Trump is making a list of enemies inside GOP who opposed him, will create election challenges for them: Report
In the aftermath of Joe Biden becoming the 46th president of the United States, former President Donald Trump, it seems, plans to continue to be part of the political fray. As per reports, Trump is moving forward with his plans to create a “Patriot Party”.
What is the Patriot Party?
On January 19, it was reported that Trump has spoken with associates about forming a new political party. It was reported that he had discussed the matter with several aides and other people close to him last week. However, it was unclear how serious Trump is about starting the new party, an effort that would require a significant investment of time and resources.
A January 24 report on the Daily Mail, however, reported that Trump is indeed moving forward with the plan — an effort to supposedly put pressure on Republican Party members who oppose him. Trump is also supposedly drafting an enemies list of Republicans.
As per The Washington Post, Trump has instructed his aides to prepare election challenges to lawmakers who crossed him in the final weeks in office, including Representative Liz Cheney, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Senator Lisa Murkowski and Representative Tom Rice. Sources on condition of anonymity told the Post that Trump has said that the third-party threat gives him leverage to prevent Republican senators from voting to convict him during the Senate impeachment trial.
Further, Trump advisers reportedly plan to recruit opposing primary candidates and commission polling next week in districts of targeted lawmakers. Trump reportedly has more than $70 million in campaign cash banked to fund his political efforts, the sources said.
What is Donald Trump doing at present?
Trump has, however, told aides that he plans to keep a lower profile over the next few months before ramping up his public activities. The Washington Examiner, a conservative news website and weekly magazine, reported that Trump, since his ouster from the White House, has been playing golf. However, the former President did leave a cryptic message for its readers: “We’ll do something, but not just yet.”
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller was more cryptic. He told the Post, “The president has made clear his goal is to win back the House and Senate for Republicans in 2022. There’s nothing that’s actively being planned regarding an effort outside of that, but it’s completely up to Republican senators if this is something that becomes more serious.” But other than that, Trump has been mostly silent. And for good reason. His preferred communication platform, Twitter, banned him after the January 6 Capitol riot.
The Wall Street Journal, however, reported that Trump plans to maintain a small staff of former White House officials in Florida and has begun talking to associates about raising money for his presidential library. In conversations with advisers in recent months, he discussed delivering paid speeches and is expected to be involved to some extent in the Trump Organization, the company that his son Eric Trump has been running.