CLEVELAND — Donald Trump’s team came to Ohio and declared war on Gov. John Kasich — an approach top-ranking state GOP officials say hurts Trump's chances of beating Hillary Clinton in this crucial swing state in November.
Kasich, a Republican and Trump’s former presidential rival, has steadfastly refused to endorse the real estate mogul, even as the Republican National Convention kicks off in his state. Monday morning, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort accused Kasich of “embarrassing his state” for declining to get behind Trump, making that charge on MSNBC and reiterating his criticism on several other morning shows.
In an interview with POLITICO, Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges sharply rebuked Manafort, suggesting that such comments make it less likely that Trump will carry Ohio, a critical swing state where Trump's contest with Clinton is very tight so far, according to the polling averages.
“He’ll need to do better if we’re going to carry Ohio in the fall,” Borges said.
Ohio is one of the few bright spots for Trump on the battleground map, and Trump is heavily reliant on the Kasich-aligned state GOP for a ground game operation here, making an open war between the two camps even more problematic.
But on Monday, tensions boiled over into the open.
“All along, we’ve been looking for a more unifying message coming from the Trump campaign," said Borges, a close ally of Kasich’s. "And then he came to Cleveland this morning as we’re lifting the curtain on one of the crown jewels of the Republican Party and the effort we had in Ohio to bring this convention here, he decided to go in a direction that was obviously calculated — he did it on all the shows — and he’s factually incorrect.”
Reply With Quote
