Axios co-founder Mike Allen told CNBC on Thursday that some Republicans believe President Donald Trump is hurting the party’s chances in next week’s Senate layoffs in Georgia.
“The Republicans strongly believe that President Trump is sabotaging this race. He has done so much not to be helpful to those candidates,” Allen said in “Squawk Box,” referring to GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.
“I talk to Republicans and they look at what is happening, and they say, ‘You know, he has to think,’ I want to send a message, if I’m not on the vote, Republicans are in trouble, ‘” he added to it. Allen, a longtime Washington political reporter.
Allen’s comments come ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal second election, which will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Loeffler takes on Democrat Raphael Warnock, while Perdue’s opponent is Democrat Jon Ossoff. Trump campaigned for Loeffler and Perdue earlier this month, and he plans to hold another rally in the state on Monday.
Republicans only need to win one of the races to maintain a majority in the Senate with 100 seats; the GOP currently has a 50-48 advantage, when two independents are included consulting Democrats.
If both Democrats are victorious in Georgia, it would tip the scale in their party’s favor as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the casting vote. It would also mean that the Democrats control both rooms of Congress, plus the White House after President-elect Joe Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20. Biden defeated Trump in the November 3 election, aided in part by his victory in Georgia. Biden was the first Democrat to win state since 1992.
“Maintaining a Republican majority in the Senate has been a priority for the president from the start,” Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement Thursday to CNBC. He will rally voters to support Senators Perdue and Loeffler and warn that their opponents are left-wing extremists supporting higher taxes, the job-destroying Green New Deal and amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens.
Allen, who co-founded Politico before launching Axios in January 2017, said Republicans initially had confidence in Loeffler and Perdue beating their Democratic challengers. Georgia, despite the president’s victory, is still pretty red, so the Republicans said, ‘This could work out in the end.’ They’re not sure it’s right anymore, and that has a lot to do with the president, ”Allen said.
Trump has refused to admit the election to Biden, falsely claiming that he lost the race due to massive voter fraud. He has also attacked countless elected Republicans in Georgia, including Governor Brian Kemp, for their handling of the election.
Trump also pushed Congress to increase stimulus checks for Americans to $ 2,000, withholding a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package that included $ 600 direct payments for days before it was finally signed. He has gone on to push for $ 2,000 checks, a proposal backed by Democrats and unpopular among Senate Republicans.
Ossoff and Warnock quickly grabbed hold of Trump’s demand last week and used it to bash their opponents. However, Loeffler and Perdue have since backed Trump’s proposal for $ 2000 checks.
Republicans look at it and they say, ‘Like every day, President Trump says something that either puts those candidates on the spot, or that some of those are … voters who might have been worried about Trump anyway, but Republicans are in their bones , like every day, he gives them a reason not to come out or to go the other way, ” said Allen.
CNBC reached out to the campaigns for Loeffler and Perdue, as well as the White House, for comment on Allen’s comments.