2024-08-13 22:32:01
ATLANTA (AP) — At the Republican National Convention and at several rallies since, former President Donald Trump was hailed as a hero who narrowly escaped assassination and was destined to usher in a prosperous new era in American history.
But at a recent conservative conference in Georgia, a different mood struck.
There were few red hats and no promises to “Make America Great Again” at the annual conference “Gathering,” hosted by influential radio host Eric Erickson. Instead, Erickson’s guests, who ranged from grassroots voters to Trump’s former vice president, spent two days criticizing the Republican Party’s record in the Trump era. When it comes to the November election, many of them spend more time bemoaning the possibility of Kamala Harris becoming president than celebrating the possibility of a new Trump term.
For the former president, that’s especially worrisome in Georgia, which has long been a Republican stronghold but has now become a truly bipartisan state, along with several other battleground states. It’s also a reminder that even though Trump has taken control of the Republican Party, there are still critics and skeptics among conservatives whose decisions in the November election could tip the balance for or against his return to the White House.
“I voted for him enthusiastically in 2016, and then I bite the bullet and vote again in 2020,” said Barton McMillan, an Atlanta small business owner who has lived in the city for 40 years. Democrats blame Trump for their recent electoral victories.
“This time, I don’t know who I’m going to vote for,” McMillan said. “My case represents a lot of people here.”
Indeed, those attending Erickson’s town hall expressed concerns about federal spending, Trump’s stance on abortion, Trump’s proposed tariffs, America’s uncertain role in the international order, the former president’s tendency to launch personal attacks, and his Expressing disappointment in his persistence in lying about his failure in 2020.
“I cannot support President Trump’s continued assertion that I should set aside my oath to uphold the Constitution and act in a manner that would overturn the election,” Pence said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who was recently criticized by Trump for not helping overturn the 2020 election, was introduced to applause and drew attention when he likened the former president to a tropical storm. There was laughter when he called on Republicans to focus on the future.
“Despite the insults of the past, we will use our political machinery to win Georgia,” Kemp assured Erickson without mentioning Trump by name. Trump is being sued in Georgia and elsewhere for trying to overturn the 2020 election results, and the lawsuits are ongoing.
In his criticism, Pence pointed to the 2024 Republican platform, which for the first time in decades does not seek to advance a nationwide abortion ban and ignores the soaring national debt during the four years of the Trump administration. Pence lamented the growing isolationist and protectionist tendencies of rank-and-file Republicans: opposition to U.S. aid to Ukraine to defend against an incursion by Russian troops, while Trump has promised to impose widespread tariffs if he wins a second term.
Pence said the Republican Party is under the spell of “populism disconnected from conservative principles.”
Walter Michaelis, 22, who was preparing to vote in the presidential election for the second time, stood and cheered the former vice president, then said that Trump’s “America First” slogan may have gone too far, especially in on tariffs and trade.
“I understand why Trump was necessary in 2016,” Michaelis said. “But sometimes I think it’s better now for the party to turn the page.”
Michaelis, who voted for Trump in 2020, said he would not support Harris but has not yet decided whether to vote for the former president again.
Kent Kim, 30, of Alpharetta, said he has decided to vote for Trump. But he added that he had previously refused to support Trump, saying: “I know there are people who may not vote for him this year.”
A key reason for Trump’s defeat was that he received fewer votes in Republican-leaning areas such as the Atlanta suburbs, Philadelphia and Phoenix, which tipped the election in Pennsylvania and Georgia in favor of Biden. Harris could also get the same spot in November.
When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined Erickson on the stage, he acquiesced to the risks of electing Trump and expressed regret over recent Republican losses in winnable Senate races. That includes Georgia, where Trump-backed Herschel Walker lost to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022, even though the Republican won every other state election, he said .
McConnell predicted that the new Congress would be dominated by a Republican majority in the Senate, but expressed less optimism about the possibility of the Republican winning the presidency. He supported Trump’s presidential bid, although he blamed Trump for the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“We all know who is going to win the next election,” he told Erickson. However, McConnell outlined the conservative agenda without mentioning the former president, other than the need to continue the 2017 “Trump tax cuts.”
McConnell, like Pence, warned an unnamed Republican of straying from America’s traditional role on the world stage.
“Sometimes, we choose isolationism,” he said, pointing to the 1930s as the origin of the “America First” slogan.
“That ended after Pearl Harbor,” McConnell added, despite some U.S. conservatives’ opposition to the creation of NATO and the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.
McConnell warned that North Korea, China, Russia and Iran, which “communicate with each other” as an “axis of powerful regimes,” risked making the same mistake. McConnell said the situation requires a strong U.S. international presence and increased defense spending by all Western democracies.
“If I were to send a message to the next administration … take this seriously,” McConnell said.
Even some of Trump’s biggest allies have issued subtle warnings.
Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Erickson discussed their January 2021 loss to Democrat Raphael Warnock, who voted for Trump last November after Trump publicly questioned Tens of thousands of Republicans did not participate in the second round of voting. Loeffler didn’t blame Trump, as Erickson implicitly did, but she did emphasize that Trump has encouraged his supporters in this year’s campaign to take advantage of any voting option, whether that’s voting by mail, voting early in person or going to the polls. On-site voting.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who is running to succeed McConnell as Senate Republican leader, said in a brief interview that Trump “will do a great job.” But when asked about the new controversy Trump has stirred within the party, Scott turned to his own success in a series of close gubernatorial and Senate races.
“I’m trying to make sure that ultimately, in the race that I’m running, there’s a choice, and it’s a public policy choice… Let’s focus on these issues,” he said.
Asked if that was advice he would give Trump, Scott responded: “Well, Trump is going to run whatever he wants.”
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