Contact: Melissa Miller
202-875-9188
Miller@dga.net
The bizarre dance Republican governors are doing with the Trump Administration took another odd turn recently when several of them accepted checks from Vice President Mike Pence while simultaneously dodging questions about their willingness to campaign with President Trump.
Politico reported on November 21st that Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Florida Governor Rick Scott all recently cashed $10,000 checks from the Vice President.
Yet each of them prevaricated when asked that same week about whether or not they would campaign with the President. On November 16th, Governor Walker “downplayed the role Trump will play” in 2018. On November 18th, Governor Scott flat-out “declined to say” whether he would welcome the President on the stump. And on the 25th, Governor Reynolds answered, “We’ll take a look at that moving forward.”
“Republican Governors are trying to have their cake and eat it too: They’ll take President Trump’s cash but they won’t take a stand on campaigning with him,” said DGA Press Secretary Melissa Miller. “Republican governors haven’t learned their lesson from Ed Gillespie. We’ve seen time and time again that walking this tightrope does not work for Republicans: the Trump base turns up their noses, while independents and moderates walk away in disgust. The fact that they’re even attempting this maneuver shows that Governors Reynolds and Walker know they’re in deep trouble heading into 2018.”
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