Republican leader meets with Trump 2 weeks after pinning Capitol riot on ex-president
"Kevin McCarthy walks into Trump trap and dooms GOP"
Trump's expected status as a GOP kingmaker post-presidency had seemed like an impossibility after his supporters stormed the Capitol building in a deadly riot.
By Jill Colvin, Associated Press Updated 2 hours ago
VIDEO - 02:58 House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy was meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring of a man who remains the undisputed leader of the Republican Party, despite having left office in disgrace.
MAR-A-LAGO, Fla. -- Just two weeks ago, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy declared Donald Trump culpable in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. By Thursday, he was seeking his political support.
A private meeting between the two men at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort signaled a remarkable turnaround in the former president's stature among elected Republicans. In the immediate aftermath of the insurrection Trump inspired, the idea that he would enjoy any sort of kingmaker role in his post-presidency seemed highly unlikely.
But following an initial wave of condemnation, Republicans appear to be warming toward Trump, fully aware that his supporters are poised to punish anyone who displays disloyalty. With that in mind, party leaders are working to keep Trump in the fold as they focus on retaking the House and Senate in 2022.
"United and ready to win in '22," McCarthy tweeted after their meeting. Both he and Trump issued statements outlining their pledge to work together to help Republicans win back control of the House and Senate in 2022.
The realignment with Trump comes as those who have crossed him continue to feel the burn. Trump ally Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, spent the day in Wyoming trying to take down Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, who voted for Trump's impeachment. Amid the backlash, Senate Republicans largely made clear this week that they have no intention of convicting Trump.
VIDEO - ABC News special report as House managers lead procession of a single impeachment article to the Senate.
While Trump tries to exert influence, he's undeniably diminished.
Before he incited his supporters to storm the Capitol, Trump was expected to spend his post-presidency gleefully settling scores with Republicans rivals, launching a Twitter-fueled takedown of his successor and mulling over running again for a second term. Now, he is largely isolated and silenced by social media platforms as President Joe Biden attempts to dismantle his agenda executive order by executive order.
He has not been seen in public since he disappeared behind the well-manicured hedges at Mar-a-Lago last Wednesday, a half-hour before his presidency ended. He has spent his days consulting with aides and defense lawyers as he prepares for his historic second impeachment trial.
Things are very different now. Last time, Trump had an army of defenders that included a team of Washington lawyers, a presidential communications shop, a taxpayer-funded White House counsel's office and the steadfast backing of top Republicans, including the Republican National Committee.
This time, Trump is still scrambling to pull together a legal team, with the trial less than two weeks out.
"I think he's at a significant disadvantage," said criminal defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, who was part of Trump's legal team in 2020 but is among the long list of lawyers sitting this one out.
Yet even the impeachment trial, once seen as an opportunity for Senate Republicans to purge Trump from the party by barring him from ever running for office again, is now being used as a rallying cry to reunite the party against Democrats. Instead of debating whether he is guilty of "willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States," Republicans have instead attacked the process, arguing that it is unconstitutional to try a president who has already left the White House.
INSERT:
"At a time when our country needs to come together, Democrats in Congress are rehashing the same strategy that they employed for the last four years: politically motivated overreach that will only divide us further," Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement that came after heated internal divisions over whether the group should publicly criticize Trump for inciting the riot.
[Yes, our GOP president attacked our American democracy in every which way he could. He personally attacked our press, our people, our judiciary. His people conspired with foreign governments to disrupt our election process. He encouraged physical aggression on his behalf for years. On Jan 6 he incited an illegal march on our Capital Building which had our congress people fearing for their lives. Which resulted in the death of 5 people.
Precedent has been set the GOP cry. Unity! Sure we are attacking our own now too. Forget that, we're taking about you. Enough. Unity! Get over it. Unity! Accountability? Wtf???]
In an interview, McDaniel declined to criticize the five Republicans senators who voted this week to move forward with the trial. But she said "it's more important to look at the 45 that said this is ridiculous."
Aside from the trial, Trump has gradually begun to return to the public conversation, firing off press releases from the political committee he created before leaving the White House.
"He's decompressing. He's got a legal team he's trying to organize, and he just needs to keep doing what he's doing," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close congressional ally who has been helping Trump stand up a legal team after numerous firms punted.
"I think there's an adjustment," said Matt Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union and another Trump ally.
Jason Miller, an adviser to Trump, insisted that it was "too early" to discuss the president's impeachment strategy and the post-presidential political operation that is expected to include former White House political director Brian Jack and Trump's former campaign manager Bill Stepien.
"We've had discussions about where we want to get active with regard to the 2022 midterms and how we help Republicans win back the Senate and the House," Miller said, but Trump has yet to decide whether he will get involved in primary races to challenge Republicans who voted to impeach him.
After those members faced intense backlash from Trump supporters, Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for an attempt to dismiss his second impeachment trial.
"I think that's pretty clear that Republican voters are adamantly opposed to impeachment and Republicans who vote for impeachment do so at their own peril," Miller said.
Despite the Capitol riot, polls show Trump remains deeply popular among Republican voters - many of whom now consider themselves more closely aligned with him than the party.
"It's not Trump so much they're trying to hug. It's Trump's base they're trying to hug," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. "I think Trump's departure left a huge vacuum. He was the one thing that united Republicans more than anything. I mean, the Republican Party became the Trump Party for four years. And without him leading it, there's an obvious power vacuum, and I think you're seeing that play out now in Congress."
