Midday Roundup: David French won't run for president

Respectfully declined. Conservative lawyer and writer David French announced Sunday he decided not to run for president as an independent candidate. Over Memorial Day weekend, Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, boasted that the National Review writer could become a serious contender with the backing of many conservatives in the “Never Trump” movement. A week later, French said he was not the right person for the job, but he encouraged someone else to consider taking on the role. “Given the timing, the best chance for success goes to a person who either is extraordinarily wealthy (or has immediate access to extraordinary wealth) or is a transformational political talent,” French wrote.

Bias and blame. Top Republicans criticized Donald Trump over the weekend for a remark about the judge hearing the Trump University lawsuit. Trump has said Judge Gonzalo Curiel is biased against him because Curiel is Hispanic and Trump has proposed building a wall on the United States’ southern border. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said, “This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made, and I think it’s inexcusable.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also took issue with Trump’s remarks, noting that while the judge is of Mexican descent, he is an American. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also denounced Trump’s criticism:“It’s reasoning I don’t relate to, I completely disagree with the thinking behind that.”

Nearing the finish line. Hillary Clinton lacks only about 25 delegates before clinching the Democratic nomination for president after winning primaries in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands over the weekend. Tuesday’s primaries in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota could give her the final bump she needs. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., expects a big victory in California and says he can sway some of the Democratic superdelegates, who are not bound to vote for a particular candidate, to abandon the pledges they’ve made to Clinton. “I have heard reports that Secretary Clinton has said it’s all going to be over on Tuesday night,” Sanders said Saturday at a news conference. “I have reports that the media, after the New Jersey results come in, are going to declare that it is all over. That simply is not accurate.”

Blockbuster season. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows took the top spot at the box office last weekend. The latest ninja turtles movie took in $35 million over the weekend, beating out X-Men: Apocalypse, which earned $22 million in its second weekend of release. The romance Me Before You came in third with $18 million, and Alice Through the Looking Glass came in at a disappointing fourth place. The sequel to Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland earned just $11 million.

Remembering D-Day. Today marks the 72nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, that turned the tide of World War II against Germany and the Nazis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt began the day with this radio address and prayer:

WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington contributed to this report.