'What are we doing here?' Veteran GOP operative urges party to have a plan B in case Trump convicted
A veteran Republican political operative on Friday suggested that his party needs a Plan B as presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s legal troubles grow.
Scott Jennings, during an appearance on CNN’s “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” acknowledged that it’s not clear that even a convicted Trump would shake the former president’s support from his rabid base, but he indicated such blind allegiance would likely sink his party’s hopes of capturing the White House.
Jennings was responding to a question from Tapper over what Republicans would do if Trump is convicted. The former president is under a federal indictment on allegations he mishandled classified documents, and a separate New York State indictment in connection with alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
Trump is also being investigated by the Department of Justice and in Georgia in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Before posing the question to Jennings, Tapper played a video clip in which Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel sidesteps the same question from an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace.
“That's a hypothetical,” McDaniel said. “We're not even close to that.”
Tapper asked Jennings if he believes, “Republicans need to start considering what they will do in that possible scenario.”
“Absolutely,” Jennings replied. “I mean, in the pantheon of attributes you could have in a nominee for a major political party, being a felon, convicted felon, is not what I would recommend. And so if this were to somehow go to trial in May and be concluded by the time that convention rolled around, I suspect somebody would go to the convention and say, What are we doing here?"
“Now whether that will make a difference? I don't know. But I'll tell you who it would make a difference for are independent swing voters who are not strong Republicans but have voted Republican but have shied away from the Republican Party in the last few cycles. This ain't bringing them home. And if you want to beat Joe Biden next year, an incumbent president, even if he is in a weakened position, this would make it exceedingly difficult.”
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