President Donald Trump talked with associates in recent days about forming the Patriot Party, a new party that can sustain his political career after leaving the White House. According to people familiar with the matter, Trump broached the matter with several aides and other people close to him last week. Reportedly, he wanted to call the new party the “Patriot Party,” the people said.
RELATED: Trump Is being Dragged Down By His Party
Third Party
Polls showed that Trump retains strong support among rank-and-file GOP voters. It remains unknown how serious Trump was in broaching the idea. Creating a new party and building it from the ground up will require a large investment in time and money.
Third parties have typically failed to draw enough support to play a major role in national elections. Any effort to start a new party would likely face intense opposition from Republican party officials, who would chafe at the thought of Mr. Trump peeling off support from GOP candidates.
Feud with Top Republicans
During the days after the Capitol riots, Trump feuded with several Republican leaders including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY). Last Tuesday, McConnell said that the mob that marched to the Capitol last January 6 were “fed lies by the President and other powerful people.” McConnell added that “They tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.”
McConnell said that despite the threat of violence, Congress pressed on. “We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation. Not even for one night,” he said. This resulting disorder killed five people, including one DC police officer, and caused major damages to the Capitol. The White House declined to comment on McConnell’s accusation.
Splitting Republican Votes
Some pro-Trump Republican officials said they think it’s a bad idea to form a new party. Foremost, a new party would split the existing Republican party. This will ensure that Democrats will remain in control of the majority. This is why both Democrats and leftist media organizations cheered the idea of a Patriot Party. According to the Washington Times, third parties perform poorly in elections historically. US single district and first-past-the-post legislative elections work against third party success.
The Democratic Party currently holds the majority for both the House and the Senate. However, both majorities are slim, with Democrat House representatives holding on to a 221-211 majority over the Republicans, with 1 independent. In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats (including two independents who caucus with the Democrats) are tied 50-50. The Vice President owns the tiebreaker, which goes to the Dems. A strong Republican showing can break the majority from both chambers of Congress. However, an emerging new party like Trump’s can take away votes from the GOP.
Watch the SkyNews Australia news video reporting that President Donald Trump reportedly considering setting up his own political party:
Loading ...Do you agree with the need to create the Patriot Party? What do you think its objectives and goals will be? Let us know what you and if you plan to switch to this party if ever it gets done. Share your thoughts on the comment section below.
