A common refrain among NeverTrump Republicans is that Donald Trump is unfit for office by both temperament and ideology, the former being foremost in their vociferous opposition to his presidency.  On the latter point I don’t entirely disagree:  Trump was—and is—not particularly conservative, although his instincts lean in that direction, as does his governance.  Put another way, for a guy who spent most of his life as a New York Democrat, he’s been far more effective at advancing a conservative agenda than George W. Bush ever was—and with the historic number of judges confirmed by Mitch McConnell, Trump’s legacy will live on long after he leaves office.

As to NeverTrump’s supposedly principled opposition to the President’s character—well, that’s another matter.  I don’t doubt that there are a few among their number who have been consistent in that regard, but when it comes to the leadership of that movement it becomes obvious that their arguments have less to do with actual conservatism and more to do with lamenting their diminished status within a Trumpified GOP.  How else to explain the likes of Tom Nichols voicing his support for whomever the Democrats nominate in 2020, no matter how radical or socialist?  Or Bill Kristol embracing his own “inner socialist,” and declaring that he would rather be ruled by an unelected deep state than a duly-elected Donald Trump?  These are not conservative positions, any way you look at them—and they make you realize just how content Conservatism, Inc. was with the relentless leftward drift of the country and the culture, so long as they got to keep their cozy little gigs arguing over the details.

More than that, however, NeverTrump seems to have a real problem with the truth—quite ironic, considering that one of their main criticisms of Donald Trump is what they see as his serial dishonesty.  Take this tweet from Mona Charen, for example:

With everything that's happening in the world, it's a good thing that our Attorney General is globe-trotting to find out what happened to Hillary Clinton's server.

— Mona Charen (@monacharenEPPC) October 13, 2019

In case Ms. Charen needs a reminder, Bill Barr is investigating the origins of the Russia collusion hoax—an episode in which the former Secretary of State illegally ran a private email server in order to thwart federal records laws so that she could escape scrutiny for her activities with the Clinton Foundation.  It’s also beyond question that Clinton compromised national security with her actions, exposing state secrets to bad actors—including the Russians and the Chinese.  Now it has become apparent that the FBI, under the leadership of James Comey, may have coordinated with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to give Clinton a pass.  This represents an astonishing amount of corruption at the highest levels of the federal government, which is a direct threat to the rule of law.

Yet Ms. Charen seems uninterested in finding out the truth—probably because it would vindicate President Trump’s assertion that a deep state has been working to undermine his administration from the start.  This is indefensible from anything resembling a conservative point of view.  The only explanation is that Charen doesn’t care, because the truth conflicts with her political preferences.

I ran into the same issue personally with National Review’s Jay Nordlinger.  I’ve read him for years, and have always respected his writing and his dedication to conservative principle.  And even though I largely disagreed with his views on Trump, I always believed him to be arguing in good faith.  Last week, he posted this on Twitter:

An old line says, "Death, be not proud." I would say to Republicans and conservatives — to all the boosters and enablers of Donald Trump — be not proud of Trump's decision to stand aside and allow Erdogan's troops to murder our Kurdish allies in Syria.

— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) October 9, 2019

To which I replied that George H.W. Bush did much the same to the Kurds in northern Iraq during the first Gulf War, after publicly admonishing them to rise up and overthrow Saddam.  The Kurds did just that, assuming they would have the military support of the United States.  Bush didn’t give that support—and American troops stood by while Saddam engaged in a wholesale slaughter.

Nordlinger, disappointingly, reacted by blocking me.

Understand that I wasn’t defending Trump’s decision to withdraw troops in Syria—I merely pointed out that one of his own personal heroes had made a similar decision, believing it to be in the best interests of the United States at the time.  That, in retrospect, it turned out to be a huge mistake that didn’t stabilize the Middle East and directly led to the rise of al Qaeda doesn’t seem to matter.  History has been subverted to politics.  Truth is now secondary.

