Political strategist and former DNC chair Donna Brazile had a heated exchange with former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Sunday while discussing former President Donald Trump’s campaign messaging. The two appeared on ABC News’ This Week to address the internal debate within the Republican Party about Trump’s attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some Republicans are urging Trump to focus more on policy than personal attacks. As Priebus defended Trump’s election performance and his appeal to voters on key issues, Brazile interrupted, emphasizing that voters don’t want a president “who basically divides us.”
“Well, look, I don’t disagree with some of those folks in that — number one, if this election comes down to the economy and the border, Trump wins. Right now, Kamala Harris is trying to reinvent herself into something she’s not,” Priebus said on the program.
As Raddatz urged Priebus to focus on Trump, Donna Brazile spoke about the election. Priebus continued his remarks, stating that Trump represents “a huge middle finger to a lot of people.” He went on to argue that voters remain frustrated with the economy and inflation under the Biden administration.
“The thing is with Trump, you can’t also, to win this election, you can’t divorce yourself of who Donald Trump is and his personality. Like I’ve said before, there’s a part of Donald Trump that brings a large part of this country together. He represents a huge middle finger to a lot of people. People are upset about what the economy is. Inflation is out of control. Price setting doesn’t work,” Preibus continued.
Raddatz stepped in once more to highlight that Trump is not staying focused on his policy message. Brazile followed by criticizing the former president, asserting that “people are tired” of his “lies” and “insults.”
“We know Donald Trump, we know that every time he opens his mouth, there’s nothing but lies, insults, and vulgarity, and people are tired of it. The American people don’t want this anymore,” Brazile shouted. “They don’t want a president who basically divides us. They don’t want a president who calls us names. Who cannot even pronounce the name of the vice president of the United States. It’s Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris.”
Priebus responded, “What they don’t want is out-of-control inflation, a world that’s falling apart, and Kamala who’s lying to the American people about whose fault it is. I mean does she bear no fault for where we are in this economy? She has nothing to do with this? She has nothing to do with the withdrawal of Afghanistan? She has nothing to do with — ” before Brazile interjected to make her point.
The conversation grew more heated as the three began speaking over one another, with Priebus making a final point about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, emphasizing that Vice President Kamala Harris was “the last person in the room” during the decision-making process.
Since Harris became the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee following Biden’s withdrawal from the race on July 21, some Republicans have questioned Trump’s campaign strategy against her, especially as polls increasingly favor Harris. GOP figures, including businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, and ex-White House aide Peter Navarro, have publicly urged Trump to shift his focus to policy issues, according to CNBC
“The path forward is to focus on policy. Those are three words for the Republican Party that I think is a path to success: Focus on policy,” Ramaswamy previously told NPR.
