KEY REPUBLICANS ON STRIKE AGAINST TRUMP

The three missing Republicans at 2016 RNC, photo courtesy of nymag.com

One of the main stories Henry Gomez of Cleveland.com focused on today was that John Kasich has yet to endorse Donald Trump. Although there was a proposal for Kasich to emerge as the alternative candidate to Trump for the anti-Trump effort, there have only been signs that Kasich is not interested in the idea.

While the GOP have been attempting to project an image of unity with Trump's nomination, there was still the continued threat of the rogue anti-Trump effort threatening the party order. However Thursday night one of the last ditch efforts by the anti-Trump forces fell short in the Rules Committee as their attempt to issue a minority report and unbind delegates failed to pass. This seems like the last real effort that the anti-Trump forces will attempt, although it will be interesting to see if they are able to explore any other possible loopholes in the rules to try and out Trump's nomination (although it is very, very unlikely, sorry for those opposed to Trump).

Another article today focused on the speakers that will not be at the convention next week. Some notable names include: any member of the Bush family, Sarah Palin, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry and John Kasich. What's even more interesting (in my opinion) is that, of the speakers on the list that NBC News could determine their race, 50 of the 60 speakers are white (roughly 83%).

And finally, Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he will be announcing his running mate Friday morning in Manhattan. The top prospects, according to the Associated Press, are Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie. While it has been my opinion that Trump would choose Christie as his vice president, it seems as though Pence would calm "anxious" Republicans and possibly appease and unite the party further.

References
Associated Press. (2016) Donald Trump to announce vice president choice Friday morning. Cleveland.com. Retrieved from http://www.cleveland.com/rnc-2016/index.ssf/2016/07/donald_trump_to_announce_vice.html.

Gomez, Henry. (2016) Dump Donald Trump effort falls far short. Cleveland.com. Retrieved from http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/07/dump_donald_trump_effort_falls.html.

Gomez, Henry. (2016) The GOP's new Ohio moneyman weighs in on John Kasich's refusal to back Donald Trump. Cleveland.com. Retrieved from http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/07/the_gops_new_ohio_moneyman_wei.html.

Timm, Jane. (2016) 9 elephants in the room at RNC: who's missing from the speakers list. NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/9-elephants-room-rnc-what-s-missing-speakers-list-n609471.