# Nevertrump > #NeverTrump is a 2016 Twitter hashtag and political movement uniting conservative Republicans against Donald Trump's presidential campaign after his Nevada primary victory. #NeverTrump is a political hashtag that trended worldwide on Twitter on February 26, 2016, rallying conservative Republicans who refused to support Donald Trump's presidential bid. What started as an organic eruption of opposition after Trump's Nevada primary victory grew into an organized movement with its own super PAC, prominent media voices, and deep fractures within the Republican Party that lasted well beyond the 2016 election cycle. ## Origin Trump drew conservative criticism almost immediately after announcing his presidential candidacy in June 2015. Writers at the National Review made opposing Trump an editorial policy, with contributor Jonah Goldberg warning that Trump's supporters were "being conned and played"[10]. Mona Charen, also writing for the magazine, called Trump "a blowhard with all the nuance of a grenade"[10]. Early objections focused on Trump's departures from Republican orthodoxy: his past support for single-payer healthcare[10], his pro-choice history, his advocacy for an assault weapons ban, and his donations to Bill and Hillary Clinton's campaigns and foundation[10]. The crowded Republican primary field, which at one point exceeded seventeen candidates, divided traditional conservative voters and let Trump win early contests despite polls showing a majority of Republican voters would have preferred another nominee[15]. Super Tuesday exit poll data from states like Arkansas and Virginia showed that more voters would have been satisfied with a Rubio or Cruz nomination than a Trump nomination, but the split field kept handing Trump victories[15]. On February 26, 2016, the hashtag #NeverTrump began trending worldwide on Twitter[1]. The immediate trigger was Trump's commanding victory in the Nevada caucuses, compounded by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's surprise endorsement[4]. The hashtag caught fire across partisan lines. Presidential candidate Marco Rubio shared a link encouraging supporters to add their names to the cause, and conservative commentator Erick Erickson tweeted that he was "proud to play a role in getting #NeverTrump trending"[1]. - **Platform:** Twitter - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created), popularized by Ben Sasse (U.S. Senator), Erick Erickson (conservative commentator) - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview #NeverTrump was a hashtag used by conservatives and Republicans who pledged to never vote for Donald Trump, even if he won the party's presidential nomination. The movement drew from several factions within the party: fiscal conservatives who objected to Trump's protectionist trade positions[20], social conservatives who questioned his sincerity on abortion and faith[10], national security hawks who rejected his isolationist foreign policy[23], and establishment Republicans who feared he would drag down candidates in congressional and state races[13]. The hashtag worked as both a political declaration and a rallying point for organizing. Users would tweet #NeverTrump alongside their personal reasons for opposition, creating a running public ledger of Republican dissent. The movement's ecosystem eventually included op-eds, super PACs, third-party candidate discussions, and eventually the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group that raised tens of millions of dollars during the 2020 election cycle[17]. ## How It Spread The hashtag's overnight success turned "NeverTrump" into a collective label for anti-Trump conservatives. Major outlets including the Washington Post, Fox News, and the New York Times began using it as shorthand for right-of-center opposition to Trump's candidacy[4]. In early March 2016, a group of grassroots activists launched the #NeverTrump PAC, a super PAC dedicated to blocking Trump from the nomination[2]. The organization outlined a three-pronged strategy: social media campaigns, grassroots mobilization, and working the Republican delegate process to deny Trump the 1,237 delegates needed for a first-ballot victory at the convention[2]. Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, later donated $100,000 to the PAC[4]. After Trump's strong Super Tuesday showing on March 1, anti-Trump groups moved to attack him with millions in television ads in Florida, which held its primary on March 15[16]. Three groups reserved $5 million of airtime in the state, with Our Principles PAC releasing a web ad titled "Unelectable" that previewed how Democrats would use Trump's own statements against him[16]. The PAC raised more than $8.4 million in March, expanding from just three donors in January to over fifty[3]. Conservative media figures staked out public positions. Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire declared he would never vote for Trump, framing it as a defense of conservatism's future: "If Trump wins, he guts the only movement we have. If Hillary wins, there may be a future for our movement yet"[6]. Glenn Beck said he would refuse to vote for any ticket that included Trump, even with Ted Cruz at the top[11]. Mark Levin, who had initially criticized NeverTrumpers, reversed course in April 2016 and declared himself officially #NeverTrump after Trump ally Roger Stone published what Levin considered a smear piece against him[12]. FiveThirtyEight's coverage drew a useful distinction between two strands of opposition. "#StopTrump" referred to efforts focused on denying Trump the nomination through the delegate process, while "#NeverTrump" described a harder line: refusing to vote for Trump under any circumstances, even as the nominee[9]. Some outlets used the terms interchangeably, though the distinction mattered to movement participants. By late April 2016, The Hill published a partial list of prominent Republicans in the #NeverTrump camp, including 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, Senator Ben Sasse, Governor Charlie Baker, and several sitting House members[4]. Concerns about down-ballot damage were widespread. Arizona Senator Jeff Flake said he viewed the likely Trump nomination "with concern and dread," and exit polling in swing states showed roughly 40% of non-Trump Republican voters were reluctant to turn out for him in November[13]. ## How to Use #NeverTrump is a declaration, not a meme template. People typically use it by: 1. Tweeting the hashtag alongside a personal statement explaining their opposition to Trump 2. Sharing articles, polls, or Trump quotes that reinforce the case against him 3. Adding #NeverTrump to profile bios or display names as a permanent stance marker 4. Signing online petitions or pledges not to vote for Trump, which groups like the #NeverTrump PAC used to build contact lists[2] ## Cultural Impact The #NeverTrump movement marked a rare moment of organized, public rebellion within a major American political party during a presidential primary. It generated heavy coverage from outlets across the political spectrum, with the Washington Post, New York Times, Fox News, CNN, and NPR all dedicating substantial reporting to the movement's trajectory[7][16]. The movement's failure to stop Trump's nomination, and his subsequent general election victory, reshaped how political commentators discuss intra-party opposition. The Cook Political Report's pre-election analysis noted Trump's "historic unpopularity with wide swaths of the electorate," including women, millennials, independents, and Latinos, but those weaknesses weren't enough to prevent his win[22]. The Lincoln Project, a direct outgrowth of the 2016 movement, produced viral attack ads targeting Trump and Republican senators like Lindsey Graham in the 2020 cycle. The group's ad portraying Graham as a "parasite" feeding off Trump drew significant attention but also criticism from the right[17]. 60 Minutes aired a segment on the Lincoln Project, and the New Yorker published a 7,300-word profile of the organization[17]. Erick Erickson's push for a third-party alternative in 2016 foreshadowed ongoing debates about whether the Republican Party could sustain a coalition that included both Trump's populist base and traditional fiscal and social conservatives[7]. The movement also exposed the gap between Republican voters and the party's donor and commentator class, a dynamic that Jindal acknowledged when he wrote that "we have failed to convince or demonstrate the wisdom of our conservative policies to the voters, and we are thus partially responsible for the rise of Trump"[23]. ## Fun Facts - Marco Rubio, while still an active presidential candidate, shared a #NeverTrump sign-up link on Twitter, making him the only sitting GOP candidate to openly promote the hashtag[1]. - When asked whether someone other than Trump could still be nominated at the July convention, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters: "Nothing's impossible," before quickly adding it was "highly, highly doubtful"[14]. - Polls taken during Super Tuesday showed that in Arkansas, 56% of Republican voters would have been satisfied with either a Cruz or Rubio nomination, but only 47% were okay with Trump as the nominee, yet Trump still won the state[15]. - Ben Shapiro compared backing Trump to the "organ donor ethical problem," asking whether it's moral to kill one healthy doctor to harvest organs for five dying patients: "The pro-Trump answer: kill conservatism to save the country"[6]. - Indiana, where Cruz made his last stand, had both the highest share of evangelical Protestants of any remaining state and the highest share of manufacturing jobs in the country, making it a uniquely split battleground between Cruz's and Trump's bases[9]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is #NeverTrump? #NeverTrump is a political hashtag used by conservatives and Republicans who refused to support Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, even after he won the Republican nomination. It trended worldwide on Twitter starting February 26, 2016[1]. ### Where did #NeverTrump come from? The hashtag began trending on Twitter on February 26, 2016, primarily in response to Trump's victory in the Nevada caucuses and Chris Christie's endorsement of Trump. It was popularized by figures like Senator Ben Sasse and commentator Erick Erickson[1][2]. ### What does #NeverTrump mean? It signals a firm commitment to never voting for Donald Trump. Unlike #StopTrump, which focused on denying Trump the nomination through delegate strategy, #NeverTrump implied opposition even if Trump became the party's official nominee[6][9]. ### How do you use #NeverTrump? Users add the hashtag to tweets explaining their opposition to Trump, share it alongside anti-Trump articles or quotes, or place it in their social media bios as a permanent declaration of their position[1]. ### Is #NeverTrump still popular? The specific hashtag peaked during the 2016 primary season. The political identity it created lived on through organizations