GOP lawmakers are bailing because 'they don't want to work in Donald Trump's Republican Party': Morning Joe

Reacting to the decision by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) to not run for re-election in 2022 -- becoming the fifth Republican senator to call it quits before the next election -- MSNBC host Joe Scarborough claimed Donald Trump is the reason for all the departures.

During an extended rant on Tuesday, the "Morning Joe" co-host said the Republican Party is still under the control of the ex-president despite the fact that he has led them to ruin.

Adding into the discussion that Trump on Monday night told his followers to deny contributions to the Republican Party and "Send your donation to Save America PAC at DonaldJTrump.com," Scarborough explained what is happening to the GOP.

"They have defined conservatism by whether you support the biggest spending Republican in the history of the party," the MSNBC co-host began. "We saw [Sen.] Ben Sasse (R-NE) -- he talked about this personality cult, he said it is not conservative. Yet Donald Trump is taking us one step further to that personality cult."

'When I hear [Sen.] Lindsey Graham (R-SC) talking about he's capable of 'magic,' what magic, Lindsey? The magic that caused Republicans to lose House elections in 2018 by a historic margin? Is it magic? Is it magic for Donald Trump to get in the way and actually cede the two seats in Georgia and the control of the United States Senate to Democrats? Is that magic?"

Speaking with author Anne Applebaum, he added, " Anne, all of your works have described how strongmen get in power and how they start peeling off the more talented, the more gifted, the more independent players all around them. We're now starting to see the establishment of the Republican Party peeling away one by one by one. They just don't want to work in Donald Trump's Republican Party anymore. -- and it is now Donald Trump's Republican Party."

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