Consistent with her husband: “I don’t control my fans”
From: Roberts, Kelly
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 3:10 PM
To: Sarge, Matthew; Comm_D
Subject: RE: DuJour Interview with Melania Trump
Ummm. Julia Ioffe got anti-Semitic death threats and Melania Trump’s response is “she provoked them.”
A GQ reporter who dug into her family’s past—turning up the existence of a secret 50-year-old half-brother in her native Slovenia whom her father has never acknowledged—was subjected to anti-Semitic threats online. Of the GQ article, Melania says: “I have thick skin. It doesn’t bother me if they write about me because I know who I am. But what right does the reporter have to go and dig in court in Slovenia in 1960 about my parents? They’re private citizens. If they go after me, it’s different. But to do that, it’s a little bit nasty, it’s a little bit mean.” So if people put a swastika on my face once this article comes out, will she denounce them?
“I don’t control my fans,” Melania says, “but I don’t agree with what they’re doing. I understand what you mean, but there are people out there who maybe went too far. She provoked them.”
From: Sarge, Matthew
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 2:54 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: DuJour Interview with Melania Trump
“Unbelievable,” she says of Matthews’ comment. “That’s what I’m saying! I’m not only a beauty, I’m smart. I have brains. I’m intelligent.” She exhales, adding: “I would just say, Men will be men.”
DuJour: Lady and the Trump
Melania Trump might speak softly, but in this rare, candid interview, she comes through loud and clear
Written by Mickey Rapkin
Donald and Melania Trump live in a 30,000-square-foot triplex at the top of his namesake tower on Fifth Avenue, and as the race toward the presidency gets shorter and more frenzied, the ratings-hungry cable news networks have started coming to them. On May 4, the day after Ted Cruz dropped out of the race, Donald, 69, appeared live on Today, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, Fox & Friends and The Situation Room—all without leaving Trump Tower. On the morning I visit, Secret Service agents are stationed in the lobby, and everyone entering the building—even those going to the Starbucks—must pass a security checkpoint first. One week earlier, a letter containing a suspicious powder had been delivered to Donald’s office, and while the powder was later deemed non-toxic, the mood is understandably tense.
Once given the all clear, I take the elevator to the 25th floor, where a longtime Trump employee escorts me to a second elevator that rockets us to the 66th floor, where a Secret Service agent awaits. It’s on that floor that finally, behind a hulking gold door, the woman I’m here to meet appears, a picture of repose. Melania Trump, 46, is dressed in a black Chanel coat, slim black pants by The Row and Louboutin heels. A 25-carat diamond ring, an anniversary present from her husband, weighs down one hand. Her much-discussed squint—like a fox caught in headlights—is less prominent in person; otherwise she looks just as you’d imagine. Camera-ready, not a hair out of place. Fiji and Pellegrino water on the coffee table. “Come sit,” she purrs.
This woman is a few months, and swing states, away from becoming our next first lady, but very little is known about her. Magazine profiles inevitably trot out the same recycled anecdotes. For example, when she and Donald met for the first time—at a party in 1998—Melania famously refused to give out her phone number. A year later Donald flirted with running for president, and a reporter asked Melania what kind of first lady she’d be. Without giving it much thought she announced: “I would be very traditional, like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy.”
The apartment, which has been likened to a floating Versailles, is as opulent as advertised. There are 18-foot ceilings in the dining room and a heavy marble table; at the end of the room stands a kiddie-size Mercedes-Benz, which 10-year-old Barron Trump has long-since outgrown. And while the apartment might be gaudy, one barely notices the marble fountain in the corner, what with the infinity views of Central Park smacking him in the face. I hear a lone vacuum cleaner whooshing somewhere upstairs, but there’s no evidence of another soul here otherwise. We sit down on a cream-colored couch, and I mention the chaos in the lobby below, wondering aloud: Why would anyone come to a Starbucks that requires a security pat-down?
“I think people find it exciting,” Melania says in her hypnotic, heavily-accented English. “To be in the building and to go through that.”
Presumably Melania can avoid that agitation and have her morning Starbucks order sent up directly, right? “I don’t drink Starbucks,” she says. You don’t drink coffee? I ask. “I drink coffee, but I don’t drink Starbucks. My son likes it, the what do you call it? The Frappuccino? He likes that.”
I don’t get the impression that Melania’s throwing shade at Americans who subsist on 10,000-calorie coffee drinks. This is more like something Gwyneth Paltrow would say on Goop and we’d all roll our eyes but secretly love it. Except this woman’s husband is running for president, and in today’s media environment, any off-script thought immediately becomes a scandal. Like when I ask what Bill and Hillary Clinton got the Trumps for a wedding present in 2005, and Melania says innocently: “I don’t think they sent a gift.”Really? She nods. “Some people didn’t send gifts.”
Is she intentionally fanning the flames? This is the kind of click bait that becomes international chatter, and would she even remember who sent a wedding gift 10 years ago? Or would the faux pas be so weird that she couldn’t forget? While we’re on the topic, what do you even get the person who has everything?
Of the election, she says, “They go after him, so he goes after them. It’s nothing personal. It’s all business. Everybody wants to win. He thinks he’s the one. She thinks she’s the one.”
We’ve been talking for less than 10 minutes when Melania broaches the idea that she’s been misrepresented in the media—her silences interpreted as a lack of intelligence, her marriage as some kind of Faustian bargain. If Donald is a winner, as he often repeats in speeches, she—finally—would like you to know that she is, too. “I had a successful modeling career,” she says, and it should be noted, her QVC line of sparkly jewelry sold out in 45 minutes.
In what ways have you been misrepresented, I ask. “That I’m shy,” she says. “I’m not shy. I know what I want, and I’m selective.” No shame there. It’s just that, in terms of political narratives, this one is a little harder to sell. If Michelle Obama is everyone’s favorite Cool Mom—you know, the one with the toned arms and the perfect J.Crew outfit—Melania is seen as the Queen Bee, the helicopter mom with her own helicopter. If she’s defensive about her qualifications, perhaps she has a right to be, considering she’s getting catcalled on a national stage. Earlier that day, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews was caught ogling her walk, accidentally muttering on-air: “My God, is that good. I could watch that runway show.”
“Unbelievable,” she says of Matthews’ comment. “That’s what I’m saying! I’m not only a beauty, I’m smart. I have brains. I’m intelligent.” She exhales, adding: “I would just say, Men will be men.”
She uses that same phrase—“Men will be men”—when asked about Donald’s old appearances on Howard Stern’s show, which recently resurfaced online. Stern once asked if Donald would stay with Melania if she suffered a horrific car accident, and he replied: “How do the breasts look?” A similar vibe was conveyed when Trump came out on stage at a town-hall meeting at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 and shouted, “Where’s my supermodel?”
That was entertainment. This is politics (which is maybe also now entertainment but whatever). There’s a lot I really want to ask Melania, but most of all, I want to know: Does she really want this? A year ago she was a private citizen, hocking her wares on QVC or taking her son, Barron, to Paris for the summer. But here we are. And there she is. Who is this woman who might share a bed with our next president? Does she have his ear? If so, what is she saying to him?
“I want to make clear,” she tells me, “in 1999, when they asked what kind of first lady I would be, it was out there that I’d be traditional, a Jackie Kennedy or Betty Ford. But that was 1999. A lot has changed.”
The idea of a 24-hour news cycle feels quaint at this point. I’m meeting Melania on Thursday, May 5, and here’s a small sampling of the morning’s breaking news. The FBI revealed it was interviewing Hillary Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, as part of an ongoing probe into the security of Clinton’s private e-mail server. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, tweeted a photo of himself eating a taco bowl in honor of Cinco de Mayo, captioning the photo: “I love Hispanics!” Paul Ryan revealed he’s “just not ready” to support Trump, who then issued his own statement saying: “I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda.” A video of President Obama and Michelle dancing with R2-D2 from Star Wars went viral. And to think: We’re only 187 days away from the election.
As Melania explains, she always knew this day would come: “When we were dating in 1999, he was thinking about running with the Reform Party.” The couple briefly broke up in 2000, with the Daily News suggesting then that his focus on the campaign was behind the split. She clarifies: “That was part of it. We were apart for a few months, not long. We got back together. He was always thinking about it. But he loved what he did, he had his business. He was not saying ‘Now is the time.’ He always had that in him.” Things changed in 2014, she says. “He was more into the country, what was wrong with it. Every morning was Fox & Friends.”
She continues: “To be married to my husband, to someone successful as he is, he needs somebody who will tell him the truth. Somebody smart, you know. It’s not just like I’m there and I’m just doing things for him. People say I’m not on the campaign, [but] I’m very involved from home.” She may DVR Empire (which she calls “interesting, something for fun”), but nightly she’s glued to CNN or Fox News. “I like to know exactly what’s going on,” she says. “I give a lot of advice to my husband and tell him how it is and how I see it. I’m not backing off. I tell him the truth.” She also reveals that she’s the one in the family who has his ear. “After a speech, the kids are calling me—Ivanka, [his] sons—saying, ‘Call dad and tell him this and that. He’s listening to you.’ They know I would talk to him and put him in the right direction. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn’t. He will decide what he does.”
When was the last time you challenged him? I ask.
“This morning!” she says, letting out a big laugh. Was it about something political? “No, something else,” she says, almost giggling. “I cannot say. It’s too private. He was upset about some stuff, and I said, ‘Hey, wake up! You did it. Now deal with it.’ ”
When Melania appeared on the cover of Vogue in 2005, dressed in the custom Christian Dior gown John Galliano designed for her wedding—the one embroidered with 1,500 crystal rhinestones and pearls, at the time said to be the most expensive wedding gown ever made—the headline read “How to Marry a Billionaire,” five words that essentially dismissed this woman as a gold digger. But perhaps, in 2016, a more accurate retelling of her origin story is justified. Melania Knavs grew up in Slovenia, the former Yugoslavia, then under Communist control. She was born in 1970 in Novo Mesto, and says her childhood was fairly typical. “I spent a lot of time [doing] after-school activities and homework, and I remember every weekend we visited the grandparents,” she says. “When you grow up you don’t think, Oh, I’m growing up under Communism. You understand what I mean? You’re just a kid. You go on the bike, you do gymnastics, you enjoy your friends. My parents provided a great solid life for our family. I have beautiful memories of traveling.” At 16, her parents took her and her sister to their first concert: Elton John live in Zagreb, Croatia.
But even then Melania imagined a different future for herself. Of Slovenia, she says, “I felt it was kind of too small for me.” Her mother was a pattern maker and designer for the state-owned textile factory and, on trips to Paris, she’d pick up fashion magazines for her daughter. Melania would sometimes sketch her own clothing, which her mother then sewed for her. She cites the birth of CNN in 1980 as opening her eyes to life beyond the Iron Curtain.
At 22, Melania entered Jana magazine’s Look of the Year contest, which felt like a ticket to a new adventure, and while she didn’t win, a seed was planted. She signed with a modeling agency and dropped out of the University of Ljubljana after two years. Her father managed dealerships for the state-owned car company (and later opened his own operation). When asked if he was upset by her leaving school, she says: “No, it was not a big deal. It is what I want to do. It’s my passion. And I always felt like, don’t lose the momentum with what you want to do. Go for it. You don’t want to turn back and say, ‘Oh! Why didn’t I do that?’ ”
Melania (who changed her surname to Knauss because it was easier to pronounce) was by all accounts studious. She never drank, she never smoked. The modeling industry is a notorious minefield for young women. When asked if she’d ever been propositioned by a photographer or agent, she doesn’t hesitate, saying, “Yes. You need to be a strong person. For me, it was no way. The agents, they invite you, ‘Oh, let’s go for a weekend here or there.’ Some girls go for it. I knew exactly how the industry worked. I never went into that. I know when they go to parties, there are drugs, there’s alcohol. It doesn’t bring you anywhere. I always stayed true to myself.”
