Last week, Donald Trump has shown his desire to rule like a strong man, not a president constrained by constitutional norms. Last Friday, Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, scouted the Democratic NATO allies and met with the leader of Germany’s extreme right AFD party. On Saturday, Trump declared on social media that “people who save their country do not violate the law.” This Tuesday, Trump denounced Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky for the brutal war launched by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. “You’d never have started it,” Trump misrepresented Zelenkey. In fact, Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The US president then doubled on Wednesday in a feud that called Zelensky a “dictator.”
Democrats are in the minority in both the House and Senate. That means federal courts and Congressional Republicans are the only guardrails for Trump’s second term. So far, the judicial system appears to be maintained. But the Trump-filled Supreme Court is destined to control all sorts of excesses in the coming months. (And that’s an unresolved question as to whether Trump actually defends a ruling against him.)
But Congressional Republicans have consistently folded. There’s a faint holddown in some of the backgrounds that sprint through the boundaries, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tarsi Gabbard, all of Trump’s cabinet picks. The confirmation, as expected, has shorted out many democratic observers, but the recent headlines for Rolling have even been by Republicans who have hampered checks and balance erosion in recent weeks.
“These are the heirs of a great generation, and they turned out to be the worst generation,” he said, serving as Chief Strategist in Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential election before leaving the GOP and anti-Trump Lincoln I joined. Project as a senior advisor. “It’s appealing to compare Republicans to Prussian aristocracy in Germany in the 1930s. However, Prussian aristocracy was more responsible. They were dealing with the threat of civil unrest and communist takeover. Republicans today have historically low unemployment rates, a record stock market. What are their excuses?”
There is one political survival. Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives know that Trump coordinates the operation of key challengers, supported by Elon Musk’s unlimited resources, if members go against him. However, this is not the overall narrative of Republican subordination to the president. Personally, Republicans talk about their fear that if Trump doesn’t run through his actions, he might incite his Magazine followers to commit political violence against them. .
“They’re scared of shit about death threats and things like the Gestapo,” a former member of Trump’s first administration told me.
According to one source with first-hand knowledge of the event, North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis said that while the FBI was considering voting against Pete Hegses’s appointment as a Defense Secretary, “a trustworthy death.” He told people he warned him about the threat. Tillis ultimately offered his 50th important vote to make sure the former Fox & Friends host leads the Pentagon. According to sources, Tillis said if people want to understand Trump, they should read suits in the 2006 book Snake: When Psychopaths go to work. (When asked to comment on the story, a Tillis spokesman said it was wrong for the senator to recommend the book in its capabilities. The FBI said there were no comments.)
From the moment Trump left the Golden Escalator in June 2015 and announced his first run to President, he injected threats into political rhetoric. On the campaign trail, he spoke about his desire to punch protesters in the face. During his first term, he praised Montana’s then-president Greg Gianforte for physically attacking Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in 2017. Trump said. (Gianforte later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor attack and received a six-month postponed prison sentence.) When protests broke out after Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd in 2020. Trump called the protesters “thugs,” and “it starts when the looting begins and the shooting begins,” the phrase was written in the 1960s by the Miami Police Chief, linked to robbing the city of racial tensions. It reflected the statements he was made (Trump claimed he was unaware of its origin). During the September 2020 debate against Joe Biden, Trump refused to condemn white supremacist violence, telling proud boys to “facing and stand up.”
On January 6th, it further catalyzed GOP’s fear of Trump-esque violence. Romney told his biographer McKay Coppins that an undercurrent of anxiety thwarted the Republican efforts to formally punish Trump for his role in instigating the riots. “A Republican lawmaker wanted Romney to vote for Trump’s second round each, but chose not to rule out his fear of family safety,” Coppins wrote in his book. “When the Senator, a leadership senator, said he was leaning towards voting for a conviction, others urged him to reconsider. You can’t do that, Romney Remembered someone said. Think about your personal safety, another said. Think about your child. Senators ultimately say they are right. I decided that.”
Liz Cheney, a former Wyoming representative and well-known anti-Trump Republican, told CNN that House GOP members are “fearing their safety, in some cases, in some cases, in their lives.” He said he had confessed to her. Colorado leader Jason Crowe told NBC News since January 6th: “I had a lot of conversations with my Republican colleague last night.”
Republican Peter Majer, who was then representative of Michigan, would harm Magazine supporters if he voted for Atlantic author Tim Alberta in 2021 to prove the results of the 2020 election. He said he appears to be nervously disrupting about his fear of being treated. If he’s okay, new coworker,” Alberta reported. “Members responded that he wasn’t. He was afraid of his family’s safety, and he was unable to vote to prove the outcome, regardless of his belief in the legitimacy of the election. “Remember, this wasn’t hypothetical. You were casting that vote after seeing with your own eyes what some of these people could do. “Mager says. “If they want to come after you in the Capitol, what would they do when you’re home with your kids?”
Trump’s massive pardon of participants on January 6 has recently shown these events in Republican minds.
“A man sends a mob to your workplace to kill you, and are you okay with that?” Stevens tells me, talking about his frustration with Congressional Republicans. Stevens says the generosity will send a message to Republicans that Trump will defend people who commit political violence in his name.
“We spoke with donors from the Lincoln Project,” says Stevens. “These are powerful and wealthy people. And I can say that their proportions are talking about leaving the country.”
“The Republicans are united,” a White House spokesman said.
Still, some say Republicans use the threat of violence as a cover-up. Bill Christol and Bill Christol are co-founders of Trump Outlet the Boulevard, who say Republicans can ignore the threat if they want. Christol was targeted for online harassment in early February after Elon Musk accidentally promoted her claim that Christol received money from USAID on X.
“I have never read any comments or notifications,” he says. “I’m a bit less sympathetic because the senators probably get a lot of protection if they need it.”
