Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell have a Donald Trump problem (Opinion)

On Sep 28, 2021

Although he lost his bid for re-election, ceding the White House to a kinder, gentler President Joe Biden, Trump has turned his defeat into a victory in his determined effort to shape the Republican party in his image. Despite a complete absence of evidence, a recent CNN poll found that a majority of Republicans say that supporting Trump and his Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him are important aspects of being a member of the party.

Candidates can go to extremes as they demonstrate their loyalty. In Virginia, Jarome Bell, a Trump favorite running for Congress, recently called for audits of elections in “All 50 states” followed by trials, convictions, and executions of all involved.

All signs point to a Republican Party trapped in Trump’s game. This contest requires that the former president have enemies to fight — and they can’t be abject patsies. They must be strong enough to impress the fans, like the high-level politicos who might think they are in charge.

Like a TV wrestler, Trump’s favorite moves include a bit where he tries to throw his opponents in the House and Senate out of the ring. He calls them RINOs — Republicans In Name Only — as if he has redefined what it means to belong to the GOP. He also makes it clear that he wants them to be cast out. Their sin? Defying his effort to detach the party from its traditional conservative ideas and make it over in his own image.

With a growing list of favorite candidates across the country and a super PAC flush with cash he can give them, Trump is favoring those who would follow him anywhere. They, in turn, want the support of his avid base — a force that could dominate primary elections.

Others, call them the think-for-your-selfers, challenge Trump at their own peril. It doesn’t matter how loyal they may have been in the past, or how much effort they expended on Trump’s behalf. One real break from the Trump line, which he presents as the party line, and you become his enemy.

Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is going after the most senior GOP officeholder, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The former president has been asking Republican senators to push McConnell out of his leadership position.

Trump has called McConnell “very bad for the Republican Party,” but, according to the Journal, GOP senators were unmoved. Perhaps this is because for years McConnell has steadfastly supported his colleagues with campaign cash. Last year alone, a group allied with McConnell put more than $460 million into Senate races. This far exceeded the amount Trump has on hand today.

In addition to his own financial resources, McConnell has a depth of political experience — and success — that allows him to distance himself from Trump without much worry. He has stuck with his early assessment that Trump was responsible for his followers’ January 6 riot at the Capitol and said he was pleased by the impeachment that followed because it could make it easier to…