The Never Trump movement, also called the #nevertrump, Stop Trump, anti-Trump, or Dump Trump movement, began as an effort on the part of a group of

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

(known as

Never Trump Republicans The Never Trump movement, also called the #nevertrump, Stop Trump, anti-Trump, or Dump Trump movement, began as an effort on the part of a group of Republicans (known as Never Trump Republicans) and other prominent conservatives to prevent R ...

) and other prominent

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

to prevent Republican front-runner

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

from obtaining the Republican Party presidential nomination. After he was nominated, this shifted into an effort to prevent him from obtaining the presidency in the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

. Trump remained unsupported by 20 percent of Republican members of Congress in the general election. Following Trump's election in November 2016, some in the movement refocused their efforts on defeating Trump in 2020. Trump entered the Republican primaries on June 16, 2015, at a time when governors

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

and Scott Walker and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida House ...

were viewed as early frontrunners. Trump was considered a longshot to win the nomination, but his large media profile gave him a chance to spread his message and appear in the Republican debates. By the end of 2015, Trump was leading the Republican field in national polls. At this point, some Republicans, such as former

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

adviser Alex Castellanos, called for a "negative ad blitz" against Trump and another former Romney aide founded

Our Principles PAC Our Principles PAC was a super PAC established in January 2016 as part of the Never Trump movement. Its goal was to oppose Donald Trump's campaign for president. Our Principles PAC was led by Katie Packer, who was deputy campaign manager of Mi ...

to attack Trump. After Trump won the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, many Republican leaders called for the party to unite around a single leader to stop Trump's nomination. The Never Trump movement gained momentum following Trump's wins in the March 15, 2016,

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating c ...

primaries, including his victory over Rubio in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. After Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

dropped out of the race following Trump's primary victory in Indiana on May 3, 2016, Trump became the presumptive nominee while internal opposition to Trump remained as the process pivoted towards a general election. Following unsuccessful attempts by some delegates at the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

to block his nomination, Trump became the Republican Party's 2016 nominee for president on July 18, 2016. Some members of the Never Trump movement endorsed alternative candidates in the general election, such as

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nominee

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

, independent conservative

Evan McMullin David Evan McMullin (born April 2, 1976) is an American politician and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. McMullin ran as an independent in the 2016 United States presidential election and in the 2022 United States Senate electio ...

and American Solidarity Party nominee Mike Maturen. Some have compared the Never Trump movement to the

Mugwumps The Mugwumps were Republican political activists in the United States who were intensely opposed to political corruption. They were never formally organized. Typically they switched parties from the Republican Party by supporting Democratic ...

, Republicans in the

1884 United States presidential election The 1884 United States presidential election was the 25th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1884. It saw the first Democrat elected President of the United States since James Buchanan in 1856, and the first Democ ...

who refused to back party nominee

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative ...

and instead threw support for Democratic candidate

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

Erickson meeting

On March 17, 2016, anti-Trump conservatives met at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss strategies for preventing Trump from securing the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in July. Among the strategies discussed were a "unity ticket", a possible third-party candidate and a contested convention, especially if Trump did not gain the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination. The meeting was organized by Erick Erickson, Bill Wichterman and Bob Fischer. Around two dozen people attended. Consensus was reached that Trump's nomination could be prevented and that efforts would be made to seek a unity ticket, possibly comprising Cruz and Ohio governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

Efforts

By political organizations

and

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on cutting taxes and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are the billionaires Jeff Yass and Richar ...

were involved in trying to prevent Trump's nomination. Our Principles PAC spent more than $13 million on advertising attacking Trump. The Club for Growth spent $11 million in an effort to prevent Trump from becoming the Republican Party's nominee.

By Republican delegates

In June 2016, activists Eric O'Keefe and Dane Waters formed a group called

Delegates Unbound Delegates Unbound is an American non-profit political organization established in 2016. According to the organization, the group is "working to bring long term reform to the Republican Party." The group also states that its "primary focus" is educ ...

, which CNN described as "an effort to convince delegates that they have the authority and the ability to vote for whomever they want". The effort involved the publication of a book titled ''Unbound: The Conscience of a Republican Delegate'' by Republican delegates

Curly Haugland Erling George Haugland, known as Curly Haugland, is an American politician and businessman. He has served as the Republican National Committeeman for North Dakota since 1999. Haugland was elected chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party in 19 ...

and Sean Parnell. The book argues that "delegates are not bound to vote for any particular candidate based on primary and caucus results, state party rules, or even state law". Republican delegates Kendal Unruh and

Steve Lonegan Steven Mark Lonegan (born April 27, 1956) is an American businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Bogota, New Jersey, from 1995 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Lonegan was named the New Jersey State Chairman for the Ted Cruz ...

