Former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens is warning the GOP that President Donald Trump is costing the party a core voting demographic in the run-up to this year’s midterm elections.
“Just look at independent voters,” he said Sunday on MS NOW, saying they are now “in some way” the nation’s third party.
“And Trump and Republicans are getting killed with independent voters,” he said, noting that the problem is especially glaring when you remove MAGA voters from polls and look at what’s left.
“Trump has incredibly low numbers with independents, and there’s nothing they’re doing that’s going to try to change that,” said Stevens, who was chief strategist for Mitt Romney’s failed 2012 presidential bid.
Stevens, who is part of the “never Trump” Republican organization the Lincoln Project, pointed out earlier in the discussion that normally a candidate can apologize or admit to mistakes and promise to make changes.
“And that’s just almost impossible for any Republican to do because Trump will call you out,” he said.
The president’s strategy, he said, is to try just about everything else.
“And that’s why you have all this stuff like we’re going to go to Venezuela and let’s go to, y’know, we’ll go to Iran … we’re gonna attack protesters in Minneapolis, but we’re gonna help protesters in Iran,” he said. “It’s just sort of flailing around.”
Check out the full discussion below: