Republicans stuck with Trump despite fears he’ll destroy them
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves after speaking during a campaign rally at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Wednesday in Jacksonville, Fla.
With just under 100 days until the presidential election, tensions between Donald Trump and the Republican Party have reached a boiling point in the wake of his feud with the parents of slain Muslim-American soldier Humayun Khan.
Republican strategists and former elected officials are deeply perplexed by their nominee’s self-destructive impulses, his penchant for courting controversy, and his move to further inflame intra-party chaos this week by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Arizona Senator John McCain for re- election.
Some Republicans have given up on their dreams of a post- primary “pivot” and are ready to concede the White House and instead focus resources on saving their Senate majority as well as candidates down the ballot.
Trump, 70, is “facing an electoral wipeout at this point. I think getting him to change his behavior is a fool’s errand,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican strategist. “He’s now doing intentional damage to the party. He’s hurting our candidates. It’s clear he doesn’t care about the Republican Party, so what responsibility does the Republican Party have to him at this point?”
It has been a rough week for Trump. Polls show that the Democratic national convention erased Trump’s lead after the Republican gathering and gave Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton back her advantage. He’s alienated prominent Republicans such as former Representative Vin Weber, who told CNBC’s John Harwood he’ll probably leave the party if Trump wins. The Trump-Khan spat was the final straw for several GOP figures who came out for Clinton—including former California gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman, former Jeb Bush adviser Sally Bradshaw, former Chris Christie adviser Maria Comella, and retiring U.S. Representative Richard Hanna.
“It’s a stupid fight to pick,” said Tom Davis, a Republican former representative from Virginia, who said he isn’t ready to get behind Trump’s campaign. “The rhetoric he used was bad,” he said, adding that Trump was hurting himself by “not running a disciplined campaign.”
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“I wince some nights when I watch Trump just blowing opportunities to score points and going on defense when he ought to be on offense,” Davis said. “It’s just not the kind of campaign you’d be enthused about.”
In a further sign of discord, Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, on Wednesday endorsed Ryan for re-election in Wisconsin, even as the presidential nominee refused. News swirled that Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, a fellow Wisconsinite who is close to Ryan, was livid about Trump’s snub. “There’s a conflict within the Trump campaign,” top Trump aide Paul Manafort acknowledged Thursday on ABC News.
Manafort’s comment came a day after he went on Fox News and dismissed reports about internal chaos among Trump aides, which has overshadowed what the Trump campaign says was a remarkable $80 million fundraising haul in July. “The turmoil—this is another Clinton narrative that is put out there and the media is picking up on,” he said, arguing that “the campaign is in very good shape—we are organized, we are moving forward.”
Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway rejected notions of Trump dropping out of the race as “wishful thinking.”
But the reports of a campaign in disarray have pro-Trump Republicans worried.
“I’m mostly concerned with the rumors coming out that Manafort has no operational control and that Trump is winging it. If they’re not a campaign at the top this could be really bad for Republicans all the way down the ticket,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist and lobbyist. “All this other stuff is kind of typical—his blather and his inability to restrain his emotions. I don’t see mass defections from his voters on this.”
Still, Trump’s rough stretch doesn’t mean GOP politicians will reject him, at least for the foreseeable future. His command of an energized plurality of the party base during the primaries means Republicans up and down the ballot this fall will rely on his voters to win their races.
“If you’re an elected official you have to appeal to them somehow. Just walking away from Trump is political suicide,” Feehery said. “In most Republican districts, Trump is very popular. And all this politically incorrect stuff is very popular with the Republican base. … You can’t diss the Donald Trump voter.”
Trump rallied his base Wednesday at a campaign stop in Daytona Beach, Florida, by labeling the U.S. a “third-world nation” and taking aim at President Barack Obama and Clinton. “We’ve got to stop being the stupid country run by very stupid people,” he said. “She’ll be worse than Obama. Believe me.”
In a sign that Trump’s refusal to endorse Ryan or McCain is about settling personal scores, the nominee encouraged his Florida crowd to vote for former 2016 rival Marco Rubio’s re- election bid to the Senate. “I endorsed Marco Rubio, he endorsed me. He’s doing well. Go for Marco,” Trump said. Unlike Ryan or McCain, who released statements rebuking Trump’s remarks on Sunday insulting the parents of Capt. Khan, Rubio largely steered clear of the controversy.
