GOP is 'paralyzed' out of fear of Trump's modern day 'lost cause movement': Republican strategist

On CNN Monday, former Ted Cruz communications director Amanda Carpenter suggested Republicans are "paralyzed" by the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump — whatever their personal feelings.

"It's so interesting because you have the sense that if this was a secret vote, I mean, it's pretty clear how a lot of these Republican senators would vote," said anchor Anderson Cooper. "For so many of them, I mean, this is a chance for the Republican Party to rid itself, to distance itself, from the former president and try to kind of, you know, reinvent itself if it wants to. It seems like that would be a pretty strong motivation if in fact there were enough Republicans in the party who really did want to return to where the Republican Party once was."

"Yeah, and I think what we have to acknowledge now is that the Republican Party doesn't want to move on from Trump," said Carpenter. "There has been this, you know, idea that I hoped would be true, that once Trump was proven to be a political loser, we could have that reset. But now, Republicans have lost the House, the Senate, the Presidency, Donald Trump — they're not scared of the tweets. He's off Twitter. And yet, they're still clinging to him because what happened through that time is that the base became radicalized."

"They were all in on 'Stop the Steal' and the people that would turn out in the primary elections are waving the Trump flag, even in loss," said Carpenter. "A lost cause with their Confederate flags and American flags. And so, the Republican senators know that. They're immobile, they're paralyzed."

Watch below: