Why Conservatives Are Taking the First Shot at Trump

Club for Growth sees billionaire as too close to the left
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2015 12:41 PM CDT
Why Conservatives Are Taking the First Shot at Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves to supporters after speaking for a campaign event aboard the USS Iowa battleship in Los Angeles Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.   (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Donald Trump's campaign may be about to hit its first big test. Club for Growth will drop $1 million on anti-Trump ads in Iowa, to begin airing tomorrow, reports the Wall Street Journal. The anti-tax, anti-spending group has already aired one ad that attacks Trump's "very liberal" record and labels him "just another politician." Why the hate? Vox explains the group, which falls to the far right on economic issues, has been feuding with Trump since he announced his run. Though Trump's views on immigration make him seem like a far-right candidate, his promises of "no cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid" and higher taxes on the wealthy place him closer to the left. "When Republicans run in primaries with a platform like Trump's, the club tries to take them down," reports Vox. "That's its whole reason for being."

The Club's president David McIntosh wasted no time in attacking Trump back in June, noting he was "not a serious candidate." But things heated up weeks later when Trump shared a letter from McIntosh asking for a $1 million contribution. Trump has suggested the "phony" group is attacking him because he refused to comply. "He'll say anything to get elected, and then he'll do just the opposite when he's in office," a Club for Growth rep says, adding the group may team with other conservative or Republican groups against Trump. "This is the beginning." "If nothing else, the ads will provide the latest test case for whether the former reality TV star is really as immune to the laws of politics as he currently appears to be," notes Slate. "For Republicans and their conservative allies who worry that Trump is inflicting daily damage to their eventual nominee's 2016 chances, $1 million is small price to pay to find that out." (More Donald Trump stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X