Democratic strategist Emily Sussman said Tuesday she is concerned that President Trump’s emphasis on loyalty is impeding his ability to govern.
“It also does make me nervous from a governing perspective,” Sussman, a senior adviser at Swing Left and Glam Up the Midterms, told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“The fact that the president messages at every step of the way that it’s all about loyalty to him, and everything is ultimately about loyalty to him. It’s about who he campaigns for, it’s about who he tweets about, it’s about what countries he gets some good deals with,” she said. “It’s always about loyalty to him, and so that does make me nervous.”
Sussman was referring to Trump’s recent public spat with outgoing Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah).
The president criticized Love at a televised press conference the day after the Nov. 6 midterm elections. He also disparaged other Republican candidates who did not embrace him on the campaign trail.
“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” Trump said. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”
Love, the first black female Republican elected to the House, slammed Trump in an interview on Monday, saying his view of politics was that it is essentially made up of a series of “convenient transactions.”
“The president’s behavior toward me made me wonder, what did he have to gain by saying such a thing about a fellow Republican?” Love said. “It was not really about asking him to do more, was it? Or was it something else? Well, Mr. President, we’ll have to chat about that.”
— Julia Manchester
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