Donald Trump has started punishing top Republicans who don’t back him, making clear they need to fall in line or face dire consequences.
His loyalists and GOP voters angry with their party approve, but Republican insiders worry that it will make unity more difficult.
The issue flared when Trump rebuked Gov. Susana Martinez, of New Mexico, at a recent campaign rally in Albuquerque. It was payback for Martinez criticizing Trump and refusing to share a stage with him.
Republican officials were horrified that Trump would attack on the governor’s home turf, a Democratic-leaning state that she has won twice. They wondered: How does that help you win the White House?
Republicans fear that Trump, once officially head of the party, may walk into Republican National Committee headquarters and order officials to abandon any GOP candidate who doesn’t kowtow to their new leader.
Trump spurned an opportunity to be reassuring, saying Tuesday: “You think I’m going to change? I’m not changing.”
“If I have a Republican that’s not on my side, I’m not going to — why should I be particularly nice to the person?” Trump added, during a news conference. “Now, politically I may be right, I may be wrong, but that’s who I am. I’m a very honest person … If somebody it’s going to say a little bit negative or a lot negative about me and if they happen to be a Republican, I may choose to hit them back.”
Short term, voters probably won’t ding Trump for beating up on Republicans. Indeed, it was among the reasons he was successful in the primary.
According to Gallup, only 76 percent of self-identified Republicans approve of the GOP, a low mark, relatively speaking and off of a high of 91 percent in January of 2013. With independents and Democrats, the brand is in the tank: they give the GOP approval ratings of 28 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
But long term, Trump lashing out at fellow Republicans — even if it’s in retaliation for something they have said or done — could hurt him in a general election against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Trump needs to learn how to lead a team and not just a brand,” said Brad Todd, a Republican consultant.
Trump has made remarkable strides in coalescing Republican voters and key party leaders since becoming the presumptive nominee nearly a month ago. But the broader party establishment, which Trump needs for fundraising, organizational muscle, and because of the legitimacy it lends to his candidacy, is coming around only slowly.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted in interviews that Trump’s unorthodox populist views wouldn’t impact traditional GOP policies, and that any authoritarian impulses the reality television star might have would be contained by the Constitution’s separation of powers.
House Speaker Paul Ryan still has yet to follow McConnell’s lead and endorse Trump at all.
Attacks on Republicans like Martinez, GOP insiders say, could limit support for Trump to begrudging acceptance rationalized by opposition to Clinton, and prevent him from enjoying the kind of enthusiastic backing that translates into hard work on the ground that can help win a close race.
“Many Republicans, including myself, are coming around to support him, but we also believe it is imperative for Trump to recognize that the time for slash and burn is over,” Fred Malek, a veteran GOP financier and current Republican Governors Association finance chairman, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “This approach worked to attract 5 percent of eligible voters, but it won’t work to unify the electorate in November.”
Translation: Cut it out or proceed without our help. Trump, who recently inked a deal with the RNC to raise money for his presidential campaign, has indicated that he does need some level of assistance.
Some veteran Republican operatives predict that, over time, Trump will let go of the grudge matches he holds against other Republicans, and focus defeating the Democrats.
“Conventional wisdom calls on him to stay above the fray, but Trump wisdom has served him well so far. That said, I expect most of his fire will be trained on Mrs. Clinton between now and November,” said Charlie Black, consigliere to many Republican nominees.
Then there’s the issue of presidential temperament.
Trump appears convinced that acting more reserved and civil — “presidential” — on the campaign trail is overrated. His brash, irreverent style won him the Republican nomination and helped him pull even with Clinton in recent national polls (she leads the RealClearPolitics.com average by a statistically insignificant 1 percentage point.)
But in a competitive general election, Trump picking fights with fellow Republicans could make the real estate mogul seem unnecessarily erratic unfit for the job. The appearance of Trump keeping an enemies list could make it easier for his political opponents to question his judgment.
“It plays right into the, ‘Does he have the temperament to be president?’ narrative that the Democrats are pushing and at the same time is also likely turning independent voters off, especially woman,” a GOP campaign strategist said.
