GOP Strategist Predicts Donald Trump Will Be ‘Anchor’ Around Republicans’ Necks In General Election
GOP strategist Mike Murphy criticized President Donald Trump Sunday, launching a verbal attack against the Republican party, The Hill reports.
The Republican party has, according to Murphy, become the party of Donald Trump: “Al Trump all the time,” appears to be the prevailing political philosophy within the GOP, according to the strategist. This, he argued, will inevitably have negative consequences, and damper the Republicans’ chances in November.
“Now you come out… from the ‘Trump church’ in the Republican primary with a big Trump halo. But in the general election, Democrats all hate Trump and among Independents he’s mostly upside-down. So what is your magic light sword in the primary becomes an anchor around your neck in the general.”
Murphy’s observations are nothing new, considering many Republicans have criticized Donald Trump – his trade policies in particular – and considering GOP members who have had the courage to stand up to Trump have had their careers “destroyed” by the POTUS, by his own admission.
As the Inquisitr reported yesterday, during a rally in Ohio, Trump boasted about his ability to “destroy” careers of Republicans who oppose him, giving credence to the sentiment that the Republican party has become the party of Donald Trump, a man who has managed to cultivate a cult of loyalty, remaking the party in his own image.
GOP strategist: Trump will be an "anchor" around Republicans' necks in November https://t.co/hlrT1tCTe9 pic.twitter.com/w6XkhG5FQO
— The Hill (@thehill) August 5, 2018
Mike Murphy’s comments in which he characterizes Trump as a potential “anchor” around Republicans’ necks, seem mild in comparison to the following statement, considering Murphy went on to compare the GOP to Stalin’s Communist Party.
“It’s like the Stalin trials now. If you wore the collectivist tie, you’re out of order.”
While Donald Trump’s presidency may have contributed to Democrats and Republicans growing further apart, it also seems to have widened the gap between the pro-Trump wing of the GOP, and the anti-Trump wing of the same party.
This appears to be particularly evident on fiscal issues. As NPR reported, President Donald Trump’s fiscal policies have been receiving significant pushback, not only from international allies and Democrats but also from Republicans.
For instance, influential conservative mega-donors, the Koch brothers, have launched a multi-year, multi-million dollar campaign, in an effort to combat and counter Trump tariffs, which they claim are jeopardizing the United States’ economy. Last week, president Trump fired back at the brothers, calling them “globalists,” according to USA Today.
Trump’s comments aimed at the Kochs came days after the brothers’ network criticized the president for creating division at home and escalating trade wars abroad.
