“They Had Two Chances To Put Him Away”: Senate Republicans Panicking as Trump 2024 Comeback Becomes Increasingly Likely

Michelle HollandNov 20, 2023

Minute Read

As the 2024 GOP primaries grow closer, Republican Senators who are critical of Donald Trump are grappling with the fact that the former president is likely to be the party’s nominee for next year’s presidential election. Trump is currently the frontrunner to lead the party over other candidates such as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.

Senate Republicans

While over half of the 222 Republicans in the House of Representatives have endorsed Trump’s bid for reelection, he has far fewer supporters in the Senate. Only 12 of 49 Republican senators have supported Trump’s return to the White House, whereas most have said they will promote other candidates in the primary instead.

Trump’s Detractors

Senators such as Tim Scott (R-SC) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have not endorsed Trump, but have admitted that they will advocate for whoever the eventual Republican Party candidate is.

House vs Senate

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Whereas the House features a lot of far-right, Christian Nationalist representatives — such as the ones in the House Freedom Caucus — a large portion of Republican senators are relatively moderate and bipartisan. Despite this, many of them managed to form positive working relationships with Trump, and Democrat supporters criticized them for enabling him while he was in office.

The 2020 Election

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While swaths of election deniers make up GOP representatives, Trump’s attempts to overthrow democracy following his 2020 election loss didn’t sit well with most Senate Republicans. Trump infamously instigated the January 6 riot at the Capitol and continues to promote the “stolen election” lie to this day.

Legal Battles

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Trump is also involved in a series of legal battles, which make him even more unappealing to Senate Republicans. One of these is a federal indictment regarding his efforts to overturn the election, whereas another pertains to election tampering in the state of Georgia.

Senate Runoffs

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The day before the riots, Senate runoffs took place in the state of Georgia, resulting in the election of Democratic senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Both defeated Republican incumbents, and the Democrats gained control of the Senate as a result. Republican senators throughout the country attributed Trump and his refusal to accept the election results as factors behind the state turning blue.

The 2022 Midterms

Many political commentators were predicting a ‘red wave’ for the 2022 midterms, but instead, the GOP underperformed; they remained the minority party in the Senate, and only regained the House by a tiny margin. Anti-Trump GOP senators continued to blame the former president for the party’s ongoing struggle.

History Repeats

History looks set to repeat itself in 2024, with Trump and Biden poised to go head-to-head once again. Both are far ahead of their competitors in polls, and the bigger question is whether Biden can beat Trump a second time. This is less than ideal for Senate Republicans, many of whom have distanced themselves from Trump.

Rooting Against Trump

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Mike Rounds (R-SD) was one of several senators to endorse Tim Scott’s presidential bid. When prompted about Trump’s frontrunner status before Scott quit the race, Rounds said: “It’s way early in the process right now. We’re hoping Tim Scott pulls it out for a number of us. We’ll just have to deal with it from there.”

An Open Race

Rounds has reaffirmed his belief that it’s too soon to call the primary for Trump and that the race remains open. He has suggested that “current events,” referring to Trump’s criminal charges, may still have an impact on polls and influence the result of the primary.

Handling a Trump Reelection

When questioned about how fellow Republican congresspeople would deal with a Trump nomination, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told the Washington Examiner: “Some will come around reluctantly, some of us will come around enthusiastically, and some may never get there.”

Potential Grudges

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Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), who is trading in his Senate seat for a governor bid, indicated that Trump skeptics in the Senate might have a hard time getting back in Trump’s good graces. “I think that’s going to be complicated because I know this one thing: He’s got a pretty good memory of who’s wanted to help and who’s been an antagonist. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I think that’ll be an issue,” Braun explained.

Anonymous Republican Speaks Out

One anonymous Republican shared their opinion that Trump will try to work professionally with senators he dislikes in order to accomplish as much of his agenda as he can. “Everyone who assumes the role of president wants to be remembered for genuine achievements,” they said.

Working With Others

The anonymous senator continued, “And the reality through our system of checks and balances is that in order to have achievements that are sustainable, you have to actually work with lawmakers.” Despite this, many Democratic lawmakers and Democrat supporters have expressed concerns that Trump will be a threat to democracy and the current system if he is reelected.

Lack of Sympathy

Many people online did not feel sympathetic to the plight of the Republican senators. “Good. Let’s hope the anxiety turns to infighting and eventually the implosion of the entire party. The only way the USA is going to be a better place in a few generations is if the GOP has as little influence as possible,” one forum commenter wrote.

Accusations of Cowardice

Others were unimpressed with the continuing trend of Republicans speaking out anonymously against Trump. “All these anonymous Republicans. So brave,” one person said.

Missed Their Chance

Several contributors noted that the Republican senators had an opportunity to deal with Trump by voting for his impeachment. “They had two chances to put him away but they chose to shirk their duties,” one individual wrote. Another declared that “they could and should have removed him after he was impeached for Jan 6.” Overall, people thought the senators’ concerns were empty and that they would all end up endorsing and voting for Trump if necessary.