memeorandum: Trump again links Rafael Cruz to JFK's killer (Nolan D. McCaskill/Politico)

12:00 PM ET, May 4, 2016

Top Items:

What Went Wrong for Ted Cruz — What happened to Ted Cruz? A month ago, he won the Wisconsin primary in a landslide and was poised to combat Donald Trump with a fresh burst of enthusiasm. Now he's out of the race and Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump again links Rafael Cruz to JFK's killer — Donald Trump began Tuesday morning floating a conspiracy theory about Ted Cruz's father, but he ended the day with magnanimous praise for the Texas senator, hailing him as “one hell of a competitor” with “an amazing future” as he called for the party to unite behind his campaign.

Morning Consult:

Poll: Cruz Backers Won't Flock to Trump — The reality of Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee may be setting in with the GOP establishment, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's supporters won't happily back Trump against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to recent Morning Consult polling.

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, Politicus USA and Hot Air

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Ted Cruz drops out of presidential race

Discussion: Common Dreams, No More Mister Nice Blog, Slantpoint, The Last Tradition, Hit & Run, Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, Independent Journal …, Vox Popoli and MichelleMalkin.com

New York Times:
Donald Trump All but Clinches G.O.P. Race With Indiana Win; Ted Cruz Quits

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Gothamist, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, CBS News, Public Religion Research …, Raw Story, CNN, Media Matters for America and Politico

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
When #NeverTrump Becomes #ImWithHer

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Fox News, New York Times, The Resurgent and Slate

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Winners and Losers from the Indiana primary

Discussion: New York Magazine, RedState, Politico, JP Updates, New York Times, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Week, CBS New York, WISH-TV, NBC News, ABC News and CNN

Maeve Reston / CNN:
Ted Cruz drops presidential bid

Discussion: Hit & Run, mrctv.org/videos, Media Matters for America, LawNewz, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Red Alert Politics, USA Today, alicublog, The Federalist, The Jawa Report and Scared Monkeys

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Kasich campaign: Indiana results won't alter our plans

Discussion: Western Journalism and rubber hose

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Ted Cruz drops out of the Republican presidential race

Discussion: whorunsGov, Hit & Run and Scared Monkeys

Benjy Sarlin / MSNBC:
Donald Trump is obsessed with race-baiting conspiracy theories

Discussion: American Prospect, Right Wing Watch, RedState, Mediaite, CANNONFIRE, NBC News, Guardian, Raw Story, AOL and Washington Monthly

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Ted Cruz Suspends His Campaign for President

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, The Slot, FiveThirtyEight, Refinery29, U.S. Uncut, Guns.com, Bloomberg, CBS New York, Power Line, liberalamerica.org, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Slate and Outside the Beltway

Hannah Levintova / Mother Jones:
Ted Cruz Ends Presidential Campaign After Trump Sweep in Indiana

Discussion: Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Fox News Insider and Hot Air

Ian Hanchett / Breitbart:

Bernstein: There Will Be ‘Very Damaging’ Leaks From Hillary Email Investigation, Her Actions Reckless and Entitled — On Wednesday's “CNN Tonight,” Journalist and author Carl Bernstein stated that there would be “very damaging” leaks from the investigation into Democratic presidential candidate …

CNN:

At the starting gate: Clinton leads Trump by double-digits — Indianapolis (CNN)As Donald Trump captures the mantle of presumptive Republican nominee, a new poll finds he begins his general election campaign well behind Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: TIME, NBC News, The Moderate Voice, Washington Free Beacon, Guardian, The Week and The Daily Caller

Mike Huckabee:

The Voters Have Spoken — “It's all over but the shouting.” ( It's an old expression that means that the decision has been reached and all that is left is for the public shouting to affirm what has been done.) — The official shouting will be done in Cleveland when the delegates shout …

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite and Washington Times

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Yes, It's Early, but Donald Trump Would Have Uphill Battle Against Hillary Clinton — A general election matchup between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton became all but certain on Tuesday after Mr. Trump's decisive victory in Indiana. — He would begin that matchup at a significant disadvantage.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Vox, The Resurgent, Prairie Weather and Business Insider

