President Donald Trump is reportedly considering the launch of his own political party after leaving office on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The newspaper said it’s not clear how serious he is about competing with the GOP under his own banner, but that he’s already picked out a name: The Patriot Party.
The potential for a new party comes as Trump grows unhappy with Republican leaders, who he feels abandoned him after his supporters assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6 when Congress met to certify the 2020 election results.
Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a longtime supporter of the president, condemned Trump over the attack.
“They were provoked by the president and other powerful people and 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 on Tuesday.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), one of Trump’s top supporters in Congress, joined the GOP’s failed attempt to block the election results. However, Trump is reportedly angry with McCarthy for saying “the president bears responsibility” for the deadly assault on the Capitol and for offering a censure resolution instead of impeachment.
Trump is particularly angry at the 10 Republican members in the House who crossed party lines to vote in favor of impeachment.
Starting his own political party would be the ultimate revenge against Republicans as it would largely siphon voters from the GOP. Yet the move could also backfire by splitting the vote and giving Democratic candidates an advantage.
Twitter users had some observations:
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