SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate is still trying to come to terms with the site of pro-Trump rioters storming the capitol building on Wednesday.
“The whole day yesterday and all the actions were really just wretched and disgusting,” Cate said Thursday. “That was an abomination of not only this country, but of the Republican Party.”
Cate is the lone remaining republican on the otherwise democratic San Diego City Council.
He considers himself a fiscal conservative and social moderate and says he never voted for Donald Trump. He also does not believe the election was stolen.
“There were 74 million people who voted for Donald Trump. I can’t imagine that all of them were supportive of what happened yesterday, but that's now what we're left with,” Cate said.
The question now is what's next for the party, given the carnage and Trump's impending departure. Cate says Republicans must get back to communicating its basics.
“I believe in the Constitution, I believe in the power of the individual, I don’t believe government has all the answers for everything and everyone,” Cate said.
Political analyst John Dadian, also a Republican, says the party must stick to a simple message.
“Republicans believe and conservatives believe those who govern best govern least. Democrats believe government has a role in our lives. Good arguments on both sides, very simple, but if you go back to basics then you'll be forgetting about Donald Trump,” Dadian said.
Dadian says Wednesday's events were not Republican-tied, but Trump tied.
Tony Krvaric, who chairs the San Diego Republican Party, said he wanted to let things settle down before commenting.
