Ryan finally hugs Trump

SPEAKER IN THE HOUSE: He’s routinely criticized him and famously said he wasn’t “quite there yet” on an endorsement — but now House Speaker Paul Ryan is set to hit the trail with DONALD TRUMP for the first time.

Ryan and Trump will attend the annual “Fall Fest” in the speaker's 1st Congressional District, along with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, several top Republican state officials and Sen. Ron Johnson, who’s facing a tough reelection this fall.


POLITICO’s Rachael Bade reports: The kumbaya moment comes after Ryan has criticized Trump for his comments about minorities and slowness to disavow support from white supremacists. Though Trump isn’t even getting top billing: “After listing the other politicians attending, the release from Ryan's political team read, ‘Presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump will also join Wisconsin Republicans at the 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin Fall Fest.’”

Hey, it’s Thursday. And, yes, yes, it is your 2016 Blast. Henry C. Jackson (@henrycjjackson) is here to guide you through today’s campaign news, so please send your tips and glistening takes of white hot fire: [email protected]

2) MEMBERS SMITE: A group of more than 30 former Republican lawmakers lashed out at DONALD TRUMP today, saying he “makes a mockery” of conservative principles in an open letter denouncing the GOP nominee. The signatories, half of which are publicly announcing their opposition to the Republican presidential nominee for the first time, include former Reps. Bill Clinger of Pennsylvania, Jim Leach of Iowa, Tom Petri of Wisconsin and G. William Whitehurst of Virginia. “Each of us has taken an oath of office that conferred upon us a solemn obligation to act in the best interests of the United States. As Republican members of Congress, we took pride in representing a political party that stood for honest and principled public leadership in which the American people could place their trust,” they wrote in a joint statement. “Sadly, our party’s nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we sought to represent in Congress.”

3) BAD WEATHER CALL: The Clinton campaign is thinking better of an ad buy on The Weather Channel as Hurricane Matthew barrels toward Florida. “Clinton’s presidential campaign said ... it is asking cable systems in Florida not to run its advertisements on the Weather Channel ... after Republicans seized on the planned ads as opportunistic. On Wednesday, POLITICO reported, as part of a larger cable-television buy in the battleground states, Clinton’s campaign had reserved airtime on the Weather Channel in a number of states, including $63,000 earmarked for Florida.”

BLAST NOTE: More on how both campaigns are coping with a potential natural disaster here.

4) SHIFTING GRANITE?: A new poll in New Hampshire suggests a tight race in the nation’s smallest swing state, POLITICO’s Steve Shepard reports. “HILLARY CLINTON and DONALD TRUMP are running close in New Hampshire, according to a new Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll released Thursday that also shows incumbent GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte leading her Democratic challenger. Clinton leads Trump by just two percentage points in the poll, 44 percent to 42 percent — within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.” That margin is closer than other recent surveys in the state — Clinton had a 7-point lead over Trump in a MassINC/WBUR-FM poll after the first presidential debate.

BLAST NOTE: Trump’s overall electoral strategy, though, may be shifting Westward, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols reports, as his efforts in Pennsylvania and other eastern swing states seem to have stalled. For her part, another poll released today showed Clinton up 3 percentage points in Florida.

5) HOWARD’S END: DONALD TRUMP seemed to relish the sense of celebrity and stature that being a regular guest on Howard Stern’s show brought him, POLITICO Magazine’s Virginia Heffernan reports in a look at the pair’s relationship. But Trump’s raised profile came at a cost: “This much-craved publicity, of course, came at price: Stern has long had a devilish talent for lulling guests into a false sense of security—and then luring them into rhetorical traps. He casts his guests in a burlesque he scripts for them, and cattle-prods them into playing their parts, first fawning over them until they feel like celebrities, then bringing down the hammer of humiliation. He’s a diabolically domineering scene partner.”

TRAIL MIX: In today’s campaign news, DONALD TRUMP wanders into a Nevada mess, Putin stays in the election news and HILLARY CLINTON’s team hunkers down in North Carolina. A strict GOP case for not backing DONALD TRUMP, a Reagan speaks and Sad TED CRUZ is a thing. Oh, and “Empire” backs HRC.

NO DUH: DONALD TRUMP made fun of politicians who mispronounced Nevada then did it himself. Home boy Harry Reid, naturally, pounced. Reid also mocked Trump’s effect on Atlantic City.

WRITTEN IN PENCE-L: MIKE PENCE seems to disavow DONALD TRUMP’s ban on Muslims. (The New York Times)

RED SQUARES: Lindsey Graham once again complained about DONALD TRUMP’s apparent coziness with Vladimir Putin as Trump’s running mate, MIKE PENCE, tussled with a "Today" host about the leader.

SHOW BIZ: DONALD TRUMP said all his insulting remarks to women are about “entertainment” and that it would be very easy to stop himself if he needed to.

CAROLINA BLUE: The Wall Street Journal digs in for a look at HILLARY CLINTON’s ground game in North Carolina.

INSIDE JOB: GOP oppo guru Tim Miller explains on The Ringer why no conservative should back DONALD TRUMP.

REAGAN, DEMOCRAT: Michael Reagan, President Ronald Reagan’s oldest son, says Nancy Reagan would have voted for HILLARY CLINTON. (CNN)

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME, IF TRUE: Marketwatch headline: “The election’s over — HILLARY CLINTON won.”

TIRED TED: Sad TED CRUZ phone-banking for DONALD TRUMP has become a meme. (Washington Post)

OIL SLICK: The Daily Beast looks at a time that HILLARY CLINTON went to bat for Chevron.

EMPIRE (FOR SECRETARY OF) STATE: The cast of “Empire” endorsed HILLARY CLINTON in a new video. (Time)

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLEEEEE: Everything you need to know about Sunday’s debate, including where you can stream it and stuff like that here.

SHE’S LIVING, SHE’S GOLDEN: BREAKING: Stephan Jenkins, frontman of Blast favorite Third Eye Blind says that he backs HILLARY CLINTON.

BLAST NOTE: It’s Thursday, you’ve earned it, folks. Bump one of the truly great songs of the late ‘90s and be real: The beach does give a feeling, an earthy feeling.

THEY SAID IT: "A lot of that was done for the purpose of entertainment; there's nobody that has more respect for women than I do.” — DONALD TRUMP on women.

MAGIC NUMBER: 2. That’s HILLARY CLINTON’s lead in a new poll of Arizona — as they say: big, if true.

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There you go — now you’re caught up on the 2016 race. TBNR. We’ll see you tomorrow.