Subject: The Donald Trump makeover: Veepstakes, messaging tweaks and high unfavorables
From: CNN Politics Nightcap <[email-masked]>
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Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 00:04:50 +0000
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CNN Politics: Nightcap
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May 4, 2016
by Eric Bradner
Welcome to the CNN Politics Nightcap and good Wednesday night from Washington. John Kasich is out and Donald Trump stands alone as the Republican nominee. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is branding Trump a "loose cannon" -- while she also faces another email-related speed bump. And the Justice Department is stepping in to halt North Carolina's bathroom bill. Your bartender is Eric Bradner (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/eric-bradner?cid=nl_pol_071915_profile?sr=nl_pol_072215_bradner) . The tip jar: [email-masked] (mailto:[email-masked]) .

** The Donald Trump makeover: GOP's presumptive nominee eyes November
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Now the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump started working on his general election appeal. There was a step toward the middle -- he's "looking at" raising the minimum wage, he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/donald-trump-john-kasich/index.html) -- and a step away from it: He isn't backtracking a bit from his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.

One big project for Trump: Choosing a vice presidential nominee. Ben Carson will assist that search. And quickly, three trial balloons a senior Trump aide floated -- New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman -- all said they weren't interested. More from CNN's Jeremy Diamond, Jim Acosta and Sara Murray (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/donald-trump-vice-president-search/index.html) .

Here's the challenge Trump confronts: His general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, leads 54% to 41%, a new CNN/ORC Poll shows (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/poll-results-general-election-matchup/index.html) . And he has these unfavorable ratings to reverse: 57% among all Americans; 64% among women; 73% among nonwhite people; 70% among those ages 18-34.

Is a third-party run in the making? The #NeverTrump-er Erick Erickson tells CNN's Dana Bash he's had a number of conversations Wednesday, and will have more in the coming days, about laying the groundwork for another candidate. He says the consensus among #NeverTrump Republicans is that those who won't vote for Clinton or Trump need a new home -- and time is of the essence. Several names are being floated, he said, but he wouldn't name them.

** Down-ballot Republicans face decisions on how to handle Trump
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Donald Trump's position as the presumptive GOP nominee has presented congressional Republicans with what could be a fateful moment: Do they embrace their party's standard-bearer, and risk being tied to him in Democratic attacks? Or do they distance themselves and risk alienating Trump's supporters? New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who's up for re-election, "plans to support (http://www.wmur.com/politics/wmur-first-after-trump-win-ayotte-plans-to-support-him-spokeswoman-says/39373086) " Trump, a spokeswoman said. So do Ohio's Rob Portman and North Carolina's Richard Burr.

What about the governors? The Democratic Governors Association just launched a new website it's calling "Trump Tracker: The Silent 9 (http://www.govtrumptracker.com/trump-tracker-the-silent-9.html) ," prodding nine governors who haven't weighed in on whether they'll support Trump in November to do so.

"Republicans Should Confirm Merrick Garland ASAP." That's the headline (http://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2016/05/04/republicans-confirm-merrick-garland-asap./) from RedState's Leon Wolf, a conservative who opposes Trump. He writes: "Republicans must know that there is absolutely no chance that we will win the White House in 2016 now. They must also know that we are likely to lose the Senate as well. So the choices, essentially, are to confirm Garland and have another bite at the apple in a decade, or watch as President Clinton nominates someone who is radically more leftist and 10-15 years younger, and we are in no position to stop it."
Buzzing

The most visual example of the #NeverTrump reaction to Donald Trump becoming the presumptive Republican nominee comes from The Washington Free Beacon's Lachlan Markay, who set his voter registration card ablaze (https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/727666316748935169) . CNN's Sophie Tatum rounds up more reactions (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/politics/republicans-leave-party-after-donald-trump-becomes-presumptive-nominee/index.html) .

Last Call

** Kasich's decision to end his campaign: 'My heart is not in this'
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John Kasich's private plane was on the runway in Columbus, set to fly to Dulles International Airport near Washington for a news conference when the Ohio governor abruptly had the pilot taxi back. He called four friends and delivered the message: "My heart is not in this." And that's how Kasich's campaign -- which had won just one state (his own) -- came to an end. The plane never left Ohio, and at 5 p.m. ET, he told supporters in Columbus that he was departing the race (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/john-kasich-drops-out/index.html) .

What's next for Kasich? He didn't say in a speech that made no mention of Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee. "I have always said that the Lord has a purpose for me as he has for everyone," Kasich said in Columbus. "And as I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward, and fulfill the purpose of my life."

** Clinton's opening attack on Trump: He's a 'loose cannon'
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Hillary Clinton previewed her attack on the man she's now all but certain to face in the general election, Donald Trump, in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "I don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like Donald Trump running our country," she said. "I do think he is a loose cannon, and loose cannons tend to misfire." From CNN's Tom LoBianco (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/hillary-clinton-anderson-cooper-interview/index.html) .

Still hounded by emails: A federal judge opened the door to Clinton giving a deposition as part of a review of her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, but said it "may be unnecessary," reports CNN's Ariane de Vogue (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/hillary-clinton-email-state-department/index.html) . The judge approved a plan to take the depositions of officials including Cheryl Mills, Clinton's former chief of staff, Huma Abedin, a senior adviser to Clinton, and Bryan Pagliano, a State Department employee who serviced and maintained the server.

** Justice Department: N.C. 'bathroom bill' violates Civil Rights Act
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Federal officials are moving to block North Carolina from implementing its so-called "bathroom bill" -- a law that bars transgender people from using the restroom for the gender with which they identify. The Justice Department told North Carolina officials they have until Monday to confirm that they won't implement or comply with the law -- or else they'd risk losing billions in education funding. Justice's argument: the law violates the Civil Rights Act, which bars employment discrimination, and Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in education based on sex. More from The Charlotte Observer's Jim Morrill (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article75601912.html) .
Straight Up

** "A couple times I’ve wondered, ‘Boy, if we had a couple more years, we could really get some stuff done.'"
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**
-- Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who gave up his shot at re-election this year to run for president, to Politico's Marc Caputo and Burgess Everett (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/marco-rubio-senate-return-222716)  on his late flurry of activity.
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Tipsy

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte immediately got backlash for saying she'd back Donald Trump -- summed up by Yahoo's Jon Ward here (https://twitter.com/jonward11/status/727876222743674881) .

Closing Time

Bernie Sanders says it's good for (http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/278749-sanders-staying-in-race-is-good-for-democratic-party) the Democratic Party for him to stay in the race, despite the daunting delegate math. ... Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was loudly booed (https://twitter.com/KateBennett_DC/status/727948086832697344) when President Barack Obama came to visit Flint. ... Rep. Todd Young's victory over Rep. Marlin Stutzman in Indiana's Senate primary was a victory (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/politics/indiana-senate-primary-mitch-mcconnell/index.html) for Mitch McConnell.
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