Between this weekend’s GOP conventions in North Carolina and Georgia, the Republican Party’s dumpster fire was on full display.

This weekend made clear Republicans continue to muddle along without a message or agenda, solely focused on their fealty to Donald Trump.

Associated Press: Trump’s grievances cloud Republican agenda heading into 2022

• “Republicans are fighting to seize control of Congress. Just don’t ask what they’d do if they win. Look no further for evidence of the GOP’s muddled governing agenda than battleground North Carolina, where party leaders packed into a convention hall Saturday night to cheer former President Donald Trump. Even with a high-stakes U.S. Senate election looming, the Republicans there were united not by any consistent set of conservative policies or principles, but by Trump’s groundless grievances about the 2020 election and his attacks against critics in both parties.”

In North Carolina, surrounded by Republicans eager to embrace his toxic record, Trump muddied up an already messy Senate primary.

CNN: Trump dwells on 2020 during North Carolina event aimed at helping Republicans in 2022

• “Trump’s appearance in Greenville may have been a setback toward those efforts.”
• “But some Democrats seized on the former President’s reemergence, suggesting that Republicans will suffer electorally for continuing to bear hug Trump.

‘More than 400,000 dead Americans, millions of jobs lost and recklessly dangerous rhetoric is apparently not enough for Republicans to break with a loser president who cost them the White House, Senate and House,’ Ammar Moussa, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement to CNN.”

The Guardian: China, Fauci and hoaxes: Donald Trump targets usual suspects in return to stage

• “Since leaving the White House, Trump has regularly made baseless claims that the last presidential election was stolen. The claims have triggered a wave of Republican-backed voting restrictions in state legislatures across the country, even though Trump’s cries of voting fraud have been refuted by dozens of judges, Republican governors and senior officials from his own administration.”

And in Georgia, Republicans continue to indulge Trump’s Big Lie that led to the violence of January 6 and anti-democratic attacks on voting rights across the country, while they attack members of their own party.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: At GOP meeting, Georgia Republicans look backward to 2020

• “The Georgia GOP convention was supposed to be a chance for thousands of conservative activists to project unity and chart out their strategy headed into 2022 races. Instead, much of the conference was focused on Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud in 2020.”
• “Gov. Brian Kemp was jeered by activists upset he refused to invalidate the state’s election. So was Attorney General Chris Carr, whose office defended the outcome in court. Georgia GOP chair David Shafer honored a trio of legislators with ‘Warrior Awards’ for their attempt to reverse the former president’s defeat.”

Associated Press: In Trump’s shadow, Ga’s. Kemp draws boos from GOP faithful

• “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp drew jeers and boos at his state party’s annual convention Saturday, laying bare the bitterness that remains among Republicans over his role in certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race.”