The Note: Clinton Closes in On Clinching
— -- NOTABLES
--PUERTO RICO WIN PUTS CLINTON CLOSER TO MAGIC NUMBER: Hillary Clinton is within striking distance of securing the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination -- and of making history as the first woman of either major party to do so. Following the results from the Puerto Rico primary last night, the Democratic frontrunner had 2,358 delegates -- including super-delegates -- at this hour, according to a count by ABC News -- putting her just 25 delegates shy of the 2,383 needed to become her party’s presumptive nominee, ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ reports. Clinton added more than 30 delegates to her total after defeating her rival, Bernie Sanders, to win the island’s primary on Sunday. http://abcn.ws/1U8awSR
--WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Clinton is expected to officially clinch the nomination tomorrow when voters go to the polls in California, New Jersey, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and New Mexico. Her campaign hopes she'll hit the magic delegate number after polls close in New Jersey early in the evening, KREUTZ notes. Clinton is in a tighter than expected race against Sanders in California, which represents the largest delegate prize on Tuesday. For his part, Sanders has vowed to fight on until the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer. In the build up to Tuesday, Clinton has recently made a point of acknowledging the historic nature of her candidacy as she campaigns across the country. "Starting next Tuesday, we’re on our way to breaking the highest and hardest glass ceiling," Clinton said at a rally in Culver City last week. http://abcn.ws/1U8awSR
--FLASHBACK: Tomorrow marks exactly eight years to the date from when Clinton dropped out of the primary race against then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008. "Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time," she said during her concession remarks on June 7, 2008, "Thanks to you, it has about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before." Clinton will celebrate Tuesday's primaries in her home state of New York with a campaign event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, not far from where her campaign is headquartered. http://abcn.ws/1U8awSR
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: Maybe the plan for shortening Donald Trump’s short list is as simple as having his surrogates go on television for him. The latest examples came in the wake of Trump’s insistence that a federal judge’s Mexican heritage leaves him unqualified to hear a case against Trump, a statement that Trump defenders have been loath to defend. Sen. Bob Corker, on ABC’s “This Week”: “I don’t condone the comments.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, on “Fox News Sunday”: “This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made. I think it’s Inexcusable.” Is anyone on board with Trump for this one? What about the next one, or 10? Every campaign gets second-guessed by supporters and surrogates. But Trump is drawing out more than that – not just angst, but outright rejection from those who describe themselves as supporters. If Trump insists on 100 percent loyalty from his vice-presidential pick, the list is already minuscule.
FACT CHECK: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN’S CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CANDIDATES Q&A’S WITH TRAVELING PRESS CORPS. A Clinton campaign official on Sunday fought back against the notion that Hillary Clinton is reluctant to talk to reporters by saying the Democratic presidential candidate "oftentimes" spends 15 to 20 minutes talking to her traveling press corps after campaign events. "There's no reluctance," Clinton's national press secretary Brian Fallon said on CNN's "Reliable Sources" about the Democratic presidential candidate's willingness to engage with the press. "Bottom line is she's answering questions from reporters covering her day to day," he added. But according to an ABC News tally, Clinton has held just nine press avails with her traveling press corps since January, all of which have lasted 10 minutes or less. ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ has more: http://abcn.ws/24rUSD8
LAST WEEKEND ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
TRUMP SUGGESTS MUSLIM JUDGE MIGHT ALSO BE UNFAIR. Donald Trump, already facing bi-partisan backlash for his comments suggesting a judge of Mexican descent is unfit to preside over a lawsuit filed against Trump University because of "bias," has gone further, suggesting that a Muslim judge would also not be able to treat him fairly. On CBS' "Face the Nation," host John Dickerson asked the presumptive Republican nominee, who has said that if elected president he would consider banning Muslims from coming to the U.S., whether a Muslim judge would also be out of the question. "It's possible, yes. Yeah. That would be possible, absolutely," Trump responded. ABC’s CANDACE SMITH notes that this new firestorm began after Trump suggested that Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who presides over one of the lawsuits involving the now-closed Trump University, has an "absolute conflict" because of his Mexican heritage. http://abcn.ws/1Ur7cOy
CORKER: TRUMP IS ‘GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE’. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker has a recommendation for Donald Trump’s campaign: It’s time to shift from primary mode to the general election matchup. The Tennessee senator, who appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, said the likely Republican presidential nominee would have to begin to adjust his tone as he moves toward the 2016 GOP convention unopposed, ABC’s ALI ROGIN reports. “They’ve moved beyond the primary process this week to move to the World Series of this election,” Sen. Corker told George Stephanopoulos. “I think that he’s going to have to change. I’m not talking about him necessarily changing his views, but I think that he’s moving into a different phase, he’s talking to the right people.” http://abcn.ws/1taaLmA
CLINTON BRUSHES OFF TRUMP’S LATEST ATTACK AS ‘TYPICAL TRUMPISM’. Hillary Clinton says she’s not shaken by Donald Trump’s latest attacks, brushing off his jabs on her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state as a "typical Trumpism." "It's a typical Trumpism and I don't have any response," Clinton said in an interview on ABC News' "This Week" Sunday. “You know, when he attacks me, I am not going to respond." ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL notes, at a rally in San Jose, California Thursday, Trump slammed Clinton for her use of a private email server during her tenure at the State Department. "I will say this: Hillary Clinton has to go to jail. She is guilty as hell," he said. http://abcn.ws/1Y0O6nQ
NOTED: CLINTON DEFENDS GUN TAX, STOPS SHORT OF ENDORSEMENT. Clinton told George Stephanopoulos on ABC News’ "This Week" that "the American public has a right to require certain kinds of regulatory responsible actions to protect everyone else" from gun violence. But just how far would a Clinton administration go to ensure that? Back in September 1993 at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, the then-first lady was asked by then-Sen. Bill Bradley whether she would support a 25 percent sales tax on handguns and automatic weapons. Her support was unequivocal. ABC’s NIKKI ROSSOLL has more: http://abcn.ws/1WAPPRz
PRO-TRUMP SUPER PAC OUT WITH ATTACK AD HITTING HILLARY CLINTON. A new pro-Donald Trump super PAC, Rebuilding America Now, is out with an attack ad hitting Hillary Clinton that will begin running nationally this week, according to ABC’s SHUSHANNAH WALSHE. The hard hitting ad links Hillary Clinton's private e mail use with the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The ad, titled "Hillary Clinton: More of the Same" intercuts a Hillary Clinton press conference from August 2015 where she discusses her use of a private e mail address and server and Bill Clinton in January 1998 when he responded to allegations that he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. http://abcn.ws/1UlNvb5
WHAT WE’RE READING
INSIDE THE PURGE OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF OHIO VOTERS. Chad McCullough, 44, was born in Ohio and has lived in Butler County for about nine or 10 years, he says. Last November, McCullough and his wife made their way to the local polling station in southwest Ohio to cast their ballots. But as he attempted to exercise his right to participate in the democratic process, a poll worker told him that he couldn't find his name on the voter registration list -- McCullough was no longer registered. ABC’s MARIAM KHAN reports, McCullough is among tens of thousands of voters in Ohio, many from low-income neighborhoods and who typically vote for Democratic candidates, who have been deemed ineligible to vote by Ohio election officials last year simply because they haven't voted enough -- a move that disenfranchises voters and is illegal, voting rights advocates say. http://abcn.ws/2113W1d
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
THAT TIME BERNIE SANDERS STOPPED BY A DISCO BRUNCH. Cycling, brunch, the beach. Bernie Sanders had quite the “Sunday Fun-day” this weekend, or at least observed others out and about as he crisscrossed Los Angeles shaking hands and greeting people. Two days before the California Democratic primary, the Vermont senator ventured into restaurants in West Hollywood, interrupted a fundraiser on the Santa Monica pier and listened to mariachi music in Lynwood. At every corner, as has been the case for months, excited fans swarmed the progressive superstar, jockeying for a photo. ABC’s MARY ALICE PARKS with more on his day: http://abcn.ws/212mAFR
WHO’S TWEETING?
@anthonyweiner: Remember, many of Bernie's closest advisers have a lot of $ to gain by keeping up the fight. They've made millions at $27 a clip.
@DavidMDrucker: Trump's missing Republican defenders http://washex.am/1Y2RC0T via @DCExaminer http://washex.am/28f6k9U
@ChrisSnyderFox: #DonaldTrump backs Ellmers in North Carolina #GOP primary battle | Fox News | http://fxn.ws/1TVwCK6
@JillDLawrence: Today in print, @Schneider_CM on Trump & @SpeakerRyan: GOP will appease anyone, no matter how disgusting http://usat.ly/25FYQ0N @USATODAY
@mikiebarb: Is there a reporter covering Trump he hasn't mocked by name? Do he/she feel left out?