Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus was asked yesterday to comment on an instantly infamous tweet by Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee:
Preibus’ response? ”Well, uh, he’s trying. [Crowd laughs.] I honestly think he understands that unifying and growing the party is the only way we’re gonna win.”
With Texas senator Ted Cruz and Ohio governor John Kasich out of the race, it’s clearly a moment of tumult for the GOP. “Some staff members at the Republican National Committee were told Wednesday that if they were unable to get behind the nominee, they should leave by the end of the week,” the New York Times reported.
The RNC denied the report:
Other party standard bearers have likewise struggled to articulate clear support for the inevitable nominee.
House speaker Paul Ryan, the party’s top elected official, said he is “not ready” to endorse Trump. New Hampshire senator Kelly Ayotte says she will “support” Trump but not endorse him, whatever that means. And former presidents George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush have vowed to not to comment on the 2016 election.