GOP could be near Trump breaking point; frustration abounds

Trump's campaign says things are moving in the right direction, a position that itself feeds the discontent among his GOP detractors.

The billionaire businessman's loyalists say enough time remains to change the dynamic against Democrat Hillary Clinton who, like Trump, is deeply unpopular with voters.

[...] his backers are blaming the media for the perception that all is not well.

[...] in the past seven days, Trump has questioned the advice of senior aides, threatened to stop raising money for the party, dismissed the usefulness of get-out-the-vote efforts and defended his decision not to run any television ads even as his opponents fill the airwaves with spots backing Clinton in several contested states.

More than 100 GOP officials, including at least six former members of Congress and more than 20 former staffers at the Republican National Committee, have signed a letter asking the party chairman, Reince Priebus, to stop helping Trump's campaign.

The letter follows a steady stream of recent defections from Republican elected officials and longtime strategists who vow never to support Trump.

Senior Republicans in Washington and in some of the most contested states have discussed a scenario in which the party scales back its presidential focus in states that don't feature top races for Senate.

There is no evidence that a formal plan to break with Trump exists at either the state party or RNC level, but Priebus has informally discussed the possibility with party leaders in battleground states in recent days, three of the officials said.

Should that occur, it's not likely to happen until after Labor Day, as the party is still relying on Trump to help raise money to fund its expansive political operation.

The party chairman joined the nominee on Friday, part of a larger effort to ensure an experienced political hand is almost always at the candidate's side when he travels.

Some credit that strategy for Trump's avoiding devastating unforced errors, such as his tussle with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Muslim-Americans parents whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004.

[...] he gets help and admits it, he won't be able to change.