At a time when Hillary Clinton is steadily pulling ahead in polls, Republicans are struggling to get their presidential nominee Donald Trump back on track after a series of recent “distractions” over the Khan episode, followed by his controversial stance vis-à-vis top party leaders — Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain.
On a day when Fox News came out with a poll showing for the first time a double-digit lead for Clinton over Trump, the party leadership appeared to be an exasperated lot, with reports suggesting that Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus was angry over Trump’s recent antics.
While the “Khan-gate” controversy has got Trump uniformly bad publicity, his refusal to endorse Ryan and McCain in their re-election bid is seen to have split the Republican Party all over again, dealing a setback to unity efforts after a gruelling primary season.
For Priebus, Trump’s stand was a big let-down, all the more so since he had taken the initiative to bring Ryan around to supporting the New York billionaire in the run-up to the Republican convention in Cleveland last month. It was Ryan’s endorsement that is thought to have cleared the decks for a fairly smooth convention.
Other senior Republicans, notably former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have also been urging Trump to keep the focus entirely on rival, Clinton.
In a twist to the goings-on, Trump’s own vice-presidential running mate, Mike Pence, broke ranks on Wednesday and endorsed Speaker Ryan. “I strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his re-election. He is a longtime friend. He’s a strong conservative leader. I believe we need Paul Ryan in leadership,” Pence told Fox News, adding that he had prior consultations with Trump, who “strongly encouraged” him to endorse.
Some Republican leaders heaved a sigh of relief as Trump turned his focus on Clinton. At his Florida rally, he went on to brand Clinton as a “founder of ISIS”, adding: “look at Orlando. look at San Bernardino. Take a look at the World Trade Center. Take a look at what’s going on and then worldwide, and we let ISIS take this position,” he said.
Clinton, meanwhile, led Trump by 10 points (49-39 per cent) in the Fox News poll conducted after the conclusion of the conventions and just when Trump was holding forth against the Khans and making other controversial statements.
The poll showed Clinton and Trump to be almost evenly matched in dishonesty. Sixty-one per cent of voters think Clinton is dishonest – and 62 per cent think Trump is dishonest.