memeorandum: Clinton will call Sanders Tuesday night (Lisa Hagen/The Hill)

2:45 PM ET, June 7, 2016

Top Items:

Trump self-destructive rambling baffles GOP strategists — How did the controversy begin over Donald Trump's attacks on the judge in the Trump University lawsuit? It began when Donald Trump couldn't stop talking about the Trump University lawsuit. — In the normal course of events …

Discussion: The Week and Hot Air

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

It's time for GOP leaders to choose sides on Donald Trump — This post has been updated. — Donald Trump has been the Republican presidential nominee for five weeks as of Tuesday. Those 35 days have been filled with self-inflicted wounds — the latest being Trump's insistence that a judge …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico, MSNBC, Mediaite and New York Times

J.D. Durkin / Mediaite:

GOP Congressman Bizarrely Defends Trump: ‘You Could Easily Argue’ Obama Is Racist — This was probably not the interview that New York state Representative Lee Zeldin had in mind. — The Republican Congressman sat down with CNN's John Berman and Kate Bolduan Tuesday morning to address …

Discussion: alan.com, RedState and National Review

Nick Gass / Politico:

Christie: Trump ‘not racist,’ has ‘right’ to express opinions on judge — Donald Trump has the “right” to express his opinion about the U.S. federal judge presiding over Trump University lawsuits, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie asserted Tuesday, defending the presumptive Republican nominee …

Discussion: Bloomberg, ABC News, New York Times, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Vox, Media Matters for America, The American Spectator, Washington Monthly, Daily Mail, Real Clear Politics, The Root, Power LinePower Line, Washington Post, The Week, Right Wing Watch and Hot Air

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:

Rubio Says He Won't Speak on Trump's Behalf at GOP Convention — Florida senator says he would talk about own beliefs to Republican audience — McConnell to Trump: Don't Try to Fight Over the GOP Platform Chamber Backs Toomey With Cheesy Ad Would Rubio Be Pushing Zika Aid If He Were Still Running?

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Political Wire, Business Insider, RedState and Hot Air

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Mitch McConnell: This Election Is About Choosing The Lesser Of Two Evils — “This is a choice that many Americans are not happy with.” — w.soundcloud.com — Asked on Monday if the general election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was a “lesser of two evils election,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell answered yes.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

New York Times:
The Judicial System According to Donald Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, BuzzFeed, Yahoo, New Yorker, Mediaite, BizPac Review, Media Matters for America, madison.com, ImmigrationProf Blog and Politico

Bridget Bowman / Roll Call:
Grassley: Senate Can Be a Check on Trump's Judges

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Des Moines Register and Daily Kos

New York Times:
Democrats Jump on Allies of Donald Trump in Judge Dispute

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:

Nancy Pelosi ‘Proud to Endorse’ Hillary Clinton for President

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Sky Dancing, Politicus USA, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Shakesville, Washington Times, Politico, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton Has Clinched Democratic Nomination, Survey Reports — Hillary Clinton has reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination for president, The Associated Press reported Monday night. — Mrs. Clinton had been expected to clinch the nomination on Tuesday after polls closed in New Jersey.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Independent Journal …, The Mahablog, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, Althouse, Politico, The Nation and The Week

The Intercept:

Perfect End to Democratic Primary: Anonymous Super-Delegates Declare Winner Through Media — Last night, Associated Press - on a day when nobody voted - surprised everyone by abruptly declaring the Democratic Party primary over and Hillary Clinton the victor.

Discussion: CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Al Jazeera English, Vox, Little Green Footballs, Politicus USA, Common Dreams, Independent Journal …, KTLA and New York Magazine

Bloomberg: Clinton's Historic Moment Tempered by Sanders, Who Won't Go Away

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Bernie Sanders Has Some Strange Ideas About Why He Deserves the Nomination

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Florida Politics, Salon, USA Today, Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Politico, CANNONFIRE and Washington Post

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
Clinton will call Sanders Tuesday night

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Daily Kos and New York Times

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
In San Francisco, Berniecrats lash out at media for calling nomination for Clinton

Discussion: Fox News, Argus Leader, Guardian, Politico, The Week, Political Insider blog, ABC News, Instapundit and Sky Dancing

Cyra Master / The Hill:
Sanders camp: Clinton has not secured nomination yet

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, CNN, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, Washington Times and Mother Jones

John Judis / Talking Points Memo: Bernie Sanders should drop out and endorse Hillary Clinton. Period.

