Donald Trump hates terrorists. But should he be concerned about the insurgents in his own party? Let’s unpack the latest GOP drama:
#NEVERTRUMP LIVES (SORT OF)
More than 1,000 people dialed into a conference call Sunday about an effort to unbind delegates at the Republican National Convention, allowing them to vote their conscience instead of who they were sent to support. The leaders of the Free the Delegates movement told NBC News they have about 10 Rules Committee delegates on board to vote for the resolution.
But they need 57 (and, ultimately, a majority vote from all delegates) to change the convention rules. The RNC also has refused to release a full list of who sits on the committee. So, yeah, lobbying members is a challenge.
Our best guess, if you’re looking for a conspiracy theory: The formal rule change will go nowhere. But some delegates will break ranks and vote for who they want (read: not Trump). If enough do, all that delegate wrangling wily Ted Cruz maneuvered a couple of months ago could take center stage once again. And then we'll call convention shenanigans!
MEANWHILE, IN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN
So, let’s recap the current state of affairs at Team Trump: The campaign has no permanent head dude, now that manager Corey Lewandowski is out, and almost no staff in the states. It has a pittance of cash, and much of it is in the form of personal loans from Trump. Meanwhile, more than $1 million of what was spent in May paid for family members’ travel and Trump companies that hosted events.
Why does this matter? Because at this point Trump should be focusing on getting cash and lining up staffers to organize critical get-out-the-vote efforts. We know this is a weird campaign year and all, and that Trump didn’t need the cash for ads or whatnot in the primary because the news coverage basically was free advertising. But he’s got a different audience to woo in the general election. And basically no one standing behind him to help do it.
Never fear, though! Trump will resurrect comments today that he planned to make against Crooked Hillary (that is, before Orlando happened and he ditched them to rail against radical Islam). Criticizing Clinton’s failures ought to make everyone feel much better about the future of his campaign.
VP SEARCH SHOCKS NO ONE
AP and CNN both say that Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro are on the short list to become Clinton’s vice president. Which really isn’t super big news, because they’ve been reportedly on her radar for a while. But you should pretend to care about this because a VP pick is usually considered a good indicator of the boss’s judgment.
Should Clinton choose Warren, she’ll appease the lefties that are sore over Bernie Sanders’s loss. But she risks turning off moderates (and donors) who don’t like Trump but don’t really care for Warren’s politics. And if she chooses Castro, she could inject some youth and diversity into her campaign, which could be helpful if it makes her seem less boring. But that could backfire if an inexperienced Castro proves too green for the job.
MORE FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
- Personality matters. But ultimately voters will choose Trump or Clinton based on their stark policy differences (Town Hall)
- Want better candidates? Shrink the president’s power (Palladium-Item)
- Trump to evangelicals: Pray for me, not the heathens in politics (USA TODAY)
- Clinton spends entire speech blasting Trump on the economy, leaves her plan for today (USA TODAY)
NUMBER TWO FOR VP
A Los Angeles Times column explains the problems Trump is having in finding a VP, but hey, no worries! Hollywood has the perfect solution for our beleaguered candidate: Number Two, Dr. Evil’s right-hand man in the “Austin Powers” movies. He’s smart and personable. He can operate on the QT (remember: “Who does Number 2 work for?”). He capably runs the Evil empire in his boss’s absence. He keeps him on track, despite constant distractions from his miniature clone and evil son. And he has an eye patch. Who are we kidding? We’d choose Number Two on the eye patch alone.
