Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that his presidential campaign is unified, even as he faces open revolt from some in his party amid one of the most disruptive controversies of his unruly White House run.
“There is great unity in my campaign, perhaps greater than ever before. I want to thank everyone for your tremendous support. Beat Crooked H!” the Republican nominee wrote on Twitter early on Wednesday, referring to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
The message belied the chaos that has erupted in the Republican Party after Mr. Trump engaged for days in a public dispute with the parents of Captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier who died in Iraq.
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The uproar has led many Republicans to distance themselves from Mr. Trump and voice support for the Khan family. Several media outlets reported on Wednesday that the campaign is in disarray and that Mr. Trump had rejected advice from his staff to drop the battle with the Khans.
According to one news report, the Republican National Committee is looking at its options in case Mr. Trump drops out. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is furious about the dispute with the Khans and has spoken with Mr. Trump repeatedly asking him to change course, ABC News reported on Wednesday. It said senior officials are looking into how to replace Mr. Trump on the Republican ticket for the Nov. 8 election. The Trump campaign had no immediate comment on the report.
Late on Tuesday, Meg Whitman, a prominent Republican fundraiser and chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise , endorsed Ms. Clinton’s White House bid, calling Mr. Trump an “authoritarian character” and a threat to democracy.
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Earlier, Mr. Trump hit back on Tuesday at House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain by denying both support in their re-election bids, in an interview with The Washington Post .
Even Mr. Trump’s long-time ally, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, said on Tuesday it was inappropriate to criticise the Khan family. Further, Representative Richard Hanna of New York became the first Republican in Congress to endorse Ms. Clinton.
Endorsement for Trump
Meanwhile, the father of a U.S. Navy SEAL who died in the 2012 Benghazi terror attack came out in support of Mr. Trump, while alleging that Ms. Clinton’s poor judgment as Secretary of State led to the deaths in Libya.
“I support Donald Trump, the national security as well as the economy are the two most important issues that voters are going to have to decide,” Navy Seal Charles Woods, father of Tyrone Woods said in a statement issued by the Trump campaign.