Veteran newsman knocks Republican Party for simply hoping Trump would go away

Mark Leibovich mocked the Republican Party for, as he sees it, sticking its head in the sand as it waits for the Donald Trump storm to pass.

The veteran reporter cajoled conservatives for rallying around Trump, the lead Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race, despite a "slow-rolling potato" of four criminal trials threatening to knock him down.

"It's denial," Leibovich told MSNBC host Katy Tur. "It's pretending the problem is going to magically go away."

Leibovich's quirky quip came in response to Tur's question about a game of courtroom hot potato, which he argued Republicans were trying to ignore.

"It's just keep your head down and hope no one notices," Leibovich said. "Hope ultimately we don't have to deal with this in any direct way again."

But the political analyst argued a new ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals — which struck down the presidential immunity defense in his federal election interference case — showed Trump's attempt to use U.S. courtrooms as a campaign platform might not work out as he hoped.

"[Trump] is really losing every single one of these and a lot of these conservative judges down the ladder," Leibovich said.

Tur noted recent polls show a good amount of Republicans are unwilling to vote for Trump if he is convicted of a crime.

Leibovich said this was further proof of the conservative party's blinders.

"It's not a perfect way to run a campaign," he said. "But that seems to be where the Republican imagination and noise machine is at this point."

Watch the video below or here.

Veteran newsman knocks Republican Party for simply hoping Trump would go awayyoutu.be