--- title: How the GOP is Dealing With Donald Trump's Nomination description: Donald Trump dismissed the notion that he needs complete party unity. The Clinton campaign released a brutal ad featuring Trump critics. canonical: https://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-05T14:40:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:18:13.463Z article:section: Politics og:title: How the GOP is Dealing With Donald Trump's Nomination og:description: Donald Trump dismissed the notion that he needs complete party unity. The Clinton campaign released a brutal ad featuring Trump critics. og:url: https://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How the GOP is Dealing With Donald Trump's Nomination twitter:description: Donald Trump dismissed the notion that he needs complete party unity. The Clinton campaign released a brutal ad featuring Trump critics. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How the GOP is Dealing With Donald Trump's Nomination > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 5, 2016 2:40 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 5, 2016 2:40 PM UTC Newly proclaimed presumptive Republican nominee **Donald Trump**‘s team is hard at work negotiating the details of a joint fundraising agreement with the RNC, as top aides huddle with GOP officials to take on a larger role in shaping the convention in July. But the transition hasn’t been so smooth elsewhere in the GOP universe. At least one GOP governor, a handful of members of Congress and a cadre of consultants are already pledging not to support Trump, while a host of lawmakers ducked phone calls from reporters Wednesday asking them the same question. Spokespeople for both Presidents Bush said they are not rushing to endorse the presumptive GOP nominee. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse released an [open letter](https://www.facebook.com/sassefornebraska/posts/593031420862025) late Wednesday pledging to help a third-party candidate against Trump. In an interview with TIME, Trump dismissed the notion that he needs complete party unity. Meanwhile the **Hillary Clinton** campaign released a brutal ad featuring Trump’s GOP critics—just a taste of what’s to come over the coming six months. Her campaign is beefing up its general election operation as her primary winds down. What Trump’s first 100 days would look like. Why the GOP convention still matters. And Obama visits Flint. Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [What Happens After Donald Trump Wins the Nomination? ](http://time.com/4319112/donald-trump-wins-the-nomination-now-what/)TIME’s Philip Elliott writes that Trump’s next steps could either remake U.S. politics or further divide the country [GOP Boss Reince Priebus Leads a Wary Embrace of Donald Trump ](http://time.com/4319118/the-republican-boss-leads-a-wary-embrace-of-trump/)The Republican boss will strive to unite and focus his party in coming months \[TIME\] [The U.S. Just Threw Down the Hammer Over North Carolina’s Transgender Bathroom Law ](http://time.com/4318812/bathroom-law-transgender-north-carolina/)A Department of Justice letter has major implications, and it opened a dispute that could a few days—or years, TIME’s Katy Steinmetz reports [Meet the Republicans Who Say They’ll Vote for Hillary Clinton ](http://time.com/4317643/republican-party-donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton-indiana/)TIME’s Tessa Berenson on the #NeverTrump Republicans who are now #ImWithHer [‘President Trump?’ Here’s How He Says It Would Look ](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/05/us/politics/donald-trump-president.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&%5Fr=0)Trump’s first 100 days \[New York Times\] [Deadlines Loom for Answers in Clinton Email Probe as U.S. Judge Sets Discovery ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/deadlines-loom-for-answers-in-clinton-email-probe-as-us-judge-sets-discovery/2016/05/04/a661d4e2-121e-11e6-93ae-50921721165d%5Fstory.html)Depositions of top Clinton aides to begin \[Washington Post\] **Sound Off** “As far as the Republican Party coming together, it will, maybe not 100%, but it’ll come together 99% and the 1% I don’t want and it won’t have any impact.” — Donald Trump to TIME on the GOP unifying behind him “In terms of vice president, I’m going to go the political route. I don’t need the business route. I’ve got that covered.” — Trump to CNN on his vice presidential selection **Bits and Bites** [Bush 41, 43 Have No Plans to Endorse Trump](https://www.texastribune.org/2016/05/04/bush-41-43-have-no-plans-endorse-trump/) \[Texas Tribune\] [Joe Klein: Why the Clintons Don’t Fear the Coming Armageddon With Donald Trump](http://time.com/4319141/clintons-donald-trump/) \[TIME\] [Why the Republican Convention Still Matters](http://time.com/4317874/republican-party-donald-trump-contested-convention-john-kasich-ted-cruz/) \[TIME\] [What Donald Trump Said the Moment He Learned John Kasich Dropped Out](http://time.com/4318138/republican-party-donald-trump-john-kasich/) \[TIME\] [Rolling Stones Ask Donald Trump to Stop Using Their Music](http://time.com/4318122/donald-trump-rolling-stones-music-playlist-rally/) \[TIME\] [Clinton Out With Ad Featuring GOP Trump Critics](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/05/04/clinton-ad-features-gop-trump-critics/83936984/) \[USA Today\] [President Obama to the People of Flint: ‘I’ve Got Your Back’](http://time.com/4318585/barack-obama-flint-michigan-visit/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Discusses How He’ll Select a Running Mate](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/04/donald-trump-discusses-how-hell-select-a-running-mate/?em%5Fpos=small&emc=edit%5Fcn%5F20160505&nl=first-draft&nl%5Fart=5&nlid=55003713&ref=headline&te=1) \[New York Times\] [Eyeing Nomination, Clinton Campaign Expands General Election Team](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/eyeing-nomination-clinton-campaign-expands-general-election-team-n568391) \[NBC\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/"},"headline":"How the GOP is Dealing With Donald Trump's Nomination","datePublished":"2016-05-05T14:40:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:18:13.463Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: May 5","url":"https://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads","Flint"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/","name":"How the GOP is Dealing With Donald Trump's Nomination"}}]}] ```