GOP loyalty to Trump cracks as his former allies lament he 'screwed the country'

Some longtime allies of President Donald Trump are working to distance themselves after the president incited riots at the Capitol building.

Politico reports that Wednesday's riots were the last straw for many stalwart Trump defenders, who predicted that the president would not remain a popular figure within the GOP after his departure from office.

"He screwed his supporters, he screwed the country and now he's screwed himself," a former Trump 2016 campaign official tells the publication.

Former White House assistant press secretary Austin Cantrell, meanwhile, writes on Twitter that the president's actions are completely indefensible.

"Past and present White House staffers are embarrassed by Trump's inability to conceive that he lost the election," he writes. "We staffers signed up to advance conservative principles, but inciting and enabling insurrection at the US Capitol? Who can defend that?"

And conservative Scott Jennings, a frequent critic of the president, tells Politico that there can be no excusing what Trump did this week.

"Donald Trump caused this insurrection with lies and conspiracy theories about the election being rigged against him," he says. "The election was not stolen but this madness was fomented by the president and his top advisers."