Enduring Republican support for former President Donald Trump, even after the Capitol insurrection and his second impeachment trial, has left some conservatives wondering if the party still has a place for them.
“The GOP [Republican Party] is in a really dark place right now,” said Olivia Troye, a former aide to then-Vice President Mike Pence, who added that she and others like her now feel politically “homeless.”
Troye, who resigned in protest over the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, is now director of the newly established Republican Accountability Project, a political action committee working to unseat Trump allies and elect “principled conservatives.”
“I’m not saying we’re going to rehabilitate the Republican Party overnight; we are far from that,” she said. “We’re looking at several years of looking at what direction the party wants to go.”
The party is experiencing a major rift, with Trump slamming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just days after the top Republican voted to acquit him.
FILE – In this image from video, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 13, 2021.
On Tuesday, Trump called McConnell a “dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack,” urging Senate Republicans to find a new leader and threatening to back challengers against incumbent Republicans in the next election.
Although McConnell had voted “not guilty” in Trump’s impeachment trial last week, he later excoriated the former president on the Senate floor, saying there was no question that Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events” on January 6, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers certified Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Meanwhile, the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection are now facing severe criticism from within the party. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have been censured by the Republican Party apparatuses in their states. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Susan Collins of Maine are also facing the threat of censure.
The infighting comes as polls show that Trump remains a force among Republicans. A Quinnipiac poll released Monday showed that 75 percent of Republicans said they would like to see the former president play a prominent role in the party.
Republican Party rift
On Sunday, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, a conservative outlet owned by Trump ally Rupert Murdoch, warned that Trump would divide the party.
“The country is moving past the Trump Presidency, and the GOP will remain in the wilderness until it does too,” wrote the board.
FILE – Jason Miller, a senior adviser to then-President-elect Donald Trump, speaks to reporters at Trump Tower, Nov. 16, 2016, in New York.
Former Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller dismissed signs of an intraparty rift. “I see there being a division between where the grassroots activists are around the country and many of the leaders in Washington,” he said.
For those who believe Trumpism is too entrenched, there is discussion of a third party. Evan McMullin, a Republican who ran as an independent presidential candidate in 2016, has been leading the talks with former lawmakers and officials from the party.
A new party established by anti-Trump Republicans could be a game-changer, said David Barker, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.
“It may start to command 15-20% of the overall vote in some places,” Barker said, and the remainder of Trump’s Republican Party will “start getting absolutely crushed.”
Capitol riot commission
Despite Trump’s acquittal, his culpability will likely remain in focus as the House of Representatives moves to establish an independent commission to investigate the Capitol siege — similar to the commission that studied the 9/11 attacks for 15 months and issued a sweeping report that led to changes in the nation’s laws and operational framework in dealing with terrorism.
Some Republican lawmakers have signaled their support. For Democrats, the commission may help to hold Trump accountable and reveal information that could reduce his political clout as the country heads toward the 2022 midterm elections.
FILE – Thomas Kean, left, and Lee Hamilton, former co-chairmen of the 9/11 Commission, testify before a U.S. Senate committee on the report on circumstances surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
Thomas Kean, a Republican and former chair of the 9/11 commission who released a bipartisan call to establish the commission to investigate the Capitol siege, said the goal should not be to hold the former president accountable.
“This is not a commission to get President Trump,” said Kean. “It’s a commission of fact-finders to prevent the event from happening again.” If Congress drafts the resolution in a bipartisan manner and appoints men and women with integrity who would put the country first, Kean said, then no one can make the argument that this is a vendetta against Trump.
Criminal investigations
Media attention brought on by multiple criminal investigations, civil state inquiries and defamation lawsuits from two women who accused him of sexual assault may also determine how much Trump will continue to influence Republican Party politics.
Currently, Trump remains popular within his party. According to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Tuesday, more than half of Republicans would support Trump in a Republican primary if he were to run for president again.
“Trump is the present and the future of the Republican Party,” said Miller, the former Trump adviser. “It doesn’t matter if the establishment politicians come after him, whether they be Republican or Democrat. The president’s not going to back down.”
On Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson and the NAACP civil rights organization sued Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani and far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over their roles in the January 6 attack.
Trump is also dealing with two new investigations in Georgia over calls he made to officials in which he appeared to pressure them to overturn the state’s election results. He is facing a criminal investigation in New York on potential tax and insurance fraud.
It’s hard to say whether any of this will impact Trump’s political future, said Barker of American University, underscoring that Republicans have stuck with Trump despite multiple investigations and electoral losses.
“I’ll go ahead and say that he will probably survive and have influence, unless the criminal probes get him and he goes to prison,” Barker said. “It will be hard to have a lot of influence from behind bars.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