Mark Green / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed Don't panic, Democrats, Hillary Clinton will beat Donald Trump

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding, Reuters and Associated Press

Wlady Pleszczynski / The American Spectator:

Trump Is Right: The Shame of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell — The GOP Establishment is in full flight. — No Abraham Lincolns here. — In a shameful haste to embrace identity politics, the latter the political descendant of slavery and segregation, Speaker Paul Ryan …

Discussion: Raw Story, Wall Street Journal and Media Matters for America

Adrian Carrasquillo / BuzzFeed:
The RNC Approached Two Hispanic Operatives Who Weren't Interested Because Of Trump

Discussion: alan.com and The Week

Pat Buchanan / Townhall.com:
The Donald & The La Raza Judge

Discussion: Daily Wire

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Pat Buchanan: Stop ‘The Lynching’ Of Donald Trump Over Racist Attack On Judge

Discussion: Politico

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Dick Morris Is in Talks to Join the Trump Campaign — The controversial former Clinton adviser could play a key roll in Trump's anti-Hillary strategy. — Before Donald Trump's campaign was derailed by his racist attacks on a federal judge, the GOP nominee was surprisingly disciplined in his attacks on Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Media Matters for America and The Daily Caller

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Trump: I'm The One Who ‘Really Broke The Glass Ceiling’ In My Industry

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, ThinkProgress, Jezebel and Balloon Juice

Marina Fang / The Huffington Post:
Trump Campaign: Female Judges Could Be Biased, Too

Discussion: RedState, Religion News Service, Media Matters for America, The Moderate Voice and Politico

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo: Trump Spox Suggests Trump's Sister Could Be ‘Biased’ As A Female Judge

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

Paul Ryan Calls Donald Trump's Attack on Judge ‘Racist,’ but Backs Him Still — WASHINGTON — Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday called Donald J. Trump's criticism of a Hispanic-American judge “the textbook definition of a racist comment” and said he “regrets” the remark.

Discussion: Political Wire

Donovan Slack / USA Today:
Paul Ryan starts unveiling plan for ‘better GOP’

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

David Rogers / Politico:
New House Republican ‘anti-poverty plan’ repackages GOP proposals

Discussion: Bloomberg, Salon, Common Dreams, Daily Kos and Washington Post

CNBC:
Paul Ryan: Trump's judge remarks ‘textbook definition of a racist comment’

Discussion: National Review, AOL and Reuters

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

FBI asks to make new secret filing in Clinton email case — The FBI has asked a federal judge for permission to file a second secret declaration detailing its probe into Hillary Clinton — 's private email server. — In the request, which came as part of a Freedom of Information Act …

Discussion: LawNewz and Hot Air

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
State Dept. would need 75 years to compile Clinton emails

Discussion: CNN, MichelleMalkin.com and Betsy's Page

Associated Press:

Florida AG asked Trump for donation before nixing fraud case — WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida's attorney general personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates

Discussion: RedState, LawNewz, alan.com, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon and Politico

Joey Nolfi / EW.com:

Meryl Streep dons a fat suit and orangeface as Donald Trump — Further proving there's no role she can't tackle, acting legend Meryl Streep has gone from complete Margaret Thatcher to full Donald Trump, sporting messy hair, a low-hanging red tie, a fat suit, and comically-applied self-tanner …

Discussion: CNN, The Verge, The Gateway Pundit, CBS New York, Raw Story, Gothamist and Mediaite

Jason Reed / National Review:

Inside the #NeverTrump Candidacy that Almost Was — Anti-Trump conservatives failed to recruit David French into the presidential campaign. What will they do now? — The latest would-be presidential candidate spent just under a week in the spotlight — long enough to confound official Washington …