Trump’s actions in recent days have earned an admonishment from Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker and one of his most loyal supporters. Wednesday on Fox News, Gingrich said Trump must “slow down, take a deep breath, and reorganize how he’s operating so he gets to the standard of the potential president of the United States.”
“He has not done that up ’til now. It’s been significantly to his disadvantage,” Gingrich said. “So I think some of what Trump has done is very self-destructive. … I don’t know if it’s a fixable problem but I think it’s a very big moment for Trump. He has got to find a way to slow down, really learn some new lessons. This is like The Apprentice except he’s the apprentice and not the boss. He doesn’t get to say, ‘You’re fired.’ The American people get to say, ‘You’re fired.’”
59 responses to “Republicans stuck with Trump despite fears he’ll destroy them”
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I would disagree, Gary Johnson is a great option for both republicans and democrats who want to flee their party’s extremely poor selection.
I agree that Mr. Johnson is a very attractive candidate on many different levels even though I disagree with some of his stances. Had he been the Republican candidate, the contest might be a lot closer today and many Democrats might have crossed over to vote for him. The problem is that he cannot win in this election. period. Many Republicans are discussing voting for him in the election since they feel that they cannot vote for the candidate of their party. This will further diminish their candidates support in favor of Mrs. Clinton. Democratic support for Johnson will diminish support for Clinton in favor of Mr. Trump. Recall what happened when many Democrats chose to vote for Ralph Nader in the 2000 election.
It is amazing that people do not find Clinton equally objectionable as her arrogance and actions have shown disregard for the law. As president it will only get worse. There are many democrats that see her for what she is and Johnson does share many values with both parties.
Can he win? Its a stretch, I’m just finished voting for the least of two evils.
It’s a good thing that you won’t be voting, if you think that Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton are equal.
Ya gotta go with the non criminal
Two mistakes Hillary has done that are not horrible, but not confidence building:
1) Earning over $20 million making a series of speeches to Wall St. companies. Not illegal or immoral at all, but the wise thing might have been to avoid getting involved in that sort of thing–until after she retires from being POTUS. But then again, I think most rational people (you and me included) would take the money if anyone were to offer it to us.
2) Carelessly (but not immorally) using her private server for government emails. Again, no evil scheme, and none of the 30 classified docs threatened national security. But she keeps bringing up her denials that she made any mistake at all. The worst part is that her little lie here is about as bad as the 10 incorrect rationalizations Trump makes daily.
But overall, Hillary is a competent, acceptable POTUS candidate. Unlike Donald J Chump.
Bill says: “She served on the board of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.”
The facts are: Yes, she did. But her main board activity, not mentioned by Bill, was to sit on the Wal-Mart board of directors for a substantial fee. She was silent about their labor and health care practices.
Please check out the donor list for the Clinton Foundation. A lot of money coming in. Where is it all going, $10 for me $1 for the library? Come on America. Wake up before it’s too late.
Maybe it’s too late already.
With a clear lead in the polls, demographic advantages and a rival who is out of sync with local GOP leaders, Hillary Clinton is beginning to put some distance between her campaign and Donald Trump, raising the prospect that Colorado, a pivotal swing state, is too far gone for Trump to catch up.
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No one close to the Clinton team is ready to say the state’s nine electoral votes are in their column. But with just over three months until Election Day, Clinton and her allies are showing outward signs of self-assurance here by all but cutting Colorado out of their recent ad buys.
For Trump, it’s a worrisome sign of a narrowing electoral path to victory. At the outset of the election cycle, the GOP nominee already confronted what appeared to be a Democratic advantage in the Electoral College. The potential loss of a key Western swing state leaves even less margin for error in November, increasing the urgency of winning the big prizes of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.
“There are a couple things that would make any supporter of Hillary feel confident; one is that a significant part of the Republican Party in Colorado is a family values party, and they’ve always had some difficulty accepting Donald Trump as the party’s candidate,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “That’s been exaggerated because one of the other key parts of the Republican identity in Colorado is our very close relationship with the military,” he said, referring to Trump’s recent scrap with the parents of a soldier killed in 2004. “In the last week or two, some of Mr. Trump’s comments have been deeply troubling to many people who, before, would never consider not voting for the Republican candidate.”
