Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday urged his fellow Republicans to reject the extremes of his party and for President Donald Trump to accept the results of the election.
Hogan has been a frequent Trump critic, but his decision to decry the Republican leader’s brand of politics in a speech just days after the President was defeated indicates how some Republicans, like the Maryland governor, are eager to move on from the outspoken President, even as it remains unlikely that the President will cede his role as a Republican leader in the years to come. “We are not going to make up for five million votes in all of those states,” Hogan said of Trump continuing to make baseless claim of fraud. “It was a pretty overwhelming victory (for Joe Biden) at this point.” Hogan used his prepared remarks on Monday to describe Republicans as a party in decline and unable to win over a majority of Americans with the current brand of conservatism in the White House. The Maryland Republican lamented the “angry divisive politics” practiced by Republicans. “The truth isn’t always easy to hear,” Hogan said, but “divisive rhetoric and toxic politics are alienating large parts of the country and no one will listen to our message if they don’t believe that we are listening to them.” The Maryland governor knocked the “political virtue signaling or preaching to the choir” that happens on the right, adding that his party is at a time for choosing, a nod to the speech Reagan gave on behalf of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964.
