Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… The Washington Post reported that Marco Rubio personally profited off the political “juice” he accumulated through his rise in Florida politics. If true, the juice could also explain how he broke the GOP candidate record for home runs during a visit to Iowa’s “Field of Dreams.”
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‘16 FROM 30 THOUSAND
Loverboy sings that “everybody’s working for the weekend.” And today’s new jobs report reaffirmed that a lot of Americans are in fact working (albeit, maybe not all for the weekend). Last month, the economy showed stronger-than-anticipated gains (211,000 jobs) and unemployment still at a low five percent. And, truth be told, voters can be forgiven for not giving a rip, since a Bureau of Labor Statistics number ain’t going to change anything about one’s individual employment woes. (Also, persistently low wages remain a blot on the economic scorecard.) But the economic trend is still worth noting from a 2016 perspective, and here’s why: incumbent political parties always have a challenge at making a “stay the course” argument after two terms in the White House. But we’d be having a different conversation about Hillary Clinton’s general election chances if economic fundamentals weren’t in a relatively healthy place. Today’s numbers are good news for Democrats looking ahead to November.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Ted Cruz touted his support for the 2nd Amendment at a gun range in Iowa on Friday, NBC’s Kasie Hunt reports.
- Chris Christie went after Marco Rubio, saying, “There’s not a lot of depth there.”
- Rubio responded to Christie while campaigning in New Hampshire.
- NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard followed Ted Cruz on a three-day swing through Iowa.
- MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin reports on the disconnect between this week’s climate talks in Paris and the GOP’s skepticism of efforts to address carbon emissions.
- And from First Read this AM: A new CNN poll shows Donald Trump only getting stronger, but there are some important caveats.
CAMPAIGN QUICK READ OF THE DAY
POLITICO reports that a billionaire backing Jeb Bush says he’s going out on his own to take out full page newspaper ads to trash Donald Trump.
FOR THE RECORD…
“He’s running for president and I’m one of the other candidates. He’s not going to say nice things about me.”
Marco Rubio’s response to Chris Christie’s critique that the Florida senator doesn’t have much “depth.”
WEEKEND SKED
Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina address the Freedom Works summit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday.
John Kasich, Lindsay Graham and Bernie Sanders are in New Hampshire, while Martin O’Malley is in South Carolina.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be on Meet The Press on Sunday.
