14 | POLITICO | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
“I just felt he needed to hear
that Indiana is a state that’s grown
more conservative and would epit-
omize a cross-section of conser-
vatives in the country. And they
are behind him wholeheartedly,”
Braun said.
Trump is monitoring com-
ments from his GOP colleagues,
Braun said, but added that Trump
didn’t seem worried about a GOP
mutiny over the rapidly unfolding
Ukraine scandal: “I sense a feeling
of confidence.”
Still, as the prospect of an im-
peachment trial becomes ever-
more likely, Trump is turning on
anyone who criticizes him — and
lavishing his defenders with praise.
It’s a strategy Trump has long de-
ployed but is becoming more cru-
cial as he relies on Senate Repub-
licans to keep him in office.
“He honestly believes that he
did nothing wrong. And he hon-
estly believes that the Bidens have
been involved in impropriety and
it hasn’t been investigated and,
as president of the United States,
he has the duty to do it,” said Sen.
John Kennedy (R-La.), who was
with Trump for a rally in Louisi-
ana last week.
Asked to gauge Trump’s confi-
dence in Senate Republicans, Ken-
nedy said: “I hardly ever see Trump
sweat, OK? He’s always full speed
ahead.”
Yet if Trump is cool and con-
fident, he’s also lashing out at
his enemies in an increasingly
ugly fashion, castigating Speaker
Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday in a
White House meeting, calling Sen.
Mitt Romney (R-Utah) a “pomp-
ous ‘ass’” and even taking aim at
steadfast ally Sen. Lindsey Graham
(R-S.C.).
Those that stick by Trump,
meanwhile, will get special
attention.
After Sen. Ron Johnson defended
Trump in The Wall Street Journal
and on “Meet the Press” — even
echoing Trump-backed conspiracy
theories that left some Republicans
scratching their heads — the Wis-
consin Republican received a call
from the president that very day.
The senator wouldn’t divulge the
contents of the call, but it’s safe to
say Trump was pleased. He later
tweeted an endorsement of John-
son and condemnation of NBC’s
Chuck Todd.
“He monitors most things very
carefully, as you know. And I think
that this is no exception. He watch-
es a lot of TV, and we have a lot of
members who are on, making state-
ments in the media. And I think he
pays attention to what they say,”
Senate Majority W hip John T hune
(R-S.D.) said. “His operating style
is to be engaged with what other
people are saying.”
And as Republicans twist amid
the fast-moving Ukraine scandal
and the president’s unpopular deci-
sion to withdraw from Syria, what’s
become clear is no one wants to be
on Team Romney.
Romney uncorked Trump’sfury for expressing concern over
Trump’s calls for China and
Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden:
The president called him a “fool.”
The moment was instructive: No
other Republican joined Romney
in condemning Trump’s behavior
so fiercely.
“I don’t have other senators
coming up and saying, ‘How can
I join you in receiving the wrath of
the White House?’” Romney said
in an interview.
Even Trump’s loudest defenders
on impeachment can’t escape the
president.
Graham’s on-again, off-again
criticisms of the president’s Syria
policy became too much for Trump,
with the president publicly dis-
missing the senator on Wednes-
day and telling him to concentrate
on his job running the JudiciaryCommittee.
And with Trump still popular
among the party base, Republi-
cans are trying to engineer a par-
tisan impeachment vote for the
president.
Graham visited House Republi-
cans on Wednesday to talk about
his experience as a manager during
the Clinton impeachment trial and
emphasized what he sees as flaws in
House Democrats’ process so far.
“You’re in for the ride of your
lives. Get ready for it,” Graham told
members, according to Rep. Andy
Biggs (R-Ariz.). “Keep fighting,
keep doing what you’re doing, and
you’re in for a rough fight.”
Senate Republicans also dis-
cussed impeachment at length on
Wednesday, with Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell prepping
his caucus to finish a trial soon asChristmas.
The thinking in the GOP is if
House Republicans stick together,
Senate Republicans will as well.
And then Trump will get party
unity.
“If it’s an almost-partisan vote
in the House, it’ll be an almost-
partisan vote in the Senate,” said
one Senate Republican familiar
with party strategy.
