“Trump’s got no strategy. He’s got no plans,” said Keith Naughton, a veteran Republican consultant who has worked on several statewide races in Pennsylvania. “He just wants to punish his enemies and reward his most loyal sycophants.”
“He doesn’t really have anything positive to say,” Naughton added. “It’s all nonstop negativity and trying to assert control over a political party that’s not really that controllable, and I think it’s getting worse by the day.”
Trump threw his support behind Parnell, a retired Army Ranger and former congressional candidate, in September before details of his family history were widely publicized. The former president had been encouraged by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to endorse Parnell.
But after the allegations of abuse surfaced, Trump didn’t revoke his endorsement of Parnell, even as Republican leaders expressed concerns about his overall electability.
“I think the people around him led him to believe that Sean Parnell was the best candidate,” one Pennsylvania Republican said. “But he had every opportunity to pull back, he had a million off-ramps, and he didn’t take any of them.”
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