Trump allies fear 'uglier things' he does will hurt GOP in midterms
Despite Trump’s bragging, his own allies admit he may be poison for GOP candidates.
Trump promised to make lots of time to campaign for Republicans in the midterms this week. But some of his allies are warning that more Trump could equal more trouble for the GOP.
The same week Democrat Danny O’Connor battled to a dead heat in a district that Trump won by 11 points, Trump tweeted a promise to “find time” to campaign for Republicans during the midterms.
But several Trump allies are sending up warning flares, telling the conservative Washington Examiner that more Trump appearances mean more risk that Trump will blow it and alienate voters.
One former White House official cited Trump’s attacks on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, which excite Trump’s racist base, but which the former official notes “almost always becomes a negative headline that can do damage in a competitive district.”
And one former Trump campaign adviser told the Examiner “once you align yourself with the president on one issue there’s no escaping the uglier things he sometimes says,” and called Trump’s campaigning for the GOP a potential “gift to Democrats just before the election.”
Trump’s usefulness in GOP primaries is questionable — after he endorsed Kris Kobach for governor of Kansas, the race ended in a virtual tie, for example — but massive Democratic overperformance in special elections clearly shows the price Trump exacts on Republican candidates.
Trump recently showed off his talent for alienating voters by deciding to attack beloved NBA star and Ohio icon LeBron James in advance of a campaign stop in Ohio, prompting an avalanche of criticism.
At a recent rally for Republican congressman Lou Barletta, Trump emitted a stream of lies, including attacks on popular figures like Queen Elizabeth and pop superstar Beyoncé.
Republican panic over an electoral disaster has been growing for months, and Trump seems determined to make that disaster as spectacular as he possibly can.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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