Several GOP figures have lambasted Trump, and even withdrawn their endorsements from him, after he said that the judge in the Trump University case was biased against him because of the judge’s Mexican-American heritage. Many remaining Trump endorsements from party officials are so perfunctory and unenthused that they beg to be interpreted as messages from unwilling hostages of the political moment. While Trump touts the endorsement of Don King, the Republican governor of Ohio responds to the question of whether he will endorse Trump with an uncharacteristically terse: “Why would I?”
The Trump campaign still has no ammunition with which to fight the Clinton behemoth. Even before this Trump University mess, some major GOP donors, including the Koch brothers, had basically indicated that they are sitting out this election. And Trump has not seen any major fundraising boost since he effectively captured the “presumptive nominee” moniker after the Indiana primary more than a month ago. He’s woefully behind. Mark Cuban has inadvertently bolstered the #NeverTrump movement, not only by constantly clowning on Trump, but by pointing out that the Trump campaign’s desperation will cause it to approach donors in an even more supine and beggarly manner than usual for politics.
No one wants to work with Trump. His campaign staff is tiny and already legendary for the division between Corey Lewandowski and Paul Manafort. Many Republicans openly say they are not remotely interested in being Trump’s vice president. Trump is left to rely on marginal figures like Carl Paladino to execute absurdly optimistic strategies of winning New York state by racking up huge margins in the depopulating upstate region.
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