The startling revelations about Donald Trump’s efforts to ignore the results of the 2020 election could be making him more vulnerable as he contemplates a new run for president.
A former White House staffer this week described Trump as an unhinged leader who didn’t care about the safety of officials from both parties as he tried to stay in power on Aug. 6, 2021. Political ballast aside, The testimonies heard in the hearings of a legislative commission investigating the attack on Congress that day give prosecutors plenty of ammunition to charge Trump with some crimes, according to legal experts.
Republican voters — and Trump’s potential rivals in the 2024 presidential battle — are taking note.
In Iowa, where the first presidential campaign contest will take place in about 18 months, several people said Thursday they might consider other options even if Trump runs again. And some conservative media harshly criticized the former president. Aides to several potential Republican presidential hopefuls indicated they were more inclined to stand up to Trump in 2024 in light of the explosive testimony.
Nikki Haley, a former Trump administration ambassador to the United Nations, drew some 350 conservative activists to a fundraiser barbecue Thursday in Sioux County, where Trump won 82% of the vote in 2020.
On the other hand, there is abundant evidence that people are getting tired of Trump.
Interviews with a dozen attendees at Haley’s event revealed that there is a lot of interest in looking for alternatives to Trump, even if the tycoon runs.
“You’d have a hard time finding people around here who would tell you they’re not looking for someone else,” said Dave Van Wyk, a trucking company owner. “It is a mistake to think that conservatives are 100% in the column behind Trump.”
That was the impression of many voters since before Tuesday’s legislative hearing, where a shocking testimony from former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson about the extent of Trump’s discomfort in the final days of his presidency, the fact that he was aware that some of his supporters were carrying guns when they gathered in Washington on January 6, and his ambivalence when the mob stormed Congress.
Upset with the size of the crowd that turned up for a rally where he was to speak — many supporters stood aside because they were armed and didn’t want to go through metal detectors — Trump said something like this: “I don’t care. if they have weapons. They didn’t come to hurt me,” according to Hutchinson.
He also recounted that he heard about an incident in which Trump would have tried to take the wheel of the presidential vehicle because he wanted to join the mob and the security service agents would not let him.
This statement was rejected by some. The agent driving the car and another colleague would be willing to testify and deny that Trump lunged at the wheel.
But the concern in conservative circles is evident.
The editorial board of the conservative Washington Examiner said Hutchinson’s testimony could represent “a death sentence” for Trump’s political career.
“Trump,” he added, “is not fit to come close to power again.”
The New York Post, which generally supports Trump, said in a big headline: “Trump the Tyrant.” And the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal said that, “just when it seemed that Donald Trump’s behavior after his 2020 defeat could not look worse, a new scandalous testimony emerges.”
Conservatives have repeatedly expressed reservations about Trump in recent years, but the tycoon has always emerged unscathed, and even stronger.
This happened when a video circulated in which he was seen boasting of reprehensible behavior with women and when he instigated the violent attack on the Capitol. In addition, he survived two political trials.
Trump, however, has $101 million for a campaign and remains wildly popular with many Republicans. Republican candidates from Arizona to Pennsylvania and Georgia have battled for support in the midterm elections.
“The American people want your leadership,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said. “While another witch hunt goes wrong for the Democrats, President Trump is stronger than ever today.”
Even before this week’s revelations, a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that 48% of adults in the United States believe that Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the uprising on 6 from January.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of those considering running for president in 2024, said he has been hearing complaints about Trump from donors and voters since before this week’s testimony, adding to the “piled weight” of the shortcomings of the former president.
“People are worried that we will lose the election on the 24th and they want to make sure we don’t run someone with a lot of deficits,” Christie said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, another potential presidential hopeful, said he believes Trump can be beaten in the Republican primary.
“Trump was the least popular president in the history of the country until Joe Biden arrived,” he said.
Aides to other potential Republican presidential candidates say privately that Trump may still be the heavy favorite for the nomination, but his star is losing its shine. And they speculate that Hutchinson’s testimony will hasten that process and continue to tarnish his image.
Marc Short, adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, another possible presidential candidate, said that “Republican activists believed that Donald Trump was the only one who could beat Hillary Clinton (in 2016). Now the dynamic has reversed. He is the only one who lost to Joe Biden.”
Liz Cheney, who is not ruling out running for president, said Trump is a direct threat to democracy.
“Republicans cannot be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the constitution. We must choose,” he maintained.
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