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Par Orr| Guest Columnist

Audio: McCarthy said he would urge Trump to resign

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to audio posted by The New York Times. (April 22)

AP

As the Republican Party gleefully awaits the election day slaughter of their rival in November, they had better recall that history is only kind to winners who get things done! It wasnt that many years ago that Republicans captured both houses in the first mid-term election against liberal President Bill Clinton. Yet, Clinton won a second term as president two years later. It can be said that once in control, the Republican majority underperformed against their promises.

The battle lines and talking points to defeat the Republican agenda are already being used. In anticipation of Kevin McCarthys ascendency to the speakership, pundits, liberal media, and Democrats have used his Jan.6 discussions with then-President Trump to cast him as a hypocrite. Well, there is a shock! A national political leader holds one view in private and another in public.

This tells me that the Democrats are using the same playbook they did before the 2016 election. Discredit future leaders of the opposite party to obscure any policy conversations that voters may find attractive. It almost worked with the Russian dossier fraud against Trump, so why give up a good plan.

Wheres Trump?A campaign fixture in some states, his name is nearly absent in California

Let us jump forward to the winter of 2023. President candidates are lining up from both parties. There is more excitement on the Democratic side if only because there is a national guessing game about how party leaders get Joe Biden to step aside and Kamala Harris to disappear.

The real key is what to do with a wounded and dangerous ex-president who still commands loyalty among a sizable portion of voters?

For many of us who loved Trump's policies but disliked the Trump persona, we are hoping for a miracle of self-realization on Mr. Trumps part. Trump is currently involved in at least seventeen legal actions, four of which are criminal proceedings and one a pending national security issue. His businesses have taken a significant hit, as have those of his family members. Many of the currently pending suits are frivolous and political, trying to assign responsibility for Jan.6 to Trump. Still, a few others could have serious financial and criminal penalties. But Trump is a known-lawsuit abuser who has used the courts hundreds of times to attack others over the years, so litigation holds no fear for him yet.

Donald Trump launches his own social media app, Truth Social

Former President Donald Trump launches his own social media app, Truth Social, in attempt to "stand up" to Big Tech.

Staff Video, USA TODAY

For most of us, this turmoil would cause us to pause and reflect on whether we want to return to being the lead story of every newscast for the next several years by running again. Unfortunately, we know Trumps proclivity for the spotlight, so there is little hope he will voluntarily back off.

I believe Trump could have been reelected if he had just managed to be presidential in one of the debates with Biden. If he had followed his advisersand gotten candidate Biden to give longer, detailed answers to tough questions, the real Joe we now see might have emerged. But bombast won out over strategy. That is the character flaw that scares even the staunchest Trump supporters.

Until the new Congress is sworn in and seated in January of 2023, you will continue to see Republicans tip-toeing around the issue of full support for a 2024 Trump campaign. The scorecard of how Trump-endorsed candidates fare in 2022 will be reviewed, discussed, and indicate if any Republicans can jump the Trump ship without fear.

One critical race for Georgia governor has the incumbent, Kemp, polling far ahead of former Senator Purdue's challenger. Trump has endorsed and campaigned for Purdue and castigated Kemp for not overturning the Georgia Presidential vote in 2018. This month several primaries will be held, and the story of how effective a Trump endorsement is will be entirely laid out for examination.

Trump and his team have been clever in backing only candidates who have excellent name recognition or traction in early polls. If a candidate falters, they yank their endorsement.

The Trump Team has enough political sense to know they cannot back a trove of losers without suffering a hit to Trumps always a winner self-image. This may also be key to getting him to stand down in 2024. Does he want to suffer a primary challenge facing young, more facile challengers? Does being the former president makes him immune to any significant primary challenge if he runs? Is his thrice-married billionaire flirty persona still the right fit for the current hot button family-oriented social issues facing candidates?

If a well-known Republican jumps the gun and announces a run for president early in 2023 without waiting for dispensation from Team Trump, will all political hell be loosed? Does Floridas Gov. DeSantis have the courage to jump in while he still has momentum from the positive conservative press received from the parent-friendly laws he has rammed through?

A host of Republican Trump friends and adversaries are waiting in the wings for the opportunity to get into the 2024 race. The fact that another name Republican could enter the race without his permission would set off a round of Trump attacks that the press would love. It would also steal his spotlight, which would drive him crazy. The best plan is an early offensive forcing Trump to decide rather than keep voters in suspense.

That kind of Trump reaction could also seal his fate with the growing number of moderates and disaffected independents thatBidens leadership is providing in increasing numbers. Voters the GOP will need desperately.

According to April 25, 2022 polling averages reported by FiveThirtyEight.com, Donald Trump has an unfavorable rating of 52.5% and a favorable rating of 42.9%. According to all the polls, this is despite voters wanting Republicans back in charge of Congress.

I am not a polling expert, but Trumps support has lessened since he lost the last close election. It is time for the Grand Old Party to do a reality check on how their future could play out if no bold steps are taken to change direction.

Contact Pat Orr atavreviewopinion@gmail.com.

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Should the GOP dump Trump? It may be only way to take back White House - VVdailypress.com