The Note: Air Wars Favor Clinton
— -- NOTABLES
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: Much has already been made of the advertising jump enjoyed by Hillary Clinton, whose 12-1 ad spending edge this month means she and her allies have spent $20 million more getting their message out than has Donald Trump and his backers. But is that head start about to get even longer? Speaking Tuesday night in Ohio, Donald Trump suggested that he won’t start spending in battleground states until after the Republican National Convention. “She is spending money like - like I’ve never seen before,” Trump said. “I figure we start spending it after the convention, which is going to be a tremendous success.” Tremendous success or not, this leaves Trump spotting two whole months to Clinton at the start of the general election – critical time Democrats are using to define the opposition. Even if this is being driven by strategy, as opposed to necessity, it’s possible we’ll look back at this period and talk about avoidable campaign miscalculations. Trump has seen his standing erode since he locked down the nomination – six weeks before Clinton became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Clinton and her forces have been freed up to make their case without meaningful pushback on the airwaves.
--CLINTON OUTSPENDS TRUMP BY $20 MILLION ON TELEVISION ADS IN JUNE: When it comes to television advertising, Hillary Clinton is blowing Donald Trump out of the water. Clinton and her allies have outspent Trump forces by more than $20 million in June on television advertising, according to an ABC News analysis of CMAG/Kantar Media data. For every $1 that Trump and his allies spent on television in June, Clinton and her allies spent $12. The presumptive Democratic nominee and her main super PAC, which can raise unlimited funds, doled out about $23 million during the month of June. Almost 9 in every 10 dollars spent on television in June were spent boosting Clinton’s campaign. Six in 10 dollars came from Priorities USA Action, the Clinton-backing super PAC, with another quarter of spending coming from Clinton’s campaign itself. ABC’s RYAN STRUYK has more. http://abcn.ws/299aNpr
--NRA AD SUPPORTING TRUMP APPEARS TO BE FILMED INSIDE A NATIONAL CEMETERY DESPITE RESTRICTIONS: The NRA’s Political Victory Fund is behind a new anti-Hillary Clinton ad released Wednesday that appears to have been filmed in a U.S. national cemetery, which would be a violation of government policy. The "Stop Clinton, Vote Trump" advertisement, which the NRA says was filmed outside an unidentified national cemetery, criticizes Clinton for the fatal Benghazi, Libya, attacks and urges voters to support Donald Trump in the general election. The Department of Veterans Affairs has seen the advertisement, issuing a statement to ABC News that reflects the agency’s strict prohibition of filming campaign ads on national cemetery property that contains the graves of military personnel, veterans and their spouses. ABC’s JUSTIN FISHEL and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI have more. http://abcn.ws/29bX14n
VEEPSTAKES 2016: A LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL VICE PRESIDENTIAL PICKS FOR DONALD TRUMP AND HILLARY CLINTON. ABC News is tracking all the developments in this year's "veepstakes" -- the selection of running mates by presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The list represents potential vice presidential picks for both candidates. It is not exhaustive, but instead, captures what we consider to be the "top tier" of possible choices based on ABC News’ reporting and analysis. The ABC News Political Unit will update the list -- adding and subtracting names -- as reporting and news developments warrant. Here's a look at ABC's 2016 veepstakes list: http://abcn.ws/29qi8gH
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
TRUMP SUPPORTERS MOCK ELIZABETH WARREN WITH STEREOTYPICAL NATIVE AMERICAN WAR CRY. Donald Trump’s supporters appeared to further his feud with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, showing their ire by breaking into a stereotypical Native American war cry when her name was mentioned at Trump’s Maine rally yesterday -- a jab over Warren's claims about her heritage. Conservative radio host Howie Carr brought up the liberal Massachusetts senator prior to Trump coming onto the stage at a Bangor, Maine rally, ABC's JESSICA HOPPER and INES DE LA CUETARA report. "I heard Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren campaigning. You know Elizabeth Warren right?” Carr told the crowd. The mention of Warren by Carr led Trump supporters to chant, “Pocahontas.” When Carr put his hand to his mouth and began making a whooping noise to mimic a stereotypical Native American war cry, Trump supporters began to do so too. http://abcn.ws/294vWwL
CLINTON STAFFER HUMA ABEDIN ‘TRIED TO DO THE RIGHT THING’ WITH EMAIL. Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton's senior advisor as Secretary of State and current campaign vice-chairman, said in a deposition this week that she "always tried to do the right thing" in terms of using email while working with Clinton at the State Department. The transcript of the deposition was released Wednesday by the conservative-action group Judicial Watch, ABC’s JUSTIN FISHEL writes, which is suing the State Department for records related to Abedin's employment status while she worked for both Clinton at the State Department and an outside group. http://abcn.ws/296d19X
VOTERS WHO CHOOSE TRUMP MAY STILL NOT LIKE HIM, POLL SHOWS. Voting for Donald Trump? That doesn’t mean you’re completely on board, according to a new analysis of data from this week’s ABC News/Washington Post poll. With presumptive nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton garnering the lowest favorability ratings of major candidates in recent times, some voters say they are choosing to hold their noses and pull the lever in the ballot boxes. ABC’s RYAN STRUYK reports, less than half of people who support Trump or Clinton say they are “very comfortable” with the idea of their candidate as president. But the poll shows that a significant block of Trump supporters harbor a unique reluctance and hesitancy, despite their plans to back him. http://abcn.ws/299A7eU
IS THE GOP BREAKING UP OVER TRUMP? The decisions by a number of well-known Republicans to buck the party because of Donald Trump's likely ascension to the top of the ticket could be seen as an effort to help rebuild the party, some experts say. Longtime conservative and political columnist George Will said he recently changed his voter registration from Republican to unaffiliated. Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, a Republican who served under President George W. Bush, wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post why a Trump presidency would be bad for the country, declaring that he will be voting for Hillary Clinton this fall. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY notes the "never Trump" movement gathered steam during the primaries, and there are some elected officials who say they support the idea. The recent announcements by party elders could signal a larger rebuke of Trump's campaign. http://abcn.ws/292TOEJ
MEET THE MAN WHO WILL MAKE SURE TRUMP OR CLINTON CAN GOVERN ON DAY 1. Max Stier won’t say whom he’s voting for, but his job is all about putting the next president in the White House. Stier, along with his colleague David Eagles, head up the non-profit Center for Presidential Transition, and have been working closely with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns to ensure the candidates and the outgoing president successfully manage the critical transition of power. Complete with a floor plan of the mock Romney White House, Stier walked ABC News through the importance of the process, offering some insight as to where both campaigns stand in the process before it goes into full swing following the July conventions. ABC’s KATHERINE FAULDERS and ALEXANDER MALLIN note Trump announced Chris Christie as his transition chairman in early May, Hillary Clinton still has yet to announce hers, nor has her campaign staff offered any insight on their process. http://abcn.ws/29fXlh2
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
MEET TWO TRANSGENDER WOMEN WHO WON PRIMARIES. Two women named Misty won primary races Tuesday night but the similarities between them don't stop there. Both Misty Snow, who won the Democratic Senate primary in Utah, and Misty Plowright, who won a Democratic congressional primary in Colorado, are transgender. They were inspired to launch their inaugural political campaigns in part by Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential run. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY has more. http://abcn.ws/29a93wb
WHO’S TWEETING?
@ABCPolitics: New @ABC News/WaPo poll: 2/3 are confident in an effective response against the Zika virus: http://abcn.ws/297niTb
@seungminkim: Oh. In 2002, Trump backed Jeff Sessions' Democratic opponent (h/t @heatherscope) http://nbcnews.to/29anheV
@bethreinhard: No grand long-awaited pivot, but Trump blurring positions on key issues and campaign tactics from the primary. http://on.wsj.com/29hDDBt
@TPM: Rowdy crowds at Trump rallies leave cities with large security bills http://bit.ly/297WReL
@pewjournalism: Those learning abt election from more news source types more likely share on social media http://pewrsr.ch/1nPlDUh