Trump speaks anxiously about new topic: Prospect of losing
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Donald Trump says he is now campaigning as a candidate who is unchained. He greeted more than 10,000 in Panama City Tuesday night, but said nothing about House Speaker Paul Ryan or other prominent Republicans who have distanced themselves from him, reports CBS News correspondent Major Garrett.
Instead, Trump spoke anxiously about a new topic: the prospect of losing this election.
“If I don’t win, it will be the single greatest waste of time, energy and money,” Trump said.
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He used Twitter Tuesday to attack other Republicans who are shunning him because of an “Access Hollywood” video where Trump talks about groping women. He accused GOP leaders of disloyalty and called House Speaker Paul Ryan “our very weak and ineffective leader.” Trump also proclaimed, “It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.”
“They don’t give the support that we really need. I think I’m better off maybe without their support if you want to know the truth,” Trump told Bill O’Reilly Tuesday on Fox News.
The GOP nominee dismissed the damage done by a divided party, saying he doesn’t need establishment help.
“I wouldn’t want to be in a foxhole with a lot of these people -- that I can tell you, including Ryan, by the way, including Ryan, especially Ryan,” Trump said.
“Paul Ryan is my friend but, yeah, I respectfully disagree with his focus in this campaign,” Pence said.
Since the release of the now infamous “Access Hollywood” video, a new survey found of the 331 Republican lawmakers -- governors, senators and those in Congress -- more than a quarter are not endorsing Trump.
“You can do anything. Grab them by the p***y,” Trump could be heard saying in the 2005 video.
Trump said if the 2005 tape is what pushed wavering Republicans over the edge, that’s just sad.
“If that’s what it is going to take to lose an election, that will be pretty sad, then I have to go back to my other life,” Trump told Bill O’Reilly.
To drive up enthusiasm, Trump mined the new trove of leaked emails to attack Clinton.
“Even Chelsea Clinton, the Wikileaks emails show expressed serious concerns about the Clinton Foundation,” Trump said.
Trump cited Chelsea Clinton’s attempts to flag the campaign on possible conflicts of interest regarding her father’s close aides and the Clinton Foundation.
“It’s just the latest evidence of the hatred the Clinton campaign has really for everyday Americans and you see it, and you see so much from these WikiLeaks,” Trump said.
Trump trails Clinton in Florida, but organizers say their crowds are bigger and their field operation is just as good as Clinton’s. Some Trump backers were encouraged Tuesday night when he said nothing about his feud with Paul Ryan or Bill Clinton’s sexual past, and focused instead on the WikiLeaks emails and the new ethical questions they raise about Clinton and her candidacy.