Donald Trump has been the presumptive Republican nominee for a number of weeks, but despite that, it seems that he still has some key figures within the party to win over.
Never too far from the headlines, Trump's latest incident over posting an image on his Twitter account which was seen as anti-Semitic might have damaged his chances of raising funds for his campaign.
The tweet contained an image describing Hillary Clinton as "crooked", as well as a shape on top of a pile of money, which many believed to be a Star of David. Although he eventually took the image down and replaced it with a similar one that had a circle instead, he later took to social media again to defend himself, and spoke about the controversy at an event in Ohio.
Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the 'Star of David' also?
Dishonest media! #Frozen pic.twitter.com/4LJBpSm8xa— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 7 July 2016
Trump's refusal to back down from the matter reportedly has a number of GOP backers concerned about his viability as a candidate, and reluctant to donate to his campaign.
The Hill note that members of the Republican Jewish Coalition have expressed their dislike for the remarks, with longtime member of the board of the organisation, Walter Stern, saying "I’m waiting for him to come forward as a statesman, and so far he hasn’t done it."
The Wall Street Journal note that there was also concern from donors about Trump's comments on former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, after he stated that he killed terrorists "so good."
This is not the first stumbling block that Trump has encountered this week in his efforts to solidify GOP support. At a recent event, it was reported that Trump's attempts to woo members of the Congress and Senate went badly awry, and ended up with him branding one of them a "loser."
The New York Times report that the meeting included a number of figures who had openly criticised Trump, and he did not take that lying down.
One exchange featured Trump aiming barbs at Arizona Senator Tim Flake, who took issue with Trump's comments on John McCain, after he questioned whether the former Presidential candidate should be seen as a war hero given that he was captured, as well as his remarks on Mexican-Americans.
Trump reportedly told Flake that "he had been going easy on Mr. Flake so far, but that he would ensure that Mr. Flake lost his re-election bid this year if the senator did not change his tune." Flake, rather perplexed, had to inform Trump that he wasn't up for re-election in the upcoming campaign.
After the meeting, Flake said "I want to support our nominee, I really do. But given some of the statements that have been made, I'm finding it difficult."
