Description
The 2024 nomination of Donald Trump was both predictable and wildly unusual. Parties almost never nominate someone who has previously lost the presidency - let alone a candidate who helped organize a riot and faced dozens of criminal indictments. Why, then, did Republicans nominate Trump for a third time? In this fascinating follow-up to Learning from Loss, leading scholar and political analyst Seth Masket conducted surveys and interviews with local Republican leaders across the country between 2021 and 2024. He finds that most were deeply wary of nominating Trump again but had lost any control they once had over their party to a passionate core of voters. The Elephants in the Room captures a political party in the act of making a fateful decision; attempts to understand what has happened within the Republican Party in recent years by focusing on the people most critical to it; and looks at how the party has changed, what we should be learning from it, and how the US political system has changed as result.
Table of Contents
Preface; 1. Learning from Loss, or Doubling Down?; Part I. The Setting: 2. Before 2016: Trump Didn't Start the Fire …; 3. … But he Did Pour Gasoline on it; 4. Boss Trump in 2022; Part II. The Decision: 5. County Chairs and the 2024 Presidential Primary Horserace; 6. Trumpers and Others; 7. Indictments and Electability; 8. 'If You Go After Me, I'm Coming After You'; 9. The Party Abides; Acknowledgements; List of Figures; List of Tables; Notes; Index.
