Reince Priebus reportedly advised Donald Trump to drop out of the race after leaked audio tape

Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be White House chief of staff, once reportedly tried to talk Trump out of seeing his campaign through to Election Day. Citing "a person briefed on the conversation," New York's Gabriel Sherman reported Thursday that Priebus told Trump he should drop out of the race after the Access Hollywood tape of Trump making lewd comments about women was leaked in early October.
Priebus reportedly said that if Trump did not cut his losses then, he would "go down with a worse election loss than Barry Goldwater's." In the 1964 presidential election, the Republican presidential candidate lost to then-Democratic candidate Lyndon B. Johnson, winning just 52 electoral votes while Johnson won 486.
As we all know now, Priebus ended up being dead wrong about Trump's prospects. Trump, unlike Goldwater, won 306 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 232. While Priebus' nomination as chief of staff would indicate both he and Trump have moved past the incident, Sherman reported that not everyone on Trump's team has. Some, Sherman wrote, are "dismayed by Priebus' influence because they question the Washington insider's loyalty to the president-elect."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read more about the power struggle that has allegedly created over at New York.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Deportations ensnare migrant families, U.S. citizens
Feature Trump's deportation crackdown is sweeping up more than just immigrants as ICE targets citizens, judges and nursing mothers
-
Trump shrugs off warnings over trade war costs
Feature Trump's tariffs are spiraling the U.S. toward an economic crisis as shipments slow down—and China doesn't plan to back down
-
A newly created gasoline giant in the Americas could change the industry landscape
The Explainer Sunoco and Parkland are two of the biggest fuel suppliers in the US and Canada, respectively
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábgego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies
-
Canada's Liberals, Carney win national election
Speed Read The party of Prime Minister Mark Carney beat Conservative Pierre Poilievre thanks in part to Trump's trade war
-
Trump's 100-day approval ratings at historic low
Speed Read Americans appear to be wary of Trump's sweeping tariffs and handling of the economy
-
Judge blocks key part of Trump's elections overhaul
Speed Read Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision temporarily bars federal officials from requiring Americans to prove they are citizens to register to vote