The Buzz: ‘Dear Donald,’ SC Republicans give Trump advice

Republican S.C. legislators are coming around to Donald Trump.

But some of their endorsements of the New York billionaire were about as passionate as reading the periodic table of elements.

“He is the Republican nominee,” Republican after Republican told The Buzz last week, explaining why now they will support their presumptive nominee – a developer and reality-TV star who has transformed U.S. politics into ... well ... you be the judge of that.

S.C. GOP pols do some advice for Trump, however.

“Please talk about the issues and stop making it personal,” said state Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, a recovering Jeb Bush supporter who still was wrapping her head around the idea of a Trump nomination Friday while setting out her own re-election yard signs in Batesburg-Leesville.

“I am offended when he personally attacks people and classes of people, whether they’re Republican or Democrats, or classes or races. When you’re president of the United States ... you represent all the people.”

Despite Trump’s combative style, Shealy said she now will support the GOP nominee.

“It’s the right thing to do,” she added. “It isn’t what I expected. It’s not what anybody really expected. ... I don’t even think it’s what Donald Trump expected.”

It’s not what state Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland, expected. Ballentine wanted U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to win the GOP nomination.

His advice to Dear Donald?

“Dear Donald, I hope you can Make America Great Again because a lot of your supporters are counting on you to deliver,” said Ballentine.

“Everybody has their own style. His is a bit more braggadocious,” Ballentine said of Trump, adding the billionaire stands out in another way, too.

“I’ve been around many successful people in my life, none of which have felt the need to repeatedly remind me they’ve been successful.”

“Dear Donald, please consider carefully your role as the head of our party now,” said state Rep. Phyllis Henderson, R-Greenville, whose pick for the GOP nomination, Carly Fiorina, fizzled out early only to become U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’ “running mate” right before the Texan realized the nomination was out of reach.

“Our party has a lot of challenges moving ahead in how we bring together all the different groups,” Henderson said. “We need to be able to bring young people and minorities into our party.”

Several GOP lawmakers said they hope Trump now will act more presidential, including state Rep. Gary Simrill, R-York, who never formally endorsed a Republican candidate.

“Anything you do, from here on out, already assume that you have the reins of the presidency and start using the bully pulpit of the presidency in your campaign,” Simrill advised Trump.

State Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, who voted for Rubio, said he hopes Trump will start “conveying (his) message in a more presidential, measured tone.”

“Dear Donald, be humble and listen to others who have walked in those shoes,” said state Rep. Raye Felder, R-York.

Felder said she has not personally been offended by Trump’s controversial campaign comments, but some “have been beneath the office that he’s aspiring to.”

Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston, who formerly supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said he doesn’t need to give Trump much advice.

“He’s rewritten the political playbook for running for president,” Limehouse said, adding, “He’s made gaffes and faux pas a non-factor.”

State Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, said Republicans need to rally behind Trump. His message may not always be presidential, but it is Republican, Pitts added.

His advice to Dear Donald?

“Get a different hairdo because it does not look real. You can look at my head and see that I have no problem with what’s natural,” said the balding Pitts.

Loved her, loved her not

Trump says he never considered S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley as a running mate.

Talking to Fox News’ Bret Baier on Thursday, Trump said, “No, not Nikki Haley. No, Nikki Haley, no. She wasn’t under consideration.”

But on Wednesday, CNN reported Haley was on Trump’s short list of vice presidential favorites. Citing a senior Trump campaign source, CNN said Haley had company on that list, including New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.

Oops.

Anyway, Haley – who did not mince words criticizing the Donald in the lead up to the state’s GOP primary – said she wasn’t interested in the job Wednesday, after it became clear that Trump would waltz to July’s GOP convention in Cleveland, nomination in hand.

Haley also said she has not made up her mind about whether to attend the convention.

A no-show for Haley would be a significant reversal for the daughter of Indian immigrants who made history becoming the state’s first female and first minority governor. Four years ago, the GOP rising star had a prime speaking spot at the Republican convention.

Buzz Bites

New director for S.C. Dems. The S.C. Democratic Party has a new executive director, Christale Spain. Spain formerly was the S.C. political outreach director for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Before that, she was the S.C. Democrats’ deputy director. Spain succeeds Jason Perkey, who left to run the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign efforts.

See you at the polls. South Carolina now has more than 3 million registered voters, up from 2.6 million in 2010. The growth is due, in part, to growth in the number of eligible voters since six years ago but not entirely. This year, 77 percent of eligible voters are registered, up from 74 percent in 2010, according to the S.C. State Elections Commission. Reminder: May 14 is the deadline to register to vote in the state’s June primaries.

Tweet of the week. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in a Tweet on Tuesday: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed ... and we will deserve it.”

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 2:59 PM with the headline "The Buzz: ‘Dear Donald,’ SC Republicans give Trump advice."