In his some of his strongest language defending Donald Trump’s candidacy, the head of the influential American Conservatives Union says Trump has a reasonable shot for the Oval Office.
When asked by "Hardball’s" Chris Matthews if Trump is a “plausible President,” Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservatives Union, said “Yeah. Definitely. Definitely.”
“Being an outsider at this particular time in American politics sure seems to be an advantage,” said Schlapp, who also serves as the chairman of CPAC.
Trump has risen to the top of the polls for the Republican Presidential primary. Whether his candidacy has staying power has been the subject of debate among analysts.
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According to Trump, rival candidate Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) called him requesting a meeting. Cruz responded in a joking tone when asked by John Harwood at CNBC’s “Delivering Alpha Conference” if his motive for the meeting was to inherit Trump’s followers in the event of a campaign collapse.
“I’m running to win,” Cruz said. “I expect everyone to collapse and I want to inherit everyone’s votes, so at the end of the day, I will readily plead guilty to that.”
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown echoed a sentiment expressed by many Democrats that Trump’s candidacy would be a boon to Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee.
“I think Mrs. Clinton is just hoping the Republican Party continues with its insanity towards Donald Trump, and nominates Donald Trump, that will almost ensure that we’ll have the first woman President in the history of the country,” Brown said on "Hardball".
In response to Schlapp’s argument that Trump’s outsider status is an advantage in the current political environment, Brown said that in order to be taken seriously, a candidate must show talent, skill, humanity and common sense.
“Trump provides none of those things,” Brown said.