Trump-GOP feud escalates after rival goes after him

[webfact]

Trump-GOP feud escalates after rival goes after him
By MEG KINNARD and JILL COLVIN

BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump pushed back ever harder Tuesday against Republicans fed up with his provocations, disclosing one opponent's cell number in a fiery speech and lashing out at an influential newspaper as part of an in-your-face escalation of the feud.

Fellow GOP presidential contender Sen. Lindsey Graham called him a "jackass," only to see floods of Trump supporters jam his phone line after Trump read Graham's number to an audience.

Trump is now at odds with much of the Republican establishment after a series of incendiary comments, topped by his weekend mocking of Arizona Sen. John McCain's experience as a tortured prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Since then the real estate developer and reality TV host has intensified his criticism of McCain and his record on veterans issues in the Senate, even as politicians from both parties and veterans groups have rushed to McCain's defense.

In a speech to hundreds of supporters in Bluffton, South Carolina, on Tuesday, Trump kept on McCain, accusing him of being soft on illegal immigration.

"He's totally about open borders and all this stuff," Trump said.

McCain sparked Trump's temper last week when the senator said the businessman's inflammatory remarks about Mexican immigrants had brought out the "crazies." McCain said Tuesday he would no longer respond to Trump's comments.

Graham, a McCain friend and one of the 16 notable Republicans running for the presidential nomination, betrayed the growing exasperation and anger of many in the party when he appeared earlier on "CBS This Morning."

"Don't be a jackass," Graham said. "Run for president. But don't be the world's biggest jackass."

He said Trump had "crossed the line with the American people" and predicted this would be "the beginning of the end with Donald Trump."

Trump responded during his speech by calling Graham an "idiot" and a "lightweight." He then held up a piece of paper and read out the senator's cellphone number to the capacity crowd of 540 people and the TV audience.

"Give it a shot," Trump encouraged. "He won't fix anything, but I think he'll talk to you."

Graham's voice mailbox was full Tuesday afternoon. Spokeswoman Brittany Brammell confirmed the number was his. Graham tweeted later: "Probably getting a new phone. iPhone or Android?"

Christian Ferry, Graham's campaign manager, said Trump "continues to show hourly that he is ill-prepared to be commander in chief."

Trump also ordered the American flags on his U.S. properties to be lowered, an act he said was to honor the five service members killed in last week's shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The symbolism served, too, to underscore his claim that he has been a stronger supporter of veterans than McCain, despite the senator's central work in passing laws that overhauled the Department of Veterans Affairs and strengthened programs against suicide by service members.

Elsewhere in South Carolina on Tuesday, one of his rivals, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, walked a fine line on Trump, criticizing his fellow candidate's rhetoric on immigration and McCain but saying Trump's supporters are "good people" with "legitimate concerns."

"I respect the sentiments people feel when they hear Trump talk. The problem with Mr. Trump's language is that it's divisive, it's ugly, it's mean-spirited," Bush told a gathering of Republican women in Spartanburg. "We have to separate him from the people that have legitimate concerns about the country."

Another GOP rival, Rand Paul, said, "People have to decide what's more important in trying to fix the country — real solutions or bombast." The Kentucky senator predicted the GOP campaign will "get beyond the novelty of a reality TV star."

The back-and-forth is the latest in a series of showdowns between Trump and fellow GOP candidates frustrated by Trump's brash campaign, which has often overshadowed their own in recent weeks.

In his speech, Trump brushed off the criticism he's faced, both from political rivals and others angered by his comments. He said he's had business success even with countries he's criticized, such as China, and negativity doesn't affect him. He also said his wealth insulates him because he's not beholden to donors who might not like what he says.

"It turned out I'm much wealthier than people thought," Trump said. "Nobody has to give to me."

An editorial in The Des Moines Register, in early-voting Iowa, urged him to "pull the plug on his bloviating side show" and quit the race.

"Trump has proven himself not only unfit to hold office, but unfit to stand on the same stage as his Republican opponents," the paper said. The first debate, next month, will host the top 10 candidates in national polling, meaning Trump is almost certain to qualify to be on stage.

Trump called the editorial "sophomoric" and accused the paper of unfair treatment of his campaign.

The storm over Trump is proving to be fodder for Democrats.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid noted that while Trump's GOP White House rivals were nearly unanimous in denouncing his comments on McCain, they were more tentative in responding to his earlier criticisms of Mexican immigrants as "criminals" and "rapists."

