MS NOW’s Jen Psaki said President Donald Trump’s status as the Republican Party’s “closer” now looks questionable, citing a New York Times report that advisers warned his rallies in close battleground races could do more harm than good, and then mocking Sen. Roger Marshall’s explanation for a canceled Kansas rally.
Psaki read from The Times, which reported that “behind the scenes, some political advisers and outside Republican groups have warned the president’s aides that Mr. Trump could do more harm than good by holding rallies in battleground states with uncomfortably close races.”
She said the message was plain: Trump’s presence could hurt Republicans more than it helps.
One day after that story, she said, Trump canceled a rally in Kansas, followed by another in Iowa, and the campaign said he would instead hold virtual tele-rallies in both states, which she described as “a cranky old man picking up the phone and babbling for a few moments.”
She said Republicans in those states likely felt relieved not to have to appear with him, and that some tried to spin it as strength. Asked about the Kansas cancellation, Marshall said, “I think they think that by doing so well in the polls that he’s probably got better places to spend his time.”
“Oh, my,” Psaki said, noting Marshall is trailing Democrat Adam Hamilton by more than three points in the polling average in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in almost 100 years. “We can see the polls, too, senator.”