Trump’s high command is keeping track of Republicans who break from the nominee. As he climbed into a waiting SUV late Sunday in St. Louis with other Trump advisers, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani coolly said that Trump “will remember” who was with him and who was not — and vowed that the outsider candidate would win the White House irrespective of the party leaders’ wishes.
On Monday, Ryan was at the center of the GOP’s existential crisis. The norms and ideological orthodoxy that have shaped his career no longer define the party or provide him with the means of counterbalancing Trump. So instead of directly confronting Trump, Ryan sought a middle ground by personally backing away from Trump without rescinding his endorsement.
On the call, Ryan instructed fellow House Republicans to make their own calculations about Trump based on the politics of their districts. The speaker was challenged by at least a half-dozen members, from California to Ohio, who bristled at any attempt to distance the party from Trump, people on the call said.
“He got huge pushback like I’ve never seen before from members from across the country just saying that was the wrong move — and even if it cost them the House,” said one lawmaker on the call, who, as others who were interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly describe the private discussion.
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