BFF-06 Trump flexes political muscle, meets top House Republican

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Trump flexes political muscle, meets top House Republican

WASHINGTON, Jan 29, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Donald Trump met with US House
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in Florida Thursday amid a tug of war over the
Republican Party’s future, with congressional leadership appearing eager to
present a united front with the former president.

Winning back the House of Representatives from Democrats in 2022 was the
primary topic of the meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach,
according to a readout provided by Save America, a political action committee
linked to Trump.

“President Trump’s popularity has never been stronger than it is today, and
his endorsement means more than perhaps any endorsement at any time,” it
said.

McCarthy, an ally who encouraged Trump’s baseless election fraud claims,
distanced himself from the outgoing president after Trump was accused of
inspiring his supporters to storm the US Capitol earlier this month.

He declared that Joe Biden was the winner of the November election and that
Trump “bears responsibility for (the January 6) attack on Congress by mob
rioters.”

But on Thursday McCarthy appeared back in Trump’s graces, as the men
grinned broadly in a handout photograph taken in an ornate room reminiscent
of a European palace.

“Today, President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House
and Senate in 2022,” McCarthy said in a statement that also attacked
Democrats for “impeaching a president who is now a private citizen.”

“A united conservative movement will strengthen the bonds of our citizens
and uphold the freedoms our country was founded on,” McCarthy added.

House Democrat Katherine Clark expressed shock that McCarthy was re-
aligning with Trump after the “seditious” Capitol assault.

Despite “active threats of violence,” she said, “Kevin McCarthy’s response
is a photo op with the treasonous instigator.”

With Trump impeached for an unprecedented second time, and the Senate
girding for his trial, it was unclear how much political clout Trump would
retain beyond his presidency.

But recently several Republicans, following polling showing strong party
support for Trump, have signaled they will remain in the brash billionaire’s
orbit — or at least not publicly break with him.

Pro-Trump Republicans will hold huge sway in the coming years.

They are a large enough contingent to influence the Republican primaries.
But should Trump be cast out and they abandon ship, the party would be
severely weakened in its attempts to challenge Democrats for congressional
control.

“You have the Trump wing of the party, wanting to purge those who have
stood up to the president’s lies, (and) you have the establishment wing of
the party wanting to purge the party of Trump,” Republican former congressman
Carlos Curbelo told MSNBC.

“Right now, it’s clear that the Trump wing is dominant.”

BSS/AFP/GMR/0917 hrs