Trump 2024: Connecticut Republicans concerned but his base unwavering in support of former president

When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he emerged nationally as the darling of many Republicans who pushed him over the top to victory.

But after a loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, and midterm election losses in 2022, Connecticut Republicans are now publicly questioning whether Trump should run again.

Even Mike Pence, the once-loyal vice president, says there will be “better choices’' for president in two years as Pence has been hiring staff members for a potential run.

Many of those raising concerns about Trump are hardcore Republicans — not liberal Democrats who have long detested Trump and have never voted for him.

At the same time, 62% of Republicans nationally see Trump running for a third time as positive, according to a new Quinnipiac University national poll. Almost 80% of Republicans view themselves as supporters of Trump and his Make America Great Again movement, the poll said. Among the broader electorate, 57% do not favor Trump running again, and voters are split over whether they believe that Trump could win again. Among Democrats, 88% think it’s a bad idea that Trump is running again.

In Connecticut, House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford, a fiscally and socially conservative Republican, has deep concerns.

“Just as every fine wine has its day, I think Trump has turned to vinegar,’' Candelora said in an interview. “Frankly, all the good policies that he has done have been eclipsed by his behavior. ... Like many people, you cringe with the behavior. I thought it would subside, but it never did. It only has gotten worse. He has lashed out not just at Democrats, but equally at Republicans. I just don’t think it’s a tone that this country needs to continue in the political atmosphere that we’re in.’'

Trump, he said, had an advantage during the 2016 election because some Americans did not know the full details of his views — and much has happened over the past six years.

“His personality was given the benefit of the doubt in 2016,’' Candelora said. “Ultimately, his personality led to his demise, not his policies. ... You have a combination of somebody who has very good policies but also somebody who is a bit narcissistic, and I think that we can’t afford to have leaders like that in politics under these current times. I would like to see the party have fresh blood.’'

The fresh blood for many Republicans is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who graduated from Yale University before attending Harvard Law School. While saying he likes DeSantis, Candelora said he has not made any final decisions with the election two years away.

“He speaks to the common person, and he does it in a way that is respectable and intelligent,’' Candelora said of DeSantis. “He would be a welcome voice to the debate in Connecticut.’'

Saying he views Trump as a populist, Candelora said that the candidate’s ideology is sometimes mischaracterized.

“The notion that Trump is a right-winger, to me, is off base,’' Candelora said. “The right wing identifies with him and supports him, but I don’t believe he holds those ideologies.’'

Overall, Candelora thinks that Republicans simply need to turn the page on Trump.

“I generally think he’s not good for Republicans, and he’s not good for the country,’' Candelora said.

Senate Republican leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford holds a similar view, saying the Republicans need a nominee who can serve eight consecutive years. He said it is too early, however, to support a particular candidate.

“I don’t want a lame-duck president on the first day in office,’' Kelly said. “We need a fresh face who is going to be able to bring that forward. That’s what America needs. ... I believe Trump had some very good policies that he was able to enact, but I think what we’re seeing is the country is tired of his style, and he lost a presidential election — and it appears that the midterm election this year also ended in a manner that was not favorable to the Republican brand.’'

Former Senate Republican leader John McKinney of Fairfield, a former candidate for governor, agrees that Trump should step off the political stage.

“I think Donald Trump has done significant damage to the Republican brand here in Connecticut,’' McKinney told the Courant in an interview. “I don’t want him to run. I think it’s time for the Republican Party to move past Donald Trump. ... I just think he is toxic for our party, and I think he’s toxic for our country, too.’'

In addition to DeSantis, he said, Republicans have a capable bench that includes leaders like Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. While it is still early in the process, polls released by the conservative Club for Growth showed DeSantis leading Trump in Iowa, New Hampshire, Georgia, and Florida.

