memeorandum: Donald Trump Seeks Republican Unity but Finds Rejection (Alexander Burns/New York Times)

1:25 PM ET, May 6, 2016

Top Items:

‘Dismayed’ Romney says he doesn't intend to back Trump, worried about ‘demagoguery and populism’ — Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, said at a dinner in Washington on Thursday night that he had no intention of supporting presumtive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Independent Journal …, BizPac Review and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:

Sheldon Adelson Says He Will Support Donald Trump — The casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson said on Thursday night that he would support Donald J. Trump now that he has become the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. — “Yes, I'm a Republican, he's a Republican,” Mr. Adelson said in a brief interview.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, Fox 59, Washington Post, USA Today, Outside the Beltway, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Associated Press, The Week, JP Updates, Donald J. Trump, Wall Street Journal and Guardian

Nick Gass / Politico:

Trump camp suggests Ryan unfit to be speaker — Donald Trump and his allies are lashing out at House Speaker Paul Ryan for his refusal to back — for now — the presumptive Republican nominee, with Trump's spokeswoman even declaring Ryan unfit for his job. — During a phone interview …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Forbes, Sky Dancing and ABC News

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Donald Trump Seeks Republican Unity but Finds Rejection — Donald J. Trump's moment of triumph this week quickly gave way to a trying and even humiliating test of his standing as a Republican leader, as a phalanx of the party's most respected figures shunned the man anointed as their presumptive presidential nominee.

Discussion: Washington Post, FOX News Radio, Chicago Tribune, Chicagoist, Red Alert Politics, Western Journalism, Mashable and National Review

Jake Sherman / Politico:

How Ryan decided to ditch Trump — On Wednesday morning, not even 24 hours after Donald Trump effectively clinched the Republican nomination, Paul Ryan convened his top advisers for a call. With Congress out of session, Ryan was bouncing between multiple states, raising the piles of money needed …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TIME and CNN

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:

Reince Priebus on Donald Trump's Taco Tweet: 'He's Trying' — A tweet showing Donald Trump eating a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo while declaring “I love Hispanics!” signals that the GOP front-runner is “trying.” — That's according to Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus …

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Take Town and Politicus USA

Nick Gass / Politico:

Priebus on Trump: 'He's trying' — Reince Priebus is a man under siege. He has a presumptive nominee who has scorched the earth. He has a House speaker so far refusing to accept the GOP's new standard-bearer. And he has knee-knocking candidates across the country worried their party is being driven off a cliff.

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post and The Hill

Matea Gold / Washington Post:
Trump turns to general election — and away from past positions

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, New York Times, The Week, zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, CANNONFIRE and Vox

Eric Bradner / CNN:
The GOP resistance to Donald Trump

Discussion: Breitbart, ThinkProgress, Power Line, The Atlantic, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Downstream Politics, BizPac Review and Public Religion Research …

Nick Gass / Politico:
Trump rules out Democrat as running mate

Discussion: Western Journalism, Talking Points Memo, Independent Journal … and The Week

Wall Street Journal:
Ben Carson Says Donald Trump Could Consider Democrat for Running Mate

Discussion: Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, AOL, BizPac Review, Liberty Unyielding, Washington Free Beacon, Complex, RedState, Joe.My.God., The Week and CNN

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Everyone Is Getting Today's Trump Tweet Totally Wrong

Discussion: ABC News, Business Insider, Trail Blazers Blog, Media Matters for America, AOL, New York Times, Western Journalism, Politico, TalkLeft, No More Mister Nice Blog, USA Today, Mashable, Washington Post and Patterico's Pontifications

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Donald Trump's relentless media tour calls attention to him —and his general-election strategy

Discussion: AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Politicus USA, FOX6Now.com and In Touch Weekly

ABC News:
The Note: Not All Aboard the Trump Train

Discussion: Politico, Red Alert Politics, Washington Free Beacon and The Last Refuge

Dana Bash / CNN:
First on CNN: Rick Perry endorses Donald Trump for president

Discussion: RedState, Trail Blazers Blog, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed, The Resurgent, Patterico's Pontifications, The Week, BizPac Review, Independent Journal …, Politicus USA, Washington Times and New York Times

Peter Overby / NPR.org:
Will Donald Trump Get Back The $38 Million He Lent His Campaign?

Discussion: Washington Post

Sundance / The Last Refuge: Donald Trump Is The Nominee But Every State Needs To Keep Voting...

