Bernie Sanders’ New Fight

If you only read one thing: Set aside your preconceived notions about the two likely nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. This election is going to be close. While die-hard supporters of either candidate believes their victory inevitable, they’re mistaken. New national polls this weekend put the race within the margin of error, and swing-state polls have also tightened. Part of the reason for the competitiveness of the race is structural: the Electoral College and the balkanization of the partisan vote leaving just a few states truly in play. But with two historically unlikable candidates, the race for the White House this year will be more bitter than usual, posing a turnout problem for both parties.

Mathematically precluded from winning the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders is escalating his feud with the Democratic establishment, endorsing the primary challenger to party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and tapping his massive online fundraising list for him. Threatening a party schism, Sanders is complaining that he will be at a structural disadvantage at the Democratic convention in July having won fewer delegates than Hillary Clinton, making his plans to radically reshape his adopted party’s platform all the more difficult. Hardly a beloved figure in politics, Wasserman Schultz is seen as being aligned with Clinton, who she endorsed in 2008, and has had a turbulent relationship with the Obama White House. But supporting the primary challenge of a party head is the latest sign that the Sanders revolution is hardly over, even if his electoral chances are nil.

Donald Trump is courting evangelical Republicans in hopes of shoring up the support of a powerful GOP voting bloc. Many leaders in the movement most recently supported Ted Cruz’s candidacy and are plotting to use his delegate slots to force the Republican Party platform in a more conservative direction. With Trump facing skepticism from the base on social issues, how he handles the coming fight may decide just how far the social conservative movement will be willing to go to help him in the fall.

President Obama is in Vietnam today as part of a week-long Asia trip where he once again finds himself struggling to explain American politics to the world. Global leaders have been open about their concerns about Trump’s protectionist and isolationist policy proposals, while some have questions about Clinton. Meanwhile, as Clinton seeks to put Trump’s foreign policy on trial, the Republican presumptive nominee is fighting back, promising to use Clinton’s 2002 Iraq War vote against her, while whitewashing his own comments in support of the war.

Clinton flips on a final debate with Sanders. Obama’s anti-terror legacy is mixed. And Clinton attacks Trump’s “greatness.”

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

Evangelical Leaders Plan Meeting to Test Donald Trump’s Values
TIME’s Elizabeth Dias on a step that could lead to an eventual embrace of the presumptive Republican nominee

Why Do Chinese and Russian Fighters Keep Buzzing U.S. Spy Planes?
Experts divided over whether it signals U.S. resolve or weakness, TIME’s Mark Thompson reports

Obama Pivots to Asian Damage Control
As he starts Pacific trip, president confronts dismay over Trump, Sanders — and Clinton [Politico]

Donald Trump Defends His National Security Positions as Hillary Clinton Attacks
Says no obligation to protect NATO countries if they don’t pay up [Wall Street Journal]

Ryan: Trump Could Win, But I’m Not ‘Betting’ On It
The speaker talks up ‘unity’ — but still wants the nominee to clean up his act [Politico]

Sound Off

“There’s no evidence he has any ideas about making America great, as he advertises. He seems to be particularly focused on making himself appear great. And as we go through this campaign, we’re going to be demonstrating the hollowness of his rhetoric.” — Hillary Clinton on Donald Trump on NBC’s Meet the Press

“I haven’t thought about it. We’ll consider it.” — Hillary Clinton on Meet the Press on a potential debate with Bernie Sanders before the California primary. Her campaign had previously agreed to such a forum

Bits and Bites

Hillary Clinton Questions Trump’s ‘Level of Success’ [NBC]

Megadonors Missing From Pro-Trump Super PAC [Center for Responsive Politics]

National Rifle Association Endorses Donald Trump [TIME]

President Obama Blasts Congress Over Zika Funding [TIME]

Donald Trump Shifts Immigration Tone in Meeting with Hispanic Evangelical Leader [TIME]

An LGBT Vote Failed in the House and Chaos Ensued [TIME]

House Set to Begin I.R.S. Commissioner’s Impeachment Hearing [New York Times]

Mission Not Quite Accomplished: Obama’s Antiterrorism Legacy [Yahoo News]

Bernie Sanders’s Feud With the Democratic Leadership Heats Up [New York Times]