The Note: Tar Heel Tangle
— -- NOTABLES
--OBAMA, CLINTON TAKE TO THE TRAIL: Hillary Clinton will campaign with a familiar figure today as President Obama joins her on the trail. President Obama endorsed Clinton on June 9, but their initial joint campaign appearance was rescheduled in the wake of the Orlando nightclub attack. Now the pair will hit the trail together today in Charlotte, North Carolina. The duo will "discuss building on the progress we've made and their vision for an America that is stronger together," a campaign press release stated. Meanwhile, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump holds his own rally in the Tar Heel State accompanied by Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, one of the GOP candidate’s running mate prospects. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY has more: http://abcn.ws/29iMFli
--BY THE NUMBERS: A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll reported that 56 percent of overall respondents approved of President Obama’s job performance. The approval rating for Obama goes up dramatically among Democrats -- to 88 percent, dips to 50 percent among independents, and plunges to 18 percent among Republicans.
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: In this year of outsiders, Hillary Clinton gets some help Tuesday from the ultimate insider. The calculation in employing President Obama is easy, particularly as the president’s approval rating seems to rise in reaction to the year of Donald Trump. But as Trump demonstrates just about daily, the easiest calls can have the least predictable consequences. The teamwork plays into a core Trump theme – one with particular resonance as the FBI investigation into Clinton’s email system winds down. The fix is in, Trump will argue, pointing to campaign trips aboard Air Force One and the ill-advised tarmac meeting between former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch as exhibits A and B. Having high-profile surrogates at the ready is a good problem to have – and a problem Trump very much does not have. But it can’t be forgotten that coziness comes with consequences in 2016.
LAST WEEKEND ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
RISING STAR JULIAN CASTRO BEING VETTED AS A CLINTON RUNNING MATE. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro is being vetted as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, according to a Democratic source familiar with the process. Castro, 41, would be the first Hispanic candidate on a presidential ticket, ABC's BENJAMIN SIEGEL notes. His selection could help Clinton energize Hispanic voters and sharpen her contrast with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has courted controversy with his anti-immigrant proposals and incendiary rhetoric. http://abcn.ws/29iHU9p
TRUMP TEASES UPDATES TO HIS VP SEARCH. Donald Trump used Twitter to stoke speculation about his vice presidential selection process yesterday. He published a string of tweets praising three people who are believed to be in contention to become the presumptive GOP nominee's running mate, ABC's MEGHAN KENEALLY reports. The first mention was of Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a vocal Trump supporter. The second referenced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who is reportedly under consideration for the job, according to a Republican source. Trump has not released a public schedule of events for the Fourth of July weekend, but he revealed on Twitter that he's going to be meeting with another contender Monday: Sen. Joni Ernst. has more. http://abcn.ws/29tEVJI
CLINTON’S BUSY WEEKEND: AN FBI INTERVIEW AND A BROADWAY SHOW. The holiday weekend included a meeting with the FBI and a trip to a Broadway show for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The former Secretary of State met with the FBI on Saturday morning and "gave a voluntary interview" that was "about her email arrangements," according to a statement from her spokesman Nick Merrill. An aide to Clinton said the interview lasted about three and a half hours at the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. ABC's MEGHAN KENEALLY has more. http://abcn.ws/29r6TJi
SANDERS WAGES FIGHT FOR DEMOCRATS TO SHOW 'STRONG OPPOSITION' TO TRANS-PACIFIC TRADE DEAL. Bernie Sanders is calling out Hillary Clinton delegates on the Democratic Party's platform-drafting committee for failing to support certain amendments regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. In an op-ed published Sunday in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sanders highlights parts of the party platform document that he supports, including language about Citizens' United, an expansion of Social Security and Wall Street reform. But he goes on to say the document, which the full drafting committee will vote on again before the party's convention this month, needs to be "significantly improved," ABC's MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN notes. http://abcn.ws/29o9mDE
TRUMP AND PENCE MEET AT GOLF CLUB. With the contest for naming vice presidential candidates heating up, Donald Trump met over the weekend with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, two sources tell ABC. The presumptive GOP nominee and Pence met with their spouses on Saturday at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey, according to two GOP sources. ABC’s INES DE LA CUETARA reports, Pence's associates have been told he's under consideration for the number two spot on the Republican ticket. http://abcn.ws/29h6GG2
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
TRUMP: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION SPEAKING SLOTS ‘TOTALLY FILLED’. Trump tweeted over the weekend that speaking slots at the Republican National Convention were already “totally filled, with a long waiting list of those that want to speak.” Trump also indicated in his tweet that the names of those speakers would be released within days: “The speakers slots at the Republican Convention are totally filled, with a long waiting list of those that want to speak - Wednesday release.” At a speech in Colorado last Friday, Trump said that his children and wife would all be speaking at the four-day convention in Cleveland, Ohio, that kicks off July 18. “Ivanka, Tiffany, Don, Eric -- they are going to be speaking,” Trump said. “My wife is going to be speaking at the convention. We’re going to have a great time.” Previously, Trump has also suggested having a “winner’s night” at the convention that would likely include nonpolitical speakers such as famous sports figures. http://abcn.ws/29eOWJY
WHO’S TWEETING?
@realDonaldTrump: It was great spending time with @joniernst yesterday. She has done a fantastic job for the people of Iowa and U.S. Will see her again!
@idaveprice: If @realDonaldTrump picks Iowa's @SenJoniErnst as his VP, that puts some #nevertrump people in interesting position.
@PhilipRucker: Very good @mikiebarb profile of Jared Kushner, perhaps the most powerful force in Trump's campaign http://nyti.ms/29mjbzn
@thehill: Trump social media aide insists anti-Hillary graphic is a "sheriff’s badge" from Microsoft http://hill.cm/ZhwqHcl
@BCAppelbaum: Trump's trade speech made me wonder whether people in PA still dream of steel-making. So I went to Monessen to ask. http://nyti.ms/29eqYBE
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