OPINION:
With the exception of a (small) group of Never Trumpers, Republicans are looking to get on board with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and they are encouraged by the changes his campaign has made within the last 48 hours.
By the time the GOP convention ends in July — after the last rebuke to Mr. Trump has failed — the Republican Party will unite around the business mogul.
Yesterday, Mr. Trump pleased Capitol Hill and reassured conservative pundits who were questioning the seriousness of his campaign. Mr. Trump unveiled a rapid-fire response team that went toe-to-toe with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during her economic speech. He sent out fundraising emails, vowing to match dollar-to-dollar whatever donations he received.
He’s rolling out a website dubbed lyingcroookedhillary.com and is taking aim at Mrs. Clinton in a speech Wednesday. He’s changing the press narrative — which has largely been negative on him for the last six weeks — to a more positive one.
Corey Lewandowski, Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager, told reporters at a previously scheduled event on Tuesday night that Mr. Trump anticipates hiring about 150 new staffers to help build out his national infrastructure to compete with Mrs. Clinton’s. Mr. Trump will still be short matching Mrs. Clinton’s 684 paid staffers, but who is to say her staff isn’t bloated and that Mr. Trump can’t do more with less?
Mr. Lewandowski’s parting with the campaign has been amicable, with Mr. Trump’s press secretary Hope Hicks accompanying him to the event on Tuesday. That’s important. Instead of an angry parting, which the press would’ve blown up into negative headlines, Mr. Lewandowski and the campaign have remained professional and loyal — a class act.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who has been rumored to be Mr. Trump’s running mate was highly critical of the businessman last week, saying after Mr. Trump’s speech on the Orlando shooting that it “wasn’t the type of speech one would expect” from a presidential candidate, and “In an effort to be constructive, I have offered public encouragement at important times, but I must admit that I am personally discouraged by the results.”
On Tuesday evening, Mr. Corker had a different view: “What is kind of exciting is that it appears to me that they, you know, are moving in a very different direction they they have been moving in, and I got to say that’s pretty exciting to think about.”
And it should be.
According to recent polling in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton remain tied — despite Mr. Trump having wasted about six weeks in gearing up his general election bid. And in the most recent CNN/ORC poll, Mr. Trump tops Mrs. Clinton on the two issues that voters care the most about in November — the economy and terrorism.
Mr. Trump has a real shot at the presidency, and there’s more than not in the GOP who are rooting for him to take it home.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.