The Lid: Perceptions of Trump, Clinton Steady In Wild Campaign

Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…Scott Brown on Monday said Elizabeth Warren should take a DNA test to prove her Native American heritage. Which is sort of par for the course for a campaign that’s rapidly deteriorating into a really weird Maury Povich show anyway.

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‘16 from 30,000

Our new NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll out Sunday showed Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by five points in a head-to-head matchup, a slight uptick for the Democratic nominee. But we noticed something as we were sifting through more of the numbers today. Despite a wild May and June, during which Trump’s performance was widely panned and the worst mass shooting in U.S. history rocked the nation, not a lot changed when it came to the fundamentals of how voters think each candidate would govern. Just like in May, Donald Trump leads Clinton the questions of the economy and changing Washington, while Clinton dominates on foreign policy and “being a good commander in chief.” And while our respondents almost universally had heard a lot about the shooting in Orlando, only about half or so had an opinion on how Trump or Clinton responded to the tragedy. There are probably two things at play here: 1) Perceptions of both candidates are so ingrained that even major news events aren’t likely to nudge them as much as we might think in either direction; and 2) As much as we junkies are following the ins and outs of every news cycle, voters are still mostly paying attention to the broadest contours of the race.

POPPING ON NBC POLITICS

• In an NBC exclusive with Hallie Jackson, Donald Trump called Elizabeth Warren a “racist” and “total fraud” after the Massachusetts senator ripped him during a Clinton rally in Ohio.
• Clinton and Warren fired up an Ohio crowd during a rally that was rife with VP speculation, Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
• Both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as both parties' presumptive presidential nominees, continue to be significantly unpopular with voters even as some of the country's more controversial institutions are above water, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows.
• Scott Brown said Elizabeth Warren should take a DNA test to prove Native American heritage.
• NBC’s Ali Vitali breaks down Trump in his own words on the Muslim ban and deportations.
• Aides say Ted Cruz has no plans to speak at the RNC Convention.
• Here’s our list of possible VP picks.
• And from First Read: Sanders supporters are slowly (but surely) coming around to Clinton.

FOR THE RECORD…

“George W. Bush isn’t upset about Kanye trying to find a look-alike to portray him in his new music video, but he’s somewhat indignant that the faux Bush lacks muscle.”

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

-- TMZ on former President George W. Bush's reported reaction, according to a spokesman, to a look-alike being featured in bed with Kanye West and other celebrities in the rapper’s new music video.

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

TOMORROW’S SKED

Hillary Clinton visits Denver and and Los Angeles.

Donald Trump hits Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.