memeorandum: Anthony Weiner got a job fixing PR messes — seriously (Carl Campanile/New York Post)

5:40 PM ET, July 23, 2015

Top Items:

Exclusive: Trump threatens third-party run — NEW YORK — Donald Trump says the chances that he will launch a third-party White House run will “absolutely” increase if the Republican National Committee is unfair to him during the 2016 primary season. — “The RNC has not been supportive.

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Trump: 'I think I'll get the nomination' — Businessman Donald Trump predicted Thursday that he would secure the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, playing down the suggestion he might run as a third-party candidate. — “I want to run as a Republican.

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Trump Card — When I opened my favorite news aggregator this morning …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Poll shows Trump with slim lead, Walker in second

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, ABC News, Washington Post and Eschaton

Nick Gass / Politico:
Donald Trump threatens GOP with third-party run

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, The Right Scoop and Mediaite

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:
Trump: Stewart is ‘begging’ me to appear on his final show

Discussion: Mediaite

Numbers / Pew Research Center:

GOP's Favorability Rating Takes a Negative Turn — Republicans Less Positive About Their Party — The Republican Party's image has grown more negative over the first half of this year. Currently, 32% have a favorable impression of the Republican Party, while 60% have an unfavorable view.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The American Conservative and Political Wire

Neil Vigdor / Connecticut Post:

Democrats drop Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson names from annual fundraising dinner — Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson are history in Connecticut. — Under pressure from the NAACP, the state Democratic Party will scrub the names of the two presidents from its annual fundraising dinner because of their ties to slavery.

Discussion: RedState, BizPac Review, Associated Press, The PJ Tatler and Clash Daily

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Bye Bye J-J! — Executive Office of the President/Wikimedia Commons …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Christopher Keating / Hartford Courant:
Democrats Change Name of Fundraising Dinner

Discussion: Fox News and The Daily Caller

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:

Jeb Bush pushes to ‘phase out’ Medicare — Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush appeared at a New Hampshire event last night sponsored by the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, and the former governor raised a few eyebrows with his comments on the future of Medicare.

Discussion: Mother Jones, cbpp.org, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, Show Me Progress, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News and The Week

Eli Stokols / Politico:

Jeb Bush defends Medicare ‘phase out’ comment — GORHAM, N.H. - During a town hall meeting here Thursday afternoon, Jeb Bush was put on the defensive about his comments Wednesday night about “phasing out” Medicare by an elderly woman who said she was worried about losing benefits she's spent years paying for.

Discussion: OnPolitics

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Jeb Bush Quietly Suggests ‘Phasing Out’ Medicare

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Aarik Woods / WQAD-TV:

Mayflies force shutdown of Savanna - Sabula Bridge — Emergency crews were on scene over the weekend to clear a bridge after bugs took over. — On Saturday night, Teena Franzen recorded the incident while riding with her son in a Sabula police car.

Discussion: Mashable, WNEP-TV and Fusion

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:

The Gaping Hole in the Iran Debate — Iraqis peer through the window of an armored vehicle as the last American soldiers leave Iraq. (Lucas Jackson / Reuters) — I have a fantasy. It's that every politician and pundit who goes on TV to discuss the Iran deal is asked this question first …

Discussion: The American Conservative

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

White House acknowledges ‘side’ deals between Iran, IAEA — National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Wednesday acknowledged the existence of so-called “side” agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. — Rice said the deals involve Iran accounting for past military uses …

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, The PJ Tatler, Clash Daily and Washington Free Beacon

Nick Gass / Politico:
Tom Cotton compares John Kerry to Pontius Pilate

Discussion: Daily Kos

Carl Campanile / New York Post:

Anthony Weiner got a job fixing PR messes — seriously — If you find yourself in a p.r. nightmare, there's a swashbuckling new hero you can turn to — Carlos Danger. — A top “crisis” public-relations firm with ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton has hired the last person in the world …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Daily Mail and Fox News Insider

