In 2016, a month before the presidential election, several executives of the Republican Party (Grand Old Party, GOP) pleaded for the replacement of their candidate, Donald Trump. A 2005 video in which the latter made obscene and degrading remarks against women had just been unveiled. The businessman, who had already won the nomination of the GOP to the dismay of many of his elected officials, then appeared to be a foil.
But the person concerned ended up entering the White House and he has not ceased, since, to extol the birth of a ” movement “ policy of which he was the embodiment. Four years later, despite his defeat at the polls, Donald Trump surpassed the record held in 2008 by Barack Obama, at the same time setting the vote record recorded by a Republican presidential candidate.
The Republican Party, it seems deeply marked by its influence. His excesses no longer provoke the slightest reaction. As proof, to date, only a handful of elected Congressmen have recognized Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 election, most observing absolute silence, while their candidate has increased accusations of electoral fraud.
How can we explain such a shift? What happened to the dissenting voices within the GOP? What was Trump’s impact on Abraham Lincoln’s party? Francois Vergniolle de Chantal is professor of American civilization at the University of Paris and author of the book The Impossible Imperial Presidency (2016, CNRS Editions). In a tribune at World, he draws up the report of a party “Zombie”, from now on “Open to all contesting candidacies led by any charismatic leader in search of scapegoats”. He answers your questions from 11 a.m.
