Trump camp scrambles to shape up before GOP convention
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., second from left, accompanied by, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, listen to a question during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2016, following their policy luncheon.
WASHINGTON >> Republicans are sprinting to shape up Donald Trump’s presidential campaign before the party’s national convention in three weeks, even as leading members of the party carry a deep antipathy or outright opposition to his claim on the GOP nomination.
His campaign chairman said Sunday there’s a hiring spree in 16 states and the campaign is working with the Republican National Committee to solidify other matters. Paul Manafort said Trump is not all that involved in the race to organize an offensive against Democrat Hillary Clinton and catch up to her massive fundraising advantage.
“The good thing is we have a candidate who doesn’t need to figure out what’s going on (inside the campaign ) in order to say what he wants to do,” Manafort said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” ”We have our campaign plans in place. We have our budgets in place.”
What Manafort described as a “new phase” for the campaign — a shift from the primaries to the general election — was a forced reshuffling of an effort hobbled for weeks by infighting, Trump’s statements about a judge’s ethnicity and a massive fund raising deficit to Clinton’s cash-raising Goliath. Trump began June with $1.3 million in the bank, less campaign cash than many congressional candidates. The $3 million he collected in May donations is about one-tenth what Clinton raised.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that Trump can’t win the presidency unless he can compete with Clinton on the financial front.
“He needs to catch up, and catch up fast,” the Kentucky Republican said on ABC’s “This Week.”
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Despite the stated support for Trump, antipathy toward him projected from the Sunday shows and beyond.
A few hundred delegates to the Republican National Convention are pushing to change the rules and make it possible for them to vote for someone other than Trump. Many congressional Republicans are skipping the gathering in Cleveland altogether, the latest being Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are not attending. And 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, one of Trump’s most outspoken Trump critics, has opted to spend July 10 through July 21 elsewhere. Trump has said he doesn’t want support from them, but also groused that overall support from Republican leaders has been lacking.
On the matter of staffing, there’s evidence the Trump campaign is having trouble attracting some political veterans who are reluctant to sign on to such a late-starting and tumultuous campaign.
McConnell refused to say on Sunday whether Trump is qualified to be president. And he suggested that the GOP platform would not reflect Trump’s ideas, including restrictions on Muslim immigration to the U.S.
“It’s my expectation that the platform will be a traditional Republican platform, not all that different from the one we had four years ago,” McConnell replied.
With just three weeks to go until the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the Trump campaign and the RNC are laboring to set up staff in what Manafort said were 16 states in which the campaign aims to compete heavily. He said the campaign will announce more about staffing this week, an effort to reassure people that Trump’s unorthodox campaign is viable.
On Sunday, Manafort sought to calm the angst, describing a partnership between Trump’s campaign operation and the Republican National Committee that goes beyond the RNC’s traditional role of raising money for the GOP nominee. He said the transition to the general election is complete — but the details have not necessarily been made public.
“We are fully now integrated with the Republican National Committee,” Manafort said. He said this week the campaign will announce “people who are taking over in major positions in our national campaign, as well as in our state campaigns. We’re organized in all 16 states that we’re going to be targeting as battleground states.”
McConnell and other Republicans said they got the first glimmers of reassurance this week when Trump fired former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in what Trump described as a change of direction from the GOP primaries to the general election. Lewandowski was at the center of the campaign’s most corrosive internal battles, which Trump allowed to fester for months.
53 responses to “Trump camp scrambles to shape up before GOP convention”
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Buahahhaha, this keeps on getting better and better. It’s like being at a seafood buffet, and the manager saying, hold on folks, we just got same day fresh caught Maine lobster. The Donald imploding and plunging in the polls at real time, see:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-new-poll-support-for-trump-plunges-giving-clinton-a-double-digit-lead/2016/06/25/0565bef6-3a31-11e6-a254-2b336e293a3c_story.html?postshare=9211466949007350&tid=ss_fb
You know what happen to Goliath don’t you?
Allow those enamored with Hillary to revel in Trump’s long overdue decline. There’s little we can do with voters so blue they resemble smurfs. Chose rather to refocus support towards Gary Johnson. No doubt Libertarians leave much to be desired, and will never satisfy the cravings of diehards from either major party, but, that very same “let you do your own thing” charm, coupled with having honorable candidates with proven records, should continue to herald their unprecedented rise in popularity. And having Hillary left to fill the void created by Donald’s drowning only will accelerate the ascension. The long shot looks better every day..
I want Bernie!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMZqS7q7voY
boola makes sense this morning. I am disgusted with Republican officials for trying to pretend Trump is a conservative or that he is a competent person. He is in no way competent to serve as president. The guy is a tv entertainer and buffoon.
Come on Allie, the Republican officials are not trying to pretend.
It’s even more funnier to see all the people duped by the master con man Trump, who is trying to throw this election on purpose while making it look like he’s running a legit campaign and bring down the whole GOP organization with him. Reminds me of the movie Brewster’s Millions where he ran for office just for thrills while secretly trying to lose on purpose.
I agree. He said he would self fund his campaign, now he said he will loan his campaign, and now he is paying himself back with monies donated by poor citizens who think he is the has the cure all for their problems! Wake up people! He doesn’t care if he loses and changes his mind as the wind blows in another direction. He will sell more books and his brand is worldwide without paying for advertising! He gives snake oil salesmen a bad name.
It’s an embarrassment to be called a Republican. I’m switching parties. And where the heck is Sarah when you need her.
Don’t let the door hit your behind when you leave.
And that very sentiment is why Rs will lose–they are quickly losing voters. The lesson of the Romeny election, as articulated by the RNC, was to make the tent wider, larger and more inclusive. Les, you encapsulate why your party will lose…
The lesson of the Romeny election was to fight to the finish and don’t choke.
You can’t win elections without voters. That’s rule number one, and the last rule. If you don’t get that, the White House is forever lost for the R party.
Les, you know what happened to a far more palatable candidate named Mitt??? He get trounced by a record number. Every data point, every legitimate poll, every objective consultant and these are all R slanted ones, have Trump losing in a crushing defeat. To not acknowledge the most basic and fundamental problems ( no field staff, almost no financial support, the highest unfavorable rating and that’s within his own party) is not just denial, it’s basic ignorance.
You know what happened to a far more palatable candidate named Jeb?
Yes, the ignorance of the edge of the party consumed him. The bottom line, is that there is just not enough disgruntled disenfranchised white voters to support such an inane candidacy, and I dare you to submit an py data that says any different.
There you go again boo. You are not as smart as you think. For one thing, spending so much of your time responding to an ignorant person is basic ignorance.
“lesser folks”? Interesting…
Bigot.
How appropriate that Paul Manafort is running Trump’s campaign, using the same political skills and beliefs that he has sold for many years to Putin’s pal, Ukranian dictator Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort’s complicity in suppressing the Orange Revolution and effectively delivering Ukraine to Putin should not be overlooked. Imagine, after the Republican convention, how Trump’s first daily CIA briefing will go when Manafort tags along. How will the CIA feel about giving a condensed version of the President’s daily intelligence briefing to someone who works indirectly for Putin?
“A few hundred delegates to the Republican National Convention are pushing to change the rules and make it possible for them to vote for someone other than Trump. Many congressional Republicans are skipping the gathering in Cleveland altogether,…”
LOL It’s like watching a video of a train wreck, in slow motion.
Indeed, in technicolor.
I know Trump’s chances are slim to none but boy would I like to see the M&M
Boys eat their words. Mitch & Mitt. Ryan too.
The photo accompanying this article shows McConnell, Barrasso, Thune, and Cornyn… the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
When, three weeks before the Republican Convention, the Senate Majority Leader refuses to say that his party’s candidate is qualified to be President, “Mar-A-Lago, we have a problem!” This is delicious. Enjoy the train wreck while you can as, demographically, this is the Republican Party’s last chance to win a Presidential election.
Barely. It’s very very difficult for Rs to compete demographically. When one factors in the defenestration of centrist policies; an ever increasing dogmatic Christian Right that seeks to purify and control any candidate; and the dilution of a southern bloc and strategy, well, they have little to no chance.
Boo, mahalo for all your concerns about Mr. Trump. The reality is that he currently has all the assistance and resources needed to become President of the United States. He has a $250 million line of credit to use when needed. The Campaign together with the RNC raised over $15 million in the past 5 days. The staffing in the battleground 16 States are put into place and finalized. The details are being finalized for the National Convention. Review of the short list of Vice Presidential candidate has been initiated. Me thinks you, Boo, must focus on Ms Clinton and her campaign for President of the United States. Again, mahalo for your concerns. Please don’t worry about Mr. Trump.
Only a fool would ignore all the mounting evidence…….it is not only numerous, but substantial. There is going to be a donny brook at the R convention. Instead of you being concerned where this fool is taking your once formidable party, which has fallen so quickly and deeply, you endorse this tomfoolery. A responsible and thinking man R, would concede such shortfalls, in lieu of being pathologically ideological. That said, you sleep in the filthy mismade bed you make….
Keep working boola. It has just begun. No one is throwing in the towel.
Boo, the only donny brook we are preparing for is the huge inflow of Sanders supporters coming over to vote for Mr. Trump. All this media talk on delegates to the Rules Committee is only talk. Remember Boo, the super majority of the committee and Convention are Mr. Trump supporters. All this media talk, is just that talk. Boo, I served in the Army and was, at one time during Basic Training, the SDI. I have made my own bed every morning of my. life.
What I can’t understand is why the Clinton machine has not heard of boo and kkastri . They are very effective.
Kuro, with all due respect, it’s obvious you have never been involved in national campaign. This period, right now, is incredibly crucial, listen to R consultants, like Rollins and Sensor, both who headed successful presidents for Rs, and they will say almost exactly what I’m saying. In fact, about 90% of what I wrote is from R pundits….tell me why is that?
