Donald Trump was never popular with Democratic voters. That should come as no surprise. However, the growing gap between lifelong conservatives and the former president is.
This divide among Republicans has been apparent since Trump first ran for office, and it has become more apparent as the 2024 election approaches.
Trump represents an ideology that transcends the party’s traditional boundaries. While this is his greatest asset, it could also be his inevitable downfall.
Even more than the Republican Party, the GOP has become Trump’s party.
Under the former president, the party has become more extreme, more vulgar and – worst of all – more divided.
This shift in the party has turned Trump’s administration against him, with long-time Republicans doubting his ability to lead and moderate voters fearing him.
During Trump’s term in office, the Republican Party was de facto renamed the “MAGA Party,” which led to its fragmentation.
If Trump does not win re-election, the future of the Republican Party is on shaky ground.
Call from the house
According to a survey of 44 people from the former president’s cabinet, only four supported him in the 2024 elections.
Former Attorney General William Barr called Trump a “consummate narcissist” who puts his own desires above the needs of the party and the country.
Compared to other presidents, Trump by far the worst employee turnover.
Trump’s own Vice President Mike Pence detests himThis happened after Trump threatened him, illegally knock over the election result. When Trump supporters heard that Pence would not engage in such a betrayal, they began chanting: ““Hang Mike Pence” during the January 6 insurrection.
“President Trump asked me to put him above the Constitution,” Pence said in an interview. “I firmly believe that no one who puts himself above the Constitution should ever be president of the United States.”
This is not the only vice president to oppose Donald Trump, which is bizarre considering the man has only had two vice presidents.
JD Vance, the current Republican candidate for Vice President, once described Trump as “America’s Hitler.” This should come as no surprise, as Vance was a “Never-Trump type” before selling out to the MAGA campaign.
Regardless of Vance magically switching sides, it’s hard to call anyone Hitler. What could have changed his opinion of Trump in the last eight years remains a mystery.
Scare off voters
Trump’s staff and running mates are against him, and his longtime conservative voters are left with a candidate who no longer represents their values.
The popular X-Account “Republicans Against Trump” is an account for conservatives who are disillusioned with the former president.
If Trump and the Republicans want to win this election, they can’t keep alienating moderate voters. The Republicans know this, but Trump can’t seem to avoid him.
At a recent rally, Trump told attendees that if they had voted for him in this election, they “wouldn’t have to vote again” once he won.
For a man who is accused of being a threat to democracy, he is not doing a good job of convincing people otherwise.
Vance is only helping to perpetuate this rhetoric and alienate potential voters.
Women, who represent one of the most important populations in this election, are completely ostracized by Vance.
“A bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they’ve made,” Vance said when asked about female Democratic voters.
Cornered
Trump could afford to take risks in his rhetoric when running against current President Joe Biden. With the majority of Americans dissatisfied with Biden’s tenure, many were willing to grovel to former President Trump despite his failings in office.
The switch to Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate has thwarted Trump’s plan to defeat Biden this November.
The days of “Crooked Joe Biden” are long gone, as Trump and the Republican Party struggle to find ways to defame Harris.
At best, these attacks are mild insults, such as because of her laughter. At worst, they border on blatant racism and sexism.
Trump’s supporters were quick to label Harris a DEI candidate and insisted that she only received her position because of her status as a black woman. It’s important to remember that Trump had never held any office before becoming president. Harris served as attorney general, senator from California, and vice president.
Perhaps the most baseless accusation is that Harris’s invasion in Biden’s place poses a threat to democracy.
Although no Democrat agrees, Trump and Republicans continue to use this as ammunition for their attacks on their campaign.
What proponents of this argument fail to understand is that the Democratic Party was never about a single person.
It doesn’t matter whether Biden or Harris sits in the Oval Office in January: they both represent the progress that Democratic voters are willing to fight for.
It should come as no shock to anyone that Republicans view the passing of the torch in this way. They cannot imagine a world in which Donald J. Trump is not the face of the Republican Party.
Digging your own grave
The Conservative Party was once the party of limited government and traditional values. Although it clashed with the Democrats, there was mutual respect for the other side.
Donald Trump and the new generation of Republican voices have inflamed the political climate. The result is a “Trump or bust” mentality.
Even for Trump’s supporters it has become clear that you cannot win an election this way.
Trump is digging his own grave and dragging the Republicans with him.
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