The Daily Trail: That time Trump came to DC to mend fences — and brought his hammer

Ignore the byline at the top of the page — today's top story comes to you courtesy of The Fix's Chris Cillizza, who you should really be following on Twitter, if you aren't already. Go ahead, do it. We'll wait.

Stop me if you've heard this before: Donald Trump came to Capitol Hill on Thursday to make nice, again, with congressional Republicans. It didn't go so well.

This, from a terrific report by my Washington Post colleagues on Trump's private meeting with Republican senators, is stunning:

[Arizona Sen. Jeff] Flake told Trump that he wants to be able to support him — “I’m not part of the Never Trump movement,” the senator said — but that he remains uncomfortable backing him, the officials said.

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard, but threatened to begin doing so. ...

... Trump also called out Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who withdrew his endorsement of Trump last month citing the business mogul’s racially-based attacks on a federal judge, and said he did not approve of the senator’s action, said the officials.

Characterizing Kirk as a loser, Trump vowed that he would carry Illinois in the general election even though the state traditionally has been solidly Democratic in presidential contests. Kirk did not attend the meeting with Trump.

Trump also singled out Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who has refused to support Trump and has emerged as perhaps the most vocal advocate for a third-party candidate. Sasse declined to speak with reporters as he left the meeting.

Thrilled to be in D.C. today. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Let me reiterate: Trump came to Washington on Thursday to rally the party behind him. Instead, he wound up threatening one senator, calling another — who wasn't even there — a loser and picking on a third. All of these people are, ostensibly, within the same political party!

While his meeting with House Republicans — earlier in the day — appeared to go marginally better (talk about a low bar), it was clear that Trump hadn't changed many hearts and minds in the room.

It's very, very difficult to see strategy in Trump's combativeness and/or to imagine what that strategy (if one exists) might gain him.

The Republican National Convention opens in Cleveland in exactly 11 days. The single biggest task facing Trump between now and then will be uniting the GOP behind him. It has been a very rocky road thus far, but it's been clear for some time that most on-the-fence Republicans are trying desperately to find some way — any way — to stand up for him.

This Flake quote, which came after Trump threatened to go after him, tells that story:

Translated: I need Trump to give me something. Show some turning over of a new leaf. Some remorse. Some change in tone.

It's not that hard, and yet, he doesn't do it. In fact, what Trump seems to almost always do is double or triple down on past controversies — either refusing to let them go until everyone acknowledges he was right or savaging, taunting and threatening those who still don't agree with him.

I get that Trump ran a very successful primary campaign against Washington and the Republicans who call it home. But, the primary is over. The targets now can't be Jeff Flake, Mark Kirk or any other Republican. Trump needs GOP elected officials not only on board but enthusiastically so as he tries to rapidly build a national fundraising operation and scale up his paltry voter identification and get out the vote operations. Trump may not like Flake — he clearly doesn't — but Flake has something that Trump doesn't have in Arizona: a tested and able political organization. And, as of today, there's no way in hell that political organization is going to work for Trump this fall.

Like I said: There's no discernible strategy here. It looks from afar like pure political pique and ego; Trump doesn't like the idea that some Republicans are blanching at the idea of supporting him, so he tries to bully them into support or, at the very least, submission.

It hasn't worked. It won't work. Most political people know this. I would suspect most people on Trump's payroll know this. It appears, however, that the man at the top of the campaign still doesn't get it. Need evidence? Check this out.

--Chris Cillizza

(Day 6.)

And now, the top 3 Donald Trump quotes from today's closed-door Hill meeting, via the Post's Josh Rogin:

—“It would great if you could say we had an unbelievable meeting. ‘Trump loves us. We love Trump.’ It’s going to be so good. Okay?”

