R&I – FS
President Trump has lost more support from the Republican Establishment over the past two days than he has cumulatively over the past four years. The dissent that once trickled out in blind quotes and quiet hand-wringing now pours forth in a torrent. Cabinet members Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao have resigned, Steve Mnuchin and Mike Pompeo reportedly discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, and even as docile a figure as Kevin McCarthy reportedly had a “screaming match” with the president over his refusal to condemn the insurrection. Reliable members of the Republican coalition, ranging from the National Association of Manufacturers to Southern Baptist Convention president Russell Moore have called for his resignation, and Rupert Murdoch–owned publications like the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal have turned on Trump, with the latter also calling for his resignation. The legion of conservative pundits who devoted themselves to anti-anti-Trumpism, like Matthew Continetti and Kyle Smith, to cite just a couple, are no longer couching their disapproval in the conceit that Joe Biden is somehow worse.
This is a big, important change. The conservative movement, just over the span of a few days, has reversed its posture toward a Republican president. This reversal has enormous implications, from reducing (though not, of course, eliminating) the chance that Trump will capture the party’s 2024 nomination to altering the 45th president’s place in American historical memory.
3rd_Party_Yesterday