Is the Republican base really ready to move on from Donald Trump? There are indications that they are.
It starts like so many stories we’ve read in the last seven years: Setting the scene in a rural area, where people in a Trump-supporting locale are about to explain their continuing support of the 45th president.
Usually, it’s a diner or a bowling alley.
This time, in the Washington Post, it’s a “recent snowy evening at a gun range in the middle of Michigan.”
But this one is a bit different- in fact, it’s setting the scene of a meeting of the Saginaw County Republican Party, where there was a “shouting match” between supporters and detractors of Donald Trump.
Both factions had let the police know that trouble at the meeting was possible.
Also different?
The faction less favorable of Donald Trump won.
Donald Trump Losing Support?
At issue was the composition of delegates the local party would be sent to the party’s state convention, and whether a “less Trump-centric slate of delegates” would be sent to the meeting.
That slate won, sending 36 out of 37 representatives to the convention, where Kristina Karamo, an election denier was defeated in a bid for Michigan Secretary of State last year.
Karamo defeated the Trump-endorsed candidate Matthew DePerno.
That election followed a sweep by Democrats in Michigan in 2022, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was easily re-elected.
MAGA Moving On?
The Post story interviewed more than 150 people across major swing states, which found that “the former president maintains a bond with his GOP voters, but faces rising interest in a new standard-bearer.”
The newspaper also found that the “MAGA vs. RINO” dichotomy of the last several years may now be obsolete, as those who still maintain some affection or appreciation for Donald Trump may be open to no longer supporting him.
“I and a lot of other Republicans who were supportive of President Trump are becoming less and less supportive,” Josiah Jaster, a 20-year-old insurance actuary who backed the less pro-Trump faction, told the newspaper. “Not because I’m a ‘Never Trumper.’ I just don’t believe Trump is the best person to move this party forward.”
Electability is a big reason why some erstwhile Doanld Trump supporters may be having second thoughts – the idea that after all that has happened, including January 6 and possible future indictments, Trump may have a hard time getting elected again.
Another difference, as pointed out by the Post, is that while Republicans during his presidency had a choice between supporting and opposing Trump, there are now some other options, including other current and future candidates.
“Both things can be true: A majority of the party can want to move on, and enough of a plurality is so dug in that they won’t let them,” Sarah Longwell, founder of Republican Voters Against Trump, said in the Post story. “Ron DeSantis or other Republicans, they’ve got to figure out how to chip away at that.”
Why Donald Trump Might Fade Away
The Post said they found four major categories of reactions to Trump when they spoke to voters who had backed him in the past.
“There were voters who vowed to stick with Trump no matter what; those who strongly supported Trump but were open to other options; others who were more eager to see a new nominee; and finally, some voters who said they were finished with Trump and couldn’t see themselves voting for him again,” the newspaper said.
The Post’s reporting found several more nuanced positions. There are those who support Trump, but don’t believe in the “Stop the Steal” narrative. Some won’t vote for anyone but Trump in a general election, while others feel otherwise. One man told the paper that Trump “knows what the deep state is now and I don’t think he’ll make the mistakes he did the first time.”
But some have kept up their Donald Trump support.
“Until he’s dead, I would vote for him,” a Wisconsin man said of Trump.
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Expertise and Experience: Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