—“I am a constitutionalist. I am going to abide by the Constitution whether it’s number 1, number 2, number 12, number 9. I am a constitutionalist. I’m going to abide by the Constitution...It’s so important, and we’re getting away from it. And let me tell you, we have gotten so far away from it, we’re not going to have a country anymore.” [Yes, the U.S. Constitution still only has seven articles. Maybe he was talking about amendments? If he was — you're probably familiar with the First and the Second, but in case the rest are a bit fuzzy: the Ninth protects rights not enumerated in the Constitution, and the Twelfth altered the way the Electoral College functions, changing the way we elect vice presidents. Just because it doesn't get as much attention as, say, the Fifth, doesn't mean it's not important too! Anyway: as of this moment, the campaign has not clarified.]

—“I view the campaign as starting from the convention on, and maybe I could say from the end of the convention. That’s when I’m really starting. Just stick with me folks, I know what I’m doing, okay?”

. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Note: There were too many Awkward Trump-Related Hill Encounters to settle on just one winner today — but for once, the most notable were more awkward for Donald Trump than for GOP lawmakers. If we had to pick just one, we'd have to go with Sen. Jeff Flake's stone-cold introduction at today's closed-door meeting: "When Flake stood up and introduced himself, Trump told him, 'You’ve been very critical of me.'

"'Yes, I’m the other senator from Arizona — the one who didn’t get captured — and I want to talk to you about statements like that,' Flake responded, according to two Republican officials. ..." (Reminder: Republican presidential nominees need to win Arizona, where Jeff Flake is very popular...and Donald Trump is not.)

Bonus moment: "The meeting grew combative as Trump upbraided Flake, [Sens. Ben] Sasse and [Mark] Kirk, according to the officials who were granted anonymity to describe the private gathering. He predicted each would lose their seats in November; only Kirk is up for reelection this year."

Trump senior adviser Paul Manafort pushed back at characterizations of the meeting as contentious, telling the Post in a statement that the claims were "attributed to unnamed sources, are wholly inaccurate.” Actually, at least one of the sources describing the meeting as "tense" did have a name, and gave the assessment publicly: Jeff Flake.

(Yes. It's Christmas in July. #blessed)

INVESTIGATION UPDATE:

. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Hours after FBI director James Comey defended the department's Clinton emails investigation came news that the State Department was re-opening its probe of the then-secretary of state's use of a private email server. Anne Gearan and Abby Phillip took a closer look at the story that won't die:

"House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that he believes the presumptive Democratic nominee received preferential treatment from the FBI and that she should be denied classified briefings because she was “so reckless” in her handling of her emails. Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee scheduled a snap hearing on Thursday to question Comey about his findings.

"Republicans were also buoyed by an announcement Wednesday from the Trump campaign that it had exceeded expectations by raising $51 million with the GOP in June. Although short of Clinton’s $68 million total for the same month, the number eases concerns among many Republicans about Trump’s fundraising potential and signals that he could hold his own with her in the money race.

"Taken together, the events suggest a fiercely competitive contest in which Republicans will do everything they can to keep attention trained on Clinton’s actions and misstatements related to her emails — while Clinton will do everything possible to avoid the issue and campaign as a capable, can-do leader. ...

"Exiting a weekly meeting between Trump campaign representatives and supportive House members Wednesday morning, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) tried to head off repeated questions from reporters about Trump’s controversial praise of Saddam Hussein by pointing to Clinton.

"'I appreciate that you’re asking Trump questions, but the fact is Hillary Clinton being found above the law by this administration is the story of today,' Issa said."

TRAIL MIX:

Raleigh. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

—Some of you may wonder exactly how long it's been since Hillary Clinton gave a press conference. (We know many of you do not. We will confess here to having a strong bias in favor of politicians taking tough questions, live, from reporters at least once in an election year — a thing Clinton has yet to do.) If you are one of those people who wonder: wonder no more — here's a tool that will tell you precisely how many days (or if you prefer, how many minutes) it has been since the presumptive Democratic nominee held an official news conference.

