The Note: Donald Trump Back on the Stump

— -- NOTABLES

--TRUMP TAKES IOWA: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail today and will hold an evening rally in Dubuque. He's been taunting both fellow GOP candidtae Jeb Bush and Fox News's Megyn Kelly on Twitter, ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE notes. He also did some retweeting last night, including one tweet in which a supporter called Kelly a "bimbo." Last night, Trump spoke to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and said he would not host the Chinese president if he was in the White House saying, "I'd get him a McDonald's hamburger." He also called Jeb Bush a "nice person," but said he "doesn't have the energy or capacity to make our country great again!"

--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: Inside Biden land, it's gone from most likely 'no' to most likely 'yes.' But two big decisions loom. First is the vice president's, of course -- he's got to give the final word, and he hasn't yet. And then there's the president. Does President Obama give him his quiet acquiescence? Or does Joe Biden need more than that? It's hard to picture Biden challenging for the nomination with an actual endorsement -- something that would open big donors' wallets, and provide a potential boost among Obama base voters (including African-Americans) in the primaries. It's an unimaginable choice for the president, notwithstanding the White House's insistence that choosing Biden as his running mate was his smartest ever political decision, leaving all other selections in second place or worse. Clearly, the vice president has earned the right to make this decision on his own. The president's staff appears to be giving him the space to do just that. Yet that's different than the president himself getting on board.

--KASICH SCORES HIGH-PROFILE ENDORSEMENT: The Kasich campaign announced this morning that former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, has endorsed Kasich and will serve as a national co-chair of his presidential campaign. Its Kasich's second major endorsement in as many weeks; Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, endorsed the Ohio governor last week, ABC's BEN GITTLESON notes.

--TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: Jeb Bush is in Colorado today to hold a town hall on veterans' issues. Rand Paul is making a trip to Alaska, a state that doesn't usually see primary candidates. Sarah Palin praised him for coming yesterday, but she's not in town. Ted Cruz is holding a conference call, reaching out to with pastors on the topic of Planned Parenthood. Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee are in Iowa and Chris Christie is home in New Jersey, but will be speaking out against the Iran deal at Rutgers University's Chabad House.

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

JEB BUSH SAYS 'ANCHOR BABIES' COMMENT WAS 'MORE RELATED TO ASIANS.' Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has ignited a firestorm once again -- saying his use of the controversial term "anchor babies" is "more related to Asian people." Bush, who traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border Monday, has refused to back down from using the term, a derogatory phrase used to refer to the children of undocumented immigrants born on American soil. Both he and Donald Trump have drawn fire for the usage, according to ABC's CANDACE SMITH. At a campaign event in McAllen, Texas yesterday, Bush was asked repeatedly by both the English and Spanish-language press about his usage of the term "anchor babies" in a radio interview last week. He has defended the term and tried to clarify Monday, saying that it is "ludicrous" that anyone says his usage of "anchor babies" is derogatory. He also added that he was actually referring to the "birth tourism" industry. http://abcn.ws/1MPBdJ8

--WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE SAYING: "This latest comment from Bush shows just how out of touch he is," said K.J. Bagchi, the DNC's Director of Asian American and Pacific Islander Engagement. "The only thing worse than Jeb Bush's words about immigrant families may be his policies towards them."

--WHAT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ASIAN-PACIFIC AMERICANS IS SAYING: "From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and legislative attempts to overturn United States v. Wong Kim Ark to now calling us "anchor babies," Asian American and Pacific Islander communities continue to be discriminated against as part of larger anti-immigrant rhetoric."

HOW DRAFT BIDEN WANTS TO PAVE THE WAY FOR THE VP TO RUN IN 2016. Vice President Joe Biden returned to work at the White House Monday as the political intrigue about whether he will pursue a 2016 bid mounts. While the VP makes up his mind, one group is paving the way for a potential Biden presidential campaign. The super PAC Draft Biden, which started as an idea in March in the Chicago living room of 27-year-old William Pierce, now the group's executive director, is ramping up its efforts in case the vice president decides to make a third run for the White House. The group received a major boost at the beginning of August when Josh Alcorn, a top strategist for former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, joined the campaign as a senior adviser. "I think Joe Biden can win this presidential race," Alcorn told ABC's JONATHAN KARL. "There's a real enthusiasm for a kind of candidate like him, somebody who can look somebody in the eye, connect with them on a very real level, tell them what he thinks the issues facing the country are and then back his words up with actions." http://abcn.ws/1Kg3wP0

