Pence and Gingrich Break Ranks With Trump, Endorse McCain
“I strongly endorse Senator John McCain.” — Gingrich
Both Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Governor Mike Pence and Trump advisor Newt Gingrich broke ranks with Trump and announced they’d be endorsing Senator John McCain and Senator Kelly Ayotte in their re-election bids.
Earlier reports suggested Pence was mirroring Trump’s decision to withhold endorsing the Republican Senators, but his aids later clarified:
Pence advisor clarifies: Mike Pence endorses John McCain and Kelly Ayotte in their primary bids.
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 4, 2016
Sources tell @kellyo Pence "never intended" to withhold an endorsement of McCain or Ayotte when he spoke to reporters earlier today.
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 4, 2016
Gingrich too, made very clear McCain had his full support:
“I strongly endorse Senator John McCain,” Gingrich said in a video address released on Thursday. “A genuine American hero, a man who has endured a great deal for his country, and a man who I work with and watch him provide leadership as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. I know how hard John works for veterans, for the military, for our national security — and I know that John McCain is a national treasure. Somebody who’s making a real difference, a man of great courage, who is a patriot, serves his country without fear. I hope you do everything you can to make sure that Senator John McCain continues to work in Washington on your behalf, and on the behalf of all Americans.”
Trump has repeatedly accused McCain of not doing enough to help military veterans, even though McCain has played a key role in a series of reforms aimed at helping veterans. Last summer Trump said that McCain is only considered “a war hero because he was captured” while fighting in North Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for more than five years. Even after McCain endorsed Trump, the businessman has continued to question McCain’s commitment to veterans.
None of this is helping the whole party unity thing, nor is the dissension boding well for a potential Trump administration. If Trump can’t successfully work with and persuade his few political allies now, how would a President Trump wrangle Congress?
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Comments
T-rump blinked.
Yep. Toldja.
Heh…!!!
Oh…!!! The butt-hurt…!!! Prep Hach is supposed to be good for that.
It is painfully obvious to all, except the most zealous trumpbots, that Donald Trump is leading the #NeverTrump movement.
It’s almost as if he’s tanking on purpose for his Democrat pals.
Thumbed up because I don’t care who ya are, that there’s funny.
The establishment is demonstrating its control. Remember that Tea Party movement just a few years ago? Long gone now. The RINOs and the IRS took care of business.
The Tea Party was never an organized movement but the people who got out and protested delivered in the 2012 elections and are still committed politically. The rise of Trump is a reaction of the Tea Party.
We, our local Tea Party, demonstrated plenty and participated in getting conservatives elected around the country, with great success, as you know.
The Republican establishment has struck back, and coupled with the IRS, has succeeded in minimizing the impact of the Tea Party.
I understand that some Tea Party folks support Trump, and as I have written, I am working to arrive there myself. I think it is incorrect to see Trump’s nomination as a victory for the Tea Party.
The point of my comment is that Gingrich’s support of McCain demonstrates the current weakness of the once-powerful Tea Party movement.
Maybe Ryan can be knocked off, or McCain, but this has been a dismal election season for the Tea Party.
Why should the National party leader (Trump) or the NRC get involved in local party elections. Are they expected to go full Wasserman?
American politics is a battle between cartels.
They can endorse him all they want. I’m hopeful my fellow Arizonans will give him the thumbs down. He’s a slimy hypocrite (“Build the dang fence!”) who long ago outlived his usefulness & needs to go. I will vote for Ward. Failing to oust him in the primary, I’ll vote for the Democrat. No reservations about tilting the Senate – he’s a Democrat in everything but party designation, anyway, and wouldn’t do squat to obstruct a Democrat administration’s efforts to pack the SC or anything else, so this is a no lose, no win situation if you ask me.
This is simply Gingrich doing what Gingrich always does.
Newt Gingrich, the man who would be president.
I just love how all these Conservative & republican party toadies consistently blame Trump as they do everything they can to undermine both him & the millions of people out there fighting to forward the cause both they & Trump are fighting to advance.
