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Republicans at 'Principles First' summit look beyond Trump

02:11

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Ines Pohl in Washington
February 25, 2024

Not all Republicans support front-runner Donald Trump. DW Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl spoke with some of them at the Principles First summit.

[Video transcript]

It appears that there is currently no viable alternative to Donald Trump as the Republican Party's presidential candidate.

However, not all Republicans are in support of him.

Heath Mayo, a lawyer, is organizing the Principles First summit in Washington, which aims to find ways to liberate the party from Trump's influence.

(Heath Mayo, Organizer Principles First Summit)
"I think If he wins, his grip on the party will be finite, the question will be resolved. The transformation on ideas will be complete. The Republican party will no longer be a party of ... It'll be a party of isolationism. It'll be a party of conspiracy theories about the deep state being arrayed against average Americans."

(Ines Pohl, DW Washington bureau chief)
"It's the second time that those Republicans who are critical with Donald Trump are coming together to discuss the future of their party without the former president."  

(Woman) 
"There are enough people there in Congress and elsewhere, 700+ people here at Principles First who actually have a hunger for moral and righteous leadership."

(First Man)
"Once we get past this and get back to principles like we're discussing here today at the summit I'm very optimistic about the future in the US."  

(Second Man)
"Donald Trump will at the head of the party for a couple more years and, well, I have hope that we will get through the attacks on democracy, the rhetoric which is so senseless in today's day and age. I'm so tired of it, my generation is so tired of it." 

A 30-minute drive away, MAGA supporters are gathering at CPAC, a summit that was once a platform for conservative discussions and idea sharing.

However, in this election year, dialogue and debate seem to be absent, as the event resembles a ceremonial coronation of the former president.

These contrasting events reveal divisions within the GOP and the ongoing struggle for the Republican party's core values. 
 

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