The Lid: The Impact of Trump's Transgender Bathroom Comments

Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… In 2016, Bowie and Prince died and county Republican party conventions in Wyoming were suddenly important. 2016, you are the least rock n’ roll year ever. :(

‘16 from 30,000

This morning, Donald Trump sparked a war of words with his chief rival when he suggested that he opposes North Carolina’s HB2 law, saying that people “should use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.” Ted Cruz fired back on Twitter that “grown men shouldn't be in bathrooms w/ little girls.”

Here’s one thing worth noting, though: Even if Trump is going to face the ire of conservatives over his stance on this issue, it’s unlikely he’s going to feel the effects right away. That’s because the next round of primaries are in states like Rhode Island, Maryland and Pennsylvania, where the electorate is relatively less socially conservative and less evangelical. But we might get a sense of whether the position might hurt him one week later in Indiana, a state where voters have already been through a bitter fight over laws involving religious liberty and gay marriage. By the way, a Reuters/Ipsos online poll out this morning shows that 64 percent of Republicans say that transgender people should use the bathroom of the gender noted on their birth certificate, while 23 percent say they should use the one that matches their gender identity.

POPPING ON NBC POLITICS

• RNC officials left convention rules unchanged during a meeting in Florida this week for fear that any alterations could be seen as playing favorites.
• A focus group of Republican women in Pittsburgh said they would feel "cheated" and that the system is "corrupt" if Donald Trump won the most delegates in the primaries but did not become the GOP presidential nominee, one of us writes.
• FBI Director James Comey says the forthcoming Democratic National Convention does not represent a deadline for finishing the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails, NBC’s Pete Williams reports.
• Ted Cruz attacked Trump for saying transgender people should be able to use whatever bathroom they want.
• And from First Read this AM: Why Pennsylvania's Delegate System Matters

FOR THE RECORD…

“This is the last thing on my mind. I know it’s important to some but ISIL will kill us all.”

• Lindsey Graham, on the controversy over North Carolina’s HB2 law

TOMORROW’S SKED

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are in Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump holds an afternoon rally in Delaware.

John Kasich is in Connecticut.