Republicans at 'Principles First' summit look beyond Trump
Not all Republicans support front-runner Donald Trump. DW Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl spoke with some of them at the Principles First summit.
Transcript
00:00 It appears that there is currently no viable alternative to Donald Trump as the Republican
00:06 Party's presidential candidate.
00:09 However, not all Republicans are in support of him.
00:13 "And they will not win a general election without..."
00:15 Heath Mayo, a lawyer, is organizing the principal's first summit in Washington, which aims to
00:21 find ways to liberate the party from Trump's influence.
00:25 "I think if he wins, his grip on the party will be finite.
00:32 The question will be resolved.
00:33 The transformation on ideas will be complete.
00:37 The Republican Party will no longer be a party of isolationism.
00:42 It will be a party of conspiracy theories about the deep state being a raid against
00:46 average Americans."
00:47 It's the second time that those Republicans who are critical with Donald Trump are coming
00:53 together to discuss the future of their party without the former president.
00:57 "There are enough people there in Congress and elsewhere, 700 plus people here at principal's
01:03 first who actually have a hunger for moral and righteous leadership."
01:07 "Once we get past this and people can get back to principals like we're discussing here
01:12 today at this summit, I'm very optimistic about the future in the US."
01:16 "Donald Trump, he'll be at the head of the party for a couple more years and I have hope
01:21 that we will get through the attacks on democracy, the rhetoric.
01:28 It's just so senseless in today's day and age.
01:31 I'm just so tired of it.
01:32 My generation is so tired of it."
01:35 A 30-minute drive away, MAGA supporters are gathering at CPEC, a summit that was once
01:40 a platform for conservative discussions and idea sharing.
01:45 However, in this election year, dialogue and debate seem to be absent as the event resembles
01:52 a ceremonial coronation of the former president.
01:56 These contrasting events reveal divisions within the GOP and the ongoing struggle for
02:03 the Republican Party's core values.