The Hill’s 12:30 Report

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The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Trump’s favorability sinks | Winners, losers of 2016 primaries | Trump, NRA to discuss terror list gun ban | Dem holds up Senate floor over gun control | National Lobster (!) Day

To view online –> http://bit.ly/25XFFzO

BREAKING THIS A.M. — TRUMP TO MEET WITH NRA: Donald Trump plans to meet with the National Rifle Association to discuss potentially banning gun sales for those on the terrorism watch list, he tweeted today. http://bit.ly/1UzfeFg Back story: Trump has said he opposes letting people on the watch list buy guns. But the NRA has opposed legislation to close the loophole, arguing it could deny innocent people their rights.

JUST NOW – NRA RESPONDS: The NRA tweeted back at Trump: “Happy to meet Donald Trump. Our position is no guns for terrorists–period. Due process & right to self-defense for law-abiding Americans.” http://bit.ly/1S5y8BP

ALSO HAPPENING NOW – MURPHY ISN’T GIVING UP THE FLOOR OVER GUN CONTROL: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is currently holding up the Senate floor, pledging to stay there until his colleagues get an agreement on gun control in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Note: it’s technically not a filibuster because he’s not actually holding up a vote or legislative activity. “I am prepared to stand on the Senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can. I’ve had enough,” said Murphy. http://bit.ly/1U9FvdF  

Watch it live –> http://cs.pn/1Uv43Bz

It’s Wednesday, and the new Ghostbusters movie will be released in theaters one month from today. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of what you missed this morning — and what’s on tap for the rest of the day. Send comments, story ideas and upcoming events to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

WELL THIS IS ESCALATING QUICKLY: This morning, Donald Trump tweeted a link to an article that claims President Obama has indirectly supported the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), standing behind his remarks earlier this week that Obama might sympathize with terrorists. http://bit.ly/28EIUuL

OBAMA SAYS HAAYYYYL NO: President Obama let his anger show during a 12-minute diatribe against the Trump and his call to ban Muslim travel to the United States.  “We hear language that singles out immigrants and suggests that entire religious communities are complicit in violence. Where does this stop?” Glaring at the cameras discussing Trump’s criticism over the phrase “radical Islam”, Obama said military and law enforcement officials “know full well who the enemy is.” http://bit.ly/1UjKn28

GRAMMAR NOTE ABOUT “RADICAL ISLAM” VS. “RADICAL ISLAMISM”: Via NPR’s Brian Naylor, Donald Trump has been criticizing President Obama and Hillary Clinton for refusing to use the term “radical Islam.” Hillary Clinton rebutted him, using the phrase “radical Islamism.” The difference in phrasing is not just a matter of semantics. Here’s the difference: From Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “When you say ‘Islamic,’ you are talking about an adjective of Muslims, and when you say ‘Islamism,’ you are talking about an ideology, a dystopian ideology that tries to recruit from among Muslims.” http://n.pr/1tvZygj 

RELEASED THIS MORNING — TRUMP’S GOT SOME SCHMOOZING TO DO: A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that a full 70 percent of U.S. adults (!) have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump. Context: He’s been hovering around 60 percent. Throwback/Why this is big: It nears his record unfavorability of 71 percent when he announced he was running for president (and wasn’t taken seriously). $$ line for November: 89 percent of Hispanics have an unfavorable view of Trump. It’s a low bar in 2016…: Hillary Clinton is also viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans at 55 percent. But compared to 70 percent, that’s peanuts! http://bit.ly/1Uc87sh 

AND ON ORLANDO…: 51 percent of Americans disapprove with how Trump reacted to the Orlando massacre — with just 25 percent (!) saying they approve. http://bit.ly/21mka4V 

COLBERT HITS TRUMP…WITH A SWASTIKA: Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert last night drew a swastika to criticize Donald Trump’s reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. I can’t believe we’ve gotten to this point. http://bit.ly/1twaWsH 

PRIMARY WINNERS & LOSERS — DOESN’T THE IOWA CAUCUS FEEL LIKE LIGHT YEARS AGO?: Yesterday concluded the 2016 presidential primary process, and The Hill’s Niall Stanage broke down the 25 winners and losers of the primaries. Here’s the full reasoning for each winner and loser: http://bit.ly/1PtDqHs 

The candidates…

Winners: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders
Mixed: Ted Cruz, Ben Carson
Losers: Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Scott Walker (throwback!)

