As she watched Donald Trump ride his golden escalator in New York City to kick off his 2016 presidential campaign, veteran GOP political professional Alicia Preston Xanthopoulos was certain of one thing.
“Neither Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will ever be president of the United States,” she said at the time.
On Monday, the 10th anniversary of that iconic moment in American politics, Xanthopoulos recounted her prediction, made while she was working for the campaign of former New York Gov. George Pataki.
She was far from alone. MSNBC pundit Mike Barnicle made the same “Donald Trump will never become president of the United States” statement to his viewers that same day, for example.
A decade later, Trump has won the White House — twice — reshaped the Republican Party, and is easily the most important U.S. political figure of the 21st century.
And almost nobody in New Hampshire politics saw it coming.
Almost.
Asked where he was when Trump rode down the escalator, former Granite State political operative Corey Lewandowski told NHJournal, “I was at Trump Tower planning and executing the most historic campaign announcement in American history.”
“America was tired of the same old politicians,” Lewandowski said of the political moment in 2016. “Plus, Donald J. Trump didn’t need the job. He didn’t need to be president. He wanted it to save America.”
Pat Griffin, who’s worked on many Granite State GOP campaigns, said he was watching Trump that day from his office in Boston.
“I remember watching the announcement without sound — including the escalator ride — and thinking ‘This is surreal,’” Griffin told NHJournal.
When he did turn up the sound, he says he was “stunned at some of what Trump was saying, his anger and his tone.
“But it turned out a lot of people in both parties were just as frustrated and angry as he was. That announcement cut through. It gave voters who were fed up with politics and politicians a candidate who could speak for them,” Griffin said.
Asked how the New Hampshire GOP is different today from 10 years ago, Griffin said he believes Trump has changed both parties, “and he’s changed political convention for a decade — and likely years into the future as well.”
The Republican Party is definitely different, and perhaps the most notable difference is its unity in supporting the president. In March, Gallup reported that Trump’s job approval among Republicans was 92 percent, a number only exceeded by the two Bush presidents during times of war.
Trump’s candidacy came after a series of GOP nominees who struggled to energy the party’s base. Former U.S. Sen. John McCain was so disconnected from the GOP grassroots that he turned in desperation to an unknown Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, to rescue his campaign. (It didn’t work.)
And while Trump’s poll numbers have never been great, he’s the first non-incumbent Republican to win the popular vote since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
Republicans like New Hampshire’s RNC Committeewoman Mary Jane Beauregard say they were energized by what they saw 10 years ago.
“I watched live as Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower with Melania by his side. At that moment, I felt a wave of hope and excitement. I was glad that Americans would finally have the chance to elect a political outsider,” Beauregard said.
“I love our president for his boldness and determination, and I believe his leadership has brought new hope to our people. Trump has the power and potential to make our country richer, safer, smarter, and happier,” she added.
It’s a common feeling among Granite State Republicans, though not one shared by longtime (and now former) GOP operative Tom Rath.
Reflecting on his thoughts as he watched Trump on the escalator a decade ago, Rath confesses to “doubting that Trump could be more than a TV personality. I completely missed his hold on significant portions of the GOP and the general electorate.
“I suspect I didn’t believe because I did not want to believe. I could not have been more wrong.”
Greg Moore was with Americans For Prosperity in New Hampshire, where he worked with Lewandowski, and said he was busy working on State House issues when Trump climbed on the escalator. His co-workers kept calling for him to come watch Trump’s debut. Trump’s language about illegal immigrants took him aback. (“He called them rapists and murderers, remember?”)
But his group was neutral in the First in the Nation GOP presidential primary, so Moore staked out a neutral position of his own.
“Let’s see what happens on their first trip to New Hampshire.”
Trump won it in a landslide.
Just as impressive, said Moore, is Trump’s impact on the GOP, particularly in New Hampshire.
“Coming out of the Tea Party era, we had been moving toward more of a ‘liberty’ lane. And so was most of the 2016 field for president,” Moore noted. “The frontrunners were Jeb (Bush) and Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker, all running on a pro-liberty message.
“Trump got in with his populist messaging and took the party in that direction. He was outside the usual, orthodox views of the Republican Party. He changed people’s thinking.”
Jim Merrill, a Granite State political professional, was working for Rubio in 2016, and his response to Trump’s debut was similar to Moore’s.
“Running for president is a lot harder than people think before they get in the race,” Merrill recalled his attitude at the time. “Let’s see if he does the work.”
When Trump succeeded, Merrill pointed to his no-holds-barred campaign style.
“What we missed at the time was how much the Republican base wanted a fighter,” Merrill said. “In Trump they saw a guy who was going to come out with a knife clenched in his teeth, swing into the battle and take no prisoners. That’s what the base wanted. And he gave it to them.”
Asked what he saw as he watched Trump take that golden escalator ride into history 10 years ago, Lewandowki replied with one word.
“Winner.”
