Trump makes no concessions to party
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump brushed off his Capitol Hill critics on Wednesday, declaring he doesn’t need House Speaker Paul Ryan or other leery Republican leaders, even as he prepared to sit down with them today. His defiant message came amid new signs that he might be right, with Republican voters becoming more willing to embrace him.
“If we make a deal, that will be great,” Trump told Fox News Channel when asked about the meeting with Ryan, who has so far refused to endorse him. “And if we don’t, we will trudge forward like I’ve been doing and winning all the time.”
Trump’s allies and advisers echoed his contention that he can claim the White House with or without leading congressional Republicans, who continue to express reservations about his tone and inconsistent policy pre- scriptions. Their public differences are overshadowing Trump’s efforts to broaden his political appeal as the next phase of the 2016 contest begins.
His likely November opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, still has Sen. Bernie Sanders opposing her for her party’s nomination. But she all but ignored him Wednesday as she campaigned in Blackwood, New Jersey.
Clinton focused instead on Trump’s statement in an Associated Press interview that he doesn’t plan to release his tax returns until an ongoing audit is completed. Should Trump not release his returns before the November election, it would mark a break from precedent for presidential nominees.
“So you’ve got to ask yourself: Why doesn’t he want to release it? Yeah, well, we’re going to find out,” Clinton told supporters.
Meanwhile, more Republican voters appear to be moving behind Trump, despite big-name holdouts such as Ryan, both former president Bushes and the party’s 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney.
Almost two in three Republican-leaning voters now view Trump favourably, compared to 31 per cent who view him unfavourably, according to a national Gallup Poll taken last week. The numbers represent a near reversal from Gallup’s survey in early March.
“Despite the contentious primary process, the party is healing itself and scabbing over,” said Republican pollster Greg Strimple.
Trump is to meet with Republican leaders this morning at the Republican National Committee headquarters. The private meetings represent his first tangible steps toward repairing his strained relationships with the nation’s most powerful elected Republicans.