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| By Jonathan SwanWelcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
Paul Ryan’s much-covered Capitol Hill meeting with Donald Trump today was — depending on where you stand in the modern Republican Party — either a step in the right direction or a harbinger of the apocalypse.
Count Bill Kristol in the apocalypse camp. The Weekly Standard editor, who is still pining for a third party candidate to emerge to take on Trump, tweeted, “This is “unification” on East German terms. Ich bin ein Berliner.”
Kristol added, “Unification is capitulation.”
Ryan, who is still withholding his endorsement of Trump, came a lot closer to yes today. He, Trump and Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus each described their meeting in degrees of wonderfulness.
Trump’s excellent day on the Hill continued with endorsements from Senate grandeeOrrin Hatch, and a nod from the chairman of the committee charged with electing House Republicans. And now that the signals have been sent from above, expect even more Republicans to trudge into line behind their presumptive nominee.
Today, the Never Trump movement could fit inside a D.C. subway car. A billionaire reality TV celebrity holds the reins of the party.
For more on these developments, follow TheHill.com’s up-to-the-second campaign coverage. We’ve got ace House reporter Scott Wong on the challenges Ryan and Trump still face; Alex Bolton telling us what GOP Senators told their presumptive nominee, and Jonathan Swan looking at the increasingly bloodless movement to launch a third party candidacy. |
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| RACE TO 1600 PENN: |
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| FIGHTING WORDS: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Bernie Sanders is casting his campaign as a fight “for the soul of the Democratic Party” as he tries to wrestle the party’s nomination away from front-runner Hillary Clinton. The Sanders campaign alsowarned against taking Trump lightly.
TRUMP TIES: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Senate Democrats raced to link Republicans to Donald Trump on Thursday after GOP leadership sat down with the presumptive presidential nominee.
ANYTHING IS NOW OFFICIALLY POSSIBLE: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports:Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters on Thursday that presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump called him to discuss national security, according to multiple reports. Graham, who has colorfully described his loathing of Trump, told reporters a “mutual friend” arranged the call, which took place Wednesday.
GIVE THE MAN AN OLIVE BRANCH: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Ben Carson will personally reach out to all of the former Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump has vanquished to ask them to rally behind the presumptive GOP nominee.
MATCHMAKER MITCH: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised an hour-long meeting with Donald Trump Thursday as “constructive.” |
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| ODDS AND ENDS: |
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| WORLD-CLASS TROLLING: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports:Former Speaker John Boehner on Thursday took shots at Ted Cruz and said he wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary Clinton ends up withdrawing from the presidential race and Joe Biden replaces her.
LOST THE CLOONEY VOTE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Actor George Clooney was asked at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday if his new movie, “Money Monster,” presaged a future under a Donald Trump White House. “Let’s start much simpler — there is not gonna be a President Donald Trump,” Clooney replied, according to Deadline. |
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| POLL POSITION: |
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| EVERYONE LOVES A BAKER: The Boston Globe reports: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is the most popular of all the nation’s governors, according to a new poll of more than 66,000 voters across the United States.
NOT MANY LOVE BROWNBACK: The Wichita Eagle reports: Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has retained the ignoble distinction of being the least popular governor in the nation, according a new poll from a Washington-based politics site. |
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| THE DAILY TRUMP |
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| TRUMPING POINTS: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: A memo provided to The Hill by one Trump surrogate lays out talking points emphasizing that the campaign is seeking to unify the party.
THE HISPANICS LOVE HIM: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump’s son Eric touted his father’s support among Hispanics, Buzzfeed News reported.
TOO SERIOUS FOR A JOKEY HEADLINE: The Hill’s Jordan Fabian reports: The Secret Service said Thursday it will investigate comments made by Donald Trump’s longtime butler calling for President Obama to be killed. |
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| QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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| QUOTE OF THE DAY
“At times, I think it drove him nuts that I wasn’t responding.”
— Fox News host Megyn Kelly tells Time Magazine of her tactics to deal with Trump. |
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| CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS |
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| WEALTHY ENEMIES: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: A conservative group backed by Charles and David Koch is launching an advertising campaign aimed at defeating Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) in her district’s Republican primary.
WORKPLACE TROUBLES: The Associated Press reports: A 7-year-old workplace retaliation lawsuit against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth will remain a campaign issue into the late summer after an Illinois judge said on Thursday that the case could go to trial before the November election.
KEEPING HIS DAY JOB: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) shot down speculation Thursday that he could be presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s vice president. Asked if he sees himself in the No. 2 spot, Portman told reporters, “No, I’m fine.” “I’m running for the Senate in Ohio,” he added. |
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| MONEY WATCH |
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| SELF-FUNDER NO MORE: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports:A new super-PAC has launched to support Donald Trump, and by the roster of the people involved, it appears to have been unofficially blessed by the Trump campaign. |
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| WHAT WE ARE WATCHING TODAY, TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND |
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| (All times Eastern)
Bernie Sanders holds a rally in Billings, Mont., today at 9 p.m.
Bernie Sanders holds rallies in North Dakota on Friday, first in Fargo at 3 p.m., then in Bismarck at 9 p.m.
Hillary Clinton’s husband and former President Bill Clinton campaigns for her in Prestonsburg, Ky., tonight at 7:45. Tomorrow, he campaigns in Paterson, N.J., at noon and in Ewing Township, N.J., at 3 p.m.
Carly Fiorina, former Republican presidential candidate and briefly Ted Cruz’s running mate, will be the keynote speaker at the Oklahoma Republican Party’s annual Gala dinner on Friday night.
Donald Trump’s son Eric will be a guest of Lou Dobbs on Fox Business at 7 p.m. today. Trump surrogate Ben Carson is a guest on “The Kelly File” on Fox News tonight at 9, along with Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus. Carson will be a guest tomorrow on “MSNBC Live” with Andrea Mitchell, which airs from noon to 1 p.m.
Tammy Duckworth, the Democratic congresswoman challenging Republican Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, is a guest on “All in with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC, which airs from 8-9 p.m. today. |
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