This ad will blow up in the GOPe’s face. Republicans aren’t buying anything from the MSM. Over the top by a 1,000%. These guys are really stupid.
Republican Business Leaders Look to Raise Money to Stop Trump
A number of major Republican business leaders, all of whom have backed candidates running against Donald J. Trump, held a conference call on Tuesday afternoon to solicit funds for a “super PAC” that’s been singularly focused on stopping the rise of the real-estate developer as the Republican nominee.
Meg Whitman, Todd Ricketts and Paul Singer, among others, all took part in the call with about 50 people, urging them to fund Our Principles PAC, which was funded largely by a member of the Ricketts family, and which started airing ads in Iowa before the caucuses to try to stop Mr. Trump. The state is the only one that Mr. Trump has not won of the first four nominating contests. There are other entities looking to thwart Mr. Trump, but the call was primarily about Our Principles PAC, according to two participants, who asked not to be identified in order to talk about a private discussion.
Ms. Whitman had backed Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Mr. Ricketts had backed Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Mr. Singer backs Senator Marco Rubio. On the call, no one discussed uniting behind a candidate, according to a participant. Instead, the focus was on how to stop Mr. Trump, as several participants said he would be destructive to the G.O.P.
Ms. Whitman, who was a finance co-chairwoman of the Christie campaign, denounced Mr. Christie strongly on Sunday for his endorsement of Mr. Trump, describing it as “opportunistic,” particularly after he had described Mr. Trump during the campaign as ill-prepared to serve.
Mr. Ricketts’s mother, Marlene, funded the effort aggressively with $3 million ahead of Iowa out of fear of the situation that the party is in now, with Mr. Trump set for a strong showing in the “Super Tuesday” contests.
On the call, it was noted that 71 percent of the delegates are up for grabs after Tuesday, meaning it is impossible for Mr. Trump to lock up the nomination this week. People on the call discussed Mr. Trump’s business record, among other issues they believe are potent lines of attack, one participant said.