Donald Trump has demonstrated that his arms are long-reaching and those arms have reached into places least expected recently. The latest case in point entails phone calls to some of the 66 Central Committee members of the state of Ohio's Republican party. Trump had a mission in mind with these unexpected phone calls and this mission was accomplished.
Fake phone call?
Greg Simpson, who is a Cincinnati-area committee member, thought he was receiving a fake phone call on Friday. The voice on the other end of the phone was Donald Trump and Simpson said, "Then all of a sudden he is talking to me." Trump's mission was to lobby for his choice of chairperson for the state's Republican party.
It is also suggested part of that mission was to "oust a key Kasich loyalist from atop the Republican party," according to Fox News.
Kasich loyalist ousted
If you remember how Ohio Governor John Kasich treated the newly elected Republican candidate, Donald Trump, one might say that Trump's mission did let him claim "some measure of political revenge" against the governor. Matt Borges, a loyal Kasich supporter and the Ohio GOP chairperson, was up against Jane Timken who wanted his spot.
Trump lobbies via phone calls
Trump took time out from his busy schedule to call members of the Central GOP Committee to advocate for Jane Timken. She narrowly squeezed by, but she won taking the title of Ohio GOP chairperson from Matt Borges.
It looks like those personal phone calls from Trump paid off for Timken and maybe even conjured up a little revenge on Trump's behalf.
Against the pledge
The angst Trump harbored for the Ohio Governor started back when a dozen or so Republicans were vying to be that one presidential candidate from the party. Trump and Kasich were two of those candidates.
Kasich signed the pledge in the beginning of the Republican campaign to support any of his fellow Republican opponents who happen to win, as did the other GOP candidates. This was something Trump hesitated about for a while, but he eventually did make the same pledge.
Not only didn't Kasich support Trump when he won, but he was a no-show at the Republican convention, which was held in his state.
The Ohio Governor really did add insult to injury when refusing this endorsement and taking it even further by refusing to attend the convention.
No bashing here
Another surprise was how Trump presented his lobbying for Timken. There was no bashing of Borges, who is a man that offered "luke-warm" support for Trump at best. Trump built up Timken without putting anyone else down in a comparison.
This was quite a feat for the president elect considering Borges brought a strong track record in numbers to the table. Borgess was seen as a man who waited until very late in the presidential race to back Trump "to further his career," writes Fox. He wasn't an innocent bystander when it came to getting Trump peeved during his campaign.
Borgess had a hand in it
Borgess laid into Trump's Campaign Manager Paul Manafort last summer saying how Manafort "still had a lot to learn about Ohio politics." He also claimed that Manafort "doesn't know what he is talking about." So Borgess wasn't just a victim of someone else's actions, he had a hand at getting Trump's gander up.
Borgess had the career move in sight of becoming the next Republican National Committee Chairperson. It looks as if Trump might have helped derail his plans a bit with this latest move.