When independence came to Slovenia, Melania was already away working in Milan and Paris—mostly print modeling—before an agent from Metropolitan brought her to New York and installed her at the Zeckendorf Towers on Union Square, where the 26-year-old shared an apartment with a photographer. At night she sometimes hung out at Cipriani Downtown with a Euro crowd, but she wasn’t dancing on tables. She went on dates, she says, “but nothing else. It was known that I was very tough. Yes, dating, but notdating. Maybe a movie or dinner. I was busy. After a long day, the last thing I wanted to do is get ready and go out at 10 at night and then be up again at six in the morning. I don’t want to feel exhausted. I came here to work. I didn’t come here for hanging out. I came here for my career.”
The work she found was commercial—a job for Bergdorf Goodman, some lingerie and swimwear catalogs. Soon she rented her own apartment, a small one-bedroom that felt like a declaration of independence. “The rent was $2,500 a month,” she says. “I picked it out, everything on my own. I still remember, I went to shop for a TV and an air conditioner. I bought furniture.” Considering the Louis XIV aesthetic of her Trump Tower residence, I wonder what her taste was like in her twenties. Where did she shop for furniture? She thinks about this for a second before she finally remembers the name of the store. “I went to Crate & Barrel,” she says. “Does that still exist or no?”
Melania met Donald at the Kit Kat Club in 1998, at a fashion week party thrown by Paolo Zampolli, the founder of ID Models. She was friendly with Zampolli’s girlfriend, who invited her out that night, telling her they’d pick her up in the car on the way. Melania had no premonition that she’d meet her husband that night. In fact, Donald had arrived with another woman—and tried to get Melania’s phone number while his date was in the bathroom.
“I knew who he was,” Melania says, “but I didn’t know about his life, about what was going on. I had my life. I didn’t care about his. I wasn’t starstruck.” But she called him a few days later. Soon they had their first date, meeting mutual friends at Moomba—a chic late-’90s spot where young socialites did karaoke on Monday nights. “I’d never been before, and Donald hadn’t been either,” Melania says. “We had a great connection, great chemistry.” A few days later he took her to his home in Westchester, a 230-acre property dubbed Seven Springs, and soon Melania was shopping for furniture at Sotheby’s. But she takes pains to point out: “When I moved here with my husband, we weren’t married yet—so I kept my apartment.”
Upon marrying Donald, the world opened up to her in ways she never dreamed. “I met Michael Jackson,” smiling at an obviously happy memory. “It was here in New York in the Pierre Hotel. He called us, so we went over and we had dinner. Just after dinner, we were chatting on the sofa and my husband went into another room to see some art somebody wanted to show him.
And Michael said to me, ‘Hey, when Trump comes back, let’s start kissing so he will be jealous!’ ” They didn’t kiss, she says, “No, no, no. But we were laughing so hard.”
Despite her own substantial fame, Melania is rarely photographed by paparazzi. That’s by design, she explains. “I have a life. I go out every day. I bring my son to school. I pick him up. I’m not an attention seeker. I’m not the one who calls paparazzi, ‘I have lunch with the girlfriends, and I’m going to this restaurant.’ ” I ask her what those after-school pick-ups are like; I can imagine her, like many of my friends with young kids, being forced to make awkward small talk with the other moms and nannies as they wait outside for the kids. “I get along,” she says, sincerely. “[With] the moms at the school pick-up, it’s ‘Hello, how are you?’ But it’s not friends friends. I like quality over quantity.”
Indeed, she isn’t the type to spend every night on the town. She is active in several charities—the American Red Cross and the Boys’ Club of New York—but she prefers time with her son to red carpet events, telling me about Saturdays spent on the sidelines of his baseball games in Central Park. “I was there taking pictures and videos, quietly so he didn’t see me. I was never screaming or cheering. I know my son and he would say, ‘Stop it.’ ” She is up at five forty-five most weekday mornings to have some time to herself before she wakes Barron, whom she once described as a mini-Donald—at 7 years old, he preferred a suit-and-tie to sweats, though he’s long since outgrown that phase. “The third floor is Barron’s,” she says. “It’s much easier that way. For him as well. He has friends over, he has his toys. He has a play date tomorrow and is bringing two friends over. They come here, they go upstairs and they play. They kick a ball, they play with iPads. I don’t allow Xbox before homework is done.”
Marrying a celebrity, Melania says, requires strength. “When you walk in a room, everybody knows the person. Sometimes people see you with that man and maybe they know more about the man, and they judge you or see you differently. You need to know who you are and you need to be very secure. You need to stand up for yourself. You need to have your own yes and no.” When Donald is on the road campaigning, they talk several times a day, but there is no evening routine. “We don’t Skype,” she says. “We don’t text. He’s only a phone person. No e-mails and no texts.”
As she repeats more than once, she is fiercely independent. Before Donald announced his candidacy, “I said to him, ‘You really need to think, because our family life will change.’ The three of us will change. I know what it takes, traveling and all that stuff. I told him if he really wanted to do that I would support him 100 percent. But I would also be a mom first, I would be with our son, I would be home. Our son needs parents, and I don’t want somebody other than me taking care of him. We made that decision. It’s a big decision [to run], and a selfless decision. To go into that is very selfless because of what we’re going through.”
She deflects a question about whether she’d move to the White House should Donald be elected—“It’s tradition,” she offers, “but we are not there yet, so for me it’s a little too early to talk about it”—but, with this election, Melania is keenly aware of what’s at stake for her family. What she’ll miss, it seems, are the simple moments, like when Donald and Barron return home from a father-son dinner. “When they come home, Barron tells me how it was, and all three of us will be together in the living room, watching TV and talking about it. It’s very cozy. The best is when we would go—not anymore—but we’d have unforgettable moments when Donald was driving and Barron would sit in front. I’d be in the back. And the three of us going somewhere with nobody around.”
While Melania often declines to discuss her politics publicly, it’s clear she and Donald are united on the talking points—none more so than on the topic of immigration. Donald has called for an immediate deportation of approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. He has also proposed a ban on all Muslims entering this country. (London just elected its first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, who I guess should visit New York soon if he’d like to see Hamilton?) Melania came to the United States on what’s called an H1-B visa, which generally requires a bachelor’s degree or higher. (According to a 2013 Bloomberg account, due to some congressional technicality, foreign-born fashion models are almost twice as likely to receive H1-B visas than computer programmers.) Melania rightfully points out that she came here legally, flying home to Slovenia to have her passport stamped whenever required. She got her green card in 2001 and became a citizen five years later. But as she echoes her husband’s proposed policies, I wonder if she has sympathy for someone who, like her, wanted to come to the United States for a better life, but couldn’t get an H1-B visa or couldn’t afford an immigration lawyer?
“The law needs to be changed to help those kind of people,” she says. “But they can’t just sneak in and be here. That’s what I’m saying. I do have sympathy. I’m a very compassionate person. But don’t sneak in and stay here without papers. We need to follow the law. If the law needs to be different, we need to do that.” The Muslim ban—which Donald had re-affirmed his support of that very morning—led Michael Bloomberg to call him a demagogue. When I mention that the comedian Louis C.K. flat out compared Trump to Hitler, Melania stares blankly back at me.
Do you know who Louis C.K. is, I ask.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. But she continues: “We know the truth. He’s not Hitler. He wants to help America. He wants to unite people. They think he doesn’t but he does. Even with the Muslims, it’s temporary.” She concedes: “Maybe he needs to say it in a softer way. He doesn’t go after religions. He feels like we need to know who’s coming to this country. If not, we don’t have a country. That’s how he feels. We see how he is, and he wants to unite the country and bring people together and bring jobs back.”
I can’t help but wonder what kind of hate speech her supporters might unleash on me for asking a few pointed questions. A GQ reporter who dug into her family’s past—turning up the existence of a secret 50-year-old half-brother in her native Slovenia whom her father has never acknowledged—was subjected to anti-Semitic threats online. Of the GQ article, Melania says: “I have thick skin. It doesn’t bother me if they write about me because I know who I am. But what right does the reporter have to go and dig in court in Slovenia in 1960 about my parents? They’re private citizens. If they go after me, it’s different. But to do that, it’s a little bit nasty, it’s a little bit mean.” So if people put a swastika on my face once this article comes out, will she denounce them?
“I don’t control my fans,” Melania says, “but I don’t agree with what they’re doing. I understand what you mean, but there are people out there who maybe went too far. She provoked them.”
I don’t want to give her ideas, but Donald knows good television when he sees it. Why not invite Melania’s half-brother on TV and have a teary reunion special?
“I never met him,” she says. “He’s had his own life. I wish him all the best.”
Some have taken Melania’s absence on the campaign to mean that she’s somehow aloof, something her friends dispute. “There’s no such thing as ‘along for the ride,’ ” says Steve Hilbert, the CEO of Sterling Investors Life Insurance and a longtime friend of the Trumps. “She recognized this country needs leadership.”
And she is not nostalgic for the past. Donald has visited Slovenia exactly once according to The New Yorker—a three-hour dinner on the way home from London. Melania’s parents, however, have their own apartment in Trump Tower and spend much of their time in New York, which gives Melania peace of mind when she has to be away from Barron.
Melania traveled to Iowa with Donald earlier this year. Where did you stay?Who did you talk to? “It was kind of a fun experience,” she says. “We stayed in a hotel. It was clean. It was, I think, a Holiday Inn. You do it in a fun way. My husband knows me and how I am. I like beautiful stuff. I live the life. It’s funny when we go and travel. They don’t have five-star hotels there, but you go with it. It was a great experience in Iowa, because we went to an Evangelical church on Sunday. The church we got married in is very different. In Iowa there was a band, there was singing. It was very different, but it was a great experience. Being on the campaign trail and traveling around the country is hard work.”
Whether she wanted any of this, who knows. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff was working at Vogue when she met Melania more than a decade ago. She is now president and CEO of her own consulting agency, SWW Creative, and the two have become close friends, having lunch together once a month and even traveling to the Trumps’ Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. She calls to put her friend in context, saying, “Don’t underestimate her just because she is quiet and reserved. There is virtue in the fact that she appears to be quiet and isn’t on the front lines constantly saying, Hear me, see me. But she’s very confident in her viewpoint. She does not agree with everything that [Donald] says or everything that’s being done, but she believes in the greater good. They are a power couple. They are each other’s teammate.” She adds: “He’s out there. He has so much going on. It isn’t about her yet. She has always said, when and if the time comes, she will step up. She’s a wife and a mother until that day comes.”
Before I leave, Melania offers me a tour of the apartment. She has to head out soon herself, she says: “I am picking up my son and taking him to the dentist.” We’re staring out at the massive skyscrapers coming up along 57th Street, and then we turn to look at Central Park—so lush and green this time of year. It’s one of the most coveted views in the world. “It’s beautiful,” she says. “You kind of get used to it, but still you know, especially now, it’s beautiful.” And with that, she walks me to the hallway, where a Secret Service agent waits in a stairwell designed for the help. Donald’s Secret Service name is reportedly “Mogul.” What will hers be?
“I don’t think about it,” she says. “I take it day by day.”


