For the last four years, the majority of Republican lawmakers have stuck by Donald Trump’s side, through thick and thin, no matter how many norms he shredded, even when as he spread voter fraud lies. That changed dramatically on January 6. Since the failed MAGA coup, key GOP leaders — among them Mitch McConnell — have finally thrown him under the bus, as though they, too, had had enough. (But at least he still has the MyPillow guy.) But it looks like Trump has an ace up his sleeve: According to the Wall Street Journal, the outgoing president has been talking about starting his own political party.
Sources tell the publication that in his final full week in office, Trump was telling several aides about the new party, which he was thinking of calling the “Patriot Party.” (It’s worth nothing that many of those who stormed the Capitol loudly referred to themselves as “patriots.”)
As per WSJ, it’s “unclear how serious Mr. Trump is” about this new venture, adding that doing so “would require a significant investment of time and resources.” The piece also point out that third parties, such as the Green Party, usually fail to draw significant support in elections, often siphoning off voters from the two major parties.
In other words, it could be disastrous for Republicans if Trump could wrangle the resources to steal his die-hard base from the party. Of course, he’s also about to deal with potential financial and legal troubles, and that’s on top of the looming impeachment vote in the Senate that could bar him from running for president in 2024. Then again, there’s always Don Jr.
In any case, when the news broke, people on Twitter — where Trump is permanently banned — had jokes.
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1351709927937552386
Behold the future of the “Patriot Party”https://t.co/o7nXr3rE1A
— Holly Lee (@LeeHolly81) January 20, 2021
Although some doubted the name would stick.
https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1351711411739664386
And some pointed out that it might not have been Trump’s idea.
So a group of Parler crazies and Boogaloo boys started a Telegram group called “Patriot Party” that called for this… https://t.co/R6vViQYrqm
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) January 20, 2021
(Via WSJ)