--- [Re Oregon GOP's letter: "It's a bizarre strategy," KGW's political analyst Len Bergstein said. "I have no idea what is on their minds. This is one of those classic, 'What are they thinking?' There's general talk about the Republicans appealing in ever-larger numbers to an ever-smaller constituency. This seems to be part of that strategy that says, 'We need to hone ourselves down to the most ideological supporters, and that's going to be our strength,' as opposed to either dealing in truth or to a wider audience. It's absolutely nuts to talk about the assault on the Capitol as being a false flag operation. It's bizarre. It's out of bounds. It's not realistic thinking." https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=161357736] ---
The question is whether Trump's influence will endure. The internal divisions his team is fomenting could ultimately undermine the party's quest to retake Congress. And it's unclear whether he can transfer his personal popularity to other candidates when he's not on the ballot. Republicans lost control of the House in 2018 and gave up the Senate this month despite a last-minute appeal from Trump.
Graham, who declared just this month that he's done with Trump - "All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough." - has since stressed the importance of keeping the party together.
"I want to make sure that the Republican Party can grow and come back, and we're going to need Trump and Trump needs us," he told reporters.
As for Republicans who vote to convict Trump, "I guess it depends on what state you're in and what phase in your career you are," he quipped.
---
Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Steve Peoples in New York contributed to this report.
Fact check: What's true about the Capitol riot, from antifa to BLM to Chuck Norris
"Kevin McCarthy walks into Trump trap and dooms GOP"
McKenzie Sadeghi USA TODAY
Video - Fox cancels Dobbs
In the wake of pro-Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, false claims surrounding the event have emerged on social media. The USA TODAY Fact Check team is dedicated to verifying claims and fighting misinformation. Here's a roundup of recent fact-checks related to the Capitol riot:
A viral image claiming to show a caravan of Trump supporters heading to Washington on Jan. 6 is false. The photo is of a a pro-Trump truck rally from October in San Francisco. Published Jan. 6.
Images claiming to show pro-Trump protests in Washington, D.C., are actually photos from 2018 March for Our Lives rally and 2017 Women's March. Published Jan. 6.
Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris was not at the riot at the U.S. Capitol. His manager confirmed to USA TODAY that the man seen in a photo who resembles Norris, is not actually him. Published Jan. 13.
A video claiming to show President Donald Trump and members of his family celebrating amid the Capitol riot is false. The video was recorded before Trump's speech. Published Jan. 12.
Screenshots claiming to show that U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that Capitol rioters stole her shoes are false. Ocasio Cortez's office confirmed to USA TODAY that no shoes were stolen during the attack. Published Jan. 15.
An image claiming to show Rep. Lauren Boebert with rioters before a tour of the Capitol on Jan. 5 is false. The photo is from a rally at the Colorado Capitol in December 2019. Published Jan. 16.
Claims that NPR posted a story about rioters in the U.S. Capitol hours before the attack took place are missing context. The story was a live feed, first posted at 9:33 a.m., and updated throughout the day. Published Jan. 9.
An image of a purported character from "The Simpsons" dressed in fur, a horned hat, painted face and tattoos has been altered to falsely claim that the show predicted the Capitol riot ahead of time. Published Jan. 12.
Claims that members of antifa were identified among rioters at the U.S. Capitol by a facial recognition company are false. The facial recognition technology firm publicly refuted the claims. Published Jan. 7.
The shirtless, face-painted man who was pictured in social media images of the Jan. 6 Capitol building breach is not affiliated with anti-fascist-or anti-racism movements. Published Jan. 7.
It's false to claim President-elect Joe Biden condemned violence on Jan. 6 but didn't condemn violent protests by Black Lives Matter or antifa last summer. Published Jan. 7.
Images comparing law enforcement's handling of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests to the Capitol riot are missing context. An image used in the claim shows the National Guard at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after it was vandalized, not at the U.S. Capitol. Published Jan. 8.
A meme that compares an image of a Trump supporter being walked down the Capitol steps to a photo of BLM protester Martin Gugino, which it describes as an "old man bystander who had his head kicked in by police," is partly false. Gugino was pushed backward by police and fell. Published Jan. 13.
Claims that Democratic leaders applied a double standard to Black Lives Matter protests and supporters of Trump who breached the Capitol are missing context. Published Jan. 15.
The claim that Black Lives Matter protesters in Louisville protected a cop during protests and a U.S. Capitol Police officer died after he was struck with a fire extinguisher is true. Published Jan. 19.
Vice President Mike Pence was not arrested on Jan. 6. He was removed from the Senate chamber to a secure location and was on Twitter in the interim. Published Jan. 7.
The "WH Office of Pardon Attorney" is not assisting Trump in preparing pardons for the rioters involved with violence at the U.S. Capitol. The Department of Justice confirmed that the post is fake. Published Jan. 13.
A viral video claiming to show a man screaming about being placed on the no-fly list due to the riot at the Capitol is false. The man was asked to leave the flight for violating a mask requirement. Published Jan. 12.
A man at the Capitol riot did not die from a heart attack after accidentally tasing himself in the testicles. Reports state that the man had high blood pressure and died after he fell to the sidewalk outside the Capitol. published Jan. 13.
A laptop was stolen from the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi during the Capitol riot, however, the laptop was only used for presentations and it was not taken by Special Forces. Published Jan. 13.
Posts claiming that Capitol workers threw away an American flag as they prepared for the transition of power are missing context. The image shows Capitol employees cleaning up after the building was damaged and littered by a mob, not as preparation for Biden's inauguration. Published Feb. 3.
Images equating the U.S. Capitol riot to 2018 demonstrations against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court are missing context. The photos are authentic but leave out key differences between the demonstrations. Published Feb. 3
A viral image depicting Democrats storming the U.S. Capitol to protest Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation is false. The photo shows protesters at the Wisconsin State Capitol in 2011. Published Feb. 3.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
