Donald Trump could really use Carly Fiorina’s help right about now.
The presumptive Republican nominee is running against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first female standard bearer of a major party, and the debate has turned to national security in the wake of the Orlando terrorist attack.
Fiorina would offer the Trump campaign a female Republican who demonstrated during her presidential bid an articulate understanding of international affairs and willingness to take the hammer to Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Yet Fiorina is absent from the stage more than one week after Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination, in the midst of a national spotlight on foreign policy — among Fiorina’s favorite topics.
Fiorina’s low profile could be attributed to her short-lived stint as the designated running mate for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Trump’s chief rival for the GOP nomination before he finally wrapped things up in early May.
But sources say there’s also the matter of Fiorina’s relationship with Trump: it’s nonexistent. The two former opponents clashed on policy and butted heads over the New York businessman’s at-times crude conduct on the trail.
That’s why the big news out of Fiorina on Tuesday was her plan to campaign for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s re-election, and why her 2016 plans at this point are limited to boosting Republican congressional candidates.
“It’s too bad the GOP is nominating Trump, because if it were anyone else, the party would really be in a position to benefit from her skills in this and other departments. But I don’t see her and Trump getting on the same page,” said Liz Mair, a Republican strategist who previously advised Fiorina.
Fiorina was never in position to contend for the nomination, but for a brief moment in late September following a pitch-perfect debate performance in which she got the better of her exchanges with Trump. The presumptive nominee, on the other hand, led for most of the way.
Still, Republican audiences were fond of Fiorina, attracted to her biting attacks on Clinton and eloquent articulation of conservative foreign policy.
The former Hewlett Packard CEO and 2010 candidate for Senate in California made enough of an impact that it was always assumed that she would among the Republicans’ most valuable surrogates in a campaign against Clinton, and considered for the vice presidential nod.
Given Fiorina’s history with Trump, requests for assistance by his campaign aren’t expected. And it’s unclear they would be answered in any event.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Trump said of Fiorina: “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things. But really folks; c’mon. Are we serious?”
Their apparent mutual distaste for each other only escalated, both personally and substantively, culminating the brief but contentious Indiana primary campaign during which Fiorina campaigned with Cruz as his designated running mate.
Sarah Isgur Flores, a Fiorina spokeswoman, indicated in a brief email exchange with the Washington Examiner that the former White House candidate’s summer plans don’t include stumping for Trump.
“She’s helping down ballot races — Rand Paul and [Pennsylvania Sen.] Pat Toomey just to name two. We’ve rolled out some endorsements. Well do more of that,” Isgur Flores said.
Trump has proven to be his own best surrogate. Whether he needs help from other Republicans on the campaign trail in his fight against Clinton remains to be seen.
“He is a force or nature,” said a Republican strategist who has been critical of Trump in the past. “I’m not sure this will ever be a team sport for him, but that may not stop him from winning.”
But politics is a team sport.
The Democrats are certainly arraying their entire machine against Trump. That includes President Obama, Democrats in Congress plus a collection of liberal activist groups and sympathetic super PACs.
Being able to deploy Fiorina to criticize Clinton’s tenure as Obama’s first secretary of state could help Trump.
Fiorina also might be valuable to the celebrity real estate mogul’s campaign because voters and the media often grant female politicians more latitude than their male counterparts to harshly criticize female candidates.
But Republican insiders familiar with Fiorina’s thinking don’t expect her to lift a finger to help Trump.
She has told associates that he “doesn’t represent me or my values.” At the same time, she doesn’t want appear as though she’s trying to disrupt his nomination at the upcoming Cleveland convention.
Fiorina does want to help the party, however.
So she is planning on participating in events like last Friday’s Faith and Freedom and Freedom Coalition forum, where several high profile Republicans, including Trump, spoke. And she expects to hit the trail for GOP House and Senate candidates.
“Carly Fiorina is a terrific spokesman — as good as the Republican Party has on the stump,” said Charlie Gerow, a Republican consultant in Pennsylvania who served as Fiorina’s campaign chairman. “She is and will continue to be sought after as a surrogate for a number of candidates and causes.”
Trump’s comments on Fiorina’s looks were made in an interview with Rolling Stone. The original version of this story incorrectly attributed the media venue in which those comments were made.
