“A Colossal Political Miscalculation” – Former Conservative Judge Rips Into GOP’s “Spineless” Support for Trump

William FurneyNov 6, 2023

Minute Read

Outspoken former conservative federal judge J. Michael Luttig has torn into the Republican Party and its voters for their support of 2024 nominee frontrunner Donald Trump.

Strong Criticism of GOP

In a harshly worded op-ed in The New York Times, the retired jurist, 69, criticized the GOP as “spineless” for supporting a candidate who has been indicted four times and is facing a total of 91 federal criminal charges.

GOP ‘Beyond Saving Itself’

Luttig wrote in the newspaper: “If the indictment of Mr. Trump on Espionage Act charges — not to mention his now almost certain indictment for conspiring to obstruct Congress from certifying Mr. Biden as the president on Jan. 6 — fails to shake the Republican Party from its moribund political senses, then it is beyond saving itself. Nor ought it be saved.”

‘Big Mistake’ to Support Trump

Republican support for another Trump presidency was “a colossal political miscalculation,” said the judge. “No assemblage of politicians except the Republicans would ever conceive of running for the American presidency by running against the Constitution and the rule of law. But that’s exactly what they’re planning,” he wrote.

GOP Favorite Trump

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Trump, who failed to win a second term at the White House after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden — a result he refused to accept, branding it “rigged” and “stolen” — is the current favorite to be named the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

High Poll Ratings

Trump, 77, has just under 60 percent support among registered Republican voters in national polling. That compares to around 13 percent for his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose campaign has suffered a number of setbacks.

Hardly GOP Rivals

Other GOP nomination contenders are seen as longshots, including former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is polling at under 8 percent, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who is languishing around 5 percent. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is even further behind, with less than 3 percent in national polls. Trump’s vice president while in office, Mike Pence, has withdrawn from the race due to a lack of support.

Trump Indictment Worries

Trump has been indicted four times, which is proving a major concern among his party and its supporters. One charges — in two cases: federal and in Georgia — that Trump attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election and block the transfer of power to Biden, while another alleges he illegally stored secretive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida. A fourth indictment concerns an ongoing fraud trial in New York City connected with the Trump Organisation and carries a potential fine of at least $250 million.

Trump v Biden?

President Biden is also the frontrunner for the Democratic Party nomination, with almost 70 percent voter support in national polling. He has practically no rivals, apart from author Marianne Williamson, who is hardly registering in the polls, with a mere approximate 5 percent.

Growing Concerns Over Trump and Biden

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But a growing chorus of people, including from within the Republican and Democratic ranks, say Trump, 77, and Biden, 80, are too old to run again — or to govern the country should either win the presidency again.

‘Majority Against Biden or Trump Runs’

Recent polls suggest the majority of Americans — one survey said 77 percent, a figure that included 69 percent of Democratic voters — don’t want either Trump or Biden to run again because of their advanced age. The voters’ unfavorable views come as both men have made a string of public blunders, including failing to remember the city they were in, making incoherent speeches and tripping and falling.

GOP ‘Slipped Standards’

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Luttig wrote in his New York Times op-ed that things had gone so bad at the GOP that they were forced to pin their election hopes on a man who may end up in jail.

“The stewards of the Republican Party have become so inured to their putative leader, they have managed to convince themselves that an indicted and perhaps even convicted Donald Trump is their party’s best hope for the future,” he said.

‘Country First’ Call

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The judge suggested it was not too late to save the Republican Party, as long as it put the country first and not one man — especially a controversial figure who was facing so many legal problems.

The GOP, wrote the judge, needed “pull back from the brink — for the good of the party, as well as the nation.”