Republican insiders are worrying that if Donald Trump becomes president, he will demand that Republicans be loyal to him, but won't return that loyalty, the
Washington Examiner reports.
Republicans faced the issue when Trump slammed Susana Martinez, the Republican governor of New Mexico, according to another
Washington Examiner report.
Trump's combative style has led some to question his leadership ability.
"Trump needs to learn how to lead a team and not just a brand," Republican consultant Brad Todd said, the Examiner reports.
Trump apparently needs the party for fundraising and organizational support, but support for him isn't coming quickly.
GOP financier Fred Malek wrote in
The Washington Post that "Many Republicans, including myself, are coming around to support him, but we also believe it is imperative for Trump to recognize that the time for slash and burn is over."
Malek wrote that Republicans are worrying that Trump might not make use of the enthusiasm he has generated for the party, and he believes it's critically important for Trump to unify the party and start "projecting himself as the confident, presidential figure that voters expect from their commander in chief."
GOP voters appear to be rallying behind Trump, according to
FiveThirtyEight.com. That site's poll analysis said that Trump averages 85 percent support against Hillary Clinton among Republican voters.
Columnist Michael Gerson wrote an editorial in St. Louis Today that said Republicans have no alternatives to Trump, and that he will not change. "Some Republicans keep expecting Trump to finally remove the mask of misogyny, prejudice and cruelty and act in a more presidential manner," Gerson said.
"But it is not a mask. It is his true face," Gerson wrote.
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