"We have these massive crowds,” Donald Trump boasted Wednesday night. | Getty Trump: ‘I don’t know why we’re not leading by a lot’ 
 
 Donald Trump said he’s puzzled as to why he’s not leading Hillary Clinton by large margins at a rally Wednesday night, making no mention of the controversies that have mired his campaign all week. 
 
 Speaking to a large crowd at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Florida, Trump boasted about the turnout at his events, citing it as an indicator of his support. 
 
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 “We go to Oklahoma, we had 25,000 people. We had 21,000 people in Dallas. We had 35,000 people in Mobile, Alabama. We have these massive crowds,” the Republican nominee said. “You’ve got thousands of people outside trying to get in [today], and this is one hell of a big stadium.” 
 
 Trump then mocked the Democratic nominee’s use of scripted speeches, marveling at his own improvisational style even in large venues. 
 
 “Do you ever see Hillary Clinton? If she speaks in front of 24 people she’s got the teleprompter,” he jested. “If she came here tomorrow — so look at this place, packed, thousands outside, we actually put screens outside — so, Hillary, if she came here, if she had 500 people I’d be surprised.” 
 
 Trump then questioned how the attendance at his rallies hasn’t been reflected in the polls. 
 
 “I hear we’re leading Florida by a bit,” he said. “I don’t know why we’re not leading by a lot. Maybe crowds don’t make the difference.” 
 
 A Fox News national poll published Tuesday showed Trump trailing Clinton by 10 percentage points, 49 percent to 39 percent -- though he fares somewhat better in state polls. 
 
 According to POLITICO's Battleground States polling average, Clinton leads him 43.5 percent to 39.1 percent in an average of polls in 11 swing states. In Florida, she leads more narrowly in the average of recent state polls, 43.6 percent to 41.8 percent. ||||| The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) 
 
 The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) 
 
 Turmoil in the Republican Party escalated Wednesday as party leaders, strategists and donors voiced increased alarm about the flailing state of Donald Trump’s candidacy and fears that the presidential nominee was damaging the party with an extraordinary week of self-inflicted mistakes, gratuitous attacks and missed opportunities. 
 
 Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus was described as “very frustrated” with and deeply disturbed by Trump’s behavior over the past week, having run out of excuses to make on the nominee’s behalf to donors and other party leaders, according to multiple people familiar with the events. 
 
 Meanwhile, Trump’s top campaign advisers are struggling once again to instill discipline in their candidate, who has spent recent days lurching from one controversy to another while seemingly skipping chances to go on the offensive against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. 
 
 “A new level of panic hit the street,” said longtime operative Scott Reed, chief strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “It’s time for a serious reset.” 
 
 Trump allies on Wednesday publicly urged the candidate to reboot, furious that he has allowed his confrontation with the Muslim parents of dead Army Capt. Humayun Khan to continue for nearly a week. They also are angry with Trump because of his refusal in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday to endorse two of the GOP’s top elected officials — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — ahead of their coming primary elections. 
 
 After a bad week for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, some in the Republican Party are reaching new levels of panic. Here's why picking a new nominee might not be the answer. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) 
 
 [Donald Trump refuses to endorse Paul Ryan and John McCain in GOP primaries] 
 
 Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), one of Trump’s most loyal defenders, warned that his friend was in danger of throwing away the election and helping to make Clinton president. 
 
 “The current race is which of these two is the more unacceptable, because right now, neither of them is acceptable,” he said. “Trump is helping her to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is.” 
 
 Gingrich said Trump has only a matter of weeks to reverse course. “Anybody who is horrified by Hillary should hope that Trump will take a deep breath and learn some new skills,” he said. “He cannot win the presidency operating the way he is now. She can’t be bad enough to elect him if he’s determined to make this many mistakes.” 
 
 Campaigning in Florida, Trump sought to pivot away from his problems. He addressed the controversy and speculation, saying his campaign is “doing really well” and has “never been this well united,” then focused renewed attacks on Clinton and President Obama. 
 
