Never Trumper Bill Kristol called on Republican voters to support Democrat politicians “for a while,” and said he would support a 2024 presidential ticket led by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Kristol over the weekend addressed a crowd of disillusioned Republicans about the need to get rid of “Trump Republicans” from the party.
“It turns out that once you let the toothpaste out of the tube, so to speak, demagoguery and bigotry and all that, some people like it. It’s hard to get it back,” Kristol said. “You can’t just give them a lecture.”
Kristol’s remarks came during the Principles First Summit held at the Conrad Hotel in Washington, DC. The summit featured prominent Never Trumpets and “was implicitly constructed as a counterweight,” to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held the same weekend, Politico reported.
Kristol also indicated he would support a potential Whitmer presidential ticket, with Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) as vice president.
“That’s fine with me,” Kristol said of the potential ticket.
The event was less than one-quarter the size of CPAC, with 300 people reportedly in attendance at the Conrad Hotel.
Former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) appeared and compared Trump to a “cancer” that is “going to kill the party more.”
Other Principles First speakers included talk show host Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Mike Pence aide Olivia Troye, and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.