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THE GOP IS BIGGER THAN TRUMP. In the aftermath of the Liz Cheney affair, there’s been a lot of talk about Republicans having “surrendered” to former President Donald Trump, or of Trump having “total control” over the Republican Party. This fits the narrative of commentators suffering from Trump Withdrawal Syndrome — an inability to let go of the man they love to hate — but it does not fit reality.
The fact is, the Republican Party is bigger than the former president. Party leaders have an obligation to oppose President Biden — they’re the opposition party, for goodness sake — on those issues for which they, Republicans, believe they have a better policy agenda. Yesterday Josh Holmes, the former chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, tweeted: “Border crisis, gas lines, inflation, economic stagnation, kids still out of school, rocket attacks in Israel, and on and on and on. If you’re a Republican [in the Capitol] not talking about any of this today, you’re weakening your country.” The message to Republicans: Keep your eye on business.
york_holmes_tweetOn top of that, Democrats and the Biden administration are proposing an unheard-of $4 trillion in new federal spending, on top of trillions before it, that GOP leaders believe will do enormous damage to the economy.
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In other words, Republican Party leaders have a lot to talk about. If former President Trump wants to fixate on the 2020 election, that’s fine — he can do what he wants. But the Republican Party has a big job — and a lot to oppose — during Joe Biden’s time in office.
The GOP also has Republican support to do it, regardless of what Trump does. In the last couple of years, the NBC News poll has asked the question, “Do you consider yourself to be more of a supporter of Donald Trump or more of a supporter of the Republican Party?”
During Trump’s presidency, majorities of Republicans and those who leaned Republican said they considered themselves more a supporter of Trump than of the GOP. For example, in September of 2020, 53 percent said they were a Trump supporter, versus 37 percent who said they were a GOP supporter. In June 2019, 52 percent said they were Trump supporters, versus 38 percent for the GOP.
Now that has changed. In a poll taken in late April, 50 percent said they were more a supporter of the GOP, while 44 percent said they were more a supporter of Trump. The balance between the former president and the party has changed.
Other polls show Trump’s favorability rating with all registered voters below 40 percent, and favorability with Republicans around 80 percent. That is still high for Republicans, but less than it was when Trump was president. That’s only natural. A sitting president is the undisputed leader of his party. When he is no longer president, he remains influential but is no longer the sole leader. Time moves on, and it is moving on for Donald Trump.
Now, Liz Cheney, fresh from being ousted by House Republican leadership, is attempting to appoint herself a leader of the GOP. “The party is going to come back stronger, and I’m going to lead the effort to do it,” she said Wednesday, according to the New York Times. She’s starting with a media and public relations campaign — she brought in a famous photographer, David Hume Kennerly, to document her heroic acts — which will be followed by more media and more PR.
But Cheney is trying to jump in front of the parade and pretend she’s leading it. The fact is, the world of politics is moving away from Donald Trump, not toward him. Republicans Ron DeSantis, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Mike Pence, Kristi Noem, and many others are gearing up to run for president. They are looking ahead. They do not share Cheney’s fixation with the 2020 election, which is receding into the past even if Cheney cannot stop talking about it.
Trump will certainly remain an influential figure in the Republican Party. He will spend the coming months teasing a possible third run for president in 2024, when he will be 78 years old. But there is a big battle going on in Washington right now, one that is commanding the attention of Republican leaders and voters. Joe Biden, Democratic lawmakers, and left-wing activist groups are seeking to turn the flimsiest of congressional majorities into New Deal- and Great Society-style change. Republicans are increasingly consumed with stopping them. They’re moving forward, not backward. And that won’t change.
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