 But the idea that the campaign was fully united was undercut when Mike Pence, Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, told Fox News Channel that he “strongly endorsed” Ryan in his primary campaign. Other Republicans viewed the endorsement as a sign that he is having some influence within the campaign, said a person familiar with Pence’s role. 
 
 Campaign manager Paul Manafort went on cable news channels earlier in the day to try to tamp down the rampant criticism of the GOP nominee, saying that reports of a campaign staff in crisis were incorrect. He said the campaign is “focused,” in “very good shape” and “moving forward.” 
 
 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump found himself in the middle of a whole bunch of controversies, all in the space of a few days. Here's a breakdown. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) 
 
 Throughout the day, there were also persistent reports that allies of Trump, including Priebus, Gingrich and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, were trying to arrange a meeting with Trump to urge him to refocus his candidacy. Manafort, when asked on Fox News about such a meeting, said he knew nothing about it. “Not me,” Gingrich said in an email when asked if he were part of an upcoming meeting. 
 
 A knowledgeable GOP strategist said, “It’s not happening,” then added, “It doesn’t take a genius to know that calling Donald Trump and yelling at him is never going to work.” 
 
 At past moments of crisis in the campaign, Trump’s children have played an influential role, and there was some hope within the party that they could again provide help. Bloomberg Politics reported Wednesday afternoon, however, that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump had left for a hunting trip outside the country. 
 
 [Transcript of Donald Trump’s interview with The Washington Post] 
 
 Friends and allies of Manafort disputed reports that the top adviser had given up on Trump, describing him as fully committed to waging a successful campaign. But they said Manafort has been frustrated by Trump’s apparent lack of discipline on the stump and in his many media interviews. 
 
 “Paul has good influence with Donald,” said Charlie Black, a longtime GOP strategist and former business partner of Manafort’s. “But he’s Donald, and he’s going to operate stream of consciousness a lot of times. You just hope he’ll have more days on message than days on consciousness.” 
 
 A second GOP strategist who also knows Manafort said Trump’s campaign manager is “the most aggressive guy I’ve ever met.” 
 
 “My guess is he’s trying to make the best of this for the campaign,” said this strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. “But this is not the plan. There’s no way to explain that this is what you want done in the middle of your campaign.” 
 
 From Washington to state capitals nationwide, a feeling of despair and despondence fell over the Republican establishment. 
 
 Trump suffered two defections Wednesday when Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), an Iraq War veteran, said on CNN that he is unlikely to vote for Trump because the nominee was “beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politics.” 
 
 Former Montana governor Marc Racicot, a former RNC chairman and a close associate of former president George W. Bush’s, also said he won’t vote for Trump. 
 
 “I’m not accusing people of being appeasers, but what I am saying is that there’s a transcendent set of values throughout our history that we subscribe to above party,” Racicot told Bloomberg Politics, adding that he thinks Trump lacks those values. 
 
 Reed, who managed Robert J. Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign, said Trump should “stop doing silly interviews nine times a day that get you off message” and deliver a major address seeking to reset the campaign establishing himself as the change candidate. 
 
 Reed said such a pivot is “mandatory” for Trump to be successful, as is smoothing relations with Ryan, McCain and other GOP leaders. “If Trump decides he wants to go it alone, it is a lonely road,” he said. 
 
 Two weeks ago at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, GOP leaders were buoyed by what they saw in Trump. But he quickly reverted to his old ways, setting off alarms in some parts of the party. 
 
 “I’m pulling for him, but he’s not driving on the pavement. He’s in the ditch,” said Henry Barbour, an RNC member and longtime strategist in Mississippi. “I’m frustrated. There’s time to fix it, but there’s one person who can fix it. It’s up to him.” 
 
 A Republican consultant who is working on Senate and gubernatorial races nationwide says the situation is wreaking havoc. 
 