It’s all falling…..get out the way, lest you get hit from falling debris from Tump’s broken campaign.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/colorado-trump-shrinking-electoral-map-226653#ixzz4GODAP5MP
Ike, can’t wait to next Thursday when all the polls change to support Mr. Trump. There will be a release of more emails on Ms Clinton. Be prepared.
Please check out the donor list for the Clinton Foundation. A lot of money coming in. Where is it all going, $10 for me $1 for the library? Come on America. Wake up before it’s too late.
Maybe it’s too late already.
Sarge, lespark, moilee, kuroiwaj where are you. Awfully quiet this morning.
They’re trying to think of a way to put a positive spin on all of this…
Democrats stuck with the most corrupt candidate in the history of our country. Dems will vote party over country!
repubs have the most idiotic and bigoted candidate and they will vote party over country. this election is all about the white folks trying to take control of America. they felt that America had become too black under Obama, now the white supremacists want to take control. these supremacists are the white bigots, who hate anything that is not white. one trump supporter stated that they don’t have problems with whites from Europe but don’t want nonwhites from any country.
One cannot think of a single bill Hillary has introduced or a single comment she has made that would tend to strengthen our country in the War on Terror. But, one can think of a lot of comments she has made that weaken our country and make it a more dangerous situation for all of us. Bottom line: She goes hand in hand with the ACLU on far too many issues where common sense is abandoned.
If you can’t think of anything Hillary has made to strengthen out country, let Michael J. Morell, who ran the CIA, help you:
“During a 33-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency, I served presidents of both parties — three Republicans and three Democrats. I was at President George W. Bush’s side when we were attacked on Sept. 11; as deputy director of the agency, I was with President Obama when we killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.Two strongly held beliefs have brought me to this decision [voting for Hillary]. First, Mrs. Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president — keeping our nation safe. Second, Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.
I spent four years working with Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state, most often in the White House Situation Room. In these critically important meetings, I found her to be prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and willing to change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.
I also saw the secretary’s commitment to our nation’s security; her belief that America is an exceptional nation that must lead in the world for the country to remain secure and prosperous; her understanding that diplomacy can be effective only if the country is perceived as willing and able to use force if necessary; and, most important, her capacity to make the most difficult decision of all — whether to put young American women and men in harm’s way.”
in the above comment, I meant to say “…anything Hillary has DONE to strengthen out country…”
Hmmmn–
Nude photographs published this week are raising fresh questions about the accuracy of a key aspect of Melania Trump’s biography: her immigration status when she first came to the United States to work as a model.
The racy photos of the would-be first lady, published in the New York Post on Sunday and Monday, inadvertently highlight inconsistencies in the various accounts she has provided over the years. And, immigration experts say, there’s even a slim chance that any years-old misrepresentations to immigration authorities could pose legal problems for her to
So, now the escor—errr-I mean, has wife, was a potentially illegal immigrant??? Well, at least she is afforded due process via the 14th amendment–but, not according to Kuro and Cricket– which begs the Q, what states are you members of the bar?
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/melania-trump-immigration-donald-226648#ixzz4GODvME8I
OFGS, please stick to the issues. Mr.Trump is perfectly capable of shooting himself in his own feet which are planted firmly in his mouth. It’s unnecessary to drag spouses into the picture.
First, I’ll post whenever I see fit. Second, he injected his family into this when you allow her a speaking position at the R convention. Third, if she is indeed did not adhere to relevant immigration processes then it’s entirely relevant.
Fine then, a race to the bottom it is.
Let’s also talk about the disbarred alleged rapist/serial sexual harasser Ms. Clinton will be dragging into the White House. Let’s talk about his association with a wealthy pedophile. Let’s talk about the monumental conflict of interest his foreign associations have created given Hillary’s job in the administration and her clear presidential aspirations. There’s plenty more to discuss with the Clinton “Foundation” and the Russian uranium deal, yet the thing that sticks with me about her is that she’s amoral enough to lie to the Benghazi bereaved at the funeral of the deceased and that she has repeatedly, blatantly lied about her national security/email lapses. A soulless, amoral quest for power.
The bottom line is that she is a bad person, period. Corrupt, incompetent, and dishonest. Did the Republican base hand us a terrible candidate? Yes, an accident waiting to happen. What did the democrats do? They delivered this harridan, a disaster waiting to happen.