Geoff just challenged me to a hot dog eating contest.  Game.  On.
On Apr 25, 2016, at 12:14 PM, Wei, Shu-Yen
> wrote:
Oh crap, I’m out then ☹
Although, $1 hotdogs sound kinda ominous
From: Freundlich, Christina
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 12:07 PM
To: Palermo, Rachel; Regional Press
Cc: Kate Houghton; Geoff Burgan; Moore, Colby; Hoffman, Alex
Subject: RE: $1 hotdogs = team bonding
That is Nebraska and West Virginia primary night, so plan accordingly.
From: Palermo, Rachel
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 12:01 PM
To: Regional Press
Cc: Kate Houghton; Geoff Burgan; Moore, Colby; Hoffman, Alex
Subject: $1 hotdogs = team bonding
Kate and I decided this is happening so mark your calendars!!!
--
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041


Garret Bonosky
Deputy Director, Office of the Chair
Democratic National Committee


Won't commit to endorsing Trump
On May 16, 2016, at 9:14 AM, Sarge, Matthew
> wrote:
Kasich exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper tonight
Per CNN teaser


Great headline
Donald Trump Picks Man He Accused Of A Federal Crime To Lead His Transition Team
Huffington Post - Igor Bobic
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has tapped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead his White House transition team.
"Governor Christie is an extremely knowledgeable and loyal person with the tools and resources to put together an unparalleled transition team, one that will be prepared to take over the White House when we win in November," Trump said in a statement on Monday.
Christie, himself a former GOP candidate for the presidency, was an early endorser of the brash Manhattan businessman. The governor has been a visible Trump surrogate on the campaign trail, going on the attack against Trump's remaining rivals (before they too bowed out) and against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. There has been speculation that Christie might be tapped for vice president or attorney general in a Trump administration.
This week, Trump is holding an event in New Jersey to help pay off Christie's campaign debt, charging attendees $200 per ticket.
But things weren't always so rosy between the two tough-talking men. In the campaign's early stages, Christie went after Trump for being a "carnival barker" and "entertainer-in-chief." Mere hours after Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, Christie, who has spoken passionately about combating anti-Muslim bigotry, labeled it a "ridiculous" proposal.
Trump reciprocated by attacking Christie over one of the most controversial episodes in his tenure as governor - the George Washington Bridge scandal.
"He knew about it," Trump said of Christie at a rally in December. "He totally knew about it."
Trump didn't confine himself, as some of his rivals did, to merely criticizing Christie's staffing decisions. He alleged that the governor knew of the decision to shutter lanes on the bridge as a form of political retribution against a local mayor - which would be a federal crime. Christie has repeatedly denied that he knew of other officials' shenanigans.
But that's all apparently water under the bridge now. Christie is leading Trump's transition team - a serious position responsible for helping select White House aides, Cabinet members and other top officials in the event of a Trump victory in November.
Never mind that Christie's previous staffing decisions led to the bridge scandal. The people he proposes for government posts will likely be tasked with carrying out the Muslim ban he once railed against.


Outgoing call to +1 (202) 841-1091 (Other)
Duration: 17 Seconds
+1 (202) 841-1091
Other:  +1 (202) 841-1091
Microsoft Lync


