The Note: Trumpworld
— -- NOTABLES
--TRUMP POSTPONES ISRAEL TRIP: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted early this morning that he was postponing his trip to Israel until "after I become President." Trump was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec. 28 in Jerusalem, an Israeli official confirmed yesterday, ABC's RYAN STRUYK notes. "I didn't want to put [Netanyahu] under pressure," Trump told Fox News this morning. Trump said he canceled the trip for "lots of different reasons," adding that the trip was never a done deal. "All I'm doing is postponing it and I think that was the better decision," he said. The prime minister's office released a statement on Wednesday saying Netanyahu rejected Trump's recent comments to ban Muslims from the United States. http://abcn.ws/1TCXidM
--THE DONALD CLIMBS TO 35 PERCENT SUPPORT IN NEW POLL: Meanwhile, Trump has climbed 13 percentage points since mid-October to 35 percent support in a new national CBS News/New York Times poll released today. He more than doubles the support of his nearest rivals. The poll was taken both before and after Trump's recent call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Sen. Ted Cruz garnered 16 percent support, quadrupling his support from late-October. On the other hand, neurosurgeon Ben Carson earned 13 percent - just half of his support from late October. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had 9 percent. This is the second national poll in the last week to show Trump's support in the mid-30s. http://abcn.ws/1Z0ZMpW
--RUBIO PREDICTS TRUMP'S MUSLIM BAN 'NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN': "All the talk, including the newscasts, are dominated by this plan that's never going to happen," Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio told ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on "Good Morning America" this morning. "We need to refocus here on the important issue of terrorism," he said. "This is a growing threat and we're not spending nearly enough time focusing on it." He added that he believes Trump is not going to be the Republican nominee for the 2016 presidential election. "We need to nominate someone who actually has a chance to win in the general election," he said. "I'm not going to hyperventilate about polls." More from ABC's RYAN STRUYK: http://abcn.ws/1OjT46X
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: If Donald Trump is so out of step with the Republican Party, why is it that his closest rivals for the nomination are offering some of the softest disagreements with his policy on Muslims not entering the country? None of Trump's rivals are agreeing with him, of course. But there's a big difference between what Ted Cruz is saying about it - "I do not think it is the right solution" - and what Jeb Bush is saying: "inflammatory," "Donald Trump is unhinged." Bush has company in Chris Christie and John Kasich, along with Lindsey Graham, in calling out Trump vociferously and sharply. But they are each other's company in the middle (and, for Graham, way lower) part of the polling pack. As for other first-tier candidates, you have Marco Rubio offering strong language, saying the plan is probably unconstitutional and is "offensive and outlandish," and adding on "Good Morning America" Thursday that he's confident Trump won't be the GOP nominee in part because he can't win the general election. But it should be noted that Rubio wants a policy that would effectively keep many Muslims out for a while: "a pause not because of a religious test, but a pause because we can't vet people." Ben Carson, of course, has long been on record saying we can't have a Muslim president, and says Muslims who come here "should all be monitored and registered in the United States." Early signs are that Trump's position is helping him in the GOP primary - something some of his main rivals seem aware of, at least for now.
TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: Ted Cruz is in Washington, DC today and will give a morning national security speech at the Heritage Foundation titled "Securing America's Freedom: Protect, Defend, and Champion American Liberties Through a Strong National Defense." Ben Carson is in Chicago this morning for a closed door roundtable meeting with pastors. This afternoon he is in Fort Wayne, Indiana for a rally. Donald Trump hold an evening event in New Hampshire today. Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and Lindsey Graham are all in the state as well. Hillary Clinton will appear tonight on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Martin O'Malley is in Phoenix for a press conference where he will speak out against immigrant detention and in support of detention hunger strikers.
IN THE NOTE'S INBOX
ROB JOHNSON GOES ALL IN FOR FIORINA. Former Rick Perry consultant Rob Johnson has signed onto Carly Fiorina's campaign as a senior adviser, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS notes. Though Fiorina has faded in the polls in recent weeks after experiencing a post-debate bump during the fall, Johnson contends that there's still plenty of time left for the candidate to breakthrough in a big way. "There's a lot of campaign left, and no one's going to outwork her," Johnson told ABC News. "I think her message is going to resonate and people are going to respond." Johnson previously worked on Perry's 2016 campaign until the former Texas governor dropped out; and in 2012, Johnson left his role as Newt Gingrich's campaign manager to join Perry's campaign.
