Donors fret Trump’s grip on GOP as they descend on Palm Beach

The program will focus on how to grow the party after Trump’s 2020 defeat. And a big part of that, said one attendee who advises a top Republican donor, is limiting Trump’s influence if the GOP is going to win back the suburbs. “The thing on every donor’s mind is how much sway Trump should have on the party,” this person told Playbook, citing disappointment among donors about Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 riot and the losses in the Georgia Senate races. Another worry among GOP officials and fundraisers ahead of the big event, as reported by McClatchy’s Adam Wollner this week, is that Trump’s “own political group will cannibalize a significant portion of the party’s financial base heading into a critical midterm election cycle.” The challenge for these titans of industry, of course, is that tens of millions of Republican voters remain loyal to Trump.