Don’t hold your breath with Republicans angry with the ancients President Trump
Donald TrumpBiden on Trump’s acquittal: ‘The merits of the prosecution are not in dispute’ The Republican Party of North Carolina condemns Burr for impeachment vote against Trump Toomey in the Trump vote: ‘His betrayal of the Constitution’ required condemnation breaking up to form a new party.
Interviews with more than half a dozen Republican strategists, operatives and former officials conducted before the impeachment vote this weekend show that there is a deep reluctance even among Trump’s most ardent critics to formally separate from the Republican Party.
Republicans were very divided on Saturday’s vote, with seven Republican senators voting to condemn Trump. Subsequently, minority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) conviction vote Mitchell McConnellTrump exposes GOP division Pelosi rules out censorship after Trump Raskin’s acquittal defends agreement without witnesses: ‘I made the call’ MORE (R-Ky.) Downloaded about the former president, saying that Trump was morally responsible for inciting the Capitol insurrection on January 6, while explaining that he voted for absolution because Trump is no longer in office.
McConnell’s comments were the clearest sign that he wants to divert the Trump party, even though other Republicans say the former president must remain the party’s main voice.
Divisions within the GOP have been apparent for years. But Republicans who spoke to The Hill expressed skepticism that it would lead to the formation of a third party, even after a meeting last week among dozens of high-profile conservatives who raised the possibility.
Several of these sources said that a third party would be little more than a spectacle and would threaten conservatives’ hopes of winning back the House, Senate and White House in the coming years. And even those open to the idea recognize the challenges.
“I will be the first to say that our electoral system is against third parties,” said Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, who was among those who attended the meeting. “If this is the path we have decided to take, we are very aware of the fact that there is a third party cemetery out there.”
At last week’s meeting, a group of more than 120 former Republican officials, operatives and activists met at Zoom to discuss the possibility of organizing a center-right party – or at least a new faction within the Republican Party – to compete. with what they see as an increasingly radical Republican Party.
More than 40 percent of callers supported the idea of a farewell party, organizers said. A slightly larger plurality favored a faction within the GOP, similar to the Tea Party movement that emerged in the party more than a decade ago.
Discussions are ongoing, several people said in the conference call, and they plan to hold more meetings in the coming weeks and months. Taylor, who anonymously wrote an opinion article in The New York Times and later wrote a book criticizing Trump and his administration, did not rule out the idea of opening a third party and described last week’s meeting as a “temperature discussion” among his participants.
“Even though many people in the Republican Party still support Donald Trump, it is clear that the brand has had huge repeat success,” said Taylor. “We feel that there is definitely an opportunity here to recapture people who were dissatisfied with the way 2020 was.”
For now, the idea of a third party movement has failed to gain traction with a wide range of the Republican Party. Adam Kinzinger
Adam Daniel Kinzinger Kinzinger asks people with information about Trump to step up as NRCC finance president: Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment will not be penalized Gaetz counters Kinzinger PAC for ‘Trumpism’ MORE (R-Ill.), Who was among the 10 House Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment last month, told Reuters this week that he would not support such an effort.
Another Republican who supported the impeachment, Congressman Liz Cheney
Elizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyTrump voting conviction exposes GOP split Memo: GOP senators face decisive vote in Trump’s finance chair NRCC: Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment will not be penalized MORE (Wyo.), He is also opposed to “any effort to divide the party,” his spokesman said in a statement.
A former Republican Party official expressed support for a separatist party “in theory”, but acknowledged that it is unlikely to materialize, saying that there are many systemic obstacles to making such an effort viable.
“When that is said and done, a bipartisan system is simply what this country’s history was,” said the official. “We like a system where the parties have a larger tent. This is not to say that we cannot expect the Republican Party to make any changes in the next two, four, six years. “
Chuck Clay, a former state senator from Georgia and president of the Republican Party, said the creation of a new party would only harm conservatives by fracturing the voter base.
