Steve Hayes: ‘Perplexing’ the RNC Is ‘Embracing’ Trump ‘Even Tighter’

CHUCK TODD:

You know, Steve, this is-- the question has always been how long can Donald Trump keep his core?

STEPHEN HAYES:

Right.

CHUCK TODD:

Here's somebody, here's Julius, as idealistic as you can get about Donald Trump's policies. And he just said he can't even get him back.

STEPHEN HAYES:

Yeah, well, I mean, look. We predict the demise of Donald Trump at our own peril, right? I mean, everybody's done it a hundred times.

CHUCK TODD:

I think everybody at this table has done it many too times.

STEPHEN HAYES:

Correct. I certainly am guilty. Having said that, it's a moment when you have somebody like Julius who's distancing himself from Donald Trump, on-- you know, who still believes the policy but has a problem with the man. We've seen I think in Donald Trump taking shots at Jeff Sessions, for instance, some of the other people who agree with the kinds of policies that Julius' publication embraces take some distance additionally from Donald Trump.

The odd thing to me is that at the time when you might expect the Republican party broadly to distance itself from Donald Trump, it's really not. You have some individual senators speaking out about individual issues. But the organs of the party, the Republican National Committee, they're embracing him even tighter. And it's a perplexing moment.