Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to President Trump, and Reince Priebus, his former chief of staff, say they’re both skeptical the eight Republican primary candidates will see a big enough boost after the Milwaukee debate to take on Trump at this early point in the primary.
“Obviously, they didn’t want to engage President Trump too much because they know they can’t alienate his voters, but we’ll see if the needle moves,” Conway said on WISN’s “UpFRONT,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “He’s way ahead. He’s leading them all in every poll in every state. I think some people had some strong moments. The donors are probably going to give a second look to a few of them.”
Priebus, a Wisconsin native, is also former chair of the Republican National Committee, which is in charge of the GOP primary debates.
“It’s the harsh truth, and the harsh truth is I wanted President Trump to be at this debate because it’s fun and it’s entertaining, but the truth is he probably made the right decision and didn’t go,” Priebus said. “I don’t know what these folks that debated, what percentage of Donald Trump’s vote they were able to take away. That’s really what they need to do. If they’re down by a lot, what percentage of Trump’s vote are you taking away? I don’t think they did it.”
Priebus is now chairman of the Milwaukee host committee ahead of the Republican National Convention next summer.
“The people of Milwaukee have been great,” Priebus said. “If you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, it doesn’t matter. It’s a great opportunity for the state of Wisconsin to make money, for $200 million to be back in the state; that makes everyone a winner.”
Former Gov. Scott Walker, who attended the Milwaukee debate, concluded, “Nobody said anything on that podium that made Trump supporters feel like they need to shift.”
Walker’s organization, Young America’s Foundation, was a debate partner and he offered several insights from inside the arena.
“I could hear even when the candidates were introduced, there was a big section for DeSantis, a big section of Nikki Haley supporters and lesser for some of the other candidates,” Walker said. “When people like Chris Christie, and to a lesser extent Asa Hutchinson, went directly after President Donald Trump, they got backlash out there, and I think that’s a reflection, even if he isn’t your first pick, people don’t like attacking Trump.”
Walker pointed to the moment the candidates were asked to raise their hand if they would still support Trump if he were convicted of any of the multiple felony charges he is facing.
“The weirdest thing to me, and I think an otherwise solid performance, that was a moment I was kind of shocked,” Walker said. “Physically being in there. Gov. DeSantis actually looked around before he raised his hand.
“Vivek immediately put his hand up,” Walker said. “DeSantis thought about it, more than thinking about it, looked to the left and then almost realized I better put my hand up. Those are just little things that people notice and say I want a leader.”
See more from the show here.
