Will Anti-Trump Republicans leave the GOP? By Luke Perry

The Utica College Center of Public Affairs and Election Research now has a YouTube Channel that provides short videos, interviews, and special events.

Donald Trump came to office in a remarkable upset victory and left with an unprecedented collapse of his presidency.  Not since Herbert Hoover, has a president and his party lost the White House and both chambers of Congress in one term. Political Science scholars will spend several years examining the contents and aftermath of the Trump presidency.

Immediate questions include: What happens to the Republican Party? Will it splinter between Pro-Trump and traditional Republicans?

Trump redefined the party around himself, formally and informally. Trump’s social media platform is diminished, though he may create a new media venture to make money and/or promote the political prospects of his allies, particularly his children.

Even so, the president cut off his political legs with his response to the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Trump’s video statement of love for the rioters severely undermined his public credibility, helping to prompt an unprecedented second impeachment, this time with some Republican support.

Democrats did not look to Jimmy Carter for party leadership in 1981, nor did Republicans take their cues from George H.W. Bush in 1993. Two years of unified Democratic government will help unify the Republican Party in opposition, particularly if Senate Democrats remove the legislative filibuster and pass a wave of long sought liberal policies.

U.S. national government is poised to snap back to a more recognizable form over the next year, particularly if the mass distribution of the COVID vaccine gradually gets the virus under control.

Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Political Science at Utica College

Technical assistance provided by Laura Lewin (Director of Convergence Media at Utica College) and Mackenzie Lowden (Utica College student and intern)