Trump's convention will be a 'circus of hate': ex-GOP state chairperson

In a column in USA Today that was both wistful and fearful, the former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party said she is finding the Democratic National Convention uplifting in ways that appeal to her and suggested the Republican National Convention next week to nominate Donald Trump will be a "circus of hate."

According to Jennifer Horn, who admits up-front that she is a co-founder of the Never Trump group, the Lincoln Project but remains a Republican, what she has seen from the Democrats is likely to appeal to members of her party who are appalled by what the president has done since being in office.

Calling the coverage, "some of the most inspirational programming I’ve seen in a very long time," she added, "as a lifelong Republican who has spent much of the past 12 years advancing conservative principles and working to elect Republicans, that’s saying something."

To set the stage for her appreciation, Horn described what life has become for Americans under Trump.

"We are living through one of the most divided, uncertain moments in our nation’s history. America’s heart aches from the loss of over 170,000 lives in a pandemic in just five and a half months, racial unrest that has swept across the land, and economic despair, with as many as 30 million Americans unemployed," she wrote, admitting that Democrats could have taken the low road and spent the evenings attacking the president instead of selling hope for the future.

"In a moment when Trump is trying to silence dissent and suppress the vote, the Democratic convention gives a voice to America’s diversity," she continued. "As the Democrats are expanding their reach and broadening their inclusion, Republicans are doing exactly the opposite. Under Trump, the Republican Party has shrunk and fewer and fewer Americans feel welcome in their ranks, especially minorities and women."

Specifically citing the way that the Democrats are putting women front and center in the campaign -- with the historic selection of a Black woman as the vice presidential nominee -- Horn said there is no way that the Republicans can counterprogram against the Democrat's message.

"I am still a Republican, and I am sure I will continue to advocate for conservative governance in the years ahead. But as I watch the Democratic convention programming, filled with strong accomplished women, I feel drawn to each one of them.," she wrote. "When I look at the Democratic production as a whole — an amazing fabric stitched with threads of every color and design — I can’t help but wonder what next week’s Republican convention will look and sound like."

"How will Donald Trump’s circus of hate and exclusion compare? The truth is, it can’t," she concluded.

You can read the whole piece here.