led an effort among fellow Republican delegates to change the convention rules "to include a 'conscience clause' that would allow delegates bound to Trump to vote against him, even on the first ballot at the July convention". Unruh described the effort as "an 'Anybody but Trump' movement". Unruh's efforts started with a conference call on June 16 "with at least 30 delegates from 15 states". Regional coordinators for the effort were recruited in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Washington and other states. By June 19, hundreds of delegates to the Republican National Convention calling themselves Free the Delegates had begun raising funds and recruiting members in support of an effort to change party convention rules to free delegates to vote however they want, instead of according to the results of state caucuses and primaries. Unruh, a member of the convention's Rules Committee and one of the group's founders, planned to propose adding the "conscience clause" to the convention's rules, effectively unhinging pledged delegates. She needed 56 other supporters from the 112-member panel, which determines precisely how Republicans select their nominee in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

. The Rules Committee instead voted 87–12 to adopt rules requiring delegates to vote based on their states' primary and caucus results.

By individuals

At a luncheon in February 2016 attended by Republican governors and donors,

Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on Augu ...

discussed the danger of Trump's securing the Republican nomination by July, and that it might be possible to stop him but there was not much time left. Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 8

Early in March 2016, Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, directed some of his advisors to look at ways to stop Trump from obtaining the nomination at the Republican National Convention (RNC). Romney also gave a major speech urging voters to vote for the Republican candidate most likely to prevent Trump from acquiring delegates in state primaries. A few weeks later, Romney announced that he would vote for Ted Cruz in the Utah GOP caucuses. On his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

page, he posted: "Today, there is a contest between

Trumpism Trumpism is a term for the political ideologies, social emotions, style of governance, political movement, and set of mechanisms for acquiring and keeping control of power associated with Donald Trump and his political base. ''wikt:Trumpist ...

and Republicanism. Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these". Nevertheless, Romney said early on he would "support the Republican nominee", though he did not "think that's going to be Donald Trump". Senator

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee ...

shifted from opposing both Ted Cruz and Trump to eventually supporting Cruz as a better alternative to Trump. Commenting about Trump, Graham said: "I don't think he's a Republican, I don't think he's a conservative, I think his campaign's built on xenophobia, race-baiting and religious bigotry. I think he'd be a disaster for our party and as Senator Cruz would not be my first choice, I think he is a Republican conservative who I could support". After Trump became the presumptive nominee in May, Graham announced he would not be supporting Trump in the general election, stating: " cannot, in good conscience, support Donald Trump because I do not believe he is a reliable Republican conservative nor has he displayed the judgment and temperament to serve as Commander in Chief". Over the course of the Trump presidency, however, Graham became one of Trump's most ardent supporters in the Senate. In October 2016, some individuals made third-party vote trading mobile applications and websites to help stop Trump. For example, a Californian who wants to vote for Clinton will instead vote for

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candid ...

and in exchange a Stein supporter in a swing state will vote for Clinton. The

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

in the 2007 case ''Porter v. Bowen'' established vote trading as a

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

right. Republican former presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush both refused to support Trump in the general election, with the elder Bush reportedly voting for Trump's rival Hillary Clinton.

Republicans who left the party in opposition to the Trump administration

Several prominent Republicans have left the party in opposition to actions taken by the Trump administration. *

Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of '' Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarb ...

(host of '' Morning Joe'') * George Will (conservative columnist) *

Max Boot Max Alexandrovich Boot (born September 12, 1969) is an American author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, and military historian. He worked as a writer and editor for '' Christian Science Monitor'' and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' in ...

(conservative columnist) * Richard Painter (Bush ethics lawyer) *

Steve Schmidt Stephen Edward Schmidt (born September 28, 1970) is an American communications and public affairs strategist who worked on Republican political campaigns, including those of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ...

(Republican Party strategist and top George W. Bush aide) * Jennifer Rubin (author of the "Right Turn" blog for ''The Washington Post'') *

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

(Former

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's ...

) *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

(former representative and radio host) *

Wayne Gilchrest Wayne Thomas Gilchrest (born April 15, 1946) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing . In 2008, Gilchrest was defeated in the Republican primary by State Senator An ...

(former representative)

Reactions

Reactions to the Stop Trump movement were mixed, with other prominent Republicans making statements in support of preventing Trump from receiving the Republican nomination. Following his withdrawal as a candidate for president, Senator

expressed hope that Trump's nomination could be stopped, adding that his nomination "would fracture the party and be damaging to the

conservative movement Conservative movement may refer to: *Conservatism in the United States, in politics *Conservatism, a political philosophy *Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious moveme ...

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in f ...

chairman Reince Priebus dismissed the potential impact of Mitt Romney's efforts to block Trump at the convention.

Sam Clovis Samuel Harvey Clovis Jr. (born September 18, 1949) is a former United States Air Force officer, talk radio host, and political figure. Clovis is currently retired in Iowa. Clovis unsuccessfully ran for Iowa state treasurer in the 2014 election ...

