Why Republicans are loyal to Donald Trump
Although some Republicans are beginning to show their annoyance, most of them remain silent, even encouraging the President not to admit defeat. By remaining loyal, they hope to continue to profit from Donald Trump's electoral base.
How long will they last? Most Republicans continue to rally behind Donald Trump to challenge the results of the US presidential election. Certainly, a few signs point to the end of this dispute, as the major voters are due to meet and vote on December 14.
First cracks
In recent days, more and more Republican senators, like Lindsey Graham and Charles E. Grassley, are calling for access to Intelligence briefings for President-elect Joe Biden. The latter is currently deprived of it because the Trump administration is blocking the implementation of the transitional measures.
Other prominent figures in the Republican Party, such as strategist Karl Rove and former National Security adviser John Bolton, have taken up pens to call on the incumbent President to admit defeat.
In Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine felt it was time to call Joe Biden the "President-elect." And two moderate Republican governors, Larry Hogan in Maryland and Charlie Baker in Massachusetts, criticized Donald Trump's behavior.
A group of local state and federal election officials also released a statement Thursday validating the Nov. 3 poll as "the safest election in American history."
Upcoming ballots in the balance
However, the vast majority of conservatives remain silent or call for "legal votes" to be counted, using Donald Trump's language insinuating, without proof, that there are "illegal" votes. Only four of 53 Republican senators praised Joe Biden.
The main motive that prompts them to play the billionaire's game is electoral. Many will run for their own re-election in two years, and they'll have to go to primaries soon. Republican senators have another, even more urgent, problem: their majority in the Upper House is threatened. A second round must indeed take place for two senatorial races in Georgia in early January.
Donald Trump's grip
But if Donald Trump was considered the loser of the presidential election, Republicans fear that voters will be less motivated to go to the polls. Worse, if the elected Republican began to contradict a conspiratorial Donald Trump, the latter, who is still seeking revenge on those who dare to challenge him, could harm them by calling on his base to ignore them.
This unbounded loyalty illustrates how the billionaire, who received more than 70 million votes, remains the leader of his camp. Even Republican Party boss Ronna McDaniel continues to support him publicly as she speaks differently in private. A candidate for a new term herself, she needs the support of Donald Trump.
Views of 2024
No potential Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election - the names of Josh Hawley or Nikki Haley are floating around - has dared to come out of the woods. They know that, to get started, they will need the support of Donald Trump. But if the latter begins to realize that he lost this time - his entourage at the White House has been preparing him for the idea for several days - he does not rule out the idea of running again in four years. Or at least to submit the idea publicly.
The story he is constructing about an election stolen by the Democratic camp then takes on its full meaning. It's about keeping awake a base that could once again open the doors of the White House to him ... or provide him with an audience for an entirely different project, like that of a new conservative channel, competing with Fox News.
