memeorandum: Trump's open path to nomination causes agony for some in GOP (Associated Press)

7:25 AM ET, May 5, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump Won't Self-Fund General-Election Campaign — Presumptive Republican nominee plans to create ‘world-class finance organization’ to back campaign — Donald Trump won't self-fund his general-election campaign, and will instead create a “world-class finance organization,” …

Discussion: Politico, Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, The Resurgent, Guardian, Mediaite, The Week, Tallahassee Democrat, Political Wire, Mike Huckabee, New York Daily News, CNN and New York Post

Seth Masket / Vox:

We are witnessing the most massive failure of a political party in generations — The recent withdrawal of Ted Cruz and John Kasich from the Republican presidential nomination race makes Donald Trump the party's assured nominee for 2016. This represents the most colossal failure of an American political party in modern history.

Discussion: Politico and Outside the Beltway

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Spoiler: They can't. — Suppose the Republican Party's elites could go a year back in time and act with perfect foresight and perfect coordination. (At the risk of making this hypothetical even more outlandish, let's also grant them functioning strategic brains.) What would they do to avoid their current predicament?

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Politico

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Trump: I'm open to Cruz as VP — on Wednesday said that he would consider making Sen. Ted Cruz — (R-Texas) his running mate. — “I respect Ted,” he told host Bill O'Reilly on Fox News's “The O'Reilly Factor.” “He was a very strong competitor. He really competed hard and tough.

Discussion: Politico and Little Green Footballs

Bloomberg:
In Reversal, Donald Trump to Seek Donations to Fund Campaign

Discussion: ABC News

Schuyler Kropf / Post and Courier:
Haley won't be Trump's running mate

Discussion: Political Wire and Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: McConnell will support Trump

CBS News:
What Donald Trump is looking for in vice presidential pick

Discussion: Western Journalism

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Susan Collins: I'll Be Able To Back Trump If He Stops “Gratuitous Personal Insults”

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Hot Air, Politico, Talking Points Memo and ABC News

Rush Limbaugh:

My Gut: Trump Beats Hillary in Landslide — RUSH: Hold your horses, Trump supporters. Hold your horses. When I say, “We'll examine what went wrong,” come on. You know exactly what I'm talking about, from the standpoint of Cruz supporters. They're the ones trying to figure out what went wrong today.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Taylor Marsh, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air, Western Journalism, The Daily Caller and The Last Tradition

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Trump Blames Hillary for Birtherism, Wolf Blitzer Summarily Fact-Checks Him — Original birther Donald Trump today tried to push birtherism on Hillary Clinton, but Wolf Blitzer didn't go to commercial break without fact-checking that little claim. — Blitzer brought up a clip of Clinton bringing …

Discussion: Guardian and Raw Story

Mark Krikorian / National Review:
NeverHillary — Donald Trump is unfit to be president.

Discussion: Vox and alicublog

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Clinton says ‘whole world’ wants her to beat Trump

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Hillary Calls on Press to Toughen Up on Trump

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jordan Rudner / The Texas Tribune:

Bush 41, 43 Have No Plans to Endorse Trump … For the first time since his own presidency, George H.W. Bush is planning to stay silent in the race for the Oval Office — and the younger former president Bush plans to stay silent as well. — Bush 41, who enthusiastically endorsed every Republican nominee …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Balloon Juice, AOL, Trail Blazers Blog, Political Wire, Mediaite and The Week

Associated Press:

Trump's open path to nomination causes agony for some in GOP — WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's last Republican foe, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, ended his quixotic presidential campaign Wednesday, cementing Trump's remarkable triumph as his party's presumptive nominee and launching him toward a likely fall battle with Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel, The Week, Washington Post, Bloomberg View and CNN

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
Donald Trump Isn't Going to Be President

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones, CNBC and Raw Story

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Donald Trump takes the reins of a divided Republican Party

Discussion: New York Magazine and Politico

Fox News:

