Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Sparring with Hillary Clinton over racial issues on Thursday, Donald Trump’s campaign said that it is “living in her head rent-free.” That’s a really lucky development for Team Trump, because we hear that their office space in Manhattan had been getting pretty darn pricey over the last few months!
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‘16 from 30,000: Hillary Clinton’s speech tying Donald Trump to the “alt-right” movement on Thursday was remarkable not just for its blistering language about the GOP nominee, but for the stark choice she presented to Republicans worried about Trump’s rhetoric. Accusing Trump of “helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party,” Clinton took pains *not* to lash the entire GOP – yet -- to Trump and the white nationalist groups that have lauded his rise. “This is not conservatism as we have known it. This is not Republicanism as we have known it,” she said, later name-checking past calls for tolerance from George W. Bush, Bob Dole and John McCain. Here’s our question – and Clinton’s direct challenge to Republicans: How does the GOP handle this choice? By elevating the alt-right movement, Clinton has shined a spotlight on these unsavory elements that will glow well beyond even this campaign. The mainstream Republican Party will have to figure out how to deal with these nationalistic and anti-multicultural groups even if Trump loses. Will they absorb them? Reject them entirely? Try to harness their energy but purge the racially inflammatory language? By the way, to read a lot more smart stuff on this, check out this big piece today from Leigh Ann Caldwell and Benjy Sarlin, who explored the question of where the GOP is headed after 2016 -- win or lose.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
Read this: In the final installment of NBC’s digital series on Trump, NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell and Benjy Sarlin look at where the GOP goes after 2016. (Plus great video and pics from Matt Rivera and Mark Peterson.)
Leigh Ann Caldwell reports: “Hillary Clinton delivered a scathing critique Thursday of her GOP opponent, Donald Trump, implying that he is perpetuating racism by deploying "race-baiting ideas" on the presidential stump.”
And Alex Jaffe writes that Trump accused Clinton of trying to "intimidate" and "bully" voters with her charges that he is fomenting racism with his campaign.
And, before the speech, Clinton tied Trump to white nationalists in a tough new ad, prompting a furious response from Trump’s camp.
NBC’s Benjy Sarlin has 5 things to know about the “alt-right.”
Hillary Clinton could be in for an awkward fight on trade during the lame duck, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
And from First Read: Trump's stunning flip-flop on immigration
FOR THE RECORD…
“Mr. Trump and Breitbart stand for a civic nationalism and believe in secure borders. They take no position on white identity or race and IQ, which are central positions of the Alt Right.”
- White nationalist group American Renaissance, responding to Hillary Clinton’s speech
TOMORROW’S SKED
Tim Kaine campaigns in Florida.
