Conservative columnist George Will has left the Republican Party
Conservative columnist George Will has left the Republican Party and is urging fellow conservatives not to support Donald Trump, multiple media outlets reported.
“This is not my party,” Will said during a speech at a Federalist Society luncheon on Friday, media outlets reported.
Will said he has changed his GOP registration in Maryland to “unaffiliated,” according to the online news site PJ Media.
Will said it’s too late for the GOP to find a replacement for Trump. In an interview with PJ Media after his speech, he urged Republicans to “make sure he loses. Grit their teeth for four years and win the White House.”
Will has long criticized Trump.
Trump, in reply, has called the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist “a major loser,” according to numerous media reports.
Joe Marusak: 704-358-5067, @jmarusak
This story was originally published June 25, 2016 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Conservative columnist George Will has left the Republican Party."