‘There are a lot of people who are upset. But the legal standard for inciting rebellion is going to be pretty hard to prove because his words matter. And his words were reckless, and his words certainly had an impact on how fired people were. But his words were also carefully chosen, “said Senator Kevin Cramer (RN.D.). If you want to take him at his word, his words were ‘peaceful and patriotic’. I think it’s pretty hard to prove. ”
Now, as McConnell’s conference prepares to enter minority status and facing another grueling indictment, senators are largely left without leadership guidance on how to relinquish Trump. The conference, which is now so divided over the outgoing president, is given space to breathe, according to three senators who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“He’s just letting the conference cool down after the certification,” said one McConnell GOP senator. With so much uncertainty about when the trial will begin and the handing over of power to the Democrats, “all we would do, to conduct the circular discussions, is what if I do.”
Another senator said there was also little contact between members as everyone had processed over the past two weeks, including the possibility that 17 GOP senators would join the Democrats in condemning the president of indictment and preventing him from ever. would hold a public office. again.
And after McConnell helped lead the defense, coordinated with the White House and declared that there is a “chance” of convicting Trump just a year ago during the president’s trial, the majority leader has an open mind about whether he must convict the president of ‘incitement’, of insurrection “, say co-workers. Apart from a Dear colleague letter he wrote on Wednesday, there was little general instruction from the current majority leader to his members.
This is an incredible development for McConnell, who is going from a Gung-Ho acquittal last January to considering whether he will convict the president after he leaves office. Trump’s approval ratings also went unnoticed in the wake of the deadly attack on the Capitol, with a survey by the Pew Research Center Friday showing just an approval rating of 29 percent. Such a number could make it easier for some in the IDP to turn on Trump before the mid-term 2022 term.
“The way he acts between now and Wednesday will affect what Republican senators do,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Of Trump. Republicans “probably have a strategic decision to make about the future of their party. But I learned to be disappointed by my Republican colleagues. ”
Very few Republicans of the Senate have publicly made any statements about accusations and many interviews have been rejected this week. Many will say the trial is unconstitutional or impractical once Trump leaves office.
‘I’m skeptical because it’s irrelevant in so many ways. “It’s distracting, it’s divisive and I just can not imagine an incoming government wanting to keep Donald Trump on the front page as they try to fill their first 100 days with significant successes,” Cramer said.
It is noteworthy, however, how few Republicans defend Trump on the merits. And House Democrats leading the trial can create goodwill among Republicans on the fence by keeping Trump’s second trial concise, easy to follow, and getting bare legs, one Republican senator’s assistant said.
Republicans are divided into as many diverse factions as you can imagine. There is Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who found that the House acted “appropriately” to charge the president. And Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Declared Trump guilty of an incorruptible offense, but did not want to convict him. Mitt Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is the only Republican in the Senate who last voted to convict Trump.
Meanwhile, some Republicans argue that it is unconstitutional to hold a trial after Trump leaves office, which is now the most likely consequence of the court’s indictment. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) Said the Democrats went down the “deep point” to charge the president a second time.
‘If the president had said something faster to tell people not to do it, after they were [rioting], not to do it? Sure, ”Scott said Thursday in the program of Hugh Hewitt. ‘But did he tell people to enter the Capitol? Absolutely not. “
Scott was one of the Republicans who disputed the election results, and some emphasized their vote amid accusations that they had added Trump’s fuel. Hawley defended his role in an operation in his homeland, while Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) conducted several interviews about the violence that took place at the Capitol, saying it was never his goal.
Then there is Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), Who initially joined the election challenge effort and gave a speech on the results of Arizona when the Senate closed in the lock. He reversed the course after the attack on the Capitol, withdrew his objections and even wrote down an open one in which he apologized for apparently questioning black voters in American cities.
“My intention to give a voice to Oklahomans who had questions was also never an intention to diminish the voice of any black American,” Lankford said. “I should have realized how many of you could interpret what I said and what I did … I regret my blindness to perception, and I regret it.”
With so many different views on what happened, Republicans said it would be of little use to eradicate things by telephone before an important week. In a rare move for McConnell’s calculation, the two weeks between the attack on the Capitol and the election of Pres. Joe Biden has become a period of reflection – not of internal party strategy.
“There are enough hard feelings in the general public,” the Republican senator said. “If anyone is at the conference, they do not speak.”
Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.