The New York Times received an anonymous leak from a member of the Republican establishment who attended a private meeting hosted by RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel and Mick Mulvaney.
 A pair of top Republicans acknowledged in a private meeting Saturday that the party was battling serious vulnerabilities in the midterm elections, including what one described as widespread “hate†for President Donald Trump, and raised the prospect that Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas could lose his bid for re-election because he is not seen as “likable†enough.
The two Republican leaders, Mick Mulvaney, the federal budget director, and Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, assured party officials and donors at a closed-door event in New York City that the right would ultimately turn back a purported “blue wave†in November. Mulvaney also questioned whether Democrats could marshal support from outside the left, criticizing them as a party defined solely by opposition to Trump.
But Mulvaney and McDaniel also offered an unusually raw assessment of their own party’s strengths and weaknesses in the midterm elections. They pointed to the burning energy among Democratic voters and the dozens of open House seats, where Republican incumbents decided not to seek re-election, as fearsome obstacles to retaining control of Congress. And Mulvaney suggested Republicans would fare better if they could “subtract†the president’s divisive persona from voters’ minds, and stress instead that the country is in a “pretty good†condition.
“You may hate the president, and there’s a lot of people who do, but they certainly like the way the country is going,†Mulvaney said, adding of voters: “If you figure out a way to subtract from that equation how they feel about the president, the numbers go up dramatically.â€
The Times then admits that a member of the Republican establishment leaked the audio recording to them.
Their comments were captured in an audio recording obtained by The New York Times from a person who attended the party meeting.
This is another example of the establishment Republicans doing all it can to stop the Trump movement. It is clear that whoever leaked this is trying to attack Ted Cruz. The comments are surely embarrassing for Cruz. They claim he isn’t ”likable’ and that he might end up losing his seat.
WATCH:
ESTABLISHMENT! Republican donor leaks secrete meeting audio to NYT bashing Trump, Cruz https://t.co/3zSEt9IsOD
— Jacob Palmieri (@jakepalmieri) September 9, 2018
