With Convention Underway, Anti-Trump And Pro-Trump Republicans Converge

As thousands of loyal Republicans from across the country are in Cleveland to support Donald Trump, many delegates are still deciding if they should support the candidate. Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with two Trump supporters from Montgomery, Alabama, and a Republican from Florida who is adamantly against Trump.
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On Trump's platform and ties to the Republican party:

Jim Wilson: What you're talking about is a view of the establishment in Washington, and the establishment in Washington long ago left the views of the Republicans across this nation. Trump ties into the heartbeat of America. That's why he's going to beat Hillary Clinton, and I can't wait for him to be able to turn to Barack Obama after the November election and say, "You're fired!"

On Trump as a divisive figure:

Pat Wilson: But what do you see when you have the heartbeat of America? When you have middle class Americans, you see them going to the polls and you see them voting for him. It's obvious that they're believing what he says. They're voting for him.

Trump ties into the heartbeat of America. That's why he's going to beat Hillary Clinton, and I can't wait for him to be able to turn to Barack Obama after the November election and say, 'You're fired!'

Jim Wilson

On what needs to be said to people in the “Never Trump” camp:

Jim Wilson: First thing I would say to them is "Quit being a child. Act like an adult." If you don't come back together with the party, then you're going to get left in the dust. You can't beat Hillary Clinton and all of the folks that are coalescing around her, and all of the special interest groups, and all of the international people that prey on the United States without coming together and supporting Trump. I can't believe some of the individuals. I've met them over the years, and they're acting like children.

On how the Wilson’s decided to vote for Trump:

Pat Wilson: Even though Trump was my husband's first choice, he was not my first choice. My first choice was Ben Carson.

Jim Wilson: I actually was for Jeb Bush. I gave him money.

Pat Wilson: My fellow Republicans did not agree with me, and they did not vote. So I'm one of those who switched over. I'll go with the majority. I know that we have the opportunity here to do something good for the people, and it's resonating throughout the land.

On what he thinks about Jim Wilson implying that dissenting delegates are acting like children.

“We’re not petulant children. The reality is, the RNC is a private association. The RNC has the authority and the power to nominate anybody they want, to represent them in November. So we’re following the rules, we’re following the procedures. All we’ve asked all along is to ask people to vote their conscience. If it ends up to be Donald Trump, then that’s fine. This is all about how the people, the Republican party is based upon the people. The Republican party is based upon freedom and democracy. And what they’re trying to do now is clamp that down. They need to let the delegates vote their conscience. And if it’s Donald Trump so be it, but don’t be afraid of that.”

This power grab by the RNC and what Donald Trump is doing is nothing but dividing the party, dividing this country more than anything we could ever do.

Dane Waters

On representing voters who did vote for Donald Trump:

“Donald Trump only received 46 percent of the vote. Fifty-four percent of Republicans voted against him. Donald Trump only received 9 percent of the vote of all registered voters in this country, and when you poll Republicans today, 52 percent of Republicans still don't want Donald Trump. So if you want to talk about the will of the people, listen, he never crossed the finish line.

On why Trump is so bad:

Well first, Delegates Unbound, we've been around delegates voting their conscience, wherever it may be. Now, for me personally, this party should evolve. The party should represent the values, the changing values, principles and policies and interests of the people. But to me, personally, Donald Trump, he has set a tone in this country that is unacceptable.

Look at my son. When my son comes to me and says, "Dad, how can we live in a society with this individual that's out there talking and spewing all this vitriol?" I mean what’s wrong with this country? And I agree. He has set no boundaries. I mean what you're seeing around this country, the way people are acting with their vitriol.

Do you think he's responsible for some of the recent violence in this country, with his language?

Well, I don't want to put anything specifically on him, but I think we live in an environment where we need role models. We live in an environment where we need leaders and people who will unify. Donald Trump is not a leader and he's not unifying.

We need someone who will stand up and say, 'Violence is not OK." So he has set no boundaries. Putting policies aside, and putting the evolving whether there's free trade or not free trade or whether we build a wall or not build a wall — that plays into this to some degree, but it's about the tone he's set in this country, and he's setting us on a path that I believe is going to destroy this country.

On the RNC chair saying that Never Trump supporters are the divisive ones:

There is nothing we can do that will divide the party more than Donald Trump ever has. Our goal has always been to ensure that there's a candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton, who represents the values of the Republican party. We're doing everything in our power we can to unify the party. This power grab by the RNC and what Donald Trump is doing is nothing but dividing the party, dividing this country more than anything we could ever do.

Pat Wilson and Jim Wilson, Republicans from Montgomery, Alabama.

Dane Waters, Republican from Florida.