Pollster Warns ‘Large Parts’ Of GOP Seek To Distance Themselves From President Trump

Rob Griffin, a pollster and research director at the Public Religion Research Institute, noted that “large parts” of the Republican establishment do not want anything to do with President Donald Trump. He revealed that they are seeking to distance themselves from his administration, The Hill reported.

“There are large parts of the Republican establishment that even to this day, even though they won’t say publicly, really don’t want that much to do with the presidency, and hope to have sort of a time period after his presidency where they can distance themselves from him pretty strongly,” said Griffin.

He also noted that despite promises to bring in the best people, the GOP hasn’t been able to do that. During the 2016 campaign, plenty of people in the Republican Party spoke out against Trump, and many of them created a Never Trump movement. Plus, in the 2018 mid-terms, some people in the party attempted to distance themselves from the outspoken president. Currently, several different people still speak out against the president, and they typically face quick and sometimes vicious attacks from him either on Twitter, during briefings, or interviews.

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For instance, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan used his wife Yumi Hogan’s connections to secure 500,000 COVID-19 tests from South Korea. VOX reported that the president used the daily coronavirus briefings in mid-April to attack Hogan after he went around the Trump administration to procure the tests. Gov. Hogan said that it should not have been so challenging to acquire the necessary supplies to conduct widespread testing.

Meanwhile, Utah Senator Mitt Romney recently discussed attributes of leadership at a virtual Georgetown University event, where he described the characteristics of good leadership. In his discussion, Romney noted that great leaders recognize they aren’t the smartest person in the room. Earlier this year, after learning that Romney tested negative for COVID-19, the president called the Republican senator — who was the only member of the GOP to vote for his removal from office — a RINO (Republican in Name Only.)

Despite Griffin’s claims about the GOP wanting to move away from Trump quickly, the majority of the party appears to back the president. So far, only a few of those who still hold seats in Congress or governors have taken a stand against the Trump administration and its efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. After all, he followed through on one of his big campaign promises — tax cuts. A recent Gallop Poll shows that 91 percent of Republicans approve of Trump.