They Built This: Republicans May Not Want Trump as the Face of the GOP – but They Want His Positions

New Poll Shows GOP Civil War

A just-released Bloomberg poll reveals a disturbing shift in the GOP, thanks likely to the hate awakened in millions by Donald Trump.

The majority of Republican voters or leaners (51%) say Donald Trump’s positions are similar to their own, and believe those positions are what the Republican Party should stand for. That in itself is disturbing, given that Trump’s positions are homophobic, racist, misogynistic, nationalistic, and fascistic. 

In fact, they chose Trump’s positions over Paul Ryan‘s – whose views are also disturbing and extreme, but perceived as more “moderate” by many. Only one in three GOP voters or leaners (33%) say the House Speaker’s policies better reflect their own, and are what the party should stand for. Another 15% are unsure.

It should be stressed that most Americans are likely unfamiliar with Ryan’s positions and policies.

The good news for the nation is that Trump, unless he wins by some unforeseen miracle to come, will not be the choice of conservatives to be the face of the GOP – if the party even survives this election. The bad news is that they’ve decided, by a small margin, that it should be Mike Pence.

Pence, of course, is even more extreme than Donald Trump and Paul Ryan. He’s just better at hiding his religious-based extremism than his running mate, who advertises his particular brand of hate as religion-based, even if it’s not.

So if (when) Hillary Clinton wins, 27% of Republicans want Mike Pence to be the face of the GOP. Only 24% want Trump if he loses. 19% say Ted Cruz is their choice, 15% pick Speaker Ryan, and just ten percent say John Kasich.

“What is clear in these data is that a large segment of Trump supporters are all-in with the candidate, pollster J. Ann Selzer, who was in charge of the poll, told Bloomberg. “They see him as capable of delivering on the promise of a greater nation. That said, just 38 percent of them say they will stay loyal and follow his future endeavors if he does not win.”

“If he were to lose, our data suggest his standing would diminish,” she predicts.

Calling the events of the past 16 months “a temporary Trump invasion,” GOP strategist Mike Murphy says “I think Ryan’s got the future of the party and Trump will be rubble after this election.”

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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license