“There are certainly other qualified candidates who share similar policy platforms, but they’re not Donald Trump,’' McKinney said. “Donald Trump’s behavior in office and most pointedly, his behavior after his election loss in 2020 and all of the claims of rigged elections, his fomenting a lot of anger, which led to January 6. He shares in the blame for what happened on January 6. To me, it is unforgivable. ... To me, that was a terrible day for our country because it did great damage to the integrity of our elections and undermined the integrity of our elections, which is undermining our democracy.’'

After 16 years in the state Senate, McKinney ran for governor in 2014 and lost in a primary to Greenwich millionaire Tom Foley, who was the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. He is the son of former U.S. Rep. Stewart McKinney, who consistently won elections and held the Fourth Congressional district seat for 17 years.

“I don’t want him to be our party nominee,’' McKinney said of Trump. “I will not support him. More importantly, I don’t think he’s good for our country.’'

Trump supporters

But former Republican gubernatorial candidate Joe Visconti of West Hartford said the recent evidence shows that many Connecticut Republicans still remain strongly behind Trump.

“That’s why Leora beat Themis,’' Visconti said, referring to the U.S. Senate primary victory by Greenwich fundraiser Leora Levy over former House Republican leader Themis Klarides.

Trump endorsed Levy in a high-profile cellphone call only days before the August primary, vaulting the little-known candidate to victory over Klarides, who served 22 years in the legislature and had won the party’s convention endorsement with nearly 60% of the vote. Klarides was clearly favored by the delegates and party insiders, but Trump’s endorsement suddenly swung the race to Levy in a low-turnout primary.

Trump supporters now will help him battle for the nomination in the same way that they did in 2015 and 2016, Visconti said.

“I believe he will be the nominee,’' Visconti said of Trump. “If anyone comes out against him, we will unload on them. This is smash-mouth politics in the time we’re living in. Anyone who comes out will be labeled and attacked by the Republican base — worse than anything you’ve seen in 2016. This is nothing but the resurrection of the Tea Party. Trump’s whole base was the Tea Party.’'

Trump supporters will blast anyone — Republican or Democrat — who criticizes the former president.

“We’re taking no prisoners,’' Visconti said. “DeSantis could never take the heat and the hate from the left. I doubt there’s going to be serious contenders, and I doubt they’ll be able to deal with the heat they’re going to take from us. Lying Ted? Little Marco? That’s nothing. ... The left won’t stop, and neither can the right.’'

If DeSantis runs, he will face withering criticism.

“We’ll take his head off,’' Visconti said. “I call this smash-mouth politics. I don’t know what else to call it.’'

A former West Hartford town council member, Visconti, 65, has been involved in politics for years, running against U.S. Rep. John B. Larson for Congress in 2008 and then for governor in 2014. Running as an independent, Visconti abruptly dropped out of the race two days before the election and endorsed Republican Tom Foley on a Sunday morning in Brookfield. Foley lost the race to Democrat Dannel P. Malloy.

Going into the next presidential campaign, Visconti says his fellow colleagues want Trump to speak out more against “all the lies’' concerning vaccines.

“Most of the major Trump supporters don’t take vaccines,’' Visconti told The Courant. “I won’t take vaccines. I never did. I don’t trust them. I’m not taking it. That’s it.’'

Visconti is a hardcore Trump supporter who remains just as steadfast after the insurrection that has led to more than 950 arrests and more than 450 guilty pleas.

“I was there on January 6,’' Visconti said. “I was visited by the FBI. I never went into the building. I went to a rally. ... Whoever went in and broke the law, that’s not who we are. Those who broke the law, broke the law. They want to blame Trump for that. They want to blame Trump for the loss in the midterms. They’re always going to want to blame Trump.’'

The problem, Visconti said, will be if Trump gets indicted on criminal charges by a special prosecutor who is currently investigating the Jan. 6 riot and the movement of classified materials to Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

“We all believe they’re going to indict him in the middle of this’' campaign, Visconti said. “What do we do if he’s indicted and he’s the nominee? I’ll never participate, but I predict January 6 will be child’s play. The country won’t stand for it.’'

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com