File under "ooh!" - Never Trumpers will host their own 'Republican convention' during the RNC [View all]

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/15/never-trumpers-will-host-their-own-republican-convention-during-rnc/

By David Weigel

May 15, 2020 at 1:37 p.m. EDT

Conservative critics of President Trump will hold a convention of their own during the Republican National Convention, with plans to craft their own statement of principles and offer it to a post-Trump electorate.

“The Trump administration has failed, and that’s provided us with an opportunity to offer an alternative vision,” said Evan McMullin, who ran against Trump as an independent in 2016 and has been part of multiple anti-Trump efforts since then. “We’ll be ready in the wake of what we see as a coming Trump defeat.”

The Convention on Founding Principles is scheduled to run from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27 in Charlotte, the city hosting this year’s RNC. The Republicans for a New President campaign, the chief organizer of the event, is planning an online component and a backup plan for a virtual convention if the RNC is canceled. Asked about the plans on Friday morning, the president’s campaign brushed them off.

“These Trump haters are sad, pathetic, and irrelevant,” said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtagh. “President Trump has united Republicans and has unprecedented support within the party. He’s also attracting non-Republicans and making huge inroads with blacks and Latinos. He will be reelected in November.”

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