Tal Kopan / CNN:
Bobby Jindal will vote for Trump — grudgingly

Discussion: RedState, abc7ny.com, National Review, CNNMoney and New York Magazine

New York Post:
Even Hillary Clinton's pals can't pretend to believe her lies

Discussion: Power Line

Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:
Six Months Out, the General Election Map Looks Tough for Donald Trump

Discussion: The Week

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Trump promises to obliterate Clinton's record

Discussion: Politico, The Week, ThinkProgress and No More Mister Nice Blog

Gregory Wallace / CNN:
The anti-Trump movement spent upwards of $75 million and ultimately lost

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Business Insider and Washington Free Beacon

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Defeat of True Conservatism — When Donald Trump knocked first Jeb Bush and then Marco Rubio out of the Republican primary campaign, he defeated not only the candidates themselves but their common theory of what the G.O.P. should be — the idea that the party could essentially recreate …

Discussion: Vox

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Has Won and the Republican Party Is Broken — The surreal has finally become real. — It is fitting that Donald Trump has essentially locked up the Republican presidential nomination on the same day he made yet another bizarre and senseless (that is, lacking any discernible purpose) …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Politico, Obsidian Wings, Alas, a Blog, The Federalist, The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Post, NBC News, Media Matters for America, National Review, Wall Street Journal and Hit & Run

Josh Barro / Business Insider:

The crisis in the Republican Party is even worse than it looks — Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee for president, and this alarms ideological conservatives for several reasons: — 1. They think he will lose badly to Hillary Clinton, perhaps so badly that Republicans lose control of both houses of Congress.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Booman Tribune, AOL, Lawyers, Guns & Money, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review and Vox

Mark Cunningham / New York Post:

With Trump's win, it's time for GOP to unite against Hillary — MORE FROM: — Ted Cruz did the right and honorable thing by suspending his presidential campaign Tuesday night. John Kasich should follow suit. It's time for the party to unite against Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, New York Daily News, Guardian, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Gateway Pundit

New York Daily News:
Lupica: Donald Trump's victory in Indiana is the final KO for Republican Party

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Guardian

New York Times:
It's Donald Trump's Party Now

Discussion: Business Insider, The Huffington Post, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, AOL, Politico and Vox Popoli

Associated Press:
Trump shifts to new campaign phase, dismisses GOP critics

Discussion: Washington Post

Leon H. Wolf / RedState:

Republicans Should Confirm Merrick Garland ASAP. — Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee, this is not even a close call. There is absolutely no reason to drag this out any longer. Garland is not a great choice, but he is not a terrible one, either.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Week and Media Matters for America

Lea Wilson / Click2Houston.com:

2 dead, 1 injured after ex-employee opens fire inside Katy-area business — Gunmen shoots 2 co-workers before commiting suicide — HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A disgruntled employee with a shotgun killed one person and injured another Wednesday morning before shooting himself inside Knight Transportation …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, KXAN-TV, WWBT-TV, Business Insider and Associated Press

Scott Adams Blog:

Scott Adams' Blog

Discussion: Althouse and Instapundit

In Touch Weekly:

Married ‘Fox News’ White House Correspondent Ed Henry's Affair Exposed — Mistress Tells All (WORLD EXCLUSIVE) — MARRIED ‘FOX NEWS’ — WHITE HOUSE — CORRESPONDENT ED — HENRY'S AFFAIR EXPOSED — MISTRESS TELLS ALL — (WORLD EXCLUSIVE) — In a world exclusive, In Touch …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Michelle Goldberg / Slate:

This Is What a Republican Attack on Bernie Sanders Would Look Like — Sanders' “superior electability” is still a myth. — Over the past year, Bernie Sanders' supporters have repeatedly criticized the undemocratic role of superdelegates in choosing the Democratic presidential nominee.

Discussion: the daily howler

Nick Gass / Politico:

Sanders surprises Clinton in Indiana — Bernie Sanders upset Hillary Clinton in Indiana's Democratic primary Tuesday night, giving his flagging campaign another reason to carry on to Philadelphia even though he has virtually no chance of overtaking Clinton for the nomination.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Hit & Run