While these blowhards sit on the sidelines & bitch how their “cause” doesn’t gain traction because of a widespread “populist” rebellion that has overwhelmed their “cause.”
Maybe if they’d actually get off their assess, leave the sidelines, & actually engage in the battle they wouldn’t be such loosers.
Which brings up the oft asked question that’s never answered.
Where’s Canadian Cruz?
If you are looking for Cruz, don’t waste your time looking on the Ryan bus. But you will see Trump there, it seems.
You may not be aware of how presidential elections work, but once the nominee of a party wins said nomination, that person is no longer running against the people who dropped out of the race. Instead, said candidate is running against the other parties’ nominees. Running against former opponents who have long ago dropped out of the race is a losing strategy.
It’s not even a strategy, it’s just emotion-based whimpering. I’m not sure why Cruz causes so many Trump fans such dismay, but I have to admit that I do find it highly amusing. Focusing on Cruz is so much easier than focusing on the great orange godlet’s implosion.
Sorry, Fuzzy. I accidentally down-thumbed you. 20x up thumbs!
What happened to waiting until after the primary to endorse a candidate?
What is the big deal here? Trump is simply doing what these other politicians did to him, refuse to support him. It is amazing that people buy into this double standard where Trump is concerned. The only reason that these politicians want Trump’s support now, is so that they can ride his coat-tails with the anti-establishment movement. If they want Trump’s support then they have to earn it. Which is not likely to happen. All of these politicians are card carrying members of the progressive Uniparty Establishment and will never be accepted by the anti-establishment movement. Heck, McCain isn’t even a conservative, showing more support for liberal, Democrat agendas than those of his own party. Endorsing them actually hurts Trump with his base.
This is an example of why Trump never seriously considered Gingrich for VP. He’s not trustworthy.
A reporter says an aide says Pence endorses. That means NOTHING till it comes out of Pence’s mouth. Pence won’t do it unless Trump gives permission like he did for Ryan.
Ryan, McCain, Ayotte don’t deserve to be endorsed or re-elected. After them Flake and Sasse need to go.
FLASH…
Pence denies endorsement during major media availability…
Except, no. He doesn’t. At all…
LOL, Gingrich is not trustworthy? I don’t thing anyone has ever put Trump and trustworthy in the same sentence in a public venue. I don’t even think Trump thinks he is trustworthy. Trump brags about winning – not trustable.
Would anyone claim he is: reliable, dependable, honest, honorable, upright, principled, true, truthful, as good as one’s word, ethical, virtuous, incorruptible, unimpeachable, above suspicion?
Maybe he is incorruptible in the sense that he claims that he did the corrupting, rather than being the one corrupted. But I think both parties in a corrupt transaction are corrupt.
Trump used the known fixer, Roy Cohn, to win hundreds of millions of dollars of tax abatements and other subsidies in NYC alone. Hint: How do you get special treatment?
Politicians act according to some pheromone network and are compelled to support each other lest seams start to show in their collective bullshit. Why should ‘politician’ be considered a career anyway? McCain is a geriatric dud who has been on the public tit long enough. Pence was a big mistake as Ann Coulter pointed out. If Trump were serious about getting elected, he would heave gone with a radical VP choice, like Charles Barkley, or a woman with some brains and character. Instead he pulled a Tea Party stiff.
The sad reality is that nothing holds the Republican Party together except opposition to the progressive agenda. If you oppose that agenda you have to get into bed with some weird characters. The alternative is to rant and rave impotently in some internet bubble.
If we had a multiparty system this would be obvious to all. There is the me-too RINO party, the traditionalist, social conservative party, the economic libertarian sect, the neo-con warmongers and the populist demagogue personality cult.
It takes a delicate balancing act to cobble together an electoral majority. Trump can’t or won’t do it.
This is why the Secretary of State who sold out her country’s interests for contributions to the Clinton Foundation and put national security at risk to conceal her corruption and betrayal will be the next president.
Pence and Gingrich pay their dues. Trump seems unfazed by the old rites.
What Trump does makes no sense to me. He is a narcissistic buffoon. McCain, the so-called maverick, has a touch of the narcissistic buffoon himself. What an appalling show!