"There is an ugly truth behind that silence, and it is this: When it comes to immigration policy, there is no meaningful difference between the Republican Party and Donald Trump," Reid said.

Still, many of Trump's backers in early-voting states argue the response to his comments about McCain has been overblown.

"I think it's going to improve his viability, to be honest with you," said Lou Gargiulo, one of Trump's county chairmen in New Hampshire. "The more Mr. Trump is being beaten on by people, obviously the better his polling numbers are."
___

Colvin reported from Newark, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-22

[Linky]

Ahh the Donald. The best advertisement for Democrats in years.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Linky

[sdanielmcev]

Makes no difference. As long as the dems are stuck with Hillary, and the Senate panel she soon has to face, Republicans have no worries.

[Seastallion]

Every now and then, in democratic systems around the world, an outsider gets voted in. He's different and the people are tired of the same old same old, and his character and being different gets him in.

I thought that Trump had an outside chance on that basis and might just get lucky.

I am sure I was wrong, now. There's no chance in hell that such a brash, uncouth, clown could fool the public.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people. Trump as C-in-C would be a disaster for everyone in the world, especially Americans.

[LomSak27]

Makes no difference. As long as the dems are stuck with Hillary, and the Senate panel she soon has to face, Republicans have no worries.

That is what Republicans think, out there in the wider world, the place where election are won and lost, the GOP is the 'minority party', they will need crossover votes to win. Hilary may provoke visceral hatred, and Donald may be wildly popular in the GOP tin foil brigade but

Unless the GOP get some crossover votes their clown bus is headed for a cliff. The way things are going Jimmy Carter could win in 2016

[Bignose]

while he is obviously a very intelligent person and an incredibly astute business person, he is most definitely NOT the type of person who could be trusted at the helm of the worlds largest and most powerful economy.

Among the many character traits required are a small amount of humility, reason, common sense and humility. IMHO Mr. Trumps grossly over inflated ego leaves no room for any of these, he is totally unsuited for this history making role.

His campaign will become more irrelevant with every passing day with his eventual retiral from the race passing with minimal comment. In Mr. Trumps world I suspect that will be enough for him anyway, the whole exercise will have been about raising his profile and elevating his already stratospheric status.

Sadly this has become a major aspiration of the majority of candidates in the political process of the worlds greatest democracy, to "serve the people" and bring about lasting change for the better is now way down the list of "Things to Do"

[sdanielmcev]

Makes no difference. As long as the dems are stuck with Hillary, and the Senate panel she soon has to face, Republicans have no worries.

That is what Republicans think, out there in the wider world, the place where election are won and lost, the GOP is the 'minority party', they will need crossover votes to win. Hilary may provoke visceral hatred, and Donald may be wildly popular in the GOP tin foil brigade but

Unless the GOP get some crossover votes their clown bus is headed for a cliff. The way things are going Jimmy Carter could win in 2016

No, that is what middle America thinks. Hillary is a no-go. The dems have nobody that can win the presidency at the moment.

[Pinot]

Makes no difference. As long as the dems are stuck with Hillary, and the Senate panel she soon has to face, Republicans have no worries.

What, me worry? Republicans live in a very special dream world where Benghazi panels go on forever. Sigh...

[Loptr]

Liberals hate him, the GOP hates him, the media hates him, illegals hate him... Why am I supposed to hate him again?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-21/gop-enters-panic-mode-des-moines-register-calls-trump-withdraw-presidential-race

But the biggest mistake the GOP did is they inability to comprehend that either the US public enjoys being trolled, or is just so sick of the left/right paradigm, it will gladly latch on to anyone, even the most farcical, self-lampooning candidate, who promises a break from the old routine which has proven not to work for the common American.

The latest confirmation that the Trump "nightmare" is causing not only sleepless nights but also panic attacks for a GOP that is scrambling to respond to the Donald's juggernaut is not only open attempts at caricature, which however merely feed Trump's ego and push him to troll his accusers even more, but to use the influential Des Moines Register, Iowa's largest newspaper and a critical voice when it comes to endorsing, or panning, presidential candidates in this first caucus state, to call on Donald Trump to drop out of the 2016 presidential race.

[lifeincnx]

Makes no difference. As long as the dems are stuck with Hillary, and the Senate panel she soon has to face, Republicans have no worries.

What, me worry? Republicans live in a very special dream world where Benghazi panels go on forever. Sigh...

Imagine if today's GOP Congress had behaved properly as the 1983 Democrats did over President Reagan's repeated botched responses to the Beirut bombing, killing 241 US military personnel. That fiasco makes Benghazi look like a tea party.