Nick Gass / Politico:
Anthony Weiner joins crisis PR firm

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Week

Joe Concha / Mediaite:

Exclusive: More MSNBC Changes Coming with Three Shows Out, Hard News and Chuck Todd Back — A well-placed source tells me MSNBC will announce today major changes to its afternoon lineup...arguably the most significant revamp the network has made at one time in its 19-year history.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, PoliticusUSA, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Balloon Juice, Washington Free Beacon and Capital New York

Jethro Mullen / CNN:

Bison attacks woman who was trying to take selfie with it in Yellowstone Park — Yellowstone: Our first national park 9 photos — Yellowstone: Our first national park - Old Faithful Geyser may be the most-famous “resident” of Yellowstone National Park, but park ranger Dan Hottle …

Discussion: Mediaite

Michael E. Miller / Washington Post: Bison selfies are a bad idea: tourist gored in Yellowstone as another photo goes awry

Chelsea Rarrick / WTVR-TV:

‘Just stay behind me’ Construction worker helps teen escape I-95 abduction — HENRICO COUNTY, Va — Kevin Huntington knows things can get hectic along Interstate 95, especially in Northern Virginia. The construction worker said what he saw last week, was like nothing he's ever experienced.

Discussion: Daily Mail, Shakesville and FOX2now.com

Hector Garza / PO Box 2363 Laredo, TX 78044:

National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 statement — After careful consideration of all the factors involved in this event and communicating with members of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) at the National level, it has been decided by Local 2455 to pull out of all events involving Donald Trump.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, OnPolitics and Washington Post

Brandon Darby / BREITBART.COM:
AFL-CIO Controlled Union Intervenes, Cancels Trump's Border Tour Planned by Local Agents

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Jake Sherman / Politico:

John Boehner noncommittal on defunding Planned Parenthood — Speaker John Boehner twice stopped short of declaring the House would cut off all government funding to Planned Parenthood, and said he would rely on the results of a pair of congressional investigations to guide his decision.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:
Pelosi urges DOJ probe into group targeting Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Daily Kos and LifeNews.com

Los Angeles Times:

A homeless woman picked up an LAPD nightstick during the skid row shooting — and could get life in prison — Millions of people viewed video of the fatal police shooting March 1 of an unarmed black man known as “Africa” outside his skid row tent. — Police said the man …

Discussion: ABC News and The Week

Los Angeles Times:
Judge must decide sentence for LAPD cop who assaulted woman on video

Discussion: Fusion

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

New York Times Editor: Isn't It Awesome How Hillary's Stonewalling The Press? — In a podcast posted on the New York Times website earlier this week, the paper's editorial page editor openly praised Hillary Clinton's strategy of stonewalling the media and refusing to answer questions about her campaign.

Discussion: Religion News Service, BREITBART.COM, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, LifeNews.com, The Week, Instapundit and Erick on the Radio

Devin Henry / The Hill:

Coal executive slams Obama as 'nation's greatest destroyer' — Murray Energy Corp. Chief Executive Officer Robert Murray has accused the Obama administration of being “intent on destroying coal and our country for their bizarre personal and political ends.”

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The Toxic Worldview of Ta-Nehisi Coates — Moses gave us the Ten Commandments. Paul gave us the epistles. And Ta-Nehisi gave us, Between the World and Me. — Get POLITICO Magazine in your feeds — The new book by Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, in the form of a letter to his son …

Discussion: American Power

Ana Marie Cox / New York Times:

Ted Cruz Is More of a Spider-Man Guy — Your new book is called “A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America.” A few months ago you were in the news for warning a little girl that “the world is on fire.” Do you believe setting things on fire is good or bad? Both.

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog, OnPolitics, The Verge, Mashable and The Week

Sean Langille / Washington Examiner:

Watch Ted Cruz confront protesters over Iran nuke deal — Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More — During a rally Thursday protesting the Iran deal not including the release of four imprisoned Americans, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was met with boisterous protests from the anti-war group Code Pink.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Hot Air