“We wanted to go out there and be the voice for Republicans who were feeling wary about Trump and weird about publicly endorsing Hillary”, said Pierotti Lim, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention at the Clinton team’s invitation.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has decided not to get behind some powerful Republicans in their upcoming primaries.
“The Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president and he keeps on proving it”, Mr Obama said on Tuesday.
At last week’s Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan – a Muslim whose son was killed serving in the United States military in Iraq – criticised Mr Trump’s plan to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the US.
Another source close to the campaign expressed bewilderment over Trump’s fight with Ryan, saying Trump should focus on issues that actually matter to people. He questioned why Ghazala Khan, Humayun Khan’s mother, remained silent onstage, insinuating that she wasn’t allowed to speak because she is Muslim.
The president’s remarks on Trump were also notable in that they came during a joint press conference with a foreign leader, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“There have been Republican presidents with whom I’ve disagreed with, but I didn’t have a doubt that they could function as president”, Obama said on Tuesday.
The Indiana governor has been called on several times to do damage control this past week after the Republican presidential nominee made incendiary remarks.
“They’re in a dilemma”, said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.
Those who have worked with Trump say that in private meetings, he can often appear amenable to putting a controversy aside. “I can not emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump’s statement”. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, has stayed silent about Trump.
“I haven’t endorsed John McCain”, Trump told the Washington Post in a lunchtime interview Tuesday. Trump’s refusal was after McCain, Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were critical of Trump’s criticism on the Kazir Khan Gold Star family.
Trump lags behind Clinton in eight of the 10 states, only leading in Arizona and Missouri, which haven’t been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.
“Pima County is a democratic county so I was really shocked”, said Thompson. Ryan has been among those urging Republicans to rally around Trump, despite concerns about his candidacy.
Donald Trump has hit back at Barack Obama for terming him unfit for presidency, saying the “terrible president” would go down as the worst in American history.
“First of all, he was a draft dodger”, said Green, a Vietnam veteran. Khizr Khan challenged Trump’s vow to block Muslims from entering the United States, speaking movingly about his son’s sacrifice and asking Trump if he had ever read the U.S. Constitution. “I think you’re going to continue to see that relationship grow”. “If they want to be president, they have to start acting like a president”.
A day earlier, Sally Bradshaw, an architect of the Republican National Committee’s 2013 “Growth and Opportunity” report, said she’s leaving the GOP.
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Senior members of the Republican Party distanced themselves from Trump after his controversial comments, including Paul Ryan and John McCain, who said the billionaire did not have an “unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us”, and he “cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr Trump’s statement”.
