Trump is 'suffocating' the Republican Party after losing: ex-GOP lawmaker

On Saturday's edition of MSNBC's "AM Joy," former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) warned that President Donald Trump is "suffocating" the GOP in the wake of his defeat in the 2020 election — beginning with the twin Senate runoff races in Georgia.

"For these two Georgia candidates ... usually you want the guy who won the state to come to town on your behalf. Donald Trump was the first Republican to lose Georgia in about 30 years," said Jolly. "So the question is why would you bring to town the Republican who became the first Republican in 30 years to lose the state of Georgia?"

"I think this will be an interesting test for today and going forward: can the Republican Party survive Donald Trump the man?" said Jolly. "It will survive Trumpism. It's stronger than ever. Republicans performed stronger than ever, just as Democrats have. Trumpism has not hurt the Republican Party by performance. Trump the man is suffocating the party. And I think that's going to be a little bit of a myopic, or a little bit of a small example of what we see in Georgia. Can the Republican Party survive Donald Trump the man? It's fine with Trumpism, but can it survive the man?"

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