NEW: Longtime Never-Trumper Flips, Issues Roaring Endorsement: ‘I View It As A Duty’

Michael Brendan Dougherty, a once-committed “Never-Trump” columnist, openly endorsed Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in the 2024 election on Tuesday, stating that he sees it as a necessary responsibility. Dougherty, who has long expressed his skepticism about Trump’s character and leadership style, now feels compelled to lend his vote to the former president, pointing to the urgency of the current political climate as a driving factor.

In an essay titled ‘My First Vote for Trump,’ Dougherty didn’t hold back on how conflicted the decision has made him feel. “I mention that only to make it maximally embarrassing to say that I will cast a vote for Donald Trump and J.D. Vance today,” Dougherty wrote, conceding that his decision involved “changing my standards too.”

For Dougherty, a longtime conservative, this represents a profound change in his approach to voting. “I used to be much more precious about my franchise, and consequently, I’ve refused to vote in every election since 2004 because I never felt I was able to send the appropriate or worthwhile message with it.”

“My chief objection to voting for Trump in 2016 was his character and what he would do to the country with it,” Dougherty explained, but added, “I was wrong on key aspects, namely that I predicted he would break his promise to appoint sound judges. He kept that promise. I had to reassess.”

I concluded that it is reprehensibly vain to morally free ride on the millions of Trump voters for a result I prefer while I pat myself on the back for not taking my own side. https://t.co/G8l0y2TYwa

— Michael Brendan Dougherty (@michaelbd) November 5, 2024

One major reason for Dougherty’s change of heart is his belief that the Trump-Vance ticket reflects a national conservative vision closest to his own. “Trump-Vance is the ticket likely to be closest in my lifetime to the broad strokes of my national-conservative politics,” Dougherty noted. This, for him, is significant. “I also feel compelled to lend Trump my popular vote from New York State in case there is another split between the Electoral College and the popular vote.”

Dougherty did not shy away from calling out the progressive policies of the Democratic ticket, led by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. “The Democratic ticket is committed to legislation such as the Equality Act, which is a direct threat to make Catholic and Low Church Protestant convictions legally painful to hold,” Dougherty wrote. He voiced his support for Trump as a “duty” to his own beliefs, writing, “The remedy therefore is for Republican voters to block Democrats from the executive.”

“I didn’t choose these fights, and I preferred a different champion in the primary,” Dougherty admitted. However, given the political and cultural battles he feels the country is embroiled in, he views his vote for Trump as a necessary action to counter the progressive agenda. “I think it is morally reprehensible to free-ride on the rest of the country’s votes for Trump, and then to preen that I’m too pure to pull a lever for the outcome I prefer.”

Dougherty quoted Vance’s own shift in thinking about Trump: “’If I’m going to represent these voters, I’m going to have to suck it up and support Trump,’” Dougherty wrote, aligning himself with Vance’s sentiment. “Me too,” he concluded.

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