Romanian hacker Guccifer: I breached Clinton server, ‘it was easy’ — Marcel Lazar Lehel, 40, is escorted by masked policemen in Bucharest, after being arrested in Arad, 337 miles west of Bucharest. (Reuters) (REUTERS/Mediafax/Silviu Matei) — EXCLUSIVE: The infamous Romanian hacker known as …

Discussion: Mother Jones, NBC News, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, LawNewz, The Lid, National Review, Power Line, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News Insider and The Gateway Pundit

Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Federal judge opens the door to Clinton deposition in email case

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, ABC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Hot Air

Katie Van-Syckle / Variety:

MSNBC's Chris Matthews Caught on Hot Mic Ogling Melania Trump … ‘Hardball’ anchor has long history of sexist comments — During the network's coverage of Donald Trump's Indiana primary victory speech, MSNBC's Chris Matthews was caught on a live microphone commenting on the appearance of Melania Trump, the Republican nominee's wife.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Politico, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Jim Morrill / The Charlotte Observer:

US Justice Department: HB2 violates federal Civil Rights Act — Ruling could ultimately lead to the loss of millions in federal education money — RALEIGH — U.S. Justice Department officials Wednesday notified Gov. Pat McCrory that House Bill 2 violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act.

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Trump is the Nominee, What Now? Legal Insurrection Authors Debate — #NeverTrump, #FineWithTrump, and everything in between — Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee. Presumably he will face off against Hillary Clinton. — Given the intense feelings and turmoil resulting …

Discussion: The San Diego Union …, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast and Morning Consult

Breitbart:

Exclusive: President Fox Apologizes, Invites Trump to Mexico — SANTA MONICA, California — During an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, former Mexican President Vicente Fox apologized Wednesday for the vulgar language he has used regarding GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's proposal …

Discussion: Hot Air and BizPac Review

Dana Rose Falcone / Us Weekly:

Caitlyn Jenner to Pose Naked With Gold Medal for ‘Sports Illustrated’ — Now that's a patriotic streak! — Caitlyn Jenner will appear on a summer cover of Sports Illustrated wearing “nothing but an American flag and her Olympic medal,” a source reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly.

Discussion: WNEP-TV, Independent Journal …, myfox8.com, AOL, CBS New York and The Daily Caller

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

McCain on tape: Trump damages my reelection hopes — Publicly, John McCain insists Donald Trump will have a negligible effect on his campaign for reelection. But behind closed doors at a fundraiser in Arizona last month, the Republican senator and two-time presidential hopeful offered a far more dire assessment to his supporters.

New York Times:

Donald Trump Reaches Out, Quietly, to Republican Establishment — Donald J. Trump, turning his attention to the general election, has begun quietly reaching out to key elements of the Republican establishment as he seeks to unite the party behind his candidacy before his anticipated battle against Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Political Wire

Ben Sasse / Facebook:

AN OPEN LETTER TO MAJORITY AMERICA — TO: Those who think both leading presidential candidates are dishonest and have little chance of leading America forward: — (...or, stated more simply) — TO: The majority of America: — Note: If you are one of those rare souls …

Discussion: Politico

Los Angeles Times:

San Andreas fault ‘locked, loaded and ready to roll’ with big earthquake, expert says — This simulation by the Southern California Earthquake Center shows the shaking that could be felt by Los Angeles during a possible magnitude 8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, ScienceAlert and LAist

Ana Marie Cox / New York Times:

Milo Yiannopoulos Doesn't Have Feelings — You're one of the loudest, most provocative voices at Breitbart News, and you're currently on a speaking tour of college campuses, railing against “P.C. culture.” You once admitted in a profile that your public persona started out as a comedy character …

Jonathan Rodriguez / WNCN:

NC man among some joining groups in US to patrol border with Mexico — NOGALES, AZ. (WNCN) — Spanning nearly 2,000 miles the border between the United States and Mexico is made up of a variety of terrain, from major urban areas to isolated towns and uninhabitable desserts.

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.