But senior Republicans say a culture of paranoia has developed in the waning days of the race, with fears mounting that they will be the targets of post-election attacks if Trump loses, which could damage their careers going forward.
“I haven’t worked for Donald Trump since 2015, but I guess nothing changes,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump political adviser.
Much of the blame is being directed at Parscale, who was ousted as campaign manager in July amid mounting questions over his stewardship of the reelection effort. Campaign aides say Parscale miscalculated by raising questions about Biden’s mental acuity, which hurt the president among seniors.
But most of the jabs are about money. Campaign officials have accused Parscale of spending lavishly on items such as a $5 million Super Bowl ad and a Trump-branded sky banner that flew over swing-state beaches. Millions of dollars were spent on TV commercials during the early days of the pandemic when voters weren’t receptive to political advertising, and on a massive political infrastructure built far in advance of the election season.
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