The Lid: Kasich and Cruz Had a Week Filled With Hail Marys

Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… It’s White House Correspondents Dinner (otherwise known as Nerd Prom) weekend, which for many journalists means it’s time to get your yearly selfie with that one creepy guy from House of Cards. (Seriously, he’s here every year.)

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‘16 from 30,000

Speaking of Prom, the whole 2016 race kind of feels like prom is in four days and neither John Kasich nor Ted Cruz has a date. And so, with their backs against the wall and time running out, they’re in desperate need of an epic prom-posal. And that’s why we’ve seen some epic Hail Marys this week. It started with the Cruz-Kasich alliance both campaigns announced Sunday. That quickly went south when, the next morning, Kasich said his supporters in Indiana should vote for him. Following that, we had Cruz announce Carly Fiorina as his VP pick. Kasich had his own cry for attention on Thursday when he announced he would talk about the state of the race, only to give a long reflective monologue that ended with him saying he was going to stay in. With the make-or-break moment looming, we’re seeing some pretty untested tactics here. At best, it somehow helps lift Cruz in Indiana and ultimately prevents Trump from hitting 1,237. At worst, Kasich and Cruz are the guys who set up a really elaborate and public engagement for a girlfriend ready to break up with them.

POPPING ON NBC POLITICS

• Indiana’s Gov. Mike Pence will vote for Ted Cruz.
• Trump’s California campaign shows how he could doom the GOP.
• And the GOP frontrunner said he felt like he crossed the border today.
• What’s Plan B for Bernie Sanders? Alex Seitz-Wald takes a look.
• A new NBC News | SurveyMonkey poll shows that a majority of women in the U.S. say they have experienced discrimination based on their gender.
• And in First Read, here’s what the Boehner-Cruz fracas tells us about Trump’s strength.

FOR THE RECORD…

“It felt like I was crossing the border, actually.”

• Donald Trump on getting to his event amid hundreds of protesters.

WEEKEND 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

Cruz and Kasich campaign in California on Saturday. It’s also the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Ted Cruz and John Brennan are on Meet The Press.