The Note: Trump and Clinton Spar
— -- NOTABLES
--TRUMP CALLS HILLARY CLINTON IS A ‘WORLD-CLASS LIAR’: Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump blasted Hillary Clinton as “corrupt” and a “world-class liar” in a speech yesterday that drew attention, not only for its anti-Clinton rhetoric but also for its many fact-checkable statements. “Hillary Clinton may be the most corrupt person ever to seek the presidency of the United States,” he said in New York at his Trump SoHo hotel — which got him a standing ovation from his supporters in attendance. “Hillary Clinton, and as you know, she, most people know, she is a world-class liar. Just look at her pathetic email server statements,” he said, referring to her use of a private email account for official correspondence while she was at the State Department — a controversy that has dogged her campaign. ABC’s CANDACE SMITH, JOHN SANTUCCI, PAOLA CHAVEZ, VERONICA STRACQUALURSI have more: http://abcn.ws/28TRgWs
--FACT CHECK -- TRUMP REPEATS MYTH ABOUT BENGHAZI AND MORE: ABC’s JUSTIN FISHEL and CANDACE SMITH fact check Trump’s speech: http://abcn.ws/28OfQJ7
--CLINTON SAYS TRUMP ‘HATES IT’ THAT SHE’S ‘GOTTEN UNDER HIS SKIN’: Hillary Clinton said during a campaign rally in North Carolina yesterday that she's "gotten under [Donald Trump's] skin -- based on the real estate mogul's reaction to her economic speech and a firestorm of tweets. "He's going after me personally because he has no answers on the substance. In fact, he doubled down on being the king of debt, so all he can do is try to distract us," Clinton told supporters in Raleigh. ABC’s JOSH HASKELL and LIZ KREUTZ note Clinton seemed joyful when talking about how much Trump "hates it when anyone points out how hollow his sales pitch really is" and even had an answer to the billionaire businessman's famous line from 'The Apprentice,' "You're fired." http://abcn.ws/28SfZwy
--HAPPENING TODAY -- TRUMP TO SCOTLAND, SANDERS IN NEW YORK: After a rocky news period for Donald Trump, today he travels to Scotland for a two-day trip to promote two of his golf courses and resorts in Turnberry and Aberdeen. Traditionally, candidates plan overseas jaunts to build up their foreign policy credentials and pack trips with meetings with foreign dignitaries, ABC’s SHUSHANNAH WALSHE notes. But Trump is an untraditional candidate and this trip looks all business with a large side of publicity. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has no public campaign events today, but Bernie Sanders is will speak at the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in Washington, DC and tonight, he gives a speech in New York City on “Where We Go From Here.”
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
SANDERS SAID HE ‘DOESN’T APPEAR’ TO BE NOMINEE, CITES CAMPAIGN LESSONS. Bernie Sanders inched closer Wednesday morning to admitting defeat in the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. “It doesn’t appear that I am going to be the nominee,” he said during an interview with C-SPAN, when asked about whether he will speak at the party’s convention in July. “So I am not going to be determining the scope of the convention.” Sanders has been slowly changing his tone away from winning the nomination to pushing his policy ideas on the party's platform, since voting has officially come to a close in the last few weeks. ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS notes Sanders would not say specifically whether he would endorse Hillary Clinton ahead of the convention, but stressed again that the two campaigns were in negotiations and that negotiations “go two ways.” http://abcn.ws/28XXGFf
RUBIO TO SEEK SENATE RE-ELECTION. After months of ruling out a re-election bid for his U.S. Senate seat during his unsuccessful presidential run, Florida Republican Marco Rubio says he will seek re-election this November, ABC’s TOM LLAMAS and RYAN STRUYK report. “In politics, admitting you've changed your mind is not something most people like to do. But here it goes. I have decided to seek re-election to the United States Senate,” Rubio said in a statement Wednesday morning. The move puts an end to months of pressure from fellow Republicans to consider running for the seat. With several seats at risk this year in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio, the GOP is trying to protect its slim majority in the Senate. http://abcn.ws/28OA2hp
