The Note: Reviewing Trump's Day in DC
— -- NOTABLES
--WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN TRUMP'S CAPITOL HILL MEETINGS: Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump sat down with party leaders in Washington yesterday, meetings that House Speaker Paul Ryan characterized as “encouraging.” According to attendees, Trump listened to their concerns and was open to questions and criticism alike. "I felt a lot of progress was made. I really do," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, who will serve as a Trump delegate at the GOP convention in Cleveland in July. The meetings overall were described as congenial and straightforward. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he enjoyed the opportunity to hear from Trump in a "relatively controlled setting as opposed to in front of 30,000 people." ABC’s MARY BRUCE, JORDYN PHELPS, ALI WEINBERG and BENJAMIN SIEGEL have more: http://abcn.ws/1TScuF2
--WHAT THE SPEAKER SAID: The speaker discussed the need for Trump to represent all Republicans, including those who didn’t vote for him, according to a House Republican briefed on the meeting with GOP leadership. Much of the discussion centered on broad principles that Trump’s campaign can focus on – themes that all Republicans can unify around – as opposed to specific policies, according to several Republican sources. Trump also listened and was receptive to concerns about “respect.” http://abcn.ws/1TScuF2
--ON THE AGENDA: Trade, the debt, overreach of agencies, foreign policy, veterans’ issues, abortion, and tax reform. According to one House Republican, Ryan also brought up the need for entitlement reform (his favorite topic, according to many colleagues). “Everybody who knows Paul [Ryan] knows this came up, especially in the contest of balancing the budget,” joked Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who spoke with Ryan after the meeting. http://abcn.ws/1TScuF2
--TRUMP REFUSES TO REVEAL HIS TAX RATE -- ‘IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS’: Trump continued to refuse to release his tax returns and today declined to reveal his tax rate. Joining "Good Morning America" this morning, ABC’s GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS asked Trump what his tax rate is, and Trump simply replied, “It’s none of your business.” “You'll see it when I release but I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible,” Trump said. The billionaire also said he has no foreign bank accounts and emphasized he runs a “clean” business, ABC’s JOHN SANTUCCI and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI report. http://abcn.ws/1OnD0qZ
THIS WEEK ON ‘THIS WEEK’: Following his meeting with Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, RNC Chair Reince Priebus comes to “This Week” Sunday.
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
RYAN STILL NOT READY TO ENDORSE DONALD TRUMP AFTER MEETING. House Speaker Paul Ryan declined to endorse the New York billionaire, ABC’s ARLETTE SAENZ reports, even after the two men issued a joint statement calling for Republicans to "unite around our shared principles, advance a conservative agenda and do all we can to win this fall." "With that focus, we had a great conversation this morning. While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground,” Trump and Ryan said. http://abcn.ws/1qg9gkn
RNC CHAIR SAYS TRUMP ‘GETS’ HOW TO BE PRESIDENTIAL. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said Donald Trump recognizes that he needs to change his tone now that he’s the presumptive Republican nominee. “I think Donald Trump gets it completely about being presidential and gracious and I can tell you that’s how he acts toward me in private,” Priebus told ABC’s Rick Klein, following his meeting with Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. “I think he understands that getting to that place is important," Priebus added. "But you know Donald Trump also has to be Donald Trump, I mean that’s what got him there.” ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ report, the RNC chairman said it’s important for Trump to focus his “energy” on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. http://abcn.ws/1R0gqPL
NOTED: THE WILD SCENE OUTSIDE THE TRUMP, RYAN MEETING ON CAPITOL HILL. It was not your typical Thursday on Capitol Hill, ABC’s PAOLA CHAVEZ and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI write. Trump’s visit attracted a wild mixture of protesters, reporters and curious onlookers. http://abcn.ws/24OlSib
TRUMP’S MUSLIM BAN ‘SUGGESTION’ STILL LACKS SPECIFICS. Even though Donald Trump now claims his controversial plan to ban most Muslims from entering the U.S. is "just a suggestion," he has spent five months talking about it as if it were policy - without releasing many specifics as to how it could work. On Wednesday, Trump told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade that the "temporary ban... hasn't been called for yet. Nobody's done it. This is just a suggestion until we find out what's going on." ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY reports, hours earlier, he called for the creation of a commission to address unspecified issues relating to Muslims -- perhaps led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- but he hasn't announced any of the goals or prerogatives of said group. http://abcn.ws/1T9HQu3
FORMER OFFICIALS RAISE CONCERNS OVER TRUMP AND CLINTON RECEIVING CLASSIFIED BRIEFINGS. With the Republican and Democratic conventions fast approaching, intelligence officials are already mapping out their approach to providing classified briefings to the eventual nominees. It’s a decades-long tradition embedded in the transition of power, but several former high-ranking officials have expressed concerns to ABC News over what they consider “unprecedented” circumstances facing both current front-runners and their capabilities to responsibly handle sensitive intel. ABC’s ALEXANDER MALLIN and JUSTIN FISHEL have more. http://abcn.ws/24SuEz7
A HISTORY OF TRUMP’S FLIP-FLOPPING ON ISSUES DURING PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. Donald Trump's shift in tone on his proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S. is not the first time that he has made a significant change in an approach to an major issue during the campaign. Abortion and assault rifles are two topics that he had different feelings about before the presidential campaign, but the bigger surprises have come when he announced one stance early in the presidential campaign and then reversed his stance months later. There have been several other notable policy shifts that have taken place -- mostly in the last few months. More specifically, three of the four flip-flops have taken place during the last week, after both of the remaining alternative candidates dropped out of the presidential race, making Trump the likely Republican nominee. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY reports on four of his most notable reversals. http://abcn.ws/1shGBgJ
NEWLY-LAUNCHED SUPER PAC VOWS TO RAISE MILLIONS FOR TRUMP. As presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump shifts his campaign to the general election, at least one super PAC is getting on board too. A brand new pro-Trump super PAC launched Thursday, touting its ability to take on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton through a major donor operation focused on funding voter registration programs, get-out-the-vote operations, and television and online media ad buys. Representatives for the group, called the Committee for American Sovereignty, say they expect to raise $20 million between now and the GOP convention in July and upwards of $100 million throughout the course of the campaign, ABC’s KATHERINE FAULDERS reports. http://abcn.ws/1Ns4BqN
ANTI-TRUMP FORCES BUILD SHADOW THIRD-PARTY CAMPAIGN AS REPUBLICANS WARM TO TRUMP. Anti-Donald Trump strategists are working behind the scenes to build the foundation for a third-party run even as the Republican Party takes steps toward unifying around the presumptive GOP candidate. A small but dedicated group of Republicans say they’ve begun to cultivate donors in hopes of mounting a viable third-party challenge to a likely Hillary Clinton-Trump showdown that some strategists say has fed broad demand for an alternative option. “I think we’ll end up in a situation where we do see somebody who’s a conservative alternative to Trump and Mrs. Clinton come November,” Rick Wilson, a veteran Republican operative, said on ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” podcast. ABC’s SHUSHANNAH WALSHE, CHRIS GOOD AND JOHN KRUZEL have more. http://abcn.ws/1Om4sFt
LINDSEY GRAHAM SAYS HE HAD A ‘CORDIAL’ PHONE CALL WITH TRUMP. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he had a “cordial, pleasant phone conversation” with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Wednesday. But the South Carolina senator maintained that he would not support the New York real estate mogul in his general election bid, ABC’s ALI WEINBERG reports.“My position remains the same regarding both candidates running for president. I will do what I can in the Senate to help the next president. The next president will inherit a mess,” Graham said today. http://abcn.ws/1WsY1Uk
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
QUAYLE ON TRUMP: ‘I’M GOING TO SUPPORT THE NOMINEE’. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is backing Trump for president and believes that Trump could beat Hillary Clinton in November and put Republicans back in the White House. “I'm going to support the nominee,” Quayle said in an interview on the “Today Show” Thursday. “And I predict that most people in my position or people that have been in the Republican Party for a long time will rally around the nominee.” ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI has more. http://abcn.ws/1WskHDF
WHO’S TWEETING?
@TheFix: Jon Stewart perfectly diagnosed the problem with Hillary Clinton's candidacy http://wpo.st/MnxZ1
@BresPolitico: For Trump, all is negotiable: "Everything is a suggestion, no matter what you say, it's a suggestion."
@SopanDeb: Trump tells ABC that he doesn't have any offshore bank accounts: "I really have a very, very, very clean company."
@AaronBlake: Jimmy Kimmel is running for vice president, which makes sense http://wpo.st/PoxZ1
@evale72: If anyone needs me today please contact my spokesman Eduardo Vale