Trump allies fear he's 'thrown off balance' in final stretch: 'He should be doing better'

Donald Trump's allies are concerned he's trending in the wrong direction as the presidential campaign enters its final stretch.

More than a dozen Trump allies say the former president must buckle down and focus on persuading the narrow slice of undecided voters who are likely to determine the election winner instead of getting distracted by destabilizing influences like right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer and campaign aide Corey Lewandowski, reported Politico.

“It’s not that he’s going backwards,” said one Trump ally. “But he should be doing better.”

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High-ranking Republicans are concerned that Trump has veered off course since he was targeted by two apparent assassination attempts and rattled by the shakeup at the top of the Democratic ticket, with Vice President Kamala Harris replacing PresidentJoe Biden as the nominee – which allies say has been disorienting to the former president, who often seethes in private over the switch.

“Trump is strongest when he is talking about what people care about the most: the economy, immigration, crime, trade, the Trump core messages,” said Republican strategist David Urban. “When he gets distracted and goes in different directions, it’s less helpful. Every day we’re not talking about those issues, we’re letting Harris go untouched.”

That was the strategy heading into the debate against Harris, but the former president was knocked off balance by the vice president and left many of his prepared remarks on the drawing board.

"As Trump began preparing for the Sept. 10 debate, he worked with his team to develop 'pivots' — lines that could be used to turn a question into a more favored topic," Politico reported. "Those familiar with the preparations, which included Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, said the sessions went well. But when Trump took the stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Trump was thrown off balance by Harris’s efforts to get under his skin, especially her assertion that his supporters were bailing on his rallies. Many of the pivots did not end up being employed."

Trump also botched one of his stronger issues with voters by baselessly claiming that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents' cats and dogs, which dominated post-debate coverage and undercut his efforts to attack Harris on an issue where polls show she's vulnerable.

"According to two people briefed on the discussions, Trump was aware of the story by coverage in The Federalist, a conservative outlet that published a 911 call from a local resident," Politico reported. "Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, had also been promoting the story."

Republicans reportedly seem mostly resigned to the fact that Trump won't likely change in the campaign's final six weeks and accept that voters have probably already made up their minds about him after nearly a decade in the political spotlight, but some of his top allies hope he tones things down as mail-in ballots are sent out and early voting locations are set to open.

“You need to avoid distractions as you’re building momentum towards Election Day," said one Republican National Committee person.