A former Republican Party strategist has described former President Donald Trump as “electoral poison” and raised concerns about the shrinking voter base of the GOP presidential candidate.
Reed Galen, one of the founders of the conservative Lincoln Project, a group that opposes Trump, shared his thoughts on Tuesday during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle.” During the interview, Galen also touched upon the topic of polling methodology.
Trump has secured enough delegates to clinch the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidential race. He will now go head-to-head with President Joe Biden, who has also secured enough delegates to become the Democratic Party’s candidate.
During his appearance on MSNBC, Galen discussed polling and shared his concerns about the way polls are conducted. He was joined by Ron Filipkowski, an attorney and former Republican, who also expressed his thoughts on the matter. Galen specifically criticized the former president regarding polling methods.
“In the fall of 2022, there was a barrage of garbage polls being released by numerous right-wing organizations,” he exclaimed. “And what happened? Republicans managed to secure the House, a victory that may be short-lived, while everything else turned out to be inaccurate.”
According to Galen, he expressed his view on Trump, stating that “Trump is an electoral loser. He’s electoral poison.”
According to Galen, Trump’s base has become smaller, whiter, and more extreme than ever before. Galen agrees with Ron’s assessment, stating that in every election so far this year, Trump has been losing a significant portion of his own base, ranging from 20 to 30 percent.
“These numbers are not good,” he added. “I prefer to trust the votes rather than the polls.”
Galen was talking about the outcomes of the recent Republican primaries, where Trump achieved remarkable wins, but a notable portion of GOP voters chose to vote for someone else.
On Super Tuesday, which took place on March 5, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley received over 500,000 votes, surpassing Trump’s count. It is worth noting that Haley had already withdrawn from the race at that point.
In Florida, where Trump resides, the primary election saw the former president securing a staggering 81 percent of the votes, totaling over 910,000 ballots. Following behind was Haley, who garnered nearly 14 percent of the votes, equivalent to 155,461 ballots. Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew from the race after the Iowa Caucus, he still managed to secure a notable third place, receiving 3.7 percent of the votes, amounting to 41,233 ballots.
Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, also garnered a substantial portion of the vote in states including Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, and Kansas.
Galen, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, is known for producing videos that target Trump and Republicans who align with him. He has also contributed to the 2008 presidential campaign of the late Sen. John McCain and the presidential bids of former Presidents George W. Bush.
