Subject: How Trump's ex-girlfriend helped him out of his 'women problem' jam
From: CNN Politics Nightcap <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2016 00:05:22 +0000
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CNN Politics: Nightcap
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May 16, 2016
by Eric Bradner
Welcome to the CNN Politics Nightcap and good Monday evening from Washington. Donald Trump got a hand from an ex-girlfriend in diffusing the controversy over his treatment of women. Hillary Clinton is trying hard to win Kentucky, while Bernie Sanders hopes for huge victories tomorrow there and in Oregon. Your bartender is Eric Bradner (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/eric-bradner?cid=nl_pol_071915_profile?sr=nl_pol_072215_bradner) . The tip jar: [email-masked] (mailto:[email-masked]) .

** Trump's dodge on women: Blame the media
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Donald Trump sought to muddy the narrative -- shifting the harsh scrutiny of a New York Times story (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/us/politics/donald-trump-women.html?_r=1) on his treatment of women back onto the media, write CNN's Dylan Byers and Brian Stelter (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/16/media/trump-nyt-news-cycle/index.html) . He did it with a big assist from Rowanne Brewer Lane, a former girlfriend who provided the Times' opening narrative -- and then accused the newspaper of spinning her words in a Fox News interview Monday morning.

How eager was Trump to make sure no one missed what she'd said? He called CNN's "New Day" control room to personally make sure the producers had seen it.

What Trump's ex-girlfriend never did, as The Washington Post's Erik Wemple points out (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2016/05/16/a-laughable-backlash-against-the-new-york-times-article-on-trumps-treatment-of-women/) , is deny a single fact in the Times' story.

'A degree of diversity on the ballot' -- that's what RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told Hugh Hewitt on his radio show (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/donald-trump-reince-priebus-vp-pick/index.html) that Trump needs.

An awkward spot: Those "lobbyists and special interests" who Trump always bashes now want to raise money for him, reports U.S. News' David Catanese (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/dc-lobbyists-look-to-fund-donald-trump?src=usn_run2016) . It raises the question: Will Trump eventually go off brand and embrace lobbyist efforts to help him?

** Sanders needs huge wins Tuesday
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Bernie Sanders doesn't just need to win in Oregon and Kentucky on Tuesday -- he needs to crush Hillary Clinton just to catch her in pledged delegates. Clinton's betting, Dan Merica reports (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-kentucky/) , on Kentucky, where she held 11 events over three trips in two weeks -- and where Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to win in November, carrying Kentucky in 1992 and 1996.

Harry Reid is blaming Sanders' supporters for the chaos that broke out (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/15/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-nevada-convention/index.html) at Nevada's Democratic convention over the weekend. "I hold his people accountable, and I'm sure if Bernie found out about it, he would not accept what happened there," Reid told CNN's Manu Raju (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/nevada-convention-chaos-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton/index.html) .
Buzzing
CNN approached J. Thomas Burch, a Veterans Administration employee who heads the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation -- a bogus charity that spends just 2% of the money it raises on veterans -- for comment for this story (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/vietnam-veterans-charity/index.html) . He sped off in a Rolls Royce.
Last Call

** The third-party search: Kasich says no
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Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he got a call from "somebody" -- he wouldn't say whom -- feeling him out about a third-party run against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. But he told CNN's Anderson Cooper in his first interview (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/john-kasich-third-party-interview-anderson-cooper/index.html) since departing the race that it's not happening -- leaving Mitt Romney, Bill Kristol, Erick Erickson and other anti-Trump conservatives to keep searching. "I'm not gonna do that," Kasich said. "I gave it my best where I am. I just think running third-party doesn't feel right. I think it's not constructive."

Nobody wants this gig. The list of prospects who have already said no to a third-party run includes Michael Bloomberg, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and James Mattis, the retired Marine Corps general.

** End-of-primary lull: Campaigns have stopped spending on ads
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A tidbit from CNN's Theodore Schleifer: Last week was the period with the least amount of money spent on political advertising (at $550,000) since the week of June 23, 2015, per CMAG data. (The cycle's biggest week? March 8 -- with $43 million spent ahead of Ohio, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri's primaries.)

** Julian Castro moves to shore up his spot in the veepstakes
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Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro -- the young (he's 41), talented former San Antonio mayor whose twin brother, Joaquin, is in Congress and who's often talked about as a potential Hillary Clinton running mate -- is trying to snuff out the left's concerns that he isn't liberal enough, Politico's Edward-Issaac Dovere reports (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/julian-castro-veep-housing-223202#ixzz48qnttQc5) . His move: Changes to a controversial program to sell off HUD's bad mortgages -- potentially saving homes from foreclosures and keeping those mortgages out of the hands of the banks that liberals say caused the 2008 economic crisis.

In other Obama administration news, the Supreme Court punted (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/supreme-court-obamacare-contraceptive-mandate/index.html) on Obamacare's contraception mandate, sending it back to lower courts.
Straight Up

** "It's not like 'none of the above' is a potential option."
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**
-- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, offering perhaps the least-enthusiastic endorsement possible for Donald Trump on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/greg-abbott-trump-223208)
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Closing Time

President Barack Obama is making a cameo (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/16/media/mr-robot-season-2-trailer-obama/index.html) in season two of USA Network's "Mr. Robot." ... Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, denied a report (https://twitter.com/clewandowski_/status/732341671699058689?refsrc=email&s=11) that he already has a book deal. ... Virginia congressional candidate Mike Webb accidentally shared his pornography tastes (http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/16/congressional-candidate-accidentally-shares-porn-tastes-on-facebook/#ixzz48qhIqABV) via a screengrab he posted on Facebook.
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Your bartender for ** CNN Politics' Nightcap (http://cnn.it/nightcap)
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) — Tips, thoughts and beer recommendations are always welcome at ** [email-masked] (mailto:[email-masked])
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