—There has been so much GOP schadenfruede expended on this NJ.com story today claiming Chris Christie is "unlikely" to be selected as Trump's running mate and is currently being vetted mostly as a courtesy that national reserves are running dangerously low. It's a long campaign, people. Pace yourself. "The source added that Christie's stout defense of Trump and unwillingness to criticize him may have backfired, saying, 'You want someone who's willing to be a Devil's advocate at times.'"

(Scheduling note: As veep audition week rolls on, Christie will reportedly join Trump on the trail in Miami tomorrow.)

—Over the years, we've lost count of the candidates described as wanting to be president, but not wanting to run for president. 2016 has been a boom year for the inverse of that theory: Donald Trump, speculate armchair psychologists, sure likes running for president (at least, big parts of it. The parts that involve thousands of people hanging on his every word and tweet.) But, they theorize, there is no way he actually wants to be president.

Of course, there's only one person who can truly answer that question: Donald Trump himself. And at the moment, he's not. Instead, he's decided to float a qualified reverse Sherman: if nominated, he'll probably run. But if elected, he might not serve. When Jason Horowitz asked him point blank about the theory that the presumptive GOP nominee could beat Hillary Clinton, but still turn down the presidency, Trump just smiled and responded: "I’ll let you know how I feel about it after it happens."

—There are still few details on the expected Clinton-Sanders endorsement event in New Hampshire next week, but it's worth noting that isn't the only joint announcement slated for the next few days: "The two campaigns have also been in talks over health-care policy and are expected to make an announcement in coming days about that issue, according to aides to the two candidates. During the primaries, Sanders touted a universal 'Medicare-for-all' plan that Clinton is not expected to embrace — but there are steps short of that that could probably satisfy the Sanders camp."

—Yesterday, Donald Trump said the convention speaker schedule would be released today. So far: no schedule. But a tantalizing clue...

—#Math: Hillary Clinton is outperforming President Obama's performance in 2012 with nearly every demographic, according to Pew Research Center poll numbers. (Mandatory calendar-related asterisk: it's July 7.) The group that's moved the most to the Republicans' advantage over last time: black voters.

—Some of Jared Kushner's relatives have reacted to his reaction to the op-ed reacting to Donald Trump's reaction to anti-Semitic supporters. (Got that? Good.) "That my grandparents have been dragged into this is a shame. Thank you Jared for using something sacred and special to the descendants of Joe and Rae Kushner to validate the sloppy manner in which you've handled this campaign..." one reportedly wrote. As of press time, there was no reaction to the reaction to the reaction to the reaction to the reaction. Yet.

—A spokesman for Sen. Ben Sasse, one of the staunchest #NeverTrumpers on Capitol Hill, told The Hill that the senator “will not be attending the convention and will instead take his kids to watch some dumpster fires across the state, all of which enjoy more popularity than the current front-runners.” The flaming trash line isn't a new one for the senator: In 2016, he feels, the dumpster fire has apparently met its moment.

On the other hand, we also have an actual party healing update! After a round of meetings that involved everyone from Reince Priebus to Ivanka Trump, Ted Cruz now plans to attend the convention, and speak. We do not know exactly what was discussed at these meetings, but we do know, per Cruz's spokeswoman, one thing that did not come up: discussion of a Cruz endorsement.

YOUR DAILY TRAIL PIT STOP: Newt Gingrich spent yesterday by Donald Trump's side (where he, among other things, was part of the discussion that led to the infamous "Frozen" tweet.)

We realized a bit too late yesterday that we had completely forgotten to use the occasion of Gingrich's trail appearance as an excuse to commemorate one of our favorite Newt obsessions: zoo animals. He likes them. He really, really likes them. We thought to ourselves: it's too late to fix this mistake. But we had to. And so we are. Heading into the pre-convention homestretch — with the former House speaker, last we heard, still on the potential Trump veep list — we give you, via his Instagram account: Newt Gingrich, with various fuzzy mammals.

Newt with lemur.

Newt with...a monkey of some sort? (to be certain, we needed to either do a thorough Image search or find a fifth grader, and it's a bit late in the day for either.)

Obligatory Newt with elephant. #2016