The Conversation (0)
Andy Gregory
Feb 23, 2021
AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump is planning to use his first major speech since he was forced to leave the White House to tell Republicans that he is their “presumptive 2024 nominee”, according to a report citing his “top allies”.
In what appears clearly intended as a threatening message to anyone within the GOP wishing to leave the party’s association with the disgraced 45th president in the dust, those quoted claim Trump’s speech at CPAC in Orlando on Sunday will be “a show of force”.
The report by Axios – which cites only Trump’s white nationalist-minded former immigration advisor Stephen Miller by name – quotes a “longtime advisor” as predicting Trump’s message will be: “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.”
It comes days after a Suffolk University/US Today poll of people who voted for Trump in 2020 suggested 46 per cent would abandon the GOP to back him in 2024, compared to 26 per cent who would not.
The survey also found that 80 per cent of Trump voters said they would be less likely to vote for a Republican candidate who supported Trump’s impeachment.
But with all but seven Republican senators having voted to acquit Trump of inciting an insurrection – the charges levied against him in his second impeachment trial – his shadow continues to loom large over the party.
As a result, many on social media felt little sympathy for the plight of GOP senators who wish to be rid of Trump but failed to take steps that could have barred him from running again.
Senate GOP signed up for four years of this https://t.co/vZiBkasp4p https://t.co/DO1MbQbTAv— Don Moynihan (@Don Moynihan) 1614015534
They deserve every bit of it https://t.co/TCyi06QWvU— Zack Hunt (@Zack Hunt) 1614015772
Really have to wonder whether they have figured out yet that Trump cost them the House, the Senate and the White Ho… https://t.co/8jZx64sqSP— C. K. Hale 🌊🐦🐬🌍🌎🌏 (@C. K. Hale 🌊🐦🐬🌍🌎🌏) 1614024553
@axios I find it funny how the freedom-loving patriots get on their knees for a guy who declares total control over them.— David Yarema (@David Yarema) 1614010731
The @GOP 100% deserves this. They had a chance to rightly impeach, remove, & disqualify 2x. Now they get to feel hi… https://t.co/GebCKDn8F7— Bianca A Marine Mom Wanting Us To #BeBetterAmerica (@Bianca A Marine Mom Wanting Us To #BeBetterAmerica) 1614014297
So the whole acquittal thing went well. https://t.co/dYMlLszAx9— KimPlausible (@KimPlausible) 1614012955
If only there were some way to keep him from running again, he would have no leverage over the party and no influen… https://t.co/nzObtHLXf5— Fred Has Some Great News For You About NFTs (@Fred Has Some Great News For You About NFTs) 1614001074
@axios The GOP had the opportunity to take him out and they blew it. They were handed a golden opportunity with the… https://t.co/M53voo8gmx— Chris Hains (@Chris Hains) 1613999960
One person even posited that getting Republicans to acquit Trump was “the biggest successful undercover operation the Democrats have ever pulled off”.
If we're going to be honest about this, "Trump has a vice-grip on the Party" and acquittal was about preserving 202… https://t.co/rZivwL8dIF— BIG LIFEJACKET (@BIG LIFEJACKET) 1614041178
Reed Galen, co-founder of the Lincoln Project –a now under-fire group of anti-Trump Republicans – warned that while Trump’s claim to ownership over the modern GOP is genuine, it must be treated accordingly as America’s “most potent fascistic movement”.
Trump will hold the GOP in place for the foreseeable future. His claim to ownership is genuine. Does Corporate Amer… https://t.co/v0oYAIBAmQ— Reed Galen (@Reed Galen) 1613997222
We as citizens must see this battle as one that goes on every day, every week, every month, until these forces are… https://t.co/nPmLINLS1s— Reed Galen (@Reed Galen) 1613997223
But with Trump likely facing a number of criminal and civil lawsuits over the coming years, not to mention his 80s, many felt the threats amounted to little more than another Trump-style tantrum.
@donmoyn He’s not going to run and every one of these idiots that believe he’s ever going to give them money deserv… https://t.co/J7WGvp5kSt— Jackie S 🇺🇸🗽 (@Jackie S 🇺🇸🗽) 1614016085
I tell my kids, "It is good to have goals." https://t.co/0s1fbbVIOz— Philip Dalton (@Philip Dalton) 1614033840
From jail? https://t.co/1HlIEs0zd4— Kate Betts (@Kate Betts) 1614012167
He may be a bit preoccupied. https://t.co/DrpD4anJnX— Trish (@Trish) 1614007395
@axios His tax returns are getting turned over to prosecutors. Can he run from prison? Asking for 250 million friends— 🇺🇸serenity now (@🇺🇸serenity now) 1614005995
While it’s unclear whether Trump’s political fortune could change following his crushing defeat last year, it appears his actual politics remain largely similar.
"Payback is his chief obsession." Not any sort of political or policy viewpoint, or any sort of governing plan. https://t.co/KwmXkXIgGZ— Scott Detrow (@Scott Detrow) 1614005287