Trump discussed taking his supporters and forming 'Patriot Party' to compete with GOP: report

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journalreported that outgoing President Donald Trump has talked with his advisers about the possibility of starting his own political party to compete with the GOP for right-wing voters.

"Mr. Trump discussed the matter with several aides and other people close to him last week, the people said. The president said he would want to call the new party the 'Patriot Party,' the people said," reported Andrew Restuccia. "Mr. Trump has feuded in recent days with several Republican leaders including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who on Tuesday said Mr. Trump deserved blame for provoking the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Polls show Mr. Trump retains strong support among rank-and-file GOP voters."

"It's unclear how serious Mr. Trump is about starting a new party, which would require a significant investment of time and resources," continued the report. "The president has a large base of supporters, some of whom were not deeply involved in Republican politics prior to Mr. Trump's 2016 campaign."

A political party that split the conservative vote would pose a serious threat to the Republican Party if it pulled any significant fraction of voters, depending on how many and where it runs candidates or whether Trump would be the sole candidate for this party.

The White House declined to comment on the report.