A ranking congressional Republican revealed privately that he regrets voting for President Donald Trump.
Salon's White House columnist Brian Karem described how GOP lawmakers have praised Trump publicly but they're "screaming into their pillows privately."
"'Make it stop,' said the voice on the other end of the phone in the tone of someone weary from emotional pain, or maybe under the influence of opioids. Could be both," Karem wrote, describing a conversation with an unnamed Republican lawmaker. "I’d asked him about President Trump’s Truth Social post that began by declaring 'A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.'"
"Those symptoms describe many who live in the United States, but then he said, 'The fact that I voted for this dumb--- makes it hurt more,'" Karem wrote. "The fact that the person on the other end of the phone is a ranking Republican member of Congress made that statement even more poignant."
As MAGA influencers such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones have a public rift with Trump, it shows just how divided the MAGA coalition has become, Karem argued.
"Some of Trump’s biggest propaganda megaphones have become detractors, and when that happens, pal, you’re probably screwed," Karem added. "That’s what the defection of his largest influencers portends. The more they scream that Trump’s lost it, the more he loses his ability to influence the public. It is also solid evidence Trump has lost a political step."