Former President Donald Trump met with Republican congressional allies behind closed doors in Washington, DC, on Thursday to rally the party and discuss campaign strategy ahead of the upcoming presidential election, according to CNN.
The high-profile session marked a shift toward party cohesion, drawing attendance from various GOP lawmakers, including those who previously maintained distant relationships with the presumptive nominee.
Senators Express Optimism After Meeting
Florida Sen.
Marco Rubio characterized the meeting as “getting the team back together” and provided an update on the state of Trump’s campaign.
Rubio indicated that there is work ahead for the party despite the positive atmosphere. “Optimism, but a lot of work to be done,” he said.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz expressed strong support regarding the atmosphere of the strategy session.
“President Trump was in very good spirits, focused on winning back the White House,” Cruz said.
Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty briefly shared his perspective on the gathering, calling it “Good.”
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville emphasized the leadership dynamics present in the room, saying “Unification, leadership.”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy noted that he was looking forward to reviewing Trump's public statements later.
“I was a point for the president to connect with the people who are in this city,” Cassidy said.
When questioned about party unity following the events of January 6, 2021, Sen. J.
D. Vance of Ohio dismissed ongoing internal blame.
“No real Republican with any credibility in the party is still blaming him,” Vance said.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn noted that the former president voiced his displeasure regarding his criminal trial during the discussions.
“He expressed frustration over the recent trial, you can imagine, and justifiably in my view,” Cornyn said.
Sen.
Josh Hawley of Missouri highlighted that Trump showed immense courtesy toward Senate GOP leadership, including Mitch McConnell and John Thune.
“He was extremely gracious by the way. There was no score settling,” Hawley told CNN.
Hawley further stated that the seating arrangement demonstrated absolute solidarity behind the presumptive nominee. “He is the choice of our voters overwhelmingly.
It shows that he is absolutely the leader of the party,” Hawley said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had not spoken to Trump since the 2020 election, confirmed he shook hands with him during the event.
“I can’t think of anything to tell you out of it that was negative,” McConnell said.
Trump Speaks to Reporters After Sessions
Following the private sessions, the former president criticized his political opponent and pitched his vision for the country to reporters.
“We’re going to turn it around fast.
The polls are looking like they’re (going) very strongly for us, and no matter where you look, in fact, a lot of states that people thought weren’t in play are very strongly in play.
Some we’re actually leading in, but we have to get elected.
We have to take this beautiful place, and we have to make it really something very special again,” Trump said.
During his remarks to the press, Trump repeated an inaccurate claim about the country's economic indicators.
“We have levels of inflation that nobody’s seen for – they say 42 years, they say 53 years and they say 75 years; I would say probably all of them are wrong.
Probably we’ve never seen levels like this before,” Trump said.
The Democratic National Committee quickly issued a critical response through their rapid response director, Alex Floyd, after reports emerged that Trump made critical remarks regarding the convention host city, Milwaukee.
“Donald Trump and the RNC haven’t even bothered to set up a real campaign operation in Wisconsin – they’d rather stick to telling voters how much they hate the city they chose to hold their convention in.
Let’s be clear: Milwaukee is not a horrible city – and Wisconsinites should remember what Donald Trump thinks of them when they vote in November,” Floyd said.
Wisconsin GOP spokesperson Matt Fisher countered the criticism by focusing on local governance and election management.
“President Trump is correct to highlight the embarrassing mismanagement of elections in Milwaukee, including Kimberly Zapata’s conviction for obtaining false absentee ballots and city officials sending more than 200 ballots to wrong addresses earlier this year.
Election integrity in Wisconsin matters, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin is doing its part to protect the vote,” Fisher said.
Trump also touched upon social issues during his meeting with House Republicans, advising them to take a measured approach on abortion bans following a Supreme Court ruling regarding mifepristone.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's reelection campaign responded by launching a targeted 30-second television advertisement focusing on the events of January 6, 2021.
“There’s nothing more sacred than our Democracy, but Donald Trump’s ready to burn it all down,” a narrator says in the spot.
Rep.
Derrick Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican, clarified that Trump's criticisms of Milwaukee were strictly directed at local crime rates rather than its citizens.
The former president also praised House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's resilience since a 2017 shooting incident. “Steve shows great courage.
I saw him in the hospital. I can tell your wife really loves you, Steve, because some wives wouldn’t care,” Trump said.
