本周末，一群共和党人及前共和党人齐聚华盛顿郊外，反复发出警告：总统唐纳德・特朗普及其国会盟友正在撕裂美国民主的根基。
一名前国会议员将总统所在政党形容为 “拥抱威权的邪教”;一位知名保守派作家称 “特朗普主义” 是 “关乎存亡的威胁”;一名退役陆军上将情绪激动、声音颤抖，甚至以纳粹德国倒台后的重建为例，为美国后特朗普时代的复苏指明方向。
但没人知道，究竟有多少人在听这些警告。
周六至周日举行的第六届 “原则优先” 峰会主会场，上座率不足一半。会场可容纳数千人，却只摆放了约 750 把椅子，且仍有大量空位。为期两天的活动中，没有任何一位现任共和党民选官员出席。
这便是美国共和党 “永不支持特朗普” 运动的现状 —— 在特朗普巩固权力的过程中，共和党人、前共和党人与无党派人士结成联盟，如今却基本沦为政治流亡者：他们既无法融入民主党阵营，又对总统背弃共和党长期秉持的自由贸易、小政府理念深感厌恶。
69 岁的约翰・麦克道尔在特朗普崛起前是终身共和党人，他坦言，这个日渐式微的群体在原政党内部的政治影响力几乎为 “零”。
“这就是事实，我们正在流失优秀人才。” 这位前国会山幕僚、加州圣卡洛斯县共和党官员说，“共和党正越来越‘让美国再次伟大’化(MAGA 化)。”
白宫发言人阿比盖尔・杰克逊对所有批评不屑一顾，称这些人不过是 “一群精神错乱的过气政客”。
“除了被迫报道此事的记者，没人会关注这场活动。” 她说道。
几乎所有出席马里兰州国家港酒店活动的人都表示，支持民主党在今年秋季中期选举中获胜。现场唯一的民主党人是前宾夕法尼亚州国会议员康纳・兰姆，他四年前在党内初选中输给了约翰・费特曼。
尽管忧心忡忡，半空的会场与安静的酒店走廊里，仍透着一丝乐观。
上周最高法院裁定特朗普关税政策违宪 —— 这是他未经国会批准、试图迫使全球盟友与对手屈服的经济工具 —— 不少人为此欢呼。即便如此，特朗普仍坚称将推出新一轮关税。
前新泽西州州长、曾担任特朗普顾问的克里斯・克里斯蒂，援引美联社与 NORC 联合民调数据：全美四分之一共和党人不认可特朗普的执政表现。
“就像任何播了很久的电视节目，收视率总会下滑，而现在收视率正在下跌。” 克里斯蒂说，“我敢打赌，到明年 2 月，这个会场的规模会是现在的两倍。中期选举后，走着瞧。”
曾是 “让美国再次伟大” 铁杆支持者的里奇・洛吉斯戴着一顶红色的 “我退出 MAGA” 帽子，期待中期选举出现 “反对 MAGA 的选举 revolt”。
“我觉得美国正在发生转变，” 他说，“只是过程很缓慢。”
洛吉斯在会场外的展台推广针对特朗普支持者亲友的互助小组，不远处还有人售卖关于如何脱离邪教的书籍。
前共和党众议员乔・沃尔什在演讲台上，恳请批评特朗普的人不要低估他对国家构成的威胁。
“他就是国父们最恐惧的那种人。说出来，相信它。” 沃尔什说，他的前政党是 “拥抱威权的邪教”，是 “我所热爱一切的威胁”。
曾指挥美国陆军驻欧洲部队的退役上将马克・赫特林表示，盟友反复问他 “美国的制度还能再被信任吗”，这让他 “备受煎熬”。
“我们的国家制度被动摇，联盟关系被拉紧，公信力被损害，国家价值观被抛弃。” 赫特林说。他建议，若想修复特朗普及其盟友造成的破坏，美国应借鉴纳粹德国战败后的重建经验。
他声音哽咽地说，国家的复苏需要几代人付出多年努力才能实现。
曾在往届共和党政府任职、参与创办《标准周刊》的比尔・克里斯托尔，将特朗普及其国会共和党支持者称为国家的 “存亡威胁”，但他对即将到来的中期选举持乐观态度。
克里斯托尔预测，民主党 “几乎肯定能拿下众议院”，“有可能拿下参议院”，并在 2028 年总统选举中 “有很大胜算”。
主办方 “原则优先” 组织执行董事布列塔尼・马丁内斯，在讲述自己无法继续在国会山担任共和党幕僚的诸多原因后，仍试图传递乐观情绪。
“我希望共和党人能继续觉醒，” 她说，“我相信这样的人存在，也希望他们的数量越来越多。”
Never Trump Republicans are still issuing dire warnings. Is anyone listening?
