OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Dan Bongino, a former Fox News host, said that Kellyanne Conway and other Republicans were working against Donald Trump and his campaign from behind the scenes. Bongino said the plot was against Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his running mate.
Media reports that Trump is regretting picking Vance were called “absolute bullsh*t” on the “Dan Bongino Show.” Bongino said leaks from Trump’s side may have driven these reports. According to sources, Bongino pointed to a report in the Daily Mail that said Trump is “melting down” over Vance.
“There’s a lot of internal sabotage going on right now that I honestly did not want to highlight because I like to stay focused on the Democrats and I was hoping it would go away. It’s not,” Bongino said.
The right-leaning pundit asserted that he has spoken with numerous individuals who think that Vance’s stance on Ukraine is causing dissatisfaction among certain Republicans.
“I suspect strongly this was a leak from people who wanted another candidate for vice president,” Bongino said, pointing his finger at the “Kellyanne Conway camp.”
Conway previously served in Trump’s administration.
“Some of the other candidates were very interested in a more muscular posture in Ukraine where there was a lot of money to be made for a lot of people. JD Vance is interested in a more cautious approach to Ukraine,” Bongino argued.
Bongino called Trump and Vance a “great ticket,” but blasted those he believes are “sabotaging” it.
“Instead of just shutting up and trying to win now with this great ticket, there are people out there sabotaging the ticket right now,” he said.
In a direct address to Conway and others, Bongino simply said, “You’ve been warned. I’m going to say to Kellyanne and others: It’s time to pipe down. You’ve been warned. I’ve had about enough.”
This comes as Trump has done well in recent polls.
Trump looks to have made impressive gains over Vice President Kamala Harris, gaining roughly 14 points among independents and 19 points among Latino voters.
According to new polling from NPR/PBS News/Marist, Trump, 78, surpassed Harris, 59, by three points among independents in a multi-candidate race, 49% to 46%. This represents a considerable increase since August, when Trump trailed Harris, 59, by 11 points, 48% to 37%.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had received 12% of the vote in the previous survey, withdrew from the contest and endorsed Trump in the interim between the August and September polls. Furthermore, it seems that Harris’s “honeymoon” following her sudden ascent to the nomination has started to level out.
In August, Trump led Harris by fifteen points, 54% to 39%, among Latino voters; by now, Trump leads by four points, with 51% of the vote to Harris’s 47%.
“When Trump and Harris square off in Philadelphia, the stakes are sky-high because the contest is so close,” Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, explained.
“Only single digits separate the candidates on most issues important to voters. But voters who value honesty are overwhelmingly for Harris, and voters looking for strong leadership are mostly in Trump’s corner. Will this still be the case on Wednesday morning?”
According to the poll, almost 70% of Americans said they would watch the debate, and 30% of registered voters think it would influence their decision on who to support. However, 69% of respondents say it probably won’t be beneficial.
In another encouraging development for Trump, he narrowed the deficit against Harris in a national contest by two points, with the vice president barely edging him.
In the most recent survey of those registered to vote in a contest with several candidates, Harris defeated Trump 49% to 48%. When registered voters were pitted against multiple candidates back in August, Harris was leading 48% to 45%.
In contrast, among registered voters, Trump defeated President Biden 43% to 42% in the July survey.
In the September survey, Harris’ margin over Trump among those who were certain to vote increased to 51% to 48%.
According to the September results, Harris leads Trump by 15 points among women and by 12 points among males.
In the multi-candidate race, Harris received 74% of the support of black voters, while Trump received only 24% of the vote.
Voters gave her a slightly higher favorability rating than Harris, who received 47% favorable to 46% negative views, and Trump, who received 45% favorable to 50% unfavorable views.
Roughly 52% of respondents identified Harris as the candidate most likely to support change, far more than the 47% who said Trump.
Similarly, 52% of respondents claimed that Harris is more likely than Trump to be concerned about the average American.
Regarding topics, Trump did better on immigration (53%), the Middle East (51%), and the economy (52%), while Harris led on abortion (56%).