Story for G.O.P. Front-Runner Trump Shifting from Campaign to Supporters
Rarely have we seen a presidential candidate utilize the media as a means of self-promotion as thoroughly as Donald Trump’s campaign has this past year. The polarizing real estate mogul has made substantial use of controversial rhetoric to generate media coverage — positive as well as negative — and balloon his notoriety and polling numbers. However, over the past few weeks, much of the story has shifted from Trump to those who have voiced support for him.
On December 17, in a marathon press conference, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin touched on the U.S. Presidential race, namely Trump. Putin called him “a bright and talented person” then mentioned his pleasure at a potential working relationship between the two.
Putin, who has alternated between Prime Ministry and Presidency of Russia since 1999, is widely seen as rival figure to N.A.T.O. members, especially current U.S. President Barack Obama. These tensions mainly stem from Putin’s history with the Cold War-era U.S.S.R. and refusal to support the Iraq War, then were elevated after reports of human rights violations and Russia’s annexation of Crimea beginning in 2014.
Nevertheless, Trump has expressed pleasure at the Russian President’s endorsement. In a press release, he stated, “It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected.” In response to reporters’ bringing up of Putin’s supposed killing of journalists and political opponents, Trump first mentioned that “our country does a lot of killing also” then added that there was no direct evidence of the politically-fueled murders. All of this is a continuation of past support Trump has given to Putin, and maintains his platform of reestablishing relations with Russia if he becomes President.
Despite his contentment with this situation, many of Trump’s fellow Presidential candidates and political adversaries have used the endorsement as fuel for criticism. Jeb Bush, currently polling at fifth in Iowa and sixth overall among Republicans, was the first to jump on the opportunity. He stated, “The idea that Donald Trump suggests that Putin is a guy worthy of admiration when he’s bombing the very troops that we are supporting[…] is ridiculous.” The sentiment has been echoed by President Obama, Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, and current Iowa G.O.P. front-runner Ted Cruz.
Dissatisfaction with Trump’s support base arose again this Monday when a pro-Trump robocall circulated which featured Jared Taylor. Taylor is the editor of American Renaissance magazine, which is categorized by the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist publication. Perhaps more troubling, though, is his role as spokesperson for the Council for Conservative Citizen, which gained fame for being championed by Dylan Roof. Roof was convicted of murdering nine Black parishioners in June.
The Trump campaign has yet to make a statement on the matter, and it is currently unclear whether this will hurt his standing in Iowa and other future races. What is nearly certain, however, is that this will, again, provoke an onslaught of criticism from political opponents and pundits. Already, smaller, more partisan news websites and papers are commencing attacks.
