Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…The bad news for Trump is that the Republican speechwriter who wrote the address for the “Benghazi mom” speech at the GOP convention now says he might vote for Hillary Clinton. The good news is that, after today’s announced shake-up, Trump may still have a chance of holding onto Scott Baio’s speechwriter.
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‘16 from 30,000:
Donald Trump’s campaign shake-up comes the same day as some other big news for the GOP nominee -- his campaign is finally going to run general election television ads! NBC News confirms a Wall Street Journal Report that Trump will begin airing ads in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania on Friday, with more to come in the following weeks. He’s trailing in each of those states, according to a round of NBC/WSJ/Marist polls released last week. The surveys revealed Trump is down five in Ohio and Florida, and trailing Hillary Clinton by nine in North Carolina and 11 in Pennsylvania. Of those four, North Carolina is the only state Mitt Romney won in 2012. And the Clinton campaign is going hard in the Tar Heel State. Charlotte (7) and Raleigh-Durham (10) are both in the top ten markets for most ad spending in the 2016 race and Tim Kaine spent the early part of this week there, making plenty of promises to return again soon. So despite Trump’s previous claims he could expand the GOP map, right now he’s in danger of shrinking it.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- From Benjy Sarlin, Katy Tur and Ali Vitali: After the campaign shake-up, it’s Trump versus the world.
- Clinton’s vast right-wing conspiracy theory comes full circle, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
- Hillary Clinton said Wednesday “There is no new Donald Trump.”
- Here’s an intro to Trump’s new top brass.
- And from First Read: What Trump’s latest campaign shake-up means.
FOR THE RECORD…
"Donald Trump saying we never win anymore. Well, tell that to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
-- Hillary Clinton, in what may be the ultimate pander, while campaigning in Cleveland.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Hillary Clinton will meet with law enforcement leaders in New York City while Tim Kaine raises cash in Idaho and Wyoming.
Donald Trump campaigns in North Carolina and Mike Pence is in New Hampshire.
