,<u+201d> trump said about election day. <u+201c>you know, i<u+2019>ve spoken to you folks for a lot during our very successful primaries. oftentimes, every single one i was speaking to you in the morning so i<u+2019>m a little bit superstitious. so when you said, 'please call,' i said i<u+2019>ll call. but i won many primaries speaking to you first thing in the morning, so i<u+2019>m gonna keep that string going.<u+201d> trump promised to rebuild a depleted military, take care of veterans and repeal and replace obamacare before distracting himself with a mention of his ability to draw large crowds and patting himself on the back for his stamina. <u+201c>we had probably 21,000 people. can you imagine that? twenty-one thousand people,<u+201d> he said, referring to his final rally with indiana gov. mike pence in grand rapids, michigan. <u+201c>and i<u+2019>m up this early. well, i have no choice because i<u+2019>m doing you folks, right?<u+201d> he highlighted trade and immigration as two major issues he brought to the forefront of the gop primary and the presidential election after first raising them in the june 2015 speech announcing his white house run. trump predicted he will do well in a number of key battleground states, including florida, north carolina, new hampshire, ohio, iowa and even michigan, which hasn<u+2019>t voted for a republican since 1988. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re gonna win a lot of states,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i mean, who knows what happens ultimately, but we<u+2019>re gonna win <u+2014> i think one that<u+2019>s gonna be interesting is michigan because it<u+2019>s not a state that<u+2019>s gone republican for many decades.<u+201d> the reality tv star also maintained that new england patriots star quarterback tom brady and his head coach, bill belichick, endorsed his campaign this week. trump said he got a call from brady and a letter from belichick, both of whom he said told him he could announce their support. <u+201c>they<u+2019>re friends of mine,<u+201d> trump said. <u+201c>and they<u+2019>re great people and great champions.<u+201d> the patriots organization declined to comment on the veracity of his claims, but brady<u+2019>s wife allegedly denied that her husband is backing the brash billionaire with an emphatic <u+201c>no!<u+201d> in an instagram comment. then he chided his opponent hillary clinton, for relying on music luminaries to galvanize supporters to get out the vote. <u+201c>i could do that, too, but i'm filling up rooms just on the basis of what i'm saying. i mean, i don't need anybody to fill up the room,<u+201d> he said, adding that he has the top surrogates anyway <u+2014> despite clinton<u+2019>s all-star cast of president barack obama, first lady michelle obama, former president bill clinton and sens. bernie sanders of vermont and elizabeth warren of massachusetts. <u+201c>i will say, i have the best surrogates. i have my kids; i have my family. trump dismissed polling, most of which shows him trailing clinton nationally and in some swing states heading into election day, suggesting many of them <u+201c>are purposely wrong.<u+201d> <u+201c>the media is very dishonest <u+2014> extremely dishonest,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>and i think a lot of the polls are phony. i don't think they interview people. i think they just put out phony numbers.<u+201d> but if the polls are accurate and he loses to clinton, trump won<u+2019>t take any credit for his <u+201c>movement.<u+201d> <u+201c>i will not consider it great if i don<u+2019>t win,<u+201d> he said. by bill scher by joshua zeitz by thomas wright by jack shafer
trump decides to vote for trump - politico
nolan d. mccaskill jack shafer