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Christie Keeps Sinking In New Jersey
A new Monmouth University Poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie’s job rating at another all-time low, 27% to 63%.
The poll also found that twice as many New Jerseyans say that the state is currently worse off (41%) because of Christie’s time as governor than say it is better off (21%).
Trump’s Short List Is Getting Shorter
Rick Klein: “Maybe the plan for shortening Donald Trump’s short list is as simple as having his surrogates go on television for him. The latest examples came in the wake of Trump’s insistence that a federal judge’s Mexican heritage leaves him unqualified to hear a case against Trump, a statement that Trump defenders have been loath to defend… Is anyone on board with Trump for this one? What about the next one, or 10?”
“Every campaign gets second-guessed by supporters and surrogates. But Trump is drawing out more than that – not just angst, but outright rejection from those who describe themselves as supporters. If Trump insists on 100 percent loyalty from his vice-presidential pick, the list is already minuscule.”
What Will Bernie Do?
First Read: “After her victories over the weekend in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Hillary Clinton is now just 19 delegates away from hitting the 2,383 magic number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. And since she’ll easily cross it before polls even close in California (126 pledged delegates are for up grabs in New Jersey alone on June 7), here’s maybe the most important question in politics over the next month: WWBD — What Will Bernie Do?”
“Does he continue fighting all of the way through July’s Democratic convention? “The Democratic national convention will be a contested convention,” Sanders declared on Saturday, per NBC’s Danny Freeman. Or does he bow out after tomorrow’s results? And bow out gracefully?”
As one Capitol Hill Democrat closely observing the Clinton-vs.-Sanders race said: “It’s absolutely going to be the difference between a positive, proactive summer of unity and one that will lead to the same location — but travel across a much more treacherous path.”
Ben Stein Will Vote for Donald Trump
Former Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein shared his views on Donald Trump with The Guardian. Some excerpts:
“He is not a great businessman. He inherited a great deal of money. He did some successful real estate deals. Hardly anyone could miss doing successful real estate deals in New York considering the incredible boom that has taken place and the very low base point when he started out. He is not a great businessman at all – in no way.”
“I’ll vote for him, by the way. I’ll vote for him because I think he does personify a kind of national pride which I think has been lacking in the Obama days and would be terribly lacking under Bernie Sanders and terribly lacking under Hillary Clinton. But I think his economics is way, way out of whack and he seriously needs some education about it.”
“I don’t think Trump knows a goddamn thing about economics. But I like him anyway, I might add.”
Sasse May Support Libertarian Ticket
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who has said he won’t be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, told the Lincoln Journal-Star, “The Libertarian Party is something I would certainly consider in the long term” but added that he “hadn’t really looked closely at it yet.”
Quote of the Day
“This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made. I think it’s inexcusable.”
— Newt Gingrich, quoted by The Hill, after Donald Trump attacked a California judge for his Mexican heritage.
Sanders Crowds Haven’t Faded
New York Times: “Mr. Sanders’s chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination have been fading since Hillary Clinton’s big win in April in New York. With her victory on Sunday in Puerto Rico, she stands only 28 delegates short of securing the nomination, and she is almost certain to clinch it on Tuesday when New Jersey, California and four other states hold primaries. But one would not know that from the enthusiastic throngs of supporters who still flock to hear him call for a transformation of America’s economy and for a political revolution.”
“Some are there in solidarity with his message, and others because they believe Mr. Sanders when he says, against the odds, that he can still snag the nomination at the party’s convention in July. And then there are many who, regardless of their outlook on the race, are streaming in for what they believe may be their last glimpse of a political phenomenon.”
Wall Street Journal: Sanders camp split over next step
GOP Worries Rise Amid Hostile Trump Comments
“A growing number of Republican lawmakers and strategists fear that Donald Trump’s hostile remarks about minorities and his unorthodox strategy have imperiled his campaign at the end of a five-week head start on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton that they hoped would fortify him heading into the general election,” the Washington Post reports.
“Their concerns increased again Sunday after Trump said he thought a Muslim judge might treat him unfairly because he wants to temporarily ban most foreign Muslims from entering the country.”
