Greg Mankiw, George W. Bush's chief White House economic adviser, is 'no longer a Republican'


Prominent conservative economist Greg Mankiw isn't a #NeverTrump Republican — or "human scum," as President Trump and his White House refer to the group — because he is "no longer a Republican," Mankiw explained in a blog post Monday. "I just came back from city hall, where I switched my voter registration from Republican to unenrolled (aka independent)." He gave two reasons, and both involved Trump.
"First, the Republican Party has largely become the Party of Trump," said Mankiw, an economics professor at Harvard who previously served as chairman of former President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "Too many Republicans in Congress are willing, in the interest of protecting their jobs, to overlook Trump's misdeeds (just as too many Democrats were for Clinton during his impeachment)."
The other reason is that Mankiw can vote for a "center-left candidate" in Massachusetts' Democratic presidential primary over Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) or Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), either of which, he writes, might "tempt those in the center and center-right to hold their noses and vote for Trump's re-election." In any case, Mankiw's severing of partisan bonds isn't necessarily permanent, he adds. "Maybe someday, the party will return to having honorable leaders like Bush, [John] McCain, and [Mitt] Romney. Until then, count me out."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The new Gwada negative blood type
Under The Radar Rare discovery means a woman is the only person on the planet who's compatible solely with herself
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from