Trump allies are amazed at how much his reputation has recovered since the Capitol riot
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
It's barely been a month since hundreds of former President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol. He hasn't even undergone his impeachment trial for his role in sparking the uprising. And yet Trump is already planning a redemption tour of sorts — and his allies are surprised at how well it's going, Politico reports.
In the days after the riot, Trump lost a lot of the things he held dear throughout his presidency: his Twitter account and the widespread support of congressional Republicans, for two. But just weeks later, the House GOP tried to take down its highest-ranking member who voted to impeach Trump, and state Republican parties have started censuring anyone who dared criticize him. As one former Trump campaign official put it to Politico, "He's Teflon, right. It's been a month since the Capitol riot and I would say, for the most part, the GOP has coalesced back behind him."
Next up on Trump's redemption plan is exacting revenge on Republicans who tried to banish him as his power waned. Impeachment may actually help Trump with this, the former campaign official told Politico, because it's "going to help expose more bad apples that he can primary if any senators vote to convict." It's not clear how Trump will do this, as he still can't tweet, and has already lost one high-profile platform with the cancellation of Lou Dobbs' Fox Business Network show. But Trump has still sent out the occasional press release to respond to things he really doesn't like, suggesting he'll be able to get his messages out there.
Article continues belowThe 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.
In the meantime, Trump has reportedly kept in touch with allies while laying low at Mar-a-Lago. One former aide reportedly even suggested he play golf this week just to prove he's not concerned with what's going on in the Senate. Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
