Donald Trump “was so unsure about” Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate “that around midnight last night he asked top aides if he could get out of it,” CNN reports.
NBC News confirmed the report.
Washington Post: “If anything, this leak is just the latest proof of how poorly the whole thing has been handled. And that poor handling, in turn, makes the rumor seem quite plausible.”
“I don’t know how women can vote for him… It’s incomprehensible to me.”
— Barbara Bush, in an interview with CBS News, on Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.
Speaker Paul Ryan told NPR that he thinks Donald Trump will try to change.
Said Ryan: “I just think improving temperament and inclusive rhetoric, and an agenda that invites people into our party, is something that I think anybody going from a primary to a general election needs.”
Asked whether Trump is going to change his tone and behavior, Ryan said: “I believe he’s going to endeavor to try.”
First Read: “Raise your hand if, after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence arrived in New York late yesterday afternoon, you thought there would still be some doubt who Donald Trump’s running mate would be. But here we are — less than four hours before the deadline for Pence to remove his name for re-election to be Trump’s VP. And we’re still not 100% sure Pence is the guy.”
“There are two ways to interpret Trump’s ‘I haven’t made my final, final decision’ to Fox News last night. One, the pick is definitely Pence, but Trump didn’t want the attack in France to overshadow the VP announcement, so he played coy. Or two, there’s some serious second-guessing going on with Trump. And if so, you have to conclude there’s a divide with Trump’s professional political team and Trump himself — either Trump got cornered into the Pence pick, or the staff got ahead of him.”
“To say the least, this hasn’t been an artful VP pick rollout. (Why cancel your VP announcement event because of France, but then call in, twice, to Fox?) On Fox News this morning, Trump’s top political aide Paul Manafort said, ‘[Trump] isn’t prepared to announce it until he announces it… I don’t know if he’s having second thoughts, but he hasn’t announced it yet.'”
Rick Klein: “It’s hard to imagine a single action – even from Trump – that would more inflame his own party than going back on his commitment to Pence at this stage. He would be ensuring chaos at his own convention – and would immediately undo any of the goodwill he’s accumulated among prominent party voices.”
Washington Post: “At some point, Trump’s choice of a running mate will be announced. But it will take some time to sort out the events of the past few days.”
“Was this a process that revealed indecision on the part of a candidate who has tried to project decisiveness and strength? Was it one that revealed continuing tensions inside a campaign that has been riven by staff differences? Or was it merely an aggressive media eager to break a big story that got ahead of events and created confusion when little actually existed? Or was it some combination of all of them?”
Politico: Could the Trump VP vetting process go off the rails?
Sarah Palin isn’t included in the official list of speakers for the Republican National Convention next week, and Donald Trump suggested to the Washington Examiner that her absence is because she lives too far from the venue.
Said Trump: “She was asked. It’s a little bit difficult because of where she is. We love Sarah. Little bit difficult because of, you know, it’s a long ways away.”
In a statement to the Washington Post, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said: “On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them. Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect.”
“Newt Gingrich, a finalist on Donald Trump’s vice presidential shortlist, flew to Indianapolis to meet with Trump on a private jet provided by Fox News host Sean Hannity,” two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
The Huffington Post “attempted to call the contact phone numbers for the Trump campaign in all 50 states. A few of the state operations had no websites or no numbers listed. Many of the other numbers didn’t work. When we left voicemails, we didn’t get callbacks.”
“On only six occasions did someone actually answer the phone. And in several of those instances, the person who picked up explained that a physical office would be opened up only after the convention.”
“Trump is going to pick whoever he’s going to pick.”
— A Trump campaign source, quoted by Politico, on the running mate search.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told Vanity Fair that he doesn’t think Donald Trump can win the presidential race.
Said Flake: “Well, I just don’t think he can get there. I don’t think that there’s much worry of a Trump presidency if he doesn’t change. I want a Republican in the White House, but he can’t get there, in my view, saying the things he’s saying. And we wouldn’t want him to get there if he continues to say the things that he’s saying. So I hope that he changes, I do.”
“Nearly half of voters in a recent survey said they had seen TV ads supporting Donald Trump in the last week. There’s just one problem: His campaign hasn’t aired any, and his friendly super PACs have run very few,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Meanwhile, 52% of respondents said they had seen an ad promoting Democrat Hillary Clinton—just six percentage points more than the proportion who said they had spotted Trump ads.”
Donald Trump is looking for a running mate who can be a “fighter skilled in hand-to-hand combat” to help him parry criticism on the campaign trail, and he has narrowed his list to a handful of seasoned politicians, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview Tuesday, said his top picks include Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and a couple politicians who haven’t gotten as much attention, including Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.”
“The New York businessman has said he wanted a seasoned government leader as a running mate. But in the interview, on the way to events with Mr. Pence in Indiana, Mr. Trump added a new criterion: He wants an attack dog.”
Donald Trump described Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a “disgrace” to the Supreme Court after she expanded on the criticism of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee that she first voiced last week, the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “I think it’s highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly. I think it’s a disgrace to the court, and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.”
The Washington Post editorial page agreed with Trump: “However valid her comments may have been, though, and however in keeping with her known political bent, they were still much, much better left unsaid by a member of the Supreme Court.”
“I have five candidates, plus two, two that are unknown to anybody.”
— Donald Trump, in an interview with the New York Times, on who he might choose as his running mate.
“Donald Trump has a quandary as he considers several experienced politicians as his vice presidential running mate. Two of them – Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – are widely known and widely popular inside the Republican Party. But they are also widely unpopular to the rest of the country, particularly minorities,” according to a new McClatchy-Marist Poll.
“And two – Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama – are little known. That suggests they’d have plenty of room to grow in a summer and fall campaign – but also could be vulnerable to Democratic ads seeking to define them on unfavorable terms.”
Pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA is launching a new, $500,000 ad campaign aimed at winning over millennial voters and women in presidential swing states. Here’s one of six new ads:
Greg Sargent has a good rundown of all of the ads.
Rick Klein: “If there is a new Donald Trump, this might be the moment for him to enter. Will Trump do what virtually everyone around him is advising as the prudent, smart, and sensible thing – uniting the Republican Party on the eve of his formal nomination? Or will Trump … be Trump? That’s the choice in front of him as he considers his finalists in the vice-presidential sweepstakes, a process that’s looked like a Trumpian endeavor only if you compare it to the bland public process being employed by Hillary Clinton.”
“Specifically, Trump knows that the easy call is Mike Pence, a Midwestern governor with House leadership experience and strong bonds with religious conservatives and GOP-aligned advocacy groups. Choosing retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn might cause a floor fight over Trump’s selection. Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie carry their own baggage with segments of the party, their personal relationships with the candidate aside. Trump may be bored by the choices in front of him, particularly the one advisers and party regulars are gravitating toward as the veepstakes winds down. But, at this critical moment, will Trump let Trump be Trump?”
For members: Why Pence Is Trump’s Best Choice for Veep
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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