Winston – Harridan? Well that settles once and for all that you definitely hate women!
No big surprise there, of course.
ike, cellodad fancies himself the hall monitor. He does his little ‘OFGS’ stick to the issues hissy fit yet doesn’t mind wandering off topic if it’s his comment.
Correction, Klstr, that would be hate “woman”, singular. Besides, harridan is a descriptive word, conveying no particular emotion, just a definition—that fits Hillary Clinton.
That’s what happens when Ike lets the parrot out. Obama scrambling to cover his ransom payment to Iran. He needed foreign money to evade the law. He got caught red handed. Best yet,Obama didn’t think it was illegal. Just like HiLIARy didn’t know what was classified.
“due process via the 14th amendment–but, not according to Kuro and Cricket”
On more attempt.
Read my comment again, it refers to people who are not residents.
i.e. those Muslims who would be denied entry under Trump’s earlier proposal.
You are not an illegal immigrant until after you get here.
Now super crucial Florida is down the hatch-everybody jump!!!
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Hillary Clinton holds a six-point lead over Donald Trump in Florida, according to the latest Suffolk University survey of likely voters in the state released Thursday.
Matched head-to-head, Clinton took 48 percent, while Trump earned 42 percent. In a four-way matchup, Clinton grabbed 43 percent, followed by 39 percent for Trump, 4 percent for Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and 3 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
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Clinton leads Trump by 12 points among women in the two-way ballot test (50 percent to 38 percent) and by 24 points in South Florida (57 percent to 33 percent). Men are split between Trump, who picked up 46 percent to Clinton’s 44 percent. Trump performed best in the northern part of the state, outdrawing Clinton 54 percent to 39 percent. The Republican nominee campaigned in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday evening.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/poll-clinton-leads-trump-by-6-in-florida-226673#ixzz4GOG1pjfi
President Trump will not only “Destroy” The Republicans, (and I don’t blame him one bit!),but he will also “Destroy” The Democrats . He’ll expose everything! Why do think the MSM is propping Hillary so much? Because they are afraid ! Why? Because Donald Trump can Actually Win this thing. Thus,all the Trash the MainStream Media throws at him?
And??
Because of the Bias reporting ,by the MSM, could the MSM be next?Possibly! Time will tell. The people has got to get good and mad at these guys. What was Peter Finches quote in the Movie Network? “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more”…..this kind of mad.
Of course his poll numbers will rise again, I say in two weeks,he’ll be neck and neck w/Hillary again and most likely be leading some polls… Just as long as Donald Trump avoids “stepping in it again” & focuses strictly on Hillary Clinton alone. IMUA
Care to reply and explain his pitiful polling numbers??? Yes, that’s what I thought, crickets…….chirp–chirp.
The Chumps speech is being interrupted by protesters in Portland, Oregon and he looks as if he’s about ready to loose it.
maybe another baby will start crying for Trump to attack.
Don’t hold your breath or you will black out.
Your predictions have all been great so far. Definitely.
“I love the poorly educated!” Go Trump!
Why that’s very nice of you to notice my predictions! haaaaaa! so I suggest in two weeks, that you along side with , Keaukaha and Ike all hold hands and CRY together! when the donald takes the lead again. Boy! I love Interns, Beach Bums and Novice Lawyers.Go Trump!
The Chumps diagnosis is stage four electiontitus. Sorry but there is no cure for his condition. It is also contagious so get away from him ASAP?
Bill says: “Hillary could have written her own job ticket, but she turned down all the lucrative job offers.”
The facts are: She flunked the DC bar exam; yes, flunked. It is a matter of record, and only passed the Arkansas bar. She had no job offers in Arkansas – none – and only got hired by the University of Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville because Bill was already teaching there. She did not join the prestigious Rose Law Firm until Bill became Arkansas Attorney General and was made a partner only after he was elected Arkansas Governor.
Klastri wasn’t married to Bill so every time he hears an ambulance he gets on his moped and chases after the siren.
And they say good things don’t happen to bad people…..
Nate Silver, on his excellent http://www.fivethirtyeight.com web site, now gives Mrs. Clinton a 91.7% chance of winning the election.
Republicans are fleeing now as if Trump is radioactive.
All great news!