THE BUZZwith ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
FROM ISRAEL TO THE UK, BACKLASH GROWS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP. From Israel to the United Kingdom, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump drew a fresh series of rebukes from world leaders and citizens alike on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made known that he "rejects" the Republican presidential front-runner's proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S. "The State of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens. At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world," Netanyahu said in a statement issued Wednesday by the prime minister's office. ABC's PAOLA CHAVEZ and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI have more. http://abcn.ws/1mbjXDw
NOTED: TRUMP INSISTS MUSLIM BAN IS ABOUT SAFETY, NOT RELIGION. In an interview on ABC's "Live with Kelly and Michael," Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump Wednesday defended his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, insisting religious discrimination is not his intention. "This has nothing to do with religion; it's about safety," Trump told Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. Trump's plan would block Muslims from entering the United States, with an exception for U.S. citizens who are Muslim, who would come and go as they wish. He has said he hopes the ban "will go quickly," as soon as "our leaders figure out what the hell is going on." ABC's JOHN SANTUCCI has more. http://abcn.ws/1TCXidM
JEB BUSH HAS AN UNLIKELY GROUP OF SUPPORTERS: MILLENNIALS. Jeb Bush was in an unfamiliar setting. Instead of his usual crowd of sexagenarians, the 62-year-old Republican presidential candidate was surrounded by millennials, a group between the ages of 18-34, at a campaign event, ABC's CANDACE SMITH writes. Bush was asked what kind of party he'd throw as president if hosting young professionals at the White House. He began by recounting a story that involved him taking a Meyers-Briggs test and discovering he was an introvert. "Well, the introverts were planning their party and the extroverts were planning theirs. So, we quickly decided that we were all gonna read a book that week and then we would have an interesting dinner conversation that would be over early, about the book that we read," Bush said, as the young crowd laughed. http://abcn.ws/1OiU62S
HILLARY CLINTON SAYS DONALD TRUMP IS SUPPLYING ISIS WITH 'NEW PROPAGANDA.' Hillary Clinton invoked the five Sullivan brothers -- the most famous fallen World War II heroes in Waterloo, Iowa -- at her town hall gathering Wednesday on the subject of leadership, saying they "acted with resolve, not fear." Clinton then transitioned to Donald Trump, whose name was met by boos, saying "he does traffic in prejudice and paranoia" by calling for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., ABC's LIZ KREUTZ notes. "It's not only shameful, it's dangerous," Clinton said of Trump's rhetoric, telling the crowd of 400 that it "runs counter to what I and others who actually have been in the [White House] Situation Room, making hard choices, know we have to do. We have to enlist help from American Muslims, Muslims around the world in defeating the radical jihadists and the hateful ideology they represent." http://abcn.ws/1RaMzt6
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
MARCO RUBIO ACCIDENTALLY INSULTED BY MICHIGAN POLITICIAN. Aaaawkward. Michigan State Senator Kenneth Horn accidentally took a swipe at Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at a campaign event in Waterford, Michigan, last night. "I am so fed up, at this point, with first-term senators...who are president of the United States," he said. But Rubio is a first-term senator. Horn was, of course, trying to praise Rubio for his experience, while simultaneously bashing President Obama, who was a first-term senator from Illinois when he first got elected to the White House, ABC's INES DE LA CUETARA notes. http://abcn.ws/1IWb5Xe
WHO'S TWEETING?
@JesseFFerguson: NEWS - "Nation's Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Hillary Clinton" https://www.afge.org/?PressReleaseID=1837 ...
@TheFix: Donald Trump leads in the polls, but Ted Cruz looks more like the favorite. http://wpo.st/JY5w0
@SenSanders: There's been a massive transfer of wealth from the 99% to the top 1%. We've got to bring that money back to working families.
@politicalwire: Will Romney Play Kingmaker in New Hampshire? https://politicalwire.com/2015/12/10/will-mitt-romney-play-kingmaker-in-new-hampshire/ ... via @politicalwire
@adamslily: It is 53 degrees in Des Moines in mid December. What is going on?