Republicans trust Donald Trump more than any other candidate on top issues, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.
Trump’s opponents have taken note. Holding on for dear life as he leaves them in the dust, they’re going toe-to-toe with the Donald on policy extremism, hoping to come along for the ride. It’s their only chance, no matter how slim, at winning the GOP nomination.
Scott Walker is trying harder than anyone: “Sinking in the polls here, Scott Walker started on Monday to sound very much like the man he is now chasing in the Republican presidential race, Donald Trump,” as Reuters described his last-ditch pandering.
Walker’s opponents see it, too. They’d do well to follow suit and start throwing around the red meat the GOP base is craving, even if it’s policy positions and rhetoric that are ultimately unsustainable.
It’ll all be disqualifying in the general election, but it’s the only shot they’ve got.
Read more about Scott and Co.’s Right Wing-Walking:
Reuters: In bid to jump-start campaign, Walker tries to channel Trump
Aping Trump further, Walker took credit for the immigration debate roiling the Republican Party, saying that it stemmed from his opposition to President Obama’s executive actions that gave some immigrants relief from deportation.
Joe Scarborough: We have a guy whose supposed to be, like, the great hope in Scott Walker — had trouble all day. Wouldn’t even answer the question: “Do you support the Constitution?” […] Are we really going as a party, to be supporting kicking down hospital doors, and seizing babies, and taking them back to Mexico? This is sheer insanity that will kill us in the general election.
Washington Post: Trump driving migrant debate among GOP field
On Monday, Trump’s hard turn was already influencing the rest of the GOP field. In Iowa, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also began to call for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, echoing a longtime Trump demand. Walker said the separation barrier between Israel and the Palestinian territories is proof that the concept could work here.
Beyond Walker, two other Republicans in the 2016 race — former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — have expressed support for ending the provision this year. Two others, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), have supported it in the past.
National Journal: How Scott Walker Plans to Win Back Donald Trump Supporters
Scott Walker arrived here in familiar Iowa in an unfamiliar place: dislodged from first place for the first time in months by the surging Donald Trump.
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Walker, who is known as being his own top strategist, said he wants to be the candidate for Trump supporters and others when they are done protesting and closer to voting.
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That’s essentially the advice that Iowa Rep. Steve King had for all the non-Trump candidates. “It’s kind of like the racetrack, you want to be sitting in third, right behind the guy in pole position,” King said. “If [Trump] has some kind of a flameout, then you’re in position to step into the front. I think that’s where Walker needs to be.”
Published: Aug 18, 2015