Want a good read: http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ronald-reagans-benghazi

Trump is up by 24% in the latest poll. Thank you The Donald. Now pick an strong, outspoken VP. Maybe a woman to counter HRC. Hmmmm, I know, of course. Sarah Palin - the perfect storm.

[quandow]

Every now and then, in democratic systems around the world, an outsider gets voted in. He's different and the people are tired of the same old same old, and his character and being different gets him in.

I thought that Trump had an outside chance on that basis and might just get lucky.

I am sure I was wrong, now. There's no chance in hell that such a brash, uncouth, clown could fool the public.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people. Trump as C-in-C would be a disaster for everyone in the world, especially Americans.

And yet that buffoon is STILL #1 amongst Republicans most likely to vote. We are truly living in the end times.

[FangFerang]

Another GOP rival, Rand Paul, said, "People have to decide what's more important in trying to fix the country — real solutions or bombast."

The GOP is hilarious. First support religion and state be merged, make corporations people, and then declare we want to fix the country. What a yahoo. he helped break it.

I will believe corporations are people when one comes home in a body bag from Afghanistan.

[spidermike007]

Disgusting Donald is at it again. This is what he is. Mr. Bombast. He loves to hate. He loves to insult. He loves to create controversy. In his universe, he figures anytime he gets into the papers, and onto the news, it is a good thing, as it is spreading his name to the ends of the earth. So, it does not matter how low he stoops. It does not matter how little dignity or elegance he shows. As long as it gets press. The man does not have a dignified bone in his body. His tiny, shriveled up heart is not capable of doing the right thing. He has no moral compass to tell him the difference between right and wrong. He is hellbent on using his fortune to make the world a much worse place, and spread hatred and animosity wherever he goes. That is who he is. He is a man of hatred, anger, hostility, and a mean spirit. Not sure about you guys, but I have no place in my life for a worm like this. He reminds me of the reality TV shows he was on for awhile. The very worst common denominator of contemporary American culture. The man is a pig. He is a low life form. He is in essence, a nearly complete summary of what is wrong with America today.

[HughJass]

how can the US be called a democracy when it only has two political parties who are both controlled by the same shadowy figures

[DaddyWarbucks]

Every now and then, in democratic systems around the world, an outsider gets voted in. He's different and the people are tired of the same old same old, and his character and being different gets him in.

I thought that Trump had an outside chance on that basis and might just get lucky.

I am sure I was wrong, now. There's no chance in hell that such a brash, uncouth, clown could fool the public.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people. Trump as C-in-C would be a disaster for everyone in the world, especially Americans.

Don't be too sure...

As H.L.Mencken once said, "No one has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American people."

[Just1Voice]

Disgusting Donald is at it again. This is what he is. Mr. Bombast. He loves to hate. He loves to insult. He loves to create controversy. In his universe, he figures anytime he gets into the papers, and onto the news, it is a good thing, as it is spreading his name to the ends of the earth. So, it does not matter how low he stoops. It does not matter how little dignity or elegance he shows. As long as it gets press. The man does not have a dignified bone in his body. His tiny, shriveled up heart is not capable of doing the right thing. He has no moral compass to tell him the difference between right and wrong. He is hellbent on using his fortune to make the world a much worse place, and spread hatred and animosity wherever he goes. That is who he is. He is a man of hatred, anger, hostility, and a mean spirit. Not sure about you guys, but I have no place in my life for a worm like this. He reminds me of the reality TV shows he was on for awhile. The very worst common denominator of contemporary American culture. The man is a pig. He is a low life form. He is in essence, a nearly complete summary of what is wrong with America today.

Oh, come on. Tell us how you really feel?

[Linky]

Makes no difference. As long as the dems are stuck with Hillary, and the Senate panel she soon has to face, Republicans have no worries.

What, me worry? Republicans live in a very special dream world where Benghazi panels go on forever. Sigh...

Imagine if today's GOP Congress had behaved properly as the 1983 Democrats did over President Reagan's repeated botched responses to the Beirut bombing, killing 241 US military personnel. That fiasco makes Benghazi look like a tea party.

Want a good read: http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ronald-reagans-benghazi

Trump is up by 24% in the latest poll. Thank you The Donald. Now pick an strong, outspoken VP. Maybe a woman to counter HRC. Hmmmm, I know, of course. Sarah Palin - the perfect storm.

You forgot the sarcasm icon.

