The irony is that Priebus says he is now closer to the Trump campaign than other chairmen have been to presidential campaigns in the past. For example, he told me that Trump included him in the final vetting of his vice presidential pick and that Trump calls him and seeks out his advice. It is probably also no accident that on Friday Trump finally endorsed Paul Ryan and John McCain.
It seems that Priebus has the unique freedom and ability to back up Trump on certain issues and disagree on others without alienating Trump and his supporters or the other wings of the party. Perhaps his nimble, behind-the-scenes leadership style is working.
Remember what critics of Priebus predicted throughout the primary process: The “establishment” would rig the primary for Gov. Jeb Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump would run third party, Cruz would force an open convention and steal the nomination, or the “Never Trump” faction would run third party. And yet, none of this happened. And you can’t overlook the fact that Trump received more primary votes than any other candidate in Republican primary history.
On the other hand, we’ve seen up close what happens when a party chairman can’t manage her party’s primary process, i.e. Wasserman Schultz and the DNC. Her resignation on the eve of the Democrat National Convention brought into focus the DNC’s quiet mission to sabotage Bernie Sanders and put their finger on the scale for Hillary Clinton. In a striking irony, Wasserman Schultz became a victim of the very system she rigged against others.
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