David Frum, a conservative author who writes for The Atlantic magazine, took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that he would be leaving the Republican Party following President-elect Donald Trump's win on election day.
"De-registered as a Republican today," Frum wrote to X on Wednesday.
Frum's disillusionment with the Republican Party took root years ago. A former speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, Frum has long criticized Trump and characterized Trump's methods as unconstitutional.
"Your hand may hesitate to put a mark beside the name Hillary Clinton. You're not doing it for her. The vote you cast is for the republic and the Constitution," Frum wrote in a 2016 editorial supporting then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
"The Republican Party is a broken party," Frum said in a 2018 interview with Bill Maher on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher". "And there are people who have served the Republican Party that was, and there are people who are volunteering to serve the Republican Party that will be."
"It is important to understand that something new is taking the place of the Republican Party," he continued.
More recently, Frum outlined what he anticipates from a second Trump administration, and the effect he believes it will have on the nation, in a piece published on Wednesday, following election day.
"Above all, we must learn to live in an America where an overwhelming number of our fellow citizens have chosen a president who holds the most fundamental values and traditions of our democracy, our Constitution, even our military in contempt," he wrote.
"Over the past decade, opinion polls have showed Americans' faith in their institutions waning. But no opinion poll could make this shift in values any clearer than this vote. As a result of this election, the United States will become a different kind of country," he continued.
Social media users quickly took to the replies of his initial tweet, reiterating repeatedly that they did not care about Frum's political affiliations, and that he had been "fired".
"You deregistered as a Republican decades ago. You deregistered from your morals and ethics long before that," wrote one user.
"We already fired you," wrote another.
Frum responded with a remark about the irony of how people who didn't care felt the need to voice their sentiments.
"11,000 people and rising fast have posted here to tell me that they don't care what I do. I can only wonder how many would post if they did care!" he wrote, later adding "Just re-checked, and the number of people who don't care that I've de-registered as a Republican has now risen to 17,000."
Originally published by Latin Times.