In August 2016, Donald Trump blamed his declining poll numbers on what he called dishonest media coverage, arguing that he would be beating Hillary Clinton by 20 percentage points if the press treated him fairly. He accused reporters of misrepresenting his words, failing to show the size and enthusiasm of his rally crowds, and protecting Clinton. He particularly criticized a New York Times article that quoted anonymous colleagues describing him as exhausted and frustrated by his struggling campaign. Trump called the report fiction and suggested at a Connecticut rally that the newspaper’s reporters could lose their credentials. His campaign had already denied credentials to several outlets.

Campaign chairman Paul Manafort also faulted the press, saying it had focused on controversial remarks rather than Trump’s economic plan. Those remarks included Trump’s suggestion that Second Amendment supporters could “do something” if Clinton appointed liberal judges and his repeated false claim that President Barack Obama founded the Islamic State group. An opinion passage agreed that much of the media wanted Trump to lose, while noting that Republican nominees before him had faced similar opposition.

Trump was preparing to deliver a foreign policy speech in Ohio, where aides said he would call for an end to nation building and cooperation with countries that shared the goal of destroying terrorist groups. He was also expected to propose withholding visas when adequate screening could not be conducted and introducing an ideological test covering issues such as religious freedom. Running mate Mike Pence promised more specifics on national security and defended Trump against criticism from Republican security experts.

Clinton, meanwhile, planned her first joint campaign rally with Vice President Joe Biden in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Biden was expected to question Trump’s national security knowledge and judgment while praising Clinton’s proposals for jobs and education. Her campaign also launched a voter registration effort drawing on the influence of young undocumented immigrants protected by an Obama administration program. Although those immigrants could not vote, the campaign hoped they would mobilize eligible Latino voters.

Separately, a New York Times investigation drew attention to Manafort’s work for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party and his connections to a network that Ukrainian investigators said had been used to loot assets and influence elections. Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who had clashed with Manafort before being fired, shared the article on Twitter, prompting speculation about tensions between the two.