CNN:
Romney skipping GOP convention, joins list of presidents, leaders

Discussion: The Atlantic, BizPac Review, Complex, Western Journalism, The Week, Mediaite, Media Matters for America and Washington Post

Nathan McDermott / BuzzFeed:
Rand Paul On Trump: “I've Always Said I'll Endorse The Nominee”

Discussion: RedState and Guardian

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

Republicans, Apologize to Bill Clinton — Upon arrival in Washington, DC in January of 1993, Bill and Hillary Clinton found themselves in a never ending independent counsel investigation. The investigation began over a land deal that was known as Whitewater.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

Yo, Hillary: Hit Donald Where It Hurts — The things Trump likes to brag about are exactly where he's most vulnerable. — Karl Rove, in his calamitous career, got one thing right: attack the other guy's strength. That's what Hillary Clinton should do to Donald Trump, starting yesterday.

Discussion: CNN

Joe Klein / TIME:
Why the Clintons Don't Fear the Coming Armageddon With Donald Trump

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding and Washington Monthly

Charles Thompson / PennLive.com:

Child told Paterno of sex abuse in 1976, court papers allege — Court documents state that “in 1976, a child allegedly reported to PSU's Head Coach Joseph Paterno that he (the child) was sexually molested by Sandusky.” … A new bombshell dropped in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal Thursday.

Discussion: CollegeFootballTalk, NBC News, New York Magazine, 6, The Week, Associated Press, CBS New York, Balloon Juice, The Big Lead, WJHL, Mashable, Complex and WCMH-TV

Philly.com: Source: Penn State settled claim Paterno knew about Sandusky in 1976

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

White House admits it played us for fools to sell Iran deal — MORE FROM: — Congratulations, liberals of the Washington press corps and elite organizations: You're a bunch of suckers. We all know this because the Obama White House just told us so. — In an astounding New York Times piece …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Business Insider, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Lid, Liberty Unyielding, New York Times, Front Page Magazine, Israel Matzav and Instapundit

Lee Smith / Weekly Standard:
Obama's Foreign Policy Guru Boasts of How the Administration Lied to Sell the Iran Deal

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Heat Street, Front Page Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon and EconLog

Andrew Prokop / Vox:

The political scientist who saw Trump's rise coming — Norm Ornstein on why the Republican Party was ripe for a takeover, what the media missed, and whether Trump could win the presidency. — In the summer of 2015, most of the political world still thought Donald Trump's candidacy was a joke.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:

Donald Trump's Idea to Cut National Debt: Get Creditors to Accept Less — One day after assuring Americans he is not running for president “to make things unstable for the country,” the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, said in a television interview Thursday that he might seek …

Discussion: Vox, Business Insider and rubber hose

Daniel Strauss / Politico:

Sanders poised for May win streak — Here's one reason Bernie Sanders is reluctant to give up the fight: May is shaping up to be a pretty good month for him. — On the heels of his Indiana victory Tuesday, Sanders is well-positioned for wins in the upcoming West Virginia and Oregon primaries.

Discussion: Common Dreams and Althouse

Steven Shepard / Politico: Majority of GOP insiders won't commit to Trump

Bloomberg.com:

Why GOP Strategist Mary Matalin Is Registering as a Libertarian — Republican strategist Mary Matalin discusses Donald Trump and her decision to change her party affiliation on “With All Due Respect.”

Discussion: New York Times, AOL, Politico, BizPac Review and Political Wire

Chris Enloe / TheBlaze.com:

Tow Truck Driver Shows Up to Help Stranded Motorist When He Sees Sticker on Her Car That Makes Him Drive Away: ‘Call the Government’ — A North Carolina tow truck driver recently took a controversial stand after he was dispatched to pick up a woman stranded on the side of I-26 in Asheville …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Western Journalism, Mediaite and The American Mirror

Daniel Holloway / Variety:

Jon Stewart May Be on HBO Before November Election, Says CEO Richard Plepler — Jon Stewart could arrive on HBO in time for the November presidential election. — In a Paley Media Council interview Thursday with CNN's Brian Stelter, HBO CEO Richard Plepler was asked whether viewers …

Discussion: The Week and Complex

Erik Klemetti / Wired:

Mount St. Helens Is Recharging Its Magma Stores, Setting Off Earthquake Swarms — When it comes down to it, volcanoes spend most of their existence not erupting. If you look at almost any volcano, it might have a bout of eruption for days to months at a time, then go quiet for decades, centuries or more.

Discussion: Daily Mail and KOIN-TV