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:
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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