Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Mitt Romney was on hand to see his former running mate Paul Ryan officially become the House speaker. The two men and their wives then took a selfie together, or as Romney calls it, “a digital image captured when one of the subjects in the picture also serves as the photographer!”
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’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
Team Jeb! on Thursday made clear they know how badly Wednesday’s debate went. When asked if his campaign was “on life support” (like our sister publication First Read wrote this morning), Bush responded, “It’s not on life support. We have the most money, we have the greatest organization. We’re doing fine.” The former Florida governor sounds a lot more like a campaign manager than a candidate here. He’s not talking about having the best ideas, or the best message -- he’s talking about cash. And in the third quarter his fundraising bested many of his GOP rivals ($13.4 million), but fell well short of Ben Carson’s $20 million. He also has less cash-on-hand than some of candidates that have surged ahead of him in the polls.
But the real sign team Bush is worried comes via MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt, who reported that Bush held a conference call with top donors today where he vowed to improve as a candidate. Bottom line is that Bush continues to play the long game, but it’s clearer now more than ever that the “it’s still early” rebuttal to campaign turmoil will no longer fly, even with his most loyal backers. They need to see something they like out of him soon.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Paul Ryan is now officially the speaker of the House.
- Ted Cruz brought in $772,000 as of midnight Wednesday, NBC’s Hallie Jackson reports.
- In a scathing critique of the Republican presidential candidate, the New York Times calls on Chris Christie to exit the race, NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell writes.
- Hillary Clinton isn’t the only 2016 Democrat who can be accused of evolving on same-sex marriage. Bernie Sanders has done some evolving on the issue too, NBC’s Alex Jaffe writes.
- From First Read this AM: The biggest story from last night's debate wasn't Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz... the most significant story from last night is that Jeb Bush's campaign now finds itself on life support.
CAMPAIGN QUICK READS
CARSON: He said his campaign is reaching out to rivals to seek changes to future GOP debates.
SANDERS: “A day after Hillary Rodham Clinton said she opposed abolishing the death penalty, Senator Bernie Sanders took to the Senate floor on Thursday and declared that “the time is now for the United States to end capital punishment,” the New York Times writes.
CRUZ: Per Buzzfeed: “The father of Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has argued in speeches that the devil overplayed his hand by legalizing same-sex marriage.”
GILMORE: He is still running for president. But can’t get his Twitter account verified.
FOR THE RECORD…
“Can't read the article because I don't have a subscription, but I can tell you this - I am not going anywhere.”
- Chris Christie response to a New York Times editorial calling for him to resign.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum attend the Northwest Iowa Republican Rally.
Bernie Sanders campaigns in New Hampshire, while Hillary Clinton visits Atlanta and South Carolina.
Jeb Bush attends a tailgate at a high school football game in Punta Gorda, Fla.
