There have long been rumors that the Establishment has been hard at work trying to discredit Donald Trump and push favored candidates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. But now, evidence has emerged that they may be accepting his candidacy as inevitable- an NRSC memo instructing nominees how to campaign like Trump, and how to talk about issues in the likely case that he is the nominee:
Donald Trump has become such a force in the Republican Party that the official overseeing next year’s Senate races has proposed a delicate strategy for GOP candidates: Tap into Trumpism without mimicking Trump.
In a seven-page confidential memo that imagines Trump as the party’s presidential nominee, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee urges candidates to adopt many of Trump’s tactics, issues and approaches — right down to adjusting the way they dress and how they use Twitter.
In the memo on the “Trump phenomenon,” NRSC Executive Director Ward Baker said Republicans should embrace his tough talk about China and “grab onto the best elements of [his] anti-Washington populist agenda.” Above all, they should appeal to voters as genuine and beyond the influence of special interests.
“Trump has risen because voters see him as authentic, independent, direct, firm, — and believe he can’t be bought,” Baker writes. “These are the same character traits our candidates should be advancing in 2016. That’s Trump lesson #1.”
Baker’s memo, titled “Observations on Donald Trump and 2016,” amounts to a clear-eyed approach to the Trump challenge — to which many Republican elites have responded with only hand-wringing and the vague hope that somehow, someday it would disappear. In fact, the memo posits that Trump could build a powerful enough coalition to win the general election. Regardless of how far Trump’s candidacy ultimately goes, the memo is evidence of the influence he has had on his party.
The memo can be viewed here. It’s interesting to see that the party seems to understand what it is that motivates Trump voters, to some extent, but should he eventually lose the Republican nomination, this leaked info could be all the frontrunner needs to make a third party run.
AAN Staff
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