Former RNC chair says Trump's debate performance won't matter because his campaign is over
Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele took a strikingly pessimistic view of embattled GOP nominee Donald Trump's electoral chances in a brief interview with Mother Jones Saturday.
Trump's hot mic scandal "is a devastating blow to the Trump campaign and to the party, and there is not much either can do to salvage it," Steele said. "It almost doesn't matter what Trump does in the next debate." An unnamed GOP official similarly told Mother Jones the party's priorities should no longer be about 2016 but rather "about what happens in 20 years — and whether there is still a Republican Party then."
While many prominent Republicans have called on their party to dump Trump after hearing his sexually explicit comments, practical limitations at this point in the election make that a difficult prospect at best. The debate is Sunday night.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
The diminishing power of willpowerIn the Spotlight ‘Try harder’ attitude may not be the best way to achieve long-term goals
-
Greenland, Colombia, Cuba: where is Donald Trump eyeing up next?Today's Big Question Ousting Venezuela’s leader could embolden the US administration to exert its dominance elsewhere
-
Wilde Cambridge: home-away-from-home in a prime city spotThe Week Recommends This laid-back aparthotel is the perfect base for a weekend of exploring
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
