Donald Trump Reportedly Gives Up On Creating Patriot Party
Former President Donald Trump is no longer interested in forming a third party that would challenge the GOP from the right, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Citing individuals familiar with the former president’s thinking, Haberman reported Sunday via Twitter that he has been “talked out of” the idea.
Trump has made it “clear” to aides and advisers that he won’t follow through on the threat, per Haberman’s sources briefed on the matter.
Trump reportedly wanted to start a third party, called the Patriot Party, to put pressure on Senate Republicans and force them to acquit him in the upcoming impeachment trial.
However, he has realized that most Republicans probably won’t vote to convict him anyway. In addition, aides explained to Trump that he would not be able to primary lawmakers who wronged him if he started the Patriot Party, according to the reporter.
“Trump has started to believe there are fewer votes to convict than there would have been if the vote had been held almost immediately after Jan. 6, the people familiar with his thinking said. There’s also the fact that threatening a third party while simultaneously threatening primaries makes no sense, which some folks gently pointed out to him.”
Speculation that Trump is looking to create the Patriot Party began earlier this month.
On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that he is seriously considering the idea and instructing advisers to prepare challenges to conservative lawmakers that refused to fully endorse his voter fraud conspiracy theories.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska allegedly made the blacklist.
Individuals close to Trump told the publication that he has more than $70 million in campaign cash to finance his Patriot Party efforts and go after disloyal Republicans.
Trump’s insistence on taking revenge against prominent conservatives has divided Republican politicians.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has condemned the commander-in-chief and those who supported his election challenges, but some freshmen members of the U.S. Congress have continued to defend the former president.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, known for being a follower of the QAnon conspiracy theory, recently issued an ominous warning to GOP leadership.
“The vast majority of Republican voters, volunteers, and donors are no longer loyal to the GOP, Republican Party, and candidates just because they have an R by their name. Their loyalty now lies with Donald J Trump,” she said.
Trump has stayed out of the spotlight since his successor Joe Biden’s inauguration. He made his first public remarks since leaving the White House on Friday, telling a reporter with The Washington Examiner that his team is working on “something.”
