With a mix of putdowns and silence, Republicans open their national convention
CLEVELAND _ Republicans opened their national convention Monday on a less-than-harmonious note, as the head of Donald Trump's campaign disparaged the host state's governor along with the Bush family dynasty, and some distanced themselves from the candidate set to lead the GOP into the fall.
The sun had barely cleared the high rises overlooking Lake Erie when top Trump aide Paul Manafort took his shot at John Kasich, Ohio's governor and an erstwhile Trump rival for the Republican nomination. Kasich has refused to endorse Trump and said he will steer clear of the convention stage, while keeping up an active schedule of appearances in and around Cleveland this week.
"He's making a big mistake," Manafort said in a morning interview on MSNBC, drawing audible groans from an audience sitting in. "He's hurting his state and embarrassing his state, frankly."
The chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, Matt Borges, immediately fired back on Twitter, noting Kasich's approval in surveys of Ohio voters and suggesting Manafort "still has a lot to learn about Ohio politics."
Manafort, however, showed no signs of contrition.
Later, at a morning briefing with reporters, he reiterated his criticism of Kasich, then turned his sights on the Bush family. In a break with custom, former President George H.W. Bush and his son, former President George W. Bush, are both boycotting the convention along with others in their extended political clan.
"Certainly the Bush family, while we would have liked to have had them, they're part of the past," Manafort said. "We're dealing with the future."
_ Los Angeles Times
