On Capitol Hill, some Republicans fret — mostly privately, to avoid his wrath — that Trump’s fixation on racial and other cultural issues leaves their party running against the currents of change. Coupled with the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, these Republicans fear he is not only seriously impairing his reelection chances but also jeopardizing the GOP Senate majority and its strength in the House.

“The Senate incumbent candidates are not taking the bait and are staying as far away from this as they can,” said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican operative and chief strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has invested heavily in keeping GOP control of the Senate. “The problem is this is no longer just Trump’s Twitter feed. It’s expanded to the podium, and that makes it more and more difficult for these campaigns.

Activists and members of different Native American tribes protest Friday outside of Mount Rushmore in Keystone, S.D., ahead of President Trump’s arrival. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump has all but ignored the outcry and remains convinced that following his own instincts on race and channeling the grievances of his core base of white voters will carry him to victory against former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a White House official and an outside Trump adviser who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“It’s the 2016 campaign all over again, when we had the Muslim ban and the wall, just add Confederate statues,” the outside adviser said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-racism-white-nationalism-republicans/2020/07/04/2b0aebe6-bbaf-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html

Sen. Susan Collins
@SenatorCollins

The Fourth of July is typically the height of Maine’s busy summer tourism season, but near-empty hotels, inns, B&Bs, and restaurants underscore the devastating effects the pandemic has had on many of our state’s small businesses and jobs.
11:16 AM · Jul 4, 2020·Twitter Web App

https://twitter.com/SenatorCollins/status/1279433960746094593

With Donald Trump’s approval sinking to Jimmy Carter levels and coronavirus cases spiking across the country, Trump is reluctantly waking up to the grim reality that, if the current situation holds, his reelection is gone. Republicans that have spoken with Trump in recent days describe him as depressed and “down in the dumps.” “People around him think his heart’s not in it,” a Republican close to the White House said. Torn between the imperative to win suburban voters and his instincts to play to his base, Trump has complained to people that he’s in a political box with no obvious way out. According to the Republican, Trump called Tucker Carlson late last week and said, “what do I do? What do I do?”

To console himself, Trump still has moments of magical thinking. “He says the polls are all fake,” a Republican in touch with Trump told me. But the bad news keeps coming. This week, Jacksonville, Florida—where Trump moved the Republican National Convention so he could hold a 15,000-person rally next month—mandated that people wear masks indoors to slow the explosion of COVID-19 cases. According to a Republican working on the convention, the campaign is now preparing to cancel the event so that Trump doesn’t suffer another Tulsa–like humiliation. “They probably won’t have it,” the source said. “It’s not going to be the soft landing Trump wanted.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/trump-despondent-as-numbers-crater-loser-label-looms

DEBATE #1

"Vice President Biden, what is your plan for healthcare?"

BIDEN: (lays out a half dozen concrete steps to improving healthcare)

"President Trump, what is your plan?"

TRUMP: I have a plan that is like no one has ever seen before. Right now, Republicans are working on this plan, and every American will have better health care in the first month of my second term than anyone has ever imagined before. It's a beautiful plan.

"Vice President Biden, your response to President Trump?"

BIDEN: President Trump has had four years to deliver a big beautiful health care plan better than anyone has imagined before, and all he's accomplished is multiple attempts to dismantle ObamaCare, or change a few lines of the health care that we already delivered.

"President Trump, your response to Vice President Biden?"

TRUMP: Our health care plan is 99% complete, and would have been finished months ago if it weren't for the phony Democrat witch hunt! Presidential Harassment! Treated even worse than Lincoln! I've done more in my first term than any other...

"President Trump, your time is up. Let's move on to the next question. Vice President Biden..."

TRUMP: I'M NOT FINISHED!

BIDEN: Oh yes, you ARE.

TRUMP: WITCH HUNT!

lisa mirando
@LisaMirandoCNN
From our Chief White House
@Acosta
: Turns out Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are “pissed” at Trump Campaign Mgr. Brad Parscale for predicting a much larger turnout at the Tulsa rally last night than actually showed — only 6200. There were thousands of empty seats. #CNN
12:22 PM · Jun 21, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

https://twitter.com/LisaMirandoCNN/status/1274739394801471488

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!

10:57 PM · Jun 13, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1272000237809414149