GOP confronts inevitable reality
As some resist, many Republicans resign to Trump as their nominee
While some still resist Trump, many resigned to convention certainty.
WASHINGTON — Suddenly, Republicans are confronting a reality that seemed fantastically implausible not long ago: Donald Trump as their all-but official presidential nominee.
The response Wednesday in some quarters was a mix of denial and resistance that was unlike anything seen in recent history. Republican leaders, including some who sparred with Trump, pleaded for unity.
But the overwhelming sentiment — at least within the party establishment, which Trump vilified but now must work alongside to win in November— seemed to be resignation mixed with a determination to make the best of things.
“The final stage is acceptance, which I think a lot of people will get to,” said Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist unaligned with any candidate. But, he added, “I don’t think we’re going to see a seismic shift in people supporting Trump.”
The prospect of a primary fight extending all the way to a contested July convention instantly vanished Tuesday night after Trump roared to victory in Indiana and his closest contestant, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, unexpectedly stepped aside. Trump’s sole remaining rival, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, followed suit Wednesday.
Trump must still collect the 1,237 delegates he needs to officially clinch the nomination, which will take him until the end of the primary season June 7.
His critics weren’t yielding, despite the lack of any Republican opponent.
Ample time remains for Trump to “disqualify” himself, said Katie Packer, a GOP consultant and head of Our Principles PAC, which has spent millions on ads attacking Trump.
“We continue to give voice to the belief of so many Republicans that Trump is not a conservative, does not represent the values of the Republican Party, cannot beat Hillary Clinton, and is simply unfit to be president of the United States,” she said in a statement that defied party efforts to rally behind the nominee-in-waiting.
Trump will enter the general election, presumably against Clinton, as a decided underdog.
There are a few Democraticstates he might make more competitive, such as Pennsylvania with its large population of disaffected working-class whites. But there are others that have been reliably Republican, like Arizona and Georgia, that could come into play if Latinos and other minorities, antagonized by Trump’s insults, turn out in high numbers.
Trump spent much of Wednesday looking ahead to the November election, including how he might finance a campaign costing up to $1 billion.
“Do I want to sell a couple of buildings and self fund?” the Manhattan real estate developer mused on MSNBC. “I don’t know.”
Later, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said he would not self-fund his general election campaign but rather create a “world-class finance organization.”
The move carries some risk. After spending months accusing rivals of trading government favors for donations and claiming, inaccurately, that he alone was paying for his candidacy, Trump faces the danger of undermining his outsider image by accepting big campaign contributions. He has raised more than $12 million, mostly in small sums.
Trump also said he was searching for a seasoned politician with expertise in navigating Congress to be his vice presidential running mate.
First, Trump must pull his party together, which will not be easy.
Some said they were coming around to the idea of supporting the businessman and reality TV star, even if hewas not their first, second or third choice.
“Donald Trump has struck a chord with a lot of people,” said Jonathan Barnett, a member of the Republican National Committee from Arkansas and a longtime supporter of the state’s former governor, Mike Huckabee, who quit the presidential race in February. “Even though they may not care for him and may not like him personally and he may not represent their values ... they want to give him a chance.”
But others insisted, in the words of Rory Cooper, a spokesman for the Never Trump political action committee, that “never means never.”
In a highly unusual snub, the party’s last two presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, have both ruled out a Trump endorsement, the Texas Tribune reported Wednesday. Trump was relentless in mocking Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, during his unsuccessful attempt to follow his father and brother into the White House. He was also harshly critical of some of George W. Bush’s policies as president.
The resistance to Trump extends beyond party elites.
Even as he rolled to victory in Indiana, more than 4 in 10 of those who voted in Tuesday’s Republican primary said they were “scared” or “concerned” about the prospect of a Trump presidency, a finding consistent with previous exit polls.