This should be helpful

Where Republicans Stand on Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet
Who has jumped on the bandwagon? Who's sticking with #NeverTrump? And who hasn't made up their mind yet? A continually updated inventory
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Scott Audette / Reuters
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*    DAVID A. GRAHAM
*     10:42 AM ET
*     2016 ELECTION
How do you solve a problem like The Donald? For Republicans and conservatives, the time for hoping Trump would simply burn himself out, collapse, and go away is over. With the exits of Ted Cruz and John Kasich, the entertainer is now the presumptive GOP nominee.
That poses a dilemma for the Republican official or conservative opinionmaker who doesn't like Trump, disagrees with his policies, and/or thinks he will harm GOP and the conservative movement. Swallow hard and back Trump? Try to coalesce around a third-party candidate? Sit out the election and risk allowing Hillary Clinton to win the presidency, or even back her rather than risk letting Trump win?
As the chaotic and failed attempts to stop Trump over the 10 months have shown, there's no obviously right choice. But which choice are people making? Here's a list of some major figures and where they stand on Trump-right now. We'll keep it updated as other important people take stances, or as these ones change their views about Trump.
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Party Elders
[ Reed/ Reuters
George W. Bush: ABSTAIN
The former president "does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign," an aide told the Texas Tribune
. (May 4, 2016)
George H.W. Bush: ABSTAIN
"At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics. He came out of retirement to do a few things for Jeb, but those were the exceptions that proved the rule," an aide told the Texas Tribune
. (May 4, 2016)
Mitt Romney: NAY
The party's 2012 nominee-and one of Trump's staunchest critics during the primary-told
The Washington Post
he would skip the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and said
at a D.C. dinner that he won't be supporting Trump. (May 5, 2016)
Bob Dole: UNDECIDED
The former Senate majority leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee will be the only living GOP nominee to attend the RNC
. He hasn't committed to voting for Trump
but said in January
that Trump would be preferable to Cruz. (May 5, 2016)
John Boehner: YEA
The former speaker, who says he and Trump are "texting buddies," told an audience at Stanford University
that he'd back Trump in the general election. (April 28, 2016)
Trent Lott: YEA
The former Senate majority leader told
The Clarion-Ledger
that he will back Trump, despite some reservations. (May 4, 2016)
Tom DeLay: UNDECIDED
The former House majority leader hasn't spoken out since Trump's ascension, but was highly critical of him during the primary: "We have got to stop Trump. Whatever it takes without cheating or violating the rules of the Republican primaries," he told Newsmax
.
Dick Cheney: UNDECIDED
The former vice president hasn't spoken out since Trump's ascension, but he blasted him during the primary over his stance on 9/11, and said he "sounds like a liberal Democrat
."
Newt Gingrich: YEA
The former speaker of the House did not formally endorse Trump during the primary, but he has repeatedly praised the mogul and his vision
, and is said to be a contender for a position in a Trump administration.
Jeb Bush: UNDECIDED
The former Florida governor and presidential candidate came to detest Trump during the campaign. Bush endorsed Ted Cruz before his exit. He hasn't said clearly whether he'll back Trump now, but said in April
that he would not attend the Republican National Convention.
Reince Priebus: YEA
As chair of the Republican National Committee, Priebus doesn't really have a choice, though that doesn't mean he won't pour Baileys in his cereal over it
. (May 4, 2016)
Priebus said on May 6
that Trump needs to change his tone.
Rick Perry: YEA
The former Texas governor and presidential candidate-who was one of the first to blast Trump
-told CNN that he backs Trump
. (5/5/16)
________________________________
Representatives
[ Ernst / Reuters
Paul Ryan: UNDECIDED
The House speaker has said in the past he intended to support the Republican nominee, but he now says he's not prepared to back Trump-yet. "To be perfectly candid with you, I'm just not ready to that at this point," he told CNN's Jake Tapper. "I'm not there. I hope to, and I want to." He said the party needs "a standard-bearer that bears our standards." (May 5, 2016)
________________________________
Senators
[ Gripas / Reuters
Mitch McConnell: YEA
The Senate majority leader issued a statement
tepidly backing Trump. "I have committed to supporting the nominee chosen by Republican voters, and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee is now on the verge of clinching that nomination," he said. (May 4, 2016)
Ted Cruz: UNDECIDED
In dropping out of the Republican race after losing to Trump, the Texas senator did not make any indication whether he was willing to back his rival. (May 3, 2016)
Jeff Sessions: YEA
The Alabama senator was Trump's first endorser from the Senate, and he has been a high-profile backer and adviser to Trump's campaign.
Susan Collins: UNDECIDED
The Maine senator and moderate said, "I have always supported the Republican nominee for president, and I suspect I would do so this year, but I do want see what Donald Trump does from here on out." To win her vote, "He's going to have stop with gratuitous personal insults," she said, amusingly
. (May 4, 2016)
John McCain: YEA
The Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, who is in a tight reelection battle, says publicly that he'll back the nominee. In a private recordingobtained by Politico
, however, he frets that Trump endangers his reelection effort, while his former top aide Mark Salter is backing Clinton
. (May 5, 2016)
Kelly Ayotte: YEA
The New Hampshire senator, who is also in a tight reelection battle, says she plans to "support" but not "endorse"
Trump, whatever that means. (May 5, 2016)
Rand Paul: YEA
The Kentucky senator and former presidential candidate says he will support Trump
. (His father, ex-congressman and presidential contender Ron Paul, says he will not.
) (May 4, 2016)
Lindsey Graham: NAY
The South Carolina senator and former presidential candidate was one of Trump's most prominent critics during the primary, even endorsing Cruz even though he'd previously likened the choice between him and Trump to a choice between poisoning and being shot. The day Trump won Indiana, Graham tweeted:
Ben Sasse: NAY
The Nebraska freshman senator was another anti-Trump ringleader, and has been suggested as a third-party candidate. In a long Facebook post
, he explained why he's still not backing Trump. (May 4, 2016)
Marco Rubio: YEA
The Florida senator and former presidential candidate has not spoken about the race since Trump became the presumptive nominee, but in late April he said that he'd support Trump in order to beat Hillary Clinton
. (April 21, 2016)
Rob Portman: YEA
The Ohio senator, who's locked in a tough reelection fight, has previously said
he'd back the Republican nominee. Most recently, he said
that having Trump on the ticket would be positive for his own hopes. (May 5, 2016)
Richard Burr: YEA
The North Carolinian, who also faces a tough reelection, supports Trump. (May 4, 2016)
Roy Blunt: YEA
The Missourian, who is up for reelection, says he will support the nominee
. (May, 5, 2016)
Ron Johnson: YEA
The Wisconsin senator, who is battling predecessor Russ Feingold, is one of the most precarious Republicans this year. He tepidly backed Trump. "As Ron has repeatedly said for months, he intends to support the Republican nominee, but he's focused on the concerns of Wisconsinites-not national political winds," a spokesman told Roll Call
. (May 5, 2016)
Pat Toomey: YEA
The Pennsylvania senator, another endangered incumbent, said
: "It certainly looks like Donald Trump is on his way to the nomination .... Donald Trump was not my first choice. He wasn't my second choice or third or fourth choice. I have lots have differences with Donald Trump and lots of problems with him but I am absolutely in the 'never Hillary Clinton' camp." (May 4, 2016)
Mark Kirk: YEA
The Illinois senator, one of this year's most endangered incumbents, has previously said he'd back Trump if nominated
.
________________________________
Governors
[ Keane / Reuters
Chris Christie: YEA
The New Jersey governor and former presidential candidate was Trump's first major establishment endorser, and has been a staunch ally.
Paul LePage: YEA
Maine's sometimes-racist governor had backed Christie, but he quickly endorsed
Trump after Christie did.
John Kasich: UNDECIDED
The Ohio governor and final Republican challenger to leave the race has not said whether he'll back Trump. In his comments leaving the race, Kasich pointedly did not mention Trump
or indicate his leaning. (May 4, 2016)
Nikki Haley: YEA
The governor of South Carolina tangled with Trump ahead of that state's primary, and was elegantly withering
toward him at the time. But she says she will back him. "I have great respect for the will of the people, and as I have always said, I will support the Republican nominee for president," she said
. (May 4, 2016)
Brian Sandoval: YEA
The Nevada governor, a moderate conservative, was no fan of Trump but will back him. "I plan to vote for the presumptive nominee although it is no secret that we do not agree on every issue. Elections are about making choices and the Democratic nominee is simply not an option," he wrote on Facebook
. (May 5, 2016)
Pete Ricketts: YEA
The Nebraska governor will back Trump
. That's a bit of a surprise because Ricketts' father, mother, and brother were among the leading bankrollers of anti-Trump initiatives. Trump threatened
them in February, tweeting, "They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!" (May 5, 2016)
Mike Pence: YEA
The Indiana governor and social conservative cautiously endorsed Cruz ahead of the Hoosier State primary, but he's now on the Trump train. "I'm fully supportive of our presumptive nominee, and I do think Donald Trump will do well in the State of Indiana," he said
. (May 6, 2016)
________________________________
Pundits and Opinionmakers
[ Walter / Reuters
Bill Kristol: SOFT NAY
The editor of The Weekly Standard threw his lot in with the #NeverTrump crowd with gusto, and he's been a leading advocate for a third-party alternative. But these days, he seems a bit confused
about what exactly the word "never" means: "I mean, I guess never say never. On the one hand, I'll say #NeverTrump, and on the other hand, I'll say never say never. I'll leave it ambiguous." (May 2, 2016)
Ross Douthat: APPARENT NAY
After spending the primary alternately criticizing Trump and forecasting his doom
, the New York Times columnist seems especially dyspeptic and despairing. (May 5, 2016)
Erick Erickson: NAY
The radio host, editor of The Resurgent, and former RedState editor writes
: "Hillary Clinton is unfit for the Presidency, but so is Donald Trump. Some Republicans may decide it is time to be a team player, but I will put my country before my party and decline to help the voters in this country commit national suicide." (May 4, 2016)
Leon Wolf: NAY
Wolf, the editor of RedState, has been a prominent Trump critic. He says he's leaning toward voting for a Libertarian candidate. "I genuinely believe that Hillary Clinton would be a better President than Trump, and it's not close," he wrote
. "That said, Hillary would also be a terrible President, there's no doubt about that." He also called on Senate Republicans
to confirm Merrick Garland, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, lest Trump do the choosing instead. (May 4, 2016)
Ann Coulter: YEA
Coulter has been a fanatical backer of Trump for months.
George Will: NAY
The dean of conservative columnists detests Trump, and has called for Republicans to defeat him if he is their nominee
: "Were he to be nominated, conservatives would have two tasks. One would be to help him lose 50 states-condign punishment for his comprehensive disdain for conservative essentials, including the manners and grace that should lubricate the nation's civic life." (April 29, 2016)
Charles Krauthammer: SOFT NAY
The leading writer has been very critical of Trump, but in an interview with Bill O'Reilly
, he left the door ajar to change his mind. "Let me just say from what I've seen up until now, heard from Trump and watched him, I don't think I'd be capable of voting for Donald Trump," he said. "Question is, what do I do? I don't know yet." (May 3, 2016)
Bill O'Reilly: APPARENT YEA
Without officially stating his support, the Fox News personality has repeatedly
defended Trump
. (May 5, 2016)
Sean Hannity: YEA
Hannity has been one of Trump's two most reliable cheerleaders in the media
.
Matt Drudge: YEA
The publisher of the Drudge Report has been, along with Hannity, Trump's best friend in the press
.
Sarah Palin: YEA
The former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate endorsed Trump with a Dadaist address to Iowans in January
, and she's stumped for him since.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: SOFT YEA
The editors of the nation's most powerful conservative editorial board are not fans of Trump's, but they are resigned. "Mr. Trump wasn't our first choice, or even the 15th, but the reality is that more GOP voters preferred him to the alternatives," they wrote
. "Yet GOP voters made the ultimate decision, and that deserves some respect unless we're going to give up on democracy." The board also criticized
the move for a thirty-party candidate, irking Bill Kristol
.
Joe Scarborough: SOFT YEA
The MSNBC host and token network conservative has been among the friendliest voices in the media toward Trump. Now he says he's not sure whether he can vote for Trump
, citing Trump sticking to outlandish promises like a ban on Muslim immigration that he made during the primary. (May 5, 2016)
Rush Limbaugh: YEA
The leading right-wing talk-show host has been a booster of Trump all along-to the agitation
of Trump-opposing conservatives-despite occasionally criticizing him. After Trump's Indiana win, Limbaugh predicted
: "My instinctive feeling right now is that Trump is gonna win, beat Hillary badly, that it could be landslide proportions." (May 4, 2016)
Glenn Beck: NAY
Beck, the talker who was a Cruz backer, has remained steadfastly opposed to Trump since he became the presumptive nominee. He says Trump cannot win. "I don't want my children to look at that man and say, 'Yeah, he's my President.' I won't have that. I will not endorse it, I will not tolerate it," he said
. (May 4, 2016)
Rupert Murdoch: YEA
The hugely influential conservative mogul-owner of The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and the New York Post-suggested in March that the Republican Party coalesce around Trump:
The coverage of Trump late in the primary led Ted Cruz to lash out
and accuse Murdoch & Co. of aiding Trump.
________________________________
Donors
[ Siu / Reuters
Sheldon Adelson: YEA
The Vegas-based megadonor, and major advocate for Israel, may have been perturbed by Trump's statements about the Jewish state during the campaign, but he told The New York Times he's supporting him
. "Yes, I'm a Republican, he's a Republican," he said. "He's our nominee. Whoever the nominee would turn out to be, any one of the 17-he was one of the 17. He won fair and square." (May 5, 2016)
Peter Singer: NAY
The major Republican donor, who backed Marco Rubio and contributed to anti-Trump efforts, will not back Trump, NBC News reported
. Bloomberg reported
he'll stay out of the presidential race. (May 5, 2016)
Joe and Marlene Ricketts: UNDECIDED
The billionaire couple, who own the Chicago Cubs, spent at least $5.5 million on anti-Trump efforts during the primary, and Trump at one point threatened
them, tweeting, "They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!" They have not made their stance public
, though their son Pete, the governor of Nebraska, has endorsed Trump.
Charles and David Koch: SOFT NAY
Prior to Trump's becoming the presumptive GOP nominee, Charles Koch said he thought Hillary Clinton might be a better president than Trump, though he made no indication that the famed pair of brothers would back her. They now say they are not backing Trump
, though a spokesman did not rule it out entirely. (May 5, 2016)


