- May 24, 2016
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Donald Trump has a staff of 70 for a national campaign that consummates in 4 months 13 days with the election. No one wants to work for him, so just how does he turn that around when no professional campaign staff is going to help him? Hillary Clinton has a staff of 700 professionals and will end up killing him if he doesn't fix his problem.
"Donald Trump has finally acknowledged that to best compete against Hillary Clinton he needs more than the bare-bones campaign team that led him to primary success. But many of the most experienced Republican political advisers aren't willing to work for him.
From Texas to New Hampshire, well-respected members of the Republican Party's professional class say they cannot look past their deep personal and professional reservations about the presumptive presidential nominee.
While there are exceptions, many strategists who best understand the mechanics of presidential politics fear that taking a Trump paycheck might stain their resumes, spook other clients and even cause problems at home. They also are reluctant to devote months to a divisive candidate whose campaign has been plagued by infighting and disorganization.
"Right now I feel no obligation to lift a finger to help Donald Trump," said Brent Swander, an Ohio-based operative who has coordinated nationwide logistics for Republican presidential campaigns dating to George W. Bush.
"Everything that we're taught as children — not to bully, not to demean, to treat others with respect — everything we're taught as children is the exact opposite of what the Republican nominee is doing. How do you work for somebody like that? What would I tell my family?" Swander said.
Trump leapt into presidential politics with a small group of aides, some drafted directly from his real estate business, with no experience running a White House campaign. An unquestioned success in the GOP primaries, they have struggled to respond to the increased demands of a general election.
As in years past, the primary season created a pool of battle-tested staffers who worked for other candidates, from which Trump would be expected to draw. But hundreds of such aides have so far declined invitations to work for him.
They include several communications aides to Chris Christie, as well as the New Jersey governor's senior political adviser, Michael DuHaime, who said he rejected direct and indirect inquiries to sign on with the billionaire.
Chris Wilson, a senior aide to Ted Cruz, said the Texas senator's entire paid staff of more than 150 ignored encouragement from Trump's team to apply for positions after Cruz quit the presidential race. Wilson said that even now, many unemployed Cruz aides are refusing to work for the man who called their former boss "Lyin' Ted."
That's the case for Scott Smith, a Texas-based operative who traveled the country planning events for Cruz, and earlier worked on presidential bids for Bush and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
"It's very clear that none of us are going to work for Trump," Smith said. "Even if I wanted to work for Trump, my wife would kill me." More at the link: Many experienced GOP strategists unwilling to work for Trump
"Donald Trump has finally acknowledged that to best compete against Hillary Clinton he needs more than the bare-bones campaign team that led him to primary success. But many of the most experienced Republican political advisers aren't willing to work for him.
From Texas to New Hampshire, well-respected members of the Republican Party's professional class say they cannot look past their deep personal and professional reservations about the presumptive presidential nominee.
While there are exceptions, many strategists who best understand the mechanics of presidential politics fear that taking a Trump paycheck might stain their resumes, spook other clients and even cause problems at home. They also are reluctant to devote months to a divisive candidate whose campaign has been plagued by infighting and disorganization.
"Right now I feel no obligation to lift a finger to help Donald Trump," said Brent Swander, an Ohio-based operative who has coordinated nationwide logistics for Republican presidential campaigns dating to George W. Bush.
"Everything that we're taught as children — not to bully, not to demean, to treat others with respect — everything we're taught as children is the exact opposite of what the Republican nominee is doing. How do you work for somebody like that? What would I tell my family?" Swander said.
Trump leapt into presidential politics with a small group of aides, some drafted directly from his real estate business, with no experience running a White House campaign. An unquestioned success in the GOP primaries, they have struggled to respond to the increased demands of a general election.
As in years past, the primary season created a pool of battle-tested staffers who worked for other candidates, from which Trump would be expected to draw. But hundreds of such aides have so far declined invitations to work for him.
They include several communications aides to Chris Christie, as well as the New Jersey governor's senior political adviser, Michael DuHaime, who said he rejected direct and indirect inquiries to sign on with the billionaire.
Chris Wilson, a senior aide to Ted Cruz, said the Texas senator's entire paid staff of more than 150 ignored encouragement from Trump's team to apply for positions after Cruz quit the presidential race. Wilson said that even now, many unemployed Cruz aides are refusing to work for the man who called their former boss "Lyin' Ted."
That's the case for Scott Smith, a Texas-based operative who traveled the country planning events for Cruz, and earlier worked on presidential bids for Bush and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
"It's very clear that none of us are going to work for Trump," Smith said. "Even if I wanted to work for Trump, my wife would kill me." More at the link: Many experienced GOP strategists unwilling to work for Trump