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. --Over and over, the Republicans and former Republicans who gathered just outside Washington this weekend warned that President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are tearing at the very fabric of American democracy.
A former congressman described the president's party as an “authoritarian-embracing cult.” A prominent conservative writer said Trumpism is an "existential threat." And a retired Army general, his voice shaking with emotion, cited post-Nazi Germany as a roadmap for the nation's post-Trump recovery.
It's unclear how many people are listening.
The main convention hall at the sixth annual Principles First summit on Saturday and Sunday was half empty. About 750 chairs were set up in a room that could have fit thousands, and many were unfilled. Not a single current Republican elected official participated in the two-day program.
This is what remains of the Grand Old Party’s Never Trump movement, a coalition of Republicans, former Republicans and independents who banded together as Trump consolidated power. They largely remain political exiles — not quite at home among Democrats yet disgusted by how the president has abandoned Republicans' longstanding commitments to free trade and limited government.
John McDowell, 69, who was a lifelong Republican before Trump’s emergence, acknowledged that the diminished group had virtually “zero” political clout within his former party.
“It’s just a fact. We’re losing good people,” said McDowell, a former Capitol Hill staffer and county Republican official from San Carlos, California. “The party is becoming more and more MAGA-fied.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson dismissed all the criticism from what she called “a bunch of deranged has-been politicians.”
“The only people who will pay attention to this event are the journalists who are forced to cover it,” she said.
Virtually everyone who gathered at the hotel in National Harbor, Maryland, said they are rooting for Democratic victories in this fall's midterm elections. One of the only Democrats there was Conor Lamb, a former congressman from Pennsylvania who lost his party's primary to John Fetterman four years ago.
Despite dire concerns, there was a slight sense of optimism among the half-empty convention hall and quiet hotel hallways.
Several people cheered last week’sSupreme Court decisionto strike down Trump’s tariffs, the economic tool he has wielded without congressional approval in his attempt to force friends and foes around the globe to bend to his will. Trump insisted he would implement a new round of tariffs despite the ruling.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former Trump adviser, highlighted recentAP-NORC pollingshowing that 1 in 4 Republicans nationwide do not approve of Trump's job performance.
“It’s like any show that’s on TV for a long time — the ratings start to go down. And the ratings are going down,” Christie said. “I am willing to bet you that by next February, this room is going to be twice the size of what it is now. After the midterms, you watch.”
Ex-MAGA diehard Rich Logis, wearing a red “I left MAGA hat,” hopes to see “an electoral revolt against MAGA” in the midterms.
“I think there’s a shift in our country right now," he said. "It happens slowly."
Logis was promoting support groups for friends and family of Trump loyalists at a table outside the convention hall. Nearby, someone was selling books about how to escape cults.
At the podium, former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh implored Trump's critics not to downplay the seriousness of the threat the president poses to the nation.
“He’s everything our founders feared. Say it. Believe it,” Walsh said. He said his former party is “an authoritarian-embracing cult" and "a threat to everything I love.”
Retired Gen. Mark Hertling, who once commanded the U.S. Army's European forces, said he's “haunted” by allies who ask him “whether American institutions ever can be trusted again.”
“Our nation's institutions have been shaken. Our alliances have been strained. Our credibility has been damaged. And our nation’s values have been cast aside,” Hertling said. He suggested the U.S. should look to the reconstruction of Germany after the defeat of Nazism if it hoped to to restore the damage caused by Trump and his allies.
The nation's recovery, he said as his voiced cracked, would be something people have to earn over many years.
Bill Kristol, who worked in previous Republican administrations and helped found the Weekly Standard magazine, described Trump and his Republican supporters in Congress as “an existential threat” to the nation. But he was also optimistic about the upcoming midterm elections.
Kristol said Democrats are “almost certain to win the House,” “could possibly win the Senate,” and have “a good chance to win the presidency” in 2028.
Brittany Martinez, executive director of the host organization Principles First, also tried to cast an optimistic tone, even after describing the many reasons why she couldn't bear to continue her career as a Republican staffer on Capitol Hill.
“I hope that Republicans continue to wake up,” she said. “I do think that those folks exist. And I hope that they exist in greater numbers.”
