Where Trump and Sanders Agree

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump share many of the same oratorical tricks, from trumpeting their poll numbers to their pronunciation of the word “yuge.” At Thursday’s CNN debate, Sanders added two more similarities: defending calling Hillary Clinton “unqualified” for the White House because he felt he was responding to an attack, and arguing the U.S. contributes too much to NATO. The commonalities on policy also extend to trade and labor issues, highlighting how the political “spectrum” is more of a circle.

Clinton and Sanders bitterly sparred at the debate in Brooklyn, over qualifications and tone before a raucous audience. Clinton repeatedly sidestepped questions over whether she would release her transcripts from speeches to Goldman Sachs, while Sanders faced difficulty explaining the substance of his proposals. With Clinton the strong favorite in New York and still leading national polls, the debate was more pro forma than race-altering.

Trump signaled his campaign is preparing for defeat in Wyoming, announcing Thursday that Sarah Palin would not attend the state’s GOP convention as scheduled. No reason was given, but the Cruz campaign’s organizational dominance was apparent as the state’s Republicans assembled in Casper. In Georgia’s state convention on Saturday, the Trump campaign is mounting a last-minute effort to organize to prevent Cruz supporters from infiltrating their delegate slate, but it appears to be another case where their concern has come too late.

The Republican National Committee is responding to Trump’s criticism of the varied ways in which states select their delegates to the national convention, with a new memo laying the blame for Trump’s repeated failures to secure delegates at the foot of his campaign.

Trump doesn’t know what to call the West Bank. Meet Trump’s prosperity preachers. And Paul Ryan says world leaders thanked him for standing up to Trump.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

How the Brooklyn Debate Showed Democratic Dysfunction
It was a rough night in Brooklyn, TIME’s Sam Frizell and Philip Elliott write

Donald Trump’s Prosperity Preachers
TIME’s Elizabeth Dias on the Evangelical outsiders who are flocking the Republican’s campaign

How Bernie Sanders Became a Superdelegate
Running for President made him a Democratic insider [TIME]

At G.O.P. Dinner, Donald Trump Serves Heaping Helping of ‘New York Values’
An early victory lap for the GOP front-runner [New York Times]

Paul Ryan Says Middle East Allies Thanked Him for Taking on Trump
The Speaker boasts about speaking up against the candidate [Yahoo]

Sound Off

“I have said, look, there are certain—there are certain expectations when you run for president. This is a new one. And I’ve said, if everybody agrees to do it—because there are speeches for money on the other side. I know that.” — Hillary Clinton ducking a question on whether she would release transcripts of her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs

“In our darkest moment as a city, we showed the world the very, very best in terms of braveness and heart and soul.” — Donald Trump at a New York GOP dinner praising the city’s response to 9/11

Bits and Bites

Republican Party Fires Back at Trump’s ‘Rigged’ Remarks [TIME]

New Jersey Billboards Hit Christie Over Trump Endorsement [TIME]

Bernie Sanders Would Ask President Obama to Withdraw Supreme Court Nominee [TIME]

Donald Trump Doesn’t Know What To Call the West Bank [The Forward]

Bernie Sanders Promises to Release Tax Returns Soon [TIME]

Why Polls Spell Trouble for Republicans in November [TIME]

Bernie Sanders Criticizes Surrogate for ‘Democratic Whores’ Remark [TIME]

Bernie Sanders Suspends Jewish Outreach Coordinator After Reports of Her Criticisms of Israel [New York Times]

The 7 Worst Campaign Surrogate Moments of 2016 [TIME]

Pro-Clinton Super PAC Ups Swing State Ad Campaign to $90 Million [Politico]

No Links to Foreign Terrorists Found on San Bernardino iPhone So Far, Officials Say [Washington Post]