Donald Trump has never been popular among Democrat voters. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. However, the growing rift between lifelong conservatives and the former president is a surprise.  

This split in the GOP has been looming since Trump first ran for office. It has grown more apparent as the 2024 election nears.

Trump represents an ideology that exists beyond the traditional bounds of the party. Although this is his greatest asset, it may be his inevitable downfall.   

More than the Republican Party, the GOP has become Trump’s party. 

Under the former president, the party has become more extreme, vulgar and, worst of all, divided.

This shift in the party has led Trump’s administration to turn against him. Lifelong Republicans question his ability to lead and moderate voters fear him.

Trump’s tenure has effectively rebranded the GOP as the “MAGA Party,” leading to its fragmentation.

If Trump fails to secure re-election, the future of the Republican Party is on shaky ground.

Call from Inside the House 

Of a survey of 44 people who served in the former president’s Cabinet, only four endorsed him for the 2024 election.  

Former Attorney General William Barr referred to Trump as a “consummate narcissist” who puts his desires above the needs of the party and the country.  

Compared to other presidents, Trump had the worst employee turnover by far.

Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence, detests him. This comes after Trump threatened him to illegally overturn the election result. Trump supporters, upon hearing that Pence would not engage in such treason, began chanting “hang Mike Pence” during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“President Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution,” Pence said during an interview. “I really do believe that anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.” 

This isn’t the only vice president to be against Donald Trump, which is bizarre considering the man has only ever had two.  

JD Vance, the current Republican vice presidential nominee, once referred to Trump as “America’s Hitler.” This shouldn’t come as a shock, as Vance was a “never-Trump guy” before selling out to the MAGA campaign.  

Regardless of Vance magically switching sides, referring to someone as Hitler is a hard case to defend. What could have changed his opinion on Trump in the last eight years remains a mystery.

Scaring Voters Away

With Trump’s employees and running mates against him, lifelong conservative voters are left stranded with a candidate who no longer represents their values.

Popular X account Republicans Against Trump is an account dedicated to conservatives who have become disillusioned with the former president.

If Trump and the GOP intend to win this election, they cannot continue to scare away moderate voters. The GOP knows this, but Trump can’t seem to get out of his way.

At a recent rally, Trump told attendees that after they vote for him in this election, they “won’t have to vote anymore” once he wins.

For a man facing accusations of being a threat to democracy, he’s not doing a good job of convincing people otherwise.

Vance only serves to continue this rhetoric and push away potential voters.

Women, who represent one of the most important demographics in this election, are completely ostracized by Vance.

“A bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made,” Vance said when asked about women Democratic voters.

Backed Into a Corner 

Trump could afford to be risky with his rhetoric when he was running against current President Joe Biden. With the majority of Americans unhappy with Biden’s term, many were ready to come crawling back to the former President Trump, despite his failures in office.

The switch to Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee has thrown a wrench in Trump’s plan to defeat Biden this November.

Long gone are the days of “Crooked Joe Biden” as Trump and the Republican Party scramble to find ways to defame Harris.

These attacks are at best weak insults on things such as her laugh. At worst, they border on blatant racism and sexism.

Trump supporters have been quick to refer to Harris as a DEI hire, insisting she got her position only due to her status as a Black woman. Keep in mind that Trump never previously held any position in office before he was president. Harris was the attorney general, a senator of California and the vice president.

Perhaps the most baseless accusation is that Harris stepping up in place of Biden is a threat to democracy.

Despite no Democrat feeling this way, Trump and the GOP continue to use this as ammunition to attack her campaign.

What supporters of this argument fail to understand is that the Democratic Party has never been about one person.

It doesn’t matter if Biden or Harris is in the Oval Office in January; they both represent the progress that Democrat voters are willing to fight for.

It shouldn’t come as a shock that Republicans view the passing of the torch this way. They cannot imagine a world where Donald J. Trump is not the face of the Republican Party.

Digging Their Own Grave 

The conservative party used to be the party of limited government and traditional values. Although they butted heads with Democrats, there was a mutual respect present for the other side.  

Donald Trump and the new generation of Republican voices have raised the temperature of politics. This has resulted in a Trump or bust mentality.

Even for those who like Trump, it has become evident that this is no way to win an election. 

Trump is digging his own grave and taking the GOP with him.

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