How Donald Trump Keeps Getting Coverage

Donald Trump won primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia Tuesday, cementing his status as the presumptive Republican nominee and ending Ted Cruz‘s brief flirtation with restarting his campaign. Rather than hold campaign events, Trump’s week has been devoted to doling out process stories to the press—on who will run his transition, the status of his vice presidential selection, and efforts to set up a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee. Trump will meet with top GOP leaders including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Thursday—a storyline that has also drawn intense coverage. Trump’s personality-driven campaign is trying to turn mundane events into political news stories, and so far it’s working like a charm.

Hillary Clinton lost her 20th primary to Bernie Sanders in West Virginia Tuesday, but it did nothing to alter the outcome of that race. Clinton remains just 144 delegates short of the 2,383 needed for the nomination, which she will likely hit by the end of the month, or on June 7 at latest, due to the Democratic Party’s proportionality rules. Clinton is fully engaged in a pivot toward the general election, spending Tuesday honing her down-home message in Kentucky.

Vice President Joe Biden maintains he’d be the best president, and backs Clinton before his boss. Trump briefly selects a white nationalist as a delegate in California. And Clinton offers hope for UFO enthusiasts.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

Hillary Clinton Tries to Pitch Herself As Just-Folks on the Campaign Trail
TIME’s Philip Elliott on Clinton’s pitch to working-class voters

Donald Trump, Bucking Calls to Unite, Claims ‘Mandate’ to Be Provocative
No intention of being more ‘presidential’ [New York Times]

President Obama Will Bring a Mixed Nuclear Message to Hiroshima
‘No nukes’ call may get lost amid his costly A-arsenal upgrade, TIME’s Mark Thompson writes

Trump Narrows VP List As He Moves Into General
Focus on message over organization [Associated Press]

Sound Off

“This is the ultimate reality show. It’s the presidency of the United States” — Trump convention manager Paul Manafort to MSNBC on the GOP convention in Cleveland

“I thought it wouldn’t be an issue, but it was an issue” — William Johnson, chair of the white nationalist American Freedom Party, told TIME after being bumped from the Trump delegate slate in California

Bits and Bites

Bernie Sanders’ West Virginia Win Makes Up Little Ground on Hillary Clinton [Associated Press]

Trump Selects a White Nationalist Leader as a Delegate in California [Mother Jones]

Ted Cruz Is Open to Restarting His Campaign [TIME]

Joe Biden: ‘I Would Have Been the Best President’ [ABC]

Bernie Sanders’s Plans Have Surprisingly Small Benefits for America’s Poorest People [Washington Post]

Clinton Aide Cheryl Mills Leaves FBI Interview Briefly After Being Asked About Emails [Washington Post]

Hillary Clinton Gives U.F.O. Buffs Hope She Will Open the X-Files [New York Times]

Hillary Clinton Takes a Step to the Left on Health Care [New York Times]