The Trail 2016: Candidate tug-of-war

by Lisa Hagen - 06/14/16 6:23 PM ET

Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton continued to criticize each other over where they stand on combating terrorism and other fallout from the Orlando mass shooting.

Clinton called Trump’s Monday terrorism speech “shameful” and disrespectful” to the victims’ families and accused him of fanning the flames by saying that President Obama sympathizes with Islamic terrorists.

The former secretary of State also blasted that national security portion of Trump’s speech and questioned why he’s “fixated with Democrats using the term “radical Islamic terror,” a question echoed by her new and important ally, President Obama.

But Clinton’s criticism didn’t stop the presumptive GOP nominee from his unrelenting attacks of the president. In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump accused Obama of prioritizing the country’s enemies before American citizens and doubled down on his call to ban people from any area with a history of terrorism against America.

Trump tweeted in a direct appeal to the LGBT community that he will be better suited to fight for their rights while Clinton “brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.”

Stay with The Hill tonight for Trump’s latest remarks at his North Carolina rally at 7 p.m., for results from the District of Columbia’s Democratic primary and for any news on Bernie Sanders’s evening meeting with Clinton.

Come back tomorrow morning for stories on who local union leaders in the Rush Belt think their members will back in the general election, an extended edition of the 2016 primaries winners and losers, and a deeper look into Trump’s ongoing war with the media.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

DNC REPLACEMENTS: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Bernie Sanders called for the removal of Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee as part of a “fundamental transformation of the Democratic Party” in an impromptu news conference Tuesday afternoon. But during an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd Wasserman Schultz said she plans to serve out her term with the party.

HUDDLE UP: The Hill’s Scott Wong reports: Donald Trump will huddle with House Republicans on July 7, two weeks before he accepts the GOP’s presidential nomination.

FEEL THE BERN FUTURE: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Bernie Sanders will address his supporters in a livestream video Thursday evening, ABC News reported. A spokesman said the message of the address will be: “The revolution continues.” Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs told Bloomberg News on Tuesday that Sanders plans to continue his campaign and doesn’t plan to drop out “today, or tomorrow, or the next day,” The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports.

FIRST AMENDMENT FRENZY: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: The White House Correspondents’ Association on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump over his decision to ban Washington Post reporters from covering his rallies.

LIPS ARE SEALED: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: A federal court is keeping the lid on immunity deals between the government and an IT expert who helped set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

ODDS AND ENDS:

TAX BREAKS: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan and Naomi Jagoda report: Heritage Foundation economics expert Stephen Moore, one of Donald Trump’s top economic advisers, says he would personally like to see rich people get taxed for more of their donations to nonprofits.

FAILS THE LEADERSHIP TEST: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Donald Trump’s response to the mass shooting in Orlando underscores that he shouldn’t be president. “Trump proved that he’s not the person to lead our nation through difficult times, or any times,” Reid said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

LESS IS MORE: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that more people would have died at the terrorist attack at a nightclub in Orlando over the weekend if club-goers had been armed and shot back at the lone gunman.

THIRD PARTY TEST: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Conservative donor John Kingston, a Mitt Romney ally, has launched a group that will work to ensure that a potential independent candidate can make it on the ballot in all 50 states should that person emerge to challenge Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the general election.

BLAME GAME: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Speaking at an impromptu press conference, Bernie Sanders lashed out at those who blame Islam for the Orlando shooting. He said the gunman’s motives are complicated and remain largely unknown.

POLL POSITION

WIDENING THE GAP: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump has widened to 7 points nationally, according to a new NBC News/SurveyMonkey tracking poll.

NOT SO HISTORIC: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Less than half of Americans think Hillary Clinton becoming the first woman to be presidential nominee of a major party is historic, according to a Morning Consult poll.

CLINTON CRUSHES: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Hillary Clinton holds a double-digit lead over Donald Trump nationally, according to a new Bloomberg Politics poll.

THE DAILY TRUMP

HARSH WORDS: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson called Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country “overly simplistic” and “counterproductive.”

MORE ON TRUMP’S HANDS: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Americans Against Insecure Billionaires with Tiny Hands PAC, a political action committee focused on the size of Donald Trump’s hands is calling on the presumptive GOP nominee to “release the measurements.”

OUT OF LINE: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called out Donald Trump on Tuesday for suggesting that President Obama is sympathetic to terrorists.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The simple fact of the matter is that the American left and the Democrat Party, we conservatives, we Republicans, are their biggest enemy. They fear us, hate us far more than they are bothered by Islam, militant Islam [and] Islamic terrorism.”

— Rush Limbaugh, saying on his radio show that Democrats had wrongly directed their anger at Republicans following Sunday’s mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

GOLDEN STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) holds a huge double-digit lead over opponent Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) in the first general election survey released one week after the state’s Senate primary.

GUN CONTROL DEBATE: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Democratic Senate nominee Katie McGinty criticized Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), saying he’s “failed the test of leadership” on gun safety. McGinty added that Toomey should support a proposal that would allow the attorney general to block individuals on the terror watchlist from being able to buy a gun or explosives.

FIRST TARGET: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: House Majority PAC, a major Democratic super-PAC, released its first TV ad of the cycle, accusing Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) of discriminating against the LGBT community.

MONEY WATCH

AD BLITZ: Priorities USA, the main super-PAC for Hillary Clinton, and EMILY’s List are jointly adding $2 million in ad reservations to the already reserved $9 million TV ad reservation in North Carolina, according to a release. The ads start on Wednesday and run until Election Day.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:

(All times Eastern)

Donald Trump will hold a rally at 7 p.m. today in Greensboro, N.C., and will be a guest on “Hannity” at 10 p.m. today on Fox News. He will attend a closed-door breakfast fundraiser hosted by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and will hold a rally in Atlanta at noon on Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton holds a conversation on national security in Hampton, Va., at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

Polls close tonight at 8 for the Democrats’ final presidential primary, taking place in Washington, D.C.. State primaries will be held in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia.

TWEET OF THE DAY

The Washington Post is not the first. Donald Trump has been denying credentials to news outlets for nearly a year https://t.co/0Q1DY0XcPJ

— Saeed Ahmed (@saeed_ahmed) June 14, 2016