NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., on Thursday dismissed Donald Trump’s claim that he’s a “unifier” who can bring the Republican Party together, and instead says Trump has no place in the GOP because he doesn’t believe in the “core principles” of the party.
“I don’t think anybody knows what Donald Trump’s core principles are. I don’t think Donald Trump knows what Donald Trump’s core principles are, if any,” Sasse told a gaggle of reporters after delivering remarks to CPAC.
“I believe he is a very, very bright guy waging a hostile takeover of the Republican Party,” Sasse continued. “The Republican Party has been a vacuous, incomplete institution for a number of years, and he’s been waging a war plank by plank by plank against the Republican Party platform. I don’t know how he can bring anybody together around the Republican Party if he can’t articulate what it is.”
Sasse declared in a Facebook post Sunday night that he would not support Trump in a general election and would rather back a third party candidate that stands for conservatism.
Following his big night on Super Tuesday, Trump seemed to be looking ahead to the general election, and told supporters in Palm Beach, Fla., that he wants the party to come together and “unify” behind him.
“I am a unifier. I would love to see the Republican Party and everybody get together and unify,” Trump said. “And when we unify, there’s nobody, nobody that’s going to beat us.”
