- Moderator
- #1
This is not a man who cares about the Republican Party. This is a man who only cares about himself and his own ego.
It was almost midnight on the first Sunday in October. Ronna McDaniel had just settled into bed when her phone rang. It was Donald J. Trump. He was not happy.
Someone had sent the former president clips of that evening’s debate in the Nevada governor’s race. The Trump-endorsed Republican nominee, Joe Lombardo, the sheriff of Clark County, had declined to call Mr. Trump a “great” president and had backed off Mr. Trump’s stolen-election lie.
Mr. Trump fumed about withdrawing his endorsement, threatening to throw into chaos one of the nation’s most consequential swing states, a place with three competitive House races and a tossup Senate seat. Ms. McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, pleaded with the former president. She asked him for one hour to fix the situation, according to people familiar with the call.
Mr. Lombardo soon issued a statement calling Mr. Trump a “great president.” The crisis was averted. The next week, when Mr. Trump held a Nevada rally, Mr. Lombardo joined the chorus singing his praises onstage.
“The greatest president, right?” Mr. Lombardo said. “Donald J. Trump!” On Friday night, the race was called for Mr. Lombardo.
From start to finish, Mr. Trump was a recurring distraction for party leaders trying to engineer a congressional takeover. He turned the acceptance of his lie about the 2020 election into a litmus test and prized displays of loyalty over political skill, viewing the midterms mostly through the prism of what would help him. The scramble among senior Republicans to harness Mr. Trump as a force for good and not for chaos continued through the hours before Election Day, to head off a pre-election announcement of a 2024 presidential run.
www.nytimes.com
It was almost midnight on the first Sunday in October. Ronna McDaniel had just settled into bed when her phone rang. It was Donald J. Trump. He was not happy.
Someone had sent the former president clips of that evening’s debate in the Nevada governor’s race. The Trump-endorsed Republican nominee, Joe Lombardo, the sheriff of Clark County, had declined to call Mr. Trump a “great” president and had backed off Mr. Trump’s stolen-election lie.
Mr. Trump fumed about withdrawing his endorsement, threatening to throw into chaos one of the nation’s most consequential swing states, a place with three competitive House races and a tossup Senate seat. Ms. McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, pleaded with the former president. She asked him for one hour to fix the situation, according to people familiar with the call.
Mr. Lombardo soon issued a statement calling Mr. Trump a “great president.” The crisis was averted. The next week, when Mr. Trump held a Nevada rally, Mr. Lombardo joined the chorus singing his praises onstage.
“The greatest president, right?” Mr. Lombardo said. “Donald J. Trump!” On Friday night, the race was called for Mr. Lombardo.
From start to finish, Mr. Trump was a recurring distraction for party leaders trying to engineer a congressional takeover. He turned the acceptance of his lie about the 2020 election into a litmus test and prized displays of loyalty over political skill, viewing the midterms mostly through the prism of what would help him. The scramble among senior Republicans to harness Mr. Trump as a force for good and not for chaos continued through the hours before Election Day, to head off a pre-election announcement of a 2024 presidential run.
How the 2022 Midterms Became a Squeaker (Published 2022)
Interviews with more than 70 current and former officials show the outside forces — and miscalculations and infighting — that led to an improbable, still-undecided election.