Boo, for the record, you can google 2000 presidential where I was appointed the Hawaii Political Director for Sen. McCain that Pres. Bush became President. I was on a number of conference call, where I always reported in with Hawaii’s weather report. I have heard many of the GOP former consultants and we all know each election year is very different based on World and United States events. Many of the GOP consultants are off base as they have been for many Presidential candidates and are unemployed. For the record, Mr. Trump has found himself in a wonderful political position with the failures of Pres. Obama and former Sec. Clinton. Nearly all the arrows are pointing towards a State by State 270 Electoral vote victory for Mr. Trump.
The remaining 10% are attacks on Trump supporters. I’ll buy that. I’d venture to say that most Trump followers have never been involved in a national campaign but are learning how the establishment runs the system. Bernie and Trump have turned the tide. The experts blew the call on Brexit, let’s see if they do any better on the election. That golf course in Scotland in really “great”.
boola boola boola “Kuro, with all due respect, it’s obvious you have never been involved in national campaign.” Someone called your bluff. The tide is turning.
Being a state director for a state that got pounded is not even close being to next “to the show”. That’s like being involved in the ill-fated Pat Saiki race for Governor. Ahead and one mess-up after the next, and then boom, voted the worst managed political race in a decade by several,publications. So very very laughable……lol.
Blah blah blah However the statement “never been involved in national campaign” is not true. boola is “the show” and we are oh so privileged to be near it.
Boo, did serve in Saiki’s kitchen cabinet ’94. Following McCain, assisted in the 2000 Bush campaign. Boo, pls review the ABC/WaPo poll results. They used 1001 cell/LL calls for their data, where 37% are D’s, 27% R’s, 30% I’s, and 6% unaffiliated to get the results you believe. They polled 10% more D’s to get the result they reported. You must be aware of the methodology the polling company used to evaluate their results, and they do make their #’s public.
Please…..I worked as a consultant for Gallup. To not admit the race is in serious trouble is either plain ignorance or a denial of a host of data points. So, from your vantage Kuro, I should believe you and not Ed Rollins, the man behind 4 republican runs…so your more experienced than Ed, more wise, please…utter and stark hubris. Almost everything I have said is almost verbatim from R strategists and not Ds, that is what is so amazing.
And Kuro, there was NO administration she lost, by a wide margin the governors race. If you worked for her at SBA, then you worked for the executive branch, not served in her administrationn–she had no administration. am a vey close friend of her finance manager then, Howard Lee, and even he will admit to the profound gaffes in the campaign.
I I I …Come on boola you are starting to dance around the issues and the “lesser folks” are playing the music. Trump 2016
Boo, pls, I’m don’t do polling, I just review them to get a feel of what American citizens are thinking. For example, the June 23 Reuters/IPSOS poll on Direction of Country posted that 24% is in the Right Direction and 64% in the Wrong Direction. If Mr. Trump taps into the 64% who believe the Pres. Obama/Sec. Clinton is leading the Country in the Wrong Direction, Mr. Trump wins. And, Boo I have never said to believe me instead of Mr. Rollins.
Kuro, that’s exactly what you are saying. Your saying there is nothing to worry about, everything is ok, that things can what for the convention. Well, you know what Ed Rollins said on meet the press today– the campaign is I’m vey serious trouble, they cannot convince qualified political people to work for the campaign, that they literally NO field network, and are facing an almost insurmountable funding deficit, and exponentially losing key demographics every day.
So,,why don’t you explain to Mr. Rollins why he is wrong and you are correct. I am waiting, this is going to be so grand to hear your majestic oracle of working for Pat Saiki and totally bombing McCains race here in the islands….please illuminate me and the rest of the national political community.
Boo, interesting that you are friends with Howard Lee. You can ask him if he knows who I am. And, did not work for the SBA, and did not serve in any of Pat’s Admin groups. I worked on her campaign for Governor in ’94. You did consulting for Gallup? Is that one of the reasons they have been so wrong on their Presidential polling? Your expertise is showing.
You ever think that perhaps that is why they (Gallup) employed my services??? Over 50% of your own party wants to drop Trump at the convention. That is the highest in the history of modern polling….but yet, all you have to say is under the shade of unbelievable rose colored glasses.
It’s laughable you would brag that you were on inside of Pat Saiki’s just horribly run for governor, who notable R political operative, Frank Lutz, called the worst managed in history, see:http://www.pritchettcartoons.com/saiki-puppet.htm
Totally laughable.
Boo, why are you worried about what happens at the RNC. From what I’ve deduced the DNC will be a donnybrook. But what the heck you’ll be there. Don’t tell me you’re not a delegate. Get out of here.
You and Klastri are a klas act.
What a hoot and here I thought Ali was the Greatest but I never heard of boola.
those 2 should get a room and blow each other
What’s Donald going to do? Get a haircut?
This actually happened: ““The good thing is, we have a candidate who doesn’t need to figure out what’s going on in order to say what he wants to do,” campaign chair Paul Manafort said in a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press.””
Kinda brings to mind a famous Pelosi quote..