And week before last, Nate gave Trump a 51% chance. You may very well get your wish, a corrupt, incompetent, dishonest, amoral chair warmer, but it’s not over quite yet.
It’s over. Get used to it.
No, it’s not over. See history of sharp electoral reverses during a 100 day span.
Yawn, yawn, yawn.
The Chump brags that he is a fighter and counter puncher. Well it looks like the Khans scored a tko.
They faked a right jab and landed a left hook that dropped the Chump. He was able to stand up but still doesn’t know his name and where he lives so the ref called the fight.
This article should have read ” democrats stuck with hillary”.
Trump plans to break up Republican party.
.
The party of No Still can’t say No
Well, it’s either the Republicans get their act together or it’s the outhouse.
Good boy. Moving closer to reality. Remember you don’t want to get electiontitus.
Lespark is the fat lady and she is singing. Rats jumping off the sinking ship.
The fat lady is the only female that would touch him, besides his mom.
Trump appeals to something deeper, something baser: Fear. His whole campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” is in fact an inverted admission of loss — lost primacy, lost privilege, lost prestige.
And who feels that they have lost the most? White men.
As the New York Times’ Upshot pointed out in July, “According to our estimates, Mrs. Clinton is doing better among basically every group of voters except for white men without a degree.” Put another way: “Hillary Clinton is largely performing as well or better than Barack Obama did in 2012, except among white men without a degree.”
Indeed, a Monday report in The Times put it this way: “A New York Times/CBS News poll two weeks ago found that white men preferred her Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, to Mrs. Clinton almost two to one, 55 percent to 29 percent.”
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These are the voters keeping Trump’s candidacy alive.
He appeals to a regressive, patriarchal American whiteness in which white men prospered, in part because racial and ethnic minorities, to say nothing of women as a whole, were undervalued and underpaid, if not excluded altogether.
White men reigned supreme in the idealized history, and all was good with the world. (It is curious that Trump never specifies a period when America was great in his view. Did it overlap with the women’s rights, civil rights or gay rights movements? For whom was it great?)
Trump’s wall is not practical, but it is metaphor. Trump’s Muslim ban is not feasible, but it is metaphor. Trump’s huge deportation plan isn’t workable, but it is metaphor.
There is a portion of the population that feels threatened by unrelenting change — immigration, globalization, terrorism, multiculturalism — and those people want someone to, metaphorically at least, build a wall around their cultural heritage, which they conflate in equal measure with American heritage.
In their minds, whether explicitly or implicitly, America is white, Christian, straight and male-dominated. If you support Trump, you are on some level supporting his bigotry and racism. You don’t get to have a puppy and not pick up the poop.
And acceptance of racism is an act of racism. You are convicted by your complicity.
Have your fun, Say what you will about Trump but at the very least he provides jobs and pays taxes in Hawaii. What has Crooked Hillary done for Hawaii? What will Crooked Hillary do for you in Hawaii? What will Crooked Hillary supporters do for you except run off at the mouth? Nothing.
The latest guessing game is whether Donald Trump will drop out of the presidential race before Election Day. Although his campaign has denied that this is a possibility, ABC News reports that senior Republican officials are taking the idea seriously enough that they are exploring how to replace him if he drops out.
So, what are the odds he quits?
One way to determine this is to look at the latest odds in political prediction markets. It’s not that any bettor knows what Mr. Trump will do. Rather, markets are useful because people putting their money where their mouth is are more likely to give an honest assessment than party insiders positioning for political advantage. Moreover, aggregating the intuitions of many traders usually beats relying on any group of pundits.
At the British prediction market Betfair, traders currently assess the Republican Party as holding a 25.8 percent chance to win the presidency. But they give Mr. Trump only a 24.1 percent chance of becoming president.
The difference of 1.7 percent probably reflects the possibility that Mr. Trump drops out and that an alternative Republican wins the White House.
Wrong, He only leases his name to that hotel. Employs no one. Never even showed up.
What jobs does Trump provide in Hawaii? He licensed his name to a Waikiki hotel and condo tower. He doesn’t own it, he didn’t develop it, and he doesn’t operate it. Believing that Trump provides jobs in Hawaii makes as much sense as believing that Bubba Gump is a real person providing jobs in a restaurant at Ala Moana.
Why are we asking Congress for Zika funding when we throw cash down the drIran?