Donald Trump Reveals His Enemies Within The Republican Party
Former President Donald Trump had a rocky relationship with the Republican Party for much of his political life, but it intensified towards the end of his presidential term. Following the attack on the Capitol on January 6 and the baseless election fraud fiasco, it seems there is a bad taste in many Republican senators' mouths and some of his past supporters are now speaking out against him. Even some of Trump's biggest allies, like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell, spoke out against his decisions regarding his election loss and the attack on the Capitol.
On February 13, McConnell addressed Congress about the insurrectionist attacks and made some scathing remarks about Trump in the process. "There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the event of that day," McConnell said, per AP News. He also said that Trump's actions and decisions during the attack on Congress were "a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty."
Now, after verbal rebukings from members of his party, Trump is coming back for blood, and he isn't afraid to name names either. Trump has a list of enemies who he is ready to throw under the proverbial bus and drive over should it clear a path for his 2024 run.
Trump is coming after 25 senators
Donald Trump has a long list filled with Republicans In Name Only — referred to as RINOs — and he wants his supporters to know that they shouldn't be supporting them either. Trump's aggressive tactic is apparently an attempt to push the party further right — the way he presumably thinks it should look. According to The Telegraph, Trump is giving his support to candidates preparing to challenge the moderates whose seats are up in the Republican party primaries in the 2022 midterm election, possibly hoping to set the stage for his 2024 presidential run. There are over 25 names, including 10 who voted for his second impeachment, on Trump's Republican hit list.
Enemy number one seems to be Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, the daughter of Dick Cheney. Rep. Cheney hasn't shied away from speaking her mind about Trump. "I watched while the attack was underway understood very clearly what he did on January 6, what he failed to do on January 6. Instead of stopping the attack while it was underway, he was busy calling up senators trying to get them to delay the count," Cheney told CBS News. "I think he's very dangerous."
According to The Hill, Trump has already taken aim at other "RINOs," including Jamie Herrera Beutler, Adam Kinzinger, Lisa Murkowski, Fred Upton, and Anthony Gonzalez.