I want to get this out quickly - haven't seen many folks writing about it and I don't want Bridge to beat us to the punch.
SL: 2016 is going so badly for the RNC, they put out a second autopsy over the weekend. Sad!
Body: We're not joking. Here it is
.
You may have missed it, seeing as the RNC only publicized their second autopsy in a tweet
from their Communications Director on a Saturday afternoon. No release, no email blast, no blog post, no tweets from the RNC's official accounts. Big departure from the fanfare used to roll out their first autopsy
.
We don't have time to go into all of the pathetic white-washing in this document so we've just picked out a few of the best passages for you:
*         Page 5: "The Republican opportunity has also been strengthened and expanded because of the Republican National Committee's Growth and Opportunity Project and the bold changes which grew out of it and which Chairman Priebus has implemented vigorously."
We're curious - which "bold changes" has Chairman Priebus implemented vigorously? And how has the GOP opportunity been "strengthened and expanded?" Because from where we're sitting - the GOP hasn't been this unpopular since the 90s
, their standard-bearer has the highest disapproval rating
of any nominee in history, and newspapers are literally holding funerals
for the GOP on the front page.
*         Page 9: "Words and Ideas Matter. 1. The wrong words cripple or kill."
Donald Trump may think he has "the best words
," but calling Mexicans "rapists," saying you want to "punish" women for abortions, and refusing to rule out using nuclear weapons in Europe sounds like some pretty crippling words and ideas.
*         Page 11: "Training our own candidates to avoid major mistakes becomes a much more important requirement for an effective campaign."
Trump has already said
he's not going to change his approach in the election, so any hopes of the GOP "training" him to avoid major mistakes is laughable. Looks like you just can't teach an old race-bating sexist xenophobe new tricks.
*         Page 11: "That narrative should be reflected in the GOP platform and at the convention and should be reflected in the messaging that is communicated electronically to every candidate and campaign in the country so there can be a unified chorus driving home the winning narrative and the winning choice."
With every Republican nominee from the 21st century agreeing to skip the convention, and given the current personal feud between Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, is there any phrase that is less applicable to the GOP right now than "unified chorus?"
*         Page 13: "Quality Campaigns Still Matter"
Amen. With the Trump operation getting dominated by the Cruz team in state-and-local level delegate fights, Republicans have to be feeling just fantastic about their frontrunner's organization and ground game.
*         Page 17: "Republicans have the opportunity to perform better among single women, younger voters, Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans."
Research - please find the best polling on these groups.
Eric Walker
walkere@dnc.org
732-991-1489
@ericmwalker


Is it open press?
--
[DNC]
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041
From: Anthony Carrillo
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 4:12 PM
To: Palermo, Rachel
Cc: Miranda, Luis
Subject: Re: Information for YDA Hispanic Caucus Call
Greetings Rachel
Yes. Call is on. Is a national call open to all the latino members of our Caucus (50 states and PR). Basically we want to hear from Mr. Miranda his experience on latino outreach, and now from his role in the DNC what advise will he give to the new generation of latino millennials that will be crucial in the 2016 election
Conf Call info: Dial in Number
857-957-1110
Participant Acces Code: 450864
V/r
Anthony Carrillo,Esq.
YDA Hispanic Caucus Chair
787.550.9264
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Mon, May 9, 2016 at 2:20 PM, Palermo, Rachel
> wrote:
Hi Anthony,
Are you still having Luis on your call tomorrow from 9:30-10? And will you please share the dial in and the RSVP list? Also, is the call closed press? Thanks.
Best,
Rachel
--
[DNC]
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041


Trump aides huddle with RNC to plot big-money strategy
The presumptive nominee seeks to exert control over the Republican Party.
By KENNETH P. VOGEL, ELI STOKOLS and ALEX ISENSTADT
05/09/16 05:26 PM EDT
Updated 05/09/16 06:17 PM EDT
Donald Trump's campaign is hashing out the details of an agreement with Republican Party leaders that could allow the presumptive GOP presidential nominee to raise six-figure checks for his presidential campaign, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations tell POLITICO.
The fundraising agreement was among the subjects discussed at a Monday meeting at the Republican National Committee's Washington offices between top RNC officials, including chairman Reince Priebus, and senior Trump aides, including campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, senior adviser Paul Manafort and political director Rick Wiley, according to the sources.
The talks represent the first formal steps towards a merger between the official apparatus of the Republican Party and a candidate who many party leaders scorned until recently, and about whom there remains deep leeriness in some Republican quarters.
Since Trump essentially clinched the GOP nomination with a win in last week's Indiana primary, his staff have moved quickly to put their stamp on the party's general election planning process. Wiley has paid several visits to the party's headquarters on Capitol Hill to assess its efforts, according to the sources. The campaign also has been discussing convention-related issues with the RNC, including credentials and rules, the sources said, adding that the campaign is expected in the coming days to formally deputize a staffer as a liaison to the national party committee.
And deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner this week is set to lead a delegation to the convention site, Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, to receive a briefing from RNC officials involved in planning for the July event, as POLITICO first reported
last week.
Fundraising was not a major focus of Monday's meetings, according to RNC senior strategist Sean Spicer. "It was 3 ½ hours on briefings from all the RNC divisions regarding the capabilities and resources that we have been compiling to win in November," said Spicer, who attended the meeting, and said it included presentations on the party's ground game, and its data, communications and research efforts.
The conversations are also partly an effort to lay the groundwork for a Thursday meeting in Washington between Trump, Priebus and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who announced last Thursday that he is withholding his endorsement until Trump outlines a stronger commitment to conservative principles.
The perception among Trump's inner circle is that Ryan is attempting to leverage his position as chairman of the Cleveland convention into securing a deal that protects the party's control over vendor contracts and how the money raised jointly by the party and Trump's campaign is spent.
"Trump is a tough negotiator, understands the history of what he's entitled to here," another Trump confidant said. "They want the RNC to be autonomous but they'll work with the Trump campaign. They need Trump to help raise the money but they want their vendors to be the ones to spend the money."
But Trump may be more reliant on the national party than past presidential nominees, since his campaign has invested relatively little in field staff, voter data or a fundraising operation.
Some of Trump's infrastructure deficiencies can be traced to his unwillingness to dig deep into his own fortune to finance his campaign, which he has pledged from the beginning to self-finance.
Entering into a joint fundraising agreement and leaning on the party for cash and staff would help fill that void in an election expected to cost each side more than $1 billion. But it also could undermine his rhetoric about being independent from the party's donor class.
Trump has already agreed to appear next week at a $25,000 per-plate fundraiser to benefit the New Jersey Republican Party, just days after the New York billionaire tapped Gov. Chris Christie to run his presidential transition.
The May 19 event is being billed as a "roundtable" with Christie and Trump, and will be held at the Lawrenceville National Guard Armory, according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO. Just 12 people will be permitted to attend the roundtable, according to a note sent with the invitation.
The RNC has been taking the lead in reaching out to state parties to put together the joint fundraising arrangement with Trump's campaign, and its plans are actually further along than they were at this point four years ago, said one source familiar with the negotiations.
"I know (the Trump campaign staff) have been impressed with what the RNC already has on the ground," said the source. "Four years ago, when Romney walked into the building, the RNC didn't have anywhere close to the field staff that it has now. ... There is a big difference."
Yet efforts to finalize the agreement also could test the willingness of state GOP officials to get behind a presumptive nominee who some official openly opposed during the contentious primary.
Colorado's state party appeared to gloat last month after Trump's vanquished rival Ted Cruz swept all 34 delegate slots at the state's caucus. "We did it. #NeverTrump," the state party tweeted, only to delete and disavow
the post minutes later.
Party spokesman Kyle Kohli on Monday said the Colorado GOP hasn't had any talks with Trump or the RNC about a joint fundraising agreement.
The South Carolina Republican Party is open to participating but hasn't engaged in any talks yet, said the chairman, Matt Moore.
The more state parties that participate, the more money a Trump joint fundraising committee can accept, thanks in part to a 2014 Supreme Court case called McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
. It struck down aggregate limits on total giving to federal campaigns, allowing maximum donations to as many different committees as a donor wanted.
Trump's likely general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, created an unprecedented joint fundraising committee
with the Democratic National Committee and 32 state party committees that can accept checks as large as $356,100 this year.
Early in the election cycle, the talk among GOP state party officials was of a joint fundraising committee that could include all 50 states and six territories, allowing maximum donations of about $1 million per person, according to one state party chairman. But those talks quieted as Trump's surprising rise threw the GOP primary into chaos, said the chairman.
Sources with knowledge of the RNC's current plans said its joint fundraising arrangement would include between four and 12 state committees, which could allow the committee to accept checks ranging from $78,800 and $158,000.
The joint committee could help Trump's campaign as well as the RNC, which has struggled to keep its finances intact. The committee ended March with just $16 million on hand and nearly $2 million in outstanding debt. Taken together, the bank account is a fraction of where the committee had been at similar points in 2008 and 2012.
Many Republican state party chairs, who depend on the RNC to fund a get-out-the-vote program, are anxious to see Trump and the committee form an agreement.
"We are a battleground state and we can expect a lot of money to support our push," said Rob Gleason, the Pennsylvania GOP chair. "We already were getting a lot of money from the RNC, but we need a lot more."
"Trump should be able to get us up to speed," he added.


