Business mogul Donald Trump has gone from aspiring presidential candidate to Republican kingmaker to spurned debate moderator as the GOP primary rolls on.
When the election cycle began, Republican presidential hopefuls lined up to kiss the ring of the nation’s most prominent “Birther.” But now most are keeping their distance, with just two candidates,Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, still promising to show up for Trump’s self-promoted debate in Iowa after Christmas.
Left at the altar, Trump is nowtrying to decide whether to cancel the event altogether.
But Trump’s rapid rise and fall have many wondering: How did the reality-television star ascend to a starring role in a Republican presidential primary inwhich he couldn’t compete himself?
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made his private pilgrimage to Trump Towers in October. Unlike a number of other candidates who openly advertised their confabs with The Donald,Romney has remained quiet about why he made the trip, though an internal campaign memo sheds some light on those meetings.
“Ask Donald his advice and thoughts on the economy and for his help,” the Sept. 27 memo recommends. The memo from campaign staff to Romney notes that Trump “met recently with Rick Perry and other GOP candidates” and it cautions him not to offend his host’s sensitivities. “Also, Trump is very anti-China.”
The Romney campaign did not respond to inquiries about why the Massachusetts governor was skipping the Trump debate or whether they wanted an endorsement from the business titan.
However, some conservatives have grumbled that Trump – who in his own brief campaign embraced the Birther movement that questions President Obama’s U.S. citizenship – is denigrating their nominating process and turning their serious efforts to unseat Obama into a sideshow.
“Would you take us for real if you sawhim handling a debate?” said one GOP strategist, who, like the candidates themselves, didn’t want to openly criticize Trump. “Is he going to say, ‘You’re fired’ if they give an answer he doesn’t like? What a joke. I think most of [the candidates] are starting to wake up.”
Apparently, that sentiment is beginning to resonate with Republican voters as well.
In a recent Rasmussen Reports poll, 42 percent of all likely voters said GOP candidates were paying “too much attention to Trump” and an overwhelming majority say his endorsement would either hurt a candidate or have no impact on their vote.
But some said the candidates, particularly those polling in single digits, were missing an opportunity for some much-needed time in the limelight.
“If Iwere a candidate, I would go,” said Republican consultant Mark Corallo. “I think he appeals to an awful large number of Americans. Yeah, he’s a master promoter, but he’s also a serious businessman. I think the debate would reflect that rather than The Donald shtick.”
Trump has not ruled out a thirdparty run for the White House, but candidates and strategists alike expect him to command a microphone as long as anybody will listen.
