Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Herman Cain mocked Jeb Bush on Monday for running a campaign that has yet to achieve the success that “the pizza guy” did in 2012. To be fair, anger at Washington this cycle is so bad that “pizza guy” would be considered a way better resume item than “former governor of a populous state.”
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’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
Donald Trump’s cancellation of a billed “press conference” with black religious leaders is the kind of moment that gets attention from the political press but probably won’t resonate much with voters - particularly with the overwhelmingly white GOP primary electorate. (Trump himself dismissed the pastors’ early concerns about being prematurely labeled as Trump endorsers, suggesting that they may have been pressured to back off their support by Black Lives Matter activists.) NBC’s Katy Tur reports that the meeting was tense at times, with some pastors objecting to his rhetoric when it comes to race. The fact that Trump’s campaign pursued the meeting perhaps shows some awareness of the dismal view that a huge majority of minority voters have of him. But any thinking that this would be a turning point where Trump suddenly changes his tone would be misguided. Just look at what he told reporters following the meeting: "The tone has taken me to first position in every single poll including state and including national polls. The beautiful thing about the meeting is that they really didn't ask me to change the tone. I think they want to see victory."
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- As one of us(!) writes, Donald Trump suggested that Black Lives Matter activists pressured African-American pastors into backing off what the Trump campaign said would be a large group endorsement.
- Leigh Ann Caldwell sums up what candidates are saying about the issue of climate change as President Barack Obama works to reach a global deal on the issue in Paris.
- NBC’s Alex Jaffe has a good look at Marco Rubio’s attempts to clarify his positions on social issues as he seeks to win conservative support in Iowa.
- ICYMI: Ted Cruz suggested that “vicious rhetoric on the left” is partly to blame for the Planned Parenthood shooting last week, notes Vaughn Hillyard.
- Bernie Sanders is undergoing a hernia procedure today.
FOR THE RECORD…
“At least I was once winning.”
- Once 2012 GOP frontrunner Herman Cain slamming Jeb Bush’s use of his failed candidacy as evidence Donald Trump will falter in the polls.
TOMORROW’S SKED
MSNBC’s Morning Joe holds a town hall with Chris Christie in New Hampshire. The New Jersey governor then campaigns in the Granite State. Donald Trump holds a rally in New Hampshire in the evening.
Jeb Bush is in Iowa.
Marco Rubio attends a rally in Charleston, South Carolina and then heads to Alabama.
Hillary Clinton is in Montgomery, Alabama.