[Factivist banner.jpg]
Donald Trump decided to visit New Jersey on Thursday night to help bail out Gov. Chris Christie's half a million
in legal fees related to the Bridgegate scandal.
He got an earful from New Jerseyans who are fed up with Gov. Christie's bully shtick, and Trump's divisive politics. See below:
The scene at Donald Trump's N.J. rally? Red hats and protests- NJ.com
[
The protesters outside said Trump goes against the values of the diverse, largely Democratic state. "Some of their signs read: "No hate in the Garden State." "I love us too much to let Trump win." "You can't comb over bigotry."
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of environmental group the Sierra Club, said he finds it ironic that Christie is raising money for his unsuccessful campaign when it was revealed this week that New Jersey's budget is facing a shortfall.
WATCH: Hundreds protest Trump outside rally - Asbury Park Press
[Veterans Jake Maier of Stirling, NJ and Perry O'Brien]
The anti-Donald Trump rally in a leafy park across the street from the New Jersey National Guard Armory where he spoke Thursday evening had a carnival-like feel.
The hundreds of protesters came from all walks of life and represented a myriad of interests.
These Democrats aren't happy about Trump's N.J. visit- NJ.com
A coalition of Democratic state lawmakers - including state Senate President Stephen Sweeney - and a pair of advocacy groups are condemning Donald Trump's visit to New Jersey on Thursday.
The group said Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, is bringing intolerance to a diverse state as he appears at a private fundraiser for the state GOP and hosts a rally in Lawrenceville with Gov. Chris Christie, a fellow Republican and ally.
Protesters greet Trump rally for Christie - Press of Atlantic City
[
Protesters are enlivening a rally held in New Jersey by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to help Gov. Chris Christie pay off the debt Christie incurred running for president.
Democratic Senators Criticize Trump's Visit to NJ - PolitikerNJ
Ahead of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's Thursday visit to New Jersey, Democratic senators and advocacy groups are standing together to condemn the appearance of Trump in the Garden State.
Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, Senator Nellie Pou, Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez, the Latino Action Network and the NAACP released a statement opposing Trump's visit to Lawrenceville for a rally and fundraiser.
Donald Trump fund-raises for Chris Christie, mocks his weight - NY Daily News
Despite Trump trumpeting Christie's accomplishments to his own constituents, the former candidate - whose term ends after the 2017 election - may get a better reception outside his home state.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Thursday's rally, according to NJ.com, holding signs such as one telling the Christie-Trump duo, "Bruce Springsteen hates both of you."
Photos: Protest at Trump and Christie Event in Lawrenceville Attracts Several Hundred People - Planet Princeton
About 500 people attended a rally in Lawrenceville Thursday to protest presidential candidate Donald Trump's visit to the National Guard Armory.
Protestors chanted slogans on and off for a few hours, including chants like "Dump Christie, dump Trump," "Hate won't make us great," and "Choose love, not hate."
View this post on our Factivists site here
.
To be automatically unsubscribed from this list, please email: dncrrmain-unsubscribe@dnc.org


Did not go on.
-----Original Message-----
From: Manriquez, Pablo
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 7:15 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video Request: Jennifer Granholm on Kelly File
Tonight, 9pm hour ET
Sent from my iPhone


From: Walker, Eric
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2016 9:33 AM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video request: chairman mike McCaul on muslim ban
Fox at 9:20 this morning. Need the responses to his last 2 questions re trump Muslim ban on YouTube.
Title: GOP Chairman admits Trump Muslim ban helps ISIS recruit
Don't think you can ban an entire population from coming into United States.
Ban would cause in muslim community a bit of a backlash that can help recruiting efforts.


Dodging the women question
From: Wei, Shu-Yen
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 5:09 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video Request: Sen. Barrasso of WY on CNN
Now, talking about his support of DJT
__________
Shu-Yen Wei
Northeast Press Secretary
AAPI & Women's Media
Democratic National Committee
207-512-0005
weis@dnc.org


Donald Trump Jr was just on


For Immediate Release
May 11, 2016
Contact: DNC Press - 202-863-8148
Remarks from DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Press Call on the State of the Presidential Race
Today, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz hosted a press call to discuss the state of the race and preview Donald Trump's meetings with Republican leadership tomorrow. From the party's senior leaders to the voters of Nebraska and West Virginia yesterday, Republicans have started to fret about their own deepening divide, and are now embracing their divisive and dangerous standard bearer. Democrats, on the other hand, have shown in state after state that our voters are excited about our primary, and optimistic about both of our candidates. Despite the historic chaos among Republicans, it's now clear that Donald Trump is the Republican Party.
Please find remarks below as prepared for delivery:
DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Of course we now know that Donald Trump is the Republican presumptive nominee, but we wanted to take a moment to discuss the historic and unprecedented division taking place on the Republican side --- especially visible this week as Donald Trump prepares to sit down tomorrow with Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. The irony is that Trump's impending nomination is the result of years of the Republican Party elevating extreme voices, and using divisive campaigns that sought to exploit unfounded fears for political gain. They've made their bed, and now they're lying in it. With his lock on the Republican nomination, Donald Trump has ensured that his party's problems won't be limited to convention chaos -- he's going to force GOP races big and small across the country to own his ugly, divisive and dangerous rhetoric all the way to the general election.
...
There has never been a situation in which the sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives simply doesn't want to support his party's nominee. It's stunning that Paul Ryan had to say he was willing to step down as the Chair of his party's convention. The distress amongst party leaders is palpable. The list of Republican leaders who refuse to support Donald Trump got longer this week, with Ted Cruz joining Ryan, and a slew of former GOP presidential candidates and Republican presidents who are equally dismayed at his divisive and dangerous rhetoric. In exit polls yesterday, just ten percent of Republican voters in West Virginia and three percent in Nebraska said they think their party is united. Majorities of Republican primary voters in recent weeks have expressed concern about their party's division. When you look at the trend lines nationally on our side, In contest after contest, Democratic voters are reporting their enthusiasm for both of our candidates.
The national polls favor Democrats who have seen week after week that our voters are excited about our primaries and enthusiastic about our candidates. Democrats are building the infrastructure for the general election, and we're doing it with enthusiastic voters because they see our candidates have the right ideas to build on the progress of the last seven years. So we're very confident that we're well positioned heading into the general election and that we'll have the strongest candidate. But we're not taking anything for granted, we're going to hold Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot accountable for their repeated promises to drag our country right back to the reckless policies that were in place in 2009 when the last Republican president left office; when we were losing 800,000 jobs a month; and, when countless Americans lost their homes and savings.
So that's another reason that this Trump - Ryan - McConnell meeting matters. It's a reminder that what the Republican presumptive nominee is promising is the same brand of trickle-down economic policies that help those at the top while costing hardworking Americans. Despite their fretting over his divisive and dangerous rhetoric, when you look under the hood, Trump doesn't look much different from Ryan or McConnell, and certainly like many of the down ballot Republicans. Despite his attempts at slight-of-hand, for example, it's clear that Trump's reckless tax plan is modeled on what the Republican Party has done for years, built on the same failed foundation of rewarding those at the top
by slashing the top income tax rate. Trump's plan would bring that tax rate to 25 percent from 39.6 percent. That would give
the "top 0.1% of income earners like himself an average tax cut of more than $1.3 million." Republicans in Congress also want to lower
the individual tax rate for the wealthiest Americans to 25 percent. Trump also plans to substantially
reduce the corporate tax rate, instead of fixing loopholes that allow some large companies to pay no federal income tax at all. Paul Ryan and his colleagues have also proposed cutting corporate taxes down to 25 percent - making Trump's 15 percent plan even more extreme than the Ryan Budget.
It's the same old Republican playbook. And it's consistent with Trump's history of making money off the backs of hardworking people. Trump's Republican bona fides go further. He actually said at one of the Republican Party's debates that wages were "too high". He not only opposes raising the federal minimum wage but thinks there shouldn't be a federal minimum wage at all. Now he tries to play sleight of hand, but that's what he promised. And Trump's statement this past week that the United States of America, as a country, shouldn't honor its debt and just print more money is flat out dangerous. But it's consistent with McConnell and Ryan, who have allowed their colleagues in Congress to bring our country to the brink of default by playing games with the debt ceiling, and threatening our credit rating. Put simply, Trump and the Republicans he's meeting with cannot be trusted on the economy, they have already proven that. When they win, the American people lose. Trump is divisive and dangerous, and he lacks the judgment and temperament to be president. The contrast couldn't be clearer with our candidates, who I'm proud of, who have run substantive and spirited campaigns.
###
To be automatically unsubscribed from this list, please email: dncrrmain-unsubscribe@dnc.org


For Immediate Release
May X, 2016
Contact - DNC Press 202-863-8148
DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz's Statement on Governor Kasich's Announcement that he is Suspending his Campaign for President
"With Governor Kasich out of the race, any remaining hope the GOP had of concealing their true colors behind his comparatively friendly-faced candidacy has evaporated. But make no mistake, the extreme policies he has long fought for are virtually indistinguishable from those of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and the rest of the modern Republican Party.
"For years, Republican leaders have employed a cynical, divisive political strategy to compel voters to vote out of distrust, suspicion and hate - rewarding those at the top and denigrating women, minorities, the LGBT community and more in the process. The result is the cynical, divided, bickering Republican base we see now. Today, the only energy left in the Republican primary isn't for anything, and their final contest is already shaping up to be a bitter, petty battle with one camp against Trump, and the other against Cruz.
"The contrast couldn't be more stark. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are fighting for the American people - for higher wages, for more opportunity, for a level playing field and for a brighter future. That's why our voters are energized, enthusiastic, and optimistic. And that's why we're going to win on Election Day in November."
###


Are you okay with me emailing Jenn Sanchez and telling her that Pablo will be surrogate lead for our team?
Eric Walker
walkere@dnc.org
732-991-1489
@ericmwalker


This is really helpful. Do you have it in an html/Outlook version that's easy to email out? I prefer to have it in the body of the email so people can scroll through without downloading PDF on their phones.
[SigDems]
Luis Miranda, Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
202-863-8148 - MirandaL@dnc.org
- @MiraLuisDC
From: Compton, Matt
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2016 11:01 AM
To: Senior Staff
Subject: Resource for digital surrogates
Hi, all -
We've put together this one pager with a quick description of all our social channels to share with potential surrogates, and Amy asked me to pass it along in case it's useful for all of you!