New York Times: “Republicans, concerned about how his contentious statements could harm their ability to retain control of the Senate and have a detrimental effect in down-ballot races, have struggled with how to distance themselves from Mr. Trump’s language without alienating his die-hard voters.”
Clinton On the Verge of Clinching Nomination
Hillary Clinton “stands on the cusp of having enough delegates to claim the Democratic presidential nomination, having overwhelmed Bernie Sanders in a pair of weekend elections in the Caribbean,” the AP reports.
“Yet the former secretary of state barely noted her commanding wins Saturday in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Sunday in Puerto Rico, instead remaining focused on Tuesday’s contest in California and five other states – and a general election matchup to come against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.”
Trump Is More of a Media Company Than Campaign
New York Times: “Mr. Trump is not running a campaign in the modern sense — or what was the modern sense until about yesterday. Rather, he oversees a prolific content production studio that has accomplished what every major media conglomerate is trying to pull off with mixed success.”
“It has managed to produce a huge amount of inexpensive programming that has consistently dominated the ratings and the conversation across the entire new-media landscape — cable news, broadcast news, radio, Twitter, Facebook and who knows what else.”
Harvard Professor Says Markets Underestimate Trump
Harvard professor Niall Ferguson told Bloomberg that Donald Trump has a better chance of becoming president than the betting markets currently project.
Said Ferguson: “Trump has a pretty close to 50/50 chance of winning this election, especially since Hillary Clinton is, let’s face it, not a very strong and attractive candidate. We’re still kind of underestimating this. The betting markets still think that Trump has a one-in-three, one-in-four shot at being president, but it’s actually I think much much higher than that.”
Clinton Cracked the Code for Taking Down Trump
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French Won’t Make Indie Bid
David French writes in the National Review that he won’t run for president:
Here is a sentence I never thought I’d type: After days of prayer, reflection, and serious study of the possibilities, I am not going to run as an independent candidate for president of the United States.
I gave it serious thought — as a pretty darn obscure lawyer, writer, and veteran — only because we live in historic times. Never before have both parties failed so spectacularly, producing two dishonest, deceitful candidates who should be disqualified from running for town council, much less leader of the free world.
Castellanos Now Backs Trump
A new super PAC supporting Donald Trump and backed by one of his close friends has hired GOP strategist Alex Castellanos to cut advertisements and work on strategy, the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Castellanos’s involvement is notable for his previous criticism of Mr. Trump. He had quietly explored the possibilities of creating a Stop Trump effort last fall, and he has long urged the Republican Party to change its tone and focus in order to appeal to a broader coalition of voters.”
Castellanos, writing last summer for CNN: “Donald Trump is a strongman. But he is not the man for this moment. He is not a Republican or a conservative. If we want to keep our future in our hands, we shouldn’t put it in his.”
Quote of the Day
“I think the party of Lincoln wants to win the White House. The right-of-center world needs to respect the fact that the primary voters have spoken.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by Politico, when asked how the party of Lincoln could support a nominee that many think is racist.
Trump Donated to Attorneys General Who Dropped Case
The AP reports that then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) opened a civil investigation of “possibly deceptive trade practices” into Trump University but the probe “was quietly dropped” in 2010 when the school “agreed to end its operations in Texas. Trump subsequently donated $35,000 to Abbott’s successful gubernatorial campaign.”
In addition, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) briefly considered joining “in a multi-state suit against Trump University. Three days after Bondi’s spokeswoman was quoted in local media reports as saying the office was reviewing the New York lawsuit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation made a $25,000 contribution to a political fundraising committee supporting Bondi’s re-election campaign. Bondi soon dropped her investigation, citing insufficient grounds to proceed.”
Clinton Says Sanders Should End His Campaign
Hillary Clinton told CNN that Bernie Sanders should end his campaign and begin convincing supporters to line up behind Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“Clinton said that in 2008, some supporters urged her to battle Barack Obama to the convention but noted that she decided to cede to Obama rather than fight because they shared similar policy goals and values. When this year’s primary season largely ends Tuesday, she said, ‘I expect Senator Sanders to do the same.'”
