These numbers, and the allegiance to the former president they suggest, surprised some of Trump’s biggest critics.
“The story from November 3 onwards has been an amazing display of loyalty to Trump and the strength of party supporters,” said anti-Trump conservative Bill Kristol. “If you had said [Trump] he would fail to recognize election results, he would continue with that, he would pressure state secretaries and he would pressure his own vice president to do something unconstitutional, he would try to call a crowd to Washington on January 6 – it is very surprising and incredible that people stayed with him on each step. “
Kristol’s new PAC, the Republican Accountability Project, is promising to raise $ 50 million for Republicans who support Trump’s impeachment and is spending half a million dollars on ads targeting 22 senators the group believes could condemn Trump. At least 17 Republican senators would need to join all 50 Senate Democrats to condemn Trump for inciting an insurrection.
The president’s allies who rejected the impeachment process as minor and unconstitutional, however, acknowledged that Trump can use it to capitalize on popular outrage and reconnect with his supporters. They said the former president and his team needed to take the process seriously and saturate radio waves with their supporters.
“If a victory is to push back, stay strong and ensure that our base is still able to keep their heads up and rise, then we have to fight these frivolous and empty accusations across the board,” said the former adviser. Trump, Boris Epshteyn.
Trump declined a request from Democrats to testify personally at the trial and is expected to remain at his Florida residence during the impeachment process this week. His defense lawyers spent Monday completing their analysis and final preparations, while McConnell and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer worked to determine the structure of the trial. The timetable they agreed to can ensure that the trial is completed before next week, if both sides refuse to call witnesses. The House’s impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team will have 16 hours to present each of their cases to the Senate.
“We appreciate that the Senate Republican leadership has stood firm in due process and has ensured a structure consistent with previous precedents,” Trump’s lawyers said in a statement. “This process will give us the opportunity to explain to senators why it is absurd and unconstitutional to carry out an impeachment process against an ordinary citizen.”
Even though the House’s impeachment managers decide to call witnesses during Trump’s trial, there is little fear among his advisers that a protracted impeachment process will boost the former president’s political opponents, either now or in the 2022 midterm elections. next fall.
“I have no idea what they think they are going to accomplish,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an important ally of Trump. “The next election will be on 22 and does not involve Trump. What they are doing is wasting time. “
Some Democrats have also expressed disinterest in a lengthy trial, especially when the party tries to attract momentum for Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.
“I think it is clear in his schedule and in his intention that he will not spend much time watching the proceedings, if it will, over the course of this week,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “He will leave the pace, process and mechanics of the impeachment process to members of Congress.”
Unlike his first impeachment trial, when Trump acted as a one-man war room only firing tweets in real time during the testimony, advisers were unsure of how the former president plans to tune in at this point. Since leaving the White House, he has used his post-presidential “45 Office” to issue press releases about his impeachment team and, occasionally, to opine on events that have frustrated him, including the cancellation of the Dobbs program and a discussion on the Screen. Actors Guild to revoke your membership.
“Your message is still spreading, even without a Twitter account,” said a second former Trump campaign official.