Remember all the comradery in the room when Donald Trump met with GOP senators last week? Yes, well, Hillary Clinton huddled with Democratic senators Thursday and same same, reports Bridget Bowman:
"It was a love fest," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. after the lunch. [...]
Inside the meeting room just off the Senate floor, Clinton discussed a range of issues-- including the economy, campaign strategy and the Supreme Court -- with her former colleagues. She represented New York in the Senate for eight years, before becoming Secretary of State in 2009.
"We're really concerned with how we build a strong Democratic Party, not just for this election, but beyond," Clinton told reporters after the meeting. "And I'm going to do everything I can to work with my friends and colleagues here to make that happen."
Echoes of the GOP side, where Trump was all about building up Senators like Jeff Flake of Arizona and Mark Kirk of Illinois, who haven't taken a shine to him:
Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to begin doing so. Flake stood up to Trump by urging him to stop attacking Mexicans. Trump predicted that Flake would lose his reelection, at which point Flake informed Trump that he was not on the ballot this year, the sources said. [...]
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.
Oh, the love in that room, amiright?
For her part, Clinton opened the door for Democratic senators to campaign with her, which generated a lot of buzz. Very reminiscent of all the Senate Republicans fighting for stage time with Trump at the convention next week.
The level of rank-and-file congressional defections from this year’s Republican convention is unusually high. [...] In the halls of the Capitol this week, some senators seemed to visibly squirm when asked about their convention plans.
Back in Dem world...
Some women senators were energized coming out of the meeting. Thirteen women Democratic senators endorsed Clinton back in November 2015 (all but Warren). They are expected to have a prime time role at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., later this month.
Somehow, "energized" just wasn’t bandied about much following the Trump meeting.