Next stop for Donald Trump?
Those who followed last Tuesday’s fourth hearing held by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol were treated to a stunning play-by-play of Donald Trump‘s criminal behavior in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The Committee impeached Trump’s character in every way.
Most devastating to Trump were the recordings of various telephone calls he, often accompanied by others such as Rudolph Giuliani, made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Arizona Speaker of the House Russell Bowers, pleading with them to entertain false claims of voter fraud, replace electors for Joe Biden with fake electors for Donald Trump, or “find votes” for Trump, all with the intent of overturning Biden’s election victories over Trump in those states. On such calls, Trump also made threats to these officials, such as threats of prosecution, for failing to follow through on Trump’s wishes.
While Raffensperger, Bowers and other state officials stood up to Trump, these calls by Trump were a big mistake, as he failed to insulate himself from criminal liability the way a Mafia don usually does, by letting others do his dirty work. As a result, Donald Trump faces a criminal investigation in Georgia, and members of the January 6 Committee say they have enough evidence to refer a criminal indictment against Trump to the U.S. Department of Justice. At minimum, Trump’s calls to Raffensperger and Bowers were as bad as his July 2019 phone call to Ukraine‘s President Vlodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump demanded that Zelensky investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter to help Trump in his 2020 election efforts, in return for the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine so it could defend itself against Russia. That call to Zelensky led to Trump’s first impeachment.
While Trump’s hard-core MAGA supporters will no doubt stand by him, it’s possible that the rest of the voters will not. Anecdotes like these, for example, are popping up on Twitter:
My mother voted for Donald Trump twice. She’s finally jumping ship. The January 6th hearings are working. #Jan6Hearings
— Mayo 🤍 (@MayoIsSpicyy) June 21, 2022
Earlier, a former supporter of mine, a MAGA guy, reached out. He was bothered by the hearings and wanted my take. We talked. He listened. By the end, he said he just can’t support Trump again.
Look, I know most Trumpers can’t be moved, but it’s always worth trying. U never know.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) June 17, 2022
JUST IN: Moderate House Republican Rep. Don Bacon tells CNN’s @mkraju that after watching the January 6th committee hearings he “will not be supporting” former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary if he announces he is running.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) June 22, 2022
Moreover, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released last week, nearly six in 10 Americans believe Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the January 6 insurrection. Perhaps, therefore, “Trump 2024” will be replaced by “Trump 20 to 24.”
Photo by Tony Webster, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/6Dlgu1
