Trump Versus the GOP

This week marks arguably the best and possibly the worst in Donald Trump’s nascent push for the GOP nomination as he continues his refusal to retract his remarks about John McCain.

On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a primary competitor and close friend of McCain’s, rose to his colleague’s defense calling Trump out for being a ‘jackass’ during a television interview.

The comment prompted Trump to respond publicly during a campaign rally in Graham’s home state of South Carolina that Graham is a ‘stiff’ whose long political career reflects an inability to get a private sector job.

He continue by revealing to the crowd that Graham had called him only four years ago for a campaign contribution and an endorsement, then proceeded to read the senator’s personal cellphone number encouraging supporters to ‘try it’.

Trump has refused repeated calls for an apology, a recalcitrance that appears only to further his appeal to a decidedly anti-establishment Republican voter base.

Earlier this week, the Des Moines register, which weighs large on the minds of voters in the first-in-the-nation primary state, officially called for Trump to drop out of the race, a move that is likely only to intensify the spotlight on his campaign ahead of the August 6 debate in Ohio.