Donald Trump, brash and confident about his prospects for winning the Republican presidential nomination, stormed through official Washington Monday eager to convince the city’s power brokers they’ll be comfortable with him as president.
The message from much of the Republican establishment: He’s got a lot of convincing to do.
The Republican front-runner’s charm offensive was met with protests and dissent all over the nation’s capital. As Trump and supporters met at a Capitol Hill law firm, conservative opponents stood outside, noting who was attending. Before and during his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major pro-Israel group, dissenters raised objections.
Regardless, Trump insisted he’ll win the 1,237 delegates needed in the primaries to win the GOP nomination on the first ballot at this summer’s convention, which would shut off any chance of the contested convention that rivals want.
“We should make it pretty easily, so we won’t have to worry about fighting at a convention,” Trump said at a news conference in the midst of what will soon be his company’s luxury hotel five blocks from the White House.
Trump insisted he’s got a lot of support but that insiders won’t reveal their preference for him. “A lot of delegates you’re hearing about want to come with us. Some people are saying we’re going to be at 1,450. We’ll see,” he said.
680 Trump’s delegate count, according to Associated Press. Sen. Ted Cruz has 424. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio has 143.
The billionaire businessman began his day with a meeting at the Washington Post editorial board. He revealed the names of some of his foreign policy advisers, a group headed by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Sessions, while not regarded as one of the Senate’s more powerful players on foreign policy, is a leading voice on immigration.
Next it was on to the Jones Day law firm on Capitol Hill, where Donald McGahn, a former Federal Election Commission chairman and now Trump’s campaign lawyer, is a partner.
For an hour, Trump met with some Capitol lawmakers and others. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former House leader Bob Livingston and former Sen. Jim DeMint, now president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group, were seen entering the meeting.
DeMint and Heritage staff have met with several candidates. “Heritage meets with officeholders and candidates as part of our ongoing work to promote conservative policy solutions, and we will continue to do so,” said Heritage spokesman Wesley Denton.
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Senators at the meeting included Sessions, who helped organize the meeting, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Cotton has remained neutral in the race, said spokeswoman Caroline Rabbitt.
House members included Reps. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Chris Collins, R-N.Y. and others. Republicans “have to get used to” the notion that Trump will be the nominee, DesJarlais said.
Among the topics discussed were foreign policy and judicial appointments. Trump pledged to release soon a list of seven to 10 possible Supreme Court nominees. He said they would be strict abortion opponents and have strong conservative records.
Trump called the session “a beginning meeting … with some of the most respected people in Washington,” adding, “They can’t believe how far we’ve come.”
Notably absent, though, were any senior congressional Republican leaders. Trump spoke recently to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and described the conversations as cordial.
Ryan, though, sent strong signals last week he’s concerned about Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump said that if he’s close to the nomination and is denied, there could be riots. The next day, Ryan urged him not to say such things.
Nobody should say such things, in my opinion, because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable.
House Speaker Paul Ryan reacting to Donald Trump comments on riots
Discussing a contested convention, Ryan said, there was a “perception that this is more likely to become an open convention than we thought before. We’re getting our minds around the idea that this could very well become a reality, and therefore those of us who are involved in the convention need to respect that.”
Trump, though, was nothing short of amicable Monday. During their phone call, Trump recalled, Ryan “couldn’t have been nicer.”
Later, Trump tried charm on the AIPAC audience, taking the rare Trump step of delivered remarks from a text. He usually speaks off the cuff.
He introduced himself as a “lifelong supporter and true friend of Israel,” and noted his daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism, was about to have “a beautiful Jewish baby.”
Trump blasted the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal as “catastrophic for America, for Israel, and for the whole of the Middle East.”
Trump charged, “We’ve rewarded the world’s leading state sponsor of terror … and we received absolutely nothing in return.”
He also had harsh words for President Barack Obama. “He may be the worst thing to ever happen to Israel, believe me,” Trump said.
A group of rabbis, though, planned to protest Trump’s remarks. “There is no greater or more profound way to stand up to bigotry than to teach lessons of love, respect, and dignity,” said a statement from Rabbis David Paskin and Jesse Olitzky, of Come Together Against Hate, a group that planned to walk out of Trump’s speech.
“Our goal is not to disrupt the proceedings or to offend any of our fellow conference attendees. Our hope is to shine a moral light on the darkness that has enveloped Mr. Trump’s campaign,” the rabbis said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Renee Ellmers, R-N.C.
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid
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