Trump is telling Republican Senators that if they are in tough races and it helps them to avoid him when he is campaigning in their state, he won’t hold it against them:
CNN – Donald Trump’s campaign is privately giving Senate Republicans in tough reelection races its blessing to avoid the presumptive nominee if he campaigns in their states, the latest effort by the unconventional candidate to build goodwill with a nervous GOP establishment.
Last week at an off-the-record lunch meeting in Washington, Trump adviser Paul Manafort told Senate Republican chiefs of staff that the Trump campaign wants to be helpful to GOP senators in tough races, according to three sources in the room. Manafort said if there are issues that put GOP senators in awkward positions, the Trump campaign would seek to avoid those touchy topics while campaigning in their states, attendees said.
And if Senate Republicans want to keep their distance from the campaign and avoid the candidate altogether, Manafort said, the campaign would not hold it against the vulnerable senators, the sources said.
Well I guess that’s the magnanimous thing to do. Of course, whether they avoid him or not, Republican Senators and House members up for reelection will no doubt be smeared with Trump’s comments, as we’ve already seen.