Former Republican House Representative Charlie Dent confirmed to CNN that he and about 120 Republicans held a conversation last Friday about whether or not to form a new party or faction within the Republican Party that would operate independently of the GOP.
“Obviously there are some Republicans like myself and other Republican leaders who want a clear break with President Trump, and we are kind of rallying around some fundamental fundamentals like truth and fairness, and democracy and the rule of law,” The former Pennsylvania congressman, a contributor to CNN, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday.
The remarkable move would illustrate how broken the Republican Party is, but Trump still has a high approval rating among Republican voters, and the two-party system has dominated the American political system for centuries.
Despite the visceral presentation of House impeachment managers during Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate this week, Republican senators have indicated they will vote to acquit Trump, arguing that Democrats have made no strong argument that Trump’s words led to the violent actions in January and that the process is unconstitutional as Trump is a former president.
Dent told CNN on Thursday that Trump will likely be acquitted and “not called to account,” and will then attempt to take down Senate Republicans who are voting to convict him and the 10 GOP House members who voted to impeach him. put.
“That’s what I’m most afraid of right now, that Trump will feel justified. He will feel he has been acquitted,” Dent said, adding that he thinks Trump will try to make those who voted against him “responsible.” to keep in his own perverted situation.
Dent told CNN that Republicans like him believe it’s important to rally around GOP representatives. Liz Cheney from Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger from Illinois and Fred Upton from Michigan, and GOP Senator Mitt Romney from Utah, “who stood up for the truth, for principle and wants to take a clean break and want this party to be different.”
“What we want is, we don’t want to cling to the past, cling to a man who is shamed in any way, shape or form. We don’t want to follow that man who brought nothing but defeat and misery. and rebellion, “Dent said.” Let’s move forward, not backward. “
Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly as White House communications director under Trump, also confirmed that he is also part of talks with other former Republican officials to form a “center-right party.”
“I think what has happened in the last three or four days has strengthened a very large group of people” who believe that if Senate Republicans don’t condemn Trump, the “party will split in two,” so that it is “watered down and completely weakened,” Scaramucci told CNN’s Cuomo.
Scaramucci predicted that Trump will be acquitted in his Senate trial and that 5-20% of the GOP will break down and a new party will start.
“It will be a center-right party that will work with the Democrats and it will kill the nonsense of the far right,” Scaramucci said.
Evan McMullin, a former House GOP assistant and current Executive Director of Stand Up Republic, confirmed to CNN that he had hosted the virtual meeting, arguing that “there is a need for something new, be it in the Republican Party. or beyond “.
“ The party’s current direction is destructive, both for its own interests, but especially for the interests of the country, ” he told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday, adding, “ As extreme as some members of Congress at the do be. the Republican side, as the party deals with those related issues, there is also an opportunity for renewal and rebirth, and that’s what we’ve been talking about. “
He said if a new faction is formed, they would put forward their own Republican candidates and in some cases even support Democratic candidates for election.
McMullin, who ran as Independent for president in 2016, acknowledged that the Republican Party is still largely under Trump’s control.
“What we stand for is a new direction for the party, and we are trying to unite people who are committed to our foundational values, to democracy and who desire it, regardless of who they have supported in the past, and the fact that our numbers are growing is the most exciting thing about it, ”he said.