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.

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