Many Republicans don’t align with new messages at GOP convention
Monday’s program was chock full of efforts to reach groups that don’t generally align with Republicans,
from Latino and Black voters to union members.
But the messages used to accomplish that task were often discordant —
with Trump’s usual mien,
with one another,
with those of the party’s base.
And while the party has become defined much more by “Trump” than any set of policies,
that can’t help but create some tensions.
The big one Monday concerned the party’s increasingly #isolationist posture.
After Trump picked as his running mate one of the most prominent skeptics of Ukraine aid, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio,
— Vance once said he didn’t “really care” what happened to Ukraine
— a succession of speakers delivered remarks in that vein.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor #Greene (Ga.) 🔸criticized aid to “foreign nations,”
while tech investor David #Sacks ♦️blamed the U.S. government for provoking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by pushing NATO expansion.♦️
While much of the GOP base is skeptical of Ukraine aid,
a healthy segment of it remains #hawkish on the war.
Recent polling shows more than 4 in 10 Republicans believe that the amount of aid to Ukraine has been not enough or “about right.”
After the most recent Ukraine aid package passed, a poll showed Republicans leaned against it, but not a majority or even by a huge margin.
While 44 percent opposed the aid, 30 percent supported it.
And in contrast to Sacks’s comment, a Chicago Council of Global Affairs poll last year showed 🔹fewer than four in 10 Republicans blamed either NATO (37 percent) or the United States (32 percent) for Russia’s invasion. 🔹
Republicans also still lean in favor of NATO and even Ukraine’s membership in it.
The messages are also somewhat at odds with Trump himself.
While he has projected skepticism about Ukraine aid, he didn’t really fight the most recent package, and he has said that Ukraine’s survival is “important to us!”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/16/many-republicans-dont-align-with-new-messages-gop-convention/