It’s a tough time to be a College Republican; the GOP nominee is one of the most controversial candidates in recent history, and even their national chairwoman has said she can no longer support him.
In the midst of the Trump tape aftermath, College Republican National Committee (CRNC) Chairwoman Alex Smith was one of the prominent Republican leaders who renounced her support for the GOP nominee.
Trump was already hanging on by a thread with millennial voters — his only saving grace being that they didn’t like Hillary Clinton either — and now, the students who have spent months making phone calls and knocking on doors in the name of party loyalty feel like there’s no hope because their leader has “conceded the race for us.”
A group of senior leaders in the CRNC, who asked not to be identified by name because of their current activity with the organization, wrote an open letter to CRNC Chairwoman Alex Smith, and shared it exclusively with Red Alert Politics.
“I don’t like Trump,” one of the students prefaced. In fact, “disgusting” and “inexcusable” were a few of the words she used to describe his comments. But still, “I can’t stomach a Hillary Clinton presidency,” she said.
Coincidentally or not, since Smith’s announcement last Friday, several College Republican chapters across the country have decided to dump Trump too.
“Thousands of College Republicans have now refused to mobilize for our nominee, upon the direction of their chairwoman,” the CR students wrote in their letter to Smith. “Under your guidance, students have given up on the race for the White House. Your public statement that you are ‘not with him,’ and you are also ‘not with her’ has created confusion, and publicly left the organization in a state of disarray. You’ve left students with two choices, don’t vote, or vote for a third-party candidate.”
CRNC spokesman Justin Giorgio said, “Alex’s comments reflect only her personal views. The College Republican National Committee fully supports Republicans up and down the ballot, including Mr. Trump. Alex encourages all College Republicans to be actively engaged and vote in this critical election.”
Read the full letter below:
Alex Smith, you owe us an apology. After a perilous primary, we sought refuge in your words, as our Chairman. You assured us that “the door knocking, the organizing, and the recruiting — have not been in vain.” You advised us that “ As young conservatives, we’re not going to abandon the party and we’re not going to abandon the movement.” You implored “with precious few months left and lingering bickering before so many important elections, it’s time to stand up and pound the table.” We heeded your calls, and we made the collective decision to put party unity first.
On July 22nd, 2016 the Republican Party, yourself included, accepted Donald J. Trump as our nominee. As CRNC Chairman you accepted a speaking role at his convention, where you highlighted your role as the voice of 250,000+ young conservatives nationwide.
You have denounced Trump in your official capacity, but your organization has not. Your words have jeopardized the countless hours we have dedicated in efforts to fulfill our organization’s mission. Your words carry weight, and with that comes responsibility. The responsibility of a leader is to relay the views of their constituents. As our elected voice, you have not been tasked with speaking in lieu of us, you been given the responsibility to speak on behalf of us. Across the country our members made their voices heard. However, the only voice heard was yours.
Thousands of College Republicans have now refused to mobilize for our nominee, upon the direction of their chairwoman. Under your guidance, students have given up on the race for the White House. Your public statement that you are “ not with him, and you are also not with her” has created confusion, and publicly left the organization in a state of disarray. You’ve left students with two choices, don’t vote, or vote for a third-party candidate.
You attack the establishment for ignoring millennials and not giving us a seat at the table. You made a decision solely serving your political interests, you abandoned your duties to your members, and you have become everything you had advised us to fight against. You owe us an apology, Alex Smith.
DISCLAIMER: Alex Smith is a Red Alert Politics “30 Under 30” winner.
