Senate Republicans, including those who do not plan to vote to condemn former President Trump
Donald Trump, NRCC finance president: Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment will not be penalized Blinken, the UN chief’s first contact after the US reinstated the Climate Agreements, WHO GOP senators met with the impeachment team Trump to discuss strategies, say this week’s impeachment trial ended any chance of him becoming the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 2024.
From the point of view of some Republican senators, the convincing case presented by House prosecutors carries with it a silver lining: it means that they probably won’t have to worry about the possibility of Trump running for president again in three years, while at the same time erode their influence on the political party more generally.
Several Republican senators were angry when they watched videos of violence and chaos inside the Capitol on January 6, including images of police officers being called “pigs” and “traitors” and a policeman shouting as he was crushed by protesters attacking a police line .
Interspersed with the traumatic scenes, there were clips of Trump urging his supporters to march to the Capitol, warning them “if you don’t fight like hell, you won’t have a country anymore” and telling them “we love them; you are very special ”, right after the attack.
“It just makes you realize how stupid Donald Trump is,” said a Republican senator after watching the second day of House managers’ presentation.
The lawmaker suggested that Democrats could help the Republican Party by warding off Trump.
“They are unconsciously doing us a favor. They are disqualifying Donald Trump from running for president,” even if he is acquitted, the senator said.
Other Republican senators, even those who have indicated that they will vote for absolution, say it would be a good thing if the impeachment trial helped to distance the Trump party, which has completely dominated Republican politics for the past five years.
“I can’t imagine the emotional reaction, the visceral reaction to what we saw today, it doesn’t make people think, ‘This is horrible’, whatever your opinion on whether the president should be impeachment or sentenced,” said another GOP senator. “What would call the attention of my colleagues is that there was no rescue, there was nothing that could end this”.
The impeachment managers at the Chamber emphasized that the National Guard was not dispatched until two hours after the attack on the Capitol began, delaying the arrival of troops until 5 pm that day.
Rep. Ted Lieu
Ted W. Lieu GOP senators praise the managers of the impeachment, but say Trump will be acquitted. Managers seek to make the Republican Party think twice about Trump’s absolution. Democrats argue that Trump will incite violence again MORE (D-Calif.) He noted in his presentation that Trump was not on the Pentagon’s list of administration officials consulted on the eventual decision to deploy the Guard.
Democratic prosecutors also submitted a report that the minority leader in the House Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthyConservative House Republican welcomes Clark as head of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy defends his son’s marriage amid a rise in COVID-19 in California LIVE COVERAGE: Democrats conclude case against Trump MORE (R-Calif.) He had a heated discussion with Trump on January 6, during a phone call in which he pleaded with the president to report the protesters as they invaded the Capitol.
“It reminded and confirmed and probably added a deeper emotion to the view that the president’s involvement in the party, while bringing in new people, is very damaging to who we are, what we believe and what we stand for – what we believe we stand for” , Said the second Republican senator.
The senator said that many constituents think “Trump is a big problem for Republicans”, although he acknowledges that many Republican voters think that the former president was “run over” by the establishment.
“This is very damaging to any future political race for President Trump, but I am surprised at the amount and intensity of support, despite all the other things that have happened,” added the senator.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski The Hill Report 12:30: Republicans discuss judgment votes in particular Republican Party senators will likely vote on Trump’s sentencing The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by TikTok – New riot video unnerves many senators MORE (Alaska) was the only Republican senator this week who publicly expressed the view shared by many of his Republican colleagues that Trump’s actions since the election defeat have nullified his future viability as a presidential candidate.
“After the American public sees the whole story presented here … I don’t see how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency again,” Murkowski told reporters on Wednesday.
Other Republicans said privately that they agreed with that assessment.
A third Republican senator said the facts exposed in the impeachment trial underscore how difficult it would be for Trump to portray himself as an elected presidential candidate in 2024.
“I think closing the door on that [Trump] chapter is probably positive overall, ”said the senator.
But the lawmaker acknowledged that “it’s a bit of a dance” because many party voters still like Trump and are sympathetic to his claims that the election was influenced by unfair decisions about absentee votes.
“We have to be careful as a party to embrace these people and the big question is, ‘Were they just Trump Republicans and not Republicans?'” Said the senator, predicting that progress can be made with these voters addressing the same issues Trump did during his presidency, pressing schools to reopen for face-to-face learning during the pandemic.
Polls show that most Americans think Trump should be sentenced, a shift in sentiment compared to his first impeachment trial in 2020.
A CBS News / YouGov poll released on Tuesday showed that 56% supported Trump’s condemnation, with 44% against it.
In December 2019, just before Trump’s first impeachment trial, a CBS News / YouGov poll found that only 42% of respondents supported the conviction.
The New York Times reported last month that the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMarijuana advocate for legalization: ‘This could be a priority for Congress’ The Hill’s 12:30 report: Republicans in particular discuss the votes of judgment LIVE COVERAGE: Democrats conclude case against Trump MORE (R-Ky.) He told associates that he thought Trump had committed impeachable crimes and that an impeachment trial would make it easier to expunge Trump from the party.
McConnell hasn’t spoken to Trump since December 15 and made it clear to colleagues in the Republican Party that they are free to vote in their conscience about Trump’s condemnation on the charge that he incited the January 6 riot. At least six Republican senators have indicated that they are seriously considering the vote for sentencing.
A fourth Republican senator agreed that Trump’s power in the party suffered a severe blow because of the detailed exposure of his behavior in preparation for the attack on the Capitol and his subsequent actions.
“It certainly shouldn’t have been useful for him to have all of this discussed and connected. In his case, this does not mean that he would not compete, even though he knew he could not win ”, added the legislator.
If winning the Republican nomination in 2024 seems increasingly remote, Trump may not want to risk becoming a loser twice in the presidential election, lawmakers say.
But they warn that even as power wanes, Trump will remain a potent force.
“Even if he cannot be nominated, even if he cannot be elected, he will still be part of the discussion for a while,” added the senator.