Top conservatives struggle to escape Trump's clutches
by W. James Antle III, Politics Editor |
| February 18, 2021 06:00 AM After four years locked in an uncomfortable embrace, leading Republicans and Beltway conservatives are beginning their quest to distance themselves and the GOP from former President Donald Trump, who shows no sign of going anywhere.
It began with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who helped Trump advance legislation and confirm conservative federal judges, announcing his vote to acquit the ex-president in a speech that sounded more like a conviction. McConnell said Trump’s “wild falsehoods†made him “practically and morally responsible†for the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, calling it a “foreseeable consequence†of the defeated president’s “false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole†about the election, leading to a “manufactured atmosphere of looming catastrophe†that culminated in mob violence as Trump “watched television happily.â€
McConnell followed up with an op-ed arguing that the Constitution, in his view, required Trump’s acquittal due to limits on the impeachment power, even though the then-president’s “behavior during and after the chaos was … unconscionable, from attacking Vice President Mike Pence during the riot to praising the criminals after it ended.â€
The Wall Street Journal editorial page, highly influential among conservatives, praised McConnell for condemning but acquitting Trump and urged the Republican Party to move on from the polarizing reality television star: “Mr. Trump may run again, but he won’t win another national election. ... The country is moving past the Trump presidency, and the GOP will remain in the wilderness until it does too.â€
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