The Caucus: The Early Word: Plan B

“Eight years ago, needing a running mate to vouch for him among skittish evangelicals, Donald Trump turned to Mike Pence, tossing an olive branch to Republicans wary of the thrice-married real estate mogul who once said he was ‘very pro-choice,'” Politico reports. “It’s a different story now: To those same voters this year, according to interviews with nearly two dozen religious leaders gathered here for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, Trump’s selection is bordering on a forgettable formality — less interesting to them because they’ve already made up their minds to back him, even if begrudgingly so…” “It’s not that the vice presidential pick is irrelevant to the faithful.

“The man who was raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, as their own son from ages 6 to 19 is in jail awaiting trial on drugs and weapons charges,” Business Insider reports. “Mark Martin, the grandson of Thomas’ sister, Emma Mae Martin, lived with the Thomas family in Virginia from 1997 to 2010, during which time Clarence and Ginni Thomas were his legal guardians… Now 32 years old, Martin told BI in an interview from the Jasper County Detention Center in South Carolina that Clarence and Ginni Thomas washed their hands of him years ago.” Said Martin: “I haven’t really heard much from them in a long time.

NBC News: “The Democratic National Committee plans to launch a mobile billboard ahead of Trump’s visit that will aim to follow the former president as he moves between meetings with House and Senate Republicans.” “The billboard will play a loop of an 11-minute video montage from the riot and Trump’s speech before it.

“President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are holding a joint press conference in Italy on Thursday, the same day the two leaders are expected to sign a long-term security agreement,” CBS News reports.

“President Joe Biden’s campaign is intensifying its focus on Donald Trump and his role in the January 6, 2021, riot, seizing on the presumptive Republican nominee’s Capitol Hill appearance Thursday to launch a new attack ad spotlighting the insurrection,” CNN reports. “The campaign recently announced Biden’s endorsements from several January 6 police officers — who are stumping later this week in battleground Wisconsin — and now is unveiling a 30-second ad accusing Trump of inciting the Capitol attack.”

“Donald Trump is preparing for a scenario in which he will be unable to attend the Republican National Convention, a decision influenced in part by the possibility that he could be sentenced to home confinement after his historic conviction late last month,” NBC News reports. “Preparations are being made at both Mar-a-Lago, his home in Florida, and in Milwaukee, the host city for the convention next month, should Trump either choose to make appearances from afar or be unable to attend.” “In case of potential house arrest, the Republican National Committee is already setting up convention-themed staging at Mar-a-Lago, along with a massive screen at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where most convention activities will take place.”