Keeping the ‘Never Trump’ band together
By: Bryant Holloway
Tags: Politics, Trump, Republicans

Donald Trump’s ascendance to the presidency was celebrated by many, but not all Republicans. Republicans who were dissatisfied with Trump’s candidacy and his subsequent presidency spoke out against him and supported his opposition. These people became part of the Never Trump movement.

During Trump’s presidency, Never Trumper’s emerged from two main camps, which for the purposes of this piece, will be called “traditionalists” and “centrists.” People from both of these camps viewed Trump as a dangerous president and for four years, they worked together, speaking out against him. The “traditionalists” viewed the Republican Party’s support for Trump contemptible but temporary, whereas the “centrists” viewed Trump as a symptom of a larger problem within the Republican Party.

The Never Trump movement became invaluable in the fight against Trumpism because the movement had past connections and some legitimacy among Republican circles. Simply put, Never Trumper’s could reach Republicans with certain anti-Trump messages that Democrats simply couldn’t.

With Trump out of office, these two factions within the Never Trump movement are at a crossroads. On one end, the “traditionalists” generally view that with Trump out of office, the time may be approaching for them to return to the fold of the Republican Party. The “centrists” on the other hand see Trump’s removal from office as a battle won, but the war to remove Trumpism from the Republican Party far from over.

Trumpism is a style of governance that continues on even with its founder, Donald Trump, no longer in office. Trumpism focuses on culture wars, leading through lies, and motivating voters with fear. Trumpism’s vision for America is country that is isolated, petty, and divided.

While “traditionalists” generally seek to rid the Republican Party of Trumpism from the inside, “centrists” generally seek to create a new political party that can be competitive and better represent its members than the current Republican Party. By creating a new party, the “centrists” are seeking to rid the Republican Party of some of its worst elements by directly competing with Republicans ideologically.

This divergence of views between “traditionalists” and “centrists” could mean the end to a unified Never Trump movement. However, the Never Trump movement is still a valuable vehicle to bring about political change. With many Republican candidates tripping over themselves trying to get Trump’s endorsement and the general acceptance among Republicans of Trump’s “big lie,” Trumpism continues even with its leader out of office.

The Never Trump movement found its ranks filled with people guided by principles that couldn’t be found within the Trump administration, principles such as honesty, integrity, and accountability. The Never Trump movement can survive if it remains guided by those principles and also recognizes the Republican party is still largely devoid of such principles.

Whether Never Trumpers seek to bring honesty, integrity, and accountability to the Republican Party from within or from outside the party, their desire is a worthy one. There is no 100 percent correct path for the Never Trump movement after Trump.

Even within “traditionalist” and “centrist” circles, opinions on how the Never Trump movement should operate differs. Some members of these groups are Democrats or Independents, and others remain Republican. For the movement to be successful in the future, differences between members of the movement should be minimized. Instead, the focus should remain on defeating Trumpism as an ideology, to ensure demagogues of any party never reach the White House.

If the Never Trump movement dissolves, the country will lose one of the strongest checks to holding back Trumpism. To heal the Republican Party or to defeat it, the Never Trump movement is still relevant even without Trump in office. For the good of our country, the Never Trump movement should do everything it can to keep its factions unified until the day Trumpism is truly defeated.