Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, said on Meet the Press Sunday the party needs to move on from the “cult of Donald Trump.”
Hogan has been more critical of Trump than many other Republicans, and he told Chuck Todd he thought Democrats “made a strong case” in the Senate impeachment trial.
When asked directly how he would have voted, Hogan said he probably would have joined with other Republicans voting to convict the former president.
He believes there’s going to be a “real battle for the soul of the Republican party” in the weeks and months ahead, and made a point of saying, “We’re going to figure out whether we’re going to be a party that can win elections or not.”
Todd asked Hogan if he thinks the GOP can be successful “without distancing itself from Donald Trump,” which doesn’t exactly seem likely at this point.
“I don’t think they can,” Hogan said.
He talked up Republican gains in the House this last election cycle before adding, “I think the party has a winning message. We just had a bad messenger, and I think we’ve got to move on from the cult of Donald Trump and return to the basic principles that the party has always stood for.”
You can watch above, via NBC.