Trump Tweet Storm Further Divides Republican Party Before Election

Twitter

Donald Trump attacked House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans who he claimed had been “disloyal” to him in a series of defiant Tuesday morning Twitter messages.

The tweets come after a number of GOP luminaries announced they could no longer support their nominee in the wake of the publication of a 2005 video showing Trump bragging about groping women. Trump apologized for his “locker room” talk and has flatly refused to drop out.

On Monday, Ryan said he would no longer defend Trump through the last month of the general election campaign — but he neglected to rescind his endorsement of the New York businessman.

In the messages, Trump said “the shackles” had been removed, and he said the “disloyal” Republicans are more of an impediment to a victory than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — analysis that could well be correct if some portion of his base refuses to support him at the polls.

Pundits have warned for some time that the Republican Party could be on the verge of a civil war.

A spokesman for the House speaker said, “Paul Ryan is focusing the next month on defeating Democrats, and all Republicans running for office should probably do the same.”

As Trump attacked his fidelity, Ryan’s own Twitter account posted a series of policy discussions on Tuesday morning.

During the primary season, Trump rose to prominence by attacking the “establishment” elements of his party, whom he painted as self-serving and unconcerned with the general populace’s well-being. That populist tactic had seen less use, however, during the general election as Trump sought to win over moderate voters.

(h/t CNBC)

Trump Defends Constitution Articles That Do Not Exist

Republican Rep. Mark Sanford said Friday that Donald Trump has a “callous disregard for details” that was on full display when the GOP presidential candidate told a private meeting of House Republicans he would fiercely defend articles of U.S. Constitution that don’t exist.

“I think what a number of us have been concerned about is a pattern of laxity with regard to details,” Sanford told CNN in an interview, explaining that details are critical to good governance, one day after he was part of a group meeting with the presumptive Republican presidential candidate. “It is the details that really matter in impacting people’s lives. It is the details that matter frankly in any legislative negotiation.”

The South Carolinian lawmaker, who has been critic of Trump, said that lack of respect for details could make it difficult for the businessman to be a successful president.

“I wasn’t particularly impressed,” Sanford told reporters after Thursday’s meeting at an event. “I think it was the normal stream of consciousness that’s long on hyperbole and short on facts. At one point there was mentioned — somebody asked about, you know, Article I powers and what would you do to protect them and you know, I think his response was ‘I want to protect Article I, Article II, Article XII — go down the list.’ As we both know there is no Article XII.”

Trump’s answer came in response to a question from a House Republican about whether Trump as president would defend the prerogatives of Congress that are laid out in Article I of the Constitution. The issue is highly important to lawmakers who are frustrated by the powers of the presidency, which are defined in Article II of the Constitution but that have expanded in recent years by the increased use of executive authority.

There are a total of just seven articles to the Constitution although there are many more amendments to the founding document, which could be what Trump was referring to accidentally.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNN for a comment about the apparent gaffe in the meeting or Sanford’s concerns.

When Trump made his comments “a number of people looked around at each other at that point with a little bit of a quizzical or curious eye,” Sanford told CNN Friday.
Sanford, who still hasn’t decided if he will back his party’s presumptive nominee, acknowledged Trump has successfully connected with voters even as he glosses over the minutia of governing.

“I would say we all love broad sweeping statements. They’re pleasant. At times they’re amusing, at times they’re interesting, but in terms of making a difference in people’s lives, it’s the details that matter,” Sanford said.

Sanford also defended Trump.

While “there seems to be a deliberate lack of detail” from the candidate, there is not “malfeasance” — as Sanford said was on display Thursday in a House committee that was examining Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s email usage while running the State Department.

“What we’re left with is a Faustian choice between malfeasance and very callous disregard for details,” Sanford said.

In the meeting with House Republicans, Trump repeatedly stressed the importance of a Republican winning the White House because of the balance of power on the Supreme Court. In the end, Sanford suggested that issue might be enough to tilt him to vote for Trump, something initially he didn’t think he would do.

(h/t CNN)

Reality

Sadly this is not the first time Donald Trump displayed a lack of understanding of the United States Constitution, government functions, or how laws work.

 

 

Trump Campaign: GOP Must Get Behind Trump or ‘Shut the Hell Up’

Donald Trump’s campaign co-chairman says Republicans should either unite behind their party’s presumptive presidential nominee or shut up.

Sam Clovis, speaking on CNN’s New Day said:

The leadership of the Republican Party needs to figure out what they want.

 

Either they want to get behind the presumptive nominee who will be the nominee of this party and make sure that we do everything we can to win in November, or we’re just asking them, if they can’t do that, then just shut the hell up.

(h/t The Hill)

Reality

The quote from the Trump aide is in-line with Donald Trump himself. Earlier in the week Trump told a rally in Atlanta, Georgia that his Republican critics should
be quiet and don’t talk or he’ll go it alone.

Media

 

Trump’s Advice to Republican Critics: “Please Be Quiet. Don’t Talk.”

Businessman Donald Trump had a message for Republican leaders: “Just please be quiet. Don’t talk.”

While closing his speech on Wednesday in Atlanta, Trump was lamenting what he called weakness from his GOP colleagues. Trump made clear that he wasn’t going to try to bridge the gap between those in the party that support him and those that don’t.

“You know the Republicans, honestly folks… our leaders have to get tougher. This is too tough to do it alone, but you know what I think I’m going to be forced to. I think I’m going to be forced to.”

And for his Republican critics, Trump had more to say:

“And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Don’t talk. Please be quiet. Just be quiet, to the leaders, because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter.”

Party unity is, once again, not a meal on Trump’s campaign dinner menu. The comments came right after Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of reliably Democratic Maryland, announced that he would not vote for Trump.

But Trump’s comments were ostensibly aimed at House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was extremely critical of Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the country and said he would continue to speak out when he disagreed with him. Ryan’s office did not directly address Trump’s request for silence and referred to his comments earlier in the week.

(h/t CBS News)

Media

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/donald-trump-gop-quiet-lead-39899385

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