 “The level of uncertainty with Trump just throws everyone off. It really hurts all of them,” the consultant said. “The Republican Party to him is like any kind of real estate deal. It’s all transactional. . . . He’s willing to burn the house down.” 
 
 If the situation has not improved by Labor Day, the RNC may need to begin redirecting resources to bolster vulnerable House and Senate candidates, as it did when Dole’s defeat became apparent in the fall of 1996, a senior Republican said. 
 
 Many top GOP fundraisers and donors are taking refuge in the Senate races, pouring their time and money into trying to protect the Republican majority. 
 
 “I have had a number of very successful calls today raising money,” said Virginia developer Bob Pence, who is serving as the finance chairman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “People are very animated for Senate races.” 
 
 Steve Duprey, another RNC member from New Hampshire and a confidant of McCain and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), both of whom Trump attacked in the Post interview, said Republican leaders are “pretty unhappy.” 
 
 “People are more frustrated than they have been with past indiscretions,” Duprey said, referencing Trump’s intraparty attacks as well as his feud with the Khan family. “People are just going, ‘Can you believe this?’ . . . Our nominee is losing opportunities to make the case why he should be elected instead of Mrs. Clinton and instead spending all of his time dealing with controversies of his own creation.” 
 
 Trump has not taken advantage of Friday’s report showing slow economic growth in the last quarter or of an interview Clinton gave to Fox News’s Chris Wallace on Sunday in which she said that FBI Director James B. Comey had generally agreed with her characterizations of her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. The interview has drawn criticism from fact checkers at news organizations. 
 
 “At some point, he needs to be immeasurably better than Hillary Clinton, but he’s not going to have an opportunity to govern if he doesn’t begin to bring Republicans together and then, eventually, bring independents and even Democrats on board and convince them that he can do this job,” Barbour said. 
 
 Barbour said he, like others, has been frustrated by missed opportunities since the Democratic National Convention ended Thursday night. “The last several days have made this election a referendum on Donald Trump. We want this to be a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the wrong direction the country’s on.” 
 
 RNC chief Priebus has had multiple conversations with Trump and his campaign, although he was not in direct contact with the candidate in the immediate hours after Trump declined to endorse Ryan. 
 
 Calling Priebus “very frustrated,” a knowledgable GOP strategist said, “It’s the totality of the week. The whole Khan thing kicking off the week was a concern to him, and then obviously all the other smaller issues were. He’s been going after this all week. The [failure to endorse Ryan and McCain] was like the cherry on the cake.” 
 
 Gingrich said Trump is continuing to operate on instincts that helped him in business and in the primaries but said the GOP nominee doesn’t realize that those skills are not adequate for a general election. 
 
 “He can’t learn what he doesn’t know because he doesn’t know he doesn’t know it,” Gingrich said. 
 
 Karen Tumulty contributed to this report. ||||| Sixty-one percent of voters think Hillary Clinton is dishonest, yet she’s opened up a big lead over Donald Trump in the latest Fox News Poll. 
 
 Here’s why: majorities think Clinton is nevertheless qualified to be president, and has the temperament and knowledge to serve effectively. It’s the opposite for Trump: over half feel he is not qualified, and lacks the temperament or knowledge to lead the country. And his 62 percent dishonesty rating tops hers. 
 
 After the conventions, the Clinton-Kaine ticket leads the Trump-Pence ticket by 10 points (49-39 percent) in the race for the White House. Clinton’s advantage is outside the poll’s margin of error. A month ago, Clinton was up by six points (44-38 percent, June 26-28). 
 
 This is the first time the Fox News Poll included running mates. Trump announced his vice presidential pick of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence July 15. Clinton told supporters she’d picked Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine July 22. 
 
 Since last month, Clinton’s position is improved with most groups, as she gained ground among men, women, whites, Democrats, young voters, and seniors. 
 
 The Democrat is winning among the so-called “Obama coalition,” the key voting blocs that secured his re-election. Clinton is favored among women by 23 points (57-34 percent), blacks by 83 (87-4 percent), Hispanics by 48 (68-20 percent), and voters under 30 by 18 (49-31 percent). 
 
 CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL POLL RESULTS 
 
 Those numbers rival Barack Obama’s performance among those groups against Mitt Romney in 2012, when he won among women by 11 points (55-44 percent), blacks by 87 (93-6 percent), Hispanics by 44 (71-27 percent), and voters under 30 by 23 (60-37 percent). 
 
 Trump is the choice among whites by 10 points (49-39 percent), men by 5 (45-40 percent), white evangelical Christians by 50 (69-19 percent), and whites without a college degree by 16 (52-36 percent). 
 
 Right now he’s underperforming his 2012 counterpart. Romney won whites by 20 points (59-39 percent), men by 7 (52-45 percent), white evangelicals by 57 (78-21 percent), and whites without a degree by 26 (62-36 percent). 
 
 Trump bests Clinton among veterans by 53-39 percent. 
 
 Twelve percent of Republicans back Clinton. That’s more than double the number of Democrats supporting Trump (five percent). And while Clinton garners more support among Democrats (87 percent) than Trump does among Republicans (78 percent), she trails among independents. They go for the Republican by 41-33 percent. In 2012, independents went for Romney by 50-45 percent. 
 
 More Clinton supporters say their vote is for her rather than against Trump (49-47 percent). Among Trump supporters, a majority says their vote is better described as being against Clinton (52 percent), while less than half are voting because they like him (44 percent). 
 
 When Libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are included in the hypothetical vote, they receive 12 percent, while Clinton takes 44 percent to Trump’s 35 percent. They siphon off support about equally from both the Democratic and GOP tickets. 
 
 Qualified to be president? Sixty-five percent say Clinton is vs. 43 percent Trump. Fifty-eight percent feel he isn’t qualified, including 45 percent who say “not at all.” 
 
 On temperament, 64 percent say Clinton has it. Just 37 percent say Trump does. And 72 percent think Clinton has the knowledge to serve effectively, while 40 percent say the same for Trump. 
 
 The poll finds a couple things that could bode well for the incumbent party, most notably a positive rating for the president. A 52-percent majority approves of the job Barack Obama’s doing as president. Forty-five percent disapprove. Those are his best marks since May 2011, soon after U.S. forces killed Usama bin Laden, when 55 percent approved and 41 percent disapproved. 
 
 In addition, more voters feel they are getting ahead financially (35 percent) than have felt that way in nearly a decade. 
 
 There are also findings that could help Trump. Most voters say they are either just able to pay bills (49 percent) or are falling behind (14 percent). In addition, 55 percent remains dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Those unhappy voters prefer Trump by 62-23 percent, which makes sense considering 84 percent of Republicans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. 
 
 Poll-pourri 
 
 After emails published online showed the Democratic National Committee favored Clinton over Bernie Sanders during the nomination process, 37 percent of Democrats think their party’s primary process was rigged in favor of Clinton. That jumps to 56 percent among all voters, and 61 percent among those who preferred Sanders over Clinton as the party’s nominee. 
 
 Some 37 percent of Sanders supporters think he would have won if the primaries had been fair. 
 
 Republicans are still divided over their party’s nominee: 50 percent are happy with Trump, while 49 percent would rather have someone else. 
 
 Finally, 77 percent of voters are familiar with the exchange between Trump and the parents of a Muslim-American soldier who died while serving in Iraq. Some 69 percent of them describe Trump’s criticism of the Khan family as “out of bounds.” Among Republicans, 40 percent think his response was “in bounds,” while 41 percent say “out of bounds,” and 19 percent are unsure. 
 
 The Fox News poll is based on landline and cellphone interviews with 1,022 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from July 31-August 2, 2016. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all registered voters. ||||| Media caption Donald Trump speaking at a rally in Florida 
 
 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has insisted that his campaign is united despite reports of deep divisions in the party after he made a series of missteps. 
 
 Speaking at a rally in Florida, Mr Trump said the campaign was "doing really well". 
 
