Controversial Republican presidential hopeful, Donald Trump said Thursday the Republican establishment is “warming up” to his candidacy. “I think they’re warming up. I want to be honest, I have received so many phone calls from people that you would call GOP establishment, from people — generally speaking … conservatives, Republicans — that want to come onto our team,” Trump told reporters in Las Vegas before an appearance at the Outdoor Sportsman Awards. “We are getting calls from everybody that it’s actually amazing. I’m actually surprised,” he added. He declined to provide names.
Trump calls National Review ‘dying paper’
Trump’s comment on the establishments after the conservative magazine National Review published its latest issue online featuring a collection of scathing anti-Trump essays from noted conservatives, underscoring the deep resistance that remains to his unorthodox candidacy, despite his commanding lead in early polls. Trump responded by calling it “a dying paper” out for publicity.
Trump in-between GOP Establishment and Outsiders
The real estate mogul has faced resistance from the GOP establishment, which remains largely splintered between candidates like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. At an earlier rally, Trump painted himself as a pragmatic dealmaker capable of working with lawmakers, in contrast with Cruz, his top rival in the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses.
The Cruz-Trump brawl
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are posing each other as the “outsider” candidate, and taking their brawl to the airwaves and social media. The brawl is valuable for the political education as it is providing some of the radio talkers who did so much to elevate Mr. Trump as a billionaire revolutionary. According to WSJ, they’re unhappy that the businessman they championed against “the establishment” is calling out their new favorite son, Ted Cruz, as a member of the establishment. He’s even whacking the Texan for low-interest loans from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and what until recently was his dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship.
