‘Ashamed’ of Trump, Harvard Republican Club won’t endorse top GOP nominee for first time since 1888
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds baby cousins Evelyn Kate Keane, 6 months old, and Kellen Campbell, 3 months old, following his speech at the Gallogly Events Center at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Friday, July 29, 2016 in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Stacie Scott/The Gazette via AP)
The Harvard Republican Club was founded in 1888, and is the oldest College Republican chapter in the country. Its website says the club exists to “promote Republican principles, policies and candidates” and members are “proud” of their “rich history of Republican advocacy.” At least, until Donald Trump won the 2016 Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
The Harvard Republican Club has issued a statement (read in full below) saying that for the first time in its history, it will not endorse their party’s presidential candidate. Why? Because the club is “ashamed” of Trump. He is, the statement says, a “threat to the survival” of the United States.
The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, reported that the club polled members this week to see who they were supporting for president. Ten percent said they would support Trump, while 80 percent said they would not. Another 10 percent were undecided.
The antagonism toward Trump among college Republicans is not universal, however. Late last month, the Texas Federation of College Republicans issued a statement congratulating Trump on his nomination. You can see that whole statement below.
An organization called Students for Trump says on its website that it has dozens of chapters at colleges and universities across the country. You can see the list here. The website includes a blog with a post titled, “Convincing a Disgruntled Voter to Ride the Trump Train.”
That said, Trump, according to polls, isn’t popular with young people. A new McClatchy pollshows Trump now getting 1 in 10 votes among Americans under 30 years old. That’s 9 percent, compared to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s 41 percent. Trump doesn’t even have as much support with young people, according to the poll, than the Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson, who has 23 percent of the youth vote, or Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who has 16 percent. Trump can take comfort in that he is slightly ahead of the 8 percent in the “undecided” camp.
Here’s the Harvard Republican Club’s statement:
Dear Members and Alumni,In every presidential election since 1888, the members and Executive Board of the Harvard Republican Club have gathered to discuss, debate, and eventually endorse the standard-bearer of our party. But for the first time in 128 years, we, ‘Ashamed’ of Trump, Harvard Republican Club won’t endorse top GOP nominee for first time since 1888 - The Washington Post:
