There were those who never wanted to support him, there are now the ex-believers who have become his critics: a growing section of the Republican Party is now showing in black and white its dislike of Donald Trump, who is credited with being the architect of repeat election defeats.
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These Republicans ignored his excesses as long as he cut taxes, appointed conservative judges, and most importantly, won.
But the Republicans’ underperforming in the midterm elections, largely attributed to the influence of Mr. Trump, is blowing the American right’s numbers out of the woods.
“I’m proud of what’s been done — tax reform, deregulation, judicial reform,” confirmed ABC Republican and former House Speaker Paul Ryan (2015-2019).
“But I’m one of those people who say ‘never again Trump’. Why? Because I want to win (in the election) and with Trump we lose. That was very clear to us in 2018, 2020 and now in 2022.”
Anti-Trump conservatives played an important role in Democratic victories in 2018, in the midterm elections, and especially in 2020 with the arrival of Joe Biden in the White House.
But they were viewed as renegades by the leadership of a party that had embraced the boisterous and populist streak of its leader, Donald Trump.
“Trump could well lose”
The new critics of Trumpism are not mere free electrons, but many influential voices capable of shaping the future of the Grand Old Party (GOP).
It includes a handful of governors, former cabinet ministers and senior officials under Mr Trump and – inevitably – potential rivals.
Ron DeSantis, the Nov. 8 re-elected governor of Florida and seen as his most serious opponent for the 2024 primary, has been particularly discreet with Donald Trump as he approaches his popularity in the polls.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris opinion poll places the former president as the first victim of the midterm elections, in stark contrast to a triumphant Ron DeSantis.
“If they’re both candidates, it’s going to be one hell of a game and Trump could well lose,” Mark Penn, one of the poll’s authors, told The Hill newspaper.
All eyes are now on Georgia, where a candidate backed by the former real estate mogul is up against the incumbent Democrat in a runoff for a key Senate seat.
Threatens
Mike Pompeo (CIA, Secretary of State) and Nikki Haley (UN Representative), who were appointed by Mr Trump when he was in power, have recently distanced themselves from their former boss. Chris Christie, a lieutenant in the winning 2016 campaign, said the GOP “only loses” because of Donald Trump’s personality.
And given Ron DeSantis’ growing popularity, many fear the former president’s establishment of an independent political party if he loses in the 2024 Republican primary — a daunting prospect for the conservative camp.
“The threat is simple: If the whole party doesn’t follow in his footsteps, he’ll burn the whole house down by luring his troops out of the GOP,” Bill Barr, his former attorney general, told the New York Post.
However, it’s wise to remember that with every blow to his presidency — two impeachments, multiple investigations, etc. — Republicans abandoned it before it rose from its ashes, more popular than ever.
But unlike yesterday, his name no longer sounds like a promise of election victory.
“It’s been like three elections in a row we’ve lost to Donald Trump, so on the third warning, out! exclaimed Larry Hogan, the outgoing Republican governor of Maryland, on CNN.
“That’s the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different outcome,” he added. “Donald Trump kept saying, ‘We’re going to win so much that we get tired of winning. I’m tired of losing That’s all he did. »