 US media outlets said it was in turmoil after Mr Trump repeatedly attacked parents of a fallen US soldier. 
 
 Staffers told CNN that they "feel like they are wasting their time". 
 
 "I just want to tell you the campaign is doing really well," the nominee said in Daytona Beach. 
 
 "It's never been so well united... I would say right now it's the best in terms of being united that it's been since we began." 
 
 Earlier Mr Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort blamed reports of disunity on Mr Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. 
 
 "This is another Clinton narrative that she put out there and the media is picking up on," he said. "Mr Trump has appeared this week at crowds that are overflowing into the street." 
 
 Political calculus - analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC News North America reporter 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Mr Manafort called reports of campaign turmoil "a Clinton narrative" 
 
 The Donald Trump rollercoaster is picking up speed. 
 
 Thanks to a week with enough controversies for an entire election season, Republicans are flooding the media with reports of campaign chaos and an impending mass defection from their nominee if things don't turn around quickly. 
 
 Behind all these stories of political discord, however, is the simple fact that while insider establishment operatives may be looking for the exits, Republican officeholders who must eventually answer to the 13 million Trump primary voters have yet to break ranks. 
 
 Things will have to get very bad - much worse than they are now - to result in the sort of doomsday scenarios currently being pondered. 
 
 It is a simple political calculus. The key, as always, is in the polls and public sentiment. 
 
 If Mr Trump appears to have a reasonable chance to win in November, he will persevere, as he has all year. 
 
 If his poll numbers crash, and Republican politicians start worrying more about losing their own races in November than alienating their party's base, the Trump-coaster could careen off the rails at last. 
 
 Going against Mr Trump is still a risky bet. And when it comes to preserving their jobs, politicians are all about minimising risk. 
 
 Hillary's email problem: read more from Anthony 
 
 The New York billionaire has been sharply criticised for his attacks on the bereaved parents of a US Muslim soldier killed in Iraq. 
 
 His ongoing war of words with Khizr and Ghazala Khan - the parents of Capt Humayun Khan - has intensified rifts within the Republican Party. 
 
 NBC News reported that senior Republicans plan to stage an "intervention" to get the campaign back on message, stressing issues such as jobs and trade deals. 
 
 The effort will be led, according to NBC, by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Trump allies former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. 
 
 "I think some of what Trump has done is very self-destructive," Mr Gingrich told Fox Business Network on Wednesday. 
 
 Three prominent Republicans - including New York Congressman Richard Hanna - have said this week that they would vote for Mrs Clinton, saying Mr Trump was unfit to serve as president. 
 
 Many Republicans opposed to Mr Trump have stopped short of supporting Mrs Clinton, saying they would vote for a third candidate instead. 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Clint Eastwood said Mr Trump was an enemy of political correctness 
 
 One person who did say he would back Mr Trump on Wednesday was Hollywood actor and director Clint Eastwood. 
 
 While stopping short of endorsing Mr Trump, Eastwood said he would vote for him. "I can understand where he's coming from, but I don't always agree with it," he told Esquire magazine. 
 
 Eastwood, 86, also said Mr Trump was an enemy of political correctness, adding: "We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist." 
 
 Mr Trump's rocky week so far: ||||| Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Republicans' frustration with Donald Trump has reached new heights, with party leaders scrambling to persuade their presidential nominee to abandon divisive tactics that have triggered sinking poll numbers and low morale. 
 
 Party chairman Reince Priebus is appealing to the New York billionaire's adult children to help amid new signs of a campaign in trouble. 
 
 Trump's operation has been beset by internal discord, including growing concern about general election preparedness and a lack of support from Republican leaders, according to two people familiar with the organization's inner workings. 
 
 One of the people said Trump privately blames his own staff for failing to quiet the backlash from his own party after he criticized an American Muslim family whose son, a U.S. Army captain, was killed in Iraq. 
 
