Republican candidate Donald Trump has seen unprecedented success in the 2016 presidential
race.
Trump has led nearly every major poll this year, and if he continues to win the primaries
by his current margins, experts say that by mid-March it will be virtually impossible
for another candidate to catch up.
But despite his popularity among conservative voters, the GOP establishment has vehemently
opposed Trump, fearing that an anti-establishment candidate would not be able to win the general
election.
So, how is the GOP trying to stop Trump?
Well, as an infamously outrageous businessman and reality TV star, Trump is the definition
of an outsider candidate.
Although his fundamentally conservative views echo those of many republican voters, they
are a far cry from the GOP’s future goals.
These were outlined after the 2012 election loss, and include employing a more inclusive
tone, appealing to minorities, particularly hispanics and women, and lessening their dependence
on affluent white men.
Needless to say, Trump does not meet any of these standards.
For the Republican establishment, Trump not only represents an ideological step backwards,
but a sure loss in the general election.
So, to stop Trump from ever getting to that point, the GOP has employed its most powerful
ally, Fox News.
Although the TV network features some pro-Trump programming, Fox has predominantly rallied
against the candidate.
In the second Republican debate, Fox moderators immediately focused on his potential run as
a third party candidate and his history of misogynist statements.
This led to a nasty feud between Trump and Fox pundit Megyn Kelly, which later became
an all-out war between the network and the candidate.
Even the CEO of Fox’s parent company News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, publicly denounced
Trump, and encouraged former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run against him as third-party
candidate.
But it’s not just conservative media attacking Trump.
Super PACs like Our Principles and Club For Growth mobilized an Anti-Trump campaign early
on in the Primaries.
Unlike many political organizations, they are uniquely not aligned with a specific candidate.
Their sole purpose is to bring down Trump.
Our Principles and Club for Growth, combined with smaller outside groups have spent roughly
$10 million dollars, mostly for ads that paint Trump as a closeted liberal and urban elitist.
Despite their efforts Trump has dominated the primaries thus far.
But these organizations claim that their efforts have significantly brought down his numbers
and promise to continue aggressively advertising.
But as Trump is getting closer and closer to winning the nomination, the GOP is rethinking
their anti-trump strategy.
Several republican congress members, and even Trump’s former opponents have recently come
out in support of the candidate, like New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
Experts predict that if Trump continues to win primaries, he will gather more and more
GOP endorsements.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that these candidates are changing their minds about
the Donald.
Rather, it reflects the GOP’s vow to get behind any republican candidate with a nomination,
and their fear that a divided party will lose the election.
But with so many divides within the Republican party, a unified GOP remains in the distant
future.
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Even without the influence of Donald Trump, the Republican party has been continually
splitting in half for the past few years.
Learn about the GOP’s struggles in our video.
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