‘This guy is a disaster’: GOP insiders terrified Trump’s rallies are going to derail midterm chances
Republican Party insiders are worried that the return of Trump rallies is going to jeopardize the GOP's chances to take back control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections.
While going after Twitter and Facebook for banning former President Donald Trump from their platforms, Politico reports that Republicans are “privately relieved” that he no longer can use those platforms, even if that’s something they would never say in public.
Mr Trump returning to the stump will give him a place to air his grievances and spread conspiracy theories on a bigger stage, including pushing his baseless lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
GOP lawmakers want to move on and focus on criticising and thwarting the agenda of the Biden administration.
A senior House Republican aide to a lawmaker considered to be a strong supporter of Mr Trump in Congress told Politico: “If we win the majority back in 17 months, it’s going to be in spite of Trump — not because of Trump.”
“He will totally take credit if we win the House back — but it won’t be because of him. This guy is a disaster,” the GOP staffer said.
Mr Trump is expected to start holding rallies in early June, increasing his presence in American political life ahead of the midterms.
Politico reported that Mr Trump is working on a policy platform to woo conservatives along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
But Mr Trump has rarely stuck to policy talk before and Republicans expect that his old favourite lines about voter fraud and various witch hunts will make a reappearance, and will probably lead to thorny questions from reporters to GOP lawmakers.
Republicans admit that they can’t win without Trump supporters, but maintain that the best strategy for success would be to focus on Democrats and their spending priorities.
The GOP and its voters have stuck with Mr Trump through a long line of scandals for almost six years.
Mr Trump continued to push voter fraud conspiracy theories on Thursday, sending out a statement saying: “Massive numbers of dead people 'voted' in the 2020 Presidential Election, far greater than anyone has known or seen before. Some of these 'dead people' even applied for an application to vote.
“This is just one of the many fraudulent aspects of the 2020 Presidential Election. People are just now beginning to understand!”
Politico reported on Thursday that Mr Trump has indicated to allies that he plans to run again if he’s still in good health in four years when he would be 78 years old, the same President Biden’s current age.
But the outlet also noted that 20 GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate who were strong supporters of Mr Trump during his time in office have “mixed opinions” concerning the possibility of a 2024 Trump campaign.
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