If President Trump goes down to defeat on Tuesday, he's almost certainly bringing some Republican senators down with him, thanks to "his divisive style of politics, handling of the pandemic, and close alliance with the Senate GOP," Politico reports. "It's not just Trump who is on the ballot on Tuesday, but the present and future of the Republican Party," and "Republicans are praying one or more" their rising stars "can hold on to help lead the party, particularly if the GOP is trying to decipher a post-Trump world."
It's not clear there's a "post-Trump world" anytime soon. Top officials in both parties "are bracing for a world" in which Trump "and the brand of politics he unleashed remain a predominant force for the foreseeable future," especially in the Republican Party he has effectively taken over, The Daily Beast reports. "Trumpism as a movement has redefined the political landscape in ways that few operatives believe is reversible," and even if he loses, "Trump has privately signaled that he has no desire to leave the stage quietly in defeat." The Daily Beast elaborates:
The president has talked with aides about potentially continuing rallies after the election, a source familiar with the planning said. He has recently joked with others about running again in 2024 in the event he is a one-termer, and also to see media, Democrats, and "RINO" heads explode, according to two people who've heard him say so. Even absent another presidential run, his top congressional and political allies and family members seem poised to inherit the movement that he has birthed. [The Daily Beast]
"Whether in three days or in three years, the Republican Party will have to grapple with the basic question: Does the GOP exist without Trump? Not his message, not his policies, but Trump himself," former Trump Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur, who left the GOP after leaving the DOJ, told The Daily Beast on Monday. "It's like asking if the John Wick franchise works without Keanu Reeves."
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