Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
Thirty-six hours later and you can feel it in the air — Republicans are coming to terms with their reality.
Some have powered through — Sen. Chuck Grassley gave him a vote of confidence on his potential Supreme Court nominations, Karl Rove is predicting a Trump presidency as long as he tones it down and John Boehner decided to attend the GOP convention that will coronate Trump.
But others have been less willing to offer any sort of olive branch.
Only one former GOP nominee will attend the Cleveland convention — Bob Dole, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough drew a red line at Trump’s ban on Muslim immigrants, House leadership member Ann Wagner said Trump hasn’t earned her vote, and Sen. Ben Sasse wants an “adult” third-party candidate.
And most prominently, Speaker Paul Ryan refused to endorse Trump until he proves he “shares our values.”
There may be more to come, so bookmark our running list of Republicans who say they won’t back Trump.
We’ll be following these stories and more at The Hill tonight and tomorrow and throughout the weekend. Stay with us for more on the potential push for a third-party bid, K Street’s thoughts on the likely GOP nominee, what Donald Trump’s electoral map looks like, and an interview with one of the major players in the Hillary Clinton email controversy.
RACE TO 1600 PENN
DEMOCRATS LICKING THEIR CHOPS: While Republicans are split on how to stomach Trump as nominee, Democrats are thrilled. Hillary Clinton slammed Trump for his past comments on deportations and said she’d leverage support from female voters to help defeat him. In the Senate, Chris Murphy warned that there’s a threatTrump will leak classified information he will receive once he’s officially the GOP’s nominee, and Minority Leader Harry Reid framed the GOP as the party of Trump.
TRUMP BACK IN TOWN: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Donald Trump is planning a swing through Capitol Hill to reach out to lawmakers now that he’s effectively locked up the party’s nomination.
ON THE FENCE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: A top aide to Marco Rubio’s now defunct campaign told CNN that he’s “legitimately torn” about whether to support Trump.
READY FOR RUBIO: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Marco Rubio’s former Louisiana delegates wrote a letter to Donald Trump asking him to pick the Florida senator as his vice president.
READY TO GO: NBC News reports: Hillary Clinton is gearing up for the general election by expanding her battleground team.
IN IT TILL THE END: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Bernie Sanders told NPR that he’d stay in the race until the last votes are counted. But the comment is a shift from previous remarks by him and his campaign that he’d stay through the convention.
EMAILS, EMAILS, EMAILS: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports:The FBI has interviewed aides to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton — including key adviser Huma Abedin — as part of the probe into her primate email server, according to CNN. The Bureau expects to interview Clinton soon, the report adds.
ODDS AND ENDS:
DON’T BE A TOAD-EATER: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Ralph Nader believes that Sanders won’t be a “toadie” offering boundless support for Clinton. For what it’s worth, a “toadie” was essentially a magician’s assistant in the 1600’s who would pretend to eat a poisonous toad so that the magician could cure him. The more you know.
SCREWED UP: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Democratic super-PAC American Bridge is looking for people who have been wronged by Donald Trump for its new “Donald Trump Screwed Me” project.
GILMENTUM: Former GOP presidential longshot Jim Gilmore told Fox Business he’ll back Donald Trump and chair his voter registration efforts in Virginia.
POLL POSITION
TOUGH LOVE: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: New Jersey Republicans aren’t clamoring for their governor to join the Trump ticket, with more believing Chris Christie would only hurt the Trump ticket.
THE DAILY TRUMP
VP DRAMA: Not one to leave rejection alone, Donald Trump responded to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s Wednesday comments that she wasn’t interested in being his running mate. On Thursday, he said he never considered Haley for his ticket. Haley has been critical of his rhetoric. And New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, another name on many predicted short-lists, including this morning’s list from The Hill, has ruled herself out.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke called Donald Trump “our white knight,” lauding his candidacy as a referendum on nationalism. Trump disavowed that statement to The New York Times.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now.”-
– Speaker Paul Ryan on whether he’ll endorse Donald Trump
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
BUCKEYE BRAWL: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Ted Strickland’s campaign attacked Sen. Rob Portman following reports that he’s an early contender to be considered as Donald Trump’s running mate.
TRUMP TRICKLE-DOWN: The Cook Political Report has shifted 13 race rankings in response to Trump’s hold on the Republican nomination, mostly in the Democrats’ favor.
WISCONSIN-NICE: Embattled Sen. Ron Johnson campaigned Thursday with Speaker Paul Ryan in their home state of Wisconsin.
SUNSHINE SQUABBLE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: The rush to frame one’s opponent as in-line with Donald Trump doesn’t stop with Republicans — the two Democratic Senate candidates in Florida are racing to tie each other to the controversy GOP nominee.
MONEY WATCH
MONEY MAN: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin will lead the Trump finance team as its national finance chairman, a major step toward fundraising for a costly general election fight. But a new report noted that Mnuchin has donated significantly more money to Democrats than Republicans.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND
(All times Eastern)
Hillary Clinton holds a 7:45 p.m. campaign event in Los Angeles, Calif., today. On Friday, she’ll hold a 7 p.m. campaign event in Oakland and a fundraiser San Francisco with actress Elizabeth Banks, author Cheryl Strayed and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
Donald Trump holds a rally in Charleston, W.Va., at 7 p.m. On Friday, he has rallies in Omaha, Neb., at 5 p.m. and in Eugene, Ore., at 10 p.m.
Bernie Sanders holds a 7 p.m. rally today in Morgantown, W.Va.
Guam Democrats hold their caucus from 8 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday at a local shopping center. Seven delegates are at stake.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen.
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