First, Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren took Ohio by storm in an appearance that marked the debut of a dynamic duo. Then, President Obama joined Clinton on the campaign trail in North Carolina. Now, Vice President Joe Biden is expected to visit the Rust Belt with the former secretary of state next week.
Since securing their endorsements, Clinton has turned Obama, Biden and Warren into her own Democratic dream team. The campaign sees the trio as a massive help to Clinton, who has struggled to excite voters at the level Bernie Sanders did in the primary.
Obama can reinvigorate the coalition of black, Hispanic and young voters who overwhelmingly supported him in 2008 and again in 2012. Biden can boost Clinton’s appeal in his home state of Pennsylvania, which Donald Trump has put into play. And Warren can placate progressive Democrats who are reluctant to align themselves with the darling of Wall Street.
“There is no question that Hillary Clinton is the institutional candidate of her party and therefore the institutional players are going to do whatever they can to help her get elected,” Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant who has worked with the Clintons, told the Washington Examiner.
While Democrats have enthusiastically embraced the Clinton-Obama, Clinton-Biden and Clinton-Warren appearances, some Republicans are wondering whether Trump can assemble a similar lineup — or if his existing surrogates will get the job done.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has spent the last week auditioning a slew of potential running mates who’ve enthusiastically endorsed him, and served as surrogates in their own capacities.
Over Fourth of July weekend, Trump met with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. On Tuesday, he took Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker with him to North Carolina (although Corker has since removed himself from the vice presidential race). On Wednesday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined the billionaire in Cincinnati and on Friday Trump cancelled a speech in Miami that would have included New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
But many of Trump’s surrogates appeal to the same segments of the electorate who are already inclined to support him: voters who feel Washington has failed them; working-class men and women who’ve lost their jobs or seen their wages take a plunge; and those seeking a candidate who comes from outside the traditional realm of politics.
Republican strategist Gianno Caldwell said “folks with notoriety [who are currently campaigning for Trump] can be considered rock stars in their own arenas.”
“Chris Christie is more of a firebrand Republican who might help Trump with establishment-friendly voters and Gingrich is a thought leader and respected in the conservative community,” he contended.
Caldwell noted that Ben Carson has helped Trump court conservative lawmakers and evangelicals and Sarah Palin encourages “some in the Tea Party movement to give some consideration to Trump.”
Still, it’s difficult to imagine Republican power players like House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Bush family or any living GOP presidential nominee other than Bob Dole actively convincing voters to join the “Trump train” anytime soon.
“Trump is not the typical politician and typical politicians aren’t particularly drawn to him,” said GOP analyst John Feehery.
Rather, Trump is an “insurgent who needs [GOP] elites to not make trouble” but “probably” doesn’t need them to join him on the campaign trail, Sheinkopf asserted. In fact, Trump could risk demoralizing much of his base if he deployed surrogates who’ve spent years in Washington and are seen as part of the political class.
Trump may not have institutional support that is comparable to Clinton’s, but combining his existing team of surrogates with a popular running mate could set the stage for a tight battle against the Democratic machine over the next four months.
For now, “he has Newt and Christie, who both do a pretty good job of exciting the base,” Feehery said.