This, more than anything, is the greatest weakness of NeverTrump.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

An op-ed I posted a few hours ago has drawn more people to reach out to me to see if I’m turning against President Trump, yet. One particularly well known “Never Trumper” direct messaged me on Twitter to congratulate me for seeing through the President’s lies. He was shocked to find out my call for the President to sanction Turkey didn’t mean I was turning against him. I still intend to support the President’s reelection efforts and will be voting for him in 2020.

There’s a big difference between criticism and opposition. In today’s ultra-tribal political atmosphere, too many people deal with absolutes. If they oppose a candidate or a party on a single issue, they suddenly oppose that candidate or party on all issues. It’s rather strange seeing former “conservatives” who are now embracing Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren while still pretending to be pro-life, defenders of capitalism, protectors of religious freedoms, 2nd Amendment proponents, and believers in limited government.

But it’s not just the “Never Trumpers” who are the problem. Some of the President’s most devoted fans have willfully molded their conservative worldviews around his. They’re latching onto his “bring the troops home” mantra regarding Syria, though the troops aren’t actually coming home. They’re preparing to be “common sense gun control” advocates in case the President signs universal background checks or red flag incentives into law. They do these things without considering if President Obama did either of these things, they’d be all over Twitter calling him treacherous and anti-freedom.

My perspectives on President Trump are simple and honest. When he does well, I praise him. When he does poorly, I criticize him. My praise has greatly outweighed my criticisms, but invariably any time I criticize his actions I’m attacked by overzealous members of his base and approached by “Never Trumpers” looking to add me to their ranks.

Friday evening, I posted a thread that demonstrates why I won’t be a “Never Trumper” any time soon. It’s worth reading to understand why I can criticize the President while knowing I generally support him and approve of most of his policies.

People often ask me why I support @realdonaldtrump, especially "NeverTrump" conservatives who have unhinged themselves from the GOP and, in many cases, reality. I could list his accomplishments but perhaps it's better to list what the @POTUS hasn't and won't do…

— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) October 12, 2019

There's a saying that goes, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them."

The Democrats have shown us who they are. In fact, they have been more honest about their intentions to eradicate important aspects of America than they've ever been before.

— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) October 12, 2019

When people complain to me about the things they don't like about President Trump, I take it with a grain of salt. They're just ignoring the existential threat to America that his opponents represent.

I'll stick with the President for America's sake.

— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) October 12, 2019

I can call for President Trump to sanction Turkey and still be fully supportive of his presidency and reelection efforts. Criticism on one issue is not opposition as a whole… at least it shouldn’t be. Patriotism must be driven by honest assertion of our beliefs.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

Presidential election years are challenging for lower-office candidates. It seems so much focus is placed on the big job by the media that extremely important races down-ticket don’t get the attention they deserve. With 2020 around the corner, it’s time to start getting the conservative message out to the people. If you’re a candidate running for office and you’re a Constitution-defending, freedom-loving patriotic conservative, we want to hear your story.

It doesn’t matter if you’re running for a seat on Capitol Hill, a local city council spot, or anything in between. We believe in the federalist principle that governing is shared across the spectrum. In fact, one can argue that a mayor has more direct influence over the lives of his or her constituents than the President. The people need to hear what you have to say, and NOQ Report wants to help get that word out.

The best way to contact us for interviews is through Twitter. I know, it’s a mess out there on social media, but we’ve found Direct Messages on Twitter are the easiest way to set up the interviews. Simply follow @NoqReport and send a Tweet at us so we can follow you back. Then, we’ll chat on DM and set up an interview.

Even if you’re not running for office yourself, you can help connect us with candidates you support. Just send them this article and get the conversation started.

Every election is allegedly the most important of our lifetime. That’s the pitch we often hear. But 2020 is definitely critical as many Americans seem to be shifting towards socialism. That cannot be allowed. Let’s work to get the conservative message out.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.