Trump is losing support among GOP senators
As Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska navigated the halls of Congress on Sunday, she dropped a bombshell in what would otherwise have been a perfunctory walk-and-talk media interview. “I wish that, as Republicans, we had a nominee I could get behind," Murkowski told CNN's Manu Raju. "I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.” Murkowski, who endorsed Trump rival Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, had already intimated that she "could not" vote for Trump, but she was much more direct with Raju about the implications of Trump winning the Republican nomination. She joins two other GOP senators, Mitt Romney of Utah and Todd Young of Indiana, in saying they will not support Trump. When Raju asked if she might become an independent, Murkowski deflected at first, saying, "Oh, I think I’m very independent minded.” But when Raju followed up to specify that he was talking about a party switch, Murkowski declined to dismiss the possibility out of hand. “I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times," she said. "Let’s just leave it at that.” GOP Sen. Murkowski: I wish that as Republicans we had a nominee I could get behind. I certainly can't get behind Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/HZT52yx4de— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) March 24, 2024 Democrats have for years wondered "what if" Murkowski were to become an independent senator and caucus with Democrats. Given their heavy lift to keep the Senate this cycle, a Murkowski flip could be the difference between majority and minority status for Democrats. Now the longtime Alaska senator seems to be in wait-and-see mode given that the center of gravity within the Senate Republican caucus might move in an even more MAGA direction once Mitch McConnell steps down as caucus leader later this year. But Murkowski also wasn't the only GOP senator balking at Trump's praise for the convicted Jan. 6 rioters, whom he calls "hostages" and pledges to pardon if elected. "I was the last Senate member out of the chamber on January the 6th," Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told Raju. "I saw Capitol police members bleeding, bruised, and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting. To call those people patriots is not in my lexicon.” Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota echoed Tillis. "Those individuals that have been found guilty, I do not consider them to be patriots," he said. Neither senator suggested they would break with Trump over his Jan. 6 betrayal, but their public defiance of him is still notable. During the Trump era, Americans have grown used to virtually all elected Republicans rolling over for Trump while privately telling reporters they despise him. But eight years into Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican Party, we may be starting to see a tipping point among a small slice of old-guard Republicans who actually value the Constitution and see little left for them to rally around in a party dominated by Trump. Former Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who officially left Congress last week, seems thrilled to finally be free of the MAGA-fied Republican House conference. On ABC News' "This Week" Sunday, Buck said he was "happy to move on" while slamming his Republican colleagues' priorities. “Since this Congress started, there have been efforts to impeach the secretary of State, the secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, and, in fact, [they] did impeach the secretary of Homeland Security,” Buck said. “We have a very tragic circumstance in Ukraine," Buck added, "We have spiraling debt, all kinds of out-of-control problems, and we focus on messaging bills that get us nowhere." In April, Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin will join Buck's premature exodus from the House, choosing to quit early rather than finish serving out his term. Gallagher's expected departure on April 19 will leave House Republicans with 217 members, giving them only a single vote to lose in order to obtain passage of any given vote. But lost in the details of GOP retirements, dwindling majorities, and faint rejection of Trump or at least part of his MAGA agenda is the bigger picture: The veneer of MAGA extremism's acceptability is wearing thin. It's an ugly movement—too ugly for the Murkowskis, Bucks, and Gallaghers of the world. Haley, Trump's former opponent, has yet to publicly decide whether to endorse him, and it appears she will be among growing company if she chooses to go her own way. There's power in numbers, even if those numbers are on the small side. Remember, Haley drew nearly 18% of Arizona's Republican primary voters on Super Tuesday, while Trump couldn’t break 80% in a state he lost to Joe Biden by 10,457 votes. The margins will matter in 2024, and they are getting thinner by the day for the presumptive GOP nominee. It was literally the ides of March—the 15th—when former Vice President Mike Pence announced he could not “in good conscience” endorse Trump
JoriPress
As Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska navigated the halls of Congress on Sunday, she dropped a bombshell in what would otherwise have been a perfunctory walk-and-talk media interview.
“I wish that, as Republicans, we had a nominee I could get behind," Murkowski told CNN's Manu Raju. "I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”
Murkowski, who endorsed Trump rival Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, had already intimated that she "could not" vote for Trump, but she was much more direct with Raju about the implications of Trump winning the Republican nomination. She joins two other GOP senators, Mitt Romney of Utah and Todd Young of Indiana, in saying they will not support Trump.
When Raju asked if she might become an independent, Murkowski deflected at first, saying, "Oh, I think I’m very independent minded.”
But when Raju followed up to specify that he was talking about a party switch, Murkowski declined to dismiss the possibility out of hand. “I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times," she said. "Let’s just leave it at that.”
Democrats have for years wondered "what if" Murkowski were to become an independent senator and caucus with Democrats. Given their heavy lift to keep the Senate this cycle, a Murkowski flip could be the difference between majority and minority status for Democrats. Now the longtime Alaska senator seems to be in wait-and-see mode given that the center of gravity within the Senate Republican caucus might move in an even more MAGA direction once Mitch McConnell steps down as caucus leader later this year.
But Murkowski also wasn't the only GOP senator balking at Trump's praise for the convicted Jan. 6 rioters, whom he calls "hostages" and pledges to pardon if elected.
"I was the last Senate member out of the chamber on January the 6th," Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told Raju. "I saw Capitol police members bleeding, bruised, and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting. To call those people patriots is not in my lexicon.”
Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota echoed Tillis. "Those individuals that have been found guilty, I do not consider them to be patriots," he said.
Neither senator suggested they would break with Trump over his Jan. 6 betrayal, but their public defiance of him is still notable.
During the Trump era, Americans have grown used to virtually all elected Republicans rolling over for Trump while privately telling reporters they despise him. But eight years into Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican Party, we may be starting to see a tipping point among a small slice of old-guard Republicans who actually value the Constitution and see little left for them to rally around in a party dominated by Trump.
Former Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who officially left Congress last week, seems thrilled to finally be free of the MAGA-fied Republican House conference. On ABC News' "This Week" Sunday, Buck said he was "happy to move on" while slamming his Republican colleagues' priorities.
“Since this Congress started, there have been efforts to impeach the secretary of State, the secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, and, in fact, [they] did impeach the secretary of Homeland Security,” Buck said.
“We have a very tragic circumstance in Ukraine," Buck added, "We have spiraling debt, all kinds of out-of-control problems, and we focus on messaging bills that get us nowhere."
In April, Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin will join Buck's premature exodus from the House, choosing to quit early rather than finish serving out his term. Gallagher's expected departure on April 19 will leave House Republicans with 217 members, giving them only a single vote to lose in order to obtain passage of any given vote.
But lost in the details of GOP retirements, dwindling majorities, and faint rejection of Trump or at least part of his MAGA agenda is the bigger picture: The veneer of MAGA extremism's acceptability is wearing thin. It's an ugly movement—too ugly for the Murkowskis, Bucks, and Gallaghers of the world.
Haley, Trump's former opponent, has yet to publicly decide whether to endorse him, and it appears she will be among growing company if she chooses to go her own way. There's power in numbers, even if those numbers are on the small side. Remember, Haley drew nearly 18% of Arizona's Republican primary voters on Super Tuesday, while Trump couldn’t break 80% in a state he lost to Joe Biden by 10,457 votes.
The margins will matter in 2024, and they are getting thinner by the day for the presumptive GOP nominee.
It was literally the ides of March—the 15th—when former Vice President Mike Pence announced he could not “in good conscience” endorse Trump this year. Pence's choice of date may prove more apt than many suspected at the time.
President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have been improving since his fiery State of the Union speech—as we predicted. At the same time, the Republican Party cannot stop the infighting, even as Donald Trump’s takeover seems to be complete. Markos and Kerry get into Biden’s improving fundamentals as the race to save America heats up.