OBAMA HASN'T RULED OUT ENDORSING BIDEN OR CLINTON. The assumption is that President Obama will stay neutral if Joe Biden challenges Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary. But that's not necessarily so, the White House said Monday. "I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an endorsement in the Democratic primary," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest responded to a question posed by ABC's JONATHAN KARL in a White House briefing. But how exactly the president would handle a hypothetical Clinton-Biden contest remains an open question, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS writes. "There's not an insignificant 'if' in that question and that's what everybody is pretty interested to find out," Earnest said. "The president has indicated his view that the decision that he made seven years ago now to add Joe Biden to the ticket as his running mate was the smartest decision he ever made in politics." http://abcn.ws/1JgS1F5

NOTED: IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR ON POTENTIAL BIDEN RUN. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Dr. Andy McGuire says she has not talked to Biden directly but has heard "rumblings." Asked if there was room for him in Iowa still, she said: "Absolutely. There's always room for more." "We're seeing great energy for candidates and the more people the better." Advice to him? "If he's thinking about coming to Iowa, he should come. We'd love to have him - love to have more candidates." But she added, "Earlier is better." She would not say when she thought was too late for the vice president to get in - but instead said she had talked to folks who are ready to be all-in for him if he announces, ABC's MARYALICE PARKS reports.

WALKER CAMPAIGN IN A WAR OF WORDS WITH DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN. Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Gwen Moore says that Republican presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is "tightening the noose, literally" around African-Americans, The Hill first reported Monday. Moore's comments, reportedly made during a phone call with reporters, came Monday as Walker was campaigning in South Carolina. Walker's press secretary AshLee Strong has since called the comments "inflammatory and inappropriate" and says that the governor "will continue to focus on presenting solutions for Americans and uniting the country, while others continue to create division," ABC's JORDYN PHELPS notes. The campaign has also used the comments as an opening to gain support, tweeting out from Walker's official Twitter account "Don't let @RepGwenMoore's comments go unanswered," and providing a link for prospective supporters to sign a pledge supporting Walker's campaign for president.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

'COCAINE CONGRESSMAN' FIGHTS FOR REDEMPTION. The IJ Review is out with a new video and profile of former Rep. Trey Radel, R-Florida, the self-described "Hip Hop Conservative" who resigned in 2013 after being caught with cocaine in Dupont Circle and pleading guilty to drug possession, ABC's BEN SIEGEL notes. Now, Radel spends his days boxing, making hip hop beats, and managing his small crisis communications shop. He also told IJ Review he won't run for public office again." WATCH: https://goo.gl/tcFgDv

WHAT WE'RE READING

"REPEAT FEAT: SANTORUM SOON WILL BAG 99 COUNTIES," by the Des Moines Register's Jennifer Jacobs. "Republican Rick Santorum's campaign says a big moment will arrive soon -- he will reach his 99th Iowa county Sept. 1. It will be the second presidential cycle in which the former Pennsylvania U.S. senator has accomplished the time-consuming feat of campaigning in every single county. Santorum scored a come-from-behind victory in the 2012 Iowa caucuses after taking the time to meet with Iowans in small numbers across the state. On Sept. 1, Santorum will celebrate his 2016 election cycle feat with a celebration at Island Park in Rock Rapids in Lyon County, campaign aides told The Des Moines Register." http://dmreg.co/1NGpThG

WHO'S TWEETING?

@realDonaldTrump: Jeb Bush just talked about my border proposal to build a "fence." It's not a fence, Jeb, it's a WALL, and there's a BIG difference!

@poconnorWSJ: The race for the GOP nomination is migrating South. Will this emphasis on AL, GA, TN, etc. hurt in IA or NH? http://on.wsj.com/1hDo49e via @WSJ

@markknoller: "Everything I've accomplished. I've accomplished because Harry Reid was there by my side," said @POTUS at the Nevada Dem fundraiser.

@Goldfarb: Who loses most from chaos in China -- and some possible silver linings http://wapo.st/1V6Z5cD

@CraigCaplan: Louis Stokes testified at '91 Senate hearing chaired by Biden.@VP attends OH Rep funeral today http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4548992