Donald Trump's political future is in jeopardy after the Capitol attack, advisers say
The violent attacks on the US Congress by supporters of President Donald Trump and his longstanding refusal to accept the 2020 election results have jeopardized the president's political future and tarnished the prospects of top lieutenants and members of his family, current and previous government officials said.
The Republican president has hung up on the possibility of running for president in 2024, and politicians expect him to exert influence over the Republican Party for years to come.
But his behavior on Wednesday - prompting supporters to march on the Capitol to encourage lawmakers to overturn Democratic Joe Biden's victory in the November 3 election, and then failing to quickly get them to quit after the violence - has left the people who work and use work for him and , they say, changing the equation for its post-presidential relevance.
"It was a dereliction of duty as commander-in-chief and I think he will be badly hurt from his political career going forward," said a former White House official who worked for Trump on Thursday. “He has blood on his hands from yesterday. A woman died. "
Trump supporters break into the Capitol, bypass police, and scour the building, forcing lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence to flee. One woman died after being shot by police; three other people died of medical emergencies.
"There is no recovery from what happened. That's sedition. I don't see how there is a future, ”said another former administration official, referring to Trump and his top aides. "I think a cabinet member who has stood by and doesn't speak now or even quietly resigned has a permanent stain."
The former administration official chose Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Trump aide who may have presidential ambitions, because he did not do more to condemn what happened. Pompeo issued a tweet in which he called the violence "unacceptable." The State Department declined to comment further.
US Transport Secretary Elaine Chao announced on Thursday that he would step down, as did Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, citing the impact of Trump's rhetoric in spurring the Capitol brawl. Other lower-level administration officials have also announced their resignation, with roughly two weeks to go before the end of the Trump administration.
The president approached the concessions in a video statement late Thursday in which he pledged to work toward a smooth transfer of power to the new government and called the violence in the Capitol a "heinous attack."
But that statement was late, and it came after intervention from her daughter Ivanka, according to a current White House official, who noted that the political blow from the week's events would extend to family members, such as Lara's daughter-in-law. Trump, a potential candidate for the US Senate in North Carolina.
Former officials who spoke to Reuters for this news have been very supportive of the president, even after leaving office early in a four-year term.
Trump has raised huge sums of money in the period since the election, capitalizing on the dissatisfaction he feels by falsely claiming the election was rigged against him through widespread voter fraud.
But another former White House official said the president's ability to bring in cash would also be hampered now, with the exception of smaller donations from supporters still passionate about his political base.
"I thought anything above the insanely low dollar would be a problem," said the former official. "Anything over the $ 100 giver will come out."
Many Republican-elected officials have opposed Trump over the violence, a pause that could diminish his influence over the political future of other Republicans as well as himself. Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime defender of the president, declared on Wednesday evening that "enough is enough" and said Biden had been legally elected.
"I don't think he will be elected to another," the former third White House official said of Trump. "As time goes by, he will continue to be a very strong voice and he will have a huge following, but ... I think this reduces the chances of him running for anything."
