MEMO: GOP Senators #AllIn For Trump

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: DSCC

DATE: July 18, 2016

RE: GOP Senators #AllIn For Trump

 

Embattled GOP Senators and candidates may have skipped the trip to Cleveland, but they still share the stage with their toxic, divisive presidential candidate. They’ve failed to stand up to the worst of Donald Trump’s rhetoric, but worse still is their agreement with Trump’s policies that will hurt the middle class. This week, we’ll see what being #AllIn for Trump means for voters in states across the country and why that’s bad news for vulnerable Republican incumbents and candidates.

 

Senate Republicans Allowed Trump to Take Over Their Party

 

Trump has built his own bigoted brand of politics by insinuating a federal judge can’t do his job because of his heritage, doubling down on his campaign’s use of anti-Semitic imagery, and continuing to take “credit” after acts of terrorism. In each instance, Senate Republicans’ clumsy attempts to distance themselves from their party’s nominee have only highlighted how little they did to stand up to Donald Trump as he took over their party during the nominating process. As a reminder, here are just some of the things Trump did while Senate Republicans remained silent:

 

• Suggested almost all Mexican immigrants were likely “rapists,” drug traffickers, or criminals

 

• Mocked a disabled reporter

 

• Criticized John McCain for being a POW

 

• Said Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever”

 

• Repeatedly encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies

 

• Called for a total shutdown of Muslim immigration into the US, repeatedly

 

 

Nominee Trump Garnered Support of Nearly Every Vulnerable Republican

 

Once Trump had completed his GOP takeover and secured the nomination, Republicans Senators and candidates still had an opportunity to object once and for all to his campaign and withhold their support. Instead, nearly all of them reiterated that they would fall in line and support Donald Trump for president, solidifying their ties to their toxic nominee. Even as they continue to play rhetorical gymnastics with their plans to vote for Trump come November, their offers of support continue to show the real story:

 

• Kelly Ayotte: Kelly Ayotte supports Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee, but will not endorse him (Spoiler alert – they mean the same thing)
• Rob Portman: Sen. Portman has said definitively that “I am supporting Donald Trump for President” and even hoped that Trump will “boost” his campaign.
• Pat Toomey: Toomey has said he would support the Republican nominee, “whoever that is,” and would not rule out campaigning with him in Pennsylvania.
• Ron Johnson: Johnson had “no problem supporting whoever the Republican Primary voters select as our nominee” and even said he’d stump with Trump, calling it the “Ronald [and] the Donald” show.
• Marco Rubio: Rubio pledged to support the man he once called a dangerous “con man,” but now promised not to “spurn or denigrate him.”
• Roy Blunt: As his office confirmed: “If Trump is the nominee, Senator Blunt will support him.”
• Richard Burr: “I look forward to working with Mr. Trump at the top of the ticket.”
• John McCain: Sen. McCain has reiterated multiple times that he would support whoever the GOP nominee was. “Hello? I said I. Support. The. Nominee!”
• Joe Heck: “Look, I’ll support whoever the nominee is coming out of the convention.”
• Chuck Grassley: Grassley “reaffirmed” his support for Donald Trump as the Republican nominee. “Republicans need to unite,” he argued.
• Darryl Glenn: Glenn will be speaking at the GOP convention this week, and has called Trump a “patriot.”
• Todd Young: Young announced that he intended to support the Republican nominee for President.
• Rand Paul: Sen. Paul declared he would endorse Donald Trump: “I’ve always said I’ll endorse the nominee.”

 

Every Vulnerable GOP Senator Has Their Own Trump Card to Play

 

No matter how near or far Senate Republicans find themselves form Cleveland this week, there is little distance between them and Donald Trump on many policy priorities that would be devastating to working American families.

 

Republican Senators and Senate candidates stand with Trump on policies that would hurt women, like opposing equal pay for equal work and supporting defunding Planned Parenthood, which provides critical health care services to millions of Americans.

 

They support policies that would protect the wealthy while hurting middle class Americans, like opposing Wall Street Reform, opposing a federal minimum wage increase, and supporting a tax plan that would benefit the wealthy and corporate interests.

 

Additionally, Republican Senators and candidates agree with Trump on the unprecedented Supreme Court obstruction. They almost all agree that Trump should make the next lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court – yes, the same Trump who has made terrible comments about minorities, Muslims and women.

 

Bottom Line: Regardless of Location, Republicans are #AllIn for Trump

 

It doesn’t matter Republicans’ physical location this week, they’re all standing right alongside Donald Trump in their shared policy positions and pledges to support the nominee. Republicans sat back and allowed Trump to take over their party over the past year, and now they better get ready to spend the next four months answering for his every move.