“Really, the options are, okay, am I going to let the Democrats win?” he said. “Oh, spare me. This will not happen. Or are we going to find a way to supplant the Democrats in two or four years? “
“People have very legitimate concerns,” he added. “I just hope they don’t turn it into bitterness and bitterness and blame the home team.”
The rumors of a third-party movement don’t just come from those in the Republican Party’s center-right wing.
Trump allegedly suggested the idea of forming a new “Patriot Party” last month, while preparing to leave the White House. But Republican Party leaders largely dismissed the idea and the Trump campaign took steps to distance itself from a newly created “Patriot Party PAC”.
Still, talk of a third party movement highlights the divisions in the Republican Party that have been exacerbated in the weeks since January 6, when a crowd of supporters of the former president invaded the US Capitol in an effort to interrupt Congressional certification of President biden
Joe BidenBiden on Trump’s acquittal: ‘The merit of the prosecution is not in dispute’ White House press officer resigns after threatening Politician reporter Trump condemning vote exposes Republican Party split MOREVictory of the Electoral College.
Trump’s role in inciting the riots was at the heart of the Senate impeachment trial that ended on Saturday.
House impeachment administrators closed their case on Thursday after delivering an emotional appeal to senators to condemn Trump for fomenting violence against members of Congress.
Finally, the Senate handed Trump his second impeachment acquittal on Saturday. But the seven Republicans who joined their fellow Democrats in the vote to find him guilty made the most bipartisan impeachment in US history. And McConnell, in his sharp comments after the trial, suggested that Trump could face criminal prosecution for his role in the insurrection.
The outcome of the trial suggests that the divisions will continue to disrupt the party as it looks to 2022 and beyond.
Evan McMullin, a Republican who became independent who co-hosted Zoom’s conference call last week, said in comments to The Hill ahead of the vote that some Republican senators’ reluctance to hold Trump accountable “is only the last indication that the Party Republican is rotten to the core. “
McMullin, who ran an independent candidacy for the White House in 2016, dismissed concerns that a center-right insurgency in the Republican Party could undermine conservatives’ goals to retake power in Washington. He said the Republican Party’s current leadership has left traditional conservatives and center voters without further recourse.
“There is simply no choice,” said McMullin. “People will say that if you do that, you will split the Republican Party and the Republican Party will suffer politically. But the Republican Party does not represent us now. “
Even with his acquittal, the Capitol riots likely had a political impact on Trump.
Some Republican senators believe that the impeachment trial effectively thwarted the former president’s chance of a political return in the 2024 presidential race.
At the same time, some of those who worked for Trump tried to distance themselves from him.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley
12:30 Report by Nikki HaleyThe Hill: Trump’s lawyers start oral arguments, hoping for a redefinition Nikki Haley breaks with Trump: ‘We shouldn’t have followed him’ The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by TikTok – Dems close the case ; verdict on Trump this weekend MORE, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate for 2024, issued an extraordinary rebuke to Trump in an interview with Politico published on Friday, saying the former president had deceived the Republicans and that it was a mistake to follow him.
“We need to acknowledge that he let us down,” said Haley. “He followed a path that he shouldn’t have taken, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have heard him. And we cannot let that happen again. “
Still, there is little reason to believe that the former president and his kind of ultra-conservative populism will be leaving anytime soon.
Trump took a victory lap after his absolution vote, saying his political movement “just started”.
“In the coming months, I have a lot to share with you and I hope to continue our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a CBS / YouGov poll released this week found that 73 percent of Republican Party voters believe it is at least “somewhat important” to remain loyal to Trump. In addition, about a third of Republicans said they would join a new political party if Trump formed him. Another 37 percent said they could join.
Trump’s allies have ruled out the possibility of a new center-right movement being formed separately from the Republican Party or within the party itself, arguing that such an effort is beyond the reach of conservative bases.
“It’s beyond stupid fantasy,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and staunch supporter of Trump. “If the goal is to win back the party and the base, destroying the base and empowering Democrats will not make them friends.”
“The base is what influences the party and the base loves Trump.”