 The inner tension comes as Priebus and handful of high-profile Trump allies consider whether to confront the candidate directly to encourage a new approach following a series of startling stances and statements. In the midst of the uproar over his continued criticism of the Khan family, Trump infuriated Priebus and other party leaders by refusing to endorse GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan's re-election. 
 
 The officials, including one with direct knowledge of Priebus' thinking, were granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issuer publicly. This came after one of the most tumultuous weeks of Trump's presidential campaign. 
 
 Trump on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that the GOP frustration was hurting his campaign, even as he openly contemplated an Election Day loss. 
 
 "Wouldn't that be embarrassing to lose to crooked Hillary Clinton? That would be terrible," he said during a campaign stop in battleground Florida. He also insisted, "We've never been this united." 
 
 In an interview later Wednesday with Florida's WPEC-TV, Trump was asked if he was being "baited into battles." 
 
 "I think that's probably right," he acknowledged. "We're going to focus more on Hillary Clinton." 
 
 The most powerful Republicans in Washington and New York's Trump Tower concede things will not change unless Trump wants them to. 
 
 "The candidate is in control of his campaign," campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox News Channel, highlighting his inability to control the nominee. "And I'm in control of doing the things that he wants me to do in the campaign." 
 
 Clinton, meanwhile, kept up her assault on Trump's business practices, holding up a Trump-branded tie as she spoke at the Knotty Tie Company in battleground Colorado. 
 
 "I really would like him to explain why he paid Chinese workers to make Trump ties," she told employees in Denver, "instead of deciding to make those ties right here in Colorado." 
 
 Trump blamed the media — "so dishonest" — for growing criticism of his recent statements and his unwillingness to accept guidance from senior advisers. 
 
 Privately, however, Trump has concerns about his own team. 
 
 He was deeply upset when GOP leaders "took the other side" during his ongoing quarrel with the Khan family, one person said, and blames his campaign staff for not keeping top Republicans in line. Another person said Trump is irritated that general election planning in battleground states isn't further along with less than 100 days until Election Day. 
 
 The internal tension is complicated by Trump's frequent travels without his senior advisers and his adult children, who wield significant influence in the campaign, the people close to the campaign said. 
 
 "I would say in the last couple of weeks, he has been remarkably underperforming and we'll see whether or not he can take a deep breath and learn these lessons," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Fox Business News. 
 
 Trump stunned Republicans by telling The Washington Post in an interview Tuesday that he wasn't ready to endorse Ryan, who faces a primary contest in Wisconsin next week. Ryan has backed Trump despite deep differences on policy and temperament, and has encouraged other Republicans to unite behind the party's nominee. 
 
 Former Trump adviser Barry Bennett acknowledged signs of poor morale among the campaign staff he maintains contact with, but he also said it would be silly to dismiss Trump's chances with three months before Election Day. 
 
 "This would be the end of any other Republican candidate in the history of the country. And he's only 5 or 6 points behind," Bennett said. 
 
 Indeed, Trump on Wednesday reported raising $80 million in July for his campaign and the Republican Party, a significant improvement from past months. Clinton raised about $90 million over the same period. 
 
 Privately, Trump points to his recent fundraising success, large rallies and decent polling against a seasoned candidate as evidence that his campaign is working well. 
 
 And his loyalists continue to stand behind him. 
 
 "The media is blowing this out of proportion significantly," said New Hampshire Rep. Stephen Stepanek. 
 
 ___ 
 
 What political news is the world searching for on Google and talking about on Twitter? Find out via AP's Election Buzz interactive. http://elections.ap.org/buzz 
 
 __ 
 
 Peoples reported from Washington. AP writers Julie Pace and Julie Bycowicz in Washington and Jill Colvin in New Jersey contributed to this report. Follow Steve Peoples and Jonathan Lemire on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/sppeoples and http://twitter.com/JonLemire ||||| The Republican National Committee is categorically denying reports that party officials are looking into how to replace Donald Trump Donald John TrumpEx-White House counsel interviewed Whitaker about joining Trump's legal team: report Flake slams Trump for doubting Arizona vote count: No evidence of 'electoral corruption' Comey talked about sensitive FBI matters on personal email: report MORE in case he drops out of the presidential race before Election Day. 
 
