Fox News contributor and right-wing radio host Erick Erickson is reportedly part of a campaign to prevent Donald Trump from winning the Republican Party's presidential nomination, and if that fails, to draft a third-party candidate to run against him.
Politico reports that Erickson is slated to attend a “closed-door meeting” this week in Washington, D.C. to work on the plan:
The organizers of the meeting include Bill Wichterman, who was President George W. Bush's liaison to the conservative movement, Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and longtime conservative convener, and Erick Erickson, the outspoken Trump opponent and conservative activist who founded RedState.com.
“Please join other conservative leaders to strategize how to defeat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination,” the three wrote in an invitation obtained by POLITICO that recently went out to conservative leaders, “and if he is the Republican nominee for president, to offer a true conservative candidate in the general election.”
Conservative media have been in a state of open civil war for months over Trump's potential candidacy. While some in the conservative media have come out directly opposed to the candidate, often under the banner of "Never Trump," others have been defending him and his actions while lashing out at the “establishment” within the Republican Party.
Erickson has previously spoken out against Trump. He disinvited him from his RedState Gathering conference after Trump made sexist remarks about Fox host Megyn Kelly, and he called for a Cruz-Rubio unity ticket to block Trump's path to the nomination.