, a national co-chairman for Trump's campaign, said he would leave the Republican Party if it "comes into that convention and jimmies with the rules and takes away the will of the people".

Ned Ryun Ned Ryun is an American conservative activist and the founder and CEO of American Majority, a conservative organization that trains candidates and activists. Education and background Ryun is the son of Jim Ryun, the former Republican congre ...

, founder of conservative group

American Majority American Majority is a nonprofit organization that provides training to conservative activists and political candidates in the United States. Registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, American Majority says that it "is dedicated to dev ...

, expressed concern about a contested convention, should Trump have the most delegates, but fail to reach the 1,237 necessary to be assured the nomination. Ryun speculated that a contested convention would result in Trump running as a third-party candidate, making it unlikely that Republicans would win the presidency in the November general election, adding that it would "blow up the party, at least in the short term".

New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in ...

expressed his opinion that efforts to stop Trump would ultimately fail. Relatively shortly after his

endorsement Endorsement (alternatively spelled "indorsement") may refer to a: * testimonial, a written or spoken statement promoting or advertising a product * political endorsement, publicly declaring support for a candidate * form added to an insurance po ...

of Trump, he criticized the people who condemned his endorsement, including the Stop Trump movement, saying his critics had yet to support any of the remaining Republican candidates. "I think if you're a public figure, you have the obligation to speak out, and be 'for' something, not just 'against' something. ... When those folks in the 'Stop Trump' movement actually decide to be for something, then people can make an evaluation ... if they want to be for one of the remaining candidates, do what I did: be for one of the remaining candidates." Trump said if he were deprived of the nomination because of falling just short of the 1,237 delegates required, there could be "problems like you've never seen before. I think bad things would happen" and "I think you'd have riots". Trump made prior comments suggesting that he might run as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

if he were not to get the Republican nomination.

Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald R ...

, a political consultant who served as an advisor for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and who remains a "confidant" to Trump,Philip Rucker & Robert Costa
While the GOP worries about convention chaos, Trump pushes for 'showbiz' feel
, ''The Washington Post'' (April 17, 2016). put together a group called Stop the Steal and threatened "days of rage" if Republican Party leaders tried to deny the nomination to Trump at the

.Jim DeFede
Roger Stone: Inside the World of a Political Hitman
, CBS Miami (April 17, 2016).
, ''The Washington Post'' (April 17, 2016). Stone also threatened to disclose to the public the hotel room numbers of delegates who opposed Trump. In 2019, Kelly A. Hyman, wrote the book ''Top Ten Reasons to Dump Trump in 2020'' during the continuation of Never Trump movement, where the reasons voiced during the movement in 2016 - 2019 are collected. Following Trump's

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

in November 2016, some in the movement refocused their efforts on defeating Trump in 2020.

General election opposition

Trump was widely described as the presumptive Republican nominee after the May3 Indiana primary, notwithstanding the continued opposition of groups such as

. Many Republican leaders endorsed Trump after he became the presumptive nominee, but other Republicans looked for ways to defeat him in the general election. Stop Trump members such as

, Erick Erickson, William Kristol,

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', ''Winning Streak'' and '' The Big ...

, Stuart Stevens and Rick Wilson pursued the possibility of an independent candidacy by a non-Trump Republican. Potential candidates included Senator

Ben Sasse Benjamin Eric Sasse ( ; born February 22, 1972) is an American politician and academic administrator serving as the junior United States senator for Nebraska since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born in Plainview, Nebraska, Sas ...

, Governor John Kasich, Senator Tom Coburn, Congressman

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (an ...

, Senator

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...

, retired Marine Corps General

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Per ...

, lawyer Kelly A. Hyman, retired Army General Stanley McChrystal, former Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th ...

, businessman

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to '' Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 lis ...

and 2012 Republican nominee

. However, many of these candidates rejected the possibility of an independent run, pointing to difficulties such as

ballot access Elections in the United States refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentraliz ...

and the potential to help the Democratic candidate win the presidency. One potential strategy would involve an independent candidate gaining enough electoral votes to deny a majority to either of the major party candidates, sending the three presidential candidates with the most electoral votes to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

under procedures established by the Twelfth Amendment. Some anti-Trump Republicans said they would vote for

in the general election. On May 3, 2016, one of the biggest anti-Trump groups, the Never Trump PAC, circulated a petition to collect the signatures of conservatives opposed to voting for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. As of August 19, 2016, over 54,000 people had signed the petition.

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed * Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * B ...

in the Libertarian Party attracted attention as a possible vehicle for the Stop Trump movement's votes in the general election after Trump became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. In late May, Craig Snyder, a former Republican staffer, launched the Republicans for Hillary PAC, "aimed at convincing Republicans to choose

over ... Donald Trump in November". The grassroots effort, called Republicans for Clinton in 2016, or R4C16, also joined the effort in defeating Trump.

William Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is no ...

, editor of ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "r ...

'', promoted ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'' staff writer David A. French of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

as a prospective candidate. However, French opted not to run. On August 8,

, a conservative Republican, announced that he would mount an independent bid for president with support of the Never Trump movement. McMullin was backed by

Better for America Better for America (BFA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that was dedicated to getting nationwide ballot access for an independent candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 election. The effort was inspired by the unpopular ...

(a Never Trump group) and supported by former

Americans Elect Americans Elect was a political organization in the United States known primarily for its efforts to stage a national online primary for the 2012 US Presidential Election. Although it was successful in obtaining signatures to get on the ballot in ...

CEO Kahlil Byrd and Republican campaign finance lawyer Chris Ashby.

Developments following the 2016 election

Although Trump's campaign drew a substantial amount of criticism, Trump received 90 percent of the Republican vote, while Clinton won 89 percent of Democratic voters. After Trump won the election, two Electoral College electors launched an effort to convince fellow electors who were allocated to Trump to vote against him. On December 11, Jim Himes, a Democratic member of the

, wrote on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that the Electoral College should not elect Trump: "We're 5wks from Inauguration & the President Elect is completely unhinged. The Electoral College must do what it was designed for". In a December 12 interview on CNN's '' New Day'', Himes said he was troubled by several actions by the President-elect. The issue that "pushed imover the edge" was Trump's criticism of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and the intelligence community. The Congressman did admit Trump won "fair and square", but he said that Trump proved himself unfit for public office. He cited the intentions behind the creation of the Electoral College and argued that it was created for an instance such as the election of Trump. In the end, efforts to persuade more electors to vote against Trump ultimately failed and Trump won 304 electors on December 19. Trump's electoral lead over Clinton even grew because a larger number of electors defected from her: Trump received 304 of his 306 pledged electors, Clinton 227 of her 232. In a ''

'' article titled "Never Trump Nevermore",

Jonah Goldberg Jonah Jacob Goldberg (born March 21, 1969) is an American conservative syndicated columnist, author, political analyst, and commentator. The founding editor of ''National Review Online'', from 1998 until 2019 he was an editor at '' National Rev ...

stated:

I'm going to call 'em like I see 'em and wait and see if I was wrong about Trump. ... The thing is: Never Trump is over. Never Trump was about the GOP primary and the general election, not the presidency. The Left wants to claim it must be a permanent movement, denying the legitimacy of Trump's election forever, or we were never serious. Well, that's not what we—or at least I—signed up for. ... I'll say it again: I'm going to call 'em like I see 'em and wait and see if I was wrong about Trump. So far, I've said that most of his cabinet picks have been a pleasant and welcome surprise. But he's also done plenty of things that make me feel like I had him pegged all along. We only have one president at a time—and the guy isn't even president yet. I'll give him a chance. But I won't lie for him either.

Since the election, other Republicans who had resisted Trump's candidacy, such as South Carolina Senator

have since declared their support for his presidency. Since taking office, Trump's job approval among self-described Republicans has been consistently at or near 90 percent. As the

impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump The inquiry process which preceded the first impeachment of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24, 2019, after a whistleblower alleged that Donald Trump may have ab ...

was ongoing, Trump has publicly characterized the witnesses in the inquiry as Never Trumpers in an effort to discredit them. In unsubstantiated statements, he has also specifically accused Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, National Security Council official Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent, and State Department official Jennifer Williams of being Never Trumpers. When asked by Democratic House Representatives during the public impeachment hearings, George Kent, William Taylor, former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, and Jennifer Williams all rejected the notion that they themselves were Never Trumpers. On October 23, 2019, Trump addressed the Never Trump Republicans on his Twitter account with the following tweet: "The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats. Watch out for them, they are human scum!" In 2019, former

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consis ...

Justice

Robert F. Orr Robert F. "Bob" Orr (born October 11, 1946) is an American attorney, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1995 to 2004. Orr was a Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina in ...

co-founded the National Republicans, who support the views of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

, who ran for president in 2016, started the group Republicans for a New President, which held The Convention on Founding Principles at the same time as the

2020 Republican National Convention The 2020 Republican National Convention in which delegates of the United States Republican Party selected the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2020 United States presidential election, was held from August 24 to 27, 2 ...

. The alternative event, which included principal members of Republicans for the Rule of Law and

The Lincoln Project The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) formed in late 2019 by former and current moderate Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Re ...

, was primarily a

virtual event Virtual may refer to: * Virtual (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * Virtual channel, a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel (or range of frequencies) on which the signal travels * Virtual function, a programming ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Conservatism, Politics, United States Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign