The battle in Republican Party over Trump

The Republican Party is in a dilemma over whether to go with President Donald Trump who lost the 2020 election and egged his supporters to storm the Capitol to prevent Vice President Mark Spence from certifying the election of President Joe Biden on January 6, 2021.

The Republicans had lost not only the White House but also the majority in the Senate. Trump has been trying to exert influence on the Republican Party and it is learnt that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has Trump supporters.

So, it was not a surprise when the RNC censured Representatives (members of the House of Representatives also known as the Congress) Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for joining the select committee probing January 6 events.

But Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell defended Cheney and Kinzinger on Tuesday, saying, “The issue is whether or not the RNC should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views from the majority.

That’s not the job of the RNC.” That was a strong viewpoint, and McConnell known as a “wily politician” seems to be thinking of the November mid-term elections. He seems to sense that the Republicans can win back majority in the Senate if the party moves away from Trump’s tactless aggression and adopt a moderate position.

While the RNC described the January 6, 2021 episode as “legitimate political discourse”, but McConnell is clear that it was insurrection. He said, “We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”

At the same time, McConnell maintains his hardline anti-Democratic party policy measures. He has prevented President Barack Obama from nominating to the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and he is planning to prevent President Biden from making the nomination to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer.

He has also been opposing the social spending plan and saying that President Biden a moderate who has come under the influence of the leftists in the Democratic Party.

But McConnell is keen to strike the note of moderation, which implies distancing the party from Trump’s belligerence.

But there are many in the Republican Party who feel that it does not help removing Trump out of Republican politics because they think the former president is still popular, and he will help the party regain lost ground. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley said, “Whatever you think about the RNC vote, it reflects the view of most Republicans.” Senator John Thune, who is No.2 to McConnell said, “If we want to win the elections in November, there are better things to be focused on.

The focus right now needs to be forward, not backward. If we want to get majorities in the Fall, then it’s better to turn our fire on Democrats and not on each other.”

According to political analysts, in the mid-term election after a presidential election the party of the president loses. With President Biden’s popularity ratings, the Republicans are confident of winning the Congressional election. But the shadow of Trump casts a long shadow on the Republican Party because the man who lost the 2020 election refuses to accept his defeat. Republicans are unable to decide about Trump, whether it is better to dump him or use his popularity to fight elections.

Mc Connell and other moderates in the Republican Party seem to believe that it is better to enter the post-Trump phase and regain their old conservative agenda. Many Republican insiders consider Trump, a former support of Democrats, an intruder into the Grand Old Party (GOP).