[thaibeachlovers]

Christian Ferry, Graham's campaign manager, said Trump "continues to show hourly that he is ill-prepared to be commander in chief."
Yet the country elected GW Bush a second time and the current incumbent twice, showing that any bozo can get elected in the US, not that I'm calling Trump a bozo.

Obama didn't even have the White House flag lowered to half mast for 5 days after the shootings in Chatanooga- pretty lousy CIC. Instead he went golfing.

He has probably only done so now because he was shamed into it.

[thaibeachlovers]

Liberals hate him, the GOP hates him, the media hates him, illegals hate him... Why am I supposed to hate him again?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-21/gop-enters-panic-mode-des-moines-register-calls-trump-withdraw-presidential-race

But the biggest mistake the GOP did is they inability to comprehend that either the US public enjoys being trolled, or is just so sick of the left/right paradigm, it will gladly latch on to anyone, even the most farcical, self-lampooning candidate, who promises a break from the old routine which has proven not to work for the common American.

The latest confirmation that the Trump "nightmare" is causing not only sleepless nights but also panic attacks for a GOP that is scrambling to respond to the Donald's juggernaut is not only open attempts at caricature, which however merely feed Trump's ego and push him to troll his accusers even more, but to use the influential Des Moines Register, Iowa's largest newspaper and a critical voice when it comes to endorsing, or panning, presidential candidates in this first caucus state, to call on Donald Trump to drop out of the 2016 presidential race.

If the grey men hate him, and the scum media hate him and the illegals hate him he must be my man! I have no love for any of them.

I'll tell you who loves him though. The veterans love him, the legal immigrants that get a bad rap by the illegals love him, and seemingly the ordinary American voter loves him.

[ggold]

Every now and then, in democratic systems around the world, an outsider gets voted in. He's different and the people are tired of the same old same old, and his character and being different gets him in.

I thought that Trump had an outside chance on that basis and might just get lucky.

I am sure I was wrong, now. There's no chance in hell that such a brash, uncouth, clown could fool the public.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people. Trump as C-in-C would be a disaster for everyone in the world, especially Americans.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people

They voted in an actor Reagan as president, They voted in Bush Junior as President, They voted in Obama as President. You are over estimating American voters.

[elgordo38]

while he is obviously a very intelligent person and an incredibly astute business person, he is most definitely NOT the type of person who could be trusted at the helm of the worlds largest and most powerful economy.

Among the many character traits required are a small amount of humility, reason, common sense and humility. IMHO Mr. Trumps grossly over inflated ego leaves no room for any of these, he is totally unsuited for this history making role.

His campaign will become more irrelevant with every passing day with his eventual retiral from the race passing with minimal comment. In Mr. Trumps world I suspect that will be enough for him anyway, the whole exercise will have been about raising his profile and elevating his already stratospheric status.

Sadly this has become a major aspiration of the majority of candidates in the political process of the worlds greatest democracy, to "serve the people" and bring about lasting change for the better is now way down the list of "Things to Do"

When the H*ll have politicians ever served the people? yeah gad why do you think people are resonating with the Donald? They are tired fed up to the gills with the same old drivel that Washington has been spouting for decades and I am not an American. Governments work for big business ONLY that is why the people are upset. The greater good is being bypassed for greater greed fed to the few. My heart goes out to you people but then we suffer from the same foot in mouth disease in Canada. People are fed up with politicians telling them how fine things will be down the road in the future. They are seeing the ugliness that exists today in the here and now after decades of looking down the road to no where. The days of snake oil politics is over. People are now atuned to what is happening around the world and also the in house politicians. Look at how the Greek government betrayed the Greeks. They turned down an offer and then ask the people to vote. The people voted a resounding NO!! so what did the politicians do they turned against their own peoples wishes and accepted a deal that essentially was many times worse than the one they rejected. They betrayed their own citizens. They turned their back on them and turned over the reins of power to the IMF and the EU who have veto power over all the legislation tabled in Greece. They are at best vocal eunuchs now and in the future. Talk about a castrated country. Who is next? Just on a footnote basis look at what Iceland accomplished in a short period of time. They kept their own sovereignty let the banks take a bath and locked up the bankers.

[ggold]

I'm inclined to agree with Trump regarding mcCain, It is questionable if he really is a hero! Besides choosing Sarah Pailin as a running mate gave the election to Obama.

Trump may be copying Nigel Farage of UKIP, with his comments about immigrants! But with 16 people running for the GOP nomination shows how broken the republicans are.

IMO it is a sign that just as in other western democracies, party politics is dying. There is a divide between what the people want and what the politicians want. The politicians need to listen!

