In his first extensive remarks since Donald Trump appeared to clinch his party’s nomination, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Friday discussed the party’s plan for the convention in July, winning in November, and more about the party (and the media) as Republicans move forward with their nominee. He made his remarks at a Politico Playbook breakfast.
Here are the highlights:
GENERAL ELECTION
Priebus on where Trump can expand the map in November: “I think he will [win Wisconsin] … I think he can win Ohio, I think he can win Florida, I think he can win Pennsylvania. I think he can win Iowa. I think he’s going to put Minnesota and Michigan in play. Minnesota is a state that is hard to predict sometimes. And I know, obviously, they went for Walter Mondale in ’84 … but people like Jesse Ventura, Gov. Tim Pawlenty … every once in a while, Minnesota flips and I think that Donald Trump can play in states like that.”
On Trump’s constant critiques of Hillary Clinton and the GOP’s advantage with him at top of the ticket: “I think he’s done an effective job of labeling, and, look, I do think she has a history of being crooked.
“I think you’ve got to look at Hillary Clinton and I think she’s got a lot to answer for, and if there’s one person that knows how to bring all of that out in a way we can understand, it’s Donald Trump. And he’s going to do it to, he’s going to bring it all out. And unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, it’s not going to be very comfortable because she has a lot to answer for.
“Sometimes in our party we get criticized because we don’t hit hard enough. We didn’t talk about Bill Ayers. We didn’t talk about some of those things that have happened in Barack Obama’s life that happened during 2008. I don’t think Donald Trump’s going to have a hard time bringing out some of the things that are going to be very not good for Hillary Clinton.”
On Trump saying it’ll be “easy” to beat Clinton in November: “I don’t think it’s going to be easy.”
On Trump’s outreach to Hispanics/Taco bowl tweet: “There’s work to do. There’s work on tone to do.
“He’s trying. He’s trying, and I’ll tell you what, I honestly think he understands that building and unifying and growing the party is the only way we’re going to win, and I think he gets that … I had other pressing matters that were far more important than that tweet.”
On what to expect from Trump: “What you saw on Tuesday night is going to be more of what you see in the future.”
On Trump’s possible Supreme Court nominee: “A smart thing for Donald Trump to do would be to release five, 10 names of people he would pull from to say ‘here’s 10 folks that I think would make great Supreme Court justices and work with people that come up with that list.”
THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
On possibility of someone else being nominated at convention: “My personal view is it’s highly, highly doubtful.
“Nothing’s impossible, but … it’s highly, highly, unlikely.”
On who will run the convention — RNC or Trump: “A little of both. It’s the Republican National Convention, so the Republican Party — it’s the Republican Party’s convention. But I think, obviously, out of deference, you work together in order to put a program together that I think is going to be effective.”
On Trump wanting more “showbiz” at the convention: “I like the idea of having a more fun convention. If it’s showbiz, if it’s entertainment whatever the case maybe, I like that idea. But with every suggestion comes millions of dollars in money. So the suggestions are great, but there has to be a pretty big influx of cash to be able to do something like that.”
THE PARTY AS IT STANDS TODAY
On New York Times report that RNC staffers told to leave by Friday if they can’t get on board with Trump and what he’s told his staff: “Nothing. … That is 100 percent false as far as telling people they need to leave if they’re not 100 percent board. That’s not the test. The test is are you doing a good job and are you great at what you’re doing. And if you’re great at what you’re doing, there’s no problem.”
On if anyone staffers have left yet: “Not that I know of.”
On if any staffers will leave: “I doubt it. I don’t think so … but it’s been 48 hours.”
On if the party is the party’s party or Trump’s party: “No, It’s the party’s party. The party is, was and will remain the Republican Party of the open door, freedom, opportunity, and equality, and our platform will remain much the same as it is right now, and we will remain continuously so I don’t buy into that.”
On the strength of the GOP today compared to 2012: “If we had RNC of today four years ago, Mitt Romney would be president.”
On the media: “In too many cases, it’s all about clickbait. It’s all about the headline. In many cases, I’m not worried about the copy. I’m worried about the headline, because a lot of times the headline doesn’t match reality.”
