Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…GOP leaders in South Carolina and beyond surprised many by banding together to call for the removal of the Confederate flag outside the statehouse with a level of urgency that had us wondering: Did Taylor Swift say she wasn’t going to stream her music in South Carolina unless they took it down?
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’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
First Read this morning broke down some of the big takeaways from what has so far been released in our brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. (More numbers tonight, see below.) But, since it’s Monday and you may not have fully digested it all, we’re here to give you some of the top talking points you can use at happy hour, the water cooler and beyond.
The GOP leader: Jeb Bush is the first choice of 22% of likely GOP voters. Following Bush comes Scott Walker (17%), Marco Rubio (14%), and Ben Carson (11%). The news the Bush campaign should really be excited about is that the former Florida governor has jumped ahead among self-identified conservatives, a group he was perceived to be be weak because of his position on immigration and support for Common Core.
The caveat: The poll was conducted June 14-18 in the midst of the Bush announcement tour, which may have given him a bump. Walker could see a similar bump when is expected to announce next month.
The Donald: Is just a bit outside the top 10 at 1% support, meaning he would be left off the debate stage in August. Worth noting that he announced the day after Bush and apparently did not get a bump from that interesting speech he delivered at Trump tower. The others who would be left off the debate stage are: Graham, Kasich, Jindal, Santorum and Pataki.
The Democrats: How real is “Bernie-mentum” and how does Hillary Clinton fare against her GOP rivals? We’ll find that all out when the full poll is released at 6:30 pm ET.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Republican presidential candidates who received donations from the head of a white supremacist group that is believed to have inspired the alleged shooter in the Charleston church massacre are donating or returning the contributions.
- It turns out most Americans say they’re OK with a Bush v. Clinton general election, NBC’s Mark Murray writes.
- Independent Maine Sen. Angus King disclosed Monday that he will undergo surgery for prostate cancer once Congress breaks for its July 4 recess later this week.
- First Read has more analysis from the our poll, which will be in full this evening at 6:30 pm ET.
CAMPAIGN QUICK READS
TRUMP: He filed his statement of candidacy for president today. He still has to file his federal financial disclosure form, which is due 30 days after becoming a candidate.
WALKER: The Washington Post reports on the Wisconsin governor’s fundraising drive ahead of his likely presidential run.
CHRISTIE: A Christie nominee is going to work for Carly Fiorina, NJ.com reports.
FOR THE RECORD…
“Officials said they did not know of another time when a sitting president had recorded an interview in someone’s garage studio.”
- The New York Times report on Obama’s “WTF” podcast interview
TOMORROW’S SKED
Hillary Clinton will hold a discussion at Christ the King Church in Florrisant, Mo., that will address the Charleston church shooting.
Donald Trump is opening a golf club in Sterling, Va.
