After Wednesday's insurrection at the Capitol, Republican Jason Villalba says his party is at a crossroads between the populist Trump camp and traditional conservatism.
Villalba calls the president a "cancer" on the Republican party. Trump, he said, turned fiscal and social conservatives into extremists, many of whom believe and act on the president’s lies.
"For Trump to be the head of what used to be the Republican party is that this is the party of insurrection and sedition," he said.
Villalba said he’s not sure what the party will look like moving forward.
"It’s gonna be a while," the former Texas legislator said. "I think we’re looking at a wilderness ahead of us for at least a couple cycles while the Republican party regroups and recalculates and recalibrates what it is."
Villalba worries it’ll look more like a cult, with people blindly following leaders' orders.
"[People] are comfortable essentially committing a felony and breaking the law and moving forward with insurrection against our government. They’re comfortable with it because it’s been normalized by their leader," he said. "That’s no longer a political leader but almost a religious style leader."
Villalba said he hopes the GOP reverts to its traditional identity.
Got a tip? Email Reporter Bill Zeeble at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter @bzeeble.
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