Washington Post: “Although Hillary Clinton has clinched the party’s nomination, Sanders retains one of the trappings of a top-notch candidate: A team of agents still guards him at his home, where they’ve constructed a small watch station on the property. They travel with him on commercial and charter flights and use a motorcade to whisk him through cities he visits. And they marched alongside him during a gay-pride event here in his home town after the Orlando shootings. Such round-the-clock protection can cost taxpayers more than $38,000 a day.”
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Trump Falls Into the Same Trap as Romney Did
“In the 2012 presidential campaign, June was a pivotal month for President Obama’s re-election efforts. Mitt Romney had emerged from a slashing primary race close to broke, looking to get to the nominating convention so he could reset his candidacy and get an infusion of cash,” the New York Times reports.
“While there is little that is similar between the candidacies of Mr. Romney and Donald J. Trump, the result may end up being the same.”
“Mr. Romney was defined by a brutal series of television ads aired by both Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting Mr. Obama, and his campaign. Mr. Romney, in those renderings, was a heartless corporate raider who talked about liking to fire people who did not provide good services, and whose private equity firm feasted on the modest-wage jobs of hard-working people. Mr. Romney never recovered.”
Trump Gathers Aides to Reassess Strategy
Donald Trump “is gathering his top lieutenants, including members of his family, in New York on Monday to discuss a political strategy shift as he looks to move beyond recent missteps,” Bloomberg reports.
“Trump is facing pressure from within his own inner circle — including from donors — who are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as a lack of coordination and communication, members of Trump’s staff told Bloomberg Politics, at a crucial moment in the presidential race.”
“There’s also a growing impatience among some on Trump’s payroll that the candidate has failed to fill key roles within his campaign, including traveling press secretary and communications director, while Democrat Hillary Clinton’s synchronized political machine capitalized on a string of negative Trump headlines.”
The Impossible Job of Speaking for Trump
Olivia Nuzzi profiles Donald Trump’s press secretary Hope Hicks, who wouldn’t speak to her but instead referred her to the candidate himself:
Quote of the Day
“I don’t say that. They come to me.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by NBC News, claiming he doesn’t make personal appeals for campaign donations.
Clinton Will Target Trump’s Business Record
“Hillary Clinton will target Donald Trump’s business record on Tuesday, casting the presumptive Republican nominee as self-interested and deceptive as he prepares to provide more details about his economic proposals during the coming weeks,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Tuesday’s address in Columbus, Ohio, will build on Mrs. Clinton’s recent foreign-policy speech in which she used a compilation of Mr. Trump’s own words to suggest that he is uninformed and even dangerous.”
Said Clinton policy chief Jake Sullivan: “It really comes down to being able to show that every time Trump had an opportunity to get something for himself at the expense of someone else, he took it, in spades.”
Anti-Trump Effort Claims Momentum
“Supporters of a growing anti-Donald Trump movement announced plans Sunday to raise money for staff and a possible legal defense fund as they asked new recruits to help spread the word with less than a month until the Republican National Convention,” the Washington Post reports.
“Having started with just a few dozen delegates, organizers also said Sunday that they now count several hundred delegates and alternates as part of their campaign.”
“The group is led by delegates seeking to block Trump at the GOP convention next month in Cleveland by changing party rules so that they can vote however they want — instead of in line with the results of state caucuses and primaries. It is quickly emerging as the most organized effort to stop Trump and coincides with his declining poll numbers.”
GOP Donors Uneasy Over Trump
“Republican donors who are still willing to give to Donald Trump are increasingly uneasy — not just about the constant controversy surrounding the presumptive GOP nominee but also the perceived total lack of infrastructure related to his nascent fundraising operation,” CNN reports.
“The list of problems, according to donors and party officials, is both long and not easy to fix over the course of a short period.”
How Should Clinton Choose a Running Mate?
New York Times: “There is much for Mrs. Clinton to consider, including competence, agreement on policy and geography. Yet Mrs. Clinton’s advisers and those who have gone through the process emphasize an equally important, if more elusive, quality: chemistry.”
“Mrs. Clinton needs a No. 2 who can ease into the insular and often distrusting Clinton orbit. And a running mate whose company Mrs. Clinton genuinely enjoys could help present a joyful picture to voters, after a primary season that was sometimes dreary.”
“Mrs. Clinton’s aides began collecting information last week on as many as 10 candidates.”
Clarence Thomas Mulls Retirement
Justice Clarence Thomas, “a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court, is mulling retirement after the presidential election,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“Thomas, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush and approved by the Senate after a bitter confirmation, has been considering retirement for a while and never planned to stay until he died.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Bless his heart. Donald Trump is the gift that keeps giving to us.”
— Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by The Hill.
Ryan Won’t Stop Delegate Uprising Against Trump
“With a group of Republican delegates working to stop Donald Trump at next month’s convention, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) has given no indication that he plans to stop them,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Ryan: “It’s not my job to tell delegates what to do… They write the rules. They make their decisions.”
Trump’s Campaign Is Cratering
Washington Post: “Not only are Trump’s poll numbers slipping, they are at a low that no one, Republican or Democrat, has seen in the past three election cycles. Looking at the window of time between 200 and 100 days before each of those elections, you can see that Trump has consistently polled worse than George W. Bush in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. He caught up briefly after clinching the GOP nomination — and then sank again.”
“There’s every reason to think that those numbers will get worse. Trump essentially has no campaign at this point; there’s no sign that he has started staffing up significantly.”
One More Way Clinton Is Crushing Trump
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Trump Accuses Bush of Trying to Undermine Him
Donald Trump accused Jeb Bush of trying to undermine his candidacy, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “By the way, Jeb is working on the movement, just so you understand. I love competition like that. I love it.”
Trump Urged to Campaign In Utah
“Concerned with polls showing Hillary Clinton has a chance to win in one of the most conservative states in the nation, Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans huddled with Donald Trump in Las Vegas on Saturday,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“They talked for half an hour shortly before Trump held a packed rally at the Treasure Island casino, and he vowed to campaign in Utah after the national convention in Cleveland in July.”
Democrats Step Up Attacks on Grassley
“Democrats are increasingly laying a hammer to Sen. Chuck Grassley as they seek to unseat the Iowa Republican,” The Hill reports.
“Grassley’s Senate seat is widely handicapped as likely to stay in the GOP column, but Democrats believe the rise of Donald Trump and the fight over the Supreme Court are providing the perfect storm for taking out the six-term GOP incumbent.”
For members: The Consensus Senate Forecast
Clinton Dominates Battleground State Airwaves
“Every single 2016 presidential TV ad currently airing in a battleground state is either from Hillary Clinton’s campaign or the Democratic outside groups supporting her,” NBC News reports.
“The opposition, by contrast, hasn’t spent a dime in these same battlegrounds – whether it’s Donald Trump’s campaign or Republican-leaning Super PACs.”
