Stories of former Republican voters and why they decided to ditch the GOP have trended on Twitter, with many citing Donald Trump as the prime motivator of their departure.

Under the hashtag #ILefttheGOP, former Republicans recounted their breaking points and subsequent exodus from the right.

Some of the stories were simple, like that of Peter Mitchell, who left the party because of Mr Trump.

“#ILefttheGOP because of Trump...this isn’t the party I voted for anymore...idk if I will ever go back.”

Christopher Zullo, who identifies himself as a “Rockefeller Republican” and a “Regulatory Capitalist” pointed to Mr Trump’s regulatory rollbacks and disregard for international agreements like the Paris Accords for why he turned away from the GOP.

All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters

“Trump comes into office. Rips down every clean air, water, financial regulation. Blows up global agreements. Starts trade wars with allies. Passes budget doubling 1% tax cut. Pulls out of Syria. Bombs Iran. Divides nation with reality TV show elimination governing #ILeftTheGOP”

User @Chaddo18 said he left in November because he felt the party had failed to stand up to “an increasingly obvious tyrant.”

“#ILeftTheGOP in November after 3 years of hoping the party would have the decency and strength to stand up to an increasingly obvious tyrant. But they are content for Trump to be not only King, but God, trading righteousness for lies and cruelty. Pray for people to take a stand.”

Though Mr Trump was frequently the stated cause of their defections, he wasn’t the only reason given by those using the hashtag. John Slater had a much more personal reason for leaving the party.

Grammys 2020: Alicia Keys sings about Donald Trump impeachment

“#ILeftTheGOP when my high school friend came back in a body bag from Iraq.”

User @BeeInTheBreeze left the party in 2003 because she felt the party was manipulating working-class voters and Christians.

“#ILeftTheGOP in 2003 when I realised the party routinely manipulates working class people into voting against their own interests so the billionaires can keep getting richer and richer. Furthermore, they claim Christian values but couldn’t be further from them.”

Christiana Doucette said she was driven from the party due to a controversial conservative personality. But it wasn’t Mr Trump.

“#ILeftTheGOP over the response to Roy Moore. I hadn’t voted for Trump, but until that point, hoped those within the party would reign him in. It was obvious then that wouldn’t happen. And I refused to be a part of it. I grew up GOP, and had only ever voted GOP before that.”

The hashtag was started by Cheri Jacobus, a self-described “Never Trump” conservative and political pundit. She said she left in 2016 when the party nominated Trump and asked others to share their stories.