Political Writer: Republican Leaders Still Paralyzed By Donald Trump
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Political writer AB Stoddard assessed the state of the Republican party's leadership following Donald Trump's significant victories in 'Super Tuesday's' primaries that put him well out in front of his remaining rivals for the party's nomination for President, saying that still have coalesced around a sold plan to stop him.
Stoddard, from The Hill, stated during an interview with Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that the party elders are still at a loss as to how to confront Donald Trump's ascendance.
"The wimpy establishment's plan this entire time would be to dismiss him, laugh him off, wait and see, hope, hope, hope and it didn't work out. So now he's 200 whatever [in delegate support] and so now they're still going to wait and see until he gets to 1237, and which point, they can't take him...Only some of them have actually thought this far, because the rest of them are totally paralyzed. This is not a joke...They've done nothing on Trump. Four percent of the money spent against Republican candidates has been spent against Trump...The donors are afraid. Also, it's too late. They literally thought he would implode."
She revealed that many are still hoping Florida Senator Marco Rubio can rally to the challenge but, as of yet, he is not getting the full support he needs.
"Rubio is under tremendous pressure from people who believe that Trump is end of the Republican party. That's no longer a secret. I've been hearing it for months. There are still hundreds of them that just haven't come out and said it publicly the way Meg Whitman has. Christie Todd Whitman, the former Governor of New Jersey, says she'll vote for Hillary. This 'stop Trump,' 'never Trump,' movement is real. It's probably not going to succeed, but those are the people who call up Rubio and say, you're our only hope, Ted Cruz can't beat Hillary, you can beat Hillary, and they believe that he has to take it to a convention fight. Just remember that. That's what he's dealing with. Even, at the same time, as Jeb Bush is not endorsing him, Mitt Romney's not endorsing him, it's not even like he's getting a lot of help."
As for the rumored plan of using a floor fight at the convention to take the nomination away from Trump and anoint someone like Mitt Romney, Stoddard believes that would ultimately fail in November.
"The Trump voters would stay home. They would never vote for said sacrificial lamb. The party's chosen one would not get any votes from Trump supporters. But again, they believe the Republican party has to survive Donald Trump and has to throw off this cycle and one-off it, then you're willing to put up with four years of Hillary Clinton to save the Republican party. I'm not saying that's rational. I'm saying that's what's going on."