Donald Trump is a large pill that the Republican Party’s finding difficult to swallow.
Amidst controversy over a 2005 video released by the Washington Post, where Trump is captured by a hot mic saying lewd phrases, which some interpret as insinuating sexual assault, many Republican politicians are withdrawing their support.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was sickened by the remarks, according to the New York Times.
According to USA Today, 26 percent of Republican governors and members of Congress are refusing to endorse the GOP nominee. This remarkable turn of events is the first of its kind in modern American history, and it seems clear that the Republican Party will need to adapt for the future, whether Trump takes the election or not.
“Whatever happens, the Republican Party, for sure, will never be the same,” said Adam Goodman, the principal director for The Victory Group, a Republican consulting firm.
Goodman has consulted with over 300 Republican politicians over 35 years. He’s been named one of the “most influential Floridians” by Florida Trend and has appeared on CNN and FOX News as a political commentator. Goodman spoke to a journalism class on campus Oct. 11 about his work in politics.
“We [Republicans] need a long conversation amongst ourselves to figure out what we need to do next, because this is not the way we thought this would play out,” Goodman said.
Trump’s voter base cannot be ignored by party leaders, Goodman said. If Trump loses the election, the Republicans will need to address and bring in those disenfranchised voters. To ignore them in the future would split the Republican demographic in half.
Post-debate polls have Republicans voting Trump up to 83 percent, up from 60 percent the week before, according to the Washington Post.
Goodman said that the changes Trump will bring to the Republican Party may help improve things.
“Trump, in an unexpected way, will really be helpful getting the Party to a better place moving forward,” Goodman said. “One, is by challenging all conventions. Two, he will push them to be more moderate, more inclusive than they have been, for survival.”
More moderate conservative voices have been washed away by Trump’s rhetoric. Former presidential candidates Jeb Bush and John Kasich ran on a more fundamentally conservative platform, until being outed from the competition by Trump.
Trump, Goodman explained, doesn’t always act as a Republican. Like Bernie Sanders, who ran as a Democratic candidate but whose platform could be characterized as more of a socialist independent movement, Trump inspires an anti-status quo sentiment.
“Both [Trump and Sanders] have huge followings, so how do you explain that?” Goodman asked.
“What do you do with followings like that; with movements like that? You create a similar movement, and not through the conventional party structure, which I think would be hard for both sides. If I were younger, I would create a new political party today.”
It’s clear that in this election the two third-party candidates are little more than pipedreams, both polling less than 15 percent, disqualifying them from participating in the presidential debates.
Goodman wouldn’t hazard to guess which presidential candidate would win. He said that, so far, he hasn’t been able to predict much about this unique election. He said the meteoric rise in Sanders was very interesting, but doesn’t know if Clinton will clinch the election.
But, he did have some reassuring words for people afraid of a Trump candidacy. When asked if the country needs to be worried about what critics have called a “political authoritarian,” Goodman said:
“No, first we have checks and balances that are very strong in this system. Number two, I think that Trump in reality would bring in a bipartisan team. They would not be partisan and it would not be logical to bring a totally partisan team. I think he would enjoy being the frontman and allow the real work to be done by real folks.”
On Oct. 12, the Washington Post reported that Republican leaders were returning to Trump, even after accusations of sexual harassment and assault reported by the New York Times.
Darryl Glenn, a candidate for Colorado’s senate seat said that Trump should step aside after the Post’s video went live.
“America cannot have a man who speaks this way about women be the face of our country to the free world,” Glenn said.
But after backlash from Trump supporters, Glenn recanted his comment.
“Donald Trump did what he absolutely had to,” Glenn told Fox. “I think he reset his campaign.”
The Post reported that Marco Rubio, who is running for a Florida senate seat, said that he would continue his support for the candidate, after a few days of silence.
“I wish we had a better choice,” Rubio said. “But I do not want Hillary to be our next president. And therefore my position has not changed.”
