'Brainwashing': Nevada Republican shocked at Trump's 'mind-boggling' power over party

Mainstream Republican insiders across the country are expressing dismay and anger over the hold Donald Trump has over their party despite the chaos he has created and the series of embarrassing losses the GOP has endured during his rise to the top.

In a deep dive into the stranglehold Trump has on the party as they head into a pivotal November election, longtime Republicans are stunned at the extent the former president has solidified his support despite his myriad legal problems.

With Politico's report stating, "Trump’s political steamroll is only gaining momentum," Scott Reed, a veteran Republican strategist, claimed the dysfunction of GOP lawmakers in Congress combined with turmoil in the Republican National Committee is "terrible.”

“Ronna getting kicked out, the Senate meltdown — how you had the seventh senator come out and say there needs to be leadership change – the whole Mayorkas thing and Nikki Haley being the cherry on top, losing 2-to-1 to ‘none of the above,’” he said. “It’s devastating. It’s the Trump mystique. It’s his grip on everything.”

Former Nevada Republican Party chair Amy Tarkanian, once a fixture on cable TV defending Trump, also expressed dismay and likened it to "brainwashing."

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Pointing to the humiliation of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson's failure to get two bills passed earlier in the week despite Trump's backing, Tarkanian told Politico, "He’s got a stronghold. It’s not just on the Republican base, but also in the House. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s completely mind-boggling to me, the type of brainwashing that has been done.”

Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, claimed Republicans are deceiving themselves about Trump's strategies. — including urging House Republicans to tank a border bill.

“For all the stories the MAGAs have loved to write about his chess-playing ability, he can’t play checkers. That’s what this immigration [bill] really shows,” Timmer explained. “The Republicans have really overplayed their hand with this and given Biden and his stakeholder world an opportunity to really turn the tables on him.”

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