 After Donald Trump promised that his supporters will stay home in 2022 and 2024 unless Republican officials embrace his reckless lies about the 2020 election, some Republicans are publicly and privately sounding the alarm. This is little solace after top Republicans, including Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, indulged Donald Trump’s lies until he incited an attack on the Capitol and assault of police officers — and they continue to indulge his Big Lie to this day.
Meanwhile, President Biden and Democrats remain focused on rebuilding our economy, lowering costs for working families, and ensuring the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.
Over the weekend, Republican leaders publicly sounded the alarm about the dangers Trump and his election lies pose for the party in 2022 and 2024.
The Hill: “Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said on Sunday that former President Donald Trump’s repeated efforts to challenge the results of last year’s presidential election could be a disaster for Republican candidates in next years [sic] midterms.”
Axios: “Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told ‘Axios on HBO’ he’s not sure former President Donald Trump would win the Republican nomination if he ran in 2024 — a rare voice of criticism from within the party.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy: “President Trump is the first president in the Republican side at least to lose the House, the Senate and the presidency in four years. Elections are about winning.”
And behind the scenes, frustrated Republicans are panicking that Trump’s lies could cost them future elections.New York Times: “The former president’s fixation on disproved conspiracy theories is frustrating to many in his party who see it as needlessly divisive at a time when Republicans feel they are poised to take back the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. They worry he could cost Republicans otherwise winnable seats in Congress and complicate the party’s more immediate goal of winning the governor’s race in Virginia next month.”
New York Times: “But party officials believe Mr. Trump’s threat about his supporters staying home en masse is real. And the potency of his false claims about 2020 caught even some of his staunchest allies in the party off guard.”
New York Times: “One of the most concerned is Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader. Mr. McConnell has told colleagues that he is concerned Mr. Trump’s campaign to relitigate the 2020 election could depress confidence among Republican voters and hurt the party’s chances at winning back the majority it lost this year after Democrats captured Georgia’s two Senate seats.” |