One veteran Republican strategist is predicting that President Donald Trump's targeting of Republican elected officials in a deep-red state will end in failure.
During a Wednesday appearance on MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), Stuart Stevens — who was a top strategist for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney — argued that Trump's pledge to primary Indiana senate Republicans was counterproductive. He also praised Hoosier State Republicans for being willing to resist Trump's attempts to strong-arm them into supporting mid-decade redistricting.
"Indiana still hassome sensible core to its Republican Party. This is theplace where Richard Lugar wasthe definitive leader of theparty for decades," he said. "... There's a sense that this isjust a bad idea that isbackfiring on Trump. And onceyou start this, where do youend?"
The president's outrage at Indiana Republicans is primarily directed at Indiana Senate president pro tempore Rodric Bray, who said recently that he didn't have the votes to pass new redistricting maps through his chamber designed to give Republicans an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bray's failure was noteworthy given that Republicans control 40 of 50 seats in the Indiana Senate, meaning that at least 16 Republicans sided with the chamber's 10 Democrats against the new maps.
Stevens posited that Trump's heavy-handed tactics were becoming less effective, given his redistricting failure in one of the reddest state legislatures in the country.
"People get tired of beingbullied," Stevens said. "And Trump's reactionto this that he's now going to goin and primary all these peopleis absolutely the wrong way totry to do this, instead ofworking with them."
"I thinkyou're seeing a post-electionreaction to Trump where all the Democrats had a great day.Trump's favorables are in thetoilet. He's a lame duck. Heseems to be falling, failingphysically," he added. "So all of this issort of, I think, the long night of Donald Trump's descent."
Watch the segment below: