NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse believes GOP presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump is engaging in a coup of the Republican Party.
“I don’t think anybody knows what Donald Trump’s core principles are. I don’t think Donald Trump knows what Donald Trump’s core principles are, if any. I think he’s an extraordinary marketer and I believe he’s a very bright guy who’s waging a hostile takeover of the Republican Party,” Sasse told reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“The Republican Party has been a vacuous incomplete institution for a number of years and he’s been waging a war plank by plank against the Republican Party platform. I don’t know how that can bring anybody together around the Republican Party,” he said.
Sasse made it clear earlier he would not support Trump if he becomes the Party’s nominee, but he does not endorse any other candidate among the rest of the GOP primary pool, noting, “I think we are blessed to have multiple candidates.”
Trump himself hit back at Sasse’s initial attacks on him last week in a series of tweets:
The great State of Nebraska can do much better than @BenSasse as your Senator. Saw him on @greta – totally ineffective. Wants paid for pols.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2016
.@BenSasse looks more like a gym rat than a U.S. Senator. How the hell did he ever get elected? @greta
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2016
Amazing that [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] can’t even get a Senator like @BenSasse, who is easy, to endorse him. Not one Senator is endorsing Canada Ted!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2016
Sasse hit back at Trump saying:
Good grief. With a response like this you’d think I asked Mr @realDonaldTrump abt the length of his fingers or something important like that
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) January 30, 2016
Other members of Congress, however, are open to unifying behind one candidate no matter who wins the primary.
“I still think it’s a wide open race. I’m going to support the nominee of our party,” Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, told The Daily Caller.
Idaho Republican Rep. [crscore]Raul Labrador[/crscore], a Ted Cruz supporter, told TheDC, he would support whoever becomes the nominee, although, he would prefer to see Cruz at the top of the ticket.
“Every time you have a primary, you’re going to have a division and as soon as the primary is over, you’re going to have people coming together. I’m going to support the nominee,” Labrador said.
Ohio Republican Rep. [crscore]Jim Jordan[/crscore], a fellow Freedom Caucus member of Labrador’s, agreed telling TheDC, “You gotta remember, it’s likely to be Hillary Clinton on the other side. Look, even Reagan and Bush were able to get together after they had their fight in that primary. That’s just how these things work.”