Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Donald Trump will hold an event Friday at his newly opened hotel in Washington, D.C. With rooms rates north of $700 per night, this will likely be the only time cash-strapped reporters will be visiting the hotel.
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‘16 from 30,000: Hillary Clinton on Thursday called her time off the campaign trail “a gift” that allowed her to reflect on the campaign. But looking at recent polls might lead Democrats to conclude the downtime was anything but a present. Most national polls still show Clinton with a lead, though Trump is gaining ground. However the real concern for Democrats is battleground state polls. A Suffolk poll released Thursday showed Trump with a lead in Ohio, the third straight poll that shows the Republican with a lead in the Buckeye State. And a Monmouth poll showed Trump with an eight point lead in Iowa.
It’s certainly an overreach to say these numbers are all due to Clinton’s time off the trail. But they come amid a week filled with questions about the candidate’s health and the campaign’s transparency. Also Trump has shown greater discipline on the trail. (That is, until today when he called a pastor that interrupted him in Flint, Michigan a “nervous mess.”) It’s expected to see polls tighten as we reach the final stretch towards Election Day and neither candidate can afford to make any more unforced errors.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Hillary Clinton called her time away from the campaign trail “a gift” and said tightening polls are to be expected.
- The Trump campaign released the results of his latest physical on Thursday.
- NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell notes what candidates can learn from John McCain’s health disclosures in 2008.
- A Democratic super PAC is willing to pay for dirt on Donald Trump, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
- The Trump reboot has gone off the rails, NBC’s Benjy Sarlin and Ali Vitali write.
- And from First Read: Clinton is back -- and not a moment too soon for Dems.
FOR THE RECORD…
“If Republicans were doing that, they'd be warming up the gas chamber right now.”
Donald Trump Jr. complaining about media coverage of his father.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Hillary Clinton delivers a speech to the black women’s agenda symposium in Washington, D.C.
Michelle Obama will campaign for Clinton in Virginia.
Trump holds a campaign event at his new hotel in Washington, D.C., before heading to Florida.
