And the hiring of Steve Bannon – an irreverent, provocative media executive – is setting off alarm bells even within the tightly-networked world of far-right Republican finance operatives, who are skeptical that Bannon alleviates any concern from major donors save for his longtime associates: The Mercer family of NY, led by the ultra-reclusive Bob and his more sociable daughter, Rebekah.
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Kellyanne Conway, the new campaign manager for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said on August 17 that the Trump campaign would “never have the money” of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign (video below).
The Republican National Committee has already conceded it may divert resources away from the presidential contest favor of vulnerable Senate and House candidates if Trump’s standing does not improve in the coming weeks.
“We may have reached the point of no return for Donald Trump”, said Republican strategist Alex Conant, a senior aide to Florida Sen. “It’s essentially, ‘dance with the one who brung ya'”. “And we’re going to fight to stand with them and to stand with their families from the first day of a Trump administration”.
And the decision also follows a slew of self-inflicted wounds since the Democratic National Convention wrapped, with Trump exchanging barbs with the parents of a slain USA soldier, reigniting intra-party tensions by initially declining to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his reelection bid and ultimately suggesting that “Second Amendment people” could act to keep Clinton from appointing liberal Supreme Court justices should she become president.
Conway claimed Clinton has made her campaign about Trump and does not have an “uplifting, generational, inspirational message much like Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and JFK”.
Bob Mercer was a big part of that effort, with the NY hedge funder poured over $13 million into the super PAC, and sent in another $2 million to the group when it was converted to an anti-Clinton PAC for the general.
The Republican received his first classified intelligence briefing in NY on Wednesday nevertheless.
Trump’s standing in the White House race plummeted throughout the summer and he now trails Clinton in preference polls of most key battleground states.
Yet Trump has struggled badly in recent weeks to offer voters a consistent message, overshadowing formal policy speeches with a steady stream of self-created controversies, including a public feud with an American Muslim family whose son was killed while serving in the USA military in Iraq.
Clinton’s campaign has spent more than $75 million on ads in the weeks since she effectively locked up the nomination in early June, according to Kantar Media’s political ad tracker.
Conway said the more disciplined approach by Trump would not mean jettisoning the real estate developer’s more off-the-cuff and unpredictable style.
Trump vented his frustration during a weekend fundraiser in the Hamptons. He was encouraged to bring Bannon on board by Rebekah Mercer, a member of a prominent GOP fundraising family that has close ties to the Breitbart executive.
Trump’s call to Conway came the same day Trump also met with Ailes at the same golf club.
Bannon’s ascension solidifies an informal, mutually beneficial relationship between Breitbart, which has unapologetically championed Trump, and the campaign.
Bringing Bannon overseas “reinforces the outsider image Trump has cultivated with voters”, argued Ron Bonjean, a former Republican congressional leadership aide.
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Kevin Kellems, a longtime Republican strategist, called Conway “the complete package”. “It has to be about issues”, said Conway, a veteran Republican operative with a reputation as a more pragmatic data-driven analyst who aims to broaden Trump’s appeal to women and independent voters. While Trump held a handful of meetings with Washington Republicans and fulfilled requests from GOP leaders to raise campaign cash, he’s continued to rankle lawmakers with his numerous controversies.
