Trump update

A Trump campaign spokesman defended the former president's use of the word "vermin" to describe his political enemies, calling critics "snowflakes" whose "entire existence will be crushed" if Trump wins in 2024.

 Former President Trump's allies are pre-screening the ideologies of thousands of potential foot soldiers, as part of an unprecedented operation to centralize and expand his power at every level of the U.S. government if he wins in 2024, officials involved in the effort tell Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen. Hundreds of people are spending tens of millions of dollars to install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government to rip off the restraints imposed on the previous 46 presidents. .... When Trump took office in 2017, he included many conventional Republicans in his Cabinet and key positions. Those officials often curtailed his behavior and power.

CNN'S DANA BASH: If those are the issues, if you end up having Donald Trump as your nominee, and if he is convicted of a crime, do you believe that he would be the appropriate nominee for the Republican Party?

GOP CHAIR MCDANIEL: Whoever the voters choose is the appropriate nominee.

BASH: Even if he's a convicted criminal?

MCDANIEL: I know this is newsworthy, but, as party chair, I'm going to support who the voters choose.