 No one at national party headquarters has been instructed to look into that doomsday scenario, RNC strategist Sean Spicer said, and speculation that the RNC might pressure Trump to drop out of the race is unfounded. 
 
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 Spicer insisted that there is no chance that anyone else will be the ballot in November. 
 
 “Donald Trump is the nominee of the Republican Party full-stop,” Spicer told The Hill. “That’s the reality. The rest is just a media-pundit concoction.” 
 
 The Trump campaign is also dismissing reports of turmoil in the campaign and the Republican Party as a media creation. 
 
 Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort noted in a Fox News interview that Team Trump raised $80 million in July, its best haul yet, and said that the campaign is furiously expanding in key battleground states. 
 
 
 
 He shot down a report that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and other Trump allies were planning an “intervention” for the candidate to get him back on track. 
 
 “The only need we have for an intervention is maybe with some media types who keep saying things that aren’t true,” Manafort said. 
 
 Still, party leaders are working furiously to get Trump back on message after a disastrous stretch in which he has veered wildly off course and renewed fears among Republicans that he will lead them to electoral disaster in the fall. 
 
 
 
 One party source told The Hill that Priebus is “furious” with Trump for spending the last few days publicly feuding with the Muslim parents of a slain U.S. soldier and for declining to endorse Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanPelosi: Gun control ‘will be a priority’ in next House On The Money: Waters will soon wield gavel in feud with White House | McHenry announces bid for Financial Services ranking member | Fed keeps rates steady in November Congressional panel scales back bipartisan budget reform proposal MORE's (R-Wis.) reelection bid. 
 
 
 
 Priebus is close friends with Ryan, a fellow Wisconsin native, and their supporters believe both men have stuck their necks out for Trump only to have him turn around and humiliate them. 
 
 
 
 Priebus has communicated his anger to Manafort and other campaign officials, pushing for Trump to turn his fire on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonComey talked about sensitive FBI matters on personal email: report Pipe bomb suspect indicted on charges of using weapons of mass destruction With Matthew Whitaker playing Roy Cohn, DOJ could be Trump’s personal law firm MORE, rather than GOP leaders. 
 
 
 
 Those closest to Trump are leaning on him to do the same. 
 
 
 
 A source close to the campaign told The Hill that Manafort and Trump’s adult children, who together make up his most influential team of advisers, are “distraught” over the billionaire's detour into chaos over the last week. 
 
 Manafort and Trump's children are privately urging the candidate to drop his attacks against the Khan family, to stop picking fights with GOP leaders and Republicans up for reelection, and to return to the message that helped him win the GOP primary, the source said. 
 
 
 
 “The last week he would not drop this thing with the Khans and he would not get back on message,” a source close to the campaign said. 
 
 
 
 “They're all working on him,” the source added. “He'll say ‘yes’, but then he'll go out and get provoked or start talking stream of consciousness ... they're hopeful, Paul's hopeful and the family's hopeful that they'll get him back on track and that's about all I can tell you.” 
 
 Neither Manafort nor a spokeswoman for Trump's children responded to requests for comment. 
 
 The Trump campaign and the RNC were in crisis mode on Wednesday as they worked to beat back a host of media reports about campaign turmoil and the possibility that Trump is eyeing an exit route. 
 
 Trump’s campaign has been embroiled in controversy for the last week as he publicly feuded with Khizr Khan, the father of a U.S. solider who died in Iraq, for criticizing him on stage at the Democratic National Convention. 
 
 
 
 Trump’s top allies — Ben Carson, Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie, among them — have admonished Trump for criticizing the Gold Star family or have been critical of him for being too easily distracted. 
 
