Thursday, March 31, 2016

First Read: Why Trump's Controversies Matter for All Republicans


 
First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.
 
Why Trump's flip-flops matter: In the space of hours yesterday, Donald Trump made a complete  walk-back of his controversial comments on MSNBC suggesting that he would advocate punishment for women seeking abortions. He went from saying "there has to be some form of punishment, yeah" to "the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman." Throughout the campaign, instances of Trump changing or amending a statement - or at least enduring withering criticism from within his own party for something he said -- have become routine. On nearly a weekly basis now, downballot Republicans are facing maddening political choices as they're asked to comment on Trump's constantly-changing policy positions and shocking pronouncements. And the constant whiplash makes for a compelling case for those inside the party who say it's worth risking the backlash with Trump voters by doing whatever it takes to stop him. By the fall, can Republicans running downballot really afford to respond almost daily to something Trump said? It's been tough enough this spring, and it's only going to get more complicated. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: NBC News

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