Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…
BREAKING: Read NBC’s rolling coverage of today’s deadly explosions at the Istanbul airport.
‘16 from 30,000
After more than two years, the House Select Committee on Benghazi has finally released its full report on the 2012 attacks. And, as with almost everything about the aftermath of the tragic events that left four Americans dead, debate about the report swiftly devolved into partisan squabbling about what it did and did not prove. Democrats labeled the findings politically motivated and old news; Republican chair Trey Gowdy called the failures that led to the attacks “inexcusable” but insisted that the report did not specifically target Hillary Clinton; and other Republicans said the investigation yielded incontrovertible evidence of Clinton’s personal responsibility for the attacks. Here’s the thing about the Benghazi issue: On the one hand, it’s been a story for so long that detailed and relatively incremental new facts are almost guaranteed not to move the needle for most voters. But on the other, at 30,000 feet, Benghazi in the headlines keeps Clinton on the defensive when it comes to her trustworthiness. And our new poll out this week showed that honesty remains Clinton’s weakest attribute by far. Only a quarter of voters picked Clinton as more honest than Trump, while 41 percent called the real estate mogul more trustworthy. And 69 percent said questions about her honesty are serious enough to concern them. Oof.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- The House Select Committee on Benghazi’s long-awaited report on the 2012 terrorist attack did not include any new information placing blame on Hillary Clinton.
- Though it didn’t produce a smoking gun, the report drags Clinton back into a debate about her “biggest regret” as secretary of state, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
- Reacting to the report, Clinton said “it’s time to move on.”
- Donald Trump told supporters it's time for the U.S. regain its "economic independence.” Here’s an NBC News fact check of Trump’s speech.
- Rick Santorum attended Trump’s event in Pennsylvania on Tuesday but said he hasn’t had any conversations about a potential VP slot.
- Clinton and her allies continue to dominate the presidential battleground-state airwaves, outspending Donald Trump and pro-Trump groups this month, $26 million to $0, according to ad-spending data from SMG Delta.
- And from First Read: A Democratic wave isn't coming just yet.
FOR THE RECORD…
“LePage has previously quipped he would take an appointment in the Trump administration if offered but the post he wants is ambassador to Canada in the summer and ambassador to Jamaica in the winter.”
-- Portland Press Herald story about Maine Gov. Paul LePage attending Wednesday's Trump rally in Bangor.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Donald Trump holds a fundraiser in Boston and then campaigns in Maine.
Hillary Clinton will attend fundraisers in San Francisco.
