The Trail 2016: Wisconsin fallout

by Ben Kamisar - 04/06/16 5:48 PM ET

Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

Tensions continue to rise on both sides of the aisle in light of big wins by Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz over their party’s front-runners that kept their White House dreams alive and made it harder for their rivals to lock up the nomination.

Fresh off the double-digit loss, Hillary Clinton responded to Sanders’s victory with an early morning interview on MSNBC where she both slammed Sanders’s position on gun immunity as “unimaginable” and asserted that her opponent “doesn’t consider himself to be a Democrat.” It’s indicative of Clinton’s shift in media strategy that has put her in more of a direct contrast with both Sanders and GOP front-runner Donald Trump, a shift expertly captured by Amie Parnes this morning.

The Sanders campaign matched that harsh rhetoric with its own late Tuesday night interview on CNN where campaign manager Jeff Weaver warned the Clintons not to ” destroy the Democratic Party to satisfy the secretary’s ambitions to become president.”

On the Republican side, Donald Trump, has practiced an uncharacteristic radio silence since he got blown out in Wisconsin, stepping back even from his usually prolific tweeting. The only post-election word from his campaign was a harshly worded statement calling Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” and a “Trojan Horse” who was “worse than a puppet.”

Neither the statement nor the silence has stopped Cruz from going for the throat, landing in Trump’s home state of New York to bash Trump for his donations to New York liberals.

Head to The Hill tonight for coverage of campaign events and tomorrow for more on Speaker Paul Ryan’s tenuous relationship with his party’s two leading candidates, worries in the GOP Senate about Trump’s ability to unify the party and a conversation with Donald Trump’s veteran delegate strategist.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

ATTACK DOG: The Hill’s Jordan Fabian reports: With his approval ratings at their highest point in months, President Obama has emerged as the chief antagonist to Donald Trump, criticising him three times in less than a week to counter a candidate whose message is a staunch rebuke to his agenda and legacy.

KASICH STRUGGLING: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Weeks after Marco Rubio dropped out of the race, John Kasich still trails him in the delegate count, a reality that further complicates his already complicated path to the nomination.

CLINTON EMAILS: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: State Department lawyers want a federal judge to require that any questions asked to current or former State Department officials as part of the Clinton private email server investigation be “limited” and fine-tuned ahead of time.

NEW YORK DOUBLE DOWN: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Ted Cruz took his campaign to the Bronx Wednesday and defended his repeated assailing of Donald Trump’s “New York values” by noting all of Trump’s donations to Empire State liberal. Trump didn’t have to answer Cruz. Instead, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokeswoman chided Cruz, and former Republican Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.) said Cruz’s comment “is absolutely going to crush” Cruz.

ODDS AND ENDS:

SPY GUY BACKS OHIO GUY: The Hill’s Jessie Hellman reports: Former CIA director Michael Hayden is backing John Kaisch.

FRIENDS FOREVER: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Bernie Sanders described his relationship with President Obama as “friendly” as Hillary Clinton continues to cast him as opposing the president.

A LITTLE ADVICE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod warned Hillary Clinton to drop the “patronizing” line that she feels sorry for people who believe Bernie Sanders’ “misrepresentations.”

POLL POSITION

IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION?: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Exit polls from Wisconsin show that about a third of the state’s Republican primary voters wouldn’t back the GOP nominee if it’s Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

KASICH’S SILVER LINING: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lead their primary field in Pennsylvania. But in general election matchups, Clinton and Bernie Sanders would defeat both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, while John Kasich would emerge victorious against either Democrat.

BERN NON-TRANSFERABLE: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Thirty-one percent of Bernie Sanders supporters nationally aren’t interested in supporting Hillary Clinton in a general election, an issue that could complicate the push for party unity if Clinton wins the nomination.

SKYSCRAPER LEAD: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: A new poll shows Donald Trump with more than 50 percent support in New York State, with Ted Cruz dropping to third behind John Kasich.

A SLIGHT BERN: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Bernie Sanders holds a slim lead over Hillary Clinton in a new national poll.

THE DAILY TRUMP

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich compared Donald Trump to a rookie quarterback in a Super Bowl. For the record, no rookie quarterback has won the Super Bowl as a starter, but they have as backups, as recently as this year with the Bronco’s Trevor Siemian (Northwestern’s own).

NOT MUCH OF A SLEEPER: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Bernie Sanders cautioned people not to “underestimate” Donald Trump and his ability to use the media to his advantage.

LIFE IS UNFAIR: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: The Democratic National Convention is needling Trump by releasing a supercut of various things he believes have been “unfair” to him.

ENEMY OF MY ENEMY: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Newt Gingrich believes that one unintended consequence of the Trump campaign is that it’s softened how the GOP views Ted Cruz.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Some friendly advice for Ted Cruz. Be a leader. Be a man. Start sounding more presidential and less extremist.”

— Karen Hinton, a spokeswoman for New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio, in response to Ted Cruz’s barbs at the mayor on the campaign trail.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

ENTER THE CAVALRY: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: President Obama and Vice President Biden backed Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth in her quest to unseat Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.

SUNSHINE SQUABBLE: The Hill’s Cristina Marcos reports: Tuesday’s ethics report detailing potential violations by Florida Democratic Senate hopeful Alan Grayson has prompted rival and fellow congressman Patrick Murphy to say the finding disqualifies him as a viable candidate.

MONEY WATCH

STARS SHINE FOR DEMS: The Hill’s Tina Daunt reports: President Obama will attend a fundraiser in Hollywood with the likes of Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and musician Barbra Streisand to raise money for the Democrats’ efforts in the House and Senate

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:

(All times Eastern)

Hillary Clinton holds a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Pa., at 6 p.m. today. She is scheduled to be at a fundraiser in the home of Colorado’s Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday. Bill Clinton will hold campaign events for her on Thursday in Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m. and in Scranton at 5:15 p.m.

Bernie Sanders holds a “community conversation” at 6 p.m., followed by a rally at 8 p.m. in Philadelphia today. He’ll hold a labor-related press conference in Philadelphia at 9 a.m. Thursday followed by a speech before the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Convention in Philadelphia at 10 a.m.

Donald Trump holds a rally in Bethpage, N.Y., at 7 p.m. today.

John Kasich holds a veterans town hall in Brooklyn, N.Y., at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Ted Cruz holds a rally in Scotia, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Wisconsin results you may have missed:

Marco Rubio: 10,569 votes
Ben Carson: 5,608
Jeb Bush: 3,156
O’Malley: 1,843
Jim Gilmore: 242

— Olivia Becker (@oliviaLbecker) April 6, 2016