Former President Donald Trump finds himself adrift during political exile. And Republicans, and even some allies, say he is disorganized, torn between playing the part of the party’s antagonist and leader.
“There is no apparatus, no structure and part of that is due to a lack of political understanding on the part of Trump,” said a person close to the former president, noting that Trump has struggled to learn the ropes of post-presidential politics.
“It’s like phantom political members. He does not have the same political infrastructure as he had three months ago as president, ”added Republican strategist Matt Gorman, who previously served as communications director for the Congressional Republican National Committee.
The version of Trump that has emerged in the month and a half since he left office is far from the political godzilla that many expected him to be. He was supposed to unleash hell on a party apparatus that backed down when his supporters invaded the United States Capitol on January 6 and refused to defend him fiercely during his second impeachment. Instead, Trump maintained close ties with Republican Party officials who pledged to support the incumbents, remained almost entirely out of the spotlight, made quite anodyne comments the only time he appeared, and offered only sparse criticism to his successor, Joe Biden .
The cumulative result is a political whip, as the former president stops wanting to support the Republican Party with his resources and popular appeal in one day to focus again on his own brand and thirst for revenge the next day. Just last week, Trump stopped threatening party agencies for using his name and image in his fundraising efforts to offer his property in Mar-a-Lago as a host site for part of the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. He fiercely attacked veteran Republican operative Karl Rove for criticizing his first post-presidential speech on the annual Conservative Political Action Committee, and endorsed Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Who repeatedly examined Trump’s own business practices while in the office.
And in the 24-hour period this week, Trump went from encouraging NFL running back Herschel Walker to mounting a primary offer against Georgia Republican governor Brian Kemp to host an opponent of the insurgent primaries, Senator Rick Scott. , R-Fla. , for dinner at Mar-a-Lago. In his role as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Scott promised to stay with Republican Party representatives – including Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who voted to condemn Trump at his Senate trial last month on charges of inciting an insurrection. The Florida Republican said he had a “great meeting” with Trump at a tweet he shared Friday.
“For any normal politician, it would look like he is trying to do both, but he is actually trying to do it his way,” said a former Trump White House official. “He only cares about maintaining his power and dominance over the Republican Party and it doesn’t matter to him how any of the movements he does will affect the long-term success of institutions or individuals other than himself.”
Trump has always been an impulsive figure who demanded loyalty from those around him. But those characteristics came with positions of power: either at the top of a real estate empire, as a media celebrity or – in his last iteration – as president of the United States.
No longer in a powerful position, the task became more complicated. The former president appears to have settled in life outside the confines of the West Wing, and even made his first trip to New York earlier this week. He continues to perform the court in the courtyard of his resort in Mar-a-Lago, where he is greeted by a standing ovation from the members when he and the ex-first lady pass. He spends his days monitoring the news, making calls and playing golf at his eponymous club, just a few miles away.
He has assembled a barebone team of paid and unpaid consultants who say they are working to screen primary candidates for their support and launch their fundraising operation. But the factions that have already formed among those around him suggest potential turbulence ahead. Three Trump 2020 campaign veterans – Brad Parscale, Bill Stepien and Justin Clark – are examining primary recruitments and thinking about ways to restore their online presence, while Dave Bossie and Corey Lewandowski are in talks with the former president to launch a new one. fundraising entity on your behalf, according to people informed of the recent discussions.
At the same time, Trump continued to call his real estate friends and former White House employees – asking for his advice on which Republicans he should try to oust and whether they approve of the main opponents he is considering. A former administration official who was in contact with Trump described him as a “pinball”, noting that his tendency to abruptly change direction or cling to a new idea after talking to a friend or outside consultant – a habit that he often frustrated advisers during his tenure – he was taken into his post-president life.
“You have Trump endorsing people without going through the process he agreed to three days ago,” said the former White House official. “It is very disorganized.”
The fear among Republicans is that Trump’s indecision extends to his personal political future as well. Trump continued to face a 2024 party dispute, and the guessing game will-he-won’t-leave presidential candidates in limbo.
“Politics is his hobby and he has fun with his hobby between rounds of golf,” said a former Trump adviser. “Your big test is is he running again? Because if he doesn’t, you’ll see that people will lose interest in the guy in the next hour. As long as he acts in the theater that will compete again, he still draws attention and creates headlines. “
But without a social media platform like Twitter, the former president had to rely on issuing statements – some imitating the tone and length of his previous tweets – through his post-presidency office or PAC’s political press lists. . So far, he has issued more than two dozen endorsements and statements since he left the White House. The most recent attacked Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and sought credit for the current distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.
And while Trump, an avid consumer of cable news, has avoided responding publicly to TV segments that criticize him or the recent headline of “canceling culture” headlines, he is tempted. Prior to an appearance on Wednesday by his senior adviser Jason Miller on the “War Room” podcast hosted by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, Trump told Miller he could “break the news” by conveying the thoughts of the ex-president about last Sunday’s Oprah bomb interview with Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.
“When I was talking to the president this morning … he said, ‘Yes, she sucks. I said that and now everyone is watching. But you realize that if you say something negative about Meghan Markle, you will be canceled. Look at Piers’, ”said Miller, recounting his conversation with Trump, who referred to Piers Morgan, the polarizing host of“ Good Morning Britain ”who split from the program this week after dismissing Markle’s revelations as lies.
Some close advisers described Trump’s hiatus on Twitter as a welcome break that allows his rare statements to carry more weight than the thought bubbles he would launch on the internet.
But so far, many of his recent political maneuvers have been met with contempt by the Republican Party. Trump’s public dispute with the Republican Party over fundraising and the use of his name and image in appeals for money seemed to fail after lawyers for the Republican National Committee denied the demands to cease and desist from Trump. At the end of the week, the RNC was not only still using Trump’s name in fundraising requests, but was also offering it as a temptation.
“Do you want to meet President Trump?” a fundraising appeal was being read, announcing the opportunity to have dinner with the ex-president at an upcoming spring retreat and even “take a photo” with him as well.