Other politicians…

Winners: President Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Mixed: RNC Chair Reince Priebus, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)
Losers: DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.)

Miscellaneous…

Winners: Progressives, Twitter, the Libertarian Party, the South Carolina primary
Mixed: Black Lives Matter
Losers: The Democratic and Republican establishments, super-PACs, #BernieBros, the Iowa caucuses

MUST READ — ENTER THE REALITY SHOW ‘CONFESSION ROOM’: The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein sat down with Jeb Bush’s campaign manager Danny Diaz, Ted Cruz’s campaign manager Jeff Roe and Marco Rubio’s communications director Alex Conant, who have had some time to process what happened when running against Donald Trump, to share their war stories (!) about the campaign. There are too many great anecdotes to share: http://huff.to/1Q4nBg0 

{mosads}TALKED ABOUT ON SOCIAL – TWITTER RANT THAT’S REALLY WORTH READING: Donald Trump made come controversial comments yesterday about Iraqi War veterans, suggesting some may have stolen money during the war. This morning, writer and veteran Corbin Reiff rebutted Trump about his service overseas. It’s worth reading. How to read it: Click this tweet then read his subsequent tweets below by clicking “Show More.” http://bit.ly/1Q4OfW1

Sample tweets:

“My job for a whole year was to assess damage to Iraqi citizen’s property, and person and compensate them monetarily.” http://bit.ly/1WNHslQ

“I had to look widows and orphans in the eye as tears ran down their cheeks telling me through an interpreter their heartbreaking stories.” http://bit.ly/1Uv4agD

“The idea that Trump would call out the integrity of those who answered the call of service and deployed to a war zone is repellant.” http://bit.ly/262HkAB

NO UNITY ON LGBT VOTE: Via The Hill’s Cristina Marcos, House GOP leaders won’t allow a vote this week on a proposal to ensure that federal contractors can’t discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Why: House GOP leaders decided to clamp down on amendments to annual spending bills after Rep. Sean Maloney’s (D-N.Y.) proposal threatened passage of other appropriations measures last month. Before now, Republicans had been considering appropriations bills under a procedure allowing members of either party to offer unlimited amendments. http://bit.ly/1UuWSJL 

 

NOTABLE TWEETS:

The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel
Interesting contrast between awed passersby listening to Sanders and jaded reporters listening to this spiel for the umpteenth time. http://bit.ly/239Unyx 

@ClintFalin
We’re never gonna beat Canada. Baby moose spotted with pride flag. http://bit.ly/1PtOzrW 

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.)
(setting: quiet chamber)
Official Senate Photographer: “Sen. Perdue: Could you move a little left?”
Sen. David Perdue: “The hell I will.” http://bit.ly/262j1Tt 

 

ON TAP:

9:30 a.m. EDT: The Senate is in and working on defense spending. A vote is expected at 1:30 p.m.

10:15 a.m. EDT: President Obama met with the Dalai Lama in the Map Room of the White House.

12:30 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Josh Earnest gives the daily briefing.

1:15 p.m. EDT: Hillary Clinton speaks about national security at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, Va.

2 p.m. EDT: Vice President Biden meets with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

2 p.m. EDT: The Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing titled, “Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Businesses in the Digital Age.” Info: http://1.usa.gov/1Oh2Ihh 

4 p.m. EDT: Vice President Biden meets with the White House Task Force on Cancer.

5 p.m. EDT: New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D) and Kelly Ayotte (R) and Reps. Ann Kuster (D) and Frank Guinta (R) host an Experience New Hampshire reception in the Russell Senate Office Building featuring local businesses.

6:30 p.m. EDT: Vice President Biden delivers remarks at the Sandy Hook Promise Annual Promise Champions Gala. 

9:30 a.m. EDT tomorrow: The full Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on transnational criminal threats. Info: http://1.usa.gov/28qpsSC 

9:30 a.m. EDT tomorrow: The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the nomination of Gen. David Goldfein to be chief of staff of the Air Force. Info: http://1.usa.gov/25PxEgl 

 

NOW STEPPING AWAY FROM POLITICS…:

Today is National Lobster Day (!)

iMESSAGE JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT COOLER: Apple unveiled the iOS10 version of the texting app iMessage. Think handwriting, more options with emojis and lasers. BuzzFeed demonsrates how it works: http://bit.ly/24QBhgg 

And with that, here is a dog totally freaking out over tennis balls. It’s the simple things. http://bit.ly/1UjAhhJ 

 

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