 
 
 “The question is can he … slow down, take a deep breath and reorganize how he’s operating so that he can get to the standard of running for president,” Gingrich (R-Ga.), a former House Speaker, said Wednesday on CNBC. “He’s not done that up to now … which has been very disheartening to his supporters.” 
 
 
 
 Republicans and Democrats have lined up to rebuke Trump for engaging in the political fight with the Khans, which has given new fodder to critics who say the GOP nominee is erratic and unfit for office. 
 
 
 
 President Obama made that case from the White House on Tuesday, citing the Khan controversy, and Democrats up and down the ballot are putting the heat on GOP leaders and Republicans up for election to cut ties with Trump. 
 
 
 
 Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday cited Trump’s feud with the Khans when he became the first GOP member of Congress to announce he’d vote for Clinton. 
 
 Several other high-profile Republican figures have also announced this week that they’re leaving the party in this election, including billionaire businesswoman Meg Whitman, who has pledged to raise money for Clinton. 
 
 Trump exacerbated his problem with skeptical Republicans in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday in which he declined to endorse Ryan, who has been critical of the GOP nominee on occasion but is supporting his presidential bid. 
 
 
 
 Even Trump’s top allies on Capitol Hill were confounded as to why he had picked a fight with Ryan, who faces a primary challenge next week. 
 
 
 
 “I think that Trump needs to have a bigger tent and a bigger heart,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a Trump supporter. “He’s the GOP nominee now and has to be more forgiving, has to be the bigger man in these cases.” 
 
 
 
 Trump’s twin controversies have dominated headlines for days, frustrating his allies and giving new ammunition to his critics. 
 
 
 
 Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Michael (Mike) Richard PenceHow President Trump won last night Trump asks Pence during press conference to be on 2020 ticket Facebook delays political ad transparency requirements in UK MORE, has had to sweep up Trump’s messes on both occasions. 
 
 
 
 Pence released a statement over the weekend calling the late Capt. Humayun Khan a “hero” and saying that his family should be “cherished.” 
 
 
 
 On Wednesday, Pence announced that he “strongly” supports Ryan for reelection.
– Donald Trump is the GOP nominee for president and there will be no refunds or exchanges, the Republican National Committee insisted Wednesday amid rumors that Trump's missteps had panicked it so badly it was looking at options for a replacement and planning to pressure him to drop out. "Donald Trump is the nominee of the Republican Party full-stop," RNC strategist Sean Spicer tells the Hill. "That's the reality. The rest is just a media-pundit concoction." A roundup of coverage: Despite talk of internal turmoil—and his running mate's endorsement of Paul Ryan—Trump told a rally in Daytona Beach, Fla., Wednesday that the campaign is "doing really well" and has "never been so well united," the BBC reports. CNN reports that for the first 11 minutes of the Daytona Beach rally, Trump stayed on-message in a way that would have pleased top GOP officials, slamming Hillary Clinton and President Obama over a $400 million payment to Iran. The next 40 minutes, however, were a more familiar mix of attacks on a wide variety of targets, including Megyn Kelly. But despite the public talk of unity, sources tell the Washington Post that RNC chief Reince Priebus is "disturbed" and "frustrated" by Trump's recent behavior, particularly the feud with the Khan family, and is seeking a campaign reboot. The Trump campaign has firmly denied rumors that Priebus and Trump allies, including Newt Gingrich, are planning an "intervention" to get him back on track. Sources tell the AP that Priebus is so concerned by the way Trump is splitting the party that he's trying to enlist Trump's children to help. At a second Florida rally on Wednesday, Trump boasted about huge turnout at his rallies and told the Jacksonville crowd he doubted Clinton could get a crowd of 500, Politico reports. "I hear we're leading Florida by a bit," he said. "I don't know why we're not leading by a lot. Maybe crowds don't make the difference." According to a Fox News poll released Wednesday, Clinton is up 5 points from a month ago and now leads Trump by 10 points nationwide, 49% to 39%. Some 61% of voters consider her untrustworthy, while 62% feel the same way about Trump.