This afternoon, the tensions that have percolated within the Republican party ever since Donald Trump declared his presidential candidacy finally came to a head on the GOP convention floor.
Anti-Trump delegates sought a symbolic vote on the convention’s rules, which bind delegates to vote for the candidate chosen by their state’s voters, preventing them from jettisoning Trump. Though the handful of anti-Trump states were unlikely to defeat the rules package, they would have publicly registered their dissent by voting against it, shattering the facade of a party united behind Donald Trump.
But Trump and the Republican party were not about to let that happen. Instead, when Utah Senator Mike Lee attempted to motion for a vote, his microphone was cut off, and the chair of the convention vacated the stage rather than address him. What happened next was pandemonium, as anti-Trump delegates chanted for a vote, and their pro-Trump opponents attempted to drown them out with cheers of “USA!”
Floor scene pic.twitter.com/dFwoCTBMIA
— Jon Ward (@jonward11) July 18, 2016
.@KenCuccinelli throws his credentials to the floor #gopconvention pic.twitter.com/rLdbcp0zJH
— POLITICO (@politico) July 18, 2016
Roaring boos as rules committee package is adopted pic.twitter.com/enjSbVRWO2
— Melanie Mason (@melmason) July 18, 2016
Sitting w/ some #NeverTrump delegates chanting “Roll call vote!” One turns to me, “Jason, I don’t usually chant. I’m a fricking Republican.”
— Jason Zengerle (@zengerle) July 18, 2016
Ultimately, the convention chair returned to the stage and recognized Lee, only to reject his call for a roll call vote and pass the rules package by a voice vote whose outcome seemed predetermined. Watch:
Delegates shout “no!” #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/pFhikXb9KM
— POLITICO (@politico) July 18, 2016
After the conflagration, many delegates walked out, including the entire Colorado delegation. Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, a leader of the anti-Trump efforts, promised there would be more “insurgency” to come.
But if anti-Trump forces truly want to be heard, they’ll have to go beyond a walkout, which would just cede the floor to pro-Trump delegates, and give Trump the appearance of universal acclaim from those remaining in the hall. Likewise, the dissenters will have to do more than make noise during an obscure midday vote about the convention’s rules. They’ll have to disrupt and protest the televised prime time speeches of Trump and his most prominent backers.
Whether Unruh, Lee, and their compatriots are ready to go that far remains to be seen.
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Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet. Subscribe to his newsletter, listen to his music, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
