The Man's Not for Changing

In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s bigoted attacks on a federal district judge, one Republican leader after another last week condemned the candidate’s remarks and then publicly declared their hope that Trump will change.

Senator Bob Corker said Trump has two or three weeks to get his campaign on track: “This is a time for him to pivot and, by the way, I want to encourage that.” Senator John Thune said Trump is “going to have to adapt.” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, in an interview on CNN, denounced Trump’s comments but praised the presumptive GOP nominee for his speech on primary night and, like so many others, sounded a note of optimism. “I haven’t given up hope, but certainly last week was not a good week for Donald Trump.”