The 5 Types of Trump-Averse Republicans
congressional Republicans divided into five loose categories about the problem that is Donald J. Trump.
.. 1. The Fast Walkers
.. 2. The Grumps
.. “I don’t know that I really have a lot to say,” adding that he had tried to advise Mr. Trump and was “discouraged by the results.”
.. 3. The McConnells
.. Mr. McConnell preemptively cuts off discussion by saying things like, “I’m not going to be commenting on the presidential candidates today.”
.. 4. The Free Speakers
.. 5. The Vaguely-Upset-But-What-Can-You-Do
.. Mr. Trump has created a feedback loop in which he says increasingly outrageous and at times incoherent things about national security, immigration and other issues and Republicans are forced to answer for it.
.. “Don’t talk. Please, be quiet,” he said. “Just be quiet, to the leaders, because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter, and we have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself.”
.. His top surrogates remain Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Representative Lee Zeldin of New York, with no sign of newcomers to the list.
.. “If Donald Trump continues to conduct himself in a way that’s unbecoming of a nominee, let alone a president,” said Rory Cooper, a senior adviser to the #NeverTrump PAC, “then delegates and party leaders in Cleveland should be empowered to open the convention, just as Democrats are able to do. If there is no such mechanism, then you are essentially saying there is no unacceptable line Trump can cross.”