Long-time conservatives in Congress who weren’t exactly behind the idea of having Donald Trump as their party leader have struggled between disbelief at his actions and trying to appease him for political gain. Mitch McConnell, for instance, saw his entire party flip from having political ideals to being led by a dictatorial ex-president who lost the popular vote twice. It’s more than likely that McConnell went through a few cases of antacids throughout Trump’s presidency.
Kevin McCarthy, aka @GOPLeader at one point fancied himself the new generation conservative for reaching out to Silicon Valley, etc. Now, we see he is a man with no moral core. Sad to see, honestly. Not the man I thought I knew. Sleep prolly doesn’t come easily to him. https://t.co/3BXLtJCoKL
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) February 18, 2022
Another GOP leader has visibly struggled, as well, but has been unwilling to truly call the twice-impeached ex-president out for fear of losing his base and being retaliated against when, he hopes, Republicans take back over the House of Representatives and McCarthy wants the Speaker of the House job. The day of the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol, McCarthy blamed Trump, saying he was responsible for everything that happened. Within days, he completely walked his whole fiery speech on the floor way, way back.
The divide in the GOP between Trump loyalists and those who aren’t exactly onboard the Trump Train has become more obvious in recent weeks. In a rare move, McCarthy has endorsed a primary challenger of one of his colleagues, Liz Cheney. The challenger is a Trump favorite and Cheney is a least favorite thanks to her work on the January 6th Select Committee.
According to the Associated Press:
‘McCarthy’s backing of Harriet Hageman for the at-large seat in Wyoming is certain to please Trump, who wants to rid the party of Cheney and others critical of his tenure. Cheney is the vice chair of the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.’
Twitter had a lot to say about McCarthy’s endorsement and the obvious fracture among the GOP. Read some of their comments below:
