WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):
7:15 a.m.
Donald Trump says there’s “great unity” in his campaign -despite growing dissent and turmoil among his fellow Republicans.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that the campaign unity is “perhaps greater than ever before.”
That comes as he continues to face criticism from Republican lawmakers for attacking the Muslim-American parents of a U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq. The soldier’s father had criticized Trump at last week’s Democratic convention.
On Tuesday, Meg Whitman, a prominent Republican fundraiser and former Hewlett-Packard executive said she would back Democrat Hillary Clinton. Also, Rep. Richard Hanna of New York became the first Republican member of Congress to say he will vote for Clinton.
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3:30 a.m.
Donald Trump is openly taunting the leaders of his own party by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Sen. John McCain of Arizona in their GOP primaries.
And so far, McCain, Ryan and other Republicans who’ve reluctantly declared that they plan to back Trump for president appear to be sticking with him.
Trump’s stunning slap at two of the nation’s most prominent Republicans dramatically escalated GOP turmoil barely a week after a convention intended to promote party unity.
With the general election campaign now squarely underway, Republicans found themselves once again forced to answer questions about the latest boundary-defying pronouncement from Trump at a moment when most would rather be talking about Hillary Clinton’s record.