Trump, Gop Trying To Come Together As Needs Align

The New York businessman has largely ignored collecting information on voters he needs to turn out in November, dispatched very few staff to battleground states and taken no steps to build a fundraising network. Trump told The Associated Press in a Tuesday interview he would not rely on public financing, a decision that forces him to quickly assemble a donor network capable of raising the estimated $1 billion needed to run a modern presidential campaign. Trump officials were briefed earlier in the week on the RNC's general election operation, which includes a multi-million dollar voter data operation backed by more than 200 paid staff in key states. Discussions between the Trump campaign and party leaders will continue Thursday when the presumptive nominee treks to Capitol Hill for private meetings. [...] Republican leaders in the Senate and at the RNC are urging the party's rank and file to unite behind the billionaire and turn their energy toward battling Democrat Hillary Clinton this fall. The House speaker defended his stance anew Tuesday, insisting that he was just being honest in saying Trump had more work to do to show he could unify the party after alienating women, Hispanics and many conservatives.