The Trump Effect Could Wreck the GOP

Trump’s candidacy has blasted open the GOP’s longstanding fault lines at a time when the party hoped for unity. His gleeful, attention-hogging boorishness—and the large crowds that have cheered it—cements a popular image of the party as standing for reactionary anger rather than constructive policies. As Democrats jeer that Trump has merely laid bare the true soul of the GOP, some Republicans wonder, with considerable anguish, whether they’re right.

— Molly Ball, in the Atlantic.

Priebus Spins the Trump Effect as a Positive for the GOP

I think it is a positive for our party. When you have 30 million people watching, not to mention the fact that we have 16 other incredible candidates out there I think we are showing America that we are the young, diverse party, offering a whole slew of options for people and that’s a good thing.

— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, in an interview on WISN, on whether Donald Trump is a positive force for Republicans.