Donald Trump on Wednesday was facing a possible rebellion from top Republican Party officials after his week-long feud with the parents of a fallen U.S. soldier, and after Trump’s refusal to say he endorses House Speaker Paul Ryan’s re-election.
While Trump has put Republican loyalty to the test for months now, his lack of endorsement for Ryan ignited a new fire within the GOP that has reportedly led several top Republicans to question their nominee’s commitment to the party and his determination to defeat Hillary Clinton.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus was furious about Trump’s decision to snub Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain, two of the highest-ranking GOP lawmakers, by declining to endorse them ahead of their upcoming congressional primaries. Priebus reportedly called Trump’s staff on Tuesday night to vent his frustration with the billionaire’s latest setback in achieving party unity.
Reports were also surfacing this week that some Republicans are openly wondering how they might replace Trump if he were to suddenly drop out of the race, and that voting against Trump was suddenly an option for many Republicans.
Top republican: @Reince is ‘apoplectic’ over Trump’s refusal to back Ryan. He called several Trump staffers to express his displeasure.
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 3, 2016
“Republicans now say Mr. Trump’s obstinacy in addressing perhaps the gravest crisis of his campaign may trigger drastic defections within the party, and Republican lawmakers and strategists have begun to entertain abandoning him en masse,” the New York Times reported Tuesday.
One top Republican told NBC News that “serious talk about key Republicans coming out hard against Trump” is currently taking place. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was among the final three contenders to be Trump’s running mate, admitted that the candidate has pursued a pattern of “self-destructive” behavior since both parties’ conventions ended last month.
“Trump is still behaving like as though it was the primaries and there were 17 candidates. He has not made the transition to being the potential president of the United States, which is a much tougher league,” Gingrich told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo Wednesday morning.
“It’s like watching a team go out on the field, throw an interception on the first play and go back off the field again,” Gingrich said, referring to the comments and controversies that have roiled Trump’s campaign as of late.
Trump drew the ire of various veterans groups and lawmakers last week after he seemed to criticize the father of a fallen Muslim-American soldier who had spoken out against him at the Democratic convention. Against the advice of those closest to him, he continued to discuss the matter in interviews as recently as Tuesday.
The candidate came under fire again on Tuesday after his rally in Ashburn, Va., during which he joked about having “always wanted” to receive a Purple Heart, and asked a crying baby to be taken out of the venue.
“There’s always going to be a residual possibility that Trump can win. The question is, can he in August slow down, take a deep breath and reorganize how he’s operating so that he gets to the standard of a potential president of the United States?” Gingrich said. “He has not done that up to now [and] it’s been significantly to his disadvantage.”
The turmoil continued after rumors swirled late Tuesday that Trump’s campaign was in disarray, and that many of his staffers were “suicidal” over how the campaign was going.
Trump rejected that idea in a Wednesday tweet in which he said there is “great unity” in the campaign. But even Republican allies were warning Trump he was taking it too far, especially related to his feud with Khan.
“[I]f there is some little Muslim woman who loses a son, you can’t,” O’Reilly told Trump Tuesday night. “You just can’t. No matter what she does. She can set you on fire. You can say, ‘Thank you, I hated those trousers.’ Just got to let it go.”
