Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Wednesday that President Trump isn’t the future of the Republican Party.
The GOP is “bigger than any one person,” DeMint said in response to a question from Hill.TV host Saagar Enjeti.
The former lawmaker, who is now chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute, added that conservatism often encompasses more than any one policy or ideology.
“The folks on the left will talk about conservatism as being hateful, and bigoted and folks on the right often just define it in terms of different policies — lower taxes or less government. It’s much bigger than that,” he said.
DeMint also pointed to a growing disparity in representation in Washington, saying voters on the left and right are increasingly feeling alienated, which has given rise to candidates like Trump and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“There’s no real place to go right now, but people are looking more inside at what’s going on. But they’re looking at candidates who are nontraditional — Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump,” he added.
DeMint’s new book “Conservative: Knowing What to Keep,” explores conservatism and advocates for the “national return to transcendent values and proven traditions will bring us back to freedom and prosperity.”
—Tess Bonn
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