Former Republican Senator William Cohen accused members of the Republican Party of yielding to President Donald Trump’s wishes to overturn the election result and warned that they will be held hostage to his whims when he leaves office.
Cohen, who was a US Republican senator from Maine between 1979 and 1997, targeted Republican lawmakers who gave in to Trump’s baseless allegations of electoral fraud and said the divide between Republicans was so strong that it should form a new party.
Describing Trump as a “master of ceremonies” who can “crack the whip and all the elephants jump on chairs,” Cohen said the Republicans who support Trump’s rejection of the election result were piling up trouble for the party in the future.
“He will continue to crack the whip, whether he is in office or out of office,” Cohen told CNN on Thursday.
“Perhaps it is time for a new party. One that respects the rule of law … but also loyal to the people of this country, who vote to elect him.” – Former Republican Senator William Cohen talks about some Republicans who hope to challenge Joe Biden’s victory https://t.co/mp6259iu3B pic.twitter.com/ePa1GtBE89
– The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) January 1, 2021
“He is always betting, he cannot be satisfied. There is nothing in him. There is no moral core and then they will be extorted or bribed to avoid a primary in 2022 or 2024.”
Cohen, who also served as defense secretary to former Democratic President Bill Clinton, particularly criticized Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who promised to reject the Electoral College’s votes for President-elect Joe Biden on January 6.
Illinois Republican Party congressman Adam Kinzinger said more than 100 Republicans could also contest Congressional certification of the result.

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“Senator Hawley wants to be the first out of the box to say, ‘I’m the new Trump,'” said Cohen.
“I think it’s shameful that the senator is going to do this and the senators who are lining up to support Senator Hawley, they have to understand – they are going to have to keep doing this over and over again whenever the ring director claims the whip.”
“For Trump it’s pathological, for those who jump in to support him, he’s diabolical and I don’t think he’s diabolically intelligent.
“I think they will find that they will be held hostage for the rest of the time in the Senate and going forward, if they are only there to appease the Trumpsters.”
Cohen believed that the responsibility now fell to Republican senators like Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) to defend the future of the Republican Party because “I think there is a real divide. “
“I think there is a real division there and I don’t know how [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will take care of that in the future, but maybe it’s time for a new party, “Cohen told anchor Jim Acosta.
“He who respects the rule of law, respects the opportunities for a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility, but also loyal to the people of this country who vote to elect them,” he added.
The graph below Statista shows the budgets spent on the American elections this century.
