Daily US Times: Donald Trump has lost his social media megaphone as he is banned from Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, the power of government and the unequivocal support of his party’s elected leaders. But a week after leaving office in disgrace amid massive criticism after Capitol riot, a large-scale Republican defection that would ultimately purge him from the party appears unlikely.
Many Republicans refuse to publicly defend the former president’s role in sparking the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol. But as the Senate prepares for an impeachment trial for Donald Trump’s incitement of the riot, few seem willing to hold the former president accountable.
After House Republicans who backed his impeachment found themselves facing intense backlash — and Trump’s lieutenants signaled the same fate would meet others who joined them — Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for an attempt to dismiss his second impeachment trial. Only five Republican senators rejected the challenge to the impeachment trial.
Trump’s conviction in the Senate was considered a real possibility just days ago after lawmakers whose lives were threatened by the violent mob weighed the appropriate consequences — and the future of their party. But the Senate vote on Tuesday is a clear sign that while Trump may be held in low regard in Washington politics following the Capitol riots, a large swath of Republicans is leery of crossing his supporters, who remain the majority of the party’s voters.
Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a Trump ally said: “The political winds within the Republican Party have blown in the opposite direction.”
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