The Republican Party is rife with internal conflict in the wake of the Trump administration, after a years-long erosion of political norms and the ramping up of a now dangerously polarized electorate. What's next for the GOP?
Moderate Republicans who believe the party is headed for disaster have disavowed GOP leaders' failure to acknowledge Biden's electoral win or rebuke those who fanned the flames that lead to the storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Some are even leaving, saying the GOP has become a "Trump cult" that no longer looks like the party that once represented their principles. Biden was able to capture the votes of a substantial number of suburban white women who deflected from the GOP in 2020.
Many far-right, Trump-supporting voters and elected officials support his claims that the election was "stolen" and efforts to overturn the results, as well as tolerate representatives like QAnon sympathizer and Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Ten members of the House GOP, including its third-ranking Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, voted to impeach Trump for provoking the Jan. 6 insurrection. She was subsequently censured by her state's Republican Party in Wyoming.
Some Republican lawmakers, including now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have turned up the heat on Greene and voiced support for Rep. Cheney. Others have called for a general return to civility in politics.
How has GOP changed over the past four years? What are Republicans' main points of division and are they reconcilable? Have recent events furthered the divide?
How much of a liability is Trumpism for the party? Did Trump transform the GOP into a "cult of personality"?
Could political realignment caused by Trump affect election outcomes beyond 2020? How can the GOP regain these voters' trust? What if Trump runs again in 2024?
What's next in the battle for the soul of the Republican Party?
Guests:
- Gladden Pappin, Ph.D., assistant professor of politics at the University of Dallas and co-founder of "American Affairs"
- Olivia Troye, director of the Republican Accountability Project
- Jay Caruso, managing editor of the Washington Examiner magazine
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*This interview was recorded on Tuesday, February 9.