Conservative Bill Kristol has a long history of far-right policies including both wars in Iraq, demanding the removal of Saddam Hussein. But when it comes to President Donald Trump, Kristol has abandoned the Republican president, saying that he has been alarmed by Trump's foreign and domestic policies.
Republican officials have continued following Trump down the path, much to Kristol's chagrin, inspiring him to abandon the GOP until Trump is out of office. The only way he believes the GOP can win their party back from the influence of Trump is with three major things that he thinks will restore a modicum of dignity.
(1) Will Republican leaders in Congress—particularly the Senate—work seriously with Democrats on a responsible coronavirus package?(2) Will Republican elected officials—present, past, and those who aspire to be so in the future—and conservative luminaries be willing to say publicly they’re not voting for Donald Trump’s re-election?
(3) Will Republican and conservative leaders say clearly and ahead of time that they’re committed to a free, fair, and secure election this November?
According to Kristol, "these would seem to be minimal tests of civic responsibility going forward."
He said that the "least" Americans can ask of responsible officials and the GOP is to put the country before Trump. If they don't, he fears it may not even be possible to save the Republican Party.
"It is not clear why anyone should think that a party or movement that cannot bring itself to perform these basic tasks would be salvageable," he closed. "If the great majority of Republicans and conservatives are unwilling to do these things, then the cause of freedom and democracy in the 21st century will rightly leave the Republican party and American conservatism, unpitied and unmourned, on the ash heap of history."
