Never Trump movement
[3] Trump entered the Republican primaries on June 16, 2015, at a time when governors Jeb Bush and Scott Walker and Senator Marco Rubio were viewed as early frontrunners.
[4] 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.
[14][15] Some have compared the Never Trump movement to the Mugwumps, Republicans in the 1884 United States presidential election who refused to back party nominee James G. Blaine and instead threw support for Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland.
[16] 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",[17] a possible third-party candidate and a contested convention, especially if Trump did not gain the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination.
[19][20] 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.
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.
Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence.
[46] In October 2016, some individuals made third-party vote trading mobile applications and websites to help stop Trump.
[47] The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the 2007 case Porter v. Bowen established vote trading as a First Amendment right.
[61] Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus dismissed the potential impact of Mitt Romney's efforts to block Trump at the convention.
[38] Sam Clovis, 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".
[43] Ned Ryun, founder of conservative group American Majority, 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".
[62][63] New Jersey Governor Chris Christie expressed his opinion that efforts to stop Trump would ultimately fail.
[70] Trump was widely described as the presumptive Republican nominee after the May 3 Indiana primary,[13] notwithstanding the continued opposition of groups such as Our Principles PAC.
[73][74] Stop Trump members such as Mitt Romney, Erick Erickson, William Kristol, Mike Murphy, Stuart Stevens, and Rick Wilson pursued the possibility of an independent candidacy by a non-Trump Republican.
[76][77][78] William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, promoted National Review staff writer David A. French of Tennessee as a prospective candidate.
[82][83] On August 8, Evan McMullin, a conservative Republican, announced that he would mount an independent bid for president with support of the Never Trump movement.
[84] McMullin was backed by Better for America (a Never Trump group)[85] and supported by former Americans Elect CEO Kahlil Byrd and Republican campaign finance lawyer Chris Ashby.
[98]After the election, other Republicans who had resisted Trump's candidacy, such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, declared their support for his presidency.
[102][103] In unsubstantiated statements, he has also specifically accused Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor,[104] National Security Council official Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman,[105] Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent,[106] and State Department official Jennifer Williams[107] of being Never Trumpers.
When asked by Democratic House Representatives during the public impeachment hearings, Taylor,[108] Vindman,[109] Kent,[108] and Williams,[109] as well as former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch,[110] all denied being Never Trumpers.
[113] Also in 2019, former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Orr co-founded the National Republicans, who support the views of Ronald Reagan and George H. W.
[114] Numerous pundits, journalists and politicians speculated that President Donald Trump might face a significant Republican primary challenger in 2020 because of his historic unpopularity in polls, his association with allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, his impeachment, and his support of unpopular policies.
"[125] Former South Carolina governor and former U.S. representative Mark Sanford officially declared his candidacy on September 8,[126] but suspended his campaign two months later on November 12, 2019, after failing to gain significant attention from voters.
[137] Following her impeachment vote and criticism of Donald Trump, pro-Trump members of the House Republican Conference attempted to remove her from party leadership.
[138][139][140] In July 2021, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Cheney to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.
As a consequence of her service on the Select Committee, Cheney's membership in the Wyoming Republican Party was revoked in November 2021.
[142] In 2022, Cheney lost renomination in Wyoming's Republican primary to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman in a landslide, garnering just 28.9% of the vote.
