Donald Trump’s campaign sent his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, out Wednesday to endorse Paul Ryan in an effort to move past the controversy sparked by the Republican presidential nominee’s refusal to back the House speaker in next week’s primary in Wisconsin.
Pence’s endorsement, which was offered in a phone call to Fox News Channel, came as Trump and his aides struck back against reports of panic inside the Republican Party and word that the Ryan controversy infuriated party chairman Reince Priebus.
Pence said that Trump “strongly encouraged” him to endorse Ryan. In an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump said he was “not quite there yet” in terms of endorsing the House Speaker.
Trump’s advisers circled the wagons on Wednesday as sharp criticism from prominent Republicans threatened to inflict permanent damage to his campaign with less than 100 days left until Election Day. They also tried to change the narrative, pointing to the campaign’s $80 million fundraising haul and drawing attention to a report that Iran received a $400 million payment from the U.S. government as Americans were freed.
Trump also plans to deliver a “major” economic policy speech on Monday in Detroit, a campaign aide said. It’s not the first time the campaign has used that platform to attempt to change the subject. In June, when Trump was bogged down in criticism about his remarks about a federal judge’s Mexican ancestry, his weak fundraising numbers and his reaction to the mass slaying in Orlando, Florida, the campaign announced he’d give a major speech on Clinton. Trump also scheduled a “major Clinton speech” for July 8 but didn’t deliver it because of the shootings in Dallas.
On Wednesday, NBC News reported that Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani and Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus planned to confront Trump about the campaign’s recent skid, along with Trump’s adult children. NBC News didn’t identify its sources.
Asked point blank by Bloomberg Politics whether there was any truth to the report, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort answered: “No.” Meanwhile, Don Jr., 38, and Eric, 33, are scheduled to attend a hunting trip fundraiser to raise money for the foundation of Charles and Jeremiah Woods, the father and brother of Tyrone Woods, who was killed in Benghazi, according to a senior campaign source.
“The candidate is in control of his campaign,” top Trump aide Paul Manafort said separately on Fox News. “We are organized” and “in very good shape.”
Priebus is furious, said a source in the party after Trump’s decision Tuesday to withhold his endorsement of Ryan ahead of the House speaker’s Aug. 9 primary. In language that mirrored Ryan’s when he withheld his own support from Trump after the billionaire clinched the presidential nomination this spring, Trump also said he wasn’t ready to back embattled Republican Sens. John McCain or Kelly Ayotte.
But Priebus is also trying to counsel the presidential nominee on what his priorities should be, aides said.
“I think he’s trying to get things back on focus – there are 98 days to go and she’s incredibly unpopular and disliked and we need to keep things focused,” RNC spokesman Sean Spicer said.
The Trump campaign continued to push back against other unconfirmed media reports that its operation was in turmoil.
Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway on Twitter called speculation about Trump dropping out of the race “wishful thinking.”
Two Republican campaign operatives said Wednesday that their internal polling shows little erosion of support for their party’s congressional candidates amid all the Trump controversies. The operatives said that the party understands that it’s stuck with Trump at the top of the ticket and that everyone else is along for the ride.
The biggest tactical frustration, the operatives said, is that Trump’s antics keep overshadowing the party’s efforts to target Hillary Clinton, noting some recent allegations regarding the Clinton Foundation were completely lost amid the other Trump news.
For now, Republican congressional campaigns are hoping that Trump’s brand is unique enough that voters won’t blame Republicans such as Ayotte for his utterances. One thing that is helping them is that most of Trump’s current controversies surround his personality, rather than his policies – making it easier for other Republicans to separate themselves from the real-estate mogul.
Another key factor: Clinton remains very unpopular, which could limit the damage to congressional candidates.
Trump’s campaign on Wednesday announced the results of his July fundraising ahead of the Aug. 20 deadline to report the numbers to the Federal Election Commission.
Trump raised $80 million for his campaign and party entities last month, the campaign said. Trump now has $37 million in the bank, and his joint fundraising committee with the Republican Party has an equal amount of cash on hand, according to the statement, which didn’t specify how much of the total was specifically for the campaign.
Trump’s national finance chairman, Steven Mnuchin, said the fundraising showed the breadth of support for Trump among average voters.
“The majority of this is ground support,” Mnuchin said on Bloomberg TV. “This just goes to show you how much support there is for Donald Trump from the ground.”