WHY CLINTON MAY NOT WANT WARREN AS HER RUNNING MATE. Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren are set to hit the campaign trail as a team in Ohio next week, amidst speculation that the Massachusetts senator is on Clinton’s short-list of vice presidential contenders under consideration. The principle reason behind the speculation surrounding a potential Clinton-Warren ticket is the potential for Warren to draw in disenchanted Sanders supporters with her message of Wall Street reform and economic equality. But while the Democratic firebrand seems like an exciting choice to some segments of Clinton’s base, the presumptive nominee stands to lose a deep-pocketed constituency if Warren is her pick: Wall Street. ABC’s JORDYN PHELPS and LIZ KREUTZ have more. http://abcn.ws/28QpLk7
THE BUZZ AROUND REP. XAVIER BECERRA POSSIBLY BEING CLINTON’S VP PICK. As Donald Trump’s lackluster fundraising raises questions about his ability to help down-ballot Republicans, Hillary Clinton met with House Democrats and assured them she will help try to win back the chamber this year. “I want the House,” Clinton told the room, according to Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington). Following the closed meeting, which lasted under an hour, California Rep. Xavier Becerra began a press conference saying Secretary Clinton was ready to get to work. “Man, you are working it hard,” joked Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), ribbing Becerra over his interest in VP nod, and sparking a round of laughs, according to a Democratic aide. ABC’s BENJAMIN SIEGEL, ALI ROGIN, JOSH HASKELL report Becerra has been floated as a possible No. 2 for Clinton, but he said that he was not being vetted "to my knowledge." http://abcn.ws/28QMA5z
TRUMP: HILLARY CLINTON IS RAISING ‘BLOOD MONEY’. Ahead of Donald Trump’s speech on “all things Clinton,” the GOP presumptive nominee had strong words for his Democratic rival Wednesday morning, calling the campaign funds Hillary Clinton has raised "blood money" in an interview on CBS Wednesday. “When she raises this money, every time she raises money, she's making deals...I mean, give me a break. All of the money she's raising, that's blood money,” Trump said. ABC’s CANDACE SMITH notes Trump raised less money in May than any other candidate since Al Gore. Trump has $1.3 million in cash on hand compared to Clinton's $40 million. http://abcn.ws/28NtA7z
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
ICONIC CLEVELAND SIGN WILL BE REMOVED FOR GOP CONVENTION. After the Fourth of July, visitors and residents of the city of Cleveland, Ohio, will no longer see the iconic LeBron James poster that hangs on the Sherwin Williams building across from Quicken Loans Arena. Though it was just updated to honor the Cavaliers' historic NBA championship win, the poster will be replaced with one that says “This Land is Our Land: 150 Years in Cleveland" in honor of the Republican National Convention that will be held in Cleveland from July 18-21. ABC’s HAYLEY WALKER reports the new sign, according to Sherwin-Williams, will go up on July 5 and will appear for 90 days to honor the city’s anniversary and to provide “a warm welcome to summer visitors.” The LeBron James poster will return in the fall, according to the company. http://abcn.ws/28NszMP
WHO’S TWEETING?
@mattcanter: Read the letter Gabrielle Giffords wrote to former colleagues for the House sit-in http://ti.me/28O3fWV via @TIMEPolitics
@rollcall: The 'guerilla theater performance' on the House floor and what it means: http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/inside-houses-first-social-media-non-filibuster-democrats-gun-control … @davidhawkings
@JFriedman44: The full @POTUS interview with @business "The ‘Anti-Business’ President Who’s Been Good for Business" http://bloom.bg/28RWB3n
@tackettdc: Hillary Clinton’s message as analyzed by @neil_irwin. She knows the economy has problems. She says she can fix them http://nyti.ms/28SN0by
@jpaceDC: Al Franken to @catherine_lucey on trading comedy for politics: "I really miss hanging around funny people." http://apne.ws/28Sh2hw