NEW: Cheers and distortions: Trump feeds on raucous rallies as trial disrupts run.

His return to the trail this week offered a brief respite from the cold realities of the courtroom. Read Isaac Arnsdorf Sarah Leach ☮️ Patrick Marley Jeff Stein:  wapo.st/3QsmARP

For Laura Loomer, a Trump comeback is everything from ⁦Kara Voght⁩ washingtonpost.com/style/power/20…

SCOOP —

Elon Musk and David Sacks had a fancy dinner party in Los Angeles earlier this month to talk politics and Joe Biden.

Guests included Rupert Murdoch, Steven Mnuchin, Peter Thiel, Travis Kalanick and Michael Milken.

Just posted at Puck.

puck.news/elon-musk-davi…

The narrative about Noem’s VP chances tanking over the dog story has a veneer of truth to it

Trump does not dismiss the possibility of political violence around the election. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” he tells TIME. “It always depends on the fairness of the election.” time.com/6972021/donald…

For the latest issue of TIME, I interviewed Donald Trump twice to ask what he would do with a second term. Here's what he told me:

Mike Johnson hasn't matched Kevin McCarthy's fundraising prowess. But after bucking detractors & passing Ukraine aid, some expect the $$ will start to flow. A deep look at fundraising & GOP mega donors' spending, via Maeve Reston Michael Scherer Ence Morse washingtonpost.com/elections/2024…

What I wrote about Susie Wiles. tinyurl.com/2f37xn7y

'At one point last year, after grumbling for months that she was at his Mar-a-Lago Club too often, Trump gently suggested to Lake that she should leave the club and hit the campaign trail in Arizona' Yvonne Wingett Sanchez Josh Dawsey Liz Goodwin wapo.st/4bjywO5

NEW: Trump on trial: Personal anguish, political defiance and a loss of control. Lots of details from the first two weeks of the former president’s criminal trial in NY. By Hannah Knowles Josh Dawsey Ashley Parker: washingtonpost.com/elections/2024…

5,000 miles away, a Michigan mayor at the center of the Gaza storm
By Yasmeen Abutaleb
washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/…

NEW: Trump’s legal bills drain millions more from his political cmtes. The ex-pres.’s legal bills account for more than a quarter of the spending by the groups in March, per new campaign finance filings. $16.7M spent this year. By Maeve Reston Ence Morse: wapo.st/4aIVTjU

A group of at least 10 men wearing the uniform of the Proud Boys, a violent extremist group, appeared outside the entrance of a rally in N.C. for presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, prompting condemnation from President Biden’s campaign.

via Isaac Arnsdorf
washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/…

Joe Biden told aides that Thursday's event with the Kennedys was one of the best days of his campaign.

Meanwhile, in private conversations, the Kennedys have tried to get RFK Jr. to reconsider. It hasn't worked.

On Biden and the Kennedys:

washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/…

Polish President Andrzej Duda just arrived at Trump Tower to have dinner with Trump. Trump praises Duda and says they 'had four great years together … Never had even a problem. Not even a minor problem. We agree on so much, but we're behind Poland all the way.'

Tim Sheehy apologized and asked for leniency after alleged 2015 gun incident, new records show. The Montana GOP Senate candidate has since said he lied about accidentally shooting himself at Glacier National Park, by Liz Goodwin washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/…

Trump will have dinner with Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower on Wednesday, a Trump campaign official confirms.

The union vote at VW Chattanooga will reverberate around the country, even the world. But it's the people here who will decide.
I spent the past few days roving around the town—at church, baseball games and ice cream shops—to see how people are feeling. news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-re…

NEW: N.Y. trial’s focus on tawdry scandal could underscore Trump’s weakness with women. By Isaac Arnsdorf Hannah Knowles: wapo.st/4d072OO

Iran attack complicates Biden’s push to change the course of Gaza war
By Yasmeen Abutaleb
wapo.st/3U2jGo9