After the mob action last week at the US Capitol?
Some Republican establishment types think the Trump ‘Brand’ is damaged enough that he should forget running for office anymore….
A growing number of Republicans hold Trump responsible for inciting the deadly riots inside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday. The clashes came hours after they blamed Trump for a pair of losses in Georgia that will leave the Senate in Democratic control.
In interviews, more than half a dozen Republicans who had supported or worked for Trump say the president isn’t likely to run again, though he may tease it. If Trump changes his mind again and chooses to run, some said they would urge him not to, while others hope he’d be talked out of it.
“I think nothing is going to happen,” said a Trump friend. “He won’t be around in 2024. He’s not going to run. He’s going to fuck around and say he’s going to run. … He’ll tease. I don’t think he’s ever going to say ‘I won’t run.’ He just won’t run.”
With less than two weeks left in his term, Democrats are calling for Trump’s removal from office, state officials are pressing for criminal charges, allies are dropping their support, and aides and even cabinet officials are abandoning him. His crusade to overturn his clear-cut electoral loss has left the Republican Party — already divided during the Trump presidency — embroiled in a civil war.
“The Republican Party is more divided now than it was two months ago, which is not how it’s supposed to work,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant, who worked for two presidential candidates. “If anything we should be more united now as we get ready to serve as the opposition.”….