Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, said Sunday that Trump is fully committed to the Republican Party and will work to have it retake the House and Senate in 2022, adding that Trump embodies both the present and future of the GOP.
“The Republican Party is now torn in terms of whether to have Donald Trump in its future. Is Donald Trump committed to the Republican Party?” asked host Sharri Markson, in the context of a rift in the GOP between those who want Trump to play a major role in the party’s future and those that want to purge him from its identity.
Miller confirmed that Trump is “absolutely” committed to the GOP and that he has his sights set on helping it win back majorities in both the House and Senate. He added that not only does Trump see his political future as part of the GOP, but Trump “is the Republican Party.”
“What a lot of folks are starting to realize here in the States is that President Trump really is the Republican Party,” Miller said, adding, “He not only is the current aspect of the party, he’s the future of the party.”
Miller’s remarks come as some prominent Republicans are calling on the GOP to firewall Trump.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday said it would hurt the GOP if its members “let him define us.”
Hogan argued that “unless we can return to some sanity,” it would be difficult for the Republicans to win majorities in the House and Senate or retake the White House.
“There are a number of us who are trying to return to a more traditional, commonsense, conservative party, a more Reaganesque bigger-tent party that can appeal to, with a positive message... that we can try to work with the Democrats on. But there’s a whole lot of others who are wanting to take us down this path that has no chance of success,” Hogan said, arguing that a GOP that embodied Trumpism would lack the broad appeal needed to win general elections.
“Is the Republican Party now, squarely, the party of Donald Trump?” Couric asked.
“I think it has been and, I think, it perhaps still is, but I think his influence is slowly beginning to diminish,” Hogan replied.
“We feel like Republicans don’t fight enough for us, and we all see Donald Trump fighting for us as hard as he can, every single day,” a Republican and small-business owner from Milwaukee told the newspaper. “But then you have establishment Republicans who just agree with establishment Democrats and everything, and they don’t ever push back.”