Acknowledging that much of the rhetoric coming from the campaign early on may have been “jarring for some people,” Zalamea insisted that “any Republican is better than Hillary Clinton” and that “any vote not for Trump is a vote for Clinton.”
College Republicans at the University of Michigan made a formal endorsement of Donald Trump and Mike Pence for President and Vice President on Wednesday, September 14, saying in their official statement that “the College Republicans at the University of Michigan will officially be endorsing the Trump-Pence campaign for this election.” This news comes in the wake of many College Republican chapters’ at various esteemed universities, including, Princeton, Penn State, and Harvard, opting not to endorse the GOP presidential nominee—and even going so far as to endorse Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, as was done at Cornell University.
Zalamea believes that Trump should receive the full support of the GOP despite the “mudslinging” in the primaries.
While there are undeniably divisions within the Republican Party when it comes to supporting the Trump-Pence ticket, Enrique Zalamea, the president of the University of Michigan College Republicans, told the Michigan Review in an interview on Friday, September 16 that there was “a really great response” when they announced the endorsement at their mass meeting. In fact the first question raised at the meeting was, “When do we start … when do we start campaigning?”
Zalamea told the Michigan Review that the College Republicans at the University of Michigan will now be formally working with the Trump campaign, saying, “We will be hosting some events here pretty shortly.”
Acknowledging that much of the rhetoric coming from the campaign early on may have been “jarring for some people,” Zalamea insisted that “any Republican is better than Hillary Clinton” and that “any vote not for Trump is a vote for Clinton.” When asked about many Republicans’ reluctance to support Trump due to his “in-your-face” rhetoric and bombastic style, Zalamea wanted to remind voters that “it’s not just one individual coming into office; it’s an entire administration.” Zalamea believes that Trump should receive the full support of the GOP despite the “mudslinging” in the primaries. However, in the event of a Republican loss in November, he said the blame would be “distributed among all of us [Republicans],” not just the “Never Trump” crowd.
In both the organization’s official endorsement and in his interview with the Michigan Review, Zalamea encouraged voters to vote “down-ballot Republican for both your state and congressional candidates” regardless of their support of the GOP presidential nominee.
Here is the full statement: “The College Republicans at the University of Michigan will officially be endorsing the Trump-Pence campaign for this election. I know that some you may not agree with all of Mr. Trump’s statements and policies, but the campaign is not about one person. Mr. Trump in the White House comes with an entire administration of conservatives that, as Republicans, share many of the same ideals that we would not see represented under Clinton’s presidency. And any vote not for Trump is a vote for Clinton. But regardless of your views on Mr. Trump, I encourage you all to make the effort to go to the polls and vote down-ballot Republican for your state and congressional candidates.”
