On Thursday, The New York Times reported that even as there is finally some movement at the national level for Republicans to distance themselves from outgoing President Donald Trump, there is little such movement at the state and local level — and that in fact, some Republican officials are signaling they will put loyalty to Trump over loyalty to the Republican Party.
"They've got Mitch McConnell up there selling out the Republican Party," said Amanda Chase, a prospective GOP candidate for Virginia governor who spoke the "Save America" rally that devolved into a riot at the Capitol. "The insurrection is actually the deep state with the politicians working against the people to overthrow our government."
Some other Republicans are reportedly furious at the impeachment vote Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the chair of the House Republican Conference, with Florida GOP state representative Anthony Sabatini saying, "She's like a fossil. The party is completely and totally realigned. Mitt Romney wouldn't win in a primary today. He would not be able to be elected dogcatcher today."
"For many grass-roots officials, the episode at the Capitol was not the inflection point that some Republicans in Washington assumed it would be," reported Lisa Lerer and Reid Epstein. "'No, Trump does not have any blame, but the Democrats certainly do, along with all the Republicans that follow with them,' said Billy Long, the Republican Party chairman in Bayfield County, Wis., who said he was planning to break away from the G.O.P. to start a local Trump-centric third party. 'The Trump movement is not over; like Trump said himself, we are just getting started.'"
By contrast, ten Republicans joined with Democrats to impeach the president for incitement of insurrection on Wednesday, and it appears that multiple Republicans in the Senate are undecided whether they will vote to acquit him.
