Santorum: GOP United Behind ‘Economic Populist Issues’ Is a Winner

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum urged the Republican Party to unite behind Donald Trump’s message of restoring economic prosperity heading into Election Day during an interview Wednesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

Santorum, a former Republican presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016, expressed his frustration with members of Congress and state politicians who have refused to support their party’s nominee — or who quickly rescinded their support following damaging revelations for Trump. Santorum said Republican politicians needs to focus on the issues at stake and not the personal flaws of their presidential nominee. Santorum begged them to support the “economic populist issues that are very, very popular in America right now.”

“Don’t talk about Trump’s comments. Talk about his policies and say, ‘Look, I’m supporting the policies.'”

“If people don’t realize that if this election is not about issues, then we’re not going to win,” Santorum told LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham, adding, “Donald Trump has the message out there that actually is a message that can unite — particularly on the economy — with Republicans and Democrats, to get things done in Washington, D.C.”

Seizing on Monday’s announcement from the administration that Obamacare premiums would rise by an average 25 percent nationwide, Santorum urged the GOP to focus on practical concerns that affect ordinary American citizens.

Although Pennsylvania has gone Democratic in the last several presidential elections, Santorum noted Republicans have found success there on both the federal and local levels.

“Because Republicans in Pennsylvania [promote] this message of economic populism, this message of being the party of the working men and women of this country — not the party of government, not the party of the elites, not the party of the educational Establishment,” the state has elected them, Santorum said.

Adding that the Republicans in Pennsylvania have learned to talk about “the issues that are at the core of what people at the kitchen table who are struggling in America or worrying about today,” Santorum said that Trump, too, “is that candidate.”

“And that’s why I believe he can and will win Pennsylvania if he can stay on that message,” Santorum said.

A new poll from Remington Research found the GOP nominee has winnowed Clinton’s recent lead in the state and is now within 3 points in Pennsylvania.

“This should be Republican territory — if we only got our message straight on globalization,” Ingraham said.

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But both Santorum and Ingraham expressed their frustration with Republicans who have steered clear of supporting Trump — including Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who Ingraham said was “M.I.A.” on backing the GOP nominee.

“I’m just not all that impressed with some of these voices in the Senate who don’t see the importance that even with all of his flaws … that a guy who sometimes is crude is always going to be better than a woman who is always corrupt,” Ingraham said. “We always do the circular firing squad … You cease to be a party when you’re in the perpetual circular firing squad.”

Santorum agreed, saying that what “Hillary’s done and what all the Democrats are trying to do is to make this about the person, make this about the faults of the individual, as opposed to the focus on the people in American who are hurting and what party is best able to be able to get this country back on its right footing.”

“And as much as a lot of senators and House members don’t like what they see from Donald Trump from a personal level, the bottom line is he’s a Republican who’s running — by and large — who’s run a very focused campaign on economic populist issues that are very, very popular in American right now,” Santorum said. “And if they just align themselves behind that agenda, then they’ll do very well.”

“Don’t talk about Trump’s comments. Talk about his policies and say, ‘Look, I’m supporting the policies,'” Santorum concluded.