Trump’s own staff are taking advantage of his opportunities in 2024

As the committee hearings progressed on Jan. 6, one thing became painfully clear: many of Donald Trump’s aides believe he should never be within 10 miles of the White House again.

Indeed, what is remarkable about the Jan. 6 committee is that while the hearings are controlled by Democrats, the majority of commentary came from a Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney, with the most scathing testimonies coming from people who worked for Trump himself. “For the Republicans following these hearings, the call is coming from the House,” writes FiveThirtyEight’s Kaleigh Rogers.

The latest (and biggest) call from the House came from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former special assistant to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who began her internship at the Trump White House. But other witnesses ranged from former Trump officials to respected conservative Republicans.

The list includes veteran GOP campaign attorney Ben Ginsberg, former White House Counsel Eric Herschmann, former Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt, conservative former federal judge J. Michael Luttig, Republican officials such as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the Georgian election official Gabriel Sterling. and Trump 2020 campaign chief Bill Stepien (he had to cancel his appearance, but the committee played some of his recorded statements). Also played were recorded testimonies from Ivanka Trump and former Attorney General Bill Barr.

And on Thursday, the committee subpoenaed Trump’s White House counsel, Pat Cipollone.

Of course, the list of staffers and advisers who have turned against Trump has been growing for years, ranging from loyalists (like Michael Cohen, Omarosa, and former press secretary Stephanie Grisham) to figures from the mainstream establishment who have been brought in to help the Operation more professional (like Barr, General James Mattis and former National Security Adviser John Bolton) and many collaborators in between (like Olivia Troye, Miles Taylor and Alyssa Farrah).

I don’t think there’s ever been a past President who has nurtured so little loyalty in his inner circle (yes, I’m counting Richard Nixon). But whatever presidents. how many people have she worked with those who think you’re unfit and unstable?

I suspect that number doesn’t even come close to Trump’s.

The good news for those of us who can’t fathom Trump for another four years is that so far – thanks to the way they’ve been run – this seems to be starting to leave a dent.

Those quixotic few who still hope for a dramatic “Don’t you have a sense of decency?” Moment are destined to be disappointed. What we’ve seen instead, with a year-long accumulation of evidence, is an almost icy move away from Donald Trump (much like Homer Simpson disappearing into a bush). Rather than chiding him, lost Republican base voters will likely continue to profess their love for him, even if they switch to someone else (like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis).

The betting markets now favor DeSantis. A recent Granite State poll shows Trump narrowly losing to DeSantis among New Hampshire Republicans. And according to CNBC, “Support from some of the Republican Party’s biggest donors for a 2024 White House led by former President Donald Trump is waning, especially after a hearing Tuesday revealed damaging new details of his January 6, 2021 actions revealed by the House Special Committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol.”

Meanwhile, some observers believe in the end Roe v. calf will help make Trump obsolete. It seems plausible that this development will contribute to the erosion of Trump’s support, allowing some Republican voters to say, “Great job!” as they hand him his gold watch and usher him into retirement.

However, it is still early. Trump has been written off prematurely too many times for me to make that mistake again. However, should this trend continue, much credit will be given to the January 6 Committee. Likewise, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats deserve credit for letting Cheney and Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger do most of the talking.

Many of us were disappointed when Pelosi declined to make Justin Amash House impeachment secretary. This time the public is watching as real Republicans ask real Republicans who worked for Trump to describe how unpredictable and criminal his presidency was. That seems to have made a difference.

The public understands why a staggering number of Republicans who have signed up to Make America Great have decided the best way to do it is to put America first and make sure that in 2024 it isn’t the GOP candidate is.

Putting aside their individual need to run the show and take the limelight, Democrats on the January 6 committee embody a quote Ronald Reagan used to keep on his desk: “There is no limit to the amount of good , which you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”