James Antle reports for the Washington Examiner on the major political parties’ contrasting reactions to their presumptive nominees.
After an unexpectedly protracted primary fight, Democrats are rallying around Hillary Clinton as their presumptive nominee at the same time Republican elected officials are publicly expressing their doubts about Donald Trump.
President Obama kicked off this reunification process by finally endorsing Clinton after trying to maintain a respectful neutrality during the heat of the primaries. Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., lent their support to Clinton shortly afterward.
“If Warren endorses, it’s all over,” a D.C.-based Democratic strategist told the Washington Examiner before the progressive darling made her announcement. His reasoning was that Warren appeals to the wing of the party that was most resistant to Clinton.
This is a major reversal in a relatively short period of time. Trump secured a majority of delegates before Clinton and his last major opponents for the nomination dropped out in May, while Bernie Sanders was still challenging Clinton and frequently winning states. …
… Trump was being rebuked by members of his own party for comments he made about the federal judge handling the Trump University case. The backlash over his comments that Judge Gonzalo Curiel had a conflict of interest due to his Mexican heritage led some Republicans to rescind their endorsement and caused others to publicly reprimand him.
