GOP operative: Trump voters will turn on congressional Republicans if they publicly concede election


Republican lawmakers are publicly supporting President Trump's election legal efforts as part of a "transactional" move, The Washington Examiner reports.
In private, writes the Examiner, many Republicans concede President-elect Joe Biden won the election and are skeptical that the Trump campaign's claims of widespread voter fraud will amount to anything. But there's reportedly also a sense that if they don't stand by the president now, more vulnerable lawmakers could face repercussions down the line at the voting booth. GOP operative and former Trump adviser Brian Lanza told the Examiner that if congressional Republicans "inject themselves before the conversation ends," Trump's base "is going to turn its" back on them.
"So long as the campaign is pursuing legal remedies, the voters will expect our politicians to hang in there," a Republican strategist told the Examiner. "Trump's never-back-down approach is about 90 percent of his appeal for Republican voters."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The first test will be coming up shortly, when Georgia's Republican senators, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, will try to stave off their Democratic challengers in separate January runoffs. That's where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) focus lies, The Washington Post's Robert Costa reports, but in order to achieve it, he reportedly needs to stick by Trump for the time being. Read more at The Washington Examiner. Tim O'Donnell
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
An ancient Israeli cave teaches new archaeological lessons
The Explainer The cave is believed to be one of the world's oldest burial sites
-
Music reviews: Tyler Childers and Madonna
Feature "Snipe Hunter" and "Veronica Electronica"
-
Art review: Noah Davis
Feature Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, through Aug. 31
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months