#NeverTrump was the rallying cry of a diverse collection of people who believed that Donald Trump should not be President of the United States. It refers more to a judgment on one specific issue than to an ideology or movement. For some on the left, #NeverTrump has become #NotMyPresident. This is a phrase similar to #NeverTrump both in its simplicity and in its flexibility. It can find expression in protests, riots, and petitions aimed at preventing his inauguration, or it can find expression in a determination to form a political opposition and replace him in four years.
On the right, the situation is not so simple. Evan McMullin has rebranded his campaign as the New Conservative Movement, and he is keeping it separate and distinct from the Republican Party. However, not only are Republicans who opposed Trump in the general election not united on the decision to leave the party: they are not united on the choice of Evan McMullin to lead the resistance.
As expected, there are calls for unity from Trump's political supporters (as distinct from those who would support the President, no matter who (s)he might be). The most startling challenge to #NeverTrump that I have seen comes from a writer on Erick Erickson's blog, The Resurgent. Brian Sikma writes that it is Time for #NeverTrump to Die.
Sikma opposed Trump through the primaries and even hoped the delegates would deny him the nomination. His loyalties, however, clearly lie with the GOP. While he does not make the mistake of referring to himself as a #NeverTrumper, he feels free to tell everyone that he does not see any continuing relevance for #NeverTrump.
#NeverTrump was never a statement about whether Donald Trump could become president. It was a statement about whether he should be president. Unless he changes, there is no reason for that view to change. Though the expression #NeverTrump may not be as appropriate now, the logic still stands.
Certainly we should hope that President-elect Trump succeeds in fulfilling the role outlined for the President in the Constitution. Certainly we should be willing to provide whatever aid he may require as our President. Certainly we who are Christians should pray for the President, his family, and his administration. Yet none of that answers the question of whether we are on the same side politically.
The logic of #NeverTrump does not allow us to be. There may not be an organized anti-Trump faction of the Republican party or a compelling alternative to the Republican party yet, but that has to be the goal. The only alternatives are to say that we were wrong or to retreat from politics altogether. I do not believe either of those is the right choice.
I will admit that the fact that Trump is going to be President gives him an opportunity to change our view of him before the next Presidential election. For my view to change, however, President Trump would need to change. He would need time to demonstrate that change. That is time that we must use to form a political alternative to Trumpism. The ideas and the people must be clearly opposed to Trumpism.
Donald Trump has not admitted the harm and irresponsibility of his specific words and actions, so he has clearly not renounced them. Until he does that, the process of rehabilitating him politically has not even begun.
I do not suggest that we immediately form a party or faction of Republicans based simply on opposition to President Trump. That would not last, and it would not be principled. What we need to do first is establish the principles of conservative opposition and identify its leaders. If Trump continues on the path indicated by his campaign, he will give that opposition enough to respond to. Whether the catalyst for formally organizing the opposition comes from Trump or from its leadership, we must be ready.
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