That isn't the reason he got no traction. With the media, Trump sucks the air out of the room. No matter how much the media says they dislike Trump, the keep giving him free press and air time. Also, Trump is pretty popular with the Republican voters who would be Tea Party voters. Just horrible timing. IMO, one would have to have pretty big blinders on to blame it on Republicans abandoning Tea Party ideas.
That said, this part of the quote certainly does apply to most of the Republican party elected officials in D.C.
But the Republican party’s concern about high deficits and mounting debt was a mile wide and an inch deep