The Republican National Convention has been a four-day procession of police officers, soldiers, religious leaders, mothers, White House aides, Trump family members and rising party members, all singing the praises of President Trump. But one group seems to have been left out of the limelight: the once-dominant Republican establishment that ruled for Mr. Trump.
The Thursday night appearances by some current Republican leaders – in particular Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate majority, and Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the minority in the House – served as a reminder of who for a largely had no place on the stage.
There were no bushes, Cheneys, bakers or doles. There were no former Republican presidents as vice presidents, or prominent former cabinet members like Condoleezza Rice, who have been part of Republican White Houses over the decades leading up to Mr. Election’s election. Trump. In fact, two names were barely mentioned over roughly 10 hours of convention speeches and video: Bush and Reagan. (And remember not one named McCain.)
Her absence seems to be the latest signature on the divorce between the old guard and Mr. Trump, as proof, if need be, of how much he has taken over the party. And the feeling is mutual. The old guard – the elected officials, cabinet members and political workers – has shown little interest in being part of the Trump contest, and Mr. Trump has not much interest in having it at his show.
“He certainly did not run because he was worried about the Republican Party,” said Torie Clarke, who served in the White Houses of Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush. ‘He did not win because of the Republican Party. I think it’s not a surprise. ”
Matthew Dowd, a senior strategist for George W. Bush, said the enmity went out both ways. “Almost every one of the people who spoke at the GOP convention would not have been invited to speak at the 2004 convention, including Donald Trump,” he said.
Mr Trump’s aides said the convention’s organizers were deliberately not seeking to promote Republican establishment figures. “The convention was aimed at hearing from real-world people who have benefited from President Trump’s policies,” said Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s communications director.
Instead of having a place on stage or being involved in the planning of the convention and the campaign, these old line Republican names follow the event from a distance, when they pay full attention to it. Many of the old guard Republicans, especially those close to the Bushes and former Senator John McCain, are active against Mr. Trump, and some have opposed his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Linda L. Fowler, a government professor at Dartmouth College, said an important function of a convention was “to strengthen the party’s brand by seeing its former leaders and celebrating their roots.”
“Given the fact that the convention did not address issues, produced any platform and did nothing to advance the fate of candidates for the vote, it is difficult to see why it took place at all,” she said. “It was just a television show.”
There is always some natural tension in a change in power, even among members of the same party. Outgoing presidents, especially unpopular presidents, sometimes steer clear of conventions where their potential successors are. In 2008, George W. Bush resigned when Mr. McCain was nominated to run against Senator Barack Obama.
Sig Rogich, a senior adviser to Mr. Reagan and to senior George Bush, said Mr. Bush had joined his own team after winning the White House in 1988. “But they were still very close and collegial,” he said. he said the two Republican camps.
That is not the case here. Mr. Trump has made clear his contempt for the Bush dynasty; he was not invited to speak at the funeral of senior Mr. Bush, and he was happy to beat Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, after defeating him for the 2016 presidential nomination. also for the most part remember to take them to reverence. the party speaks out for Mr. Reagan.
“Trump is allergic to establishment republics, and it’s no surprise that they’re flown out of the convention,” said Mark McKinnon, who served as George W. Bush’s chief media adviser. “Trump has made the party completely in shape in his image, and I don’t think he wants to remind himself that everything came before him.”
Joe Gaylord, a senior adviser to Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, said that the party under Mr. Trump was back to his pre-World War II historical roots – protectionist and isolationist – making a wave with the party’s establishment running from 1980 to 2016. Mr Gaylord said that process was accelerated because of the influence of Mr. Trump took over the leadership of state and provincial parties throughout.
“Parties always take on the image of their president, and the parties have developed a lot,” he said. Gaylord. “Trump has moved from the evolution of parties to the revolution of our party. It’s pretty clear he’s not part of the old guard at all, and they do not have much to do with him. ‘
Mr. Dowd claimed that Mr. Trump had not changed the Republican Party and that he was part of an ideological parade that began with Sarah Palin as running mate of Mr. McCain in 2008.
“Trump is not a cause of where the GOP is today,” he said. Dowd. “He is an effect. Keep in mind that Palin, who was a version of Trump for him, attracted much larger GOP crowds than McCain in 2008. “
Republicans who were normally in the process – if there were any – of the 2020 party convention have kept this time clear. Mark Salter, who was senior adviser to Mr. McCain, said Thursday that he was in Maine and had no interest in having anything to do with the convention. He said he was not surprised at how many trusted Republican faces there were.
“I want to think it’s because what Trump has done to the Republican Party is to make it unrecognizable from the one we worked for,” he said. “People have, from past, authoritative Republican administrations would be a shameful contrast to the Z team that the White House now leads.”
“Trump is not a Republican,” Mr Salter said. “He is not a conservative. He is a self-possessed man without self-control. What does he want with a party? I do not think they want him, and I do think the most respectable Republicans who are more than a paycheck in business do not want to endorse what is going on. ‘
Kitty Bennett contributed research.