[blazes]

while he is obviously a very intelligent person and an incredibly astute business person, he is most definitely NOT the type of person who could be trusted at the helm of the worlds largest and most powerful economy.

Among the many character traits required are a small amount of humility, reason, common sense and humility. IMHO Mr. Trumps grossly over inflated ego leaves no room for any of these, he is totally unsuited for this history making role.

His campaign will become more irrelevant with every passing day with his eventual retiral from the race passing with minimal comment. In Mr. Trumps world I suspect that will be enough for him anyway, the whole exercise will have been about raising his profile and elevating his already stratospheric status.

Sadly this has become a major aspiration of the majority of candidates in the political process of the worlds greatest democracy, to "serve the people" and bring about lasting change for the better is now way down the list of "Things to Do"

When the H*ll have politicians ever served the people? yeah gad why do you think people are resonating with the Donald? They are tired fed up to the gills with the same old drivel that Washington has been spouting for decades and I am not an American. Governments work for big business ONLY that is why the people are upset. The greater good is being bypassed for greater greed fed to the few. My heart goes out to you people but then we suffer from the same foot in mouth disease in Canada. People are fed up with politicians telling them how fine things will be down the road in the future. They are seeing the ugliness that exists today in the here and now after decades of looking down the road to no where. The days of snake oil politics is over. People are now atuned to what is happening around the world and also the in house politicians. Look at how the Greek government betrayed the Greeks. They turned down an offer and then ask the people to vote. The people voted a resounding NO!! so what did the politicians do they turned against their own peoples wishes and accepted a deal that essentially was many times worse than the one they rejected. They betrayed their own citizens. They turned their back on them and turned over the reins of power to the IMF and the EU who have veto power over all the legislation tabled in Greece. They are at best vocal eunuchs now and in the future. Talk about a castrated country. Who is next? Just on a footnote basis look at what Iceland accomplished in a short period of time. They kept their own sovereignty let the banks take a bath and locked up the bankers.

this is a trifle confused.

D Trump IS "big business". His foot-in-the-mouth rants are the perfect reflection of the violence endemic to American domestic development since 1776 and taking in the Civil War and segregation and the dropping of nuclear bombs and the scorched-earth policy in Vietnam and the shock and awe of the assault on the Iraqi people. And finally, Americans have to stand by and watch their cops become increasingly the hand-servants of the military.

Yes, Trump is the epitome of the military-industrial society, and thus is an excellent choice for the job of "president".

[Usernames]

Every now and then, in democratic systems around the world, an outsider gets voted in. He's different and the people are tired of the same old same old, and his character and being different gets him in.

I thought that Trump had an outside chance on that basis and might just get lucky.

I am sure I was wrong, now. There's no chance in hell that such a brash, uncouth, clown could fool the public.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people. Trump as C-in-C would be a disaster for everyone in the world, especially Americans.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people

They voted in an actor Reagan as president, They voted in Bush Junior as President, They voted in Obama as President. You are over estimating American voters.

The more he is attacked, the more his numbers go up. Trump now leading Jeb Bush in Florida. Hah, hah, hah. http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/236488

[thaibeachlovers]

Every now and then, in democratic systems around the world, an outsider gets voted in. He's different and the people are tired of the same old same old, and his character and being different gets him in.

I thought that Trump had an outside chance on that basis and might just get lucky.

I am sure I was wrong, now. There's no chance in hell that such a brash, uncouth, clown could fool the public.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people. Trump as C-in-C would be a disaster for everyone in the world, especially Americans.

I hope I'm not over-estimating the American people

They voted in an actor Reagan as president, They voted in Bush Junior as President, They voted in Obama as President. You are over estimating American voters.

The more he is attacked, the more his numbers go up. Trump now leading Jeb Bush in Florida. Hah, hah, hah. http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/236488

Last poll I saw he was on 24% and the next contender was on 12%. The grey men must be wailing and gnashing their teeth. I never thought he had a chance, but he must have struck a nerve with the ordinary guy to be doing so well. It'll be interesting to see if the grey men start talking in "Trumpisms" to try and get ahead.

As for those trailing, they are being ignored as Trump races ahead.

One week to the debate and if you were selling tickets you'd clean up- SOLD OUT. Whether one is looking to see the fireworks or genuinly interested in what they have to say, anything on a channel not showing the debate will be virtually ignored. Fox will probably be showing it live, if you want to see it.

I'm off to stock up on tv snacks,

[lap82]

Probably it's the turn of a Republican to be elected...