A Schism?

Has a schism just happened in the Republican party?

Sometimes when you split a log you can’t control how it splits.

What to know about a growing GOP divide over Trump support and the party’s future
PBS News Hour
By Laura Barrón-López and Harry Zahn
March 9, 2024

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee for president after a near sweep on Super Tuesday. But when his last major opponent standing, Nikki Haley dropped out this week, she didn't throw her support behind Trump. Despite calling on Haley voters to support him, Trump made clear he doesn't want anyone critical of him in the party.

Donald Trump, U.S. Republican Presidential Candidate:

The greatest movement in the history of our country, and they say always tried to demean. Well, MAGA really represents 48 percent of the Republican Party. No. It represents 96 percent than maybe 100 percent. We're getting rid of the Romney's of the world. We want to get Romney's in those out.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Exit polls tell a slightly different story. A third of Republican primary voters in North Carolina and Virginia said they would not vote Republican in November regardless of the nominee. Tuesday's elections did more than just decide the Republican nomination. They reflected a deep schism in the party dividing some lifelong Republicans from Trump's MAGA faction.

To discuss this. I'm joined today by two Republicans, former congressman Denver Riggleman from Virginia and strategist Barrett Marson, who's based in Phoenix.

Denver and Barrett, thank you so much for joining. Denver. I want to start with you. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump within 24 hours after his Super Tuesday wins. That's the same man, Mitch McConnell, who called Trump morally and practically responsible for the January 6 insurrection. Does McConnell's attempt at Unity reflect the reality for voters?

Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R) Virginia:

Yeah, I think it does. You know, I mean, if you look at the economy, it's no different than what McCarthy did after January 6, when he rolled over and showed his belly and went to Mar-a-Lago after he blamed Trump for January 6.

You see all these individuals coming home. And I think a lot of that has to do with what I call leash politics. It's like my leash. I will do with that will ask me do, you know, something like that. It's just absolutely unbelievable to me.

But, again, what did Trump get about 75 percent of the vote? No, a lot of people said there were individuals that would not vote for Trump and things of that nature. But most people do come home. I remember, in my little convention in a church, you know, everybody's saying Denver will never, you know, vote for this guy. He's awful. But they did.

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In key battleground state, a striking Republican schism persists
The Michigan GOP is either led by an election denier who has odd thoughts about demons, or a former congressman who was accused of leaking like a sieve.
MSNBC
By Steve Benen
February 15, 2024

Identifying the current chair of the Michigan Republican Party is far more difficult than it probably should be.

Last month, state party officials voted to oust Kristina Karamo as the head of the state party. Karamo said she didn’t recognize the legitimacy of that vote and insisted that she remained the chair of the Michigan Republican Party. Her intraparty opponents chose former Rep. Pete Hoekstra to replace her, leading to widespread confusion over who’s in charge.

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Some Republicans are voicing anger over election of Lara Trump to RNC

UPI News
By Adam Schrader
March 10, 2024

Some Republicans are voicing anger over last week's election of Lara Trump to the role of co-chair over the Republican National Convention.

Lara Trump, who is married to Donald Trump's son Eric Trump, was elected to the role with chairman Michael Whatley - another of the former president's supporters -- at a meeting in Houston, Texas, the RNC said in a news release Friday.

"I will be laser-focused on protecting our elections, ensuring that the RNC's money is spent with maximum impact, and building out key capabilities to ensure that we win close races on the margins," Lara Trump said.

"Everything I do at this committee will have one focus: re-electing Donald Trump, flipping the Senate, and expanding the House this November."

Many people online said that they are officially "no longer a Republican" while others said the GOP gets "progressively worse" with each new party boss and that the "nepotism on display" would amount to a "major Democrat party victory."

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Schism over Russia drives Republicans apart
CNN
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf
February 20, 2024

There are emerging signs of a deep schism in the Republican Party over how or even whether the US should stand up to authoritarianism in Russia.

How to approach Russia and help Ukraine is a topic that separates true believers of Donald Trump from the Republicans who may have simply fallen in line behind the former president.

It’s also the issue former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is talking about as she vows to carry on with her presidential campaign even if, as seems increasingly likely, she loses the Republican primary Saturday in her home state of South Carolina, where she once served as governor. Saturday also happens to be the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In recent days, Haley has made passionate arguments about the need for the US to stand up to autocrats and bristled at Trump’s attempt to compare himself to Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in jail.

She delivered what was billed as a “major” speech in South Carolina Tuesday to make clear that, no, she would not be dropping out of the race anytime soon. With a not-so-subtle nod to Trump’s failure to criticize Russia for Navalny’s death, she compared elections in democracies to those in autocracies.

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The Los Angles Times writes in an opinion article,

 Some would argue, with ample evidence, that this happened a long time ago. Particularly in Congress, the party is divided into three sometimes overlapping factions: Reaganites, pragmatists and populists, the last being Trump’s “MAGA” faction. Politicians from the first two groups have been retreating, retiring or reinventing themselves in Trump’s image for years now.

The new Republicans vs. the old guard Republicans.
The MAGA Republicans vs. the old guard Republicans
The Trump's cult vs. the old guard Republicans

This is not your father’s Republican party this is king Trump’s party. Trump who may be under Putin’s thumb.