Trump declares war on GOP leadership
Candidate trashes Ryan, McCain
Donald Trump declared war on the Republican establishment Tuesday, lashing out at House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wis., Sen. John McCain, Ariz., and other GOP elected officials as his supporters geared up to join the fight amid extraordinary turmoil within the party just four weeks before Election Day.
One day after Ryan announced he would no longer campaign on Trump’s behalf, the GOP nominee said as part of a barrage of tweets that the top-ranking Republican is “weak and ineffective” and is providing “zero support” for his candidacy. Trump also declared that “the shackles have been taken off” him, liberating him to “fight for America the way I want to.”
Trump called McCain “foul-mouthed” and accused him with no evidence of once begging for his support. The 2008 nominee pulled his endorsement following a Friday Washington Post report about a 2005 video in which Trump is heard making vulgar comments about forcing himself on women sexually.
In perhaps the most piercing insult, Trump said his party is harder to deal with than even Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, whom conservatives loathe.
Yet he also released a new TV ad featuring footage of Clinton coughing and stumbling during a recent bout with pneumonia — signaling that few issues are out of bounds for his scorchedearth campaign.
“Disloyal R’' s are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary,” he wrote for his more than 12 million followers on Twitter, his preferred platform for picking fights. “They come at you from all sides. They don’t know how to win — I will teach them!”
By backing away from Trump, Ryan and his allies were hoping to insulate themselves and their majorities on Capitol Hill from the baggage weighing down the nominee’s flagging campaign. For many, the breaking point was the 2005 video.
But they are suddenly dealing with another problem: an impulsive and bellicose billionaire with an army of loyal supporters willing to exact retribution against elected officials they feel have abandoned them. The rift could have profound ramifications for the Republican Party as a whole, shattering any sense of unity and jeopardizing its chances of holding onto the Senate and even, potentially, the House.
Trump’s barbs left some backers unsettled, including Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has been a Trump booster for months and an informal adviser.
“Dr. Carson has been unwavering in his support but the last 24 hours have made that support very difficult to maintain,” Carson adviser Armstrong Williams said in a statement.
Carson said in a brief interview that Trump “would be wise to praise Ryan rather than be at war with him. I keep trying to emphasize to him that the issues are where you win.”
But many others rallied around Trump, including the Republican National Committee. Its chairman, Reince Priebus, was in close touch all day with Trump advisers, and RNC strategist Sean Spicer was at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Mica Mosbacher, a Trump fundraiser and surrogate, said she was invited to a fundraiser next week for Ryan’s joint fundraising committee, but is not going to attend or contribute because of the way Ryan has treated him.
“I don’t feel that Ryan is supporting our nominee and being a team player,” said Mosbacher, who is vowing not to give financial backing to Republicans who have crossed Trump.
Diana Orrock, a Republican National Committeewoman from Nevada, said she is not voting for Republicans who pulled their support from Trump — including Rep. Joe Heck, Nev., who is running for a seat that is critical in the battle for the Senate majority.
“I think they have really irritated a lot of Trump supporters,” Orrock said of Heck and Rep. Cresent Hardy, RNev., who also rescinded his endorsement.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally, said Trump should “use the enormous power of social media” to mount a pressure campaign on wavering Republicans.
“It’s time for him to send targeted messages to each district and state and have Republican voters ask their candidates: ‘Are you going to help us defeat Hillary Clinton?’ And Trump should make it clear that the side effect of not helping Trump is electing Hillary Clinton.”
Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson tweeted Monday that she could not keep her mobile phone charged “due to the mass volume of texts from people” who plan to vote for Trump but not for other Republicans on the ballot.
Ryan said Monday that he would no longer defend or campaign with Trump. Dozens of other Republican elected officials have gone even further, calling on Trump to leave the race.