They can take Trump out of the White House, but not from the hearts of his countrymen.
They’ve slandered him. Deplatformed him. Impeached him (again). And now they’re trying to keep him from running for president again.
Despite all this, the establishment has failed in its attempt to turn President Trump’s supporters against him.
Even the left-wing outlet Axios found itself forced to admit that “anyone who thinks Trump is a politically dead man walking appears pointedly dead wrong.”
According to an Axios-Ipsos poll taken Tuesday and Wednesday, majorities of Republicans support the president’s recent behavior and think he should run in 2024, while less than 20 percent want to see him kicked out of the White House.
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The numbers were:
64% of Republicans said they support Trump’s recent behavior.
57% of Republicans said Trump should be the 2024 GOP candidate.
Only 17% think he should be removed from office.
It’s also worth noting that among Republicans in the House of Representatives, two-thirds voted to decertify the election results, even after the storming of the Capitol. Moreover, 93 percent of House Republicans voted against impeachment.
In the Senate, members of Congress’ upper chamber believe President Trump will continue to wield major influence within the Republican Party even if he’s convicted in the Senate trial and thus barred from ever holding federal office again himself.
Some Republican senators who want Donald Trump out of the picture feel that it would be better to let him fade away than to convict him, which could backfire and turn the president into a martyr.
As Fox News’ Tucker Carlson put it: “By impeaching the president during his final week in office, Congress will not succeed in discrediting Trump among Republican voters. In fact, it will enhance Donald Trump among Republican voters. Obviously!”
In the Axios-Ipsos poll, 56 percent of those surveyed consider themselves traditional Republicans, while 36 percent say they are Trump Republicans. It goes to show that even among Republicans who aren’t die-hard Trumpers, there is considerable support for the president.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is reportedly pleased with the impeachment, as he believes this is a chance to purge Trump’s influence from the GOP for good. McConnell is apparently considering actually convicting the president.
“This failed attempt to obstruct the Congress, this failed insurrection, only underscores how crucial the task before us is for our Republic,” McConnell said as the Senate reconvened on Wednesday to finish the electoral count interrupted by the siege. “Our nation was founded precisely so that the free choice of the American people is what shapes our self-government and determines the destiny of our nation.”
Axios reportedly was told that “McConnell sees this fight as his legacy — defending the Senate and the institution against the verbal attack of the president and the literal attack of his followers.”
His legacy won’t amount to much. Mitch McConnell may be many things. A cunning player of the political game; a gifted opportunist; an effective instrument of wealthy establishment interests.
But he’ll never be what Donald Trump is to millions of Americans: A source of hope that we can persevere against a corrupt system. A hero who stood for the forgotten man when it seemed like everyone from Washington to the media to academia treated us with contempt. An inspiration.
It’s because of the endearment that President Trump has earned by repeatedly facing overwhelming odds again and again on behalf of regular Americans that no matter how much the political class may try to sink him, the people will continue to look to him for leadership.
It’s no surprise then that, according to Axios’ polling, most Republicans side with the president over the majority leader.
The forces behind McConnell are also trying their best to erase Trump from the Republican Party. As TNA reports, many big Republican megadonors, including the Koch network, are considering pulling funding to members of Congress who voted against certifying electoral results from states compromised by fraud.
Some have speculated that President Trump may create a third party after his presidency. But it may not be necessary. Considering the weight he still holds, it may be that all he needs is to speak and the GOP will move in the direction he points.
