On Feb 24, Trump won yet another primary contest, taking home 60% in South Carolina. Reuters spoke with over a dozen Republicans in the state to see what they thought about the future of the GOP and what’s next for anti-Trump Republicans.
Difficult situation
“It leaves me in a quandary,” a 65-year-old retiree said at a rally for Nikki Haley. Haley is Trump’s sole remaining challenger in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Looking to a third
The retiree told Reuters that he might vote for No Labels in the general election. The group is attempting to find a presidential candidate who would represent a centrist option to voters. Moderate Democrat Joe Manchin considered heading the No Labels ticket, but was convinced not to do it by allies worried he would undermine Biden.
Done with MAGA
“I’ve had enough of Trump,” a retired pharmacist said at a Haley rally. “I drank that Kool-Aid twice before. Anybody who can’t respect the election process and abdicate — can’t trust them.”
Continued denial
Trump and his allies have continually insisted that the 2020 election was fraudulent, despite not having produced any concrete evidence backing this allegation. Dozens of lawsuits alleging electoral fraud have been dismissed in several contested states.
Only option
The retired pharmacist told Reuters that he would probably end up voting for Biden if the choice was him or Trump. “I don’t see that as betraying the Republican Party,” he said, “when they can’t put up the right nominee.”
The GOP king
Trump’s victory in South Carolina, followed by the resignation of RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, has solidified his position as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee. He comfortably won earlier primary contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Nevertheless
However, while Trump increased his support in these primary contests compared to 2016, the party is far less unified behind him than in 2020. Multiple states declined to even hold a primary contest that year, instead formally pledging all of their delegates behind Trump.
Major issue
“The people that are strongly supporting Trump really do not have a grasp on the facts,” a retired contractor at a Haley rally told Reuters. When someone nearby said, “They’re stupid!” he responded, “I believe the term is easily duped.”
Playing politics
One insurance wholesaler at the Haley rally told Reuters that Trump’s involvement in the Republican undermining of Biden’s bipartisan border bill was infuriating. She argued that the decision to kill the bill was a ploy to help Trump’s election chances.
Less opposed
“I would vote for Trump again,” one female business owner told Reuters. Several others said that while they would prefer another Republican nominee, they would still support Trump in a general election.
Party level
However, others criticized the GOP for becoming a party centered on personality rather than policies. “That personality,” one political science professor told Reuters, “is Donald Trump.”
Throw it all away
In recent months, conservative Liz Cheney has repeatedly argued that the problem is not just Trump but the GOP as a whole. In early December, she warned America was “sleepwalking into a dictatorship,” and later argued that the GOP has become “so caught up in this cult of personality that it’s very hard to imagine that the party can survive.”
Something new
Anti-Trump conservatives like Cheney, however, have few options, considering Trump’s continued popularity amongst Republicans. “Once we get through 2024,” Cheney argued, “we’re going to have to have something else, something new. I believe the country has to have a party that’s based on conservative principles and values — where we can engage with the Democrats on substance and policy.”
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