Get ready for a lot of "sure you were right about Trump but did you have to be so mean about it?"
"You were running around with your hair on fire for so long I tuned you out until it got really bad and started affecting me. That's on you."
"A lot of people who were a lot worse than me. I mostly stayed quiet, and didn't join the attacks on the NeverTrumpers. That counts for something, right?"
"Look we've got to forgive and forget and come back together as a party. I know we screwed up with Trump, but we paid a big price for it at the polls. Isn't that enough? What more do you want from us?"
"We all know Trump was corrupt, so why belabor the point by investigating the crimes of his administration? All you're going to do is create more division."
"Anyway, he got clobbered at the polls and we didn't have a civil war. So it really wasn't a big deal. The system worked!"
"You have to admit that a lot of Trump's policies were pretty popular! Unfortunately he was a lazy asshole who tweeted too much. So we really don't need to change anything at all."
"Come on, you didn't really think my praise for Trump was sincere did you? Look, you do what you have to do to advance the causes you believe in. Get off your high horse."
"You needed to do a better job of purging wackos from the resistance to be quite honest, so don't lecture me about QAnon."
"If Biden really does govern from the center, then the person you ought to be thanking is Trump. By putting our democracy on the line he kept the Democrats from taking a chance with Bernie. Did you ever think of that?"
“He only got really bad at the end.”
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Rubio’s statement on Trump’s acquittal following “the criminal attack of January 6th”: “let history, and if necessary the courts, judge the events of the past.”
. rubio.senate.gov/rubio-statemen…
GOP Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who also voted to acquit Trump:
"The ultimate accountability is through our criminal justice system... No president is above the law or immune from criminal prosecution, and that includes former President Trump. tillis.senate.gov/2021/2/tillis-…
Rich Lowry: “Washington power centers” and the US military will prevent Trump from becoming a dictator
"I’m not saying [the Trump-as-Dictator] scenario is impossible, just that it requires every Republican in the legislative branch to accept a role akin to obedient eunuchs." 🤔
National Review: President Trump ought to be able to staff 100% of the executive branch with political loyalists… also, we can depend on military oaths to save the US Constitution.
A couple of thoughts on this from the WSJ editorial board.
1. Institutions are just people. When you say "institutions are strong enough" you're saying that people will stop Trump. Who, exactly? GOP senators wouldn't convict after a literal coup attempt! wsj.com/articles/gop-d…
2. When you're trying to persuade open-minded conservative voters to avoid nominating Trump, you undermine your case when you say Trump can be contained. You're telling them "don't worry, it's not that risky, and if you don't stop him, someone else will."
3. So who are the generals who would refuse mobilization orders under a dubious invocation of the Insurrection Act in 2026? What if Trump replaces the flag officer corps in 2025 and replaces them exclusively with MAGA loyalists?