Conservative media appears to be dropping former President Donald Trump, and Republicans seem more open to shoving him in a closet, according to a new analysis/
Writing for the Washington Post, Aaron Blake noted that the small minority of MAGA world will never abandon their leader, but that doesn't mean they want him around. A 2021 Insider report documented Rupert Murdoch's frustration with Trump, as he told shareholders Trump "is not helping further conservatism in public debate."
“It is crucial that conservatives play an active, forceful role in that debate, but that will not happen if President Trump stays focused on the past,” Murdoch said, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. “The past is the past, and the country is now in a contest to define the future.”
This week, after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified, the conservative Washington Examiner said it was the "death knell" for Trump's future. The editorial argued he is "unfit" to be "near power ever again."
IN OTHER NEWS: Trump declares Hutchinson ‘totally discredited’ as former aide says someone in his orbit tried to influence her testimony
The National Review similarly expressed their frustrations, with former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy writing, "Things will not be the same after this." As critics point out, however, the NR has never exactly been that supportive of Trump.
Blake wrote for the Post that it's difficult to predict Republicans' behavior, since they still stood with Trump after he was filmed bragging about sexually assaulting women.
Recent polls have shown that Americans are turning against former President Donald Trump in a big way when it comes to the Jan. 6 attempt to overthrow congress and change the 2020 election.
According to the ABC News/Ipsos survey, which was taken prior to Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony, 58 percent of Americans think Trump should be indicted. Another poll taken around the fifth public hearing (June 25-27) showed that number drop by 10 percent with a 4 percent margin of error. Next week, there will likely be results from new surveys that reflect what the public saw from Hutchinson.
READ MORE: Conservative publication faces furious MAGA backlash after it declares Trump 'unfit for power'
The numbers of those who support accountability and who oppose Trump are coming from Democrats and Independents, however, not from Republicans.
Blake referenced the recent YouGov poll which "showed relatively few Republicans are even paying attention to the Jan. 6 hearings, and significantly fewer trust the information they’re getting." But even Republican support of Trump isn't absolute. While support for Trump might be high, there are still 26 percent of Republicans who say they had heard and believed the reports that former Attorney General William Barr told Trump voter fraud accusations were “bullsh*.”
Only 13 percent said they heard and believed that Republican officials asked for pardons from the White House. About 4 in 10 Republicans claimed they heard both stories but either doubted it was true or weren't sure if it was true. Meanwhile, only 28 percent say that Trump bears "some blame" for Jan. 6. That comes prior to Hutchinson, however.
In another question in the same poll, however, Blake notes it asks about “Republicans who claimed the election had been stolen.” A whopping 40 percent of GOP supporters agree the party bears "some blame."
It draws curious conclusions.
"Trump was Exhibit A of 'Republicans who claimed the election had been stolen,' and his conduct went far beyond just making claims. Yet fewer Republicans say he bears blame than other Republicans who merely echoed his message? You could make a strong case that Republicans know that kind of rhetoric caused Jan. 6; they just don’t like the idea of pinning the blame on Trump personally, because he’s their party’s guy."