like the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump, which were active in the 2020 election cycle[17]. ### Who were the most prominent NeverTrumpers? Notable figures included 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, Senator Ben Sasse, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, Daily Wire editor Ben Shapiro, radio hosts Glenn Beck and Mark Levin, and conservative commentator Erick Erickson[11][12][19]. ### Was there a #NeverTrump PAC? Yes. A grassroots super PAC called #NeverTrump PAC launched in early March 2016, funded in part by a $100,000 donation from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. It focused on social media campaigns, voter pledges, and working the delegate process to deny Trump the nomination[2][4]. ### What was the difference between #NeverTrump and #StopTrump? FiveThirtyEight's politics editor Michael Cohen acknowledged that #StopTrump was the more accurate description for efforts to merely deny Trump the Republican nomination, while #NeverTrump described a commitment to never voting for him under any circumstances[9]. ### Did any NeverTrumpers eventually support Trump? Some did. Bobby Jindal endorsed Trump while calling it the "second-worst" option, and Mike Huckabee went "all in" after Trump became the presumptive nominee, telling holdouts: "You're either on the team, or you're not on the team"[21][18]. ### What happened to #NeverTrump after Trump won the nomination? The movement fractured. Some members switched to supporting Trump against Clinton, others backed third-party candidates, and a vocal core held firm. Bill Kristol met privately with Mitt Romney to discuss an independent presidential bid, though Romney ultimately declined[19]. ### What was the Lincoln Project? Founded in 2019 by former Republican operatives including Rick Wilson and Steve Schmidt, the Lincoln Project raised tens of millions, mostly from Democratic donors, to produce anti-Trump advertisements during the 2020 election cycle. It was widely viewed as the institutional successor to the 2016 NeverTrump movement[17]. ### Did #NeverTrump affect the 2016 election outcome? Pre-election polls showed Clinton leading Trump by as much as 13 points[8], and the Cook Political Report shifted 13 state ratings toward Democrats[22]. Trump won the general election despite the movement's efforts. NeverTrumpers argued the movement was about long-term conservative principles, not just one election cycle[6]. ### Why did Mark Levin join the NeverTrump movement? Levin had initially criticized NeverTrumpers but reversed course after Trump ally Roger Stone published what Levin considered a smear piece about him. Levin announced on his radio show in April 2016 that he was officially #NeverTrump, attributing his conversion to "the sleazy tactics of Trump thug Roger Stone"[12]. ## References 1. [Republicans who are quitting the party or voting for Hillary: A list.]() 2. [Grassroots activists form #NeverTrump super PAC | Washington Examiner]() 3. [Iowa Election Results 2016 – The New York Times]() 4. [#NeverTrump - Know Your Meme]() 5. [$Trump]() 6. [#NeverTrump - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Even After Cruz Exits Race, Stop Trump Movement Pledges to Fight]() 8. [At the starting gate: Clinton leads Trump by double-digits | CNN Politics]() 9. [NeverTrump and November - The American Mind]() 10. [What I See When I See #NeverTrump. | by Barbara McMahon | Medium]() 11. [Commentary: Just Like 2016, NeverTrump Republicans Would Rather Lose Than Face Another Term with President Trump - Tennessee Star]() 12. [HUFFPOLLSTER: The GOP’s Divided Field Is Helping Donald Trump Win | HuffPost Latest News]() 13. [Donald Trump's Troubling Bid for the Presidency - The Atlantic]() 14. [#NeverTrump Has Been Trending on Twitter Since Last Night and Even Rubio is Playing Along]() 15. [BREAKING: Mark Levin just announced he is officially #NEVERTRUMP! – The Right Scoop]() 16. [Krauthammer: 'Stop Trump' movement dies in Indiana | Fox News Video]() 17. [What Next For #NeverTrump? Never Means Never. | Daily Wire]() 18. [PolitiFact | Conservative columnist: Trump once backed single-payer health care]() 19. [‘Never Trump’ Movement Dealt Setback After Super Tuesday - The New York Times]() 20. [Donald Trump is not a conservative - just look at his views on trade - ABC News]() 21. [Indiana May Be #NeverTrump’s Last Stand | FiveThirtyEight]() 22. [Down-ballot GOP candidates fear Trump shipwreck: Column]() 23. [Erick Erickson Urges Republicans To Prepare 'Third-Party Alternative' : NPR]() 24. [Glenn Beck on #NeverTrump: I wouldn't vote for a Trump/Cruz ticket -- or a Cruz/Trump ticket; Update: Mark Levin goes #NeverTrump – HotAir]() 25. [RNC Chair Reince Priebus on Donald Trump Not Being Party’s Nominee: ‘Nothing’s Impossible’ - Newsweek]() 26. [Jindal’s Rousing Endorsement of Trump: Electing Him Would Be ‘Second-Worst’ Option]() 27. [Mitt Romney Met Privately With Never-Trumper Bill Kristol to Discuss Third Party Run | TheBlaze.com]() 28. [Trump Is Terrible. So Is Hillary. Count Me In As #NeverHillary – RedState]() 29. [New Electoral Scorecard Ratings in 13 States]() 30. [Huckabee Rips #NeverTrump: If You’re Not Going to Support Voters’ Choice, Leave the GOP | Mediaite]() 31. [FROWNY FACE #NEVERTRUMP BOTS NEED TO WAKE UP: #NEVERHILLARY! | John Gibson Radio Show]() 32. [Jindal: How conservatives can win back voters from Trump | CNN]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/nevertrump Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library