WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has been confirmed as the de facto leader for the GOP at a marquee gathering of conservatives held in Orlando, Florida.
A smaller forum held in Washington ended with an unanswered question: What should Republicans do if they feel betrayed by their dominance?
Many of the Principles First summit participants, which was held Saturday and Sunday, were victims of the MAGA movement. They’ve either faced Trump’s fury or lost races for challenging him. The weekend was filled with panels that had the feeling of being a support group to political outcasts.
Marina Zimmerman, who stood in the audience to announce that she was running for Congress in Colorado, against Rep. Lauren Boebert , said so. Former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois walked into the crowd and hugged her.
Sarah Longwell, an anti Trump political strategist, said that she knew the audience and moderated a panel. “This is a tribe of the tribeless and a refuge for the politically homeless.
Panel “Should we Stay or Should We Move?” concluded without agreement. Trying to reform the GOP from within and staying in the GOP seemed futile to many. Creating a third party could split the anti-Trump vote, and help him win if he runs again for president in 2024.
Michael Wood, a Texas Republican who was criticized by Trump and lost a congressional election last year, stated that he is currently wrestling with the issue. “If you ask me at different times in the day what I think should be done, you’ll get different responses.”
The feeling of futility was heightened by the fact that nearly 500 people were unable to see any hope in the party as long as Trump is elected.
Barbara Comstock, panelist and former Republican member from Virginia, stated that Donald Trump will not be the next president. “If he is the nominee, then we will lose. … … Trump doesn’t get that.
They talked and networked as they spoke. The audience members celebrated their heroes, especially House Republicans Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois. Both were censured this month by the Republican National Committee for their work on a select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.
Both have not ruled out running to be president, and they wouldn’t have an easy job if they did. The Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando found that Trump would win the GOP nomination contest with 59% of the votes. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 28 percent. “Other” tied for third with former Secretary-of-State Mike Pompeo with just 2 percent. Although the poll is not scientific, it can be used to gauge early popularity of Republican presidential hopefuls.
Kinzinger, who gave the keynote speech at the Washington conference, stated in an interview that “I know my fight to save the soul Republican Party,”. But you may one day realize it cannot be saved. There are many people who feel marginalized. “I don’t know when or if that will happen.”
The conference had one unifying theme: how much the country is in better shape without Trump as president. Alexander Vindman was one of the speakers. He is a former National Security Council official and testified at Trump’s first impeachment hearing about the phone call in the which Trump asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President, to investigate Joe Biden. At the time, he was a Democratic rival for the presidency.
Vindman stated that if Russia invaded Ukraine under Trump’s supervision, it would have been “catastrophic.”
Trump would have been, he claimed, “denouncing NATO and pandering [to Russia] Putin.” It would have been catastrophic because we would be out of tune with the rest.
In a Monday statement, Trump repeated his false claims about a “rigged election” and suggested that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not have occurred if Trump was still president.
Contrasting Trump with Zelenskyy, who was a comedian prior to his win in 2019, Vindman raised reports that Trump had taken refuge in a White House bunker during the 2020 racial justice protests.
Zelenskyy is a target for the Russian military but he has refused to leave Ukraine.
Vindman stated, “What’s interesting is that they kind of came from the same roots.” Both were entertainers. Look at the leadership Zelenskyy displayed, while Trump fled to the bunker during protests outside.
Participants stated that they aren’t sure what the Republicans stand for other than Trump loyalty.
Heath Mayo (the founder of Principles First), the group that organized the conference said that as a Republican, he knew what hat he needed to wear and the memes he had to tweet. But I don’t know what I should believe. I don’t know which side I should be supporting. I vote for this person or this team. This is a problem for any party trying to win national elections.
A few speakers attempted to present ideas that could garner broad support. Georgia Lieutenant Governor. Geoff Duncan, Georgia’s Lt. Gov., said last year in a speech, that Republicans should focus on reducing national debt and cutting inflation, and speak to voters with more civility.
He said, “Think about how many conservatives we would elect if our tone was better.”
Trump issued a statement after both conferences ended, indicating that it might be even harder to free the party from his control. Trump urged his supporters and others to fill the Republican precinct-level posts, which could strengthen his control over the party’s machinery ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Kinzinger stated in his keynote speech that he was retiring from Congress, but that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Trump is not Trump, but neither are they.
