The Donald Trump campaign called for unity in the party before the November presidential elections.
Ohio Governor John Kasich is "embarrassing" the Republican party by not speaking at the national convention here, the Trump campaign said on Monday as it called for unity in the party ahead of the November polls.
"The party is unified. Certainly, the Bush family we would like to have them. But they are the past. We are dealing with the future," Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort told reporters at a news conference here when asked about the absence of top Republican leaders including those from the Bush family -- from which the party has had two US Presidents -- George H W Bush and George Bush.
"We would like to have them. But they do not reflect the future of the party. Many of the delegates supporting Jeb Bush are supporting Donald Trump now at this convention. Conventions are a healing time. We feel that the healing time is happening and when we leave here, it is going to be by and large a united party," Manafort said.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who is the vice presidential nominee of the party, would "certainly" help do that, he said. The decision by Kasich, who is not attending the Cleveland convention despite it being held in his home state, to not attend the Cleveland convention despite it being held in his home state is "embarrassing", Manafort said.
He said Kasich, a former White House contender, was invited to speak at the Convention but he declined to do so. "He did not want to participate (in the convention). We did not make that decision. We invited him. He chooses not to.
This was his decision. We think, this was wrong decision. We wanted him to speak at the Convention. He chooses not to," Manafort said in response to a question.
Several top Republican leaders are not attending the Republican convention which is seen as their opposition to Trump. Prominent among them being 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Indian-American former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Manafort said the party is united behind Trump. Several of the former primary rivals of Trump including Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are speaking at the Convention. On the first day, the convention would approve the platform, which is similar to the party election manifesto in India.
Kasich not attending the convention is "unusual", said John Green, Director, Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, The University of Akron. "This could have a very big impact (on Trump's prospects in Ohio)," he said at a news conference.
"May be many Ohio voters would be inclined not to vote either Trump or Clinton," he said. On the Republican side, there is a good bit of a tension between the Trump campaign and the Republican party. With Kasich not supporting Trump, this could have a big impact on election prospects given that the latest polls indicate that it is a very tight race between Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
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