Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…Republican hopefuls are headed to Disney World for Rick Scott’s “economic growth summit” tomorrow, which will be the only time in human history when the phrases “plenary session” and “the Happiest Place on Earth” could possibly end up in the same sentence.
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’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
Back in April, Hillary Clinton notably let supporters do most of the talking in her campaign kickoff video. But soon, the spotlight will be squarely back on her. Hillary Clinton’s June 13 rally on Roosevelt Island is intended to allow the 2016 hopeful to answer a question that dogged her eight years ago: Why exactly ARE you running? In 2008, she struggled to make the answer about voters rather than herself -- inasmuch as she even explained her rationale at all. And it’s clear that this time, by using the backdrop of a park dedicated to Democratic presidential titan Franklin D. Roosevelt, she’s aiming to go for soaring rhetoric about transformational change rather than a primarily glass-ceiling pitch, which would have been highlighted by a venue like the much-rumored Seneca Falls.
The upside for Clinton? She gets a double dip at an “announcement” even though she’ll have officially been in the race for two months. That’s good for another flood of donations, and it could help the campaign push the reset button on some bad press from her “low-key” rollout earlier this spring. The downside: Expectations will be very, very high both for the speech and how it translates in key primary states. And the Clinton campaign knows it; in the same backgrounder outlining the details of the rally, a Clinton official noted that no Democrat has cracked 50 percent in the Iowa caucuses without being a sitting Iowa senator, president or vice president.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- He’s in: Lindsey Graham made his presidential bid official Monday, saying “I've got one simple message: I have more experience with our national security than any other candidate in this race. That includes you, Hillary.”
- The South Carolina senator enters the race as a long shot, but he could still shake things up, NBC’s Perry Bacon writes.
- Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced that the event billed as her official campaign launch will be at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City.
- NBC’s Pete Williams reports that the Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot base a prosecution for sending an Internet threat solely on how the message was perceived.
- NBC’s Halimah Abdullah lays out what happens now that key provisions of the Patriot Act expire.
CAMPAIGN QUICK READS
TRUMP: He gave an interview to the Des Moines Register to talk about the Iowa straw poll, wealth, and his “very beautiful” solution to stop ISIS.
CLINTON: The Washington Post notes that Clinton is formally launching her campaign from one of the least accessible parts of New York City.
KASICH: He’ll make his first Iowa trip on June 24.
PAUL: Yowza on this Buzzfeed story about Rand Paul’s top media consultant, Rex Elsass, and former business partner Nick Everhart. “In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Everhart accused Elsass — who is now the top media consultant on Rand Paul’s presidential campaign — of using his political clout and vast company resources to fanatically pursue a bitter “vendetta” against him.”
FOR THE RECORD…
“I have a Gucci store that’s worth more than Romney.
Donald Trump, to the Des Moines Register.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and, Scott Walker attend Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s economic summit at Walt Disney World.
Chris Christie holds a meet and greet in Columbia, South Carolina.
Mike Huckabee speaks to the South Carolina GOP caucus.
