President Trump has a "love it or leave it" mentality for the Republican Party.
In an interview with Politico published Friday, Trump showed a "rare admission of concern" when it came to winning back the presidency this fall and retaining a GOP Senate majority. And the key to mitigating that concern, he said, was to keep every Republican senator in line, issuing a stern warning for anyone who dares break ranks.
"If they don't embrace, they're going to lose, because, you know, I have a very hard base. I have the strongest base people have ever seen," Trump told Politico. Trump's aides, including his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, are apparently enforcing this ultimatum. Potential targets of this threat could include Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who said she hasn't decided whether to support Trump in 2020, and Michigan GOP Senate candidate John James, who has told voters he disagrees with Trump on "plenty, plenty of issues."
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.
Trump recently met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to discuss Senate Republicans' re-election strategies, and seems to want to use his popularity to encourage party loyalty in all of them. For example, when Trump was handed a document during the interview comparing his and Senate candidates primary results, he specifically noted his 98 percent vote in North Carolina. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is considered at risk of losing this fall, got 78 percent of his primary vote. He then listed some GOP senators who broke ranks with him in 2018 and ended up being voted out: Arizona's Jeff Flake and Nevada's Dean Heller, to name a few.
Read more, including what Trump thinks is his "biggest risk" in 2020, at Politico.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The group is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Get ready for pumpkin spice season with concerts from big-name artists
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
