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For the Record: Clinton, Trump agree we’re at ‘war’ after Nice attack

For the Record

Our apologies, dear readers: A mishandling on our private email server prevented today's For the Record from sending properly. Here's the latest edition.

Last night’s horror in France, in which a truck plowed though a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, spurred strong words from both candidates.

As the death toll rose to 80, Donald Trump pushed back the news conference at which he will reportedly name Indiana Gov. Mike Pence his running mate. “This is war,” Trump said after the apparent terrorist attack.

Hillary Clinton, in rare unanimity, agreed. “We've got to do more to understand that this is a war against these terrorist groups, the radical jihadist groups,” she said on Fox News.

This is For the Record, the politics newsletter from Paste BN.

Pence, postponed

Trump will name Pence his VP pick over this weekend, if multiple confirmed reports stay true. (Editor's note: They did.)

So who’s Mike Pence? He’s a mild-mannered governor with social conservative credentials and – until lately – an aversion to negative campaigning. He is then, in many ways, not Trump.

And that’s the point, GOP strategists say: Pence is a by-the-book Republican. He’s the yin to Trump’s yang. He’s disciplined while Trump improvises. He is politically experienced (a current governor and former U.S. representative) while Trump is without any experience in elected office whatsoever an outsider!

Pence has differed publicly with Trump, calling his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the US “offensive and unconstitutional.” When Trump criticized Gonzalo P. Curiel, an Indiana-born judge, as “a Mexican,” Pence called Trump’s words “inappropriate.”

Pence could counterbalance Trump, allowing the campaign to reassure more rank-and-file Republicans nervous about Trump’s unorthodox style. Or it could undermine the very unorthodox appeal that vaulted Trump in the first place.

But first, Pence has to get picked.

Trump’s convention: underwear model to speak, bodily fluids banned

The slate of speakers for next week’s Republican convention in Cleveland was announced and, ho-boy, it’s Trumptastic.

Those speaking include former underwear model Antonio Sabàto Jr., golfer Natalie Gulbis and Dana White, who is, of course, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship. Vanquished foes Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Scott Walker will also show.

Not attending: Dozens of prominent Republicans , according to Politico, who checked in with 50 of them.

Not even John Kasich, the state’s own Republican governor, looks to attend the Ohio convention. And ‘80s rockers Journey, once rumored to be playing, seem to have gone separate ways. That’s a Journey reference.

Will you be there? Probably not. Beer coolers are banned at the RNC, including tons of other stuff you’re into like “containers of bodily fluids.”

The race looks closer than ever

Ahead of the conventions, a neck-and-neck race: A new CBS News/New York Times poll on Thursday showed Clinton and Trump tied at 40%. Clinton led by 6 percentage points in the same poll a month earlier.

The Times reported that an increasing number of voters distrust Clinton after she seemingly lied about her use of private email servers.

Over at FiveThirtyEight, stats guru Nate Silver has Clinton’s shot of winning at 66%, with Trump’s at 34%.

More from the campaign trail

Millennial voters: Gotta embarrass yourself while trying to catch ‘em all!

Hillary Clinton just wants to chill with young voters. So Hillary Clinton made a Pokémon Go joke. It did not go well for her.

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