National Review, the conservative and libertarian magazine founded by William Buckley Jr in the 1950s, urged its readers on Jan 10 to vote for anyone other than Trump.
Other Options
The two alternatives suggested by the editors of the National Review were Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. According to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight, both are more than 45 points behind Trump. DeSantis has since dropped out of the presidential race.
First Reason
National Review argued that other Republican candidates would be more likely to defeat Biden in 2024. According to FiveThirtyEight, polls in January generally showed Trump ahead of Biden, and some had Biden ahead of Haley and DeSantis.
Second Reason
The editors of the National Review also contended that other candidates would be “more likely to deliver … conservative results” than Trump. They cited Trump’s tendency to cause “wild drama” as evidence.
Looming Change
Trump’s focus on “personal loyalty” over “ideological convictions,” as the New York Times put it in April 2023, might also hinder the goals of the conservative movement. However, the Heritage Foundation has led an effort to develop a plan to work with Trump should he return to the White House.
Widespread Chaos
Called The 2025 Project, this database of potential conservative officials was created to “prepare an army of vetted, trained staff to begin dismantling the administrative state from Day 1,” the Heritage Foundation’s president said.
Working with Trump
According to the New York Times, the plan was built around the possibility of a Trump return. Many of those who created the database were in Trump’s first administration, including two senior officials who “developed a questionnaire to vet government employees’ loyalty to Mr. Trump.”
Main Reason
Beyond all this, the editors of National Review argued, is Trump’s continued election denial. Trump continues to claim without evidence that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Lack of Action
“When a mob, fervently believing Trump’s lies, fought its way into the US Capitol to try and end the count,” National Review noted, “Trump did little or nothing to try to stop it.”
Facing Time
Trump’s actions — and inaction — on Jan 6 are the basis for one of the four criminal cases he is currently facing. “The accusations against Trump are grave,” National Review wrote. “They are existential for our democracy when the defendant is asking voters to re-elect him to the presidency.”
Growing Call
National Review joined a growing list of conservative voices who have spoken out against Trump. Liz Cheney has repeatedly warned that a second Trump term would mean the end of democracy. In the first week of January, 19 former Republican representatives published an open letter warning that the charges against Trump were “existential for our democracy.”
Not Over
“Trump feels inevitable,” National Review admitted, “but nothing is settled until Republicans actually caucus and vote. They would be well advised to opt for one of the alternatives.” Over the following few weeks, however, Trump easily won the primary contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, solidifying his position as the party’s presumptive nominee.
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