Republican Senators Really Want Donald Trump to Go Away

The billionaire's swift rise to the top of the GOP presidential field is not being regarded as a welcome development.

Donald Trump, president and chief executive of Trump Organization Inc. and U.S. 2016 presidential candidate, speaks during The Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, U.S., on Saturday, July 18, 2015. The sponsor, The Family Leader, is a "pro-family, pro-marriage, pro-life organization which champions the principle that God is the ultimate leader of the family."
Photographer: Daniel Acker

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By Sahil Kapur

July 21, 2015 at 7:22 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Senate Republicans were eager Tuesday to downplay the ascent of billionaire Donald Trump, who has surged to the front of the party's presidential pack in a third consecutive national poll.

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake lamented that Trump was hurting the Republican Party with his inflammatory attacks likening Mexican immigrants to rapists and drug dealers, a message he doubled down on in a July 11 rally in Phoenix.