PHOENIX β As Republicans gather in Cleveland for their national convention, three Arizona governors say they know what it will take for Donald Trump to unite the party behind him.
Focus.
Trumpβs campaign to date has been largely defined by his random and off-script comments. And Gov. Doug Ducey and predecessors Jan Brewer and Fife Symington arenβt sure those headline-grabbing pronouncements are necessarily a bad thing.
But in separate interviews with Capitol Media Services, the three Republicans said uniting the party β and building political support to win in November β will require a consistent message that is not drowned out by other things the candidate might say.
Symington said Trump has a chance at the convention to make his case that he is a serious, thoughtful candidate, despite the occasional off-hand comments.
βI would have three or four key things that are very important to the hearts and minds of Republicans of all persuasions and just try to lay it out,β he said.
Symington said that means Trump acknowledging that some may not like certain aspects of his personality or the way he says things. But then, he said, Trump needs to say, βYou have to move beyond that and look at the substantive policy differences ... and what a vote for me would mean and what a vote for Hillary (Clinton) would mean.β
Ducey has a specific suggestion.
βI do think you would unify a lot of people if you pointed out Washington, D.C., doesnβt work,β said Ducey. βIt tries to do too many things, most of them poorly.β
He said thatβs a message that would resonate with many voters. The bonus, Ducey said, would be to allow Trump to contrast himself with Clinton.
βShe will be the queen of a bigger and larger government,β Ducey said. βAnd if Donald Trump said, βIβm going to downsize Washington, and Iβm going to allow the citizen at home to be larger and make more of their own decisions,β I think that would be a winning theme.β
βI think he needs to focus on policy,β said Brewer.
βAnd thatβs about the economy, taxes, jobs, security and the vets. And law enforcement.β
The bottom line, Brewer, said, is Trump needs βto let people know that he is a leader, he can be trusted, that he will surround himself with good people and that he is a good listener.β
But Brewer said Trump also has some work to do on social issues.
βHe needs to shore up his commitment to pro life,β she said.
In 1999, Trump pronounced himself to be a supporter of abortion rights. He has since argued that he has βevolvedβ on the issue and has reversed his stance. But he also has said this year he supports the right to an abortion in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, a position inconsistent with the party platform.
βI know that people change,β Brewer said. βThatβs why weβre out there talking to people about pro life. Some people just need to be educated and learn.β
She said his pick of Mike Pence as a running mate βis going to bring in people to the camp.β
All three governors acknowledged that some of what Trump has said on policy issues is overshadowed by the other things he says.
That started early in the campaign with references to Mexican immigrants as rapists, questions about whether Muslim immigrants are terrorists, shedding doubt on the ability of a judge hearing cases against Trump because of his Mexican heritage and, most recently, saying that while Iraq strongman Saddam Hussein was a βreally bad guy,β he was efficient in killing terrorists.
On Twitter: @azcapmedia
