A veteran Republican strategist who was on a major call last week with dozens of former Republican officials from previous Republican administrations to discuss the formation of a dissident conservative party told Fox News that the discussion was only the first step.
The meeting of more than 120 critics of former President Trump, first reported by Reuters, included more than 120 former employees who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, as well as Republican strategists and GOP appointed ambassadors, several sources who attended the meeting confirmed.
TOP TRUMP ADVISER SAYS THAT THE EX-PRESIDENT WILL BE “ACTIVELY INVOLVED” IN THE GOP
“This is just the beginning of the conversation. The objective is to discuss and explore all the options, all the possibilities of how to advance an effective, principled center-right movement,” a meeting participant, who asked to remain anonymous to speak. more freely, Fox News said.
The participant said that “multiple ideas” were presented. Among them were suggestions for presenting candidates in some disputes, but endorsing center-right candidates in other disputes.
“Different people have different perspectives on whether such a movement can grow effectively within the Republican Party again or whether it has to happen outside the Party,” said the participant. “I think this time we are in a position to have a conversation and try to find out what the next steps are, to put together a plan to move on.”
The meeting comes amid a struggle for the future of the Republican Party – whether Republicans will remain a populist party remodeled and ruled by Trump for four years or whether they will return to their conservative roots.
Although politically wounded by the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters with the intention of interrupting Biden’s congressional certification of victory in the White House – after the then president’s encouragement – the latest poll indicates that Trump remains very popular with Republicans. This influence is reflected in Congress. The vast majority of House Republicans voted against Trump’s impeachment and the majority of Senate Republicans voted to declare the former president’s impeachment trial unconstitutional.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to play an influential role in the GOP going forward, which includes supporting primary challenges for Republicans who crossed him and are ready for reelection next year. Trump is also flirting with a presidential race in 2024 to try to win back the White House.
Asked whether the possibility of a dissident Republican party would only benefit Democrats at the polls, the participant said that “some people are concerned about this and others see it as the only way forward. It can’t be about winning the elections first. It has to be about winning the discussion first. It’s about developing a movement that is rooted in principles, the belief that when you do that, people will come to it. “
RNC CHAIR MCDANIEL NAILS PART UNIT BETWEEN DIVIDES
Republican National Committee President Ronna McDaniel is preaching party unity.
“I have a firm belief that as a party, we have to come together,” McDaniel, who was unanimously re-elected in January for another two-year term on the party’s national committee, told Fox News Digital last month.
McDaniel warned that “if we continue to attack each other and focus on attacking other Republicans, if we have disagreements within our party, we will be losing sight of 2022. The only way to win is if we come together and recognize that our policies of cutting taxes, deregulation, energy independence and the rule of law judges are policies that the American people want to hear about.
Jason Miller, a top Trump adviser, told Reuters when asked about the meeting that “these losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden”.