Those making even the slightest
break with the president are choos-
ing their words wisely, pairing any
criticism of Trump with attacks on
Democrats.
More senators are taking the line
that Trump’s efforts to recruit for-
eign governments to dig up dirt on
political opponents were not nec-
essarily proper, but that the House
is overreaching and is the real bad
actor.
“It’s a conversation — I look at it
and go: Is it wise or not? ... Should
he have allowed other people to
have those dialogues? Probably,”
said Sen. James Lankford of Okla-
homa, the latest Republican to take
this measured approach. “Is it im-
peachable? No.”
It appears to be working, at
least if the goal is to stay in the
president’s good graces. Sens. John
Cornyn of Texas and Rob Portman
of Ohio mildly took issue with the
president’s mention of Biden in his
phone call with Ukrainian Presi-
dent Volodymyr Zelensky; neither
has experienced a mean tweet or an
angry call from the president.
“Obviously, you would have
disagreements with somebody,”
Cornyn said after delivering a
lengthy floor speech criticizing
House Democrats’ impeachment
process on Wednesday morning.
“That’s sort of a test of a rela-
tionship — if you can have honest
disagreements and still have the
relationship survive.”
A few minutes later, Cornyn sent
out a fundraising solicitation that
made clear he and Trump are on
fine terms: “If you can’t stand the
thought of seeing President Trump
run out of office for no reason, CHIP
IN NOW TO DEFEND HIM.”Melanie Zanona contributed to this
report.Many Senate Republicans twisting but few shouting
REPUBLICANS from page 1
The Club for Growth, a conser-
vative advocacy group, is going up
with TV ads attacking Sen. Mitt
Romney — a preemptive warning
against fellow Republicans who
are considering getting behind
impeachment.
The 30-second commercial,
which will begin running Thurs-
day digitally and on Fox News sta-
tions in Utah, portrays Romney as
a sunglasses-wearing spy and ac-
cuses him of being a “Democrat
secret asset” who is “plotting to
take down President Trump with
impeachment.”
The move comes as the first-term
Utah senator dials up his criticism
of the president. Romney has re-
fused to rule out supporting im-
peachment and called Trump’s
request for China to investigate
former Vice President Joe Biden
“appalling.”“Slick, slippery, stealthy: Mitt
Romney had us fooled. Posing as
Republican, he tried to infiltrate
Trump’s administration as secre-
tary of State,” says the commercial,
referring to the president’s 2017
consideration of Romney for the
top Cabinet post.
“Now his cover’s blown — ex-
posed by news reports as a Demo-
crat secret asset,” the ad’s narrator
says. “Sources say Romney’s plot-
ting to take down President Trump
with impeachment.”
The commercial concludes with
a call to action.
“Tell Romney, quit colluding with
Democrats on impeachment,” the
narrator says, as the senator’s office
phone number flashes on the screen.
A Romney spokesperson declined
to comment.
The Club for Growth, which vo-
cally opposed Trump in 2016 and
spent millions of dollars on adsagainst him, has since transformed
itself into a pro-Trump outfit and is
investing a relatively small amount
to air the commercial. It will spend
just $25,000 on TV and $15,
on digital, according to a person
familiar with the media buy. It
remains to be seen whether other
conservative groups will go after
the Utah senator.
Romney, who was the Republican
Party’s 2012 presidential nominee,
is one of the few congressional Re-
publicans who has shown a will-
ingness to speak out against the
president. Trump has fired back,
recently taking to Twitter to call
Romney a “pompous ‘ass.’”
The 72-year-old Romney, how-
ever, has told friends he cares little
about what the president has to say
about him. Instead, Romney is
moving forward with an aggres-
sive plan to aid Republicans in 2020
Senate races.BY ALEX ISENSTADT
Conservative group tags Romney as anti-Trump, pro-impeachment
RICK BOWMER/AP
“Slick, slippery, stealthy: Mitt Romney had us fooled,” says the TV ad, which
also accuses the Utah Republican of being a “Democrat secret asset.”
ANDREW HARNIK/AP
“He honestly believes that he did nothing wrong. And he honestly believes that the Bidens have been involved in
impropriety and it hasn’t been investigated and, as president ... he has the duty to do it,” Sen. John Kennedy said.