Let's get it out early
Sent via the Samsung GALAXY S®4, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: "Freundlich, Christina"
Date: 04/27/2016 8:46 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: "Crystal, Andy"
, RR2
Subject: RE: ready for research -- #TBT: That Time President Obama Owned Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner
Jenna please be sure to add the "watch" hyperlink. I forgot to include.
I also sent this to playbook
_____________________________
From: Crystal, Andy
>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 8:45 PM
Subject: RE: ready for research -- #TBT: That Time President Obama Owned Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner
To: RR2
>, Freundlich, Christina
>
Haha love it
From: Freundlich, Christina
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 8:39 PM
To: RR2
Subject: ready for research -- #TBT: That Time President Obama Owned Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner
SL: #TBT: That Time President Obama Owned Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner
Relive the glory:
WATCH
“Five years ago, President Obama exposed Donald Trump as a fraud. Trump’s foreign policy address yesterday was further evidence the GOP frontrunner is no more qualified for the presidency today than when he was negotiating disputes between Lil’ John, Meatloaf, and Gary Busey on Celebrity Apprentice.” – DNC Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach


Why can't this be a day trip?
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 24, 2016, at 10:30 AM, Miranda, Luis
> wrote:
Hi Lindsey, just bringing this request back up.
________________________________
From: Miranda, Luis
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 5:39 PM
To: Lindsey Reynolds
Subject: FW: 27 April - NYC Meeting Agenda
Hi Lindsey, We’ve been able to increase our bookings month over month, but need to continue fostering the relationships. Pablo has the opportunity to go up next week for several meetings to reinforce our asks and flesh out a plan with the bookers. Can I get approval to have him book a train and one night for next week?
Luis Miranda, Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
202-863-8148 – MirandaL@dnc.org
- @MiraLuisDC
From: Manriquez, Pablo
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 3:17 PM
To: Miranda, Luis
Subject: Re: 27 April - NYC Meeting Agenda
HuffPost NYC wants to meet too about their new livestreaming program in the aftermath of HuffPostLive.
On Apr 22, 2016, at 1:10 PM, Manriquez, Pablo
> wrote:
This is who I will meet with in NYC. At each meeting, I’ll discuss hits we’ve executed (if relevant) and future hits. Anything I should add?
At Fox News —
• America’s Newsroom HQ Team
• Shepard Smith Reporting Team
• Kelly File Team
• O’Reilly Factor Team
At MSNBC—
• Diaz Balart Team
• Live with Tamron Hall Team
• Chris Hayes Team
• Maddow Team
At CNN —
• Andersen Cooper Team
• Erin Burnett Team
• Don Lemon Team
Other —
• Reuters Video Team
• Buzzfeed Video Team
• NowThis Team
Pablo Manriquez
Democratic National Committee
Phone: 202.572.5488
Email: pablo@dnc.org
web: democrats.org
Twitter: @Pablo_DNC


Think it’d be a good idea to FWD this from us. Thoughts?
From: Press Texas Democratic Party
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2016 1:07 PM
To: Press Texas Democratic Party
Subject: ICYMI: Former Republican Governor Perry Begs Dangerous Donald Trump
[TX Dem logo.png]
For Immediate Release
May 6, 2016
Contact: Tariq Thowfeek, (832) 429-8217, press@txdemocrats.org
ICYMI: Former Republican Governor Perry Begs Dangerous Donald Trump
SHOT: Rick Perry called Donald Trump “Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief”
·         “His attack on veterans make him unfit to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, and he should immediately withdraw from the race for President.” [Perry for President, Press Release, 7/18/15
]
·         “What Mr. Trump Is Offering Is Not Conservatism, It Is Trump-Ism – A Toxic Mix Of Demagoguery And Nonsense.” [Perry for President, 7/16/15
]
CHASER: Perry Decides To Endorse Trump for President, and Even Says He Would Consider Being Trump’s Vice President
·         Perry also said he would consider serving as Trump's running mate. "I am not going to say no," he told CNN.  [Texas Tribune, May 4, 2016
]
·         Trump, Perry told CNN, "is one of the most talented people who has ever run for the president I have ever seen." [Texas Tribune, May 4, 2016
]
FLOORED: Trump praises Perry on Twitter for his new-found support
·         This morning, Donald Trump tweeted at Former Governor Perry saying, “Governor Rick Perry said "Donald Trump is one of the most talented people running for the Presidency I've ever seen." Thank you Rick!” [Tweet
]
Texas Democratic Party Deputy Executive Director Manny Garcia issued the following statement:
“Texas Democrats know that Rick Perry will go down in history as one of the worst governors ever – indeed, we are still suffering from his failed policies and the Republican culture of corruption he instituted across state government. Like so many Republicans, Perry only cared about Perry, and he’s shown his true colors again.
“Now, he’s hit an all-time low. After an embarrassing failed first run, and being crushed by the Dangerous Trump train the second time around, Rick Perry is now going hat in hand to beg Trump for a spot on his ticket. Does Rick Perry have any integrity left?”
###


Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview, compared his candidacy to hit Broadway shows and championship baseball teams, saying that success begot success and that he would be foolish to change his behavior now.
“You win the pennant and now you’re in the World Series — you gonna change?” Mr. Trump said. “People like the way I’m doing.”
.... ....
“I think I have a mandate from the people,” Mr. Trump continued, referring to his victories in 29 states, including Nebraska and West Virginia
on Tuesday night.

Donald Trump, Bucking Calls to Unite, Claims ‘Mandate’ to Be Provocative
Donald J. Trump
’s behavior in recent days — the political threats
to the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan; the name-calling on Twitter
; the attacks
on Hillary Clinton’s marriage — has deeply puzzled Republicans who expected him to move to unite the party, start acting presidential and begin courting the female voters he will need in the general election.
But Mr. Trump’s choices reflect an unusual conviction: He said he had a “mandate” from his supporters to run as a fiery populist outsider and to rely on his raucous rallies to build support through “word of mouth,” rather than to embrace a traditional, mellower and more inclusive approach that congressional Republicans will advocate in meetings with him on Thursday.
Mr. Trump’s strategy is replete with risks. Roughly 60 percent of Americans view him negatively, according to pollsters, who say more-of-the-same Trump is not likely to improve those numbers. While a majority of Republican primary voters said they were looking for a political outsider, Mr. Trump will face a majority of voters in November who prefer a candidate with political experience, according to primary exit polls and several national polls. Many Republicans think they will lose the presidency and seats in the House and Senate if he continues using language that offends women and some racial and religious groups.
Still, Mr. Trump’s message, tone and policy ideas have drawn followers who are more passionate than Republican nominees typically enjoy, and he has monopolized the political conversation and news coverage of the race. Some Republicans argue that he cannot afford to change his stripes too much, while strategists in both parties say he is shrewdly sticking with a style that drowns out attacks that could deepen his negative rating.
“His rally rants and Twitter brawls are meant to dominate the media coverage and public conversation so that Democratic challenges have less space to break through all of the noise,” said Guy Cecil, the chief strategist and co-chairman of Priorities USA, the “super PAC
” supporting Mrs. Clinton. “He doesn’t want people talking about his record or positions.”
Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview, compared his candidacy to hit Broadway shows and championship baseball teams, saying that success begot success and that he would be foolish to change his behavior now.
“You win the pennant and now you’re in the World Series — you gonna change?” Mr. Trump said. “People like the way I’m doing.”
He argued that he stood a better chance of inspiring voters in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania if he was his authentic self, rather than shifting from populist outsider to political insider to please a relative handful of Republican elites who are part of the establishment he has railed against for months. He said his huge rallies, where outbursts of violence
and racist taunts have vexed many Republican leaders, and his attacks against adversaries on Twitter and in television interviews would continue because he believes Americans admire his aggressive, take-charge style.
“I think I have a mandate from the people,” Mr. Trump continued, referring to his victories in 29 states, including Nebraska and West Virginia
on Tuesday night. “The people are tired of incompetent leadership at the highest level. They’re tired of trade deals that are ripping our jobs apart and taking their wages.”
Mandates are usually claimed after a presidential candidate wins a general election, not a party nomination, but part of Mr. Trump’s style and strategy is to project a supreme confidence in himself and his popularity with voters. Several Republicans said they put little stock in his claim, arguing that he had won support from only a fraction of the electorate and that he had yet to prove he was worthy of leading the entire Republican Party
, rather than just his fractious and highly visible wing.
“Donald Trump did earn a mandate from Republican primary voters,” said Senator Patrick J. Toomey, a Republican facing a tough re-election fight in Pennsylvania, whose primary Mr. Trump won
with 57 percent of the vote. “My advice to him is that he should now consider how he will appeal to the many Republican and non-Republican voters who have serious concerns about his candidacy.”
Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said that electoral mandates were a fallacy in American politics, and that leaders only did well when they focused on “ideas in the center that unite people.”
“I don’t even think the 1980 Reagan landslide gave Reagan a mandate,” said Mr. Gregg, whose state gave Mr. Trump his first win
in the primaries, and who has not decided if he will follow through on his pledge to support the Republican nominee. “He was effective because the country was in terrible shape and he was able to bring large numbers of people behind his ideas. Trump hasn’t done that.”
But Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative commentator and past presidential candidate, said Mr. Trump was rallying historic numbers of voters with a mix of conservative ideas and anti-establishment populism that evoked, among other politicians, Ross Perot and his magnetic appeal in the 1992 campaign. Mr. Perot lost, of course, but Mr. Buchanan said that Mr. Trump might stand a better chance.
“With the largest Republican turnout ever, Trump eliminated 16 rivals and is on track to winning more votes than any Republican nominee in history,” Mr. Buchanan said. “That gives him a mandate to lead the Republican Party and move ahead with his plans to secure the border, pull back from foreign interventions and wars, and end these terrible trade deals.”
With many Republican leaders and elected officials torn between supporting their presumptive nominee and withholding their endorsement as leverage, Mr. Trump sounded torn himself. He said he wanted party unity but was unwilling to abandon the brand of politics and communication that has energized many Americans and divided others. He described his eight million followers on Twitter as a singular “advantage” and indicated that their support mattered more to him than the backing of Mr. Ryan, whose statement last week
that he was “not ready” to endorse Mr. Trump led to the meetings Mr. Ryan is organizing on Thursday.
David Winston, a Republican pollster who worked on Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign in 2012, said Mr. Trump was putting himself at a severe disadvantage in the general election.
“At this point, at a minimum, he’s at least 50 million voters short of what he’s going to need,” Mr. Winston said. “He has created an interesting dynamic in that, during the course of the campaign, he was basically calling those individuals names, which didn’t endear him to their supporters.”
Uniting people behind Mr. Trump is “eminently doable, but it will take significant focus,” he said.
In Mr. Trump’s view, the rallies and the Twitter wars — even when he is punching down against a little-known evangelical leader
(Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention) and a cable talk show host
(Joe Scarborough of MSNBC), as he did recently — are crowd-pleasers, creating buzz that is critical to dominating the political landscape and overshadowing Mrs. Clinton’s message and attacks. Last week, he kept his commitments for rallies in Nebraska, Oregon and Washington State, even though he already had a lock on the nomination.
“In a Broadway theater, the best, the best, absolute best sale is called ‘word of mouth,’ ” said Mr. Trump, who once dabbled in theater producing. “If people love a Broadway show, it’s better than if you write a good review. Word of mouth is the No. 1 thing. And the word of mouth at my rallies is like, ‘You’ve got to go see it.’ And, you know, one person goes and they talk about it to 20 people.”
Over the coming weeks, Mr. Trump will offer policy speeches, including one on law and order, and another on judges — the latter being, in part, a response to conservatives who have said he cannot be trusted to pick Supreme Court justices.
But Mr. Trump is reluctant to trade in pitchfork populism for something more demure. He was gleeful, in fact, that so much attention was being paid to his Capitol Hill meetings on Thursday.
“Somebody said the paparazzi is going crazy over that meeting,” he said.


DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz
DNC State of the Union Reception
5.5.16 Kimmel Center - 6 p.m.
6 min remarks
Intro
Thank you Governor Rendell! We're so lucky to have a true Pennsylvania legend serving so graciously as the Philadelphia Host Committee Chair.
Let me start by thanking everyone on the Executive Committee, all our community leaders and members of the Host Committee for your tireless work and commitment to our Party.
I know you lead busy lives, but we can't pull off a successful convention without you.
Let me also thank our CEO, the unparalleled Reverend, Leah Daughtry for her tireless work. We are so fortunate to have a lifelong Democrat of Leah's passion and expertise steering the ship;
And of course I need to thank the honorable Mayor Jim Kenney, as well as all the wonderful people of Philadelphia who he represents.
We are enormously grateful that you're hosting and warmly welcoming all the Democrats bringing their enthusiasm, energy, and passion as we arrive in greater and greater numbers over the next few months.
And I know Mayor Kenney appreciates all the commerce we'll be bringing with us as conference goers visit Philly's great restaurants, hotels and small businesses.
Gearing up
We're just 80 days away from our Convention, and we've been making all the right moves to ensure we'll be one hundred percent prepared at kickoff time.
We are on time, on budget and ready to run a beautiful convention.
But as proud as I am of what we're doing, I have to mention how proud I am of who is doing it.
Each day, as our numbers grow, we're making sure that our diversity does too.
As Democrats, we believe our diversity is our great strength.
That shows in the ranks of the DNC, where last year thirty-six percent of our employees were people of color. And we've awarded at least 35 percent of our contracts to companies owned by women, veterans, minorities, people with disabilities and members of the LGBT community.
And when the nation looks at our convention, they'll see a portrait of America.
Our Party Affairs and Delegate Selection team has worked tirelessly to ensure that every state party has an accessible and inclusive process for anyone to run to become a delegate. Whether it's a school teacher in Orlando, a plumber in Cleveland, or a high school student in Denver, our convention delegates will reflect the diversity our Party.
Dangerous Donald
But before anyone casts a vote to nominate the next Democratic president of the United States, let me give you a little update from the DNC.
Today, and every day until Election Day, we are laser focused on take down Dangerous Donald Trump - and winning seats up and down the ballot in every race across the country.
With every other candidate out of the race, Trump is the Republican Party.
We are going to hold him accountable for everything he has said and everything he has done. And we are going to hold the GOP accountable for everything they're doing to obstruct, offend, and drag our country backwards.
The facts are simple:
Dangerous Donald is unfit to be president. He only looks out for himself. He lacks the temperament and judgment to be commander in chief. And every aspect of his presidency would harm our country and damage our standing in the world.
Even as a candidate, Dangerous Donald has damaged America's relationships across the globe. In the White House, he would undeniably make America less safe.
He has no foreign policy experience - but don't worry about that - he said he'll rely on his "good brain," instead of listening to experts.
He has a decades-long record of denigrating women. Seven out of ten women disapprove of his candidacy.
He exploits racial anxieties and cultural fears to the point where his rallies have sparked violence against people of color, protestors, and the media.
And while he tries to paint a picture of his wealth and business success, his record is riddled with embarrassing failures and cheap schemes that are designed to turn a quick a buck at the expense of his workers or everyday Americans.
I'll spare you all the details, but trust me - that's the short version of what the American people are going to be hearing about Dangerous Donald over the coming months.
You know, there's a reason why we saw Republicans across the country this week tweeting photos of their burning voter registration cards this week.
Advantage, Democrats
Well, we have a message for anyone disillusioned and disaffected by this year's unprecedentedly nasty and divisive Republican primary - we have a message for anyone disgusted by Donald: You have a home in the Democratic Party.
We have the best candidates, the best ideas, and a fantastic record of social and economic progress under President Obama to run on - 73 consecutive months of private sector job growth and 20 million Americans who have health insurance who didn't before.
In poll after poll, Democratic voters are reporting that our primary and our candidates have energized our party.
In Nevada, voter registration among Democrats is beating Republicans two-to-one.
So no matter what challenges lie ahead in the planning and execution of our convention, let me just say, clearly and unequivocally - I am really, really glad we are not planning the Republican convention.
And I am absolutely optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party.
Conclusion
Finally, I'll just say, this convention is about so much more than the spectacle of big political speeches under red-white-and-blue balloons and confetti, although I think we might have some of that in store...
This is about the direction of our nation.
This is about the power of the people to come together and choose the best leader for the job.
And no matter which of our candidates they choose, they'll be fighting every day for all Americans.
We're fighting to level the playing field, raise wages, ensure equal pay, end discrimination, expand voting rights, make our country and our communities more secure and fighting to give hardworking Americans everywhere a fair shot.
When it comes time to nominate our choices for President and Vice President, with your help, we will unify, fight together as Democrats.
And friends, when the convention ends, we will go roaring into the general election with all the passion, grit and energy it takes to elect Democrats from the top of the ticket down.
So thank you for all your work, thank you for your commitment to our party, and enjoy the rest of the evening. Thank you.


Got it
--
[DNC]
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041
From: Miranda, Luis
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2016 7:43 PM
To: Palermo, Rachel
Subject: FW: United Airlines Inflight Wi-Fi Receipt And Feedback - Flight UAL1280
For reimbursements. Thx.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
>
Date: Fri, May 13, 2016 at 6:26 PM
Subject: United Airlines Inflight Wi-Fi Receipt And Feedback - Flight UAL1280
Inflight Wi-FI Receipt
Issue Date: Friday, May 13, 2016
Traveler
Receipt Number
Luis Miranda
4440004803459
Method of Payment
Cardholder Name
Visa XXXXXXXXXXXX2425
Luis Miranda
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Day
Date
Flight
Friday
May 13, 2016
UAL1280
CHARGES
After using our Wi-Fi service,
please take a moment to tell us
about your Wi-Fi experience
Description
Quantity
Charges
Full Web browsing access($3.99)
1
$3.99 USD
Total
$3.99 USD
Additional Information
We are expanding our Inflight Wi-Fi network. Learn more at united.com/WIFI
If you experience technical difficulty from your United WI-FI purchase today and would like to request a refund, please email us at: customercare@united.com
with the subject line "WI-FI". Please include the following information in the body of your email: (1) purchasing email address, (2) receipt number and (3) MileagePlus(r) number (optional).
We apologize for the inconvenience. A member of our team will respond to your inquiry


For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Contact: Barron YoungSmith: 202.226.5662
Smith Announces Opposition to FY2017 NDAA
Washington, DC - Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith made the following statement indicating his opposition to the FY 2017 NDAA:
"I have been extremely concerned about this bill's attempt to take $18 billion from Overseas Contingency Operations, setting up a funding cliff that puts our men and women in the field at risk next year. This scheme degrades military readiness by taking funds out of OCO. It also sets the stage to break the budget agreement reached just last October, which will make it more difficult to reach similar deals in the future that we will need in order to make necessary investments in our military, infrastructure, public health, and other critical priorities.
"Now, Republicans have used a procedural trick to overturn a decision by Members of the House regarding women's equality in the Selective Service. They have misused the rules process to avoid votes on women's equality, labor laws, and taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBT individuals, while adding further restrictions on transfers from the Guantanamo Detention Facility, cutting funds for nuclear nonproliferation, and adopting a range of other highly problematic provisions. These have tipped the balance of the bill considerably. I greatly appreciate the efforts of the majority to work with us on this bill, but unfortunately, without proper debate and vote by the whole House on these national issues, it is no longer a product I can support."
##
Barron YoungSmith
Director of Communications / Counsel
House Armed Services Committee Democrats
Office: 202.226.5662 | Cell: 202.225.2083
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Barron.Youngsmith@mail.house.gov
Twitter: @HASCDemocrats
Facebook: House Armed Services Committee Democrats


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Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2016 11:29 AM
Subject: Reminder to RSVP: Google, HBO, and the SAAM Invite You to Celebrate White House Correspondents' Weekend
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[RSVP]
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[2016 GOOGLE INC]
This event has been structured to comply with Congressional ethics rules. Stricter rules may apply to certain Executive Branch employees and State/Local government officials. Please contact us-gov-ethics@google.com if you have any questions, or if you would like to reimburse Google for your attendance to COMPLY WITH THESE LAWS.
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[


Outgoing call to +1 (702) 278-7939 (Other)
Duration: 36 Seconds
+1 (702) 278-7939
Other:  +1 (702) 278-7939
Microsoft Lync


Outgoing call to +1 (866) 810-8093
Duration: 23 Minutes 18 Seconds
+1 (866) 810-8093
Other:  +1 (866) 810-8093
Microsoft Lync