Republican strategist Rick Wilson says the oppo about to be dropped on Donald Trump will make even his most ardent supporters go “whoa.”
Speaking on the latest episode of “The Jamie Weinstein Show” podcast, Wilson said he wasn’t just “sure” there was more Trump oppo coming, “I’m positive.”
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Show Map
- On how Trump won the primary (4:57)
- Wilson discusses meeting Trump and Hillary (11:19)
- On the importance of the Alt-Right to Donald Trump’s campaign (20:00)
- On Evan McMullin’s long shot path to the presidency (26:24)
- Wilson says more anti-Trump oppo coming (28:32)
- How Trump has killed the GOP (30:47)
- Wilson’s plans for a new conservative party (35:45)
- Did NeverTrump reach out to The Rock to run for president? (43:10)
- How to become a great campaign strategist (43:41)
- Wilson on his influences (51:32)
“I know there’s more coming,” Wilson, an ardent NeverTrumper and senior advisor to Evan McMullin’s independent presidential bid, explained.
Asked to elaborate, Wilson said, “Trump’s personal life has long been a complicated thing and there are a number of stories out there that are being worked by the networks and by the other folks that I think would be very consequential, particularly in how conservative and evangelical voters view Donald Trump.”
Wilson added that those stories are “definitely in the offing right now” but he’d be “breaking some commitments to not leak them to other people” if he disclosed details.
While Wilson says there’s almost “never a silver bullet in oppo,” he believes what’s coming out on Trump is as close as you get.
“There are a couple of things out there on Trump that I think would end the race and I don’t have access to all of them but I am one of these people that spends my life on the phone talking to people and talking to oppo guys and talking to researchers” he said. “And there are some things out there that I think would cause even his most passionate supporters to go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute.'”
In the podcast interview, Wilson also discussed the NeverTrump effort to field a third party candidate. While the movement ultimately settled on the little-known McMullin, Wilson said a lot of names were bandied about, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and television host Mike Rowe.
“I wasn’t involved in that particular thing but his name certainly came up in some discussions,” Wilson said of “The Rock.”
“My personal favorite was Mike Rowe,” he continued. “I really wanted to hook up with Mike Rowe. I thought he would have been fantastic.”
While Wilson said he wasn’t sure if anyone actually ended up reaching out to The Rock to gage his interest in a third party run, he does “know some people reached out to Mike Rowe.”
A representative for Rowe told The Daily Caller that he gets “constant requests from fans and others to run for president.”
“But I don’t believe it is right to comment on any private inquiries from the past,” the representative said in an email. “However, I can honestly say that I’m not sure if anyone that approached us was affiliated with #NeverTrump. I don’t remember that name connected to any inquiry, but it is possible.”
A publicist for The Rock did not respond to a Daily Caller request for comment. Over the summer, The Rock did indicate he might one day run for political office.
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t ruled politics out,” he said in June. “I can’t deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring.”
Listen to past episodes of “The Jamie Weinstein Show” and subscribe to it in iTunes:
Jack Abramoff on why Hillary Clinton’s Corruption
Grover Norquist On Trump, NeverTrumpers And Meeting George Soros
Matt Lewis On How He Went From Flipping Burgers To CNN
Roger Stone On What Donald Trump Learned From Roy Cohn
Former Israeli Amb. Michael Oren On Trump, Clinton, American Leadership And His Future Ambitions
