Nikki Haley is a Loyal Republican. She was Never Going to Join the Never Trumpers.
In April of 1945 a delusional Hitler, stuck in dank and dark basement, believed that all was not lost. Sure, things looked bad but there was still General Steiner and his division, they could swoop in and save Berlin. It was pure delusion; Steiner’s force was about the size of boy scout troop with not much more firepower. But there is always the final delusion before the end.
For the Never Trumpers, they had the final delusion – and thankfully for us they are now done. They had their General Steiner moment. Nikki Haley was supposed to step up, publicly back Joe Biden and save democracy. She was supposed to stand up and say Donald Trump is not a genuine Reagan conservative, therefore I can’t back him. It’s Biden or bust. Her loyal army of voters would swing the election to Biden. Well, that’s gone, she has come out in favor of Trump.
The Never Trumpers are former Republicans, but I doubt they were ever conservative philosophically. They were Republican by chance, not by conviction. I know them well. And here is what happened in 90 percent of the cases. When they were young, they developed an interest in politics, and they knew certain people that just happened to be Republicans who got them into a campaign. And before they knew it, they were on team Republican, they were on the red team. But from a philosophical point of view, they were not conservative, they never were. But then Trump came along, and they had a revelation, this guy doesn’t seem like a Republican. He doesn’t look like a Republican, for example he doesn’t look or sound like Reagan. So, they left the party and, many of them voted for Joe Biden in 2020, and plan to again in 2024.
They are a dwindling band of gadfly’s, malcontents and useful idiots. They are led by pundits who want to get on CNN and MSNBC. Some such as Rick Wilson advocate voting for Biden, and others such as Matt Lewis urge Republicans to sit out the election, which is tantamount to voting for Biden.
During the 2020 Presidential campaign CNN would put Lewis on their programs and call him a Republican. It was a convenient marriage. Lewis would be the good Republican, he would repeat the mantra, “I am a Reagan Republican, but Trump is not, and I can’t vote for him.” He urged other Republicans to join him and either vote for Biden or sit out the election. Lewis praised Biden, “He is a norm upholding statesman, who is a centrist, and a healer.” He even voted for Biden in a 2020 Democratic primary.
Well, this week many of the Never Trumpers have taken to social media to express their disappointment at Haley’s decision to endorse her fellow Republican Trump. Lewis said he felt ‘Burned.’ But this is evidence of their delusion.
Haley is not one of them, never was. She worked for Trump, as UN Ambassador, voted for him in 2016 and 2020, and said good things about him. Sure, she ran against him in the primary and lost fair and square. Now she is backing him. That’s the way the nomination process works.
In 1980 George Bush accused Governor Reagan of practicing “voodoo economics”, but he still supported him once Reagan got the nomination. Even joining him on the ticket. In 2004 Howard Dean ran against John Kerry for the Democrat nomination. He lost but he still endorsed Kerry after he won the nomination. In 2008 Hillary ran against Barack Obama, she lost but ended up endorsing him. Thats the way the nomination process works.
Lewis, Wilson and the other Never Trumpers are engaged in transference. They oppose Trump, and they heard Haley say tough things about him, so they assume she is one of them. Now they surprised when she endorses him. She actually plans to vote for the big bad orange man!
Well Haley agrees with Trump on the issues. And the choice is Biden or Trump. Four more years of an open border or a closed border. Four more years of massive spending, four more years of liberal judges being appointed, four more years of a weak foreign policy. Four more years of high inflation. Or a return to the Trump years and policies. For anyone even remotely conservative it’s an easy decision. Bring back the bad orange man as soon as possible!
Haley is going with Trump, which is no surprise, because she is a conservative Republican. She also said Biden has been a catastrophe. So how could she vote for him or sit it out?
The Never Trumpers are not Republicans or conservative. Many of them might not like Biden, but they don’t dislike him enough to vote for Trump.
But on the positive side for the Never Trumpers, four more years of a Trump presidency could lead to lots of appearances on CNN and MSNBC. Both networks are interested in what ‘real’ Republicans think.
David Shephard is the Author of a new book, “Norton’s Choice; An Inside Politics Expose.”
2 comments
My uncharitable comment is relative to the “Never Trumpers” I know personally. The qualities they all have in common is a surplus of self righteousness and a deficit of actual personal righteousness. Their disdain of Trump is simply a cheap virtue signal. They also don’t believe that there is any real danger to the republic and most are comfortable denizens of some kind of “establishment”. I’m sure that there are Never Trumpers with virtue, integrity and discernment. I just don’t know any.
Both a fascinating and hilarious article. Doesn’t your very own definition of a “Never Trumper” fit none other than Donald Trump himself perfectly? What people would really like to know is exactly what the Trump campaign gave, or promised they would give, Niki Haley to get her on the Trump wagon. I would just about guarantee that it is some form of financial incentive that involves increased wealth/income for herself. In other words, she sold out America for a few pieces of silver. She will be thrown under a bus and abandoned eventually like all the others who dared piss in Trump’s corn flakes. You reading this Kevin McCarthy?