The Lid: Mr. Second Choice

Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…. A woman in Wildwood, Missouri said she found an image of Donald Trump’s face in a new package of butter spread. SO NOW DO YOU THINK IT’S JUST A ‘SUMMER FLING,’ PUNDITS?

’16 AT 30 THOUSAND

With lots of fresh post-Elizabeth-Warren-meeting speculation about Joe Biden’s will-he-won’t-he presidential run, it’s worth another peek inside recent poll numbers to see what Biden’s potential Democratic coalition could look like.

Last week’s CNN/ORC poll of Democrats found that he’s the first choice of 14 percent of registered Democrats, after Clinton (47 percent) and Sanders (29 percent.) When it comes to the question of who would be best at dealing with the economy, race-relations and income inequality, Biden remains in third place behind Clinton and Sanders, although he leapfrogs Sanders to second place when Democrats are asked which candidate would be most adept at handling foreign policy issues. And about half of registered Democrats say that Biden should stay out the race entirely.

One place that Biden firmly occupies? The second choice spot. Nearly four in ten Democrats told CNN’s pollsters they like Biden if their top choice doesn’t work out.

• Add to Google

Did Joe Biden get Obama’s ‘blessing’ for a 2016 run?

03:23

POPPING ON NBC POLITICS

• Jeb Bush continued to dismiss criticism for using the term "anchor babies," saying that it is "ludicrous" that he is being accused of using a term that insults immigrants, one of us writes.
• How would a Joe Biden run would impact the Democratic presidential primary? “I just don’t know,” Bernie Sanders told reporters Monday, NBC’s Kailani Koenig reports.
• Sanders and Donald Trump were the first candidates in the 2016 race to use Monday’s market turmoil to bolster major themes of their respective campaigns, one of us writes.
• The White House won’t rule out the possibility that President Barack Obama will make an endorsement in the 2016 Democratic primary.
• Here’s a look back at the three different answers Scott Walker gave on the issue of birthright citizenship last week.

CAMPAIGN QUICK READS

BIDEN: Top Democratic donors have been invited to meet with Biden at his residence after Labor Day, the Washington Post reports.

CLINTON: ICYMI, the Des Moines Register editorial board had this to say about her emails: “ None of these questions will go away anytime soon. So, Clinton should drop the pretense that they are simply the exclusive concern of pesky reporters and her political enemies. She should be prepared to answer — again and again and again if necessary — questions that will inevitably come up on the campaign trail.”

A lawyer for Huma Abedin is accusing Sen. Chuck Grassley of damaging his client’s reputation through “unfounded allegations.”

HUCKABEE: He suggested last week that Martin Luther King Jr. would be “appalled” by the Black Lives Matter movement. King’s son countered that his father “would be very proud of young people standing up to promote truth, justice and equality.”

PAUL: Sam Youngman reports that Rand Paul almost lost Saturday’s vote allowing him to run for re-election to the Senate and for president at the same time.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

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 Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

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

TRUMP: He continued to prod Jeb Bush on Monday by releasing an Instagram video of Barbara Bush’s infamous “we’ve had enough Bushes” comment on the TODAY show in 2013.

FOR THE RECORD…

“The American people want a discussion on the real issues, they don't really care that Marco Rubio threw a football and hit some kid in the head.”

• Bernie Sanders on media coverage of the 2016 race

TOMORROW’S SKED

Donald Trump holds a rally in Dubuque, Iowa.

Jeb Bush attends a town hall meeting focused on veterans in Englewood, Colorado.

Chris Christie holds a news conference to encourage the New Jersey congressional delegation to oppose the Iran deal.