Why Donald Trump Just Called Out These Republican Politicians

The Republican Party's primary elections for the upcoming midterm election cycle don't look like any others they've held in the past, and it's all down to the man they consider to be their leader — former president Donald Trump. As Politico pointed out, Trump has been endorsing candidates up and down the ballot which is unusual in and of itself. But while the endorsements might seem random, they appear to be linked to candidate's willingness to embrace the theory that the election was stolen and that, in fact, Joe Biden did not win the November 2020 election.

But these endorsements have had a ripple effect on local elections. As an example, one GOP consultant, John Sellek, has said that Trump's endorsements "have had an instant impact inside Michigan political circles, raising some from completely unknown status into candidates to be reckoned with." But what Sellek has also noticed, is that "[Trump's] early picks clearly come with a tinge of revenge."

On Trump's list of politicians to take down are House Republican Liz Cheney, who now sits in the January 6 commission currently investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Another "RINO" or "Republican In Name Only" he's looking to vanquish is Washington State Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, who voted for Trump to be impeached because of the January 6 insurrection (via The Telegraph). 

Whether Donald Trump's move to turn the Republican Party into a group that reflects his values is a good thing or not depends on who you ask. One of the former president's acolytes, GOP South Carolina chair Drew McKissick, pointed out that, "Prior to 2015, there's a good case to be made that the Beltway version of the Republican Party had been moving away from the base." A recent survey showed that half of voters in the primary called themselves "Trump First", while 43% said they were loyal to the GOP (via Politico). 

Joe Kent, who is contesting Jaime Herrera Beutler's seat, added that, "The only good that came out of the election in 2020 and the impeachment votes is that we were able to really identify the establishment Republicans, country club Republicans, Republicans in name only, and make them vulnerable."

Donald Trump's style isn't sitting too well with more traditional Republicans like Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, who believes that electability, not loyalty to Trump, is what the GOP should be looking at. As a result, there is a group of GOP senators who don't want Trump to come forward to say he is running for president in the 2024 election at all (via The Hill). As one senator who has refused to give his name said, "I think we're better off when he's not part of any story. He's a clinical narcissist. He threw away the election in the debate with Biden and he threw away the Senate out of spite."

The Hill has even gone as far as to report that a good number of Republicans see Trump as a liability for both the midterms in 2022 and the presidential election in 2024. A part of that view likely comes from the November 2020 election, when undecided voters and independents came out against Trump in the end (via The New York Times). And with Republicans like former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor and former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman now openly calling for alliances with centrist Democrats (via The New York Times), as with 2020 — its anyone's guess how effective a Trump endorsement will eventually be.