GOP Congressman Admits Trump Is The Reason He Won’t Run For Re-election

Over the last few months, numerous Republican members of Congress have announced they won’t be running for re-election in 2018. Now we finally have one on the record admitting that one of the reasons he decided not to run in 2018 is Donald Trump.

Charlie Dent (R-PA) told CNN that trying to get elected with Trump as president would be too difficult:

“Well, at least in my case, I would say the president was a factor, but not the factor for me deciding to leave.”

Dent also suggested that the handwriting is on the wall for the GOP in 2018 and they should expect to lose big:

“The party of the President typically loses 32 seats in a situation like this. Of course then, Donald Trump, you know, complicates that because he’s a very polarizing figure, and so I suspect our challenges will be even greater just because of that.”

And the Pennsylvania Republican even sounded a warning for his party, saying the GOP has a:

“Much stronger base with older voters and white voters.

“You clearly alienate a lot of Hispanic voters with [Trump’s] comments on Mexicans and Latinos, and of course you have the Charlottesville situation. Politics and getting elected is an exercise in inclusion and not exclusion.”

Asked about Democrats, who stand to gain big in 2018, Dent said he felt both sides are in a “bad place” at the moment, adding:

“It seems to me that the political parties are realigning right now, and nobody is sure how it is going to sort itself out.”

This isn’t the first time Dent has warned Republicans that the midterm election could be catastrophic for the GOP. Earlier this month, he said the party should “prepare for the worst” and talked about the new litmus test for Republicans in the age of Trump:

“You know, before Donald Trump became president, the litmus test for Republicans was — it was really about the ideological purity and conformity

“Now the litmus test has changed. The issue is loyalty to the man, to the president. And for some, you know, loyalty is not enough, you have to be angry and aggrieved.”

As Dent suspects, Donald Trump could wind up doing irreparable harm to the GOP for decades to come.

Featured Image Via CNN Screengrab