Trump’s primary opponents could sharpen their tone against him, GOP operatives predict
Trump’s Republican presidential rivals, both those who have declared candidacies and those who are expected to join the race, have largely opted to respond to Trump’s indictment by attacking the Manhattan DA’s probe.
But the former president’s primary opponents may sharpen their tone against the current GOP frontrunner as the contest heats up, Republican operatives predicted to NBC News.
That move could be a fraught one for any Republican presidential contender, as attacking Trump could risk alienating swaths of the GOP electorate. Some GOP sources told NBC that a shift in tone could be months away, possibly during a primary debate.
Trump has appeared to gain ground in recent polls of the possible primary field. A Republican strategist told CNBC in a recent interview that the charges could unify GOP voters against DA Alvin Bragg. One operative told NBC, however, that the former president’s legal troubles could drag Trump down in a general election.
— Kevin Breuninger
CPAC blasts Trump prosecutions, demands DA Bragg recuse self
Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., March 4, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
The Conservative Political Action Conference blasted the Trump indictment as “little more than politics dressed up as prosecution and it should end.”
CPAC also said that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “at minimum … should recuse himself” given his purported connections to billionaire investor and Democratic megadonor George Soros.
A Soros-funded group boosted Bragg’s campaign, but Soros “has never met or spoken to Alvin Bragg,” a Soros advisor has told CNBC.
Matt Schlapp, the married head of CPAC, was accused in January of fondling the genital area of a male aide to former Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker after a night of drinking in…
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