The Toxic Waste of Trump Pollutes the GOP
Last night at a major GOP donor conference, Trump was in fine form (for him), unleashing attacks on everyone who have not continued to give him full-throated support. He attacked, by name, everyone who supported the Constitution by certifying the election for Biden. He attacked all of his nemeses including Nancy Pelosi, “Barack Hussein Obama”, Anthony Fauci, and Brian Kemp of Georgia, the governor who refused to buckle to Trump’s demands that he throw his career out the window by illegally throwing the election to him. But he saved his juiciest insults for Mitch McConnell calling him a “dumb son of a bitch” and a “stone cold loser.” He also repeated all the same lies he’s told countless times, even attacking Mark Zuckerberg directly claiming that he spent $500 million on a “lockbox” that delivered every vote for “Saintly Joe Biden.” He did praise a few, like Jim Jordan and the January 6 protestors, while lamely trying to distance himself from those who sacked the Capitol (even though he incited them to do so).
As he rails against all of his enemies, the GOP continues to struggle for its own identity and direction. Even this weekend when donors gathered at the nearby Four Seasons, Trump was holding a competing “investor” conference at Mar a Lago for his big donors. And to get face to face with him, the donors attending the Four Seasons conference had to trek to Trump’s property and pay his club for the privilege. This weekend was symbolic of the turmoil that is tearing the GOP apart. Even as his former staffers, including Mark Meadows and career grave robber, Stephen Miller form their own PACs and political operations. While they all want the enthusiasm for Trump among the faithful, they don’t want Trump himself. He’s insulted and pissed off all of the establishment Republicans, and has frozen dozens of 2022 and 2024 campaigns, especially for the GOP nomination for president next time around.
As Trump continues his multi-hundred million dollar grift, he’s unforgiving of what he perceives as disloyalty, and future candidates are lined up at the gates of Mar a Lago seeking the blessing of His Orangeness. Not doing so will draw his wrath and most certainly a primary opponent. He is desperately clinging to his control of the GOP, even as many maneuver to wrest that control from his iron grip. In his wake he leaves nothing but toxic waste and destruction.