--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was \"Never Trump.\" But it turned out…" description: "\"I was \"Never Trump.\" But it turned out never republican was really the theme of this election.\" — William Kristol" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg" --- # I was "Never Trump." But it turned out never republican… ![“I was "Never Trump." But it turned out never republican was really the theme of this election.” quote by William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg) > “I was "Never Trump." But it turned out never republican was really the theme of this election.” [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker notes that the election was dominated by Republican themes despite personal opposition to Trump. **In simple terms:** Republican themes dominated the election despite personal opposition. Key Takeaway Recognize underlying political currents. Themes politics election identity Mood critical analytical Type political commentary When to use this quote - campaign analysis - voter behavior - media criticism Key Concepts partisan alignment media framing Questions to Reflect On - How do personal beliefs interact with party platforms? - What other factors shaped the election outcome? A Different Perspective The statement may oversimplify complex voter motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) ## Related quotes > [“But mom's been depressed ever since her last boyfriend turned out to be a Republican.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/but-mom-s-been-depressed-ever-since-her-last-boyfriend-turned-out-to/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [Let's just say that if I had turned out to be a Republican, jaws would've dropped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-tarlov/let-s-just-say-that-if-i-had-turned-out-to-be-a-republican-jaws-would/) [Jessica Tarlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-tarlov/) > [People in New York, LA, San Francisco, they scratch their head at the concept of a gay Republican, but it really makes sense there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/people-in-new-york-la-san-francisco-they-scratch-their-head-at-the/) [Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/) > [David Jolly is the only Republican I could find who's really saying Donald Trump, you're out, forget it, this is unacceptable, this is beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/david-jolly-is-the-only-republican-i-could-find-who-s-really-saying/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [For me, running for office is never about trying to destroy an opponent, be it Democratic or Republican. It really ought to be about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/for-me-running-for-office-is-never-about-trying-to-destroy-an/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [And that's very important, too, 'cause a lot of people just assume everyone's a Democrat, or everyone's a Republican or whatever, and they're not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-loder/and-that-s-very-important-too-cause-a-lot-of-people-just-assume/) [Kurt Loder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-loder/) > [ It's been an unusual election \[2016\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/it-s-been-an-unusual-election-2016/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/in-any-case-open-seat-presidential-elections-like-2008-just-are/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [Republican Congressmen and senators will be in a very interesting place, where they have to support the president-elect - president - what will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/republican-congressmen-and-senators-will-be-in-a-very-interesting/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy. You've got to release six, eight, ten years back tax returns. Take the hit for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/he-should-release-the-tax-returns-tomorrow-it-s-crazy-you-ve-got-to/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [There's a statement from several members of the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, including the Democratic leader, Charles Schumer; John McCain, the chair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/there-s-a-statement-from-several-members-of-the-senate-both-democrats/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [Between trying to impeach Bill Clinton, Florida 2000, and the recall in California, I'm beginning to think that Republicans will do anything to win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/between-trying-to-impeach-bill-clinton-florida-2000-and-the-recall-in/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The people the Republicans should reach out to are the white votes, the white voters who didn't vote in the last election. The propagandists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-people-the-republicans-should-reach-out-to-are-the-white-votes/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [The big story today, Barack Obama was accused of insulting Sarah Palin when he criticized Republican policies by saying, you can put lipstick on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/the-big-story-today-barack-obama-was-accused-of-insulting-sarah-palin/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) ## More by William Kristol > [He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy. You've got to release six, eight, ten years back tax returns. Take the hit for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/he-should-release-the-tax-returns-tomorrow-it-s-crazy-you-ve-got-to/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/in-any-case-open-seat-presidential-elections-like-2008-just-are/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ It's been an unusual election \[2016\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/it-s-been-an-unusual-election-2016/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [Republican Congressmen and senators will be in a very interesting place, where they have to support the president-elect - president - what will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/republican-congressmen-and-senators-will-be-in-a-very-interesting/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ There are a few things \[Donald Trump\] has been pretty clear he'll do. A big infrastructure program that he'll get bipartisan support for. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/there-are-a-few-things-donald-trump-has-been-pretty-clear-he-ll-do-a/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [Donald Trump beat Jeb Bush and beat Hillary Clinton. And when everyone thinks of Donald Trump that's pretty impressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/donald-trump-beat-jeb-bush-and-beat-hillary-clinton-and-when-everyone/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [You all would be really shocked, if you were dropped back down into when I went to college, by the narrowness of the opinions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/you-all-would-be-really-shocked-if-you-were-dropped-back-down-into/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [American power should be used not just in the defense of American interests but for the promotion of American principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/american-power-should-be-used-not-just-in-the-defense-of-american/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ First of all, legally, it's hard to do these things\[ get rid of ObamaCare\]. Donald Trump needs a lot of competent people. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/first-of-all-legally-it-s-hard-to-do-these-things-get-rid-of/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [The liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/the-liberal-media-were-never-that-powerful-and-the-whole-thing-was/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ I think that's what's - one of the things that is alarming to me is \[Donald\] Trump, and I think Trump supporters seem to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-think-that-s-what-s-one-of-the-things-that-is-alarming-to-me-is/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ I'm disappointed, depressed, and demoralized. \[...\] It is very hard to avoid the conclusion that President Bush flinched from a fight on constitutional philosophy.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-m-disappointed-depressed-and-demoralized-it-is-very-hard-to-avoid/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ I think \[Donald Trump\] will do something on immigration. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-think-donald-trump-will-do-something-on-immigration/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [If you look at the polls - the conservatives are fine.I think there will be a fair amount of enthusiasm, or at least motivation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/if-you-look-at-the-polls-the-conservatives-are-fine-i-think-there/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [I don't think you want political parties that are entirely driven by some extremely doctrinal ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-don-t-think-you-want-political-parties-that-are-entirely-driven-by/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) [Explore all 75 William Kristol quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) ## More Election quotes > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [There's more than 1700 emails out of the thirty three thousand Hillary Clinton emails that we've published, just about Libya. It's not that Libya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/there-s-more-than-1700-emails-out-of-the-thirty-three-thousand/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [It's not clear in the U.S. at the moment, either. We're going through another election.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-kerrey/it-s-not-clear-in-the-u-s-at-the-moment-either-we-re-going-through/) [Bob Kerrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-kerrey/) > [I always lose the election in the polls, and I always win it on election day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/i-always-lose-the-election-in-the-polls-and-i-always-win-it-on/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [Elections are not a beauty contest. It is all about tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-franz/elections-are-not-a-beauty-contest-it-is-all-about-tolerance/) Vladimir Franz > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The election of Trump threw the chess board up. The pieces are all over the place. That's upsetting to a lot of people, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/the-election-of-trump-threw-the-chess-board-up-the-pieces-are-all/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I spent many years working for voting rights, but we still see sophisticated efforts, led by white officials, to disenfranchise black voters in local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-brooke/i-spent-many-years-working-for-voting-rights-but-we-still-see/) [Edward Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-brooke/) > [“The answer to the question raised in the title of this essay - Is salvation a matter of divine determination or human responsibility? -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layton-talbert/the-answer-to-the-question-raised-in-the-title-of-this-essay-is/) [Layton Talbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layton-talbert/) > [One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician's objective. Election and power are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/one-of-the-reasons-people-hate-politics-is-that-truth-is-rarely-a/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) [Browse all 3,344 Election quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was \"Never Trump.\" But it turned out never republican was really the theme of this election.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Kristol" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-never-republican-was-really-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Election" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-never-republican-was-really-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/william-kristol-9091_election_i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-neve_1898466.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was \"Never Trump.\" But it turned out never republican was really the theme of this election.” — William Kristol", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Kristol", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was \"Never Trump.\" But it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-never-republican-was-really-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-was-never-trump-but-it-turned-out-never-republican-was-really-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```